Last December, Prince William’s minions went on an especially tacky briefing spree about the Duke of Westminster’s upcoming June wedding. According to “royal sources,” Hugh Grosvenor (the Duke of Westminster) refused to invite the Sussexes to his wedding because he is “very conscious of royal sensitivities” and he hates the Sussexes because they bad-mouthed the Windsors. Except that it looks like Hugh actually did invite the Sussexes and Harry declined, but Harry and Hugh spoke and they’re fine. That hasn’t stopped William from trying to exploit Hugh’s wedding to further his grudge against Harry. Recently, we heard that William will be an usher at Hugh’s wedding, and somewhat hilariously, William will be the only royal there, as King Charles and Camilla are skipping Hugh’s wedding too. There’s also a little side-story about whether Prince George will attend too.

Among the guests is future King Prince William, 41, who will be performing the role of an usher during the ceremony. Hugh and William have long enjoyed a close friendship – with the Duke of Westminster named as Prince George’s godfather. So it is perhaps unsurprising that the Prince of Wales will take on a starring role in the nuptials.

Prince William, one of the Duke’s closest friends, is a confirmed attendee at the wedding in Chester in June 7. It was reported on Sunday that William will play a key role in the nuptials, and will act as an usher when guests file into Chester Cathedral.

Friends have suggested the Prince of Wales was first asked in December to be an usher at the wedding at Chester Cathedral next month. At one stage, he was even said to have been earmarked as a best man.

A well-informed source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘William was asked to have a prominent role in the wedding and that’s what triggered Harry to decline an invitation. Apparently he [Harry] was put out by the request when he thought it should have been him.’

When Prince William’s eldest son Prince George was born in 2013, Hugh Grosvenor, known to friends as ‘Huey’, was named godfather. The Mail on Sunday reported this weekend that, alongside his father, Prince George, the duke’s godson, is also set to play a prominent role in the wedding. When he was asked to be godfather to the future king in 2013, the Duke was the youngest of the seven godparents.

As the young prince, 10, takes a starring role in the wedding, it will come as he prepares to head to secondary school in September.

[From The Daily Mail]

Re: George’s attendance… it will be curious to see if George goes, because other sources are saying no, he won’t go because the wedding falls on a school day. So Hugh won’t have his royal godson (George) or royal godfather (the king) in attendance at his wedding. And not only that, but Prince William is making Hugh’s wedding all about William. William is loudly bragging that HE will have a “starring role” as an usher, and that his starring role is the reason why Harry declined to come. I guess no one has asked why William lied when he ran around telling everyone that Hugh didn’t even invite Harry. The lie was quickly changed to “Harry’s not coming because he won’t be the STAR, unlike William!” I’ve said this before, but this is not how you behave around someone else’s wedding, especially one of the richest men in the UK. William’s tacky, gauche behavior is being noted across the aristocracy, believe that.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Two weekends ago, Travis Kelce traveled to Paris to see Taylor Swift’s concerts, then they had a four-day minibreak in Como, Italy. They seemed to enjoy their time together, so much so that a source told Entertainment Tonight: “Taylor and Travis are doing amazing, and their loved ones see an engagement coming sooner than later. They make a great match and there’s no question about that.” For months now, there’s been engagement talk and talk about how Taylor knows Travis is The One. Of course, she also just released an album full of songs about Matt Healy, songs which she performs constantly in her concerts. So, a mixed bag of “signals.” As it turns out, maybe all of the engagement talk is coming from Taylor’s side, while Travis’s side is more like “slow your roll, snake fam.”

There are no engagement rings in Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s direct future, multiple sources tell Us Weekly.

“Travis has no plans on proposing to Taylor anytime soon,” one insider exclusively shares. “It’s not even on his radar. Marriage is something he takes very seriously and not something he would ever just jump into without giving it some careful consideration.”

The source tells Us that Kelce, 34, “cares very deeply” about Swift, 34, but when it comes to a proposal, “he’s just not there yet.”

