Ari Aster’s next film, Eddington, will star Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler & Luke Grimes! [Buzzfeed]
HL is running a “who is Rose Hanbury” story too. [Hollywood Life]
Ryan Gosling took his Oscar performance seriously! [LaineyGossip]
Who was the best-dressed at the Oscars? What was notable, to me, was that no one really looked terrible. There were a few not-great dresses, but for the most part, the ladies looked either amazing or just okay. [RCFA]
The Batman Part 2 has been delayed. [Pajiba]
Oscar party wrap-up – Serena Williams was out! [Go Fug Yourself]
Tilda Swinton stars in an arty short film. [OMG Blog]
Kristen Stewart is in promotional mode. [Just Jared]
Chucky got old, he needs some Botox. [Seriously OMG]
An eviction for a Seeking Sister Wife couple. [Starcasm]

Five years ago, almost exactly, The Sun published Dan Wootton’s now-infamous “rural rival” story, in which he left enough breadcrumbs to indicate that Kate Middleton, then the Duchess of Cambridge, was trying to “phase out” Norfolk aristocrat Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. It was left unsaid why Kate had such a bug up her bum about Rose, but of course people quickly learned the gossip ripping its way through the posh set and the Norfolk aristocratic circles: Prince William and Rose were allegedly engaged in a torrid affair, and when Kate found out, she got mad and tried to push Rose out of their social circle. The thing is, Rose can’t be pushed out – she’s married to David Rocksavage, who was at the time the Lord Great Chamberlain, a hereditary role which meant he and Rose attended all of the fanciest royal events. When King Charles became king, he appointed Rocksavage as his lord-in-waiting too.

There’s a long, dirty history here, which we’ve covered extensively for years – go here to see our Rose Hanbury archives. (Note by CB: You can also get the top stories about Prince William’s affair when you sign up for our mailing list!) For what it’s worth, Kate and Rose have seemingly buried the hatchet and they still socialize with each other, and I’ve even gotten the impression that Rose has pity for Kate. Rose and David are still welcome in the highest echelons of British society, and they attended last year’s coronation. I also believe that Rose and William’s alleged affair was probably over a while ago. But! Given all of the weirdness around Kate and William this year, the Rose story has cropped up once again. The Independent did a weird side chick soft-launch of “who is the Marchioness of Cholmondeley” this week, and Twitter is ablaze with speculation, gossip history and deeply funny tweets about Rose. What I didn’t expect was Stephen Colbert devoting a segment to Rose and the affair rumors on his show last night, I’ve queued it the relevant part:

You guys… it’s mainstream. It’s super-mainstream. This isn’t some random internet gossip which can be shut down with legal threats from Kensington Palace. This is American network television!

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

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

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Tina Brown was on CBS Mornings on Tuesday as one of their on-call “royal experts.” CBS, like other networks and American media outlets, has been covering all of the Princess of Wales drama for weeks now. The fact that King Charles and Kate fell ill at the same time in January was obviously a big story, but everything ticked up several notches when Prince William skipped his godfather’s memorial service while Kate had been MIA for over two months. That was really the start of this current catastrophe. In any case, Tina Brown is, in my opinion, a compromised “royal expert.” Her last book, The Palace Papers, was very heavy on a Middleton-centric narrative, and Brown has repeatedly said that the monarchy depends on William and Kate’s marriage, and if the marriage implodes, so too will the monarchy. Well, Brown was in rare form on CBS – she actually called out the incompetence of Kensington Palace and said outright that the wheels have come off. LOL.

Brown on Kensington Palace: “The palace did always say, ‘We’re not going to give you any health updates on [Kate’s] condition. She’s going to have this operation, and she’ll be back.’ She is indeed [entitled to privacy] and should have it. The problem is that when you release the picture, it is a health update. The picture is a health update saying, ‘Look at me, look at us, I’m perfectly fine.’ So, of course the world descends on that picture to dissect it. So I think that was the great mistake they made.”

