I love Pedro Pascal and I love his allyship & his kindness. Please stop trying to out him and just let Pedro be Pedro! [Just Jared]
Michael B. Jordan & Jonathan Majors checked out a journalist as she walked away at a junket. [Buzzfeed]
Will Smith came out for the AAFCAs last week. [Go Fug Yourself]
I’d eat a movie-chain-branded popcorn sold at Walmart. [Dlisted]
The importance of EJ Johnson & Magic Johnson.[LaineyGossip]
This is a very cute otter video. [OMG Blog]
Travis Kelce was the host of this weekend’s SNL. [Pajiba]
Taylor Russell wore Loewe to the Spirit Awards. [RCFA]
Kellyanne & George Conway are getting a divorce. [Jezebel]
Emily Ratajkowski went to Paris Fashion Week. [Egotastic]
The stars came out for the Saint Laurent show. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Marianne Williamson is running for president. [Towleroad]
Anna Duggar didn’t visit her husband in prison on his birthday. [Starcasm]

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Over the weekend, the Times of London got a “confirmation” at long last that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been invited to King Charles’s May coronation. We’ve known since December/January that they would be invited, even though we now know that Buckingham Palace told the Sussexes they were being evicted back in January, the day after Prince Harry’s memoir was released. Here’s what the Times reported:

Last night, a spokesperson for the Sussexes confirmed that Harry had “recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the coronation. An immediate decision on whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.” Coronation Day on May 6 is their son Archie’s 4th birthday.

[From The Times]

My theory: the palace sent an email invitation to the Sussexes and then immediately contacted the Times to let the paper know that the Sussexes have received an invitation. Meaning, this is all Charles servicing his handlers in the British media, and Charles set up the Sussexes so that they would have to confirm that they received an invite (via email, because I guess the Sussexes don’t deserve a paper invitation!!). Charles is trying to force the Sussexes into confirming their attendance quickly and I like that they’re not playing along. Speaking of, Charles keeps backtracking and trying (and failing) to manipulate the Sussexes by connecting the Chubbly to the Frogmore Cottage eviction:

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed they have been invited to the King’s Coronation – but have refused to say whether they will be attending. Harry received an email from the Palace about the event on May 6, their spokesman said, despite the stream of brickbats they have thrown at the Royal Family.

The Mail understands that Harry and Meghan’s former UK home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor – which the King is said to have taken from them – will be available for them to stay in should they fly to England to attend.

Harry’s pregnant cousin, Princess Eugenie, still uses Frogmore when in the UK with her family, and has helped to pack up some of the Sussex’s belongings and ship them to the couple’s US home, sources told the Mail.

[From The Daily Mail]

We heard last week that when the palace told the Sussexes that they were being evicted, the palace apparently said that the eviction would be happening swiftly, like within a few weeks. There have apparently been “negotiations” behind the scenes about how the Sussexes need to be fully reimbursed for everything they put into the cottage ($3.1 million worth of renovations) and when the eviction will happen. We already heard that the palace softened on WHEN the eviction will happen because the backlash was so bad – Harry and Meghan basically have until the summer to move out of Frogmore. So of course Charles is now trying to tie the Chubbly and the eviction – like “maybe Charles will soften on the eviction if Harry and Meghan come to the Chubbly.” Manipulative piece of sh-t. I hope Harry’s lawyers tell the Crown Estates, “we’ll be moved out by June, please send the $3.1 million check to Montecito, thanks and goodbye.”

I also didn’t know that Princess Eugenie was still using Frogmore sometimes. One could argue…that if Charles was a kind and reasonable man, he would have allowed the Sussexes to “keep” Frogmore with the understanding that it would also be used by the York princesses. Which is basically what Harry and Eugenie worked out already, much to William and Charles’s consternation and incandescent rage.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Netflix.

