Note: this is a second version of a story I covered earlier, about Princess Kate “resenting” Meghan. Some backstory: on the day QEII died, King Charles called Prince Harry. The conversation likely took place a short time after the Sussexes confirmed that they would travel to Balmoral, which is where (at the time) QEII was barely hanging on. Instead of keeping Harry informed about his beloved grandmother, Charles used that moment to insult and disrespect Meghan and tell Harry not to “bring her” to Balmoral. We knew that in the hours after QEII’s passing, because the Windsors openly and gleefully briefed the media about how Charles’s first act as king was banning his Black daughter-in-law from Balmoral. Harry also addressed that moment in Spare, and he basically confirmed exactly how disgusting it was that Charles used that moment to denigrate Meghan and order her not to come.

What was interesting about the whole debacle was that Kate, the soon-to-be Princess of Wales, was never flying up to Balmoral with her husband. It was one of her kids’ first days of a new school, and she had to pick them up. That would have been my excuse, if I worked for royal comms – lean into the motherhood-above-all-else thing. Instead, they made it sound like of course Kate never would have been invited, because she “knows her place” unlike Meghan. Well, to continue with that bizarre narrative, both Russell Myers and Robert Jobson are now leaning into this idea that Charles asked Kate to stay away from Balmoral as a way to keep Meghan away too…??

Royal Editor Russell Myers says Meghan Markle was asked to steer clear of the late Queen Elizabeth II amid “upset and upheaval” within the royal family over the couple’s lucrative media deals. Mr Myers was responding to claims King Charles had “struck a deal” with Princess Kate that she keep Meghan away from the Queen’s bedside to avoid upset in the monarch’s final moments.

Royal expert Robert Jobson had earlier told the Daily Telegraph of the steps King Charles took to ensure the former actress was not around amid the Queen’s ill health.

“Privately, he wanted to say Meghan was not welcome but he couldn’t say that to Harry so he personally intervened and asked Kate to stay back so that it was fairer on Meghan,” Mr Jobson said. Speaking to Royal Report host Caroline Di Russo, Mr Myers said while he wouldn’t use the words “strike a deal” there was a lot of anxiety surrounding Harry and Meghan’s return for the late monarch’s funeral.

“William and Kate’s children had just started a new school, had just move to Windsor from London, so obviously a very unsettling time for the whole family. And after the late Queen’s passing you of course could understand the sort of anxiousness around the family that Harry and Meghan would fly back. During that period of time we had a lot of upset and upheaval within the royal family to do with Harry and Meghan – the Oprah interview, the possibility of Harry writing his book at that stage and a Netflix interview on the cards.”

Mr Myers said there were conversations between Harry and Charles about Meghan but Princess Kate’s choice to stay back was more likely “a family decision”.

“Whenever Harry and Meghan were in and around the royal family it was becoming a bit of an issue so those conversations really took place between Harry and his father,” he said. “For Kate to stay away and look after her children was probably more of a family decision to work out what’s best for the overall feeling of the family at that time.”

[From Sky News]

This continues to be utterly bizarre, the haphazard, months-long debate about why Kate didn’t fly to Balmoral that day. It’s always been so puzzling to me, because “the cover story” made perfect sense at the time: of course Kate wanted to be in Windsor to pick up the kids from their first week at school, and of course she wanted to be the one to tell them about QEII’s passing too. Why wasn’t that explanation ever good enough? Why did it become “Charles ordered Kate to stay back as some kind of excuse to ban Meghan.” I’ve also never understood why Charles and the rest of the family was so f–king nasty about Meghan simply wanting to physically be with Harry on the day his grandmother died. Like, this was how Charles wanted to start his reign: banning his son’s Black wife from Balmoral because Harry must grieve alone?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Weeks ago, we heard the somewhat sudden news that Carole Middleton hired an “adviser” to help her sell Party Pieces, the “party supply” catalog company widely reported to be the source of the Middleton family’s mysterious wealth. It was no secret that PP’s business has been failing for years, and while the Middletons blamed the pandemic and the post office, I would argue that party-supply discount stores and Amazon are the real reasons why PP has lost millions. Plus, not for nothing, I never believed that PP was all that successful to begin with. Well, recently we heard that Carole and Mike Middleton are definitely selling the business and they’re planning on retiring to spend more time with their grandkids. Well, funny story – PP’s business is in such shambles that the Middletons are offering a six-figure “dowry” to whoever “buys” the company.

