Here are photos from Royal Ascot Day 2. Once again, the Prince and Princess of Wales didn’t bother to go to Ascot. It was Prince William’s birthday, I’m sure he wanted to spend his special day with… someone other than his father and stepmother. King Charles and Queen Camilla were in attendance for the second day (they plan to go every day), and Princess Anne and her daughter Zara Tindall were also in attendance for the second day. Someone new popped up: the Duchess of Edinburgh, who rode in a carriage alongside her husband Prince Edward. No word yet on whether the Sussexes were the hot topic of Royal Ascot’s Day 2.
Fashion notes: Camilla wore a pink coat dress by Anna Valentine, one of her go-to designers. That makes it even more notable that Camilla wore Dior on Day 1. Camilla also wore a Philip Treacy hat, because Ascot is all about hats. Speaking of, Zara’s ensemble clashes – a navy dress with a bright green hat? And silver shoes? These people have no style. That dress is f–king hideous too. Meanwhile, Sophie wore a £3,450 silk dress from Suzannah, which is way too expensive for this frumpy frock. Anne looks like Anne – I bet she’s had that whole ensemble in her closet for thirty years, if not longer (you can tell).
Prince William turned 41 years old on Wednesday with little fanfare. William and his wife tend to tell rather than show, and they like to use their birthdays to explain how the coming year in their lives will be much different, that they have big plans, that they are amazing people who are perfect in every way. That didn’t happen this year on Kate’s birthday – we were spared the birthday keenery because Prince Harry released Spare that week. I wondered if we get something, anything from William – well, it looks like Peg got his office to brief Katie Nicholl for a Vanity Fair exclusive. Some highlights:
No big birthday plans: While there is no big birthday celebration planned – sources close to William say there will be a low-key birthday tea at the family’s home in Windsor — the next year promises to be anything but quiet for the royal.
William’s adjustment: According to those close to him, the prince has adjusted “exceptionally well” to his new role as Prince of Wales, comfortably stepping into his father’s shoes whilst eager to map out his own agenda. His conservation initiative, The Earthshot Prize, has so far been a great success and last weekend plans for a new five-year plan to tackle homelessness in Britain were revealed.
He’ll spend more time in Wales now that he’s PoW: William is also looking forward to spending more time in Wales, according to those close to him, as he is keen to forge an even closer connection with the country. The couple… plan to visit Wales frequently. According to one palace source, the prince is keen to forge a close relationship with the country, pointing out: “The prince has focused on Wales since becoming Prince of Wales. Expect to see regular visits as he and the princess are keen to visit more regularly.”
His home life is very settled: “There’s a sense that right now his life is both settled but about to take an exciting turn,” said a family friend. “His 41st year will mark his first full year as Prince of Wales and he’s already laying down the markers for what that will look like. His home life is very established and settled. He and Catherine really feel they have the balance just right between their public roles and being a family unit. They love living a less visible life in Windsor, and after a pretty momentous year William is looking forward to putting the drama of the past behind him and new beginnings.”
How William feels about Harry: “There’s relief that the drama is over and done with and now he and Catherine can get on with their lives doing what they are passionate about without any distractions,” added the family friend.
His keenery: His new [homelessness] venture will be launched in conjunction with the Royal Foundation, his and Kate’s charitable forum. William who has inherited the Duchy of Cornwall land also said he plans to allow social housing to be built on parts of the royal estate for the first time. This coupled with his continued work around mental health awareness and the Earthshot Prize will form the cornerstones of his work as Prince of Wales along with supporting his father at home and overseas. It is expected that William and Kate will carry out an overseas tour later this year although Kensington Palace has yet to announce plans.
Oh, an overseas tour? Probably the trip to Singapore for Earthshot, I would imagine. They’ll tack on another country and they’ll go scuba diving and day-drinking and call it a “royal tour.” Their trip to Boston last year was supposed to be a royal tour, sort of, only it was a flop, just like their Caribbean tour last year too. As for visiting Wales… these royal sources keep emphasizing that it’s only NOW that William is committed to spending time in Wales, now that he’s Prince of Wales. Like, did he not expect to inherit the title or something? He was literally waiting to be PoW for forty years, he didn’t think to start building up relationships within Wales before now?
