For years now, British tabloids and newspapers have been sending reporters to Montecito, California to stalk the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It’s a cottage industry in the UK, and I guess it’s a plum assignment for Salt Island reporters. They get an all-expenses-paid trip to California, where they get to rent a car and wander around Montecito, begging people to say something about Harry and Meghan. Every single one of the articles has a judgmental vibe – judgmental about Americans, judgmental about how “their prince” would choose to live in a quiet, elite beach community. Well, right after the Murdochs settled out of court with Prince Harry, the Murdoch-owned Times of London published this piece: “Inside Montecito, Harry and Meghan’s super-rich home town.” Yes, the Times sent a reporter to Montecito to stalk the Sussexes too, just like the Mail and the Telegraph. And that dumb German documentary. This piece is just so sad…
I realise I must be nearing Montecito, the small, unassuming, ocean-side neighbourhood north of Los Angeles that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex call home, when I hear a helicopter purring overhead. The fifth most expensive zip code in the US, here Meghan and Harry’s neighbours include Katy Perry, Natalie Portman, Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas, Neil Young, Michael Keaton, Oprah and, until recently, Ellen DeGeneres. Their newest is Gwyneth Paltrow, who’s moving into her huge eco-house with her husband, Brad Falchuk. I listen to the whirring blades in the sky and wonder if it’s Harry doing the school run. But I daren’t look up. I am too petrified. I have hired a car in the US for the first time and am bowling along an eight-lane freeway out of LA.
I am here because I have watched the trailer for Meghan’s Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, an eight-part lifestyle series (coming in March) revolving around the Sussexes’ gorgeous, sun-drenched life in Montecito. In it the duchess, glowing with honey skin and white teeth, promises to show us how baking, tablescaping and arranging flowers can be conducted “in the pursuit of joy”, making every moment magical, from sifting flour to eating lettuce.
Convinced by the jaunty soundtrack and how good Meghan looks, I decide to head to Montecito in search of such joy-filled moments for myself. I rent a convertible and take Route 101 up the coast.
They call the Santa Barbara coast the American Riviera, so I imagined I’d pull up somewhere as glamorous as the Croisette in Cannes. Instead, I arrive at an uninspiring collection of low beige bungalows housing a collection of Mom and Pop shops — a post office, a hardware store, a needlepoint shop. Surely Harry and Meghan didn’t move halfway across the world for this?
You get the idea – this woman flew thousands of miles to wander around Montecito, going into stores and telling herself “I bet Meghan has been here, I hate it so much.” And that’s the whole pathetic story – these papers send their reporters to California to simply be in proximity to the Sussexes, and they’d rather do that than cover the left-behind Windsors. Like, the Princess of Wales and Prince William have been out and about a lot this year. King Charles just became the first monarch to visit Auschwitz. Poor Princess Anne had a life-altering injury last year. Y’all wanna do deep dives on any of that?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Santa Barbara, CA – Prince Harry plays his last polo game in Santa Barbara before heading to London with his family to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. Harry’s side Los Padres won the Lisle Nixon Memorial Final event in “sudden death” extra time 15-14 against Mokarow Farms on Sunday (May 29). Harry’s Argentinian friend and teammate Nacho Figueras scored the winning point. There was no sign at the game of Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle. Harry was named as “H. Wales” on the scoreboard. Pictured: Prince Harry BACKGRID USA 29 MAY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Santa Barbara, CA – Prince Harry plays his last polo game in Santa Barbara before heading to London with his family to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. Harry’s side Los Padres won the Lisle Nixon Memorial Final event in “sudden death” extra time 15-14 against Mokarow Farms on Sunday (May 29). Harry’s Argentinian friend and teammate Nacho Figueras scored the winning point. There was no sign at the game of Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle. Harry was named as “H. Wales” on the scoreboard. Pictured: Prince Harry BACKGRID USA 29 MAY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Santa Barbara, CA – Meghan Markle watches her husband, Prince Harry, at this latest polo game. The royal played for Los Padres at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club on Friday (June 17). Harry’s side is taking on Folded Hills. Pictured: Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 17 JUNE 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Santa Barbara, CA – Meghan Markle hangs out with the Polo WAGS as she enjoys a cold drink and watches Prince Harry play Polo. Pictured: Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 17 JUNE 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Santa Barbara, CA – Prince Harry honors a Santa Barbara helicopter pilot at Kevin Costner’s One805Live! event Pictured: Prince Harry BACKGRID USA 20 SEPTEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Santa Barbara, CA – Prince Harry honors a Santa Barbara helicopter pilot at Kevin Costner’s One805Live! event Pictured: Prince Harry BACKGRID USA 20 SEPTEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Beverly Hills, CA – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends The Paley Center for Media hosts Paley Honors Fall Gala honoring Tyler Perry at Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, California. Pictured: Meghan Markle, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 4 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Beverly Hills, CA – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends The Paley Center for Media hosts Paley Honors Fall Gala honoring Tyler Perry at Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, California. Pictured: Meghan Markle, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 4 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Beverly Hills, CA – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends The Paley Center for Media hosts Paley Honors Fall Gala honoring Tyler Perry at Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, California. Pictured: Megan Markle, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 4 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Huevo is the one who travels in copter with whiney blades. The school run belongs to huevo
Yeah, the writer is trying to suggest that Harry does the school run in a helicopter which is absurd. Of course her doesn’t. But you know who probably does and uses a helicopter like a taxi? William. He probably has to take the helicopter in from wherever he’s staying before he can do the school run. And that’s assuming Carole/Kate/nanny isn’t doing it that day. Lordy, the projection even in this silly article, omg.
