I can’t wait for Finding Freedom: The Remix, where Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand take on all of the misinformation and false stories around FF and the Sussexes in just the past month. As we heard earlier, the Sussexes’ spokesperson confirmed that they have purchased a family home in Santa Barbara, a ritzy coastal town about 100 miles north of LA. I assumed that Harry and Meghan are paying a mortgage and that they put their own money down as a down payment, because both of them have their own money. Meghan was a successful actress for years and Harry has a trust worth something like $30-40 million. But no, the Daily Mail’s sources claim that Prince Charles is paying for it:
Prince Harry and Meghan had help from Prince Charles to secretly buy their £8million family home in Santa Barbara, after ditching Tyler Perry’s 12-bedroom Beverly Hills mansion for ‘considerable privacy.’ The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been living in the upscale California community for six weeks since early July.
Royal insiders said Prince Charles had contributed money to his son to help him secure the property for his family. A source said: ‘Charles had been keen to help out and put his hand in his own pocket to assist. He is devoted to both his sons and any time he can assist them he always will’. Clarence House declined to comment.
At their peak Harry and Meghan’s combined wealth had been estimated to be worth around £33 million. He was estimated to have earned as much as £700,000 to speak at a star-studded JP Morgan summit in Miami in February. But after stepping down from the Royal Family in January they agreed to pay £18,000 a month to repay £2.4million used to refurbish and renovate their previous Frogmore Cottage residence.
All of this bizarre accounting around Harry and Meghan’s finances, my God. People really are butthurt at the idea of a Black duchess living in a nice home or having nice things. That’s what it’s always been about. Anyway… my guess is that Charles actually did offer to help out but maybe Harry and Meghan wanted to do this for themselves. I also think Charles has been covering their security costs this whole time, so maybe that’s what this is too – Charles is paying for whatever security upgrades the house needs. Just as well – Charles has paid out millions to refurbish and renovate Anmer Hall and Kensington Palace for the Cambridges too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Backgrid.
Again, these “insiders” didn’t have a single clue that they even bought a house and have been living in it for 6 weeks. As if they know a single damn thing about how it was paid for.
Right?! This is like the birth story and the Vancouver story all over again. Step 1 – Big reveal that is majorly inconsistent with current reporting, Step 2 – Daily Mail/Sun/Etc. pretending they knew all along, Step 3 – “Sources” coming forward who clearly have no access and are just making shit up. I swear, I picked the wrong career. I could have been in the UK this whole time, living large making up lies for tabloids.
Oh, bullshit! They are perfectly capable of buying their own home. They can afford to put 20% down, pay a monthly mortgage and decorate to their heart’s content.
The tabloids just want an excuse to get the Brits all riled up thinking that they are some how still funding Harry and Meghan’s “lavish lifestyle” and therefore are justified in demanding they have a say in everything Harry and Meghan do.
And didn’t the book also say they are funding their own security privately? I think the most Charles is doing is to help facilitate between Harry and Meghan’s security team with the UK government to keep them abreast of potential threats. He’s still a British prince, still in line for the throne and the UK government are going to want to make sure he remains safe.
THIIIIIIIIIS!!! God forbid they have something of their own with no one holding them hostage over it!
So what if Charles did pay for the house in full?
It is his money and can do whatever he wants with his money?
I was thinking the same. I suspect Charles will help them until they are able to regularly generate the type of wealth needed to maintain their lifestyle and security. Their ability to make money has been stalled by COVID-19. Charles likely doesn’t want them to blow through their savings.
Exactly.
Lots and lots of regular people get down payment assistance from their parents. I’m the only one in my friend group that did not.
When they left the role of senior royals it was widely noted that they would still be receiving financial help from Charles. It was part of the whole “they want their cake and to eat it too” kerfuffle.
I help my family members financially & I have nowhere near the cash Chuck has. The idea that H&M are paupers is ridiculous. They can afford their own home but I’m sure appreciated whatever help/assistance/gift their father/father in law provided. There is really no story here
Tinfoil Tiara Theory: I would bet Charles paid for the house and the Sussexes will eventually buy it from him at some time in the future. If not, it is a great investment for Charles’s real estate portfolio that will grow in value each year.