Party Pieces, the online party goods supplier founded by the Princess of Wales’s parents, is considering handing a six-figure sum to a buyer as part of efforts to offload the business.

Sky News has learnt that a dowry deal is one of the options being considered by Carole and Michael Middleton as they seek new owners for the company they founded in 1987. Sources said on Monday that a dowry was under discussions with prospective bidders as the Middletons and their advisers at Interpath, the restructuring firm, seek to finalise a deal.

One of the leading contenders to acquire Party Pieces is Club Green, a family-owned business which has also operated for decades in the party goods sector, the sources added.

The Middletons, who conceived the business as they were seeking inspiration for daughter Kate’s fifth birthday, were reported to have instructed Interpath to find a buyer last month. Insiders said there were “multiple parties” interested in acquiring Party Pieces.

The prospective dowry is said to be worth less than £1m. According to information circulated to potential bidders, Party Pieces has shown “some recent UK performance contraction during international expansion and focus on margins”. The company is reported to have made losses in the last financial year for which accounts have been filed.

One industry source said the Middletons were “trying to do the right thing for the business and its stakeholders”. A spokesperson for Mrs Middleton declined to comment, while Interpath also declined to comment.

[From Sky News]

While I don’t have an MBA, I can safely say that it’s a really horrible sign that the Middletons have to pony up hundreds of thousands of dollars/pounds to SELL their business. While we knew the business wasn’t healthy or successful, before now, I never really considered the fact that PP likely holds more debt than it’s worth. Think of it less like a “dowry” and more like “whoever ‘buys’ Party Pieces will be buying debt, and the whole thing will probably be some huge tax write-off.” They’re not looking for someone to buy the business, this is a fire sale and someone is basically just being paid to take their remaining product and then PP will cease to exist. Jesus H. This is a horrible look for the Future Queen’s parents. Carole so wanted to be queen too.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Cover Images.

On March 25, Jonathan Majors was arrested in New York for assault and harassment. The police report – which TMZ leaked – showed that his girlfriend told police that they were in the back of a taxi and they fought over his phone, and during the fight, he struck her and strangled her. As it turned out, the assault was probably much more violent than we first believed, and at one point, the victim collapsed and passed out. She was hospitalized, which is where (I believe) that police became involved. Majors’ lawyer put out a statement saying that it was all a misunderstanding from a hysterical, emotionally imbalanced woman, and that they also had a statement from the woman where she recanted. A week later, Majors’ lawyer released that “recantation” – the texts she sent him after he was arrested, in which she sounded terrified of him and which included details which were extremely damaging to Majors. It was insane that his lawyer released them. Well, it looks like Hollywood wants no part of this sh-tshow. His management team is dumping him.

Talent manager Entertainment 360 has dropped Jonathan Majors, several sources tell us. The recent move by Majors’ longtime manager comes three weeks after the Magazine Dreams star was arrested on domestic violence charges in New York City.

Currently starring in Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Majors’ departure was due to issues surrounding the actor’s personal behavior, we are informed.

Majors’ representation problems don’t stop with Entertainment 360. PR firm The Lede Company also initiated a break with the Avengers actor in the last month. As a more minor element of this, Majors and fashion house Valentino “mutually agreed” that the actor would not be attending this year’s Met Gala as one of its guests.

