It was revealed this year that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had expanded their property portfolio by purchasing a home in Portugal.

The couple live in Montecito, California with their children Archie and Lilibet. But their decision to find a home in Europe has led to speculation amongst royal watchers about what it could mean about their future with The Firm.

Despite being sixth and seventh to the throne, Archie and Lilibet have spent very little time in the UK and, as a result, don’t have much to do with their royal relatives, including grandfather King Charles, their uncle and aunt Prince William and Princess Kate, and cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

With that in mind, It’s notable that Harry and Meghan landed on a home in Portugal. according to royal expert Jennie Bond. She has said the move has the potential to strengthen the bond between the Sussex children and Princess Eugenie’s sons, August and Ernest, since the Brooksbanks already divide their time between the UK and Portugal.

Speaking to OK!, Jennie praised the fact that Archie and Lilibet will have a connection to their father’s side of the family, but said it is “sad” for them not to be closer to their relatives.

“It can only be good for the children to mix with at least some of their royal cousins,” Jennie said, before noting: “How curious, and sad, it will be for Archie and Lilibet if they grow up knowing they are part of one of the most famous families in the world — and yet they are estranged from almost all of them. To know that their grandfather and uncle were both Kings, and they didn’t know them.”

Harry and Meghan quit royal life in January 2020, less than two years after their May 2018 wedding. And they are now cut off from Harry’s family having levelled a number of criticisms at members of the monarchy – in their Oprah interview, their Netflix series, and in Spare. As such, a huge gulf has developed, and a number of people are said to have turned their backs on the Sussexes, including Prince William.

Earlier this year, a royal expert suggested that Meghan worries her children will “blame her” for their lack of relationship with their paternal grandparents and cousins.

In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, Tom Quinn said: “It will be a long time before Meghan reappears in the UK – she has already publicly stated that she will not return to the UK, and her friends insist she is still furious at the way she feels she was treated during her time in Britain.

“On the other hand, we should always remember that phrase ‘never say never’, because it will come back to haunt you when you change your mind, especially if you are a public figure like Meghan. A friend of the couple – one of Meghan’s few aristocratic friends from her time in the UK – told me Meghan does miss some aspects of life in the UK and worries that her children will blame her if they never get to see their cousins and feel as adults that they have been deprived of what might have been a fun and meaningful existence in the UK as working royals.”