Royal Safety Concerns: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Call Police Nine Times To Montecito Mansion Since California Move
It looks like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's sweet escape to their $14.65 million Montecito mansion in California turned out to be quite the nightmare, as the duo had to call the police nine times since they moved in last summer.
The police have responded to calls cited as phone requests, alarm activations and property crimes at their mega mansion, according to data obtained by Freedom of Information (FOI) laws by the Press Association. Almost all of the calls reportedly took place in the early hours of the morning.
Officers were said to have responded to four calls to the couple's home in July after they first moved in, according to the report. The calls were listed as phone requests and “alarm activations."
In August and November, the requests were listed as “Misc Priority Incdnt," according to the report, which also cited that the police were called to the couple's residence in December after their home was breached twice by an uninvited visitor.
On Christmas Eve, the police were called at 4:13 p.m. after the man, Nickolas Brooks, allegedly trespassed on their property. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department let him off with a warning at first. However, it seemed the warning didn't stick, as he returned on Boxing day, December 26, TMZ reported.
In a previous statement to The Independent, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Brooks, 37, was arrested and charged for misdemeanor trespassing.
Brooks was booked at the county jail, the outlet reported.
According to the Press Association report, the most recent incident at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex' home, which prompted an "alarm activation" call to the police, occurred on February 16.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39 — who are expecting to welcome their second child, a girl, and are reportedly planning an at-home birth for over the summer — moved to the celeb-filled Montecito community last year with one-year-old son Archie. They temporarily resided in Los Angeles at the start of the pandemic after spending time in Canada. The power couple's move over the pond came after they temporarily stepped back from their senior royal duties last March.
Reports of the numerous calls to the police come after Harry and Meghan told Oprah Winfrey — during their bombshell interview on Sunday, March 7 — that learning Archie wasn't going to receive security protection was one of the reasons they decided to step back from their royal life.
Meghan claimed Archie wasn't going to be given a royal title, noting that there was "no explanation" as to why, and therefore wouldn't receive security.
The couple also revealed that upon their initial exit last year, their security detail had been removed, which Harry “never thought” would happen, he told the talk show titan. "I was born into this position. I inherited the risk," he said. "So that was a shock to me."
