Prince William: We Can End Homelessness is a two-part documentary set to air on ITV this week. But don’t you know, William didn’t make this navel-gazing documentary simply for British peasants. Of course not. Kensington Palace worked out a deal so that the doc will stream on Disney+. As you can imagine, the British media is leaning into a “rivalry” narrative, because Prince Harry has a contract with Netflix:

Prince William’s documentary about homelessness is to air on Disney+ ahead of his brother’s polo series on rival network Netflix. The Prince of Wales, 42, took part in the two-part ITV series to highlight his work in seeking to end homelessness.

The documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, will be broadcast in the UK on Wednesday and Thursday and will be available to international audiences on Disney+ from Friday Nov 1.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Sussex’s latest offering for Netflix, which is due for release in December, promises “an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look” at the sport of kings. Polo, a five-part series co-produced by Prince Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Productions, is the latest documentary to be released as part of the couple’s multimillion-pound deal with the streaming giant. While the Duke is not expected to feature heavily on screen, he was filmed playing the game in Florida in April in support of his charity, Sentebale.

Polo will be the fourth Netflix production released by the couple so far following Harry & Meghan, their six-part documentary series, Live to Lead, a series of pre-recorded interviews they introduced, and Heart of Invictus about the Duke’s Invictus Games.

More recently, Prince Harry appeared in an ITV documentary called Tabloids on Trial about his high-profile legal crusade against the media. Prince William has appeared less inclined to take part in television shows in recent years.

[From The Telegraph]

I forgot that Tabloids on Trial was on ITV. Prince Harry spoke on camera in that documentary, and it was specifically for a British audience. I don’t believe Tabloids on Trial aired anywhere in the US, on streaming or TV. As for the brothers’ “streaming wars”… um, Disney+ and Netflix don’t release much information about their streaming numbers, but I’m guessing that most people will not give a sh-t about William’s yammering about homelessness. I doubt that ITV will get high viewership for it either. People have memory-holed this, but William’s 2020 environmental documentary (Prince William: A World For Us All) bombed too. Princess Kate’s piano recital Christmas shows also get low viewership. The only way they can drive up interest in anything they do is by mentioning the Sussexes.

Photos courtesy of ITV, YouTube and Kensington Palace.

Imagine being a stand-up comedian and bombing so badly that you change the course of a presidential election, and in essence alter the course of history. So it is with “roast comic” Tony Hinchcliffe, an unsuccessful comedian who was hired to speak at Donald Trump’s Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Hinchcliffe’s set became one of the biggest stories of the Nazi rally, and that’s saying something. The parts of Hinchcliffe’s set which got the most attention: “I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico” and the obscene joke about how Latin Americans never pull out and they “loved making babies.” Don’t forget the “joke” about how he has a Black friend and they “carve watermelons” together. Racism on top of racism. Well, the Trump campaign and Republicans across the board are trying to distance themselves from Hinchcliffe. The Bulwark hilariously points out that the Trump campaign knew exactly what Hinchcliffe was going to say because they already killed a “joke” in which he called Kamala Harris a C-U-Next-Tuesday.

Donald Trump’s campaign was left scrambling Sunday night after roast-comic Tony Hinchcliffe made insulting jokes about Hispanic and black people on stage at the ex-president’s Madison Square Garden rally. The lines sparked immediate backlash and even condemnation from fellow Republicans. But four top campaign sources said it could have been even worse.

“He had a joke calling [Vice President Kamala] Harris a ‘c-nt,’” a campaign insider involved in the discussions about the event told The Bulwark. “Let’s say it was a red flag.”

Hinchcliffe’s remarks—and the ensuing backlash—has sparked questions about how such an offensive speech was allowed at such a high-profile rally; whether it was deliberate; and why a presidential campaign would elevate a roast-master comic edgelord in the closing days of a tight race for the White House. Campaign staffers had asked all speakers to submit drafts of their speeches ahead of time—before they were loaded into the teleprompter—according to the aforementioned sources. Once the objectionable “c-nt” joke was spotted, the sources said, a staffer asked Hinchcliffe to strike it. He complied.

