Throughout all of last week’s royal fiascos, there were next to no updates on or from King Charles and Buckingham Palace. He was photographed once at BP, doing official business (meeting with the Commonwealth Secretary General on March 13), but there were no stories saying “of course King Charles continues to do well” or “King Charles cannot believe how badly Kensington Palace has f–ked up and ruined the Windsors’ credibility entirely.” The lack of information came to a head over the weekend, as widespread rumors circulated on Twitter that Charles is not long for this world, or he perhaps even kicked the royal bucket on St. Patrick’s Day. None of that is true, from what I can see. My take is still: Charles’s cancer is much more serious than the palace has indicated and the cancer treatments have kicked his ass. Speaking of, the Mail got a big exclusive about how BP is making tentative plans for Charles to participate in some way in Trooping the Colour in June.

The King is determined to attend this year’s Trooping the Colour, his official birthday celebrations, if his health allows it. Aides are already exploring ways that Charles might be able to take part within the constraints of his ongoing cancer treatment. This could include watching the military spectacular from a podium instead of on horseback as usual, having been driven from Buckingham Palace in a carriage as his late mother used to.

No firm decision will be taken until nearer the time, given the nature of His Majesty’s condition, and it will be dependant on medical advice.

The event is due to be held in London on Saturday, June 15. But the Mail understands that planning for the occasion is moving ahead as scheduled, giving cause for optimism.

‘There are a number of key events His Majesty would love to attend coming up in the diary and this is at the top of the list,’ a source said. Dating from the 17th century, Trooping the Colour is one the biggest military ceremonial events of the year, involving more than 1,200 soldiers and musicians plus more than 200 horses.

As it stands, His Majesty has been advised by doctors not to attend events with large public gatherings after being diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in January. He is currently undergoing outpatient treatment in London although he is continuing to work hard behind the scenes on state matters and makes a point of being seen in public or on camera whenever possible.

Two weeks ago there was widespread confusion after tickets for Trooping the Colour were put on sale by the Ministry of Defence advertising the presence of the King. Buckingham Palace said planning was under way but nothing could be confirmed. However the Mail understands that things have moved on somewhat and staff are now exploring various options to ensure that Charles can attend as long as he ‘gets the nod’ from his team. He would be keen to ride his horse, a black mare called Noble which was a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

[From The Daily Mail]

King Charles is a 75 year old Scorpio who just received treatment for an enlarged prostate and he’s currently being treated for cancer and they want him to RIDE A HORSE? Are the king’s advisors really trying to kill him? The thing is, I never doubted that Charles would make it to Trooping somehow. It’s a parade for the monarch, it’s an important date on the calendar and Charles has only done ONE Trooping as king (and William stepped all over his Trooping weekend, remember?). I just assumed that the palace staff would figure out some arrangement where Charles would just ride in a carriage for a few minutes and then show up on the balcony and wave. Are there legitimate questions about whether Charles would even be able to do that?? That’s concerning.

These are the photos from March 13 – he’s lost weight, right?

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

Introduction: Minutes 0 to 1:00
We were off due to the Oscars! You can listen below or on major platforms like YouTube, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Royals: Minutes 1:00 to 27:30
The way the royals mistreated Harry and Meghan is finally boomeranging back on them. It’s been obvious to us what’s happening but now the world is finally noticing. Harry and Meghan were explaining their situation to the casual royal watchers with their docuseries and with Spare.

It was about 70 days after we last saw Kate before we got the first alleged photo of her. That was the photo supposedly taken of her on Monday March 4th in an Audi with her mom, outside Windsor Castle. TMZ and other US outlets bought that exclusive photo. There were questions about its authenticity. Kensington Palace said it was not an authorized photo. KP also put a lot of pressure on British media to not publish the pic and it was mostly in the US outlets like TMZ. Assuming it was real, it really looks like Carole and the Middletons arranged it.

On March 8th, Meghan was in Austin at South by Southwest for a scheduled panel discussion. She made some really measured comments about the hate she got when she was pregnant. A lot of the negative stories about Meghan when she was pregnant were from William trying to deflect from his affair with Rose Hanbury. I think that the frankenphoto release on March 10th was to pull focus from Meghan’s comments at SXSW and Chandra says that it could have always been the plan.

