The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to have splashed out on a new property around an hour’s drive south of Lisbon in Portugal

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have purchased a new holiday home in Portugal.

The property is close to where Prince Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack stays through the summer, around an hour’s drive south of Lisbon. The property at the exclusive CostaTerra Gold and Ocean Club was designed by Denton House – an upmarket architecture and interior design company. They claim to deliver the “world’s most glamorous residences and resort destinations”.

It sits on a stunning stretch of beach in the Algarve, and is said to be relatively untouched by tourism – making it a popular holiday destination for the rich and famous. After leaving royal duties back in 2020, the couple took their young children and moved into a £23.6 million mansion in Montecito, California. Living nearby are Ellen DeGeneres, Orlando Bloom, and Katy Perry.

The CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club is owned by multimillionaire property tycoon Mike Meldman, according to Express.co.uk. A co-founder of Casamigos tequila, along with George Clooney and Cindy Crawford’s husband Rande Gerber, Mike has been friends with Princess Eugenie’s husband Jack for years.

Jack works in marketing, sales, and promotion for Mike’s Discovery Land Company, which specialises in building luxurious private golf and residential holiday communities across the globe.

The Discovery Land Company has been developing the highly sought after 722-acre beachfront plot in Comporta since 2019.

Once completed, the resort is set to have 300 homes, with prices starting at a whopping £3.6million.

Princess Eugenie, Jack, and their two children August, 3, and Ernest, 1, currently have a holiday property on-site, which boasts impressive views over the Atlantic.

It is thought buying a home in Portugal will allow the Sussexes to get their hands on a ‘Golden Visa’, giving them visa-free access to the European Union’s Schengen area.

Meghan and Harry spent £2.4million of taxpayers’ money on renovations to Frogmore Cottage before they left, according to official royal accounts. Renovations included the removal of a chimney, re-finishing the roof and adding new staircases. The Sussex couple also had new fireplaces put in and a new ‘floating’ wooden floor installed in the main kitchen area, in order to protect the old flooring underneath.

The Sovereign Grant, which pays for salaries of staff, upkeep of palaces and official royal duties, was used for the renovations, though Harry and Meghan paid privately for all fittings, fixtures and furnishings. After using the £2.4m, Harry and Meghan paid back the costs in September 2020, and Harry’s spokesman later confirmed he had paid the bill in full with his contribution to the grant.