The British media’s outright seething and contempt for Joe Biden’s warm Irish embrace is very instructive. The British media has an intertwined political and royal system, in that the same unhinged people screaming about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now focused on mocking and smearing Irish Joe Biden. Similar tantrums by the very same people, none of whom understand that Americans view their petty grievances quite differently. The billion-dollar hate industry against Meghan and Harry feeds on any kind of news or content about them. But normal people who don’t make their living on racist, jingoist and classist grievance aren’t living and dying on what the Sussexes do next. Americans are happy to let the Sussexes do their own thing in their own time, like every other celebrity. But not according to the Mail’s “Netflix source,” who sounds more like a British reporter with a grudge. This “Netflix insider” claims that everyone in Hollywood just adores King Charles, and that – within Hollywood, mind you – Harry’s decision to attend the coronation is “popular” because Harry is further attaching himself to the winning brand of monarchy. Next up, this Netflix insider will talk about how Biden’s decision to not attend the coronation is very unpopular in America, right?

Harry and Meghan’s commercial status is at a turning point in America, say Hollywood insiders – who warn that the couple’s celebrity status is starting to wilt. Prince Harry’s belated announcement that he is coming to his father’s Coronation next month was warmly welcomed in Los Angeles – not least because the Sussexes’ currency depends on him still being seen as an active member of the Royal Family.

‘Harry is going back for all the right reasons but there was a palpable sigh of relief among those of us involved in the business because Brand Sussex relies on Harry being seen with his family,’ a Netflix source said. ‘At the end of the day it is all about proximity to the King.’

Meanwhile, there is intense speculation in Hollywood about the couple’s next steps and how they will continue to generate the lucrative financial contracts required to fund their lifestyle.

A senior executive at Walt Disney Studios told The MoS: ‘What Harry and Meghan do next is the $64,000 question everyone in Hollywood is asking. They are at a turning point because they’ve done the Netflix series and Harry’s done his book. You could argue the bloom is starting to fade from the rose. What is their currency? Their main selling point is their link to the Royal Family. Harry has to be there [at the Coronation]. In America, this is all part of the narrative. Harry has to go back and he’s either embraced, which is wonderful, or he’s not – which will keep the narrative going. The story has to keep evolving because that is what builds the brand and brings the offers in.’

The executive added: ‘The danger Harry and Meghan face is becoming irrelevant. Americans care about the Royal Family. We’ve always been fascinated by the Royals. Harry is Diana’s son, nothing will ever change that. But the American public needs to see he’s still part of the family because his family and their drama is what we’re interested in.’

[From The Mail]

There’s been a real effort over the past few years to make it sound like everyone in Hollywood is obsessed with the British monarchy and everyone in Hollywood has strong opinions about the Sussexes. None of that is true. At all. While I think Meghan and Harry are well-liked by many celebrities, most people in the Hollywood machinery don’t care about the monarchy OR the Sussexes either way. The British media’s attempts to Britsplain American celebrity culture has always been hilariously off-putting and Brit-centered – they are convinced that the Windsors are the center of every universe (nope) and if the Sussexes aren’t being discussed constantly then “Hollywood hates them.” Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan have enormous cachet in America simply by not being everywhere, not being seen in LA constantly, by looking like they’re two private, family-oriented people. Also: this is a really gross attempt to make it seem like Harry is desperate to be seen with his trash family, when really, his trash family keeps inventing reasons for why Harry and Meghan must visit or “come back.”

Meanwhile, remember during QEII’s funeral, how much of the American news coverage was about how the family was going out of their way to snub the Sussexes and treat them like sh-t? When Americans do pay attention to the royals, it’s with stuff like that.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

This is the cover for this weekend’s Sunday Times Magazine (the Times of London’s in-house weekend mag). Queen Camilla: How “the other woman” won the game of thrones. She “won” the game of thrones because she actively set out to destroy Charles and Diana’s marriage and paint Diana as too mentally imbalanced to be Charles’s wife. Then Diana died under still-mysterious circumstances, then Camilla spent decades carefully trying to rehabilitate her image at the expense of everyone and everything. If Roya Nikkhah is trying to remind everyone that Camilla is a ruthless operator, “toxic mistress” and immoral homewrecker who literally left bodies in the street, then congrats. The actual article is mostly quotes from people who know Camilla best – her staffers and one aristocratic senior, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, described as one of Camilla’s closest friends and someone who has never spoken on the record about Camilla. But truly, this piece was entirely spoon-fed to Nikkhah by Buckingham Palace as part of the ongoing Embiggening Camilla project ahead of Cam’s “victory lap” coronation. Some highlights:

