Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Neighbor Says the Couple Is ‘Basically Ignored’ in Montecito and Have ‘No Impact’
Following their decision to step down from their roles within the royal family, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to America.
They initially stayed at a waterfront property in Canada’s Vancouver Island before relocating to the States in Meghan’s hometown of Los Angeles. The duke and duchess resided in Beverly Hills at Tyler Perry’s mansion for a while but then moved again and eventually settled in the town of Montecito in Santa Barbara County. They now live in an 18,000-square-foot mansion nicknamed “The Chateau.” The home sits on five acres of land and has both ocean and mountain views. It boasts 16 bathrooms, nine bedrooms, and a separate guest house with two more bedrooms and bathrooms. There’s also a library, a sauna, a wine cellar, a game room, a gym, tennis courts, and an arcade.
While we know plenty of details about Meghan and Harry’s Montecito property, we don’t hear much about how they fit into the ritzy area and how the royals are perceived by their neighbors. Well, now another Montecito resident is revealing how the Sussexes are treated by other locals.
The Sussexes’ neighbor says locals ‘ignore’ them
Mary Sheldon is a longtime resident of Montecito and owns a bookstore in town. She spoke to Express about having Meghan and Harry as neighbors and said they’re “ignored” by other locals.
“I think they’re basically ignored, and if people come across them that’s fine, but I don’t think the locals seek them out in any way,” Sheldon explained. “I have seen black SUVs on my road. Other than that, no impact at all.”
The shop owner talked about the bigger fish who also call the sleepy town of 8,638 people home including former talk show hosts Ellen Degeneres and Oprah Winfrey. Sheldon has come in contact with Winfrey on several occasions because she comes into her store often.
“She’s a regular customer,” Sheldon said. “She does her own shopping. She doesn’t send her people to do it.”
However, the business owner isn’t sure the same can be said for the prince and former Suits star.
“I don’t think they do their own shopping,” she told the publication. “I’ve never seen them. That or they don’t read books or they shop on Amazon. I don’t know what they do.”
Bookstore owner says Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ did not sell well at her shop
Sheldon revealed that she read a bit of Harry’s memoir Spare and sold copies of it at her store.
“I sat and read it, and I got as far as him going to school, and I thought, ‘This is a well-written book and it’s interesting,'” she shared.
However, Sheldon didn’t finish reading it telling Daily Express US: “I read as much as I wanted to” before adding that Spare did “not particularly” do well at her store, only selling about 20 copies since it was released in January 2023.