She doesn’t think there was one original photo: “I’m deeply skeptical that there was an ‘original’. I think it’s a jigsaw of different pictures.” KP just keeps “digging themselves deeper into this mess, frankly, that they’ve created for themselves.”

Kate needs to wave from a car: “At the end of her life, Queen Elizabeth II, she had bone cancer. And in the last eight months of her life, she was on Zoom. She managed to come out onto that balcony and hold onto that stick. People didn’t realize that she was actually wheelchair bound in the last six months of her life. The public never saw that, but that was what it was. So why they can’t simply have Kate on a sort of, 50-second Zoom, saying, ‘I’m here, I’m fine.’ Bam. That’s the end of it. The kind of hiding that they’re doing, it seems excessive to me. I think all she needs to do is wave from a car window. That’s really all she needs to do. And smile. And it’s puzzling that that doesn’t happen.”

Why is everything so chaotic? “It’s possible that this was a transitional bad staffing situation, where no one is really properly paying attention, but clearly the public is going to look at a hand with no wedding ring and say, ‘Where is it?’ I think that the wheels are coming off in terms of the sort of press situation there at the palace.”

Whether Brown believes that Kate was the one who edited the photo: “I don’t [buy that]. Actually, I think there is no PR strategy. I think that they’re flailing and we need to have a new PR person come into the palace and start having a strategy about these issues.”

You can’t completely disappear in the year of our lord Beyonce 2024: “This old idea, really, that you can completely disappear, it just doesn’t work. It didn’t work in [Princess] Diana’s day. I do think [Kate] clearly feels ill and depleted, and she wants this time. But I also think, you know, there’s been so much strain and stress on her. She’s been trying to say, ‘Can I just recover quietly and in peace?’ just like Diana tried. And they won’t let you do it.”

[From CBS News]

FLAILING! There is no PR strategy! Ill and depleted! Now, I have no idea if Brown has exclusive tea or if she (like so many royal commentators) tailored her message for skeptical Americans, but it does feel like the floodgates have opened and people like Brown and various Mail columnists feel perfectly comfortable saying that Kensington Palace is completely inept and that something is dreadfully wrong here.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Kensington Palace.

In this post, I’m including photos issued by Kensington Palace for various occasions and events. Some KP pics from the Princess of Wales’s various “work” (including the much-loved pie chart pics), some pics for various holidays and birthdays and at least one photo issued by KP after the death of QEII, in which “Kate” took a photo of QEII with all of her grandchildren, a photo which still looks extremely fake. Oh, and I’m including the Kensington Palace-released portraits, taken by Paolo Roversi, for Kate’s 40th birthday in 2022, because those were crazy air-brushed. I bring you this wealth of KP-issued photos because, apparently, CNN has announced that they’re conducting a review of all palace-issued photos.

CNN is reviewing all photographs handed out by Kensington Palace after the Princess of Wales admitted editing a family portrait. The American broadcaster said the picture of the Princess and her three children had been distributed for editorial purposes and that media organisations “expect those images to be accurate”.

The photograph was recalled by four of the world’s biggest picture agencies over fears it had been “manipulated”. The Princess then admitted editing the image after several inconsistencies were identified. She said that as an amateur photographer, she “occasionally experimented” and apologised for any confusion it had caused.

An analysis of the furore published online by CNN said that, like most news organisations, they “regard it as unacceptable to move, change or manipulate the pixels of an image” as it would alter the reality of the situation the image is intended to document.

“CNN is now reviewing all handout photos previously provided by Kensington Palace,” it added. A decision about any action will be taken when the investigation has concluded.

[From The Telegraph]

There have been some egregious examples of heavily manipulated photos coming from KP before now, but the reason why those photos were never called out was because they weren’t released as a significant “proof of life” during a particularly weird missing-princess storyline. Like, the photo of QEII and her white grandkids (taken by Kate) was so obviously heavily edited, but it wasn’t issued as “look, QEII is still alive, we promise!” There were no constitutional implications. Oh, adjacent to this, the British Press Photographers’ Association released a pretty scathing statement about Kate’s Photoshop debacle:

The British Press Photographers’ Association applauds the actions of the major agencies who have had the courage to withdraw the recently distributed image showing Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales and her children by issuing a ‘kill notice’. Their suspicions that the photograph had been digitally manipulated are well-founded and it is important for the reputation of press photography that they have acted as swiftly and decisively as they have.

