I think The Daily Mail was the first outlet to report this – apparently, George Clooney has bought a “multi-million-pound riverside home for his new bride Amal Alamuddin” in England. According to the Mail’s sources, Amal and George are currently staying at this new Oxfordshire mansion and have been there since their Venice wedding ended. O RLY? Don’t get me wrong, I actually believe that George bought a huge English mansion for Amal, but I doubt that they are currently staying there. Still, Us Weekly says it’s true:

Newlyweds George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin have skipped the traditional far-flung honeymoon destination, opting to take their two-week break in England instead! The happy couple, who became husband and wife during a lavish, weekend-long wedding celebration in Venice, Italy on Saturday, Sept. 27, bought their new home in the British county of Berkshire, two months ago. And rather than jet off for some honeymoon luxury, the newly married couple have chosen to hole themselves away in their new English mansion, and spend two weeks together in complete isolation.

“They wanted a simple break,” a source told Us Weekly, “Just somewhere to enjoy time together with no interruptions.”

And their new home proved the perfect option. Set back from the road, in the remote British countryside, their house is said to be luxurious, well decorated and super-private. It’s located close to a train station so lawyer Alamuddin can commute easily into her office for work, which she plans to continue as soon as her honeymoon is over.

“It’s just George and Amal at the house at the moment,” the source continued, adding that even Alamuddin’s family haven’t been to visit. And the duo haven’t yet hired a live-in chef, although they’re not going as far as cooking for themselves.

“A small private catering company delivers their meals every day,” the source said. The couple are expected to return to work, and normal life, next week.

[From Us Weekly]

So maybe it’s true? Maybe they’re in seclusion in the English countryside, just like Duchess Kate and Prince William? The Mail also said that the mansion includes a fancy spa and a home theatre. A source told The Mail: “It was Amal who first set eyes on the place. It’s her dream location. She was torn between Oxfordshire and Kent but ultimately chose Oxfordshire because she felt most at home there. She first fell in love with it during her days there at university.” George Clooney… English country squire? Or here’s one even better… George Clooney: International Man of the World and Nobel Peace Prize Winner?

He’s won Oscars and nabbed Golden Globes. Heck, he’s even taken home the MTV Movie Award for best breakthrough performance in 1996 for From Dusk Till Dawn. So what accolades are up next for George Clooney? Perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize.

At least that’s what his close friend John Lambros predicted, maybe only half-jokingly, for the actor – and his barrister bride, Amal Alamuddin – during a heartfelt speech at the couple’s Sept. 27 wedding ceremony.

Given their common passion for human rights causes, Lambros said, “Okay, I am projecting, but I am also making that call public tonight … perhaps the first husband-and-wife team to win the [Nobel] Prize for Peace.”

Lambros, who joined three others in delivering speeches during the moving ceremony, also underscored how crucial friendship is to the deeply loyal Clooney. Despite his success and global celebrity, “the friend we have known as George for years has not changed as a friend one bit,” said Lambros, who joked that the actor is so loyal that 20 years “affords me the friend status of rookie. It is more a function of how deeply, how honestly and how genuinely George both cares for and enjoys the people in his life, and how much he values friendship.”

Toward the end of his speech, Lambros turned to Alamuddin and expressed his gratitude.

“To say we, George’s friends, have been waiting for you, Amal, for a while is another enormous understatement,” he said, before quoting from a George Eliot passage. ” ‘And when a man has seen a woman whom he would have chosen if he had intended to marry speedily, his remaining a bachelor will always depend on her resolution rather than his.’ ”

“Amal,” said Lambros, “we all thank you for your resolution.”

[From People]

Sure, it was a “joke”. Personally, I don’t see how Amal helps Clooney run for governor of California or a Senate seat or anything like that, but I can see how Amal helps boost Clooney’s credibility as a citizen of the world/international man of mystery. I could see George going for some kind of UN appointment (even though he recently resigned his Messenger of Peace role for the UN). But Peace Prize? Nope. That won’t happen.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.