Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have enlisted a billionaire financier with a shared history of loss to help bankroll their return to Britain.
Ian Wace, 63, the British hedge fund billionaire behind Marshall Wace LLP, is helping finance the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s UK move, two sources exclusively said. The financier, worth an estimated $1.2 billion, has forged an unusually close bond with the couple over the years.
Harry, 41, and Markle, 45, took their children — Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5 — to Wace’s private Scottish island, Tanera Mor, this July. The 800-acre property in Scotland has been transformed since Wace purchased it, with $135 million invested in restoration, tree planting, road building and other improvements.
Markle posted an Instagram photo of what appears to be the Scottish Highlands in early August, shortly after the family trip. Harry had previously visited the remote island when Wace purchased the property in 2017 for $2.3 million.
The connection between the two men runs deeper than business or leisure. Like Harry, Wace is no stranger to devastating loss. His first wife, Joanna, and their two young children — Guy, 4, and Alicia, 11 months — were killed in a car crash in Hampshire, England in 1994. Wace was in the passenger seat of the Range Rover, which was being driven by his wife, who died at 34.
Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a fatal car accident in Paris in 1997. The parallel tragedies have apparently formed the emotional foundation of their friendship.
Markle has also developed close ties to Wace’s circle. She shares an extremely close bond with Wace’s ex-wife, former model Saffron Aldridge. The couple split in 2023 and are now divorced but remain on friendly terms.
Wace and Aldridge attended a 2019 Cirque du Soleil performance at Royal Albert Hall with the Sussexes. Reports said that Aldridge helped Markle learn the ropes of British aristocracy and advised her on fashion after she married Harry in 2018.
The former Ralph Lauren model is well-connected beyond her former marriage. Her half-sister is Victoria’s Secret Angel Lily Aldridge, who is married to Kings of Leon rocker Caleb Followill. Aldridge’s charity work focuses on children’s foundations — a passion shared by Markle and Harry. She also attended an event with Kate Middleton and Prince William in 2011 that marked their first outing as a married couple.
The father of Aldridge’s eldest son Milo is Simon Astaire, who serves as spokesman for Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, adding another thread between the Wace circle and the royal family.
On Aug. 20, reports said Harry and Markle are moving back to the UK with their children six years after infamously quitting their royal duties and moving to California, a move dubbed Megxit. “The palace was made aware of the move,” a source confirmed at the time, noting that Harry’s father, King Charles III, was informed just a few days prior.
“I know that Charles is the reason they are moving back,” an insider said, possibly referencing the 77-year-old’s current cancer battle. The insider also said that Charles is looking forward to spending time with the family of four.
The children are set to start school in the UK very soon, while Harry and Meghan, who will not be resuming their royal duties, “continue with their business enterprises” while living in a “non-royal residence.”
Six days after news of their move broke, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed in Birmingham, England, with their children in a private jet that cost them $120,000. Reports said the Sussexes have been looking for homes in the Cotswolds, which is close to King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Highgrove House. They have yet to make a public appearance since their arrival.
A rep for Wace declined to comment when reached by the outlet. Reps for Markle and Harry did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment.
The Sussexes’ UK house hunt continues in the Cotswolds region.