Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/POOL/AFP via Getty

prince harry and Meghan

BeforeMeghan MarkleandPrince Harryleft the U.K. for California, they considered living in New Zealand.

Governor-General Patsy Reddy, who representsQueen Elizabethin the Oceania country, told theAssociated Pressthat the couple expressed an interest in moving to New Zealand during their 2018 royal tour of the South Pacific.

“I remember they’d just been down to the Abel Tasman National Park when we sat down and had a drink, and they said that they could imagine living in a place like this and wondered whether we thought it would be theoretically possible. Even possible for them to have a place in New Zealand,” Reddy recalled.

“Of course, we said, ‘Sure. It would be fine. There are lots of opportunities to live in New Zealand, but that would be something that they’d have to explore,'” she continued. “They were looking at how they might raise their family. And, obviously, they’ve made some decisions since.”

“I thought they were a lovely couple, and I hope they’ve got a great future where they are,” Reddy said.

Just before Meghan and Harry kicked off their 2018 tour of Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji, they announced that they were expecting their first child. Their sonArchie Harrisonwas born in May 2019. This June, they welcomed their second child, a daughter namedLilibet Diana.

In March 2020, the couplerelocated to California, living in Los Angeles for a few months before purchasing a home about 90 miles north in Montecito.

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Prince Harry, Archie and Meghan Markle.Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor

Meghan and Harry opened up about their move to California and how it has benefitted their family in an interview withOprah Winfreythat aired in March 2021.

“To have outdoor space where I can go for walks with Archie and we go for walks as a family and with the dogs. You know, we go on hikes or go down to the beach, which is so close,” Harry said.

source: people.com