Questions about the future of Swift and Kelce’s relationship continue to rise as online fan chatter and a separate report also fueled proposal speculation. The couple’s recent romantic vacation to Lake Como — in between Swift’s European Eras Tour dates — also added to the rumors.

[From Us Weekly]

I tend to believe that Taylor played these kinds of games with Joe Alwyn too, dropping hints and speculation about an engagement on the horizon, publicly applying pressure that she wanted to get married. And we know how that ended up. Granted, this is just my gossip vibe – it’s perfectly possible that Taylor isn’t ready or she doesn’t care about a proposal. But that ET story felt authorized from her team, and it also feels like Travis’s people are publicly pushing back on it.

Meanwhile, Page Six reported that Travis will rejoin Taylor during the Portugal leg of the Eras Tour. They also plan on flying to Monaco on Sunday for the Monaco Grand Prix. Sunday is also the start of the French Open, btw. In case you’re wondering where my focus will be starting May 26th. Rafa Nadal’s last Roland Garros!

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

James Middleton is a grifter apple who didn’t fall far from the grifter tree. After crashing multiple businesses into the ground and wasting millions in investment through poor management, James is currently trying to sell turd-looking “raw” dog food (I don’t think it’s going well) and prepping to promote his memoir. Remember that? He spent much of 2023 writing a memoir based around his dead dog Ella. It’s called Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, and it will be released in September. James announced the book exclusively to Tatler a few months ago and I guess Tatler is still trying to squeeze some additional exclusives out of him, because they published this:

James Middleton, the younger brother of the Princess of Wales, has revealed new details of his upcoming memoir – which will offer insight into his childhood with Kate Middleton, his time as a guest at royal weddings, and visits to the King at Highgrove.

The father-of-one will be releasing the tender, warm-hearted and sometimes devastating book, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, on 26 September 2024. While James previously told Tatler how the memoir would document his life over the last 20 years, he has shared a new insight into what readers can expect from the book. The entrepreneur has long stayed private about his sister, the Princess of Wales; but it looks as though he will offer some highly personal anecdotes about their life in the memoir.

A new, detailed description of the tome reveals the book will follow James through his childhood years as he grew up alongside Kate Middleton and Pippa Matthews in Berkshire with his parents Michael and Carole. The online description reads, ‘James Middleton wanted nothing more than a dog of his own when he was a child. Struggling to connect in the classroom, James would often take off in pursuit of nature and animals – adventuring in the Berkshire countryside, tinkering with rusty engines, performing locum care to injured creatures, and losing himself for hours to the outdoors. Then, finally, his pleas for a dog (made via handwritten letters to his parents) were answered.’

It goes on to explain how the memoir will tell of the ‘extraordinary’ bond between James and his pup, Ella, before continuing, ‘From their enchanting introduction when James was just twenty, to attending royal weddings and being guests at Highgrove and Sandringham, their journey is marked by love, loyalty, and unexpected twists of fate.’

[From Tatler]

James Middleton… spends time at Highgrove? King Charles’s semi-private estate? Highgrove is technically part of the Duchy of Cornwall (Charles folded the estate into the Duchy when he was Prince of Wales), but Charles still operates Highgrove like it’s his private fiefdom. Even when Kate was in good standing and, you know, visible, she was rarely invited to Highgrove. Unless we’re talking about the earliest days of William and Kate’s courtship? Possibly, but James is absolutely trying to make it sound like he’s still a regular visitor at Charles’s estate, that he pops around the king’s country pile for tea once a week. Please. As for a guest at Sandringham… he’s talking about Anmer Hall, the Waleses’ home on the Sandringham estate. I doubt James has ever been inside the main house. Anyway, I certainly hope all of those royalist pearl-clutchers say something about how tacky this is and how James is abusing his tenuous royal connection.

