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Last night, Variety held their annual Power of Women event. Last year, the Duchess of Sussex was one of the Power of Women honorees, but then QEII passed away and Meghan didn’t go to the event (although Variety still released their cover interview with her). So this year, Meghan attended and here she is! We didn’t know she was going to this, so it was such a pleasant surprise to see her fly solo.

Meghan wore a customized Proenza Schouler dress which would probably retail for $1400 or more. The original look was tea-length and made of leather, and Meghan had it turned into a gown. Like… this is far from my favorite thing I’ve ever seen her wear. In fact, it definitely feels like she’s not beating the Sad Beige allegations anytime soon. She paired the look with what some have identified as a Proenza Schouler minibag, plus her favored slicked-back tight chignon. Her heels are likely Aquazzura.

On the red carpet (I actually think it was a blue or black carpet), Meghan spoke to several media outlets, including the Variety reporter. She confirmed that she’s working on exciting new projects and Variety asked her about the absolutely bonkers streaming numbers for Suits. Variety said that over 45 billion minutes of Suits have been streamed, which surprised Meghan. She said:

“Isn’t that wild? It was great to work on, such a great cast and crew. We had a really fun time. I was on it for seven seasons, so quite a bit. But it’s hard to find a show you can binge-watch that many episodes of these days, so that could have something to do with it. But good shows are everlasting. Things that make people feel– I was going say ‘good,’ but it’s more than that, things that make people feel something, right?. And feel a sense of community. But we have so many exciting things on the slate. I can’t wait until we can announce them, but I’m just really proud of what we’re creating. My husband is loving it, too. It’s really fun.”

[From Variety]

I’m glad she went out solo – while it would have been amazing to see Harry at this event too – and he’s super-popular within these kinds of crowds, it was an event honoring women.

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex talks about the success of #Suits and the projects she hopes to make. | Variety #PowerOfWomen presented by @lifetimetv https://t.co/oGSpRQ4GyP pic.twitter.com/KV0kmvZjYV

— Variety (@Variety) November 17, 2023

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Photos courtesy of Variety’s IG and Getty.

Silken-voiced, dreamy eyed LeVar Burton has been advocating against book bans in partnership with PEN America. Now, in the middle of her Trustfall tour, Pink has also joined forces with PEN America, a group that fights for literary and human rights. Fans at her Florida concerts this week were treated to tote bags filled with banned books, coming in at 2,000 total free books for the week. And not a moment too soon, as PEN’s charts have Florida at more than double the number of book bans than the next highest state on the list, Texas. #BeLikableRon2024 might want to take some notes.

Pink on teaming up with PEN: “It’s confusing, it’s infuriating, it is censorship,” Pink said in an Instagram video announcing her action on Monday. The video, which also featured PEN America president Suzanne Nossel, has been liked more than 33,000 times. “Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools,” Pink said in a PEN statement about the giveaway. “It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed. This is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books.”

Florida surpasses everyone in banned books: According to PEN America’s latest research, Florida surpassed Texas over the past academic year: There are more books banned in public school classrooms and libraries in the Sunshine State than any other state in the union. PEN America said it recorded 1,406 book ban cases in Florida, followed by 625 bans in Texas, 333 bans in Missouri, 281 bans in Utah, and 186 bans in Pennsylvania.” PEN also reported a 33% spike in book bans nationally.

Ron DeSantis lies: “Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination… In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate.”

[From NPR]

Florida is the education state??Florida is the education state!! Reader, I fell out of my office wheelie chair reading that (and not in a home office, an office office, with people watching). It takes balls to lie like that, and I honestly did not think the twerp had ‘em. Florida, where students and teachers are fleeing en masse in what’s being called the great “brain drain.” Florida, where they’re implementing the offensive curriculum: “enslaved people developed skills for personal benefit.” Florida, where TV hosts are calling for the eradication of raccoons! That’s our education state! I’m in the hysterical laughter phase before the crash and sobbing commences.

Brava to Pink for spotlighting this crisis. And I don’t use that word carelessly. Cutting off access to knowledge and ideas is fundamental to authoritarian takeovers. PEN America has a Pink page up on their site with helpful info on the book titles being banned, the numbers by states, and how to press your elected officials to do something. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m dying to check out the over-sexualized content of one of these banned kids’ books: Girls Who Code.

