Meghan Markle, Prince Harry ‘are looking at houses’ in Los Angeles, pal claims
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It looks like Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry will be soaking up the sun this summer at the Duchess of Sussex’s hometown.
“They love being in Canada, but they are looking at houses in L.A., too,” a friend who is part of their close circle told People magazine in this week’s issue.
“They’ll likely have houses in both places,” added the pal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the outlet, the former American actress has a big support system in Los Angeles, including her mother Doria Ragland, as well as several friends who visited the couple on Vancouver Island, where they have been staying with their son Archie.
The insider said life in Vancouver Island is similar to the one Markle, 38, enjoyed in Los Angeles.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be splitting their time between the U.K. and North America. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
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“[The couple] go for long walks, they do yoga, and Meghan cooks,” said the friend. “They are real homebodies who love to chill out with Archie and the dogs,”
The outlet noted that Markle once wrote on her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig: “I was born and raised in Los Angeles, a California girl who lives by the ethos that most things can be cured with either yoga, the beach or a few avocados.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The British royal and former American actress kicked off the New Year by announcing on Jan. 8 they were stepping back as senior royals and instead splitting their time between the U.K. and North America.
However, pals claimed that Markle and Harry aren’t just sitting back and relaxing far away from the rest of the British royal family. They said the pair is actively working on “laying the groundwork” for their own charity foundation.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meghan Markle originally starred in 'Suits' before becoming a member of the British royal family. (Shane Mahood/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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“These plans take a lot of time, and staff is putting in the legwork to prepare it properly and make sure it delivers on the expectations and the couple’s ambitions,” said a source. “[Harry] really cares about his work. He’s a good guy. It’s full throttle for them right now. They have a lot happening in 2020, and it will be really exciting to see.”
Back in October 2019, Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell told Fox News he wouldn’t be surprised if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would eventually consider leaving the U.K. altogether to escape the intense British press.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Burrell served as a footman to Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II before he began working for the Princess of Wales in 1987 until her passing.
“Diana was looking for a refuge to take her children,” said Burrell at the time. “She looked at South Africa herself because [her brother] Charles Spencer has an estate in South Africa. So the princess decided to disguise it by going to visit Christiaan Barnard, the heart surgeon. She was also looking for an estate or property, but she couldn’t find one in South Africa, and security was an issue there.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Princess Diana on a ski holiday with her sons in Lech, Austria, on March 25, 1994. (Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
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Burrell alleged Diana was considering moving across the pond.
“She turned her search to America,” he claimed. “Ironically, we had the plans for a house on the west coast of America in Malibu. It used to be owned by Blake Edwards and [his wife] Julie Andrews. We had the plans for that house, and we dedicated the rooms to William and Harry and the princess. Myself and my wife and the children were going to live above the house. So her future was turning towards America."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“And I do believe wholeheartedly that Meghan will want to bring up her children as half American, so they will need a place here,” added Burrell. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they bought a place in the United States.”
Burrell pointed out that the former “Suits” star has been treated unfairly by the tabloids since becoming a member of the British royal family when she married Harry in May 2018.
“I just feel we should give them space to develop as a young family and as a newlywed couple,” he explained. “She’s only been married to him for a year. She’s a newlywed. She’s a wife, a mother, a royal — all in one year — as well as being embraced by a family who is renowned for not having really much love. They’re not used to expressing their emotions… Do we really want to chase two people down the same path [as Diana]?”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell. (Reuters)
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Burrell noted that unlike Prince William, who is second in line to the British royal throne, his younger brother Harry is still trying to carve out his own role within the family. Harry is sixth in line after William’s three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“William and [his wife] Kate [Middleton], they have a road map in front of them,” said Burrell. “They know exactly where they’re destined. Meghan and Harry don’t. They’re trying to forge their way forward, and I just feel it’s very unfair, as Meghan said, to have so much vitriolic media pointed in your direction. I think it’s really unfair and I think the media should lay off of them, let them live and give then oxygen to develop a young family. Otherwise, we’ll lose them.”