Buckingham Palace gave Roya Nikkhah and Camilla Tominey the same post-Kenya-tour briefing and told each woman to fill out their stories however they wanted. For Nikkhah at the Times, it meant “Prince Harry isn’t coming to his father’s birthday party which is good because the rest of the family hates Harry, and also Charles is a diplomatic heavyweight even though he can’t show a modicum of intrafamily diplomacy.” Tominey’s version is “The King turns 75 – with just one son by his side.” Half of it is the same as the Times piece (Harry isn’t coming to the king’s birthday part) but the other half is Tominey and Buckingham Palace trying to do some cleanup on the Byline Times cover story, about how Charles removed the Sussexes’ security and funding to “bring them to heel.” Some highlights from Tominey’s piece in the Telegraph:

The king’s birthday. Insisting any celebrations would be “minimal” and “family orientated”, one palace insider joked: “This is not Netflix, you know!” Another added: “His Majesty is not given to fuss over such things as it is, but he is [also] acutely conscious there have been many set-piece royal events of late and his firm thinking is that events to mark his birthday will be minimal.” The consensus behind palace gates is that there have been “enough fly-pasts and marches”.

Harry didn’t receive any birthday wishes: The Sussexes were unable to join their nearest and dearest at Balmoral for the first anniversary of the late Queen’s death in September, and although Harry popped into Windsor Castle to pay his respects, he had to stay in a nearby hotel because he had not given due notice of his intention to visit the royal residence in Berkshire. Then, when he turned 39 a few days later, during the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany, he did not receive any official royal acknowledgment of his birthday. The Telegraph understands that the Duke did not receive any personal well-wishes from his father or brother, either.

Incommunicado: According to one well-placed insider: “Communications between the King and Prince Harry remain pretty poor. They don’t speak much, if at all.” It perhaps doesn’t help that the “workaholic” King hasn’t ever been an easy man to pin down. Unlike most families, who communicate by text and WhatsApp, senior royals such as Charles III are rather more “old school”, preferring to communicate by telephone or letter. Traditionally, he would always schedule a call with both of his sons on a Sunday – but while he still converses weekly with William, there is remarkably little contact with his other “darling boy”.

Sources will say this with a straight face & not realize that Harry feels this way about his wife as well: “If there’s one thing that winds that man up, then it’s attacks on his wife. He’s very defensive of Camilla,” said one source. William has been similarly enraged by Harry’s depiction of his sister-in-law, Kate, as cold and unfeeling in Spare. “Both know that they’ve brought their wives into an institution that has required them to make huge sacrifices. Negative press coverage is one thing, but they don’t expect members of their own family to stick the boot in.”

Worried about Endgame by Omid Scobie: The Royal family will also be wary of the imminent publication of Endgame, the second book by Omid Scobie, who wrote Finding Freedom, a 2020 hagiography of the Sussexes, which Meghan has admitted she has contributed to, via a friend. Although the couple appear to have distanced themselves from Mr Scobie in recent months, not inconveniently, his latest literary offering promises to reveal moments the Royal family should be “ashamed of”, and “take an accurate look at whether” the royals are still models of “civility and decorum”. As one palace insider pointed out: “As Omid doesn’t actually have any royal contacts beyond Team Sussex, it’s likely to be a rather one-sided affair.”

ITV’s coverage of the Byline Times cover story: The ITV News package, which featured prominently on the News at Ten on October 26, despite unfolding events in the Middle East, repeated the claim that the couple had their annual allowance stopped when they refused to remove from legal papers the name of a palace aide they claimed had leaked a story about them moving to Canada to The Sun newspaper on January 7 2020… ITV News claimed it had “learnt of an ultimatum, issued by the royal household that may have precipitated the final rift between Charles and Harry and Meghan”, adding “it was the leaking of Harry and Meghan’s decision to leave for Canada that we understand led to a complete collapse of trust”. Yet two days after the alleged “leak”, the couple announced their royal departure on a slick new Archewell website containing well-prepared content that showed a huge amount of forward planning had gone into the move.

Why the Sussexes were cut off: Harry and Meghan were still receiving £700,000 a year from the King after they released their Megxit statement. The Telegraph understands that the late Queen was reimbursing their rent for Frogmore Cottage, their former Windsor home, where £2.4 million in renovations were paid for with taxpayers’ money out of the Sovereign Grant. Royal sources suggest that there were several reasons why they were financially cut off. Foremost was the fact that they would no longer be undertaking any official engagements after their planned departure to the US in March 2020, when they themselves had expressed a desire to become “financially independent”. As it became clear behind the scenes that they were doing commercial deals, the late Queen, and the King, reportedly became “rather fed up” that the couple “seemed to want to have their cake and eat it”.