“His home life is very established and settled. He and Catherine really feel they have the balance just right between their public roles and being a family unit.” I kind of believe this, in that William has found a situation which works for him: Kate takes care of the kids, he visits and gets them some weekends, and he has ample time and privacy to get up to God knows what. He gets to keep his image as a devoted family man and he gets to trim rose bushes whenever he wants.
As for the “relief” that the Sussex “distraction” is “over and done with” – yeah, William is the one who has openly briefed the press for years about his incandescent rage over every little thing the Sussexes do. Let’s see if William can even go one full month without some “source close to William” rage-shrieking about Harry.
As I said yesterday, I’m more interested in hearing what the trade papers and industry sources are saying about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Spotify mess, as opposed to hearing whatever hysterical and deeply unserious sh-t is coming out of the British media. This week, the Hollywood Reporter did a lot to lower the temperature around the Sussex/Spotify story, putting the whole thing in a much bigger context of what Spotify has done wrong, what market adjustments the company is making and how there are lots of high-profile people fleeing Spotify too, they just don’t have the bright, white, hot spotlight of the Sussexes. Well, Vanity Fair has also done an interesting piece called “Is the Air Coming Out of Harry and Meghan’s Content Balloon?” It was written by Joe Pompeo, one of VF’s journalists on the media/streamer beat. Meaning, his sources are within WME, Spotify and Netflix, not Camilla Tominey’s ass. Some highlights:
Whether Meghan conducted interviews for Archetypes: A source familiar with the Archewell deals said Meghan conducted all of the primary-guest interviews, like those with the Mariah Careys and Mindy Kalings of the world; interviews with secondary voices for certain episodes were handled by a producer, which is not an unheard-of practice.
The Sussexes pitched plenty of other projects: I’m told Harry and Meghan pitched show concepts and acquisitions that Spotify didn’t move forward with; the Obamas, as I previously reported, shared a similar frustration before they left Spotify for Audible.
The state of the Sussexes’ Netflix contract, according to the UK papers: The end of Spotify’s Sussex experiment has of course kicked up speculation about the future of Harry and Meghan’s $100 million deal with Netflix. The Sun’s US website says the deal is “unlikely” to be renewed, with a source suggesting, “The feeling is that the lemon has been fully squeezed.” Of course it was only weeks ago that The Sun’s UK newsroom suggested Harry and Meghan were set to produce more content from “behind the Netflix cameras” now that the tell-all “period of their life is over—as there is nothing left to say,” in the words of an “insider.” Which is it?
The reality of the Sussexes’ Netflix deal: “The Netflix deal is in better shape than it ever has been,” according to my source familiar with the Archewell deals, who said Harry’s Heart of Invictus documentary is slated for later this summer, and that there are “various projects in development that haven’t been announced that all parties are really excited about.” (Requisite caveat: Anything can happen.)
Again, they’ve got WME on their side: To be fair to Harry and Meghan, their haters are legion and the schadenfreude runs deep. It’s also not as if they’re chugging along without capable representation to negotiate future contracts. On the contrary, Meghan and Archewell Productions are, as of April, represented by WME, the powerhouse talent firm that will now explore “film and television production, brand partnerships, and overall business-building” with the Sussexes, according to Variety. Responding to the Spotify news, a WME rep told the Journal, “Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.” (WME had nothing to add.)
The future of Brand Sussex: And yet, the $100 million question remains: Does the world really want any more content from Harry and Meghan, let alone content that isn’t about them? I found one possible answer to that question in a Tuesday column from The Guardian’s Marina Hyde. “Experience and ratings continue to reveal that where the Sussexes are concerned, people want to watch them complain about their lives and their treatment by the royal family,” she wrote. “That is the sole genre in which Meghan and Harry truly pull in the eyeballs—which, considering they are literally the only people working in it, still feels like theirs to dominate.”
“The Netflix deal is in better shape than it ever has been… [there are] various projects in development that haven’t been announced that all parties are really excited about.” Well, that’s good. There’s so much “but what have you done for us lately” about the past week of gloom and doom – the Sussexes delivered a popular podcast, a hit Netflix docu-series and a massive bestseller memoir, and all of those successful projects came out within a six months time-frame, a period which also saw Harry’s grandmother keel over right after she met Liz Truss. It’s been… a lot. Anyway, looking forward to Heart of Invictus and looking forward to what feels like the Sussexes signing on to Audible or some other podcasting platform.
