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Last month, Martha Stewart made headlines when she appeared on the Bilt Rewards Rent Free game show and shared that Ryan Reynolds is “not so funny in real life.” Ryan and Blake Lively are neighbors with Martha in upstate New York (I’m from Long Island; anything north of the city is upstate). At the time, Ryan responded with an unfunny, somewhat cryptic Tweet about Martha being “unexpectedly spry.” Ryan sat down for a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he was asked about what Martha said about him. Ryan took it all in stride, putting it into an overall context of both showbiz and social anxiety.

Question: Recently, social media erupted over your neighbor Martha Stewart saying you weren’t funny. Were your feelings hurt?

If you can’t take a punch in this business, you’re in trouble. But why would people ever assume the way they see you on camera is how you’re going to be in real life? Right? You’re just a person. But I do it, too. I’m a fan of people and I love certain people’s work, and I’m thinking when I meet them, I want to see little glimpses of that.

I don’t think what happened was designed to hurt anyone. That was just an incredibly valid observation that someone made. Lots of people would say I’m very serious if they met me. I can’t imagine entering any room in which I don’t intimately know the people, where I suddenly kind of turn on and perform.

I’ve always been one to be very quiet, and part of that is anxiety I’ve carried with me since I was a kid. And at times it’s very normal for anyone and everyone to experience anxiety. Some people’s anxiety, and I include mine, has a tendency to go down a slippery slope that needs to be managed to some degree. I grew up with a man, my father, Jim Reynolds, who would not say a word about anything that touched on vulnerability. But yes, I’ve always been much more shy around people that I don’t know unless I’m stepping out on a stage.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Honestly, Ryan’s explanation to why Martha doesn’t think he’s funny in person is both relatable and reasonable. It makes a lot of sense to me because I know a lot of people who are like this. They’re able to turn it “on” professionally, but really need to recharge or retreat behind-the-scenes. I also think that he’s right about needing to be able to “take a punch” in showbiz. From all that we’ve heard, people respect you for either punching back or deflecting these kinds of things in order to neutralize them. It’s also interesting that Ryan seemingly alludes to some of his heroes not being who he wants them to be. Heck, I’m a true extrovert, but, like most people, I also deal with social anxiety. Instead of being quiet around people, I overcompensate, and then leave every encounter wishing I could have been quiet and serious. I can absolutely see a situation in which Martha and Ryan are at some neighborhood bake sale and Martha expects movie-Ryan to be real-life Ryan, not realizing that there’s a reason that he’s not doing stand-up or improv. Maybe we need some sort of reality show with the two of them and Snoop. They can call it “Real Homeowners of Bedford, NY.”

Ryan’s whole interview is pretty good, and I recommend checking it out if you can. He talks about a lot of things, including Deadpool, his business endeavors, Taylor Swift, viewing Trump’s America as a Canadian, and more. You can check out the full interview here. It’s a good read.

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Angelina Jolie has been doing interviews and press junkets for Pablo Larrain’s Maria for months now. I know all of the talking points because Jolie has barely deviated from them, nor has she given in to anyone’s attempts to get her to talk about Brad Pitt and their neverending divorce and litigation. I wonder if that’s why Angelina hasn’t done any major American magazine cover interview too – there would be an expectation that she talk about her personal life, and Jolie is letting her lawyers do all the talking on that front. Anyway, Angelina spoke to the Times of London as part of a recent junket and I have to give it to the Times, they really teased a full profile out of what was probably less than ten minutes in a room with Jolie and Larrain. Some highlights:

She cried in her first singing lesson. “It was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. Singing opera requires you to be as emotionally open as you possibly can be — it’s not like singing in the car. It’s cathartic. I’ve never pushed myself or opened myself up in that way, that was daunting.”

She’s not chronically lonely like Maria Callas. “I don’t feel that because I have family. Maria didn’t have a family, so her work was everything. My work is not everything. Being a parent is everything.”

Jolie feels like the work has gotten better as she’s aged: “I’ve got better work as I’ve got older. I don’t think about it in terms of roles offered but in terms of life experience you contribute. It’s easier for actors than singers or dancers because your body doesn’t change.”