We got a new photo supposedly of Kate and the kids on March 10th, Mother’s Day in the UK. Maybe that was a coincidence but I don’t think so. That photo was released by Kensington Palace and came out on Sunday March 10th, which was Mother’s Day in the UK. They claimed that William had taken the photo. The picture looked really janky. The news outlets noticed this and the Associated Press, Reuters, Getty and AFP issued a “kill order” for that photo as the Oscars were happening. The palace was asked to provide the original photo and they refused for hours on Sunday. I play a clip of AFP News director Phil Chetwynd talking about this. CNN has also announced that it’s reviewing all the photos issued from Kensington Palace. Here’s a link to the photo I mentioned of Prince Philip and The Queen in front of the castle.

The Palace then posted a tweet supposedly from Kate claiming that she was the one who edited the photo. This spawned so many memes and AI photos. Here’s a link to the AI photos I posted. Experts told major news outlets that the errors were due to a photo editing app. People showed that her head was cut and pasted into that photo from her 2016 British Vogue cover. Chandra thinks the original photo of Kate and the kids is from last fall.

The palace tried to double down and continue to blame Kate. They ran a story in The Times of London Tuesday claiming that Kate just wanted to release a nice picture, she feels bad about it, and she edited it because she just wanted her kids to look good.

We got a third photo supposedly of Kate on Monday March 11, in a car with William and looking away. That photo looks fake too! I even saw a video on Twitter where someone thinks they have the exact older image of Kate that was used. The photographer vouches for it though. Assuming the photo is real, we can’t even verify it’s her. Chandra think it’s someone else.

As this is making international news, Colbert did a segment on Tuesday night about William’s affair with Rose Hanbury. Remember that William tried to shut that story down back when it broke in March of 2019. Colbert even made a reference to William getting his mistress pregnant! Get the top 5 stories about William’s affair when you sign up for our mailing list.

We know that the palace is livid about this because the Telegraph ran a story about it and said The Late Show didn’t warn the palace that they were going to run that segment. The British media regularly does this when they cover the royals. The Guardian did a summary of Colbert’s opener and in their initial story they included Rose’s name but then they edited it out!

Even the royal-friendly journalists and outlets are calling William and Kensington Palace out about it! Sarah Vine in the Daily Mail is speculating that their marriage is in trouble. Liz Jones in the Daily Mail is saying that it was ungentlemanly of William to blame Kate for photogate and wondering whether they can trust anything that comes out of the palace. BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole told the Daily Mail that this is “the greatest failure in communication by the Royal Family I have ever witnessed.”

Camilla went on vacation last week, supposedly due to being under strain and fighting with William. Charles was seen on Wednesday at a photo op at Buckingham Palace. Chandra is surprised that Buckingham Palace hasn’t taken a side on this PR disaster either way. William is in no way ready or suitable to be king.

Comment of the Week: Minutes 27:30 to end
Chandra’s comment of the week is from Cerys on the post where the DM questions whether they can trust anything that comes out of Kensington Palace.

My comment of the week is from Little Penguin on the Best of the Oscars post.

https://t.co/H1tHW0YafW pic.twitter.com/sXmMZrpsWR

— Kaiser@Celebitchy (@KaiseratCB) March 12, 2024

The Princess of Wales skipped the St. Patrick’s Day parade hosted by the Irish Guards this year. We knew she would, even though this is her first official St. Patrick’s Day as Colonel of the Irish Guards, having been given the honorary military patronage last year when Prince William stepped down. In previous years, her job was to show up in a green coatdress, attach a giant shamrock bouquet to the Irish Guards’ mascot dog Seamus and watch the parade. Maybe make a brief speech. Kate is obviously (??) still recuperating from her January abdominal surgery, so that’s why she skipped this year. Except… Kate was reportedly well enough to go to a garden center AND her kids’ sporting event on Saturday. She was well enough to be out and about throughout the day on Saturday, but not well enough to do her shamrock job on St. Patrick’s Day? I mean, that’s if you believe the Sun’s completely random cover story:

Princess Kate took her first steps towards a return to official engagements with a trip to her favourite farm shop. Onlookers said she looked “happy, relaxed and healthy” on the visit a mile from her Adelaide Cottage home in Windsor on Saturday. In a further boost yesterday, Kate and William spent the morning watching children George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, take part in sports.

