Cotswold love nest ready for Meghan
WITH their wedding just days away, I hear that a cottage on the glorious Great Tew Estate in Oxfordshire has been earmarked as a temporary post-nuptial haven for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Locals tell me that ‘heavy security measures’, including cameras, were put in place last week at the Cotswold property on the estate owned by one of David Cameron’s best friends.
It is just a short walk from the exclusive country club where Meghan hosted her hen party in March. And it is practically next door to the ninebedroom home recently bought by David and Victoria Beckham, who will be among the guests at the Windsor wedding on May 19.
My source on the estate – owned by multi-millionaire landowner Nicholas Johnston – tells me the cameras, gates and other security measures are being beefed up because the Royal couple plan to rent the property for ‘at least a year’ while Meghan eases into married life.
A year in Oxfordshire will also allow plenty of time for work to be completed on the home earmarked for them by the Queen – York Cottage at Sandringham – which needs extensive renovation and is said to be haunted. Says my source: ‘The word is that the couple will retreat to this rented home at the weekends while they wait to be awarded a Sandringham house. ‘They chose it knowing the Beckhams would be next door. And Harry, being a music fan, will be able to pop down the road to the Cornbury Festival in the summer.’
Dipping her toe into English country life with a rural cottage will no doubt help prepare California girl Meghan for the full-on experience of life on the Queen’s estate.
A two-and-a-half hour drive from London, Norfolk country life revolves around shooting and walks through the famously flat landscape.
By contrast, the cosy Cotswold stone cottage in Great Tew is just a stroll to celebrity hotspot Soho Farmhouse – with its two swimming pools, a spa, several restaurants and a cinema.
A member of staff at Great Tew’s Falkland Arms pub stayed tight-lipped about the potential of regal new regulars – but cheekily added that pictures of their faces may well decorate two of the beer pumps.