William would take Carole in the copter so she could go shopping
Sure, the helicopter must be Harry…. it couldn’t possibly be a news helicopter, the police, life flight to hospital … couldn’t be anyone but Harry.
From where would Harry even take the helicopter? From his back yard? Or would he have to drive his kids to the airfield first? So they could take the helicopter back to the school? And park it in the playground? Or maybe the kids just climb down a rope while the copter is hovering, like Navy Seals? And I don’t even want to think about the return journey. Seriously, WTF??
Do yall remember the SNL skit the Californians?
It was a parody soap opera with Will Armisen, bill hader and Kristen wiig. There was always some immense drama – like one of them was cheating or back from the dead – that then devolved into them arguing about which roads the one who was going to storm off in a dramatic flourish should take due to LA traffic being so terrible.
Or one of them saying “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE” and the other responding with a long ass list of roads they took to arrive at the place of the DRAMATIC REVELATION.
Her saying she was taking the 101 felt exactly like that. I actually started doing a knock off bit when I read it 😂
Also I think she spent all her money on the convertible because all Americans drive convertibles.
Or she has seen too many movies with montages of women filmed by drones in convertibles driving up the coast to freedom. With an artistically fluttering scarf and sunglasses.
Perfect! Might as well laugh at the disturbing behavior of the British press.
The Californians is my most favorite SNL skit(s). It’s so funny because it’s so true (Mr Ripley is from California and when we have family reunions it ALWAYS turns to traffic). Plus I loved it when Bill Hader would break.
Anyway, she gives herself away that she’s still in LA and not near SB with how many lanes the highway is — having lived in Santa Barbara, I know this for a fact.
This month has been the longest decade of my life and I’m looking forward to “With Love” so articles like this just remind me that it’s coming and will be a much needed balm to the gong show that is life currently.
Did you know that during rehearsal Fred would use a regular voice?!? And then the second the skit really started he would devolve into weird sounds and intense lip movements and the most bizarre and wandering accent.
Bill didn’t stand a chance. And the ones where Kristin and bill would accidentally lock eyes?!?
She didn’t break a lot but dang near every Californians you would see her shoulder shaking as she tried to hold a distorted expression and not collapse in a heap of laughter. The only roads I remember from that are the 101 and wilshire?? I don’t know. I didn’t listen to the words so much as the tones and expressions. Pure peak snl genius.
Omg I hopped on YouTube and watched like the first three minutes of a complication and I’ve never seen bill break so hard!!! Hahahahaha oh i needed a laugh.
LOL! Who drives a convertible on the freeway? Can these UK reporters look even dumber?
I agree with Ripley that she gives herself away as describing LA and not Montecito when she talks about hearing a helicopter and assuming it was Harry doing a school run but being too afraid to lookup as she’s driving along an eight lane highway. The description sounds as if she spent the entire time in LA and is only repeating any of the assumptions and stories told about Montecito. A trip across the ocean to describe things that others have already said, seems like that explains why the Fail isn’t doing so well and having to keep laying people off. I bet if they told the truth about the ones the public is paying for, they wouldn’t have to keep laying people off.
Star, Cali girl here: when I was going to UCSB, I drove my convertible back and forth to LA (home base). Top down, windows & back guard up, reduced the “blow back”. However, I was young and didn’t mind the “wind blown look” lol. Now, of course, it’s a/c allllll the way lol.
Frankly, I love the Montecito area. When my sister and I do a “girls’ weekend”, we drive up to Los Olivos & Montecito (from LA) for a fun time of shopping, spas, and good food! We have a blast.
Apparently this person has no idea of where/what Montecito truly is. It is definitely NOT a collection of “beige bungalows” & “mom and pop” stores. Even the more “modest” homes are over 7 figures, and the main shopping area is quite upscale stores/boutiques.
