DUBLIN—Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to be enjoying a short honeymoon in Ireland, staying at one of the country’s most luxurious country-house hotels.
The couple are believed to be holidaying at the exclusive Ashford Castle property on the west coast of Ireland. The town of Cong, which the castle dominates, was made famous by the movie The Quiet Man, which was filmed on location there.
A spokesperson for the hotel declined to confirm the rumors to The Daily Beast.
ADVERTISEMENT
They are expected back in London on Saturday.
Locals have been tweeting about a security lockdown in the area, which led many to suspect Harry and Meghan were taking a break at the location—a monument to British colonial excess that sits on the site of a medieval castle, almost impossible to discern beneath the 1850s extensions, which looks out over Lough Corrib, Ireland’s largest inland lake.
The castle was for many decades the home of the Guinness family.
The local village of Cong is famous for having been used as the principal location in John Ford’s legendary Irish movie. Ashford Castle itself features in the movie as the “Big House,” and one channel on the in-room entertainment system is dedicated to the Hollywood classic.
Given that the movie features a notorious scene of wife-beating-played-for laughs in which John Wayne chases Maureen O’Hara across a moor dragging her by the hair and kicking her, it might not be ideal honeymoon viewing.
