Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were said to have been left so devastated when their famous friends and Montecito neighbors Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi relocated to the U.K. after Donald Trump’s presidential win at this year’s U.S. election they also nearly followed suit.
A source told InTouch Weekly that the comedian and her wife “have been absolute rocks for Meghan and Harry from the moment they moved to California” so “losing them is pretty upsetting.” “They helped them get settled in Montecito and introduced them to so many great people, they’re such a huge part of Meghan and Harry’s circle,” the insider claimed adding that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “totally understand why they’re leaving; they’ve toyed with the idea themselves since the election.”
DeGeneres and de Rossi’s move may be a “huge bummer” for the Sussexes, but it also gives the former Suits star a reason to visit Britain again. Meghan hasn’t stepped foot on British soil since she joined Harry at his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, in September 2022.
There are a couple of reasons why she has not been back in the country since, with the most obvious being her security. The Duke of Sussex is still in a legal battle with the Home Office over the matter because he’s being prohibited against personally paying the London Metropolitan Police for his and his family’s protection during visits to his home country.
The Duchess fears for her safety given the death threats she received when she was still a working royal and what more now that she isn’t. She and Harry lost their taxpayer-funded security when they left their royal duties in 2020.
Likewise, Meghan and Harry no longer have any safe place to stay in Britain if ever they do visit with their children. They have long vacated their home in Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of Windsor per King Charles III’s orders. So having DeGeneres and de Rossi in the U.K. might convince her to step foot in the country again and the couple could provide her with safe shelter at their home in the Cotswolds.
As the source said: “Meghan might actually agree to go over to the U.K. to visit them. Knowing that she’d have Ellen and Portia’s support over there would be a real help and might be enough to get her to change her mind about never setting foot there again.”
The insider likewise told the magazine that DeGeneres and de Rossi are happy at their new home where friends are also just nearby. The comedian is contented as she “loves the laid-back country life. It’s the perfect balance of nature, good people, old-world charm and a stress-free feeling she doesn’t get in the U.S. anymore.”
“They are really excited about starting a new life in England. It already feels like home,” the source claimed and added: “Harry has already been giving them all sorts of advice on the Cotswolds. The vibe there is very similar to Montecito, just with a whole lot more rain, and Harry knows it quite well.”
However, Harry has made it clear that he and Meghan are staying put in America because he enjoys living there and intends to raise their children there. We’re also not privy to details about any future visits to the U.K. for Meghan as her team keeps her personal calendar private to avoid attracting unwanted attention from the media. The Duke though is scheduled to appear in London’s High Court next month for his privacy case against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN), then at the Court of Appeals in April next year, where he’s due to plead his security case.
Published: Dec 17, 2024 08:40 am