Royal Family

Nothing says things are getting back to normal in the U.S. like a packed concert in Los Angeles ... where Prince Harry helped drive home the point of the night: ending the worldwide pandemic.

The visual is a little jarring at first -- thousands of people, all fully vaccinated, gathered Sunday night at SoFi Stadium for Global Citizen’s "Vax LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World" charity show. The Duke of Sussex got a huge ovation as he delivered an impassioned speech about everyone working together in this "defining moment" to end wipe out COVID-19.

Harry and Meghan Markle are serving as campaign chairs for Vax Live, and teamed up with some huge musical acts to put on the free charity concert for 47,000. Some of the performers included Foo Fighters, Eddie Vedder, J Balvin, H.E.R. and Jennifer Lopez ... who was joined on stage by her fully-vaxxed mom for a loving embrace.

Harry, making his first appearance back in America since Prince Philip's funeral in England -- told the crowd, "Tonight is a celebration of each of you here, the vaccinated frontline workers in the audience and the millions of frontline heroes around the world."

President Biden also addressed the audience -- via recorded message -- and other special guest speakers included Ben Affleck, Chrissy Teigen, Jimmy Kimmel, Sean Penn and David Letterman.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and late husband of Queen Elizabeth II, is being laid to rest in an emotional farewell, with clear signs of Royal Family tension.

The ceremony was held against the backdrop of a bright and early Saturday morning across the pond at Windsor Castle ... where Philip's life, service and loyalty to the Queen is being celebrated. As expected, Harry and William were separated as they walked into the church.

QE2's husband of 73 years has been lying in repose at the castle's private chapel -- and today his coffin will be transported to St. George’s Chapel, where he'll be laid to rest in the Royal Vault.

The coffin was flanked by 9 members of the Royal family, including his grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry.

Of course, all eyes were on Harry to see how he interacted with his brother, his father, Prince Charles, and others because this is their first public interaction since Harry and Meghan Markle's Oprah interview ... where they accused members of the Royal family of racism.

After the ceremony, the brothers were spotted chatting and walking around the grounds of Windsor Castle.

While Harry flew in from California for the ceremony, Meghan did not get medical clearance to travel as she's pregnant with their second child.

As for Prince Philip, his coffin will be loaded into the back of a Land Rover he himself customized into a hearse, and the procession will pass by roads lined with military personnel saluting his naval service.

Bill Maher told Sharon Osbourne Friday night ... it's ironic her show is called "The Talk" ... because talking can get you canned.

Sharon was Bill's guest on 'Real Time' and he, more than she, trashed people on the show who suggested Sharon was racist for siding with Piers Morgan, who took aim at Meghan Markle and accused her of lying in the Oprah interview.

Maher's take ... you have to agree with what Meghan said or you're a racist.

Again, Bill was more agitated than Sharon, as he mocked her former talkers who suggested, by siding with Piers, Sharon was denying Meghan her voice. Bill said that was just plain stupid on its face.

Sharon Osbourne's walking the walk when it comes to "The Talk" ... she's so done with the show she did NOT watch the show's return on the air, and she's not spoken a word to Sheryl Underwood since their on-air explosion.

Sources close to Sharon tell TMZ ... the ex-'Talk' co-host was otherwise engaged when the show returned to the air Monday following a 3-week hiatus. As you know ... the show went dark after Sharon and Sheryl got into a heated argument over Piers Morgan.

You'll recall things got superheated during the March 10 episode when Sharon defended her good friend Piers ... this after Piers branded Meghan Markle a liar over her claims of Royal Family racism.

What's more ... our sources say Sharon and Sheryl have still not spoken privately since the on-air blowup. It's unclear if Sharon will soon reach out to Sheryl, but one thing's for sure ... our sources say Sharon's putting "The Talk" in her rearview.

For Sheryl's part ... she opened Monday's show from backstage and said the panel would openly discuss what went down on March 10 and how it'll move forward. When asked whether she could remain friends with Sharon ... Sheryl said, "People have asked me, 'Well, if you see Sharon, what would you do?' If she greeted me warmly and sincerely, I would give her back the same, because we've been on this show for 10 years."

Prince Harry's returning to Britain for the first time in a year following the death of Prince Philip ... and he's flying solo.

The Duke of Sussex is making the trip to the UK to attend his grandfather's funeral, but Meghan Markle -- who's pregnant with their second child -- did not receive medical clearance from her doctor to travel.

