It’s still rather interesting that the Windsors’ D-Day commemoration plan was changed. Originally, King Charles was supposed to attend a tribute at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer AND then go on to Omaha Beach for the larger event with other world leaders. That was what Buckingham Palace briefed to reporters weeks ago. Then, rather suddenly, the plan changed this week and there was seemingly an effort to really minimize the change. Charles and Camilla skipped Omaha Beach and left William to do the heavy lifting as a “global statesman.” On June 5th, Becky English at the Mail made it sound like Charles is basically too weakened by cancer treatments to do much more than what he did:

Amid the sovereign’s slew of recent appearances, it is sometimes easy to forget that he still has cancer and continues to undergo a gruelling, weekly treatment programme. While I am told he is doing well and delighted that everything is very much ‘moving in the right direction’, he is still a patient facing a very current and serious health challenge. It would be utterly patronising to say that such public appearances require a Herculean effort on his behalf.

His Majesty has inherited his late mother’s great personal determination, energy and sense of duty. When I’ve seen him laughing, joking and charming his guests at recent events, you really wouldn’t know anything was wrong. Besides, he would insist on a word such as Herculean being reserved for those tens of thousands of brave men who stood contemplating that ‘terrible leap of faith’ for freedom 80 years ago, not knowing whether they would live to see the sun rise again.

But like every cancer patient, he has good days and bad ones: mornings that see him tramping across his estates, or evenings working on paperwork late into the night, but others that also leave him feeling tired and under the weather. All of which is perfectly normal and to be expected. Cancer treatment is, frankly, draining at times.

His staff work quietly to keep his worst work excesses in check, tweaking his diary appropriately (occasionally to His Majesty’s frustration).

While most onlookers wouldn’t have clocked it, he in fact arrived in Portsmouth to deliver his speech and meet veterans half-way through proceedings, whereas in a normal year he would have been there from beginning to end. And in Normandy has asked Prince William to deputise for him at the keynote international commemoration at Omaha Beach, alongside world leaders including Presidents Biden, Macron and Zelenskyy, while he will focus his energies on the British ceremonial event at Ver-sur-Mer for his first public visit abroad since his diagnosis.

‘Given his other commitments on the day, it was simply advised that the international event later in the afternoon could be a step too far at this stage,’ a source tells me. ‘His Majesty is, of course, delighted that the Prince of Wales will be attending to represent the nation in his place.’

[From The Daily Mail]

It feels like some other narrative is being launched. The “where is Kate” issue has largely overshadowed the persistent murmurs that Charles’s health issues are much more dire than anyone has let on. I also sort of believe that barely-disguised “hypothetical” that Charles has bladder cancer. If true, there is genuine reason to believe that he will recover and yet… they also seem to be preparing for the worst. Incidentally, here’s a little excerpt of how CNN covered Charles’s absence on Omaha Beach:

The optics of seeing the Prince of Wales instead of his father [at Omaha Beach] will not be lost on those within the royal household, as well as royal-watchers. Nonetheless, CNN understands that it wasn’t a deliberate orchestration. Seeing the future monarch in the company of other heads of state is a powerful visual and speaks to the longer transition which will prepare the public for King William V’s reign.

[From CNN]

So… CNN is just saying it outright, that there’s already a move to prepare the public for King William V’s reign of terror? I don’t know y’all. It feels like… something.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Personally, I would like Prince Harry to drop his legal fight for police protection while visiting the UK, just because: A) it really is a fool’s errand at this point and he’s never going to win and B) the backstory is so g–damn complicated and it feels like we’re all bashing our heads against the wall, trying to explain how several corrupt public institutions work together to do harm and then cover each other’s asses. Suffice to say, Harry has waged a two-year battle to understand why his police protection was suddenly yanked in 2020 and he’s managed to put a lot of really shady sh-t about Ravec on the legal record. I February, he lost the case. Then in April, Harry lost his bid to appeal the decision to continue to refuse police protection to the Sussexes when they’re in the UK. I truly thought it was over, at long last. Turns out, not so much.

