Harry and Meghan’s Neighbor Shares What They’re Like When the Cameras Are Off: ‘They Weren’t...'
Before their move to Montecito, California, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle temporarily stayed in Vancouver Island, Canada for six months.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, following their royal exit in 2020, now reside in a lavish $29.6 million mansion in Montecito, California. Before making the move permanent, they spent six months on Vancouver Island in Canada. Navy veteran Frank McGinity, who lived next door to the couple in Vancouver, claimed the Sussexes were far from neighborly.
As reported by The Mirror, McGinity, in his memoir Get Off Your Street, shared that he tried to welcome the couple into the neighborhood by bringing them a collection of films about local history. He penned, “I have a big house next to Harry and Meghan's property. [They] live on old McCormick property and I went up to their gate with the films on a CD, but they weren't interested.” The veteran added, “The gate guy turned me away and wouldn't take the film, just saying, 'They're not interested.' I was trying to be neighborly. If they were interested in the neighborhood, I've got a lot of information.”
Harry and Markle temporarily lodged in Canada following a family holiday after their inaugural South African tour with Prince Archie in 2019. McGinity also expressed astonishment at the Sussexes' choice of residence, as the Riven Rock Estate they called home appeals to an older demographic. He added, “We don't see them very much around here. It's surprising they came here. People are typically older. It's where the elephants come to die.” In his book, the veteran also described that his home was heavily damaged by mudslides that left 23 dead. In the aftermath, he claimed that Harry and Markle’s current home was left looking like “a sea of mud or a moonscape” at the time.
McGinity’s claims were also echoed by the Sussexes' Montecito neighbors, who opined that the couple always isolated themselves. Neighbor Richard Mineards told the Daily Mail, “I personally don't think that Meghan is an asset to our community…She doesn't really go out or get involved with the community. Harry has to a certain extent, because he's quite jolly…but Meghan doesn't seem to get seen anywhere.” As per Surrey Live, filmmaker Ulrike Grunewald also slammed, “The cultural life is very lively, but everything often takes place in closed circles, and Harry and Meghan rarely take part in these activities. They seem to have isolated themselves a lot.”
While the Duke and Duchess do not engage with the local community, they reportedly frequently hang out with their star-studded social circle. As per Hello! magazine, Markle spends time socializing with Hollywood A-listers Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, and Oprah Winfrey, all neighbors in Montecito. Meanwhile, Harry enjoys spending his company with his ‘second father’, David Foster, and his wife, Katherine McPhee. Some of their other neighbors in the past included big names like Ellen DeGeneres, Rob Lowe, and Ariana Grande.
