Royal Family

Prince Harry has lost his personality, his edge and his purpose ... this according to his biographer in a scathing review.

Angela Levin, who wrote "Harry: A Biography of a Prince" back in 2018, says Harry has lost his way and is now just following Meghan Markle's "woke ways" in the U.S.

Levin, who wrote an op-ed for the Sunday Telegraph, says Megan's doing great in California, while Harry has succumbed to her "woke ways" and "has become a shadow of the prince I once knew."

And, maybe this is just an English thing, but in the U.S. it sounds pretty sketchy ... she writes Harry jettisoned his "life as an action man to become an airy-fairy do-gooder."

She goes on and on, saying Harry "seems to accept being second to Meghan." She even suggests he changed his accent, pointing to a recent Harry and Meghan podcast.

And, there's this ... she thinks a lot of what Harry and Meghan are doing is a shameless money grab ... "The couple's endless announcements about clinching one money-raising deal after another ... could be seen as insensitive at a time when hundreds of thousands of livelihoods were lost." She says Harry has "tucked his family away in a multi-million-dollar mansion in California ... making himself look out of touch."

Baby Archie may only be 17 months old, but that's not stopping him from wishing everyone a Happy New Year ... and naturally, it's to the delight of Mom and Dad.

Archie made a surprise appearance on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first episode of their "Archewell Audio" podcast Tuesday. Meghan first asks Archie if he's having fun, to which Archie replies, "Fun." Then, Dad coaxes him into wishing listeners a "Happy New Year."

It's clear to tell from the audio that both Harry and Meghan are more than excited to hear little Archie speak on the podcast ... Harry can barely contain his own laughter.

The rest of the episode featured some massive stars including Elton John and Tyler Perry ... Stacey Abrams also joined. But, c'mon, Archie upstaged 'em all.

It was just last week when Harry and Meghan were spotted strolling the streets of Beverly Hills. TMZ broke the story ... the couple plunked down $14 million on a Montecito estate back in August.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left their posh Montecito estate for even posher Bev Hills, and they went pretty much unnoticed.

Harry was super casual and Meghan was all bundled up ... a little weird, since it's been in the 70's lately.

They entered a building with lots of medical offices and medical spas, but beyond that we don't know what suite if any they hit up.

They have increasingly ventured out in public. They've already connected with neighbors in Montecito, many of them famous like David Foster and Katharine McPhee. The foursome dined out recently.

Princess Diana's fans still have her back -- in a big way -- and Prince Charles and Camilla Bowles are getting a harsh reminder of that with the release of their Christmas card.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's official card is now posted on Instagram, but instead of warm and fuzzy holiday remarks ... they're getting flooded by Diana loyalists with comments like "SHE'S OUR QUEEN," referring to Di.

The running theme in the comments is pure shade. One person said, "Diana's always in our hearts" ... while another commented, "Diana will always be her [Camilla's] shadow."

Things got personal too, and as it played out in real life ... Camilla got the brunt of it, instead of Charles.

That the couple's getting torched shouldn't come as a huge surprise ... coming on the heels of the Netflix series "The Crown" depicting Prince Charles as a total villain in the split from Diana.

On the show, Diana's all but abandoned by Charles, who can't get enough of his affair with Camilla.

The show's come under fire ... with Royal staff recently coming out to say Charles' depiction is NOT accurate.

Prince Charles comes off as a gigantic a-hole in the latest installment of Netflix's "The Crown," and it has royally pissed off his fam and at least one member of Parliament.

The hubbub is over the way Charles is portrayed in his relationship with Diana. The show paints Charles as bullying, cruel and supremely disloyal. Netflix has said it took liberties with the facts, but that apparently has been lost on viewers.

It's interesting ... although Netflix claimed a lot of the show was fiction, it put a video from a Diana documentary on its social media account ... in which you hear Diana tearfully complain Charles was clearly in love with Camilla ... and some folks in Great Britain think all this does is double down on the perception "The Crown" accurately reflects the relationship between Charles and Diana.

The Royals have taken a lot of incoming ... hateful tweets based on people's perception "The Crown" is factual.