Lady Lansdowne on how Camilla was “unprotected” after she destroyed two marriages: “She was out on her own without any protection. That was where we could help — she would come and stay with us with the children. I went and got her out of Middlewick one day, there were cameras up against all her windows. But she is resilient, she was brought up with this extraordinary sense of duty where you got on with it, don’t whinge, put your best face on and keep going, and it has stood her in very good stead. It was horrible at times, but her sense of humour and knowing she had her girlfriends around her got her through.”

Camilla was never pelted with bread, but she’d never correct that urban myth, except she’s doing just that: Camilla never sought to strike this urban myth from the record. Why? Because long before she “married into” the royal family, Camilla stuck fast to their mantra of “never complain, never explain”.

She’s still tight with her first husband: “Everybody loves Andrew, he’s a real charmer, but he’s always terribly misbehaving. Andrew will ring her up and tell her when she’s got something wrong and she’ll ring him up and say when he’s misbehaving. Through adversity they’ve kept a really good family ethic. It helps with their children and grandchildren.”

What a strange story: In 2007 Princes William and Harry invited Camilla to a memorial service for their mother at the Guards’ Chapel at Wellington Barracks in London marking the tenth anniversary of her death. Courtiers punched the air at the breakthrough — but Camilla pushed back. “It was the one time we really disagreed,” a former aide says. “I was thinking like a PR guy — ‘Wow, they invited her, big moment.’ But she stepped back and saw it in the bigger frame. Her instinct was not to go, she felt it would be a distraction. She would be part of the focus when it should all have been on the memory of the princess. She was right.”

When QEII said, last year, that Camilla should be Queen Consort: Camilla said she was “honoured” and “touched”, but a source who knows her well says, “I genuinely don’t think she was ever that bothered by the title.” Payne agrees: “Despite the many people who stated over the years that ‘Project Queen Camilla’ was a long-held goal within the household, there was never any great master plan. Whenever you mentioned the topic with the Queen Consort herself, she merely stared at you sphinx-like, giving you no real sense of what she thought. She never instructed me to do anything to advance the argument. It was never a role that she actively campaigned for.”

The Parker-Bowles coronation: Camilla had strong views on including her teenage grandchildren in the ceremony, who have previously stayed out of the spotlight. They will help carry her train, reflecting that the monarchy is a blended family. “It was a big decision, but it’s so much more fun to have them there by her side,” Lansdowne says, adding that the Queen has been firm on the guest list: “She is fiercely loyal to friends and that will be reflected in who goes to the big day. She wants to be loyal to the people who’ve stood by her.”

Smooth operator: Those who see Camilla in action behind closed doors concede that, underneath her cosy public image, she is an “operator” who navigates the royal court as if she was born to it. She is known by some in royal household circles as “the lady boss” and, as one source says, “She can be steely as f***. She would have made a brilliant 16th-century courtier, because she’s canny.”

Camilla’s approach to the press: “She’s been smart and set out to win them over, including her critics, and she achieved it, not with sly tricks, just by taking an interest in their lives and being at ease with them in a way other members of the family aren’t. She was always more like a politician, thinking, ‘How do I make this work for me?’”

How Camilla reacted to Prince Harry’s Spare: After Spare was published in January, there were reports that Charles felt a “red line” had been crossed by Harry attacking his “darling wife”. But how did these new slings and arrows land with the Queen? “It was not stamping of feet or gnashing of teeth, it was much more of an eye-roll response,” an aide says. “Of course it bothers her, of course it hurts,” Lansdowne says. “But she doesn’t let it get to her. Her philosophy is always, ‘Don’t make a thing of it and it will settle down — least said, soonest mended.’”