Harry will be following COVID-19 protocols for travel to and from the U.K. as well as during his time in his homeland, and the timing will work out for him to be at Prince Philip's funeral ... which will be held April 17 at Windsor Castle.

The funeral will be a family service closed to the public, and the Palace says Philip took part in planning it and asked for a private ceremony.

It goes without saying -- Prince Harry's return home will be very interesting ... as it will be his first face-to-face with the Royal Family since his and Meghan's bombshell TV interview with Oprah. Our sources say the Royal Family is not happy (understatement) with Meghan and Harry's interview, which some view as an attack and should have been handled privately.

It's also the first time Prince William's little brother will be back to see Queen Elizabeth II since he and Meghan stepped down as senior Royals in early 2020 and began their new lives in North America.  As you know, Harry and William are all but estranged, and the Oprah interview further drove a wedge between the two.

As we reported ... the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen's husband of nearly 73 years, died Friday at Windsor Castle. His death came after some major health issues recently ... he was hospitalized back in February due to heart problems.

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle have made their own statement about the passing of Prince Philip ... with a loving tribute on their website.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Archewell site just updated so that it's only displaying a message honoring Queen Elizabeth's husband -- and Harry's grandfather -- who died Friday at Windsor Castle.

It reads ... "In Loving Memory of His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh, 1921-2021."

Harry and Meghan add ... "Thank you for your service...You will be greatly missed."

As we reported ... Buckingham Palace released a statement from The Queen announcing Prince Philip's death, and that was it from the Royal Family until the Archewell post.

It's still unclear what Prince Harry and Meghan's plans are now, but there are reports that at least Harry will be heading to the UK for his grandfather's funeral ... setting up what could be an awkward family reunion.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II's husband of nearly 73 years, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Buckingham Palace released this statement ... "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh."

The statement goes on ... "His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss."

Prince Philip has had major health issues recently ... he was hospitalized back in February with heart issues.

The Prince had mostly been secluded as of late -- along with the Queen -- not necessarily for direct health issues ... but due to the recent safety precautions regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Philip was at-risk as a very old man with pre-existing conditions.

He was even hospitalized briefly in December to treat one of those conditions, but was released to join the Queen in time for Christmas.

Of course, in January 2019 he was also involved in an alarming car crash in which he was the driver. He was unhurt but decided to voluntarily turn in his driving license afterward ... at the age of 97.

Philip married Elizabeth in 1947 ... she became Queen in 1952, and he was dubbed a Prince of the UK in 1957.

Philip was born in Greece into the royal families of that country and Denmark. He was raised all over Europe, but joined the British Royal Navy at the age of 18. He served in WWII, and eventually rose to rank of commander until he retired from military service.

He retired from his official royal duties in August 2017 at the age of 96 after 65 years of service.

Philip is survived by QEII, their 4 children (Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward), 8 grandchildren (including Prince William and Prince Harry), and 8 great-grandchildren ... including the youngest heir to the throne, Prince George.

He was the oldest-ever male British Royal at 99.

Prince William is the hottest bald guy on this planet -- so concludes a new study that ranked where he lands on Google searches ... but the internet doesn't seem to be buying it.

A cosmetic surgery company named Longevita apparently did this "research" -- basically checking to see how many times certain bald male celebs were searched for in Google along with the term "sexy" -- and lo and behold, they say the Duke of Cambridge came out ahead.

Unclear what the parameters were for this deep dive of scalps -- like dates or times for which they searched -- but Longevita claims Billy here had been called "sexy" in blog and website descriptions around 17.6 million times ... again no other context beyond that.

As for who his runner-ups were ... Longevita says Mike Tyson came in second at 8.8 million search results (uhh, okay), Jason Statham 3rd at 7.4m (hmm), Pitbull 4th at 5.4m (really??), MJ 5th at 5.3m (fair enough) ... and other guys that followed included Floyd Mayweather, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Dwyane Johnson and Vin Diesel -- in that order.

Safe to say ... Twitter had A LOT to say about this, especially on behalf of "Criminal Minds" star Shemar Moore -- who was noticeably left off the list entirely. In tweeters' collective minds, that itself was a slap to the face. One user wrote, "Did Shemar Moore f***** die?"

Not only did some folks feel Shemar was totally snubbed -- did Longevita even search for him, we wonder -- but many more are outraged that The Rock or Vin Diesel aren't higher on the list ... as they're iconic for their hot bald looks.

