[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-post-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Black Han Sans|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”46px” header_letter_spacing=”4px” custom_margin=”25px||5px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Words by Emily Andrews, Royal Correspondent [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/10\/imago1043648343.jpg” title_text=”Syndication: Palm Beach Post Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrive at Grand Champions” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”107px” custom_padding=”||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n So it came as no real surprise that the Tr\u00f3ia Peninsula, aka \u2018the Hamptons of Portugal\u2019 or the \u2018Malibu of Europe\u2019 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\u2019ve bought a house there too – just 90 minutes south of Lisbon and their first European base.<\/p>\n That\u2019s 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 \u00a313million Montecito mansion where the couple live with children Archie, five and Lilbet, three. The main reasons for doing so are two-fold.<\/p>\n First, they were introduced to the uber exclusive CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club by Harry\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019ve holidayed\u2019 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 \u20ac4million.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u2018the simple luxury of natural European living\u2019, with its surfing, golfing on the Tom Fazio-designed course, seafood-based healthy cuisine, and a wellness centre offering yoga, spa treatments and \u2018bio feedback\u2019: neuro-mapping technology that analyses stress factors. There is also a handy kids\u2019 club, and eco credentials trumpeted via a sustainability \u2018master plan\u2019.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s parent company, Discovery). Other rumoured buyers include actress Sharon Stone, reality star Paris Hilton, and Tom Brady\u2019s ex-wife, supermodel Gisele B\u00fcndchen.<\/p>\n 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 \u2018quasi-royal\u2019 tours they enjoy. Certainly their new European holiday home is not a sign that the Duchess wants to spend more time in the UK. \u2018Meghan really really hated England\u2019 says veteran journalist and Royal biographer Tina Brown on American podcast the Ankler. \u2018She didn\u2019t get the culture, she just didn\u2019t get it, and feels so rejected by England. But England feels very rejected by Meghan, so there\u2019s an impasse there.\u2019 Certainly the Duchess was not a fan of the rain – the Malibu of Europe is much more her style.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n IMAGE: IMAGO<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" That\u2019s not to say Harry and Meghan are moving there permanently – well, not quite yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"kschwarz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4475"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4481,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4475\/revisions\/4481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong><\/p>\n‘The Sussexes would definitely find themselves rubbing shoulders with other high-end American buyers and holidaying celebrities’<\/h2>\n