Everyone has known for weeks that all of these Jeffrey Epstein records would be released at the start of 2024. Even without the records, everyone knew about Prince Andrew’s associations with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew paid an eight-figure out-of-court settlement to Virginia Giuffre in 2022 because Andrew abused girls and women trafficked to him by Epstein and Maxwell. Even with that knowledge, Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles have done the most to include Andrew, to show their public support for Andrew, to ensure that everyone knows that Andrew is inside the royal tent, unlike Prince Harry. Charles even allowed Andrew and Sarah Ferguson to participate in the church walk in Sandringham on Christmas Day. Well, now questions are being raised about how badly King Charles has f–ked up regarding the “Andrew Problem.” Which is why palace courtiers ran to Richard Kay at the Mail:

Charles the Christian: With the benefit of hindsight would the King have agreed to include Prince Andrew in the Royal Family’s Christmas parade at Sandringham? At the time this fraternal decision seemed a typically Christian one from Charles. Ten days later as toxic new revelations about the Duke of York’s sleazy behaviour emerge from unsealed court documents in New York, the gesture seems not just astounding but possibly unwise. What is all the more baffling is that the royals cannot hide behind the suggestion that they did not know quite how bad the allegations were going to be. The prospect of more sensational claims from the long fall-out from the unsavoury Jeffrey Epstein affair coming to light, had been telegraphed for weeks.

Andrew had been bracing himself for weeks: Andrew himself had been braced for a fresh round of claims for some time and although outwardly bullish in the face of the accusations which include groping a young woman’s breast and taking part in an underage orgy, he has been crushed by the never-ending stories. As one friend of the Duke said: ‘These are not new and are, as they have been in the past, emphatically denied.’ Perhaps the more damaging aspect of the latest disclosures is the growing realisation that Andrew, 64 next month, will never escape the tentacles of this grubby saga. And while his own lingering hopes of rehabilitating his public reputation are surely finally over, the issue for the royals is one of containment.

A risk of backfire: By embracing Andrew as they so overtly did last week, there was always a risk that it could backfire. Friends of the King insist he did not invite his brother to the public element of the Sandringham festivities — the walk to church for the Christmas service — blindly. ‘It would have been easier to have asked him to stay away,’ said one. ‘But if the message of Christmas is anything, it is about family and togetherness. That’s also why he extended the invitation to Fergie as well.’

Charles is concerned about Andrew’s confidence: Another figure says that Charles may have been encouraged to act as he did precisely because he knew what was coming and wanted to throw a protective arm around his brother. ‘He has seen for himself the diminishing effect the allegations have had on the Duke over the years, what they have done to his personality and his confidence,’ the figure said. ‘He is not going to banish his brother; he feels a responsibility for him.’ It was this concern for his mental wellbeing and how tormented he has been that encouraged the King to include Fergie as a thank-you for standing by Andrew.

A promise to QEII: It is also understood that Charles had assured the late Queen that he would look after Andrew. According to one insider it was because of his affection for his brother that the King ventured the idea that he might want to move from Royal Lodge, his vast mansion at Windsor with its costly upkeep, into something smaller and more manageable. ‘He thought it might give him something less to worry about,’ the insider said. Stubbornly Andrew refused. But it has become a touch stone issue — and one, which the Mail reveals today, the King is determined to solve.

Andrew still refuses to give up Royal Lodge: ‘Forcing the Duke to give it up, however well-intentioned, would be seen as the King punishing his brother for something he insists he is innocent of,’ says a friend of Andrew. ‘And anyway he has a lease.’

