The Duchess of Sussex was spotted at the quaint Three Horseshoes pub near Burford in the Cotswolds this week with Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, seen in photos obtained by Page Six.
Meghan, wearing an oversized blue shirt and white jeans, was seen chatting and laughing with the US chat show host. They were former neighbours in Montecito, and now reunite as neighbours in the Cotswolds, where Ellen lives in a sprawling single-storey minimalist wooden estate with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and an outdoor infinity pool after fleeing the US in 2024 with the re-election of Trump.
Meghan famously appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021 and adopted one of her rescue chickens. The two are said to have been friends since – which is a good thing, as Ellen can provide much-needed moral support for Meghan as she settles into the area with a friendship group that might seem a little thin on the ground.
No doubt she’s working hard to expand it as we speak – the area is a hotbed of potential A-list pals as well as royal relatives. But it’s also a minefield.
The sunny meet-and-greet with Ellen and Portia was one of the first social sightings of Meghan in the UK apart from a low-key trip to nearby Soho Farmhouse, the exclusive private members' club, where she had tea with a fellow mum, according to reports.
Which brings about the question of who exactly is in Meghan’s new gang? Amid the ongoing feud within the royal family – where Harry and his brother William, the future King, have bitterly fallen out – it’s more complicated than Megxit.
With King Charles up the road at Highgrove, on the southern side of the Cotswolds, many of the Chipping Norton set – nearby royalty, aristocracy and even some A-listers – will be careful to show their allegiance to the King and, of course, his heir, William, rather than the spare.
Things are now even more sensitive with the latest drama involving the Earl Spencer, Harry and William’s uncle Charles, who claims in his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, that King Charles said “we’ll forget her soon enough” about Diana during a heated argument after her death. Spencer has accused the King of “gaslighting” after a recent statement from the Palace saying that: “His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”
It all ignites the tension of who talks to whom and means the chances of Meghan and Harry setting up their own royal court in Oxfordshire are fraught with obstacles.
There is local Simon Cowell, who moved to the Cotswolds after his Holland Park London home was broken into repeatedly. He lives on an £8m estate in the region with his fiancée Lauren Silverman and their sons Eric and Adam.
Although not close friends with Meghan, they are said to move in similar celebrity circles in LA, and Cowell has publicly spoken warmly of Harry, describing him as down-to-earth and decent. He and his family could be ideal friends for Harry, Meghan and their kids.
There is also Markus Anderson, known as "King of Soho House,” in his role as global membership director and consultant for the private members' club.
He is one of Meghan's closest friends. He notoriously arranged her early, secret dates with Prince Harry at Soho House – and although he isn’t based in the Cotswolds, he is going to be a strong presence on the developing scene as she fails – or nails – getting her social network together.
Nearby is Harry’s cousin Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who own a £3.5m country farmhouse. But with recent family drama that has swirled around Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, they are unlikely to be in the mood for hard launching a new local friendship with Harry and Meghan - at least in public anyway.
Like other royals nearby, including Princess Anne and Zara Philips and her husband Mike Tindall at the nearby Gatcombe Park, they all appear to be putting distance between themselves and the Sussexes to stay on good terms with Charles and William.
Also very tricky will be a friendship with Harry’s friend Hugh van Cutsem and wife Rose Astor, who live near Chipping Norton. He’s also a lifelong friend of Prince William – and his father was great friends with King Charles.
While Harry served as a senior usher at Hugh’s 2005 wedding, the relationship broke down following “Megxit” and Harry's public betrayal of the royal family. Unless a rekindling is on the cards, it looks like Meghan will have to look elsewhere.
Unfortunately, friendship potential for neighbours Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner is also unlikely. It had been reported that the former Spice Girl and her husband had been instrumental in advising Meghan and Harry on relocating to the Cotswolds with a “secret lunch" at the Horners' Cotswolds home this summer.
However, representatives for both couples quickly and strongly denied the story – and a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan clarified that the two couples have never even met. Not exactly a good foundation for future friendship.
Victoria Beckham and David Beckham are also on tricky ground. While they own a famous country estate in Great Tew conveniently neighbouring Soho Farmhouse and stylish Meghan seems just their type, David’s friendship with Harry has reportedly cooled. And David isn’t likely to want to risk upsetting the King who awarded him a knighthood earlier this year and he is said to have bonded with him over beekeeping and gardening.
On a more positive note for the new arrivals to the Cotswolds, there is billionaire Ian Wace, whose sprawling Rowler Estate is widely thought to be the “secret” location where Harry and Meghan have been staying while house hunting. He is clearly a friend, and a deeply private person, who apparently uses the property as a quiet personal sanctuary.
Meghan will probably also be keen to get Carole Bamford on side – a close friend of the King and a star player in Cotswolds high society as the owner of Daylesford Organic, an upscale farm shop and lifestyle brand with a flagship store in the Cotswolds. She is married to the billionaire industrialist Anthony, Lord Bamford.
But despite being a great match on paper, it’s highly unlikely anything Meghan does will work. Carole has previously criticised Meghan’s lifestyle ventures with her brand, As Ever, as “crazy”, saying they lacked authenticity and history.
And one person we can be certain she will be avoiding at all costs is Jeremy Clarkson, who owns Diddly Squat Farm near Chipping North. The former Top Gear host was forced to apologise after writing a damning newspaper column in which he said he “hated” Harry's wife Meghan on “a cellular level”. The Sussexes refused to accept his apology.
Other members of the Chipping Norton also have previous with the couple and Harry’s war with the tabloids would suggest neighbours including News UK chief executive Rebekah and Charlie Brooks, and Elisabeth Murdoch and Matthew Freud, the media executive and PR guru aren’t going to be invited for dinner any time soon.
David and Samantha Cameron – the former prime minister (now Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton) and his wife – might wave politely, but that’s about it.
It’s a good thing Meghan will doubtless be busy focusing on her lifestyle brand – it’s the ideal location for a new Netflix cookery show with a British twist. She’d do well to connect with Alex James, who hosts the annual music, food, and family festival Big Festival, on his 200-acre farm in Kingham, Oxfordshire – just the place to promote As Ever to the Cotswold cliques. But my bet is that she won’t be sticking around long enough to get out of the friendship jam she’s in today.