Childhood adventures with Catherine, royal weddings and visits to the King at Highgrove: the Princess of Wales’s brother James Middleton reveals new details of his upcoming memoir https://t.co/BPrbLtDNL0 pic.twitter.com/PieJFBIOdC

— Tatler (@Tatlermagazine) May 20, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Chet Haze is deeply problematic, but his text exchange with his father over the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef is comedy gold. I love that Tom Hanks refers to his terrible son as “Big Main,” but Tom did not understand any part of Chet’s explainer. [Buzzfeed]
Anne Hathaway must have so much fun with her Bulgari contract. She just gets paid to show up places and wear jewelry. [RCFA]
Adele wants to have a baby with Rich Paul. [Hollywood Life]
Nina Dobrev was injured on a dirt bike! [Seriously OMG]
Jeremy Renner’s doctors told him he broke his taint!! [OMG Blog]
Rep. Jasmine Crockett is making “Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Body” merch. That was the iconic diss directed at Marjorie Taylor Greene. [Jezebel]
I have not paid one bit of attention to If. [LaineyGossip]
Vince Vaughn & Bill Lawrence did a show together? [Pajiba]
Cate Blanchett & Greta Gerwig in Cannes. [JustJared]
Please look at this photo of Sarah Jessica Parker. [Socialite Life]

Chet Hanks explaining the Drake/Kendrick beef to Tom Hanks pic.twitter.com/irjYpQa8c0

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 20, 2024

As you may know by now, I am fascinated by all things paranormal. My two favorite paranormal topics to talk and hear stories about are synchronicities and ghosts. In the past, we’ve talked about celebrities’ experiences with spirits, including Kevin Bacon destroying a haunted house on his Connecticut property, Suzanne Sommers’ widow getting signs from her, Matt Damon finding peace after a dream from his dad, Patrick Stewart’s haunted house in LA, and even the Wales’ allegedly haunted Norfolk home.

On this edition of Rosie’s Paranormal Posts, we’re talking about Courteney Cox. Courteney is the latest celeb to speak out about their spiritual encounters. During an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning this past weekend, Courteney shared that she believes Matthew Perry’s spirit visits her pretty frequently because she talks with him and both of her parents for guidance. In fact, Court believes that a lot of the people we’ve lost “guide us.”

Courteney Cox believes that her late “Friends” co-star Matthew Perry still “visits” her 7 months after his untimely death. Appearing on “CBS Sunday Morning,” the actress, who starred as Monica Geller alongside Perry’s Chandler Bing for 10 seasons on the hit show, commemorated the 20th anniversary of the sitcom’s series finale. In the show, the pair’s two characters ultimately end up together.

“I think he’s probably one of the funniest human beings in the world. He’s just so funny,” Cox, 59, said. “He is genuinely a huge heart. Obviously struggled. I’m so thankful I got to work so closely with him for so many years. He visits me a lot, if we believe in that.”

Cox was then asked to elaborate on her spirituality, revealing that the late actor “guides” her.

“I talk to my mom, my dad, Matthew. I feel like there are a lot of people that, I think, guide us,” she shared. “I do sense — I sense Matthew’s around for sure.”

[From Page Six]

That’s very sweet. I’ve talked about the meaningful experiences that my own family had after the death of my beloved grandfather, including him visiting my mom and grandma on the same night without the other knowing about it and making his presence known at the birth of my older son, who was born one year after the day of his passing. (My grandma said she prayed that entire day to not let him be born until after midnight and she got her way, lol.) There’s a reason why the saying goes “death is hardest on those who are left behind.” Many of us take comfort in a belief that our loved ones are sending us signs from beyond or that they’ve begun their next great adventure. Maybe they are allowed to gently nudge us in the right direction, even if the choice is ours in the end. If Courteney says she feels a connection with Matthew’s spirit while she’s speaking with her loved ones who have passed, then I am not going to discount her experience. I hope it brings her comfort and closure.

