Meghan and Harry spent first Christmas with baby Archie at $14m Canadian waterfront mansion

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent their first Christmas with baby Archie in a $14.1 million waterfront mansion owned by a mystery multi-millionaire, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The royal family and the Duchess of Sussex’s mother Doria Ragland enjoyed time in one of the most idyllic spots on Vancouver Island.

Their presence in Canada had been confirmed before Christmas by prime minster Justin Trudeau. 

It has been reported that some royals had urged Harry and Markle to return from abroad to spend Christmas in the UK, following the hospitalization of Prince Philip. 

The eight-bedroom gated estate on Vancouver Island, Canada, boasts two beaches and views across the peninsula from the four acre property.

Luxury property: The French country-inspired mansion was listed by Sotheby’s in 2012 for $18,459,645 Canadian dollars ($14.1 million USD, £10.7 million) fully furnished

Grandeur: The main house is 11,416 square feet with five bedrooms and eight bathrooms and a 2,349 square foot guest cottage with three beds and two baths

Tight security: Cameras and fences were erected at the property as early as December 19, and the mansion is now swarming with security guards

Discreet: Screens are seen covering the gates at the property to afford the royals some more privacy during the holidays

Private: A ‘private property, no trespassing’ sign is seen near the eight-bedroom gated estate on Vancouver Island, Canada

Locals in the island’s rural community of North Saanich noticed cameras and fences erected at the property as early as December 19, and the mansion is now swarming with security guards.

One officer from the couple’s royal protection team was spotted patrolling the roads dressed in a Barbour jacket and driving a black Range Rover, and two other British guards were seen flying out from nearby Victoria International Airport, swapping in for new officers.

Locals described the weather as ‘excellent’ for the time of year. The royal couple have enjoyed mostly sunshine with highs of 48F during the day and lows of 32F at night. On Christmas day there was light rain in the morning with a temperature of 41F, which brightened into sunshine with clouds and 43F for the afternoon.  

The French country-inspired mansion was listed by Sotheby’s in 2012 for $18,459,645 Canadian dollars ($14.1 million USD, £10.7 million) fully furnished, with a 11,416 square foot main house with five bedrooms and eight bathrooms and a 2,349 square foot guest cottage with three beds and two baths. 

New parents: Meghan and Harry have been spending time at the private property, having spoken of the pressures they have felt in the public eye

Baby Archie was front and center in the Christmas card shared with fans 

Inside the main house is a formal dining room, paneled office with fireplace, large two-story living room opening to the chef’s kitchen with pizza oven, game room with wet bar, media room and wine tasting room, according to the Sotheby’s listing. 

A friend of a previous resident, 41-year-old Hsin Pai, told DailyMail.com that the property used to be owned by a German actress.

The property was then bought around 2010 by Bernadette Wolfswinkel, the ex-wife of disgraced Arizona property magnate Conley Wolfswinkel who was convicted of bank fraud and was accused of owing US taxpayers $2 billion.

In 2012, Wolfswinkel, 70, listed the property for $14.1 million with a Sotheby’s realtor. Wolfswinkel’s friend, Pai, said she sold the mansion to a wealthy businessman around that time.

A neighbor also told DailyMail.com the house had been sold ‘a few years ago’, and an estate agent involved in the deal confirmed that the property had been sold to a US-based ‘billionaire’ who was neither American nor Canadian. 

The property is designed for its ownership to remain discreet. It is ultimately the property of a country club, and the purchaser bought shares in the country club to become its owner. 

The owners have held lavish fireworks displays from their property.

One neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous said: ‘We were all down there. They floated a barge out there and shot of a good $30-40,000 worth of fireworks.

Opulence: Inside the main house is a formal dining room, paneled office with fireplace, large two-story living room opening to the chef’s kitchen with pizza oven, game room with wet bar, media room and wine tasting room, according to the Sotheby’s listing

Previous owner: A friend of a previous resident, 41-year-old Hsin Pai, said the property used to be owned by a German actress

Changing hands: The property was then bought around 2010 by Bernadette Wolfswinkel, the ex-wife of disgraced Arizona property magnate Conley Wolfswinkel who was convicted of bank fraud and was accused of owing US taxpayers $2 billion

Mystery multi-millionaire: In 2012, Wolfswinkel, 70, listed the property for $14.1 million with a Sotheby’s realtor. Wolfswinkel’s friend, Pai, said she sold the mansion to a wealthy businessman around that time

‘We’re down there all the time,’ the neighbor added. ‘It’s very different looking right now. There’s a camera down there and temporary fencing.