[From The Times]

If you believe any part of this, I will sell you London Bridge for a good price. It’s not enough that Camilla is a sly media operator who regularly sells out everyone for just a whiff of good press for herself. It’s that she doesn’t want that to be her image!! The “oh, who me? I never wanted to be queen!” sh-t is getting on my last nerve. Camilla has fully participated at every step of this now thirty-year campaign to vanquish Diana, rehabilitate her image and win the game of thrones. As for the stuff about Harry… man, there must have been panic at the palace. That’s what all of this telegraphs – not so much a victory lap as a frantic PR pushback on Harry calling her out for being so manipulative.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

While I’ve been paying attention to national and global politics for more than two decades, I’m struggling to remember a moment in time when the American president’s Irish ancestry was such a huge talking point here at home and abroad. Bill Clinton famously had Irish ancestry, as did Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan. All of those men famously visited Ireland while they were president, and all of them were very well received. Millions of Americans love and embrace their Irish ancestry, and there’s a special relationship between Ireland and the US. Meaning, President Biden’s political and personal journey is well-trod in every sense.

President Biden flew to Northern Ireland last week, where he briefly met with British prime minister Rishi Sunak ahead of the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement anniversary. Then Biden flew to the Republic of Ireland, where his trip is (again) both personal and political. He made time for Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and President Michael Higgins. He made political speeches and did soft-diplomacy. But mostly the trip is just a celebration of Pres. Biden’s Irish ancestry, and he’s loved every minute of it – he’s stopped by churches, pubs, town halls, civic centers, markets, and Irish people seem to love him. He shook hands, hugged a lot of Irish peeps and kissed a lot of Irish babies. On Friday, he gave a big speech to a rapturous crowd in Ballina, where his people are originally from. He walked out to the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.”

Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign has a strong theme already pic.twitter.com/abL7MIpu5l

— Populism Updates (@PopulismUpdates) April 14, 2023

He’s already back in DC, where he will stay for the next month or so. Meaning, he’s making a point of NOT going to King Charles’s coronation. He’s sending the First Lady, as the White House confirmed weeks ago. Hilariously, the one-two punch of Biden refusing the coronation invitation AND then enjoying himself in Ireland is too much for the British media to take. We should have known something was amiss when Buckingham Palace was openly (and bizarrely) briefing the media about how Biden isn’t coming to the coronation because he’s “too old” to travel that much. In recent days, the British media has been absolutely unhinged about Biden’s Ireland visit, with columnists and political journalists acting like Biden slapped QEII’s corgis simply by… celebrating his Irish ancestry. Even Camilla Tominey wrote a nasty piece about how Britain doesn’t “need” Biden. They are SEETHING. It’s utterly bizarre.

Do British people understand how funny this stuff is? pic.twitter.com/R1uVuDXiT1

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) April 14, 2023

Has there ever been a bigger collective sulk than the British press’ response to Joe Biden visiting Ireland? pic.twitter.com/UGMSacL4tb

— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) April 15, 2023

As you’re seeing the British political establishment and commentariat try to bully Joe Biden –one of the most powerful men in the world–for appreciating Irish roots, imagine what happens every day to UK residents with African, Asian, Caribbean roots. The same scorn and shaming.

— Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) April 15, 2023

My cartoon Thursday @TheTimes. Where the emphasis of Blarney Biden’s visit lies. `#JoeBiden #Ireland pic.twitter.com/EP1YFP3w2W

— Peter Brookes (@BrookesTimes) April 13, 2023

Biden: I’ve had the best time of my life

Ireland: Ahh it’s nothing Joe,knock in any time..safe home now,here’s a packet of Tayto for your pocket

*Hugs all round
*The most powerful man on earth,adjusts his Mayo 4 Sam hat and away

British Media: pic.twitter.com/9yHaJZxPNo

— Andrew Maxwell (@andrewismaxwell) April 15, 2023

I’m shipping up to Ballina. pic.twitter.com/Mp4LpakSJV

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 15, 2023

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

This Kylie Jenner-Timothee Chalamet rollout is really something. I never would have thought that Chalamet would participate in a Kardashian operation, but here we are. Not for nothing, but I always respected the way Kylie Jenner operated in her romantic life too, in that she keeps things very quiet, she was able to hide a whole-ass pregnancy and people still have no idea what happened between her and Travis Scott. So, Kylie isn’t in-our-faces about who she’s seeing. Usually. But suddenly, she’s going on dates with Timothee out in public? They were spotted at a taco joint two Fridays ago:

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet are giving us a lot to taco ’bout. The rumored couple was spotted on a secret date night last Friday outside Los Angeles hotspot Tito’s Tacos.