Those sources insisted that they did not spot the other objectionable lines in Hinchcliffe’s speech prior to him delivering it because they were ad-libbed. Hinchcliffe couldn’t be reached for comment.

About three hours after [Hinchcliffe’s] performance, as condemnation was pouring in from left, right, and center, the Trump campaign was forced to take the rare step of distancing itself from one of their speakers—though it only separated itself from the “trash” line and not the watermelon one. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Danielle Alvarez, a Trump senior adviser said.

By then, the political damage had been done. In Pennsylvania, home to a sizable number of Puerto Rican voters, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro denounced the comments. At roughly the same moment, Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny announced his endorsement of Harris.

Behind the scenes, the Trump campaign debated how to respond. Some aides wanted a full-throated denunciation of Hinchcliffe while others, in accordance with MAGA’s no-apologies crowd on Twitter, advocated for no response at all. “It’s a joke. People need to grow up,” one Trump adviser in the no-apology camp told The Bulwark. “This is what we’re campaigning against: PC culture run amok.”

Another adviser, speaking to The Bulwark, took the opposite position: “This isn’t the hill we need to die on, Puerto Rico as a trash island—for f–k’s sake!”

[From The Bulwark]

That’s interesting that the Trump campaign is circulating a story about how Hinchcliffe ad-libbed the lines about Puerto Rico and watermelons, that those racist jokes were not part of the set he provided to them, the set which was loaded into the Teleprompter. The thing is, even if that’s true (and it could be, you never know), the Trump people have zero credibility. Especially since they platformed ALL OF THE OTHER RACIST AND SEXIST SH-T. It’s crazy that the one thing they struck was “hey, don’t call Kamala Harris a c–t” and left all of the other sh-t in.

I also wanted to highlight two despicable reactions to Hinchcliffe’s set, one from JD Vance and one from Jon Stewart. I don’t even have words for how much I despise Jon Stewart’s bullsh-t these days. The fact that he basically agrees with JD Vance should tell you everything about Jon Stewart. “Stop being offended by racism, you’re too sensitive, it was just jokes from a roast comic!!”

Vance: I have heard about the joke… Maybe it’s a stupid, racist joke.. Maybe it is not. But we have to stop getting so offended at every little thing can a United States of America. I’m so over it pic.twitter.com/I93s68plT8

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 28, 2024

Photos courtesy of YouTube.

As we discussed over the weekend, Jeff Bezos and WaPo CEO Will Lewis ordered the Washington Post to dump their planned endorsement of Kamala Harris. Will Lewis fell on his sword and publicly claimed that he was the decision-maker in this situation, and he felt like the hometown paper of America’s capital city should not endorse any presidential candidate, not even when Kamala Harris’s opponent incited a violent insurrection and tried to overthrow the federal government IN Washington, DC. I don’t buy that Will Lewis made this decision on his own, especially because editor Robert Kagan, who quit WaPo last Friday because of the endorsement situation, claims that Bezos had a backroom deal with Donald Trump. As in, kill the WaPo endorsement of VP Harris and the quid pro quo is that Trump would meet with Blue Origin people and presumably make promises for government contracts. Ever since the news came out last Friday, people have been canceling their WaPo subscriptions en masse. So much so that it’s become one of the biggest media stories of the month:

The Washington Post has been rocked by a tidal wave of cancellations from digital subscribers and a series of resignations from columnists, as the paper grapples with the fallout of owner Jeff Bezos’s decision to block an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

More than 200,000 people had canceled their digital subscriptions by midday Monday, according to two people at the paper with knowledge of internal matters. Not all cancellations take effect immediately. Still, the figure represents about 8% of the paper’s paid circulation of 2.5 million subscribers, which includes print as well. The number of cancellations continued to grow Monday afternoon.

A corporate spokesperson declined to comment, citing The Washington Post Co.’s status as a privately held company.

