‘D-list’ Harry and Meghan are poor for Hollywood and ‘Elon Musk is still single’

‘D-list’ Meghan and Harry are poor by Hollywood standards, according to former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown – who described their Montecito home as a ‘humble cottage’ compared to their celebrity pals. 

The royal biographer, who was responding to reports the Sussexes have gone house-hunting, said the couple ‘didn’t have enough money’ when compared to the super-rich A-listers who have made California their home, as she joked that ‘Elon Musk is still single’ if the duchess wants to trade up to the £193billion tycoon. 

While it might not quite qualify as a ‘humble cottage’, the Sussexes’ nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion certainly pales in comparison to other celebs based in the Golden State. 

Their neighbour Oprah Winfrey’s Promised Land estate is worth an incredible $100m (£90.4m), while Jaz Z and Beyoncé’s mansion in Bel Air on the westside of Los Angeles weighs in at $88m (79.5m). 

California’s other expensive celebrity homes include those belonging to Maroon 5’s Adam Levine – $52m (£47m); Kylie Jenner  – $36.5m (£33m) and Ellen DeGeneres – $21m (£19m). Meanwhile, actor Tyler Perry has a $18m (£16.3m) home where he hosted the Sussexes when they first moved to the US. 

According to local reports, Meghan has been shopping for a ‘private estate’ in Hope Ranch, a high-end community a few miles from their current home.

Tina Brown said Meghan and Harry (pictured in the UK last month) ‘didn’t have enough money’ when compared to the super-rich A-listers who have made California their home

Speaking at the Henley Literary Festival, Brown said: ‘It’s not very pleasant to be a D-list celebrity who, for them, doesn’t have enough money. It’s a wholly different game to be with those super-rich people.

‘In Montecito, where they live, their $14 million mansion is a humble cottage compared to what these other people have.’  

The royal biographer, author of The Diana Chronicles and The Palace Papers, quipped: ‘Yes, and at some point it might be more than a new house she’s looking for,’ before adding: ‘Elon Musk is still single, that’s all I have to say.’

The Telegraph also reported Brown’s claim at Henley that the Duke’s upcoming tell-all biography may never be published. 

‘They are now in this bind, where they’ve taken all this money and Harry has made this book deal where he’s supposed to spill everything about his horrible life as a royal, but now he’s actually tortured about it because he understands there is no way back if he does it,’ she said. 

‘If the book continues, I don’t think there is any way for Harry to return. So my view has always been that the book won’t see the light of day.’ 

Brown suggested King Charles could personally refund the advance his son has already been paid. 

The memoir had been signed off ready for an expected autumn release, but the Duke – who is writing the book as part of a near £40million three-title deal – allegedly asked to make some significant alterations.

While it might not quite qualify as a ‘humble cottage’, the Sussexes’ nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion certainly pales in comparison to other celebs based in the Golden State

‘Harry has thrown a spanner in the works,’ a source said. ‘He is keen for refinements in the light of the Queen’s death, her funeral and his father Charles taking the throne.

‘There may be things in the book which might not look so good if they come out so soon after these events. He wants sections changed now. It’s not a total rewrite by any means. He desperately wants to make changes. But it might be too late.’

Best-selling author Jeffrey Archer said that the prince is currently writing a new chapter that will be all about his grandmother’s death and the events leading up to her funeral.

Publishers Penguin Random House had already demanded a rewrite after the first draft was deemed ‘too touchy-feely’ and placed too much focus on mental health issues, The Mail on Sunday revealed last month.

No date has officially been announced for its release but American sources have suggested that publishers will want it in shops in time for Thanksgiving on November 24, ready for the lucrative Christmas market.

In a statement announcing the global publishing deal, Penguin Random House described it as ‘an intimate and heartfelt memoir’, promising that ‘Prince Harry will offer an honest and captivating personal portrait’.

Brown joked that ‘Elon Musk is still single’ if the duchess wants to trade up to the £193billion tycoon 

Palace aides have reportedly been discussing ways to stop Harry from publishing the book altogether due to concerns that it will contain damaging revelations.

A friend of the King said: ‘The question inside the Palace is: ‘Can the book be stopped?’ It may be that even Harry can’t stop it at this stage but the feeling at the very top is that there’s no good that can come of airing grievances in public.’

Lawyers to the Royal Family at the firm Harbottle and Lewis are expected to be on standby to read the book when it comes out.

And despite claims that Harry and Meghan are planning a year-long thaw in relations with the rest of the family, their hotly awaited Netflix series might throw another spanner in the works.

The Sussexes are currently working on a documentary as part of their $100million deal with the streaming service which was expected to air in December, according to Page Six.

However, sources claimed last week the couple now wanted to make edits to the series, which would possibly delay its release until later in 2023, as they look to ‘downplay much of what they have said about King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales’.

And now insiders have told the publication that the couple are ‘having second thoughts’ on the project, with one Netflix source saying: ‘Harry and Meghan are panicked about trying to tone down even the most basic language. But it’s their story, from their own mouths.’

Another said: ‘They’ve made significant requests to walk back content they themselves have provided — to the extent that some Netflix staff believe, if granted, it will effectively shelve the project indefinitely.’

As well as warning Harry about the risks of publishing his long-awaited autobiography, Tina Brown also discussed rumours that the duchess is shopping for a ‘private estate’ in Hope Ranch, an affluent neighbourhood a few miles from their current home in California.

Speaking at the Henley Literary Festival Miss Brown said: ‘In Montecito, where they live, their $14million mansion is a humble cottage compared to what these other people have.’

She also joked: ‘At some point it might be more than a new house she’s looking for. Elon Musk is still single, that’s all I have to say.’