‘It looks very cut off right now, it’s not usually like that. I knew they were here on Wednesday, and by Friday everybody around here knew.

‘By Christmas day it looked like Halloween. No-one’s ever on that street normally, but there were massive amounts of people just “walking their dogs”,’ the neighbor said.

‘It’s got a full on turret on one side. It’s pretty neat. I’m glad they’re staying there, because it’s an $18m (CAD) property, that’s what it was on sale for a few years ago, and it’s such a waste of the property for no one to be there.’

The property boasts a conservatory out on the four-acre grounds with two beach access points.

Stunning setting: The hideaway boasts two beaches and views across the peninsula from the four acre property

 Presence at the property: One neighbor said: ‘I knew they were here on Wednesday, and by Friday everybody around here knew. By Christmas day it looked like Halloween. No-one’s ever on that street normally, but there were massive amounts of people just “walking their dogs”’

In 2012, then-owner Wolfswinkel told Ocean Home magazine that the property used to be the home of a German movie star, but that when she bought it she knocked it down and rebuilt it to her own specifications.

‘I can’t really explain it,’ Wolfswinkel told the agazine. ‘People may come for a few days or a week, but they don’t want to leave. And I feel it myself. It is very Zen, very comforting.’

Wolfswinkel set up a website in 2012 to advertise the property. The site is now defunct, but as recently as October 2016 it had pictures advertising the estate to rent with ‘full maid service, concierge and chef’.

A version of the site built in 2012 and archived in 2016 says the property is ‘presently being offered for sale, international executive retreat, vacation rental or event destination’.

Harry and Meghan’s presence in North Saanich was first revealed by local restaurateur Pierre Koffel and his wife Bev, who reportedly turned away the royal couple from their high-end restaurant because of their intense security requirements.

Out of the public eye: The luxurious and discreet getaway in North Saanich (pictured) has been home for part of the time as news parents they decided to spend away from their official royal life

Spotted: Locals in the island’s rural community of North Saanich had become aware of the extra security at the property

Koffel says he was merely visited by the royals’ security team and didn’t decline their reservations – but has still faced a backlash with ‘hundreds’ of emails and ‘dozens’ of phone calls from Harry and Meghan fans berating him for denying their favorite royals their Christmas dinner.

The chef and co-owner of the Deep Cove Chalet in North Saanich told DailyMail.com that he and his wife were tricked into revealing the royals’ secret getaway, and have now received ‘hundreds of emails, tens of phonecalls’ accusing he and his wife of being ‘terrible people’.

The restaurateur’s wife, Bev, told the Vancouver Sun on Christmas Eve that they had been visited by Harry and Meghan’s security detail, casing their restaurant for a potential dinner spot for the couple.

‘She’s been getting so much grief, she got hijacked by the lovely little journalist from Victoria,’ Pierre told DailyMail.com. ‘She didn’t think it was an official interview.

Getaway revealed: Harry and Meghan’s presence in North Saanich was first revealed by local restaurateur Pierre Koffel and his wife Bev of Deep Cove Chalet (pictured)

Backlash: Koffel says he was merely visited by the royals’ security team and didn’t decline their reservations – but has still faced a backlash with ‘hundreds’ of emails and ‘dozens’ of phone calls from Harry and Meghan fans berating him for denying their favorite royals their Christmas dinner.

‘We’ve been getting hundreds of emails, tens of phonecalls. Nothing but s**t, saying what terrible people we are. And we didn’t even meet the people or see them. It just took a life of its own. It f***ing pissed me off.’

The local newspaper reported that Pierre turned down Harry and Meghan because of their disruptive security needs, but the chef said it wasn’t true.

‘They came to have a look and then they left,’ he said. ‘I didn’t turn them down. I’ve got no idea where that came from, things take a life of their own.’

He said the emails and phonecalls berating the couple for turning down the royals had left them shaken.

‘We’re not used to it. I wish I was never involved in it, it’s getting worse and worse.’

North Saanich councillor Celia Stock told DailyMail.com the upmarket restaurant is often visited by wealthy clients who sometimes arrive by helicopter on its waterside front lawn, and is fully booked for the holiday season.