PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are returning to the UK – but that’s not the only tie they have to Europe.
The couple are rumoured to have a luxurious bolthole in what is called the ‘European Hamptons‘.
Found in Melides in Portugal, the luxurious CostaTerra is a 722-acre private community with high-profile and celebrity home-owners.
The royal couple reportedly paid £6.3million for a holiday home on the resort in 2023.
The golf and leisure complex is found between the coastal villages of Comporta and Melides which are 90 minutes south of Lisbon.
CostaTerra describes itself as ‘an ideal luxury getaway for families seeking an authentic lifestyle-focused coastal retreat.’
It has an 18-hole golf course and offers lots of activities for its homeowners like yoga, surfing, sailing, horse riding and bike riding.
One Sun Writer who visited described it as a “well-kept secret” – and it’s also home to one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe called Galé Fontainhas Beach.
The materials contain iron oxide, which gives them their distinctive reddish-orange colour.
The beach cliffs, reaching over 50 metres in height, and the waters are often clear.
One visitor wrote on a Tripadvisor review: “A real hidden gem. Beautiful clean beach, crystal clear water, just about right waves to have fun in the water, magnificent views from the top of the rocks.”
Another is Gale Beach which has carved sandstone cliffs that one visitor said “could have been cut straight out of the Grand Canyon.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aren’t the only members of the royal family to be drawn to this part of Portugal.
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack split their time between the UK and CostaTerra where they also own a house.
Jack actually works in marketing and sales at a private resort itself.
Both Shakira and Madonna have reportedly both enjoyed stays at CostaTerra too.
When one Sun Writer visited the Alentejo coast, she discovered a flamingo-filled lagoon, beautiful rice fields and vineyards.
There are also charming village streets without a single tourist and, perhaps best of all, stunning secret beaches only the locals knew about
Melides has been in existence for more than 500 years and for much of that time it has been a quiet hamlet with a white-cobbled central square