The Duke of Sussex has been granted permission to appeal against the dismissal of his high court challenge over a change to his level of personal security when he visits the UK. Prince Harry took legal action against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country.

The retired high court judge Sir Peter Lane rejected the duke’s case in February 2024 and concluded Ravec’s approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair. Harry then lost an initial attempt to appeal but was able to ask the court of appeal directly for permission to challenge Lane’s decision. He has now been given the green light to challenge at the court of appeal, according to an order by Lord Justice Bean dated 23 May.

In his 52-page partly redacted ruling dismissing the duke’s claims in February, Lane said Harry’s lawyers had taken an “inappropriate, formalist interpretation of the Ravec process”, adding: “The ‘bespoke’ process devised for the claimant in the decision of February 28, 2020 was, and is, legally sound.”

The judge said he accepted comments from Sir Richard Mottram, the former chair of Ravec, who said that, even if he had received a document setting out all of Harry’s legal arguments in February 2020, he “would have reached the same decision for materially the same reasons”.

Ravec has delegated responsibility from the Home Office over the provision of protective security arrangements for members of the royal family and others, with involvement from the Metropolitan police, the Cabinet Office and the royal household.

After the February ruling a legal spokesperson for Harry said he intended to appeal, adding: “The duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of Ravec’s own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with Ravec’s own written policy. In February 2020, Ravec failed to apply its written policy to the Duke of Sussex and excluded him from a particular risk analysis. The duke’s case is that the so-called ‘bespoke process’ that applies to him is no substitute for that risk analysis. The Duke of Sussex hopes he will obtain justice from the court of appeal, and makes no further comment while the case is ongoing.”

[From The Guardian]

Back in April, when he lost his first bid to appeal the ruling, the court said Harry was on the hook for legal fees in excess of $1 million. I wonder if that’s a factor here too – if Harry successfully appeals the decision and the February ruling is reversed, is Harry still on the hook for that money? It doesn’t really matter. As I said, the sh-t is, to use a Trumpian parlance, rigged. I’m proud of Harry for getting so much inside-baseball on the record, and it was a learning journey for everyone who followed his case. Incidentally, I have believed for some time that Harry wasn’t simply going on a fact-finding mission for himself and his interests. I think he was also curious as to what he could uncover about why his mother didn’t have any royal protection in the last year of her life.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

All things considered, it’s probably much better to marry a titled aristocrat than a royal. All of the money, none of the public service expectations. In fact, if you’re an aristocrat who does public service, it’s seen as an enormous bonus rather than “well, that was expected.” There are fewer wedding rules when it comes to aristo weddings, although from what I’ve seen, the aristocrats generally keep it pretty conservative. So it is with Hugh Grosvenor and Olivia Henson’s wedding, which happened today. Hugh is the Duke of Westminster and one of the youngest billionaires in Britain (all of it inherited wealth from a vast real estate empire). Hugh married Olivia in Chester, England, where the Grosvenors’ country estate, Eaton Hall, is located. Hugh and Olivia were married at Chester Cathedral and the whole town came out for a look at Olivia’s dress.

The bride wore a wedding gown and veil designed by British designer Emma Victoria Payne. The gown is ivory silk crepe and organza, with a scalloped edge neckline, dropped waist and a keyhole back (which is racy for stuffy British weddings). Personally, I’m not crazy about the dress, but I imagine it looks prettier in person. I think the issue is that the satin doesn’t photograph very well. I do love her tiara though – Olivia wore the Faberge Myrtle Leaf Tiara, which is a Grosvenor family piece, worn by Grosvenor brides. The bride’s “something blue” was a pair of blue heels! Her bouquet was made of flowers picked from the gardens of Eaton Hall: “meadow grass, ox-eye daisies, iris, rose, clematis, mock orange, scabious, sweet pea, astrantia, martagon lily and love in a mist.” You can read more details about Olivia’s wedding look here.