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Dakota Johnson is trending on social media solely because of the completely amazing line reading of “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died” in the first Madame Web trailer. [LaineyGossip]
Why “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died” has become this week’s funniest meme. [The Mary Sue]
Anne Hathaway’s Bulgari campaign. [Tom & Lorenzo]
The Friends cast posted their tributes to Matthew Perry. [Pajiba]
Some cool stocking stuffers for kids. [Buzzfeed]
Travis Kelce talked about his trip to Argentina on his podcast. [JustJared]
How is Matt Bomer still this ageless and beautiful? [GFY]
Khloe Kardashian is still talking about Jordyn Woods. [Hollywood Life]
Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars. [Seriously OMG]

‘Forget it, Jake. He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died.’ pic.twitter.com/abtNZ85S4K

— Tom Reagan’s Hat (@RufusTSuperfly) November 15, 2023

he was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died pic.twitter.com/xJ4HSc1iXx

— alex (@alex_abads) November 15, 2023

he was in the amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died pic.twitter.com/DkzYSFhKaH

— alex (@alex_abads) November 15, 2023

David Zaslav became CEO of Warner Bros. in May 2021 when it merged with Discovery, where he was already stationed. Since his takeover, Zaslav shelved the $90 million-already-filmed Batgirl for a tax write off, rebranded HBO Max to just Max, decimated the ranks at TCM to the point where Scorsese and Spielberg demanded to speak with him, and cost the studio a reported $200 million by going ahead with the release of Summer 2023’s big flop The Flash. He’s doing well. The New York Times ran a profile on Zaslav this week, and his comments did not go unnoticed by the Hollywood community. Which is how we got this piece from The Hollywood Reporter on the irony of Zaslav now saying, comfortably post-strike, that the WGA was right in all their contract requests. Of course as a studio head, Zaslav was represented in strike negotiations by AMPTP. Hey Mr. WBD CEO: GMAFB.

Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav now admits that striking writers were correct in their demands for sweeping changes in how creatives are compensated in Hollywood.

Zaslav told The New York Times in a lengthy new profile that he has no regrets about the deal struck between studios and the Writers Guild of America for a new three-year contract on Sept. 24.

“They are right about almost everything,” Zaslav said. “So what if we overpay? I’ve never regretted overpaying for great talent or a great asset.”

In the deal, writers received an increase in pay, minimum show staffing requirements and protections against artificial intelligence, among other gains. Yet studios resisted the writers’ demands for months, resulting in a strike that lasted a brutal 148 days and brought the industry to a near halt. In July, Disney chief Bob Iger called the writers’ proposed changes in compensation “unrealistic.”

Zaslav’s suggestion that writers might now be overpaid will likely strike some detractors as ironic given that the executive reportedly earned $246 million in compensation in 2021. WGA board member Adam Conover previously countered, “That’s about the same level as 10,000 writers are asking him to pay us collectively, all right?” For further context, if combining the Writers Guild, SAG-AFTRA and Directors Guild contracts, the total cost is “closer to the high end of our $450 million to $600 million yearly cost estimate,” Moody’s Investor Service detailed on Nov. 10.

The Times profile points out that the writers and actors strikes ultimately saved WBD plenty of money, but suggested the studio has been sluggish to greenlight new projects that could bolster the company’s bottom line amid his extremely aggressive, and controversial, cost cutting (the company disputes this, noting Warner Bros. has announced many titles for its new DC Universe, streaming projects and first-look deals). Even with executing $3 billion in cuts, the company lost $400 million in the third quarter. The board’s confidence in the executive, the story notes, remains firm.

