In a stunning display of two-faced entitlement, Meghan Markle once waxed poetic about her “really supported, sweet life” in Montecito — taking the kids to school, embracing the community, creating and dreaming in California paradise. Now she and Prince Harry are packing up and fleeing back to the UK, leaving their $14.5 million estate behind while their neighbors openly celebrate the exit with cries of “Good riddance!”
Just days after reports confirmed the Sussexes’ planned return to Britain at the end of August 2026 — with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, set to start school there — old footage of Meghan in a bright yellow sweater has resurfaced, highlighting the jaw-dropping contradiction. In the interview (from Bloomberg’s The Circuit with Emily Chang), Markle beamed about moving to the exclusive Santa Barbara enclave five years earlier: “We’re just so happy because we can take our kids to school and have a really supported, sweet life… We have such a beautiful, embracing community, and we’ve been able to really create and dream here.”
Yet sources close to the couple confirm the family is relocating to a private non-royal residence outside London for an “extended period,” keeping the Montecito mansion (for now) while shifting their primary base across the Atlantic. King Charles III learned of the plans only recently and reportedly welcomes more private time with his grandchildren, though the pair will remain non-working royals.
Montecito locals are anything but heartbroken. Page Six exclusively reported that neighbors are “thrilled,” with one declaring “Good riddance!” and another noting the community is “exhausted by them, the entitlement and the never ending drama.” Locals allegedly nicknamed the pair the “Grift and Griftess of Sussex,” accusing them of constantly seeking grandiose favors thanks to their titles while giving nothing back. One resident recalled early worries about the media circus the couple would bring to the quiet enclave — concerns that proved well-founded. Friends in the UK have even texted sarcastically: “Please keep them! We don’t want them!”
The hypocrisy runs deeper. Markle had reportedly told people years ago she would return to the UK only “kicking and screaming.” Harry, for his part, had insisted as recently as last year that he “can’t see a world” in which he would bring his wife and children back, citing security fears and the toxic press. Suddenly those ironclad objections melted away — conveniently timed with Charles’s health struggles and the children’s school age. Critics point to fading Hollywood relevance, lonely Harry missing home, and a calculated bid to reclaim royal currency after years of public attacks on the monarchy that left them increasingly isolated.
This isn’t a heartfelt homecoming. It’s the latest chapter in a saga of self-serving pivots by a couple who abandoned royal duties, trashed the family that elevated them, cashed in on Netflix deals and lifestyle branding, then discovered California’s spotlight and isolation weren’t the fairy-tale escape they sold. Neighbors who once worried about the “negative press and attention” now look forward to peace returning to their private community. Markle’s carefully curated image of the fulfilled Montecito mom — complete with yellow cashmere and community praise — rings hollow when the bags are packed and the exit is framed as temporary “day-by-day” convenience.
The Sussexes leave behind a trail of exhausted locals, unanswered questions about security and motives, and a mountain of contradictory statements. As they prepare to impose themselves once more on British soil, one thing is clear from the California reaction: the “beautiful, embracing community” is more than ready to embrace their absence. Good riddance, indeed.
