I’ve made it no secret that I’m fascinated by the paranormal, like ghosts, psychic abilities, dreams, and anything that falls into that broad “Universe-y” category. Well, now we get to talk about another subject that I find fascinating: aAliens!

On a recent episode of Apple Fitness+’s Time to Walk podcast, Goldie Hawn shared that not only does she believe in aliens, she once had an encounter with grey-like beings. Goldie’s contactee experience happened in the mid-1960s, which was a decade full of reports of the UFO phenomena. The Hills were (allegedly) infamously abducted in 1961 and among the first to share their story publicly, which led to tons of reports of UFO and alien activity. According to Goldie, she was asleep in a friend’s car when she was awoken by aliens. During this encounter, they pointed at her and touched her face.

While sleeping in a friend’s car in the California desert after a night of dancing, Hawn, who was then 20, said she was greeted by a “high-pitched sound.” At the time, Hawn recalled there were “a lot” of UFO sightings and stories.

“I looked out the window, and I saw these two or three triangular-shaped heads,” shared Hawn, who described the creatures as being “silver in color” and having a “slash for a mouth” as well as small noses and no ears.

“They were pointing at me, pointing at me in the car as if they were discussing me like I was a subject. And they were droning,” Hawn elaborated, noting that she “could not move. I was paralyzed … I didn’t know if it was real or not real.”

Unable to determine if the experience was real, Hawn soon broke from her trance.

“I burst out of it. It was like bursting out of a forcefield. And of course, I go back to all the kids and stuff, and I went, ‘Oh, my God. I think I made contact with outer space.’”

Years later, she recounted her experience to an astrophysicist at the University of Champaign, Ill., sharing that it unlocked her memories of how “they touched my face. They touched my face, and it felt like the finger of God. It was the most benevolent, loving feeling. This was powerful. It was filled with light.”

Hawn isn’t the only person in her household who claims to have an alien connection. Her longtime partner, Kurt Russell, revealed in 2017 to the BBC that he was the pilot who called in a mysterious mass sighting of UFOs over Phoenix back in 1997. The incident came to be known as the Phoenix Lights UFO sighting.

[From Yahoo]

I was a huge fan of The X-Files when I was growing up, so I’m always interested in hearing or watching stories about UFOs (or UAPs as they’re now referred to) and aliens. I think the universe is too infinite and mysterious for human beings to truly be the only life form that exists anywhere. I don’t know if I believe all of the stories and theories out there, but I have always been particularly fascinated by the whole “ancient aliens” concept. CB watched the documentary Encounters, and it’s shot up to the top of my list, now.

I think Goldie’s story is interesting but also kinda scary! I also had no idea that Kurt Russell claims to be the pilot in the Phoenix Lights incident! It’s interesting that both he and Goldie – like many others who share their stories – didn’t remember their full experiences until something triggered the memory later on. I don’t know if I necessarily believe that those beings come here benevolently, so I wonder if Goldie was given that feeling in order to make her more cooperative or spread some kind of good alien PR. I also wonder if somewhere out there, there’s an extraterrestrial being whose claim to fame on their home planet is that they once touched Goldie Hawn’s forehead.

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Devastating news. Matthew Perry has passed away at the age of 54. TMZ broke the news on Saturday, and it appears that it was an accidental drowning in the jacuzzi at his LA-area home. TMZ also reports that Perry had played pickleball for two hours earlier in the day, and his assistant found him.

Perry is best known for his much-loved role as Chandler Bing on Friends, for which he was nominated for multiple Emmys and SAG Awards. Like most brilliant comedic actors, he was an underrated dramatic actor too, and one of my favorite Perry roles was his recurring guest appearance on The West Wing. He also had a decent film career, working with Salma Hayek on Fools Rush In and Bruce Willis in The Whole Nine Yards (another underrated performance). But he was best known for his television work, and of course he was best known for Friends. I’m sure his Friends castmates are devastated – he was reportedly very close to Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc.

Last year, Perry released his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir. It was about his life, his work and his struggles to get clean and sober. By all accounts, he was clean in recent years, and there’s no indication that his passing is related to anything like that.