The sightings come amid wild speculation and gossip about her health and whereabouts which left the royal couple “devastated”. Kate was also embroiled in hurtful criticism over a Mother’s Day picture which she altered using Photoshop.

A witness at the farm shop in Windsor said: “After all the rumours that had been going round I was stunned to see them there. Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and she looked well. The kids weren’t with them but it’s such a good sign she was healthy enough to pop down to the shops.”

There was more encouraging news for the Royal Family yesterday as King Charles, who is receiving cancer treatment, spent the weekend at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire.

Kate was last seen on public duty on Christmas Day, and has been unable to carry out official engagements since having an operation in January.

[From The Sun]

If Kate was really out and about on Saturday, going to her kids’ sporting event (??) and popping by a farm shop… why did no one think to snap a photo? You could argue that the paparazzi are not staking out garden shops in Windsor, but why didn’t some random onlooker or witness snap a blurry pic on their iPhone? This is so bizarre. While Kate is known to love a garden store, William doesn’t really give a sh-t – why were they together? Is any of this real? And why didn’t William think to hang out with the Irish Guards in his wife’s place on Sunday?

Front page of @TheSun on Monday.
Princess of Wales has been seen out and about in public this weekend – spending Saturday shopping and Sunday watching her children play sports in Windsor. Full story visit Sun Online and/or buy a paper pic.twitter.com/dHMx2Pd0JU

— Matt Wilkinson (@MattSunRoyal) March 17, 2024

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

The British papers were full of royal stories this weekend. Some of the coverage was critical, but having read through multiple articles and columns in the Mail, Telegraph and Times, it looks like the royal reporters are dutifully circling the wagons under the belief that they can still somehow control the narrative. They don’t realize that the barn door was left open and the horses bolted long ago. Roya Nikkhah at the Sunday Times had the biggest exclusive, straight from Kensington Palace. When I say “straight from Kensington Palace,” I mean that I’m surprised she didn’t just publish the palace emails and WhatsApp messages directly instead of trying to hide the palace’s manipulations behind “sources.” You can read an archived version of Roya’s big, fancy exclusive here. Some highlights:

The Waleses will release a new photo for Louis’s birthday: Despite the global furore over Kate’s attempts to tidy up the picture, she and her husband, Prince William, are still expected to uphold the annual tradition of releasing a new photograph marking their children’s birthdays. Prince Louis turns six on April 23. “They appreciate the public’s love and affection for their children and know there is a public appetite to see them on their birthdays,” an aide said. Sources close to the couple say no “firm decision” has been taken yet on whether Kate will point the camera or leave it to a professional photographer.

The Frankenphoto fiasco fallout: A source close to Kate says she wanted to “bring a bit of joy” with what was intended as a reassuring image to thank the public for their support during her recovery from abdominal surgery in January. But the subsequent fallout and hysteria, screeches of a “royal crisis” and demands for “more transparency”, together with wild and unfounded conspiracy theories on social media about Kate’s health and the state of her marriage due to the “missing wedding ring”, has shaken them. A friend insists there was nothing sinister in Kate’s editing, just a desire to project the polished image that the public has come to expect from the couple: “It’s a photo that she knew everyone would pore over so she pored over it herself — she likes trying to make the family look the best they can.”

Devastated Kate: Kate was “devastated” by the furore, prompted by several picture agencies on Sunday night issuing “kill notices” for the image over “manipulation” that did not meet their standards. She moved decisively on Monday morning to “own it” with a rare personal apology on social media, to try to explain what happened. A friend and adviser to the couple said: “If you want to call out the mistake, it was Kate not telling her team that she’d done it [edited the photo]. But she came out and said sorry. The photo was a misstep, even with something as innocent as that you should disclose altering it. But in the history of image-cropping and photo-altering to tell a story, a lot of the reaction from picture agencies was hypocritical.”

When Kate will actually return to work: By [after Easter], they meant the end of their children’s school holidays, not the Easter weekend. They return to Lambrook School, near Ascot, on April 17, and Kate is still expected to resume public duties from then, though there are no signals yet as to when or where her first engagement will be. William will also take time away from public duties during their children’s Easter holiday.