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Photos credit: Darla Khazei/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images, Getty and via Instagram

Multiple things can be and are true all at once when it comes to Britney Spears. Jamie Spears was financially and emotionally abusive as Britney’s conservator. Britney has every right to make medical decisions for herself. The conservatorship was poorly managed and it functioned as a slush fund for Jamie and all sorts of terrible people. It was right that the conservatorship ended. But it’s also true that Britney has not been doing well post-conservatorship. Her marriage to Sam Asghari crashed and burned because Britney is not well. She’s once again surrounding herself with users and abusers. And so I understand why there’s a conversation about “Britney needs another conservatorship.” But I find it so suspicious that TMZ is leading the charge.

Britney Spears is in increasing danger of hurting herself or others, or even worse … so say numerous people in and around her life, and they are scared for her and believe the only path for long-term survival is another conservatorship.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Britney’s mental health has been in a tailspin since the conservatorship ended. They say she often is not taking the meds that stabilize her, and she is drinking and using various drugs which is especially dangerous, because she has substance abuse problems that sent her to rehab multiple times.

We’re told Britney has radical mood swings and often goes into rages that end in physical violence. There are times we’re told it’s impossible to communicate with her because she can’t engage in rational conversation.

What’s even more problematic … we’re told her current boyfriend, Paul Soliz, a felon, is running her household, and her life. TMZ broke the story, earlier this month Britney and Soliz got into a physical fight after a night of drinking at the Chateau Marmont hotel on the Sunset Strip where she ended up half-naked in the hallway, screaming at people. An ambulance was called after Britney hurt her ankle, and badly. They also got into a fight in a Vegas hotel room that caused so much damage, Britney paid the hotel thousands of dollars for repairs.

The sources with whom we have spoken all say … it was a huge mistake to end the conservatorship, though they add her dad, Jamie Spears, was no longer the right person to run the show, mostly because she came to intensely dislike him.

It should be noted, after more than 2 years of post-conservatorship allegations against Jamie for various alleged financial misdeeds, Britney and her dad settled — Britney did not get a cent from Jamie and ended up paying her lawyer millions in attorney’s fees and she also paid Jamie’s $2 million attorney’s bill. In short, her legal fight was a bust, and people around her fear the legal bills and her wild spending are putting her on a path to going broke.

Every source we’ve spoken with says … if things continue the way they have been going, Britney is in grave danger.

[From TMZ]

There’s more at TMZ, including a weird tangent about how Britney’s bedroom wasn’t really bugged and something about the “bugging” claims were why the conservatorship ended. Which is incorrect, but I’m just going from memory – I’m pretty sure the conservatorship ended because Britney was finally able to hire her own lawyer and advocate for herself in court, and the dominos fell from there. It feels like there should be a happy-medium between “Britney needs to be put in a conservatorship” versus “Britney is free to do drugs with her felon boyfriend.”

Photos courtesy of Britney’s Instagram.

Embed from Getty Images

At an event in Nigeria, the Duchess of Sussex wore a simple white dress and an equally simple diamond cross necklace. People Magazine exclusively reported, as the Sussexes were still in Nigeria, that Prince Harry had given the necklace to Meghan and it once belonged to his mother. It was the first time anyone saw the necklace on Meghan, and Diana was never photographed wearing it. But given People’s reporting, I feel like Harry or Meghan confirmed the provenance to Simon Perry, People’s royal editor, who was traveling with the Sussexes. Well, as you can imagine, the usual suspects are still super-salty that Meghan gets to wear some pieces from Diana’s private collection. The NY Post published this curious story:

While in Nigeria on her three-day faux-royal tour with Prince Harry last weekend, Markle, 42, displayed a delicate diamond cross that glinted in the sun as she attended a reception for military families in Abuja. Sources told Page Six that the never-before-seen necklace was gifted to Markle by her husband and was from his mother’s private collection.