I’ve been trying to think of my favorite Perry/Chandler Bing moment, the moment where he just seemed to be in full flight as a comedic actor, and I think it’s this one, where Phoebe is trying to “seduce” Chandler as a way to force him to admit that he’s dating Monica.

Photos credit: Ron Wolfson / Avalon, Andrew Eccles / Avalon, Backgrid and Cover Images

People have been talking about the length of movies these days. Director Alexander Payne recently said “there are too many damn long movies these days,” and he suggested that it was an editing issue. I would go further than that and say that streamers have encouraged self-indulgence from directors, plus the proliferation of “director’s cut” movies have made people believe that movies are supposed to be three-hours-plus. As I said in that Payne post, I rarely go to the movie theater at this point – I love streaming movies so I can orchestrate my own little intermissions if I need a snack break or a bathroom break. Well, you know how Killers of the Flower Moon is three hours and 26 minutes long? Well, various movie theaters have started fashioning their own intermissions so that the audience can stretch their legs and get a snack for ten minutes, then come back and watch the rest of the movie. Apple and Paramount are pissed!!

Martin Scorsese did not include an intermission in his 206-minute epic, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” But that hasn’t stopped a handful of movie theaters around the world from inserting one themselves, with intervals ranging from between six minutes and 15 minutes.

As of Friday morning, two European cinema chains and one independent theater in Amsterdam sold tickets to screenings of “Killers of the Flower Moon” with a built-in break. A spokesperson for UCI Cinemas, an exhibition chain with venues in Germany, Italy, Portugal and Brazil, confirmed that all of its nearly 80 theaters — with the exception of Imax screens in Porta di Roma, Orio, and Campi Bisenzio — had included a “six-minute interval towards the middle of the film.” The Vue, a U.K.-based theater chain, and an Amsterdam cinema called The Movies Haarlemmerdijk also were offering showings with a break, according to their websites.

Domestically, The Lyric, a theater in Fort Collins, Colo., showed the historical drama with an intermission until Oct. 26. However, they did away with the intermission after getting in trouble with Paramount, the film’s distributor, and Apple Original Films, its producer. The companies have been contacting theaters that have violated their contract by splitting up the film and telling them to show “Killers of the Flower Moon” as intended, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation.

To be clear, only a smattering of venues out of the roughly 10,000 globally that are screening “Killers of the Flower Moon” have included an intermission, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Thelma Schoonmaker, the editor of the film and longtime collaborator with Scorsese, told The Standard, “I understand that somebody’s running it with an intermission which is not right. That’s a violation so I have to find out about it.”

While Scorsese has not directly addressed the intermission (or lack thereof), he defended the long runtime of “Killers of the Flower Moon” in an interview with the Hindustan Times, saying, “People say it’s three hours, but come on, you can sit in front of the TV and watch something for five hours.”

[From Variety]

You cannot compare “someone sitting at home and watching five hours of TV” with being stuck in a movie theater for three and a half hours! Longer than that, because people arrive early to find their seats, watch the previews (which are getting longer and longer) and watch all of those f–king commercials BEFORE the previews. Again, when people “binge-watch” something at home, they are actually creating intermissions for themselves to get food and use the bathroom. That’s one of the best things about watching sh-t in the comfort of your home – you can watch something at your own pace, with fried chicken. I will defend Scorsese about almost everything, but this is where I draw the line. Let people have their intermissions, for the love of God. Paramount and Apple need to cut this sh-t out.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, posters & promotional image courtesy of Paramount/Apple.

King Charles and his consort will arrive in Kenya on Tuesday, Halloween. Boo! It’s a sausage-fingered racist coming to haunt you. There’s been a distinct lack of buzz about this Kenya trip, probably because no one wants to point out that this is the king’s first trip to a Commonwealth country as monarch AND because Charles is extremely nervous about the reception he and Camilla will get in the country. I said before that I imagine that C&C will try to keep things as lowkey as possible, but the palace has already indicated that it is extremely unlikely that Charles will go so far as “apologizing” for Britain’s many sins in Kenya. Interestingly enough, Tom Sykes at the Daily Beast had a long-read piece about how Kenyans will react to the king’s visit, given the extensive and well-documented history of British oppression in Kenyan, including 90,000 Kenyans murdered, tortured or maimed in the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion against the British colonizers. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:

They want an apology: Influential Kenyan citizens and expatriates have told The Daily Beast they want King Charles to use his forthcoming visit to the country to make a full and frank apology for crimes perpetrated by British overlords as they crushed the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya between 1952 and 1960, one of the bloodiest episodes in colonial history. So far, the Palace has refused to be drawn in detail on the question of how the king will deal with the divisive and toxic legacy of British colonialism in Kenya, with advisers only saying that he would acknowledge “painful aspects” of the countries’ “shared history.”

