For the past month, it’s felt like the US Open hired a new PR team, because I do not remember ever hearing and seeing this much hype for the last Slam of the year. They’ve got American players doing Vanity Fair photoshoots, they spent a whole week before the US Open doing fan events and media events, and seemingly every practice has been open to the public, as have the media events. The Open starts today, and I’m including some photos from the many events and practices over the past week.

I’m focused mostly on Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff, because those three are coming into the Slam with the most buzz. Coco won her two biggest titles (DC and Cincinnati) in the lead-up to New York, and she’s now the betting favorite to win her first Slam. I’m actually shocked by her turnaround now that she’s working with coach Brad Gilbert, honestly. Within a month, she cleaned up her game and her mentality improved by leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, everyone is hyping the “rivalry” between Novak and Carlos. I mean, it is a real rivalry – they’ve played three times this year, they’re #1 and #2 in the world, and their past three matches were gritty, attritional affairs. Which is why I kind of doubt they’ll meet in the final. One of them will choke, surely? In modern tennis, it’s just really hard for players to “defend” their US Open titles – no man has defended their title in New York since 2008 (Roger Federer). Carlos is the defending champion, so I kind of wonder if he’ll make it past the quarters. I’ve been wrong about him before! I don’t know.

It does seem that Novak has perked up now that Carlos has beaten him a few times. Suddenly, the 36-year-old Djoker is interested in taking this kid to the woodshed. My hope is that we get a repeat (in every way) of the 2021 final: Daniil Medvedev defeating Djokovic. Meddy loves New York as well, and he also enjoys flying under the radar – less pressure.

This is also Djokovic’s first time in North America since 2021. He couldn’t play tournaments in America last year because his ass is still unvaccinated and there were travel restrictions on unvaxxed foreign nationals. Considering there’s a Covid surge in New York, I’ve got to wonder if the Open will ask players to consider masking up again. I’ve got to wonder if Covid will play a role in this USO yet again.

Coco and Novak play their first-round matches tonight, they’re playing back-to-back in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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Real talk: if I lived in a mansion with a home gym, I would never go to a public gym. I would go on hikes and walks outside and lift weights at home. But I guarantee that Prince Harry is someone who does those extreme fitness classes. I bet he sees ads for classes that are called Burpees of Death Boot Camp and he’s like “oh, sign me up.” Which may explain why Harry was photographed outside a gym in Santa Barbara on Friday. People Magazine bought the exclusive photos.

Prince Harry is sweating it out! The Duke of Sussex, 38, was spotted leaving a Santa Barbara gym after what appeared to be an intense workout on Friday.

Harry wore an all-black outfit for the outing, keeping it breezy in a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers. He topped off the casual look with a navy California hat featuring the grizzly bear that appears on the state’s flag. The prince also sported his usual accessories — a stack of bracelets and his wedding ring — and held a box of water and a small green ball as he left the facility, which is located near his and wife Meghan Markle’s Montecito home.

[From People]

Yeah, I would love to know what class he took and whether my assumption is correct, that it was one of the boot-camp classes. Maybe he spins though, you never know. Maybe he’s a yoga dad! I love that he wears his wedding ring while working out, but I HATE wearing jewelry when I’m doing anything like that.

I’ve cued the video to the obstacle course stuff. Harry was so real for this.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, CBS/James Corden and People’s IG.

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Gran Turismo ruled the box office over the weekend with just $17.3 million. It’s worth noting that Sunday was $4 movie day in the US, which must have affected sales. We saw Gran Turismo on Saturday, which I assumed was $4 movie day. (I don’t know how I screwed that up, but at least the theater wasn’t packed.) I truly loved that film. If you like cheesy over-the-top action movies I think you’ll enjoy it too. I learned a lot about car racing and was thoroughly entertained. It was super heavy handed at times, but it delivered and had so much heart. You can see this in the Rotten Tomatoes score. Audiences gave it 98% but critics rated it just 61%. Here’s more on Gran Turismo’s box office. It finally beat Barbie.