William pulling out of his godfather’s memorial: The tide turned when William pulled out of a memorial service in Windsor at short notice last month for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, citing a “personal matter”. The friend, who knows why William cancelled, said: “He had no choice but to pull out but the reaction was disappointing. That blew the lid off everything with people’s impatience to know what was going on. He’s not in ‘blaming the media’ mode. He’s just really upset that his wife is having to go through all of this with her recovery, and then having to think about making statements about a family photo.”

Kate will disclose her medical situation on her terms: A royal source said: “They are at their most open when out interacting with members of the public and I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements. If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it.” A friend says: “They will want to be clear and more open, but they’ll do it when they feel ready. I would expect that to be her instinct and it will be her call. They’re not going to be rushed.”

She’s not a show pony!! Says a source: “In Kate’s case, there is almost nobody else in the world whose face, body, clothes are more judged than hers. So it’s entirely right for them not to want to be drawn into a game about what is going on with her health. What is happening is exactly what they said would happen — she would spend two weeks in hospital and be back after Easter. So what if they haven’t pushed her out there to wave from the back of a car? She is not a show pony.”

Social media is being so cruel to them!! Friends say the couple are fully aware of the recent news coverage and some of the more outlandish and lurid conspiracy theories about them on social media. “They’re not like [Prince] Harry, obsessing and scrolling through Twitter, but they know it has broken through. They follow the news and see the BBC breaking news alerts,” says a friend who is in close touch with both. “Social media has provided the media with plenty of content and the speculation around their marriage is just cruel. These are people with three small children going through the hardest time they’ve had to go through as a family, with that as an awful backdrop. They are trying to keep things as normal as possible for the kids, but it’s not easy.”

William’s new private secretary is doing a bang-up job, you guys!!! Helping the couple navigate the current terrain is Ian Patrick, William’s new private secretary, a former diplomat who was appointed MBE for international peacekeeping. He has been in post for less than a fortnight but is already a hit in the household. “Ian is fabulous — thank God he arrived at the perfect moment,” a royal insider says. “He’s fantastic, really calm, super smart. He is perfect for William, and William is really pleased he’s there. He’s been funny, calm and very clear about not reacting to everything.”

The Waleses have a lot of public support: William and Kate have also been “buoyed” by public support and the sense that “the public sentiment is not the same as on TikTok”. On Tuesday, the Buckingham Palace switchboard “rang off the hook” with messages of support for them. After a tumultuous few weeks and months, royal insiders say there will be no big “rethink” over how the couple move forwards. They will simply endeavour to keep calm and carry on, as Queen Elizabeth so often did in the final years of her life when family drama escalated. “I don’t think they should engineer what they do next,” says one who has been in touch with the couple. “The royals are at their best when they get on with their job. Don’t strategise about how to recover ground lost over Photogate, do what you were always intending to do, and when you take the next picture, make sure you take enough so you don’t have to use Photoshop.”

[From The Times]

WOW: “But in the history of image-cropping and photo-altering to tell a story, a lot of the reaction from picture agencies was hypocritical.” Kensington Palace hacked together a Frankenphoto and when Reuters, Getty, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse ALL got in touch with KP for clarification and/or an unedited photo, those agencies were ignored, which is what led to the kill order on the photo. KP had ample opportunity to handle this better, to speak with the agencies or simply release the “original” photo. Instead, these dumbf–ks are calling major international agencies “hypocrites” because those agencies wouldn’t publish their amateurish propaganda as proof-of-life.

Also – I’m glad Roya finally solved the mystery of what “after Easter” means. They’ve pushed back Wiglet Christ Superstar’s resurrection until mid-to-late April. After April 17th or thereabouts. Weird that they wouldn’t even confirm Kate’s appearance at Trooping in June then, huh? As for the rest of it… as I said, all of this clearly came from the clowns at KP, including the hilarious aside about William’s brand new private secretary doing such a bang-up job. Huevo has staggered from one fiasco to another since Ian Patrick has been on the job. But hey, at least the new guy makes William and Kate sound like self-pitying, arrogant buffoons in his emails to Roya.