We are lead to believe that HRH The Princess of Wales has said that she edited the image and has apologised. That should not be an end to the matter however. Whether the picture was manipulated to ‘look nice’ by someone who didn’t understand the importance of truth
in images or whether there is something else behind their actions is not as important as getting the message out there that it is wrong.

The BPPA has always spoken up in favour of making sure that the public has trust in the photographs produced by our members as well as those who supply images to the news media. This has become more of an issue since pictures supplied by such a variety of sources
have become more common and we would urge all of those sources to have a look at item 1, clause i) of the Editors’ Code of Practice which says: “The press must take care not to publish inaccurate or misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text.”

We would urge everyone involved to make the original images available for inspection so that we can assess what has been done, make sure that it doesn’t happen again and allow this story to be the last time that manipulated images are distributed to the media.

[From The BPPA]

This is an extremely harsh statement from the BPPA. Is it personal? Perhaps – they’re mad that they haven’t been called in to photograph the Wales family. But it’s also a huge professional issue for them, the fact that KP has been issuing heavily manipulated photos for years.

Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace, Avalon Red.

There are so many people newly tuning in to the royal sh-tshow and they all have so many opinions and theories. I love that, and I love that there are so many eyes on this unfolding catastrophe, and it’s thrilling to have so many people engaged with something we’ve been covering here for many, many years. I have one note for the new peeps: the idea that the Princess of Wales would suddenly “leave” her husband or that all of this is happening because Kate has “had enough” is the wrong gossip-thread to go down. Kate would never leave William. She would never ask for a divorce. She is in this marriage until William is done with her. Whatever is happening right now – and I truly don’t have any exclusive information on this – is happening because of William’s actions, his behavior, his attempts to get Kate out of the way, to marginalize her or divorce her. Speaking of, it does feel like there are significant efforts to soft-launch a divorce or the idea of Kate’s withdrawal from public life. For example, this very interesting Page Six piece:

Royal insiders fear Kate Middleton’s Photoshop scandal is taking a toll on her recovery from the abdominal surgery which has sidelined her from royal duties — and made her health the focus of intense speculation. The Princess of Wales looked strained as she sat next to Prince William Monday, gazing out of the window, prompting comparisons in royal circles to photos of her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

One well-placed royal source told Page Six, “It’s an awful lot to be under all of this public scrutiny when you are recovering from major surgery.

“The rumor mill — particularly on social media — has gotten out of control, but Kate is recovering well and she will be back by Easter. She just needs to be left in peace.”

Another palace insider mused, “I worry about all this attention on Catherine. She did not look happy at all in the car on Monday.”

The insider added that it reminded them of photographs of Diana looking upset as she sat next to her former husband, King Charles, at the height of their marriage crisis. One famous photo saw the couple sitting together on an official visit to Seoul, South Korea, in November 1992. the tension etched across their faces. They announced their official split a month later.

Kensington Palace had stated that Kate would be expected back to public life at Easter after having her planned surgery and are continuing to stick to this while trying to quell rumors.

Global PR and marketing expert Mark Borkowski said the entire affair has shown up how the royal family fares when Kate, the “box office” attraction, is out of commission. “It does focus on William’s decisions about how he calls the shots on how they manage the press… this shows a complete disengagement with the media.”

[From Page Six]

Yep, Borkowski is right in this narrow instance – this is William’s (mis)management of the press, and William has clearly signaled that Kate is being thrown under the bus, that Kate is expendable, that Kate can and will be used to protect him. Evoking Diana and the previous Wales divorce is being done on purpose too. I’m not saying KP wrote this Page Six blurb, but royalists in the UK and North America can read the tea leaves and we understand what’s happening this week.