Years ago, Benedict Cumberbatch was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel, and he told a story about coming to California (LA) for the first time. He said the first thing he did was rent a convertible and drive up the coast to Malibu, because he had seen movies in which folks drove up the coast, past the beaches, wind in their hair, with a surfboard propped up in the back seat, wearing sunglasses. Livin’ the Cali dream, I guess. This fool of a writer must have expected a similar vibe.
LOL @ Ripley I too was like, “Which is it?! Are you on an 8-lane freeway or are you within an hour of the Montecito exits, because it can’t be both!”
The helicopter was in LA, guarantee. (So also, my money’s on a news chopper or fire fighters).
LOL @DK! My thoughts exactly. This sounds like a retread of an old article with improvised details.
But, really,
“I listen to the whirring blades in the sky and wonder if it’s Harry doing the school run. But I daren’t look up. I am too petrified. I have hired a car in the US for the first time and am bowling along an eight-lane freeway out of LA.”.
LOL. Harry’s doing a flyover of the eight-lane freeway out of LA on a school run near Montecito. Whoever wrote this bs needs to look at a freaking map.
The British Media urinalists make the main characters in Dumb and Dumber look smart compared to them.
@ Agreatreckoning calling them “urinalists” is the perfect description 🤣 The tabloid propagandists and hacks are not fit to call themselves journalists we should all start referring to them as urinalists.
I don’t believe I was the first to call the BM/RR’s ‘urinalists’. Agree-perfect description and they ought to be called such. (don’t want credit where credit isn’t due) They’re p*ssing in a drain.
Would totally love being an actual journalist/reporter sent to Montecito for anything. Still don’t believe this one made a trip. How braaaave of them to do so with the LA fire situation and aftermath? They forgot to mention any of that.
Taking the chopper to do a school run is straight out of Willy’s playbook, not Harry’s.🙄
Says pegs the school run is mine
This person sounds very jealous
Let’s not forget the mention of Meghan’s white teeth, is that something new in the UK?
That hack just had to mention not only Meghan’s skin color but against white teeth! Well, that certainly conjures up stereotypical racist images of the past, doesn’t it?
It’s giving me the impression that she is jealous of Meghan’s beautiful white teeth and gorgeous skin. I’m getting an image of the usual suspects who attack Meghan and it’s not a good.
I think it’s because Britons think Americans teeth look too white and fake, so she’s trying to allude to that in her comment.
Meghan has pretty cute teeth. They’re actually kind of shaped likes Doria’s. And yeah, they’re v white.
@CherryBerry, I think it’s because the BRF/BM want to make an issue because the BRF’s toothy situation isn’t great-except, lol, Kate and Diana. And, obviously, Meghan.
Meghan’s teeth don’t look too white or too fake. They look taken care of. My teeth aren’t as white as hers. But, they’re white, with some discoloration due to coffee and things. Good toothpaste helps. Maybe Britons-BM/BRF need to invest in toothcare. We pay for having our teeth cleaned at least 2 times a year.
Have a hard time looking at pictures of the Queen Mother & others
Let them. keep it up. When the world “rights” itself (pardon the pun, I do NOT mean “becomes right wing,” but rather, sorts itself out to right-side-up and back to common sense) there will be legislation against this kind of harassment. The Media and Murdoch have no shame. For the most part, Harry/Meghan are untouchable and the media cant handle it. They sure did move into the right neighborhood.
Yes, the world will right itself.
Also, in a few years, Murdoch will be dead. He lost his case to reverse the irrevocable trust so all his kids, and not just the right-winger, will have control over the media empire. I choose to believe we will see some changes from News Group when that happens.
I mean it is a nice job for a reporter I guess? A bit of vacay. Until they get there and realize no one will talk about the Sussexes except that same British guy who always does.
“I bet Meghan has been here, I hate it so much.” hahahahah I love it, spot on. The problem with focusing on the left behinds is the lack of clicks and comments. Someone pointed out this week in the comments that on the Fail, for example, WandK posts get about 300 comments, KC and Sidechick 200 and H and M commments are in the thousands. Most of them salivate over hating on them, and some try to clap back at the trolls. It is interesting that under the H and M posts, many people idolize Huevo and Keen in comparison with the Sussexes, and yet under the posts about the Waleses, the comments are overwhelmingly negative these days.
“They get an all-expenses-paid trip to California, where they get to rent a car and wander around Montecito,”
This one apparently didn’t. She complained that she couldn’t afford lunch in Montecito. Maybe a sign of Murdoch needing to tighten the belt, after paying more than a billion for the NOTW/Scum lies and innuendos?
I appreciated how the Squad found out more about this person in no time flat, including her living in a camper van on an industrial estate in Suffolk (?), and her being friends with that racist Julie Burchill.
But she rented a convertible (on Murdoch’s dime)…I wonder what her per diem was (for food?)