“It’s a colossal number,” former Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli told NPR. “The problem is, people don’t know why the decision was made. We basically know the decision was made but we don’t know what led to it.”

Chief Executive and Publisher Will Lewis explained the decision not to endorse in this year’s presidential race or in future elections as a return to the Post’s roots: It has for years styled itself an “independent paper.”

Few people inside the paper credit that rationale given the timing, however, just days before a neck-and-neck race between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Former Executive Editor Marty Baron voiced that skepticism in an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition on Monday.

“If this decision had been made three years ago, two years ago, maybe even a year ago, that would’ve been fine,” Baron said. “It’s a certainly reasonable decision. But this was made within a couple of weeks of the election, and there was no substantive serious deliberation with the editorial board of the paper. It was clearly made for other reasons, not for reasons of high principle.”

Post reporters have revealed repeated instances of wrongdoing and allegations of illegality by Trump and his associates. The editorial page, which operates separately, has characterized Trump as a threat to the American democratic experiment. Several Post journalists say their relatives are among those canceling subscriptions.

[From NPR]

NPR also notes that Will Lewis touted a rise in subscriptions by 4,000 earlier this year, because that’s the state of media these days – 4,000 new subscriptions in an election year was considered big news. I’d say that 200,000 canceled subscriptions is even bigger news. As much as journalists are pearl-clutching over the canceled subscriptions, even they have to admit that legacy media has basically zero credibility at this point. It’s been nine years of Trump and the MAGA cult. Nine years of the media sanewashing Trump and minimizing his words and behavior. Nine years of these same journalists holding Democrats to a wildly different standard than an adjudicated rapist, felon and ultra-nationalist racist. Legacy media got so much support in the first years of the Trump presidency but they’ve utterly squandered that goodwill. F–k the Post, f–k the LA Times and f–k USA Today. Speaking of – USA Today has also declined to endorse this year, after endorsing Joe Biden in 2020 (which was their first presidential endorsement in decades). That means the NY Times endorsement of Harris was the only national newspaper endorsement.

PS… I wrote this before Bezos’ WaPo column came out, so I’m covering that piece separately.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Well, this shocked me. I thought Gisele Bundchen was probably done with having babies, but no, she is not done. Gisele is pregnant with her third child, her first with boyfriend Joaquim Valente. Gisele has been seeing Joaquim for over two years by my calculations – he started out as her friend and jiu-jitsu instructor, then it blossomed into a relationship. Joaquim is, to my knowledge, the only person Gisele has dated since her divorce from Tom Brady.

Gisele Bündchen is pregnant! The model, 44, and boyfriend Joaquim Valente, 35, are expecting their first baby together, Bündchen’s third, a source close to Bündchen confirmed to PEOPLE on Monday, Oct. 28.

“Gisele and Joaquim are happy for this new chapter in their life and they’re looking forward to creating a peaceful and loving environment for the whole family,” the source tells PEOPLE in a statement.

Bündchen has been dating the Jiu-Jitsu instructor since June 2023. Their baby will join Bündchen’s son Benjamin Rein, 14, and daughter Vivian Lake, 11, who she shares with ex-husband Tom Brady.

Bündchen, who served as a Victoria’s Secret Angel from 1999 until 2006, was notably absent from the 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show held on Oct. 15, despite a variety of past Angels’ returns.

Bündchen and Valente were first spotted together in November 2022, when the pair visited Provincia de Puntarenas (a province located on Costa Rica’s coast) with her two kids. After originally denying a romantic relationship with her trainer, a love connection later blossomed between the pair, and in February 2024, a source confirmed to PEOPLE that Bündchen and Valente have been dating since June 2023.

[From People]

I forgot that Gisele is 44 years old now. That’s a lot for a 44-year-old body, but I’m sure Gisele sees this as a fresh start with the man she loves. I always thought that Tom probably wanted more kids with Gisele but she was the one saying no. That also makes me wonder if Tom is freaking out about the news. For what it’s worth, TMZ reports that Gisele told Tom and their kids ahead of time, before this announcement. It’s definitely interesting! Anyway, congrats to Gisele and Joaquim.

