Prince Harry's Friend Discloses The Continent Where He Initially Wanted To Raise Archie

When Prince Harry stepped away from his royal duties in 2020, he and wife, Meghan Markle, packed up and relocated to California (per The Sun). According to Vogue, they settled down in Montecito, a town tucked away in Santa Barbara County. A source told the magazine that Montecito was a perfect fit for the couple, who both wanted to live in California yet maintain some distance from the paparazzi in Los Angeles.

There have been signs that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are thriving in their new U.S. base. A royal expert revealed how Prince Harry feels about his life in California, saying he had found freedom and inner peace. Markle also shared with The Cut that she can comfortably do school pickup and drop-off for son Archie in Montecito, something she believes would be impossible in the U.K. without photographers following.

There have been some snags in their new West Coast lifestyle, though. According to Express, the Sussexes might now be fed up with the lack of privacy and safety in California and are looking to move. This comes after two incidents of trespassing on the couple's property in May (per Newsweek).

Royal commentator Christina Garibaldi gave her advice on the "Royally Us" podcast, saying, "Maybe move out of California and go somewhere a little bit more remote. [...] If you want that ultra-private life, maybe California's not the place for it." Now, there's evidence that that's what Harry wanted all along.

Jane Goodall, primatologist and friend of Prince Harry, revealed to The Mail+ that the Duke of Sussex wanted to raise his family far away from both the U.S. and the U.K. "He wanted to bring Archie up in Africa, running barefoot with African children," she said of Harry.

Life in Africa may seem like a longshot for Harry and Meghan Markle, but this isn't the first time their fondness for the continent has been discussed publicly. In 2019, Harry said in an interview during the production of "Harry & Meghan: An African Journey" that Cape Town "would be an amazing place for us to be able to base ourselves," though Africa would also be "a very hard place to live" (via ITV).

According to The Sunday Times, the Sussexes were even offered "bespoke" roles working in Africa earlier that year, but as The Daily Mail points out, the plan fell through and the couple moved to the U.S. instead.

Harry also has a long history of visiting and doing charity work in Africa, according to People. In July, he spoke about the significance of the continent in his personal life: "For most of my life, [Africa] has been my lifeline, a place where I found peace and healing [...] It's where I felt closest to my mother and sought solace after she died, and where I knew I had found a soulmate in my wife" (via Global News).