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

On March 2nd, we learned that Queen Camilla had boarded a plane and she was about to take more than a week off from royal work, leaving her cancer-stricken husband by himself. What was slightly funny about it is that Camilla really was picking up everyone else’s slack before then – she had been out and about, doing events and representing the monarchy for weeks, even while the heir to the throne went MIA and the other “working royals” were wandering away in various directions. There were also rumors that Camilla had a falling out with William, just as there were rumors that William was so mad about Camilla’s week-long holiday that he went on a sympathy strike too (which actually happened – he had seven full days off during Camilla’s holiday). Some royalists even suggested that Camilla had flown off to get spa treatments in India too. Now a Spanish reporter is revealing where Camilla actually went:

Queen Camilla has been back on royal duty this week as she led the Royal Family at the Commonwealth Day service on Monday, however a few days before she was enjoying a relaxing break at a Spanish finca. The finca, or estate, provided some welcome respite for the Queen, who has been at the head of the Firm temporarily while King Charles undergoes treatment for cancer.

Spanish journalist Marisa Martin Blazques revealed on the TV programme TardeAR that Camilla jetted to the European country for some sunshine for a few days. According to the television contributor, Camilla came to “hunt partridges” in a luxury finca used by former King Juan Carlos and other members of the Spanish nobility and aristocracy in Ciudad Real, south of the capital Madrid.

It is not known exactly where the Queen stayed, however the Duke of Westminster’s La Garganta estate is located nearby in the same province. Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, is a close friend to Prince William and godfather to Prince George and is also one of the wealthiest men in Britain. His huge Spanish estate has previously played host to William and his younger brother Prince Harry, who travelled there to go hunting like Camilla.

The Queen was unable to stay there for too long however as she was back in the UK for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 11.

[From The Daily Express]

The idea that Camilla needed a week off to get spa treatments and day-drink sort of made sense to me, but the idea that Camilla went to Spain to hunt patridges is so random and bizarre. I mean, yes, these people love to hunt. Camilla and Charles’s affair flourished, back in the day, at shooting weekends and hunting holidays. That being said, I think a trip to Spain sounds more reasonable than “she flew all the way to India and back in nine days.” I also believe that Cam stayed at some wealthy person’s estate, probably the Duke of Westminster’s La Garganta. What’s crazy is that Spanish gossips revealed this too – this was not some British royal reporter doing their job and asking where the hell the queen (consort) of England went on holiday. If it had been the Sussexes, they wouldn’t have stopped until they had done a full audit of the finca’s accounts. Also: the Mother’s Day Frankenphoto Fiasco really stopped any further criticism of Camilla’s holiday, didn’t it?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Kacey Musgraves covers the latest issue of The Cut, and it’s all about her new album, her new vibe, going back to her country roots and more. I did not realize that she’s 35 years old! I thought she was a decade younger. I also didn’t realize that she had such a reputation as pothead, and that she’s completely given up weed at this point. She used to wake-and-bake every day, then her marriage fell apart, she sold her post-divorce f–k-you house and she learned how to be alone. Some highlights from The Cut:

The physics of the gravity bong. “It was a cutoff. It was a two-liter cut in half and then on the lid you put … I don’t know. You fashion some sort of socket or something.” Yes, the lyrics to her new song “Deeper Well” are true; she really used to wake up, hit her homemade gravity bong, get high off her face, and go about her day. And yes, much to the dismay of her stoner fans on the Kacey Musgraves sub-Reddit, the lyrics that come after — “I’m getting rid of habits that I feel / Are real good at wastin’ my time” — are also true. She really has given up weed.

No more stoner life: “It’s not for this chapter,” says Musgraves, who now, at 35, is in a different phase: a chiller, late-millennial, Zillow-is-my-favorite-thrill era where sleep and time in nature is a priority and anything that might make her anxious isn’t. Not that she’ll never revisit her stoner days. “Maybe later, when I’m a 60-year-old lady with nothing to do and I’m just doing pottery all day, maybe. We’ll see.”

Returning to her country roots: “It’s just funny because country music has been such a massive part of my life since I can remember. I literally grew up wearing rhinestones in fringe and cowboy hats and cowboy boots. It was my life… Country feels like home to me. It may come and go trend-wise in other genres, but there’s always something really timeless to me about it, whether it’s popular in pop music or not.”

Her life now at 35: “I definitely feel way more grounded now than in the past. I feel like my feet are firmly planted on the ground, and no matter what comes my way and tries to rock me, I feel more planted, if that makes sense. Also, I think turning 35, you’re like, I have less time for superfluous sh-t.”