It’s interesting how biopics seem to be coming in pairs lately. I first noticed that Tom Holland and Jamie Bell both have Fred Astaire biopics in production. (The Old Hollywood nerd in me thinks both of them are a bad idea but I have a little bit more faith in Jamie to carry it off.) Now, hot on the heels of Baz Lurhmann’s Elvis, Sofia Coppola is releasing a related biopic about Elvis’ wife Priscilla. I’m sure I read about it when it went into production but it fell out of my memory. The trailer just came out for Sofia’s movie, called simply Priscilla, and I have to say, I’m intrigued. Jacob Elordi from Euphoria plays Elvis, and Cailee Spaeny from Mare of Easttown is Priscilla. More details about the movie:
The official synopsis: “When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend,” reads A24’s synopsis for Priscilla. “Through Priscilla’s eyes, Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Elvis and Priscilla’s long courtship and turbulent marriage, from a German army base to his dream-world estate at Graceland, in this deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame.”
Jacob Elordi says word salad about Old Hollywood actors: “I was just like, damn, Elvis Presley wanted to be James Dean. He wanted to be Marlon Brando. I’ve researched almost every actor from that time period, and I passed [Elvis] off as an entertainer and singer. But then he was an actor. I guess, in a way, I’m trying to learn from these people,” said Elordi at the time. “Because I obviously don’t have any friends that have been through the same thing, really, so they’re almost like guiding beacons,” he added.
How Sofia’s movie will be different from Elvis: “I loved how Baz approached his story in a very collage-y way, but I’m glad it didn’t go into much of Priscilla’s story because now I can really dive deep. I think Baz is so unique and his take on that story was so creative,” said Coppola. “But Priscilla is such a minor character in that film, so I never felt like I was treading on the same territory. I love that people were so into his film about Elvis, and now in a few years there’ll be another film about Priscilla. I think it’ll be interesting to have two completely different interpretations of the same events and time period,” she said.
We’ll see if Jacob Elordi can cut the mustard as a passable Elvis, especially after Austin Butler’s career-making turn, but I have my doubts. The fact that Jacob compared himself to Elvis, James Dean and Marlon Brando, even indirectly, doesn’t bode well for the size of his ego. Those three men left eternal marks on American culture and are some of the most influential performers of the last century. Jacob, as far as I’m concerned, is just an Australian dude with an unusually prominent Adam’s apple. He has all the charisma of room temperature oatmeal. But I have not seen Euphoria, so maybe I’m being too hard on him.
The elephant in the room with all of this is that Priscilla was underage when she met Elvis. She was fourteen, and he was an incredibly famous 24-year-old man. For a lot of people that’s reason enough to not watch this movie, and I understand that. The thing I’ve always appreciated about Sofia Coppola’s work is how well she captures female alienation. Roger Ebert wrote something in a review for Sofia’s movie Marie Antoinette that struck a chord with me and I’ve always remembered it since. To him, Marie Antoinette was about “the loneliness of being female and surrounded by a world that knows how to use you but not how to value and understand you.” To me Marie Antoinette is a masterpiece (controversial, I know). I think, judging by the 45 seconds of the trailer, Sofia will take a similar approach here with Priscilla. We will see the whole story from Priscilla’s point of view, including the power imbalance between her and Elvis. I think it’s going to be good.
Kim Kardashian covers Time Magazine’s “Most Influential Companies” issue. I know many people like to rip Kim to shreds over everything and anything, but can I just say? She caught lightning in a bottle with Skims, which is the “most influential company” she’s highlighting here. She turned shapewear and beige underwear into a literal three-billion-dollar business. Skims reportedly brought in $500 million last year, and it will probably keep growing. While Skims is definitely Kim’s most successful business, it’s far from her only successful business – she’s also got a self-branded skincare line, perfume line, beauty line, and she’s expanding Skims in many different directions. Some highlights from Kim’s interview:
All of her businesses before Skims: “At the beginning, when I didn’t really understand where my career was going because I was just kind of winging it, I would do licensing deals with a lot of different companies that would contradict themselves, like a cupcake brand with a weight-loss pill at the same time,” she says. With Skims, “I feel like, OK, I did it.”
