The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have enjoyed a romantic break, spending a few days in Italy with film star George Clooney and his wife Amal.
While most of the Royal Family are at Balmoral, newlyweds Harry, 33, and Meghan, 37, slipped off quietly for a weekend at the Hollywood star’s villa on the shores of Lake Como, it was reported on Monday,
The couple arrived amid great secrecy by private jet on Thursday and headed straight for Villa Oleandra escorted by British intelligence agents and Italian police officers, according to Italian media.
Sources said the Royals did not leave the estate and spent their time ‘relaxing in the pool’, with Harry, Clooney and other guests playing basketball.
Meghan enjoyed helping look after the Clooneys’ 14-month-old twins Alexander and Ella.
On Saturday evening, there was a dinner for 15 guests that lasted late into the night, Chi magazine said.
The Duke and Duchess flew out on Sunday afternoon from Milan’s Malpensa airport.
Clooney, 57, and his 40-year-old wife Amal, a human rights lawyer, were guests at Harry and Meghan’s wedding, with reports that the actor provided his own-brand tequila for their private evening reception.
Meghan and Mrs Clooney are said to have previously bonded over human rights issues.
The Clooneys, who married in 2014, spend much of the summer at their 18th-century villa, which the star bought for £10million in 2002. It is now thought to be worth around £70million (about R1 296 060 452 billion) and has 25 rooms, an outdoor theatre, swimming pool, tennis court, gym and even a pizza room. Previous guests have included Cindy Crawford, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas.
It had been reported that, after returning to London, Meghan would head to Canada and then to Los Angeles to spend time with her mother Doria – but not with her estranged father Thomas in Mexico.
However, royal sources have told the Daily Mail that the duchess is not travelling to the US. Instead, details of several new public engagements for Harry and Meghan were announced yesterday.
Next week they will be guests at a gala West End performance of the musical Hamilton in support of Sentebale, Harry’s charity for young people affected by HIV in Africa. They will attend the annual WellChild Awards in London on September 4, and 100 Days To Peace, a gala evening of music marking the centenary of the end of the First World War, on September 6.
It is thought they may first travel to Balmoral to join the Queen and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for the bank holiday weekend.