How could the royals even punish a rapist? It is also hard to see what further sanctions could be taken by the royals against the Prince. He has already lost his private office, his cherished military titles and does not use his HRH style. It is four long years since he last carried out official formal duties and it is highly unlikely that he will ever again climb into the ermine trimmed robes of a Garter Knight or appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

[From The Daily Mail]

“Sleazy behavior” – try criminal behavior, degenerate behavior, predatory behavior. He’s accused of raping teenagers and there are still calls for Andrew to face criminal charges, however much that might undermine his bloody confidence. The fact that Charles and the entire royal establishment believes that they can get away with positioning themselves like this is particularly galling. Oh, Charles is such a Christian, that’s why he wanted to show support for his degenerate rapist brother, you guys! Charles is worried about Andrew’s mental health! It was quite a choice for Charles to include Andrew for the Christmas walk, just as it was a choice to include a Garter-robed Andrew at the coronation, just as it was a choice to walk with Andrew on Easter Sunday. Now Charles has to live with his poor choices and he has to live with the fact that his positioned his reign as one which supports rapists and not survivors, one which supports predators and degenerates but not the girls and women they hurt.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Well, the 2023 holiday season is coming to a close, which means *sob* it’s time to start thinking about taking down the tree and decorations. This Saturday is January 6, which marks the 12th day of Christmas (or the Feast of the Epiphany as many Christian denominations know it as). That’s the timeline that my family used while I was growing up and I think it’s fair. You get to extend the season a little bit past New Years, but also don’t still have a Christmas tree and blow mold Santa up until St. Patrick’s Day.

When we talked about the artificial vs. real Christmas tree debate, some of you mentioned that you keep your trees up for a while after the holidays are over. I love that! According to a 2022 Home Decor Report from Opendoor, 84% said that they take their decorations down sometime in January, with 51% responding that they put them away on or around January 1. Today.com recently talked to some experts to get their thoughts on when it’s time to take your Christmas tree and decorations down. Their answers varied, ranging from religious traditions to practicality to personal preference.

New Year’s Day: “January 1st is that clear marker of time that the holidays are over and a new beginning is here,” Ariana Lovato, owner and principal designer at Honeycomb Home Design, tells TODAY.com. “Time to clean up the home, clear up the clutter and take a breath from the stress of the holidays.”

January 6: “Many people will…wait until January 6 as the final day to remove all holiday decor,” Lewis Puleo, vice president at Puleo International, the oldest artificial tree company in the country, tells TODAY.com. January 6 is known as the Epiphany, Little Christmas or Three Kings Day. From the perspective of religion tradition, it’s the day that the Magi (the Three Kings or the Wise Men) brought gifts to the infant Jesus, so it makes sense for many to mark this as the last day for the Christmas season. And as the song goes, there are indeed 12 days of Christmas, with the last being January 6.

Any time in January: According to the 2020 “Undeck the Halls” report by Neighbor, more than half of Americans won’t frown upon keeping decorations up past January 1. You might start to get the side-eye from your neighbors at a certain point, though: 31% said decorations should come down by January 15, while 33% extended the deadline to February 1.

When your tree says it’s time: If you have a real Christmas tree in your midst, it’s really up to the fir itself to decide when it comes down. And unfortunately, it might be sooner rather than later. If your tree is exhibiting any of the following signs, Carpenter says it might be time to take down your tree, no matter the date:

The needles are falling, either on their own or with the touch of your hand

The limbs are stiff or droopy

It smells musty rather than like citrus or pine

The tree doesn’t seem to be taking in much or any water

Don’t let any of this sway you from having a real tree, though. “With proper care, you could easily enjoy your tree from Thanksgiving through the New Year or Epiphany, because who doesn’t want to make the holidays last just a little bit longer,” Carpenter adds.

But really, take down your tree anytime you want: Provided you have an artificial tree — or maybe you just have a green thumb — you can leave your tree up for as long as you want. It’s your house, your rules. What’s more, the aforementioned Neighbor report found that 9% of respondents wouldn’t mind if you kept your decorations up all year. “The tree can be thought of as a transitional object/security blanket,” Amber Dunford, a design psychologist and the style director for Overstock, tells TODAY.com. “It’s a symbol of comfort for us, so it makes sense that people want to carry it with them throughout all seasons because Christmas can be such a magical time.”

