Speaking to Vanity Fair in comments for an article on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, their neighbors in Montecito, California, raked them over the coals, describing the two as villains for what they have brought to the ritzy California town to which they fled and in which they live in a hugely expensive mansion.
In fact, many of the neighbors who spoke to Vanity Fair noted that “the starlet” and the Prince brought with them great annoyances to the town, not leave of which are rocketing prices for housing, terribly busy streets, and increased minor annoyances from having so many more people, tourists and otherwise, pour into the town. Reporting on that aspect of local annoyance with the couple, Vanity Fair said:
The prince and “the starlet,” as the Montecitan calls her, have become local villains, according to several people who spoke with VF. They attribute the increase in housing prices to them as much as DeGeneres and point to out-of-towners coming in, driving too fast, and taking up all the street parking by local trails like the one Meghan was photographed hiking on while Harry was in the UK for Charles’s coronation. You can’t just walk into Lucky’s for dinner anymore. While the Montecitan says neither he nor his friends have ever met the couple (two others mentioned Harry biking in town), they popped up in the video for DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s vow renewal, and the Montecitan saw photos of Harry playing polo at a nearby field, which will also be featured in Harry’s Netflix docuseries. Meghan’s Netflix project was filmed at a house near theirs.
One resident, speaking to Vanity Fair about Markle’s characterization of Montecito as being the “Riviera of California,” which she has done with her American Riviera Orchard business, disputed that characterization and slammed the intent behind it, saying, “It’s such a kind of hucksterism. It’s just finding every way she can to monetize something.”
Continuing, that resident slammed the two as being both entitled and disingenuous, saying, “I still think they’re the most entitled, disingenuous people on the planet.” Further, the same resident said, “They moved away from England to get away from the scrutiny of the press, and all they do is try and get in the press in the United States.”
While those residents criticized the couple, another one of their neighbors, actress Sharon Stone, praised them when speaking to Access Hollywood in 2020. She said, “You know, the thing about them that is so great is they didn’t come here to live off of our community. They came here to be a part of our community.”
She added, giving an anecdote about their supposedly friendly and cheery demeanor when seeing people around the little California town, “My friend said she was sitting in her car, and they bicycled across the street and waved at her while she was sitting at the red light.”
Concluding, she said they are valuable community remembers for Montecito and aren’t just looking to be praised and cheered by the locals. As she put it.”They’re a part of our community. They’ve become a giving, caring, participating part of our community. They’re not here to be like, ‘Would you like to kiss my butt?'”
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