Meet the Sussexes' new neighbours: Harry and Meghan expressed a desire for living in the real world - yet their new home is in one of the swankiest gated communities in Los Angeles
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have expressed a commendable desire to work for the greater good of humanity, to come down from the royal pedestal and live in the real world.
What they really crave, say friends, is the simple life. So why, one might ask, are they living in a grandiose hilltop mega-mansion in one of Los Angeles's swankiest gated communities?
There's nothing remotely 'down-to-earth' about Beverly Ridge Estates; and ordinary people, excepting the ghost-like legions of household staff, gardeners and security guards, are distinctly thin on the ground.
There's nothing remotely 'down-to-earth' about Beverly Ridge Estates; and ordinary people, excepting the ghost-like legions of household staff, gardeners and security guards, are distinctly thin on the ground, writes TOM LEONARD and BARBARA McMAHON
If you ever want to understand how Hollywood stars end up A-list recluses — imperious, narcissistic and divorced from reality in their over-indulged private worlds — Beverly Ridge would be the perfect place to start.
It's where the obscenely rich and pampered dwell — and its biggest house is the current residence of just-call-us Harry and Meghan.
Their $18 million, 25,000 sq ft colossus of a house — where they are reportedly living rent-free — has eight immense bedrooms, 12 huge bathrooms and is set in 22 acres of land. It is owned by Tyler Perry, an actor and entertainment mogul.
It features a wood-panelled study, a Roman-style sunken bath and chic nursery for their son, Archie.
The Sussexes have been in lockdown there since they moved from Canada to California in late March.
Perry, 50, who is estimated to be worth $600 million, was reportedly introduced to them by their mutual friend, chat show host Oprah Winfrey, and flew them down from British Columbia in his huge $150 million private plane.
A close friend of singer Janet Jackson and actor Will Smith, Perry has never been seen publicly with the Sussexes but expressed sympathy with Meghan's predicament when she complained in an ITV interview that nobody had asked her how she was.
He built the unlovely house, supposedly a 'Tuscan-style villa', in 2004, enhancing his reputation for investing in brutish properties that are vast even by the standards of status-obsessed U.S. millionaires.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have expressed a commendable desire to work for the greater good of humanity, to come down from the royal pedestal and live in the real world
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These charmless new quarters may be a million miles from Windsor's Frogmore Cottage, but they have one thing the ex-royal couple obsess over — privacy, recently enhanced still further after they ordered the installation of black screens along a section of the compound's boundary that was overlooked by a hiking trail.
Whether that protects them from LA's 200-strong paparazzi corps remains to be seen.
The property is also blessed with views of downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean in the distance.
For Meghan, an actress who never came close to the A-list while playing a paralegal in TV series Suits, looking down on Beverly Hills — home to stars in houses considerably smaller than the one she now occupies — may not be an unpleasant feeling.
Yet, while Beverly Ridge may be a tiny community, it's hardly close-knit. 'You don't often see your neighbours. People tend to stay in their own homes,' says Rochelle Maize, Luxury Estates director for local estate agent Nourmand and Associates.
Security, of course, is a priority. A stone guardhouse stands next to the two imposing iron gates at the estate's main entrance.
A sign reads: 'Stop. Check with Guard Before Proceeding.' Most homes, including Perry's, have a further manned gatehouse.
For the privacy-inclined, Beverly Ridge has the added advantage of being close to a small airport, Van Nuys, which avoids the media scrum at Los Angeles International.
Their $18 million, 25,000 sq ft colossus of a house — where they are reportedly living rent-free — has eight immense bedrooms, 12 huge bathrooms and is set in 22 acres of land. It is owned by Tyler Perry, an actor and entertainment mogul. Pictured: Inside the property
Estate residents don't even need to worry about shopping — deliveries are brought round in a golf buggy.
An agency that provides servants to the area says some homes have as many as 30 staff, even down to a full-time laundress.
On paper, the estate doesn't exactly sparkle with potential bosom buddies for the Sussexes.
Neighbours include low-profile business tycoons from China and Indonesia, Alexis Maas — the 68-year-old widow of chat show host Johnny Carson — and Robert Rivani, a property developer who two years ago spent a fortune on a Harry Potter and Maleficent-themed wedding.
Sadly, the more colourful Carlton Gebbia — a British actress, self-professed 'Celtic pagan witch' and star of TV series Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills — moved out last December.
However, four miles down the road is the more famous Beverly Hills which heaves with potential top-flight chums, including Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Aniston and Adele (the last of whom has reportedly been giving the Sussexes advice on good private schools).
Estate agent Rochelle Maize says there has been a lot of buzz in Beverly Hills about the newly-arrived couple.
'It's the latest thing to talk about — people saw the photographs of them delivering food to the needy and they loved that,' she reveals.
'They like the cachet of them living here but high-profile people don't like the paparazzi, so it would be sensible to have them living behind gates.'
If Harry and Meghan really are seeking a low-profile and uncomplicated life, this extravagant house and neighbourhood seems a bizarre choice.
How ironic it would be if life alongside Hollywood royalty proved to be even more wearing for them than life as the real thing.
