{"id":599841,"date":"2026-08-21T04:32:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T04:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/599841\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T04:32:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T04:32:21","slug":"everything-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-said-about-living-in-montecito-california-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/599841\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Said About Living in Montecito, California, USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated6 min read<\/p>\n

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to move back to the UK<\/a> this month, with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in tow. In the past year there have been a few clues the Sussexes were plotting a move back<\/a>, but the decision comes as a surprise to many, at least in part due to their public comments about their time in the United States.<\/p>\n

The Sussexes left the UK in March 2020, on what Harry called<\/a> a \u201cfreedom flight.\u201d In the six years since, both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken emotionally about their Montecito<\/a> home, calling where they lived a \u201cgreat community\u201d in which they could raise their kids outside of the prying eyes of British tabloid culture. In the Oprah interview in 2021, Meghan said she was excited \u201cto live authentically\u201d in the States, and in 2024, Harry said they planned on living in the U.S. for good, saying<\/a>, \u201cI very much enjoy living here and bringing my kids up here.\u201d Furthermore, last year, Harry told the BBC<\/a>, \u201cI can\u2019t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, much has changed since those comments, but it\u2019s worth revisiting how the Sussexes have spoken about their time living in the UK versus their life in California.<\/p>\n

2019 – 2021: Mental health and leaving the UK\"ThePool\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Sussexes in South Africa in 2019.<\/p>\n

The Sussexes\u2019 discontent with their life in the UK publicly emerged during a visit to South Africa in fall 2019\u2014their last overseas tour as working members of the royal family. While speaking to journalist Tom Bradby, Meghan called the British approach to emotions \u201creally damaging\u201d as she discussed the impact of the tabloids. In Harry & Meghan: An African Journey<\/a>, the documentary that aired about the trip, she said, \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to just survive something, right? That\u2019s not the point of life. You\u2019ve got to thrive, you\u2019ve got to feel happy. I think I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried, but I think what that does internally is probably really damaging, and the biggest thing that I know is that I never thought this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair, and that is the part that is hard to reconcile, but just take each day as it comes.\u201d<\/p>\n

She later expanded on her comments in the Sussexes\u2019 bombshell interview with Oprah<\/a>, which aired in March 2021. In that sit-down, Meghan opened up about her mental health struggles and revealed for the first time she had experienced suicidal thoughts<\/a>. \u201cI was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry especially because I know how much loss he has suffered. But I knew that if I didn\u2019t say it, then I would do it. I just didn\u2019t want to be alive anymore,\u201d Meghan said. She added she asked the Palace human resources department for help, but there was nothing they could do. \u201cSo we had to find a solution,\u201d Meghan said, which meant leaving the UK.<\/p>\n

\"TheChris Jackson\/\/Getty ImagesMeghan during their Oprah interview. In 2024, three years after the Oprah interview aired, Meghan said<\/a> she hasn\u2019t \u201cscraped the surface on my experience,\u201d but sharing was part of her \u201chealing journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few months after the Oprah interview, Prince Harry opened up about his own mental health<\/a> on the podcast Armchair Expert saying the move to the U.S. was about putting \u201chis family first.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve now moved my whole family to the U.S.,\u201d he told co-hosts Dax Shepherd and Monica Padman. \u201cWell that wasn\u2019t the plan. But sometimes you\u2019ve got to make decisions that put your family first and your mental health first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prince Harry also spoke during that conversation about feeling \u201cmore free\u201d in his current home of Montecito. \u201cLiving here now, I can actually lift my head and I feel different. My shoulders have dropped, so has hers, and you can walk around feeling a little bit more free. I get to take Archie on the back of my bicycle.\u201d Growing up in the UK, he added, \u201cThere was very rarely a day that went by without at least one paparazzi jumping out from behind a car or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversation echoed other remarks Harry made that same month about the stress of living in the UK in The Me You Can\u2019t See<\/a>, the Apple TV+ mental-health docuseries he made with Oprah<\/a>. \u201cFor most of my life, I\u2019ve always felt worried, concerned, a little bit tense and uptight whenever I fly back into the UK, whenever I fly back into London,\u201d Harry said. He added, \u201cLondon is a trigger because of what happened to my mum.\u201d<\/p>\n