Sony’s late-summer event pic Gran Turismo declared victory at the weekend box office race with a $17.3 million domestic opening, a somewhat muted start for a movie based on a popular video game. The hope now is that an A CinemaScore from audiences will provide a turbo boost in the days to come.

Directed by Neill Blomkamp, the racing pic had been set to launch nationwide on Aug. 11 but switched gears because of the actors strike and the resulting prohibition on the cast — led by Orlando Bloom and David Harbour — doing any press. The studio instead hosted two weekends of sneaks and a handful of fan screenings to build buzz before opening the movie everywhere on Aug. 25.

The opening number includes a hefty $3.9 million in grosses from those previous sneaks. It’s hardly the first time that a Hollywood studio has added such grosses to an opening weekend number, but the early Gran Turismo screenings were more robust than is the norm.

[From THR]

Many of you are going to roll your eyes at a video game movie, but it’s based on the true story of a gamer-turned-professional race car driver. It was just the type of movie I love seeing in the theater. When they showed the kid it was based on at the end the movie and all the small details from his life they wove in I lost it. It’s surprisingly directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, both excellent scifi films) and it shows. Star Archie Madekwe, 28, was so good and it also stars David Harbour, Orlando Bloom and Djimon Hounsou.

I looked up how the true story of Jann Mardenborough differed from the movie. There are too many spoilers in that discussion so I’m not excerpting it. While they definitely took liberties with the timeline, a lot of the key plot points are true. Anyway I’m rooting for this movie to get a sequel so go see it if you like action films. This has been such a great summer for movies and if you haven’t seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem yet I highly recommend that one too.

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Prince Harry will be at the WellChild Awards in London on September 7th. The 8th is the one-year anniversary of QEII’s passing and the 9th is the first day of the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf. On the 8th, Prince William and Kate are traveling to Wales, where they will go to church and make a few appearances to memorialize QEII. The rest of the family is unlikely to be seen whatsoever on the 8th – King Charles has made it clear that he’s not interested in doing a splashy memorial or even a private family event at Balmoral. Instead of just accepting that Charles and his two sons are all like ships passing in the night, there’s a lot of energy being put into How Dare Harry Come To England with a dash of How Dare Harry Not Beg The Windsors To Agree To See Him. Speaking of, the Daily Beast’s Royalist had a not-so-surprising piece on what William, Kate and Charles think about Harry’s breezy visit.

Friends of Prince William and Kate Middleton have said the couple will be irritated at Prince Harry’s decision to give a speech in London on the eve of the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death, while sources have also told The Daily Beast that Harry is not likely to see his father or brother, and will not be expected to attend any private or public family gatherings to mark the late queen’s passing.

William and Kate are due to make an as-yet unconfirmed public appearance outside of London on Sept. 8, at which they will remember the late queen—and there will inevitably now be questions as to whether Harry’s dramatic insertion of himself into the week’s events will overshadow their plans. A source in their office told The Daily Beast that the precise details of their engagement would be announced soon.

A friend of William and Kate’s said the couple would likely have no intention of meeting up with Harry or doing a joint engagement with him, unsurprisingly, some might say, given the parlous state of relations between the formerly very close brothers….Harry is reportedly going to still be in the U.K. on Sept. 8—and his decision to be in the country on the actual anniversary of the queen’s death will look to some like a calculated provocation.

A friend of Prince William’s told The Daily Beast, “It is increasingly hard to work out what Harry wants to be and do. He was appointed to be a patron of WellChild because he was a member of the royal family. Now this is something that he apparently wants to carry on doing in his capacity as a private individual. William and Kate will be irritated, especially by the date, but will just ignore it. What else can they do?”

They said that William and Kate would not extend an olive branch to Harry by inviting him to appear with them, or to meet for private conversations. Staff at Kensington Palace have already said that William and Kate will make a public appearance on the one-year anniversary of Elizabeth’s death. Given that this is the day after Harry makes his speech, there might yet be a possibility that the two camps can accommodate each other, if Harry avoids any public engagements on the actual anniversary. The real nervousness at the palace will be that Harry may choose to further disrupt the delicate choreography of the day by making some kind of surprise appearance on the 8th itself.

