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Bachelor no more—when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle last weekend, he gained not just an American wife but also a very British title: Duke of Sussex.
A lesser-known corner of southeastern England, the sprawling area comprises the dual counties of East and West Sussex and offers an array of delights spanning the undulating green-and-white chalk hills of the South Downs to the festive seaside pier of Brighton. From east to west, Sussex is dotted with ample castles, and boasts one of the world’s premier polo fields, picturesque villages, and more sunshine than anywhere else in the U.K. Here’s how to take advantage of Britain’s newest dukedom.
STAY
With Cowdray Park long home to the Gold Cup for the British Open polo tournament, country town Midhurst is synonymous with the game of kings. After taking in a chukka among the crumbling Tudor ruins of Viscount Cowdray’s 16,500-acre estate—where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I have stayed and HRHs like Philip, Charles, William, and Harry have played—retreat to one of the four charming farmhouse cottages at Cowdray, or stay at the restored exclusive-use Tudor manor Cowdray House, with grand wood-paneled banquet room Buck Hall, 22 en suite bedrooms, and an indoor pool featuring trompe l’oeil frescoes.
A newer West Sussex gem, Alexander House Hotel and Utopia Spa, brings bucolic fantasies to life with its red stone Jacobean exterior, traditional afternoon tea, lush gardens, and expansive nature trails. With an original boundary stone from 1608 now anchored in its champagne bar, the 58-bedroom property is a whimsical hodgepodge of the quaint old and the luxurious new, set among 120 parkland acres.
By the water, there’s the Grand Brighton, an opulent Victorian-Italianate dating from 1864 built by architect John Whichcord Jr. The 201-room hotel offers beachfront views in the airy bedrooms and suites, as well as Art Deco touches in the magnificent lobby and dining areas.
Brighton’s oldest hotel, the 154-room promenade-facing the Old Ship](https://www.thecairncollection.co.uk/hotels/the-old-ship/) dates from 1559. Guests from George IV to Charles Dickens have checked in to the former Tudor inn—which takes its name from ship timbers used in construction of an earlier incarnation—where recently discovered basement smugglers' tunnels have been reimagined as private dining caves and wine cellars.
DO
History geeks and war buffs will marvel at Battle Abbey, the 13th-century Benedictine ruins on the southern coast where the Battle of Hastings took place. Visitors can watch re-enactments, explore the ruins and Victorian walled garden, and see the battlefield spot where King Harold fell to William the Conqueror in 1066.
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For more than 850 years, the ancestors of the Duke of Norfolk have inhabited West Sussex’s Arundel Castle. With Norfolk the premier dukedom in the British peerage, an array of royalty has passed through its stone walls—from Empress Matilda to Henry IV to Queen Victoria. Though parts of the stately castle are nearly 1000 years old, including the original crenellated Norman tower, the majority of the present Gothic incarnation was rebuilt during the Victorian era.
A dual fixture in the British social calendar, Goodwood Estate in Chichester is home to royal-favorite horse-racing extravaganza Glorious Goodwood, the Goodwood Revival featuring classic cars, as well as the high-octane Goodwood Festival of Speed, a gathering of the world’s most expensive and exotic race cars. This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Speed, hosted by the Duke of Richmond, who lives on property at the 12,000-acre Regency estate.
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East Sussex’s crown jewel, the seaside resort town of Brighton and Hove became popular at the turn of the last century among fashionable aristocrats looking to cure themselves of mental and physical aliments by drinking and bathing in salt water. Many still refer to the area by the singular name Brighton, although it merged with Hove in 1997 to form a single city.
When the then Prince of Wales (later George IV) wanted his own seaside palace, he commissioned Henry Holland to transform a small Brighton bathing retreat into the Royal Pavilion. The palace was built up over thirty years, with the King later hiring John Nash to redesign it in the Indo-Saracenic-cum-Regency style that remains today. Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor during the early part of her reign, although she so disliked the Royal Pavilion’s lack of privacy that she eventually sold it, leaving it the only British royal palace no longer owned by the state or crown. Its beachfront proximity is ideal for a short walk to another local landmark: the Brighton Pier.
EAT AND DRINK
Brighton’s seaside location means the town has long been associated with soggy fish and chips and snacky pier fare rather than elevated dishes. Not so at Pike & Pine, opened last year by Michelin-starred chef and BBC’s Great British Menu winner Matt Gillan. Here, artfully plated, locally sourced tasting menus shine in a sleek white marble and gold chrome space done by Australian interior designer Hana Hakim.
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The chalky soil and climate of the South Downs produces sparkling wines comparable to French offerings, with English bubbles leaping in popularity. A prestigious player is Nyetimber, whose bottles have beat French ones in blind taste tests. The estate in Pulborough opens its doors on select days each summer for tours and tastings.
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Restaurant Tristan delivers uncomplicated, field-to-fork British-French cuisine under the original oak beams of a 16th-century cottage in Horsham. À la carte options for breakfast and lunch include lobster with shallot and truffle, while dinner provides six- or eight-course tasting menus with wine pairings from an extensive international list.
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An independent craft beer brewery in the South Downs National Park, Langham Brewery produces steam-powered cask-conditioned ale, with operations based in an 18th-century granary barn on the vast Cowdray estate.
SHOP
The former country retreat of artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, Charleston House is now a museum and art gallery set in their rustic 16th-century farmhouse. Nestled in a colorful sculpture-filled garden, Charleston’s rooms are hand-painted, with the couple’s art dotted throughout alongside works by Picasso, Renoir, and Delacroix. The space also includes a shop where visitors can buy handmade items including fabrics and prints by Grant and Bell, ceramic pottery and jewelry, and books by and about the celebrated Bloomsbury Group members who frequented the home.
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Market town Chichester is a shopper’s paradise, with the Georgian lanes surrounding its medieval cathedral a cornucopia of high street chains and mom-and-pop boutiques alike. Classic, highly curated women's wear is on display at Little London, while Pushka has a wide selection of quirky and eye-catching speciall-occasion dresses. Dartagnan Menswear provides made-to-measure tailoring, plus a range of popular leisure brands like Canada Goose and 7 for All Mankind. Nearby, Goodwood rewards vintage tastes with its annual The Kennels Vintage Market, where original dresses and accessories celebrating the '40s, '50s and '60s are simultaneously for sale and displayed on models roaming the estate’s stalls.
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