Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's secret UK home worth £2.5m they had to give up

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have lived in a range of different properties during their eight-year relationship before quitting the Royal Family in 2020 and moving to California, but one secret £2.5m UK home is barely discussed.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed a two-year lease on a property located in the idyllic Cotswolds, an area of natural beauty in the southwest of the UK, shortly before they walked down the aisle in May 2018. The Oxfordshire property acted as an interim home base while the couple awaited renovations on Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

Frogmore Cottage had been a gift from Queen Elizabeth II following the couple's wedding in 2018 and they spent £2.4 million on renovations for the five-bedroom family home.

Harry wrote in his memoir of Frogmore: "Once upon a time, this was going to be my forever home. Instead, it had proved to be just another brief stop."

Estimated to be worth £2.5 million in 2018 the stunning 18th-century Cotswolds Grade II-listed house comprises three primary structures: the main farmhouse, a separate two-bedroom cottage for staff and guests, and a converted barn that boasts not one but two kitchens, one on each of its two floors.

The main farmhouse consists of four bedrooms - one of which had reportedly been converted into a dressing room.

A friend of the couple previously said that Harry and Meghan “loved walking the dogs there and entertaining their friends in complete solitude”.

During their stay, the Sussexes most certainly used the property to entertain famous friends. The couple is thought to have welcomed Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, as well as their friends George and Amal Clooney and Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian.

It is also located near celebrity hotspot Soho Farmhouse and near David and Victoria Beckham's country house.

While the area is ultimately far out of the way, it is not supplied with thorough security

Unlike Frogmore House, the cottage is not an official royal residence and is just 200 yards from the publicly accessible Long Walk which created privacy concerns.

Despite adoring their country retreat the couple were forced to flee after Prince Harry was alerted to breaches of their privacy. In his memoir, Spare, the prince shared his disappointment at leaving their stunning home.

"A helicopter was hovering above the property, a pap hanging out of the door, aiming telephoto lenses at every window, including our bedroom. Thus ended the dream of Oxfordshire," he said.