Kate is pictured leaving Windsor Castle with William https://t.co/9QzAFghyFm pic.twitter.com/cGuEMkI9ki

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 11, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Last year, the trade papers estimated that Margot Robbie likely made about $50 million on her backend deal for Barbie. Barbie grossed $1.446 billion at the box office, and Margot was not only the lead, she executive produced the film and put the whole thing together. Margot was the one who pitched Mattel, and she was the one who hired Greta Gerwig. I would not be surprised if Margot’s backend was a lot more than $50 million. But… I would also not be surprised if Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer backend was even bigger. Variety says that is so, especially now that Oppy won Best Director and Best Picture at the Oscars.

Christopher Nolan took home two Oscars on Sunday night for director and producer of “Oppenheimer.” But his ultimate haul for the period drama was so much bigger. Nolan’s final payday for the film, which traces the life of titular scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in creating the atomic bomb, is just south of $100 million, according to knowledgeable sources.

That figure represents a combination of salary, backend compensation, box-office escalators and a bonus for his twin Academy Awards. A representative for the filmmaker didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The Universal film — which nabbed seven Oscars total, including trophies for actor Cillian Murphy and supporting actor Robert Downey Jr. — was made on a budget of $100 million. After its release on July 19, becoming half of the one-two “Barbenheimer” punch, the film earned $958 million worldwide, a mammoth sum considering “Oppenheimer’s” R rating and three-hour running time. (Both are typically considered barriers in luring a so-called four-quadrant audience.) It also marks the highest-grossing best picture winner since 2004’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

“Oppenheimer” is being rereleased in 1,000 theaters this weekend with its newly minted best picture status. That should run up the film’s final box-office tally and eclipse the $1 billion threshold, thus triggering an additional bonus for the director.

Now all eyes are on what Nolan — who wrote, directed and produced “Oppenheimer” — will do next. Some say it will be a remake of the mystery-thriller “The Prisoner,” based on the 1960s TV series created by and starring Patrick McGoohan, which Nolan was attached to in 2009. But the sci-fi project vanished from Nolan’s dance card that same year, when AMC released its own “The Prisoners,” a six-part miniseries led by Jim Caviezel as the ill-fated agent Number Six alongside Ian McKellen and Ruth Wilson. Others say he will begin writing a new screenplay now that the awards season is behind him.

[From Variety]

It actually sounds crazy to me that his ultimate payday is just below $100 million? Like, one tenth of the film’s gross goes to the director, not taking into account the cost of the production & promotion? While Nolan’s achievement with Oppenheimer was noteworthy and award-worthy, it feels like Margot Robbie should take this article to Warner Bros and tell them to cut her another check. If Nolan’s getting $95 million or so, why can’t Margot? As for Nolan’s next projects… I hope he gets a female cowriter who helps him figure out how to write female characters. All that money in the world and he cannot write women at all.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Did y’all know that Adam Sandler made four film projects and did a tour last year? Forbes has released their annual list of highest paid actors and in 2023, Adam Sandler was the highest paid. I must be hanging out in the wrong entertainment crowds because honestly, I had no idea he did anything other than Murder Mystery 2, lol. According to Forbes, Adam made $73 million last year, thanks to his comedy tour, MM2, action-comedy The Out-Laws, comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, and voice and production work on Netflix’s Leo. The last time Sandler was named Forbes’ highest earning actor was way back in 2002, but he’s appeared in the top ten list several times since then.

Adam Sandler’s four film projects of 2023 propelled him to an annual salary of $73m (£57m), making him the highest-paid performer in Hollywood, according to Forbes magazine. The standup turned actor also embarked on a comedy tour, which supplemented earnings from starring and producing in Netflix’s Murder Mystery 2, as well as his writing, producing and voice work on Leo, the streamer’s popular animation.

Sandler was also involved with little-seen action comedy The Out-Laws, and produced and starred – alongside his wife and daughters – in acclaimed comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. The actor last topped the list in 2002, when he made $47m (£37m) starring in the likes of Mr Deeds and Punch-Drunk Love.

