Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are packing up their Montecito life, and insiders say money is a bigger factor than the couple has let on.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly finalizing a move back to the UK with their children, Archie and Lilibet, later this month. Behind the scenes, sources describe a household that has been quietly buckling under the cost of keeping up appearances in one of California’s most expensive zip codes.
The couple left royal life in 2020 and settled into a nine bedroom, sixteen bathroom estate reportedly worth around $14.5 million, funding it themselves through deals with Netflix and Spotify along with Meghan’s ‘As Ever’ lifestyle brand. That self funded independence came with a price tag insiders now put at roughly $6 million a year once security, staff, legal teams and property upkeep are factored in.
According to a source who spoke to IBT, the financial strain has become impossible to ignore inside the marriage itself.
“It’s totally not how she envisioned living at this stage in her life,” the source said. “She married a prince, money worries should not factor in. But this is not a fairytale and they unfortunately have put themselves in a precarious spot financially that they need to dig out of. It’s tough but Meghan’s insisting they can do it.”
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Why Montecito Neighbors Are Reportedly Relieved to See Them Go
The financial pressure is not the only reason locals believe the Sussexes are ready to leave. Montecito residents have spent years describing a community worn down by the constant spotlight the couple brought with them, and the reaction to their reported UK move has been blunt.
One source told Page Six that the neighborhood will not miss the attention.
“The town is exhausted by them, the entitlement and the never ending drama.”
Another local reportedly welcomed the news outright, saying the community is looking forward to Montecito returning to the quiet, low key reputation it had before 2020.
A separate insider close to the couple has pushed back on the framing, insisting Harry and Meghan have “a great relationship with their neighbors and love their community,” but that account has been sharply contested by the more recent reporting.
Whether the money runs the story or the social fatigue does or Meghan’s potential acting comeback, the two threads point the same direction. Harry and Meghan built their post royal identity on turning global fame into financial independence, and six years later that independence is reportedly proving far more expensive than either of them expected.
Their next chapter in the UK will be the real test of whether Meghan’s insistence that “they can do it” holds up once the Montecito estate is no longer the backdrop.