Divas on divas: What Jolie did relate to was Callas’s “commitment to her work”. Callas was called a diva and Jolie wants to reclaim the word from having negative connotations, especially when used towards women. “I’m a hard worker. And a deeply feeling person. Maria is vulnerable because she feels and isn’t sometimes able to protect herself from the loneliness or emotional pain. Because it’s part of her life and work to be extremely human and live that way. You live through your communication with the audience. For Maria and for me that has always been extremely important.”

Method acting: “As a young actor you say yes to everything. Can you ride horses? Can you speak this language? Then you have to learn.” For Maria she spent seven months doing intense singing lessons, as well as taking Italian classes. The score mixes her voice with Callas’s to impressive effect.

What if Larrain made a bio-pic of Jolie: So what would a Larraín biopic about Jolie be like? That’s when I get full scorn. “That gets the most insane question award,” Jolie says and she and Larraín laugh for slightly too long. “When you’re a public person and you’re playing her, you’re conscious of how you would hate for somebody to interpret your life or think they understand your life, so we tried to be thoughtful. Let’s hope there isn’t one about my life.”

[From The Times]

The Times journalist was expressly forbidden from asking personal questions or questions about Brad, but even if the journo had managed it, Angelina would have just given a withering look and stayed silent. It keeps the focus on Maria, which Angelina is obviously very proud of. I’m curious about this statement: “I’ve got better work as I’ve got older.” Eh. That’s not really true. Yes, I don’t know what scripts and projects Angelina has been offered, but we know what she’s said “yes” to and there’s a reason why people forget almost everything she’s acted in for the past decade. There’s a reason why Maria keeps being described as a “comeback” for Jolie, you know? I think Jolie legitimately wanted to work less, stay closer to home and focus on her family in the past eight years. But I also think the roles and the scripts were not there, as they’re not there for many actresses in their 40s.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix.

Glen Powell & his new project Homewreckers are in the middle of a studio bidding war. They’re really trying to make Glen into the new movie star. [Just Jared]
Mariah Carey continues to break records. [Socialite Life]
“Nobody puts Babygirl in a corner” is a great headline. [LaineyGossip]
Dexter: Original Sin sounds pretty good. [Pajiba]
If Chanel no longer looks like Chanel, this is why. [Go Fug Yourself]
Sarah Michelle Gellar still sort of hates Jennifer Love Hewitt. [OMG Blog]
I’m sorry but Timothee Chalamet looks awful these days. [RCFA]
Adam Sandler had a cameo on SNL this weekend. [Seriously OMG]
Anna Duggar home-schools her seven kids with Josh Duggar. [Starcasm]
Why did ABC News settle with Donald Trump? [Hollywood Life]
If you don’t recognize Robert Redford, you should go back to school. [Buzzfeed]

As I’ve gotten older, I enjoy Daylight Saving Time switches more and more. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also become more of a morning person, and I think morning people benefit from Daylight Saving Time more than night owls. While “Spring Forward” always f–king sucks (pushing our clocks forward one hour every year in March), Fall Back is always awesome. An extra hour in the fall, and pushing the clocks back an hour means that the winter sunrises happen around 7 am. Without “Fall Back,” the sunrise would be an hour later or more. Anyway, Daylight Saving switches have always been controversial and twice a year, every year, there are news stories about whether we should do away with this janky system altogether. In 2022, the Senate even unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, but I always thought that it would probably never get done and it would just be some weird thing that we lived with forever, like the electoral college. Well, Donald Trump is now a believer in getting rid of Daylight Saving Time. How has this become a political issue?

President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office.

“The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” he wrote.

Setting clocks forward one hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall is intended to maximize daylight during summer months, but has long been subject to scrutiny. Daylight saving time was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942.

Lawmakers have occasionally proposed getting rid of the time change altogether. The most prominent recent attempt, a now-stalled bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act, had proposed making daylight saving time permanent. The measure was sponsored by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump has tapped to helm the State Department.

“Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said as the Senate voted in favor of the measure.

Health experts have said that lawmakers have it backward and that standard time should be made permanent. Some health groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said that it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking with standard time aligns better with the sun — and human biology.

Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do, the date that clocks are changed varies, creating a complicated tapestry of changing time differences.

[From AP]

So Trump wants to eliminate Daylight Saving Time which is technically the “Spring Forward” months in the spring and summer, is that correct? I’ll admit that I’ve gone through this so many times, I’ve confused myself. But after Googling and consulting with CB, I think I’ve got it. When they say “end Daylight Saving Time,” that means right now, the “Fall Back” time is the Standard Time which we would keep all year. Which means that the sun would set in the spring and summer at like 7 pm? I can’t believe I’m saying this but… I would be fine with that. Permanent Fall Back Time (Standard Time) is what we should have. We shouldn’t have to Spring Forward, actually.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Here are photos of Sydney Sweeney out in New York this weekend. Sydney and her fiance Jonathan Davino were Christmas shopping at Leset. Sydney wore baggy jeans and an unfortunate bucket hat. She looked fine. She looked like an attractive woman going about her business, knowing that paparazzi were taking photos of her. While this was happening, there was a big, stupid conversation about Sydney on social media. Last week, paparazzi got photos of Sydney by a pool, where she wore a bikini. Dudes on the internet were apparently highly upset that Sydney was not glammed out at the pool, and she looked like a normal woman.

The birth rates are falling because there are men with anon accounts who are appalled to see what Sydney Sweeney, or any woman, looks like when they are not airbrushed, fasted and freshly pumped, posed with professional lighting and hair and make up. https://t.co/BEBTtSt8sR

— Stella Tsantekidou (@Stsantek) December 13, 2024

There were other posts from neckbeard bros, calling Sydney “fat” and a “catfish.” Men really think they’re owed beautiful women looking red-carpet ready 24-7, I guess? Obviously, Sydney is not fat, not a catfish, and not ugly. Very few people are actually mentioning that Sydney is currently gaining weight to play boxer Christy Martin, and that’s why she’s slightly “bigger” than usual. But even then, she’s still got a lovely figure and I don’t get why men suck so hard.

Here’s how Sydney responded to all of the nonsense:

Sydney Sweeney via IG

pic.twitter.com/JEUv2yHrEL

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) December 15, 2024

“sydney sweeney is a catfish” sir if you cannot recognize that a blonde woman does not wake up with jet black eyelashes and face glitter then you might be too stupid to reach

— death angel (@angel_0f_deathx) December 14, 2024

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

I adore Hannah Waddingham and I love that she’s gotten such a huge career boost from her work on Ted Lasso. While she was a known actress who booked roles consistently, her three seasons on Lasso fundamentally changed her career when she was well into her 40s. Because of Lasso, she’s been offered more work, not just acting roles, but commercials, hosting gigs, specialty programming and ad campaigns, and from what I can see, she basically says yes to every job. Good for her, in general, but that means she said yes to being Prince William’s celebrity friend. Hannah is a “supporter” of William’s Earthshot busywork, and she gets invited to various Earthshot events. Now she’s part of his Earthshot documentary, The Earthshot Report (groan), and to hype the documentary, Hannah and Prince William made a video in which they’re playing darts and drinking beers. Girl, I hope you’re getting paid for this.

There’s something about seeing William in motion, interacting with someone as vivacious and charismatic as Hannah, which makes me realize that he’s been really uncool for a long time. He just looks and acts like such a dweeb here, absolutely no rizz whatsoever. Which wouldn’t be such a big deal, except that he’s heir to the throne and he can’t stop centering himself constantly. It’s “pay attention to meeeee” but the guy has the charisma of a slug. His hair looks especially unfortunate here, and it’s still strange to me to see how few people are commenting on his extreme weight loss. The only positive thing I can say here is that at least William is doing more promotion for his documentary than the Sussexes did for Polo!

Additionally, the Mail is making a big deal about William saying that he doesn’t want to “preach” to anyone about the environment. The Mail called it a “veiled dig” at Prince Harry and Meghan, because… something something Harry and Meghan have taken private jets. Nevermind that William takes private jets too, nevermind that William has his own taxpayer-funded royal helicopter which flies him around to his eleventy billion homes and vacations and sidepiece hideaways.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, YouTube.

