We really don’t know how Prince Harry celebrated his 36th birthday last month beyond some widely reported Zoom calls with his family. On his birthday, he was also the subject of some creepy, macabre “commentary” about how he is now the same age as his mother when she died. Hopefully, he was more focused on the very alleged gift he received from Meghan: surfing lessons! Ginger Prince Point Break!! Look out for the drug-dealing surfers and the undercover cop!
Prince Harry has taken up surfing, Page Six can reveal. For his 36th birthday on September 18, wife Meghan Markle bought him surfing lessons and according to sources, “he’s loving it.”
The royal was spotted biking down to Malibu’s famous Surfrider Beach to check things out while the couple was living in LA. And following their move to their stunning new $14.7 million home in Montecito, Santa Barbara, the former military man is enjoying all the outdoor sports and sunshine his new home state has to offer.
“Harry’s loving Montecito, Meghan bought him surfing lessons for his birthday and he’s having the best time,” a source told us.
I did wonder if Montecito or Santa Barbara were really surfing communities so I did a Google search and it looks like there are surf shops and the surfing life is encouraged. But it doesn’t seem like most people surf in Santa Barbara in the summer – they wait until… right now, actually. Fall/winter. That being said, who knows if this is true.
Meanwhile, did you see this curious story? Prince Harry’s third cousin (??) has some thoughts about why he and Meghan chose to move to America:
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were right to move to the US because Americans are “easy to please”, a royal cousin has said. Christina Oxenberg, 57, who is the daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, a second cousin of Prince Charles, said that Brits “expect too much” and that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are celebrated by the American public. Writing in Tatler, the socialite, who was born in the US, said people of America are “charmed” to have their own “real life princess”.
She wrote: “Possibly too much is expected by the Brits from England’s one-time most eligible bachelor and his actress wife. To be adored in America, all Harry and Meghan need to do is pick up a dog from a shelter. Americans are easy to please. What draws scorn in England will be applauded in the States.”
She continued by saying that the press coverage will be “positive rather than petulant” and that the couple are likely to be treated “very well” by American media.
I get that she’s being haughty and basically calling all Americans rubes and magpies who will be entertained by anyone glittery, but also… is she wrong? Harry and Meghan will be treated better by the media in America. Americans are much easier to please than British people, at least from what I can see. Harry and Meghan were expected to subject themselves wholly to the media, the Crown, and a fickle British public who picked them apart on a daily basis. They can be free from much of that here.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Are the beaches back open? I’m in Los Angeles and thought they were still closed statewide.
According to this the beaches in Santa Barbara County are open.
https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/beach-closures/
It depends on the county. Orange County beaches are open and with the recent heat wave, they were very crowded. And Kaiser, you’re right in that this is a more popular time to surf than in the summer. September and a October are typically very warm in SoCal, and while many cities and states are starting to bundle up for fall, we are still experiencing summer heat. Our surfing community in Huntington Beach surfs year-round, but it isn’t as busy in the summer months because of all the people crowding the waves and water. While we do have surfing pockets where people are discouraged from swimming, many tourists don’t know better and still get in the way. Surfers are territorial and establishing that territory is easier with fewer people around.
I went to UCSB, and if you weren’t a surfer, an “Earth Mother”, or a druggie, you really didn’t fit in lol. I was considered dressed up in my jeans and buttoned down Ralph Lauren cotton shirt lol
SB it totally into surfing. Montecito, no, not so much. It’s mostly older, mucho-monied people.
Santa Barbara beaches have stayed open except for Labor Day weekend. You could still swim or surf or walk just couldn’t stay on the sand. Also my husband paddle surfs all year round in Montecito. When the surf is low he just paddles but there are some waves in summer and bigger ones in winter. Also Santa Barbara is a huge surf town. It’s why a lot of kids come to UCSB so they can surf in between classes. Rincon just south of here, is one of the most famous surf spots in the world. I’ll tell my husband to watch out for a red head paddling around in Montecito!
