EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry's Pain Over Mom Diana's Death 'Stopping Him From Living Near Her Althorp Resting Place'
Prince Harry has a heartbreaking reason he's staying from the estate.
Aug. 30 2026, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Prince Harry's enduring pain over Princess Diana's death is stopping him from seriously considering a home near the Spencer family's Althorp estate as he prepares to return to Britain, sources have told RadarOnline.com.
Harry, 41, and Meghan Markle, 45, are moving from California with their children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, who are expected to attend a British private day school.
Prince Harry has avoided living near the Althorp estate.
While speculation has linked the Sussexes with Northamptonshire as a possible UK base because of Harry's closeness to Diana's family, the Cotswolds have emerged as the more likely location for their new home.
A source close to Harry claimed: "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.
"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."
Staying Away From Princess Diana's Burial Spot
Enduring pain over Princess Diana's death has stopped his move, according to sources.
Mom Diana died in Paris in 1997 at 36, when Harry was 12 and Prince William, now 44, was 15.
She was buried on an island in the ornamental lake at Althorp, her childhood home and the Spencer family's ancestral estate.
Harry has spoken repeatedly about the profound impact his mother's death had on him, including in his memoir Spare and the documentary series The Me You Can't See.
His relationship with the Spencer family nevertheless remains an important attraction as he attempts to rebuild a British life after six years in North America.
Another insider claimed, "Harry absolutely wants the children to understand their Spencer heritage and to have meaningful relationships with that side of the family. But there is a considerable difference between visiting Althorp and deliberately making the area surrounding his mother's grave the center of his everyday family life.
"He can feel connected to Diana and the Spencers without living virtually on the doorstep of the place where she is buried."
Inside Their Secret Cotswolds Escape Plan
The Sussexes prefere the Cotswolds for their base, sources claim.
The Sussexes are instead considering the Cotswolds as they establish a base around their children's schooling, sources claim. Their return is also being treated flexibly rather than as an irreversible relocation.
Insiders claim Harry and Markle could reassess their position after six months or a year, depending on how Archie and Lilibet settle, their professional commitments, and their experience of living in Britain again.
Canada and Australia have also been discussed as possible future destinations.
Harry and Markle previously lived on Vancouver Island in Canada after stepping away from royal duties before settling permanently in Montecito, California.
The True Cost of Returning to Britain
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The family have approached their UK return with great flexibility.
King Charles, 77, is understood to have been informed of their plans just days before news of the move broke, and Harry's return is not expected to instantly repair his fractured relationship with William
A source claimed: "Coming home is about Harry finding a version of Britain in which he and his children can feel comfortable. That doesn't necessarily mean returning physically to the places most closely associated with Diana.
"There is comfort for him in being close to her family, but there is pain there too. Harry has carried the loss of his mother throughout his adult life, and choosing where his children grow up inevitably brings those emotions back to the surface."
Harry has previously described Diana's death as leaving a lasting emotional wound and has spoken about undergoing therapy to process his grief.
