Meghan Markle House: Inside Her $14.65M Montecito Mansion & Frogmore Cottage (2026)

Editor’s note — 6 November 2026: This article has been fully rewritten using only verifiable facts from reputable reporting. Earlier claims that could not be verified have been removed, and outdated figures have been corrected.

From a rented three-bedroom townhouse in Toronto to a $14.65 million estate in Montecito, Meghan Markle’s property story has followed her life in chapters — actress, duchess, and now a mother of two building a life between California and Britain. The Montecito mansion she bought with Prince Harry in June 2020 has been their family home for six years, the place where their children grew up and where their Netflix cameras rolled. Then, in August 2026, the family made a surprise move back to Britain — while keeping the California estate.

This is the full, verified story of the Meghan Markle house portfolio: the Montecito mansion, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, the Toronto rental where it all began, and the family’s 2026 return to the UK.

Who Is Meghan Markle?

Meghan Markle was born Rachel Meghan Markle on 4 August 1981 in Los Angeles, California. She became a household name playing paralegal Rachel Zane in the legal drama Suits, filmed in Toronto, from 2011 to 2018. She also ran the lifestyle blog The Tig from 2014 to 2017.

She married Prince Harry on 19 May 2018 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, becoming the Duchess of Sussex. Their son, Prince Archie, was born on 6 May 2019, and their daughter, Princess Lilibet, on 4 June 2021. In January 2020 the couple stepped back from their roles as senior working royals and moved to North America, eventually settling in California. Since then Meghan has launched the Netflix series With Love, Meghan and the lifestyle brand As ever, while the couple’s Archewell foundation and their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan (2022) kept their story in the headlines.

Where Does Meghan Markle Live Now?

For six years, Meghan Markle’s main home was the Montecito estate in California, which she shares with Prince Harry and their two children. That changed in August 2026, when the family returned to Britain — arriving on 26 August, with Archie and Lilibet starting at a British school in September.

According to PEOPLE, the family has established a private, non-royal home base in Britain for an extended stay, while keeping both their Montecito home and their holiday property in Portugal. The exact location of the family’s new UK home has been closely guarded, though reports in the British press have placed them in the Cotswolds. Prince Harry told GQ in an interview filmed in September 2026 that the move was a last-minute decision: “We’ve had plans in the past… For us, it was very short.” Their status has not changed — they remain private citizens and non-working members of the royal family.

The Montecito mansion is therefore still theirs, even if it is no longer their everyday base. And that raises the question the whole property world has been asking since August 2026: will they sell it?

The Montecito Mansion: Inside the $14.65M Estate

Harry and Meghan bought their Montecito home in June 2020, paying $14.65 million through their company, Rockbridge LLC, according to Santa Barbara County records. The seller was Russian billionaire Sergey Grishin. The estate had been on the market for five years, originally listed at $34.5 million in 2015 — so the couple bought it for less than half its original asking price.

The property is known as the Chateau of Riven Rock. The main house, built in 2003, measures around 14,500 square feet, with total living space across the estate of roughly 18,000 square feet. It sits on 7.38 acres at the end of a long, curving driveway of hand-cut local stone, with Italian cypress flanking an ivy-covered entry, as the Los Angeles Times reported when the couple bought it.

Inside, the nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom estate includes a library, an office, a spa with separate dry and wet saunas, a gym, a game room, an arcade, a theatre, a wine cellar and a five-car garage. Outside there is a swimming pool and a tennis court, set in extensive landscaped grounds. The neighbours are exactly who you would expect in Montecito: Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres live nearby.

Meghan later revealed in a 2022 interview with The Cut that the couple had found the house online — and had initially feared they would not be able to afford it. The home also became familiar to millions through the couple’s Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, parts of which were filmed there.

The running costs are considerable. The couple took out a $9.52 million adjustable-rate mortgage from City National Bank three days after buying the house, starting at 2.49% and able to rise as high as 7.49% when it resets in July 2030. Their 2025 property tax bill was $149,668, and county records show they have paid roughly $721,000 in property taxes since buying the estate.

As for a sale: the couple have said they intend to keep the Montecito home. In August 2026, the New York Post reported “rumblings” in the Santa Barbara luxury market that the estate could be listed, with brokers keen for the listing — but the Sussexes have given no indication they are putting it up for sale. Realtor.com currently estimates the home is worth around $16.7 million.

Frogmore Cottage, Windsor

Before Montecito, Meghan’s home in Britain was Frogmore Cottage, on the Windsor estate. The Grade II-listed, five-bedroom cottage sits in the 33-acre gardens of the Frogmore Estate, within Home Park adjoining Windsor Castle. It was gifted to Harry and Meghan by Queen Elizabeth II after their wedding in 2018.

