Prince Harry’s California chapter was supposed to be the big reset: sunshine, creative freedom, and a slate of buzzy Hollywood projects. Instead, a wave of new reporting paints a far quieter picture, with claims that he now rarely steps beyond the gates of his Montecito estate and is leaning heavily on paid speeches while the couple’s screen ambitions stall. The man who once branded himself a “Spare” on his own terms is suddenly being framed as sidelined again, only this time in the entertainment capital of the world.
Those close to the situation describe a royal who has swapped global tours for school runs and home life, while studios rethink how much they are willing to invest in the Sussex brand. The result is a messy collision of image, income, and identity, as Prince Harry tries to figure out what his post-palace role really looks like when the cameras are not rolling.
From ‘safe haven’ to gilded cage in Montecito
On paper, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle built exactly the kind of California dream many people fantasize about. Their $14.65 Million Montecito property, bought for a reported $14.65 M, is described as a sprawling “Safe Haven” complete with a Spa and 16 bathrooms, a setup that gives the couple and their children space and privacy that royal palaces never quite allowed. The estate has been cast as the physical symbol of their break from the monarchy, a place where they could raise Archie and Lilibet on their own terms and host the occasional A-list gathering away from prying lenses, as detailed in profiles that take readers Inside Prince Harry.
Yet that same sanctuary is now being framed as the backdrop to a much more cloistered existence. Reports claim Prince Harry is spending most of his time at home in Montecito, with one account saying he “rarely leaves the house” and has become increasingly reliant on paid appearances to keep money flowing in after the couple’s splashy streaming deals cooled. The suggestion is that the former front-line royal has morphed into a stay-at-home figure, with critics in Montecito commentary going so far as to label him a “glorified house husband” who is “Not really doing anything in America.”
Hollywood spotlight fades as projects stall
The couple’s Hollywood strategy was always going to hinge on big-ticket content, and for a while it looked like the plan was working. The Sussexes, often referred to collectively as The Sussexes, signed a multi-year £100million deal with Netflix that promised documentaries, scripted shows, and children’s programming. That arrangement has since been reworked into a slimmer “first-look” style setup, with reports noting that the original $100 million style package did not translate into a steady pipeline of hits and that the streamer has become more selective about what it greenlights from the pair.
Meghan’s solo efforts have not escaped the shake-up either. Her planned lifestyle series, widely discussed as a glossy extension of her personal brand, is now said to be in trouble, with Royal Fans React to claims that the Netflix Series Is Reportedly Cancelled After She And Prince Harry Lost Spotify Deal, with some critics bluntly saying “No One” is surprised. Another analysis notes that, Meanwhile, Netflix has renewed its relationship with the couple in a more limited form, but the new arrangement has not yet produced anything close to the impact of their early documentary projects, even as the pair still face hefty security and work-related staff costs tied to their Meanwhile, Netflix deal.
‘Rarely leaves the house’ and banking on speeches
As the production slate has thinned, attention has shifted to how Prince Harry is actually spending his days. One widely circulated report claims Prince Harry Reportedly “Rarely” Leaves The House And Is “Banking On Speaking Engagements For Income” After the cooling of that $100 style Netflix money, suggesting that the couple’s financial strategy has pivoted toward high-fee corporate talks and private events. The same coverage describes him as increasingly withdrawn from the broader Hollywood social scene, a man more likely to be found on Zoom with a keynote client than on a red carpet, with those claims laid out in detail in Prince Harry Reportedly coverage.
Other commentators have piled on with similar language, describing Prince Harry Is Reportedly Living a Very Quiet Life In Montecito and leaning into the idea that the Spare has become more of a background figure in his own household. One analysis even frames him as a “kept man” who should focus on the one thing he consistently does well, his charity work, rather than chasing Hollywood relevance, a view spelled out in Prince Harry Is commentary and echoed in a separate essay that bluntly calls him a man who “rarely leaves” the Montecito compound and suggests “He should stick with that” philanthropic lane, as argued in Prince Harry is.
The ‘Spare’ curse and Meghan’s parallel hustle
Underneath the gossip, there is a more serious question about identity that keeps surfacing in expert commentary. Analysts point out that Harry, by contrast with Meghan, has struggled to define a role beyond being “Prince Harry,” which leaves him vulnerable to fading into the background as the couple navigates Hollywood. Some royal watchers have even revived talk of a “Spare” curse, arguing that the same dynamics that once left him in his brother’s shadow are now playing out in California, with one report saying Prince Harry’s “Spare” curse hits Hollywood as the royal drifts in Meghan Markle’s shadow, a theme explored in detail in Harry focused analysis and echoed again in a separate piece that frames Prince Harry’s “Spare” curse hits Hollywood as royal drifts in Meghan Markle’s shadow: experts, as summarized Prince Harry there.
Meghan, for her part, is portrayed as pushing hard to keep her own star burning. Back home in California, Meghan, 44, is described as “on a mission to prove herself,” with insiders saying she is less rattled by British press coverage and more focused on salvaging and reshaping her entertainment portfolio after setbacks with streaming partners. One account notes that Back home in California, Meghan, 44, was indeed suffering, but not because of intrusive reports in the British press, Instead she was said to be fixated on learning from past missteps and landing the next big project, a dynamic laid out in Back reporting. That contrast, a hustling Meghan and a homebound Harry, is exactly what fuels the narrative that he has become her “spare” all over again.
Income anxiety and the ‘not doing anything in America’ narrative
Behind the snarky labels, there is a real financial story unfolding. Commentators who track royal money point out that the couple’s lifestyle, from their Montecito mortgage to private security, is expensive, and that the early rush of cash from Netflix and Spotify was never going to last forever. One breakdown notes that the Sussexes’ reworked streaming deal is now more modest, and that they have been accused of having “sold themselves out” while still needing to generate enough content to justify any future payouts, a criticism aimed squarely at Prince Harry and and their Netflix strategy.
That pressure is part of why the “Not Doing Anything in America” line has stuck. A detailed look at Harry’s Hollywood Struggles says the Royal is “Not Doing Anything” in America and still “wrapped up in the past,” with concerns growing over how sustainable their current income mix really is. The same analysis suggests that his move from the U.K. has not yet translated into a clear, long-term career path, a point underscored in Harry’s Hollywood Struggles. Another segment, shared widely on social media, bluntly describes California Prince Harry as “done” with America and frustrated that six years after leaving royal life, the Hollywood heat he was promised has not fully materialized, a sentiment captured in a video dissecting California Prince Harry and his U.S. reality.
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