SPECULATION at to where Harry and Meghan will make their UK home is at fever pitch. Will it be the Cotswolds, or the north-eastern seaside town of Redcar? We assess:
The Cotswolds: home to the wealthy
Aristocrats, Kate Moss and hedge-fund managers would be the Sussexes’ neighbours. To such people the loss of their HRH titles or owing £34 million to the Daily Mail’s lawyers are a mark of shame, gossiped about at every party. They would be a laughing stock.
Redcar: home to the unemployed
By contrast, the social scene in Redcar would welcome the couple with open arms, with peers accustomed to loss of status, losing court cases, and being estranged from high-and-mighty family who think they’re so much f**king better than you. They would fit right in.
The Cotswolds: handy for London
With the capital just a short journey, the Cotswolds are close to Harry’s family and their many palatial homes. Awkward, given that Harry is persona non grata with all of them and will not be invited to meals. The froideur will be felt all the way down the M4.
Redcar: handy for Middlesbrough
While in cheerful no-frills Redcar, Wills and Kate would feel as blessedly distant as they did in California. Dad wouldn’t drop by unexpectedly for stilted conversation, and there’s always Middlesbrough should Meg need to stock up on Primark clothing for the kids.
The Cotswolds: honey-coloured stone
The warm, golden Jurassic limestone used to build the homes in the Cotswolds gives the villages their characteristic glow. Which would only remind the couple of the Montecito home they had to leave behind, and make them sad.
Redcar: soot-blackened slate
Up in Redcar there are no colours. Looking out onto the North Sea from a town still stained by the pollution of the steel industry is the real Britain: ugly, rainswept, and bleak. This is the Britain Harry missed, not some moneyed enclave with a branch of Soho House.
Verdict: Redcar
Harry and Meghan are certain to choose Redcar, with its high deprivation, child poverty and retirees suffering long-term industrial illnesses, as their new home. Even the Daily Mail will not send journalists up there, and they can afford a whole row of terraces.