Appears the (British) people have spoken -- we should note, Longevita is a UK-based company. Anyway ... move over, fellas, 'cause here comes cue ball Royalty.

Sharon Osbourne is done talking, at least on CBS' daytime TV lineup ... because she's leaving "The Talk."

CBS announced Friday Sharon decided to quit -- a move that comes on the heels of her recent on-air feud with co-host Sheryl Underwood. Things got heated on the March 10 episode when Sharon defended her friend Piers Morgan against claims his coverage of Meghan Markle was rooted in racism.

The argument left Sheryl in tears and sparked a network investigation into multiple allegations Sharon had made racist remarks over the years to co-workers

Sharon eventually posted an apology, but it apparently wasn't enough to fix all the damage.

Referring to the March 10 incident, CBS says Sharon's behavior toward her co-hosts "did not align with our values for a respectful workplace."

"The Talk" went on hiatus last week and CBS says it has been using the time off to have workshops and training about equity, inclusion and cultural awareness for hosts, producers and crew.

Monaco's Prince Albert has Queen Elizabeth's back, or so it seems ... 'cause he's ripping Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for discussing Royal family matters on primetime TV.

Albert was asked for his 2 cents about Harry and Meghan's sit down with Oprah, and he told the BBC the CBS primetime special was the wrong time and place for them to be pouring out their feelings.

The Prince said he certainly understands the pressure Meghan and Harry must have been under ... but that being said, he says they should have kept their feelings private and held these conversations "within the intimate quarters of the family."

That's in line with the Queen's approach -- remember, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying the Sussex's issues would be dealt with privately as a family. Perhaps not surprisingly, the head of Monaco's Royal family thinks that's the way to go.

As we reported ... Meghan and Harry are upset the Palace told them baby Archie isn't entitled to security because he doesn't have the title of Prince.

They also accused the Royal Family of shocking racism ... alleging one or more members of the Royal family expressed concern Archie's skin might be too dark when he was born.

One of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new staffers has some interesting thoughts on racism ... especially in light of the things they told Oprah.

Genevieve Roth's agency has begun working with Harry and Meghan's Archewell Foundation, and that connection has brought light to an essay Roth wrote in 2020 in which she says she's "rife with internalized racism and unconscious bias" ... and so are all non-Black people.

According to her essay ... Roth's marriage to a Black man opened her eyes to her white privilege and "racist tendencies written in at a cellular level."

Roth cites as an example how she casually mentioned to her husband that her license plates were nearly expired, and he got very upset, telling her if a cop pulled them over ... he could be killed.

Roth's opinions on racism are interesting because, as you well know ... Meghan and Harry claim a member of the Royal Family was concerned Archie's skin color might be too dark.

Buckingham Palace acknowledged Meghan's allegations were concerning and being looked into, and Prince William went as far as saying the Royals are "very much not a racist family."

Based on Roth's essay, she believes Queen Elizabeth and company are very much racist internally ... even if they don't realize it.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might think they got hitched before their elaborate public wedding date -- but on paper, they're down as saying "I do" on the day the world watched 'em on TV.

The Duke and Duchess' official marriage certificate was obtained by The Sun, which lists their nuptials as having taken place on May 19, 2018 -- the day of the big wedding at Windsor Castle. There's no mention of anything formal happening anytime prior, as Meghan suggested.

The doc reportedly lists Prince Charles and Meg's mom, Doria, as the 2 witnesses present. It also has Harry's occupation down as Prince of the United Kingdom and "single" as far as marital status -- as for Meghan, it's reported she's marked as a "divorced" actor.

Remember, Meghan told Oprah during the big interview that they'd actually walked down the aisle 3 days before the formal ceremony -- even going so far as to say they'd exchanged vows in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury in their backyard. The archbishop hasn't commented.

While it's certainly possible they did exchange vows -- probably in a rehearsal -- it doesn't look like anyone in the UK recognizes that private event as anything other than a sweet gesture. According to the law of the land, they were married on the day the world has come to recognize it.

Of course, there were already clues Meghan's claim was a bit of a stretch. As we reported ... the Church of England's own rules contradict what Meghan had said -- their doctrine states the couple must do the deed (their vows) in a place of worship (unless otherwise accounted for with a special license) and in the presence of 2 witnesses.

So, unless Harry and Meghan are holding onto some other marriage certificate ... it doesn't seem like they got married the way she remembers it.

Prince Harry has words for kids who lost a parent during the coronavirus pandemic, and he knows from where he speaks ... and it's emotional.