Also: in photos from September and October, she wore mostly baggier tops. She probably got to a point where she couldn’t hide her bump anymore.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

Pippa Middleton and her Terribly Moderately Wealthy husband James Matthews now live primarily in Berkshire, just a short distance away from Pippa’s parents. Pippa and TMW James used to live in London, but I believe they sold their townhouse and relocated to the country, where they purchased a grand £15 million estate. They’ve done a lot of renovations to the house and the property, and they’ve invested in other commercial real estate in the area too, including a petting zoo and some sort of posh glamping venue. But this is about their private estate, which includes 145 acres. Apparently, Pippa and TMW James don’t want peasants to use their footpath, even though the footpath has been commonly used for decades.

Pippa Middleton and her husband are at the centre of a village row over the use of a footpath at their £15million estate. The Princess of Wales’s sister and finance tycoon James Matthews moved their young family into the 145-acre country pile in West Berkshire two years ago.

The estate was previously owned by late design tycoon Sir Terence Conran, who allowed locals to use a country lane leading up to the Georgian mansion’s private drive. However Ms Middleton and her husband have decided to close off the lane to walkers, with signs warning ‘Private: No Public Access’ and ‘No Trespassing’ appearing around the estate. One villager told The Mail on Sunday that the couple’s decision to block the pathway was ‘outrageous’.

He added: ‘I like to walk, and I don’t see why I can’t walk there. I have been walking along there for 50 years. When Sir Terence had it, he had no objections. I think we should have a right to roam. These people seem to be overprotective of their property. I don’t think it is right. We are quiet villagers. We don’t have vandalism around here. With all the notices stuck up, it feels like us and them.’

Another villager said: ‘I think it is a shame. It is a lovely walk. Although it wasn’t officially a footpath, Sir Terence didn’t have any objections. He was very nice. Everyone liked him. He was quite involved in the village. It feels they are depriving the village of an amenity. People might get the impression they are throwing their weight around.’

Through his estate manager, Mr Matthews submitted a Highway Declaration Notice to West Berkshire Council in March marking out his private territory. It made it clear that the road previously used by locals is off limits. Eugene Futcher, chairman of the West Berkshire Ramblers, has launched a counter application, seeking to have the driveway declared a public right of way. The council is expected to reach a decision next year but, as landowners, the Matthews family are allowed to impose their own restrictions until then.

However some villagers have expressed their support for the couple, with one business owner saying: ‘The public assume it is a right of way. It has never been a right of way. They were always allowed to walk it by the previous landowner but now it’s owned by somebody else. [The Matthews] have just exercised their right.’

They added: ‘Ramblers are narrow-minded people who don’t have anything and don’t want other people to have anything. It is jealousy. If it was their house or garden, would they want anybody to walk through it?’ Mr Matthews was approached for comment.

[From The Daily Mail]

Don’t get me wrong, we have these kinds of disputes here in America, but they’re really common in the UK. In America, the signs would go up and people would shrug and say “okay, well that’s they’re property after all.” But in the UK, people feel entitled to what they always saw as their right to walk on privately owned land. In the UK, Pippa is seen as haughty and bougie for this. Of course, maybe the answer is less privately-held land and more public parks and publicly owned trails? Maybe there shouldn’t be a vast real estate network owned by the crown and the Duchy of Cornwall?