[From Yahoo]

I think most people generally keep their decorations up for a week or so after Christmas and/or New Years is over, but the time table for the tree may be different. For example, our neighbor took her tree down on December 27, but says she’s keeping the outside lights up through this weekend, if the weather allows. I’m curious to hear what everyone else does! We’ll enjoy our tree and decorations through the 6th and begin to take them down on the 7th. It’s helpful that it’s a weekend this year or else I’d probably use a weekday as an excuse to delay. It did take a while to put the outside lights up, though, so we just may be *that* house on the block that keeps them on juuust a few days longer. (Although Mr. Rosie will tell you differently, lol.)

I have a funny story about live trees telling you when it’s time to go! Every year, my sister and parents cut down their trees from a local farm. Two years ago, my sister noticed sometime before Christmas that there were little brown growths on her tree. She didn’t think too much of it until the day after Christmas, when those brown growths opened and out popped something like 150 baby praying mantises! My parents were there at the time and said it was a whole scene trying to get the “nice” ornaments off of the tree, get the tree outside, and catch all of the baby praying mantises. Needless to say, both groups examine their trees a lot more carefully now.

Photos credit: James Wheeler, Peter Chapin and Freestocks on Unsplash and Geoffrey Swaine / Avalon

Every time I read about Lucy Hale she comes across as curious, independent, and chill. I loved her preaching the merits of solo travel last summer, something I indulge in and thoroughly recommend myself. I hope she finds her way to a project that will give her career a jolt. Not that she hasn’t been working steadily since Pretty Little Liars ended in 2017, but nothing has been as visible for her since that show. Going by her own comments lately, it sounds like she’s in a settled, open mindset after putting in some dedicated self-work. Lucy rang in the New Year in a fabulous set of pajamas and by marking two years of sobriety. Bravo, Lucy!

“This continues to be the greatest gift I’ve given myself,” she captioned her Instagram post Tuesday.

“I remain so grateful for another year of growth, growing pains, lessons, joys, and self-realizations.”

Hale said the “interactions, conversations, and moments of vulnerability” she’s shared with people since quitting drinking has given her “so much meaning.”

“Those experiences have been my favorite takeaway from this last year,” she continued. “To every person I have connected with…thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Hale, who has been open about her past “self-destructive” battle with alcoholism, addressed fans who may be having battles of their own.

“Lastly, if you are struggling please know you are not alone and that you do not have to trek this path alone,” she wrote.

“There is no right or wrong way to heal and it is deeply personal and unique to each of us. My only advice is to remain open hearted, curious, and to find the people who see and support you. It does get better. Take it moment by moment.”

“I’ve been working on getting sober since I was 20,” Hale said in Feb. 2023 during an appearance on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast with Steven Barlett. “I’m 33, it takes time. It took patience with myself.”

“I can show up exactly who I am and share my story, and to actually be able to talk about this is so freeing because it’s not chaining me down anymore,” she went on.

“It takes the power away from it. I can be Lucy, which is not always cute at times. It’s dark and disgusting and scary and that’s what makes us all complex, beautiful human beings, is we all have got this shadow self.”

[From Page Six]

Oof, her comments on it taking time and patience really resonated with me. I’m not a drinker, but I am an eater. It’s overwhelming whenever I think of the total amount of weight I want to lose, and that just makes it harder for me to get started and to stick with it. And I say that as someone who did lose a lot of weight when I was younger at a very steady pace over a period of a couple years. I just, well, managed to find the weight I’d lost! So I salute Lucy in her victory of two years of sobriety — she should absolutely celebrate it and be proud of herself. Sobriety, like all aspects of health and wellness, isn’t something that’s achieved, it has to be perpetually maintained. Lucy seems to have found peace with the work being ever-present. I’d say that deserves splurging $137 on feather-cuffed silk pajamas (and that’s the sale price!).

