In 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex named their newborn daughter Lilibet Diana. “Lilibet” was Queen Elizabeth II’s family nickname, and it was the name Prince Philip and Princess Margaret tended to call her privately. Prince Harry used the nickname as an homage to the grandmother he adored, and he specifically called QEII and told her about the name. I always had a theory about what happened next: QEII gave her general blessing for the name and then QEII simply didn’t tell her courtiers about it. When the announcement came out about Lili’s name, the courtiers then freaked out because THEY were not informed. The royal establishment then spent weeks throwing a tantrum about “how dare Harry and Meghan use the queen’s nickname!” It was insane. It’s still insane, especially since a new book is still trying to make it into the biggest scandal the monarchy ever faced.

Queen Elizabeth was infuriated by Harry and Meghan’s claim that she had given her blessing to their daughter being named Lilibet, a new book reveals. The illuminating revelation comes in the latest instalment of a fascinating new biography – Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story, by the Mail’s writer Robert Hardman, currently being serialised exclusively in the Daily Mail.

In 2021, his and Meghan’s decision to call their new daughter Lilibet, who was born in California and has only once briefly been to the UK, raised eyebrows.

At the time the BBC reported it had been told by a palace source that the Queen was not asked by the Duke and Duchess as to whether they could use it. Other sources told media, including the Mail, that while the Queen was called by her grandson and his wife, she felt she wasn’t in a position to say no.

But a Sussexes’ spokesperson insisted they would not have used the name had the Queen not been ‘supportive’. They said at the time: ‘The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement – in fact his grandmother was the first family member he called. During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.’ Strongly-worded legal letters were then sent out.

Hardman writes that some of the late monarch’s household were particularly ‘interested’ that amidst a wealth of private family information and criticism of staff members, Harry mysteriously ‘omitted’ the entire incident from his memoir, Spare.

The author says: ‘One privately recalled that Elizabeth II had been “as angry as I’d ever seen her” in 2021 after the Sussexes announced that she had given them her blessing to call their baby daughter “Lilibet”, the Queen’s childhood nickname.

‘The couple subsequently fired off warnings of legal action against anyone who dared to suggest otherwise, as the BBC had done. However, when the Sussexes tried to co-opt the Palace into propping up their version of events, they were rebuffed. Once again, it was a case of “recollections may vary” – the late Queen’s reaction to the Oprah Winfrey interview – as far as Her Majesty was concerned. Those noisy threats of legal action duly evaporated and the libel actions against the BBC never materialised.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I assume Harry didn’t include the story in Spare because he didn’t want to reveal that particular private conversation with his grandmother. I also assume that Harry knew that his grandmother was in poor health and being “managed” by people who hated him and used QEII’s name to make his life hell. If QEII was truly “as angry as I’d ever seen her” about her great-granddaughter’s NAME, then QEII had truly lost the plot. It’s far more likely that QEII didn’t care either way and the people around her were storming around, screaming, crying and throwing up. Also: Harry’s lawyers sent legal threats not to intimidate his grandmother, but to put the courtiers in line so they wouldn’t blatantly lie about him or continue to claim that Harry had not spoken to his grandmother. After those legal notices were sent, those royal sources stopped saying that Harry had not consulted with his grandmother.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix and Misan Harriman for the Sussexes.

Denmark officially has a new king and queen. On Sunday, Queen Margrethe abdicated by signing some papers, and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made the proclamation: King Frederik X and Queen Mary are the new king and queen after Margrethe’s historic 52-year reign. The “handover” took place at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, then the proclamation happened on the balcony, where Mary and Frederik appeared before a loud and happy crowd. Mary and Fred even kissed on the balcony, like it was their wedding day! They both seemed into it.

Speaking of, Mary wore a white gown specially made/designed by her Danish wedding dressmaker, Soeren Le Schmidt. It was sewn by Birgit Hallstein. It’s very bridal, which I guess fits with the occasion – she wanted that kind of association, and it’s basically like she’s becoming a new person, the queen of Denmark.

