As Prince Harry and Meghan’s home in Montecito, California has come under threat from extensive wildfires, we take a look inside the lavish mansion reportedly worth nearly $30 million

Wildfires currently raging across California have put the home shared by Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and their two children – Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three – under threat. The “high fire risk” property, which the couple has lived in since 2020, may be at risk for power shut downs, electricity companies operating in the area have warned, as the fires continue to devastate the region.

One of the main power providers in the area said they are “considering a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in parts of Santa Barbara County due to a Red Flag Warning and increased risk of wildfires”. The spokesperson added that “affected customers” would be contacted with this news in areas “including Montecito”.

This could mean that the Duke and Duchess potentially have to leave their home to move somewhere safer whilst the wildfires continue.

The home boasts luxurious amenities ( 
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ARCHEWELL)
30,000 people have already been ordered to evacuate in Los Angeles as the Pacific Palisades – a wealthy neighbourhood not dissimilar from Montecito – were affected by the fires, which increased in violence due to strong winds.

Meghan and Harry first purchased their home back in 2020 after making their shock royal exit from the UK. At first, the couple moved from Canada to the California home of Hollywood pal Tyler Perry, who offered them a safe haven and private security amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the couple struggled to find their feet after their taxpayer-funded police security was removed.

After staying in Perry’s home – they have since made him godfather to their daughter Princess Lilibet.

Meghan and Harry’s home takes luxury to a new level ( 
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Giggster.com)
They purchased the mansion for $14.65 million at the time, and its value has increased astronomically in the nearly five years they have called the lavish property home: it is now reportedly valued at $29 million (£23.5 million) – around double what they are said to have paid for it.

The stunning nine-bedroom property is certainly fit for royalty, and Meghan admitted in a 2022 profile for The Cut magazine that she and Harry fell in love with it almost instantly. “We were looking in this area…and this house kept popping up online in searches…We didn’t have jobs, so we just were not going to come and see this house. It wasn’t possible. It’s like when I was younger and you’re window shopping — it’s like, I don’t want to go and look at all the things that I can’t afford. That doesn’t feel good,” Meghan explained.

The mansion sits on over 5 acres of land ( 
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AFP via Getty Images)
However, the couple did end up visiting the property, and swiftly fell so in love with the grounds – that comes in at over 5 acres, affording the couple and their children a lot of privacy – that they told the agent that they wanted it before seeing the inside, with Meghan claiming that two interconnected palm trees in the garden that reminded Harry of their relationship a major selling point.

Their Montecito home was described by the journalist interviewing Meghan for the profile as “the kind of big that startles you into remembering that unimaginable wealth is actually someone’s daily reality. It evokes a classic Tuscan villa, a Napa vineyard, and a manicured Beverly Hills country club decorated with careful, considered coastal tones for a casual air — the home equivalent of billionaires dressing down in denim.”

Harry and Meghan could have the power cut from their £24million mansion in Montecito because of the devastating wildfires sweeping California. ( 
Image:
Sotheby’s International Realty)According to the Daily Mail, the property was first built in 2003, and is known as ‘The Chateau’ and has been called a “hidden paradise”. The luxurious mansion took five years to build and came with a seriously impressive list of amenities, including a home theatre, a gym, a wet and dry sauna, a guest house with two bedrooms, a library, a home office, a garage big enough to fit five cars, a wine cellar, and an arcade.

The vast outside space of the estate is reported to be equally as impressive: “The entrance to the property opens onto a wide lane paved with hand-cut Santa Barbara Stone that leads through a grand archway of trees to the main residence, according to Zillow.

“The estate has sweeping lawns, tiered rose gardens, tall Italian cypress trees, blooming lavender, century-old olive trees, a tennis court, tea house, children’s cottage, and a pool,” the Mail reports, as well as the chicken coop that the public got a glimpse of during Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah back in 2021.

Whilst Meghan’s new show for Netflix – With Love, Meghan will explore the Duchess’s best “tips and tricks” on everything from gardening to cooking with the help of celebrity pals “old and new” over eight episodes – was filmed in Montecito, she didn’t use her own home for the filming. Instead, the show was filmed at a rented mansion nearby, reportedly worth $6 million.