Skims keeps growing and growing: “Obviously you have big hopes, but this definitely exceeded everything that I ever imagined,” says Kardashian, who began to sense the brand would be a hit when she walked into “some Hollywood party” and was greeted by a guest raising her top to flash her Skims. “I still have, like, impostor syndrome or whatever. But I think that’s part of what keeps me going.”
How Kim started Skims: “It started off with simply finding shapewear that was a skin tone that would match my color. I used to take my shapewear and dye it with tea bags and coffee in the bathtub.” It was an imperfect method; she had to wear soaking-wet shapewear under her clothes at Cannes after one last-minute dye job. A fan of dramatic slits, she would cut one leg off her Spanx and then tape the cut edge to her thigh so it didn’t roll up. Skims isn’t the first to offer 10 skin tones (from “sand” to “onyx”), and sizes from XXS to 4X, but some of the unusual shapes, such as one-legged or the low-back version, were new even to fashion cognoscenti.
She put her own money into Skims: Kardashian has put her own money into Skims and is the biggest shareholder. She’s also usually the fit model, which can mean hours of trying on tight underwear every week. She estimates she has tried on north of 7,000 items. “I always like to see it on myself,” she says. “I can absolutely tell when I miss a few drops.” On top of that, she’s Skims’ creative director, choosing the fabrics, the cuts, and the campaign concepts, photographers, and models, when they’re not her.
Allowing North West to have a TikTok account, despite Kanye’s complaints: “As soon as I saw the words, I was like, ‘Oh no, we’re taking this down,’” says Kardashian, who sees TikTok as an important outlet for the oldest of her four children. “I saw on the internet, [people saying] ‘Kanye was right,’ and maybe he was in that instance. But she loves making slime videos and doing her little hair tutorials, and I will fight for her to be creative.”
Paying a $1.26 million settlement with the SEC for not disclosing she was paid to promote a crypto product. “What I learned was to not really trust everyone in spaces that you don’t really know about. I try to not make the same mistakes twice.”
She may have a “time stamp.” “I understand that maybe in my 50s, I’m not going to be wanting to pose in my underwear,” she says. She hopes to cut back her appearances and pose in slightly fewer campaigns each year. But she’s also not giving up on what made her famous without a fight. “We’ll do anything we can to look as young as we can. We’re not going to go out not trying.”
Yeah, Kim has managed to be the face and model for Skims, while also expanding the vision of Skims to add other faces and models at the spur of the moment. Kim’s business partner in Skims remarks that Kim is one of the best “creatives” he’s ever worked with, that she’s got great instincts on everything from packaging to advertising to social media footprint. Which I believe. It’s also a little bit funny to me that she’s still trying to do other businesses but nothing has caught fire like Skims.
Is it me, or is Kesha glowing lately? Not in the pregnant way–in the ‘I’ve been working really hard on all my baggage and am now at peace with myself,’ way. Part of that is the look she’s presenting with the release of her latest album, Gag Order, that came out last month. It’s a dewy, no-makeup look (although I’m sure it takes a careful application of makeup to achieve it), and it’s on full display in her photo shoot for Self magazine. In the June cover story, Kesha is once again searingly honest, and breaks news on recent health issues–Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID), and how it impacted a recent reproductive health procedure:
‘You need to go on a mountain and scream’: Kesha is striving to be more forthright about what she’s going through, rather than trying to keep things hyper-positive for others’ sake. “I’ve never, ever been in touch with my anger, and my acupuncturist told me, ‘You need to go on a mountain and scream.’” At first, Kesha didn’t identify with that kind of fury–”I was like, ‘No, I really don’t feel angry,’” she says. But when she followed this advice, just to see, and poured her voice out in nature, she was surprised to find that, yes, she did feel angry–ferociously, explosively angry. She realized she needed healthy ways to regularly release the pressure valve on all the rage that had mounted inside of her.