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine advocacy has already killed 83 people in Samoa, but he’s going to kill so many Americans as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Between his anti-vaccine views, his love of raw milk and raw meat, and the fact that a brain worm ate part of his brain, Kennedy will be one of the most dangerous men in America. And that’s saying something. While Kennedy has not been confirmed for HHS, he’s already making moves to… revoke approval of the polio vaccine.

President-elect Donald Trump has praised the polio vaccine as the “greatest thing,” but a lawyer affiliated with Trump’s pick to lead the country’s top health agency has petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval of the vaccine used in the United States.

The lawyer, Aaron Siri, filed the petition in 2022 on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network, or ICAN, a nonprofit that challenges the safety of vaccines and vaccine mandates. Siri has been working closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – a vaccine skeptic and Trump’s pick to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services – to choose officials to serve in the incoming administration. He was also Kennedy’s personal lawyer during his own presidential campaign.

“The FDA is continuing to review the petition,” an agency spokesperson said in an email to CNN on Friday. “We cannot predict when the reviews will be completed. The FDA will consider the concerns outlined in the petition as a final decision is made. The FDA will respond directly to the petitioner, and that response will be posted on the docket. Until such time, we cannot comment further.”

If Kennedy is confirmed as head of HHS, he’ll oversee the FDA and could take the rare step of intervening in its petition review process. In a recent interview, Kennedy told NBC News that he wasn’t going to take away anybody’s vaccines but said, “People ought to have a choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information.”

[From CNN]

So, that’s where we are at this point. An anti-vaxxer at HHS who is so f–king stupid, he wants to revoke approval for the polio vaccine. Honestly, if they go straight for polio, it would surprise me. I figured they would go straight for the MMR (measles, mumps & rubella) vaccine, which is what American kids get before entering school. I also think one of the first vaccine items on their agenda will probably be the HPV vaccine, don’t you think? But going straight for polio is wild.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex executive produced the Netflix docuseries Polo, which began streaming last week. Netflix did not spend any time or money on promotion for Polo. Neither did Harry and Meghan’s production company Archewell. Harry and Meghan also gave zero interviews or public statements in support of Polo, almost like they were making a point of not promoting it at all. Compare that with Meghan offering statements to the New York Times and InStyle on behalf of her investments in Cesta Collective and Highbrow Hippie, their silence and lack of promotion continues to make zero sense to me, but I understand I’m alone here. Obviously, I’m not playing 3D chess like Harry and Meghan, who are being targeted yet again in another exhaustive Mail exclusive. Nature abhors a vacuum, and the Mail’s Alison Boshoff wrote an exclusive which could easily become the sole narrative about the Sussexes’ business with Netflix. Some highlights:

The critical response to Polo was awful: Little wonder that the streaming giant now appears to be distancing itself from the show. Indeed, there has been no serious attempt by Netflix to promote the series – something surely almost unheard of for a five-episode programme. The company invested in no poster campaigns for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s latest project and its sole promotional attempt consists of a two-line statement from Harry on the streamer’s website.

The Sussexes were heavily involved with the making of ‘Polo’: Executive produced by both Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43 – they also make a brief appearance onscreen in the documentary – the series reflects the prince’s enthusiasm for this elite sport. And, indeed, behind the scenes, both he and Meghan were very hands-on when it came to the filming and editing of the show. The pair, I am told, spent many, many hours poring over footage, offering advice on what should make the cut.

The Waleses are projecting a more marketable image: It would seem that another reinvention for Harry and Meghan has not had the desired impact. What a contrast to William and Kate who, despite their most challenging year yet, have been projecting an entirely more marketable image. Indeed, the Princess of Wales was this week nominated for the prestigious Time Magazine person of the year title, while William has received many plaudits for his well-judged handling of President-elect Donald Trump when both recently attended the re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Christmas plans: William also spoke warmly this week of spending Christmas Day with 45 members of his family. Unsurprisingly, the question of whether Harry and Meghan will be welcome among the royal throng pulling crackers at Sandringham is something of a moot one. While nobody is commenting officially – on either side of the Atlantic – the answer to that question is clearly ‘No’. A royal source says: ‘The unspoken understanding is that an invitation is not on the cards.’

