Know the US actor who gave Meghan, Harry his home and security in California

In their exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Monday on Britain’s ITV, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed that they have been the residents at the acclaimed US filmmaker and an actor Tyler Perry’s $18 million luxury mansion in Beverly Hills, Southern California. The US mogul came to Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s rescue when they first relocated to Canada, and their location was publicized by leading tabloids and television news channels. At that time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had steeped away from their royal duties and on "short notice, security was going to be removed," Harry told Oprah. 

"We didn't have a plan," Meghan says in the interview.

"We needed a house and he [Tyler Perry] offered his security as well, so it gave us breathing room to try to figure out what we were going to do."

"So suddenly it dawned on me, 'Hang on, the borders could be closed, we're going to have our security removed, who knows how long lockdown is going to be, the world knows where we are, it's not safe, it's not secure, we probably need to get out of here," The Duke of Sussex told Oprah in the tell-all live-streamed interview. He added that it was the friend [Hollywood tycoon Tyler Perry] who invited Meghan and him to stay in the Tuscan-style villa located in Beverly Ridge Estates guard-gated community. The couple has stayed at the luxury mansion since they moved to Los Angeles, in March last year. 

[Prince Harry, left, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, speaking about expecting their second child. Credit: AP]

[Filmmaker/actor Tyler Perry, known for the "Madea" films. Credit: AP]

Who is Tyler Perry?

The Duchess of Sussex in an interview earlier in Africa had revealed that the Hollywood entertainer, producer, and actor renowned for his role character Madea, has been emotionally close to her. The 50-year-old director was introduced to the royal couple by Oprah Winfrey. The duke and duchess were cut off financially by the royal family at the time and luckily the Hollywood mogul let the couple occupy his 24,545 square foot Mediterranean-style mansion that spreads on a 22 acre land with much needed security. Perry had purchased the property that is located near Beverly Hills Post Office for an estimated $4.3 million in 2012. And while Harry and Meghan needed a place to stay the movie mogul who was shooting in Atlanta at the time, was kind enough to offer the mansion for the former royal couple to stay.