A friend of King Charles sought to shrug off the impact of Harry’s visit, telling The Daily Beast: “Harry is a private citizen. What he does on the anniversary of the queen’s death is entirely a matter for him. The king certainly won’t be changing his plans in reaction to what Harry is doing.”

Asked if the king would be concerned that an appearance by Harry at a marquee charity event could distract media focus, the friend said, “I don’t think anybody is under any illusions about the challenges that they face going forward with Harry. But the bigger picture here is that this is the anniversary of the monarch’s death, people will want to mark it in different ways.”

[From The Daily Beast]

While Charles remains a dogsh-t father, I think it’s interesting that Charles’s camp greeted Harry’s news with a shrug and a sigh, meanwhile William and Kate are neurotically briefing reporters about their fear that Harry will (gasp) make an appearance on the same day as them. Their events in Wales were supposed to be their big return to work and it will be the first time they’ve done any event in two months. And their big macabre thing is being ruined because Harry wants to spend time with sick kids and their families. Speaking of, “He was appointed to be a patron of WellChild because he was a member of the royal family. Now this is something that he apparently wants to carry on doing in his capacity as a private individual…” William truly can’t comprehend the fact that Harry would go out of his way to help people and honor these kids and their families. William can’t comprehend someone else’s service without it being attached to a title and “duty.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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At first, I only saw the photos of Kim Kardashian’s terrible (clip-in) bangs and I thought that would be enough for a full post: just me, ranting about bangs. But look, Doria Ragland went to this event too! Y’all it’s about to be a Very Sussex Autumn! This weekend, Doria Ragland attended a star-studded event for This Is About Humanity, a charity which worked with reunified families represented by Immigrant Defenders Law Center. TIAH was founded by Elsa Collins, Zoe Winkler Reinis and Yolanda Selene Walther-Meade to raise awareness and funds for the children taken from their families at the US-Mexico border. You can see more about their work here.

Last December, Archewell put together a gifting event for 30 families through TIAH, and basically, Archewell consponsored the TIAH holiday party. This weekend, TIAH had a fifth anniversary event hosted a private home in LA. Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez, Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and many A-listers were in attendance. So… that’s how Doria Ragland is rolling. She’s attending events with Jeff Bezos. Kris Jenner wants to take photos with Doria. ELITE! I’m sure the British papers will be like “yadda yadda the KARDASHIANS” but… like, the Kardashian-Jenners are very powerful culturally, and very powerful within LA. It’s actually a big deal that Doria is friendly with Kim and Kris.

Also, Doria looks amazing. Speaking of ELITE, her skin is beautiful and Meghan is so lucky to have those glowing Ragland genes. I love her simple dress, her jewelry and her tattoos. She was such a hippie mama, wasn’t she?

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

There were so many columns and shady commentary pieces about Prince William’s refusal to fly to Australia for the Women’s World Cup, I didn’t get a chance to note that Richard Palmer at the Express was also somewhat critical. He did a tweet-thread about how both King Charles and Prince William should have gone to Australia, and that their excuses for not doing so were pretty weak. As I’ve been saying so often these days, there are tons of open secrets within the British media, and every now and then, the invisible contract becomes a lot more visible. Other times, the invisible contract becomes quite strained, especially when William and Kate insist on their two month summer holidays. Speaking of, Richard Palmer had some tea about raised eyebrows over Will and Kate’s nonexistent work ethic.

Prince William and Princess Kate are coming under pressure after raising eyebrows within parts of the royal household, according to a royal commentator. Royal Correspondent Richard Palmer claimed that the couple’s amount of time off has caught the attention of some Royal Family staff.

Palmer said: “I do think that is an issue for them as well. They’re very popular, they’re a huge asset to the UK, but there have been eyebrows raised in other parts of the royal household about the amount of time they’re not doing official engagements. It may well be that they come under a little bit of pressure to up their number of engagements.”