2022: Finding a \u201chealing\u201d home in the United States\"QueenWPA Pool\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Sussexes during the Platinum Jubilee.<\/p>\n

In 2022, which saw the Sussexes return to the UK for Queen Elizabeth\u2019s Platinum Jubilee<\/a>, as well as the death of Queen Elizabeth<\/a>, and the premiere of the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan<\/a>, the Sussexes began speaking about their new life in California more publicly.<\/p>\n

Harry told Hoda Kotb<\/a> that \u201chome for me, now, for the time being, is the States,\u201d and \u201cwe\u2019ve been welcomed with open arms.\u201d He added that his family has \u201csuch a great community up in Santa Barbara.\u201d That same year, in a profile in The Cut, Meghan said<\/a>, \u201cWe did everything we could to get this house,\u201d referring to her home in Montecio. \u201cBecause you walk in and go\u2026 Joy. And exhale. And calm. It\u2019s healing. You feel free.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that same Cut interview, she revealed that if Archie were in school in the UK, she wouldn\u2019t be able to do school pickup and drop-off without it being a paparazzi moment. \u201cSorry, I have a problem with that. That doesn\u2019t make me obsessed with privacy. That makes me a strong and good parent protecting my child,\u201d Meghan said. (It\u2019s unclear what that means for her move back.)<\/p>\n

\"archieScreenshot\/Netflix<\/p>\n

Prince Archie\u2019s first birthday in Harry & Meghan.<\/p>\n

So, too, in 2022 did Meghan speak of their home life on an episode of Archetypes<\/a>, when she detailed the Sussex family\u2019s morning routine and how she makes breakfast for Harry, Archie, and Lili. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to me,\u201d she said. \u201cI love doing it.\u201d (In With Love, Meghan, which aired in 2025, the Duchess also talked about beginning her day with her chickens, saying getting eggs was her favorite way to start the day. \u201cYou think about your day differently,\u201d she said<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Harry & Meghan premiered on Netflix at the end of 2022, and the docuseries offered a glimpse into the Sussexes\u2019 new life with their kids<\/a> in California. \u201cThis is one of the places where I think my mum was probably going to end up living. Potentially,\u201d Harry said at the end<\/a> of the sixth episode, hinting at the rumors Diana was going to move to Malibu<\/a> before she died.<\/p>\n

2024 – 2025: Building a life in California\"AScreenshot\/Netflix<\/p>\n

Harry and Meghan in With Love, Meghan.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Harry was unequivocal about his plans to stay in the United States. Asked at the New York Times DealBook Summit<\/a> whether he planned to remain there for good, he replied, \u201cI do.\u201d \u201cI very much enjoy living here and bringing my kids up here,\u201d he said. Harry also said living in California was what Diana would\u2019ve wanted for him: \u201cI feel as though it\u2019s the life that my mom wanted for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cto be able to do the things I\u2019m able to do with my kids that I undoubtedly wouldn\u2019t be able to do in the UK, it\u2019s huge. I\u2019m hugely grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meghan\u2019s comments the following year reinforced just how much California mattered to the Sussexes. In With Love Meghan season one<\/a>, Meghan told Alice Waters, \u201cI just wanna sit here and eat quiche and salad with you! It just tastes like home. I\u2019ve missed California.\u201d In that same episode, Meghan had her inner circle<\/a> over for a brunch.\u201cMy husband will be here, my mom will be here, my best friend since college,\u201d she explained. \u201cJust my community. Having a brunch in the sunshine with the people that I love, celebrating this next chapter of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her community all lives in California; there\u2019s no word yet regarding Doria, her mom<\/a>, and if she will be moving with them to the UK. Perhaps Montecito will always be home for the Sussexes, and wherever they end up in the UK is just temporary. The couple will reportedly maintain their house in Montecito, California, and their vacation property in Portugal. It remains as yet unclear where they will live in Britain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Play\"Video\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Emily Burack (she\/her) is the Deputy Digital Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"6 min read Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to move back to the UK this month,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,144978,1105,254205,1107,93,61,60,184510,1106,159780,254204,223989,144977],"class_list":["post-599841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-collection-royal-family-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-650b7c03-e318-4341-9e8a-25058598aaac","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-7","tag-shorttitle-what-harry-meghan-said-about-living-in-montecito","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-heritage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}