The story follows the latest in Warners’ self-inflicted headaches: the announced shelving, then un-shelving, of another movie, Coyote vs. Acme — a live-action and animation hybrid that briefly seemed doomed to follow the same fate as last year’s Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which were dumped for tax write-offs. After creative community outcry, the company has since reversed course and plans to shop the film to studios and streamers, though one congressman, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, is now calling for the studio to be investigated for “predatory and anti-competitive” practices.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Wait, Coyote vs. Acme is back on? Carina was talking about its getting shelved only a few days ago! How quickly Zaslav crumbles amid criticism. To quote the epitome of Warner Bros. characters, the inimitable Bugs Bunny, “what a maroon!” The most asinine part, though, is Zaslav claiming he’s “never regretted overpaying for great talent.” For one thing, your record is public, sir. We see you slashing jobs at beloved networks and canning finished movies with built-in fanbases. But what really stings is the word “overpaying.” He may think he’s being subtle (he’s not). Or he thinks it will fly right over our heads (it won’t) that he’s still essentially saying writers/creatives/anyone-but-hims are getting paid too much. They’re not, Zaslav. You are. How long until the WBD Board starts to regret overpaying for their current CEO?

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The next Invictus Games will be held in Vancouver and Whistler from February 6-17 2025. We truly have more than fourteen months to go, plenty of time for the games to get organized. In fact, as I watched Heart of Invictus, I wondered why Prince Harry and the Invictus team haven’t expanded the games so that more veterans can compete and go through the program – in most countries, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants for the games. But I suspect that the Invictus team wants to keep a somewhat small footprint for the games so that the host countries don’t have to blow through tens of millions of dollars. The Vancouver-Whistler games will also be the first “winter sports” competition for Invictus, and I believe that this will be the biggest Invictus yet, with even more competitors and all new adaptive sports being introduced. Well, because Prince Harry gets so much support and good press because of Invictus, the Daily Mail is trying their damnedest to dig up some controversy.

Prince Harry’s next Invictus Games in Canada – a country loved by him and Meghan Markle – is in ‘turmoil’ after two senior executives were ‘dismissed for no apparent reason’ with just over a year to go, a whistleblower told MailOnline today.

But MailOnline can exclusively reveal that CEO Peter Lawless, a lawyer and arguably Canada’s most respected Olympic and Paralympic administrator, has left his job abruptly. An insider has claimed that Mr Lawless, who was awarded the Diamond Jubilee Medal by Harry’s grandmother the Queen in 2012, was fired and morale amongst staff is now ‘at an all time low’. An Invictus Games spokesman declined to comment on whether he was sacked, instead saying he had been ‘transitioned out’ and was ‘no longer an employee’ but will remain an ambassador.

Also leaving the Vancouver-Whistler team is Bill Cooper, who was in the role of Chief Commercial Officer for ten months until he left in October. He has thanked colleagues for their support after several praised his ‘grace’ and accused Invictus 2025 of making a big mistake by getting rid of him.

One Games volunteer said that staff are ‘concerned that these recent moves will again overshadow this incredible event for our veterans’. They also raised concerns that the Sussexes’ security and other costs may put a strain on Games finances if Invictus 2025 has to pick up the bill. He said that the 2025 Games is facing financial concerns, a claim denied by an Invictus spokesman, despite the Governments of Canada and British Columbia having pledged to spend almost £20m ($30million) to stage the games.

The whistleblower said: ‘CEO Peter Lawless and Chief Commercial Officer Bill Cooper were dismissed for no apparent reason. This is a significant setback with just over a year to deliver the Games, which I’m told are well over budget and no plan to close the gap even after securing $30 million in government support from the Province of British Columbia and the Canadian Federal government’.

The volunteer claims that the departure of the CEO and the Chief Commercial Officer has caused disquiet internally. He said: ‘As you can expect, the morale among the staff and volunteers is at an all-time low, and Prince Harry and his wife have become a significant distraction with all their troubles. As volunteers, we are concerned that these recent moves will again overshadow this incredible event for our veterans. Enough already’.

MailOnline approached the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to comment on the departures and whether they were involved in the decision to terminate the employment of Lawless and Cooper. Their spokesman was also asked if Harry and Meghan cover their own travel, accommodation and security costs during Invictus, the last one being held in Dusseldorf, Germany, in September.

[From The Daily Mail]

This “whistleblower” is some Mail reporter or palace flunky. “Prince Harry and his wife have become a significant distraction with all their troubles.” What? The man who founded Invictus is a distraction? The man who is beloved by Invictus competitors? Harry and Meghan are extremely popular within the Invictus community, and Heart of Invictus showed how much Invictus, as an organization, still depends on Harry and Meghan as part of their global brand. And the talk about security is ridiculous too – Germany went out of their way to assure the Sussexes’ security and Canada will do the same because, again, the Sussexes are a vital part of the Invictus brand. Now, all that being said, I’m sure there’s staff turnover and the loss of a couple of chief executives is concerning. But again, we’re fourteen months out, not fourteen days.