In second place was Margot Robbie, who at 33 is also the youngest actor on the list by a decade. The massive global success of Barbie, which she co-produced, is largely responsible for the estimated $59m (£46m) Robbie earned in 2023.

Despite the latest Mission: Impossible movie performing below par at the box office, in part on account of being released a few weeks before Barbenheimer, profits from that film, plus streaming residues from 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, meant Tom Cruise was third on the list, with $45m (£35m).

Robbie’s Barbie co-star, Ryan Gosling, was joint fourth, alongside Oppenheimer’s Matt Damon; both men earned $43m (£34m). Meanwhile, Ben Affleck, Damon’s co-star – and director – on Air, the Nike sports film released early last year, was ninth, with $38m (£30m).

Sandler’s Murder Mystery co-star Jennifer Aniston came in sixth on the list with $42m (£33m). One of only two women in the Top 10, Aniston has only starred in two films in the past five years – Murder Mystery and its sequel – but her earnings were presumably much supplemented by Friends residuals (Forbes does not include money earned through advertising and sponsorship deals).

Killers of the Flower Moon star Leonardo DiCaprio made $41m (£32m), placing him joint seventh with Jason Statham, the only English actor on the list. Statham starred in four 2023 releases: Fast X, Meg 2: The Trench, Expend4bles and Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre.

In 10th place was Denzel Washington, who made $24m (£19m) and featured in the third Equalizer film. At 69, he is the oldest, and the only Black actor on the list.

Forbes reports that it calculates its estimates through interviews with agents and industry experts, as well as crunching data from the likes of IMDbPro. The business magazine said its figures represent taxed earnings for the calendar year 2023, and only include income related to entertainment. In 2022, Tyler Perry topped the Forbes list, while Dwayne Johnson did so for the three previous consecutive years.

[From The Guardian]

While Sandler topping the list took me by surprise, none of the other names really did except for Aniston, but as they pointed out, those Friends residuals must be quite nice. I do think it’s kinda interesting that both Tyler Perry and Dwayne Johnson completely fell off the top 10 list this year. I would have at least expected Perry to be up there, but I just looked it up and he didn’t have any new acting projects in 2023.

If you’re like me and need to see things in list form, here’s what the top ten looks:

Adam Sandler ($73 million)
Margot Robbie ($59 million)
Tom Cruise ($45 million)
Ryan Gosling ($43 million)
Matt Damon ($43 million)
Jennifer Aniston ($42 million)
Leonardo DiCaprio ($41 million)
Jason Statham ($41 million)
Ben Affleck ($38 million)
Denzel Washington ($24 million)

I don’t think I need to point out that seven out of the top ten actors were white men, and most are white men that generally appear in some spot on that list year after year. As always, when you compare the highest paid men vs. women, the women’s numbers are much less. I cannot say enough how much I want to see a Barbie bump next year in terms of investment in films created by and starring women and POC. Gosh, that would be so satisfying.

Photos credit: Scott Yamano/Netflix, Getty Images for Netflix, IMAGO/Steve Vas / Avalon

The 2024 Oscars had the highest ratings in four years! I hope that means the Oscars will start at 7 pm from now on. [JustJared]
Da’Vine Joy Randolph looked amazing at the VF Oscar party! [RCFA]
Thoughts on the five-presenter format for the Oscar acting categories… I like the format, but clearly, it’s awkward for the winners. [LaineyGossip]
Speaker Mike Johnson won’t protect IVF. [Jezebel]
I was sort of fine with Al Pacino’s weird Best Picture announcement. [Pajiba]
American ingredients which are difficult to find overseas. [Buzzfeed]
Who was the best-dressed at the Oscars? [Socialite Life]
More photos from the VF Oscar party. [Hollywood Life]
Lenny Kravitz & Rita Moreno: hot new couple? [Seriously OMG]
The children are doing competitive runway! [OMG Blog]