Anyway, the jealousy of Americans in general, and Californians specifically…with slamming Meghan the cherry on top….I cannot understand how British PR people live with themselves, truly
How do these lightweight Brit twits live with themselves? They wrap up in the comfort of their own dedicated racism and sling sarcastic comments at successful, popular people to show how envious / jealous they’re not – thereby proving the point of just how envious – racist they really are. Running true to form in their ‘whiteness’. That’s British journalists in a nutshell.
No clue why this writer thought she was going to see something like ‘the Croisette in Cannes’ and didn’t bring enough change for lunch. I just contrast her idiocy with Rod Stewart who showed up big time for Fire Aid benefit wearing his knighthood medal saying “just letting you know the British are here, the allies.”
This isn’t what real journalists do. This is what obsessed fans of pop stars do. I remember back in the day, when New Kids on the Block were all the rage, how many people used to book hotels all over the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston (which is hilarious, considering Dorchester’s reputation), hoping to run into one of the New Kids. Contemporaneously, the Outlander weirdo fans do the same thing all over Scotland, hoping to run into “Jamie Fraser.” One woman even went so far as to book art studio time in the place that Sam Heughan’s mother owns. Weird, obsessive, crazy stuff. But again – this is what WEIRDO FANS do, not REAL JOURNALISTS.
Those “British royal specialists” are looking more and more psycho these days.
But back to this: what exactly is the plan here? Wander in and out of stores hoping to run into the Duke & Duchess (or, Archie & Lili)? And then what? Tell Meghan to her face how she’s the Yoko Ono of the Royal Family (or worse, hit her with racial slurs)? Push past the security that they no doubt have to snap an exclusive photo so they can bitch and moan about them for the next 20 years? Scream about how Harry will never be King?
And if that doesn’t happen, what then? If some shopkeeper grows a set and calls the police on these people for being weird stalkers (it’s a shame that H&M didn’t move to Wellington, FL, where there’s concealed carry laws), and the police rightly arrest them, WHAT THEN? How are these deranged British tabloid muckrakers going to explain to a judge how Americans are all SCHTEWPID and how VITAL the BRITISH ROYAL SPECIALISTS are to do their jobs?
Come back to New York, you weirdos. Come try that mess again, that you chase H&M all over our streets, to the point that the NYPD issues a public statement about how weird y’all are, and how you jeopardized the lives of REAL NYers to feed your obsessive delusions. Then turn around and pout about how the NYPD is SO MEAN for doing that, and SO SCHTEWPID.
I can tell you what they’ll do now, though any American familiar with various police forces in this country can draw their own conclusions.
(I am a blockhead. Can confirm. As a matter of fact, I still drive past Joey Mcintyre’s house whenever I’m in Jamaica Plain. LOL. )
Well thank you for unlocking a memory about Joe McIntyre being “from the monument in Jamaica Plain.” LMAO! But I always found Blockhead “pilgrimages,” shall we call them, to that area absolutely hilarious because you always had a bunch of preteen girls from small towns who inevitably had never been to “the big city” before, and not only found themselves in Boston, but in one of the roughest parts of the city. I’m a NYer (born, bred, and fed, back from when that meant something), and I immediately used to think how these same little girls would take a trek to East New York or Williamsburg (as it was in the 1980s – hollowed-out hulls of drug-houses – not today) if that’s what they thought would get them closer to “their boys.”
I love every word of your comment, it’s so true. These deranged writings they publish are so obsessed, stupid and repetitive. I don’t understand why the British public tolerates this anymore. Even those who idolize the royals, how are they not offended by the stupidity of this??
And why did the Times send this person to Montecito, when half a dozen other idiots have been there and came home with nothing? Maybe she went on her vacation time because she is so obsessed? Hence she couldn’t afford the restaurants.
She could’ve saved us all the time and trouble by writing “rich people do rich people sh*t, but I’m poor because British salaries are peasant-level pittances, so I can’t afford a 2 for $5 deal at Mickey D’s, and I hate everyone who can afford more. Especially Meghan, that b*tch.”
Like, we get it lady, you all don’t like her…come up with something else.
*slowly raises hand* last year I talked my sister into making the 5 hour trek to Montecito for a weekend of shopping and dining. My sister doesn’t follow the royals but vaguely knows about my “Sussex obsession” and since she’s always up for a road trip, away we went. Montecito was a sweet little town, and yes the “mom and pop” stores were there but also some wonderful boutiques where I, surprisingly, found lots of items I could afford. We had dinner at Tre Lune, where the Sussex’s dined with the Brooksbanks, and it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had! While I’m not in a rush to make the 5 hour trek a yearly trip, I do think about it with very fond memories.
