Why Meghan Markle Reportedly Rejected Living on the Spencer Family Estate as ‘Too Remote’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are said to be easing into a new chapter in the U.K. following their move in late August, but the search for the right family home is still ongoing. Not because suitable properties are scarce. According to reports, Charles Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, offered the couple use of The Falconry, a 17th-century lodge on the Spencer family estate. The idea, however, reportedly exposed a difference of opinion between Harry and Meghan: he was emotionally drawn to the property, while she felt it did not match the life they had imagined for their family.

The Falconry sits on the Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire, the Spencer family’s ancestral seat, roughly 76 miles from London. “Harry was genuinely moved because Althorp will always be sacred ground to him,” sources told Rob Shuter. “But Meghan took one look at the reality and knew it wouldn’t work. Too remote, too far from London and, frankly, not nearly grand enough.” Insiders claim Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are hoping to recreate elements of the high-end California lifestyle their children became accustomed to in the United States.

The Falconry, connected so closely to Princess Diana’s childhood and final resting place at Althorp, reportedly did not fit that vision. “Meghan isn’t moving back to Britain to hide away in an old lodge in Northamptonshire,” a source said. “She wants privacy, history and security — but she also expects serious luxury, substantial space and easy access to London. This wasn’t even close.” For the time being, the Sussexes are reportedly staying in a friend’s vacant property on the edge of the Cotswolds, an affluent countryside area not far from King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s Highgrove House. Their hunt for a permanent U.K. home continues.

The reason Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the U.S. remains unclear, but reports suggest they want to maintain a comparable standard of living in Britain. The couple are said to be focusing their property search on the Cotswolds, where they have reportedly viewed multimillion-dollar homes. “The houses that they are looking at are so huge that you need to go in person and it’s also a really big commitment. I know that they have a number of requirements,” a source told the Daily Mail.

On Meghan’s list, those requirements reportedly include nine bedrooms and a film studio. On Harry’s part, they include a vast amount of land with no footpaths at all, given his concern for his family’s safety. “They have an English countryside dream. This will be the first time that Harry has lived in the U.K. as a private citizen where no one can demand any access to him,” another insider said. Besides, Harry is no stranger to the area, being so close to his father’s private country residence (seen above). “Obviously, that’s where he grew up, living with his father and brother there, and has happy memories,” royal commentator Tom Sykes told Page Six in August.

Harry already has ties to the Cotswolds. After marrying Meghan in 2018, the couple rented a secluded farmhouse there, suggesting the Duke of Sussex may feel a lasting pull toward the area. For now, the pair are also reportedly holding on to their $15 million Montecito residence in California, along with their $8.5 million holiday home in Portugal, according to the Daily Mail report.