It’s been nearly five years since Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex split from the rest of the Royal Family and decamped to start new lives in California.

The couple has admitted themselves that relations with the other senior royals have been – for the most part – pretty frosty over the last few years. However, one royal expert has claimed that an “extremely significant” recent move made by the couple might signal there is still potential for things to thaw – which would have a big impact on their children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.

The couple are reported to have recently purchased a home in Portugal, which will be the only European home they have had since they were “evicted” from Frogmore Cottage shortly after the publication of Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare, which opened the lid on what life behind closed doors is like for the royals.

The pair first moved to the Windsor property after their wedding when it was given to them by the late Queen Elizabeth, and when King Charles revoked the keys with an eye on handing them over to his disgraced younger brother Prince Andrew, a friend of the couple said, “It all feels very final and like a cruel punishment. It’s like [the family] want to cut them out of the picture for good,” per Yahoo News.

However, this new home in Alentejo has re-established that the Sussex family has a European base, and royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams has called this purchase “extremely significant”. The couple are not the only royals to own a property in Portugal, with Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank owning a home south of Lisbon.

“This is a surprise and is extremely significant. We have known that Harry and Meghan and Eugenie and her husband Jack have been close for years,” said the expert commentator to FeMail. “They moved into Frogmore Cottage when the Sussexes vacated it and have reportedly seen each other in California and in Portugal, where Jack works.

“This proves they are close and it also gives the Sussexes a base in the EU with the possibility of acquiring the Golden Visa which would give them free access to the EU’s Schengen area. This also gives them a base near Britain. It makes clear that they are connected closely to part of the royal family and it will be interesting to see how they intend to develop this.”

The expert also noted that it creates the potential for Harry and Meghan, and their two children Archie and Lilibet, to spend more time with their royal relatives, and perhaps for the public to even see more of the Sussex children.

“It will certainly involve their children and we may see photos of Archie and Lili, in the future, possibly the distant future, we may well see them with Eugenie and Jack and their family. This move obviously advertises that the couples are close,” he explained.