Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been criticised by some locals in their California neighbourhood, who have claimed that the couple's move to the area changed the once-quiet area and gave it a completely different vibe. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex bought their mansion in Montecito in Santa Barbara County back in 2020, after announcing they would step down from official royal duties. They purchased the mansion for $14.65million (£12million) at the time and since then, the property's value has increased astronomically in the nearly five years.
The property is now reportedly valued at $29million (£23.5 million) - around double what they are said to have paid for it. Several celebrities including Oprah, Leonardo DiCaprio and Gwyneth Paltrow live in Montecito, which according to a local was once a quiet area whose main characteristic was its neighbourliness.
But since Harry and Meghan moved to the area, things changed, according to local people who see the Sussexes as the local villains, Vanity Fair reported. Some of the most common complaints are the increase in housing prices and people visiting from out of town, driving too fast and taking up all the street parking located near local trails, such as the one Meghan was photographed hiking on while Harry travelled to the UK for his father's Coronation in May 2023.
According to a Montecitan who spoke to VF, since the pair moved to the area, locals can no longer just walk into restaurants for dinner as the area has become more popular. The resident admitted that while he and his friends have not met the couple, they were spotted in Ellen DeGeneres' and Portia de Rossi's wow renewal - and Harry was photographed playing polo at a field nearby.