Here are some photos from Chris Rock’s latest Netflix stand-up special. He did stand-up in front of a mostly white audience, and the positive response for the special has mostly come from the conservative, right-wing media. Rock is their guy, spouting their talking points, calling Black women “bitches” and suggesting that Black people aren’t really victims of racism if they knowingly fell in love with someone who comes from a racist family. Speaking of, Rock decided to dedicate part of his act to the Duchess of Sussex:

During his new Netflix special, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, the comedian, 58, unloaded a few jokes about Meghan, 41, and her in-laws, at one point claiming that “some of that s— she went through was not racism,” but rather what he called “in-law s—.” He later called the royal family the “OGs of racism” and “Sugarhill Gang of racism” during the Saturday night special — claiming that they “invested in slavery like it was Shark Tank.”

“Sometimes it’s just some in-law s—,” Rock said on the special of Meghan. “Because she’s complaining, I’m like, ‘What the f— is she talking about? ‘They’re so racist, they wanted to know how brown the baby was going to be…’ I’m like, ‘That’s not racist,’ cause’ even Black people want to know how brown the baby gon’ be. S—. We check behind them ears.”

The segment about Meghan and the royals began when Rock claimed that “everyone is trying to be the victim, including people who know g–damn well they’re not victims.” After mentioning Meghan specifically, he said that she “seems like a nice lady, just complaining.”

“Like, didn’t she hit the light-skinned lottery,” Rock asked. “And she’s still going off complaining?” Rock continued, saying he understood Meghan’s “dilemma.”

“Black girl trying to be accepted by her white in-laws,” Rock said. “Oh, it’s hard. It’s so hard, it’s very hard — but it ain’t as hard as a white girl trying to be accepted by her Black in-laws. Now, that s— is really hard. If you Black, and you wanna be accepted by your white in-laws, then you need to marry a Kardashian. Because they accept everybody. Kris Jenner is like the Statue of Liberty.”

[From People]

What’s weird is that the people who are like “yes, finally someone tells the truth about Meghan” are in complete denial of the part where Rock mocked Meghan for NOT knowing that the Windsors “invented colonialism” and that she was trying to enter an environment which would be hostile to her just because of her race. Like, he made that about how Meghan was… a bad person for falling for a white man with a racist family, but the racist idiots defending Rock are just glossing over the fact that Rock said the Windsors invented colonialism and have been racist for centuries?

Of course, Meghan wasn’t the only target of his unfunny ire. Rock also said he watched Emancipation just to see Will Smith “get whipped” (Smith plays a slave-turned-soldier in the film). He went off on a tangent (?) about how Jada is a “bitch” because she tried to boycott the Oscars for being racist, and he brought up Jada’s entanglement, etc. Basically, as the AV Club says, Rock seemed more upset with Jada than with Will. Basically, Rock’s special was all about how much he despises Black women.

Chris Rock unloads on Meghan Markle and the Royal Family at his live Netflix show:

• Meghan Markle playing the victim
• Royal family are the original racists
• The colour of her and Harry’s baby#ChrisRockLive pic.twitter.com/7rBqzpIZY7

— Jamie Johnson (@JamieoJohnson) March 5, 2023

Photos courtesy of Kirill Bichutsky/Netflix.

Well well. Less than a week since King Charles’s minions leaked the news about evicting the Sussexes from Frogmore Cottage, it looks like the palace is now trying to furiously backtrack. Of course, they’re still insisting that the Frogmore Cottage eviction is the bold decision of an effective and cost-conscious king, as opposed to an abusive move from a dogsh-t father hellbent on being as vindictive and petty as possible. But they’re trying to give excuses for why it’s really not that bad. They’ve now backed up to the point where the Sussexes have until autumn to move out of Frogmore (lol) and Charles will offer them an apartment in Buckingham Palace if and when they want to visit (lmao).

King Charles is set to offer Harry and Meghan an olive branch by allowing them to stay at Buckingham Palace when they visit Britain in the future, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to give up the keys to their previous British home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, later this year. But they may be offered Prince Andrew’s old suite in the Palace – where he once entertained the model Caprice and disgraced socialite Ghisaline Maxwell – whenever they need it.

