Meghan Markle and Princess Lilibet walk on the beach in Portugal in a pic shared from Meghan’s ‘summer holiday’ post on July 23.Credit : Meghan Markle/Instagram

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s recent family vacation offered a rare glimpse into one of the most private corners of their lives: Portugal.

While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have long kept their time there largely out of the spotlight — and are thought to maintain a vacation home in the country — a source tells PEOPLE the destination has become a special retreat for the couple and their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.

“They love Portugal because Archie and Lilibet can simply be kids,” the source tells PEOPLE. “It’s always very low-key with beach days, playing and spending time together as a family.”

The glimpse Meghan shared on Instagram on July 23 backed up that picture of life in Portugal. Her “summer holiday” photo carousel captured the family playing on the beach, wandering through colorful markets and local shops, and dining at tucked-away neighborhood eateries.

“That kind of normal family time is really important to Harry and Meghan,” the source continues.

The Sussexes have been linked to Portugal for several years, with reports suggesting they purchased a vacation home near the CostaTerra Golf & Ocean Club on the Alentejo coast. While they have never publicly confirmed those reports, the country has increasingly become associated with the family’s most private getaways.

Harry also has close family ties to Portugal. His cousin, Princess Eugenie, and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, split their time between the U.K. and Portugal after Brooksbank accepted a job there in 2022. The couple, who share sons August and Ernest, own a home at the CostaTerra Golf & Ocean Club, a luxury development on Portugal’s Alentejo coast south of Lisbon.

Portugal also offers a practical advantage. Just a roughly 2½- to 3-hour flight from the U.K., it allows the family to be far closer to Harry’s home country than when they’re in California. Sources close to the Duke of Sussex have long said he hopes to spend more time in Britain with family, friends and the charities and organizations he continues to support, though ongoing security concerns have complicated those plans.

The Portugal getaway was one stop on the family’s recent European trip, which also included a long-awaited reunion with King Charles in England and a visit to Princess Diana’s childhood home, Althorp, where she is buried.

The family’s time at Althorp is thought to have included a visit to Diana’s burial site. One of Meghan’s photos shows Lilibet, Archie and Harry walking through the grounds of the estate, with the Duke of Sussex and his son carrying flowers.

The late princess is laid to rest on an island at the center of the ornamental lake known as The Round Oval within Althorp Park’s Pleasure Garden. Diana’s brother has said it brings him comfort to know that Prince William and Prince Harry are able to visit their mother’s burial place privately.

“I think it’s very important for them to be there with her,” he previously told PEOPLE. “It is, luckily, very tranquil here, and they can come and go as they wish whenever they want. And that’s very lovely for me to know that.”

After a public back-and-forth between Harry and the palace over security concerns and accommodations, the prince and his family were also able to spend time with his father during their U.K. visit.

On July 10, Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lili traveled to Highgrove House, the monarch’s private country residence in Gloucestershire, England, to reunite with King Charles and Queen Camilla. It was only the third meeting between Harry and Charles since the King’s 2024 cancer diagnosis, and the first time the monarch had visited with his grandchildren in more than four years.

“One of the strangenesses of the monarchy is that we are all encouraged to forget they’re human beings because they’re representatives of the institution,” royal author Catherine Mayer told PEOPLE about the reunion for an exclusive cover story. “But at its heart it is just a family—and this family has gone through extraordinary upheavals. Whatever you think of the monarchy, this is a moment most of us wanted to see happen.”