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photos credit: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon and via Instagram

There has been some really fun casting gossip to come out about Barbie. For instance, John Cena landed his cameo as Mermaid Ken because he just so happened to be filming a different movie at the same studio as Barbie and when he ran into Margot Robbie at a restaurant, she asked him if he wanted to come play on set for a day. We found out that Dan Levy, Bowen Yang, Ben Platt, and Matt Bomer all had to turn down roles as Ken while Jonathan Groff reluctantly passed on Allan. We also learned that Gerwig was disappointed that Timothée Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan were both unavailable to make “speciality cameos.” But one really fun bit of casting that we hadn’t heard the story behind until now was that of America Ferrera’s husband, Ryan Piers Williams. Williams plays the husband of Ferrera’s character, Gloria. He makes a couple of brief appearances as a part of a movielong joke about him being too busy practicing Spanish via Duolingo to notice that Gloria and their daughter Sasha have disappeared into Barbie Land. Turns out, this was merely a very coincidental case of art imitating life.

“We didn’t tell anybody, any of our friends or family,” Ferrera, 39, says of her husband’s cheeky cameo in this week’s issue of PEOPLE. And it all started with an early call she had with Barbie director and co-screenwriter Greta Gerwig.

“It came about because on my first zoom with Greta. I was telling her all my favorite parts of the script and all the parts that made me laugh out loud,” Ferrera recalls. “And I said, “Oh my God, I laughed so hard when you cut to the dad doing his Spanish lessons, because my husband was literally in the other room doing his Spanish lessons.”

Ferrera continues: “Right away she was like, “Oh my God, does he want to play your husband?” And I was like, “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him.” Fast forward to when they were closer to the shoot, Gerwig hadn’t forgotten about the idea. “When it came time, she was like, “Remember when I asked you if your husband would play your husband?” And he said yes,” says Ferrera. “So it was really fun and it did, it made it a family affair and it was great.”

[From People]

I freaking love this little tidbit! It’s a really funny coincidence. I’m glad Greta saw the humor in it as well and ended up casting Williams because this background info makes the husband/dad character all the more fun. America and Ryan both ended up moving to the UK with their children while Barbie was being filmed, which makes sense since they’re both so young (currently ages five and three) and because the production reportedly had strict Covid rules that required everyone in the cast and crew to live in the UK during the three months of filming. I’m really glad America shared this story because now it will forever be a part of Barbie movie lore.

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Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Lumeimages/ImageBROKER/Avalon, Roger Wong/INSTARimages, Sara De Boer/startraksphoto.com

You guys, we might have to watch this season of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. It’s a genuinely great story with meaty roles for all of these actresses. [Seriously OMG]
Kendall Jenner & Bad Bunny reunited for New Year’s. [Just Jared]
Barry Keoghan, Saltburn and candles. [LaineyGossip]
Taylor Lorenz & the year-end recap industrial complex. [Pajiba]
Jon Hamm enjoyed his last manicure of 2023. [Go Fug Yourself]
Should Troye Sivan collab with Tom Ford? [OMG Blog]
Caitlin Clark destroyed the net. [Jezebel]
Kerry Condon wore a Louis Vuitton sack dress. [RCFA]
T&L’s favorite movie costumes. [Tom & Lorenzo]
We haven’t heard anything about Meryl Streep & Don Gummer’s split since the story broke. That’s interesting, huh? [Hollywood Life]
Therapists share the very common & normal things their patients discuss. [Buzzfeed]

Bill Clinton associated with Jeffrey Epstein years ago, basically in Clinton’s first years post-presidency. Clinton liked to catch rides on Epstein’s private plane. No one knows how far the association went, and the newly released “Epstein files” don’t have a confirmation of anything beyond “Clinton caught a lot of flights on the Lolita Express.” The Epstein files do include some new info though, including Johanna Sjoberg saying, in a deposition, that Epstein told her that Clinton “liked them young.”