There were a few photos of Prince William’s early arrival, because he’s acting as an usher (“a starring role,” according to palace insiders). I can only imagine how many ways William will make an ass out of himself at this wedding. Hugh looked nice though – he looked quite relaxed when he arrived at the cathedral.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Getty.

July 8 marks one year since the day that Travis Kelce attended the Eras Tour at Arrowhead Stadium, armed with a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it. I believe that’s Day One of Travis/Taylor lore. (Side note: What is their portmanteau? Tayvis? Traylor?) I don’t know if Travis will make an appearance at that show at Taylor’s July 9 show in Zürich, Switzerland or there will be some nod to it from Taylorland or whatever. I know it’s not the day that they met or had their first date, but Taylor’s big into fate and the Universe, so it would not surprise me if she had something in store for us on July 8 or at her July 9 Eras stop.

Either way, it’s been a really big year for Travis. I know he was rich and famous on his own, way before Taylor called that number on the friendship bracelet, but I think we can all agree that she is in another stratosphere. He always looks like the cat that ate the canary. Travis recently sat down for an interview with Good Morning America to talk about how awesome his life is right now, how grateful he is for all of it, and how he stays grounded, thanks to a good support system.

“When you have good family and friends around you, it makes that aspect in life that much easier,” said Kelce, 34.

“I’ve always been a very grounded guy,” he said. “It might not come off like that when I’m playing football but off the field, I just want to be a genuine person. I try not to get too far down the road because you just never know when opportunities are going to present themselves.”

Asked by ABC correspondent Will Reeve to rate his life on a scale of 1-10, Kelce said “20? 100?”

“I’m so fortunate, so grateful of everything that come my way in life,” he said. “I feel like I’m on top of the mountain, even after winning the Super Bowl and having the off-season that I’m having. Living the dream, baby.”

Kelce, 34, and Swift, 34, first sparked dating rumors in September 2023 after Swift attended a handful of Kelce’s games. While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show podcast, Kelce previously revealed that he invited Swift to attend one of his games, teasing that he “threw the ball in her court” after seeing her perform at Arrowhead Stadium during her Eras Tour in July 2023.

The two confirmed their romance in October 2023 when they stepped out holding hands at a Saturday Night Live afterparty. A source told PEOPLE at the time the pair were still in the “super, super early days” of getting to know one another but are “having fun.”

While doing press ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl, Kelce opened up about Swift and elaborated about what it’s like managing the extra media attention that comes from dating her. “You asked me how it is,” Kelce began. “And to be honest, I’m learning throughout this all.”

He added, “I’m just kind of on the plane ride, just cruising and trying to figure this thing out on the run,” as he navigates his surging fame while dating Swift.

[From People]

You know, I actually do not doubt that Travis is a “very grounded guy.” I mean, I’m sure he loves the attention that he and Taylor get, but off-field, we never hear anything bad about him, behaviorwise. There’s nothing about him being rude to fans or demanding crazy riders or getting into arguments with servers in restaurants. People are always talking about how great and kind the entire Kelce family is, too. When Travis says that it’s helpful that he has good family and friends around him, I believe it. I honestly think that Travis has a leg up because he is not surrounded by “yes men” who take him out of reality. I also think you need to be grounded if you’re going to be in Taylor’s orbit, or at least have a spectacular ability to brush that dirt off your shoulder. Grounded, nice, easygoing, and okay with his girlfriend having an insane level of fame? Maybe Taylor really did find a unicorn.

