‘I visited Prince Harry and Meghan’s Montecito neighbourhood – there was one big problem’

Home to the likes of and , Oprah Winfrey, and Gwyneth Paltrow, the town of Montecito may seem small and unassuming at first, but it is the fifth most expensive zip code in the United States.

The picturesque ocean-side village is set to feature heavily in Meghan’s eight-part lifestyle series when it releases next month. The series will see Meghan teaching viewers about baking, tablescaping, and flower arranging.

The Times journalist Katie Glass visited Montecito to see what the neighbourhood was really like. When she arrived, Katie was met with an “uninspiring collection of low beige bungalows” concealing a series of shops.

But soon noticed the Tesla, Bentley, and two Porsche Cayennes parked outside. She noticed that Montecito appeared to ooze wealth.

In fact, an average house in the “quaint” town costs around $7.5million – roughly £6million. Some have fetched up to $63million – about £50.6million – while the Sussexes own Montecito mansion reportedly set them back around $14million (£11.2million).

After pulling up in the town, Katie found herself searching for a snack, ending up with a “vegan, kosher, gluten-free, non-GMO certified beetroot juice and a 100 per cent organic vegan, gluten-free, palm oil-free, soy-free, low-sodium ‘chocolate bar’” for $10 (£8).

Inside Montecito’s shops she discovered $70 (£56) wooden-handled dusters, a $19 (£15) range of jam, and $800 (£640) stone chickens sold as “garden ornaments”.

She remarked: “Everything is exorbitantly expensive. Even the plainest home shop I find, Hudson Grace, is flogging $1,000 silver champagne buckets.”

Keen for a spot of lunch, the journalist visited Lucky’s, a restaurant Harry and Meghan are said to frequent on date nights, only to discover a steak cost around $175 (£140). Instead, she visited Tre Lune, the Italian restaurant where Meghan is said to have celebrated her 42nd birthday.

There Katie discovered mains, including the likes of filet mignon and veal chop, cost up to $65 (£52). The Ellen salad, said to be named after Ellen DeGeneres, cost $42 (£33).

Venturing through the town, Katie discovered Montecito’s electric bikes, which Harry himself was spotted riding in 2022. Although, she found they are now “dusty” from “languishing unused because everyone prefers to drive their Porsches”.

While browsing the shops she found a fake log cabin, concealing a hardware store selling rattan furniture for thousands of dollars as well as a “virtue-signalling feast” in the local supermarket. Products were branded as “made with goodness” or “packaged with love”.

In the clothes shops, Katie discovered wooly jumpers cost $800 (£640). She queried “Is this what Meghan means when she says she loves ‘taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it’?”

Katie concluded that Montecito is “an immaculately wholesome Disney world, is where famous people go to pretend to be normal”. She ended by saying it left her “feeling sorry” for the Duke of Sussex for leaving behind a life of royalty for a “beige mecca to wellness” surrounded by oat milk and vegan lattes.

She described the town as possibly “the most boring place” she had ever visited.