This whole thing ended up being bigger than they said it would be – I thought the “coronation” was mostly going to be a bureaucratic thing, but the Danes did some pomp. The new king made a speech, lots of people came out to wish them well, there was a cannon salute, they did a carriage ride through Copenhagen and there were crowds of thousands in the streets and outside the palace. As it turns out, the Danes are monarchists.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Rosamund Pike made a lot of “best dressed” lists for the Golden Globes and people kept talking about how well she rocked that severe, black-widow look. Maybe she took that personally, because she’s been wearing lighter and brighter looks ever since. Rosamund wore this sparkly Rodarte to the Golden Globes and I have mixed feelings. It could have been great if the fit was better, I think? And the center-part is simply too severe for Rosamund. The color is lovely though.

Quinta Brunson in George Hobeika. Seriously one of the cutest dresses I’ve ever seen on Quinta. She should absolutely stick with this designer!

Colman Domingo might have been the best-dressed person at the Critics Choice. His Valentino ensemble was amazing. That coat alone is magnificent.

Fantasia Barrino in Alin Le Kal. It’s a lovely look, honestly, but it’s too much for the Critics Choice!

Danielle Brooks in Monsoori. I’ve surprised myself by how much I like this? Usually, I hate gowns which are just sacks with a bow, but this is really cute on her.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Introduction: Minutes 0 to 10:00
We’ll be off next week due to the Emmy Awards. I have been watching dumb shows like a mini golf competition show called Holey Moley. Chandra watched so many of the prestigious movies over the break including Killers of the Flower Moon, Priscilla, The Holdovers, Saltburn, Past Lives, Asteroid City, Joy Ride, Anatomy of a Fall, Oppenheimer and the Indiana Jones movie! She loved Anatomy of a Fall and is rooting for that movie. It’s a character story and legal drama with a smart script. She also liked The Holdovers and Oppenheimer, but hated Killers of the Flower Moon. You can listen below or on YouTube through the links with the timestamps!

Golden Globes: Minutes 10:00 to 17:45
The Globes were last Sunday. Host Jo Koy bombed and the celebrities gave him a frosty reception. The big TV winners were Succession and The Bear. Oppenheimer won Best Picture – Drama and Poor things won for Musical or Comedy. Barbie won for a new category called Cinematic Achievement. We appreciate how Greta Gerwig took a risk on Barbie. Here’s a link to the Architectural Digest video on Barbie that I mentioned.

The biggest stories from the Globes were about the cutaway scenes. Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet did not walk the carpet together but they sat together. They seemed so into each other and kept kissing. Selena Gomez was caught on camera gossiping to Taylor Swift and Miles Teller’s wife Keleigh. A lot of people thought she was saying that Kylie refused to let Selena take a selfie with Timothee but a source told People that wasn’t true. Selena made a comment later that “I told Taylor about two of my friends that hooked up.” There are rumors that it’s Meryl Streep and Martin Short! I hope it’s happening but Martin’s rep said they’re just friends.

Also at the Golden Globes there was a mini Suits reunion. Patrick Adams, Gabriel Macht, Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty presented. Here’s a link to the interview I mentioned where Gabriel acted like he didn’t know who Meghan was. Gina Torres said in another interview that they don’t have Meghan’s phone number and she’s not on the group chat. Some people think that Gina was fibbing to cover for Meghan. Chandra mentions that the Suits cast is protective of her. Of course she was invited to the Globes.

Royals: Minutes 17:45 to 22:00
The Epstein Files came out recently. I downloaded the first batch and they were mostly court documents for Virginia Guiffre’s case. Prince Andrew is heavily implicated.

Prince Charles is reportedly worried about Andrew but plans to make him pay for security and the renovations to Royal Lodge, which Will and Kate want for themselves. There is a story that Charles is never going to evict Andrew, but that sounds straight from Andrew. William is said to want Charles to come down harder on Andrew while Charles probably doesn’t want to rock the boat.

Comments of the Week: Minutes 22:00 to end
Kaiser’s comment of the week is from Erin on the post about the SAG nomination snubs.

My comment of the week is from Blue Nails Betty on the post about doing less in 2024.

Thanks for listening bitches!