This makes zero sense: Both were already independently wealthy, with Harry’s inheritance from his mother and the Queen Mother thought to top £10 million, and Meghan having allegedly boasted of having “several million” in the bank, thanks to her role in the US legal drama Suits. The multimillionaires’ repeated gripes about paying for their own security – which was funded by the public purse when they were working royals – understandably raised eyebrows among the royals and their staff. Little wonder, then, that royal relations remain so frosty. If the King were to make one birthday wish on November 14, it would undoubtedly be for a sustained period of silence from the Sussexes and their supporters.

[From The Telegraph]

It’s very strange that there was radio silence from the palace for two weeks about the Byline Times story, and now the palace has authorized Tominey (of all people) to try to fudge the timeline and facts at hand of the Sussexit. I mean, the woman excels at lying, she lies constantly and she even lies about Prince George’s eye color. But even her “throwing bullsh-t at the wall to see what sticks” method seems particularly strained. Anyway, Tominey is previewing the strategy for several royal stories all at once. The palace plans to blame the Sussexes for Omid Scobie’s Endgame; the palace blames Harry for their emotional and financial abuse; the king can’t be blamed for being a dogsh-t father and never speaking to his son.

Photos courtesy of Instar, Backgrid.

Tipping has increasingly become a hot-button issue in America, especially since both the pandemic and the rise of apps like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, etc. It seems like no matter where you go or what you do, you’re expected to add a tip. While I think you should show appreciation to the people who provided you a service, it’s also gotten noticeably more widespread beyond just the service industry. What feels like it started as a way to show gratitude to essential workers who were risking their health while the rest of the country was on lockdown now feels like consumers are expected to bear the brunt for companies who won’t f–king pay their workers a livable wage.

On November 1, DoorDash started testing a new system that warns customers that they may be SOL on their food delivery if they don’t provide a tip. If a customer chooses not to leave a tip, a pop-up screen appears warning them that tipless orders may take longer to get delivered. The idea behind the warning is to incentivize customers to leave a good tip, since DoorDash has the same model that Uber does, where the driver selects the customer. Gone are the days when you were guaranteed your pizza in 30 minutes or else it’s free. Now, you may have to get into a tip war just to get your pizza delivered at all.

“Earlier this year, we began piloting new information screens in the DoorDash app. When consumers choose to add their own custom tip instead of using one of our suggested default amounts, we let them know that tips can help motivate a Dasher to quickly accept their order,” reads a blog post on DoorDash’s website. The post says that if a customer chooses to not leave a tip, the app will also let them know that their order may take longer to be accepted as a result: “This is because — as independent contractors — Dashers have full freedom to accept or reject offers based on what they view as valuable and rewarding.”

DoorDash notes that since launching this test, it’s seen a decrease in no-tip orders. The screen is being randomly tested with customers in markets across the U.S. and Canada, and DoorDash says it’s planning to carefully analyze the results of this pilot program and open up the floor for customers to leave feedback before rolling it out further.

“Everyday, Dashers go the extra mile to help connect consumers with the best of their local communities. That’s why we encourage customers to show their appreciation by tipping,” DoorDash spokesperson Jenn Rosenberg tells TODAY.com.

“As independent contractors, Dashers have full freedom to accept or reject offers based on what they view as valuable and rewarding While the vast majority of customers do leave a tip, offers that don’t include a tip can be seen as less desirable — this impacts our entire community, leading to longer wait times for customers, orders sitting longer at merchants, and less value for Dashers.”

DoorDash’s test comes after food delivery drivers have shared their experiences with deceptive customers on social media, noting the practice of “tip baiting,” in which customers entice a driver with a large tip only to lower it after the order has been delivered. Some drivers have used the phrase “no tip, no trip” to share their frustration with no- or low-tip orders, while others have gone so far as to confront customers who tip below a certain amount.

Colleen McCreary, chief people officer and consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, says that for food delivery, an appropriate tip is about 20%, because, “You could’ve picked up the food yourself.”