The couple moved in during 2019, after a £2.4 million renovation paid for through the Sovereign Grant. Prince Archie spent the first months of his life there. After they stepped back from royal duties in 2020, Harry repaid the full £2.4 million, and the cottage remained their UK base for visits — including the Platinum Jubilee and Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

That ended in 2023. Weeks after Harry’s memoir Spare was published in January 2023, King Charles asked the couple to vacate the cottage. They handed back the keys on 28 June 2023, confirmed by Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, the following day — leaving the Crown, in his words, with “a greatly enhanced asset”. The cottage has stood empty since.

Nottingham Cottage: The First Home Together

Before Frogmore, the couple’s first home together was Nottingham Cottage — “Nott Cott” — a small two-bedroom house in the grounds of Kensington Palace, where Harry had lived since 2013. Meghan moved in after their engagement was announced in November 2017, and they lived there until the spring of 2019, when they moved to Frogmore Cottage ahead of Archie’s birth.

Toronto: The Seaton Village Rental

Long before the royal wedding, Meghan lived in Toronto while filming Suits. She rented a three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse at 10 Yarmouth Road in the Seaton Village neighbourhood, living there with her two dogs, Bogart and Guy, from 2011 until November 2017. It was in that house that she wrote The Tig, and where Prince Harry visited her while they were dating.

She gave up the lease when the engagement was announced and moved to London. The house was listed for sale at C$1.395 million and sold for $1.6 million in 2018. In April 2026 it was back on the market, asking C$1.895 million (around US$1.39 million).

The Road to Montecito: Vancouver Island and Tyler Perry’s House

After stepping back from royal duties in January 2020, Harry and Meghan spent the winter at a waterfront mansion on Vancouver Island, Canada, before travelling to Los Angeles. There they stayed for around three months at an $18 million Beverly Hills property belonging to filmmaker Tyler Perry, while they looked for a home of their own. They bought the Montecito estate in June 2020 and moved in the following month.

Portugal: The Costa Terra Holiday Home

The Sussexes’ third property is a holiday home in Portugal. They are reported to have bought it in 2023 for £6.3 million (around $8.4 million) at Costa Terra, the 722-acre golf and leisure resort between Comporta and Melides, about 90 minutes south of Lisbon. Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank — who works in sales at the resort — have had a home there since 2022. The Sussexes are reported to have hired designers from Soho House, the members’ club where Harry and Meghan had their first date, to renovate the interior, and the family spent part of the summer of 2026 there.

Meghan Markle’s Property Portfolio

FAQs

Where does Meghan Markle live now?

Since 26 August 2026, Meghan Markle has lived in Britain with Prince Harry and their children, at a private, non-royal home base whose exact location has been kept private (reports place the family in the Cotswolds). The family still owns their Montecito, California estate and their holiday home in Portugal.

How much did Meghan Markle pay for her Montecito house?

Harry and Meghan paid $14.65 million for their Montecito estate in June 2020, buying through their company Rockbridge LLC from Russian billionaire Sergey Grishin. The 7.38-acre estate has nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms, and was previously listed at $34.5 million in 2015.

Does Meghan Markle still own Frogmore Cottage?

No. Harry and Meghan were asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage in early 2023 and handed back the keys on 28 June 2023, after repaying the full £2.4 million renovation cost. The Grade II-listed Windsor cottage has stood empty since.

Where did Meghan Markle live in Toronto?

While filming Suits, Meghan rented a three-bedroom townhouse at 10 Yarmouth Road in Toronto’s Seaton Village neighbourhood, living there with her dogs Bogart and Guy from 2011 until November 2017, when she moved to London after the engagement.

Are Harry and Meghan selling their Montecito mansion?

They have said they intend to keep it. After the family’s move back to Britain in August 2026, reports spoke of “rumblings” in the Santa Barbara market that the estate could be listed, but the Sussexes have given no indication they are selling. Realtor.com estimates the home is currently worth around $16.7 million.

What the Meghan Markle House Story Shows

Meghan Markle’s homes trace an extraordinary decade: a rented townhouse in Toronto, a two-bedroom cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace, a gifted royal cottage in Windsor, and then a $14.65 million California estate bought for less than half its asking price. The 2026 return to Britain adds the latest chapter — a private family base in England, with Montecito and Portugal kept on. It is a portfolio shaped less by property dealing than by the choices of a family that has lived its life in public, and is now trying to live more of it in private.

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