Royal Family

Legendary BBC football (soccer) commentator John Motson, one of the most well-known voices in the sport, has sadly passed away, his family announced Thursday. He was 77.

Motson's family released a statement about his passing, writing ... "It is with great sadness we announce that John Motson OBE died peacefully in his sleep today."

Motson -- also referred to as "Motty" -- started calling games for Britain's national broadcaster in 1968 ... and his stellar career spanned 50 years.

The BBC said John covered 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships, and 29 FA Cup finals ... before calling his final match in 2018.

John -- best known for his signature sheepskin coats -- also covered more than 200 England matches and commentated on over 2,500 televised games.

Tributes came pouring in after John's death had been announced ... with the Prince of Wales sending his regards to Motson's family for their tragic loss.

"Very sad to hear about the passing of John Motson - a legend whose voice was football. My thoughts are with his family and friends," Prince William and Kate Middleton tweeted from their official Prince and Princess of Wales Twitter account.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are getting the "South Park" treatment ... the show rips Harry's new book, labels Meghan an "Instagram-loving bitch" and calls them out as hypocrites.

The latest "South Park" episode aired Wednesday night on Comedy Central and it rips Harry and Meghan to shreds ... starting out by accusing them of not caring much about the death of Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

It only gets worse from there ... the skit features Harry and Meghan going on a Canadian talk show, walking out with picket signs demanding privacy before telling the host they're thrilled to be on TV.

Harry's called out for his new memoir, "Spare" ... the "South Park" version is dubbed "Waaagh" and the joke is Harry's whining about growing up in the United Kingdom as a prince.

Meghan's spoof cuts in to say the book was her idea because the Royal Family is "stupid" and so are journalists ... and then Harry's called out for essentially being a journalist with his book.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone also take aim at Harry and Meghan's privacy demands ... pointing out she has no problem doing TV shows, magazine covers and running in celebrity circles ... landing more punches by having Harry say "My Instagram-loving bitch wife has always wanted her privacy."

The skit ends with the couple storming off the set, saying they're leaving to find some quiet place to live like normal folks ... before cutting to a private jet.

Meghan Markle's legal team went to court Wednesday, gunning to convince a judge to toss a defamation lawsuit filed by her sister Samantha, and the arguments left the judge scratching her head but leaning in Meghan's favor.

Samantha Markle claimed Meghan was peddling lies about her in both the Oprah interview and a 2020 bio, "Finding Freedom." Specifically, Samantha claims her half-sis lied when she allegedly said she was an only child, causing her humiliation and shame. Meghan's lawyers fired back ... their client never said she was an only child. She told Oprah she grew up as an only child.

Samantha claimed Meghan lied about her upbringing, and when she got caught in lies, she turned Samantha into a sacrificial lamb and attacked her to cover up her own alleged misdeeds.

As for the alleged lies ... Samantha points to what she says is Meghan's rags-to-riches narrative, growing up in poverty when she had a middle-class background. She says their dad, Thomas, paid for all sorts of things for Meghan, including elite private schools, tuition at Northwestern as well as dance and acting classes.

MM's lawyers asked the judge to boot the case, calling the claims "offensive" and "inappropriate." Her lawyers say Meghan merely stated her impressions about her life growing up.

Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell said she was "struggling" to see how Meghan's statements were defamatory. The judge took the case under advisement.

Prince Harry suggested he'd lost his virginity to an esteemed older woman in the U.K.'s countryside -- but, according to the alleged V-card-taker, she was just a couple years older.

A woman named Sasha Walpole has come forward to claim she was the one who first slept with PH in the summer of 2001 ... when she says she was just about to turn 19, while Harry was 16 (going on 17). What's more, she says it was Harry who put the moves on her.

Walpole -- who used to work as a stable girl for then-Prince, Charles at his Gloucestershire estate, Highgrove House, and now makes a living as an industrial plow digger -- says she was pals with Harry at the time, and had known him for years.

On July 21, 2001 ... she says she invited Harry to the Vine Tree pub to celebrate her 19th birthday -- during which, she claims he invited her out back to have a smoke ... she says they then got it on in the adjacent field just like he described in his memoir, 'Spare.'

Here's how Walpole describes it ... "He started to kiss me. It was passionate, intense. We both knew. It went from a kiss on to the floor pretty quickly."

