Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were laying low in Montecito as the rest of his family lived the highest of high life at Wednesday’s State banquet for visiting President Donald Trump and Melania.
After weeks in the headlines amid Harry’s recent high-profile visit to London and Meghan basking in the spotlight from her season two launch on Netflix, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were keeping out of sight at their California mansion, Daily Mail can reveal.
The typically spotlight-hungry couple have been uncharacteristically quiet in Montecito this week 5,000-plus miles from where it was all happening in Windsor Castle.
As his brother the Prince of Wales dined on boneless free-range chicken wrapped in zucchini – or Ballotine de Poulet Fermier en Robe de Courgettes, as the pretentious French menu termed it – Harry and his wife were nowhere to be seen.
Their retreat is a departure for the Sussexes who have made a habit of upstaging big royal moments with events of their own.
Instead, the former Suits actress, 44, has been conspicuous by her absence from social media – nothing but an Instagram post for her husband’s 41st birthday on Monday – and there has been no sign of the couple in their adopted hometown for days after Harry’s return.
Both Meghan and Harry have become a familiar sight in the tony seaside city but appeared to have gone to ground when the Daily Mail visited Montecito this week.
Swank delicatessen Pierre La Fond, where Meghan has previously been photographed, was a Sussex-free zone, as were other favorites such as Lucky’s Steakhouse and upscale boutique Wendy Foster.
Even at the sugar sand Miramar Beach – where the pair have been spotted walking their dogs and enjoying surf classes – they were off the radar.
The timing has fueled speculation on whether Harry and Meghan may have been snubbed or are deliberately keeping out of sight to avoid Trump’s wrath.
According to royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, that’s because the pair are wary of stealing the spotlight from President Trump who has the power to make life difficult for them should he be angered.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – seen attending the Time100 Summit in April – are no strangers to upstaging the Royals during big events, but are unusually quiet this week
While Harry was slumming it in Montecito, big brother William and his wife Kate Middleton were front and center at the state banquet in Windsor Castle
‘I’d be surprised if the Sussexes do anything this week that might annoy,’ Fitzwilliams told Daily Mail.
‘The British put on such a ceremonial show. I mean I’ve been watching this. It is amazing and it’s intentionally amazing and intentionally designed to impress President Trump.
‘If the Sussexes made a move that distracted us, as they have from time to time when there been important royal events, it would be not only be outrageous, but it would draw Trump’s eye.’
Trump and the Sussexes have had an antagonistic relationship that dates back to 2016 when Meghan – then a cast member on Suits – called him ‘misogynistic’ and ‘divisive’ during a talk show appearance and expressed support for failed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Three years later, Trump responded in kind when he described the Duchess of Sussex as ‘nasty’ in an interview ahead of his 2019 state visit to the UK.
The president later clarified that he ‘wasn’t referring to her as “she’s nasty” – I said she was nasty about me.
‘And essentially, I didn’t know she was nasty about me. So, I said, but you know what, she’s doing a good job, I hope she enjoys her life,’ Trump added.
On that occasion, Prince Harry took part in the hosting duties but Meghan was again conspicuous by her absence – citing the recent birth of Prince Archie, now six, for not attending.
Their sudden retreat comes after Prince Harry’s high-profile visit to the UK last week
Meghan is also fresh off a PR blitz following the recent premiere of the second season of her Netflix series in August
The banquet featured boneless free range chicken coated in zucchini – or Ballotine de Poulet Fermier en Robe de Courgettes, as the pretentious French menu termed it
Then, in 2020 living in California, the couple spoke out during the election, hinting at support for President Biden while Harry issued a warning about ‘hate speech, misinformation, and online negativity’.
Trump responded again, this time in a White House press conference in which he said of Meghan ‘I’m not a fan of hers’ while wishing Harry ‘a lot of luck, because he’s going to need it.’
Although the bad blood settled down during the four years of the Biden administration, Harry’s revelations in autobiography Spare that he had taken drugs caused a potential visa problem – with the Heritage Foundation filing a freedom of information request in 2024 that sought to discover whether Harry had disclosed his narcotic use while applying for a US visa.
That resulted in a newly inaugurated Trump being asked in February whether he would deport Harry if he was found to have lied during immigration proceedings.
The president, who has made no secret of his distaste for Meghan, replied: ‘I don’t want to do that. I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.’
Fitzwilliams says that while Trump is unlikely to want to damage his close relationship with King Charles and the Prince of Wales, his unpredictability means that the Sussexes can’t be sure that he won’t change his mind.
In his speech at the Royal dinner, he acknowledged the King’s son William, but Harry got nary a word.
Meghan took pains in a recent interview with Bloomberg not to be drawn on her thoughts about the president – despite being asked three times.
‘Meghan, she actually showed sense in not answering political questions,’ Fitzwilliams told Daily Mail.
The banquet table was set for 160 guests and had 1,452 pieces of cutlery. Guests included Apple boss Tim Cook, nonagenarian media baron Rupert Murdoch and golfer Nick Faldo
Meghan is a regular at local Montecito haunts such as Pierre La Fond and posh home furnishings store Hudson Grace on Montecito’s popular main street of Coast Village Road
It was warm in Montecito Wednesday, but Harry and Meghan missed the opportunity to take children Archie and Lilibet to their regular haunt Miramar Beach
‘The reason President Trump wants to leave Harry alone, of course, is that he doesn’t want any glitches with King Charles because can you just imagine what would happen if they tried to throw him out.
‘He would contest it in court and this would be a member of the British Royal Family involved in court case in America and it would harm Trump’s links with the royals because it’s the last thing King Charles would want.
‘I shouldn’t think William would want that either. I mean they might be landed with him back there.’
While wary of upsetting President Trump, Fitzwilliams said the couple would be less concerned about troubling the rest of the royals – pointing to an interview Harry gave to the Guardian last weekend during his successful trip to Ukraine.
‘Suddenly you decide that you’re going to give an interview saying, “I regret nothing” to a Republican newspaper [the Guardian leans left and is anti-monarchy].
‘I mean, it’s utterly weird.’
Meghan has not set foot in the UK since September 2022, when the couple were on a charity visit and the Queen died
Trump was sat between King Charles and the Princess of Wales at the state banquet. Harry and Meghan stayed at home
Nevertheless, Fitzwilliams said he is certain the couple will continue to lay low during the current state visit, noting that along with the risk of upsetting Trump, Harry is aware that along with glittering pageantry, serious issues are being discussed.
He said: ‘I really, really think it’s very unlikely they would say or do anything [this week].
‘This is a decision that would be taken because Harry knows serious national issues are being discussed.
This wouldn’t be the first time the couple has been snubbed by a US president: Daily Mail revealed that Harry and Meghan in 2022 tried to hitch a ride home with Joe Biden on Air Force One after Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and were refused.
