Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world by announcing their impending move back to the U.K. on Wednesday, August 19. The couple will be relocating to Britain for an extended period and have enrolled Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in a British school, but where they’ll be living is being kept under wraps at the moment. As rumors swirl about where the couple will chose to set up their British home base, King Charles’s former butler, Grant Harrold, says that Princess Diana’s brother could have helped in the transition.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be establishing a non-royal residence at an undisclosed location in the U.K., as confirmed by multiple media outlets, and will not be returning to full-time royal duties. King Charles was made aware of their move on Sunday—three days prior to the announcement—making it unlikely he assisted by offering up one of his private properties to the family.
However, it's possible that Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, could have helped Harry and Meghan secure a home. Speaking to CasinoHawks, Harrold—who served The King at Highgrove House—suggests a “strong option is the Spencer family, who Harry has always been very close to.”
“Even when things were at their worst with the royals, Harry was always supported by his late mother’s brother Earl Spencer,” Harrold continues. “We know Meghan and Harry stayed at the Spencer family home earlier in the summer, so maybe conversations happened then.”
Meghan shared a carousel of photos from her family's summer abroad on July 23, including an image of Princess Lilibet walking behind Prince Harry and Prince Archie, who are carrying bouquets of flowers, on Earl Spencer's Althorp estate, where Princess Diana is buried.
When they were working royals, Harry and Meghan lived at Kensington Palace, then briefly moved into an estate in the Cotswolds before they relocated to Windsor's Frogmore Cottage. As for their next home, it's anyone's guess right now, but Harrold says the move provides the Sussex family the opportunity to be closer to loved ones.
“I think Harry wants to focus on family,” he says. “I think he wants to be near his father and his mother’s family, the Spencers.”