She adds, "It was instant, fiery, wham bam, between two friends. It was sparky because we shouldn't have been doing it. He wasn't 'Prince Harry' to me, this was Harry, my friend, and the situation had got a little bit out of control. It felt naughty, I suppose, in the sense that it shouldn't be happening." Walpole also says he didn't do it like a virgin ... and she had no idea he was one at the time. The whole thing, she claims, lasted about 5 minutes total.

Afterward, Walpole says she did indeed smack his ass like he wrote in the book -- saying it was just a cheeky joke, seeing as how she worked with horses and found it funny.

It's interesting ... Walpole had been photographed with Harry around that time although, in these pics -- he looks to be flirting and fooling around with other girls ... not so much her.

You'll recall, when this tidbit about his first roll in the hay first surfaced -- as excerpts of his book started leak -- there was wide speculation he may have banged the legendary Elizabeth Hurley, even though she totally denied it.

Now, Walpole is spilling her guts to the British media ... doing an interview with the Daily Mail, and saying she was actually bothered by Harry's revelation about their brief tryst. She says she'd kept his secret for years, and is embarrassed he put their business out there.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are still fitting in with their Montecito neighbors just fine ... hitting a celeb-packed birthday party that included Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi renewing their vows.

The (former) royal couple were among guests at Portia's birthday party this week, an event that, unbeknownst to Ellen, doubled as a surprise vow-renewing ceremony.

You can see both Harry and Meghan looking on from the party crowd, both with huge smiles on their faces as Kris Jenner officiates. Ellen was clearly stunned, as Portia entered the room wearing a wedding dress ... Ellen called Portia the "greatest gift" for the surprise.

Not only were Kris, Harry and Meghan in attendance -- Brandi Carlile performed -- and had everyone in their feels. Ellen and Portia have been married since 2008.

Meghan's friendship with Ellen is no secret, she's appeared on her show in the past ... and of course, they now have the Montecito connection.

King Charles may have a scaled-back coronation in May -- a theory being floated after the official plans for the ceremony were released  ... but the question is, why not go big???

On Saturday, Buckingham Palace dropped the dates, times and schedule of events for His Royal Highness' crowning/induction as the next monarch -- which is happening on May 6 ... but it'll be marked by a 3-day celebration that runs all the way through that Monday.

The coronation itself will take place at Westminster Abbey, where a "solemn religious service" is to be held, but at the same time ... BP also says it'll be an occasion for pomp and circumstance. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will preside over that part.

The following day, Sunday, there'll be a major concert at Windsor Castle as well as a massive lunch that'll apparently be held for all throughout the U.K. On Monday, there's going to be a bank holiday for Brits -- plus, a charity event that's community service-oriented.

Then, there's a line from Buckingham Palace ... emphasizing what the coronation might look like big picture. They say, "[T]he (coronation) Service will reflect the Monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry."

This is part that's getting dissected as far as what it could possibly mean -- and some, it seems, are speculating it'll translate to a more succinct and less extravagant affair ... certainly less lengthy and fussy than what his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, received in 1953.

The reason ... optics. At least that's what's being reported in the press -- apparently, the King doesn't want to rub the monarchy's wealth and embellishments in the faces of everyday Britons ... especially amid the current economic state of things, with a looming recession.

While that seems to be the official rationale being dished by Palace insiders ... one's gotta assume his son, Prince Harry, is also a factor if he follows through with this subdued approach to the coronation. Fact is ... PH didn't paint his dad in the greatest light lately.

In both his book, 'Spare,' and in his and Meghan Markle's Netflix docuseries ... the Royals are portrayed as an ancient and out-of-touch institution, with an unsavory history to boot.

Kim Kardashian has added another piece to her growing collection of iconic jewelry and memorabilia ... a famous diamond cross necklace once worn by Princess Diana.

Auction sources tell TMZ ... the SKIMS honcho just snatched up the rare diamond-encrusted necklace Wednesday at a Sotheby's auction. A Sotheby's rep tells us the piece went for $197,453.

The stunning necklace is known as the Attalah Cross ... which she famously wore in 1987 at a London charity gala paired with a purple-tinged outfit, with the necklace hanging low down her torso. The Garrard jewelry company let Diana borrow the piece for the event.

