Prince Harry used a TV interview to praise his elite neighbors and “great community” in Montecito, California, before declaring the U.S. now feels like home.
The sixth in line to the British throne and wife Meghan Markle left the UK at the start of 2020, announcing they were relinquishing their positions as senior working members of the Royal Family to “transition” to a “progressive new role.”
They made a fresh start on the other side of the Atlantic, living in a $14 million Santa Barbara mansion where they welcomed their second child, Lilibet Diana, in June 2021. Their new neighbors include a range of showbiz stars from Ariana Grande to Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and Rob Lowe.
Harry has since said the move was necessary for his own mental health and his desire to craft a new life away from the strictures imposed by his inherited position of wealth, power and privilege.
Instead of all the previous “fuss and bother” of British Royal duties, Harry and his family embrace the simple life.
In a preview for an interview with NBC’s Today show, the Duke of Sussex made it clear he considers the U.S. to be home for him and his family. He said:
You know, home – home for me now, is, you know, for the time being, in the states.
And it feels that way as well. We’ve been welcomed with open arms, and we’ve got such a great community up in Santa Barbara.
Interviewer Hoda Kotb then asked Harry: “So you feel like that’s home more for you?”
Nodding, he replied simply: “Yeah.”
View of the gate of the estate where Prince Harry and his wife U.S. actress Meghan Markle have their house, in Montecito, California. Montecito is a small and affluent seaside city where a spokesperson said they had “settled into the quiet privacy of their community.” The area is home to a handful of showbiz stars including Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and Rob Lowe. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty)
Describing the visit to see the Queen, which was not announced in advance, Harry said: “Being with her, it was great. It was so nice to see her… she’s on great form.”
“She’s always got such a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure she’s protected and got the right people around her,” he added in a preview of the full interview, expected to air in the U.S. later.
Harry, who has a personal net worth estimated at $60 million inherited from his mother Princess Diana, earlier in the week declared he was on a mission to end global inequality.
As Breitbart News reported, Harry said he wanted to “make the world a better place” for his children, adding people “shouldn’t bring children into the world” unless they’re willing to improve it for them.
The 37-year-old did not attend a memorial service for his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, in London last month.