How people really feel: Take, for example, Dominic Kirui, a Kenyan athlete and double Olympian turned writer. In a telephone interview, he told The Daily Beast: “A royal visit in itself is not something that many Kenyans would have wanted or needed, because it awakens thoughts and feelings about the colonial past that many people have buried and never want exhumed.” Kirui comes from a region in the Rif Valley where, he says, “the scars of colonialism can still be felt and seen. The people in Kericho were driven out of their homes and their ancestral lands and forcibly resettled in Nyanza, on lands that were infested with the tsetse fly, which it was hoped would kill them. A royal visit only serves to remind people about the injustices that were committed and the pain they suffered, so I cannot believe it is something Kenyans would be eager to see or witness.”

Britain’s colonialist past is still felt every day in Kenya: Kirui points out that stories of oppression are common “all over Kenya” especially where huge tea farms comprising thousands of acres were carved out. “The people whose land was stolen… still live among the farms,” Kirui said, adding, “I see the visit by the royals as a way of the colonists saying to Kenyans, ‘We are still around. You are not as sovereign as you think you are.’” Kirui dismissed the generalized expressions of contrition made by Charles’ office saying that what was needed was “reparations to ensure people are compensated.”

Another Kenyan voice: James Mugo, a Kenyan-born lawyer who has lived in the U.K. for 26 years, has a very personal sense of outrage about what the British did in Kenya. In the mid-1950s, his grandfather, who was in his late seventies, was shot and killed at point-blank range by British soldiers as he emerged from a forest where he had been gathering honey from beehives he kept there. He was far too old to be mistaken for a Mau Mau fighter. Mugo told The Daily Beast: “Unless King Charles delivers anything less than an outright apology for the crimes committed by the colonists, he will not be welcome in Kenya. There are millions of people who are still languishing in poverty right now as a result of the British’s actions. They lost their land and were put in concentration camps and villages and exploited for cheap labor. I don’t see why Kenyans cannot be compensated.” Speaking about his grandfather’s murder by British troops, he said: “He was not fighting. He was 70 years old and he was shot by British soldiers collecting honey. So I personally find it very offensive that King Charles can go there and not apologize for what happened. Very offensive. It is adding insult to injury.”

[From The Daily Beast]

There are other Kenyans quoted, some of whom say that they welcome the royal visit and they want to see Kenya make some deals with British businesses. One suggested that China and Russia have been looking to invest in Kenya, which probably provides the best explanation for why Charles is visiting Kenya more than anything else. But yeah – it’s quite unlikely that Charles will issue a thorough apology and it’s quite likely that he will stammer through some half-assed speech where he basically says “mistakes were made, let’s move on and make a deal.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Is Britney Spears’ memoir actually outselling Prince Harry’s Spare or are these numbers being pulled out of someone’s rump? [OMG Blog]
This funny-pet-stories comment section is amazing. [Go Fug Yourself]
Unpopular opinion: Post Malone is genuinely underrated as an artist & vocalist. [Pajiba]
Bradley Cooper & Gigi Hadid’s shoe connection. [LaineyGossip]
Beyonce will do two premieres for her Renaissance film. [Just Jared]
Review of Britney Spears’ memoir. [Jezebel]
A Southern Charm star lost 10 pounds to be on the show. [Starcasm]
I love Annie Potts, such an underrated character actress. [Seriously OMG]
Some “glitch in the matrix” photos. [Buzzfeed]
Nick Bosa is so pretty but so problematic. [Socialite Life]