To be clear, I don’t think it’s wrong to visit a city or a town or whatever because a celebrity of any kind is from there, or mentions the city in an interview or something. When I was part of VP Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps, it was held in Atlanta, and I was SUPER stoked to visit all the places mentioned by the Black Crowes (who made their mark in Little 5 Points) and the Dungeon Family (and then a colleague took me to the recording studio where so many ATL rappers got their start, and who was in hog heaven more than me?).
What you did is, to put it simply, normal. You wanted to try a restaurant because H&M ate there once, which is what restaurants look for when they host celebrities at their joints.
What’s NOT okay is doing what this “journalist” (I use the term loosely because it’s an insult to my profession, which is already taking a beating on account of legacy media sucking up to the MAGA movement) did: skulk around Montecito like a crazy lady, bitching about everything, and slithering around hoping to run into the Duke & Duchess so she could tell her followers/readers/racist British friends all about it.
This lady would ransack Meghan’s underwear drawer if she ever figured out where she lived.
Around 15 years ago my friend and I were house sitting for her grandparents in Santa Barbara and it was gorgeous. The architecture, the dramatic cliff beaches and the yummy random taco stands. We went for a really curvy drive along the coast and my friend said this is montecito and Oprah and Ellen live here. At the time I was like okay whatever but now I’m like I’ve maybe been to monetcito! Lol, I’m pretty sure I’ve driven through it. But I’d love to do a vacay back to the Santa Barbara and the montecito area. Would love it.
@Harla & Bernadette – I haven’t planned a trip to Montecito, but an observant Celebitch to whom I am eternally grateful noted a bottle of Biography Long June Face oil in a photo of H&M’s home some two years ago. I’d just adopted a moisturizing routine that included a face oil component, and when the brand went on sale, I bought a bottle of a different product in the line , and then, when Long June went on an extreme promotion, tried that. Just bought my third bottle (it lasts for months) at full cost, because it’s proven to be worth it. All this to say there’s nothing wrong with a celebrity endorsement from time to time – and am just now remembering that my husband and I read Neil Peart’s (z”l) beautiful heartbreaking book “Ghost Rider,” and because of it, stayed a night at the Prine of Wales Hotel in Waterton, AB, and drink The MacAllan.
@Harla – I’ll admit to visiting a restaurant in Marrakech, Morocco because Prince Harry had been there. We ordered the same dish that he had eaten there too – LOL
When Harry and Meghan were staying in Canada, on Vancouver Island not far from Victoria (BC’s capital) in a small town, the tabloid rats and paparazzi were regularly chased out of stores and restaurants in Saanich by the locals. They were VERY protective of the Sussexes — I remember one video clip on the local news of a store owner literally shoving a pap out the door yelling at them to “get the hell outta here”. It was grand!
I love hearing things like that.
@Jaded – A friend of mine lives near Saanich and her son works in a restaurant visited by H&M when they stayed in Canada. It’s true that the locals did their best to preserve H&M’s privacy.
Harry doing school runs in a helicopter? He’s not the one with a tax payer helicopter at his disposal.
And why the line about white teeth? I know, as a whole, British cosmetic dentistry isn’t like America’s but still. Very weird. Like Meghan is a horse or something.
Derangers even praise huevo for commuting in copter s. The reporter has not been paying attention
Kate has obvious veneers and they still make a thing about Meghan’s teeth. It’s pretty racist.
Obvious veneers, obvious hair extensions, obvious photoshopping.
It was a racist comment by the reporter — Meghan’s skin color against her white teeth.
“I take route 101 up the coast”….ummm….this person doesn’t know what they’re talking about!!!
I mean I guess so if they started out in Ventura?
They’re correct … 101 is the coastal route from LA to Santa Barbara.
And this is why The Californians is as much documentary as it is telanovela in sketch comedy format.
I was born and raised in LA, spent 30 years there. You take the PCH up the coast, not the 101.
Carrie, you CAN take the 101 (coming off the 405), but it does meld into PCH around Oxnard. However, starting on PCH and going all the way up is a *much* nicer (albeit longer) drive.
We go up this way most times when we drive up to SF for family holidays-Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah). We usually stop in Montecito for a coffee, if we’ve started early, or wait till Los Olivos for lunch.
Yum—PCH!! One of my favorite drives anywhere…
My thoughts went to the PCH as well, especially if you bothered to rent a convertible. But they do run concurrently in segments
Oh my goodness give it a damn rest. You all said,” if you don’t like our coverage as a taxpayer funded Royal then you can just leave!!”. They left. They moved 11 time zones away. They have been back a minimal amount of times to any taxpayer funded royal events. Why do you random British reporter need to see what they’re up to in Montecito? Why do you need to know if what Meghan’s show focuses on, is the reality of the area? Do you also do that for any other TV show, any other movie? You sneered down your nose at them just knowing that they were never going to leave, and if they left they would never be successful. You were wrong. Get over it it’s been YEARS.
