Prince Harry and Meghan Markle face a huge six-figure bill on their Californian mansion due to a "council tax", according to reports.
Charges from 2021-22 on documents uncovered by Sunday Mirror, show that two payments of £51,978 were placed on their bills by Santa Barbara County, totalling a whopping £103,995.
The charges, twice as much as experts had anticipated, is based on the value of the property in opulent Montecito.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who quit royal duties as part of a move to the US, purchased the nine-bedroomed, 13-bathroom house in June 2020 for approximately £11.5million.
Previous owner Sergey Grishin, a Russian businessman, had paid £17million a decade earlier and the pair mortgage is estimated to be £7.4million.
The first instalment of the tax bill was due on December 10, the second on February 1 – with a 10% penalty for any bills not paid by April 11. A source said: “The bill is a huge sum but it’s peanuts in relation to their earnings.”
Local experts say the Tuscan-style mansion, built in 2003 and 80 miles north of LA, is now worth £19.4million. It has a library, gym, cinema room, spa, pool, tennis court, guest house and a playground for children Archie, two, and Lilibet, eight months.
But last month it was claimed the Sussexes, who have deals with Netflix and Spotify worth around £118million, were looking to sell.
Harry, 37, also faces a huge income tax bill in April now he is resident in the US. His team was approached for comment.
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