Prince Harry and Meghan Markle move into new California home

Follow BR Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have moved into a new family home, a representative for the couple said Thursday without providing its location or other details.

Real estate agents and tax records point to a seven-acre estate in Santa Barbara County, according to The Los Angeles Times.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into their family home in July of this year,” a statement from the couple’s spokesperson said. “They have settled into the quiet privacy of their community since their arrival.”

The statement added that the couple hopes such privacy will be respected on behalf of their family as well as their neighbours.

Area real estate agents believe the couple bought a $14.65-million estate, which closed in an off-market sale in June, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. The newspaper said it obtained tax records for the property in the heart of the coastal community of Montecito that match limited liability companies previously created by the Duchess of Sussex.

Montecito has a number of celebrity residents, including Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

Built in 2003, the sprawling estate is hedged and gated from the street, according to the newspaper. The roughly 14,500-square-foot (1,350-square metre) main house has nine bedrooms, a billiards/game room, a home theatre, spa facilities, an elevator and a gym.

The estate also includes a two-bedroom guesthouse, a teahouse, a tennis court and a swimming pool.

The seller was a limited liability company tied to Russian investor Sergey Grishin, records show, according to the Los Angeles Times. Grishin is the former owner of another Montecito mansion, the so-called Scarface estate.

The couple has been looking for a family home since they announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said was unbearable intrusion and racist attitudes from the British media.

Markle, star of TV legal drama Suits, married Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son, Archie, was born the following year.