Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been “casually house hunting” for a new home in Malibu, an inside source has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex set up their new headquarters in the small enclave of Montecito in 2020, when they bought a 15-bedroom villa for themselves and their son Prince Archie Harrison.
But the couple is now eager to be closer to the city that Meghan would “often” visit as a child and has been looking at properties closer to the oceanfront.
The insider told US Weekly that Prince Harry and Meghan “love their life” in Montecito but “it feels a bit remote and removed from the city”.
They added that Meghan loves being close to the sea and the vicinity to the seafront had sold Montecito to the couple when they were looking for their first home away from the UK.
The source added: “She loves being by the beach, which is why she and Harry decided to move to Montecito.”
They conceded that “nothing has been decided” but the idea of moving their family of four to Malibu is “definitely on their radar”.
Harry and Meghan moved to Montecito shortly after they confirmed they would be stepping down from their official royal roles.
The couple temporarily lived at the home of actor and director Tyler Perry, who offered them his support after their security arrangements were greatly reduced.
In the documentary Harry & Meghan, the Duke said: “No one knew we were there. We were there for six weeks and no one knew. My family still thought I was in Canada.”
In addition to being livelier, Malibu also holds a special connection to Harry’s late mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
According to her former butler Paul Burrell, Diana had been considering a move to the Californian city following her divorce from the King.
He claimed the royal had wanted her sons William and Harry to spend part of their year in the United States to get to experience life away from the limelight.
Burrell said: “The house was going to be in Malibu…I saw the plans. We sat on the floor, spread out all the maps and the layout of the house.
“Why couldn’t [the boys] come and spend a portion of their time in America? That would be very stiff and staunchly if the Queen would say, ‘No, they can’t go to America.'”
Diana’s voice coach Stewart Pierce backed Burrell’s claims, saying: “She was talking about buying a property in Malibu [and saying] that would be ‘really great’ for the boys to have freedom so that they could surf.
“Because they’re both very sporty, you know, but they could surf, they could rollerblade, they could Frisbee.”
Moving to Malibu would also allow the couple to be closer to Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, who lives in Los Angeles.
A royal insider claimed in 2020 that Harry and Meghan had initially planned to move to Los Angeles after vacating Perry’s house but that the Duke “absolutely hated it.”
They said: “Meghan visited Montecito in her teens and fell in love with the picturesque scenery and stunning architecture.
“Moving there was always an option, but to begin with, she and Harry wanted to give Los Angeles a shot.
“Unfortunately, Harry absolutely hated it — the timing was so wrong amid the [coronavirus] pandemic and they lacked privacy.”
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