As we discussed, we’re currently in Day 4 of the “Meghan wore a red dress at a charity gala” freakout over in Salt Island. Part of the reason why they’re still obsessing over Meghan and her dress is because the left-behinds weren’t giving them anything in recent days. Kensington Palace hasn’t had any new briefings about how much William hates his brother, and no one will even suggest that the Princess of Wales could do a charity Zoom or something. Well, Prince William is here! He stepped out today in London. He went to a smallish event at BAFTA headquarters:

Prince William has arrived at BAFTA HQ in central London to celebrate young creatives with BAFTA, and The Royal African Society. He has been joined by several well-known faces, including Celia Imrie, Andy Serkis, Stephen Merchant and director Paul Greengrass. They are all supporters of the Prince William BAFTA Bursary fund.

The heir to the throne started the bursary in 2021 and helps assist young people from underrepresented groups to progress their careers in film, games or television through grants.

He will meet with the 2024 recipients today, as well as students from the National Film and TV School who have been supported by the Royal African Society.

William will also meet with students who have been working with the Royal African Society on their upcoming Film Africa festival by helping to curate the festival program and give guidance on the short films that have been selected to represent diverse voices and narratives in African storytelling.

[From The Daily Express]

BAFTA and the Royal African Society? Surely this will count as two events. William is BAFTA president, an honorary position, although he skips the BAFTAs half the time. I didn’t even think he cared enough to start the “Prince William BAFTA Bursary fund.” It’s likely something that was handed to him by BAFTA and he got to slap his name on it, like so many of his wife’s carefully curated projects. Anyway, the event is fine, it is what it is (his first day of work this week).

PS… On this week’s Gossip With Celebitchy pod, CB and I talked about his awful beard and I wondered if William is actually trimming his beard to achieve this particular “two day growth” look. I think he is – there’s no way this is a full month’s growth. Meaning, he wants it to look this creepy and scuzzy.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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Last month, the Duchess of Edinburgh went on a five-day tour of Tanzania and no one in the British media thought to cover it. The only photos of Sophie were taken by the embassy, and there were only a couple of articles published during or after her trip. It was incredibly strange, especially given that the Sussexes had just visited Colombia and British reporters literally flew all the way there to try to barge their way into covering Harry and Meghan. With Sophie, here is a “working royal” and duchess who is maintained and subsidized by taxpayers, trying to highlight work being done at the local level, and no one gives a sh-t.

Well, Sophie and her husband are on a royal tour of Malta this week. They’re getting marginally more coverage than Sophie’s Tanzania trip. The Daily Mail has even dutifully kept up with their events in a rote, perfunctory way: they went sailing, they posed, they took in the views, hurray. Tatler basically skipped right past their events and just went all-in on a story about how much QEII loved Malta.

Sophie and Edward really are the only left-behinds traveling consistently this year, and it’s so remarkable to me to see how little energy they get from the press. That being said, Edward has barely been seen in months? He truly disappears for months at a time regularly and no one says anything (because no one’s checking for him). Anyway, enjoy these photos from Malta.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

Longtime Bob Woodward-watchers understand what’s happening – Woodward kept silent for years about the mountain of criminal activity during and after the Trump administration, and now he’s put all of it in his latest book. Woodward has been doing this same sh-t for decades!! He failed to report – in a timely manner – a lot of sh-t about the Bush administration, and the Obama administration was so clean, Woodward basically manufactured a “threat” made by some mild-mannered economic advisor. Woodward’s latest book reveals that Trump is still in contact with Vladimir Putin, even after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Woodward also reports that Trump sent Putin a lot of Covid tests back when there were extreme shortages in the US. Well, Woodward’s War also focuses on President Biden and the Biden administration, including Biden cussing up a storm constantly.

President Joe Biden’s blunt, profanity-laced assessments of world leaders: “That son of a bitch, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy. He’s a bad f–king guy!” Biden declared privately about the Israeli prime minister to one of his associates in the spring of 2024 as Israel’s war in Gaza intensified, Woodward writes. “That f–king Putin,” Biden said to advisers in the Oval Office not long after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Woodward. “Putin is evil. We are dealing with the epitome of evil.” While Biden rarely invokes Trump’s name publicly, referring to him as “my predecessor” or “the former guy,” in private, Biden calls him “that f–king a–hole.”

The American intelligence on Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine: Biden confronted Putin with the intelligence twice in December 2021, first in a video conference and then in what Woodward describes as a “hot 50-minute call” that became so heated that at one point that Putin “raised the risk of nuclear war in a threatening way.” Biden responded by reminding Putin that “it’s impossible to win” a nuclear war.

