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Many Halftime performers prerecord their vocals and mostly lip sync through their Halftime performances. Not Usher – he was singing live, Alicia Keys was singing live, and it definitely felt like Ludacris and Lil Jon were doing it live. The one exception was probably H.E.R., who came out with her electric guitar for “Bad Girl” – that was prerecorded, I’m sure. In any case, we knew ahead of time that Alicia would come out with Usher, but Ludacris, H.E.R., Lil Jon, Will.i.am and Jermaine Dupri were surprises, or at least they were not announced ahead of time.

Usher was given more time than previous Halftime acts and he used it well, showcasing his decades-long catalog and putting on a real show – colorful, full of dancing, roller skating, stripper poles, costume changes and so much energy. Here’s the video:

Random, but I loved Usher’s first outfit, the white and silver ensemble which he gradually removed. The black-and-blue ensemble was really cool too, especially since he got Luda and Lil Jon to coordinate. Honestly, this whole thing was Usher reminding everyone that he’s a Beyonce-level entertainer – the live vocals, the dancing, the catalog, the setpieces. It was all really well done and so much fun. My one complaint is that I wish we heard more of “My Boo” and “Bad Girl,” but seeing the whole show, I understand how he wanted to organize the flow. Also: the Alicia Keys tweets were so funny – her voice broke on the very first note!

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.

Introduction: Minutes 0 to 5:45
I cut my finger and needed stitches. I saw the movie Chandra recommended in our last episode, Anatomy of a Fall, and loved it. May December was OK. I really liked Nyad and it inspired me to work out. We’re looking forward to seeing Poor Things and American Fiction. You can listen below!

Royals: Minutes 5:45 to 24:00
While we were off, Kate was hospitalized for abdominal surgery. We heard that the surgery was successful and she would need months of recovery. Right after the news broke about Kate’s surgery, we heard that Charles was scheduled for treatment for an enlarged prostate. Kate’s medical condition is unclear.

We heard that William’s focus was on his family, that he was visiting Kate and taking care of his kids. However he was only seen at the London clinic where Kate was recovering once. We didn’t hear about the Middletons or Kate’s children visiting her. Charles’ prostate procedure was at the same hospital, and Camilla was seen visiting several times. There was a story that photographers were only allowed outside the hospital for a day during Kate’s hospitalization but Camilla showed that wasn’t true. We heard that Charles visited Kate when they were in the same hospital, but not that William visited Charles.

Camilla was happy to be representing the royal family and did a few events when Charles was hospitalized. There were stories about how she’s the power behind the throne and the last one standing.

William reportedly picked Kate up from the hospital on Monday January 29th at 11 am. She is said to be recovering at home. There weren’t any photos of William at the hospital. Just a few hours later Camilla picked up Charles from the same hospital and they were photographed walking out together.

On Monday February 5th in the afternoon our time we heard that Prince Charles has cancer! At that point he had known for a week. So Camilla’s appearances after his diagnosis and before the announcement to the public looked cold, especially considering the messaging around that.

Stories in the Spanish press claimed Kate’s condition was dire despite the reporting that she was fine and recovering. Palace sources denied that she had been in a coma. The Spanish reporter who broke that story, Concha Calleja, said in an interview after that she trusts her sources and stands by her reporting.

Starting around the time of the King’s prostate procedure, the rota was griping “where’s Harry?” Right after the announcement of Charles’ cancer diagnosis, it was reported that Harry would travel to England. Harry arrived in London on Tuesday, and he went straight to Clarence house. He only met with Charles for 45 minutes, tops, at Clarence House. They met alone, and Camilla was not there. Charles left in a helicopter for Sandringham afterwards. Harry stayed at a hotel Tuesday night and left Wednesday morning.

There’s been a steady chorus of “Harry should come back, and maybe Meghan too” They’re trashing Harry for visiting his dad and making it very clear what they’ll do to the Sussexes.

