‘Not an asset to our community’: Meghan Markle blasted by Montecito neighbour
The Duchess of Sussex has seemingly rubbed another of her California neighbours the wrong way, who accused her of not “getting involved”.
Meghan Markle has rubbed one of her Montecito, California neighbours the wrong way.
Richard Mineards, who lives close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, told The Daily Mail on Friday that he doesn’t “personally … think that Meghan is an asset to our community”.
“She doesn’t really go out or get involved with the community,” Mr Mineards continued, as reported by Page Six.
However, Mr Mineards said he has slightly different feelings about Meghan’s husband, Prince Harry, whom he describes as “quite jolly”.
“Meghan doesn’t seem to get seen anywhere,” he said, before pointing out about Prince Harry, “and you don’t see him either.”
Page Six has reached out to the Sussexes’ representatives for comment but did not immediately hear back.
This is not the first time the royal couple has upset one of their Californian neighbours.
In July 2023, Frank McGinity, an 88-year-old US Navy veteran, claimed he was snubbed when he tried to give Meghan and Prince Harry some films he made about the history of the area when they first moved in.
“I have a big house next to Harry and Meghan’s property and I live in the guesthouse while renting the main house out on Airbnb,” he reportedly explained in his memoir, Get Off Your Street.
“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.”
Mr McGinity claimed he was turned away by a man at the gate, who “wouldn’t take the film, just saying, ‘They’re not interested’. I was trying to be neighbourly.”
The author, like Mr Mineards, noted at the time, “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,” he said.
Meghan, 43, and Prince Harry, 40, moved to California after they quit their duties as senior members of the British royal family in January 2020.
They bought a $US14 million ($21.9m) mansion in Montecito that boasts nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms across an 18,000-square-foot property.
The outdoor area also features a pool, tennis court, tea house, rose garden, olive trees, two-bed guesthouse and children’s cottage.
Meghan appears to prefer socialising with the Hollywood social scene than with her local neighbours – she befriended Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, who only recently left Montecito for the United Kingdom reportedly because Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
The Duchess has also been spending time with Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom and Oprah Winfrey, according to gossip blogger Perez Hilton.
It’s been rumoured that Prince Harry misses living in the UK, but he has said that he still thinks it is too dangerous for Meghan and their two children – Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 – to reside there given the lack of police security.
The Spare author also said this week he believes his late mum, Princess Diana, would have wanted him to raise his kids in the US “to be able to do the things” he “undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the UK”.
This article originally appeared on Page Six and was reproduced with permission
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