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, a member of the House of Lords, called the series a "hurtful, false, misleading and poisonous impression of people in our public life who cannot fight back."

The Queen is down to just one dog after the passing of her dorgi named Vulcan.

Queen Elizabeth's dog died at Windsor Castle -- according to Buckingham Palace -- where she and Prince Philip have been staying amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 94-year-old British monarch is known for her love of dogs, and Vulcan was one of the 4 that appeared with her in a set of portraits shot for her 90th birthday by famed photog Annie Leibovitz.

Vulcan's death leaves her with just Candy, another dorgi, after a lifetime of owning multiple corgis and dorgis since she was gifted a corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday.

Though her last purebred corgi that was a descendant of Susan died in 2018, the Queen reportedly engineered the dorgi mix -- corgi and dachshund -- years ago by breeding her corgis with her late sister Princess Margaret's dachshunds.

Bottom line -- the lady loves her pups and has been photographed enjoying their company for decades. However, in 2015 she stated she didn't want to get any more dogs for fear of leaving a young pooch behind ... so Candy might be her last pet.

Sadly, news of Vulcan's death comes just weeks after Prince William and Kate lost their family dog too ... a cocker spaniel named Lupo.

Prince William and Kate Middleton's beloved dog, Lupo, has died ... a dog that was responsible for choosing the name of the future King of England.

The couple announced the sad news, saying, "Very sadly last weekend our dear dog, Lupo, passed away. He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years and we will miss him so much."

Lupo, an English Cocker Spaniel, has been the face of the breed for several years and is responsible for the gain in the breed's popularity across the pond.

The pooch is the offspring of a dog owned by Kate's parents ... and Lupo was happily adopted by William.

Lupo, which means wolf in Italian, is responsible for Prince George ... well, sort of. Back when Kate was pregnant, she and William reportedly wrote a bunch of names on paper, which were strewn across their floor. They turned Lupo loose to see which piece of paper he would tap ... sure enough, it was the one bearing the name George.

Lupo was 9.

Meghan Markle talked openly about a distinction of hers she would clearly rather do without -- being last year's most trolled person in the entire world.

Meghan and Harry sat down with 3 high school students for their "Teenage Therapy" podcast, to mark Saturday's World Mental Health Day.

Meghan talked about what could be the biggest problem facing teens ... online bullying. Check out the podcast at 4 minutes and 49 seconds. You hear the emotion in Meghan's voice as she says, "I can speak personally, too. I'm told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female."

She went on to say ... "Now 8 months of that [when she was pregnant] I wasn't even visible. I was on maternity leave or with a baby. But, what was able to be manufactured and churned out, it's almost unsurvivable."

As for Harry ... he talked about loss and grief -- something he knows all too well. He also obliquely talked politics, saying, "Vulnerability is not a weakness. Showing vulnerability in today's world especially is a strength." And, then he said this ... "We can certainly see that more from some of our global leaders." A slam at Trump perhaps ... a President who views masks as a sign of weakness and calls coronavirus "a gift from God."

President Trump resorted to one of his favorite pastimes -- insulting women -- making a sexist comment about Meghan Markle ... all because she dared to encourage Americans to vote.

Meghan and Prince Harry have not officially endorsed any political candidates ... but the couple recently entered the convo by urging folks to cast their vote in November, which the Duchess of Sussex calls ... "the most important election of our lifetime."

Trump was asked about this at his Wednesday press briefing by a reporter who framed it as Meghan's words being an endorsement of Joe Biden ... and he did not respond kindly.

The Prez said, "I'm not a fan of hers," adding, "I wish a lot of luck to Harry, 'cause he's gonna need it."

Here's what Montecito residents are finding out about their new neighbors, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ... wherever they go, tourists, helicopters and paparazzi follow.

The quiet little town outside Santa Barbara is still buzzing about its newest residents, who moved into a multi-million dollar mansion, but some locals are already getting fed up with the area's new normal.

Harry and Meghan haven't even been seen in public, and their mere presence is driving folks wild ... not because of them, but because of the influx of paparazzi on the hunt for the shot.