Majors has already shot the second season of Marvel/Disney+’s Loki, in which he reprises his uber-villain role of Kang the Conqueror, and won’t go before the cameras in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty for quite some time. Deadline hears there’s been zero conversations in the Marvel camp to drop Majors from the MCU.

[From Deadline]

There’s enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that this March 25 incident was far from the first time, but it doesn’t matter if it was the first or fiftieth – what he did to this poor woman is awful and hopefully there’s enough evidence to actually put him in jail or make him face serious consequences. That could be Marvel’s calculation – why fire him when it’s possible he could go to jail? But yeah, Marvel needs to be more proactive. As for Majors being dumped by his management and his PR – reminds me of what happened to Armie Hammer. Hammer lost his entire team in a matter of weeks.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Netflix was doing something different with the fourth season of Love is Blind. They were planning to air a live reunion episode last night and hyped it for weeks, but that didn’t happen. The reunion that was supposed to air live at 8PM ET was taped and streamed over an hour late and Netflix had to issue a public apology. Messy season from start to finish.

Netflix ran into significant issues with its second-ever live event on Sunday evening. Love Is Blind: The Live Reunion failed to start streaming at its planned 8PM showtime, leading to major consternation from the show’s fans across social media. Netflix acknowledged the problem on Twitter soon after and promised to kick off the presentation within 15 minutes.

That didn’t happen, either. More than an hour later, subscribers were still encountering error screens when trying to watch the event. Netflix followed up by saying it’d be “worth the wait.” As the delay stretched on, hosts Vanessa and Nick Lachey posted to Instagram thanking fans (and a live studio audience) for their extended patience.

Finally, at around 9:30PM ET, Netflix shared a public apology and said the special would be filmed and made available on the service “as soon as humanly possible.” But it wouldn’t be live anymore due to whatever technical mishap caused all of this. Fans got to enjoy the season 4 reunion a short time later, though Netflix has yet to provide any explanation for what happened.

For unknown reasons, the Love Is Blind reunion proved far more challenging for Netflix than a Chris Rock live comedy special that streamed in early March without any snags. With tonight’s delay extending into the 9PM ET hour, Netflix risked losing many viewers to HBO’s smash hit Succession. As expected, the company faced an avalanche of complaints and mockery on social media due to the unexpected postponement. Even Blockbuster — whatever incarnation of “Blockbuster” this Twitter account is — couldn’t help but take a shot.

The embarrassing delay just two events in is a setback for Netflix, which has said it intends to regularly deliver live programming — including comedy specials and awards shows like the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards — as a way to entice subscribers and fend off streaming rivals. The company hasn’t announced what’s next on its live event calendar, but there will be major pressure on Netflix to come through and make tonight’s debacle an anomaly.

[From The Verge]

I didn’t even try to watch this live because I had stuff to do before Succession, but I feel the frustration of those who did. Nothing more frustrating than a technical difficulty delaying your timeline, especially on a Sunday night when you’re trying to unwind. Netflix hasn’t said what happened here, just apologized profusely. It’s annoying that Chris Rock’s special went live with no problems, but this actually entertaining show was delayed and had to be taped. Anyway, the reunion was messy in terms of content as well. It’s nice that Chelsea and Kwame seem to have resolved their issues. Brett and Tiffany are cute. And still side-eyeing Jackelina and Josh — and just give back the ring, jeez. This show gets a little more unhinged every season. So, where’s season 5 going to be set?

To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned. We’re filming it now and we’ll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible. Again, thank you and…

— Netflix (@netflix) April 17, 2023

photos credit: Netflix

Prince William and Kate have been mad since 2016. That’s when they learned that Prince Harry was dating Meghan Markle. It’s clear now – as it was clear then, actually – that William and Kate were in a blind panic for much of 2017 and 2018, as they were sick with jealousy over Harry and Meghan’s easy charisma and fairy-tale love story. Thus, they orchestrated an unhinged smear campaign aimed at destroying the Sussexes’ marriage or exiling them in some way. Post-Sussexit, William and Kate’s default position has always been one of anger, rage, resentment and hatred towards the Sussexes. The “reason” for all of this incandescent rage has shifted from month to month, from year to year. There were easily 200 “last straw” moments, or “the Sussexes will never come back from this” moments. And after all that, it never amounts to anything other than the same thing it always was: William and Kate resent the Sussexes. They’re jealous of H&M and they hate that Harry and Meg left (even if that was their goal). William and Kate are not masterminds, they’re just two racist, jealous, petty, nasty people who will use any excuse to fuel their resentments. Speaking of.

