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The paparazzi are like vultures when it comes to members of the Royal Family.

They seem to take the energy that they’d normally put into stalking celebrities and ramp it up to new levels.

Perhaps the worst part is that an anti-royalist such as myself finds themselves sympathising with the plight of people like Meghan and Harry, who have been hounded relentlessly by the press, to the extent that they’ve been forced to take legal action to prevent people from taking drone shots of their child in his garden.

Unauthorised pictures of Archie aside, the constant media presence is starting to affect them in others ways.

The couple recently purchased their first official US home in Montecito, just outside Santa Barbara.

The Daily Mail was quick to track it down and publish pictures of it.

Following that, the small town has been inundated with photographers looking to capture pictures of the couple and secure their next payday.

Despite the fact that the two of them haven’t been seen in public for a while, says Cosmopolitan, the town is starting to get “fed up” with the new normal.

Residents in Montecito… aren’t thrilled by the influx of paparazzi, helicopters, and tourists in the region.

[The royal couple’s] “mere presence is driving folks wild” thanks to helicopters circling around the neighborhood they live in up to four times a day, and paparazzi lurking in public areas.

TMZ spoke to a few of the locals who told them that they are “super annoyed” and “want the paps to give it a rest”, because “things are getting to the point where everyone’s privacy is being compromised”.

Montecito is famously known as a no-paparazzi zone — Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah, Rob Lowe, Carol Burnett, Jane Lynch and the Kardashians have no problem dining out and shopping in on the low – but everything’s changed since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved in.

Why, though?

Royals are so boring. They rarely do anything scandalous

(Obviously, Prince Andrew is the exception, here)

It’s all polite waving before heading off to yet another charity event.

Anyway, here’s another mysterious insider, per IOL, with some information that’s probably mostly fiction, about why Meghan and Harry decided to move to the town in the first place:

“Meghan visited Montecito in her teens and fell in love with the picturesque scenery and stunning architecture. Moving there was always an option, but to begin with, she and Harry wanted to give Los Angeles a shot.”

Harry hated LA, so they had to move, and wanted to move somewhere where they would have some privacy.

“Montecito is only just over an hour’s drive from LA, which is where a majority of their work is based, yet far enough away to escape the crowds, paparazzi and tourism in Hollywood.”

It evidently wasn’t far enough.

[source:cosmopolitan&tmz&iol]