MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry’s new £8m Santa Barbara mansion was funded by Prince Charles, it has been claimed today.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have now been living in their new family home in California for six weeks now after moving from Tyler Perry’s $18million LA mansion, Page Six reported.
Their new neighbours reportedly include chat show queens Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres along with Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.
And a royal insider today claimed Charles had been keen to help the couple find a new family home in America after they left the UK.
A source told the Mail Online: “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.”
Meghan, 39, and Harry, 35, this year gave up public funds after quitting the Royal Family, saying they wanted to live “financially independent”.
However, the prince will continue to receive £2million from his father, with Charles understood to have amassed a personal fortune of over £100million.
Charles’ financial help comes as the couple agreed they would repay the taxpayers the £2.4million spent on the refurbishments on Frogmore Cottage as well as fund their own security.
Despite the couple quitting the royal family, the explosive Finding Freedom biography, released this week, claimed Meghan had considered Prince Charles as a “second father” – with the future king having even walked her down the aisle on her wedding day.
It was further claimed that Harry and brother Prince William had a “hot and cold” relationship with their 71-year-old dad in the book.
One example was the Duke of Cornwall’s 70th birthday photo – which was claimed to have been an “absolute nightmare” because of the princes.
But the Sun previously revealed that an unbreakable bond had been formed between Charles and his son Harry despite the book’s new claims.
And a source told Page Six: “Harry and Meghan have been quietly living in their own home in Santa Barbara since early July.
“They are not houseguests of Oprah or anyone else, they bought this home themselves.
“This is where they want to continue their lives after leaving the UK.
“This is the first home either of them has ever owned. It has been a very special time for them as a couple and as a family — to have complete privacy for six weeks since they moved in.
“They intend to put down their roots in this house and the quiet community, which has considerable privacy.”
“This is where they want to bring Archie up, where they hope he can have as normal a life as possible.”
The couple had previously been staying at producer Tyler Perry’s swanky $18million home in LA, after stepping down as senior royals in March.
The source claimed the couple had never intended on staying permanently in Los Angeles, saying the area had been “researched well”.
They added: “This is the place where they plan to be happy, make good friends and bring up Archie, giving him the chance to play with other children his age.”
The couple launched a legal bid this month in an attempt to ban the publication of photos of their son Archie that they claimed were taken by a drone that flew above Perry’s LA mansion.
A spokesperson for the couple told Page Six: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into their family home in July of this year.
“They have settled into the quiet privacy of their community since their arrival and hope that this will be respected for their neighbors, as well as for them as a family.”
Clarence House declined to comment.
