Meghan Markle and Prince Harry they are reportedly being called local thugs by neighbors of the posh California city where the couple fled after leaving their royal roles behind.
One Montecito resident, who has never met the couple but has spoken Vanity faircalled the duo the prince and ‘the starlet’.
Neighbors in the quiet Santa Barbara neighborhood attribute many of the new annoyances to Markle and Prince Harry, including higher home prices, crowded streets and more.
The neighborhood has seen much more tourist traffic since Markle and Harry arrived in 2020, anonymous residents told the newspaper. Vanity Fair also reported that several people they spoke to noted that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have become local villains.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been called local villains in their Montecito neighborhood, according to Vanity Fair. (Fox News digital)
“You know, what’s great about Meghan and Harry is that they didn’t come here to make a living from our community. They came here to be part of our community.”
Markle’s latest business venture, Orchard on the American Rivierais also based in Montecito, Vanity Fair reported. According to the outlet, a book published by the Southern Pacific Company railroads in 1898 states, “The Montecito is known as the American Riviera.” However, that honor now reportedly belongs to Santa Barbara.
“It’s that kind of mercantile thing,” one resident told Vanity Fair. “It’s just finding any way you can to monetize something.
“I still think they are the most entitled, dishonest people in the world,” the resident added. “They left England to escape the criticism of the press, and all they’re doing is trying to get into the press in the United States.”
Fox News Digital has contacted representatives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aren’t the only celebrities living in Montecito. (Chris Jackson)
Meanwhile, the couple’s arrival is being praised by their famous neighbor, Sharon Stone.
“You know, what’s great about them is they didn’t come here to make a living from our community. They came here to be part of our community,” she said. Access to Hollywood in 2020.
“My friend said she was in her car, and they biked across the street and waved at her as she sat at the red light,” she recalls. “They are part of our community. They have become a giving, caring and participating part of our community. They’re not here to say, ‘Would you like to kiss my ass?’”
Montecito has been home to a handful of celebrities, including Natalie Portman, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Adam Levine, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Keaton and Oprah.
The gate of the estate where Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle live in Montecito. (Getty Images)
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Despite moving to the United States five years ago after relinquishing his senior roles in royal life, Prince Harry reportedly has no social life outside of his nuclear family.
“(Meghan) was honest about the fact that Harry hadn’t made many friends yet,” a source who previously dealt with Markle professionally told Vanity Fair.
Markle and Prince Harry threw themselves into work and landed a blockbuster Netflix contract months after making Montecito their home in 2020. They first released their docuseries, “Harry and Meghan,” in 2022. The show earned the largest single-day audience for any Netflix series since monitoring began in October 2022. A year later, they followed up with the docuseries ‘Heart of Invictus’ in 2023 and produced ‘Polo’ in 2024.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to California in 2020. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)
However, several sources are described Markle and Prince Harry because they had “really great ideas” for shows that never got made.
“I think Harry doesn’t know what he wants because he grew up in a fishbowl so he doesn’t know what real life really is,” an insider who worked with the couple on media projects told Vanity Fair. “I think he probably wants to be left alone and be able to kiss babies every now and then, but not have to worry about money. I don’t think he wants to be famous the way Meghan wants to be famous.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2021 at the home of a friend of Winfrey in Santa Barbara County, California. (Harpo productions)
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Tracy Wright of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
