MEGHAN MARKLE FACES COTSWOLDS GRUMBLING — LOCALS REPORTEDLY UNHAPPY OVER ‘SPECIAL TREATMENT’ AT CELEBRITY HOTSPOT

Meghan Markle’s new life in the Cotswolds appears to have hit an awkward note, with reports of local grumblings and complaints emerging just weeks after she and Prince Harry relocated from the US.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are thought to have moved to the region in southern England last month with their children, Archie and Lilibet, after spending six years based in America.

But while the Cotswolds is already home to an impressive list of celebrity residents, including Ellen DeGeneres, Beyoncé and Jay Z, the Beckhams and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Meghan has reportedly found herself at the centre of local frustration.

The claims concern her alleged visits to Soho Farmhouse, the exclusive Oxfordshire members’ retreat popular with celebrities.

‘ABSOLUTELY ALIVE AND BUZZING WITH COMPLAINTS’

According to Daily Beast editor-at-large Tom Sykes, Meghan was recently spotted at Soho Farmhouse enjoying afternoon tea with a companion.

She is also thought to have been seen at a nearby farm shop with bodyguards accompanying her.

The reports have now prompted discussion about how the Sussexes are settling into their new surroundings.

On the At Home With Vanessa podcast, host Vanessa told her guests that she had heard there had been “tempers” and demands “of certain treatment” during a visit to Soho Farmhouse.

Journalist and royal commentator Daisy McAndrew then revealed that she had heard similar complaints.

“I happen to be in a WhatsApp group of the village that is next to Soho,” she said.

“So I have a house that we rent out there and I can tell you that that WhatsApp group has been absolutely alive and buzzing with complaints.”

McAndrew stressed that some of the stories were second-, third- or even further-hand accounts.

“Now some of them are just you know, ‘I heard fourth hand, fifth hand’,” she said, while adding that many members of the group spend considerable time in the area because it is within walking distance of Soho Farmhouse.

SECURITY MAY BE BEHIND THE TENSION

The reports of “special treatment” have also been put into context by McAndrew, who acknowledged that security concerns could explain why Meghan might receive different arrangements from ordinary visitors.

She suggested that security staff may not want the Duchess using the main entrance and could instead direct her through a back entrance.

“You can imagine that her security would not want her going down you know the front gate, they might want her going into the back gate and all that sort of palava would irritate the locals considerably,” she said.

“So yes there’s definitely been grumblings and complaints going on.”

That distinction is significant, as the claims do not establish that Meghan herself demanded preferential treatment or that every reported complaint was directly connected to her.

Nevertheless, the episode highlights one of the challenges of settling into a tightly connected rural community while travelling with a high-profile security operation.

LAURENCE LLEWELYN-BOWEN’S WARNING

Meghan had already been given something of a warning about Cotswolds life by local celebrity Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

Speaking about the Sussexes’ move, he said Meghan would need to be genuine if she wanted to win over the community.

“I think she’s going to need to be very genuine,” he said.

“I think that’s the big moment here, is that the Cotswold folk can really sniff b******t, you know, they can really sniff when people aren’t being who they are.”

He also warned that the school gates could be an especially important test for the Duchess.

“So I think the Duchess is going to need to not be too much about the airs and graces if she’s going to be picking the kids up from the school gates,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want to take them [other Cotswold mums] on, I wouldn’t want to p**s them off, I can tell you now.”

His argument was that life in the Cotswolds could be very different from the Sussexes’ former home in Montecito, California.

“Unlike in Montecito, they don’t have the celebrity safety net, [like they did with the likes of] Oprah Winfrey,” he added.

A VERY DIFFERENT LIFE FOR THE SUSSEXES

The Cotswolds has become a gathering place for some of the world’s biggest names, but its communities also have a reputation for being close-knit.

For Harry and Meghan, their move therefore represents more than a change of address.

They are now attempting to build a life around their children in a part of Britain where everyday routines — from school runs to visits to local businesses — can attract attention precisely because of who they are.

For now, reports of WhatsApp-group complaints and alleged “special treatment” remain claims, with some accounts explicitly acknowledged to be based on hearsay.

Express.co.uk has contacted Soho Farmhouse for comment.

But with the Sussexes only beginning their new chapter in the Cotswolds, the early signs suggest that winning over the locals could become one of the most closely watched parts of their return to Britain.