As Prince Harry prepares to fly home to the UK for crisis talks with his grandmother, the Queen, sources tell New Idea tension is well and truly brewing between the Duke and his wife Meghan behind closed doors.
WATCH: Meghan and Prince Harry speak to activist Malala Yousafzai
Harry, 36, is expected to meet Her Majesty at Windsor Castle any day now to face the music – and staff have been told to start preparing for what’s set to be an intense, emotional visit.
A source told The Sun: “Staff at Windsor have been told to prepare for the possibility Harry could come back.
“They are told that it could be within weeks, but Meghan’s name was not mentioned. There are all sorts of issues to speak about,” the inside said.
Now, New Idea can reveal Meghan’s not happy about it – and it’s driven a further wedge between the couple, who have continued to put on a united front while appearing in video conferences from their Montecito home recently.
“Things aren’t great between them,” says the source, adding that the two have barely spent any quality time together.
“Word on the grapevine is that Harry spends more time with his dog and young Archie than he does with Meghan, who’s escaping the weird tension between them by hanging out at the restaurant near her house, having social brunches and meetings.”
Meghan, 39, can often be seen holding court at Stonehouse, the five-star restaurant within luxury hotel San Ysidro Ranch.
“You see her in there several times a week,” the source continues. “Locals are starting to wonder if she actually lives there!”
Given what royal watchers are saying about her marriage and the added strain of a reported baby on the way, it’s not far from the realms of possibility that Meghan has fled to the ultra-exclusive enclave five minutes from the home she shares with Harry.
Rather than a single-building hotel, San Ysidro Ranch features several separate cottages spread over spacious grounds, each with its own parking space and private gardens, with some accommodations boasting their own pools.
A night there can cost upwards of $2000.
“If Meghan was staying at the ranch, it would be difficult for anyone to know for sure as the staff are well trained in being completely discreet for their high-profile clientele,” explains a source.
Indeed, it was a location of choice for former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to escape from the world, along with President John F Kennedy and his wife Jackie Onassis’ honeymoon retreat.
“It’s a real mover and shaker kind of place, where celebrities and assorted high-fliers meet to make deals over cocktails and farm-to-table food,” says an insider.
“I’m not surprised Meghan feels at home there, she loves mixing with those kind of circles.
“Plus, it’s so close to her house that she can head home to be with Archie really easily. The ranch is sort of Santa Barbara’s answer to her beloved [private member’s club] Soho House, where she and Harry held most of their dates in the early stages of their relationship.
“Only nowadays, he’s by her side a lot less when she goes out,” the insider claimed.
For more, pick up the latest issue of New Idea. Out now!
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