Update: Since it was confirmed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle purchased and moved into a new home in Santa Barbara, more info about the estate they chose has been revealed. According to Variety, the newly private citizens opted for a $14.65 million home in Montecito, a community that's popular among the rich and famous including Oprah.
The home is a whopping 18,671 square feet and has nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms, Variety reports. In addition to the many bedrooms and bathrooms, the estate features a pool, playground, wine cellar, gym, and home theater.
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Meghan and Harry quietly closed on the home back in June, and per Variety, they were actually able to get the sprawling estate for a discount. It was sold to them by Russian businessman Sergey Grishin, who purchased the compound back in 2009 for $25.3 million. Apparently, Grishin had tried to sell the home many times since he bought it but finally accepted a more than $10 million loss when he sold it to the Duke and Duchess. It looks like bargain shopping means something totally different to these two than it does for most private citizens.
This story was originally published on August 12, 2020.
It's been a whirlwind year for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and it looks like the couple has finally settled into life as private citizens. It was recently revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have purchased and moved into their very own home in Santa Barbara, California.
An official rep for the Duke and Duchess confirmed to People that they moved into their new family home in the coastal town last month. We're shocked they were able to make the move in the middle of a pandemic without paparazzi finding out and live there in secret for several weeks.
"They have settled into the quiet privacy of their community since their arrival and hope that this will be respected for their neighbors, as well as for them as a family," the Royal Sussex rep told People. Refinery29 reached out to their spokesperson for additional details on the move, and we will update this story if we learn more.
Since it was announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be stepping away from their official royal duties earlier this year, there has been much speculation on where the family of three would live. The official announcement of their new roles as private citizens stated that the couple would split their time between the United Kingdom and North America. According to the Royal Sussex website, the couple is continuing to use Frogmore Cottage, which is property of the Queen, as their official residence as they "continue to support the Monarchy." However, they've been hopping around North America quite a bit in the past several months.
In January, Harry, Meghan, and Archie settled in Vancouver. Then, in March, it was reported that they left Canada for Los Angeles. While in L.A., they were reportedly staying in a mansion owned by Tyler Perry. Finally, though, they have a California home of their own, about 100 miles north of L.A.