HARRY BUYS MEG-A-MANSION
Sussexes’ first home is in exclusive California enclave (and Oprah’s £76m pad is nearby)
PRINCE Harry and Meghan have bought their first home together – a multimillion-pound mansion in an exclusive star-studded Californian enclave.
The couple and their son Archie, one, have been living ‘privately’ in the family home in Santa Barbara, on the Pacific Coast, since last month, it emerged yesterday.
A source said it was a ‘very special time’ for them as it neither had owned a property before. Previously they had always lived in rented accommodation or – in Harry’s case – royal residences.
Their new neighbours in the upmarket hillside settlement include their friend Oprah Winfrey – whose £76million home has been nicknamed ‘promised land’.
The cost of the couple’s home is not known but the purchase is likely to raise eyebrows, given they are still paying off the £2.4million bill for renovations at Frogmore Cottage and Charles has had to step in to fund their US security.
Properties in the Santa Barbara area typically sell for between £3million and £15million according to estate agents in the US. But some in Montecito, where the Sussexes are thought to have settled, go for up to £80million.
After standing down from royal duties, the couple spent time in a £14million mansion on Vancover Island, Canada. They then moved to a £13.8million, 12-bedroom, Beverly Hills mansion owned by entertainment tycoon Tyler Perry. Last month, the couple launched legal action against paparazzi agencies after Archie was photographed with Meghan’s mother in the private driveway of the LA house. But a source said this was not the reason for the move and they had always intended to make Santa Barbara, which boasts its own polo club, their home.
‘While it was a nice favour to them at a very difficult time, Tyler Perry’s house with 18 bedrooms isn’t Harry’s style,’ the source told US gossip website Page Six.
‘Yes, he grew up in royalty and the halls of Buckingham Palace, but he prefers more intimate homes with character.’ The source said the couple and had bought the home themselves. ‘This is where they want to continue their lives after leaving the UK,’ the source added. It is the first home either of them has ever owned.’ Harry and Meghan reportedly
‘18 bedrooms isn’t Harry’s style’
agreed to reimburse taxpayers after critcism over the cost of the renovations at Grade II listed Frogmore. But Charles then had to help pay for their security after they were stripped of their UK police team following their decision to relocate. It is understood Charles had no involvement in buying the new mansion. Clarence House declined to comment.
A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: ‘They have settled into the quiet privacy of their community since their arrival and hope that this will be respected for their neighbours, as well as for them as a family.’