She couldn’t be alone, so she sold her big house: “It’s always given me anxiety, and especially when you’re on the road a lot and you’re surrounded by people and it’s go, go, go, it’s fast paced. There’s a lot of stimulation. And then you go home and there’s no one there.” Some of it was her — youth and all that — and some of it was that house. “I didn’t feel super-settled. There was just something that was not fully at ease there.”

She got a cottage in the woods: “It’s a happy place, and it feels very neutral and clean and clear. There’s deer and fox and turkeys everywhere and cardinals. I luxuriate in my bed. I hang out with Pepper. I cook for friends. I get song ideas there. I have a sauna. I use that. I just feel like I’m more well there, and I just have gotten better at not being intimidated by alone time.”

[From The Cut]

See, I enjoy being/living alone but I could never do it if I was truly isolated in some cottage in the woods. That would make me panicky and uncomfortable, because I would feel endangered rather than peaceful. It would be too quiet, and I would feel like I was being watched! Kacey showcased her big post-divorce home to Architectural Digest a few years ago, and that’s the one she sold… to Kelsea Ballerini. As for quitting the weed… like, I lived that wake-and-bake life when I was in college, which was a very different time. I wouldn’t be able to function at any level if I was still getting high like that, so it’s amazing that she was able to be a high-functioning stoner for so much of her career? Also, gravity bongs are no f–king joke. One hit from a gravity bong and you really will be stoned off your face.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Kristen Stewart’s version of sexy dressing is a grunge mullet and tiny clothes. I actually like her general style these days, but I do wish she would fix the hair! [LaineyGossip]
Here’s the trailer for the new version of The Crow. [OMG Blog]
Socialite Life’s latest obsessions. [Socialite Life]
Review of Dev Patel’s Monkey Paw. [Pajiba]
Carey Mulligan’s awards-season wardrobe. [Go Fug Yourself]
Kelly Clarkson keeps suing her ex, I love her so much. [Just Jared]
Great menswear at the Oscar parties. [RCFA]
Martha Stewart really was (and still is) a babe. [Seriously OMG]
Madison LeCroy & Ciara Miller got a job. [Starcasm]
Khloe Kardashian’s son is getting so big. [Hollywood Life]
Failsafe rules of womanhood and girlhood. [Buzzfeed]

Don’t get me wrong, the Rose Hanbury story was huge royal gossip circa 2019-2020. We were living then and dissecting all of the clues, tweets, timelines and theories. We’re now five years’ past the initial “rural rival” story, which broke in March 2019, wherein Dan Wootton revealed that Kate Middleton was trying to “phase out” her “rural rival,” the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, for some unknown but heavily insinuated reason. The spring of 2019 was full of well-connected posh people and journalists suggesting that there was a torrid affair between Prince William and Rose. At the same time, Kensington Palace ramped up their attacks on the Sussexes as an explicit quid pro quo to get the British tabloids to bury the Rose story. The Rose-William alleged affair story is inextricably linked to what the Windsors did to the Sussexes – the Sussexes were fed to the wolves to protect William and his wandering sceptre.

All of which to say, it feels like casual royal gossips are now playing catch-up on this years-old tea. Which is fascinating to watch, as a somewhat niche gossip story becomes a global headline, all because of William’s missing wife. Stephen Colbert’s monologue on Tuesday gave the international media permission to talk about Rose and run explainers on the story, like this one at Entertainment Tonight. They’re also revisiting Omid Scobie’s Endgame and his interviews where he discussed why he included some interesting behind-the-scenes details on what was going down in 2019. Everything Scobie did and said last year looks so prescient, including calling his book “Endgame.”

Meanwhile, there’s precious little new gossip about Rose and William. I’ve believed for some time now that whatever was going on between them has been over for a while, although I also believe that Will and Kate maintain some kind of relationship with their posh Norfolk neighbors. The scandal in 2019 was, I have always believed, Rose putting KATE in her place and letting Kate know that’s not the way any of this is handled, darling. Speaking of, there is this one new story:

The recently resurfaced rumors of an affair between Prince William and Rose Hanbury have taken a toll on Princess Kate Middleton amid her recovery from abdominal surgery.