.@tkelce is opening up to @reevewill about his life, sharing some updates from recent events including his acting debut, his visit to the White House and his future plans: “I’m so fortunate and so grateful [for] everything that’s come my way in life.”https://t.co/m0tmjhfEtC pic.twitter.com/iaIrTKo61d

— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 6, 2024

Embed from Getty Images

Photos credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images

Last weekend, there was yet another convenient deflection to the situation with Prince Andrew and his lease on Royal Lodge. Royal Lodge is a 30-room mansion on the Royal Windsor estate, and Andrew is only two decades into a 75-year “sweetheart deal” lease on the crown property. For years now, King Charles and Prince William have been publicly badgering Andrew to relinquish his lease so that William and his family can move into Royal Lodge. I don’t even believe that Charles cares that much, but William is on the warpath about it, and Charles mostly just wants Andrew to be less visible. Well, last weekend’s story was that Charles was considering cutting off Andrew’s funding. Charles uses Duchy of Lancaster funds to finance Andrew’s security bills and his general living expenses, at the cost of something like $5 million a year. I wrote about what I think is really going on here – Andrew wants to be bought out of his lease and Charles has balked at his terms. Something to keep in mind as you read these highlights from the Daily Beast’s latest exclusive.

Andrew will not move out, despite Charles’s threats: One friend said: “Andrew has no intention of moving out, and it’s extraordinary that his brother has chosen to reopen this battle via anonymous briefings to the press. It’s like they [the Palace] have learned nothing from the whole Harry and Meghan debacle. Andrew does not have a huge amount in his life any more, the house is one of the few things keeping him going, and the idea that he is going to throw that away along with his children’s inheritance is just absurd. The place is perfectly well maintained and the notion that Andrew is in dire financial straits is not remotely accurate. He still has the support of plenty of friends and has plenty of business interests.”

Royal Lodge is Andrew’s forever home: Another friend said: “He was given the lease on the house on favorable terms by the late queen. He has been living there with his family for the past twenty years. It is his forever home and he won’t be leaving. Charles has more than enough houses to go round, and should drop this distracting argument with his brother. I find it hard to believe many people in the U.K. would give the issue a second thought if Charles’ camp stopped running these cruel eviction plans up the flagpole every few months.”

Sarah Ferguson supports Andrew’s decision to remain at Royal Lodge: “Sarah has never sought to rock the boat. She has said very publicly that she is grateful to have been brought back into the family by the late queen and she is of course very grateful that has carried on under Charles. That’s a different thing to selling out her family,” the friend said, “She is fiercely loyal to Andrew.” Asked if her double cancer diagnosis last year had affected her position, the friend said, “Not really because her position has always been that Royal Lodge is the family home. That hasn’t changed.”

Historian Andrew Lownie’s take on the situation: “It’s very clear that Charles is now completely fed up with him and would very much like him to move to Frogmore Cottage, but it all still comes down to the fact that Andrew has the lease. That means there is not much anyone can do. There is evidence that work is going on there, and sure, some of it should have been started last year, but that is hardly going to be grounds to evict him. He has plenty of money. He sold his Swiss chalet, he continues to go out to the Middle East for work, and he inherited money from his grandmother. Sarah Ferguson bought a £5m ($6.4m) property in Mayfair in 2022. The whole dispute really stems from the fact that that the brothers have never got on, and the households don’t get on either. No-one is coming out of this very well, but if Charles is really serious about getting rid of him, he should stop paying for his security—but the problem there is that Andrew is the one royal who perhaps needs it more than any other.”

[From The Daily Beast]

This is what I keep saying too: “Charles has more than enough houses to go round.” Charles currently splits his time between seven homes, right? Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Highgrove, Balmoral, Birkhall, Sandringham, Windsor Castle, and I’m not even counting the royal properties where he only stays for a day or two every year, like Holyrood Palace. Beyond those homes, there is a vast network of crown properties. These people are acting like Royal Lodge and Frogmore Cottage are the only homes up for debate. It’s insane. Like, I’m not even on Andrew’s side or Charles’s side – they’re both despicable people. But I totally understand why Andrew is playing hardball here and why he’s disgusted with Charles and William’s bonkers eviction campaign.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

