Prince Harry<\/a>, to be honest,” he said.<\/p>\nAsked why he was critical of the Duke, he replied: “I think if you have family issues, you keep them to yourself, frankly. You don’t need to air them in public.”<\/p>\n
He also questioned whether Harry and Meghan would actually fit into the local community.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think they would settle into the Cotswolds one bit. I think they’re an entirely different genre,” he said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he expected a backlash if they moved to the area, he replied: “Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.”<\/p>\n
Another resident suggested that Harry had damaged his relationship with the British public by repeatedly speaking publicly about his family.<\/p>\n
“It is a shame what’s happened to them. I think Harry is his own worst enemy sometimes, having said publicly that he wouldn’t be coming back here and that he’s going to stay in America,” the resident said.<\/p>\n
He added: “I think people are a little bit miffed. No, I think he’s well and truly burnt his bridges.”<\/p>\n
Another local went further, suggesting the Duke was only considering a return to Britain for financial reasons.<\/p>\n
“He’s only coming back for money. He’s coming back because he can’t make a living in America. Skint,” he said.<\/p>\n
But there was also a more relaxed attitude among some people living in the area.<\/p>\n
One resident said: “As long as they don’t come and live near me, that’s fine. I mean, it’s up to them what they do, really, isn’t it?”<\/p>\n
The resident acknowledged, however, that a move could create unwanted attention for people already living in the area.<\/p>\n
“I think we’re all very interested and I think it’s just going to make probably locals really \u2013 I’m not local \u2013 but they’re probably not going to want the extra hassle of having them around and the press and whatever else might come with it,” they said.<\/p>\n
The prospect of the couple moving to the Cotswolds was not a concern for another resident, who said they should simply be allowed to live where they wanted.<\/p>\n
“People are entitled to live wherever they want to live and I don’t think it would make a difference at all really,” they said.<\/p>\n
Another person suggested that the couple’s arrival could potentially have an impact on the area, although not necessarily a negative one.<\/p>\n
“It would be the same as Clarkson’s Farm. Maybe it would bring in a lot of traffic, but it depends if people are fussed,” they said.<\/p>\n
One resident also defended Meghan against what they described as unfair coverage.<\/p>\n
“I think she gets a lot of really bad unnecessary press,” they said.<\/p>\n
They pointed out that the Sussexes had previously rented in the Cotswolds and said the area was understandably attractive to wealthy and famous residents.<\/p>\n
“There are quite a number of celebrities living in the Cotswolds. We’re incredibly lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world. There’s a great deal going for it, so it’s no surprise that people wish to settle and live here,” they said.<\/p>\n
The Cotswolds has become increasingly associated with celebrity life, with the area attracting high-profile figures looking for privacy while remaining within reach of London.<\/p>\n
One resident suggested Harry and Meghan could potentially settle near Soho Farmhouse, on the other side of Chipping Norton, where several celebrities have links to the area.<\/p>\n
“Fair play to them. They can do what they like,” the resident said.<\/p>\n
For now, however, there is no confirmed announcement that Harry and Meghan are moving permanently to the Cotswolds.<\/p>\n
But the Express’s conversations with residents revealed a clear split \u2013 from those who believe the couple have “burnt their bridges” with Britain to those who say they should be free to choose where they call home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cotswolds residents shared their blunt views on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (Image: Getty) Cotswolds residents have given…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[110936,156,4866,111,139,69,3578,41121,184552],"class_list":["post-583976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-cotswolds","tag-entertainment","tag-meghan-markle","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-prince-harry","tag-public-opinion","tag-the-cotswolds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/harry-meghan-7116396.jpg\" "\\"The")
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