Right? and why do people still read it in the UK like it was true journalism? It’s repetitive af, how are people not bored of this, even the most deranged??
A collection of mom and pop shops actually sounds cute. And aren’t low beige buildings a socal aesthetic? The writer is complaining about things that sound quite nice.
Right? A convenient hardware store and a needlepoint shop, the horror!
Towns that have hardware, needlepoint, used-books, camera, or any kind of “small-town niche” stores will always be cool to me. Nantucket, Mass has a drugstore with a soda fountain/ice cream parlor, and it’s a fav vacation memory of mine…
@DEERING24 OMG I googled “needlepoint stores near me” and at the one closest to my house they have…a kit for “Kate’s Coronation Headpiece” for the astonishing price of…$19.00!!!!!
Andromeda—🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I would bet it looks better than anything Kate wears.
The low buildings aren’t “beige”, they’re more of a darker sand color with dark wood trim and doors. Farther up the main street, the buildings become more of a white, stucco with a Mexican cabana influence.
That’s kind of what an American town is supposed to be like, isn’t it? Low key, shops and restaurants, people doing their thing? Oh horrors, it seems they even have a public library!
I’m getting just a little sick and tired of the British press looking down their noses at Americans and American culture. We have this saying, “if you can’t say anything nice …” – to which I’d add, “you found your way here, you can find your way back home please.”
Quick, someone direct this idiot to a Target and a Cheesecake Factory. Let her look for M&H in there.
So very sick of all these nonsense stories. Anything to TRY to take them down but it never works.
Considering SoCal, it was most likely a news or law enforcement helicopter.
The trouble with media and newspapers is that they do not challenge each other articles and opinions right or wrong. They leave it to the press regulator to impose standards and the press regulator only acts when readers complain.
What amazes me is that when you cut through the tabloid noise, H & M are kind of boring. And I really don’t mean that in a bad way. I just mean that they clearly prefer to entertain at home or go to friends’ homes, every once in a while they go out to eat, they travel independently or as a family, they work and they take vacations. If it wasn’t for the media (British tabloids) and the loathsome Heritage foundation screaming at and about them every minute, we’d hear about them… What? 12 times a year or so? Which is another reason I never understand when ppl call them attention seeking. Ummmm huh?
But they are, you’re right! If this was anyone else, it would be two friends looking at an Instagram reel. ” Who’s that?, oh that’s my cousin Meghan, she used to live in the UK with her husband for his job but he quit and they moved back to California and started their own business. They travel for work, and sometimes do stuff with charities that he started at his old job. Oh cool.”
Seriously that would be it.
@Lilpeppa40: You’re so right. The same thing happened when Meghan moved to the UK. The British press was expecting her to be all about town but she wasn’t and Richard Eden was perplexed when she and Harry and moved to Windsor because he thought that Meghan would want to stay in the city.
They heard ‘actress’ and ‘American’ and ‘Los Angeles’ and immediately assumed she was going to be a Kardashian-esque attention whore who was PANTING for pap shots and tabloid coverage.
The problem is that they have CONTINUED to assume this even when all the evidence to the contrary has been punching them in the face for the last NINE YEARS. They would rather twist themselves into non-euclidean fifteen-dimensional pretzels expounding on some bizarre Goldbergian ‘plan’ to become the Queeniest of Bees that she is supposedly on step 397 of than admit that they were wrong in the first place.
Where their kids are at school driving to the helicopter location would actually take them longer than getting in their car to drive them driveway to driveway.
Don’t forget the French documentary and the Sun sent Matt Wilkinson there in 2023. They didn’t post an article but he admitted it after the fact on that video pod he does. What I ABSOLUTELY LOVE about these we’re going to montecito stories is that they never get any info. Nothing. The stories are full of either speculation or a rehash of things that were in the public domain already. Or nasty innuendo from that former tabloid editor that lives there. That means that the Sussexes have the privacy and peace that they were seeking. They do this nonsense because they have to convince themselves and they audience of haters that they have created that the Sussexes life is not happy. It is truly pathetic.
Nobody calls it the American Riviera. That’s an out of touch British reporter trying to make a story out of nothing and just pissed that they wouldn’t talk to him.
Where I’m from, the “American Riviera” is probably whatever lake a person’s cabin is on.
I mean SB is known as such and will tout that in tourist spaces but no one CALLS it that
No one calls Montecito the “American Riviera” because that nickname is given to Santa Barbara, which is to the East of Montecito. They can’t even get the names right. It’s like saying you’re in London when you’re really in Kings Cross.
“It’s like saying you’re in London when you’re really in Kings Cross.”
What does that even mean? That King’s Cross (a railway station in London & an area) is not part of London?