[From Today]

I think “tip baiting” is terrible, and I’m sorry to the drivers who have been deceived by sh–ty customers. I just checked and it doesn’t look like DoorDash drivers can give feedback on customers in the same way that rideshare drivers can. I know people who get really competitive about their Uber and Lyft ratings. Why can’t DoorDash do a system like that? And when the company says that they see a “decrease in no-tip orders,” does that mean people add a 20% tip or they’re adding in a dollar so they don’t show up as a “no tip” order?

Honestly, I am torn between my inherent belief that we’re all in this society together and need to take care of each other and my outrage that companies like DoorDash don’t have better systems in place to protect their drivers. I absolutely believe in tipping delivery drivers, but aren’t you supposed to tip for service after it’s been provided? This pilot program has been rolled out to increase their appeal to potential drivers. Hey DoorDash, you know what else increases your appeal to potential drivers? Offering them health insurance and other benefits! This is just one more case of yet another company that essentially places the burden of their employees’ cost of living onto consumers.

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During the BravoCon 2023 panel discussion a few days ago, Real Housewives producer Andy Cohen suggested that the next franchise should be Real Housewives of Montecito, and “If we can get Meghan Markle, that would be interesting.” Stay away from her, get a job. My God. That headline was percolating through the American media at the same time as a particularly nasty piece in the Times of London by Laura Pullman. Like, the Windsors are telegraphing the fact that the king and queen’s Kenya trip was a flop and that no one gives a sh-t about Prince William’s trip to Singapore (which is happening right now!). All of the major stories in the Times, Mail and Telegraph this weekend were about Prince Harry and Meghan. Anyway, I’ll spare you the bulk of this stupid Times piece “What’s next for Meghan, the disappearing duchess?” because these lunatics are pathetically desperate. But there are a few quotes and talking points which are already being echoed in other outlets:

The Sussexes took their kids trick-or-treating in Montecito: “You get literally hundreds and hundreds of kids in costumes so I’m sure that Harry and Meghan felt that was a safe place to be. Obviously with their bodyguards with guns in tow which is not very Montecito,” says Richard Mineards, a British journalist who lives down the road from the Sussexes. “It’s the ideal time to take the kids out so they wouldn’t be recognised.”

The Samantha Markle BS: On Wednesday, Samantha Markle will be back in court in Florida launching a last-ditch attempt to sue her younger sibling for comments Meghan made in the Netflix documentary and in the Winfrey interview in March 2021. In the unlikely event Samantha succeeds, Meghan could be hauled to court, forced to testify and release private messages and emails. Samantha insists that she and her younger sibling were close growing up; Meghan has said that she grew up as an only child who longed for siblings.

Graydon Carter really has a hate-on for the Sussexes: “I would measure the duration of the marriage in years rather than decades,” says Graydon Carter, the founder and co-editor of Air Mail. “I think she has run rings around poor Harry and gotten what she wanted: notoriety, money, and a title. His usefulness to her diminishes daily.” Carter, a former editor of Vanity Fair, pooh-poohs the idea of Meghan returning to acting: “If there is a Real Housewives of Montecito show in the works, she’d be a shoo-in.”

[From The Times]

This is like the fourth time Graydon Carter has said sh-t about Meghan and Harry, for no reason. He doesn’t know them, he’s never interviewed them and yet he seems bizarrely invested in making Meghan sound like a golddigger harpy, all evidence to the contrary. As for the larger narrative that Meghan needs to do something or relaunch herself… like, one of the dumb experts quoted in this piece says something similar to what I’ve noted, which is that Meghan has left a lot of money on the table. Meghan could have gotten fashion contracts, she could be doing spon-con, she could be wheeling and dealing in a much bigger way. We thought she would be once she signed up with WME, but their strategy isn’t visible at the moment. I get that the “haters” are desperate to see her, just as her fans are dying to support whatever she’s got cooking. But we wait!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.

Taylor Swift was out again with her girl squad on Saturday night. She was out and about in New York with Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Sophie Turner, Brittany Mahomes and Cara Delevingne. It looks like some other people were there too, but I guess those peeps weren’t as famous. You get the idea though – Swift is once again rolling deep in celebrity friendships and showing everyone that she’s all about her girlfriends. Vintage 1989 vibes. It’s like the Taylor Swift Cinematic Friendship Universe.

