Royal Family

Prince William and Kate Middleton are doing just fine despite some bad optics making their relationship seem rocky ... at least that's the story our Royal sources are selling.

Sources directly connected to Will and Kate insist there's been no falling out between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ... this after signs of friction in their marriage.

As you know, Kate seemingly denied William's PDA attempt with a super-awkward shoulder shrug this week on TV, bringing comparisons to Donald Trump getting swatted away by Melania.

The sources insist the whole interaction was taken out of context from the rest of the TV special, and what most folks didn't see was Will and Kate being very affectionate and close-knit.

The bad optics didn't end there, because as we reported ... William and Kate showed up to the Royal Family's Christmas lunch in separate cars.

We're told the couple rode separately because Prince George and William needed to be at Buckingham Palace 30 minutes earlier for a special event -- which sources say will soon be made public, and explain the whole car situation.

The family certainly looks happy in their annual Christmas card. Still ... that's just a moment in time. Remember ... Princess Diana looked happy in her family Xmas card pics, and she was anything but.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are keeping palace intrigue that there's trouble in paradise at peak levels, cause a day after Kate had a Melania Trump moment ... more signs of friction.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived to the Royal Family's Christmas lunch Wednesday at Buckingham Palace in separate cars, and split up the children as well -- Prince George rode with dad, while Charlotte and Louis showed up with mom.

It's bad because this same time last year, the whole family rode together in one vehicle.

That takes into account all three of their kids, including young Louis ... who was just 8 months old at the time. Still, they squeezed his car seat into the back -- and even managed to fit in a nanny to boot. Now, they seemed inclined to divide the squad for some reason.

This, of course, comes right on the heels of Kate seemingly shrugging off's Will's attempt at PDA when he reached over and touched her shoulder -- which looked a lot like Melania refusing to hold hands with DT here in the States. Again ... bad optics.

It was super awkward -- and now, they're really fueling the rumor fire that they're having marriage problems ... a major point of speculation recently, which hasn't been confirmed one way or another.

Funny enough ... Kate and Will left Wednesday's breakfast in the same car -- this after we called around asking what was up. Kensington Palace still hasn't gotten back to us on that ... but if you're putting two and two together, it looks like the message was received.

Kate Middleton was NOT in the mood for some PDA from Prince William ... or so it sure seemed.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared on a BBC special Monday night dubbed "A Berry Royal Christmas" ... where they hosted a slew of volunteers from various organizations who plan to volunteer for the holidays.

Near the end of the episode, Prince William and Kate sit down with a group of volunteers ... and he tries to gently place his hand on Kate's left shoulder, but she wasn't having it. You see her shrug him off. The move's pretty fast ... so don't blink.

You'll also notice Kate never stopped smiling during the whole thing. Her facial expression remained the same ... big smile. Viewers took notice and quickly took to social media. One person tweeted, "She moved with a quickness." Another wrote, "Awkward! Too Awkward!! They should have cut it out!"

Kate's move was reminiscent of Melania Trump slapping President Trump's hand away back in 2017 after they had just landed in Tel Aviv. You'll recall he reached for her hand but Melania quickly put the Prez in a no hand-holding zone.

Prince Andrew's very bad publicity run is getting worse -- he's now being accused of casually dropping the n-word while speaking to a former British government employee.

Rohan Silva -- a UK native of Sri Lankan heritage and former aide to Prime Minister David Cameron -- says he was invited to a meeting at the Palace to discuss policy with the Queen's son, and asked him if the trade department could be doing a better job.

To that question, Silva claims Prince Andrew said ... "Well, if you'll pardon the expression, that really is the n***** in the woodpile."

Silva says the prince's racial epithet left him reeling as he left Buckingham Palace, but he's ashamed to say he didn't do anything about it. He says, "For a long time after, I kicked myself for not confronting the prince on his choice of words -- and it's something I still regret today."

Silva claims this wasn't the first time Prince Andrew used bigoted language either. At another Buckingham Palace meeting a year prior, Silva claims the prince told him ... "What you have got to remember is that you’ll never get anywhere by playing the white man."

The former aide says he was unfamiliar with the phrase at the time, but when he looked it up he realized it implies that dark-skinned people are less trustworthy and don't play by the rules like white people.

Silva's claims come on the heels of another Prince Andrew scandal ... related to his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew's accused of having sex with an underage woman named Virginia Roberts (now Virginia Giuffre), who he met through Epstein at least 3 times from 1999 through 2002.

The Royal family has denied Virginia's allegations, but the prince did himself no favors by making an appearance on "BBC Newsnight" and claiming he couldn't even remember Giuffre ... despite posing in a photo with her in 2001.

Rita Ora's charm knows no bounds ... as Prince William learned face-to-face and firsthand.

Wills and Rita met at a charitable event Wednesday night in London, and instead of just acting like he's enthralled ... we're guessing the Duke of Cambridge was actually thrilled to hang with the singer. He's a royal, but he's still only human.