The royal commentator added that there is a lot of goodwill towards the Prince and Princess of Wales but they need to monitor the amount of time they take off. He told the Royal Round Up podcast: “There aren’t many families where both the father and mother are able to have 12 or 13 weeks with their children on all of their school breaks. I think there’s an awful lot of goodwill towards them but they do need to keep an eye on that.”

[From GB News]

“There have been eyebrows raised in other parts of the royal household about the amount of time they’re not doing official engagements.” Other parts of the royal household can truly only mean Buckingham Palace, meaning Charles and Camilla. That thing we always said would happen is happening before our eyes: Charles made a big bet that William and Kate would “step up” once the Sussexes were exiled and QEII passed away. Instead, Will and Kate are keeping an even lighter schedule than before and they still insist on doing f–k all every summer. Oh well! William and Kate won’t even care that they’re being criticized. They’re truly too lazy to care.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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Another day, another thirsty pap walk from Jeremy Allen White. At this point I think his strategy is super obvious. He’s a member of SAG-AFTRA so he can’t promote his work outright, but if the strike weren’t happening, he’d be campaigning for an Emmy for the second season of The Bear. So his way around that–to campaign without campaigning–is to orchestrate photographers to capture him doing every day things, to keep his name top of mind. Including his young daughter’s soccer games with his estranged wife Addison Timlin. In light of the ongoing strikes, it comes off as tacky to me. Last week he was papped with Ashley Moore twice: once they went for lunch, and then he went to hot Pilates with Ashley Moore. This is the same lady he was making out with three weeks ago. So they’re still dealing with each other and they make a hot couple, I’ll give them that. But what weirds me out the most about his new batch of pictures is that this young man is walking around the streets of Los Angeles barefoot. Barefoot! He is also shirtless in those pics and I did not even notice, because I was distracted by his feet.

Looks like things are heating up between Jeremy Allen White and Ashley Moore.

The two were photographed heading to a hot Pilates studio in West Hollywood, Calif., on Thursday – just three weeks after they first sparked romance rumors.

White, who wore a gray tank top, a matching hat and navy shorts, walked a few paces behind the model as they headed into their workout class. Both White, 32, and Moore, 30, came prepared for the class, carrying their own water bottles in-hand. Meanwhile, Moore wore a brown one-piece and a white crop top into the studio. She later emerged in a baby blue ensemble consisting of bodyhugging biker shorts and a matching camisole tank top.

The outing comes less than one month after they were seen locking lips during a coffee run in Los Angeles. The casually-dressed couple shamelessly swapped spit in the middle of the day while strolling along a sidewalk at the time. The actor held the brunette beauty by the hips while she caressed his face with her hands before erupting into laughter.

Since then, the stylish duo have been spotted on a handful of other dates, yet they haven’t been packing on the PDA quite as much. However, it appears the pair may not be exclusive given the fact that White was caught thirsting over “Euphoria” star Alexa Demie last week.

“Wow,” the actor commented on a Calvin Klein ad posted to Instagram, which featured the actress in various lingerie sets.

[From Page Six]

Of course he’s also out there commenting on other ladies’ thirst traps. I think his situation with Ashley is just a rebound fling after his separation from Addison. I’m sure Ashley appreciates the profile boost from being spotted with someone more famous, too. Don’t get me wrong, I think they really are having a fling but I also think they’ve decided to use it as a press strategy at the same time. I really like both of her outfits–I guess “hot Pilates” probably requires a change of clothes. Jeremy looks good, but I still can’t stop fixating over the fact that he has his shoes off on the streets of Los Angeles. That, more than anything else, seems designed to get attention. Unless they are right next to Venice Beach, nobody does that. I hope he has had an updated Tetanus shot.