Sen. Lindsey Graham on Trump: “Going to Mar-a-Lago is a little bit like going to North Korea,” Graham said. “Everybody stands up and claps every time Trump comes in.” The South Carolina Republican is quoted as saying Biden “won fair and square” but that Trump “doesn’t like to hear that.” Woodward goes on to describe Graham’s attempts to give Trump campaign advice for 2024. “You’ve got a problem with moderate women,” Graham told Trump after the midterms. “The people that think that the earth is flat and we didn’t go to the moon, you’ve got them. Let that go.”

On the withdrawal from Afghanistan: After the disastrous US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden received a commiserating phone call from another member of the president’s club. “Oh boy, I can understand what you’re going through,” George W. Bush said to Biden. “I got f–ked by my intel people, too.”

Biden’s complaints about Obama: Biden complained that Obama didn’t do enough to stop Putin in 2014, when the Russian leader invaded Crimea. “They f–ked up in 2014,” Biden said to a friend, according to Woodward. “That’s why we are here. We f–ked it up. Barack never took Putin seriously. We did nothing. We gave Putin a license to continue!” Biden was angry: “Well, I’m revoking his f–king license!”

Biden regrets choosing Garland as AG: Biden has remained hands off with the Justice Department. But privately, Woodward reveals the president’s anger at the prosecution of his son, especially toward his attorney general. “Should never have picked Garland,” Biden once told an associate, Woodward reports. “This is never going to f–king go away,” Biden complained.

Why Biden endorsed Kamala Harris immediately after dropping out: When Biden dropped out on July 21, he immediately endorsed Harris, allowing her to consolidate Democratic support and avoid messy party infighting. He also remembered what it was like not to get the president’s endorsement. “I think it probably harkens back to the way Biden felt he didn’t get that from President Obama back in 2016,” Blinken said, according to Woodward. “He was disappointed. He felt that, you know, as his vice president that’s the normal and natural order.”

Kamala & Joe’s private dealings: “I’m calling to ask you — to really beg you, actually — could you please talk to the president more than you talk to him?” Harris said to Biden’s friend. “Your president really loves you. You should talk to him more often than you do.” Woodward writes: “The Biden associate was candid with the vice president. Look, one of the biggest reasons that Biden calls me, the associate said, is I provide him a level of comfort to the point where he can swear freely about ‘what a f–king a–hole Joe Manchin is.’” The vice president laughed. “That might be the only reason that he still really is comfortable with me to a point,” Harris said, according to Woodward, “because he knows that I’m the only person around who knows how to properly pronounce the word motherf–ker.”

[From CNN]

Kamala calling up Biden’s friends and telling them to stay in touch with the president? That’s incredibly sweet. And Harris and Biden’s weekly lunches were probably a hoot, both of them swearing up and down about this motherf–ker and that sh-thead. I 100% believe that Biden called Netanyahu a “son of a bitch” and that Trump is always referred to as that “f–king a–hole.” In the history of Biden’s most relatable moments, those are top-tier. Also: hopefully, Merrick Garland will get shown the door pretty quickly. President Harris is going to need a much more focused AG.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

We heard this week that King Charles plans to pause his chemotherapy treatments for more than a week. Charles and Camilla plan to travel to Australia and Samoa, and they leave next week (I think), and they’ll be away for something like eleven or twelve days. Charles’s treatment is weekly, from what we can tell, and he’s been making a point of going to London mid-week for a day for those treatments. It feels like a somewhat big deal that the palace confirmed that Charles is pausing his treatments for his travels. It also feels like a big deal that the palace is confirming that Charles will not go to the Cop29 climate summit next month.

The King will not attend the Cop29 climate summit being hosted by Azerbaijan in November amid his cancer treatment. The monarch has long campaigned on environmental issues but will be absent from the United Nations gathering being held in the oil-rich state from Nov11 to 22.

The head of state has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer since early in 2024 and the global climate change conference will begin just over two weeks after the King and Queen’s long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa ends.

Sources told the Daily Mirror “an abundance of caution” is needed with the monarch’s current schedule. A source told the newspaper: “He has not been asked by the Government to attend the event and he is also mindful of his own commitments following the upcoming autumn tour.” The source added the King would have “relished the chance to attend” but he is “incredibly busy already…A decision was taken for His Majesty not to attend the conference this year.”

The overseas tour has been curtailed on doctor’s advice, with a visit to New Zealand dropped from the itinerary and other changes to the programme.

