Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Converting Their Montecito Guest House for Her Mom, Doria Ragland

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly converting the guest house in their Montecito home as a space for her mom, Doria Ragland.

  • One of the first projects Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have undertaken at their new home in Montecito, California is to convert one of the houses guesthouses into a space for Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland.
  • As early as this spring, it was reported that Harry and Meghan wanted Doria to move in with them full-time.
  • Meghan and Harry have reportedly also spent time getting to know their new neighbors and feel safe and comfortable in the neighborhood.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are settling into their new home in Montecito, a community in Santa Barbara, about an hour north of Los Angeles.

As they work to make the $14.65 million house into a true forever home, one of the first projects has apparently been to create a special space just for Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland.

“They’re converting one of the guesthouses into a home for Doria, who plans to split her time between L.A. and Montecito,” a source close to the couple told Us Weekly

This move doesn't come as a surprise to royal fans, of course, since it's been reported for months now that Harry and Meghan wanted Doria to move in with them.

"Once quarantine and lockdown are over, Harry and Meghan will be moving into their new pad—and they want Doria to be included in these plans," a source close to the couple told The Sun in May. "She is hugely independent though, and doesn’t want to be in their space. She will have her own granny annexe."

Since moving in to the new house, Harry and Meghan have taken time to get to know their neighbors and, apparently, they're happy with the people surrounding them.

“They’ve already met some of their neighbors, like Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry, who are locals,” the Us Weekly source explained. "Orlando voicing Prince Harry in [the HBO Max comedy series] The Prince has become an inside joke between them. If you’re going to shadow someone, it may as well be the real deal! And there’s obviously Ellen [DeGeneres], who Meghan knows from way back."

The neighborhood also includes some less famous families, but that's actually part of the appeal for the Sussexes, apparently.

"Many of their new neighbors are CEOs and financiers and their families. They’re not the type of people to sell them out," the source aded. "Harry and Meghan finally feel happy, safe and home!"

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Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.