Shirtless Jeremy Allen White takes Ashley Moore to hot Pilates following steamy makeout session https://t.co/dCt9gcbHB2 pic.twitter.com/euJlLbMNta

— Page Six (@PageSix) August 26, 2023

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Photos credit Getty and via Twitter

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Singer Elle King welcomed her son Lucky on September 1, 2021 with her former partner, tattoo artist Dan Tooker. If you need a refresher, Elle had that big hit “Ex’s & Oh’s” back in 2015. Anyway, back in January, she released her third studio album called, “Come Get Your Wife.” Elle recently made a video post on Instagram, detailing her wellness routine and sharing her weight loss and mental health journey over the past two years since Lucky was born. In the post, she shared her struggle with postpartum depression and how she’s worked to overcome it.

Elle King is getting candid about her wellness journey since becoming a mother. The 34-year-old singer shares that she suffered a state of “deep depression” amid her pregnancy and postpartum journey, and offers a glimpse into her weight loss routine as she strives to be the healthiest version of herself.

King took to Instagram on Wednesday to post a video documenting her daily skincare and exercise regimen, issuing a lengthy caption about her experience in the two years since welcoming her son, Lucky, on Sept. 1, 2021.

“Almost 2 years postpartum ! I am making this post to share my journey from 284 lbs at 5’3 from pregnancy 2021 – now 2023,” she wrote. “It doesn’t happen over night. It didn’t even happen in a year for me. In fact, it’s an on going still working towards ever changing goals kinda thing.”

King went on to explain that her motive for sharing wasn’t vanity, but a desire to shine a light on the impact of physical activity on mental health.

“So why am I sharing this? I fell into a very deep depression during my pregnancy. I also didn’t even realize how intense postpartum depression is and was until I very slowly began to crawl out. I felt trapped in my body. I couldn’t even sing,” she explained. “So I started slow. Metabolic workouts. Light cardio to warm up my body, my lungs, my voice, and my spirit. I am a creature of habit, so I changed my f**king habits. Every few weeks I feel my body getting stronger. I add more workouts, I exercise with @pauldominic_ who is basically a body builder. But if you don’t have one of those then YOU have to be your own champion. Find music you like! Ride a bike! Go for a swim! I thought I wanted to lose weight, but it’s so much more. My BRAIN functions better on the days I move my body.”

[From ET Online]

I’m glad that Elle is speaking out about what she went through. According to the National Institute of Health, 1 in 7 women will experience postpartum depression. I was fortunate enough to not experience PPD, but have seen women close to me go through it and have struggled with anxiety and depression before. I’m so sorry to anyone out there that has or is experiencing any form of depression right now. You are strong and you are not alone, even if it you don’t feel it right now. I can relate to what Elle says about working out and changing her habits. Exercise and getting into a new routine have always been key factors in helping lift me up. They aren’t the cure, but they can help get you to a place where it doesn’t feel so dark.

I know this gets brought up every time a celebrity shares about a personal struggle, but talking about these things matter. We’re such a prudish society in that so many topics that should be mainstream are often considered taboo, and we’re left feeling ashamed or like we’re suffering alone. Think of how the dam broke after #MeToo or how many people came forward to talk about pregnancy loss after Chrissy Teigen and John Legend lost Jack. After Dobbs, my social media timeline was full of friends and acquaintances sharing their experiences with abortion, which brought mainstream attention to and opened a national conversation about the fact that abortion is healthcare. I am all for breaking stigmas.

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If I was any kind of celebrity or any kind of influencer/hustler, I would choose to cash in on Instagram spon-con constantly. Like, be for real – if someone offered you $500K to tell your followers to drink some tummy tea or wear a certain label, you totally would. I totally would. The truly elite can name their price when it comes to Instagram sponsored-content and I would really love to know what kind of money, say, Serena Williams makes for shilling beer or travel companies or what have you. Anyway, the Mail on Sunday is all abuzz yet again with the claim that the Duchess of Sussex will officially rejoin Instagram. Supposedly, it’s happening in the next week or two. The Mail also says that Meghan will soon cash in with spon-con.

Meghan is reportedly getting ready to ‘re-launch’ herself on Instagram and experts predict she could make a million dollars per post. The duchess, whose last account with husband Prince Harry, @sussexroyal, had 9.4 million followers before it was deactivated in 2020 when the couple quit being senior Royals, is said to be behind a new account named @meghan.

