Nearly two and a half years after resigning from their royal duties, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are contentedly settled in the United States. They are enjoying life to the fullest with their two children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, in their £11 million mansion in Montecito, Santa Barbara.
While Meghan, who was born in Los Angeles, has friends there, find out who has made it into the couple’s close-knit California community.
Find out more about the couple’s close friends here.
Serena Williams
tennis expert In 2014, Serena Williams and Meghan first met at a football game for a good cause. We bonded right away and started taking pictures, laughing, and talking about girly things instead of tennis or acting. So our friendship started…
Meghan previously penned on her now-defunct lifestyle website The Tig, “She quickly became a confidante I would text when I was traveling, the friend I would rally around for her tennis matches, and the down-to-earth chick I was able to grab lunch with a couple of weeks ago in Toronto.”
When the Sussexes were briefly based in LA before moving to Montecito, Serena used to be one of Meghan’s neighbors; the friends shared a gated community in the upscale Beverly Hills 90210 zip code.
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom
The British actor and the American singer both own a home in Santa Barbara that is part of the same gated community as Harry and Meghan.
In May 2021, Harry opened up on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast about paparazzi attention and how living in Montecito has given him more privacy.
Has it improved since you moved? Dax questioned the king. Harry responded, “Yeah, way better,” before stating, “Orlando Bloom just sent me a message because he’s down the road and we sort of keep in contact because of the paparazzi.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah is an integral part of Meghan and Harry’s “squad”; the couple gave her their first candid interview in 2021 after leaving the royal life behind, and their son Archie is a participant in her book club. The media tycoon attended the royal wedding in 2018 as a guest as well.
A £40.9 million mansion in Montecito, California, belongs to Oprah. It has been dubbed “The Promised Land,” and the Sussexes might enjoy a quick getaway there.
James Corden
James Corden and Harry have been longtime friends, which is why he was invited to the royal wedding in 2018 and the more exclusive nighttime reception. In 2021, Harry appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where he and Corden traveled around Los Angeles in a double-decker tourist bus while the Duke discussed his life since resigning from his royal duties.
James, who resides in Brentwood, Los Angeles with his family, undoubtedly recognized Harry when he first arrived in the state. However, the British man has ended his show and is now returning to the UK.
Katharine McPhee
Katharine, a fellow actress, and Meghan shared a childhood where they both participated in musicals. At Lucky’s Steakhouse in Montecito in October 2020, Harry and Meghan were joined by Katharine and David Foster, a music producer.
Additionally, Katharine revealed that her husband and the Prince were “like father and son” when she discussed their relationship last year. She stated: “My husband has a really, really beautiful relationship with Harry,” in an interview with Access Hollywood. They’re like, so adorable. Like a father and son, they are.
Abigail Spencer
Meghan and Abigail Spencer were co-stars in the hit TV series Suits, but their friendship went back much further. “When I first saw her, I thought, ‘Who is this gorgeous girl?'” We met because “she was just so gorgeous and there was just something about her,” Abigail previously told ET.
The actress participated in Meghan’s New York baby shower and attended the royal wedding. During their six-week Christmas vacation in 2019, she was even seen hiking with Meghan and Harry close to Vancouver Island.
Priyanka Chopra
When things get back to “normal,” Priyanka Chopra, who lives in the same neighborhood as her friend Meghan, will undoubtedly be a frequent visitor. The two have been close friends for a long time, and Priyanka attended the wedding of Meghan and Harry as well.
Following Meghan’s cancellation of her trip to India in December 2018 to attend Priyanka and her future husband Nick Jonas’ wedding, there were reports of a rift in their friendship. However, Meghan was carrying Archie at the time, and Priyanka and Nick were among the first to pay the new parents a visit at Frogmore Cottage, Windsor, after Archie’s birth in May 2019. They reportedly even arrived armed with several baby gifts from Tiffany & Co. jewelers.
Doria Ragland
Without Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, there would be no “inner circle” at all. The social worker and yoga instructor has been a constant in Meghan’s life and has traveled frequently to the UK to be by her daughter’s side before the royal wedding and during the birth of baby Archie.
Doria undoubtedly makes frequent trips to Harry and Meghan’s house to spend time with her granddaughter Lilibet, who was born in June 2021, and grandson.
