THE ROYALS
THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX ARE ENJOYING LIFE IN LOS ANGELES AND LIVING IN A PALATIAL MANSION
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are enjoying a life of luxury over 5,000 miles from the UK, as fresh speculation over their departure surfaces. Harry, Meghan and their one-yearold son Archie have spent the last few months hunkered down at the £14.5million Beverly Hills mansion of American actor Tyler Perry.
The eight-bedroom villa is in the exclusive Beverly Ridge gated community, where Mark Wahlberg, Sylvester Stallone and Rod Stewart all own properties. Set in 22 acres, with views over Los Angeles, it’s relatively private but workmen were still spotted erecting screens to keep prying eyes at bay.
There’s a library where Meghan and Harry can make Zoom calls and a large kitchen, which is perfect for foodie Meghan. One of the 12 bathrooms looks more like a Grecian spa, and even has a sunken bath. Archie, meanwhile, will feel at home in the nursery originally designed for Tyler’s son Aman, now five.
It’s also been the perfect time for the usually fair-skinned Harry to work on his tan. During a video call on England Rugby’s social media, in which Harry admitted he was missing the sport, the red-headed royal was looking noticeably more bronzed, suggesting he’s making the most of the sunny state.
In another message, he said that young people tackling racial inequality gave him the “greatest hope”. Praising recipients of the Diana Award, Harry said his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, would have been “fighting your corner”.
The Sussexes, who’ve been busy making food deliveries to local vulnerable people, have signed up to the same highprofile agency which represents their good friends Barack and Michelle Obama. The former president reportedly commanded £320,000 for a speech in 2017, but if Harry and
Meghan are hoping to bank a similar sum, they’ll surely have to divulge a few royal secrets.
Meanwhile, Meghan was back at the centre of the court case over the publication of a letter to her father. In confidential papers she identified the five friends who spoke to the press about her relationship with Thomas Markle. Meghan’s legal team said she was “aware that her friends were deeply worried for her mental health” as a result of media coverage.
Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, have also been subjected to further criticism in a new book, Royals At War. Claims that Meghan “embarrassed” Harry by revealing her pregnancy on Princess Eugenie’s wedding day could be dismissed as inconsequential gossip. But a story about the Duchess of Cambridge asking Harry not to rush into marriage will have done nothing to quell rumours of a rift.
The book describes how Kate allegedly told her brother-in-law that Meghan’s integration into “The Firm” needed more “time, care and attention”. There are also insinuations that Harry’s spending infuriated his brother the Duke of Cambridge. These claims have not been corroborated by the couple, who usually defer from commenting on personal matters.