It’s strange that for all of Taylor’s money, connections and access, she can’t really figure out a way to pull together a cohesive outfit. It’s even more noticeable with her street style, even though this is one of her better looks in recent months. In my opinion, the boots are interesting but they should have been paired with a sleeker outfit, like a standard LBD. They don’t “go” with a twee miniskirt. There’s too much happening below the waist, with the flare of the skirt and the “slouch” of the boots. One thing I will give Taylor is that she and her security are doing a great job at allowing the paparazzi to get good shots of her and her outfits.

Anyway, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is now Taylor’s best first-week sales ever. Per Variety, it moved “1.653 million equivalent album units. That puts it ahead of her previous personal best, which was 1.578 million for “Midnights,” released just over a year ago.” The Taylor’s Version album performed BETTER than the first week sales of the original 1989. What a racket, honestly.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Omid Scobie’s Endgame comes out on November 28, the week after Thanksgiving here in America. I’ve felt, all along, that this book is going to land like an atomic bomb in the palace and royalist media. Royal reporters hate Scobie and the Windsors have tried to cut off his access (to no avail). As I’ve said before, I believe that the rota people are mad that Scobie won’t play their game, he won’t be a stenographer to power, he won’t just report whatever the palace wants him to say. Well, Amazon added a descriptive blurb for the book and the Mail and the palace are shaking. From Amazon:

Endgame, the explosive book from longtime royal journalist Omid Scobie and author of the international blockbuster Finding Freedom, is a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy—an unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to dangerous lengths to preserve her image, and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family.

Queen Elizabeth II’s death ruptured the already-fractured foundations of the House of Windsor—and dismantled the protective shield around it. With an institution long plagued by antiquated ideas around race, class and money, the monarchy and those who prop it up are now exposed and at odds with a rapidly modernizing world. Relying on his vast experience as a royal reporter and over a decade of conversations and interviews with current and former Palace staff, trusted friends of the royals and even the family members themselves, Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoil to show what the monarchy must change in order to survive.

This is the monarchy’s endgame. Do they have what it takes to save it?

[From Amazon]

I love it. I hope Scobie really goes deep into the Windsor rot. “An unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to dangerous lengths to preserve her image…” Obsessed!!! Describing Peg as “power-hungry” is interesting too – I think that’s an accurate description, don’t get me wrong, but the impression I always get from William is that while he wants power, clout and importance, he’s too stupid to understand how he should acquire it and too lazy to actually do much of anything. Anyway, the Mail ran a panicked story about the Amazon blurb and added some reporting on how the Windsors are bracing themselves.

Omid Scobie, the unofficial mouthpiece for Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, has launched an astonishing attack on the Royal Family in promotional material for his new book, branding Prince William ‘power-hungry’ and King Charles ‘unpopular’.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I’ve been told this is bad, very bad. It is unlikely that Royal aides will comment, but if there are charges of racism, they will, of course, be robustly rebutted.’

Endgame, published on November 28, is likely to cause further disquiet at Buckingham Palace. It is unknown whether the Sussexes had any input this time, although the author boasts that he interviewed family members.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that the book will be serialised in a major US magazine, but not in the UK. A publishing source in America said: ‘The word is this is going to have bombshell after bombshell. Some are even speculating it may name the person who questioned what colour Archie’s skin would be. Everyone knows Omid is the Sussexes’ unofficial mouthpiece, so it’s fair to say there will be a huge deal of interest in this book on both sides of the Atlantic.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Oh, I wonder where the book will be serialized? People Magazine, maybe? People Mag got an exclusive look at Britney’s memoir, only they got burned when TMZ broke the story about Britney’s abortion. Maybe Vanity Fair? Omid is still the royal editor at large for Harper’s Bazaar, although I don’t think Bazaar would get the exclusive rights to serialize? Hm. As for “a publishing source in America” calling Scobie “the Sussexes’ unofficial mouthpiece,” that means a British person who works at an American publisher. Americans don’t see “a journalist treating the Sussexes fairly” as “working as the Sussexes’ unofficial mouthpiece.” That being said, I genuinely hope that the Sussexes did talk to Scobie. The whole thing about “did Meghan and Harry talk to Scobie for Finding Freedom” was ridiculously stupid – it’s not against the law to speak on or off the record to your biographer, for the love of God. The other Windsors do it all the time. Anyway, I hope the courtiers are sh-tting themselves!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

It’s truly the funniest thing when fans and supporters of the Duchess of Sussex convince themselves that someone has done wrong by Meghan. We (because I’m including myself here) are all like “this person sucks, they’re canceled, we hate them now!” And then months later, Meghan or Harry will say or do something in defense of that person and the Sussex Squad is left holding the proverbial bag. It’s incredibly funny because it’s happened several times now. It just happened again this weekend.

