Are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle House Hunting?
Although we just received a rare and tantalizing description of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s house in Montecito, California, in the latter’s recent interview with The Cut, the royal couple may soon be moving out. Page Six reports that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are allegedly either looking for a new home in Santa Barbara’s exclusive Hope Ranch community or have already bought one, citing a gossip column in a local newspaper.
Hope Ranch, which is approximately 10 miles west of the couple’s current Montecito residence, is a highly private and pricey enclave popular with the equestrian community, where homes can reportedly fetch up to $22 million. The neighborhood, which contains 773 houses across 1,800 acres, offers private amenities that include a country club, a golf club, tennis courts, picnic grounds, a private beach, and 22 miles of equestrian trails. Named for Thomas W. Hope, the 19th-century rancher who once owned the area, Hope Ranch was converted into a residential neighborhood in the 1920s.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to Montecito in 2020 along with their now three-year-old son, Archie, and welcomed their daughter, Lilibet, in June 2021. Although the family has been careful to only share small glimpses of their home with the public, Markle invited writer Alison P. Davis into their Mediterranean-style dwelling for her recent interview with The Cut. Davis described the abode as “a classic Tuscan villa, a Napa vineyard, and a manicured Beverly Hills country club decorated with careful, considered coastal tones for a casual air—the home equivalent of billionaires dressing down in denim.”
Last listed at $14.65 million, the private 18,671-square-foot Montecito estate contains seven bedrooms and 14 bathrooms in the main house and two additional bedrooms and bathrooms in a detached guest house. The home sits on a nearly 7.5-acre lot that also boasts a teahouse, pool, tennis court, rose gardens, and the chicken coop that the couple showed off in their famous Oprah interview.