Jeffrey Epstein claimed Bill Clinton “liked them young”, an alleged victim of the late financier told lawyers. Deposition documents released today detail how Johanna Sjoberg was asked if she knew Bill Clinton was a friend of Epstein.

Ms Sjoberg said: “I knew he had dealings with Bill Clinton. I did not know they were friends until I read the Vanity Fair article about them going to Africa together.”

And when asked if Epstein had ever talked about Clinton, Ms Sjoberg said: “He said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls.”

Ghislaine Maxwell said she was “sure” Bill Clinton had eaten a meal on Epstein’s plane. The convicted sex offender asked about her relationship with former US president and his then close aide Doug Band during a 2016 deposition.

Maxwell said: “just so we are clear, the allegations that Clinton had a mean on Jeffrey’s island is 100 per cent false.”

Asked whether he had had a meal on Epstein’s plane, she said: “I’m sure he had a meal on Jeffrey’s plane”, but she said she did not know how many times he had flown on it. Maxwell was also asked about her relationship with Mr Band. Asked how she knew him she said: “He used to or still works for Bill Clinton.”

She added: “I was friends with Doug but you are suggesting something more so I want to be clear what you are actually asking me.”

Maxwell also said she could not remember where she stayed on a trip with Mr Clinton. She said: “I recollect the trip but if you’re asking me where we stayed , you can see it’s a very fast paced trip.”

[From The Telegraph]

With the politicians, the Epstein files haven’t been a smoking gun? We knew Clinton and Epstein were associated with each other, but Clinton has had twenty years to cover his tracks pretty thoroughly, and none of the Jane Does have said that they were trafficked to Clinton or that they witnessed him in any criminal acts. Donald Trump’s name has only come up a few times in the first phase of the document dump – Epstein was talking openly about hanging out with Trump in Atlantic City, at one of the casinos. Hopefully there will be more about Trump in the next phases of the document release.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Instar and Getty.

Is anyone looking forward to the Golden Globes? They’re on CBS on Sunday, January 7th. Supposedly, everything has been revamped, but I’m not even sure if celebrities or nominees are even making the Globes a priority? The Hollywood Foreign Press Association isn’t even in charge of the ceremony now. Anyway, the Globes added a new category, “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.” It’s basically like “here’s an award for having a big box office.” Taylor Swift is nominated for The Eras Tour, and her tour film is up against John Wick: Chapter 4, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Barbie, Oppenheimer, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Page Six claims Taylor will definitely attend the Globes this year, but they also claim that Travis Kelce will skip.

Taylor Swift is expected to attend the Golden Globes Sunday — but her boyfriend Travis Kelce won’t be with her despite being in Los Angeles at the same time, sources tell Page Six. Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, will actually be playing the LA Chargers Sunday at SoFi Stadium, with the game airing on CBS before the Globes.

But sources said that he will be busy gearing up for the NFL playoffs season and not on the red carpet. We’re told there will be no swanky after-parties for Kelce, either, as he will fly back to Kansas City with his team right after the game.

Page Six has reached out to reps for Swift, Kelce and the Golden Globes.

Superstar Swift could win her first Globe after being nominated in the new category Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, for “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” The 34-year-old singer has been nominated for the Globes’ Best Original Song four times — most recently last year for her song “Carolina” for the movie “Where the Crawdads Sing” — but has never won.

Her “Eras” film has earned more than $250 million in gross sales, a milestone that eclipsed its $15 million budget as it nears the title for the most successful concert film of all time. The film only has $11 million left to surpass Michael Jackson’s 2009 film, “This Is It.”

Swift skipped the Globes in 2023, but the A-listers will be out in force this Sunday after lengthy actors’ and writers’ strikes that brought Hollywood to a halt for months.