On Saturday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex turned up in Las Vegas. They turned up at Resorts World Las Vegas, all to watch Katy Perry’s final concert of her Vegas residency. Harry and Meghan were seated in the VIP section with Celine Dion (the de facto first lady of Canada), Misha Nonoo and her husband Mike. Orlando Bloom and Daisy were also there. When the people in the audience realized that Harry and Meghan were in attendance, everyone stood up to gawk at them and take photos:

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle @katyperry show @ResortsWorldLV … #Vegas @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/ppyHwCE0dI

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) November 5, 2023

Prince Harry & Meghan arrive for the last night of Katy Perry’s PLAY Vegas residency. pic.twitter.com/I2OvuBjltr

— R.S. Locke / Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) November 5, 2023

So, this is hilarious for many reasons. Katy has said some sh-t about Meghan, especially just after the Sussexes’ 2018 wedding. Katy criticized Meghan’s wedding dress and said Meghan needed another fitting. Reportedly, Meghan held a grudge, although those reports came from tabloid sources. Now, Harry and Orlando Bloom have mentioned that they’re friendly, and they’re all neighbors in the Santa Barbara area. Adding to all of that, Katy was the headliner of King Charles’s coronation concert, and she even agreed to a very stupid American Idol bit with Charles and Camilla. Katy definitely cozied up to the “white royals” while talking some sh-t about Meghan. And yet. LOL, Harry and Meg are so forgiving.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Cover Images.

Here are some photos of Prince William’s first event in Singapore. On Sunday, he did what amounted to a general photocall with Sim Ann, the Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Singapore. They posed together at “the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex, as he arrived at Jewel Changi Airport.” Backlighting is not his friend! But he did get a decent turnout. I’ve always wondered why the Windsors don’t spend more time in Asian countries because they actually do get a good reception there. The Mail’s coverage made sure to lean into the narrative that William is a “rock star” (lol) and that people think he’s “handsome” (lmao).

Prince William was given a rock star welcome being greeted by hundreds of adoring fans in Singapore as he arrived on the island for the the third annual Earthshot Prize. The heir was all smiles as he arrived the Jewel Changi Airport with cheering crowds holding up homemade signs, waving Union Jack flags and clutching photos of his late mother Princess Diana.

At one point the royal was seen chuckling to himself and blushing as a person in the crowd shouted out ‘so handsome’ as he shook hands with those waiting.

The Prince of Wales chatted with children and took selfies with those eagerly lining the airport, as he walked through with Sim Ann, the country’s senior minister of state for foreign affairs minister.

During his four-day trip around the Asian island, he will announce the next batch of companies and inventors to be handed £1million at the prestigious awards, as well as speak with previous winners.

Unlike in previous years when William and Kate attended ceremonies in Boston and London hand in hand, this year the Princess of Wales will stay at home with her children, helping George study for important exams. The ten-year-old Prince, who is in Year 6 at Lambrook prep school in Berkshire, will likely be sitting entrance exams to his future private school, being tested in mathematics, English and verbal reasoning.

William took a 13-hour commercial flights from the UK to arrive at the nature-themed complex at Changi Airport around 5.30pm local time.

[From The Daily Mail]

I assume that some embassy official was tasked with shouting “so handsome” at “57-year-old” William. Maybe it was someone on William’s staff – his new dresser, perhaps, or maybe that mysterious CEO he was looking for? You can tell that the British media is still mad that Kate didn’t come with him. Honestly, I’m mad that she didn’t go with him – we would have had stories for days about her Singapore wigs and her ridiculous fashion. Now we have to talk about dull William trying to be a global statesman.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Roya Nikkhah at the Sunday Times had a somewhat interesting exclusive this weekend: “King Charles relishes global role — but still won’t see Harry.” My take, after reading through a lot of after-action coverage of King Charles and Camilla’s Kenya tour, is that Buckingham Palace decided to go on a big briefing spree. The palace wants to declare the Kenya tour an unqualified success, but the palace also acknowledges that they need to spice up any royal story with details about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which shows you that “the Kenyan tour was such a success” isn’t the truth. Some highlights from this very curious piece:

Charles is happy with the tour & his plans to go to COP28: A source close to the King said: “He’s putting into practice the theory he always hoped would be possible: that as monarch you can play a role on the global stage and still champion the causes you care about, without upsetting the constitutional red lines. He’s enjoying it.”