We know that Harry didn’t see William because we heard that William refused to meet with him and doesn’t trust him. Of course there were stories attacking Harry for daring to come to the UK to see his father.

William stood in for Charles at an investiture service on Wednesday. He did not look sober. That night William went to an air ambulance charity event. A reporter asked a question and he said “We really appreciate everyone’s kind messages.” A source told the Daily Mail that’s about all the work we can expect from William for a while. William does not seem willing to do the work to be king and Charles does not want to cede any power to him. Here are links to the stories criticizing William from Hardman’s book. William is so focused on hating Harry.

Comments of the Week: Minutes 24:00 to end
Chandra’s COTW is from Harper on the post about Prince William not wanting to take on extra responsibilities.

My COTW is from Jais on the post about Tracy Chapman’s performance at the Grammys. Thanks for listening bitches!

Photos credit: Avalon.red, Cover Images

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Prince Harry attended the 2022 Super Bowl with his cousin Princess Eugenie. That year, the Super Bowl was held in LA, so it wasn’t a huge journey for them. They looked like they had a great time, and Harry was even invited into the Rams’ locker room AND he posed with the Vince Lombardi trophy. Classic Harry! Well, given Harry’s presence at the NFL Honors on Thursday, people have been gossiping about the Sussexes’ possible attendance at the Super Bowl later today. Please, let’s allow the Daily Mail to go full-tilt royalist about it with this headline: “Harry and Meghan ‘WILL attend the Super Bowl’: Duke of Sussex set to stay in Las Vegas after making no mention of cancer-stricken King Charles in gag-filled speech at NFL awards which followed 24-hour whistlestop trip to visit his father in the UK.” You have to try to say it all without taking a breath, in a rushed, panicked and hysterical voice. Try to make your voice crack when you say “cancer-stricken King Charles.”

Anyway, I do think/hope that Harry and Meghan will attend the Super Bowl. The 49ers are playing, and Harry has connections in San Francisco, and BetterUp might have gotten a VIP suite, so who knows. Harry and Meghan have so many powerful connections, it would make perfect sense if they ended up in, like, Netflix’s VIP suite or Amazon’s VIP suite or Paramount’s VIP suite. As for the British media’s hysteria over the fact that Harry turned up the NFL Honors a day after he flew back to the US after his quickie trip to England… yes, they’re mad about it. Big mad. Enraged.

Prince Harry flew to London to avoid being seen for the first time since his father’s cancer diagnosis at ‘glitzy Super Bowl festivities’ in Las Vegas, royal observers have claimed. The Duke of Sussex, 39, flew more than 5,000 miles from his home in California to London on Tuesday for what ended up being a 30-minute meeting with his father. But he jetted back to his Montecito home after just one day in the UK – after it is believed he spent the night in a luxury hotel rather than a royal residence.

Royal commentator Robert Jobson previously told Mail+ that Prince Harry’s trip was unplanned and ‘unbidden’, with critics now questioning whether it was a purposeful decision to be seen to have rushed to the King’s side.

Questions are now being asked over whether his sudden rush to the UK was fuelled by the knowledge he would be seen to be ‘enjoying’ the glitzy festivities at the Las Vegas event just 24 hours later. One critic posted on X: ‘If Prince Harry hadn’t jetted to London for that 30 minutes with his father, then the first images of him after the King’s cancer diagnosis would have been of him enjoying glitzy Super Bowl festivities.’

Harry was not expected to be seen again until he travels with Meghan to Canada next week for an Invictus Games event, but shocked royal fans by appearing to hand out the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, who scooped the award, was just as surprised to see him, hugging the duke, before he exclaimed: ‘Prince freakin Harry, I’m just shocked, that’s Prince Harry’. The Duke gave a very British speech poking fun at the differences between rugby and American football – such as the fact the NFL season is only 18 weeks long and that players get a ‘break every 15 seconds’. But there was no mention of his father, his trip to London or the rest of his family.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m cry-laughing at “But there was no mention of his father, his trip to London or the rest of his family.” The audacity!! The Mail cannot believe that Prince Harry went to the NFL Honors and didn’t spend the whole time talking about his father! Y’all know that if Harry had mentioned Charles at any point, these same people would be screaming about that too. As always, they want to be able to say that Harry “only” has his family connections and that’s the only reason anyone in America pays attention to him. Harry subverts that talking point by going places and not talking about his family constantly.