“Kate taking her wedding ring off [in a recent family photo] just intensified all the drama surrounding their marriage and the rumors of William’s affair with Rose,” a source exclusively tells In Touch. “You can’t blame her for being at her wits end with the rumors about Rose and William completely haunting her. It’s hurtful, especially because she’s still recovering from major surgery.”

Rumors that William, 41, cheated on his wife, 42, first surfaced in 2019 after it was reported that Kate and Rose, 39, had a falling out. None of the parties involved have ever publicly commented on the unverified rumors. However, the allegations resurfaced earlier this month, as fans have come up with conspiracy theories about why details of Kate condition following her January 16 operation have been kept under wraps.

Rose has not weighed in amid the resurfaced affair rumors. The former model is married to David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and they have three children together.

[From In Touch Weekly via Yahoo]

Eh. I’m sure William isn’t happy about the revived interest in his alleged mistress from 2018-ish, but I’m also sure that he’s grateful we aren’t talking about his other alleged side chicks. Like, there are other people and other rumors and other avenues for royal gossips to investigate. A little bit surprised that no one has even bothered going down the Jecca Craig rabbit hole.

Everything we know about Rose Hanbury, Kate Middleton’s former friend and the woman rumored to have had an alleged affair with Prince William.

The 39-year-old former model’s official title is Sarah Rose Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley. She and her 63-year-old husband,… pic.twitter.com/B4SAGleVcJ

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 14, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

One of my favorite things about royal-approved messaging from palace staffers is that they always try to make it sound like they’re super-busy doing everything else but working on the giant crisis they themselves are responsible for. The entire world is asking if the Princess of Wales is still on this plane of existence and why someone who had serious abdominal surgery would manipulate a Frankenphoto as proof of life, and Kensington Palace’s staff are gaily briefing, “we’re too busy to deal with that, we have do much other stuff to do!” Like, Kate has not worked a day since Christmas and William looks like he fell ass first into a bottle of tequila, what else are their staffers doing with their time? Be a manager! Do your job! Speaking of, Harper’s Bazaar got this exclusive:

The entire world seems to be awaiting Kensington Palace’s next move following the unexpected controversy over the family portrait released on Sunday, which showed Catherine, Princess of Wales, for the first time since the firm announced she’d been hospitalized for a “planned abdominal surgery” in mid-January. But we are told Kate and her team are holding steadfast through the storm.

A royal source tells Bazaar that the atmosphere at Kensington Palace offices has been “tense, but there is a sense that this will pass. They aren’t too worried.”

A Buckingham Palace insider adds: “Some staff can’t quite believe how badly KP have cocked things up by not paying close enough attention to what was being released to the world. Didn’t anyone there think to check the photo before it went out?” The insider adds that King Charles III is being “kept abreast” of latest developments, but “isn’t too concerned” about the current situation.

As for Kate’s recovery, a source says the Princess of Wales is “doing well, all things considered,” adding that the princess has left the house at least three times in the past two weeks. On one of those occasions, just over a week ago, she was “smiling, upbeat, and enjoying being out.”

A royal insider says, “[This situation] has caused some stress for the princess, but she tends not to pay attention to online chatter or even the press. I think people forget that this was simply a mother wanting her family to look their best in a photograph that was going to be heavily scrutinized. She was protecting her children.”

Regarding the various rumors surrounding Kate’s so-called disappearance, the source added that the palace is ignoring the “ridiculous conspiracy theories. It was always made very clear that following the princess’s surgery, she would recover in private until returning to duties after Easter. Nothing has changed on that front.”

The Buckingham Palace insider says that, while “this is all rather unfortunate, there is also a sense that, despite the hysteria and fevered online response, it will also blow over soon. This is not the first storm to hit these parts!”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

Note: this is the first time I’ve seen unnamed Buckingham Palace staff criticize KP’s screwups. Beyond this, it’s been radio silence, which is another story altogether. While there’s a lot of incompetence to go around, at least BP’s staffers can do their jobs without tripping over their d-cks 24-7. That being said, ostriching is not the answer here, and these people have literally no concept of how social media or international media function. They’re like “oh this will blow over, it’s no biggie!” Agence France-Presse’s director compared the Windsors to North Korea and Iran. The biggest international press agencies in the world have said that the palace has zero credibility and they’ll be going over every press release and photo with a fine-toothed comb. The British media was caught with their pants down, having colluded with the palace to bury these issues for months, and they’re mad as hell.

