Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Montecito neigbours reveal bitter truth

After six years in Montecito following their exit from the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have seemingly failed to win over their neighbours.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's neigbours appear less impressed with the couple's presence in the area, with some sharing the bitter truth about them and their impact in the town.

"I think they're basically ignored, and if people come across them that's fine, but I don't think the locals seek them out in any way," claimed area's bookstore owner Mary Sheldon.

The latest details revealed that Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, are totally "ignored" in their sleepy coastal town.

She addes: "I have seen black SUVs on my road."

She noted that the couple live less than a mile away from her. "Other than that, no impact at all."

The royals were keen on privacy when they left the UK in 2020, and Montecito residents have heeded their request.

She even shared her thoughts on Harry's memoir, Spare, which she sold at her own store the day it came out.

"I sat and read it, and I got as far as him going to school, and I thought, 'This is a well written book and it's interesting,'" she said.

"I read as much as I wanted to," she tells Daily Express US, adding that the book did "not particularly" do well at her store, selling about 20 copies since it was released in January 2023.

Sheldon is one of many longtime residents in the town of 8,638 people, located right next to Santa Barbara. She notes that the town is home to many famous residents, including daytime TV giants Ellen Degeneres, 66, and Oprah Winfrey, 70.

"She's a regular customer," she said of Winfrey. "She does her own shopping. She doesn't send her people to do it."

As for the royals, she says, "I don't think they do their own shopping. I've never seen them. that or they don't read books or they shop on Amazon, I don't know what they do."

In interviews with the outlet, several Montecito residents expressed a similar casual attitude about the royals in their backyard.