AND HARRY BUY HOME IN U.S.
(£15.4million). The most popular price bracket is $4million (£3.1million) to $10million (£7.7million), and buyers pay in excess of $5million (£3.85million) for a home with a sea view.” Last night, questions were being asked as to why the couple have spent millions on their new home when they owe taxpayers £2.4million for renovations to their UK home Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. One critic said: “How have two unemployed people managed to finance the purchase of a house? If they have cash, as a British taxpayer, I want to know when the money for Frogmore Cottage is being paid back.” And royal expert Ingrid Seward said: “When Meghan and Harry do anything to do with money, it isn’t going to be looked on very favourably.” The family’s new home city is two hours north of Los Angeles, between the foot of the Santa
Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and is known for its Mediterranean climate. The Sussexes were also attracted to the local schools where rich and poor pupils are taught side by side.
Meghan, 39, hopes to have Archie educated in “a diverse and socially integrated pre-school”.
A source said: “She doesn’t want Archie to attend a posh private school and wants it to be as diverse as possible.”
Santa Barbara Junior High has been described as “a campus of contrasts”.
Among the school’s 930 pupils, 200 are from the moneyed area where the royal couple now live while 400 are from disadvantaged backgrounds and receive subsidised lunches.
Huge donations have helped the school repeatedly place in the top three per cent for results. Its theatre was renovated after ER star Anthony Edwards, a former pupil, helped raise most of the £2.8million needed in 2001.
When one pupil missed a water polo team bus for a game in LA, he took the family’s private jet to make the match.
If the Sussexes prefer a boarding school, Archie could attend the £47,700-a-year Midland School in nearby Los Olivos, where sports include football as well as “English riding and horse care”.
Harry is said to be pleased about the move to the area as it allows him to indulge in his love of polo. Their new home is just a few miles from the elite Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club, which attracts the world’s best players and teams each summer. A source said: “Harry would feel right at home as many of those he knows play at Santa Barbara.”
And should he pine for a taste of home he could try British pub the Old Kings Road which serves Boddingtons, Bass and Newcastle Brown Ale.
Ex-actress Meghan could find work opportunities at the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, attended by directors such as Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.
The Sussexes are reported to have a combined wealth of £23million.
Meghan is said to have amassed £3.8million in her acting career while Harry’s £19.2million includes an inheritance from mum Princess Diana and an annual allowance from dad Prince Charles. Since moving to the US, he is known to have been paid about £700,000 to appear at a JP Morgan summit in Miami in February.
Papers for the Sussex Royal Foundation, now in liquidation, showed it was owed £200,000 by an unknown source.