It is the latest move in the complex merry-go-round of royal properties set in motion by the King’s plans to streamline the monarchy and remove perks from non-working Royals. It is understood Charles has offered Frogmore to Prince Andrew, who is reluctantly set to leave the 30-room Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor where he has lived for more than 20 years. Discussions are under way as to whether Prince William and his family might move into Royal Lodge – which is understood to require extensive renovations – once Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York leave.

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children are currently living in the much smaller Adelaide Cottage in Windsor which is deemed ‘unsuitable’ long term despite the family being ‘very happy’ there. A source said Adelaide Cottage may be offered to Andrew’s youngest daughter, Eugenie, who is pregnant with her second child, who was previously renting Frogmore from her cousin Harry.

For years Andrew enjoyed the use of a suite at Buckingham Palace known as the Chamber Floor. But he lost his London bolthole after he was stripped of his military roles and royal patronages over his links to the disgraced child sex trafficker and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The Duke of York’s belongings have been moved out of Buckingham Palace, including his collection of teddy bears and soft toys, which Palace staff had to arrange precisely on his bed each day. Removal vans have also been spotted on the Windsor Estate.

Harry and Meghan – who now live in a nine-bedroom £12 million house in Montecito, California, after quitting the Royal Family three years ago – have been told they have until the autumn to move any belongings out of Frogmore Cottage.

Last night, Palace sources said that the couple will still be invited to the King’s Coronation in May despite Harry’s outspoken criticism of his family in his memoir Spare.

[From The Daily Mail]

Charles is so stupid and so are his advisors, oh my god. They want it both ways – they wanted to give red meat to the British tabloids braying for Harry’s blood, but they also just figured out (48 hours ago) that evicting the Sussexes looked horrible internationally, and that the eviction became a global story which could not be contained with the palace’s open collusion with the British media. So now they’re going out of their way (not really) to sound diplomatic and fatherly – of course the Sussexes could have a palace apartment, don’t be silly and don’t ask when Charles offered them an apartment (I suspect he has not yet contacted them with the offer). If Charles actually wanted to announce the eviction and spin it reasonably, he would have made sure to package the BP apartment offer in the original leak. The reason he didn’t is because it’s a stop-gap measure dreamt up in recent days because the reaction to the eviction was so bad.

Again, this reshuffle was mostly (but not exclusively) about Prince William throwing a tantrum about Royal Lodge, a home he’s wanted for years. William and Kate are totally going to move into Royal Lodge, but not before an extensive and expensive renovation on the taxpayer’s dime. I doubt Eugenie will get Adelaide Cottage either – she and Jack already have one foot out the door and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this mansion drama convinces her to step back for good.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

One of the interesting parts of Prince Harry’s Spare was his ability to describe with such clarity his own anxiety, trauma, neglect and magical thinking without actually using the language of psychology. I mean, in the first fifty pages of the book, with his descriptions of the days following his mother’s death, that is one of the clearest and most effective descriptions of childhood trauma and parental neglect I’ve ever read in my life. Well, Dr. Gabor Maté thought so as well. In their televised conversation to promote Spare, Dr. Maté spot-diagnosed Harry with ADD, PTSD, anxiety and depression just from reading Spare, and most of those diagnoses are based on the trauma of his mother’s death. Harry also acknowledged that his therapist had diagnosed him with PTSD as well. Harry and Dr. Maté also spoke about how Harry always felt different than the rest of his family, probably because he was and is so much like Diana.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, participated in a virtual book event on Saturday with Dr. Gabor Maté, an expert specializing in trauma, addiction, stress and childhood development, to discuss his groundbreaking memoir. Seated across from each other before a crackling fireplace, the Duke of Sussex and Maté, author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture, discussed living with loss and the importance of personal healing. Harry brought up how he related to his mother Princess Diana over feelings of not fitting in with the rest of the royal family.