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

Timothee Chalamet hilariously crashed the “Timothee Chalamet look-alike” contest in NYC over the weekend. The prize was $50! [Socialite Life]
I saw Conclave on Sunday – I loved it! Ralph Fiennes is great in it. [LaineyGossip]
Review of Venom: The Last Dance. [Pajiba]
Olivia Rodrigo wore vintage Dior. [RCFA]
Photos from last week’s Power of Women party. [Go Fug Yourself]
Have you ever watched The Sandman? [OMG Blog]
Megan Thee Stallion recently got into Sex & the City. [Just Jared]
Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco did couple-costumes for Halloween. [Seriously OMG]
Flowerboy = THC-enhanced soda. [Starcasm]
Joaquin Phoenix & Julia Roberts have the same birthday?? [Hollywood Life]
What are some “accidentally” scary movies, like The Wizard of Oz? [Buzzfeed]

Timothée Chalamet making a surprise appearance at his look-alike contest in NYC. pic.twitter.com/z5hdXTVfpN

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) October 27, 2024

Prince William has been trying out his awful bearded look for a couple of months now. It actually began over the summer, when he appeared in a video praising British Olympians, and then he shaved soon after. Then he had second thoughts, and he grew out a sleazy little beard again. Throughout it all, I’ve gotten the impression that William believes that his beard has been well-received across the board. People are like “oh, you grew a beard,” and he responds with “Thank you, I do look amazing!” Plus, he’s obviously trying to copy everything his brother does, including Harry’s beard. But did you know this was all part of William’s single-guy rebrand? From the Daily Mail: “Secrets of Prince William’s ‘rugged rebrand’: How future King went from balding middle aged dad to hot heir – thanks to new trainers and THAT stubble.” I don’t know if I should laugh or hork.

When Prince William debuted his new beard in August a wave of fans praised his fresh appearance and encouraged him to keep the rugged look. This outpouring of support appears to have played a significant role in William’s choice to maintain his new style, and to even expand on it. However, it’s not only his grooming habits that have evolved – William has also revamped his wardrobe in recent years, confidently showcasing his new fashion choices.

Celebrity stylist Martine Alexander says: ‘This positive response has given William the confidence to be more contemporary with his style. It seems that he’s adopting an age-appropriate look and it’s great to see.’

During a recent visit to the NFL Foundation, William opted for a contemporary outfit, comprising a slim-fit blazer, shirt and chinos, finished off with a pair of crisp white trainers from Russell & Bromley. His relaxed ensemble struck the ideal balance between comfort and style, while maintaining a smart appearance. The white trainers, in particular, caused quite a sartorial stir.

Body language expert Judi James believes that William’s evolving style reflects his increasing confidence, with his choice of footwear signifying a shift in attitude.

She says: ‘William’s recent change of style and his much less cautious-looking and less formal body language seems to indicate both a growing confidence in terms of his stepping up to the throne and maybe an update in his priorities since Kate’s and his father’s illnesses. White trainers look symbolic of William’s recent shift in attitude when he is working. Some of his signals of inherent shyness have decreased and he looks happy to be more immersive and more relaxed as a result.’

William is believed to have been working with stylist Natasha Archer, who is responsible for creating some of his wife Kate’s most iconic outfits. As William adjusts to his new role within the royal family, his path towards becoming King has undoubtedly contributed to his growing sense of self-assurance.

Judi explains: ‘His step-up closer to the throne might have created pressure as his responsibilities increased, but pressure and stress will often decrease when feelings of control increase, making William’s recent outings seem to imply that he feels more in control of his own destiny as a royal than he did when he had his grandmother and father to answer to. William has feared being too spontaneous or even “giving” with his body language for most of his life thanks to the way he witnessed his mother’s life become an ongoing soap opera, but he seems more trusting with the press now.

[From The Daily Mail]

Style-wise, there really hasn’t been a significant change this year, or maybe I just haven’t paid attention? Like, he’s always preferred slim-cut suits and moose-knuckle-emphasizing tight pants. He’s always worn those slim, knit ties. He’s never worn clothes well or looked comfortable in any style. The only differences are: the gross beard and the fact that William has lost a noticeable amount of weight in the past five months or so. I genuinely believe that he grew a beard partially to hide how hollowed-out his face looks. This is not a “rugged rebrand” overall though – he looks ill and greasy.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Last week, the news broke that Broadway actress Sutton Foster had filed for divorce from her husband, screenwriter Ted Griffin. For the past year, there have been rumors that Sutton was a factor in Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness getting divorced after 27 years of marriage. Sutton and Hugh co-starred in the revival of The Music Man in 2022. So far, both Hugh and Sutton have remained mum, not giving any official confirmation or rollout as a couple. However, according to a source, Debora-Lee had “suspicions” about the two from the very beginning of the MM production and was not surprised at all when they started dating.