As for the “criticism” that Harry’s trip to the UK was performative… pick a lane, haters. First it was the most significant olive branch ever, then it was a childish stunt aimed solely at William, then it was blah blah blah. Now it was all part of a scheme to ensure that Harry could carry on with his planned events without the British media wailing “he hasn’t even checked in on his father!” For the record, I think Harry’s trip was partially about cutting off the media talking points too. But I also think he just wanted to see his cancer-stricken father.

PS… Page Six says the Sussexes will NOT attend the Super Bowl. Boooo. Page Six’s sources (who knows) say that the Sussexes are preparing for their trip to Canada this coming week, so that’s why they’re skipping the Super Bowl. Sources also say that Harry turned up at the NFL Honors because NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell personally asked Harry. That’s actually very cool?

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

Call me dumb, but I really didn’t know that football players playing in the Super Bowl had to buy tickets for their friends and family. Surely there’s a certain number of “comped” tickets allotted to each team for their friends and family? I guess it’s different when the players want their families to sit in a VIP box. By the same token, shouldn’t the NFL comp Travis Kelce (one of their biggest stars) for a VIP box for his extremely famous girlfriend? At the very least, Trav should get a discount! But apparently not – sources tell TMZ that Travis spent a huge amount of money for a VIP box for his family and Taylor Swift’s family.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s families are getting super close … taking in Sunday’s big game from a suite together TMZ has learned — and, like a gentleman, Travis is paying.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Taylor’s mom, Andrea, dad Scott, brother Austin and his girlfriend Sydney are going to sit with Travis’ mom Donna, dad Ed, brother Jason and sister-in-law Kylie Kelce while watching Travis compete for his third Super Bowl ring.

Taylor’s gonna be there of course, and we’re told some of her friends are tagging along … though we don’t know if any of her famous entourage will join the two families.

Allegiant Stadium sources tell us the suite costs well over $1 million … and we’re told that Travis is covering all of it because he just wants everyone to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday together. 87 sorta said this was the case on his “New Heights” podcast earlier this week when he joked he was “just counting how much money I’m spending on this damn Super Bowl for family and friends to come.”

[From TMZ]

Again, it’s crazy to me that the Chiefs or NFL won’t comp that box, especially given the “Taylor Swift bump” for the NFL and the team. Millions of new people – especially in the coveted “women and girls under 30” demographic – are watching football because of Travis and Taylor’s love story. Advertisers are spending millions hoping to get their commercials positioned around Taylor Swift cutaways. It’s bonkers. That being said, Travis is really doing the most to impress Taylor AND her family. Someone said that Scott Swift (Tay’s dad) is probably gagged that Travis is spending this kind of money. Trav really wants people to know that he’s a keeper. We’ll see, Trav!

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.

Last Friday, we learned that Mirror Group and Prince Harry had settled the rest of the outstanding hacking claims and illegal newsgathering claims. Harry won his limited case last December, but there were more than a hundred hacking claims (just from Harry) left to be adjudicated. Harry publicly promised to see the case through to the end, to continue testifying against the Mirror, unless the Mirror agreed to his terms. The Mirror’s lawyers put up a minor fight for a month or so, then capitulated. We only know that the Mirror has to pay what is essentially a down payment on the settlement, with an immediate payment of £400K.

Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, was in court on Friday for all of the paperwork, and to inform the court that a settlement had been reached. Inside and outside of the court, Sherborne delivered Harry’s statement, in which Harry not only called out the illegality of the Mirror’s editors and journalists, but name-checked Piers Morgan specifically. Harry said (through Sherborne): “We call again for the authorities to uphold the rule of law and to prove that no one is above it. That includes Mr Morgan, who as editor, knew perfectly well what was going on, as the Judge held. Even his own employer realized it simply could not call him as a witness of truth. His contempt for the Court’s ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment.” After being name-checked once again by Harry, Piers Morgan promptly wet himself and threw a shaky tantrum:

“I think that invading the privacy of the royal family is utterly reprehensible and on that I share Prince Harry’s opinion. I just wish he’d stop doing it.” Piers literally hacked and blagged the Windsors for years and now he’s some moral agent when it comes to privacy?? I guess this is all he has though – “Harry is invading his own privacy!!” GTFO.

Also: Deadline points out that around the same time as the settlement, the NY Post published a piece by Piers in which he was crying about Harry’s quick visit to the UK last week. Piers wrote that Prince William “would rather shoot himself than be in the same room as someone he now views as a despicable traitor.” Well… that’s a vivid image.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Piers’ social media.

While I didn’t really like or enjoy Saltburn or The Banshees of Inisherin, I enjoy Barry Keoghan and I want the world for him. Barry is not an actor trying to hide a posh upbringing behind a cheesy or false backstory – Barry’s background really was tragic. No father around, his mother turned to drugs and died when he was quite young. He went into foster care for years and eventually lived with his grandmother. He was born and raised in Dublin but he had stars in his eyes and always dreamed of working in Hollywood. He went from a small-time boxer to a character actor and he’s spent thirteen years working his way up the ladder. Barry covers the February issue of GQ and this piece is extraordinary. Some highlights:

He lives in London but loves his time in LA: “Just takin’ it all in, man. There’s a gorgeous feelin’ here. This mystic kind of haze. This subtle thing I feel here—it’s like a romance I hold with it. I’m in love with it.”

His energy with Jacob Elordi: “I’m really flirtin’. We were constantly close. It ain’t just for the cameras and the premiere[s]. Me and Jacob—he’s like a brother to me, honestly. I think when you’re comfortable with someone, you can be as close as you want, you know what I mean? It’s not like, ‘Oh, don’t come near me’—it’s like, I’m comfortable. When I’m comfortable around people, I’m comfy….I’m comfortable with Jacob. Messin’ about. Havin’ a laugh. We’re bein’ lads. We’ve just done a movie where we had to kiss, man. Look at the scenes we’ve done. You have to be comfortable with yourself.”

He feels like ‘Saltburn’ is the first time he hasn’t been seen as the freak: “It’s nice, man. It’s nice not just being looked at as the weird-looking guy, the unique feckin’ freaky little freak man-child, freak child-man, whatever you want to call it. It’s nice to see people kind of look at you in that way. I’ll be honest. It is nice. My prettiness didn’t get me this far,” he says, but he’s conscious that being someone audiences want to look at “opens up other lanes for me—it’s part of the leading man thing.”

He enjoys where he is but he still makes his hotel bed: “You can get caught up in it, and it’s kind of dangerous in that sense,” he says. This is why he makes his hotel bed every morning, even though he knows the staff will come around and change it themselves. “It’s just to start your day good, to kind of bring you back to gravity. At least I’ve made it. It’s small, simple stuff like that, keeps you from floating away.”

He dreamed of all of this: “It’s crazy when I think of it. I was saying to my friend last night—I was just looking out at the [Hollywood] sign and, y’know, I wanted this as a kid. I dunno why I wanted it, but I wanted it. It brings back memories, in a weird way—it’s hard to have memories of a place you’ve not been in, but I watched all those old movies, and was fascinated by Old Hollywood. This was stuff I dreamt of, as a kid.”