Decorated with a picture of pink peonies, reportedly Meghan’s favourite flowers, a source close to her team this week confirmed: ‘Yes, that’s her. Expect an announcement very soon. She’s coming back.’

The account is already followed by several of Meghan’s friends including activist Mandana Dayani, who served as president of Archewell, the Sussexes’ media and philanthropic company, until last December.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Everyone in Hollywood is talking about the re-launch being imminent. Meghan has never made any secret of the fact she wants to return to Instagram.’

The duchess’s ‘new’ account already has 76,000 followers and experts say it could prove a huge boost to her finances. Eric Schiffer, a social media expert who advises the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars, ex-Disney actress Bella Thorne and cast members from the US version of Dragons’ Den, said: ‘I don’t think Meghan coming back to Instagram will surprise anyone. She has a new talent manager and this is the next logical step. I would expect her to quickly become one of the most followed accounts on Instagram. You have celebrities like the Kardashians who can command $1million (£790,000) and up for a single post promoting a product. There is no reason Meghan couldn’t be earning those sorts of fees.

‘She has to be careful, as a duchess, to avoid being seen to be hawking every product under the sun. She will align with quality brands and companies that are on point with her political and social beliefs.’

[From The Daily Mail]

You can see the @meghan profile here (there’s nothing up but the peonies). I mean, maybe that is her. The fact that Mandana Dayani is already following the account feels notable too, like maybe it really is Meghan. Anyway, I truly hope she comes back to Instagram and I hope she and Harry update their communications strategy. If this is the first step towards that, hurray! As for the payday… like, Meghan has already left so much money on the table. She could have “cashed in” in a million different ways already. I suspect that if and when she returns to IG, it will be to push charities and the work of Archewell, not tummy teas and anxiety stickers.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, Archewell and Instar.

Something interesting happened in October 2021: Queen Elizabeth II was mysteriously hospitalized overnight, and Buckingham Palace covered it up for days, only coming clean as they began to furiously cancel the Queen’s schedule for months at a time. That was the beginning of the end, as we can admit now. But back then, the palace was squirrelly about exactly what was going on with QEII’s health. What was also interesting was that then-Prince Charles was overseas at the time, and just after QEII’s hospitalization, Prince William and Kate were seen jetting off on some international holiday with their kids. QEII was basically abandoned by her two heirs, her two most important counsellors of state just as her health seemingly nosedived in a matter of days. I bring this up because apparently Prince William will “rush back” to the UK following his two-day trip to New York in three weeks.

Prince William will probably have to save his Big Apple sightseeing for another trip across the pond. The Prince of Wales, 41, is returning to New York City next month for two days, including a special event for a cause close to his heart: the second Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in New York City on Sept. 19. The event serves as a rev up to the 2023 Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, which will take place in Singapore on Nov. 7.

However, Prince William likely won’t linger in New York, most probably heading back to the U.K. shortly after his engagements in the United States wrap. That’s because King Charles and Queen Camilla are also heading overseas that week. Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday that the royal couple will head to France from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22 for a state visit. King Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 76, were originally scheduled to visit the country in March, but they postponed the trip due to riots happening across France at the time.

While Prince William is not required to be in the U.K. when his father is traveling, he is one of the King’s Counsellors of State — one of the royals who can carry out constitutional duties for King Charles if he is abroad or unwell.

[From People]

It’s a shame these weren’t the concerns in October 2021! But here we are – William is already making excuses for why he can’t stay in New York, he’s so big and important and he has to rush back because his father will be in France. I’m surprised Charles didn’t gently encourage William to just cancel his New York trip anyway, since the whole thing is just some expensive ego trip for William in his completely unhinged “competition” with Harry. I pity poor Mike Bloomberg, who probably had to call in some favors to ensure that Peg gets his ego stroked properly in New York. Dollars to donuts, there will be something held at the United Nations. Peg has been obsessed with going to the UN ever since Harry was invited to speak on Mandela Day.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.