In a rare public remark about Prince Harry’s return to the United Kingdom, Lady Eliza Spencer, the niece of Princess Diana, made history as the first family member to speak out.
At a launch event for her new Lala V rosé, Lady Eliza, 34, expressed her excitement about her 41-year-old cousin’s visit to Britain. Coincidentally, this event aligned with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s arrival in Birmingham.
As the daughter of Earl Spencer, Lady Eliza had previously welcomed Harry and Meghan at the family’s ancestral home during their UK visit last month. She shared her hopes with The Mirror, stating, ‘We would love to be able to find some time to visit.’
When queried about the possibility of exchanging wine-making secrets with Meghan Markle, Harry’s wife and a fellow rosé enthusiast who released her own wine last July, Lady Eliza offered a mysterious ‘Maybe!’ in response.
On Wednesday, Lady Eliza and her fiancé Channing Millerd celebrated the launch of their £27-a-bottle wine at the prestigious Hackstons luxury drinks retailer in Knightsbridge.
In comparison, Meghan’s Napa Valley rosé, sold under her lifestyle brand As Ever, retails for £22.
While Lady Eliza was raising a toast to her latest business venture, Prince Harry, Meghan and their two children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, were being whisked away to their new home – widely believed to be in the Cotswolds.
The socialite and drinks entrepreneur is the only family member to have spoken publicly about Harry’s surprise return to the UK after living in Montecito, California, for nearly six years.
Lady Eliza Spencer , 34, said it was ‘exciting’ that her cousin, 41, was back in Britain during a launch event for her Lala V rosé in London on Wednesday
The Sussexes landed at Birmingham Airport on Wednesday after flying on a private plane from California to start their new life in the country
It remains to be seen whether the Sussexes will be invited to Lady Eliza’s nuptials after she hinted at her wedding plans with the South African businessman earlier this month.
Lady Eliza suggested she was ‘wedding venue hunting’ as she shared glamorous photos from a recent getaway to the Amalfi Coast.
The couple have previously spoken about their desire to have a destination wedding, with Lake Como one of the many locations in the running. However, few plans about the big day have been publicly disclosed yet.
The Sussexes landed at Birmingham Airport on Wednesday after flying on a private plane from California to start their new life in the country.
The couple are thought to have travelled with the children on a Bombardier Global Express XRS luxury long-range business jet from Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles.
The Sussexes – who are also believed to be bringing their dogs Mia and Pula across the Atlantic – are now setting up their home in the UK. They plan to live as an ‘international’ family, keeping their homes in California and Portugal.
Their announcement that they were returning to Britain came as a shock after they quit the working monarchy in 2020 and bought a house in Montecito.
Former Suits star Meghan is said to be pursuing an acting role amid reports that she remains in talks about a role in the third series of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen.
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, will live in a non-royal residence outside of London and the children have both been enrolled in UK schools, ready to start next week.
It remains to be seen whether the Sussexes will be invited to Lady Eliza’s nuptials after she hinted at her wedding plans with the South African businessman earlier this month
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It comes a month after the couple took Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, to see their grandfather the King for the first time in four years at his Highgrove home in July.
The couple are not thought to have raised the prospect of a return to the UK at that meeting. The King was told they were moving back three days before it was revealed.
Some reports have suggested the Sussexes’ stay in the UK could last just until the autumn, with the family keeping their houses in Montecito and Portugal.
Meghan meanwhile has unveiled the latest addition to her As Ever range – Spiced Apple Butter.
The jar of ‘orchard apples and fragrant spices’ was being launched on Wednesday, ‘just in time for fall’, with Meghan’s brand saying the product captures the season’s ‘promise of crisp mornings and changing leaves just around the corner’.
She also posted an Instagram story in which she chuckled at what appeared to be a tea towel with the message: ‘People who take care of chickens are literally chicken tenders’.
It follows news that the Sussexes’ brood of chickens are remaining at their home in California to be cared for there.
Earlier this week, People magazine suggested that the monarch wanted to see his estranged sons Harry and the Prince of Wales ‘together over time’, but the report has not been confirmed.
According to Harry’s autobiography, Charles pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021, saying: ‘Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.’
The brothers no longer speak, having fallen out around the time of Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding, with the relationship worsening post-Megxit following Harry’s accusations against the Royal Family in his Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix documentary and memoir Spare.
Separately, sources close to Harry claimed he ‘never really stopped missing home’ after stepping down as a senior royal and leaving Britain for the US six years ago.
The duke is said to have ‘missed that sense of connection and belonging’ in the UK while building a new life in California with Meghan.
Harry also wants their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to ‘understand the world he grew up in and where their family comes from’, according to insiders.
In addition to being closer to King Charles, who continues to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, the move will allow Harry and Meghan’s children to connect with the Spencers as well.
When Harry and Meghan travelled to Britain last month, it was Princess Diana’s younger brother, Earl Spencer, who graciously hosted them at his family’s ancestral seat, Althorp House.
But Charles Spencer, 62, is not the only relative Prince Harry will be leaning on for support as he returns to the country after six years living away in the United States amid claims the royal has ‘very few friends left’ from his past life.
In addition to spending more time with Charles and his new wife, Norwegian archaeologist Cat Jarman, the Duke and Duchess could become better acquainted with the families of Diana’s two sisters, Harry’s ‘red aunts’ Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.
In the midst of William and Harry’s bitter feud, Sarah, 71, and Jane, 69, still have close relationships with both the brothers.
The pair, along with Charles, even travelled to Montecito – where the Sussexes have lived since 2020 – to attend the christening of Harry and Meghan’s daughter, Princess Lilibet, three years ago; none of the royals was present for the event.
Amid speculation that Harry and Meghan will call the Cotswolds home when they are in the UK, the proximity to the Spencer siblings could bring Harry closer to his six maternal cousins while Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, are introduced to a new brood of Spencers.