Harry and Meghan are believed to have secretly stayed in the Cotswolds during their recent visit to the UK – which may signal their interest in choosing the exclusive rural area for their next home.The couple are understood to have spent a few days staying in a private house belonging to a wealthy associate close to Oxford in early July when they last came to Britain, the Daily Mail has learned.During his stay, Harry took his family to see his father King Charles at Highgrove, on the southern side of the Cotswolds, and they also visited the grave of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, at her ancestral home at Althorp, in the East Midlands.But otherwise their movements are not publicly known.And royal experts are now speculating that the stay in Oxfordshire may have served as a secret reconnaissance mission of the Cotswolds to help the Sussexes make their surprise decision to live in the UK full time – and to work out how to manage this.The couple are thought to have already found a home and have booked Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, into a local prep school – and it’s now believed that they were making these arrangements during their stay in Oxfordshire.They are expected to arrive in the UK to begin their new life within a fortnight, ahead of school terms beginning in the first week of September.The precise location of their elective new home is being kept a closely guarded secret for security reasons.Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, already have strong links with the Cotswolds, having lived in a rented £2.5million farmhouse in the area in 2018 – only moving away after the location of their house was revealed. Harry and Meghan are expected to arrive to the UK to begin their new life within a fortnight, but the precise location of their new home is being kept a closely guarded secretThe couple were looking into the possibility of renting a new property in the area as long ago as last October, the Daily Mail can also disclose.Property sources revealed at the time they had made discreet inquiries about a possible upmarket rental property in the area.Harry's cousin Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi own a £3.5million country farmhouse in the vicinity.It is believed that Archie and Lilibet will be day pupils, rather than boarders, at a fee-paying prep school, meaning they will have to be driven to and from home every day.But there is no shortage of prep schools in the Cotswolds due to its affluent nature. The area is home to the Sussexes' friends, former US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi.Music mogul and TV personality Simon Cowell also lives on an £8million estate in the region with his fiancee Lauren Silverman while the Sussexes' chums Beyonce and Jay-Z have previously looked into building a home nearby. The couple are believed to have already found a home in the Cotswolds and have booked Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, into a local prep school (File image) Once the family moves back to the UK, it is thought that their children, Archie and Lilibet, will be day pupils rather than boarders Harry and Meghan first fell in love with the Cotswolds when they rented a farmhouse there for 18 months shortly before exiting the Royal FamilyThe couple's 2018 farmhouse was close to Ms DeGeneres’s space-age home, which she bought for £15million in 2024.The house was seen as perfect for the newlywed royal couple without children and had an adjoining two-bedroom property for their Royal Protection Squad officers.The Sussexes were reportedly visited by a string of famous friends at the property, including George and Amal Clooney, Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, as well as Meghan's mother Doria Ragland.Harry and Meghan’s idyllic life at the property only came to an end after its specific location was revealed in aerial pictures taken for a paparazzi agency. Harry later successfully sued the agency for breach of privacy.The same farmhouse on the estate is now believed to be being rented out by another occupier, although it could well now be considered too small for the Sussexes and their two children.Last October sources told of how the couple’s attention turned to other potential rental properties in the Cotswolds. A well-placed local property source stated at the time: ‘I understand that enquiries have been made by parties close to the Sussexes.‘It is early days, but it would make complete sense for them to rent again in and around the area.‘Ellen now lives there and of course they were Ellen's close friends and neighbours in Montecito in California. The royal couple have strong links to the Costwolds, having stayed there before just around the corner from their friends, Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia De Rossi ‘Indeed, it was after talking to Harry and Meghan that Ellen and Portia moved from their previous farmhouse near Burford.'Ms DeGeneres and her wife were also neighbours and friends with Harry and Meghan in Montecito, California.They remained friends after their UK move, which was reported to be due in part to them being upset about Donald Trump being elected to a second term as US president.Harry is said to have linked Ms DeGeneres and Ms de Rossi up with his friend James Corden who had lunch with them in London last year to advise them on settling into English life.Ms DeGeneres spoke last year at a Q&A in Cheltenham extolling the virtues of her idyllic new Cotswolds home complete with chickens, dogs and horses.Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman live with their sons Eric and Adam nearby in a grand hilltop house set in eight acres.The TV personality moved to the glorious Cotswolds to bring up his family after his London home was broken into repeatedly.He and Harry share a love of country life, and he is often spotted posing for selfies with fans at a local cafe.Cowell and Harry are said to have been friends for years. It is reported Harry even used to pop into the studio to watch The X Factor 'back in the day'.The Sussexes also share friends with Cowell in California. The Britain's Got Talent judge, 66, is close friends with record producer David Foster, 76, whose wife Katharine McPhee, 42, is a friend of Meghan's.Beyonce and Jay-Z had been tipped to buy a £7.5million estate in the Cotswolds with 58 acres and planning permission for a seven-bedroom property, but they reportedly cancelled the proposed move earlier this year over concerns that the land was prone to flooding.David and Victoria Beckham also have a 43-acre plot and triple barn in the area, neighbouring A-list country club Soho Farmhouse where Meghan had a hen-do in March 2018.But Harry's relationship with David Beckham is reported to have been strained of late, despite their previous well-publicised ‘bromance’ with the pair meeting up regularly.There were suggestions that a ‘feud’ had developed between them, fuelled by Harry and Meghan’s concerns that the Beckhams were leaking information about them to the Press. Sir David was said to be extremely upset about these accusations.Meanwhile, Sir David has forged a close bond with Harry's brother Prince William, and also with King Charles. He recently received a knighthood from the King and is said to have bonded with him over beekeeping and gardening.Harry’s efforts to repair shattered relations with his own family have led to speculation that he could do the same with the former England football captain, especially if they are likely to bump into one another at Soho Farmhouse.Another reason royal watchers are suggesting a move to Cotswolds for the Sussexes, is that as well as Beatrice, Zara Phillips and her husband Mike Tindall live with their children at Princess Anne’s estate at Gatcombe Park.The local property source concluded in October: ‘It's bizarre and it almost feels like we have come full circle.‘If these early enquiries to rent a property come to fruition, then we are right back to the situation we had shortly before this so-called Megxit situation when they were happily and anonymously living here again. But this time they will be surrounded by more friends and family than there were when they left.’