Carol Burnett is on the cover of People because she turns 90 on April 26. I unapologetically adore Carol and love to see her celebrated whenever possible. She overcame a rough childhood and so many people telling her she wouldn’t/couldn’t make it in her chosen profession. We grew up watching The Carol Burnett Show, which she said she loves to hear. She also told People she can’t grasp the fact that she’s been alive for nine decades. She still feels like a little girl. It’s understandable too, because she still has all her original parts: her knees, her hips, and her brain.
Carol Burnett has been making audiences laugh for decades, picking up six Emmys, six Golden Globes, one Grammy and a Kennedy Center Honor along the way. On April 26, she’ll reach another milestone — turning 90.
“I can’t wrap my head around it,” Burnett tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I still feel like I’m about 11, but I’m amazed. It sure went fast. But I’m glad because I’ve got all my parts — got my hips, I got my knees and I’ve got my brain, so I’m happy about that.”
As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, “I used to pretend to be on a radio show,” Burnett recalls. “I would yell out the window, ‘Now ladies and gentlemen, we have a young girl who is going to sing here without any musical accompaniment. One time, a man next door said, ‘Will you turn that goddamn thing off?’ And I thought, ‘I’m a hit. They think it’s real.’”
“I was pretty much of a quiet student all through grammar school, junior high and Hollywood High,” Burnett says. “I would kid around with my friends, the neighborhood kids, stuff like that. But I never really thought about it until I got to UCLA and I was in an acting class. A lot of the kids at the class were doing heavy, dramatic stuff and I thought, I can’t do that. So I picked something light and they laughed. That’s when the bug bit.”
Burnett simply wants her legacy to be that “I made people laugh, made them feel good when they might have been down,” she says. “In my fan mail, many say it was the only time the family would get together, to watch and laugh. And that sometimes they were lonesome and were cheered up by our show. That’s a good feeling.”
I’m shocked that Carol has not replaced her hips or knees if that’s what she’s saying. She’s in dynamite shape. And still very sharp. She’s still working, the article said she has a new project coming out for Apple TV+ called Palm Royale. I don’t have a lot of desire to stick around past my 70s, but if I must, I want to do it like Carol or Rita Moreno or Betty White – just as active and vibrant as ever. I wouldn’t mind their bank accounts either.
The article lists many of Carol’s roles, of which there are plenty. One role I think gets largely overlooked is she was fantastic as the voice of Kangaroo in Horton Hears a Who! I realize out of all the iconic roles she’s done that’s a bizarre one to pick, but she was that good. Like I said, I like Carol in everything she does. I’ve even seen her live. Last time I wrote about her I told you some of my favorite skits so now I’ll let you tell me yours. To celebrate Carol properly, NBC is doing a two-hour special called Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. It will feature famous folks, some who appeared on her variety shows like Cher and Julie Andrews, and some who just adore her like Steve Carrell and Billy Porter. It will air at 8PM on April 26 and stream on Peacock the next day. While searching photos I saw that Vicki Lawrence and Bob Mackie will both be there. So will Bernadette Peters, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster and Susan Lucci, among many others.
Photo credit: People and Cover Images
Shortly after Donald Trump’s Tuesday arraignment, he flew back to Florida and gave an unhinged speech at Mar-a-Lago. His supporters were there, his lawyers were presumably there and of course the media was there, feeding on all of the MAGAness. But two people were notably absent: Ivanka Trump and Melania Trump. Ivanka is desperately trying to separate herself from all things Diaper Don. Melania just doesn’t give a sh-t. Meaning, it’s not even like Melania is making an effort to distance herself. The distance was already there. The ambivalence was already there. Melania is just… going to the spa and spending time with her parents. Donald Trump didn’t even thank his wife during his speech. Well, now Stephanie Winston Wolkoff – who used to work for Melania until the Trumps turned on her – has some sh-t to say about what Melania thinks about all of this mess.
Former Melania aide and best friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff — who previously revealed the former first lady privately referred to Daniels as “the porn hooker” — told Page Six, “Melania lives in an ivory tower of denial.”
Wolkoff, a former senior Vogue staffer who was Melania’s advisor until 2018, said of the former first lady’s absence at Mar-a-Lago’s ballroom, “I never expected to see her there. Her silence is deliberate, it is her weapon of choice and her protective armor. Of course she knows about Donald’s affairs, she knows everything. But her silence is her dignity. She will stand by her husband, as she always does. I don’t think Melania is humiliated by his affairs — but she is angry.”
