Harry and Meghan’s Sudden Montecito Exit Leaves Neighbours With Questions

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s move from Montecito to Britain appears to have happened far more quickly than some of their former neighbours expected — with claims that even their children’s school was caught off guard and concerns raised about the koi carp left behind at their California mansion.

The Sussexes left their £11million Montecito home for the Cotswolds last month as they began a new chapter in Britain with seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet.

But while the family’s return to the UK had been widely reported, residents in the exclusive California community said the actual departure seemed remarkably sudden.

The Sun travelled to Montecito, around two hours north of Los Angeles, where residents offered their own accounts of the couple’s departure and their relatively low-profile life in the celebrity enclave.

‘They just disappeared overnight’

Interior designer Penny Bianchi, 79, whose home borders Oprah Winfrey’s estate, said she was surprised by how little warning there appeared to have been.

Penny said her grandchildren attend the same school as Archie and that her son is also an alumnus. According to her, the school had not been informed that Archie would be leaving until the wider news emerged.

“They’ve been told, ‘Don’t hold a place for him as he’s not coming back any time soon’,” she said.

Penny claimed the Sussexes had been waiting for Archie to secure a place at a school in England and that once he was accepted, the family moved quickly.

“He wasn’t accepted for ages, but the moment he was, they practically left the next day,” she said.

“They just disappeared overnight.”

Archie is now enrolled at a traditional British prep school in the Cotswolds, while Lilibet is attending a pre-prep school at the same institution.

The Sussexes’ decision to keep details surrounding their children’s education private is consistent with reports surrounding their UK move. Other coverage has noted that the couple have deliberately kept their new home and school arrangements out of the public eye.

Criticism over security arrangements

Penny also claimed that the Sussexes had not been particularly popular among some local residents.

“The school hated their bodyguards,” she said, alleging that the children were dropped off with security personnel.

Sources close to Harry and Meghan disputed the suggestion that the school was deliberately kept uninformed for any reason other than security. They also pointed out that other celebrity families at the school use bodyguards during school runs.

The conflicting accounts leave one aspect of the move particularly difficult to assess: whether the lack of advance notice was simply a security precaution or whether the Sussexes genuinely left sooner than their California neighbours expected.

A former Beach Boy weighs in

Bruce Johnston, the former Beach Boys member who lives close to the Sussexes’ former home, also said he was surprised by their departure.

The 84-year-old claimed he had seen Harry only once in four years, when the Duke was sitting in the back of a car.

“They did look happy, but they kept themselves to themselves,” Bruce said.

He also recalled seeing the couple’s security detail and said he was uncomfortable after spotting armed bodyguards while he was filling his car with gas.

Bruce speculated about Harry’s return to Britain and his relationship with his family, saying he believed Harry might be trying to make amends with his brother.

However, he acknowledged that the real reason for the move was not known locally.

“No one really knows why they left — apart from Oprah,” he said, referring to the couple’s reported closeness to Oprah Winfrey, whose estate is nearby.

What happens to the Montecito house — and its koi?

Perhaps the strangest detail to emerge from the Sussexes’ departure concerns the koi carp in the pond at their nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom property.

Residents told The Sun they were concerned about the fish, which require specialist care.

One woman who runs a koi maintenance business for wealthy Montecito residents and had previously worked for the Sussexes said the fish require clear water, daily feeding and a functioning filtration system.

She claimed that if the pump maintaining the water failed, the fish could die within 12 hours.

She also said maintaining the property would be expensive, estimating £8,000 a month for gardening and another £5,000 for a specialist maintenance crew. She added that the house could face annual taxes of more than £125,000.

A source close to Harry and Meghan, however, said the couple had made the necessary arrangements to ensure the koi were properly cared for.

That clarification is significant, given the reports of an apparently empty property.

The same former employee suggested that leaving such an expensive home vacant could create problems and argued that the Sussexes should consider renting it out.

Is Montecito really over for Harry and Meghan?

The future of the mansion remains uncertain.

The Sussexes bought the property for £11million six years ago after stepping down from royal duties and moving to California. Recent reporting has produced conflicting signals about whether the house will ultimately be sold.

A source familiar with the couple told TMZ in August that Harry and Meghan had no plans to sell the Montecito property and regarded their UK move as a temporary relocation.

That contrasts with speculation now circulating in Montecito that the property could eventually come onto the market.

A staff member at Village Properties, the agency that previously sold the house, said the firm had been receiving calls from wealthy potential buyers interested in the property.

Kim, an employee who declined to give his surname, said there were “a lot of whispers” that the house could eventually be listed.

There has even been speculation that a future buyer could demolish the property to expand another estate or potentially turn part of the land into a golf course.

But none of that means the Sussexes have decided to sell.

The cost of keeping an empty mansion

Real estate agent David Encell, who works near the property, said he would be surprised if Harry and Meghan were still the owners a year from now.

He estimated the running costs at around £30,000 a month for the pool, housekeeping, gardening and other services.

He also suggested that the property could potentially command up to £110,000 a month as a rental.

Selling, he argued, could ultimately make more sense than leaving the house vacant or exposing it to the risks associated with renting out such an expensive property.

“If they aren’t coming back they won’t care about privacy,” he said.

David added that the Sussexes’ departure had surprised local residents because Montecito is traditionally somewhere people move to rather than leave.

Still, he acknowledged that the UK move could be something of a trial period.

“This could be a test drive though for them in England and they are giving it a few months before making any decisions,” he said.

A different explanation for the sudden move

While some Montecito residents portrayed the departure as abrupt, reports surrounding the relocation suggest the family’s move had been under consideration for some time.

The Sussexes announced plans to spend an extended period in Britain with Archie and Lilibet, with the children due to begin school in the UK. Their new base was expected to be outside London, with the Cotswolds emerging as a leading possibility.

The family subsequently returned to Britain, while reports indicated they would retain their Montecito and Portugal properties rather than immediately severing their ties with the US.

That makes the future of the California mansion one of the lingering questions surrounding the Sussexes’ new arrangement.

For now, Harry and Meghan appear to be building their life around their children’s new school and their base in the English countryside, while Montecito remains part of the family’s property portfolio.

Whether the California home becomes a permanent link to their American life — or eventually becomes the next thing the Sussexes leave behind — remains to be seen.