After attending an art show, the “Dune” actor — who tried to stay under the radar in a baseball hat and face mask — waited for a ride outside, only to be picked up by Jenner’s Lincoln Navigator. One of the “Kardashians” star’s security guards then hopped into Chalamet’s car, driving behind Jenner’s car motorcade-style until reaching the restaurant.

The stars, who hid behind tinted windows, went to extremes to keep their rendezvous on the down low, chowing down on tacos from the backseat of Jenner’s SUV. Not only did the pair want privacy from the public, but Jenner’s security also stepped out of the car for about 30 minutes to give the A-listers a little alone time.

Although the reality TV star was never photographed, her car was also spotted at the actor’s Beverly Hills mansion less than one week later.

[From Page Six]

This is so weird. Were paparazzi sitting on this info? Or did some paparazzo only put it together recently that Kylie’s SUV picked up Chalamet? And what a weird way to go on a date too – I don’t begrudge Kylie her top-of-the-line security, but I could think of much easier ways to have a taco date. Us Weekly did a little story about Kylie and Timmy too:

“Kylie has only hung out with Timothée a couple of times, so things aren’t that serious. However, she’s enjoying getting to know him better and is open to seeing where things go. Things are very new so it’s hard to tell, but so far she likes what she sees.”

“Timothée is a total gentleman and treats [Kylie] with respect. He’s very charming and he makes her laugh, and he’s easy to talk to,” the insider adds. “He’s not like any of the other guys she’s dated before and although he may not seem like her type, they have really good chemistry.”

[From Us Weekly]

HE might not seem like HER type? What I’m stuck on is that she does not seem like HIS type at all. I picture him with fine-boned, bird-like women, not someone with a BBL and a dozen other cosmetic procedures. All that being said… they’re both young, so whatever – maybe they’re just dating and having a good time and it’s nothing super-serious. But surely I’m not alone in finding this coupling to be crazy-random, right?

BTW, what’s their portmanteau? Kylothee? Timlie? Jennamet? Kymmy?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Matthew Rhys’s mustache is so bad, I can’t see anything else (I realize it’s probably for a role, but still, it’s terrible!) [Tom & Lorenzo]
Lainey’s take on the coronation stuff. [LaineyGossip]
Transphobia is not an “online” conversation and we really don’t need yet another Harry Potter series, for the love of God. [OMG Blog]
Lupita Nyong’o stepped out for a rare public appearance! [Go Fug Yourself]
John Mayer talks about “Paper Doll,” which is probably about T-Swift. [Dlisted]
Recap of Ted Lasso’s episode this week. [Pajiba]
Joshua Jackson talked about that vintage Dawson’s Creek basketball-to-the-face moment which went viral this week. [Just Jared]
Women are paying big money to reverse their BBLs. [Jezebel]
Nicole Scherzinger & Thom Evans were in Orlando. [Egotastic]
The latest Pentagon leaker was found swiftly. [Buzzfeed]
Drake Bell is no longer missing. [Seriously OMG]
Tennessee cops let violent Nazis off with a “warning.” [Towleroad]

Alexandra Daddario covered a recent issue of InStyle to promote her new series, Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, which I’ve heard nothing about, good or bad. This is InStyle’s “Self Love Issue,” so it’s not all about work, it’s about her vibes. Daddario’s vibes are pretty good – she’s lived a charmed life and she recently got married in one of the coolest New Orleans weddings I’ve seen. Some highlights from InStyle:

Her career path and her lack of a plan: “I’m not super-strategic. For the majority of my twenties, no one was throwing offers at me. There’s stuff I’ve done that people don’t take super seriously, which is fine, but I’ve always taken my characters seriously, and so I’ve always found something in each project. I take it day by day. I think it’s hard to make plans because you have to adjust them so much. I’m feeling that if you make plans, then you get laughed at by God or whomever. Anything can happen.”

She’s never felt she “made it”: “I never was like, ‘I’ve made it,’ even now I don’t feel like, this is it, I’m good for life now. I’m very, very proud of what I’ve accomplished, and I’m grateful, but it’s a ladder. You’re always sort of trying to figure it out. When you reach a certain age, and you’re still doing it, you go, ‘Well, I’m not going back to Marymount now to get my degree and figure out what to do; this is my job.’”