[From The Telegraph]

The start of Cop29 coincides with Remembrance Day, and the Windsors really spread Remembrance events throughout the entire month of November. Meaning, that excuse was right there and they didn’t take it. They could have just said “the king’s priority is on Remembrance events, not traveling to Azerbaijan.” They also could have blamed Downing Street and claimed that Keir Starmer suggested that the king stay home. It’s interesting that instead of those excuses, they’re going with “he’s not going to pause his chemotherapy again to do Cop29.”

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

VP Kamala Harris did two big media appearances on Tuesday: the Howard Stern show and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Both men, Colbert and Stern, despise Donald Trump and they were so lovely to VP Harris. Of course, Colbert would interview Trump if Trump agreed to go on The Late Show. That’s just the thing though – Trump prefers his echo chamber in right-wing media, and even those people are exhausted with him (I saw a clip of Laura Ingraham fact-checking his lies in real time the other night). Anyway, the Colbert interview was great. A lot of politicians are in stump-speech mode when they come on late-night shows, but VP Harris was funny, personable and chatty. Colbert’s audience chanted “Kamala, Kamala” when she walked on too. Colbert asked her about Hurricane Helene and Milton (which is making landfall in Florida right now), they talked about the debate, and Colbert asked her about the breaking-news from Bob Woodward’s new book, War.

My favorite part is in the third video, where Kamala passes the “would you want to have a beer with her” vibe check. Colbert gave her a Miller High Life, which is apparently what she requested. Kamala took one sip and she started taking sh-t about how Trump is a loser and how he incited an insurrection. Immaculate, no notes.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Harris’s IG and CBS.

Thomas Kingston passed away in February of this year. His passing came in the middle of a chaotic royal newscycle, including King Charles’s prostate procedure and then his cancer diagnosis and the Princess of Wales’s then-mysterious disappearance (and everything around that). Kingston died by “catastrophic wound to the head,” with a gun nearby. The initial inquest found that the most likely cause of death was self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Kingston was Lady Gabriella Windsor’s husband, and she has been deeply grieving ever since his passing. I kind of thought the inquest was all done and that everything had already been wrapped up, all nice and tidy and Windsor-approved. But no… they’re still investigating. Now they’re looking into what medications Kingston was taking just before his death.

The inquest into the death of Thomas Kingston, husband of Lady Gabriella Kingston, will look at whether his “state of mind was affected by medication”.

Kingston, 45, who married the daughter of Prince and Princess ­Michael of Kent in 2019, died in an outbuilding of his parents’ home in the Cotswolds with “catastrophic” head injuries and a gun left next to his body on February 25 this year. On Tuesday, in a pre-inquest review at Gloucestershire coroner’s court, Martin Porter KC said the family had been ­“advised that there could be a connection” between prescription medication he had taken and his state of mind.

Porter told the court: “The inquiry shouldn’t be limited to the final cause of death, which is clear and obvious.” He said it should include “Mr Kingston’s state of mind and whether that state of mind was affected by medication”.

Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, said the “recent prescription … should be part of the scope”, adding: “I agree with Mr Porter, however I do caveat strongly that whether a causative link will be established is a very different matter.”

Porter said Kingston’s death was ­“unexpected” and “impulsive”, adding: “There was no pre-planning. On the contrary there was planning for the future.”

Kingston was a director of Devonport Capital, which provides finance for companies in “frontier economies”. No date was fixed for the inquest but all parties have been asked for availability in early December.

[From The Times]

This is what strikes me as well: “There was no pre-planning. On the contrary there was planning for the future.” He had just had lunch with his parents and gone for a walk at his parents’ estate. His father reportedly found his son in an out-building on the estate. A lot of people who lost friends by suicide say that they had no idea they were depressed and it’s hard to make sense of it. Maybe it was the medication?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Prince Harry has repeatedly expressed his surprise that his ginger genes overpowered Meghan’s genes. Their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are both redheads, although we haven’t seen either kid in a while, and it’s likely that their hair color has changed as they both get older. Archie’s hair, once bright orange, looks like it’s getting darker with age. Lilibet might end up a strawberry-blonde. Why are we talking about Harry’s genes? Well, he brought it up! He talked about it with one of Hello’s editors when he was in London for the WellChild Awards:

The Duke of Sussex has shared a sweet tidbit about his children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, revealing that the youngsters have been “blessed” with their mother Meghan Markle’s long, thick hair. In this week’s issue of HELLO!, chief content officer Sophie Vokes-Dudgeon writes about meeting Harry at last month’s WellChild Awards. Harry, 40, is patron of the children’s charity and has been attending the annual awards for years, while HELLO! is a long-time media partner.