But that doesn’t mean she’s going anywhere. “Still she isn’t leaving him,” Wolkoff added. “This is a transactional marriage, she knew what she was getting into when she married Donald. Her means of survival is to just act like it never happened. Privately, Melania says people are just jealous, and she hoped the Stormy Daniels scandal would be swept under the carpet. Her way of coping is to never let her feelings show or affect her. I predict we will see her back at his side at the next social event at Mar-a-Lago.”
Wolkoff added Melania would go to great lengths to avoid situations where she might be quizzed by the media about her husband: “Melania believes she doesn’t have to answer or explain herself to anyone, so she’s not going to put herself in that position.”
Wolkoff also writes in her tell-all memoir, “Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady,” about how “I’d known all along how impenetrable and unflappable she was, but it wasn’t until after hearing the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape or about the affairs, I had no idea of her grit.
“Not many people could bear having their lives ripped open and all their regretful, hateful, humiliating moments splayed out for the world to see and judge. Melania and Donald, a perfect match, could tolerate any amount of ridicule and flick it aside. I always interpreted that as her resigning herself to an unconventional marriage or household and having no expectations of Donald as a faithful husband or doting father.”
I’m obviously no fan of Melania and I think she’s just as much of an idiot and loser as her husband. But… out of all of her options, Melania is kind of choosing the right one for her, in her situation? Gritty silence isn’t what most women would choose, but I can totally understand why it’s the right choice for Mel. She doesn’t care about her husband, she isn’t his moral support and she refuses to make an effort at anything. So, why would she change an arrangement which suits her just fine? She lounges around Mar-a-Lago, she pampers herself, she spends time with her son and her parents and nothing can rock that boat. Now, Melania is absolutely humiliated. But she’s willing to swallow that every day to keep her lifestyle.
Joker: Folie a Deux has wrapped and they released this photo of Lady Gaga as Harleen Frances Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn. [JustJared]
Lainey on Queen Camilla’s side chick DNA. [LaineyGossip]
Anne Hathaway went to Tokyo to get that money. [GFY]
This Jacquemus stunt was amazing? [OMG Blog]
On one side, no one should get shot. On the other side, these YouTubers need to learn to stop pranking people for content. [Dlisted]
Review of the Super Mario Bros Movie. [Pajiba]
Don Lemon exposed as a misogynist douchebag. [Jezebel]
Rachel Brosnahan wore Altuzarra to Paleyfest. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Jennifer Aniston & David Schwimmer once had a crush on each other. [Buzzfeed]
Pope Francis: Sex is a beautiful thing. [Towleroad]
Dove Cameron’s confusing tattoo. [Egotastic]
April 3rd was supposed to be the imaginary cut-off date to RSVP for King Charles’s coronation. I’m not entirely sure about that date, I think it was more likely the British media’s imaginary cut-off date, especially given that Buckingham Palace only released a copy of the paper invitation this week. Still, it’s been utter silence from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about their coronation plans. Public silence, but also… silence privately, in their communications with the palace. I still do not believe that Harry and his father have actually spoken, so this is a case of palace minions being tasked with barraging the Sussexes with questions about whether they’ll come and issuing threats about how badly they’ll be treated when they come. Speaking of, both Page Six and the Daily Mail had updates and they’re just as nervous as can be:
Plans are being finalized for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to jet to the UK for Prince Charles’ coronation, multiple sources tell Page Six. There is just a month to go before the coronation at Westminster Abbey in London and a royal insider told Page Six: “There have been lengthy discussions between the Sussexes and the palace, there is a time crunch on this, of course. It’s such a historical event and it’s hoped that Harry and Meghan will be there.”
The ultimate decision still lies in Harry’s hands as one highly-placed source admitted: “All families are difficult, but this is no normal family, of course. Harry has a lot of questions about how the event will work.”
Conversations are on-going about whether the Princess of Wales will wear a tiara to the coronation – she has previously worn Princess Diana’s favorite headpiece, the Lover’s Knot tiara. However, Markle, 41, is unlikely to have access to the family jewels, aside from what Harry has gifted her already, royal sources said.
The Sussexes are fully aware that it’s a case of “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” and that all eyes will be on them on the day, we’re told.
