The sunsets on the idyllic west coast of Portugal are particularly Insta-worthy right now and the weather suitably balmy to boot. The charming fishing villages, luxurious gated resorts and miles of powder-white unspoilt beaches lure privacy-seeking A-listers such as Madonna and George Clooney.

So it came as no real surprise that the Tróia Peninsula, aka ‘the Hamptons of Portugal’ or the ‘Malibu of Europe’ had attracted more star guests in the form of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they visited last autumn. What IS surprising is that they’ve bought a house there too – just 90 minutes south of Lisbon and their first European base.

That’s not to say Harry and Meghan are moving there permanently – well, not quite yet. They have, however, bought a holiday home to add to their property portfolio which also comprises their £13million Montecito mansion where the couple live with children Archie, five and Lilbet, three. The main reasons for doing so are two-fold.

First, they were introduced to the uber exclusive CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club by Harry’s bestie (and cousin) Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, who live there part of the year. The couples are incredibly close; they were the first members of the Royal family to meet Meghan when Jack and Eug (as she’s known) flew out to Toronto to celebrate Halloween with the pair at Soho House in 2016. They lived next-door to each other in Kensington Palace (Harry and Meghan at Nottingham Cottage, Jack and Eugenie at Ivy Cottage), they’ve holidayed’ together before and the Sussexes sublet Frogmore Cottage to them after they moved to the USA in 2020. Perhaps Jack, who works in sales and marketing for the members-only CostaTerra resort, managed to negotiate a family discount on the rumoured starting point of €4million.

Fun-loving Eugenie has always made a real effort to stay friends with Harry and Meghan, despite the toxic fallout and war of words from the Sussexes after their defenestration from the Firm. She’s been out to stay with them in California, appeared in home movie footage in their Netflix documentary and really wants her two sons, August, three, and Ernest, one, to grow up knowing their American cousins. The feeling is mutual from the Sussex side – particularly since they are the only family members left on real speaking terms.

Harry and Meghan may still retain their HRH, Archie and Lili may have the style of Prince and Princess and be sixth and seventh in line to the British throne, but there’s no doubt that they have no cultural hinterland of what it means to be royal. Their childhood, though equally warm and loving, is a world away from that of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. So for Harry and Meghan, to be able to spend time with their Windsor cousins in a totally secure, private and family-friendly environment is very important. The other main reason for the purchase is a European base.

You might have thought somewhere in the UK, perhaps in the chi-chi Cotswolds (where they previously rented) would have been more logical for the Sussexes, given that Harry has indicated he wants to spend more time over here on his charitable ventures. But Meghan has made it perfectly clear, according to sources, that she does not want to return to the UK, and as Harry himself has said, he does not feel his wife and children are safe here. Therefore the clositered gates and privacy laws of Portugal appeal to the Sussexes, just as much as the uber-exclusive, opulent yet superficially authentic and laidback brand which promises both outstanding food and woo-woo wellness. Its website boasts that it epitomises ‘the simple luxury of natural European living’, with its surfing, golfing on the Tom Fazio-designed course, seafood-based healthy cuisine, and a wellness centre offering yoga, spa treatments and ‘bio feedback’: neuro-mapping technology that analyses stress factors. There is also a handy kids’ club, and eco credentials trumpeted via a sustainability ‘master plan’.

The Sussexes, who are used to running with a Hollywood crowd, would definitely find themselves rubbing shoulders with other high-end American buyers and holidaying celebrities. George Clooney and his wife, Amal, are reportedly considering buying one of the CostaTerra lots (Clooney is a shareholder in the venture’s parent company, Discovery). Other rumoured buyers include actress Sharon Stone, reality star Paris Hilton, and Tom Brady’s ex-wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen.

Their new base comes at a tricky time for the Sussexes – they are diversifying in terms of their professional brand (Meghan has her upcoming cookery show on Netflix and American Riviera Orchard brand; Harry his philanthropy) but a European base is still useful for the ‘quasi-royal’ tours they enjoy. Certainly their new European holiday home is not a sign that the Duchess wants to spend more time in the UK. ‘Meghan really really hated England’ says veteran journalist and Royal biographer Tina Brown on American podcast the Ankler. ‘She didn’t get the culture, she just didn’t get it, and feels so rejected by England. But England feels very rejected by Meghan, so there’s an impasse there.’ Certainly the Duchess was not a fan of the rain – the Malibu of Europe is much more her style.