Meghan’s 2025 launches: Next year, then, looks to be an uncertain year for the Sussexes, particularly for Meghan, who faces her greatest solo challenge of all – the launch of her Netflix cookery show and of her much-discussed lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. Indeed, after the apparent failure of Polo, so much hangs on her cookery show that some are calling it the ‘last chance’ for her to ‘save’ the couple’s lucrative Netflix deal – which is, after all, their chief source of funding.

Make or break: One Californian source tells me: ‘It’s make or break. People say Netflix are exhausted. It’s so much work with her and, bluntly, the “deliverable” does not seem to be worth it.’ Another entertainment executive remarks: ‘Her show will have to be an enormous hit to turn around their deal and their reputations in this town.’ Well-placed sources indicate the launch of the show and the brand will happen in the first quarter of the year and, judging by the fact that it’s not part of any Netflix schedules in January, we must expect late February – after Harry’s Invictus Games in Whistler, Canada – or even March for the launch.

Secrecy around Meghan’s cooking show: A Netflix source says details of Meghan’s project are being shared with only a ‘tiny’ audience of executives in the US. ‘It’s a very tight circle,’ I am told. ‘Everything to do with her is kept completely secret.’

Netflix’s Ted Sarandos wants Meghan to be their version of Joanna Gaines: So striking are the parallels between [Meghan and Joanna Gaines] that some believe Sarandos is betting big that Meghan will strike a chord with ordinary viewers like down-to-earth Gaines has. They say the duchess will be his version of Gaines – although Meghan’s sophisticated vibe is far distant from Gaines’s down-home Texan charm. Sarandos said of Meghan in September: ‘I’ve been out with a lot of famous people before – the way that people react to Meghan is otherworldly.’

Where ‘Meet Me at the Lake’ stands: Netflix have bought the rights to the chick-lit book Meet Me At The Lake for the Sussexes – an unusual move, as you would expect the producers to find the cash. But whatever stage the scripting is at, it has yet to enter production. The same is true for the couple’s TV series retelling the story of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations through a feminist lens with Miss Havisham as the heroine. Again, it has yet to enter production. Neither show, then, looks likely to be completed or broadcast before the Netflix deal is up for renewal.

[From The Daily Mail]

It’s increasingly bizarre to me that the launch of Meghan’s show and ARO product line keep getting pushed back. She filmed the show back in April and May, and it feels like nothing is ready even now. I know Meghan likes to deliver completed projects, but… yeah, it will be interesting to see when all of this stuff comes out. If Sarandos is making a point to groom Meghan into a duchess-y version of Joanna Gaines, I would hope that the financing and promotion is there to back it up. It’s also bizarre that they were “given” Meet Me at the Lake as a property to develop and… absolutely nothing has happened with it. No casting, no director selected, nothing about a workable adapted script.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

Here are some photos of King Charles on Friday, attending one of his favorite events – the Crafts at Christmas showcase at Highgrove Gardens. That’s where local craftspeople and artisans showcase their work – I think for sale? – at Charles’s Highgrove estate. He loves that kind of thing and he was delighted. Unfortunately, this was one of the few delights left in the Christmas season. Charles had his Christmas agenda set: Project Snub The Sussexes 2024. Charles and Camilla invited their extended families to Sandringham for Christmas and palace insiders could not shut up about how Charles would host “the largest Christmas gathering in years.” Of course, Charles was making a point to tell everyone that Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet are not invited. And then Prince Andrew blew up the plan with his Chinese spy drama, which broke last week. Andrew had been providing access to a Chinese spy for several years… and now it’s ruined Charles’s Christmas agenda.

The royal family is unusual in many respects, and punishing people by not allowing them to go to church is one of their oddities.Such a sorry fate potentially awaits Prince Andrew, with speculation rife that King Charles may distance himself from his brother on Christmas Day amid controversy that Andrew allegedly befriended a Chinese spy. A report in the London Times said the king “could” ban the duke from joining the royals on their annual walk to church in Sandringham.