The Evening Standard is not one of the go-to British outlets for royal gossip, nor royal embiggening. As of late, the Windsors’ favorite outlets are the Telegraph, the Times and the Mail. Those are the royal reporters getting all of the confirmations and major briefings. So imagine my surprise at this weird Evening Standard piece, “Inside the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Quiet Transformation of the Monarchy.” The sub-headline is the funniest part though: “As Harry and Meghan fail to generate headlines, Kate and William are in stealth mode as they strategically shake up the Palace.” Excuse me? First of all, are we treating Harry and Meghan like they’re the king and queen and they must “generate headlines”? Secondly, the Sussexes DO generate headlines constantly. Thirdly, I guess “stealth mode” is the new royalist code for “being too lazy, stupid and enraged to do anything substantive.” Anyway, some highlights from this curious piece:

The Sussexes’ “desperate quest”: While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex continue on their increasingly desperate quest to become Hollywood power players across the pond, on home turf, the Prince and Princess of Wales have been quietly cementing themselves as a more grown-up brand of superstars.

The Keens’ showbiz credentials: Earlier this month, it was revealed the royal couple has been shoring up their own showbusiness credentials by hiring TV bigwig Dame Pippa Harris as a director of their Royal Foundation. The appointment is being seen as a shrewd move in royal circles, with Dame Pippa known for being an “expert at getting things done”, and comes hot on the heels of reports that the future king and queen are also set to hire a CEO to head up their team, in what’s being hailed as a “revolutionary move” at the palace.

Hiring a Top CEO: It’s William and Kate’s other staffing move, however, that is said to have ruffled feathers at the Palace…Many royal insiders see the appointing of a CEO as a sensible strategic step and a crucial indication of how the future king and queen are positioning themselves for the throne. “I think it’s a smart move for William and Kate to corporatize the court as they move up the royal ladder,” says Claudia Joseph, author of Kate: The Making of a Princess. “The new CEO will oversee both their legacy projects, such as the Earthshot Prize and the Princess’s Centre for Early Childhood, as well as the Duchy of Cornwall and the Royal Foundation. Inevitably, some noses will be put out of joint when the new CEO arrives and makes changes, but that is normal in any section when a new boss takes over.”

People are critical of the CEO hire: “It seems to me the title of CEO, obviously intended to make the monarchy sound more business-efficient, is woefully misguided,” says Christopher Andersen, author of The King: The Life of Charles III. “People don’t want to be reminded that ‘the Firm’ is exactly that – a multi-billion-pound moneymaking enterprise. I’m sure William and Kate think they are helping Charles ‘streamline’ the monarchy by creating this new post, but all they are really doing is adding another layer of bureaucracy and creating a recipe for even more backstabbing and intrigue [in the palace]. I think it is highly unlikely that Charles will embrace the CEO concept. He is very much a traditionalist when it comes to the way the house works, and believes that the private secretary system has served past monarchs well.”

Heartthrob Peg: William has also started to evolve as more of a global statesman over recent months, most notably on his trip to New York in September. There, he was greeted by hundreds of well-wishers, all desperate to grab a selfie with the popular prince – both William and Kate’s approval ratings are currently soaring, with the prince the second most popular royal after the late queen, on 67 per cent, according to the latest YouGov survey, and the princess not far behind on 62 per cent (Meghan and Harry, meanwhile, are on a measly 29 and 27 per cent respectively). William was praised by the American media for being “warm and genuine”, while his dip in the Hudson to see the Billion Oyster Project was said to have revived his “heartthrob status”.

Copykeening the Sussexes: That popularity will stand William and Kate in good stead with Gen Z, who the couple are keen to court. Eagle-eyed royal watchers have noticed that the Waleses’ social media feeds have been publishing increasingly slick videos of their work lately, such as the clips released around the King’s Coronation in May. These punchy video montages have racked up millions of views, likes and retweets, and the prince and princess have also increased their social media team to three people, including a new head of digital. A Kensington Palace source was quoted as saying the couple recognised this new aspect of being a working member of the royal family as “incredibly important”.

A new kind of monarchy: With the arrival of a CEO, a glitzy new showbiz hire and a more prominent social media presence, William and Kate now seem poised to take the royal family into a whole new era. “Monarchy in the 21st century is a very different beast from the 1950s, when the late queen succeeded to the throne,” says Joseph. “We live in a different age, where the royals are scrutinised as never before and people are less reverential towards the Firm. Charles has already begun a programme of modernisation as he takes on the role of king, but William has to look to the future for how Britain will look in 2050.”

