Prince Harry and Meghan Markle not only quit royal duty five years ago, but they also decided to wave goodbye to life in the UK too. As well as wanting to be financially independent, it seems that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also wanted to be independent when it came to their everyday lives, resulting in them swapping their cottage home on the Windsor Estate for a sprawling Montecito mansion in California.

While the pair have made headlines almost daily since their royal exit in 2020, their lives in Montecito remain fairly private, with not much known about their daily routines. Although Meghan, 43, has spoken about the importance of community before, one neighbour has made claims that the couple have practically ignored him since they moved in.

Navy veteran Frank McGinity, who reportedly lives next door to the couple, also said he has rarely seen them out and about in Montecito.

In his book Get Off Your Street, McGinity spoke about his attempts to welcome them to the neighbourhood by taking over DVDs about Montecito to their home.

He said: "I have a big house next to Harry and Meghan's property - [they] live on old McCormick property and I went up to their gate with the films on a CD, but they weren't interested.

"The gate guy turned me away and wouldn't take the film, just saying 'they're not interested'. I was trying to be neighbourly. If they were interested in the neighbourhood I've got a lot of information."

The veteran later told the Montecito Journal that he was surprised the couple had moved to the area as it is often popular among the older generation.

He said: "We don't see them very much around here. It's surprising they came here. People are typically older. It's where the elephants come to die."

While this neighbour thinks the couple haven’t been very approachable, another Montecito neighbour, actress Sharon Stone, told Hello! Magazine that the couple are part of the community.

Speaking in a new interview, Sharon said: "You know, the thing about them that is so great is they didn't come here to live off of our community, they came here to be a part of our community.

"My friend said she was sitting in her car and they bicycled across the street and waved at her while she was sitting at the red light. They're a part of our community, they've become a giving, caring, participating part of our community.”

Since moving to the neighbourhood five years ago, both Harry and Meghan show no signs of wanting to move anytime soon.