The loneliness of an actor’s life: “There’s a loneliness as well, that comes with this. A massive loneliness. It’s hard not to talk about that, or to pretend that’s not there.” It caught up with him in November when he walked the red carpet in Prada at the Saltburn premiere in New York. “One of the noisiest, busiest cities in the world, but for me it was like, I’m in that place on my own—the only person in New York, at some points.” Who do you think about, when you’re alone like that? “When I’m isolated? Obviously, my mother. My mother, always. She’s many years passed now, but I always think about her anyway. It’s always just in and around achievements that it’s really prominent—’cause you’d like to celebrate that wit’ ’er, y’know?”

He had necrotizing fasciitis just before The Banshees of Inisherin started shooting. One in five cases are fatal; amputation, he says, was on the table. He remembers saying to the doctors, But I’m not gonna die, right? and the doctors saying, Well, we don’t know.

He named his son Brando. He was born right in the middle of shooting on Saltburn; Keoghan managed to get away for that one day. “They gave me a day off. Good on them! Day off, and straight on to night shoots and night feedings—boom! It was probably the best time of my life, to be quite fair. Havin’ a baby boy, and leadin’ a movie. It was the best time of my life, I must say—yeah.”

On Brando’s mother, his ex Alyson Sandro: “She’s done a great job and she’s an incredible mother.”

[From GQ]

There’s so much sadness layered into this profile but there’s something else too – joy, pleasure, wish-fulfillment. It’s nice to hear a non-American actor talk about how much he loves LA, how he still enjoys the promotional grind and he still has some Hollywood dreams. Most actors – especially Brits, but not so much Irish actors – can’t stop sh-t talking LA. To Barry, he’s happy as a clam in LA. And the fact that he had flesh-eating bacteria and almost got his arm amputated? Right before filming Banshees?? That’s insane.

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Cover & IG courtesy of GQ.

Prince William’s two events on Wednesday seemed to partially satiate the masses and the press, and yet there seems to be a new host of questions related to William, Kate and the monarchy in general. For one, William seemed under the influence of something at the investiture. Two, he seemed to strike the wrong tone at the charity gala for a man dealing with a wife and a father’s dual health crises. There’s no evidence that William has even checked on his father in person. There’s still a missing princess (no one has seen her since Christmas), persistent rumors of a medically induced coma, and the lack of evidence that Kate is where they say she is or what her condition actually is. All of that was drawn into sharp relief when William spent the bulk of this week briefing sh-t about how much he hates his brother. The New York Times did a somewhat interesting piece about how William’s life is probably going to change drastically in the near future and he’s not prepared for it at all. At least that’s what I got out of it. Some highlights:

Lingering disruptions for William: Nobody, aside from Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, faces more lingering disruption from the king’s cancer diagnosis than his eldest son. The advocacy work, family life, and zone of privacy that William has carved out for himself is very different than that of his father, when he served as the Prince of Wales. Whether William will be able to preserve those qualities while stepping in for his father during his treatment is, at best, uncertain. “William has tended toward less of the day-to-day routine work of the monarchy, compared to his father, instead focusing on bigger, glitzier engagements,” said Ed Owens, a royal historian. “But now he’ll be expected to fill in on many of these more mundane public outings.”

William’s energy is focused elsewhere: It is not just a question of managing his calendar: William’s professional focus, members of his staff say, has been about pouring his energy into a couple of high-impact social issues — most recently, climate change and homelessness — where he believes he can make a tangible difference.

Still no Kensington Palace CEO: The scope of William’s ambition is evident in a looming shake-up at his office in Kensington Palace. He and his wife, Catherine, are expected to appoint, for the first time, a chief executive. Using a corporate title rather than the traditional title of private secretary, a person with knowledge of the office said, is calculated to attract candidates with business credentials and to reinforce the office’s professional nature.

William has never done bread-and-butter royal events: “William was trying to explore the boundaries of what he could do as heir that he couldn’t do as king,” said Peter Hunt, a former royal correspondent for the BBC. “The tension is how to pursue his own activities while supporting the monarch. William is going to feel that at an earlier stage than his father did.”