I know French people have very mixed opinions about President Emmanuel Macron, but I’m consistently impressed by his administration’s staging for international events. Thursday was the 80th anniversary of D-Day. For 80 years, French presidents have staged commemorative events for Allied troops who fought on that day. This year’s event was gorgeous, and the Macrons behaved impeccably, from Madame Macron personally greeting the WWII veterans on their arrival, to the Macrons’ individual memorial visits. If anything, this anniversary drew attention to Macron, to President Biden, and most importantly, to the last of the WWII generation. But according to the Mail’s Becky English, the 80th anniversary of D-Day was all about a temperamental, 41-year-old man-child playacting his idea of a “international statesman.” The Mail’s headline: “Standing with seven presidents, three kings and too many prime ministers to count, Prince William steps up for his most high-profile role on the international stage yet.” Eyeroll. Some highlights:

Primetime Huevo: Standing shoulder to shoulder with seven presidents, three kings, a grand duke and almost too many prime ministers to count, Prince William yesterday undertook his most high-profile role on the international stage yet. The circumstances were not ideal: deputising for his father, who had been advised to miss the international D-Day commemorations at Omaha beach due to his ongoing cancer treatment. But a proud King Charles was, I am told, ‘delighted that the Prince of Wales attended to represent the nation’. As for William, an aide adds: ‘He has a strong sense of wanting to support his father, both at home and overseas.’

William only cares about the optics: In royal terms, as in politics, optics are everything and it was lost on no one – doubtless including William – that this was a glimpse into his future; hopefully one that is still many years away, but his future nonetheless. He was by terms dignified and regal but also warm and friendly, laying a wreath with solemnity but greeting the veterans he encountered with an air of approachable camaraderie.

William has HIS coronation medal, unlike Harry! Wearing a suit with his Army Air Corps tie and decorations including his Great Master of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath neck order and his Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals, along with his new Coronation medal, William met Mr Trudeau who told him: ‘There’s a great crowd here.’ He also went into the Juno Beach visitor centre for an impromptu private chat – a bi-lateral in diplomatic terms – with Mr Trudeau and was warmly clapped by the crowds as he left, with many shouting out: ‘William, Prince William. A picture s’il vous plait!’

William is stepping up the plate! Talking to insiders, there is no doubt that William is more ready than ever to step up to the plate. ‘Yes, we have seen his evolution as an international statesman, particularly since he became Prince of Wales,’ one told me this week. ‘What’s always remarkable is the sense of comfort and confidence he has in these big moments… And he feels a huge sense of responsibility in telling this story and marking such an important anniversary.’

Kate’s illness has been tough on William: A source tells me: ‘Since the start of the year you’ve seen a real strength of character from the Prince of Wales. He has really tried to strike a balance of supporting his family – his wife, his children and his father – but also continuing to go out and work. At no point have you seen him falter in that. That speaks to his strength of character. And he has stuck to his guns about doing it his way. Everyone’s cancer journey is different and everyone has to handle theirs in the way they see fit. But what the prince does have is a strong sense of commitment to duty and service. And that will never change.’

[From The Daily Mail]

There we go: “Yes, we have seen his evolution as an international statesman.” That’s what William got out of it, that it was all about him, that he gets a gold star for standing with elected leaders in his father’s absence, that he is now an “international statesman.” The thing is, yesterday wasn’t a bad day for William at all although, admittedly, the bar is in hell. He wasn’t a gaffe machine, his behavior was respectful, he gave a speech and didn’t make a horse’s ass out of himself. It would have come across as “of course, this comes naturally to me” if he had just left it at that. Instead, Huevo and his people immediately ran to brief all of this childish embiggening to Becky English. Imagine having to brag about your big-boy statesman day at the age of 41 (nearly 42).

Huevo is currently the only senior royal at Hugh Grosvenor’s wedding, which is happening as I write this:

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

I still find it fascinating that none of the British tabloids or media outlets picked up Us Weekly’s cover story about the Princess of Wales this week. The g–damn Telegraph picked up my tweets about Omid Scobie’s Endgame, but suddenly the Mail is radio silent when Us Weekly’s royal insiders are soft-launching the idea that Kate might never come back to her royal role? It’s weird. In recent weeks, it’s felt like we’ve regressed back to early March, with mysterious and unverified “sightings” of Kate “running errands” yet royal insiders insist that she’s not recovered enough to stand on a balcony. It has the feel of a restless media and six months of unanswered questions. Well, Richard Fitzwilliams tells Us Weekly that it’s his hope that Kensington Palace realizes that this weird stalemate cannot continue:

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams does not think that “out of control” speculation about Princess Kate Middleton’s health will “recur” as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy.