Hugh Jackman’s ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness had ‘suspicions’ about the actor working with Broadway star Sutton Foster in The Music Man. It comes amid renewed rumors of a romance between the Wolverine actor, 56, and Foster, 49, following her split from her husband Ted Griffin, 53. The Tony-winning Broadway star filed for uncontested divorce from the screenwriter, in New York County Supreme Court on Tuesday, Page Six reported.

Furness, 68, reportedly had concerns about the pair teaming up for the Broadway production in 2022 – a year before Jackman announced the end of their 27-year marriage.

‘Deborra-Lee had her suspicions when Hugh started working with Sutton,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘Their relationship is not a secret to her.’

Furness, who shares adopted children Oscar, 24, and Ava, 19, with Jackman will not address the recent speculation as she refuses to speak publicly about her ex.

‘Deborra-Lee wants to be left out of this narrative,’ the source explained. ‘She is not going to address this or speak against Hugh. When they divorced, they agreed to keep everything that happened during their marriage private.’

A second insider added: ‘Time has passed for Hugh to mourn his divorce and now Sutton is over her relationship, they are getting closer to making it official. They aren’t going to shove it down everyone’s throat. They became close friends while working together and got to confide in each other over their individual troubles.’

They continued: ‘Hugh still has tremendous respect for Deborra-Lee. They have kids and that is what is important to them both. The are repairing what they can, and will never talk ill about each other.’

Jackman shocked fans when he filed for divorce from Furness last September. Months later rumors began to swirl that Foster and Jackman had grown close, with insiders this week telling PageSix that they are now ‘in love.’

‘They are 100 percent together and are in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together,’ an insider told the publication. ‘They are still together. They go out of their way to hide it, but it’s common knowledge.

[From The Daily Mail]

I don’t know if Sutton and Hugh hooked up before their marriages officially ended or not, but I do totally believe that there was absolutely something emotionally going on between the two of them during their time in the production together. Affairs – emotional or physical – are always messy. I’m not surprised that Deborra-Lee had “suspicions” or “concerns.” They’d been together for over 27 years, of course she could read her husband. It does sound like all parties involved are trying to keep things private and amicable. There are three children involved here, so for all of their sake, I hope things don’t blow up publicly.

I also love that whoever this source was did their own little “I’d very much like to be excluded from this narrative” on Deborra-Lee’s behalf. She said in an interview earlier this year that she feels “strong and resilient,” and I wish nothing but the best for her. I hope that if this source did come from her camp, that it’s her way of telling people, “No seriously, leave me the f-ck alone, I have nothing further to say.” She’s not responsible for her ex-husband’s actions, so she should be left out of whatever comes next. Hopefully, she’s spent this last year healing and kicking ass.

Embed from Getty Images

photos credit: Robin Platzer/Twin Images/Avalon, Jonathan Rebboah/Panoramic/Avalon and Getty

While the Daily Mail has been disgusting towards the Duchess of Sussex for years, the vibe has gotten decidedly grotesque, bullying, hectoring and bizarre in recent weeks. There was the week-long tantrum over Meghan’s red dress at the Children’s Hospital gala, followed by reports of Meghan and Harry’s “separation.” We’re currently in a gossip cycle where these awful people are trying to piggyback on Tina Brown’s comments last week, where she claimed that Meghan is “a perfectionist about getting it all wrong. Her issue is that she doesn’t listen. She has all these people, asks them their opinion, and then doesn’t follow it. She does what she wants to do. And all of her ideas are total crap, unfortunately.” That led Richard Eden at the Mail to write one of the nastiest pieces I’ve read in months, in which he listed all of the “mistakes” he believes Meghan made over the years – mistakes like “naming her daughter Lilibet” and “giving an interview to Oprah.”

