‘It's basically a royal household': Prince Harry reportedly setting up rival court to mimic Kensington Palace
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly hired new staff amid plans to convert their California mansion into a mini Kensington Palace.
The Sussexes originally snapped up their 16-bedroom estate in the idyllic California community for about AUD $21 million in June 2020 around the time they inked a $100 million deal with Netflix.
Located on California's Central Coast, the wealthy enclave is tucked between the ocean and scenic Santa Ynez mountains in Santa Barbara County.
The lavish home boasts 16 bathrooms, nine bedrooms, a games room, a home theatre, spa facilities, an elevator, a gym, a swimming pool and a tennis court.
The home was considered a major upgrade on their former royal residence Frogmore Cottage, which the Sussexes vacated after less than year despite embarking on a multi-million dollar renovation.
According to royal insider Charlotte Griffiths, Harry has "nowhere to go" after alienating old friends and has opted to recreate his own royal court inside their California mansion.
'He's set up around himself, the exact thing he's been railing against all these years, which is a really concrete structure' she told GB News on Monday.
'It's basically a royal household.'
Speculation the Sussexes were plotting to set up a rival court went into overdrive last year after a report claiming Harry's uncle Earl Spencer offered his nephew use of Althorp as a new base.
Set over 13,000 acres in Northamptonshire, Althorp contains 28 listed buildings and structures in addition to the main house and rivals some official royal residences in size and opulence.
However, Ms Griffiths claimed Harry has decided to double down on basing himself in California amid his ongoing legal battle with the British Home Office over personal security.
'He's realised there's nowhere to go but up,' she said.
'The point of this new household is a shield around them, to protect them.'
According to Ms Griffiths, the new faux-royal household includes separate chiefs of staff for both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
'Meghan has been given her own chief of staff, and Harry also has his own separate chief of staff,' she said.
Harry's staff reportedly scour the British media for negative press, while Meghan's team are under instruction to strictly censor any negative publicity from reaching the Duchess.
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