Earl Spencer was happy to offer Prince Harry a home on the 13,000-acre Althorp estate – but his nephew had his own plans
Prince Harry and Meghan will not be moving into a home on the Spencer family's 13,000-acre Althorp estate in Northamptonshire, despite Earl Spencer having been prepared to offer his nephew a property there. The Mail on Sunday reports that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex instead intend to settle in the Cotswolds when they relocate to the UK in the coming days, a decision that scotches recent speculation that they might set up home near Diana's grave on her childhood estate.
Speculation had been fuelled by Instagram photographs Meghan shared of a family stay at Althorp last month, showing Harry, Archie and Lilibet on the grounds, and by comments from royal biographer Tina Brown suggesting Earl Spencer would offer them a house there. A source close to the Earl said he would have helped find somewhere suitable had Harry asked, but "he has made his own plans," and that Spencer only learned of the imminent UK move when it broke in the press last Thursday. Meghan is thought to have visited two Cotswold schools in July, with reports the family could move into a property owned by a celebrity in the area; notably, Diana herself once turned down her brother's offer of Wormleighton Manor in Warwickshire after her marriage broke down.
- Harry and Meghan won't move to Althorp despite Earl Spencer's offer
- They've reportedly chosen a Cotswolds property as their UK base instead
- Earl Spencer says his nephew "made his own plans" without asking
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Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and have largely lived in the United States since, based mainly in California. Harry is the younger son of King Charles III and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in 1997. Earl Spencer is Diana's brother and Harry's uncle, and he owns Althorp, the Spencer family's ancestral estate in Northamptonshire, where Diana grew up and is buried.
There has been persistent speculation about whether and where Harry and Meghan might resettle in the UK, given Harry's strained relations with parts of the royal family and ongoing questions over his security arrangements when in Britain. The Cotswolds, a rural area in south-west England popular with celebrities and wealthy families, has featured in reports as a possible base, alongside talk of properties on royal or aristocratic land such as Althorp.
This story matters because any move by the Sussexes to the UK, and where exactly they choose to live, is seen as a signal about their relationship with the wider royal family and their future role, if any, in British public life. It also touches on Harry's connection to his mother's side of the family, since Althorp holds particular personal significance as Diana's childhood home and final resting place.