Harry penned the forward to a book -- "Hospital by the Hill" -- aimed at grieving children, and his words of empathy ring loud. As you know, Harry's mom, Princess Diana, was killed in 1997 when he was 12 years old. His mission -- showing the kids they're not alone in their struggle.

Harry wrote ... "When I was a young boy I lost my mum. At the time I didn't want to believe it or accept it, and it left a huge hole inside of me. I know how you feel, and I want to assure you that over time that hole will be filled with so much love and support. We all cope with loss in a different way, but when a parent goes to heaven, I was told their spirit, their love and the memories of them do not. They are always with you and you can hold onto them forever. I find this to be true."

He adds, "Now, I never met them, but I know this person was special to you, and they were someone incredibly kind, caring and loving because of where they chose to work. Helping others is one of the most important jobs anyone can ever do.

He goes on ... "You may feel alone, you may feel sad, you may feel angry, you may feel bad. This feeling will pass. And I will make a promise to you – you will feel better and stronger once you are ready to talk about how it makes you feel."

Sharon Osbourne and her family -- including her dogs -- have been receiving death threats since her dust-up on "The Talk" ... so she's hired her own security.

Sources close to Sharon tell TMZ ... following last week's on-air dispute with co-host Sheryl Underwood over defending Piers Morgan and his harsh comments about Meghan Markle, Sharon's been bombarded by angry folks on social media and she's received several calls to her home threatening her safety.

Sharon's social media has been flooded with comments like, "Die and go to hell." "F**k Sharon Osbourne, her husband, her momma, them ugly f**kin' kids, the family dog and the b***h that lives next door. She can go die in a fish grease fire" and "I hope Sharon Osbourne gets hit by one last wave of COVID & dies."

We're told Sharon's personal phone numbers have also been blowing up, wishing harm on her and her dogs.

The private security company's been stationed outside the Osbournes' L.A.-area home all week to keep an eye on things.

Meanwhile, Sharon's turned off comments on her most recent couple of Instagram posts because they were so nasty.

As for the issues over at "The Talk" -- which went on hiatus following Sharon and Sheryl's contentious exchange -- we're told Sharon's still reeling from it ... but she's hopeful there can be a reconciliation at some point and she can return to a peaceful environment.

As we reported ... Sharon fired off an apology for offending or disappointing people of color with her words, but explained she "panicked, felt blindsided, got defensive & allowed my fear & horror of being accused of being racist take over."

Our sources say Sharon and Sheryl have not spoken since last week, and Osbourne has also not had any contact with CBS or 'Talk' honchos while they are conducting their investigation.

Prince William and Prince Harry's attempts to mend fences after the Oprah interview have hit a roadblock -- William wants their future conversations to remain private.

The elder Royal bro is reportedly concerned -- and possibly peeved -- that any talks he has with his little brother end up going public in the media, which is causing a major lack of trust.

To put it more bluntly, William's "now worried that anything he says to his brother will be plastered over American TV" ... according to the Vanity Fair report.

This seems to refer to Gayle King's recent reporting on "CBS This Morning" that Harry did speak to his brother and his father, Prince Charles, but that their talks were "not productive." Gayle said she called Harry and Meghan Markle directly to get the info, and apparently ... that's very worrisome to the Duke of Cambridge.

Interestingly, we talked to Gayle this week in NYC, following her reporting on Harry and William's chat, and she insists she's not a mouthpiece for Harry and Meghan ... she's just a concerned friend checking in on them.

Albeit, a friend who anchors a major morning TV show. Either way, it seems she's caught in the middle of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Buckingham Palace ... and the VF report says the Royal Family is concerned the story is "becoming a soap opera."

Gayle King says the Meghan Markle-Prince Harry interview with Oprah would have been temporarily 86'd ... if Prince Philip had died following his trip to the hospital.

Oprah's BFF revealed Wednesday on her "Gayle King in the House" SiriusXM radio show there was a plan in play to pull the plug on airing the interview on CBS if Philip had passed.

Gayle said, "Well, just so you know, they had done that interview before Prince Philip went into the hospital. If something, God forbid, had happened to him, the interview would not have run at this particular time. But, the interview was done and was scheduled before he went into the hospital. But, a lot of people have raised that point."

Prince Philip, of course, was admitted to the hospital in mid-February before word leaked that his condition was much more serious than the Palace admitted. He had been battling an infection related to a pre-existing heart condition, for which he eventually underwent surgery.