BTW, William went all out for the event honoring Centrepoint -- an organization that's been aiding homeless youth for 50 years. Peep that green crushed velvet tux he was rocking.

We're sure meeting Rita had nothing to do with his fashion selection. Besides, does anyone believe the future King of England really dresses himself?

He also met 3 members of Duran Duran -- Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon -- which would've been totally exciting ... had Rita not been in the room.

Meghan Markle's nephew, Thomas Dooley, quickly lost his towel and was butt-ass naked during his rowdy arrest in Hollywood last week ... which we now have on video.

TMZ obtained footage of the arrest from Thursday, which took place right around the corner from the Hollywood Hotel just north of Santa Monica Blvd. As you can see ... it was a noisy affair, as officers attempted to detain Dooley..

We broke the story ... Thomas was arrested and ultimately booked for felony resisting arrest after police say he was spotted cruising up and down the boulevard covered only by a small towel.

Cops say he was also shouting gibberish to himself, and appeared to be under the influence of some substance. We're told he had to be taken down after evading police.

Meghan Markle's nephew was arrested in Hollywood for causing a scene in nothing but a tiny towel.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Thomas Dooley was walking down a street Thursday shouting gibberish ... wearing only a small towel wrapped around his waist. We're told some passersby called cops ... and several units rushed to the scene.

Our sources say when officers approached Thomas, he defiantly began walking away, so they tried to detain him. We're told he was taken to the ground and subdued.

That would be it ... it probably wouldn't amount to much more than a misdemeanor, except for the fact an officer injured his knee during the takedown. That elevated things to felony status, so Dooley was booked for felony resisting arrest.

Prince Harry showed he's got his late mother's moxie -- walking through a landmine field just like she did some 22 years ago.

The Duke of Sussex paid homage to Princess Diana Friday in Angola ... walking through a minefield on day 5 of his royal tour of Africa. He was there to check out the landmine clearing efforts of The HALO Trust ... a charity Princess Di brought a lot of attention to in 1997.

She walked through the exact same minefield back then to bring awareness to the landmine crisis around the globe while calling for an international ban. Two decades later, the area's been transformed from uninhabitable to vibrant ... with colleges, schools and small businesses surrounding it.

Princess Diana spearheaded the Mine Ban Treaty ... a call to eliminate all landmines by 2025. Harry had taken up on the cause well before arriving in Angola to retrace his mother's steps.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making certain no one can call them the Duke and Duchess of Hypocrisy -- they flew commercial for a grueling trip WITH their 4-month-old baby.

Don't get us wrong ... the royal couple still got the royal treatment Monday morning after landing in Cape Town, South Africa.

A team of security guards and airport staff led them away from their British Airways flight. The fam was looking pretty weary on the tarmac as Meghan cradled baby Archie ... who was rocking a stylish beanie, btw.

The 11-and-a-half hour, nonstop flight from London ain't easy for normal travelers, and when ya add baby Archie to the mix ... ya gotta say Harry's doing his best to flip public opinion.

Meg and Harry caught a rash of crap for jacking up their carbon footprint on a gas-guzzling private jet to visit Elton John in France last month. Although, Harry said afterward sometimes it will be necessary to fly private for the safety of his family, this now the 2nd time he's been spotted on a commercial flight since then.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Archie, are kicking off a 10-day tour of the former British colony.

They're already hitting it off with the locals by dancing with some of their greeters in Cape Town.

Well, perhaps wisely, Harry let Meghan do most of the dancing.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are giving their royal baby a taste of the commoner's life by attempting to go undercover for an ordinary day at a British pub.

The Duke and Duchess hit up The Rose & Crown in Windsor, England and as you can see in photos obtained by TMZ ... they blended right in with their infant son, Archie.

Harry had a tight grip on Archie's car seat while Meghan lugged some more baby gear, during the family outing a few Sundays back. The royal tyke, who was less than 4 months old at the time, had a blanket over him and appeared to be napping.

Instead of taking in a cricket or football (soccer) match on the telly ... we're told Archie kept pretty damn quiet for the 2 hours the family was there. Not a single peep outta the little guy -- even when Mom changed his nappy, (that's what they call diapers).

Mom and Dad enjoyed a roast dinner, the house specialty, and Harry helped himself to a couple of pints while Meghan settled for water. We're told they were treated just like all the other patrons -- who didn't bother the royals at all. So much so, one witness said it almost seemed like many customers didn't even recognize them.

They weren't all that incognito though ... with private security and 2 police officers in tow.

By the way ... the pub is just a stone's throw away from Frogmore Cottage, where Harry, Meghan and Archie live.

The pub visit seems to be the first low-key public outing they've made as a family since Archie's birth in May. They were all out together in July, but that was for Dad's polo match ... which is always a public spectacle.

Serena Williams was in championship mode ahead of the U.S. Open Final -- and that means she didn't have time to chat ... especially for silly questions about Meghan Markle.

