My mother was a big Princess Diana fan. Mom was devastated when Diana died in 1997. Back then, Diana’s hatred of the paparazzi was well-known, but that summer, it did feel like something different was happening. Diana had been divorced for a year, she was coming out of her shell, she was planning a future beyond the Windsors. She saw herself getting remarried, perhaps even moving out of the UK. Everything about Diana that summer radiated a fresh start, a new era, Diana publicly telegraphing that she was done with the soggy royal life. After Diana’s death in Paris, many blamed the paparazzi who chased her and many blamed the Windsors, especially when they showed absolutely zero remorse or care in the days afterwards.

The story I believed at the time was that Charles would never do that to the mother of his children, that even though Charles was and is demonstrably a terrible man, he would not do that, he would not order that. Nearly 26 years after Diana’s death, I don’t believe that any longer. Charles had everything to gain from eliminating Diana, most significantly, Diana’s death effectively cleared the path for him to marry Camilla and force everyone to call her “queen.” Now that Charles got everything he wanted – Camilla, Queen Camilla and Harry at his coronation – Charles has no use for Diana’s younger son. No remorse, no care.

In the hours after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their statement about the dangerous and chaotic scene in New York on Tuesday night, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace had zero comment. Not even a “we’re glad they’re safe.” Nary a palace source saying “of course the king is relieved that his darling boy is unharmed.” People Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, every media outlet went to Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace for comment, only to be told that the palaces were not commenting.

These photos are from May 17, around the same time that the Sussexes were making their statement that they survived what amounted to a coordinated assault, if not a coordinated attempt on their lives. Charles and Camilla were out in London, looking… conspiratorial. Y’all know they made an effort to ensure they would be photographed in and around their car too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.