Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to the UK with their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, after six years in the US. While the family's new home location remains undisclosed for security reasons, they have secured a base outside London, believed to be in the Cotswolds—an area familiar to Harry, whose father, King Charles, lives nearby at Highgrove House in Tetbury.
The family plans to spend extended periods in the UK and has enrolled the children in a UK school. The couple has not publicly named their choice amid their ongoing security dispute with the Home Office, but several exclusive private schools in and around the Cotswolds could be suitable for Archie entering Year 3 and Lilibet entering Year 1.
Beaudesert Park School, Gloucestershire
Beaudesert Park School offers co-educational learning for students aged 3 to 13, set in a Tudor Revival manor house above the Cotswold hills. Fees are £9,520 per term, with uniform and sportswear costs between £450 and £700. The school has royal connections, with alumni including Peter Phillips' daughters Savannah and Isla, Zara Tindall in the 1980s, and Mia Tindall believed to attend currently. Other notable alumni include former England rugby player Nick Abendanon, author Dick King-Smith, and adventurer Jake Meyer.
Extracurricular activities range from golf, archery, and fencing to Greek lessons, a recording studio, and a Forest School for younger students. Archie could learn polo like his father, while Lilibet might enjoy the calligraphy club, following in Meghan's footsteps.
Kitebrook Preparatory School, Gloucestershire
Established in 1959, Kitebrook Preparatory School is a co-educational day and boarding school for ages 3 to 13, housed in a Georgian manor within 20 acres of grounds. It is less than a 90-minute drive from Highgrove House. Day fees range from £5,340 to £6,117 per term, with boarding options between £4,319 and £8,917 per term. Uniform costs are estimated at £650 to £950.
Activities include coding, den building, choir, woodwind orchestra, karate, and off-site clubs for shooting, golf, and equestrian sports.
Hatherop Castle School, Cirencester
This 16th-century Tudor castle, restored in Gothic Revival style, offers extracurriculars like musical theatre, Lego robotics, mindfulness, enamelling, and mountain biking. The estate was once leased to the exiled Maharaja Duleep Singh, a friend of Queen Victoria. Famous alumni include author Nancy Mitford. Termly fees range from £6,180 to £7,555, with uniforms costing £550 to £750.
St Hugh's School, Oxfordshire
St Hugh's School in Faringdon is a Grade II-listed Jacobean manor with termly fees from £5,805 to £9,760 and uniform costs between £400 and £700. Alumni include General Kumaramangalam, former head of the Indian Army. Activities include chess, coding, gardening, radio club, orchestra, ancient Greek, judo, badminton, and lacrosse.
Pinewood School, Oxfordshire
Pinewood School in Shrivenham sits on an 84-acre estate with a Cotswold stone manor house. Termly fees range from £4,060 to £9,380, with uniforms costing £250 to £450. Within an hour of Highgrove, the school offers activities from ballet and Little Chefs club for younger children to Cosmic Kids Yoga, fencing, photography, bushcraft, and synchronised dance swimming for older pupils.