This new piece in the Mail might be one of the funniest and stupidest though. Christopher Wilson wrote: “Is it time for Meghan to follow the example of other American women who married into royalty?”

Slammed by ex-Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown as having ‘the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world’, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, appears to be attracting yet more negative publicity. Described as headstrong and ungovernable, the Duchess was summed up by Ms Brown in a new podcast: ‘The trouble with her is that she has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world. She’s flawless about getting it all wrong. She really is.’

So maybe this is the moment for Meghan to follow the example of the thirty-plus American women who married into royalty in the past – those who remained dignified and left behind a good mark on the world.

*The most fabled of all is Philadelphia-born Grace Kelly, who brought glamour, fame, and an effortless ease to the throne of Monaco in the 1950s. An Oscar-winning actress, she’s best remembered for her part in the Alfred Hitchcock movies Rear Window and Marnie. She married Prince Rainier III in 1956 and became a model princess, creating and supporting countless charities before her tragic death in a car crash in 1982.

*But for the ousting of the country’s monarchy in 1973, London-born U.S. heiress Marie-Chantal Miller would now be Queen of Greece. The 56-year old beauty, daughter of billionaire businessman Robert Miller, met Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, son and heir of ex-King Constantine, in 1994 and they married the following year. Now based in New York, she believes in behaving correctly at all times, especially (take note, Meghan) towards her royal in-laws. Mother of five, she says, “We sometimes forget to be caring towards others — and that’s where manners fundamentally start.”

*Lisa Halaby was born in Washington DC, the daughter of a US test pilot, airline executive and government official. A Princeton graduate, she worked as a town planner before meeting the widowed King Hussein of Jordan in Amman in 1978, taking the title Queen Noor when they married. As queen, she created a vast charitable organisation in her her husband’s name, while her international work focuses on environmental issues with the emphasis on water and ocean health. Now aged 73, she has been a widow since her husband’s death in 1999.

[From The Daily Mail]

He keeps going and going, because of course he does. Poor Meghan left those horrid people five years ago and they’re still running long-winded hissy fits about how she’s “headstrong and ungovernable.” Two loaded words when it comes to Black women. Wilson, like Tina Brown, can’t really put his finger on what exactly Meghan has done “wrong” though – clearly, she’s not white enough for them, and clearly, they’re devastated that Meghan didn’t simply divorce Harry and move away, leaving the charismatic prince on their shores. Or are they mad that she didn’t stay too, so that they could abuse her at close proximity? In any case, they can’t come right out and say that, so we get loaded commentary about how she’s “ungovernable.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

As King Charles and Queen Camilla were finishing up their big Australia-Samoa tour this weekend, i Newspaper published another critical piece about the monarchy. This one was written by Richard Palmer. The headline: “Royal tours may soon be over for good due to anger over slavery, Harry and Meghan.” Something similar was said in 2022, following Prince William and Kate’s catastrophic Caribbean Flop Tour, that the monarchy would “need to rethink” how and where they tour. Then QEII died, and William became more obsessed with copying his brother, and Charles got cancer, and on and on. Basically, it’s been two and a half years and the monarchy still hasn’t figured out if they can still “tour” their realms and former colonies. Some highlights from this piece:

Rethink royal tours: The King and his family may have to rethink their approach to the Commonwealth and realms after yet another tour was disrupted by protests and arguments over Britain’s colonial past. Charles and the Queen’s official visits to Australia and Samoa this week will be fondly remembered by the thousands who turned out to greet them. But for many around the world, the enduring image will be of a heckling Aboriginal senator being dragged out of Parliament House in Canberra after accusing the King of genocide.

Senator Thorpe’s message was received: Senator Lidia Thorpe’s tirade against the monarch did not go down well among some people. Even many of those not keen on the monarchy thought it ill-mannered. But it led Melbourne’s Age newspaper and some prominent liberals to demand that the King apologise for Britain’s treatment of the country’s indigenous people. Thorpe’s protest also came after the premiers of each of Australia’s six states snubbed an invitation to a reception to meet Charles, and the country’s republican movement labelled the first visit to Australia by a reigning King of Australia as his farewell tour.