The school run: A spokesman for William, Lee Thompson, said Kensington Palace was conferring with Buckingham Palace about how to parcel out the king’s public commitments (William’s events on Wednesday were in his diary before the disclosure of his father’s illness). In the meantime, Mr. Thompson said, William continues to drop off and pick up his children from their school in Berkshire, west of London. That is another break from the more remote parenting style of the royal family in previous generations.

A secret squirrel: The zeal with which William has thrown a cloak of privacy around his family was dramatized by his wife’s medical treatment. Kensington Palace offered scant information on her condition, beyond saying she was undergoing abdominal surgery. There were no photographs of the couple’s children — George, Charlotte, and Louis — visiting their mother in the hospital. Nor were there any images of her going home almost two weeks later. The contrast to Charles was striking. Buckingham Palace disclosed that he would be undergoing a procedure for an enlarged prostate. Camilla was photographed visiting her husband, and the couple left the hospital together, waving to cameras as they walked to their car. Some of those differences can be explained by history. While Charles has taken his share of lumps from Britain’s tabloid press, he has continued to work with those papers in what is essentially a transactional relationship.

[From The NY Times]

There are several different angles we can go here – while William is facing a profound shift in his “business as usual,” it’s also clear that Charles wants William to have absolutely nothing to do with state business or stepping into any events which were on Charles’s schedule. Charles has made it clear that he will hold onto power until his last breath. And right now, William seems fine with that too. When push comes to shove, William would rather booze it up and spend time with his rose bushes. The only reason William “wants” any power is to tell everyone that Harry is jealous of HIM. That’s clearly his sole focus now, at the expense of literally everything else. Anyway, I think the NYT is being shady about all of the shenanigans around Kate. It’s genuinely my hope that American and European media really start to pick on how f–king weird the past month has been.

The Prince of Wales has returned to royal duties after his wife’s abdominal operation and following the announcement of the King’s cancer diagnosis.https://t.co/Ig4ZQJ3Vi4 pic.twitter.com/KUXAYfZZfp

— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 7, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

As some people have already discussed in the comments, “royal expert” Tom Bower has been a tear this week. Bower is a vile man who always has the absolute worst sh-t to say about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Specifically Meghan, who he once called a “brazen hussy” because Meghan smiled and waved at fans. He’s also been pretty clear that he’s targeting Meghan specifically, in part of the royal media’s general attempt to “force” a Sussex separation so Harry will come running back to them. Except that now, in the year of our lord Beyonce 2024, Bower seems to understand that Harry and Meghan’s marriage is strong and there’s no divorce on the horizon. So Bower said the quiet part outloud: for the monarchy to survive, the Sussexes must be obliterated.

An eminent royal biographer believes the future of the monarchy depends on the ‘obliteration of the Sussexes’ after Prince Harry’s brief visit to the King following his cancer diagnosis. Tom Bower launched a blistering attack on the Duke of Sussex branding him a ‘traitor’ when discussing his meeting with Charles on this week’s The Reaction, the Mail’s new YouTube talkshow.

It was hoped the troubling news of the King’s illness could bring Harry closer to his father and his brother, the Prince of Wales, after launching years of vicious attacks against the monarchy. But Mr Bower told the Mail’s columnists Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce that the opposite is the case.

The author of ‘Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War between the Windsors’ gave his opinion in this week’s episode: ‘I think that the monarchy in fact depends on actually obliterating the Sussexes from our state of life because their continuation is bad for us. I am really furious that he was even allowed to land in London and then given a special escort to Clarence House.’

‘I do think it is interesting that given all the number of bedrooms they have got at Buckingham Palace and all the other palaces in London, that he had to stay overnight in a hotel.’