Like many of you, I too was disappointed that President Biden didn’t address the decline in American gum chewing during his State of the Union speech. For a minute I thought he actually might go there, once he started talking about half-filled snack bags and even name dropped Snickers. But no mention of gum. And so it falls to us to start this conversation on the pressing issue tearing our economy apart. The pandemic killed gum chewing, y’all! Who cares about bad breath when you’re social distancing and wearing masks?! And even though we’re (mainly) not doing that anymore, gum sales have not recovered. AP News spoke to gum industry insiders for insight on this developing crisis:

Bubbles bursting: The number of packages of gum sold dropped by nearly a third in the United States in 2020, according to Circana, a market research firm. Consumer demand has picked up only slightly since then. Last year, U.S. chewing gum sales rose less than 1% to 1.2 billion units, which was still 32% fewer than in 2018. Although sales in dollars are back to pre-pandemic levels, that’s mostly due to inflation; the average pack of gum cost $2.71 last year, $1.01 more than it did in 2018, Circana said.

Chewing gum relieves stress? Mars Inc., which owns the 133-year-old Wrigley brand, thinks it may have an answer: repositioning gum as an instant stress reliever rather than an occasional breath freshener. In January, the company launched a global ad campaign promoting its top-selling Orbit, Extra, Freedent and Yida brands as tools for mental well-being.

The ‘Aha!’ moment: Alyona Fedorchenko, vice president for global gum and mints in Mars’ snacking division, said the idea stuck in the summer of 2020, when the company was frantically researching ways to revive sales. Fedorchechenko remembered talking to a nurse in a hospital COVID-19 ward who chewed gum to calm herself even though she always wore a mask. The nurse’s habit meshed with studies by Mars that showed half of chewers reached for gum to relieve stress or boost concentration. “That, for us, was the big ‘Aha!’” Fedorchenko said. “We’ve had a century of legacy of fresh breath, and that is still very important. Don’t get me wrong. But there is so much more this category can be.” Emphasizing wellness is part of a multi-year effort to attract 10 million new U.S. chewers by 2030, she said.

Chewing leads to swallowing leads to bloating: But not everyone finds gum enhances well-being. Kylie Faildo, a pelvic floor physical therapist in Denver, thinks artificial sweeteners and swallowing air while chewing made her bloating symptoms worse. She gave up gum two years ago and doesn’t plan to go back, even though she misses the ease of popping a piece into her mouth before meeting a client. “I use mouthwash a lot more now,” Faildo said.

Time for innovation! Caron Proschan, the founder and CEO of the natural gum brand Simply, said she thinks U.S. gum sales slowed due to a shortage of innovation. Young customers have little disposable income and many distractions, she said, so gum needs to be compelling. Simply — which makes gum from a type of tree sap called chicle instead of synthetic ingredients — has seen its sales double every year since 2021 without raising prices, Proschan said. “Consumers today care about ingredients. They care about quality. The chewing gum category was not evolving to meet the needs of this consumer,” she said.

[From AP News]

First of all, I hope Ms. Fedorchenko of Mars Inc. has business cards printed with her title of Vice President for Global Gum and Mints, Snacking Division. It’s such a fun title! But how do we feel about gum as a stress reliever? I get it, but personally I’ve always found that gum chewing just becomes nervous energy of a different kind. I’ll enjoy the initial burst of flavor (peppermint or spearmint, for me) and then will be chain-chewing to keep getting a fresh hit, and to keep the physical activity going. Basically, the tension just relocates to my jaw. And of all the things to spend money on, it’s hard to get jazzed about buying gum. Instead I took that money and purchased NUMBER REDACTED boxes of thin mint cookies from girl scouts selling their wares out in the rain, thankyouverymuch.