“Certainly throughout my life, throughout my younger years, I always felt slightly different to the rest of my family,” he said. “I felt strange being in this container, and I know that my mum felt the same. It makes sense to me — it didn’t make sense at the time — I felt as though my body was in there, but my head was out, but sometimes it was vice-versa. The times that I ventured towards being myself, being my authentic true self, whether it was through media or family or whatever it was, it was almost like, ‘Don’t be yourself, come back to what you’re expected to be,’ if that makes sense.”

Prince Harry also said that writing Spare was a release, and stressed why it was important for him to be honest about his life story.

“I really hope, and I hoped right from the beginning, when I turned around to the people that were helping me write this book, I said, ‘I want this to be an act of service, it needs to be, because I know important it is, because you’re almost giving permission for people to talk about their own stuff, and be their own selves, and society doesn’t really help us,” he told Maté. “And I would say even more so within my family, because of the expectations and because of how you’re cast as individuals.”

Speaking of his time in therapy, Harry said, “A lot of families are complicated, a lot of families are dysfunctional, but for me when I was doing therapy regularly… I felt that I learned a new language.”

Sharing that other members of his family “didn’t speak that language,” he added, “This is working for me and I’m starting to go back to the point of trauma and unpack everything so I can be truly happy… but at the same time I’m feeling more and more distant from my loved ones and my family.”

[From People]

Part of his feeling that he was different from the rest of his family was because… he was treated like an afterthought at all times, chronically neglected and willfully misunderstood. Instead of taking one look at this broken boy and traumatized young man, the family turned a blind eye and told him to keep calm and carry on. He does have his mother’s temperament, and yet… I honestly feel like he’s less temperamental than Diana, you know? She was often short-sighted in her plans and executions, whereas Harry’s blind spot is that he gives his family the benefit of the doubt when it’s been clear this whole time that they’re completely f–king awful.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Sarah Ferguson gave an exclusive interview to People Magazine for this week’s issue. She’s promoting her latest historical romance book and she’s name-dropping to get attention, basically. Fergie is, as always, a train wreck. But at least she’s not actively spreading hate on any of the Windsors, I guess? That’s why they let her speak – she’s not doing any reputational damage to anyone but herself and her ex-husband. So, after she talked about QEII, she was asked about King Charles, the coronation and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Some highlights:

On the Sussexes creating their own path: “I don’t believe that any single person has the right to judge another person. I’m not in a position myself to make any judgments,” says the Duchess of York, whose new novel, A Most Intriguing Lady, is out March 7. “I have been judged all my life, and I have no judgment on the Sussexes.”

How Diana would feel: “I think that [Princess] Diana would be incredibly proud of her grandchildren. And not just the Sussex grandchildren, but Will’s children,” the Duchess adds, referring to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three children: Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.

Supportive of King Charles: “I’m very supportive of the King and the Queen Consort, and I really am glad to do whatever it takes to support them on their road ahead,” says the Duchess, 63. On the patriotic pomp surrounding the crowning ceremony, she adds, “I think it’s very British, and it’s very exciting. I love the institution of monarchy, and I believe in upholding the institution.”

[From People Magazine]