[From The Daily Mail]

This is grotesque, dangerous, vile, infuriating and appalling. It’s also the rare moment where someone is saying something explicitly which other royalists feel but refuse to say outright. This is genuinely the mindset of not just Bower and his ilk, but the entire royal establishment, from the palace to the press to the online deranger campaign. It was never “live and let live” or “the Sussexes can do their own thing and it has nothing to do with us.” The entire royal establishment was turned upside down four years ago because the spare quit that bitch and found a way to thrive outside of their toxic prison. The royalists are literally too stupid to figure out a way to move on from the Sussexit, so now an entire national media and an entire monarchy have decided that they must “obliterate” the Sussexes.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

There’s been such a weird vibe around all of the royal reporting for months, really. It’s obviously gotten much, much weirder since King Charles and the Princess of Wales’s dual health crises, and the fact that Kate hasn’t been seen since Christmas Day is still unsettling. Also unsettling: Prince William was largely MIA for weeks before popping up on Wednesday, looking and acting sh-tfaced at an investiture ceremony right after his office announced that he would disappear for another couple of months. Add to all of that the fact that William’s office seemed insanely reactionary to Prince Harry’s sudden visit to the UK once Buckingham Palace announced King Charles’s cancer diagnosis. What was a simple story about a son flying to see his ill father in person was invaded by Prince William’s very obvious wall-to-wall briefings about how much he despises his brother and would never meet with him. As always, the Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes spoke to “friends of William” about all of the latest developments. Even Sykes sounds a bit bored with William’s mindnumbing tantrums at this point. Some highlights:

The briefing war between the palaces about Harry’s visit: While the meeting with Charles undoubtedly represents an important step in repairing their relationship, the chances of fraternal reconciliation seem close to zero. One friend of Prince William told The Daily Beast that William “never” wanted to see Harry again. Another added that Harry’s hop to the U.K. went against the royal family’s tendency to put institutional calm above “personal impulses,” and accused Harry of using the king’s diagnosis to “cast himself as the dutiful, concerned son” despite openly trashing his father and other family members in his book, Spare. However, staffers at Buckingham Palace, seeking perhaps to calm the waters, have let it be known that the king welcomed his son’s visit, and one former courtier pointed out it would have been easy for Charles to ask Harry to come at a later date, had he so wished.

William still hasn’t seen his father: William has still not seen his father in person since the diagnosis, The Daily Beast understands, content with supportive calls and messages. Reports that Princess Beatrice made a special visit to London to visit her uncle are wide of the mark too—she has for many years lived in an apartment in St James’ Palace, which is part of the same compound as Clarence House. Princess Anne is thought to have seen Charles at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday morning.

Harry’s trip to the UK added drama! One friend who has known the family for decades told The Daily Beast, “To announce on Monday that he (Harry) was flying home immediately after (Charles’ diagnosis) was made public added unnecessary drama to an already febrile situation. It had people speculating that Charles was at death’s door, when in fact, his cancer is eminently treatable and, as the prime minister subsequently said, has been caught early.” The family friend was unwilling to criticize Charles for agreeing to see Harry at such short notice, saying, “Any father would do the same thing.” They added: “I don’t think Harry should have put him in the position by asking, quite frankly. It created panic at the worst possible moment.”

The king wasn’t trying to snub Harry: The Times of London reported sources close to Charles were “eager to stress that the brevity of the visit was not a slight to his younger son, but merely an indication of the 75-year-old King’s fatigue after the previous day’s hospital procedure.”

William hated that Harry visited their father: A friend of Prince William gave a fascinating insight into the depth of anger still felt toward Harry by many in the family and their circle, telling The Daily Beast: “The king announcing he had cancer was totally unprecedented and incredibly brave—but suddenly the focus was on what Harry was doing. He seems to have this knack of making it all about him. Some people think it’s a bit late to cast himself as the dutiful, concerned son after all the unforgivable things he said about his father, and brother, and their wives in his book.”

Harry acted like a teenager! Asked if Harry’s trip, and Charles agreeing to see him, was not a clear sign of a wish to build bridges at least on his father’s side, the friend of William told The Daily Beast: “Of course, but members of the royal family generally don’t behave like a teenager in a reality show expressing their personal impulses. It fuels speculation and panic. They keep calm and carry on.”

