Prince Harry's potential new neighbour, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, has claimed he once saw the Duke of Sussex hungover in the Cotswolds. The interior designer, a long-term resident of the area, shared his memory as speculation grows that Harry, Meghan Markle and their children Archie and Lilibet will settle in the South West region.
Harry, Meghan and their two children returned to the UK last week, with heavy rumours suggesting they will move to the Cotswolds. Should they do so, they would join famous faces with properties in the area, including Ellen DeGeneres, Beyonce and the Beckhams.
A familiar face in the Cotswolds
Llewelyn-Bowen, who often sees royals including Princess Anne and her daughter Zara Tindall in the area, believes locals may be more welcoming of Harry because of his previous roots in the Cotswolds. The Duke spent plenty of time in the region growing up, staying at his father King Charles' Highgrove Estate near Tetbury, Gloucestershire.
Reflecting on a memory of Harry, he exclusively told us: "It's where [he] grew up. Harry was a near constant fixture in the queue for the takeaway at the local Indian restaurant."
"The amount of times I used to see him with the most appalling hangover on Sunday morning in Waitrose trying to find something to sort his face, before he went and had lunch with his dad."
An emotional decision
Llewelyn-Bowen also claimed that many of Harry's friends grew up in the area, while some members of his family still reside there. He said: "So you can see actually if this is an emotional decision, which I personally think it may well be, I think he could well be driving this and saying, listen, this is now about the children, it's not about us and our big kind of media careers."
"I think he's looking into what the real future is."
Harry and Meghan's reported U-turn from the US comes after a private meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla in July. This was reportedly the first time Charles had seen his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, in person in more than four years.
'Return to the nest'
"I think the meeting with his dad, the King, the fact that Queen Camilla was there as well, is very interesting. I think there's this sort of sense of rapprochement. So, yeah, I can see him very much wanting to return to the nest, basically," Laurence added.
Should the pair become his new neighbours, the businessman said he would love to help them with their interior design at his Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen Pattern Emporium shop. Describing Meghan as "the Duchess of Beige," he said incorporating some colour into her life could help her fit in with the locals.
He added: "What we do is very colourful. It's probably far too exciting for the Duchess of Beige, but we can try. Certainly if she wants to be taken seriously by the ladies of the area, owning a couple of LLB cushions would definitely push her in the right direction."