“Lessons should have been learned from what happened earlier,” Fitzwilliams, 74, told Us Weekly exclusively about the conspiracy theories surrounding Kate’s health, noting that it would be “appropriate” for Kensington Palace to chime in when needed.

“I mean, if you’re not told at all, and months passed, clearly there’s speculation and that could happen again,” he continued. “So, I’m sure that it will be handled in a different way.”

Kate announced on March 22 that she was diagnosed with cancer after weeks of speculation about her whereabouts. Since she’s started undergoing treatment, questions about Kate’s return to royal duties continue to rise. Some reports have speculated that the Princess of Wales will return to work by the fall while others say her recovery time will be longer.

“I think the palaces recognize that it is essential from time to time to update the press — and through them the public of course — [on] important issues,” Fitzwilliams explained. “I mean, with King Charles, it’s very good to see what’s happening now, and I think everyone’s very pleased in that. I would hope by the fall or by the end of the year matters will have resolved themselves. But you just don’t know.”

Further discussing Kate and her ongoing health struggles, Fitzwilliams praised the Princess of Wales for going public with her cancer diagnosis — and hopes the public understands her decision to keep a low profile.

“The video message in March was, I would say, the most moving given by a public figure in Britain on a health issue. So, I mean, I think that people understand the very difficult situation that she’s in,” he said, noting that her public “plea for time and space” is sure to be respected. “People genuinely feel for her and Prince William and their family in this extremely difficult time.”

[From Us Weekly]

“Lessons should have been learned from what happened earlier” – lessons were not learned, as we’ve seen in recent weeks. “I think the palaces recognize that it is essential from time to time to update the press… on important issues.” No they don’t recognize it! Even if you completely believe the cancer-announcement video, that video introduced a timeline which makes no sense and it also acknowledges that the palace LIED about Kate’s health for weeks and failed to give the public some important updates. The palace and the British media still haven’t grappled with the fact that Kensington Palace has zero credibility at this point. Even if they were operating in good faith right now (they aren’t, but play along), no one would believe them. That being said, I would imagine we will get some kind of formal palace “update” later this month, possibly after Trooping.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, screencaps courtesy of BBC/KP, cover courtesy of Us Weekly.

Embed from Getty Images

As we’ve discussed in previous posts, the Washington Post’s new CEO Will Lewis is up to his neck in alleged (!) criminality and not-so-alleged unethical journalism. Will Lewis is British, and he cut his teeth in British tabloids, specifically News Group Newspapers’ print media. Lewis was a major figure in Rupert Murdoch’s British media arm during the pre-Leveson heyday of phone hacking, blagging and other crimes. Lewis was eventually shifted over to Murdoch’s American media arm, almost like he was specifically being whitewashed. He worked for Dow Jones/WSJ for a time, and then Jeff Bezos recently appointed Lewis as the new CEO of WaPo.

In May, Prince Harry won several motions in his long-running lawsuit against NGN. Basically, Harry’s lawsuit can now name names of NGN editors and journalists who were responsible, years ago, for all of the criminal activity around royal coverage. Lewis was one of the names. Last month, we heard a curious story that Lewis wanted WaPo to minimize the fact that he has been implicated by name in Harry’s lawsuit. Then on Sunday, WaPo’s executive editor Sally Buzbee quit that bitch, and the New York Times reports that in the weeks before she quit, she clashed with Lewis over WaPo’s coverage of Harry’s lawsuit and Lewis specifically wanted her to kill WaPo’s coverage. There was even a slight insinuation that Lewis was about to demote Buzbee partially because she wanted WaPo to cover Harry’s lawsuit. Well, it’s even worse than that. Apparently, Lewis has had a bee in his bonnet for a while now about how the American media is covering his alleged history of criminal activity when he was in the UK. From NPR’s David Folkenflik:

The Washington Post has written twice this spring about allegations that have cropped up in British court proceedings involving its new publisher and CEO, Will Lewis. In both instances Lewis pushed his newsroom chief hard not to run the story.