On what led to her CVID diagnosis: Initially, Kesha sought medical care because she felt alarmingly fatigued and run-down on a daily basis, which she assumed was a consequence of overextending herself. “When you’re lucky enough to have a song that catches on, you’re just trying to keep up. I had a really hard time saying no to interviews or photo shoots because I didn’t want to let my one chance fall away by not being able to fulfill every request. It led to severe exhaustion physically and mentally,” Kesha says. To preserve her health, Kesha had to do away with her yearslong practice of saying yes to everything and everyone. Instead, she’s decided to change course and try something novel: rest.
Her near-death experience: “I almost died in January,” Kesha begins. She’s speaking deliberately, alternately staring into me and casting her eyes down. Last year, she froze her eggs. Some weeks after, on New Year’s Eve, she performed in the Bahamas, and after the show, she found she was too weak to walk. She went to the hospital, where doctors discovered that she had developed an uncommon yet serious complication from the fertility procedure, which they attributed, in part, to her weakened immune system. (Kesha chose to share some of the specifics off the record.) She was transferred to a hospital in Miami, where she spent nine days. “I finally feel recovered, but it took a couple months,” she says. “It was horrifying.” It was a wrenching outcome for a hugely personal decision–one she’d made because her album was coming out, and she wanted more time to think through what it meant to have a child in the world today without feeling rushed or distracted.
This is so sweet: Kesha knows life is painful. Just as much as she accepts anger and sadness and illness, she’s striving to let in whatever shred of bliss comes her way. As a part of that, Kesha sends gratitude to the former selves that ushered this one into being. “One of my practices is, on the back of my phone, I have a picture of myself as a kid, and I have to look at it and send love,” she says. “I look back in the same way at pictures of me when I was 22.”
Treat yourself with kindness: “If I just am kinder to myself, everything seems way more manageable,” Kesha explains. “When I first came out, I had this bravado, and it seemed like I don’t give a f—, which, there are elements of that, but I’m only human. After receiving so many comments about what was wrong with me, I started taking the meanest commentary as the truth and my higher power. I started internalizing it.” That’s over and done with, Kesha says: “I had to start talking to myself like someone who loves me.”
“I had to start talking to myself like someone who loves me.” EGADS I’m a wreck. Yes, yes and yes to this–not because I practice it but because I need to hear it. Throughout the article the writer takes note of Kesha’s doubts on whether to open up about her very personal experiences. I’m glad she decided to share all that she did, because she gave so much that resonated with me, as I’m sure it did with many, many more. We all benefit when women share their stories.
One thing I’ve come to realize about myself is that I can get easily overwhelmed with big ideas, and what’s actually helpful is to find small, actionable steps to get going. Kesha has graciously offered some help with that, too! So, if anyone’s looking for me, I’ll be taping baby pictures to my phone and screaming on a mountain. Look, we all have to start somewhere.
photos credit Backgrid and via Instagram/Kesha and Self
Last fall, Tia Mowry and Cory Hardrict announced they were divorcing after 14 years of marriage. I wrote at the time that “their Instagram post was the typical picture of an amicable Hollywood divorce” and that Tia seemed fine and even happy as she talked about living her truth. Now, their divorce has settled, seemingly rather quickly, and everything continues to be assertively fine. They agreed to split everything with regard to their two kids, Tia’s keeping the house, and also they’re not allowed to introduce new partners to their kids until they’ve been dating exclusively for at least six months.
‘Sister, Sister’ star Tia Mowry has officially settled her divorce, and will not pay a dime in support to her ex-husband.
According to new legal documents, obtained by The Blast, Mowry and Cory Hardrict agreed on a simple settlement that will allow each of them to help support their children together on an ongoing basis.
In the filing, the former couple agreed to share joint legal and physical custody of their two kids. Specifically, the duo will split the costs associated with raising their family — including private school tuition and fees for extracurricular activities.
Tia Mowry Keeping Family’s Multi-Million Dollar Home In Divorce Settlement
The famous actress is getting something in this deal that is quite valuable. In the agreement, Mowry will get full ownership of the family’s home in Studio City. It should be noted, that this house is worth $4.3 MILLION. According to Redfin, it “is a 4,871 square foot house on an 8,496 square foot lot with 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. This home is currently off the market – it last sold on October 30, 2015, for $2,600,000. In other words, they might quite the profit since buying the home.
It should be noted, it’s possible Tia paid for the home and is just keeping it in their split.