[From Page Six]

Again, do we believe that Taylor will even go this year? If the Chiefs are playing in LA, she’ll probably prioritize going to the game rather than dressing up for the Globes? Then again, Taylor loves awards and she might have a chance in this category… even though Barbie is probably the bigger box office success story.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

In April 2023, we learned that the Duchess of Sussex had signed on to WME, one of the most powerful Hollywood agencies. Apparently, several agencies had tried to sign Meghan, and Ari Emanuel had personally pitched WME to Meghan. Ari has been working with Meghan personally, but she’s also got an extended team with the agency, including “brand architect” Brad Slater and Serena Williams’ longtime manager/agent Jill Smoller. In the Variety article last April, they noted: “WME will assume representation of Archewell, her and Prince Harry’s content creation label. Film and television production, brand partnerships, and overall business-building will be explored.” It’s been almost eight months and nothing has happened publicly, although there’s some indication that a lot of work is happening behind-the-scenes. People have been dying to see what WME can come up with. And yet, the Derangers have been insisting in recent days that WME has quietly dumped Meghan. O RLY? Even stupid GB News fact-checked that rumor:

Meghan Markle appears to still be a client of top Hollywood agency WME, despite social media speculation she had been axed.

The Duchess of Sussex’s popularity took a hit in 2023, following her and Prince Harry’s Netflix series documenting Megxit, and their “near catastrophic car chase” through the streets of a gridlocked New York in May.

However, GB News can reveal the bookings page to hire Meghan Markle as a “Speaker” is still active on The Harry Walker Agency website, which is a division of WME.

Described as an “exclusive” client by the agency, Meghan is described as a “feminist, champion of human rights and gender equity and a global role model.”

[From GB News]

Yeah… I don’t know how to break it to the Derangers, but WME hasn’t dumped Meghan. I do wonder what advice WME has given Meghan in the past eight months though, and I wonder if she’s been following their advice or whether she believes she knows better. Like, who made the call on how Archewell (mis)handled the communications around the Spotify breakup? Is Ari Emanuel telling Meghan to stay silent when trade papers like the Hollywood Reporter attack her? Is WME anti-clapback? That’s what I want to know.

#EpsteinClientList: Prince Andrew mentioned 76 times

Royal commentators: https://t.co/xusGgdhriD

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) January 4, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.

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In 2013, Canadian athletic-wear company Lululemon made it abundantly clear that they, as a company, did not want to sell their products to anyone other than slim white women. Lululemon founder Chip Wilson blamed women for having problematic bodies and wanting to have athleticwear made in every size, accessible to every consumer. People who worked at Lululemon stores spoke about how it was company policy to hide the size 10 and size 12 gear in a pile in the back of the store, all while actively discouraging anyone that size from shopping in Lululemon stores. The backlash was bad enough that Chip Wilson stepped down from the CEO position and Lululemon spent the past decade trying to broaden their consumer base across the board. Well, guess who hates that? Chip Wilson.

While many CEOs are shouting about their increased efforts to ramp up diversity across their business one founder is promoting the exact opposite. Lululemon’s billionaire founder Chip Wilson insists that exclusivity trumps inclusivity while blasting the posh leggings company he stepped down from 10 years ago.

“They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson, who has an estimated net worth of $8.7 billion, said in an interview with Forbes. “And I think the definition of a brand is that you’re not everything to everybody… You’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in.”

Still, the activewear giant is clearly onto something: Wilson has added almost $4 billion to his net worth since 2020, nearly all because of the rise in value of his 8% stake in Lululemon stock.

It’s not the first time Wilson has expressed his disdain for his brainchild’s “whole diversity and inclusion thing”, having repeatedly faced backlash for anti-Asian, sexist, and fatphobic comments. The American-Canadia entrepreneur most infamously insisted that the company’s most popular product, its leggings, are not for everyone—or more specifically, plus-size women—when they came under fire for being see-through.

“They don’t work for some women’s bodies,” he told Bloomberg Television’s Street Smart in 2013, before stepping down as the firm’s CEO and then leaving the board entirely in 2015.