I could totally see Harry getting into surfing. I’m sure it’s a fun hobby.
Pretty sure he already knows how to surf; I seem to recall seeing photos of him & William & a van Staubenzee (sp?) in wetsuits surfing somewhere.
Lol – that sounded suspiciously like an Aristo back handed compliment…. i.e. they weren’t up to the mettle in the UK…. Meg no longer needs to remember which fork to use etc ect
Christina ,her ex Casper and her daughter Maya are all actors and all appeared in a reality show called I Married a Princess
Christina’s daughter also got swept up into the NXIVM cult and she fought very hard to free her from their toxic influence – it’s in the series The Vow on HBO (btw, ALL the trigger warnings apply if you’re going to watch)
You’re thinking of her sister Catherine Oxenberg.
Christina is a writer.
Nope, that was India, Catherine Oxenberg’s daughter. Catherine is Christina’s older sister.
Catherine, Christina’s older sister, played Diana in a “hallmark” kind of movie about her romance and ed with Charles.
Surfing lessons sounds like a great present! I hope it’s true. There’s no “hazing period” with our media, especially not one that lasts for 3+ years. How do you please people who find fault in everything you do and are determined to hate you? You don’t. I guess we are easier to please in that sense.
It also helps that the US media isn’t overly right wing and that entertainment news is separate from serious news. You will likely not see Washington Post reporting on a news from The National Enquirer or CNN retweeting the front page of US Weekly. And while NYT has been disappointing of late, I will read it over The London Times, anytime.
There also isnt the weird feeling of ownership over public figure’s children here that they have in the UK. No one goes on CNN to complain about hoe we dont see Baron a lot even though he lives in the taxpayer owned White House like the British press went feral about Archie because it’s weird and demented to act like that. I imagine that is a huge relief for Harry who didn’t want his kids to grow up like he did.
H&M still get crap in the tabloids here but the US news morning shows dont read through National Enquirer headlines as truth and invite National Enquirer journalists on to rant every morning like “news programs” on supposed reputable channels ITV, Sky News, and the BBC do every day with The Sun, Daily Mail, etc. Honestly the first time i saw that sefment that the BBC does where they read out what is on the front of the papers i was so shocked to see tabloids present and for them to treat them like they had credibility. It was maddening.
Yes I can’t believe that BBC reads the front pages of tabloids and pretends it’s a show. There is no equivalent of that on the CBC and at most they may discuss a headline on a legitimate newspaper and not Hello or people magazine.
The UK needs to start excluding tabloids from legitimate news sources because clearly people are confused.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who found that weird. I went to grad school in England & thought, how is this news? And this is the much-vaunted BBC? Reading tabloid headlines?!
They really do that? Super weird. I listen to NPR and at 3:30 they have a BBC segment which is really weird to have a break in the show to switch to a British accent read world news.
Quick note that Oxenberg is the mother of one of the women sucked into NXIUM’s pyramid scheme/sex cult. Lots of scenes with Oxenberg talking to lawyers, reporters, ex-members, etc. to try to save her daughter.
That’s Catherine Oxenberg (princess/actress)…the one in the article is Christina.
Whose sister and niece are actors
Whoops, I made the same mistake
oops my bad! thanks for clarifying
I love love love that dress!!!!!!
That’s all
Harry already knows how to surf. He used to go surfing in Cornwall. Who’s giving surfing lessons when most likely the beaches are closed because there’s pandemic going on? So not buying this story which Page Six probably took from their sister paper, the Sun.
The beaches are open. I live close to the beach, Venice. People are there every day surfing etc and the weather is perfect right now.
Exactly @ Amy Bee, this story is total BS.
Don’t know if the story is true but I could see Harry being given a “meet a local surfer” to get acquainted with the area.
I live in Santa Barbara. This is usually the hottest time of the year and lots of surfing and paddle surfing happening. My husband goes to Montecito beaches to paddle 3 or 4 times a week.
No clue if the surfing lessons are true or not obviously, but I hope they are because I think they seem like a great “welcome to your new California life!” kind of present.