The king’s birthday plans: It will be a mostly contented King who celebrates his 75th birthday on November 14 with a party with his closest family and friends at Clarence House. Yet one key guest will be missing. Although it is understood Charles invited his second son to the family gathering, the Duke of Sussex is not making the trip from California. In September, Prince Harry also turned down the offer to spend some time with his father at Balmoral while he was visiting the UK for a charity event at the time of the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

Charles & Harry haven’t spoken since September 2022: Five years ago, in a BBC documentary to mark Charles’s 70th birthday, Harry joined Prince William to heap praise on his father for doing an “amazing job” as a role model, expressing his gratitude for his “support” for him and Meghan. How times change. The distance between them continues to widen: it is thought father and son have not seen or spoken to each other in person since last September, during the mourning period and funeral of the late Queen.

Harry left the UK right after the coronation: Harry briefly came to the UK in May for his father’s coronation but did not return to Buckingham Palace with the rest of the family after the service at Westminster Abbey. He spent less than 24 hours on British soil before returning to California for his son Archie’s fourth birthday. Sources close to Harry say he has no plans to return to the UK any time soon. His next overseas visit is expected to be a trip to Canada to promote the Invictus Games, which will be held there in 2025. “He is just focused on getting on with his life over there,” said a friend.

The family feel: But despite a smooth run so far as head of state, head of nation and head of the Commonwealth, maintaining a “family feel” across the House of Windsor continues to be tricky. The King will miss his second son at his birthday party — though the same cannot be said for the rest of the family. Some of them initially sympathised with Harry and Meghan’s struggles with royal life. But the couple’s tell-all Netflix series last year and Harry’s explosive memoir Spare, published in January, were the last straw for most. A source who recently spent time with the royal family in Scotland said: “The family has firmly shut the door on them for the time being, because of the documentary and the book. Before those, there was always the hope that some things might be mended. The King will be faster to forgive than the family because Harry is his son, but the door is still more shut than ajar at the moment.”

The cooling off period: A friend of Charles described his mood on the matter: “When he gets to the end of another successful work day and thinks of his family, there will always be a twinge in his heart about a problem that he hasn’t been able to solve yet, but he will be taking the long-term view. The current act is a challenging one, there are issues that aren’t resolved and there won’t be a rapprochement any time soon. There is the sense of a cooling-off period from the family that is under way after the aftershocks of the book and the interviews. But that doesn’t change the King’s love for his son. He’ll never not invite his son to a family gathering, because that’s not who he is.”

Shifts in tone in Kenya: There were also subtle shifts in tone for the Kenya trip compared with recent state visits to Germany and France, where white tie, black tie and tiaras were deployed and where Charles and Camilla travelled in the state Bentley, which was transported from the UK. On Tuesday night’s state banquet in Nairobi, Ruto wore black tie but Charles opted for a suit and tie, Camilla a flowing blue trouser suit. The Bentley did not join them in Kenya; the King and Queen travelled instead in a Land Rover and Toyota Land Cruiser provided by their hosts. It all felt less grand, a nod to the sensitivities still felt in a country where the history of empire casts a long shadow.

Lessons learned from the Caribbean Flop Tour: Lessons were learnt last year after William and Catherine’s trip to Belize and the Caribbean, which was beset with diplomatic glitches and controversy. The couple faced criticism when they were photographed greeting Jamaican children through a wire fence. A royal source said they would still be “scarred” by the couple’s trip to the Caribbean last year, adding: “That imagery will be at the forefront of their minds in every set piece.”

