Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are now comfortably situated in their Californian mansion, however, The Duchess of Sussex has spoken about the financial struggle involved with securing their place.
Meghan and Harry purchased the nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom estate for USD $14.65 million (approximately AUD $21.5 million) in 2020, shortly after quitting the royal family. During a controversial interview with The Cut that was released this week, Meghan said that the couple didn’t think they could afford their dream house. “We were looking in this area (Montecito, California) and this house kept popping up online in searches,”
“We didn’t have jobs, so we were just 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’.” However, the couple manage to scrape together the USD $14.5 million, likely due to huge deals they signed with brands like Netflix and Spotify.
“We did everything we could to get this house,” Meghan told the publication. “Because you walk in and go… Joy. And exhale. And calm. It’s healing. You feel free.” Meghan’s interview with The Cut has been widely criticised, perhaps the tidbit that upset people the most, was when she compared herself to activist and former president Nelson Mandela.
During the chat, the former actress claimed that a Lion King cast member told her that South Africans had “danced in the street” on her wedding day just like when “Mandela was freed from prison”. However, Dr John Kani, who voiced Rafiki in Lion King, and is the only South African cast member in the recent remake of the popular Disney film.
“I have never met Meghan Markle,” Dr Kani said. “This seems like something of a faux pas by her. I am the only South African member of the cast and I did not attend the premiere in London.”
