Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made headlines in 2020 when they opted to step back from the royal family, eventually setting up a new home far from the U.K.
The couple ended up settling down in Montecito with their son Prince Archie and daughter Princess Lilibet.
Frank McGinity, a navy veteran and neighbor of the Sussexes, attempted to extend a friendly gesture towards the couple by bringing them a set of documentaries highlighting the local history of Montecito. However, his offerings were met with disinterest.
In his book, Get Off Your Street, he recounts, “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.”
Frank expressed disappointment, remarking, “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.”
In addition to revealing that Meghan and Harry’s current residence once resembled a “sea of mud or a moonscape,” he also shared that his own home suffered significant damage in the catastrophic natural disaster that claimed 23 lives across Southern California.
McGinity wrote, “We live in Riven Rock, a neighborhood of 34 homes surrounded by a thick stone wall encompassing 87 acres. This is where Stanley McCormick resided for 40 years.
“However, half of this beautiful estate, which Stanley created, was transformed into a sea of mud on January 9th, 2018. Four homes were completely obliterated. Our home took a substantial hit. The mud infiltrated the rear of the house and devastated our office, entry hall, and back bedroom. There were boulders so massive in the rooms, our contractor had to chisel them apart to remove them.
“I found a TV from the office and a mattress near our front gate – 500 feet away. Can you imagine the fury of that mudslide?”