All the king’s realms: The king has 14 overseas realms where Charles is head of state – Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The Royals have found themselves the target of increasingly strident campaigns over the legacies of empire. These include demands for reparations for slavery and climate change; festering resentment over the way the Crown treated colonials; and in those 14 realms, growing calls to break the final tie with Britain by replacing King Charles with a homegrown head of state. “We just have to accept that wherever we go these days, not everybody is going to be delighted to see us,” one senior palace aide said. “It’s just part of our modern world. Those days of everyone coming out to cheer us are gone.”

The Cambridge Way: A tipping point came when William and Kate, then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and now Prince and Princess of Wales, went on an ill-fated Caribbean tour in March 2022 and found themselves facing protests. The couple were caught in a perfect storm of indignation during a week-long visit to Belize, Jamaica, and The Bahamas. Their aides vowed afterwards that the couple needed to rethink their relationship with the Commonwealth and how to undertake such tours in future. “We’ll do it the Cambridge way next time,” a senior palace official said. But there has been no sign of any similar trip for them since and aides admit that Kate’s cancer diagnosis, following on from the change of reign and Coronation, has meant that any big rethink about how to tackle Commonwealth tours has been put on the backburner for the moment.

The Sussexit & the commonwealth: It does not help, of course, that Prince Harry, who had been tasked by Queen Elizabeth with representing young people in the Commonwealth even before he met Meghan, has quit along with his American wife. Her mixed-race heritage made her instantly more relatable to so many of its 2.7 billion population. Many in Africa and the Caribbean have since bought into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s version of events and their anger at the way they believe the couple were treated by the rest of the Royal Family has added to the public backlash against the monarchy there.

Whether William will eventually become head of the Commonwealth: But will William follow in his father and grandmother’s footsteps? On the plane back from that controversial Caribbean tour, a senior royal source briefed that the Prince and his staff recognised that he might one day be up to the job but also might never be the right person to lead the Commonwealth. Sally Bedell Smith, a distinguished American royal biographer, sees the value in a ceremonial, non-political, non-elected monarch heading the Commonwealth so thinks it remains possible. But she noted that Charles has been making all of those connections for decades during his long apprenticeship as heir to the throne. “William just hasn’t had that opportunity to immerse himself in the Commonwealth that his father had,” she said.

William & Kate won’t commit to putting in the time: He and Kate vowed to serve the Commonwealth as best they could. But are they prepared to put the hard yards in, travelling around all of the countries, especially after her illness and the re-evaluation of her priorities that is ongoing as she recuperates? It remains to be seen.

[From i Newspaper]

Sophie and Edward’s 2022 Caribbean Flop Tour got a similar shout-out for its awkwardness, and Palmer points out that Sophie and Edward have never returned to the Caribbean since then. Neither have William and Kate. LOL. The stuff about the Sussexes is so bizarre – “Many in Africa and the Caribbean have since bought into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s version of events and their anger at the way they believe the couple were treated by the rest of the Royal Family has added to the public backlash against the monarchy…” He could have just said “people around the world believe Meghan and her side and the left-behind Windsors have never offered any kind of rebuttal or evidence to the contrary.” Because that’s the truth. Besides, people have eyes – everyone saw how the Windsors and the British media ganged up on Meghan and HOW THEY STILL GANG UP ON HER TO THIS DAY. Anyway, the perfect storm is as such: an old king, too sick and out of touch to make real changes; a flighty, lazy, ambivalent heir consumed with jealousy for a brother who escaped; the brother who escaped and has no interest in being his family’s scapegoat or workhorse ever again. Let the realms fall and become republics. Also: spare me the “William hasn’t had time to immerse himself in the commonwealth” – he’s 42 years old. He’s chosen the path of laziness for decades.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Instar.