America’s Newest Trophy Asset Is a Country Home in the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds, a famed stretch of English countryside known for its rolling hills, picturesque villages and posh private schools, is drawing a growing number of American buyers.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, have recently put the region in the spotlight with their return to the U.K. The couple have settled their two children Archie and Lilibet into school and are currently set up around the idyllic Cotswolds region, according to people familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, Meghan has posted Instagram videos of the family in the English countryside and has been spotted at a pub in the Cotswolds’ Burford and at the nearby private club Soho Farmhouse. A representative for the couple declined to provide specifics.

The English country-house market has flagged since the pandemic surge. Still, buying agent Harry Gladwin, head of the Cotswolds at the Buying Solution, said he has seen a sharp uptick in the number of Americans looking for second homes in the Cotswolds, due in part to Hollywood celebrities buying homes and vacationing in the area. That includes Ellen DeGeneres, who, like Harry and Meghan, relocated from Montecito, Calif.

 “I would say there has been a 25% increase in U.S. buyers since last summer,” Gladwin said. “The Cotswolds is now an international brand.”