Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s budding friendship with Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry

Prince Harry is making new friends since moving to the United States with his wife Meghan Markle and their son Archie. His new circle also includes Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, who recently moved to a mansion just walking distance from the Sussexes’ residence in Montecito, California.

In his recent appearance on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, Prince Harry revealed that he has struck up a friendship with Bloom and Perry, who live “just down the road.” The celebrity couples “keep in touch” with each other over text and even warn each other about paparazzi.

“Two days ago, Orlando Bloom sent me a message, ’cause he’s down the road and we sort of keep in contact because of the paparazzi,” the Duke of Sussex said.

He further described the constant worry of being photographed in their home, and asked: “How is that normal, how is that acceptable?”

“He (Bloom) sent me a photograph, which his security got, of this long-haired guy with a beanie on, ear pods on, with his massive camera lying in the back of his 4×4 truck, blacked-out windows, a woman driving, who did the peace sign, sitting there as a distraction, and he is laid down in the back of this truck taking photographs of [Bloom and Katy Perry] out with their kid,” the 36-year-old said.

While Bloom and Perry welcomed their first child, a daughter, in October last year, Harry and Meghan are also expecting a baby girl in the next few weeks. Harry shares another connection with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor, as they are both Brits now living in the states.

The duo also has some mutual friends, including singer Ellie Goulding and designer Misha Nonoo who allegedly played matchmaker for Harry and Meghan by setting up a blind date for them in July 2016. Both the couples were in attendance at Nonoo’s wedding to Michael Hess in Rome in 2019.

Royal expert Dickie Arbiter told Mail Online about the budding friendship between the two couples: “The question is, why are celebrities friends of the royal family? Quite simply, they like dining out on the fact they are a friend of the royal family. It’s like, ‘Hey ho, I went to Harry’s wedding. I don’t know him, but I went to Harry’s wedding.'”

“Harry’s befriended Orlando Bloom. Orlando Bloom thinks, ‘Ooh very nice – a friend of the royal family.’ It works both ways,” Arbiter added.