‘The borders were closing and this was always the ultimate destination,’ says one insider. ‘Los Angeles is where Meghan’s agents and advisors are based – and now they are Harry’s team as well.’
Santa Barbara – or more precisely Montecito, the upscale neighbourhood where the couple bought their $14.65 million (£11.09 million) mansion on 18 June 2020 – is, in fact, a ninety-minute drive north of Los Angeles. It is home to celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow who enjoy – and can afford – the French Riviera atmosphere of estates beside the sea. And the Sussexes have certainly bought themselves an estate, extending over 5.4 acres and featuring a swimming pool, tennis court, cinema room and a two-bedroomed guest house for Doria.
Official deeds appear to show Harry and Meghan trying to finance the purchase themselves the traditional way with a mortgage – albeit at the eye-watering level of £7.25 million, suggesting repayments in the region of £30,000 per month. For this the pair can enjoy nine bedrooms and no fewer than sixteen ‘bathrooms’ – what the British would call ‘loos’ – even more than the twelve bathrooms on offer at the Tyler Perry estate.
‘Could it be,’ commented Camilla Long sardonically in the Sunday Times, ‘that 12 bogs were simply no longer enough for all the crap this couple spouts?’
Notwithstanding, Harry and Meghan stepped out promptly on some local COVID-19 errands of mercy – though their major plans were COVID-cornered like everybody else’s. In the absence of Sussex Royal they have ‘Archewell’ registered as the name for their new foundation, but they have had to delay the full-scale start of their activities until the world’s return to health.
Yet coronavirus did not stop Meghan delivering a surprise commencement address to the graduation class of her Immaculate Heart High School on 3 June. The recent killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations provided her theme.
‘As we’ve all seen over the last week,’ she declared, ‘what is happening in our country … has been absolutely devastating. And I wasn’t sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing and I was really nervous that I wouldn’t or that it would get picked apart, and I realise the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing. Because George Floyd’s life mattered …’
January 2020: Meghan Markle signs a voiceover deal with Disney
Meghan reflected on her own memories of the 1992 Los Angeles riots following another ‘senseless act of racism’ – the beating of Rodney King.
‘I remember my teacher at the time,’ she continued, ‘one of my teachers Miss Pollia, said to me before I was leaving for a day of volunteering, “Always remember to put others’ needs above your own fears.” And that has stuck with me through my entire life and I’ve thought about it more in the last week than ever before.’
Meghan called on the students to ‘channel’ their education and all the skills that they had acquired over the past four years.
‘Now all of that work gets activated,’ she said. ‘Now you get to be part of rebuilding and I know sometimes people say, “How many times do we need to rebuild?” Well, you know, we’re going to rebuild and rebuild and rebuild until it is rebuilt. Because when the foundation is broken, so are we …
‘I’m already excited for what you’re going to do in the world,’ she went on. ‘You are equipped, you are ready, we need you and you are prepared. I’m so proud to call each of you a fellow alumni. And I’m so eager to see what you’re going to do.’
Soon after on 30 July, Prince Harry spoke of his latest enthusiasm – sustainable travel and his new company Travalyst – to an online gathering of Third World travel providers, setting out the ‘responsibility we cannot avoid or dismiss, for us to reshape this industry in a way that benefits everyone and everything for decades to come’.
‘Businesses are hurting significantly,’ he said, ‘and I’ve heard from some of you who are currently struggling to put food on your families’ tables and make ends meet because there are no tourists and therefore no income. We need to build back – but we need to build back better.’
Anti-monarchist Graham Smith of the campaign group Republic criticised Harry for getting involved with the commercial side of the travel business, but the prince’s representatives rejected the charge with a blistering response: ‘This is his life’s focus and his devotion to charity is at the very core of the principles he lives by.’
Prince William has always been a fan of English football. Many of the royal family – including Prince Harry and, it is said, the Queen – are discreet and private supporters of north London club Arsenal. But William, defying the trends, has long supported the claret-and-blue of the unfashionable Midlands team Aston Villa, buried in the suburbs of Birmingham.
As president of the Football Association, the prince nursed hopes that Villa might make it to the 2020 FA Cup Final. As fate turned out, Fulham dispatched Villa in the third round and Arsenal made it to the final against Chelsea. But that did not stop the Duke of Cambridge focusing on the match for his favoured cause of mental health.
‘We’re going to really use the final as a moment to promote good, positive mental health for everyone,’ he declared in June. ‘It’s quite timely bearing in mind what we’ve all been through with this pandemic. I think there’s going to be, sadly, a lot of repercussions from this in society, not just in football, in terms of people’s mental health. Hopefully the FA Cup can be a
