The paparazzi are, reportedly, now, in Montecito after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to the upscale Santa Barbara community from Los Angeles. A photographer said that photopher groups have been patrolling the neighborhood, hoping to catch a glimpse -- and an image -- of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
According to Mark Karloff of the Paparazzi Podcast, photographers in California could make big cash on photos of the front gates of Prince Harry and Meghan's new house alone. Karloff joked that the money shot would be a photo of Prince Harry and Meghan walking out of a cafe with Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres, who are long-time residents of Montecito.
Turning serious, however, the photographer said that the Montecito community is such as small place that celebrity residents cannot go out without being seen. Before Prince Harry and Meghan, the paparazzi have been following Orlando Bloom and Katie Perry, who are due to welcome their first child.
However, since Prince Harry and Meghan's arrival, teams of photographers from multiple agencies have shown up and are keeping guard in the neighborhood. Karloff believes that the photographers will not leave any time soon. He, also, warned that some news agencies might try to get photos using drone images just to get the money shot.
In July, Prince Harry and Meghan filed a lawsuit against the paparazzi who took photos of their son, Archie Harrison, playing at their Beverly Hills backyard with Doria Ragland, Meghan's mom. The royal pair said that the act was an invasion of their son's privacy, which is covered by California's privacy laws.
Photos from that drone shot, apparently, ended up in a German tabloid. Court records show, however, that Prince Harry and Meghan do not know which photographers or agencies were responsible for the drone invasion. However, the Sussex pair still filed the strategic lawsuit to let the paparazzi know that they mean business when it comes to their son's privacy.
Legal experts said, however, that the lawsuit is a "fishing expedition." High-power litigator Tom Lallas told Fox News that it's an "extremely unusual" case since the defendants are merely identified as three John Does.
Lallas, who has no connection to the case, said that Prince Harry and Meghan obviously do not plan to recover the drone photos or receive compensation for damages. They, also, have no "reasonable expectations" about the suit's outcome. He believes that the case is a calculated strategy that will, hopefully, create a chilling effect against the tabloid media, which the Sussex pair have also sued for data breach.