As for being easier to please – I guess in some ways we are? We don’t get hung up on the whole “disrespecting the queen” thing that seemed to be always used to bring Meghan down. We like a good success story. And for many Americans, Harry breaking free of the royal family and taking his wife with him is a very good success story.
I hope it’s true too…go live your life, Harry, and have a blast doing it!
And if they are willing some hot ginger prince photos LOL. Please wear sunscreen Harry!
I think the woman is full of it. Princess Madeleine of Sweden lives in Florida and you don’t see people making a big deal out of having a “princess” around. Princess Beatrice lived in New York for a while and it wasn’t made a big deal of by the US press. Harry and Meghan have modern qualities about them that the stodgy British press is offended by.
There’s been pictures of Harry (and William) surfing including in Cornwall years ago. Does he need lessons? It’s page six- I call BS.
Difference with the US media is that the UK media and some people in the UK have a weird sense of ownership of Harry& have vested interest in seeing his new career as a producer and marriage fail. Plus now him and Meghan are suing some of the main news publishers- unlikely they can get much fair press in the UK. When they announced they were stepping back Fleet Street said they can expect no mercy. US media, except those owned by Murdoch or those who don’t like the Sussexes’ perceived politics, don’t have the same vested interest which would impact the coverage.
Also seems you can get away with way more racism & xenophobia in mainstream media in the UK, whereas when Victoria Mather called Meghan trash or something in a TV interview, because there is a more prominent black community in the US there was a big backlash and Vanity Fair etc had to distance themselves. Whereas in the UK the media gaslights a lot on race issues and will eg waste time debating if that chimp photo referring to the latest royal baby was racist or not.
I think they were body-boarding, not surfing? Surfing takes a lot more skill, balance, and time to learn well. I lived in Cali and the waves are nothing to sniff at – it would be worth getting lessons to make sure you stay safe.
Yes, Americans love it when Brits defect to the land of the free (currently in abeyance while we work to get rid of the mad tyrant), and the most favored, beloved of princes is the best defection yet. Sour grapes must be the main course for all British royals.
I totally agree with you Merricat! I suspect a very large part of the Great British public are just full of sour grapes. Who wouldn’t want to be surfing in the sunshine of SoCal, instead of enduring rain sodden, poverty level misery in Old Blighty?
September is usually the nicest (warmest) time of year in coastal California, particularly in the north. Unfortunately, that warmth also means fires now…
people in the uk are hard to please, yet they are happy with W&K and their keen’ing? they should be madly in love with charles given the work he has done…..yet they spend their entire time talking about Meghan!!! I smell BS
This just seems like a tabloid fluff and “quick we need a semi-realistic Harry and Meghan story!” so there’s not much I can/want to say lol
As for the whole “Americans are easy to please”, I mean, maybe? I’m not American but I think the reason why a lot of Americans may like Meghan in comparison to Brits is because she’s American but also that they see her as sort of an “underdog” or something. Plus the ones who don’t like her in the UK are a minority but a loud minority which I think really distorts how many don’t like her.
+1
Americans have more respect for those who work for what they have and Harry and Meghan are displaying willingness to at least try. The snobbish aristocrats in the UK have the opposite viewpoint that you are “special” because of bloodlines and inheritance. What got me in a lot of the anti-Meghan stories (and comments on them) is that a lot of the thinking is essentially that Brits are superior to Americans. So, of course, that puts Americans more likely to be for her.
Have none of those idiots seen Hamilton? We are obviously superior to the British. Dismiss our current leader. We’ll get that settled shortly and be back to being number 1.
Typical aristo backhanded compliment. The fact us, Americans generally aren’t a nation of haters. Success is something to aspire to and we admire successful people who try to do good. Oprah is loved for a reason. Even MAGA cultists who no longer like her still respect her rags to riches story. An Oprah wouldn’t even be allowed to exist in England. They’d be sure to kill her spirit before she got any bright ideas.
on a completely superficial note- my son is growing out his hair and wanted either swayze’s or Reeve’s hair picked specifically from point break pictures. i was like a shaggy long mullet? really? but i remember loving swayze’s look in this movie at the time.
