Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to Britain has already created questions about where they will live, how long they will stay, and what their new life in the United Kingdom will look like. But one of the most talked-about details has emerged before they have even secured a permanent home.

According to a report published by News24, the Sussex family is allegedly staying at the U.K. property of a famous friend while Harry and Meghan continue searching for a home of their own.

The identity of that friend has not been confirmed.

Yet online speculation has quickly centered on Ellen DeGeneres.

Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, arrived in Britain with Prince Archie, seven, Princess Lilibet, five, and their two dogs after six years living in the United States. They reportedly intend to remain in the country for an “extended period of time” and have been widely linked to the Cotswolds as their likely new base.

Royal reporter Tom Sykes has claimed the couple have already identified a property near Stow-on-the-Wold and have made an offer of more than £12 million.

Until that situation is resolved, however, they apparently need somewhere temporary to stay.

Celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi claimed the Sussexes were receiving help from a “very famous friend” and were allegedly staying at that person’s British property.

The account did not identify the host.

That gap was enough to trigger a wave of amateur detective work online.

Many commenters immediately suggested DeGeneres because she and her wife, Portia de Rossi, moved to the Cotswolds in November 2024. Some users said they “wouldn’t be surprised” if Ellen was helping the Sussexes, while others treated the theory as almost obvious.

But it remains only a theory.

There is no confirmation in the report that Harry and Meghan are actually staying with DeGeneres.

What makes the speculation interesting is not simply Ellen’s location. It is that Harry and Meghan have previously relied on wealthy and well-connected friends during other major transitions.

When the couple moved to California in 2020, they famously stayed at Tyler Perry’s Los Angeles mansion.

Perry was also reportedly involved in helping them travel from Canada to the United States by lending them his private jet.

Before that, Canadian music producer David Foster was reportedly instrumental in connecting Harry and Meghan with the owner of the luxury Vancouver Island property where they stayed in late 2019.

Sir Elton John also lent the couple his private jet for a trip to Nice in 2019.

Seen individually, none of those arrangements is especially unusual among wealthy friends.

Seen together, however, they have helped create a public narrative around the Sussexes in which each move appears to involve powerful benefactors.

That perception has returned with their latest move.

The family reportedly flew from the United States to Birmingham Airport aboard a Bombardier Global Express XRS chartered from California-based Planet Nine Private Air.

The aircraft is said to cost at least $12,000 per hour.

With the journey taking at least 10 hours, the flight could have cost approximately $120,000.

The report does not establish who paid for it.

That uncertainty has only added fuel to criticism online.

Some commenters accused Harry and Meghan of repeatedly depending on billionaires and wealthy friends, calling them “grifters” and suggesting they form relationships with people who can help them.

One commenter complained that there is always someone willing to “foot the bill for them,” while another pointed back to Tyler Perry and asked, in effect, whether the same pattern was happening again.

But the backlash tells only one side of the story.

Other commenters defended Harry and Meghan and argued that staying with friends during an international move is entirely normal.

One person shared a personal example of returning to Britain after six years abroad and staying with a best friend who refused to accept rent.

That commenter argued that friends helping each other should not automatically be treated as evidence of exploitation.

This tension is central to the story.

To critics, the possibility that the Sussexes are once again staying with a wealthy friend reinforces an existing narrative about dependence.

To supporters, it shows nothing more than a strong social network.

The Ellen DeGeneres theory also carries an additional layer because Ellen herself recently made a dramatic move from California to Britain.

DeGeneres and de Rossi initially bought their Cotswolds property as a part-time residence.

They later decided to make Britain their permanent base following Donald Trump’s re-election as U.S. president.

DeGeneres said that after arriving in Britain shortly before the election, she and Portia woke up to messages from friends and realized Trump had won.

Their response, she said, was essentially: “We’re staying here.”

That overlap has made the online theory more attractive because Harry and Meghan also have a complicated history with Trump.

Meghan previously described Trump as “misogynistic” and “divisive.”

Trump, in return, called Meghan “nasty” and described Harry as “whipped.”

He also commented on Harry’s U.S. immigration controversy in 2025 after the Duke’s past drug use, disclosed in his memoir Spare, became part of the debate.

Trump said he would “leave him alone,” before adding that Harry already had enough problems with his wife and calling Meghan “terrible.”

At the same time, Trump has maintained warmer relationships with senior royals, including King Charles III and Prince William.

That contrast adds another layer to the Sussexes’ return.

If Ellen really is helping them, two famous couples who left California for Britain would suddenly find themselves connected not only by geography, but by their own public histories with Trump.

Yet the central fact remains unchanged: nobody has confirmed that Ellen is the mystery host.

What is confirmed by the story is that Harry and Meghan are once again in the middle of a major relocation, are reportedly searching for a permanent home in the Cotswolds, and may be receiving temporary help from a high-profile friend.

The fascination surrounding that friend says as much about public perceptions of the Sussexes as it does about their housing arrangements.

Every time Harry and Meghan start again, people do not just watch where they go.

They watch who helps them get there.