In the end, Tia will not pay a dime in child support or spousal support.
One interesting clause in this agreement has to do with “new romantic partners.” The former couple entered an entire explanation in the agreement for when and how you are allowed to introduce a new person to the kids. Specifically, it states, “Each party is restrained from introducing the minor children to a new romantic partner until the party has been in an exclusive relationship with the romantic partner for at least six months.”
Famous Ex-Couple Agrees Not To Speak Negatively About Each Other In The Future
It continues, “Each party is further restrained from permitting his or her new romantic partner from spending overnights with the minor children are with that custodial parent during the first six months of the exclusive relationship.
Also, Tia and Cory are not allowed to speak negatively about the other one in front of the kids. The agreement spells out this as neither party shall speak “in a negative, disrespectful or derogatory manner to or about the other party in the children’s presence or within hearing distance of the minor children.” Plus, they are forced to make sure other family members and friends comply with this order.
Like that article notes, that clause about dating is interesting, but makes a lot of sense. Not that there necessarily would have been many new partners on either end, but the kids are 11 and 5 and can get easily confused by or attached to new people. Interesting wording about the “exclusive relationship,” because that likely pushes the timeline out a bit longer since often people date around a bit first before choosing one person to date exclusively. The former couple also agreed not to speak negatively about each other in front of their kids and to ensure that their other friends and family don’t either. That’s also a really good clause to get in the agreement, considering even small negative comments can have quite the effect on kids (and adults). And splitting legal and physical custody and all costs for the kids — all of this seems exceedingly, refreshingly reasonable and mature, which is nice to see because divorces often are not. The things I found a bit interesting were Tia keeping the home and not paying any spousal or child support, but maybe Cory just opted out.
Photos credit: Avalon.red
This story about a missing submarine exploring the Titanic wreckage has captured the macabre imaginations of the internet. It’s just so foolish – there’s a literal billionaire who paid for a ride in this death trap!! [Dlisted]
The search-and-rescue team has heard “banging sounds” in the ocean as they look for this missing submarine. [Just Jared]
Is Aaron Taylor Johnson a movie star? Probably not. [LaineyGossip]
Netflix’s new movies & shows look kind of bad. [Pajiba]
Andrew Garfield looked HOT at the Zegna event in Milan. [Go Fug Yourself]
Justice Sam Alito sucks so hard. [Jezebel]
Dua Lipa got a new summer outfit. [Egotastic]
I love Kylie Minogue’s new song & I love how it’s a huge hit. [Tom & Lorenzo]
More upsetting stories about unsolved mysteries. [Buzzfeed]
Nicola Coughlan would have looked better without the gloves. [RCFA]
Trailer for Love During Lockup Season 3. [Starcasm]
Ron DeSantis keeps defaming Disney & Disney is going to own him. [Towleroad]
Just know, this piece is genuinely one of the most bonkers royal stories I’ve read in weeks, perhaps months? Yesterday, King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the first day of Royal Ascot (their first Ascot as king and queen). They got some headlines, mostly because Camilla made a point of wearing Dior following the weirdly widespread rumors of a Dior contract for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Still, the first day of Ascot happened and everyone was white and everyone had a horsey good time. Would it shock you to learn that during Ascot, all of those fancy, stuffy, horsey people were talking about Harry and Meghan? Not only were the Sussexes the #1 topic at Ascot, royal sources then admitted that freely to Page Six, including some truly wild speculation about how Camilla is bad-mouthing the Sussexes to everyone, including her husband?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not attend this year’s Royal Ascot — the fancy horse race that’s one of the highlights of England’s social season — but their names were apparently on everyone’s lips. And not in a good way.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla presided over the horsey spectacle that was known as one of Queen Elizabeth II’s most beloved events. A source told Page Six, “The gossip in the royal enclosure was how happy everyone was that Meghan and Harry weren’t here.”
The stands were particularly abuzz about the frosty relationship between Camilla and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said an insider.
Meg made her debut at the event in 2018 to much fanfare. She and Harry had married one month earlier and, wearing Givenchy, Markle arrived “in a carriage fit for a princess,” Town & Country wrote at the time.
Some even thought that Camilla may have been throwing regal shade at Markle by wearing Dior to the event — right after rumors that Markle was inking a “mega-bucks” deal with the high-end brand were unfashionably shot down.