Wilson previously declared that when founding Lululemon back in 1998, he specifically came up with a brand name that has three L’s because the sound does not exist in Japanese phonetics. “It’s funny to watch them try and say it,” he told Canada’s National Post Business Magazine.

He has also spoken in favor of children working in factories to earn money and avoid poverty, blamed birth control for rising divorce rates, and described plus-size clothing as “a money loser” for businesses.

In a statement provided to Fortune, a Lululemon company spokesperson said that Chip Wilson “does not speak for lululemon, and his comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs. Chip has not been involved with the company since his resignation from the board in 2015 and we are a very different company today.”

[From Fortune]

When I was looking through his 2013 comments, I was struck by how far the athleisure industry has come in the past decade. Nowadays, every mass market athleisure company prides itself on their plus-size lines and those companies are years into image-overhaul campaigns to make themselves more inclusive to all consumers. Granted, Wilson’s comments were seen as antiquated and ridiculous in 2013. His current comments are even worse – it shows that he hasn’t grown or learned anything, that he still wants Lululemon to gatekeep their customers – no one above a size 8, no Asians, no one with thick thighs, and it certainly sounds like he doesn’t want Black or brown customers either. (Sidenote: Lululemon has gotten into the tennis sponsorship business and their tennis brand ambassador is Leylah Annie Fernandez, a Canadian of Filipino and Ecuadorian heritage, which I’m sure pisses off Chip Wilson to no end.)

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

It would have been interesting to see Princess Mary transform into Denmark’s Queen Mary with a lot of pomp and regalia, but it is not to be. There will be no “coronation” in Denmark when Queen Margrethe formally abdicates on January 14th. All of the Danish aristocrats will not have to dust off their tiaras and medals and attend some dreary coronation service full of medieval imagery. Instead, Denmark’s accession service sounds really straight-forward and simple, like a government bill signing or something.

Crown Prince Frederik will ascend the throne on 14 January, the day his mother became Queen 52 years ago. However, Frederik’s accession as King Frederik X, alongside his consort, Her Majesty Queen Mary, will not be marked by a formal coronation ceremony. So anyone looking forward to a profusion of pomp and pageantry similar to the British coronation in May, should pack away the bunting. This will be a much more sleek affair.

In a straightforward manner, Frederik’s accession will be announced from Copenhagen’s Christiansborg Palace on the day. The facts behind the slimline approach to coronation are nothing to do with a lack of interest in celebrating future-King Frederik – the monarchy remains notably popular in Denmark. Instead, it is merely a matter of constitutional small-print.

The first coronation in Denmark took place in 1170, with Canute VI’s acceptance of the top job. However, the ceremony has gradually evolved along with Denmark’s constitutional arrangements. While Denmark was an elective monarchy, in the years until 1660, it saw full celebration of coronations with all the pageantry to match. Once Denmark became a hereditary monarchy in 1660, the pomp was pared back – leaving a lower-key approach in which the king and queen were anointed but no crowning took place. By 1849, Denmark had become a constitutional monarchy, abolishing the anointing practice – now, all that remains of the ceremony is a straightforward announcement.

Since the accession is taking place after an abdication, rather than a death, none of the formal arrangements around mourning will feature, nor any hint of mourning dress.

[From Tatler]

In case you’re wondering about the staging, my guess is that it will be similar to Margrethe’s accession – the new King Frederik and Queen Mary will appear on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace with Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Frederiksen will do the announcement. I would imagine Mary and Frederik will then bring out their four children and there will probably be a big family wave from the balcony. That’s just my assumption. While I respect the fact that the accession is streamlined and more modern, it does feel almost too simple? Like, someone should have a sword and the king should have to make some kind of public pledge of service to his people?

Also: Mary’s hairdresser of 23 years has stepped down! All of this drama and now Mary has to find a new hairdresser??

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.