[From The Evening Standard]

That quote from Christopher Andersen was from this Daily Beast piece, which I covered in September. This ES piece just regurgitated a lot of other coverage from the Mail, and added some hilariously unhinged digs on the Sussexes for no real reason other than “the Sussexes live rent-free in the Windsors’ heads.” The Sussexes have all of the power, celebrity and fame they want – they live quiet lives in Montecito and they can easily dominate headlines whenever they want. Meanwhile, Will and Kate are two desperados copying every single thing about Meghan and Harry. The CEO move, hiring people from the entertainment industry, the social media stuff, it’s all the Waleses attempting, in their lazy way, to become an all-white version of the Sussexes. As for “William has to look to the future for how Britain will look in 2050”… the assumption seems to be that King Charles will live to be 102? And that William will be a keen and hip 68-year-old king?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

As of yet, Justin Timberlake has not issued any public statements about Britney Spears’ memoir, The Woman in Me. His publicist has been working overtime though, and the tabloids have been on a feeding frenzy with all of the vintage gossip. I wonder if JT will eventually have to issue some statement or apology on the record, but we’re not there yet. Right now, he’s still in damage-control mode, trying to pretend like he didn’t build his entire solo career on cultural appropriation and slut-shaming Britney. Notably, Justin has turned off his Instagram comments. I don’t blame him – people can do whatever they like with their social media pages, and clearly, Britney’s fans were yelling at him. Meanwhile, TMZ tried to write a positive “people still support Justin” piece, but even they had to admit that Justin has canceled some scheduled appearances.

Justin Timberlake is feelin’ the heat amid Britney Spears’ new book release — and all the spilled secrets about their relationship — but we’re told his *NSYNC bros still have his back. Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and JC Chasez have nothing but love for Justin, and they’re supporting him through all the harsh criticism due to “The Woman in Me.”

We’re told they’ve all known him for 25 years, and would be more than happy to be back performing with him … despite all the negative energy Britney and her loyal fans are aiming at JT.

Remember, in her book Brit blames him for talking her into an abortion, accuses him of cheating and claims a run-in with Justin triggered a panic attack that ruined her 2007 VMA performance.

While *NSYNC fans and RCA Records would love another Reunion, it isn’t in the cards right now — we’re told Justin’s focused on his new solo single, album and a tour next year.

BTW, our sources say the hate JT’s been getting isn’t impacting his career plans. The single and tour for next summer are a full go — however, we’re told he’s quietly removed some club appearances that were set for early next year, tied to the release of his single and album.

[From TMZ]

There’s been some talk on Twitter/X that Justin is basically in hiding (he’s not) or that his comeback plans are now on hold because of Britney’s memoir. The original source for that is some random report from The Sun from last week. I’m not saying it’s bullsh-t, but who knows. It’s clear that Timberlake is revising his comeback plans and “quietly removing” some appearances, but mostly, he seems to be waiting things out. He has a lot of faith in his team and their damage-control work.

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

You guys, there’s a SECOND poster campaign in Bucklebury, England. The first poster campaign was done by an as-yet-unknown hooligan. The person runs around at night, hanging laminated posters around the Bucklebury village, slamming Carole Middleton for defrauding people when Party Pieces collapsed back in May and June. The new poster campaign is being done by a woman who put her own photo on her posters – her name is Molly and she apparently worked at one of the companies which got ripped off by PP and she lost her job when Party Pieces left vendors and small businesses on the hook for millions in credit they gave to Carole.

The Princess of Wales’s parents have been targeted by another cruel poster campaign — featuring an OnlyFans model. The signs have gone up in Carole and Michael Middleton’s home village of Bucklebury in Berkshire. The young woman on the posters bizarrely claims the Middletons are to blame for her ending up posing on the adult site.

The Sun on Sunday reported earlier this month about the first hateful poster blitz. But this second wave — featuring a model called Molly — appears to involve a far greater number of signs. Scores of posters were found across a three-mile radius of the couple’s village. One was stuck to a sign for ­Bucklebury Farm, owned by Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton, 40, and her ­husband James Matthews, 48. Prince George has been seen at the farm’s family-friendly petting zoo.