Agree. It’s not unusual for a wealthy father to support your adult child and his family. Let’s not exaggerate.
Plus he’s the freaking Prince of Wales. Isn’t “supporting your sons” pretty much the second thing in his job title after “waiting for mum to die”?
Well we all know the real issue is some people can’t stand seeing a black biracial woman having nice things. Look at the reaction to the Michelle Obama having designer clothes or the Obamas’ mansion bought with their own money.
The Daily Mail’s sources knows nothing.
So Jon Snow is the source…
Don’t care either way.
The British either agree that they have a bunch of people sitting around, shaking hands and cutting ribbons, vastly wealthy and ‘better than’ and reigning over them or they don’t.
The BRF is vastly wealthy. If Charlie boy wants to buy a house for his son what of it?
Lots of loaded parents do this for their kids – this is not news….
Unless of course you want to see them punished and begging for social security because he dared have a smart, hard working, black, wife.
Exactly – the Brits have been paying for ALL of this family to live in style.
Thank you. I don’t understand why, in the 21st century, the BRF is still allowed to function. Now that nearly everything is remote they look even more ridiculous and useless.
This reminds me of the hullabaloo around the Obama’s new home. This constant need to undermine and make insinuations. God forbid a Black person buy a nice home with their own money. No, there must be some attempt to tie it back to them being supported by the taxpayer or in this case Prince Charles.
They didn’t even know they had moved and we’re spinning fantasies about yoga with Adele.
While I think the Sussexes paid for their own home, I have no problem whatsoever with Charles buying them one. He owes them for allowing William, the courtiers and the RR to abuse, demean, harass and ultimately drive them out of the U.K.
I agree that Chuckles owes them big time. Suck him dry Sussexes.
I personally believe the Sussexes have signed production deals and their finances are in order.
They’re rightly keeping it DL.
I do love the ‘Charles 💘Harry’, ‘Charles supports Harry’, stories we’ve been getting incessantly from royal insiders lately.😉😉
I think so too. I think they had deals inked way back in March. What I hope is that they don’t announce it and just let their content drop on Netflix one day, out of the blue Beyonce style. Let the haters wake up and have to see 10 episodes of Meghan interviewing 10 amazing everyday women on her Forces for Change docuseries.
Wow, the DM is really mad that the Sussexes are living their best lives, pandemic or not.
Who cares if Charles paid? He paid for KP and Anmer renovations too.
The tabloids haven’t known about this for 6 weeks but now they know all of the private details. Sure.
Also, who cares who paid for it? Charles financially supports both sons. I think it is good of him and he is set for life so why not?
lol this is complete speculation. if anything, charles is forking over the money to rent and repay frogmore. that was a stupid arrangement anyway.
LMAO
Royal sources didn’t know anything about the new home and when the story came out they immediately run to the Daily Mail to say something. Patethic!
Are they gonna talk next about who paid for all the renovations to Amber Hall AND Kensington Palace including replacing a brand new kitchen and moving the tennis court from here to there, or was all that fine because…?
BM didn’t even know they had moved locations so I’m not buying of their claims. They don’t need Charles to purchase a home for them. He can and should handle security, it’s the least he can do.
I have a hard time believing that Harry accepts any money from Charles now, after all that’s taken place. Meghan and Harry both have their own money and stand to earn a lot more in the coming years so they would not need help from Charles. I think these “sources” are Clarence House trying to make Charles look like a caring and loving father to the public.
Wait how do they know how much the house cost in the first place ? And I hope Charles did buy the house, that’s the least he can do after failing to protect his son and daughter in law in the first place.
There’s on effing way they would accept that kind of money from Charles. I could see why they would let him pay for security costs (out of pure necessity), but letting him buy them a home? No, Harry doesn’t want to be beholden to his father for several million dollars.
It sounds about right to me. Many parents help their children buying a house and this just looks bad because there’s more money involved.
