Meghan Markle Owns IKEA Picture Frames—and More We Learned in Her New Interview

The world got another small peek into the life of Meghan Markle yesterday. The Duchess of Sussex opened the Montecito, California, home she shares with Prince Harry and their children, three-year-old Archie and one-year-old Lilibet, to New York magazine’s The Cut for a new profile, revealing new details about the dwelling and their post-royal life there. 

Writer Allison P. Davis set the scene as such: “[It] looks like a Nancy Meyers cinematic interior, Town & Country, Goop, and Architectural Digest had an orgy and created the perfect moment in California living.” Calling the $14.65 million home startlingly big and referencing its “many terraces,” Davis notes that the decor “evokes 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.”

From there, as Markle and Davis discussed the former’s new podcast, Archetypes (episode one dropped on August 23 and featured Serena Williams), Meghan and Harry’s company Archewell, and their plans for the future, more fascinating tidbits about the home were revealed. From the relatable to the ultraluxe, here’s what we learned. 

Meghan burns $105 Soho House–branded candles

Bassett Rose Water Candle

It has been widely reported that one of Meghan and Harry’s first dates took place at Soho House in London and even rumored that their mutual friend Markus Anderson, a consultant for the members-only club, is responsible for setting them up. The Cut profile notes that Markle is also pals with Soho House CEO Nick Jones, so it makes sense that she favors these rosewater-scented candles from Soho Home, the interiors line created by the brand. 

Two connected palm trees in their yard sold Meghan and Harry on the house

The couple apparently knew they wanted to purchase their Montecito home before they even saw the interiors, and it was two intertwined palm trees in the middle of the yard—described by Davis as “Dr. Seussian” that really spoke to them. “One of the first things my husband saw when we walked around the house was those two palm trees,” Meghan told The Cut. “See how they’re connected at the bottom? He goes, ‘My love, it’s us.’”

Meghan isn’t above shopping at IKEA 

Earlier this year, Meghan and Harry returned to the UK together for the first time since leaving the royal family. They were there to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, but they also got the chance to return to their former home, Frogmore Cottage, where they’d left belongings that they hadn’t returned to since they left the UK before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the stuff, The Cut reported, were pieces of art collected by Meghan in her travels in and placed in IKEA picture frames. 

Tyler Perry gave the couple a grand piano

If the Ikea frames are relatable, the grand piano in Meghan and Harry’s sitting room isn’t. It was a housewarming gift to the couple from media mogul Tyler Perry, who allowed them to stay at his mansion in Beverly Hills when they first arrived in the United States in 2020. 

The Duchess is a fan of Etsy

As Davis left the home, Meghan gifted her with a basket of homegrown fruits and vegetables, as well as a jar of jam (homemade?) with a customized label from Etsy. It read Lili Bunny Garden + Larder, which is only fitting considering that the family’s chicken coop was already named after Lilibet’s big brother, Archie, as we learned during Meghan and Harry’s bombshell Oprah interview in 2021.