A source who attended the royal event told Page Six: “Camilla’s friends say she remains furious at Harry and Meghan” after Harry called her a “wicked stepmother” in his memoir, “Spare,” released in January. The source added, “Camilla tells Charles they make her uncomfortable, and Charles loves her unconditionally — he made her queen and will choose her well-being over them every time.”
But the source added, “Camilla knows not to go too far, as Charles still loves Harry. Everyone blames Meghan for the entire mess.”
The source also told us, “Today at Ascot proved the people love her and she won’t risk ruining it by engaging with Harry and Meghan.”
Otherwise, “it was a great day at the races. The ladies’ hats were fantastic.”
“Today at Ascot proved the people love her and she won’t risk ruining it by engaging with Harry and Meghan.” OH MY GOD. Harry and Meghan left that rotten island more than three years ago! Meghan only attended Ascot ONCE, and they’re still talking about her. They’re all so f–king obsessed with her. That’s one of the reasons why the British media’s business model is so focused on detailing and smearing the Sussexes on a daily, if not hourly, basis too: because the aristocracy and the royals are still obsessed with the Sussexes. Harry and Meghan – Meg especially – live rent-free in their heads.
“Camilla tells Charles they make her uncomfortable, and Charles loves her unconditionally — he made her queen and will choose her well-being over them every time.” God, he’s such a sh-tty father and a sh-tty king, to be led around the nose by this horrible woman. “Camilla knows not to go too far, as Charles still loves Harry. Everyone blames Meghan for the entire mess.” Disgusting.
Again, Prince William and Kate were never happy about being “given” Adelaide Cottage. It’s a four-bedroom house with no place for live-in staff, not even Nanny Maria or Carole Middleton. They moved into Adelaide because they believed it was a temporary situation, that they would soon get a bigger property, either Windsor Castle or Royal Lodge, the 40-room mansion leased by Prince Andrew. “Royal sources” have periodically popped up over the past nine months to both complain about the “cramped” living situation in Adelaide and insist that the Waleses are quite happy there. In the big real estate switcheroo, Andrew was supposed to be shuffled off into Frogmore Cottage to free up Royal Lodge for the Waleses. That hasn’t happened – Andrew refuses to move, and Charles only cared about evicting the Sussexes. So Will and Kate are in limbo. And now “insiders” have more to say about this whole situation:
Prince William and Princess Kate don’t want Prince Andrew’s home, thank you very much. Insiders dispelled rumors that King Charles is kicking his disgraced brother out of his longtime home, Royal Lodge, to make room for the Prince and Princess of Wales.
A source close to William and Kate told Page Six the couple is “extremely happy” at Adelaide Cottage with their three children, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and 5-year-old Prince Louis. And a move could prove a costly security headache for the king, multiple sources added.
The Waleses only relocated from Kensington Palace in London to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor last September. However, there has been chatter that Charles wanted to move the family into Andrew’s $38 million Royal Lodge in Windsor — which boasts 30 rooms and is considerably larger than the four-bedroom Adelaide — after telling his younger brother to move out.
Not only do William, 40, and Kate, 41, want to stay put, but Royal Lodge lies outside the security perimeter of Windsor Castle. As a result, it has separate security for which Charles foots the bill. However, taxpayers would be stuck with that separate bill if working royals William and Kate were to move in, a fate Charles is eager to avoid. Adelaide Cottage — along with Frogmore House, once home to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — sits within the security perimeter covering Windsor Castle.
This argument makes no sense to me – “Will and Kate are happy in their cramped cottage and they would never want to move into the huge mansion because of the security costs!” Like… King Charles is already paying for Andrew’s security, at the cost of £3 million a year. If Charles had the appetite for it, he could force Andrew into Frogmore Cottage (thus cutting down on the security costs he’s paying privately) and install the Waleses into Royal Lodge. William and Kate already have exorbitant security costs already, because they still have Kensington Palace Apartment 1, Anmer Hall and Adelaide Cottage. And again, William has access to the Duchy of Cornwall real estate. Anyway, I do love that “royal sources” can’t keep their stories straight about how much Will and Kate loathe living in Adelaide.
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