Her YouTube channel: “I wouldn’t film myself sobbing about a breakup and be like, ‘I can’t handle it anymore. I’m so upset. Why did he do this to me?’ I think there was part of it, not even consciously, but part of it that was like, come on, all this other stuff you see isn’t real. And being ridiculous and weird and strange or a little bit less polished about things, that’s life. We’re all a little weird, so why hide it?”

Her thoughts on intimacy coordinators on sets: “While some people might say that it went from zero to 60 really quickly, I think it was such a long time coming that these things had to happen. And even if some people feel like it’s sort of an overcorrection, I think it’s much better than not doing anything about it. I love having intimacy coordinators and people paying attention to these types of things. And I love seeing more women in front and behind the camera.”

She didn’t expect her Danielle Frankel wedding dress to be a huge hit on TikTok. “I’m not the type of girl who’s dreamed of her wedding, I had no idea what I wanted to wear, but I knew I didn’t want it to be super traditional. I guess I was kind of thinking Meghan Markle.” She said once she found Frankel, she knew something would work. “That was just the one that felt right, and I didn’t overthink it, and I just went with my gut.”

Dressing for herself: “I think as you get older, you get out of your head a bit more, and you get more confident with your decisions, and not dressing for other people; you’re doing it for yourself. And that’s been really freeing.”

[From InStyle]

Her wedding gown deserved to be beloved by TikTokers, it was an awesome dress and it wasn’t cookie-cutter. The whole vibe of her NOLA wedding was gothic-spooky-retro, and her pleated, loose slipdress was a whole mood. I love how much she references her style icon, Meghan Markle. She mentioned Meghan in her Vogue Wedding profile too, it feels like Daddario really has a Meghan moodboard, only it’s not creepy like Kate’s. I understand why she doesn’t feel like she’s made it too – while she has gotten progressively more famous, there isn’t one big role or one big movie where we can say “wow, she arrived!” Maybe White Lotus, but even then… it wasn’t exactly a showcase for her? She’s basically just a jobbing character actress. But that’s cool – that means she’ll always have work.

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Cover & IG courtesy of Emma Anderson for InStyle.

Something I enjoy about Zendaya and Tom Holland’s relationship is the feeling that they both make each other a priority. They don’t take each other for granted, and they prioritize spending time together and going on dates and traveling to see each other. They’re only 26 and they both work a lot (her more than him), and imagine how easy it would be for one of them to say “no, my career is the most important thing right now, I don’t have time for this.” But they stick with it. They’re so cute. Well, Zendaya was recently interviewed in the Sun and she was asked about Tom’s British accent and whether she has trouble understanding British accents in general.

In an exclusive chat with The Sun on Sunday, she said: “I love the ­British accent, but as much as Tom tries to explain it to me, I will never understand rhyming slang. Like I understand the concept — but what do apples and pears have to do with stairs? It’s cute when he tells me all the different phrases — but I really don’t get it!”

Despite their combined Instagram following of 241million fans, Zendaya and Tom proved they were just like any other couple when they were snapped pushing their Waitrose trolley in South West London last month. It comes after they were reported to have picked up the keys to a £3million, six-bed pad in Richmond last year — four miles from Kingston upon Thames, where Tom grew up.

Settling into life in London, Zendaya said: “He is really good in the kitchen, which is fortunate as I am really accident-prone. We learnt early on that only one of us could be in the kitchen at a time, we are both control freaks so we can’t be in there together.”

[From The Sun]

God, I love the American girlfriend + British boyfriend combo. They’re just the cutest – I can imagine Tom thoughtfully and diligently cooking for Zendaya and telling her she’s not allowed in the kitchen or else they’ll fight. As for rhyming slang… I don’t get it either? But then I have trouble with some British accents too, especially Cockney. Like, I don’t know what those people are saying half the time. Regional British slang is bonkers too.

Tom is such a short king.

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Backgrid.