PS… I wonder how much of this is about the Commonwealth Games struggle bus? The CG don’t have host nations for the 2026 or 2030 games after Australia and Canada dropped their bids. LOL.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Prince William and Kate are not known to speak any language other than English. There’s some indication that William knows some French, but he’s never spoken French with any fluency in public. Back in June of this year, the Mail even pointed out that Kate only speaks English. All of which speaks to Will and Kate’s incurious natures and failure to prepare for their roles. What kind of global statesman refuses to pick up a second language? What kind of “Prince of Wales” refuses to learn Welsh? It speaks to their education too – Kate was solely focused on getting her MRS degree, while William was simply too lazy to work when he was in school. Anyway, Hello Magazine has an interesting piece about how Kate wants her children to be fluent Spanish-speakers. Dios mio, Niñera Maria tiene la mano llena.

It is a well-known fact that part of being a royal is extensive engagements with foreign countries and many of the British family are expected to learn at least one foreign language from childhood. Take His Majesty the King for example, who to varying degrees of accomplishment can speak Welsh, French, and German.

The same expectation is placed on the next generation of royals, namely Prince George and Princess Charlotte who are being taught Spanish by their mother Princess Kate. This may come as a surprise to those who know that the usual second language of the British family is French. The late Queen was fluent in the language and even ordered her meals in this way.

Princess Kate knows better than anyone that with Prince George’s status as heir to the throne after his father Prince William, it is important that he is able to keep up important international relations. Danielle Stacey, HELLO!’s Online Royal Correspondent tells us: “Given the fact that George, Charlotte, and Louis will probably carry all out full-time royal duties in future and will meet people from all over the world, it’s no wonder that the Princess of Wales wants her children to be confident linguists.”

The choice to teach George and Charlotte Spanish can also be attributed to Princess Kate’s own personal connections to the language. Danielle Stacey highlights: “Kate also spent time in Chile on her gap year and no doubt will have picked up some of the language, and of course, it helps that the children have their very own tutor in the form of their nanny Maria, who can help them practice.”

By the time Princess Charlotte, eight, went off to nursery in 2018 she was able to count in Spanish. At the time, the same was true of Prince George, 10 owing largely, we expect, to their Spanish nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.

[From Hello]

I wonder if Nanny Maria has been speaking to the kids in Spanish this whole time. It’s so much easier to learn a language when you’re exposed to it at a young age. Your mind is like a sponge when you’re young and you can pick up languages so much faster the earlier you’re exposed. Anyway, I actually hope that the Wales kids are learning other languages and not just through Nanny Maria. What’s the point in sending the kids to all of these expensive private schools if the schools are prioritizing this kind of stuff? It’s also funny because it feels like William and Kate are a lost cause now – as much as they try to keen their way through life, they are both so unaccomplished, uneducated and dull.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Everything’s happening this week in royal gossip. We’ve gotten our first look at Omid Scobie’s Endgame, we got palace briefings on Prince Harry calling his father for his birthday, and we’ve got Kate making an ass out of herself yet again. Now add this to the pile: The Crown’s Season 6 has been released (the first part at least), and the palace is finally doing some complaining, explaining, bitching and moaning. I’ve been waiting for this for weeks – the palace is behind schedule, usually King Charles’s “allies” have already spent a full month complaining about The Crown before a new season airs. Please allow The Telegraph’s Vicky Ward to get the ball rolling:

The final series of The Crown depicts Prince Charles waging “war” on Diana, Princess of Wales, in the weeks before her death because she was getting more press coverage than Camilla Parker Bowles. The then heir to the throne is shown hosting a 50th birthday party for his future wife at Highgrove but loses his temper when Diana dominates the next day’s front pages.

However, Ingrid Seward, the royal biographer, said there was not a “grain of truth” in the suggestion that Charles lost his temper over such a matter.

