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Prince Harry reportedly won’t choose to reside near Princess Diana’s grave. The reason hit him close to home. Harry and Meghan Markle returned to Britain after six years in the US. 

Radar Online reported that Harry has ruled out Northamptonshire. It is home to the Spencer family’s Althorp estate. The Cotswolds have instead emerged as a possible spot. The decision came despite Harry’s close bond with Diana’s family. 

“Althorp will always have enormous emotional significance for Harry, but that is precisely what makes the idea of living nearby so complicated. His mother is buried there, and the landscape is tied to some of his most powerful memories of her,” the source said. 

They added, “Being confronted with that every day would potentially be emotionally overwhelming and painful rather than comforting. This is what is stopping him from moving his family there.”

Diana died at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in 1997. The late 36-year-old suffered injuries in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. Harry was 12 at the time, while William was 15. Her grave is on an island in Althorp’s ornamental lake. 

Harry has spoken openly about losing his mother. He wrote about her death in Spare and also opened up about his grief in The Me You Can’t See. According to royal insider Rob Shuter, Harry’s uncle, Charles Spencer, offered the couple The Falconry. 

The 17th-century lodge is part of the wider Althorp estate in Northamptonshire. According to Shuter’s Naughty But Nice, Harry and Markle quickly rejected the offer. “Harry was genuinely moved because Althorp will always be sacred ground to him,” a source told him. 

“But Meghan took one look at the reality and knew it wouldn’t work. Too remote, too far from London and, frankly, not nearly grand enough,” the tipster continued. The location could also matter to Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. 

Both children are set to attend school in Britain. However, the school’s name has been kept a secret for privacy. Another insider claimed that Markle wanted more from the family’s new home. 

“Meghan isn’t moving back to Britain to hide away in an old lodge in Northamptonshire,” the source said. “She wants privacy, history and security — but she also expects serious luxury, substantial space and easy access to London. This wasn’t even close.”

The insider then summed up, saying, “Harry’s heart loved the idea; Meghan’s head killed it. He saw family and memories. She saw isolation and compromise.” Meanwhile, Royal Lodge is expected to become available for a new tenant after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s lease ends in October 2026. 

The 30-room property has strict security requirements and an annual upkeep cost of £400,000 a year. Shuter previously reported that King Charles could offer it to Harry and Markle as an olive branch.

“It’s about keeping family close — geographically and emotionally. Whether they accept is another matter.” Still, some reports suggest Harry and Markle have little interest in a Royal residence. The couple plans to keep both their Montecito home in California and their property in Portugal.

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