The scene on the ground is pretty hectic, especially for an affluent area that's supposed to be an enclave for celebs looking to escape the limelight ... choppers are zooming over Harry and Meghan's hood, sometimes 4 times a day, and paps are staking out their home and a nearby shopping center.

The wayward royals are also attracting tourists ... we're told more visitors are showing up in town and asking local shop owners if they've seen Harry and Meghan.

Montecito is famously known as a no-paparazzi zone -- Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah, Rob Lowe, Carol Burnett, Jane Lynch and the Kardashians have no problem dining out and shopping in on the low -- but everything's changed since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved in.

Most locals tell us they want the paps to give it a rest, because they feel things are getting to the point where everyone's privacy is being compromised, and they're super annoyed.

As we reported ... Harry and Meghan surfaced in Los Angeles last week, working with a charity to help children in need ... but they still haven't been seen in Montecito.

Locals are bracing for the worst ... they're expecting Harry and Meghan to finally venture out after the pandemic, which they fear will amp things up in a big way.

Word to the wise ... if you visit Montecito, don't regurgitate anything you read about Harry and Megan putting the town on the map. Locals say it's been a high-society town long before the royals came knocking.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent a hot summer day outside with a charity to provide food, supplies and smiles to children who could use all of the above.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex teamed up with L.A. nonprofit Baby2Baby this week to deliver the goods at a drive-through distribution at an elementary school in South L.A.

The org says Harry and Meghan helped its team hand out basic essentials, school supplies, hygiene products, clothing and meals to families with kids in desperate need during this unprecedented back-to-school season amid the pandemic.

As you can see ... the former royals took proper COVID precautions by wearing masks and gloves, but didn't shy away from interacting with the families through their car windows, and made one lucky schoolboy's day.

The couple wore matching white shirts and shorts as L.A. is dealing with a major heatwave ... but they still managed to look pretty cool.

As we've reported ... Harry and Meghan moved to L.A. earlier this year and had been staying at Tyler Perry's massive mansion, but they recently dropped at least $14 million on a lavish estate in Montecito to call home.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have moved to Montecito, home of Oprah and many other celebs, and now we know which home they bought ... and it's insanely lavish.

Real estate and other sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, the wayward royals plunked down $14,650,000 on the 18,000-square-foot home which sits on 5 acres. It has 9 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. No, this is not a mistake ... 16 bathrooms. There's also a guest house for in-laws. We're told Meghan's mom has already been there ... we're guessing the Queen will take a pass.

It's got a lot more ... a beautiful pool, expansive lawns and lots and lots of what they want most -- privacy. The house is behind multiple gates and is super secure.

TMZ broke the story ... Harry and Meghan are suing a photog agency for allegedly snapping pics of Archie in the Bev Hills backyard of Tyler Perry's mansion. It's gonna be a lot harder for paparazzi to do the same in Montecito.

The former Royals join a long line of celebs leaving Los Angeles for greener and more private pastures in Montecito ... the super-exclusive city is home to celebs like Oprah, Ellen, Drew Barrymore, Rob Lowe, Dick Wolf, Patrick Stewart, Scooter Braun and many others.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have left Los Angeles for greener pastures ... in the lush, super-exclusive city of Montecito ... and the Oprah connection seems undeniable.

Montecito realtors with knowledge tell TMZ, the couple went into escrow in July and the deal closed about a week ago.  We're told they spent around $10 mil, which got them a lot more house than they'd get in L.A.

It seems Oprah may have helped guide their path. We're told she helped put them in contact with Tyler Perry, who let them live in his Beverly Hills estate while they got their SoCal sea legs.

Oprah, who has a massive, incredible estate in Montecito and clearly loves it, has a connection to Harry ... they co-produced a documentary on mental health.

Montecito is a relatively small, quiet community near Santa Barbara. Interest in living there has exploded since the pandemic hit the U.S. Lots of people from L.A., Dallas and New York are picking up and moving there.

Lots of celebs live in Montecito, including Ellen, Scooter Braun, Dick Wolf, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Stewart, Rob Lowe and many others.