The Princess of Wales has ‘built up resentment’ against Meghan Markle because she was forced to stay away from Balmoral while other senior royals rushed to the Queen’s side for a final goodbye, a royal author has claimed.

Kate, 41, remained in Windsor to look after her children while the immediate family headed to Scotland to be at the late monarch’s bedside when she died in September 2022. And now biographer Robert Jobson says in his latest book, Our King, the decision was taken to ensure Prince Harry didn’t have an excuse to bring his wife, because he might have insisted if the Princess of Wales was there.

‘The King said it was only for the children and grandchildren to be with the Queen,’ he wrote, adding that Charles wanted to stress that it was ‘not appropriate for wives to attend’, even though Sophie Wessex travelled to Balmoral. ‘Privately, he wanted to say Meghan was not welcome,’ he continued. ‘But he couldn’t say that to Harry so he personally intervened and asked Kate to stay back so that it was fairer on Meghan.’

He said that the Princess of Wales – who had stayed back at Adelaide Cottage and was spotted leaving Windsor Castle to collect the children from school on the day – had ‘wanted to be there with the Queen’, but wasn’t able to.

[From The Daily Mail]

Charles told Kate to stay home as a cover for why Meghan was banned from Balmoral and instead of being upset with the king, Kate is mad at… Meghan. For existing. For wanting to be with Harry on a difficult day. Kate “resents” Meghan for something awful that happened TO Meghan, which was Charles banning Meg from Balmoral. Again, there was a perfectly good reason why Kate didn’t go to Balmoral: she needed to pick up her kids from school and tell them about their great-grandmother. That perfectly reasonable excuse is never used and I don’t know why. The more these royal biographers pick apart this particular story, the angrier I get on the Sussexes’ behalf. Also: Sophie wasn’t the only spouse allowed in Balmoral. Tim Lawrence, Anne’s husband, was there. So was Camilla.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Kendall Jenner & Bad Bunny really were at Coachella together. [Just Jared]
Post Malone & Bad Bunny’s Coachella performance was messy? [Buzzfeed]
Exes Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello kissed at Coachella. [Dlisted]
Taylor Swift’s Tampa Bay show was glitchy. [LaineyGossip]
Would anyone buy “woke-free” beer? Good lord. [Pajiba]
Ciara wore D&G at Coachella. [RCFA]
Betty Gilpin’s nun show is here (and this is a good outfit). [Go Fug Yourself]
Elie Saab’s bridal collection is heavy on the boob ruffles. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Kieran Culkin should be in the James Bond conversation! [Jezebel]
It seems like Elizabeth Hurley is always on vacation. [Egotastic]
Wicked is going to be (literally) dark as hell. [Seriously OMG]
Sister Wives’ Christine Brown bought a house in Utah with her fiance. [Starcasm]
Tan France is over the moon about being a dad again. [Towleroad]

Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner at Coachella. pic.twitter.com/4aw7tLKGB8

— @21metgala (@21metgala) April 17, 2023

While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a lot of power for whatever coronation decision they made, it’s also true that every option was going to be a sh-tshow when it came to how the British media covered their decision. If Harry and Meghan were both attending, there would be wall-to-wall palace briefings about How Dare She and She’s Not Welcome. If they had both avoided it, the palace briefings would have been “poor Charles, he tried to make peace.” The palace is completely happy that Harry will attend alone, even if they’re also sitting back and allowing the British media to scream and cry about Meghan’s non-attendance. This option also allows the palace to brief about how King Charles is wise and magnanimous, and he and Harry are finally speaking one-on-one.