What is “London” then?
#Ela – King’s Cross is hardly Knightsbridge though, is it?
Wow, if the trailer alone makes a person fly halfway around the world to experience “the joy,” imagine what will happen when the show actually streams – there’ll be pilgrimages and bus tours and souvenir stands with Meghan dolls…
So stupid.
The Times was a grown up paper before Murdoch took it over, read by the people who ran the country, now it is read by those who want others to think they run the country. It’s actually Murdoch who runs the country which is why we left the EU. “When I go into Downing Street they do what I say; when I go to Brussels they take no notice”
@sunnyside up – Exactly!
Do they understand how this makes British people look to sensible people around the world.
‘They are bitter bitter bitter…..’
But it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks after all we are British, we had an empire of which the sun never set. (joke, but I do remember a teacher bragging about the empire when I was at school in the 50s.)
*had* being the optimum word.
Why do these people continue to display their low levels of intelligence?
There is a reason that H&M chose this quiet and outwardly “unassuming and uninspiring” town. The same as all the other high profile residents who trusts people to keep their mouths firmly shut.
Has this nimrod seen pictures of the Sussexes mansion? There is nothing dull or drab about it, and there’s certainly no reason to feel sorry for poor Harry.
Go back to your dull and drab trailer. Harry is doing just fine!
After literally growing up in a gilded museum-like cage, I’m sure Harry WELCOMES the relaxed, calm decor of his & Meg’s home’s interior.
One suspects he has no beef with “unassuming” downtowns, either…
The royal reporter for Sun also went to Montecito in August 2023. He said he went to find out if there was any truth to the story that Harry and Meghan was divorcing. He said he didn’t find any evidence. Anyway this is just stalking. The British press sending reporters all the way to Montecito shows that the rest of family is boring and irrelevant.
That’s why there are more stories about H and M than there are about any of the other royals.
What did he do, hang out in front of the divorce courthouse?
Good lord, The Cut interview showed that Meghan was the one going back and forth to pick up Archie.
Why would they take a helicopter……
Not sure why the reporter thinks the Santa Barbara area would be anything like Cannes? Part of its charm is that it’s more of a laid-back, small town vibe. It’s for people who want to be able to walk along the shore with their dog and kids and eat some seafood at a quaint old restaurant without the glitz and hustle and gawking.
I doubt the reporter has ever been to Cannes and only knows it from the Cannes Film Festival photos in the tabloid press.
After following Meghan’s story, I am more sure everyday that J.K. Rowling really didn’t use any imagination while creating the character Rita Skeeter. In some ways, the royal reporters sound more fictitious than that witch.
Hey, George Orwell had ample tabloid material for 1984 even before he worked for the Ministry of Propaganda. 😳🤣
95% of the article is just “Wow this store is so expensive, that item is so expensive, why is such-and-such so expensive.” Yeah, no kidding — rich people and rich celebrities live in Montecito, so no surprise that shopping there is expensive. If you have a problem with rich people and expensive real estate, have you looked at the valuations of Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and Windsor Castle? She’s complaining about rich people while writing in the service of actual MONARCHS.
Also, helicopters? Yes, some could belong to rich residents. But also, the California coast is riddled with military bases, and the Channel Islands are right there.
Montecito is boring, London is much more exciting and culturally rich? Yeah I’m sure Charles and Camilla are running around the exciting neighborhoods of central London all the time, taking the tube, chugging pints at the pub, riding the London Eye, shopping at Tesco.
Too bad the writer didn’t bother to check out any actual sightseeing destinations around Montecito, such as the FREE beaches, FREE hiking trails, FREE public parks, historic Spanish missions, botanic gardens, art galleries, zoo … not to mention plenty of delicious food in Santa Barbara that would be affordable to anyone who can afford to rent a convertible.
Overall the article just tells on the writer’s willful ignorance and hateful agenda. It only makes me feel sorry for H&M that they are relentlessly picked on like this for no reason.
Lover, well if they wanted to tick off residents in Montecito, this would be the way to do it. I suspect most people wouldn’t like anyone telling them that their hometown/city is so lacking. I get tired of the bm letting everyone know just how subpar Americans are.
President 45 (I refused to call him 47) and his dwindling number of acolytes are a small minority. What he’s attempting to do will not last long. The Country really doesn’t want or need someone from the UK telling us that we don’t match up. Do they really think this will endear Billy Idle to us?
If that reporter thinks upscale shops, restaurants, and real estate are expensive in Montecito, she should check out London.
They’re just salty that a Black woman is wealthy, beloved, and taking no directions from them.
They moved halfway across the world to get away from THEM!