“Plans are being finalized” and yet the Sussexes haven’t actually confirmed anything. All the palace has is “hope.” It’s a treading water story – we’ve heard for weeks now that the palace is organizing everything with the belief that the Sussexes will be there, even though they haven’t confirmed. The only new piece of info is that the palace will absolutely never, ever loan Meghan any jewelry! So stupid. Well, the Daily Mail had more on Panic At the Palace:
Royal insiders say they are still ‘none the wiser’ as to whether Harry and Meghan plan to come to the Coronation, despite the deadline for RSVPs closing on Monday. Sources have said that the April 3 cut-off date has now passed and staff have still not been told whether the King’s estranged son and his wife are accepting his invitation to attend, even though the event is now just a month away.
The issue is said to be causing a ‘headache’ for organisers, who are trying to finalise details such as seating arrangements, cars, and security for VIPs attending the historic ceremony on May 6. And even if they did decide to attend, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would not be allowed to stand on the Buckingham Palace balcony next to the King and Queen because they are no longer working royals.
The monarch will be joined by a select few who show the ‘heartbeat and future of his family’ and who have dedicated their lives to public service. Charles and Camilla will arrive at Buckingham Palace from Westminster Abbey in a Gold State coach, followed by the ‘final group of 15’ which would not make room for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on Harry and Meghan’s non-RSVP, although an aide said it was unlikely there would be such a strict cut-off date for family members as there would be other guests. But one source said: ‘Everything is still up in the air and there’s only a month to go. All people have been told is that ‘it should hopefully be resolved soon’. But in the meantime the teams are trying to finalise plans for 2,000 guests, many of whom are international heads of state and VIPs. It’s a headache.’
A game of transatlantic ‘ping pong’ has apparently been going on for weeks now about arrangements should the Sussexes attend. In the meantime Buckingham Palace staff have been ordered to plan as if they were coming, suggesting it wasn’t a definite and immediate ‘no’.
But this is causing problems for staff, who say: ‘Switching things like seating arrangements are fairly easy. But the thing that is causing more of a headache, is the security, cars and other logistical matters. Any plans that mesh with the rest of the family are more important and problematic. There’s clearly a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of talks between members of the family and their offices. But at this stage in proceedings people could just do with some clarity. There are now two plans, one for if they do come and another if they don’t. It’s another layer of responsibility that staff could do without.’
Another family friend said it seemed deeply ‘unfair’ to the King and Queen Consort to have uncertainty over the Sussexes hanging over their heads when they just wanted to get on and plan ‘such a wonderful and historic day of celebration. Regardless of everything that’s happened, a simple yes or no would be polite and suffice,’ they added.
It just occurred to me now – I know, I’m ridiculous – that some of the palace briefings are not coming from a place of “Poor Charles doesn’t know if Harry will come to his Chubbly,” but rather from a place of “palace staff are lazy, incompetent whiners and they can’t believe that they have to do SO MUCH WORK to organize this fakakta coronation.” All of these tantrums about organizing seating arrangements, security, cars – those are not Charles’s complaints, those are complaints from his lazy staff. As for the balcony stuff – how many times are they going to use the balcony thing as a punishment? No one cares about the stupid all-white balcony, KKKing Charles.
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A few weeks ago, the Telegraph ran a story about how Prince William and Kate’s three children will all be included in their grandfather’s coronation in some way. We now know that Prince George will be a page, alongside one of Rose Hanbury’s sons and all of Queen Camilla’s grandchildren. I believed, at the time, that William and Kate wanted to make a point of trotting out all three kids, not only because those kids are their little buffers, but because they want to ensure that the coronation isn’t a full-on Parker Bowles event. Like, Camilla’s side of the family will be much more thoroughly represented. If the Sussexes skip the Struggly, it will just be William and his kids, holding down the “Charles line.” Except now it looks like Prince Louis’s participation is up in the air.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s youngest child’s presence at King Charles III’s upcoming coronation is still up in the air. Prince Louis might not attend the May 6 ceremony due to his behavior at past events, a palace source exclusively tells Page Six.
The insider adds, “He’s only 4, after all.”
However, the little one’s older sister, Princess Charlotte, will be in attendance, the palace source says. As for Prince George, the 9-year-old was named in the official invitation as one of the monarch’s page boys.
An official Kensington Palace spokesperson tells us, “The Prince and Princess of Wales will make a decision on Prince Louis’ attendance closer to the time.”