And you gotta be kidding yourself if you think that Harry would be spending his (if it’s that much) 30 million. Charles is financing both sons and will continue to do so. They are neither of them make any substantial money to continue living in the style they are accustomed to.
TMZ is saying they paid $10 million. And they can absolutely afford it on their own! Harry is worth about $40 million (and probably more by now if he’s managing his money well) and Meghan about $5 million (and, again, probably more with investing).
They could buy the house outright or put 20% down and pay a monthly mortgage like the rest of the world.
Meghan’s worth of $5 million was based on her salary from Suits. She’s probably worth more when you add what she got from the Tig, Reitmans, Hallmark Channel and other appearances she made. Plus, as you mentioned, her investments.
Every single time I hear about the repayment of Frogmore Cottage, I rage
I have had to quit reading about Frogmore Cottage because it makes my blood boil.
Me too.
+1
They’re just mad because it’s becoming more of a reality that Harry and Meghan aren’t returning. They’re angry because Harry and Meghan are working, thriving and living their lives. They want to control them and are upset because they’ve been throwing everything at the wall to get them drop the lawsuits, come back to England and be used as shields and have people making money and careers off their backs and especially to embrace the rota. They are literally angry because nothing is working and they are traumatized.
I feel Charles should have paid for the whole frigging thing in exchange for allowing them to be used as W&K step-stool for the past 18 months. But Harry seems to want to put as much distance between him and the royal family as possible. However, I wonder if the queen isn’t sending them some cash too?
I think they financed it themselves and I agree that Charles has been covering their security costs. People really love to paint it like Harry & Meghan are broke and living off the BRF but both have always has their own money. One of the major reasons why they left is so that they could EARN their own money and not have to count on the BRF for anything in the future. If Charles can finance Kate’s crappy reno style then he can certainly cover the cost of keeping his son, and his son’s family, safe.
not excusing Charles.. we know someone close to the fam. lets just say she was secretly married against queens wishes to someone ( back in the day ) high up in line of succession and forced to divorce. The relationship between charles and harry is not entirely ruined, damaged or severed. this is totally on Willnot , his wife, his cronies and the Viper club, the queen is petty as hell, but will come around but she’s old AF had little to no Effs to give. Charlie knows a lot more of the goings on between Harry and Will not. all even before the wedding. rude comments were made, megs trash father, . Charles agreeing to walk Meghan down the aisle was a show of outright support for H to Marry her… disregarding all the naysayers and shitty comments being made at the time. he has been the in the background supporter. The way things are going I doubt Willnot and Cannot will be king and queen consort.
Wait wait wait. PEOPLE. We have discussed this! You can’t just waltz in, spill some hot tea and then waltz out!
Do William and his father get along?
Tea spilling.( I have to be careful because I am literally spilling an extended family
member’s tea.) . not really. he finds Willnot as very high handed and an insufferable snob. this fam relation says he really tried, Charles loosened up and tried to have influence but courtiers they filled Willnot’s head of self importance, he’s the one who will give you silent treatment and cold shoulder if you don’t give him what he wants. he will withhold affection. and mind games. why do you think he broke with with Cannot so many times? control. Kate is under his thumb and shadow and does what he says. if she doesn’t temper tantrums.
Excellent point about Charles walking Meghan down the aisle. Something like that absolutely means something to Charles.
A secret marriage to a royal? Now THAT is juicy gossip!
It was a great aunt of mine on my maternal grandfather’s side. She didn’t even know he was “royalty ” they liked each other and whirlwind and got a fast marriage. i guess he thought he could marry her and well….nope! She was black
forced to annul and she never married anyone again, but remained close to him. this was like over 40 years ago before POW marriage to Diana .. all of it was hush hush . She was given mega bucks to shut up too. but one thing she is sure about it Charlie had a fav kid it’s harry. ( and yes it’s his kid).. and he loves meghan who she is and what she stands for.
This is just like those secret marriages of the Hannover princes to “unsuitable” women in the late 18th and early 19th century. It blows my mind that this happened in our day and age.
So Tyler Perry’s house no longer has 18 bedrooms? Is it 12 or 18?
