Prince Harry and Meghan Markle secretly travelled to Portugal for a secret romantic getaway without their children, Portuguese media has reported.
Magazine Nove Gente claimed that the couple had flown to the country after the Invictus Games wrapped in Düsseldorf, Germany in mid-September.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to have enjoyed spending time in the village of Melides in the country’s Alentejo region, 80 miles south of the capital Lisbon.
As the Games concluded late on September 16, it is likely the couple flew from Germany to Portugal on September 17, and according to Nove Gente they left on September 20, flying back to the US via London Heathrow.
The publication said: “After the Invictus Games finished, on Saturday September 16, the couple headed to our country for a lightning trip.
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“In a mega-secret ‘operation’, and with the reserve that has characterized them since they abdicated their royal duties in 2020, Meghan and Harry preferred not to publicize, either through the press or through their social networks, this ‘romantic getaway’.
“They arrived in Portugal without their children and as soon as they landed, they headed to Alentejo and more precisely to Melides.”
Their choice of destination may well have been inspired by Harry’s cousin and good friend Princess Eugenie, who spends part of her year living out there with her husband Jack Brooksbank and their young sons.
Jack works in marketing and sales at a private resort near the village, with the couple reportedly based at the CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club residential community.
The details of their return trip were also reported, with Harry and Meghan catching a British Airways flight from Lisbon to Heathrow accompanied by their two bodyguards.
The magazine wrote: “They stayed in our country until September 20. That morning they left for London from Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport on a British Airways flight.
“Accompanied by two bodyguards they were the last to board BA flight 501 at 11am bound for London Heathrow Airport. The couple reached the plane in a white van carrying just them and their bodyguards.”
A witness quoted by the magazine said they had boarded “smiling slightly” and described Meghan as looking “tired” with her hair tied up in a long ponytail and dressed “all in black.”
It added, quoting the airport witness: “Meghan wore a three-quarter length sleeve dress, flat shoes and discreet make-up. Harry opted for a T-shirt which was a colour between green and blue, jeans and trainers.”
The couple are said to have continued their onward journey from London to Los Angeles without leaving the airport.