Just after Christmas, royal sources gave credit to Queen Camilla for bringing Andrew and Fergie “back into the fold” over the holidays. Apparently, Camilla has always been fond of Fergie because they come from similar aristocratic/adjacent stock. Personally, I think Camilla likes Fergie for the same reason Diana liked Fergie – Fergie is a trainwreck and she makes other people look good by comparison. But as I said before, Fergie gave this interview before the news came out about Charles evicting the Yorks from Royal Lodge. It’s possible Fergie’s thoughts about Charles have changed since Royal Lodge was her home too, and where she lived rent-free.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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Quinta Brunson looked great in this animal-print dress! [Go Fug Yourself]
Jessica Alba made a rare fashion week appearance. [Just Jared]
Michael B. Jordan got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [LaineyGossip]
McDonald’s franchises don’t want to promote the Cardi B & Offset “meal” because of their lifestyles. Like… it’s a McDonald’s, not an Olive Garden! [Dlisted]
A review of corn, and the latest Children of the Corn movie. [Pajiba]
Jason Ritter does remind me of his father. [Seriously OMG]
More photos from Gigi Hadid’s promotional tour. [RCFA]
Andrew Tate, who is ugly and bald, tweeted about his full head of hair. [Jezebel]
Genie Bouchard is back in the gym… but will she be back on a tennis court? [Egotastic]
I was shocked to realize that Jenna Ortega has been around forever. [Buzzfeed]
I love that Steve Yeun is getting magazine covers! [Tom & Lorenzo]
American conservatives are scared of their own shadow. [Towleroad]
Trixie Mattel talks Barbie. [OMG Blog]

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To be clear, not even 24 hours after Buckingham Palace leaked the Frogmore Cottage eviction news, the palace then frantically leaked the excuse that they simply had to reshuffle Windsor properties because Prince William and Kate have their hearts set on Royal Lodge. King Charles threw his heir right under the bus as a matter of momentary convenience. Now, don’t get me wrong – I have no doubt that William was throwing a tantrum about Prince Andrew living in a bigger, grander house than Adelaide Cottage. It’s just that BP can’t keep their story straight about why the Sussexes absolutely needed to be evicted. Well, now the Daily Beast’s Royalist column has a new exclusive from Prince William’s perspective. William is still catatonic with rage about all things Sussex, and I get the feeling it’s getting harder and harder for people to hide William’s unhinged stalking of his younger brother’s every move. Some highlights:

William is working in partnership with Charles: The source, a friend of King Charles and Camilla and the wider family, told The Daily Beast: “Charles is not making these decisions in isolation. He has the support of his son and heir and is working in partnership with him. They are a unit and are closer than ever.”

The coronation: The Daily Beast understands that Harry and Meghan will still be invited to the coronation, and that the family and officials are still acting under the assumption they will be there. The friend reiterated this, saying: “It is clearly entirely up to them if they accept the invite. Plans are being made on the basis that they will.”

Where will the Sussexes stay if they do come to the Chubbly? Asked where the Sussexes would stay if they did come, given that their home is being packed up and has to be surrendered immediately after the Coronation, and is thus unlikely to be fit for habitation, the friend said that secure arrangements for the couple would “of course” be made if they chose to come.

William hates Harry: Another source, an old friend of both William and Harry’s, who is no longer in contact with Harry, told the Daily Beast: “William won’t shed a tear if Harry doesn’t make it. He feels utterly betrayed by Harry. Relations have never been this bad, and he hates him for what he has done to the family in the books and interviews. He will support whatever decision his dad makes but it’s no secret he would prefer it if he wasn’t there, or, indeed, never stepped foot in England again.” Asked if comments made by King Charles in his accession address in which he said he wished to express his love for Harry and Meghan “as they continue to build their lives overseas” could now be seen as an order to the couple to avoid the U.K., the friend said: “You’d think they would take the hint by now.”

Whether the Waleses will move into Royal Lodge: The friend said they had no idea if William and Kate would eventually move into Royal Lodge, as has been rumored in some quarters, although a palace source told The Daily Beast that William and Kate are “very happy” in their present accommodation, Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom home on the Windsor Estate. There has also been speculation that the Waleses could move into Windsor Castle itself.

The cost of living crisis, y’all: However, The Daily Beast understands the king is acutely concerned about appearances of extravagance while a cost-of-living crisis batters Britain. A friend of the king’s this week told The Daily Beast: “Charles has made it quite clear he wants to reduce the size of the royal estate. It’s not a good look for a house to be sitting empty, so it can accommodate Harry and Meghan once in a blue moon.”