According to several people at the newspaper, then-Executive Editor Sally Buzbee emerged rattled from both discussions in March and in May. Lewis’ efforts were first reported by the New York Times. The second Post article in May, which was thorough and detailed, ran just days before Lewis announced his priorities for the paper, which is financially troubled.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Lewis denied the publisher had pressured his editor, saying, “That is not true. That is not what happened.”

Buzbee did not recuse herself from the stories, which were overseen by Managing Editor Matea Gold, and drew upon reporters from three desks. Lewis did not block the story from running. He unexpectedly announced Buzbee’s departure on Sunday night, about three-and-a-half weeks after the longer story ran, along with a restructuring of the newsroom’s leadership structure.

It is not the first time that Lewis has engaged in intense efforts to head off coverage about him in ways that many U.S. journalists would consider deeply inappropriate.

In December, I wrote the first comprehensive piece based on new documents cited in a London courtroom alleging that Lewis had helped cover up a scandal involving widespread criminal practices at media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloids. (Lewis has previously denied the allegations.)

At that time, Lewis had just been named publisher and CEO by Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, but had not yet started. In several conversations, Lewis repeatedly — and heatedly —offered to give me an exclusive interview about the Post’s future, as long as I dropped the story about the allegations. At that time, the same spokesperson, who works directly for Lewis from the U.K. and has advised him since his days at the Wall Street Journal, confirmed to me that an explicit offer was on the table: drop the story, get the interview.

NPR published the story nonetheless. On Thursday, the spokesperson declined comment about that offer. That first interview appears to have gone to Puck’s Dylan Byers. It ran a day after the Post’s piece in May.

[From NPR]

As NPR points out, American journalists and editors simply don’t operate this way. The American media – when dealing with itself – isn’t a scratch-my-back culture. NPR points out that when a journalist or editor is caught up in a crime, their newspaper or outlet generally takes pride in covering the story thoroughly. This is a specifically British mentality, that Lewis believed he could have stories about his alleged criminality “killed” through backroom deals with journalists and they would never breathe a word. As Press Watchers notes in their editorial: “Doing what he did violates a core doctrine of American journalism: that editors and publishers are not supposed to interfere with their own newsrooms’ coverage of issues in which they have a personal conflict of interest. It’s really about as basic as it gets.” Press Watchers says it plainly: “Having crossed that line, Lewis should hand in his resignation as a result. Or Post owner Jeff Bezos should fire him.”

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty.

The D-Day anniversary events in Normandy were Queen Camilla’s first foreign trip in months, not counting her bird-hunting vacation in Spain in March. The last two times she traveled on state business were last year’s trips to Kenya and France, correct? And that was where we really saw that Camilla does not travel well. We especially saw that in Kenya, when Camilla seemed to be disassociating in real time as she was forced to interact with Black folks. Not to mention the crazy moment when Charles left her in the car like she was a rabid dog who bites strangers.

I bring up Camilla’s lack of grace, dignity and statesmanship because the trip to Normandy was a mixed bag for ol’ Cam. On the plus side, it appears that she was getting sloshed on good French wine with some 100-year-old WWII veterans. Any event where she gets to booze it up is a plus in her book. She also got to wear an utterly ridiculous hat, which is still astounding to me, that she chose this completely insane hat to a somber event. But the worst moment came when Camilla and Madame Brigitte Macron were tasked with placing bouquets of flowers at the British Normandy Memorial. That’s when Madame Macron tried to reach for Camilla’s hand and Camilla acted like the French First Lady had cooties. Then Camilla didn’t even stand there for a respectful amount of time.

