Find out why some of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s neighbors have given the couple an unflattering nickname.

It’s no secret that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been trying to rebrand and repair their images since the latter part of last year. But now those efforts might not mean much as the duchess is again being called out for mistreating staffers.

The two were also dealt a blow when some of their Montecito neighbors publicly spoke out about why the prince and former Suits star aren’t popular in their town. Now, according to an expose in Vanity Fair, some fellow residents have labeled the Sussexes as “local villains” and there’s a reason for that.

Other Monecito residents have dubbed Prince Harry and ‘starlet’ Meghan ‘local villains’

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend a reception at the British High Commissioner’s residence in South Africa | Dominic Lipinski PA Images via Getty Images

For its February 2025 cover story Vanity Fair spoke with dozens of people who live alongside Meghan and Harry in the coastal California community of Montecito. And they have some strong feelings about why the Sussexes aren’t good for their neighborhood and are referred to as “local villains.”

“I think everyone, including the A-list celebs, would prefer that [Montecito’s] not on the map like it is,” a resident told the publication. “It’s a place where no one would ever ‘bother’ a famous person beyond saying hello at the coffee shop, as they would to anyone else.”

Another neighbor complained that the town used to be a “quiet” place.

The prince and “the starlet” have become “local villains,” according to several people who spoke with VF. The reason for that is because the duke and duchess attribute to the “increase in housing prices, out-of-towners coming in driving too fast, and taking up all the street parking.” Moreover, they say because of the attention on their town now, “You can’t just walk into Lucky’s for dinner anymore.”

And one Montecitan fumed: “I still think they’re [Meghan and Harry] the most entitled, disingenuous people on the planet. They moved away from England to get away from the scrutiny of the press, and all they do is try and get in the press in the United States.”

Other neighbors have said they can’t wait for the duke and duchess to move out

Front gate of the estate where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle live in Montecito, California