Royals

‘Laughing stock’ of Montecito Meghan Markle gets a dressing down: ‘It's shameful’

Meghan Markle’s choices for Archie, Lilibet’s childhood home gets slapped with shameful label

Published May 14, 2026
‘Laughing stock’ of Montecito Meghan Markle gets a dressing down: ‘It's shameful’
‘Laughing stock’ of Montecito Meghan Markle gets a dressing down: ‘It's shameful’

The world is not keen on Meghan Markle’s Montecito home it seems, and that revelation has been dropped just now by Journalist Tom Sykes, over on The Royalist podcast.

According to him this thought is mostly shared among her neighborhood because owning the $14.65 million which has since doubled in value and is worth (to $29 million) makes them ‘laughing stocks’.

‘Laughing stock’ of Montecito Meghan Markle gets a dressing down: ‘Its shameful’
‘Laughing stock’ of Montecito Meghan Markle gets a dressing down: ‘Its shameful’
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As part of his admission the author said, “I was in New York last week, and I was meeting with somebody who lives fairly near them, and they said to me that that house that they occupy in Montecito is like a source of laughing stock.”

‘Laughing stock’ of Montecito Meghan Markle gets a dressing down: ‘Its shameful’

“It's kind of shameful because, of course, in America, if you're a billionaire and you buy a house for $14 million, I mean, what's the first thing you do? Knock it down, you know, or at the very least remodel it, you know?”

“And there they are, still sort of padding around in a kitchen that looks straight out of the Olive Garden, you know, circa 1994.”

For those unversed with Meghan’s connection to the home, she once admitted to feeling ‘sad’ about not being able to afford it, while talking to The Cut as well.

At the time she took a trip down memory lane while attempting to recall it and said, “we didn’t have jobs, so we just were not going to come and see this house. It wasn’t possible. It’s like when I was younger and you’re window shopping - it’s like, I don’t want to go and look at all the things that I can’t afford. That doesn’t feel good.”

H. Anjum
H. Anjum is a News Editor at The News International (Digital) with over five years of newsroom experience. She is a media graduate specialising in British royal coverage, reporting on monarchies, traditions, and modern royal life. She also writes on fashion, movies and TV shows with contemporary relevance for a global audience.
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