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photos credit: Karolina Grabowska and Saugat Shrestha via Pexels

On Sunday night, as the Oscars were happening, royalists were slowly melting down and tweeting through it as major news agencies killed the “manipulated” Mother’s Day photo from Kensington Palace. It was incredible to watch in real time as even true-blue sycophants clutched their pearls and dared to question the lies they were getting from KP. And now, Richard Kay at the Mail has entered the chat. Kay is a royalist and, even more than that, he’s now closely aligned with KP and Prince William specifically. Kay gets a call when William needs to do clean up on one of his messes (famously, the Rose Hanbury affair story). So it’s interesting to watch Kay really question everything about the series of boneheaded moves from William and his staff right now. Some highlights from Kay’s latest Daily Mail column:

Kay does not believe the palace’s lies: As recriminations flew over the photograph, which cast a deep shadow over the Commonwealth Day service of celebration at Westminster Abbey, royal insiders were privately insisting that there had been no professional manipulation but merely a little tidying up of a picture which captured a private moment. But that explanation simply won’t do. This was no snapshot destined for a family photo album but an image that was going to be shared with the world in a bid to crush the speculation about Kate’s health once and for all. How foolish such expectations look now.

No one believes Kate’s apology either: Palace minders must have hoped that Kate’s mea culpa would head off this dangerous and unforeseen crisis. But far from ‘killing’ the story, her statement breathed new life into it. It quoted her blandly saying that ‘like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing’. She also apologised for ‘any confusion the family photograph caused’. And that was all. There was no explanation as to why she wanted to alter the picture or what it was she hoped to modify. What was the touching up all about?

The rumormill: A widely seen TikTok video suggested that the picture was taken last November and the clothing of the children and the Princess were changed by ‘Photoshop’ manipulation. Perhaps the biggest mystery of all is the most obvious one — the absence of Kate’s wedding and engagement rings. This must surely have raised alarm bells with the Kensington Palace communications team, which was responsible for distributing the image. The Princess’s sapphire engagement ring was Princess Diana’s and is probably the most famous piece of jewellery in the world. The fact that it wasn’t there was bound to arouse curiosity.

Why is KP making Kate take the fall for everything? Kate’s apology is obviously heartfelt but her explanation is partial. It does seem unfair that the woman whose health and welfare has been at the centre of this baffling episode should be the one saying sorry. It is entirely fitting to ask why the couple’s well-paid communications staff didn’t flag up the discrepancies in the picture before its release. But, then again, perhaps they did. By offering her apology, the Princess appears to be taking full responsibility which, for someone still convalescing from major surgery, does seem grossly unfair.

The Waleses’ biggest flaw: William and Kate are bright, personable and intelligent. They are down to earth and unshowy — the very qualities that have made them the biggest draw of our Royal Family. But it is this desire for ordinariness which conceals one significant flaw: a near obsessive need for secrecy. Neither the reason for Kate’s surgery nor the nature of her complaint has been disclosed. Perhaps in years gone by — before social media — such a position could be sustained, but these days it is virtually impossible.

The Waleses are insular & cut off: The couple have erected a towering wall around their family life which rightly screens them from prying eyes. But at a cost: it has contributed to a sense that they can be insular and rather remote. Similarly, their decision to relocate from London to the middle of Windsor Great Park, while terrific for George, Charlotte and Louis’s schooling, has added to the idea that they are slightly cut off. Never was this more apparent than in William’s decision not to attend ex-King Constantine’s memorial service last month. No explanation has ever been offered, but in an institution like the Royal Family, where presentation is fundamental, it looks like an error. An error compounded by the fiasco over the photograph.

No one believes Will & Kate anymore: Some will dismiss media criticism about the manipulated photograph as a storm in a teacup. But there are precious commodities at stake here: trust and integrity. If pictures can be digitally altered, what else can be twisted? The British public adore the Royal Family but that adoration rests on them being told the truth.

[From The Daily Mail]

Kay also went off on a tangent, explaining that Will and Kate are so secretive because the Sussexes will “weaponize” anything and everything against the Waleses… which is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard, and I’m embarrassed for Kay that he even halfheartedly attempted that. William and Kate are secretive because they have secrets and because they’re arrogant and ignorant and they don’t want to “serve” in any way. They do not understand public service or the idea that they should be subject to regular accountability, nor do they feel like they need to disclose anything about their lives, their living arrangements, their health or their marriage. Kay knows all of this. And he’s very publicly telling them to get their house in order.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.