“Diana remains a prominent force in Harry’s life and as a result, Meghan’s,” a source who knows the couple told us. “So much of his work is inspired by his mum, and it’s evident how much she still means to him. A gift to his wife that once belonged to his mother is incredibly meaningful and that isn’t lost on his wife.”

The appearance of the cross has set off intrigue, however, as to its origin. One London socialite who knows Markle mused to page Six, “Meghan likes to curate her jewelry to tell a certain story. I find it hard to believe that she’s been sitting on this necklace for 5 years.”

Additionally, Diana, who died aged 37 in August 1997, was never pictured wearing the piece of jewelry in public.

“No — I didn’t recognize this at all,” said one insider who worked closely with Diana. “In fact, Diana was ever the professional and she generally avoided wearing religious motifs of any kind because they have the potential to offend people, so she would never usually wear such a thing.”

Indeed, Diana was pictured wearing a cross in public just twice: once, her own, which she donated to charity and once with a cross she had borrowed from a friend.

[From Page Six]

I think people are trying to cast doubt on the origin of the necklace and they’re trying to say it’s not really Diana’s and the Sussexes are lying? Like… if Harry says a necklace belonged to Diana, I believe him. Now, I also doubt that Meghan would have had this necklace in her jewelry box for five years without ever being photographed in it. Which is why I suggested that Harry perhaps picked up this necklace while he was in London two weeks ago. He had free time, considering his dogsh-t father refused to see him – it would have been easy enough to have a brief meeting with the jeweler who keeps all of Diana’s private jewels. Harry possibly picked up even more pieces. Also: someone suggested that the Spencers might have given him the necklace, which I also think is a possibility.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty.

Jennifer Lopez stepped out solo to the LA premiere of Atlas last night. There was some talk about whether all of the Bennifer drama was lowkey promotion so that all eyes would be on this premiere… but now that I’m looking at the photos, no, that’s not the case. Jennifer looks so sad, drawn and she’s lost weight recently. Ben Affleck’s absence on the carpet is very noticeable. Jennifer did pose happily with her costars Simu Liu and Sterling K. Brown, but overall… a solitary appearance.

In the past 24 hours, the gossip about the Bennifer marriage has heated up. Page Six reports that Ben has “come to his senses” lately and he feels divorce is inevitable. A source told the outlet: “If there was a way to divorce on grounds of temporary insanity, he would. He feels like the last two years was just a fever dream, and he’s come to his senses now and understands there is just no way this is going to work.” I mean… it was a fever dream which he asked for, that he wanted. None of this would have happened if Ben hadn’t started writing love letters to J.Lo while she was engaged to Alex Rodriguez! Meanwhile, People Mag had this:

Over the weekend Jennifer and Ben were photographed smiling together, and they’ve continued wearing their wedding rings in public, though multiple sources indicated to PEOPLE that there’s a strain on their relationship.

“They just have very different approaches when it comes to media attention. Ben hates all attention and it makes him very uncomfortable. Jennifer has always had a different approach,” one insider says.

A source in the film industry says Affleck, 51, has “always been impressed” by Lopez’s work ethic and success in the industry, however, “always sharing her life is not his way.”

“Even though he admires that about her, it doesn’t make him happy and causes stress in his life and then in hers. There is no question their different styles clash,” adds that source.

A third source, from the music world, says Lopez, 54, “needs that expression but Affleck simply is not comfortable with it.”

“After a while it causes tension in the relationship,” says the source. “He is more introspective and private. She likes to open her heart to her fans and to the world. This makes them considerably different, and it has been difficult in the day-to-day relationship.”

“There have always been clashes in their styles, how they handle issues, and their actions, but nothing has stopped their love over the years,” the source says. “This is a great love story.”

