Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly being mocked by some neighbours in Montecito, California, over the dated look of the home they bought in 2020, with one commentator claiming the couple's kitchen still feels stuck in 2003. The claim, which centres on the Sussexes' £10 million property in the Santa Barbara area, is based on remarks relayed by journalist Tom Sykes and is not independently confirmed.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at the centre of discussions among their neighbours in Montecito, California.#DailyExpresshttps://t.co/AAmqg8GRo6pic.twitter.com/95U9x6YU3j

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to the United States after stepping back from royal duties in 2020 and later settled in Montecito with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Their home, known as the Chateau of Riven Rock, sits in the historic Riven Rock neighbourhood and was built in 2003 in a French Provençal style, on land linked to the original McCormick family estate from the 1890s.

The latest chatter is less about the couple themselves than what their house is said to project. In affluent American enclaves, homes are a kind of social language, and according to Express, the Sussexes may be speaking in an accent their neighbours find oddly old-fashioned.

Sykes said on hisRoyalistpodcast that someone living fairly near the couple had described the property they occupy as 'a sort of laughing stock.' He went further, saying that in the US, when a billionaire buys a house for $14 million, the expectation is often to knock it down or at least remodel it.

That is his characterisation, not an established fact, but it captures the air of snobbery that tends to cling to Montecito property talk. There is also a faintly absurd quality to the criticism.

✅Have you seen the recent headlines where Markle has been "hinting" at moving nearer to LA for “work”? Girl Please!! Translation: The Montecito Olive Garden mansion is bleeding them dry and yes, their neighbors are openly mocking them for it. In reality, this isn't a career…pic.twitter.com/3SoKpANV6Y

The house is hardly a modest suburban relic. It spans five acres and includes nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a pool, tennis court, guesthouse, spa, wine cellar, gym, library and tea house. It also has achicken coop the couple call 'Archie's Chick Inn,'one of the few features of the estate that has managed to cut through as something lighter and more personal.

What seems to be drawing the jibes is that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not substantially updated the aesthetic of a mansion built just over two decades ago. In celebrity property terms, that can apparently pass for neglect. In ordinary life, of course, most people would call it living in an enormous house and getting on with it.

A large part of the fascination lies in how rarely the couple let the public see inside their private world. They have offered only selective glimpses of the Montecito property, including footage in their Netflix docuseriesHarry & Meghanand occasional appearances on social media. That limited access has created the usual vacuum, quickly filled by speculation, projection and a fair amount of cattiness.

Source: International Business Times UK