Prince Harry sat down with ITV’s Tom Bradby and CBS News’ Anderson Cooper ahead of the release of his book Spare next week – with trailers of each dropping today.
And it appears the interviews with the Duke of Sussex, 38, took place at the posh San Ysidro Ranch, where guests can stay for £2,219 a night.
The Montecito resort — which once hosted Winston Churchill on a writers’ retreat, as well as John F. and Jackie Kennedy — was also where Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, filmed a photo shoot and an interview for Variety magazine .
An hour’s drive from Los Angeles, in the heart of California’s wine country, the Hollywood hideaway has reportedly been home to Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Prince Harry (pictured) sat down with ITV’s Tom Bradby and CBS News’ Anderson Cooper ahead of the release of his book Spare next week – with trailers of each dropping today
The ranch has a fascinating history; in the 19th century it was the home of Franciscan friars but has been a hotel since the 1930’s.
There are 41 cottages surrounding a large, manicured garden of olive and lavender trees, with each accommodation featuring a fireplace, private terrace and extras such as heated bathroom floors.
The 1,450 square foot ranch is filled with antiques and Persian rugs and has patio seating that opens onto the lush green garden.
The Express reports that each cottage also includes a four-poster bed and outdoor waterfall shower.
It appears the interviews (pictured) with the Duke of Sussex, 38, took place at the posh San Ysidro Ranch, where guests can stay for £2,219 a night
And the resort’s most lavish cottage is Warner Cottage, which includes a 33-foot swimming pool and has a $10,000-per-night rental. It’s unclear whether Warner Cottage was used for the Duke’s interviews or the Duchess’s photoshoot.
Eagle-eyed fans might also have been drawn to the plush curtains that adorned the French doors, which were gold and intricately embroidered with burgundy and green floral designs.
Nestled in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains, there are 17 miles of hiking trails nearby.
The hotel’s Stonehouse restaurant draws celebrities in droves, with Oprah Winfrey reportedly a fan.
The Montecito resort — which once hosted Winston Churchill attending a writers’ retreat, as well as John F. and Jackie Kennedy — was also where Harry’s wife Meghan Markle hosted a photoshoot and interview (pictured) for shooting Variety Magazine
An hour’s drive from Los Angeles, in the heart of California’s wine country, the Hollywood hideaway (pictured) has reportedly been home to Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow
Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh were married there in 1940 and John Huston wrote The African Queen while staying for three months in one of the cottages.
Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow wed at the Willow Suite in 2003, while Julia Roberts and husband Danny Moder spent the first night after their wedding there.
In Meghan’s Variety article, San Ysidro Ranch was described as: “A low-key old-world luxury resort with simple bungalows tucked into a mountainside overlooking the Pacific Coast.”
It has also been described as “unpretentious” despite being mostly inhabited by wealthy people.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has said he would “love to have my father and brother back” as he launched a commercial blitz for his memoir.
The ranch has a fascinating history; in the 19th century it was the home of Franciscan friars but has been a hotel since the 1930’s
In a zoomed-in shot of the garden, royal fans were able to see the hedges that surround the land, while the Duchess posed in front of lush Sicilian lemon trees
Speaking to ITV’s Tom Bradby in a clip where no questions can be heard, Harry says: “It never had to be like this” and refers to “the outpouring and the planting” before adding: “I want a family , not an institution”.
He also says, in an apparent reference to the royals, “they feel like it’s better to kind of keep us as villains” and that “they’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile.”
Filmed in California, where the Duke now resides, ITV said its show Harry: The Interview will go into “unprecedented depth and detail” about his life inside and outside the royal family.
The 38-year-old royal also spoke to US TV personality Anderson Cooper for his popular interview show 60 Minutes.
A trailer shows Cooper asking why Harry hasn’t privately communicated his grievances against the royal family instead of making them public, to which the king replies, “Every time I’ve tried to do it privately, there’s been Briefings and leaks and plantings of stories against me and my wife.
Speaking to ITV’s Tom Bradby in a clip where no questions can be heard, Harry (pictured) says “it never had to be like this” and refers to “the spilling and the planting” before adding: ” I want a family, not an institution’
‘The family motto is never complain and never explain – it’s just a motto.’
He adds: “They (Buckingham Palace) will feed or chat with a correspondent and that correspondent will literally be fed information and write the story and at the end they will say they approached Buckingham Palace for one.” Comment.
“But the whole story is commented on by Buckingham Palace.
“So when we’ve been told for the past six years, ‘We can’t make a statement to protect you,’ but you’re doing it for other family members, there comes a point where silence is treason.” ‘
The clips appear to confirm reports that the Duke will use his memoir to reveal details about disagreements between him and his brother, the 40-year-old Prince of Wales.
It comes after the Duke claimed in his Netflix documentary that William broke a promise never to spread stories or tutor each other after witnessing the aftermath of such actions in her father’s office.
Mr Bradby, a former ITV royal correspondent, is a friend of the Sussexes and previously interviewed them for a documentary about their 2019 tour of Africa.
He first met Harry working with him on a documentary about Lesotho when the prince was on his gap year after leaving Eton.
The journalist attended his wedding to Meghan in 2018.
Meanwhile, Mr Cooper is said to have won Harry’s trust with his stance on issues close to his heart, such as mental health.
The 55-year-old, who is also a star of the CNN network, has campaigned for better mental health and hosts a podcast called All There Is. He has spoken about losing his brother Carter to suicide.
The 23-year-old fell to his death from the family’s 14th-floor Manhattan apartment in 1988. Mr Cooper also has war experience, having reported from Afghanistan where Harry made two trips of duty.
A TV source said: “Mr. Cooper has gained Harry’s trust. This would be a coup for Mr Cooper and fits well with Harry’s mental health campaign. It is a Sunday prime-time program that hosts foreign leaders and presidents. It’s the one that all politicians and decision-makers are watching.’
60 Minutes recently featured exclusive interviews with US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.
In 2020, Mr Cooper interviewed Afua Hirsch, the British author and former Guardian journalist who appears on the Sussexes’ Netflix program and who delivers a scathing judgment on the Commonwealth as “Empire 2.0”.
Discussing with Mr Cooper after Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping down from royal duties, Ms Hirsch described the royal family as “ground zero for Britain’s troubled history of colonialism and race”.
She added that she was “always concerned about Meghan Markle’s well-being” when she joined the royal family. Mr Cooper appeared to sympathize with the couple’s plight, telling Ms Hirsch: “The idea of being hounded by the press is going to have such weird, weird echoes for Prince Harry given what happened to his mother.”
Mr Cooper has also joked about getting a wave from Prince Harry during his wedding to Meghan in May 2018. He told viewers: “I was at the royal wedding and covered it for CNN.
“Our correspondent Max Foster said, ‘You should wave at Harry because Harry will be looking up at the bright lights and I bet he’ll be waving at you.’ The carriage makes a turn. I start waving. Harry looks up at the tower, we look at each other and he waves. I almost died.’
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