Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to relocate to the Cotswolds is drawing a cautious reception from prospective neighbors in the English countryside region, according to a royal commentator, who said residents are more wary than welcoming as the couple begins house hunting in the area.

Kinsey Schofield, host of the “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered” podcast, told Page Six Monday that the “chattering class” of the North Cotswolds is “not overly excited” about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moving into the area. “The Cotswolds can be incredibly welcoming to high-profile people because there’s an unwritten agreement: ‘You don’t make a spectacle of yourself, and neither will we,’” Schofield explained.

According to Schofield, the region’s relationship with celebrity residents typically depends on those residents keeping a low profile once they arrive, a dynamic she said makes Harry and Meghan’s situation somewhat unusual given the level of media attention that has followed the couple throughout their post-royal life. “The irony is that Harry and Meghan are moving to a place that is accustomed to famous people… but completely unimpressed by fame,” Schofield said. “You can bump into Liam Gallagher at the local pub and nobody cares.”

Schofield said she had heard from an insider that other celebrities already living in the area, including David Beckham and Ellen DeGeneres, have settled comfortably into the community precisely because locals do not “bat an eyelid” at their presence, a pattern she suggested Harry and Meghan may struggle to replicate given the scale of press attention that has historically accompanied their movements.

The advice being passed along through local channels has been direct, according to Schofield. “The advice from locals is essentially that Harry should keep a low profile and allow the family to settle quietly into the community,” she said. “One source put it rather colorfully: ‘Shut up for at least eight months!’ and ‘Harry needs to respect the community.’” She summarized the broader local sentiment more bluntly still, saying, “There’s a sense of, ‘Please don’t bring the circus here.’ These people are used to celebrities. Harry and Meghan are different because wherever they go, the headlines tend to follow.”

Despite the guarded reception, Schofield said she believes the couple still has an opportunity to shift local perception over time, though she cautioned that doing so would require genuine discretion. “But that requires restraint,” she said, according to a report from Jingletree. “You cannot ask a community to protect your privacy while simultaneously generating headlines that bring attention to their doorstep.”

Page Six had previously reported that Harry and Meghan were actively house hunting in the Cotswolds, with royal commentator Tom Sykes telling the outlet last week that a friend of Harry’s had indicated earlier this year that the prince was considering the region, potentially near King Charles III’s Highgrove estate. The couple has been linked to a roughly 16.2 million dollar property, though multiple sources have said no formal deal has yet been finalized. In the interim, the family has reportedly been staying in a spare house belonging to a wealthy friend on the outskirts of the Cotswolds since arriving in the UK on Aug. 26.

This is not the first time Harry and Meghan’s presence has generated friction with neighbors in an affluent residential community. Schofield made similar comments about the couple’s Montecito, California, neighborhood in a January 2025 interview with Fox News Digital, saying at the time that some residents there felt Harry and Meghan’s various business ventures “come off as desperation” and struggled to understand why the couple would trade “tiaras in pursuit of Tupperware.” That characterization followed a Vanity Fair report describing the couple as being viewed as “local villains” by some Montecito neighbors, though other sources close to the couple have pushed back on that framing, telling outlets including AOL that Harry and Meghan maintain a “great relationship” with their California community and genuinely care about it.

A representative for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the reported reception in the Cotswolds. With the couple’s children expected to begin school in the region this month, Harry and Meghan appear likely to remain under close local and media scrutiny as they work to establish their new base in the English countryside.

It will not, however, be used to offset any potential future increase to council tax.

“At this time, we think it’s better value for the taxpayer to take that £20m underspend and invest it into the services that they want to see improvement in,” Radford said.

The council effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023 but has recently shown signs of recovery.

Commissioners appointed to help run the authority in 2024 left earlier this year and were replaced with “ministerial envoys”, who have fewer powers.

Radford said an underspend was “quite rare” but was evidence of the council’s improving financial position.

Kirsty L Jones, leader of the Nottingham People’s Alliance, however, said it may have come as a result of “under-delivery of services in the first place”.

“I think when they’ve cut so deeply previously, it’s not going to cause any sort of recovery in the services people expect, paying higher council tax for fewer services as they’ve seen throughout the years,” she said.

“Helping with the cost of living – I don’t know how they can meaningfully do that with £20m and expect to spend it on other things too.”

The use of the underspend funds will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s executive board on Tuesday.

It will then require approval from full council because it constitutes a change to the authority’s annual budget.

A Scarborough bed and breakfast owner has said businesses like his will face an “uneven playing field” if a so-called tourist tax is introduced in North Yorkshire but not in neighbouring East Yorkshire.

A consultation on plans for a visitor levy closed in February and legislation is expected to be brought forward later this year.