The tennis icon left her hotel Saturday with a look of determination on her face as she boarded a waiting SUV, which was ready to drive her to the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, NYC ... where Serena is facing off against Canadian Bianca Andreescu in the Women's Singles championship later. Paps were standing by, but SW made no time for them.

One photog asked if the Duchess -- a close friend of Serena's, who flew into town this week to watch her pal battle for the trophy -- was going to be a good luck charm for her. She didn't answer ... and the reason is probably this, Serena doesn't need luck.

While we're sure she appreciates Meghan coming out, her presence alone in the stands isn't likely to make a huge difference on how Serena performs. Nice try though.

The camera man made a pretty obvious note to Serena as she closed the door ... saying that the world would be watching this afternoon.

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. She's aware of that too.

Huge day for Princess Charlotte ... it's her first day of school and her Royal parents couldn't look prouder.

Prince William and Kate Middleton sported huge grins Thursday as they arrived at London's exclusive Thomas's Battersea school. The Royal family walked hand in hand with 4-year-old Charlotte and Prince George. Charlotte -- who is fourth in line to the throne -- looked giddy but also a bit nervous meeting the headmaster.

This is 6-year-old George's third year at the school. You can tell he's already a pro at schooling ... giving the headmaster a firm handshake. William said Charlotte's very excited for her first day as they all walked in.

Thomas's Battersea is a pricey private school. Tuition at the school with 560 students (21 students in Charlotte's class) is around $7,900 for ages 4 to 13 per term. But, Charlotte's getting a sibling discount ... which lowers tuition by about 150 bucks per term.

Prince Harry is defending his use of private jets, saying that on the rare occasions he might opt for one ... it's only for the well-being of his family.

The Duke of Sussex and his wife, Meghan Markle, have received some heavy criticism lately for cruising around in gas-guzzling private jets ... they took them at least twice in August.

At a presentation in Amsterdam Tuesday -- where PH was discussing a new environmental project within the travel industry called Travalyst -- he told reporters that he actually spends 99% of his life travelling the world by commercial plane.

However, he went on to say ... "Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe. It's generally as simple as that."

You'll recall ... Elton John went to bat for Harry and Meghan when they came to visit him in the South of France, backing up Harry's words here by saying their private jet use was necessary for security reasons. The couple also flew private to Ibiza shortly before that.

For Harry, he says balance is the key with his private jet use -- adding that if he has to use a private flight, he works to offset his CO2 output (without getting specific). He says he wants to make that a regular thing in tourism and other travel in general.

Ellie Goulding just tied the knot with Caspar Jopling, and her wedding was a who's-who of British stardom -- plus one famous American who squeaked in ... Katy Perry.

The English pop star said "I do" Saturday at the York Minster cathedral all the way across the pond, where tons of famous Brits flocked in to witness the matrimony. We're talking Royals, folks -- Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice and Sarah, Duchess of York, were there.

No sign of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle here -- Ellie used to date Harry a little while back. Seems like she left on good terms with some of the Royal Family though!!!

There were other UK-born celebs who got an invite as well -- Sienna Miller showed up with her BF, Lucas Zwirner, as did James Blunt with his wife, Sofia Wellesley.

Orlando Bloom and Katy also walked into the church hand in hand -- he's English too, of course, so it looks like KP was among a few notable Yankees who made the cut. Then again, that might just be a coincidence ... Ellie and Katy are longtime pals.

Debbie Allen says Lara Spencer made lemonade out of her lemon of a joke about Prince George liking ballet ... but now it's time for everyone to grow up when it comes to guys dancing.

The dance legend was at LAX when we asked about Lara's on-air apology for making fun of Prince William and Kate Middleton's son ... she applauds her for having the courage to own up to her mistake.

Debbie says the ordeal highlights a bigger issue -- there should be no shame for men in the dance game. Allen wants folks to educate themselves and gives a great example of a legendary man who took dance to broaden his horizons and inspire creativity.

Debbie suggests, if it worked for that guy ... we should all take note.

As for Spencer's blunder, Allen's not going to hold it against her ... even if other big names in the dance community -- notably Abby Lee Miller -- are less forgiving.

Lara Spencer better not show her face at any ballet any time soon ... so says Abby Lee Miller, who thinks the GMA anchor's rip on Prince George's dance lessons should make her persona non grata.

The "Dance Moms" star tells TMZ ... Spencer's on-air ridicule last week of the 6-year-old Prince for liking ballet ... is straight-up sexist. As a result, Abby says Spencer might wanna steer clear of "The Nutcracker" this holiday season.

Abby is joining the chorus of boos that have been raining down on Lara ever since she poked fun at Prince William and Kate Middleton's eldest. However, Abby says Spencer can make amends IF she cuts a fat check to help boys and underprivileged children get dance lessons.

The way Abby sees it, Lara's mockery is a slap in the face to Prince George and kids around the globe who love to dance. She adds ... it's comments like this that bully young boys and make it hard for them to enter a dance studio in the first place.

As you know, Spencer's on-air apology didn't sit well with many fans, and clearly, you can count Abby in that group.