Meghan Markle had trouble staffing her Montecito mansion with housekeepers before the family’s move back to the UK.
“She had trouble hiring maids because a lot of the housekeepers in Montecito didn’t want to work for them,” a source exclusively claimed to Page Six.
“Meghan would interview people herself and could come across as really snobbish and rude,” the insider alleged. “Some of them were so offended by the way she spoke to them that word started getting around.”
The source said the Duchess of Sussex’s alleged reputation among local housekeepers eventually became something of a running joke around the ritzy California enclave.
“It got to the point where people would joke that all the maids in Montecito hated them,” the insider added.
Reps for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
In June 2025, four staffers left Markle and Prince Harry’s team, Page Six confirmed at the time.
Kyle Boulia, the couple’s Los Angeles-based deputy press secretary, and Charlie Gipson, their UK press officer, quietly exited their positions after the couple took on new advisers.
A source also confirmed that two members of their private team have also departed their roles in recent weeks.
During Markle’s time as a working royal in the UK, she had been accused of bullying by palace aids, resulting in The Palace launching an investigation. The findings were never released and Markle denied the claims.
Markle, 45, and her husband, Prince Harry, 41, have called the posh Santa Barbara County community home since 2020 after stepping back as senior members of the royal family and relocating to California.
As previously reported, several neighbors are ready for a little more peace and quiet amid news that the Sussexes are moving back to the UK.
“When we first heard Harry and Meghan were moving to Montecito, there were definitely some concerns,” a local resident exclusively told Page Six.
“There had already been so much negative press and attention surrounding them and the royal family, and I think people worried about what kind of spotlight that could bring to such a quiet community.”
Our insider noted that now that Prince Harry and Markle are moving back to the UK, they “couldn’t be more thrilled.”
“Montecito is a very private, peaceful place, and I think a lot of people here will be happy to see things go back to being a little quieter,” the source continued.
The insider stressed, however, that they can only speak for themselves and other residents they’ve spoken with — not the entire Montecito community as a whole.
While Montecito is home to plenty of other high-profile residents, including Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe, the local said Harry and Meghan brought an unusual level of press and media attention to the normally quiet community.
Page Six confirmed Wednesday that Harry and Markle plan to return to the UK with their children — Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5 — at the end of the month for an “extended period.”
Their return to Harry’s home country comes six years after the couple’s dramatic departure from royal life, which became widely known as “Megxit.”
Harry and Meghan are expected to remain “non-working members” of the royal family and will continue pursuing their business ventures while living in Britain.
