Prince Harry and Meghan’s Montecito Neighbors Can’t Wait for Them to Get Out of Town, Calling the Couple a ‘Traveling Soap Opera’

Find out why some of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's neighbors aren't thrilled about the couple living in their town.

Since moving to their Montecito mansion in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been spotted out with some of their high-profile neighbors including Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. But not everyone in the town is thrilled that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in the area.

In fact, some of their Montecito neighbors are now revealing why they’re not overjoyed to have the famous pair living near them.

One neighbor likened Meghan and Harry to a ‘traveling soap opera’

Some of the residents in Santa Barbara’s coastal town are sick of having the prince and former Suits star, in particular, in the neighborhood. As The Sun noted one neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Montecito Journal that they “cannot wait for her [Meghan] to go.”

But why? Well, a columnist for the Journal, Richard Mineards, said there are a variety of reasons for that.

The writer explained: “It’s a very wealthy community, we have a lot of people giving a lot of money to our cultural organizations as well as charities, but we don’t see them. They live rather splendidly, it couldn’t be a nicer place. The community is waiting for them — they’re gnashing [champing] at the bit. The cachet of a duke and duchess!”

Mineards added that people rarely see them. But on occasion, Prince Harry is spotted with his security detail on a walk, a bike ride, or heading out for lunch.

Another neighbor, PR and communications worker Barry Maher, described the Sussexes as nothing more than a “traveling soap opera.”

Next-door neighbor said he was shunned when he tried to welcome the Sussexes to the area

The duke and duchess’s next-door neighbor previously shared how he tried to welcome the non-working royals to the neighborhood but was shunned.

Frank McGinity is a Navy veteran in his late 80s who resides in a property next to Meghan and Harry’s estate. In his memoir Get Off Your Street, he detailed how he was just “trying to be neighborly” after the couple moved in.

“I have a big house next to Harry and Meghan’s property, and I live in the guest house while renting the main house out on Airbnb,” McGinity said. “Harry and Meghan live on old McCormick property, and I went up to their gate with the films on a CD, but they weren’t interested. The gate guy turned me away and wouldn’t take the film, just saying, ‘They’re not interested.’ I was trying to be neighborly. If they were interested in the neighborhood I’ve got a lot of information.”

Like others, McGinity doesn’t see his neighbors much, saying: “We don’t see them very much around here. It’s surprising they came here. People are typically older. It’s where the elephants come to die.”