I’m amused at the wording they secretly bought a house, like it’s underhanded. They have been in a loaner/rental since last autumn. Of course they were looking to buy but not sharing the inner workings is privacy not secrecy. If Beatrice and Eduardo buy a property will that be ‘in secret’?
Ok Frogmore needed renovation anyway. And they paid a gagillion dollars to redo a GORGEOUS kitchen for Kate because she just didn’t like it. And nobody made a peep about that compared to the cottage redo
Frognore Cottage makes my blood boil!!!!!
I need someone to explain to me why the Sussexes should pay for renovations to a home they do not own, have no control over occupancy and will probably never step foot in ever again.
If the renovation costs are paid back (no matter who pays them), they repayment funds will not go to the taxpayer or NHS but to the Crown Estates. If the Crown Estates the needs the money back ASAP for more renovations on different properties, why do they not sell the damn cottage or long term lease it out at market rent?
If our gossipy speculations are right, and Charles supported the half-in half-out idea, and wanted to make it work with the Sussexes, then I can see him offering to buy this house to try to make up for “everything.” H&M say no, so instead Charles pays back Frogmore, which makes sense since eventually he’ll own it anyway as the monarch. That’s my theory at any rate.
Yes. Katie Keen’s expenses (wardrobe, Island vacations, house renos) are swept under the rug while Meghan’s are Front. Page. News. All. The. Time. It’s like a Princess of Colour isn’t worthy of all of the above as well. Freedom included it seems.
Man, Harry is a cutie….
Prince Charles is just a father helping his son. I dont think William paid for his house . Any son from a rich family get this advantage. People being mad about it should try to tear down capitalism and monarchy. Not H&M.
If he actually helped them. They have the money. Whatever it happened or not, it would be “normal” in any rich family
The daily mail is once again has been outplayed by the Sussex’s while the daily mail is written stories about the lawsuit and trying to intimidation Meghan friends with outing their names . The Sussex’s were buying and moving into a brand new house which they payed for with their own money without any one knowing . Now the daily mail wants to acted like they know the in out details about what and who payed for the house . I don’t believe Charles payed for their house I think the daily mail is trying to once again creates havoc and chaos around the Sussex’s to get the haters to the website to make money off their relentlessly hatred of Meghan . If people wanted to talked about the finances of the Royal why aren’t people talking about the Cambridge’s because the tax player are paying for them and their kids opening up the discussion of royals and money is a bad idea. I think a lot of these people don’t want to see good things happens for the Sussex’s and that’s pretty pathetic and shows that’s their something wrong with them.
Another newspaper, maybe the Independent, said they’re paying for the house themselves and got a mortgage. Interest rates a really low right now so also a good time to refinance. Good for them and now people can stop harping on Tyler’s mansion. They’d already left a while ago so seems like, they had time to settle in. At this point, I don’t see what the tabloids angle is in this. Someone pointed out that the quote about Tyler’s mansion is not a Sussex source because, it’s very snippy and not their style to gripe, especially about a temporary home, and also says Harry grew up in Buckingham palace, which he did not. So that source seems sketchy, but at least their people confirmed they bought a house somewhere.
I don’t get the implication they’re going for by calling it a “family home.” As opposed to a business home? Or is that British shade suggesting it’s a tiny dump? I don’t think Montecito has those.
Anyway, they obviously do not have access to tens of millions of dollars if they stated that they are “working toward” financial independence. Charles has paid for everything from the clothes they wear to (maybe) their security staff and furniture. They want to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the world before paying off the renovations to their other mansions which seems a bit cart before horse. I don’t begrudge them having a wealthy parent to subsidize their living expenses at all though. It’s fine. Plenty of trust fund kids waste money in worse ways than caped gowns and expensive real estate. It all seems pretty innocent.
There were reports early on just after the wedding that Charles had offered to buy Harry and Meghan a country estate along the lines of Gatcombe Park or Highgrove near the Wesh border but they declined (too far away I think they said). Perhaps this is just that offer transfered to a home of their choosing in the U.S.A