As for Meghan and Harry, we're told they bought a secure, gated estate. These properties have plenty of land ... in some cases up to 50 acres, although most of that is hillside. But, the properties have lots of flat land, so Archie can play away.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are pissed about a paparazzi shot of their son, Archie, which they say was snapped in their own backyard, so now they're suing ... TMZ has learned.

Harry and Meghan say they took extensive measures to ensure their privacy at their new home in the L.A. area -- including putting a large mesh fence around the property to guard against telephoto lenses. Still, according to the lawsuit ... an unnamed photog recently "crossed a red line for any parent" by shopping pics of Archie.

In docs, obtained by TMZ and filed by celeb lawyer Michael Kump, the former Royals say the photos are being shopped as if they were shot during a public outing in Malibu -- but they say Archie has not been anywhere in public, let alone Malibu, since they moved to Los Angeles. They say the photog is purposely lying about the location because the person knows "unsolicited photographs of a young child in the privacy of his own home are very much unlawful."

Sources connected to Meghan and Harry say the intrusion went down at Tyler Perry's Beverly Hills estate, where the former royals are staying. What makes that especially weird ... Tyler's house is in a gated community and he lives at the very farthest point from the front gate, making it especially hard for an intruder to go undetected.

But, Harry and Meghan say they do get intrusions by air. In the lawsuit, they say "some media outlets have flown drones a mere 20 feet above the house as often as three times a day." They also say helicopters do fly-overs, and some photogs have cut holes in their security fences.

Archie's Mom and Dad point out in the suit, it's their choice when and how they share photos of their boy -- and say they have posted pics of him on social media in order to reduce the "bounty" for paparazzi photos.

They're suing for invasion of privacy, and also want an order for the photog to turn over the photos. They don't know if anyone's purchased the shots yet, but they say they're putting all media on notice ... the photos were illegally taken, and not in Malibu.

Hey, Princess ... WANNA RACE?!!

Conor McGregor was rubbin' elbows with ROYALTY on the French Riviera on Monday ... racing water bikes with Princess Charlene of Monaco and the pics are awesome.

The two got in a workout while Conor and his family are in the area on vacation. Afterward, their families -- including Prince Albert -- hung out together on shore.

"A Great day racing the water bikes with Princess Charlene of Monaco," Conor said.

"A phenomenal athlete and Olympian, we are teaming up for a 180km voyage in September to raise awareness in water safety. I cannot wait!"

It's true ... Princess Charlene is one hell of an athlete herself -- a former Olympic and World Champion swimmer!

In fact, she competed for South Africa in the 2000 Olympic Games in the 4x100 relay, fishing behind Team USA (led by Olympic legend Amy Van Dyken).

She retired from competitive swimming in 2007 -- and now focuses on various philanthropic efforts including water safety and the Special Olympics.

McGregor was clearly impressed with the water bike workout -- saying he will now incorporate the exercise into his McGregor F.A.S.T. training program.

"Thank you for the great day for my family Your Highness," McGregor added ... "In aid of the Princess Charlene of Monaco foundation."

RAW EMOTION FROM HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN!!

It's true, Queen Elizabeth actually *giggled* during a conversation with a military member who moonlights as a member of the Jamaican bobsled team ... and the clip is great!

The monarch was having a video chat with members of the armed services -- including the Royal Army, Navy and Air Force ... when she began to assign questions to Lance Corporal Shanwayne Stephens.

When Her Majesty learned Stephens is the pilot of the bobsled team, she was so impressed, she let out a "Gosh!"

Stephens told her the plan is to compete in the 2022 Olympics -- and of course, the Queen asked how he's staying in shape during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Unorthodox training methods," Stephens said ... "I’ve been pushing a car up and down the street."

THAT'S WHEN THE QUEEN LAUGHED!!!

"Well, I suppose that’s one way to train," she added.

FYI, Stephens later revealed the car he uses during his street training is his fiancee's Mini Cooper.

The Queen also wished the entire group the best of luck and said she enjoyed the conversation.