Prince Harry had a heart to heart talk with his dad King Charles before agreeing to come to the Coronation, The Sun on Sunday can reveal. Sources say the pair have spoken and there is a “willingness and wanting to mend on both sides” after Harry’s explosive revelations in his book Spare and Netflix series.

Now it can be revealed that he ended months of no contact with Charles by holding a conversation about the invitation — but has not spoken to William. It is understood there was also correspondence with Buckingham Palace before Harry accepted the invitation to Westminster Abbey but no significant talks other than over security arrangements.

Insiders say the King is “happy” with his son’s decision and “understanding” of 41-year-old Meghan staying behind with 22-month-old Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie, who turns four the same day as the King is crowned. Sources claim Harry wanted to attend to show “support for his father”. Despite claims Harry delayed accepting the invitation over concerns about seating plans, there were no significant talks other than to settle on a security plan.

Sources also revealed there was an acceptance of Harry and Meghan’s good conduct at both the Platinum Jubilee and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II amid fears they would try to steal the limelight.

[From The Sun]

“There was an acceptance of Harry and Meghan’s good conduct” – the Sussexes looked gracious while Harry’s family made asses out of themselves repeatedly. It’s also bizarre that they’re painting the previous lack of communication between father and son as Harry going “no contact,” especially when the palace was always in a rush to brief the media that Charles refused to call Harry or speak to him directly in any way for months.

The Mail’s Charlotte Griffiths also had a piece about how the delay in Harry’s attendance confirmation came down to Harry wanting “the status of his children Archie and Lilibet to be publicly recognised by the Royal Family.” Charles was “open” to “make a gracious nod to Archie and rumours circulated that he would raise a glass to his grandson during a post-procession Coronation lunch.” OMFG. Charles literally scheduled his coronation on Archie’s birthday as a way to beef with a child over who got more attention. In any case, Harry isn’t going to the lunch, and none of this ever f–king happened. Charles needs to keep Archie and Lili’s names out of his mouth.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Buckingham Palace.

Keanu Reeves made an appearance this weekend with his girlfriend/partner Alexandra Grant at the annual MOCA gala. They often go to this event, and I believe Alexandra has the connection to the museum, and Keanu is her date. Alexandra is an artist and she’s very involved in the Los Angeles artists’ community. I love that Keanu shows up to *her* events. They’ve been together for years, but they’re a pretty quiet couple – he’s only referenced her in a handful of interviews, and she’s not, like, organizing pap strolls or anything. I’m always in awe of how age-appropriate they are as a couple – he’s 58, she’s 50. Keanu definitely sips from Paul Rudd’s fountain of youth, but they do look the same age. It’s just refreshing to see a 50-something celebrity man with a 50-something woman.

Alexandra’s dress is amazing too, I don’t have the designer ID, but it’s great. You know what I like? She understands that with her gray hair, she needs softer makeup and bright colors. I feel like a lot of women who go gray still wear the same colors and same makeup as before. Also: I made the mistake of searching “Alexandra Grant” on Twitter, only to discover that there are some unhinged Keanu fans who hate her guts. You guys… Keanu is a peaceful dude who has had a lot of tragedy in his life. Just let him live and be with the woman he adores. They also kissed for the cameras last night:

Keanu Reeves and girlfriend Alexandra Grant share a sweet moment on the carpet at the @MOCAlosangeles Gala. #KeanuReeves #AlexandraGrant #MOCA pic.twitter.com/rrl0gQVazY

— On The Red Carpet (@OnTheRedCarpet) April 16, 2023

Also: Jodie Foster walked the carpet with her wife Alexandra Hedison. We rarely see them do events together, so this was really nice. They’re such an attractive couple. I kind of want to see Jodie work with Keanu now??