James Rusden, who runs Scarborough’s Toulson Court B&B, said if the levy was not England-wide, cost-of-living pressures would mean some visitors would instead go where no tourist tax was being charged.

A government spokesperson said: “We’re listening to businesses in Yorkshire and across the country on this so we make sure money raised is invested in local priorities.”

Rusden said he believed such a levy would act like “a form of taxation”.

“Nobody likes an extra cost and people will complain about it,” he said.

“But if it was an even playing field it would be a lot better as it would be easier to manage and control.

“People are short of money. To put a tax on them coming on holiday makes them think twice about where they go.

“If someone is coming to Scarborough but has to pay a levy each night, but can go to Bridlington where there’s no levy, then that’s where they’ll go.

“It’s unfair and it’ll make it harder for us to compete.”

Since the end of June until 1 September, VAT was reduced on children’s meals served in restaurants, as well as kids’ and family tickets for cinemas, shows, exhibitions and outdoor venues and activities.

Tara Stapley, the general manager of the Big Sheep Farm and Theme Park in Bideford in north Devon, said: “Numbers have increased slightly and I think that is partly down to the summer savings scheme.”

The business reduced ticket prices and added more children’s meals to the menu.

Stapley said there were “lots of people calling and asking about it”.

She said: “People coming have been quite pleasantly surprised by our ticket prices and we’re saying we’re part of the summer savings scheme and they have been very grateful for that.”

Stapley added the scheme could have been publicised more as “a lot of people didn’t know about it”.

She backed any extension of the scheme “100%, if that happened we’d be dancing on the ceiling I think” and said it would be helpful for families and businesses over the October half term and Halloween.

Stapley said days out can be expensive: “We want to make that as affordable as possible and memories that last a lifetime for them.

“Anything that the government can do in extending the scheme would be a huge help not only for us but the people who want to visit our site as well.”

Southwell, also chair of the Cornwall Association of Tourist Attractions, said he had initially thought it was “a great idea”.

He added: “But I know some attractions have not reduced the price but taken that money and used it for their attraction, which, in fairness, is fine because otherwise they might have had to have put their prices up.”

He said a permanent 0% or 5% VAT rate for attractions “would allow all of us to invest for the future”.

Lappa Valley head of marketing Matt Bunt said it was “amazing that families are able to keep a bit more money in their pockets”, but added the “policy was put out in a bit of a rush and not very well publicised by the government”.

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Milky Mist Dairy Food shares jumped more than 9% during Tuesday’s trading session on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the recently listed company reported a sharp increase in June-quarter profit, supported by strong revenue growth and wider operating margins.

The stock opened at Rs 230.79, up 9.4% from its previous close of Rs 210.94, and touched an intraday high of Rs 230.79.

The rally followed Milky Mist’s first quarterly earnings announcement since its stock-market debut. The company’s profit after tax rose nearly tenfold to Rs 65 crore in Q1, compared with Rs 6.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations grew 43.6% year-on-year to Rs 973.45 crore from Rs 678.09 crore.

Tuesday’s rally added to Milky Mist’s post-listing gains. At Rs 226.05, the stock was up about 61% from its issue price of Rs 140 and 37% from its debut price of Rs 165.

Milky Mist listed on both NSE and BSE on August 18 following its Rs 1,553-crore IPO, which comprised a fresh issue of 10.20 crore shares worth Rs 1,428 crore and an offer for sale of 89 lakh shares valued at Rs 125 crore. The stock debuted at Rs 165, a 17.9% premium to its issue price of Rs 140.

The dairy products maker said growth during the quarter was broad-based, with its summer-focused categories benefiting from an extended hot season, particularly in South India. Higher volumes, an improved product mix and better pricing ability also supported the performance.
Gross profit increased 56.1% year-on-year to Rs 333.02 crore, while the gross margin expanded to 34.21% from 31.46%. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 74.5% to Rs 144.89 crore from Rs 83.02 crore. The EBITDA margin improved to 14.88% from 12.24%.Paneer remained Milky Mist’s largest revenue contributor, recording growth of 34% from a year earlier. Cheese revenue increased 38%, and curd grew 27%. Ice-cream sales climbed 60%, while yoghurt was the best-performing category, registering 153% growth.

“As we look ahead to FY27, our focus will remain on driving profitable growth through portfolio expansion, operating discipline and investments in our manufacturing and distribution capabilities,” whole-time director and CEO K Rathnam said.

Milky Mist’s revenue grew at a compound annual rate of 31.26% between FY24 and FY26, reaching Rs 3,138.36 crore in FY26. In FY26, the company was India’s largest private packaged paneer brand in the organised market, the largest private packaged cheese brand in South India, and one of the country’s top two private packaged yoghurt brands.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)