[From The Times]

Just so we’re clear, “Charles invited his second son to the family gathering, the Duke of Sussex is not making the trip from California” becomes “King Charles relishes global role — but still won’t see Harry.” More like Harry won’t see his dogsh-t father. More like Harry is the one who has distanced himself from his colonizer family while they run around telling reporters that they’re not ready to make peace with him. I bet you anything that the palace only invited Harry – as in, “you can come to your father’s birthday party but Meghan and the children are not welcome.” Anyway, this piece says more about Charles and Camilla’s Kenyan tour than anything else – they know it didn’t actually go that well, which is why they immediately deflected to Harry. It used to be a winning strategy. After four years, the play is as obvious as it is sad. But hey, at least the palace got a good cut in there about William and Kate’s idiotic Caribbean tour.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

In mid-March 2022, right after we lost an hour with the start of Daylight Savings time, the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act to eliminate the practice of biannual time changes altogether. As Kaiser noted at the time, “These f–kers can’t agree on reproductive rights, guns or gay rights, but they agree that this clock thing is making everyone grumpy.” Since then, we’ve observed three more time changes, including last weekend’s fall back on Sunday. While the Act continues to languish in Congress, health experts have confirmed this breaking news: it still makes people grumpy. Yahoo Life rounded up some info on the origins of the custom and the big flaw in the well-meaning Sunshine Protection Act:

Americans want DST to end: A recent survey commissioned by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) found that 6 in 10 Americans (64%) support eliminating seasonal time changes, with 27% of respondents saying public health and safety was the top factor for elected officials to consider when discussing legislation about daylight saving time.

A little history: The daylight saving ritual has been practiced (and often despised) in the U.S. since it was first introduced, in 1918, as a way to conserve energy during World War I — though subsequent studies have found little or no energy conservation benefit. Contrary to popular belief, it was not advocated for by farmers, who found the biannual changes to their workday disruptive and called for repealing daylight saving time in 1919. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 made daylight saving time more standardized nationwide, and today most of the U.S. — with the exception of Hawaii, Arizona and many U.S. territories — observes the twice-yearly changing of the clocks.

The economy also dislikes DST: Proponents of the bill tout the supposed economic advantages of one more hour of daylight at the end of the day. Often-cited research by the JPMorgan Chase Institute in 2016 found that Consumer spending dropped 3.5% after the end of daylight saving time in November — though that study was relatively limited, in that it focused solely on spending in Los Angeles. The retail, hospitality and service industries also assert that they benefit big time when consumers have one more hour of daylight at the end of the workday to be out and about spending money; in the 1980s, officials representing the golf industry claimed that one month of extra sunlight would increase their sales revenue by $200 million.

Our sleep suffers: Psychologist Shelby Harris, director of sleep health at Sleepopolis, tells Yahoo Life that both time changes, in the fall and the spring, can significantly affect the quality and quantity of sleep. “When we lose an hour of sleep in the spring, it can lead to a reduction in sleep quality and take our bodies longer to adjust to an earlier bedtime,” she says. Business Insider reports that on the Monday after daylight saving time begins in March, hospitals report a 24% spike in heart attack visits as Americans lose an hour of sleep. Hospitals see the opposite trend in November, with heart attack visits dropping 21% the day after we turn back the clocks and gain an hour of sleep. But even that extra hour can have adverse effects.

What the Sunshine Protection Act got wrong: Health experts agree that we should ditch biannual clock changes, but they say having permanent standard time — not permanent daylight saving time, as the Sunshine Protection Act proposes — is the way to go. “If the Sunshine Protection Act becomes law, people may experience more sleep difficulties with waking up in the morning and falling asleep at night,” Harris says. “Making daylight saving time permanent would mean we have less light in the morning to help wake us up and more light in the evening, making it more difficult to fall asleep. Teenagers, who already find it challenging to be alert in the morning, especially due to early school start times, would have the hardest time adapting to permanent daylight saving time with reduced morning light.”

[From Yahoo! Life]

Of course the Senate picked the wrong time to protect. It’s not like they have access to expert opinion or the latest research or anything. This isn’t even a nuanced issue, there are only two options to choose from! And the science clearly points to keeping standard time. At least I know how we can get back at the Senators: sic all those angry, sleep-deprived teenagers on them. But if any argument will actually make the elimination of Daylight Savings happen, it’s the economy, stupid. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!) Moving past that hilarious 1980s anecdote about the golf industry, the overall message from businesses makes sense — more daylight means people staying out in the world later. Whether or not we have money to spend during that extra hour, is another reason for our collective grumpitude.