“That’s just not him,” she said. “He might have been worried that Diana was intent on trying to eclipse Camilla but would have approached it in a different way. I think he would have felt sad that she felt the need to do that.”

The first episode of the sixth and final series, released on Thursday, shows Charles pleading with his mother, Elizabeth II, to attend the birthday party, saying “a public gesture of approval from the Queen would transform the campaign for Camilla’s legitimacy… Your attendance not only as my mother but symbolically as queen would be transformative for Camilla. She’ll never be fully embraced by the public until she has your approval.”

However, the Queen is cold towards her son and tells him she cannot go because she has to visit a Rolls-Royce factory in Derbyshire. “How can I possibly give my approval when I don’t approve,” she asks. “It’s nothing personal, I’m sure she’s very nice. It’s a matter of principle. Two perfectly good marriages, two perfectly happy families, have been broken up by this.”

Meanwhile, Diana tells Prince William they are going on holiday with Mohamed Al-Fayed because she wants to be out of the country for “you-know-who’s” birthday celebration. The following day, Charles is miserable because his ex-wife dominates the newspaper front pages.

“What’s the use of a few warm headlines when Camilla can be eclipsed by Diana at the drop of a hat?” he rages at his PR guru, Mark Bolland, whose job was to make the future Queen more presentable. “I don’t want partial, qualified victory. This is war. Only total victory will do.”

[From The Telegraph]

Charles threw a glitzy birthday party for Camilla at Highgrove in the summer of 1997 and he was mad that A) Diana’s vacation got more attention and B) his mummy wouldn’t come to the party and show her approval of his mistress? It actually sounds like The Crown got that right. While the institution cut Diana loose in 1996, they didn’t know how to “manage” her or control her post-divorce. It was a huge problem for Charles in particular because he was hellbent on legitimizing Camilla in any way. Think of how the institution is still reacting to Harry and Meghan, now think about what it was like for Diana, still living in an apartment in Kensington Palace, still being spied on by the Windsors, the government and the press, and still able to get global headlines whenever she wanted. Ingrid Seward is full of sh-t.

Photos courtesy of Netflix/The Crown.

In August 2022, Zahara Jolie became a freshman at Spelman College in Atlanta. Zahara apparently toured a few HBCUs and decided on Spelman in early 2022. Angelina and Zahara were seen at a “Spelhouse” event in LA, and Angelina was seen in Atlanta and on Spelman’s campus several times last year. Zahara is now in the fall semester of her sophomore year, and it looks like she’s officially joined a sorority – Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt has gained a whole new group of sisters! The daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt has joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at Spelman College.

Zahara introduced herself to her new sisters by saying, “My name is Zahara Marley Jolie. And [I] landed all the way from the Golden State in the city full of angels: Los Angeles, California.”

In a new video from Essence, the sophomore, 18, is seen alongside her fellow Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters. She dances as she introduces herself to the enthusiastic crowd.

The Spelman undergraduate joined the Mu Pi Chapter of the first historically Black sorority. Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded in 1908, with the Mu Pi chapter being established in 1979.

[From People]

Zahara introduces herself in the video as “Zahara Marley Jolie,” so she isn’t using Brad’s name at all these days. I wonder if she’s legally changed it? Angelina eventually legally changed her name, dropping “Voight” from her legal name in her 20s, I think. No surprise, none of those kids fool with their father at this point. The turning point was the plane incident in 2016. Despite Brad’s crisis management team crying constantly about this or that, his children avoid him as much as possible because they know he’s an abusive a–hole.

Anyway, I’m so proud of Zahara and I love that she’s found community, sisterhood and family at Spelman. I hope Angelina was there to see this!! She probably was – Angelina has used any excuse to visit Atlanta in the past year.

Ivies Up! The first Black sorority just gained a very familiar face as a member!

Congratulations to Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who just joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at @SpelmanCollege!

We see you and can’t wait to see all you… pic.twitter.com/nddw67amAm

— ESSENCE (@Essence) November 16, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.