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

One of the most disconcerting things about the British media’s coverage of the Duchess of Sussex has always been their sense of ownership over her. They feel like it’s their right to say whatever they want about her because they own her, she’s “theirs” to abuse and slander, “theirs” to obsess over. As an American citizen, watching how the British media treats my fellow American, I’m enraged on her behalf. She hasn’t lived on that f–king island in three and a half years. She was lucky to escape with her life, her husband and her baby. She’s spent over three years building a life for herself and her family and she’s thrived and succeeded at every level. That’s what they can’t stand the most – the fact that she’s never groveled to come back or begged for their acceptance or forgiveness. She simply moved on and healed. That’s what is so unforgivable to them.

Well, I was reminded of all of that as I read Camilla Tominey’s latest column (“comment”) in the Telegraph, in which Tominey references her newspaper’s unhinged “WHERE’S MEGHAN, SHE VANISHED” reporting to launch yet another delusional attack on Meghan for simply living in California and raising her children instead of going to her dogsh-t father-in-law’s coronation. Tominey has also decided (surprise surprise) that there’s something wrong in the Sussex marriage and Harry will soon find a way to “come back.” Some highlights:

Meghan is… Duchess Dolittle? Much is being made of the Duchess of Sussex’s newfound inconspicuousness. It wasn’t long ago that there was no escaping the American former actress turned wannabe People’s Princess as she revealed her “truth” on Oprah, shed tears on Netflix, and shared pearls of wisdom on her “Archetypes” podcast…But having been completely absent from the promotional activity around Spare – her husband’s warts-and-all autobiography – and now having decided against attending the Coronation, preferring instead to remain in California, “Duchess Dolittle” would appear to be a better moniker.

This B is obsessed with South Park: Biding her time since that South Park episode, there is mounting talk of a rebrand, with Meghan reportedly planning to revive her lifestyle blog The Tig. Think Martha Stewart meets Kim Kardashian, presumably with enough paid endorsements to fund the couple’s quest to maintain “financial independence” from the Crown, and possibly to get a new kitchen.

What will Harry do now that Meghan is rebranding? The John Lennon to his wife’s Yoko Ono (or, as someone once joked on Twitter, Woko Ono), things aren’t quite as straightforward for a fifth-in-line to the throne, for whom Britain appears to be the third person in his marriage. Like his relationship with the royals, Prince Harry’s connection with his country of birth is complicated.

Why is Harry suing British newspapers if he doesn’t want to come back to Tominey?? Yet in making a surprise return to London for his High Court case against Associated Newspapers Ltd, and in agreeing to attend the Coronation on May 6, Harry looks like a man with a yearning for Blighty. And if that’s the case – if he does want to come back, at least for a temporary period – shouldn’t he be welcomed, not only by the palace but the public, too? The truth is that Harry will always seem more at home here than in the United States (even after his imminent eviction from Frogmore House). In America, he’s just, as the South Park creators rather cruelly put it, a “dumb prince”.

The Sussexes are so unpopular in America! The Sussexes aren’t major influencers there. That job is left to people such as the less middle-aged Selena Gomez and Kylie Jenner. The Duke and Duchess are just another pair of celebrities in a country where they are two-a-penny. Any American dream that Harry might have had appears to have gone a bit stale, with the Netflix glow fading much quicker than he may have hoped. His memoir is still among those topping the charts, but that caused a stir because of what it said about the Royal family as a whole, not just him.

WTF: In Britain, by contrast, Prince Harry will always be someone. He’s the son of the King, the brother of a future king and the uncle of a future king. And although he may have done his best to destroy these familial ties, they still mean something over here. That’s why Britons have been so reluctant to write him off completely. Positive memories linger of the lad who was a good laugh before he completely fell under his wife’s spell.

