Six weeks after making their shock move from California to England’s bucolic Cotswolds, sources tell Page Six that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are in a “honeymoon” phase with their new life – although they have yet to see King Charles.
Although Harry has had several phone calls with Charles, father and son have yet to meet in person, we’re told, as Charles and Queen Camilla are enjoying a break in Scotland.
The vacation included a stay at Balmoral Castle, where Harry’s estranged brother Prince William, Princess Catherine, and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis joined them.
The King and Queen, who remain in Scotland but have traveled to London for meetings, will also embark on a tour of the Caribbean on October 27. So it could be a while before we see the Sussexes.
That’s not to say that there isn’t still a good chance that Harry and his father will reconcile.
“Absolutely everyone hopes that father and son can have a closer – more private – relationship,” a royal source said. “It just doesn’t help that every time they meet or talk, things leak out. »
Another thing that hasn’t improved father-son relations is Charles Spencer’s new book about Diana, which is currently topping the charts.
Royal sources tell us that Spencer, Harry’s uncle, received a narcotic £4 million for the book “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister”. In it, he claims that Charles hissed over the phone that Diana would soon be forgotten after her death in 1997. This allegation did not go down well with the king, whose representatives have categorically denied the allegations.
“The fact that Harry was just with his uncle this summer makes it seem like he has a good relationship with him – and the king is furious about the book,” another source said.
As fall sets in in the English countryside and the Sussexes’ children – Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5 – settle into their new schools, many Brits are still baffled by what possessed the Sussexes to return to Harry’s homeland, seemingly out of the blue.
But we’re told Harry, 42, and Markle, 45, had been mulling over the decision to return to the UK for a few years. Indeed, this week Harry revealed how he “sank into depression for two weeks” after ‘Megxit’ in March 2020 and felt a “crash like I’ve never felt before”.
The Duke of Sussex, 42, said he had become “useless” after he and his wife sensationally quit royal life and the UK and fled to British Columbia.
“Being in Canada, away from the stressful environment where my body was probably full of adrenaline, within two or three days I experienced this adrenaline rush, something I had never experienced before,” he told neuroscientist Dr Mary-Frances O’Connor in her new Grief Masterclass.
“It felt like I needed stress to get the adrenaline needed for my brain to function properly…I felt like I couldn’t function.”
The couple made the final decision to leave their Montetico mansion after their summer vacation, which included a reunion between Charles, 77, and his grandchildren – and a visit to Diana’s ancestral estate, Althorp. They had to act quickly to send their children to school.
They’re thrilled to be back in Harry’s homeland and now plan to stay there at least through the school year, which ends next summer, a knowledgeable source told us.
This will give Harry time to work on a documentary marking the 30th anniversary of the death of his beloved mother Princess Diana and to lead next year’s Invictus Games in Birmingham.
It also gives Harry enough time to get his long-awaited wish for armed security from the British government, alongside a crucial security briefing.
After that, the family could settle even further afield – potentially to Canada or even Australia, two places she has an affinity for. “They love to travel,” said a knowledgeable source.
The Sussexes returned to live in the UK at the end of August after six years in North America. They described the move as an “extended stay” with their children, as they plan to live as an “international family,” keeping their homes in California and Portugal.
Amid the likelihood of Harry, Markle and the rest of the royal family returning to the headlines with “Christmas crisis” style stories, the Sussexes have no plans to join the monarch and Harry’s brother William for the traditional festivities at Sandringham, according to the well-known source.
Instead, they will either stay at the cottage where they are currently staying – at multi-millionaire financier Ian Wace’s property in Northamptonshire – or return to California for the holiday. Regardless, they will be joined by Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland.
“There is a hierarchy,” said a palace insider, “and the king is the CEO, he is the boss – what he says is allowed, so it’s best not to put yourself in a difficult position.”
Harry and Markle are planning to make their first official public outing together in the UK within a few days, we’re told, after being photographed holding hands over lunch at the Falkland Arms, a 16th-century pub in the Cotswold village of Great Tew, Oxfordshire.
The couple were dressed casually, with Markle opting for gluten-free fish and chips and Harry choosing a chicken, ham and leek pie.
And although the couple have yet to make an official appearance together, Markle was seen having afternoon tea with activist Malala Yousafzai last Wednesday during her first outing in London since returning to Britain.
The Duchess, dressed in a $2,300 outfit, was seen having afternoon tea with the 29-year-old Pakistani activist at the five-star Claridge’s Hotel in tony Mayfair.
“They go back a long way,” said a knowledgeable source, as the two previously bonded over their shared passion for women’s education.
In October 2020, Harry and Markle joined Malala – who became the youngest Nobel laureate at the age of 17 – for a virtual conversation celebrating International Day of the Girl.
Since arriving in the UK, the Sussexes have also been pictured spending time with various other friends, including Ellen DeGeneres, 68, and Portia de Rossi, 53, their former neighbors from California, at another local Cotsworlds pub. They also spent time with Markle’s best friend Kelly McKee Zajfen, an entrepreneur and activist based in Los Angeles, who posted an Instagram carousel of her visit to the couple in the United Kingdom.
The intimate images showed Markle holding her friend’s baby Jack in a pub, Harry cuddling him on a rug on the floor and a trip to Soho Farmhouse.
In her caption, Zajfen wrote, “To everyone we met or crossed paths with, thank you for being so loving to my friend. It was beautiful to see. She missed you too!”
Markle, of course, still has work to do. She recently launched “The Holiday Collection: Chapter One” for her lifestyle brand, As Ever, featuring a $148 luxury advent calendar created in collaboration with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés, featuring artisan chocolates inspired by her Montecito home and garden.
There’s also a wicker basket filled with items including peppermint, lemon and ginger teas, a trio of fruit spreads, flower sprinkles and two scented candles, with an As Ever leather tag, a chocolate holiday trio and playing cards.
But the prospect of the former “Suits” actress appearing in the third season of the Netflix show, “The Gentleman” — a possibility first reported by W — appears to be dead in the water.
“It was something that occurred to her,” an industry source said, “and it was something she looked into, but it was only a brief idea, and as always, things escalated.
“But Meghan is always open to looking at things.”
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