Details about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's sprawling estate in Santa Barbara

Fresh details have emerged about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's newly-bought home in Santa Barbara where they have been living for the past few weeks with their son Archie Harrison.

A report in Daily Mail revealed that the property, which will also be the childhood home for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's son Archie Harrison, is a sprawling 14,563 sq ft estate located in the upscale Montecito neighbourhood. According to the report, the couple got a nice cut-price deal for the 2003-built mansion when they bought it from Russian tycoon Sergey Grishin on June 18.

After buying the mansion known as "The Chateau" for $25 million in 2009, Sergey Grishin wanted to sell it for $34 million (£20.6 million) a few years ago. However, he had to eventually sell the estate to the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex for $14.7 million (£11.1million) with a $9.5 million (£7.25 million) mortgage after the price was knocked down by more than $10 million.

The Russian businessman is also the former owner of another California estate known as the Scarface mansion, which appeared in the 1983 Al Pacino movie. This mansion was also sold for a similarly cut-price $12 million in 2015.

According to the report, the palatial mansion sits on 5.4 acres of land, with its stone-pillared entry gates bordered by immaculately clipped hedges. The sprawling estate, which reportedly took nearly five years to build, has nine-bedrooms and 16 bathrooms.

The estate has sweeping lawns, tiered rose gardens, tall Italian cypress trees, blooming lavender, century-old olive trees, a tennis court, tea house, children's cottage, and a pool. It also boasts of a library, office, spa with a separate dry and wet sauna, a gym with a stripper pole, game room, arcade, theater, wine cellar, and a five-car garage.

'The Chateau,' which is around a two-hour drive from downtown Los Angeles, also has a two-bedroom, two-bath guest house. It is located on a private road in an exclusive area of Santa Barbara, home to many celebrities including Meghan and Harry's friends Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

According to a report in The Sun, the home is ideal for bringing up Archie, who is 15-months-old now. The toddler, who is seventh in the line of succession to the British throne, will have access to elite private schools and a string of A-list pals to become friends with in the star-studded area.

A source close to the couple told the outlet: "They realised they needed a big home with a lot of space for Archie because they can rarely leave the house due to their fame, they are still quite nervous about going out and about."

"They have been worried about Archie as he's been inside so much during lockdown and not interacting with other children, but everyone has reassured them that they're doing a great job," the insider added.

"Meghan wanted somewhere with a spectacular garden and the house has a giant pool and pond for them to enjoy. They say this new house is their 'sanctuary,'' the source added about the house which also has its own kids playground.

The neighbourhood is also home to a lot of celebrities with young children. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher live nearby with daughter Wyatt, five, and son Dimitri, three. Natalie Portman also lives there with her children, Aleph, nine, and Amalia, three. One of Meghan's best pal, designer Misha Nonoo who gave birth to son Leo Hess in March, lives an hour down the coast in Malibu.