Harry must come home to Britain: It’s reasonable to wonder, too, if Harry can make Britain a home again. Despite his recent penchant for spewing American psychobabble and his insistence that he is loving the LA lifestyle, it does look like he is lost in the States…The man who was once “our Harry” needs a purpose in life beyond attacking the media and his family. By giving him a warm welcome in three weeks’ time, Britain might be able to help him find it.

[From The Telegraph]

“Duchess Dolittle” – Meghan has done more in the past three years than Crymonger Keen (the OG Dolittle), and Meghan has done it all on her own terms, making her own money, working at her own pace and paying for her own life. That’s what I mean about the creepy sense of ownership people like Tominey still want to have over Meghan – they still feel like her life and her work is theirs to discuss, to mock, to belittle and destroy. But the main part of this story is something that we’ll see more of in the coming days and weeks – they can’t hide their need to “separate” Meghan and Harry, and they’ve constantly and openly tried to drive a wedge between the Sussexes since the very beginning. They cannot stand that Harry is – by his own words and actions – madly in love with his wife, devoted to his children and extremely happy in California.

Photos courtesy of Instar and Backgrid.

It’s been forgotten in recent weeks, given the outsized conversation about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s failure to RSVP to the coronation, then the announcement that only Harry planned to go, but there’s been a lot of chaos around the coronation concert. The idea was always that King Charles and Queen Camilla would do the coronation “crowning” ceremony in London, at Westminster Abbey, then they would go to Windsor Castle later that day and enjoy a festive concert. The problem was that no one wanted to perform at the stupid concert – Adele, Ed Sheeran and Kylie Minogue all turned down the palace’s very public overtures, and there was some talk about how most artists are being advised to avoid the coronation like the plague. Enter Katy Perry. In 2020, then-Prince Charles appointed Katy to an ambassadorship for the British Asian Trust. The appointment was widely and deservedly mocked. But it’s a connection, and now Katy is heading over to England to perform at the Chubbly concert.

Katy Perry, Take That and Lionel Richie are among the first names to be announced for King Charles III’s coronation concert. It is set to take place in the grounds of Windsor Castle on 7 May, with an audience of more than 20,000 people. Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel and Freya Ridings will also be performing at the celebration. The show will be based on themes of love, respect and optimism.

Perry, who has sold 57 million albums worldwide, has a connection with King Charles III, who appointed her in 2020 to the British Asian Trust. She said she is “excited” to be performing and “helping to shine a further light” on the trust’s children’s protection fund, which raises money for causes including finding solutions to child trafficking”.’’

Richie, who was the first global ambassador of The Prince’s Trust charity, has called the coronation concert “a once-in-a-lifetime event” and an “honour and celebration”.

Robbie Williams is not expected to perform alongside the rest of his Take That band members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, who haven’t performed together in four years. They said “we can’t wait” to be back on stage and have promised a live band, orchestra and military drummers to accompany their performance.

There will also be nods to the four nations of the UK, with community choirs and singing groups combining to form the 300-strong Coronation Choir, which will be coached by Amanda Holden and Motsi Mabuse ahead of their performance. A Commonwealth choir group will also perform, by appearing virtually. A light show with drone displays, lasers, projections and illuminations is billed as one of the highlights of the evening.

The concert, produced by BBC Studios, will be broadcast live from the grounds of Winsor Castle on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds. The event will reflect a broad mix of music genres from pop to classical along with spoken word and dance. It will be attended by members of the public plus a few royal guests.

[From BBC]

This is so low-energy, my God. The BBC sounds so rote, like even they can’t polish this turd. No offense to Lionel Richie – an icon – or even Katy Perry, who regularly sells out stadiums. But WTF does Katy Perry have to do with Britain or the coronation? She’s been married to two British guys, sure, but she’s not a British citizen. None of her songs are about kings or coronations or anything. What is she going to sing? “Teenage Dream”? “I Kissed a Girl”? Obvs, she’ll do “Firework.” A hit from 13 years ago. Anyway, as much as I believe the crowning will be a sh-tshow, nothing will compare to this weaksauce Chubbly concert.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.