Julie Montagu, an American who became Viscountess Hinchingbrooke when she married into British aristocracy, is speaking out this week to express her support for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s move to Los Angeles, California.
Meghan and Harry moved to L.A. after stepping down as senior members of the British royal family, and it was reported earlier this week that they were living in Tyler Perry’s $18 million mansion in Beverly Hills.
“I think that Meghan has slightly Americanized Harry,” Montagu, 46, told People Magazine. “I love it.”
However, Montagu admitted that Harry and Meghan were so quick to leave Canada, where they initially moved upon leaving the U.K.
“I actually thought they were going to stay in Canada, just because I thought it would be more peaceful for them,” she said. “I thought it was a good transition country – a good compromise.”
Montagu is the wife of Luke Timothy Charles Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke and son of the 11th Earl of Sandwich, and they have four children together. As someone living so far from home herself, Montagu said that she can understand that Meghan wants to live near her mother Doria Ragland, who is a longtime resident of L.A.
Montagu acknowledged that Harry and Meghan have gotten some backlash for announcing the name of their charity Archewell amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but she believes that there is a method to their madness.
“I know they’ve gotten a lot of flack from the press about announcing their new charity and then moving in the middle of COVID-19, but there’s a part of me that thinks they’re probably thinking moving now would be a good way to try and avoid being the main headline news — in one sense, trying to stay under the radar,” Montagu said.
“I don’t think they want to be in the news,” she added. “They want their projects and the charitable foundations that they support to be in the news, but they themselves don’t want to be in the news.”
Montagu, who runs the Mapperton Estate with her husband, went on to say that she believes the couple’s sole focus going forward will be on adjusting to live in the U.S.
“I think there are some people thinking that Harry is going to miss royal duties and the lifestyle, and I mean, he may miss parts of it,” she said. “But I think that this is what Harry’s always wanted — an escape. Anywhere is more private than being a member of the royal family in Britain.”
“Now that the dust has settled with their move and they’ve dropped their HRH titles – they’re now ready to be normal,” Montigu concluded. “I think that they will keep their [new] house very, very private as far as photos go.”
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