An email sharing photos of the posters was also sent to hundreds of people from an anonymous address. The pictures showed Molly in a pink bra and had a note claiming she started her OnlyFans after being let go by a company which was left out of pocket when the Middletons’ Party Pieces firm went bust.

Some have called on the couple — who set up the business at their home in 1987 — to pay the debts themselves. Pals claim Carole was trying to make sure creditors were paid.

Speaking to The Sun last night, Molly, 23, said she had asked friends to put up the posters on her behalf on Wednesday night. She refused to name the company which allegedly let her go — and denied it was all a publicity stunt. Molly said: “The point needs to be made that if you don’t pay your creditors, it doesn’t just affect one person, it affects all employees of the company. Hence why I say I was made redundant because of this. It’s not part of a promo, but as you can see by the photo, it would be a great publicity stunt for me. Don’t you think I deserve something back after being made redundant? I think I do.”

Asked about claims the Middletons are being unfairly ­targeted, she said: “Do you think being unfairly treated is not paying millions owed or being made ­redundant? I think I was the one that was wronged and others.”

She said she started her OnlyFans in January just as a side job, claiming she then ended up doing it full-time after she was made redundant from her admin role in April. Molly added: “I was told it was due to their company. After seeing the first posters online, I then wanted to vent my frustration and let everyone know how I feel. I’m sure many others do too. I understand how this looks to the public and how the public feels about OnlyFans creators, but I was at rock bottom.”

Molly’s note, posted across the village, read: “This is what I’ve turned to!! The company I used to work at has now let me go. This is because: PARTY PIECES HOLDINGS LTD have not paid their creditors!”

The posters were taken down almost immediately by furious locals, who have valued the Middletons as their neighbours for decades. Villager Sharon Fry, 49, told The Sun: “There were posters everywhere — all across the farm gates and even at the church. It’s not right for a semi-nude model to be plastered all over our lovely village.”

[From The Sun]

At first I was like “this woman worked at Party Pieces?” But no, she worked for one of the small businesses which extended credit to Carole because she is the mother of the future queen. Carole then sold Party Pieces through an insolvency process by which the new owner, James Sinclair, wasn’t on the hook for Party Pieces’ massive debt. So, not only did Party Pieces let all of their employees go, the businesses they defrauded had to let people go too. Anyway, I love it. I’m glad Molly is mad about it and she knows where to direct her ire. I hope she makes a lot of money on OnlyFans.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

British people have a lot of ghost stories and, in my opinion, they’re entirely too comfortable with all of the ghosts and hauntings in their country. Don’t get me wrong, there are spooky parts of America and we have ghosts and ghost stories too, but it genuinely feels like every British town has at least five local ghosts and some kind of spooky tradition. “Yes, we burned dozens of witches here and the local river still turns blood red three days out of the year and no one knows why, please stop by our lovely gift shop.” The ghosts are not confined to peasant areas of the country either – there’s a grand tradition of hauntings and ghosts in or on royal properties too, various beheaded queens and Catholics. Speaking of, apparently Prince William and Kate’s Norfolk abode is haunted by the ghost of a Jesuit priest.

The Prince of Wales, 41, reportedly knew just what to say upon learning that Anmer Hall was haunted. Queen Elizabeth gifted her grandson with the stately Georgian mansion in the Norfolk countryside when he married Kate Middleton in 2011, and paranormal historian Richard Felix has claimed that the royal didn’t wince about the ghost of Anmer Hall.

“When the Prince of Wales and Princess of Wales moved into Anmer Hall, it’s more or less on the Sandringham Estate, there was a ghost there of a Catholic priest that lived there and was hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason, and for some reason, has returned to his home,” Felix said on the latest episode of Hello! A Right Royal Podcast, titled “Ghost Story Special.”

“Although he was executed in York, they’ve actually heard his voice. And they have seen the ghost of what they say is a priest, wandering around Anmer Hall,” he continued. “Before the Waleses moved in, they were warned about the ghost and the comment was, I presume it was from Prince William, he said, ‘No old hall would be complete without a ghost, would it?’ ”

Felix, a veteran ghost tour guide based in the U.K., was likely referring to Henry Walpole, the Jesuit priest who was executed in 1595 for his faith, according to The Tudor Society. Legend has it that he returned to his family’s Anmer Hall home after death with his spirit being seen roaming the grounds.