Andrew was previously banned from attending the Christmas Day service (and photocall) after his disastrous BBC interview in which he failed to express any regret for his association with Jeffrey Epstein. He was readmitted to royal churchgoing society in 2022, but it now looks like the rehabilitation is over.

Supporting the thesis of the Times story, The Daily Beast was told by a friend of the king, “His Majesty’s patience is wearing thin. He has stood by Andrew for many years, but everyone has their limits. I can’t see the king wanting to walk to church with someone who was friends with a Chinese spy.”

Buckingham Palace declined to comment but another friend of the king said: “Andrew is finished. You would have thought it would be hard to find a way to make things worse but somehow he has managed it.”

[From The Daily Beast]

Notice how they’re talking around whether Andrew is still invited to Christmas at Sandringham and they’re making it all about the church walk on Christmas morning. That’s because Charles is too chickensh-t to actually disinvite or outright ban Andrew from Sandringham. It’s gotten so bad, Charles’s minions ran to Becky English at the Mail to rant about it. The basic gist is that Charles is exerting public pressure on Andrew to not come to Sandringham:

As the nation prepares to sit down and break bread with their nearest and, ahem, sometimes not so dearest this season of Goodwill, the King is facing a particularly vexing Christmas conundrum. What on earth to do about his bothersome brother, Prince Andrew, whose issues seem to pop up like a particularly bad bout of the annual festive flu. For the truth is that the King doesn’t want to have to go so far as to ban Prince Andrew from joining the rest of the Royal Family for the much-loved Sandringham church visit and walkabout. He is, at the end of the day, his blood brother: he can’t divorce him, or indeed prevent him from seeing other family members.

But he is desperately hoping the Duke of York will ‘do the decent thing’ and ‘recuse’ himself from joining them at Sandringham to spare the rest of the Royal Family further embarrassment following his latest, and potentially highly politically damaging, scandal, having a suspected Chinese spy as a ‘close confidant’ and trusted business adviser. As it stands, I am told, Andrew is due to join the rest of the family in Norfolk next week for the festive gathering. He and his ever-expanding family – including his ex-wife, the Duchess of York, and daughters Princess Beatrice and Eugenie and their children – had been expected to take over Wood Farm, a large property on the royal estate.

Now, engulfed in yet another furore of his own making, pressure is being placed on the duke to ‘see sense’. Friends suggest Andrew, 64, must know his presence will put His Majesty in a very awkward position. If he allows him to attend it will be tantamount to putting his arm around his brother’s shoulder in a very visible manner just days after he became embroiled in an explosive ‘spy’ scandal. But to ‘ban’ him would be the equivalent to a public excommunication – and with all the apron strings finally cut, who knows what the duke might do next?

Andrew, I understand, will still have the chance – should he so wishes – to see his family at the private pre-Christmas lunch the King throws his extended family (the cousins, nieces and nephews who don’t make the cut to Norfolk) this week – but a discreet entrance and exit, at least, would be appreciated. But after that? Well, sources say, surely it is a matter for that much-vaunted sense of ‘honour’ Andrew told us all he had during his infamous 2019 interview in the wake of Epstein scandal and to politely withdraw from all royal festivities, for this year at least. His family would certainly be grateful for it, I suspect, and he might even earn some respect.

[From The Daily Mail]

Becky English devoted the second half of the piece to ranting about Royal Lodge and how Andrew could still live in Frogmore Cottage free of charge if only he would give up his home. The whole “But to ‘ban’ him would be the equivalent to a public excommunication …who knows what the duke might do next?” thing is about Harry. They’re emphasizing that Harry has been excommunicated, that Harry is unwelcome, that Charles doesn’t worry about his other blood relation, his younger son. Even before the spy business blew up, it already looked awful that Charles was making such a BFD about “big family gathering for Christmas” while pointedly excluding his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. That’s also why I think Andrew will be welcome at Sandringham, but yeah, he probably won’t go on the church walk.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

I’m giving this a name now: these articles are part of “The Mail Remembers” series. The Mail Remembers various years-old stories about the Duchess of Sussex, and re-reports those stories with zero new information. The purpose is, I believe, to examine where everything went wrong for them, postmortem-style. “Remember when the Middletons were really tacky about Meghan in 2017? Could we have handled it differently?” And “Remember when Meghan told off Harry’s bigoted friends? Should we have reported it differently?” Perhaps I’m giving the Mail too much credit for self-reflection. It’s more likely that they’re recycling all of these old stories because they’re just sad that they bet big on a bunch of losers. Anyway, the latest in “The Mail Remembers” series is: remember how Harry felt a real urgency to marry Meghan quickly, without a ten-year waitying courtship?

