Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left Canada for Los Angeles last month, the couple have been rumoured to be scoping out a $20 million Malibu mansion for their new home.
And surprisingly, they’re not the first ex-royals to move to the exclusive neighbourhood, as Harry’s mother Princess Diana also had plans to live in Malibu before her untimely death in 1997.
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According to sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the royal couple plan to splash some serious cash renting the sprawling LA pad, reports The Daily Mail.
And in a shock twist of fate, the property is close to a Tuscan-style villa that Diana’s boyfriend Dodi Fayed bought before his death in the 1997 Paris car crash that killed them both.
Former royal butler Paul Burrell has previously claimed that Princess Diana was planning on moving to the sprawling Malibu home to escape the scrutiny of the British press before she died.
“She said, ‘This is our new life, just won’t it be great, think of the lifestyle the boys — nobody’s judgmental here in America, you don’t have the class system, you don’t have the establishment’,” Burrell recalled in a 2007 interview with ABC news.
And rediscovered photos show Dodi’s Malibu mansion looks remarkably like the pad Harry and Meghan have their eye on.
The property the Sussexes have found boasts a whopping eight bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and is called Petra Manor.
The lavish home would cost Harry and Meghan a hefty $15,950 a night, reports The Daily Mail, with insiders saying the pair want to get a taste for life in Malibu before they commit to a permanency.
Meanwhile royal photographer Arthur Edwards says Harry and Meghan felt “cut off” from the rest of the world while living in Canada, hence their move to LA.
According to Edwards, Vancouver was never going to be permanent residence for the “ambitious young couple”.
He revealed to The Sun: “They tried palace life in Britain but it didn’t work out. So they have switched from Harry’s home town to Meghan’s.
“In a way it’s exchanging one goldfish bowl for another but it’s a city where Meghan has deep personal and professional connections.
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