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Bruce Johnson suggested Oprah Winfrey may know why the Sussexes left the US

Bruce Johnston, the 84-year-old former Beach Boys vocalist who resided near the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Montecito, thinks the Duke should reconcile with his brother Prince William.

The musician, who lived across from Oprah Winfrey in the exclusive Santa Barbara County enclave, expressed surprise at the couple's departure from their California base.

His remarks come after Harry and Meghan left their £11million Montecito residence last month, resettling in the Cotswolds, where their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have been enrolled in a local school.

Speaking to the Sun from a café in the Montecito community, Mr Johnston said: "I'm sure that Harry has gone back to tell his brother he's sorry."

He pointed to the King's declining health and the Prince of Wales's future role as reasons for the duke to seek reconciliation.

"His father is not well and William is going to be King, so he needs to make amends," he added.

The musician, who first joined the Beach Boys in 1965, also suggested that media mogul Oprah Winfrey may hold the key to understanding the couple's sudden relocation.

"But no one really knows why they left - apart from Oprah," he said. "They were at her home all the time - I live opposite Oprah too."

Despite living in close proximity to the Sussexes for four years, Mr Johnston revealed he had caught sight of them on just a single occasion.

"You can say Bruce Johnston told you that in four years he saw them only once, in the back of their car," he told the newspaper.

The couple appeared content but were notably reclusive, he observed. "And they did look happy, but they kept themselves to themselves," he said.

Mr Johnston also recalled an unsettling encounter with the couple's security detail. "I was scared when I saw their bodyguards with guns, however, filling up their car with gas," he added.

Mr Johnston, whose career with the Beach Boys began when he stepped in for co-founder Brian Wilson in 1965, first featured on the group's recordings as a vocalist on "California Girls".

The Sussexes left their £11million Montecito property last month, swapping the Californian sunshine for the English countryside.

Archie and Lilibet's precise school and the village where the Duke and Duchess have settled are being kept confidential owing to security concerns.