“I knew that the WellChild Awards were special to Prince Harry, but it wasn’t until I had seen him in action that I was able to understand quite how much this special day means to the 40-year-old royal,” Sophie, who attended the ceremony, writes. “From the moment he arrived in the reception room, he had an infectious energy about him, and there were no airs and graces at all as he chatted animatedly about his own children ahead of the event.”

Sophie adds: “Archie and Lili have been blessed with their mother’s thick hair, he told us, self- effacingly, as he marvelled that it won’t be long until Lili can sit on hers.”

“He was enjoying being 40 and had been told by friends that it was the best decade, so he had high hopes for it. His wonderful wife Meghan was holding the fort, he said, her hands full with not only their two children but also their three dogs, which he joked were not quite house-trained. Not to mention the chickens!”

Sophie adds that the father-of-two was “in his element”. “The real joy for Harry is the time he spends with the children, parents and professionals being celebrated on the night. Our royal editor Emily Nash accompanies him each year and is genuinely moved each time as she observes the Duke down on his knees with the children, joking, laughing and raising smiles while he plays with the kids – something that has become even more profound for him since he became a father himself.”

[From Hello]

“Archie and Lili have been blessed with their mother’s thick hair, he told us, self-effacingly, as he marvelled that it won’t be long until Lili can sit on hers.” OMG. Lili’s hair is so long! And you could tell from the photos of Archie several years ago that he has a full head of thick curls. Hopefully the Spencer and Windsor bald-ass genes don’t descend on Archie too early. As for the rest of it… it’s not like Hello is writing this through gritted teeth. They seem genuinely happy that Harry stopped into London for a good cause. If anything, there’s a tinge of regret, like… we wish he could be around more often. Too bad the left-behinds are psychos!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Misan Harriman for the Sussexes, the Ellen Show.

The European leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour had two separate concert-residencies at Wembley Stadium in England. One residency was in June, then she ended the European leg by coming back to Wembley for five nights in August. The August concert dates came after she had to cancel her Austrian concerts at the last minute because of very serious terrorist threats. Taylor’s nerves were shot and she was incredibly concerned about her fans’ safety and her own safety. Which is why Taylor and her team apparently demanded police escorts throughout her concert series at Wembley. The police gave her the “VIP service” but now there’s some kind of investigation into why Taylor gets better police security than Prince Harry would have gotten.

Top Labour politicians have been accused of pressing police to give Taylor Swift a royalty-style blue-light escort to Wembley. Cops were reluctant to grant her the VVIP service — which comes at a huge expense to the taxpayer. Swift’s mum and manager, Andrea, is said to have threatened to axe the August shows unless a police convoy was provided. It followed a foiled suicide bomb plot in Austria the previous week.

Senior cops agreed to it after personal interventions by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. VVIP protection is usually for senior royalty and politicians. Even Prince Harry would not get the same treatment after losing a court case over the downgrading of his security.

The Special Escort Group of motorcyclists has a strict policy of not being used for private individuals. It is understood that chiefs opposed providing protection for billionaire Swift, 34, and her entourage.

Revelations over the security wrangle come after Labour politicians have been criticised for devouring freebies. PM Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Khan were among those who received free tickets for the Wembley gigs. Ex-Met commander John O’Connor insisted: “Police should be left alone to make operational decisions. This interference creates a perception there is no such thing as a free lunch or concert tickets. The Met is unable to provide security for Prince Harry but he must be in at least as much danger as Taylor Swift. The SEG is dedicated to the very serious business of protecting the Royal Family, senior government ministers and foreign heads of state. This is an abuse of an elite service.”

Three of Swift’s shows were axed in Vienna over fears of terrorism. An intelligence assessment was then carried out by UK police and MI5 but there was no information of a threat to the US star’s Wembley shows. But sources said her mum dem­anded a police escort for the journey to and from Wembley from a hotel.

One source said: “There was a great deal of concern about security in the Swift camp and they were threatening to call off the shows unless there was a police escort. The SEG has a specific role and do not provide security cover for any private individuals, no matter how important.”

After the SEG’s initial refusal, it’s understood the office of Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley intervened. Sources say Ms Cooper stressed to the Met that any cancellation would be economically damaging and embarrassing. But SEG controllers are said to have remained steadfast.