It was also an elaborate fashion choice, and considered bold at the time.

The necklace has since come into the possession of the auction house, and now, it's on its way to Kim ... thanks to her winning bid.

Believe it or not, Kim is on the auction circuit quite a bit, buying pieces to add to her collection. We're told she's also copped items once donned by the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie O and others.

Of course, she also likes to wear historical pieces as well ... just like at the Met Gala when she wore one of Marilyn Monroe's most iconic dresses.

Chelsea Handler isn't afraid to let Prince Harry know how she feels about all the intimate details he's been sharing ... as she made his royal family jewels the butt of some icy jokes at the Critics Choice Awards.

The comedian took the stage Sunday night in L.A., and during her opening monologue she took some jabs at a ton of folks ... including Harry and his recently released memoir, "Spare."

Chelsea was talking about Niecy Nash-Betts' nomination for the Netflix series "Dahmer", but deftly segued to poke fun at the Duke of Sussex.

She said, "Dahmer became the third highest viewed show on Netflix with a combined watch time of 1 billion hours, which apparently is the same amount of time we're going to have to listen to Prince Harry talk about his frostbitten penis. It's enough, already".

And, it seemed to go over well with a lot of the audience ... cause she got laughs all around the room.

Of course, she was referring to details from Harry's book, where he shares his John Thomas got frostbitten back in 2011 during a charity trek to the North Pole.

Prince Harry wasn't the only one to catch some strays from Chelsea ... she also made fun of James Corden and his restaurant debacle.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are lookin' as unbothered as they can in their first public appearance since Prince Harry's bombshell new memoir aired out a ton of royal family dirt -- much of it related to his brother.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were smiling from ear to ear Thursday as they left Windsor Castle and took off to Liverpool ... where royal fans/subjects greeted them at the opening of a new hospital.

While their faces say everything's peachy keen, Harry's "Spare" has to be on their minds. As it's been WIDELY reported, Harry unloaded his side of the royal family drama in the book, revealing he and Wills have been bitter rivals since even before Meghan Markle came into the picture.

Of course, the Duke of Sussex says things got even more heated post-Megan -- claiming big bro William grabbed him by the collar, ripped his necklace, and knocked him to the ground during a 2019 fight sparked by William allegedly calling Meghan "difficult" and "rude."

It is an interesting coincidence Kate and William are in Liverpool ... birthplace of The Beatles. In better days, at least publicly, royal watchers referred to Harry, Megan, William and Kate as the new Fab Four.

Prince Harry left some fans fuming after they went to see his much-anticipated Tuesday appearance on 'The Late Show' ... but got nothing.

The Duke of Sussex was supposed to sit down with host Stephen Colbert before a live studio audience, the Daily Mail reported. But, Colbert told the crowd they would NOT get to see the royal in the flesh for security reasons. It was pre-taped with a different live audience.

There was no explanation for the security concerns and Harry was met with major backlash. Interesting, though ... Obama was on Colbert's show in 2016 with a live audience, while he was a sitting President.

A furious fan reportedly barked, "Security issues? Really? It's not like he's Prince William or anything – he's not properly in line to the throne."

Another fumed, "Who is trying to kill Harry? I've been to a lot of these and this has never happened. I'm really surprised."

Other people summed it up this way, "F*** Prince Harry," as they exited the Ed Sullivan theater in NYC, where Colbert shoots his show.

One woman, who had traveled from far away, was clearly disappointed, saying it "wasn't worth waiting an hour in the cold for [Harry]" and "who needs Prince Harry anyway?"

Despite all the drama, Harry's interview with Colbert was broadcast Tuesday night as part of his media blitz for his just-released memoir, "Spare," about his life in the monarchy. Among the topics, Harry discussed with Colbert was the death of his mother -- Princess Diana -- and his tattered relationship with his brother, Prince William. One light moment came when Harry shared a glass of tequila with Colbert.

Meghan Markle's looking real Yoko Ono-ish lately ... at least that's the harsh -- and kinda hilarious -- comparison France's former First Lady Carla Bruni is making.

Carla posted posting a photoshopped pic from Prince Harry and Meghan's engagement photo shoot ... but replaced the Duchess of Sussex with Yoko. Her caption is the real punchline ... lyrics from The Beatles' 1967 hit, "All You Need Is Love."