[From People]

I hate to say this, but yeah… I was right to be concerned about Jennifer’s whole This Is Me Now crap. She really did lose the plot. The visual album/movie and the documentary were way too much. The fact that she shared Ben’s letters with songwriters and producers was a huge overstep. Her need to document this “love story” for public consumption was a huge error. Now Ben is using all of that against her. I mean… neither one of them has learned a thing, that’s what makes them perfect for one another. But yiiikes.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

One thing I haven’t missed this year is the collective delusion of royal reporters trying to pretend that the Princess of Wales’s Early Years busywork is groundbreaking, important or substantive. Kate has been trying to make “I’m a credible expert on the Early Years” into a thing for six years, the start of which coincided with the Duchess of Sussex’s substantive projects. They wanted Kate to have a “thing” too and Kate needed to look busy. So we’ve had to watch as Kate has spent years spinning her wheels with fakakta surveys and fancy “studies,” all of which remarkably come to the same conclusion: that people don’t know that the Early Years are important, and Kate must spread awareness of their importance. Speaking of, we’ve gotten an update on Kate’s “work,” which everyone swears she’s been monitoring from home.

The Princess of Wales is today revealed as the ‘driving force’ behind a new report calling on businesses to introduce more family-friendly working practices. Her Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood has unveiled a major new report which argues that investing in early childhood could generate more than £45.5 billion for the national economy each year.

Downing Street, as well as senior ministers in the departments of health and education, have already been briefed about its findings – although palace officials are at pains to point out that it is not a political campaign.

A Kensington Palace spokesman also stressed that the news should not be seen as Kate, 42, returning to work after undergoing major abdominal surgery and revealing she was undergoing ‘preventative chemotherapy’ for cancer. She has not undertaken public engagements at all this year. But they confirmed that she has been across every aspect of the report from home, despite her illness.

Her spokesman said: ‘The work of The Prince and Princess’ projects is “always on”…early childhood is a huge priority for The Princess and so she has been kept fully updated throughout the development of the Taskforce’s work and she has seen the report. ‘

A senior royal aide added: ‘The Princess of Wales was the driving force behind the business task force. She has been kept up to date since the inception of the task force and she has read the report and been briefed on it. This is a clear commitment she has made that throughout her life of public service that this will be focus. That will continue when she returns to work. But we have been really clear that she needs the space and the privacy to recover right now. She will return to work when she has had the green light from doctors.’

A source close to the Princess said: ‘She is excited about it. Action is so important for her, so having eight of the most important businesses in Britain come forward to make the case to their fellow business leaders is exciting to her. It’s a priority going forward.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Kate’s Centre for Early Childhood, Buttons and Gopher Wiglets really funded a landmark study which shows that businesses should adopt family-friendly working practices. That’s it. That’s the sum total of a year of research, surveys, busywork and manhours. What’s also funny to me is that Kate’s staff and her new private secretary are desperate to do something and make it sound like Kate is doing something, but they also want to ensure that absolutely no one expects to see or hear from Kate. “Kate’s working on this, we promise, but no, we will not answer any questions about her health, nor should you expect to see her any time soon.” Saturday will be the five-month anniversary of the last time Kate was credibly seen in public. She’s not scheduled to attend any of the upcoming events in June either.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red, Kensington Palace.

Here’s Timothee Chalamet in a commercial for Bleu de Chanel, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. This is such a ‘90s-ass commercial. [Socialite Life]
Anya Taylor Joy wore Giambattista Valli to the UK Furiosa premiere. [RCFA]
Hot Ones should be eligible in the Emmys’ Talk Series category. [LaineyGossip]
Netflix made a decision about 3 Body Problem. [Pajiba]
I love this dress on Lily Gladstone. [Go Fug Yourself]
Kyle MacLachlan is good at social media. [OMG Blog]
Adele congratulated Rich Paul’s daughter as she graduated from college. [Just Jared]
Ryan Reynolds hired Lee Majors for an ad. [Seriously OMG]
Kody Brown’s father had a secret third wife. [Starcasm]
Hailey Bieber has a very specific pregnancy craving. [Hollywood Life]
Some of these signs really are funny, some are just gross. [Buzzfeed]