Inside Prince Harry’s (virtually) regular life in royal exile

Prince Harry spends his time pootling on his bike followed a security team in a Range Rover and walks his dog alone on the beach when not in the home office he shares with Meghan Markle or doing his daily meditations, insiders claimed today.

The Duke of Sussex is rumoured to have made overtures via friends and intermediaries about a return to the royal fold – but only if he receives an apology from his older brother.

However, insiders have pushed back on going back to royal duties – and shared details of his enviable and very quiet life in California’s Montecito with Meghan and their two children.

With just ten days until he turns 40, the hellraising days of his youth are firmly behind him – in fact he spends much of his time at his desk with his wife working next to him, plotting together which country they will visit next or on video calls with their team or charities.

When away from his computer Harry speaks with staff and walks his garden enjoying the birds sandwiched between taking Archie to and from school. There is a long meditation in his diary each day – and often a workout with a personal trainer.

Neighbours and locals in Montecito have spoken to The Daily Telegraph about the couple’s life there – and admit they barely see them, especially Harry.

One declared: ‘They keep themselves to themselves. I haven’t seen Harry around much. Normally when you see him around here, he’s walking his Labrador on the beach or on his bicycle followed by his security in a Range Rover’. 

Outside the confines of their mansion, he enjoys a solo bike ride on his own with his bodyguards following behind or alongside in their SUV – part of the biggest security team in the area, one local said.

There are mixed reports about his happiness. One ally recently said Harry is ‘doing great’ – but others claim he has become an ‘angry boy’ who is ‘more and more isolated in California’.

But whatever the truth, Meghan appears to be more sociable than her husband, who sticks to a small and loyal group of friends.

She is said to have joined a local mahjong group, stops to speak to locals in the street or shops and has bonded with other celeb-locals including Ellen DeGeneres, who shares a love of chickens with the former Suits star.

The Sussexes do venture out together from time to time. They enjoy date nights together at the local steakhouse named Lucky’s or pop out for an Italian meal at Tre Lune where a margherita pizza is $24 and spaghetti and meatballs is $35.

There is even an Ellen Salad on the menu, believed to be a tribute Meghan’s friend Ms DeGeneres.

Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, can feast on the $15 kids menu of chicken and potatoes, mac and cheese or pasta with tomato sauce.

Harry appears to be the least active outside the home, other than leaving for the school run or to exercise, but Meghan is a regular at the local market or lunching with friends of staff.

Journalist Richard Mineards told the Telegraph that he lives a ‘tiara’s toss’ from their mansion – but claims locals are disappointed that they don’t go out more.

He said: ”The community is waiting for them – they’re gnashing at the bit. The cachet of a Duke and Duchess.

‘It’s a very wealthy community, we have a lot of people giving a lot of money to our cultural organisations as well as charities, but we don’t see them.’

‘We have got a lot of very rich and very famous people here, and none of them have a security retinue like the Sussexes’.

Prince William was back out on royal duties today, sporting his new beard, amid rumours about his brother considering a return.

The Prince of Wales is not on speaking terms with Harry.

Sources close to The Duke of Sussex have suggested he is happy with his decision to quit his royal role, the Mirror reported.

But they claim he would be open to a temporary role within the Royal Family if asked to help out by his father. 

It comes after the Mail on Sunday revealed last week that the Duke had turned away from his ‘Hollywood publicists’ and had resorted to texting former confidantes ‘from his old life’ on how to mastermind a return from exile in the US.

However, sources stressed Harry and Meghan, who have spent the past four years living in California with their two children, are not seeking a permanent return.

The Mirror also previously reported that Prince William suggested there would be ‘zero chance’ that Harry would be welcomed back following the publication of his memoir, Spare.

In the book, Harry took aim at some members of the Royal Family. He accused William of assaulting him in a row over Meghan and claimed his brother and their father confronted him after Prince Philip’s funeral ‘looking for a fight’.

Harry also alleged that William and Kate urged him to wear his infamous Nazi fancy dress outfit.

He cast his brother as his ‘arch-nemesis’; Queen Consort Camilla as a ‘wicked stepmother’ and Charles as an emotionally-stunted and ineffectual ‘old man’.

William and Harry have not spoken for months and currently have no contact. 

It was revealed last week that both William and Harry attended the funeral of their uncle Robert Fellowes, but witnesses said they didn’t see the brothers speak.

They reportedly sat apart at the back of St Mary’s Church in Snettisham where the service for Eton-educated Lord Fellowes took place.

Sources spoke of how the pair arrived ‘very discreetly’ and that you wouldn’t have known they were there.

According to The Mirror, friends of Harry have said he is determined to improve his relationship with his father, especially given his health problems. 

They claimed the Duke would still look for an apology from his brother if he were to represent the family in any way.

Meanwhile, sources close to Harry, who turns 40 next week, told the that he is settled in California.

They claim that Harry has an ‘amazing’ new set of friends in the United States and several projects on the horizon.

He is currently preparing for a trip to New York where he will take part in engagements connected to his various charities, including the Halo Trust and the Diana Award.   

The newspaper also revealed Harry and Meghan had parted company with another American PR adviser. 

Christine Weil Schirmer joined the Sussexes in 2020 as head of communications but left quietly late last year. 

She is the tenth staff member to have left the couple in three years and last month took up a job with PR giant Brunswick advising clients on reputation management.

Last month, it emerged that the Sussexes’ chief of staff Josh Kettler had suddenly quit his job after scarcely three months.

‘Harry is turning away from all sorts of Hollywood publicists and is seeking counsel from his old friends and associates,’ said a source.

‘He is clearly reaching out thinking, ‘I need to do something different because what I’m doing is clearly not working’. In short, he is rethinking the way he operates.’

Ending his rancorous feud with his brother William is not seen as a realistic goal, but last week this newspaper revealed that the King may be open to healing the rift with his youngest son, and had consulted with faith leaders as he explores the nature of forgiveness.

At least one of the advisers approached by Harry is a trusted figure ‘from the old school’ known for loyalty and discretion.

One friend has already allegedly devised a strategy for how Harry might begin moving in UK circles again – even carrying out ‘very low-key royal duties’.

A source said the friend ‘believes if Harry comes back to the UK with zero fuss, and does zero publicity and attends very mundane events, he could prove himself and win over the British public again.

‘He would have to accept, though, that he might be reduced to ribbon cutting for a long period. But it would give him purpose to work again.’

But the source said it would only happen ‘if certain members of the family could find it in themselves to allow it’.