For those unaware, Carla's comparing Meghan's involvement in Harry's life to Yoko's relationship with John Lennon, which has widely been portrayed as the reason The Beatles broke up. So, yeah ... major shade!

Carla, who's married to former French Prez Nicolas Sarkozy, has her followers pretty split on the meme -- some found it hilarious, while others aren't singin' the same tune. One person even called out Carla, saying "Girlfriend have you looked in the mirror?"

As you know, it's been a tumultuous ride for Harry and Meghan as of late, and it seems more drama is coming to the surface with Harry's new memoir, "Spare" ... including his sharing of text messages between Meghan and Kate Middleton.

Prince Harry is bringing receipts to back Meghan Markle's claim that it's Kate Middleton who made her cry -- not the other way around -- during an argument about dresses the week of Harry and Meg's wedding.

Harry reportedly shares the 2018 text messages between the duchesses in his new book "Spare" ... saying it started when Kate reached out to Meghan ... complaining about the fit of baby Charlotte's dress for the wedding. According to him, Kate texted, "Charlotte's dress is too big, too long, too baggy. She cried when she tried it on at home."

Apparently, the dress was sewn by hand to specific measurements without fitting ... and Harry explained it definitely rubbed Meghan the wrong way, who -- as you might remember -- had been dealing with a lot of drama with her father staging paparazzi pics.

Prince Harry says Meghan eventually wrote back, "I told you the tailor has been standing by since 8am. Here. At KP [Kensington Palace]. Can you take Charlotte to have it altered, as the other mums are doing?"

He says they went back and forth via text, with Kate insisting all the dresses for the wedding needed to be remade, instead of just getting Charlotte's altered. In one of the texts, Kate allegedly said she'd consulted her own wedding planner about the whole mess!

In the end, Kate agreed to get Charlotte's dress fitted ... but the interaction left his wife sobbing on the floor, 4 days before she walked down the aisle.

You'll recall, Meghan told Oprah this very story, albeit with less detail ... but she denied the widely reported story that it was Meghan who made Kate cry over the dresses.

Prince Harry says he was so distraught over the death of his mother -- Princess Diana -- that he resorted to heavy drinking and taking drugs -- including cocaine -- to deal with all the grief.

Harry made the stunning admission to Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" Sunday night as part of the Duke of Sussex's media blitz for his controversial memoir titled, "Spare," which is out tomorrow.

As for the relationship between Harry and his immediate family, it seems fully ruptured. Harry says he would like to clear the air and resume a familial relationship, but based on the public allegations he's made over the last 6 months, it seems like wishful thinking.

Anderson set the stage, asking Harry if he blamed the paparazzi for their alleged role in the 1997 car crash that claimed Diana's life in Paris when he was only 12.

Harry responded, "Yeah, I mean, it was obvious to us as kids the British press' part in our mother's misery and I had a lot of anger inside of me that luckily, I never expressed to anybody."

He continued ... "But I resorted to drinking heavily.  Because I wanted to numb the feeling, or I wanted to distract myself from how … whatever I was thinking. And I would, you know, resort to drugs as well."

In a voiceover, Anderson noted Harry smoked weed and ingested cocaine because the prince felt "hopeless" and "lost" in his late 20's.

Harry then revealed he was unable to cry over his mom's death due to the burden he felt, so he tried experimental treatments using hallucinogenic mushrooms and other psychedelics.

"I would never recommend people to do this recreationally," Harry said. "But doing it with the right people if you are suffering from a huge amount of loss, grief or trauma, then these things have a way of working as a medicine."

He added that the treatments wiped away the idea "that I needed to cry to prove to my mother that I missed her when, in fact, all she wanted was for me to be happy."

To close the painful chapter, Harry said he reviewed the police file containing images showing cameramen snapping photos of Diana lying dead in the car.

He also visited the accident scene to confirm his belief that the paps chasing Diana caused the deadly collision -- instead of his mom's chauffeur, whom the police said was to blame because he had been drinking.

Prince Harry was serving up hot tea Sunday just ahead of the release of his memoir -- spilling secrets on his brother, Prince William, and other members of the Royal Family.

Let's start with Will ... whom Harry says he's been feuding with for years now, dating back to the time when their mother died -- which he says marked the beginning of them going down different paths of life and the start of a sibling rivalry that has long been in the making.

