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After announcing their departure from California for a return to the UK, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new address remains a mystery.

But speculation is mounting that the couple will settle in a location they have already tried and tested, popular with American celebrities and where the pair lived around the time of their royal wedding in 2018.

The Cotswolds has been a favourite of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex throughout their relationship - having hosted Meghan's hen do and been a place they would go to unwind during the early stages of dating.

Harry and Meghan rented a four-bedroom farmhouse in the Cotswolds while renovations took place on their first official marital home, Frogmore Cottage.

It is also close to both the Windsor and Spencer family estate, Althorp House in Northamptonshire, where the couple stayed during their visit to the UK in July.

The Cotswolds houses a number of Harry and Meghan's celebrity friends, including American former talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi, who bought Kitesbridge Farm near Burford for £15million in 2024 and were close to Meghan in California.

Rumours about where the couple will live have been circulating since yesterday's announcement they will be returning to the UK for an extended stay, and have already secured a new home.

While their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are set to enrol in a British school, the family are not believed to be moving into a royal residence and will not be working members of the Royal Family.

The Cotswolds and Northampton area are rumoured to be where they will settle, although this is yet to be confirmed.

Meghan and Harry (pictured in 2018) have returned to the Cotswolds many times throughout their relationship

Millie Mackintosh and Meghan Markle pictured at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire

Harry and Meghan rented a four-bedroom farmhouse (pictured) in the Cotswolds while renovations took place on their first official marital home, Frogmore Cottage, around the time of their wedding in 2018

An aerial view of the historic farmhouse, which boasted four bedrooms and stunning grounds

They lived there as their country retreat until moving out for Frogmore Cottage in 2019

In the early days of their relationship, Harry and Meghan often hung out at the Cotswolds retreat Soho Farmhouse, where luxury cabins cost up to £1,200 a night.

Meghan's low-key hen do took place at the retreat in early March 2018, a few months before the couple tied the knot.

Before their wedding in 2018, royal sources told the Daily Mail that the pair were particularly fond of Oxfordshire and were interested in high-end properties tucked away in the rolling Cotswold hills.

A good friend of Harry's said the Duke has a long-standing affection for the area, while Meghan was said to be entranced by its rustic charm.

The pair later enlisted Soho House's former design chief, Vicky Charles, to renovate their first official marital home Frogmore Cottage, in the grounds of Windsor, as part of a £2.4million makeover.

While works on the house were underway, the couple rented a farmhouse in the Great Tew Estate in Oxfordshire, in the Cotswolds. They lived there as their country retreat until moving out in 2019.

The farmhouse dated back to the 18th century and boasted four bedrooms and a staff cottage. The couple had acquired a two-year lease on the house and moved in before their wedding.

The couple also have famous friends in the Cotswolds, two being talk show host Ellen and her wife Portia, who became close to the royal pair while neighbours in Montecito.

Meghan and Ellen met casually while visiting an animal shelter over 10 years ago, before forming a friendship when the Duke and Duchess moved to the exclusive Californian neighbourhood following their exit from the Royal Family.

Ellen and Portia bought Kitesbridge Farm for £15million in 2024, and had ambitions to make it their 'long term home'.

Meghan was whisked away to Soho Farmhouse for a lowkey hen do before her wedding to Harry

Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds (pictured) has been a favourite of Meghan's

Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia De Rossi bought a mansion in the Cotswolds for £15million in 2024 and spent a reported £7.5million on external and internal renovations

Ellen and Portia faced local planning disputes and repetitive flooding from nearby storms

George and Amal Clooney at Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018. They live locally to the Cotswolds

Harry's cousin Princess Beatrice (right) lives in the Cotswolds, dividing her time between a country home there and an apartment at St. James's Palace in London

However, they faced local planning disputes and repetitive flooding from nearby storms, prompting them to move to a second, higher-elevation property nearby.

But after winning a planning battle for new stables for horse-loving Portia, the couple might be set to keep the original property as their forever home.

In June, Ellen and Portia were given the green light for stables for their horses - despite fears the work could 'destroy' Roman remains.

George Clooney and his wife Amal, who were guests at Harry and Meghan's wedding, also live along the Oxfordshire-Berkshire border and regularly visit the Cotswolds.

However, speculation has mounted that the couple's relationship with the Duke and Duchess has cooled, after George and Amal joined King Charles for a star-studded reception at Buckingham Palace in June last year.

The Clooneys were among the most famous non-royals to attend Harry and Meghan's wedding - and were said to have invited them to their house in Lake Como just weeks later.

Harry and Meghan also have family ties to the area, with the Cotswolds being a rough half-way point between Windsor and the Spencer family estate.

During their recent visit to the UK, the couple stayed at Althorp Estate – the ancestral home of Princess Diana's family and where she is buried on a private island in the middle of a lake.

Harry had initially turned down an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace only to change his mind at the last minute. He was then told that the offer had been rescinded because Palace officials said it was impossible to prepare rooms for him at short notice.

Harry's cousin Princess Beatrice also lives in the Cotswolds, dividing her time between a country home there and an apartment at St. James's Palace in London.

She and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, bought a six-bedroom farmhouse valued at £3.5million in the area in 2021.

Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie are said to have sided with their cousin Prince Harry during his exit from the royal family, while Harry has always been particularly close with Eugenie.

The family spent a lot of time in childhood together, going on holidays with their mothers, Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson.

The Daily Mail has contacted Harry and Meghan's representatives for comment.