Awkward moment Brigitte Macron breaks Royal protocol as she tries to hold Queen Camilla’s hand at D-Day memorial in Normandy#Macron #DDay #Camilla #Royals pic.twitter.com/Qi3h66iYee

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) June 6, 2024

The vibe when she motions Madame Macron to walk with her is interesting. Almost as if she muttered, “Get on with it, Brig, show us where you keep the good wine.” The British media is currently trying to make it sound like Madame Macron “broke royal protocol.” You know what else broke royal protocol? The guillotine. Seriously, having seen Brigitte Macron’s warmth with the WWII veterans, I would be willing to bet that she reached out to Camilla as a simple, human gesture. Camilla’s quick exit is also irksome. Also: People Mag points out that King Charles greeted President Macron with a hug, and he kissed Brigitte’s hand in greeting.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

This week, the British media has run dozens, if not hundreds, of stories about “Prince Harry is not attending Hugh Grosvenor’s wedding.” A wedding which is today, by the way. We’ve known since December that Harry would not attend his friend’s wedding. The only “debate” was whether Hugh invited the Sussexes and, if the Sussexes were invited, why they declined. We seriously established this months ago: Hugh invited the Sussexes and Harry declined soon after he received the invitation and he had a friendly phone conversation with Hugh about it. The only one convinced that this is some huge scandal is Prince William, who has spent the past six months making the Duke of Westminster’s wedding all about “egg rage” and “royal drama.” Well, interestingly enough, Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair got an exclusive. According to Nicholl’s sources, Harry did decline the wedding invite because they didn’t want to overshadow Hugh and Olivia’s day, nor did they want to spend one minute in the same space as an angry egg. Not only that, Nicholl got a tip about the Sussexes’ summer plans.

It may be the society event of the year but Prince Harry will not be attending the wedding of his close friend Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, when he marries his fiancée Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral on Friday. Despite conflicting reports, Vanity Fair understands that Harry and Meghan Markle were invited to Friday’s ceremony, but politely declined so as not to overshadow the event or risk any awkward encounters with Prince William, who is an usher and will be bringing his son Prince George as his plus-one.

Grosvenor, who is known as Hughie to friends, is Britain’s youngest billionaire and is close to both William and Harry. He is the godson of King Charles, and the godfather to both Prince George and Prince Archie. According to one source, “Hughie did the right thing inviting both brothers while Harry did the diplomatic thing and politely declined saying there were no hard feelings. It would have been terribly awkward if he had said yes because of the situation with William.”

While Prince Harry’s absence will likely set tongues wagging among the congregation, Vanity Fair has been told that Harry has no plans to return to Britain this summer. It was reported Tuesday that Harry and Meghan will not attend next week’s Trooping the Colour ceremony to mark the king’s birthday, but as non-working members of the family, they would not expect to be invited.

King Charles does, however, plan to invite some of his family to Balmoral later this summer, following a tradition set by the late Queen Elizabeth II, but it is unclear whether the invite will extend to the Sussexes. Princess Lilibet celebrated her third birthday earlier this week and Charles is said to be keen to see his California-based grandchildren.

But according to friends of the Sussexes, Harry and Meghan do not plan to come to the U.K. during the summer. “They are very settled and happy in Montecito where they plan to spend most of the summer,” says a source. “It’s the quiet life Harry has always wanted and he is actually very happy.”

[From Vanity Fair]

About the wedding… William should be completely embarrassed that his juvenile and toxic behavior creates these kinds of situations at weddings and state events. Throughout this whole ordeal, it’s been clear that Hugh and Harry are both forced into these positions where they have to walk on eggshells around William. The same William who has been gleefully briefing lies to his favorite reporters about how Hugh “snubbed” Harry for a wedding invitation and how William is going to be the star of the wedding!

As for the Sussexes’ summer plans… are we getting a hard-launch on American Riviera Orchard or what??? Is Harry going to do another summer polo season in Santa Barbara? Will they go on another foreign tour?? TELL US!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.