After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they would be stepping down from royal duties, they appeared to have their future endeavours lined up. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex went to their home-away-from-home, Canada before settling down in California permanently. However, no one could have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic and the damage it cost. So for many months, Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Harrison were in quarantine at their Tyler Perry’s USD$18 million Beverly Hills home.
The Sussexes have recently bought their own home 100 miles away from LA in Santa Barbara. It was reported that this location was very intentional. It is believed that Prince Harry has been unhappy in the British royal family for years. He was always close to Prince William but the older prince’s path toward the throne has caused a rift between the brothers. Seeing the unfair treatment that Meghan went through in the royal fold at the hands of the press and public caused Prince Harry to decided that he had enough.
Nevertheless, LA did not live up to the prince’s expectations. It is believed that the prince feels in LA how Meghan feels in the UK.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl told Vanity Fair,
“Harry has a lot of friends in the military community in the UK and of course he misses them. This is a very strange time for us all, but I think Harry is missing having a structure to his life right now. He doesn’t have friends in L.A. like Meghan and he doesn’t have a job. So at the moment, he’s a bit rudderless, but it won’t always be like this, and he knows that.”
Despite everything, the couple are moving forward with their plans to settle down in California. They just bought a USD$14.7 million house in Santa Barbara. The 19,000 square foot house is 100 miles away from LA. The new home includes nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms as well as a guest house, a tea house, a children’s cottage, a full-size tennis court, a lap-lane swimming pool, and an elaborate built-in children’s playset. For safety, the property is tucked behind a private, gated street.
Neighbours in the area include Opray Winfrey, Katy Perry and Ellen DeGeneres. There is another reason why the royal couple want to be far from LA. Prince Harry can’t see his future in LA after living there for a few months. Meghan then told him to visit Montecito in Santa Barbara.
A source told Us Weekly,
“Meghan visited Montecito in her teens and fell in love with the picturesque scenery and stunning architecture. Moving there was always an option, but to begin with, she and Harry wanted to give Los Angeles a shot. Unfortunately, Harry absolutely hated it—the timing was so wrong amid the [coronavirus] pandemic and they lacked privacy.”
Thankfully, Montecito was a happy medium for the pair. “An added bonus is that Montecito is only just over an hour’s drive from L.A., which is where a majority of their work is based, yet far enough away to escape the crowds, paparazzi, and tourism in Hollywood,” the insider added.