Louis isn’t the only royal family member whose presence at next month’s event is still uncertain. While a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed last month that the California-based couple have been invited, they have yet to publicly accept or decline the offer.
What’s changed in three weeks, I wonder? If anything, seeing Camilla trot around and make the coronation all about her victory lap should make William spit with rage and demand that all of his kids be front and center. My guess is that the kids have been out of school on their Easter break, and William and Kate have been trying to prepare Louis for the event and Louis will not be tamed, trained or pacified. The last thing anyone wants is Louis running up to Charles and covering the king’s mouth in the middle of the coronation.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid, Instar.
A year ago, Queen Elizabeth tasked then-Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to attend the Royal Maundy service in her place. What Charles and Camilla didn’t know was that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in Windsor and about to make a surprise visit to QEII. QEII wasn’t surprised – she clearly invited them, and she asked Harry to speak to his father before he and Meghan left Windsor. That’s why Charles and Camilla hauled ass out of the church service and booked it to the castle, to catch the Sussexes before they left. Whenever anyone mentions “the Royal Maundy service,” I now think of that – the Sussexes managing to slip into Windsor without anyone knowing.
Well, now that Charles is king, he’s still doing the Maundy service. Camilla was with him today and they did the whole thing in York this year. The service was presided over by the Dean of York and the Archbishop of York. Charles handed out two special purses of “Maundy money” to 74 men and 74 women. Within the purses were commemorative coins marking Charles’s upcoming 75th birthday and the 75th anniversary of the Windrush generation. The Maundy money tradition dates back to 1210.
Interestingly enough, the king and queen were protested at the cathedral. There were Republic-organized protesters just across the street, holding signs and yelling. Those bells were trying to compete with the protesters!
Charles turned up – we let him know that he’s not our king. #NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy pic.twitter.com/bL9w0dAfcl
— Republic (@RepublicStaff) April 6, 2023
Every so often, a British outlet – usually the Guardian – will attempt to do some real reporting on the British monarchy and their secretive finances. While the details of the Sovereign Grant are made public every year, the SG is far from the Windsors’ only source of income. The monarch has access to the vast resources of the Duchy of Lancaster, and the heir (the Prince of Wales) has access to the Duchy of Cornwall. Both duchies are billion-dollar portfolios of real estate and investments. Personally, I believe that Charles spent a significant amount of time William-proofing the Duchy of Cornwall, so that when William became the PoW, he wouldn’t loot the entire duchy and spend money like a drunken sailor. In any case, the Guardian has done a new series about the secretive money situations of the royal family – you can read one of the pieces here. Some highlights:
The money from the duchies: King Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth II have received payments equivalent to more than £1bn from two land and property estates that are at the centre of a centuries-old debate over whether their profits should be given to the public instead.
The duchies of Lancaster & Cornwall. The duchies operate as professionally run real estate empires that manage swathes of farmland, hotels, medieval castles, offices, shops and some of London’s prime luxury real estate. They also have substantial investment portfolios, but pay no corporation tax or capital gains tax. Duchy accounts, held in parliamentary and state archives, reveal how the queen and her first-born son, in his capacity as the Duke of Cornwall, benefited from a huge increase in their revenues from the duchies during her seven-decade reign. Last year, their duchy income totalled £41.8m. Adjusting for inflation, the pair have received the equivalent of more than £1.2bn in total revenues from the two estates.
The profits: Profits from the Duchy of Lancaster, which consists of 18,481 hectares of rural land, primarily in the north of England and the Midlands, automatically pass to whoever is sitting on the throne. The estate itself is valued at £652m. The Duchy of Cornwall, which encompasses 52,450 hectares, mostly in the south-west of England, is worth more than £1bn. The estate has not kept pace with legislation, passed in 2013, to bring gender equality into royal succession. Its profits still only go automatically to the male heir to the throne.
The Windsors’ claim to the duchies: The royal family’s claim to the income from the duchies stems from archaic charters dating back to when the country was divided into medieval fiefdoms. Ever since the advent of parliamentary democracy, however, generations of MPs have challenged the arrangement and called for duchy profits to be paid to the Treasury instead. Parliamentary debate has often coincided with the accession of a new monarch, amid renewed scrutiny over their public and private sources of wealth.