Word on the Mean Girl Streets is that Prince William and Kate are worried that they are the “targets” of Omid Scobie’s Endgame, and that Kate is especially upset because Scobie’s Endgame excerpts came out the same day as her big “landmark speech” about Early Years. I can’t stop laughing, because I actually watched Kate’s two-minute speech and there was nothing landmark about it, nor was it anything other than another huge, overhyped embarrassment for the Princess of Wales. I said yesterday that it feels like people are setting her up to fail, but the truth might be even worse: the palace, Kate and the media all feel like Kate’s “speech” was genuinely groundbreaking or important. Meanwhile, at the symposium (lol) Kate talked about what Prince Louis’s “feelings wheel” taught her.

Kate Middleton says Prince Louis is learning to express himself with a cool tool. The Princess of Wales, 41, revealed that her 5-year-old son and his classmates are using a “feelings wheel” at school to help them describe their emotions. Princess Kate shared the update while making her way into the Shaping Us National Symposium at The Design Museum in London on Wednesday morning, where she delivered the keynote speech. Before she entered the auditorium, Princess Kate spoke to host and British radio and TV star Fearne Cotton about the project.

“Louis’ class, they came back with a feelings wheel — it’s really good. These are 5 or 6-year-olds and going with names or pictures of a color that represents how they feel that day, so there is a real keenness in school particularly to get involved in conversations. It’s actually helping continuity across the board and then how does that feed into you, with your mental health — it’s same conversation, so to be able to find a bit of framework to talk about this, is very important,” she continued.

The Princess of Wales then said she was ready for her key speech — but admitted to some jitters!

When Cotton asked how she was feeling ahead of the address, Kate replied, “Good but nervous, but excited too.”

[From People]

“There is a real keenness in school particularly to get involved in conversations…” Lordy. For £20,997 a year, Lambrook should be doing more than a janky feelings wheel. Anyway, as many have pointed out, Kate constantly uses “feelings” and “mental health” as if they’re interchangeable. As if “feeling a bit down” is the same as clinical depression, or “feeling a bit nervous” is the same thing as clinical anxiety. While feelings wheels are great, I would have hoped that a self-styled early years and mental health expert would know how to speak about these subjects with more nuance and care.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Omid Scobie gave exclusive Endgame excerpts to People Magazine, and Scobie also gave an interview to the magazine. People Mag is parceling all of it out for maximum coverage, which is fine with me. The interview seemed to focus on the three primary male royals: King Charles and his two sons, and the relationships within that triad. William and Harry’s relationship is, by Scobie’s account, irrevocably broken. But what about Charles and his “darling boy” Harry? Keep in mind, Scobie said all of this before Buckingham Palace went on a briefing spree about Prince Harry calling his father on his birthday. Scobie even lends some credence to that story about Harry and Meghan sending Charles a video of Archie and Lili.

Prince Harry and King Charles remain in touch amid a painful rift between the Duke of Sussex and members of the royal family. Author Omid Scobie, whose new book Endgame is out Nov. 28, tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s cover story that the father and son are still speaking.

While the bond between Harry, 39, and his brother Prince William, 41, may be damaged beyond repair, the King, 75, and his younger son continue to talk. The division between the brothers widened following the release of Harry & Meghan on Netflix and the Duke of Sussex’s revealing memoir Spare in the months that followed Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

“A striking difference between Charles and William when it comes to their relationships with Harry is there is still a warmth with Harry and Charles,” says Scobie. “With Harry, there’s a reluctant acceptance that this is just who his father is. He would rather have that in his life than to cut it off completely. Hence, when they talk, it is often [Harry] reaching out. And I was surprised to learn that even Meghan [Markle] has some sort of correspondence with Charles, sending over photos of the children [Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2], although they’re not directly to him,” adds the author. “So there is a willingness there.”

[From People]

How is Meghan sending photos of the kids indirectly? What is she doing, sending the photos through the Lord Chamberlain? The Archbishop of Canterbury?? LMAO, I’m only half-joking, I think the Archbishop of Canterbury (Justin Welby) actually likes the Sussexes a lot and he would probably be fine with acting as a middleman to massage the relations between the king and the Sussexes. I think Scobie is generally correct about how Harry views his father as well – that much was clear in Spare, that no matter how neglectful, disrespectful and sh-tty Charles was towards Harry, Harry still loves and even adores his dogsh-t father. It’s painful to think about the kind of relationship Charles and Harry could have had, if not for Camilla and William.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.