And if Kate is choppering off to Norfolk regularly and getting out of the house, why are they not planning to relaunch/revive/resurrect Wiglet Christ Superstar on Easter Sunday? Why are these sources like “we told you AFTER Easter?”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

The Royalist column at the Daily Beast has yet another hilarious exclusive about Prince William and the Princess of Wales. In case you missed it, Kensington Palace has been trying, throughout the week, to spin the Mother’s Day Frankenphoto Fiasco into their favor. As in, poor Kate is so stressed out about the manipulated Frankenphoto fallout, won’t someone please think of her health? Meanwhile, Kensington Palace staffers were the ones tossing her under the bus in the first place and making her shoulder the blame for the fiasco. The fact that all of this is playing out in the American and British media instead of being handled internally is also a KP f–k up, clownery on top of clownery, lie on top of lie. Sources now tell Tom Sykes that Kate is under intense stress and it’s all the Sussexes’ fault! Harry and Meghan forced the Waleses to surround themselves with clownish staff.

Friends of Kate Middleton have blamed “intense stress,” including the fall-out from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s repeated denunciations of her and Prince William, as being at least partly responsible for her absence from public life, and her need to spend several months recuperating from abdominal surgery. They predicted that William and Kate would move to “clear out” Kensington Palace staff who had made mistakes later this year after an extraordinary meltdown in royal communications triggered by Kate publishing a photo in which she was not wearing a wedding ring.

The friend told The Daily Beast: “She has been under incredible pressure for several years, and is now being harassed by the media over f–k-ups made by other people. How her office could have put out a picture without her ring when it was clearly going to be one of the most scrutinized pictures of all time is just unfathomable. And she is to blame? Sorry, no. That was their failure and they should have accepted the blame. They will clear out all those people when the dust settles.”

The friend added that Kate’s office’s failure to properly vet the photo was also “to blame” for the resurgence of speculation over the state of her marriage to William.

Another friend of the family also told The Daily Beast that they believed the stress of the last few years, including the regular and damaging attacks made on the couple by Harry and Meghan, and the pressure of a whole raft of changes that came when the queen died, had triggered a stress-related illness in Kate.

The source said: “She and William have been under intense stress ever since Harry and Meghan left the family. They spent three years just waiting for the next horrific media interview. On top of that they have moved house, the kids have moved school, the queen died, and she became Princess of Wales. It’s not surprising she got ill, and it’s not surprising she needs a break from it all to get better.”

A former staffer told The Daily Beast that Kate and William’s priority would now be protecting their children. They said, “The thing that will be absolutely top of both their minds right now will be the impact this is having on their children. They are very fortunate that other parents at the school are very loyal, but the reality is that keeping this from children these days is an impossible task. I imagine the Easter holidays can’t come soon enough.”

A friend of King Charles’ told The Daily Beast that he and the queen would be “wholly sympathetic” towards William and Kate over the debacle. “The only answer is for her to get better and get back to work,” the friend said. Riffing off a reputed maxim of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the friend said, “Now more than ever, they will have to be seen to be believed.”

[From The Daily Beast]

This reminds me, in a way, of last year’s week-long gossip-cycle over Kate’s thunder-stealing appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show. King Charles and Camilla were supposed to get all of the attention on the flower show’s Media Day – Charles’s first Chelsea Flower Show as king! – and then Kate bused in children and threw a picnic on the same day, and Buckingham Palace ripped her to shreds. That’s when “sources close to Catherine” ran straight to Royalist to hysterically defend her and claim that she could do whatever she wanted and the king can’t do sh-t about it. I’m reminded of that whole storyline because palace insiders are making moves against the future queen consort and Kate is defending herself by throwing a huge pity party about the stress she’s under. She’s also reminding those palace insiders that they should remember their common enemy: the Sussexes.

Anyway, I honestly believe that Kate is getting the blame for other people’s “f–k ups,” but that’s one of the most interesting parts of this whole fiasco – WHY is Kate getting the blame, why is she being thrown under the bus, why are Kate’s few allies throwing hysterical tantrums to the Daily Beast?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.