Dame Joan Collins has said that she feels "sorry" for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after they stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family in order to move to California.

The Sussexes took the decision to relocate from the UK earlier this year in order to work towards "financial independence" and escape the British paparazzi.

Collins, 86, is an ardent Royalist but told The Sun: "I have no interest in Harry and Meghan.

"I love the Royal Family. The Queen is the greatest woman in the world and William and Kate are fantastic, with those lovely children. Charles and Anne, I also like.

"I feel sorry for people who decide to live a life in Hollywood because there will be plenty of paparazzi.

"Any time I go to a restaurant there are paparazzi — and that's just me. I imagine the Sussexes will find tons of people taking pictures."

Harry and Meghan are thought to have given their backing to a forthcoming book, Finding Freedom, which promises to "finally present the truth of misreported stories" about the couple.