This is a big deal -- essentially, what Harry's saying is that despite them seeming close in adulthood, that hasn't quite been the case behind the scenes. PH also says he's been trying to repair his relationship with his sibling for a long time, and hoped Meghan Markle coming into the picture would help patch things up ... via a hopeful connection to Kate Middleton.

That never materialized, though, as Harry mentioned in his ITV interview -- which just aired and is making headlines around the world right now. When it comes to Meg and Kate, Harry says they never got along from the get-go ... while implying she and PW were jealous of her.

Harry even accused Will and Kate of playing into the stereotypes about Meghan which he says were being perpetuated in the British press ... an institution he says the Family has been in bed with for years, at the expense of others. Specifically, he name-drops Camilla.

That takes us to Harry's family at large ... whom he says he never intended to hurt, be it in interviews or through his book. On the contrary, he says he's tried dealing with all of his grievances quietly and in private -- only to have the plans and nature of those talks leak.

A few points of clarification ... Harry says he and Meghan were never trying to leave to the States for the sake of money -- a narrative that he claims was planted in the British press by his family's staff -- but rather, they wanted to stick around as Royals and do their duty.

Also ... he denies anyone in the monarchy is directly racist -- something that was suggested in the Oprah interview -- but simply said unconscious bias was alive and well ... while once again reiterating someone had, in fact, made mention of Archie's skin color, but again refused to ID them. He did point to the Ngozi Fulani incident as a prime example of this.

Last but not least ... Harry told ITV he was 100% confident in being able to reconcile with his fam, assuming the British press isn't involved. It's interesting he believes that, considering he says says in the same interview that nobody over there has attempted to bury the hatchet.

There are more interviews to come -- including one with Anderson Cooper on '60 Minutes' and a 'GMA' spot on Monday. His book, 'Spare,' hits shelves on Tuesday worldwide.

Prince Harry's been making a lot of claims about his brother lately -- and the repercussions for going against the family, as they say, is apparently not all that bad ... per a new report.

The Times published a story Saturday that claims to have some inside knowledge on how the Royals are digesting Harry's bombshells ... which have been leaking out via excerpts from his forthcoming book, "Spare," due to release next week.

According to the outlet, the only thing PH faces at this point for spilling his guts is being "written out of the script" for King Charles' coronation ceremony in May -- when he's officially crowned and all that jazz. That doesn't mean the Duke can't attend, though.

The Times' Royal Editor, Roya Nikkhah, tweeted this tidbit as a follow-up to her post ... "I can also reveal that Prince Harry has been written out of the script for the Coronation, with no official role in the service if he attends. Breaking with tradition, Charles will scrap royal dukes kneeling and paying homage to the monarch. Only William will perform that role."

So, it sounds like Harry can, in fact, roll through if he wants ... but will have to sit in the peanut gallery with all the others, while Prince William takes center stage next to Dad. All things considered, that's mild. Some speculated Harry would be uninvited altogether.

As for Willy ... The Times claims, through Royal sources, that he's "burning with anger" over Harry's assertions -- namely, that he allegedly attacked his brother, insulted his wife, Meghan Markle, and encouraged him to wear that Nazi costume all those years ago.

And yet, he's staying silent through it all ... which he apparently plans to continue doing for the foreseeable future. Time will tell if even more nuggets emerge when the book comes out.

As we know, Harry's on a full-blown press run right now to promote this thing. Word is, Penguin -- which reportedly paid him $20M for "Spare" -- needs around 1.7 million copies to be sold just to break even. Here's hoping the best deets are still under wraps.

Prince Harry looked intense as he walked his dog along a rain-soaked path near his Montecito estate ... as he was making headlines for unloading on his family in his new book.

Harry was bundled up as he and Pula, his black Labrador, traversed an area around a public beach, then put rover in his Range Rover for the ride home.

Although he looked serious, he was clearly not surprised by the news over his book. All of the scandals he revealed were carefully orchestrated for the rollout of "Spare." He's done interviews with 'GMA' and "60 Minutes," and both shows are promoting their "big get" like crazy.

As you know by now, Harry is in full military mode, accusing members of his family of violence, racism, betrayal and a host of other misdeeds.