[From The Daily Beast]

This piece reminded me of the Daily Mail columnists’ repeated attacks on King Charles for showing “weakness” – the Mail “constituency” certainly tried to egg on Charles to attack the Sussexes even further, to deny them a Chubbly invite, to ensure that they were still being punished in some way. This is Charles’s answer, only now the Daily Mail constituency is like “whoa whoa whoa, you’re evicting your son from the home he paid for?” I mean, the Mail isn’t that bothered by it, but still. You could really tell this week that there was an internal struggle in the British media to spin this news favorably for Charles and NOT make him look like a dogsh-t father.

As for William… “he hates him for what he has done to the family in the books and interviews… it’s no secret he would prefer it if he wasn’t there, or, indeed, never stepped foot in England again.” William has always had this medieval streak in him, like he believes he has the right to single-handedly exile his brother or force Harry to do his bidding. That’s what William’s violent assault of Harry was about in 2019 – William was trying to force Harry to divorce Meghan or exile Meghan or do something so that Harry could be “his” again.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

The Telegraph’s Vicky Ward had an interesting piece on King Charles evicting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Frogmore Cottage. Some of the information has been reported elsewhere, like the fact that the Sussexes were told about the eviction the day after Spare was released. But the Telegraph’s sources indicate that in the past two months, there’s been a lot of back-and-forth between Buckingham Palace and Montecito, and there are still things left to negotiate, like whether or not Charles has to pay the Sussexes for what they put into Frogmore. Some highlights:

The Sussexes weren’t told that Charles offered Frogmore to Prince Andrew: The Sussexes were said to have been disappointed when told they were being evicted from the property in January, three years after announcing that they were quitting royal duties and relocating abroad. However, the revelation that the King has offered the Duke of York their much-loved home, which they carefully renovated to their own personal taste, will only serve to aggravate what have already been “difficult” talks.

Recent discussions: The King asked the Sussexes to vacate their five-bedroom Georgian cottage around the time that Spare, the Duke’s memoir, was published in the New Year, but discussions have only recently gathered pace. A friend admitted that the decision had not been welcomed by the couple, noting that they had “made that place their home”. The Sussexes consider the cottage, which is ensconced on the Windsor estate, the “only place that’s left as a safe space” for them and their children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, in the UK – not least given the ongoing legal row over the Government’s decision to withdraw their right to automatic state-funded security.

The Frogmore mess is indicative of the larger issues between Harry & Charles: “There has been no embrace,” one source observed. “If anyone was going to try and pretend things were rosy, this somewhat blows the cover.”

Complications: The couple are understood to be upset but accepting of the decision and appreciate that they are “exceptionally privileged” with a roof over their heads. However, it does “complicate” whether they will feel able to return to the UK or bring their children, in the future.

Will the Sussexes get their money back? The private money the couple ploughed into the property, and potential recompense, is understood to form part of the ongoing negotiations.

Sidelining a Counsellor of State: By maintaining a UK address, the Duke qualified as being “domiciled” in Britain and so remained eligible to serve as a Counsellors of State, a position for which he is now expected to be sidelined.

[From The Telegraph]

“The ongoing legal row over the Government’s decision to withdraw their right to automatic state-funded security…” The legal row is actually over whether Harry has the right to get security AND PAY THE POLICE FOR THAT SECURITY. Otherwise, it speaks volumes about Charles that he raged out and evicted the Sussexes back in January and never told them that he intended to put Andrew in their home. I’m also bothered by this: “The private money the couple ploughed into the property, and potential recompense, is understood to form part of the ongoing negotiations.” As in, Charles has taken the position that the Sussexes should not get that money back, that they in effect donated $3.1 million to the Windsor estate and now he gets to put Andrew in there.

Also: again, no one is saying that Charles has offered the Sussexes any permanent or temporary home if or when they want to visit. Charles is making it perfectly clear: this is a plain eviction, a churlish tantrum from a king, ordering the Sussexes to never come back. Such a loving grandfather!