In the year of our lord Beyonce 2023, Buckingham Palace needs to stop trying to force the “comparison” between Prince Andrew and Prince Harry. It’s offensive and it’s indicative of the larger tone problems with palace communications. Prince Andrew has been credibly accused of rape and human trafficking. He’s on the record as a close friend of two traffickers and abusers, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Prince Harry… married a beautiful Black woman and left his toxic, racist, abusive family. There is no comparison. But, you know, palace courtiers keep trying to make it happen. They’re totally going to seat Harry and Andrew together at the coronation, you know. Not only that, the palace is openly briefing Camilla Tominey about how King Charles will openly seek to reconcile with Andrew and Harry. Both. Because to Charles, they’re the “same.”

The King is using the Coronation to heal family divisions, including bringing the Duke of York in “from the cold”, say sources. Prince Harry’s attendance following the fallout from his autobiography Spare, has sparked hope of a royal truce with the King. He is said to have been pleased by the decision because he is keen to have the support of both sons at what Prince Harry has acknowledged as the “biggest day” of his father’s life.

As a non-working royal, Harry is not expected to take part in the procession after the service or join other members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace or for other celebrations. It is not known whether he plans to attend a private family gathering after all the festivities on the Saturday, to which the Duke of York’s ex-wife, the Duchess of York is thought to have been invited.

Contrary to reports that there has been a row over what Prince Andrew should wear on his brother’s big day, one friend told The Telegraph that “there’s a warmth around the place and a proper rallying around the King, who in turn is showing some serious EQ (emotional intelligence) by ensuring the family is given the opportunity to pull together”.

Pointing to the fact that Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York, both spent Christmas and Easter with the King and Queen, the friend added: “All four siblings spent most of the Easter weekend together with assorted children and plus-ones – including the Duchess. I suspect some palace staff and parts of the media are well behind the curve in their understanding of this private family unity. The Duke stands four-square behind the King.”

Prince Harry has long complained about being “briefed against” to the press by palace staff. It appears to be a concern that is shared by his uncle and fellow non-working royal, Prince Andrew, 63, who stepped back from royal duties in November 2019 over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile. The friend added: “The family aren’t briefing against one another. If it’s palace officials going off-piste and providing hostile press briefings on who wears what and when, who lives here or there, then they should think on. If it damages an individual royal, it damages the institution and it doesn’t reflect the private unity of the family.”

While the King’s mood is described as “generally quite forgiving” towards Harry, the Prince of Wales is understood to still feel betrayed by the revelations in the book. Such is the gulf between the once-close brothers that several sources have said they cannot see how their relationship can ever be repaired.

[From The Telegraph]

The optics between Charles and Andrew have been “warm” for a while now – Andrew was allowed to walk with the family on Christmas Day, and Charles gave the Yorks the use of Wood Farm as well. Then Andrew was front and center on Easter Sunday. So… Charles and Andrew are negotiating and it’s going well. Charles is maintaining (privately) that Andrew will always be taken care of as long as he keeps his mouth shut. Charles is publicly signaling that he’s totally fine with Andrew’s perversions and crimes, simply because Andrew hasn’t done something truly unforgivable, like try to break the cycle of generational trauma. So how in the world is Harry’s situation in any way comparable? Charles is going to do the most for his media masters to create narratives about “Magnanimous King Charles the Peacemaker welcomes the prodigal son home with open arms.” Meanwhile, Harry is going to fly in for a matter of hours and be out of there so fast.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

You can just tell that the British media and Buckingham Palace are all so happy that they get to write about and talk about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week. Like, there’s genuine glee from all of the old-fart commentators and reporters – they’re drunk on Sussex coverage, which belies the fact that the Sussexes’ attendance was always the most interesting, newsworthy and gossip-worthy part of this whole coronation fiasco. The palace is pleased that they get to leak like a sieve about what was going on behind-the-scenes when it came to Prince Harry negotiating his appearance. While he wanted to attend the Chubbly to honor his father, he obviously wanted to get some guarantees in advance. I would imagine security was a big part of the negotiations, but right now, no one is saying that. They’re just leaking – without context – that Harry was immensely preoccupied with the seating arrangements.

Prince Harry delayed replying to the invitation to the Coronation because he was engaged in ‘transatlantic ping pong’ and was ‘preoccupied’ by where he would have to sit, sources have indicated. It was one of the reasons he was so late in confirming his decision to attend the crowning of his father King Charles III at Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor a legal representative for the Duke of Sussex responded to a request for comment today. But more than one source has confirmed to the Mail that there have been ‘extensive discussions’ between London and California over the issue.