The Windsors refuse to spend their own money: The royals insist their duchy income is “private” and the government treats it as entirely separate from the sovereign grant, the annual payment the royal family receives from the government to cover its official costs. That too has risen dramatically in recent times, and costs the taxpayer £86m a year. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the Guardian’s figures for income received from the duchies, which it described as “speculative”.
The Windsors claim to spend their duchy money: The palace has long stated that income received from both duchies is largely spent on the family’s official duties, public work or charitable causes. However, the royals have never provided a detailed account of how money from the estates is spent, describing them as “private financial arrangements”. Charles has reported that 49% to 51% of his duchy income was spent covering public and charitable functions in recent years.
How the duchy money is really spent: As Prince of Wales, a large part of Charles’s duchy income was spent privately, including on secretaries, valets, gardeners, chefs, stable hands and farm workers. The late queen was reported to have used Duchy of Lancaster income to help Prince Andrew pay an undisclosed sum – reported to be more than £9m – to end the sexual assault case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre.
There’s more about how little transparency there is with how the duchies function, where the money goes and how the money is spent. This… seems like a pretty easy fix? I’m sure the part about “wanting duchy profits to go to the government” wouldn’t be an easy fix, but the transparency issue is an easy fix – simply pass a transparency law which applies to the monarchy. Audit the f–kers. Make them do the f–king paperwork and file taxes. Tell the royals they can still keep the profits, but everything has to be above-board and taxed. Why does the British government allow for this issue to still be shrouded in so much secrecy? This isn’t a security issue!
Megan Fox & Machine Gun Kelly are vacationing together in Hawaii? I guess Megan took him back. Ugh, I hate this. [Dlisted]
Kate Bosworth & Justin Long confirm their engagement. [Pajiba]
Country music people did not like Gwen Stefani’s CMA look. [LaineyGossip]
Rachel Zegler wore a lacy dress which does not suit her. [Go Fug Yourself]
Adriana Lima will be the face of Victoria’s Secret new perfume. [RCFA]
Southern Charm’s Craig Conover is… kind of hot? [Starcasm]
Allison Williams looks nice in black velvet. [Just Jared]
WTF is Bari Weiss’s problem? She’s just the worst. [Jezebel]
Jordana Brewster is getting into adventures in Mexico. [Egotastic]
Dandelion children versus Orchid children. [Buzzfeed]
The Muppets are back! (On Disney+) [Seriously OMG]
Dude lost his job, why would he shut down his OnlyFans? [Towleroad]
One of the big coronation announcements released on Tuesday was a confirmation on which children would have roles. Apparently, King Charles and Queen Camilla each get different sets of page boys and page girls, and they have leeway to select kids from their families or friend’s families. We’ve known for weeks that Camilla wanted her pages to be her grandchildren, much to Prince William’s chagrin, as it elevates the extended Parker Bowles relatives at the expense of the Windsors. But the real gossip is within the names selected as Charles’s pages. Prince George will be a page. But so will the oldest son of Rose Hanbury and David Rocksavage, the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley. Charles and Camilla are really keeping the Rocksavages close, aren’t they? Charles just appointed David as his Lord-in-Waiting.
Prince George is the most notable – and youngest – page of honour chosen by the King and Queen Consort. But all of the boys who will carry the couple’s robes into Westminster Abbey demonstrate Charles and Camilla’s determination to put loyal family and friends at the heart of this historic occasion.
While the Prince and Princess of Wales were touched that the King wanted his grandson to play such a significant role, they wanted to ensure that nine-year-old George felt up to the public scrutiny. After discussions with their eldest son and future monarch, they felt happy he would rise to the occasion.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said last night: ‘We’re all very excited about Prince George’s role in the Coronation, it will be an incredibly special moment.’
A page of honour is a historic ceremonial position, now only employed on state occasions. The king’s pages also include Nicholas Barclay, 13, the grandson of Sarah Troughton, who is one of the Queen’s companions and oldest friends. He will be joined by Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, 13, son of David, the Marquess of Cholmondeley, and his former model wife, Rose. Oliver’s father was recently appointed to be the King’s Lord-in-Waiting – a significant royal role.
The fourth page is Ralph Tollemache, 12, son of British banker and aristocrat The Honourable Edward Tollemache – a godson of the King and a page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth.
The Queen Consort’s pages of honour all come from Her Majesty’s family. They include her grandsons Gus and Louis Lopes, 13, and Freddy Parker Bowles, 12. Her great-nephew, Arthur Elliot, 11 – whose father is former Tory Party chairman Ben Elliot – will be her fourth page.
