Team Sussex packaged their Reverse Sussexit announcement with pretty clear language about how Prince Harry and Meghan’s relocation to the UK is temporary. They also said quite plainly that Harry and Meghan plan to maintain their homes in Montecito and Portugal. Meaning, if and when they get sick of Isla de la Saltines, they already have a soft place to land, back in their real home of Montecito. Still, royalists have been crying about the Sussexes’ Montecito mansion for six years, doing and saying anything to claim that Harry and Meghan can’t afford to live there or maintain it. The Reverse Sussexit news has given the Mansion Truthers a new lease on life, with “sources” claiming that Harry and Meghan plan to put the mansion on the market quietly:
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say they’re keeping their Montecito mansion as they relocate the family back to Britain, but a source in the Santa Barbara luxury real estate market told The Post there “have been rumblings” the couple will sell the property, adding that “every broker wants that listing.”
This comes as The Post can reveal that the property costs the former Royal couple a staggering $600,000-plus a year in mortgage payments and tax alone — a potential motivating factor for a sale.
Jason Streatfeild, a Douglas Elliman broker who represents the Santa Barbara and Montecito area separately told The Post deals of this size don’t always show up on the open market right away, either.
“Many times properties like this will trade off market with an NDA signed and all of the terms sealed until the property records at the county,” Streatfeild said.
“It’s very possible that they would be listing it, but I have a strong feeling that it’s already being discussed and shown,” Streatfeild speculated to The Post.
Santa Barbara County records show the Sussexes’ company, Rockbridge LLC, bought the 7.38-acre estate for $14.65 million on June 9, 2020. Three days later, the company took out a $9.52 million loan from City National Bank. It’s an adjustable-rate mortgage, starting at 2.49 percent and capable of climbing as high as 7.49 percent once it resets in July 2030.
With no refinance on the books, The Post calculated that loan alone runs somewhere between $40,000 and $43,000 a month on a standard 30-year term. That’s north of $480,000 a year before taxes, insurance or a single gardener gets paid, on a house the family is about to visit far less often.
Santa Barbara County isn’t cheap either. The estate’s 2025 property tax bill came to $149,668, on an assessed value of $14.38 million — a number that ticks up nearly every year under California’s Prop 13 rules. County tax history obtained by The Post shows the bill climbing every year the Sussexes have owned the home, from $138,629 in 2021-2022 to $141,645, then $144,229, then $146,930, before landing at this year’s $149,668. Add those five years together and Harry and Meghan have paid out roughly $721,000 in property taxes alone since the assessment settled at their purchase price, on top of everything else the mortgage already costs them. Then add insurance, groundskeeping across nearly eight acres and the family’s security detail, and the fixed cost of owning the place likely clears well over $650,000 a year before anything else.
I know these people are pocketwatching and trying to convince people that the Sussexes are broke, but man, this is such a flex. The Sussexes are WEALTHY. They are wealthy enough to maintain their expensive Montecito mansion for a year (hopefully just a year) while they gallivant around Britain. And in case you wanted something resembling a formal denial, TMZ has us covered:
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle aren’t cutting ties with the USA despite their move back across the pond — we’ve confirmed they’re keeping their SoCal home, because like a former CA gov once said … they’ll be back.
Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … there are no plans at all to sell their Montecito mansion, and reports claiming otherwise just aren’t accurate.
We’re told they love their home and the Montecito area … as well as the great friend group they’ve built for themselves and their family. But, most importantly, one source is reiterating … although the couple might move to the UK for an extended period, they’re still viewing it as a “temporary” relocation.
It just occurred to me that if and when Harry and Meghan exit the UK for a second time, it’s probably going to retraumatize a nation. All of these people are getting high on their own supply, trying to predict that Harry is definitely coming back for good! But they’re clearly planning to return to Montecito, which means we’ll get a Sussexit 2.0. Anyway, I hope their new home has a nice kitchen!
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s Instagram, As Ever’s Instagram and Netflix.