One said: ‘Harry’s side was keen to find out, presumably because they wanted to rubber-stamp it, what the seating plan at the Abbey is. There’s been extensive back and forth about who they [Harry and Meghan] would be sitting behind if they came. And who would be behind them.’

Harry was apparently quite preoccupied by this particular detail, the source said.

Another source added: ‘This is true. There has been a lot of questions on detail for the Abbey.’

Publications with links to the Sussexes have suggested that Harry had a list of questions for the palace about what would happen if he attended and wanted certain ‘assurances’, but did not detail what they might be.

[From The Daily Mail]

The palace isn’t leaking Harry’s list of questions or detailing the assurances he needed because it would make the palace and King Charles look even worse. Harry knows his father and the institution well – Harry knew that he had to put it in writing that if he was being seated next to Prince Andrew, Harry would not come. Harry knew that if wasn’t diligent in the negotiations, they would “forget” to give him security during the visit. The fact that Harry knows Charles is a dogsh-t father who will screw him over constantly… yeah, it doesn’t make Charles look good.

I also wonder if Harry cared so much about the seating because he didn’t want to be anywhere near his brother. I think that would make a lot of sense, and go a long way towards explaining why William is furiously briefing the rota about how he won’t even look at or speak to Harry.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

In late March, the judge dismissed Samantha Grant/Markle’s defamation lawsuit against her half-sister, the Duchess of Sussex. Samantha’s lawsuit was full of the kind of stupid and unhinged conspiracies you find on Deranger sites and on royalist Twitter. Samantha was really trying to sue Meghan for… what Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote in Finding Freedom. While the judge dismissed the bulk of the case, the judge also gave Samantha and her lawyers a 14-day extension to refile without all of the lies and misinformation. Samantha quickly announced that she would do so. Crash-cut to Thursday, and Samantha refiled, this time using Netflix’s Harry and Meghan docuseries as evidence of “defamation.” In that series, Samantha’s own daughter Ashleigh was featured in interviews, describing her friendship with her aunt Meghan and describing her estrangement from Samantha.

Samantha Markle accused her half-sister, the Duchess of Sussex, of wielding her six-episode Netflix miniseries as a weapon to spread “malicious, hurtful, and damaging lies” about her on a global stage, she claimed on Thursday.

The new allegations are part of an amended version of Markle’s defamation lawsuit against Meghan, filed within hours of a two-week deadline a judge had set for her—after granting Meghan’s motion to dismiss the original claim. In a statement at the time, Markle’s attorney swore they’d be returning with an “even stronger” case.

As opposed to focusing on Meghan’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the amended complaint zeroes in on Harry & Meghan. In the series, Samantha Markle claimed, Meghan made statements seeking to “demonize” her, portraying her as “a liar,” “a fame seeker,” and “a racist.”

She even alleged that some of Meghan’s fans launched “hate-filled smear campaigns” against her as a result of the show, saying she’d been the target of “death threats” and “trolls” who hacked her Twitter account.

She launched her original case just over a year ago, in March 2022, suing Meghan for “defamation and injurious falsehoods,” among other things.

[From The Daily Beast]

If you care – I do not – you can see the actual filing here, and I’m also including some tweets from Buzzfeed’s Ellie Hall, who has covered Samantha extensively. From a purely legal standpoint, I think Samantha’s refiled lawsuit at least has more standing, just because Meghan and Harry were executive producers on the Netflix show. The problem is, you know Netflix’s lawyers went through everything, and nothing made it to air without a full check by legal. It’s also just… embarrassing for Samantha. Her own daughter – whom Samantha did not raise – basically called Samantha a nutcase obsessed with Meghan.

BREAKING: Samantha Markle has filed an amended complaint in her defamation lawsuit against Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Samantha has added allegedly defamatory statements made in the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan” to the lawsuit: https://t.co/adk3XteIdi

— Ellie Hall (@ellievhall) April 13, 2023

Here’s Part 2 of Samantha Markle’s allegations of defamation from the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan”: pic.twitter.com/pHEVxzEWFo

— Ellie Hall (@ellievhall) April 13, 2023

Photos courtesy of WENN, Netflix.