[From People]

“No old hall would be complete without a ghost, would it?” As I said, entirely too comfortable with ghosts. I don’t care if Anmer Hall was a special gift from the queen herself – as soon as you hear “the ghost of a Jesuit priest who was hanged, drawn and quartered in York, whose spirit returned to his home,” I would have been like “you know what, maybe Norfolk isn’t for me.” I genuinely wonder if Kate and William have ever seen the Jesuit ghost or if spooky stuff ever happens in Anmer.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Without getting too far “into the weeds” of Byline Times’ exclusive cover story, I do think there are many unanswered questions and loose threads which still need explanation. It’s clear that Prince William’s press secretary Christian Jones and Jones’s partner were selling information about the Sussexes to Dan Wootton, and it’s clear that Byline has documentation of that, plus documentation of the coverup within Kensington Palace and the larger institution. But what’s driving me crazy is that A) there actually isn’t solid evidence as to how Dan Wootton got the information about the Sussexit and B) why the situation was considered so dire that Charles was perfectly willing to put Harry, Meghan and Archie in mortal danger, all to protect… William’s press secretary and/or the f–ked up invisible contract between the Windsors and the press. Here are more highlights from Byline’s cover story:

Christian Jones’s partner was absolutely selling info about the Sussexes in 2019: Part of the testimony, which was initially supplied to the respected retired investigative journalist Nick Davies, reads: “I think the publicist’s ZC number is ZC634***. My friend thinks there was a payment for £3,000 made around the 15th of July last year [2019] for a story about the Duchess of Sussex and her nannies which was published on 28th of June. There was also a payment of £1,000 made for a story about godparents to Meghan’s son.”

It feels like, even now, they’re hanging everything on Jones: A second source with links to the royal households told Byline Times that the “Christian Jones problem promised to drag the hidden dealings between the palaces and the press into the public domain”.

Harry’s anger at Wootton’s Sussexit exclusive in January 2020: But the Sussexes – particularly Harry – were very keen to get to the bottom of it all.“He wanted to know how their private information kept being spun into negative headlines in the biggest newspapers. He and Meghan had been stung very badly by the timing and manner of Wootton’s reporting on their plans to live part of the year abroad,which wasn’t even a new idea as the Queen had previously given her blessing for a move to South Africa, which hadn’t worked out. And then detailed intelligence had come up to suggest Wootton was paying the partner of a Kensington Palace official,who had a lot of access, for stories about his family. Harry seemed pretty determined to get to the bottom of it.

Bringing the Sussexes to heel: “A view was quickly taken within the royal households that everything needed to be brought under control.The removal of the transition funding,which Prince Charles knew was his son’s only lifeline to keeping safe,was considered a very effective way of trying to bring Harry and Meghan to heel in the UK. But it didn’t work.”

It wasn’t about Jones specifically: “This is why it was such a problem when Christian Jones was named in those legal letters. Whether it was true or not true that information Jones collected in the course of his work was ending up in The Sun, was not really the point. The point is that the Royal Family is doing deals and trades with the press all the time for favourable coverage and protection and to maintain public relevance. The naming of Christian Jones threatened to shine a light on the entire unethical relationship between the institution and the press barons and that could not be tolerated and had to be punished.” And so it appears that the monarchy chose to side with a press secretary over Prince Harry.

[From Byline Times]

While I do think it was much, much larger than Christian Jones and his partner, again, it feels like we’re missing critical information. I’ve never been sure that the Sussexit leak to Dan Wootton came from William or Kensington Palace, although William and KP absolutely put their spin on it in the hours and days that followed. Does Harry believe that particular leak came from KP? Because I’ve always had the impression that he believed Charles and Camilla sold him out in that moment, January 2020. Also: while I believe that this Jones stuff was definitely a factor in Charles suddenly deciding to renege on the summit deal, there were other significant factors too. It simply makes no sense – even for the sadistic, short-sighted Windsors – that all of this was being done to protect William’s compromised press secretary and/or the system of leaks and briefings. What is this big, awful secret that everyone is talking around constantly?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, Cover Images.