When a royal couple gets engaged before they really get to know each other, it often has disastrous results. The Royal Family learned that lesson after Prince Charles proposed to 20-year-old Diana after only dating for around six months, meeting in person just a reported 13 times over that period. So after Prince Harry started dating Meghan Markle in July 2016, and rumours of an engagement started to swirl by 2017, his family were quick to step in.

It’s claimed Prince William, who dated Kate for eight years before proposing, was ‘nervous’ about how quickly the couple were moving, as he was worried Meghan would struggle to transition into the life of a royal in such a short period of time. But Harry brushed off his brother’s concerns, claiming that he had to marry her quickly because her ‘biological clock was ticking’ as she was almost 35 years old, according to royal author Tina Brown.

However, the author claimed William’s unsaid biggest worry was for his younger brother’s ‘mental fragility’ and that he wouldn’t be able to cope with all the ‘scorching scrutiny and harassment’ that Meghan would come to endure.

Shortly after Harry, now 40, and Meghan, now 43, started dating, the couple met the Queen at an informal drop by at Royal Lodge in Windsor after church. According to Ms Brown, who was a confidante of Princess Diana’s and met with her just weeks before her death, the Queen reserved judgment and was ‘just happy Harry was happy’. However the author wrote in her bestselling book, The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor: ‘But William knew Harry all too well and feared he was heading for trouble. Every time his brother fell in love, it was an eruption of Vesuvius. “You do realise this is the fourth girl you’ve taken to Botswana”, he couldn’t help but remark after Harry’s starry-eyed account of the trip.’

For her book, Ms Brown spoke to 120 royal insiders over the course of two years, and claims most of the family – including Prince Charles and the Queen – appeared to like Meghan, but it was Prince William who had the biggest reservations. William also had concerns Meghan would not have enough time to create a life for herself in the UK and make new friends. She would also have to give up her entire life in North America, including her acting career. At that time, Meghan knew almost nobody in London and had little understanding of British culture.

But perhaps more importantly she was not prepared for the ‘scorching scrutiny and harassment’ that comes with being a member of the Royal Family, claims Ms Brown who previously edited Tatler and The New Yorker. She quotes sources from Palace veterans who knew the coming storm would be nothing remotely like the kind of benign exposure a TV actress had to endure. But according to the book, Harry’s response to William’s fears was that the most effective way to protect Meghan would be to marry her ‘as quickly as possible’ so that she would receive the same police protection that he did while he was still a working royal. Harry was also claimed to have said since she was a month away from turning 35, her biological clock was ticking.

[From The Daily Mail]

All of these “The Mail Remembers” stories have made me laugh, but this one has some special sauce to it. They’re seriously banging their heads against the wall and wailing “where did it all go wrong?!?”… and Harry and Meghan are still happily married and completely in love. “They married too quickly!” No, they didn’t, but even if they did, they’re happy? The “where did it all go wrong” problem is that the moment Harry figured out that Meghan was and is The One, that was the beginning of the unfolding catastrophe of the House of Windsor. Harry and Meghan are fine, and the Windsors and the British media can’t handle that.

As for the actual trip down memory lane… I think Harry didn’t want to make Meghan wait around indefinitely for years for multiple reasons: he was constantly worried that she would “come to her senses” and leave him if he didn’t lock it down quickly; he was crazy in love and they both wanted to start a family ASAP; Meghan probably needed to be engaged/married to stay in the UK; when you know you know and they both knew they had found the One; and Harry was very concerned about Meghan’s security and he saw an engagement and marriage as the easiest way to protect her and keep her safe.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.