Meghan Markle and Prince Harry celebrated seven years of married life just weeks ago, and seem to be happier than ever before. Since their early dating days, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shown time and time again their affection for one another, and speak very fondly about their relationship.

While Meghan, 40, and Harry, 43, are believed to have fallen in love very quickly, it seems that the duchess was somewhat surprised at the life of her prince. As an American actress, a royal author claimed that on becoming official with Harry, Meghan “expected a billionaire”, and was surprised when this was not the case.

As reported by The Daily Mail, Tom Quinn wrote in his book Yes, Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants: “Harry was deeply shocked at Meghan’s reaction when she discovered, for example, that he was not personally hugely wealthy.”

He continued: “As one staff member put it, ‘She expected a billionaire and got a millionaire’. It was perfectly understandable that, coming from an American background, Meghan might imagine that Prince Harry, the brother of a future king, should have millions. So when she discovered that Harry was only worth around £20million, she needed to reassess many other assumptions she’d made about this strange new family.”

It is also believed that Meghan was “shocked” to find Harry lived in a very humble-sized cottage on the Kensington Palace estate.

In the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan in 2022 – filmed two years after the couple stepped back from life as senior royals and moved to America – the royal couple spoke about their first home Nottingham Cottage.

Prince Harry explained: “As far as people were concerned, we were living in a palace and we were… in a cottage.”

In a brutal two-word statement, Meghan then described the home as “so small”. She said: “Kensington Palace sounds very regal, of course it does. It says ‘palace’ in the name. But Nottingham Cottage was so small.”

In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry also said he was “embarrassed” to show the home to Meghan.

While the pair may not have been blown away with their first royal home, they seemed to love their second – Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Castle estate. The cottage was gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II, with Harry having once said that he “loved” that home.

While Harry’s initial living situation may not have been what Meghan initially expected, the pair are both now believed to be living a luxurious life on their sprawling Montecito estate in California.