Man oh man, I’ll take some Murdoch money to spend a month chilling in Montecito and then drunkenly blog about my travels and be like “imagine if Meghan were here at this eatery., she’d probably wear beige and shit. Remember when all those bitches..I mean royals wore burgundy to Kate’s piano recital to say that she didn’t have to wear beige? Anyway,
onto my next stop! Where Meghan and Harry totally probably came once and ate here. Remember how Kate had cancer and we shouldn’t want her to work? Anyway, here is a nice beach. Here’s me relaxing on the beach eating some chips. I bet Meghan eats chips on the beach. Maybe she’ll use chips to cook in her Netflix show. Remember how Netflix paid the Sussexes money and then Meghan Macain didn’t want to watch the cooking show so went ballistic? Anyway, pretty tired from the beach, time for a nice nap at the hotel. I bet Meghan takes naps nearby ” collects 1 million Murdoch dollars!
So funny! But also, and sadly, precise.
Hehe. Nice work, if you can get it!
Murdoch sending a message after settling with Harry?
Honestly? I think that biggest problem the royals have with Meghan is that she isn’t the Hollywood girl they expected her to be. The thought: actress=parties, wanting to be seen, wanting to get papped, social climbing, real Housewife. Meghan is none of those things. They wrote a script for her and Hapless Harry that isn’t true to who either of them are. They are so dull, unimaginative, and thoughtless themselves that they can’t course correct at all. They keep hoping the Goebells playbook “tell a lie often enough and it becomes true” will work. Really, they just do the same thing over and over again, hoping for a different outcome. That, according to someone I can’t recall, is the very definition of stupidity.
You’ve articulated my same thoughts. Its like the royals and the press have always labeled Meghan as character in some hollywood movie they’ve seen as a conniving social climbing scheming diva that has nefarious intentions and will soon move on to some other wealthy man. They do not have the ability to see Meghan as a human person with genuine thoughts and intentions and love for Harry and her kids. Remember how they were so SURE she’s be flaunting her kids and when she didn’t they said she was of course waiting for some big huge payday for some magazine cover? They have all of these ideas of what Meghan is and no matter how many times the illusion is false they still keep with this petty generalization.
I think the monarchy’s play has been that the marriage would end soon/eventually and all this will be over and Harry will come back and they will have control of his life and he will play the dutiful spare as always intended. Then the royals can use his likability and have Invictus associated with the monarchy again and same with his other charities. The problem is after all these years nothing has changed. Harry has not backed down. Their marriage has not fallen apart despite wild speculation based on nothing from the British media and the constant pressure. Its Meghan they want gone and see as the obstacle they don’t want around. I bet if they DID divorce, Frogmore would be given back by Charles for Harry to live with his kids super fast. Security Included.
Their kids. No court would take those children from Meghan. Harry would not cater to his father. And Charles would look like a monster treating Meghan that way.
As it turns out, there is someone in that family who’s always wanted to be seen, wanted to get papped, a conniving social climber who’s had no trouble using her kids for PR. And that’s Kate, just like Will’s the one with the private helicopter at his fingertips, not Harry. They’re not going to make Kate look bad by painting Meghan in a more realistic and sympathetic light. Besides, Meghan is so convenient for dumping on when distraction is necessary. Whether or not they’re – capable – of viewing Meghan as she really is an interesting question. Given that overall they’re such a twisted family, so much envy and jealousy and fighting for front page space (and money) among them (not to mention the personal agendas of the courtiers), do they even appreciate what (if anything?) is positive about each other? There’s not a single adult in that core family I’d want to be anywhere near.
“I arrive at an uninspiring collection of low beige bungalows housing a collection of Mom and Pop shops — a post office, a hardware store, a needlepoint shop. Surely Harry and Meghan didn’t move halfway across the world for this?”
My actual jaw is on the actual jaw that this reporter is shitting on Montecito. I live in Southern California and the various coastal towns from LA to SLP are obviously not perfect and not for everyone—but there’s a reason why Montecito is one of the five most expensive zip codes in the US. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the country. The derangement shown here really is total.
Every time one of these reporters wants a vacation they pitch a Harry and Meghan in Montecito article to their editors and boom, a week’s paid vacation.
Anyone who has read the entire article has more patience for boring, repetitious prattle than I do.
These reporters sell their souls to the devil, who takes away all their values and lets them unleash destruction, hatred and meanness. And in doing so, the devil promises wealth, prestige and advancement. And indeed, they lose everything the devil has promised them. They lose their reputation as journalists, their standing in real journalism is zero, and in the end they are sacked because the devil has no power over the many good people who do not sell their souls to him and do not warm their skins at his hellish parties.
Well said!
…and they can’t even enjoy the “rewards” they get, for selling your soul means giving up that capacity for any kind of happiness.
💯✨
The comments on that article in The Times are nearly all negative! It’s obvious it’s Rupert’s revenge and the public sees right through it.