Photos credit: Ketut Subiyanto, Pixabay, RDNE stock project and Mister Mister on Pexels

Mwangi Maina is a Kenyan journalist who has worked for The Africa Report, The Daily Nation and he currently works for The Standard (the Kenyan newspaper). Maina started an epic Twitter thread about what was going on behind-the-scenes during King Charles and Queen Camilla’s four-day Kenyan tour. Remember, when royals visit a country, even a Commonwealth country, they have to be “invited” by the government and the British government has to approve. The planning for tours is made between the palace, Downing Street, the Foreign Office, the other country’s government and the British embassy/high commission in that country. Kenya is a democracy with a free press, and various African journalists asked for and received press credentials to cover the king and queen’s tour alongside the British royal reporters traveling with the king. Maina wrote that the African journalists were kept separate from the white British journalists, and that the African journalists were treated much, much differently by the embassy and everyone else. Here’s what Maina wrote (I’ve made minor edits for space). The “UKinKenya” being tagged in the story is the British High Commission, basically the British embassy in Kenya.

Multiple #Kenyan based journalists have raised concerns about racial undertones during the @RoyalFamily visit. Those who I have spoken to say they were mistreated and felt degraded in their own country. A sovereign country, so to say. I will headline it as Segregated Press Buses, Stale Sandwiches & Used Toothpicks: Behind the Scenes of a Well-Choreographed but Tone-Deaf Royal Visit to #Kenya.

Journalists have complained of being segregated from their British counterparts during pool transportation and not receiving proper meals, despite Kenyan taxpayers partly funding this high-level visit. Organisers, @UKinKenya allegedly separated local journos from Kenya & the UK drawing criticism and claims of racial discrimination.

The controversy began when three separate buses were designated for journos: two for the royal editors, correspondents, and photographers from the UK, and another one for the Kenyan based colleagues. I was amongst the accredited to cover the visit. The buses were labeled “UK media” and “Local media”. This raised eyebrows as it appeared to segregate journalists based on their nationality and colour.

Colleagues have expressed displeasure about unequal treatment they received. Colleagues in Nairobi woke up early in the morning and met at Radisson Blu Upperhill for two days. Tuesday and Wednesday. They were arranged under route one and route two. No breakfast, water and lunch for Kenyan based journalists. @UKinKenya was distributing packed food. The Britons received preferential treatment during meal time, despite the Kenyan and UK state teams agreeing on distribution of food equally. The issue is not about food or water but contempt.

In one incident, some Kenyan-based journalists were not provided lunch, only to be offered a few leftover food boxes later. Upon opening, they discovered stale sandwiches, unwrapped cupcake papers, and used toothpicks. This was and is disgusting!

The situation escalated almost a week before the royal visit when senior officials from @UKinKenya created a WhatsApp group for Kenyan based media. The platform was intended to gather all accredited colleagues to cover the royal tour. However, administrators of the group from @UKinKenya initially enforced restrictions, “Only admins can send messages” that prevented journalists from engaging in any discussion. My personal opinion; this was outright gagging!!! This restriction raised concerns about media freedom and it prompted me to challenge the head of communications at @UKinKenya whether the restrictions amounted to a gag order on Kenyan-based media. She told me she did that to streamline communication. Two or three hours later, the settings were changed and all participants were allowed to chat. Colleagues did ask pertinent questions regarding the visit. Nobody sent their personal images or anything unrelated. Someone tried to choke us. It should never have happened.

Hours before Charles Windsor arrived at @StateHouseKenya, an incident involving a senior Kenyan diplomatic figure and a @UKinKenya diplomat hinted at behind-the-scenes friction. The UK diplo, was allegedly involved in a confrontation with a Kenyan envoy over press photographers. Witnesses claim that the @UKinKenya diplomat engaged in a physical altercation with the Kenyan envoy, who played part in making this visit a success, seemingly over his placement, which she believed was obstructing coverage of the royal visit.

The envoy is a known media figure. I am saying this because without his input and back-channel diplomacy, this visit wouldn’t have happened. While details surrounding the confrontation remain somewhat unclear, this incident that disgusted many journalists and Kenyan state officials suggests that there may have been tensions or disagreements beneath the surface of the carefully orchestrated royal visit to #Kenya.

[From Mwangi Maina’s Twitter thread]

I totally believe that British officials – from the High Commission and Foreign Office – would treat every Kenyan with this kind of colonialist contempt. I absolutely believe an embassy official put her hands on a Kenyan envoy. And I 100% believe that the palace and all of the government officials (Kenyan and British) thought it was appropriate and right that the white British journalists should not be allowed to interact with African journalists, and that white folks get to eat while Kenyan journalists do not. The only surprise here is that at least one journalist is calling out the racism and neo-colonialism of this whole sh-tshow.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.