First of all, don’t even start with “Charles snubbed Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.” Archie and Lilibet are too young to be pages, which is why Charlotte and Louis weren’t asked as well – they’re much too young. It’s not a snub for any of the kids. Now, are these names also a victory lap by Camilla? For sure. Her grandkids and relations are the right age to act as pages, so what Camilla wants, Camilla gets.
As for Charles making a point of including the Cholmondeleys… well. My theory is that Charles and Camilla know exactly what Prince William has been getting up to in Norfolk. The social and professional network between Tom Parker Bowles, Giles Coren, the Rocksavages, the Norfolk Turnip Toffs and Charles and Camilla is a perfect circle with no secrets. Everyone in that crew knows exactly what Rose and William were up to and Charles is making an effort to keep the Cholmondeleys inside the proverbial tent. The added benefit is that it keeps William on a short leash too.
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The Princess of Wales hasn’t done anything since March 21st, when she “business launched” her Business Taskforce at a business meeting and then posed in front of business buildings, and don’t forget, she also made a big business speech. So, yeah, that was March 21st. She hasn’t had anything on her public schedule, not even any “private meetings” or “phone calls” on the Court Circular. Kate and William always disappear this time of year – their kids are on their Easter break, so Will and Kate use their kids as an excuse to not do a g-ddamn thing for a month. When people start to ask “should we really be okay with these lazy f–king royals,” the Waleses then deflect to the Sussexes. Surely, Kate will get some sympathy if she whines about how Meghan is always stealing her thunder, correct?
Kate Middleton is said to be ‘wary’ of Meghan and Harry as she fears more drama ahead of King Charles’ Coronation, says a source. The Princess of Wales has a busy schedule as she celebrates birthdays, anniversaries and the coronation of her father-in-law. Yet a source claims Kate “really doesn’t want” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to “ruin” her upcoming events.
Kate is set to celebrate her youngest son Louis’ birthday this month as well as Charlotte’s eighth birthday on May 2. King Charles’ momentous coronation day will take place on May 6 and she will celebrate her 12th wedding anniversary with husband William on April 29.
“Over and over again, Kate’s had to contend with this ‘look at me’ behaviour from Meghan and Harry, and she really doesn’t want them ruining the next few weeks,” the source told Heat. “Their stunts always seem to happen at the worst possible times – on or around important days or milestones. Everyone knows Kate is the least cynical person you could ever meet, but there are just too many instances of perfectly timed drama for it to be a coincidence. Of course, it’s made Kate wary and anxious about what they might do next.”
Meghan and Harry announced their shock exit from the royal family on the eve of Kate’s 38th birthday. Back in December last year, the first look at Netflix series Harry & Meghan came whilst Kate and Wills were in Boston for the 2022 Earthshot Prize awards, with royal experts claiming the Sussex’s “hijacked” the visit. The second trailer dropped just a week later when Kate also unveiled her Together At Christmas event. Harry’s explosive memoir Spare also hit shelved the day after Kate’s birthday.
Some of the examples of “the Sussexes stealing Kate’s thunder” are actually pretty funny, even if they’re not entirely Harry and Meghan’s fault. Like, Spare wasn’t supposed to come out in January, it was clearly pushed back a month or two after QEII passed away. Same with the Netflix docuseries – I’ve never been certain that the Sussexes intended for the series to come out when it did, or for Netflix to drop those trailers when they did (in the middle of Peg and Buttons’ Boston Keenshot trip).
Besides, Kate, William and the rest of the Windsors are constantly trying (and failing) to compete with the Sussexes when they schedule their events. I remember when Meghan did that little NPR interview to promote The Bench, and the palace machinery was in full panic-mode about it and they made asses out of themselves before the interview, and then it was just Meghan chatting about her kids’ book. That happens constantly, where the Windsors try to impose themselves on the Sussexes’ newscycle. It happened when Harry & Meg lived in the UK too, the Windsors were always making a big deal about being booked and busy whenever the Sussexes did anything. It’s not like King Charles scheduled his whole-ass Chubbly on Prince Archie’s birthday either. I swear, the nerve of these people.
It’s not like Kate doesn’t have the nasty habit of Single-White-Female-ing everything Meghan does, says and wears either.
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