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Netflix.

After Buckingham Palace leaked the story about evicting the Sussexes from Frogmore Cottage, the palace has been trying out various excuses for why King Charles is not, in fact, a dogsh-t father and why, actually, it’s a good thing that a 70-something king is petty, vindictive, racist and cruel. At first the excuse was that the Sussexes’ eviction was explicitly because Charles was “spitting mad” about Prince Harry’s memoir (the timeline backs that up). Then the excuse morphed into “well, Charles is just dreadfully concerned about money.” Then the palace blamed the whole thing on Prince William and Kate because they have been demanding Royal Lodge, and this house-shuffle – evicting Prince Andrew from Royal Lodge and putting him into Frogmore- was the only solution. Layered into all of these excuses is King Charles’s all-encompassing self-pity, like he’s terribly aggrieved at being *forced* to be such a dogsh-t father but it’s simply out of his hands. Now Becky English has the latest version of “poor Charles, he simply has to do the difficult thing and be a terrible father.” Some highlights:

Charles & Harry’s relationship: Sources have told the Mail that the monarch has found the implosion of his relationship with his youngest son ‘extremely painful’. The decision to ask the couple to vacate their Windsor home was also apparently a difficult one for the King, particularly as he was keen not to add fuel to the fire of their ongoing row. But after Harry and Meghan’s repeated broadsides at the family over the past year – particularly their Netflix series and the prince’s memoir – the King and his staff felt they had no choice but to act.

Ripping off the Band-Aid: Discussing the decision to start the process, a source said: ‘It was felt that it would be like ripping off a Band Aid. Painful, but once it’s done, it’s done.’ It is understood that the King is particularly keen to sort many of the nagging issues remaining around Harry, Meghan and Andrew before his coronation which have been allowed to ‘drag on’ for far too long.

Will the Crown Estate have to pay the Sussexes? There were also questions tonight, as to whether the Crown Estate, which leases out Frogmore to the Sussexes, might actually end up owing the couple money. Frogmore Cottage was originally five, run-down, staff residences but was knocked back into one large home with a private garden initially using £2.4million in taxpayers’ money. The couple themselves paid for anything over and above basic fixtures and fittings.

The Sussexes paid a lump sum: Last year royal officials confirmed that Harry and Meghan were fully ‘financially independent’ and said the couple’s decision to re-pay the £2.4million on Frogmore represented a ‘good deal’ for taxpayers. According to the Palace’s annual accounts, the lump sum they transferred to cover the refurbishment of their former marital home on the Queen’s estate also included undisclosed future rental costs. But if the Sussexes have paid several years of rent in advance, the sudden termination of their lease has sparked questions in royal circles as to whether they would be owed any money back.

The Sussexes were still paying for upkeep: The couple were also said to be funding the general upkeep of their former home, like maintaining the garden, with the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant effectively acting as the ‘landlord’, undertaking more major works, such as anything needing doing to the outside of the Grade-II listed property. A senior royal source said the rent had been calculated independently and based on market values. ‘I can be confident in saying that this is a good deal for the Sovereign Grant and the taxpayer alike,’ they added.

[From The Daily Mail]

Just last week, Prince Andrew was openly threatening King Charles with a lawsuit if Charles tried to force him out of Royal Lodge without reimbursing him for everything Andrew has put into the property over the years. I hope the Sussexes take the same tack – it’s not simply about the Sussexes needing to be reimbursed for (seemingly) overpaying in advance for their lease, it’s also about the $3 million they put into the property. It’s bonkers. The whole thing is – the argument that these evictions are some kind of cost-cutting measure doesn’t hold water, because the Crown Estates are going to have to reimburse Andrew AND the Sussexes millions of dollars.

As for Charles “ripping off the Band-Aid” – as I said, no one has a deeper well of self-pity than Charles. He believes he’s the victim here, that Harry is so terribly cruel for… writing a book which Charles refuses to read.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.