The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor and the Duke of Sussex have quickly struck up a friendship as they warn each other of paparazzi hiding in their neighborhood.

• May 14, 2021

AceShowbiz - Prince Harry and Orlando Bloom have become friendly as neighbours in Santa Barbara, California and regularly text one another to warn of lurking paparazzi.

The Brit and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, moved into a mansion in Montecito with their now-two-year-old son Archie last summer (20) after stepping down from their duties as senior royals.

They initially stayed at filmmaker Tyler Perry's Los Angeles estate, but the media attention was too intense for the family to handle.

"It's a feeding frenzy here," Harry told actor Dax Shepard on his "Armchair Expert" podcast.

"We spent the first three-and-a-half months living at Tyler Perry's house..., and the helicopters, the drones, the paparazzi cutting the fence, it was madness! And people out there, their response was, 'Well, what do you expect if you live in L.A.?' "

"It was like, well, first of all, we didn't mean to live in L.A., this is like a staging area before we try and find a house, and secondly, how sad that if you live in L.A. and you're a well known figure, you just have to accept it!"

Harry revealed he was initially advised to stay indoors to avoid the prying cameras, "The first lot of security we had, I said, 'Where is the safest place?' and they said, 'Inside!' I said, 'Sorry, so just because I'm a well known person, you can't go outside anymore...?' "

"It's really, really sad...," he continued, "and of course their argument is, from the paparazzi and everyone else, is like, 'Oh, if you're in the public space, then it's absolutely fine for us to do.' So what is our human right as an individual and as a family? You're saying that the moment you step foot out of our house, it's open season and free game. What, because of public interest? There's no public interest in you taking your kids for a walk down the beach, it's nothing. It's not news!"

Since moving to the exclusive Montecito community, Harry admits things have been "way better" although he and fellow Brit Bloom, who shares a baby girl with fiancee Katy Perry, have made sure to look out for one another whenever they spot dodgy snappers hiding out in the area.

"Just two days ago, Orlando Bloom sent me a message - 'cause he's down the road and we sort of keep in contact because of the paparazzi.

"He sent me a photograph, which his security (team) got, of this long-haired guy with a beanie on, with his EarPods in, with his massive camera, lying in the back of his 4x4 truck, blacked out windows, a woman driving. She did like, the peace sign as she's sitting there as a distraction, and he's laid down in the back of this truck, and he's taking photographs of them (Bloom and Perry) out with their kid, and whoever else is in that area. How is that normal? How is that acceptable?"

The media interest in Harry and Meghan's private lives is only expected to increase this summer as the couple is currently expecting its second child, a daughter.

Ironically, Bloom voices an animated Prince Harry in "The Prince", an upcoming satirical series based on the life of his seven-year-old nephew, Prince George.