William briefed that Harry wanted to see him so that William could brief that he would never see Harry: Another friend of William scoffed at Harry’s reported willingness to meet William during the trip after his camp told the Daily Mail, “The duke’s primary reason to travel to the U.K. is to visit his father. If the opportunity were to arise to see the Prince of Wales then the duke would have gladly accepted it.” The friend said: “William never wants to see him again.”

Buckingham Palace is tamping down William’s rageaholic briefings: One former courtier told The Daily Beast: “I don’t think it’s fair to blame Harry for coming over. Charles could have easily suggested a later date. Overall, I think the situation has turned out pretty well for everyone. Getting those two in a room together for half an hour is actually a remarkable achievement, and it sends all the right messages of forgiveness and reconciliation without rolling out the red carpet. If William wants to carry on being bad cop forever, that’s up to him.”

[From The Daily Beast]

The same “former courtier” also said that Harry’s visit shows that he and Charles can clearly replicate that again in the future, and that Harry will likely stay in hotels if he comes again because it’s less complicated. While people close to Charles clearly briefed Robert Jobson following Harry’s visit, it’s also clear that BP is not officially or unofficially displeased with Harry’s visit. BP’s message is: thanks for visiting, Harry, it was a bit melodramatic but your dad appreciated the effort. The message from William/KP is: CODE RED EMERGENCY Harry visited and William is vomiting with rage and throwing a hissy fit about how much he hates Harry! This unsubtle shade too: “If William wants to carry on being bad cop forever, that’s up to him.” BP’s message to Peg: Put on your big girl panties and STFU, you child.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

People Magazine did two cover stories this week, one for Robert DeNiro and one for King Charles. Their exclusive cover story was written in a hurry, in the 24 hours after the palace announced that Charles has cancer. Previously, I was surprised that People Mag included quotes about how the king has “not looked himself” in recent months, because I wasn’t expecting anyone to admit that. Charles isn’t the only member of the royal family who has seemed visibly unwell over the past year, but at least we’re allowed to talk about it now. Anyway, People dropped more exclusives from their cover story and they’re worth discussing:

Camilla’s importance: “She is his strength and stay like [Prince Philip] was for the late Queen,” a palace insider tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue. “She will be great. She will rally him, she will buoy him. She is amazing. She equips him to do the job he has to do.”

It’s up to Prince William and Queen Camilla to be the face of the monarchy. “It is hard with Kate being ill as well, but he will step up,” a source close to the royal household says of Prince William.

There are currently no plans to appoint Counsellors of State to act on King Charles’ behalf. “He wouldn’t want to put that pressure on William,” says the source. “He has always wanted to save his children from having that pressure too early and that will remain. Particularly as William has other priorities [with Kate]. William will do his best, but the King will want to carry on with his duties as best he can,” says the source close to the royal household.

William is in regular contact: A royal source tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue that the Prince of Wales, 41, is in regular contact with his father amid the news of the King’s cancer diagnosis.

Charles will work from home: “Yes, he’s going to step back from public duties for a considerable time, but there will be plenty of work for him — it just won’t necessarily be in a room with hundreds of people,” says royal biographer Robert Hardman, author of The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy. Adds the palace insider: “He will want to get on with the job. But that will depend on what treatment he is having. It may be utterly draining on him. He will need a lot of support.”

[From People Magazine]

As I said, this was written mostly on Monday and Tuesday. By Tuesday evening, Kensington Palace had informed the Daily Mail that William would disappear back into his gopher hole after his events on Wednesday and that it would probably be another month or two before anyone sees him again. This was also written before William turned up to the Wednesday investiture ceremony visibly under the influence. My point is that all of these pronouncements about “he will step up” are just the 2024 version of “promises to be keen.” Whatever William is doing these days, it’s a huge issue for the monarchy and everyone in Peg’s orbit. Also: they keep basically admitting that Charles and William haven’t seen each other in person at all? It’s crazy even for the dysfunctional Windsors.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images. Cover courtesy of People.