Photos credit: Avalon.red, Cover Images, Backgrid and via Instagram

Last night Ali Wong was in a beautiful green spaghetti strap Givenchy gown with a panel of floral embroidery. I love how simple and elegant this gown is. The platform shoes don’t really go with the look, but that’s a minor complaint. Ali won the Critics’ Choice for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Beef and she also won the Golden Globe this year! Steven Yeung won best actor and Beef took home Best Limited Series. My favorite Beef moment was when creator Lee Sung Jin opened his acceptance speech by saying he imagined he’d be happy when he created a show that people liked, but that didn’t happen. That was relatable.

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Maria Bello won Best Supporting Actress in a limited series, also for Beef. She opened her speech by saying that she was surprised to win post-menopause, which… was an odd choice. I would not say that in an acceptance speech, but at the same time I appreciate that there’s a greater awareness around menopause. It is really a bitch, but it doesn’t make us less worthy and it shouldn’t preface any of our career achievements. Maybe I’m just feeling defensive about it. I like Maria’s pearl skirt and white top, that’s so gorgeous and chic-looking, but I think the stacked necklaces are too much.

I wanted to give a shout out to Carla Gugino for absolutely killing it on The Fall of the House of Usher. She presented last night and this delicately ribbed blue floral gown looked so much better in motion than it does in photos. Carla was nominated in Ali’s category. I loved House of Usher but it could have been so much shorter. That’s a problem with Mike Flanagan’s series, but I also think Netflix incentivizes creators to drag out their storylines. I can’t wait to see what he does for Amazon!

Presenter Mandy Moore really killed it in a red sequin cutout gown. I would love to see her with a bit stronger makeup although she looks so pretty and understated as is.

There’s been this interesting and strange feeling around the Best Actress race. While I still believe that Lily Gladstone will probably win the Oscar for Killers of the Flower Moon, Emma Stone is definitely becoming a major contender. Not to mention, Sandra Huller might be sort of an undercover favorite for some voters. Still, it feels like Emma might peel off a lot of voters when push comes to shove. I find that interesting. Emma ended up winning the Critics Choice Award for Best Actress. The only reason this didn’t happen at the Globes is because Lily won Actress-in-a-Drama, while Emma won for Comedy. If they’re in the same category, who gets the votes? Last night it was Emma. Emma wore this custom Louis Vuitton which reads, to me, like she honestly didn’t believe she would win. This dress screams “I’m just happy to be nominated.” Hm.

Lily Gladstone wore a custom Christian Siriano in a gorgeous shade of blue, possibly the best and most flattering dress I’ve seen on her during the awards season. I absolutely hope she goes with Sirano again for the other awards shows.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph wore another great dress, although this Jovana Louis feels slightly overworked. Too many elements. She won another supporting actress award – she’s really going to march through the awards season, picking up everything.

Greta Lee in Loewe. She’s been wearing some offbeat designers and I don’t think those looks have been doing her any favors. While this fabric is really cool, it would have been great if the design wasn’t “a pair of trousers and a long-sleeved polo.”

Tracee Ellis Ross wore one of the best “It’s just the Critics Choice Awards, I’ll wear a black dress” dresses. This is Fendi – so good!! So flattering.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon attended the Critics Choice Awards because they were nominated for The Morning Show. At the end of the day, Billy Crudup was the only winner from TMS though. Both Reese and Jennifer wore black and I consider both of these looks sort of “phoned in.” It’s fine – it’s just the Critics Choice. Jennifer wore Dolce & Gabbana, possibly a one-piece jumpsuit but probably two pieces. The pants are not flattering but the neckline is. In one of these photos, you can see her painful-looking feet and ankles too – it might be time for Aniston to wear a lower heel (or no heel) on the red carpet. Incidentally, in her red carpet interviews, you can really see how badly she’s overdoing the fillers and Botox. It’s really rough.

Reese Witherspoon wore a custom Celine and her real date was her look-alike daughter Ava.

Incidentally, Aniston’s fake ex-husband Justin Theroux was there! There’s zero gossip about any awkwardness between Aniston and Theroux at the show, but they didn’t end on bad terms so they probably just said hello to each other and moved on.

