Since quitting life as senior working royals in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been living on a sprawling estate in the Californian town of Montecito.

For the past five years, the couple has worked hard to set up a home at their mansion with their two children, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.

While the American lifestyle may be very different to the way of life previously experienced by Harry, 40, as a royal, he has only ever spoken fondly of his time in America, even going as far to say he is “grateful” for the “opportunity” it has given him.

Meghan, 43, is also believed to be very happy in Montecito after spending almost her whole life in California, where she was born.

However, while the Duke of Sussex is adamant he is happy about his new life, one royal author believes he is actually “bored” as he no longer has the royal role he had spent so much time working on.

Tom Quinn, author of a new upcoming royal book titled Yes Ma’am, told The Sun: “He just doesn’t have anything to do: from childhood he has been trained to be a royal, attending charitable events and meeting the public and he has thrown all that away.

“Friends say he’s made a decent stab at helping around the Montecito mansion, walking the dog and looking after the children.

“But the truth is he is bored. He can’t leave the mansion without a security detail, and the couple’s neighbours – many of whom are far more famous than the royal couple – take little notice when they spot Harry out and about.”

The author claimed that Harry and Meghan also “hate that they aren’t seen as true A-listers” in the area, which has a number of celebrity residents including Katy Perry, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Oprah Winfrey.

While the author has suggested Harry is not happy with his lifestyle in Montecito, the prince has always said the exact opposite.

At The New York Times DealBook Online Summit last year, Harry said: “I very much enjoy living here and bringing my kids up here. It’s a part of my life that I never thought I was going to live.

“I feel as though it’s the life that my mum wanted for me. To be able to do the things I’m able to do with my kids that I undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the UK — it’s huge.

“That is a fantastic opportunity and I’m hugely grateful for that.”