Well, the thing is it’s not just the Amercian media that gives Harry and Meghan positive press, it’s the global press outside of the US too. Also, is it positive press or just press coverage that is objective and balance without any personal, subjective opinions and rumors? Like someone stated earlier here in America you are not going to see ABC World News,CNN, Good Morning America, or the Washington Post ( reputable news media outlets) feature some tabloid story about them. Americans in general like Harry and Meghan because Meghan is American and Harry has always been the favorite Royal. If Will and Kate were here, I really don’t think that many people would be interested.
“Also, is it positive press or just press coverage that is objective and balance without any personal, subjective opinions and rumors?”
This is an important distinction! Press about them both from the UK has been so nasty and downright vile that fair and balanced reports comes across as positive press when it’s just neutral reporting on their work.
Fully agree with you! it is not positive press; it is just coverage not slanted by agendas; objective press is now confused by positive press given what we know of the uk royal rats who pretend to be journalists
Canadian media tends to be positive about Harry and Meghan, especially when they were in BC. Canadians are just happy to be mentioned in the news so outside of a few grumbles about security costs which were later proven false, the coverage here in general was positive. Also royal coverage here is done with other celebrity stuff, which is entertainment and not taken seriously. Probably not a great sign because the queen is still head of state, but nothing about the royals in Canada is anything but lightweight news. It’s probably why few have the energy to get upset about them.
I live 30 min south of Santa Barbara, and there’s definitely a big surf culture all along the coast here. Obviously it dies down along spots on the central coast but Ventura (with spots like Surfers Point) all the way to Goleta and some parts beyond for the more
seasoned surfer is big on surfing. We have a couple of pros that live in the area.
Great for him! I’ve always wanted to do that.
It all comes down to the American worship of success and the British need to take the piss out anyone successful or proud. This is why Boris Johnson’s hair is always disheveled, this is why Megan dressed in drab ill fitting outfits at the beginning. Seems like both countries could benefit from each other as a moderating force. I’m not commenting on this story because everyone outside of California(don’t say Cali) thinks all we do surf all day.
I live and work in inland central California (near Fresno). Believe me, I’m not surfing. But if you wanna talk gardening or sweltering in the CA sunshine, I’m here …
It’s not like they moved there FOR the media, it’s Meghan’s home country.
As for easier to please I don’t know. I think the critical difference is the only the British media was actively out to destroy them with bonus gaslighting and active support from his family. No other countries media would treat them that badly.
A lot of Meghan haters are Americans but yes, Americans are more open to a good love story and an us against the world/ establishment story, and people who work hard. The main difference here is that they aren’t public here, we have way bigger things to focus on like the election and the pandemic, it’s a huge country. Also, for all our sexism, we’re not scandalized by vocal prominent women and feminists in media and public life the way they seem to be over there. Look at the Vogue cover reaction. If they were in the U.K.,right now, every frustration the public had with the Covid response, government ,economic fallout, how much the royals are doing and taxpayer funding would fall squarely on them and it would be very ugly, and the royals would be resentful, in fact are, of even the negative news coverage they get because it dominates the headlines. At least here we can’t blame them for anything. Enjoy the waves Harry and the breather.
The same people who hate Meghan in the US also hated Michelle Obama and I wonder what they have in common. But I agree that Americans respect individualism more and don’t get offended when someone looks to earn their own money.
A good deal of the people who hate her in the US are also Trump followers who were offended because she called him misogynistic and because she didn’t go to the banquet the Queen had for him when she was on maternity leave.
No diss on the surf at Cornwall, but riding the waves in California is no joke. The waves are SO BIG. You’d need a lesson if you wanted to give it try.
I could see this happening but he could also be roller skating or something. Nobody knows what they did for sure. At least this is better than the nasty columns in trashy UK papers