[From The Sun]

I’m not sure if we’re supposed to be scandalized that Taylor and her mom apparently “demanded” police escorts? Because I think their “demands” sound pretty reasonable overall. It actually seems typical of the British police to miss the forest for the trees – regardless of whether British intel had knowledge of specific threats against Taylor, she literally just had to cancel her Austrian concerts because of a planned terrorist attack. Taylor is also under a constant barrage of threats, which is why she also has tons of personal security. Why wasn’t this a conversation between Taylor’s private security and the police? I also think people underestimate how the 2017 terrorist attack at Ariana Grande’s Manchester concert shook the music industry and changed the way Taylor and other musical acts approach their stadium tours.

The whole “Taylor got better security than Prince Harry” thing is bizarre too – it’s like the police steadfastly refuse to look at the actual threats against certain people. Security should follow threat, not rank. “Who is this American woman demanding a police escort?” “Why should we protect the fifth in line to the throne?” Taylor AND Harry should be protected more than they are in the UK.

Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace, Cover Images.

Something to keep your eye on: Jessica Simpson isn’t wearing her wedding ring and her husband has been missing from her socials for a while. [LaineyGossip]
Georgia’s Supreme Court reinstated the state’s deadly abortion ban. [Jezebel]
Rachel Sennott appeared on In Your Dreams. [OMG Blog]
Cissy Houston has passed away. [Hollywood Life]
Why are Republicans obsessed with raw milk these days? [Pajiba]
Sarah Paulson wore The Row. [RCFA]
Who’s your “hear me out” crush? [Buzzfeed]
Mega Millions is raising their ticket price next year.[JustJared]
Timothee Chalamet is filming all over New York. [Socialite Life]
Bob’s Big Boy got a Halloween makeover. [Seriously OMG]

Is Melania Trump’s book promotion getting wider attention outside of the conservative-media bubble? I think she is, although she absolutely would have gotten more attention if she released this stupid memoir months ago and not in the last weeks of an election where her unhinged husband is trying to end democracy. Speaking of, Melania includes a section about the 2020 election in her book. Would you believe that this Birther-conspiracy a–hole also believes that the 2020 election was “stolen” from her husband? Yeah, that sounds about right.

Melania Trump is fully on board with her husband’s 2020 election denial, her new memoir reveals. The famously taciturn wife of former President Donald Trump rarely opines about politics. But in her book, Melania, scheduled to be released Tuesday, the former first lady suggests the 2020 election was stolen.

Looking back on her husband’s last presidential campaign, Melania writes that she was optimistic about his chances, “but the media, Big Tech, and the deep state were all determined to prevent Donald’s re-election, by any means necessary. With all these enemies aligned, I worried the election would be unfair,” she recalls.

On election night, she writes, she and her son Barron watched returns roll in from her room in the White House. Her husband would pop in between phone calls. Things seemed to be going well—until Fox News projected that Joe Biden would win Arizona.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Melania writes. “How could they call it so early before all the votes were counted? It was another sign that this was not a normal election.”

That call enflamed the right, with Trump’s team insisting it was grossly premature. Fox expressed confidence in its projection, which turned out to be correct. But that wasn’t the only news that raised red flags for the first lady, according to her book, a copy of which was reviewed by the Daily Beast ahead of publication.

“Soon, the media reported that due to the way different states counted mail-in ballots and the various mail-in deadlines, the results would not be clear for several days,” she recounts. “At this point, everything was called into question for me.”

Her views expressed in the book are in line with the MAGA mantra that a combination of voter fraud, rigged voting machines and Democratic malfeasance stole a presidential term that was rightfully his. These claims have been repeatedly disproven. But not to Melania. She sides with Trump supporters who don’t buy that clear evidence.

“Many Americans still have doubts about the election to this day,” she writes. “I am not the only person who questions the results.” She recalls the tumultuous days after the election “with suspicious voting activity being reported all across the country.” While it’s true that there were some potential cases of voter fraud in battleground states, those numbered just a few hundred, according to an AP News review—too few to actually swing the election.

[From The Daily Beast]

The most notable instances of voter fraud and election malfeasance came from MAGA Republicans like Arizonan Loraine Pellegrino (convicted in fake-elector scheme), Colorado county clerk Tina Peters (just sentenced to nine years in prison), and everyone involved in the catastrophe in Georgia, which is still being prosecuted and adjudicated. Not to mention, Melania’s husband incited a deadly insurrection to overturn the results of a free and fair election. This bitch is dumb as hell, as are all people crying about mail-in ballots.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.