Ke Huy Quan was one of the best-dressed men in Dior. He was there as a presenter, and he looked so happy to witness Harrison Ford win his lifetime achievement award.

Awkwafina also wore Dior. Good lord, this is bad.

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Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.

America Ferrera gave such a heartfelt speech at the Critics’ Choice Awards last night when she won the See Her award, presented by Margot Robbie. She cracked everyone up when she got to the podium, paused and admitted that she was waiting for the teleprompter to start. At one point she told the tech people to roll past a part she cut. My favorite part was when she said “We are all worthy of being seen — Black, brown, indigenous Asian, trans, disabled, any body type, any gender. We are all worthy of having our lives richly and authentically reflected.” I also liked when she gave a shout out to her husband, Ryan, and clarified that she didn’t mean Ryan Gosling. America’s performance in Barbie was so moving, her activism has always been on point, and this was well deserved.

In terms of fashion she was in a copper sequin Armani tank dress. I really like her sleek styling and it complements the look well.

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Sheryl Lee Ralph also rocked a tank dress. She was in a champagne colored CD Greene gown dotted with crystals. Sheryl’s daughter, Ivy Coco, is her stylist and she always makes her mother look amazing. Sheryl was nominated for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, which went to Meryl Streep.

Meg Ryan was also super sleek in black strapless Yves Saint Laurent. I feel like this needs a bracelet or something but she also looks amazing and I love to see her comeback! Meg and her costar, David Duchovny, presented. Their movie, What Happens Later, is streaming to rent now. Maybe I’ll wait until it’s free but I do want to see it.

Christina Ricci took it a little too severe in this black PVC deep v-neck gown with a scalloped bustline. Maybe this would work with softer styling. I would love to see her recognized more for Yellowjackets, because she is so good as a sociopath on that show. (I’m all caught up, but I’m mad at it and don’t think I will keep watching.) Elizabeth Debicki won in Christina’s category, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

photos credit: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon, Getty

Oppenheimer had a big night at the Critics Choice Awards, picking up Best Director and Best Drama. Interestingly enough, the critics did not give the Best Actor trophy to Cillian Murphy – instead, Paul Giamatti won for The Holdovers. It feels like something interesting is happening in the Best Actor race, and Giamatti might actually be able to pull off the “upset.” Meanwhile, Emily Blunt is still getting nominated all over the place for her work in Oppenheimer but she’s also losing everything to an actor from The Holdovers: Da’Vine Joy Randolph. We shall call this the Oppenholdovers phenomenon. Emily wore a one-sleeved Armani gown and she did attend the Critics Choice with her husband. So no divorce drama for now! This dress is okay. Not my favorite, but it’s fine.

Here’s Cillian Murphy. He is not enjoying this awards season, but I get the feeling he enjoys hanging out with other actors.

Pedro Pascal: adorable. He keeps losing to Kieran Culkin at awards shows.

Rachel Brosnahan wore Givenchy. What a weird dress? She looks good, but it’s a weird dress.

Ariana DeBose also wore Givenchy. Kind of phoned it in, which is fine. It’s just the Critics Choice.

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Natasha Lyonne. Suspenders!!

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Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.

The Barbie team had a good night at the Golden Globes. While they didn’t pick up Best Director, Best Actress or Best Picture, they won Original Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design, Hair and Makeup, Best Comedy and Best Song, for Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken.” I wonder if it will be similar at the Oscars, with Barbie sweeping awards for costuming and design, while Oppenheimer picks up the bigger awards.

Margot Robbie seemingly skipped the Barbie cosplay for the Critics Choice and instead wore this custom Balmain. I’m not really into it, although I think it looks fine on her. Margot looks too undone for the dress, right? Her hair barely looks styled and she has the vibe of “I just threw this on.”

I’m also adding photos of Ryan Gosling – who seemed shocked with the “I’m Just Ken” win – and Greta Gerwig, who wore Molly Goddard. Also including pics of Billie Eilish (who was nominated in Best Song), wearing Thom Browne.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.