While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a lot of power for whatever coronation decision they made, it’s also true that every option was going to be a sh-tshow when it came to how the British media covered their decision. If Harry and Meghan were both attending, there would be wall-to-wall palace briefings about How Dare She and She’s Not Welcome. If they had both avoided it, the palace briefings would have been “poor Charles, he tried to make peace.” The palace is completely happy that Harry will attend alone, even if they’re also sitting back and allowing the British media to scream and cry about Meghan’s non-attendance. This option also allows the palace to brief about how King Charles is wise and magnanimous, and he and Harry are finally speaking one-on-one.

Prince Harry had a heart to heart talk with his dad King Charles before agreeing to come to the Coronation, The Sun on Sunday can reveal. Sources say the pair have spoken and there is a “willingness and wanting to mend on both sides” after Harry’s explosive revelations in his book Spare and Netflix series.

Now it can be revealed that he ended months of no contact with Charles by holding a conversation about the invitation — but has not spoken to William. It is understood there was also correspondence with Buckingham Palace before Harry accepted the invitation to Westminster Abbey but no significant talks other than over security arrangements.

Insiders say the King is “happy” with his son’s decision and “understanding” of 41-year-old Meghan staying behind with 22-month-old Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie, who turns four the same day as the King is crowned. Sources claim Harry wanted to attend to show “support for his father”. Despite claims Harry delayed accepting the invitation over concerns about seating plans, there were no significant talks other than to settle on a security plan.

Sources also revealed there was an acceptance of Harry and Meghan’s good conduct at both the Platinum Jubilee and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II amid fears they would try to steal the limelight.

[From The Sun]

“There was an acceptance of Harry and Meghan’s good conduct” – the Sussexes looked gracious while Harry’s family made asses out of themselves repeatedly. It’s also bizarre that they’re painting the previous lack of communication between father and son as Harry going “no contact,” especially when the palace was always in a rush to brief the media that Charles refused to call Harry or speak to him directly in any way for months.

The Mail’s Charlotte Griffiths also had a piece about how the delay in Harry’s attendance confirmation came down to Harry wanting “the status of his children Archie and Lilibet to be publicly recognised by the Royal Family.” Charles was “open” to “make a gracious nod to Archie and rumours circulated that he would raise a glass to his grandson during a post-procession Coronation lunch.” OMFG. Charles literally scheduled his coronation on Archie’s birthday as a way to beef with a child over who got more attention. In any case, Harry isn’t going to the lunch, and none of this ever f–king happened. Charles needs to keep Archie and Lili’s names out of his mouth.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Buckingham Palace.

Keanu Reeves made an appearance this weekend with his girlfriend/partner Alexandra Grant at the annual MOCA gala. They often go to this event, and I believe Alexandra has the connection to the museum, and Keanu is her date. Alexandra is an artist and she’s very involved in the Los Angeles artists’ community. I love that Keanu shows up to *her* events. They’ve been together for years, but they’re a pretty quiet couple – he’s only referenced her in a handful of interviews, and she’s not, like, organizing pap strolls or anything. I’m always in awe of how age-appropriate they are as a couple – he’s 58, she’s 50. Keanu definitely sips from Paul Rudd’s fountain of youth, but they do look the same age. It’s just refreshing to see a 50-something celebrity man with a 50-something woman.

Alexandra’s dress is amazing too, I don’t have the designer ID, but it’s great. You know what I like? She understands that with her gray hair, she needs softer makeup and bright colors. I feel like a lot of women who go gray still wear the same colors and same makeup as before. Also: I made the mistake of searching “Alexandra Grant” on Twitter, only to discover that there are some unhinged Keanu fans who hate her guts. You guys… Keanu is a peaceful dude who has had a lot of tragedy in his life. Just let him live and be with the woman he adores. They also kissed for the cameras last night:

Keanu Reeves and girlfriend Alexandra Grant share a sweet moment on the carpet at the @MOCAlosangeles Gala. #KeanuReeves #AlexandraGrant #MOCA pic.twitter.com/rrl0gQVazY

— On The Red Carpet (@OnTheRedCarpet) April 16, 2023

Also: Jodie Foster walked the carpet with her wife Alexandra Hedison. We rarely see them do events together, so this was really nice. They’re such an attractive couple. I kind of want to see Jodie work with Keanu now??

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

One of the most disconcerting things about the British media’s coverage of the Duchess of Sussex has always been their sense of ownership over her. They feel like it’s their right to say whatever they want about her because they own her, she’s “theirs” to abuse and slander, “theirs” to obsess over. As an American citizen, watching how the British media treats my fellow American, I’m enraged on her behalf. She hasn’t lived on that f–king island in three and a half years. She was lucky to escape with her life, her husband and her baby. She’s spent over three years building a life for herself and her family and she’s thrived and succeeded at every level. That’s what they can’t stand the most – the fact that she’s never groveled to come back or begged for their acceptance or forgiveness. She simply moved on and healed. That’s what is so unforgivable to them.

Well, I was reminded of all of that as I read Camilla Tominey’s latest column (“comment”) in the Telegraph, in which Tominey references her newspaper’s unhinged “WHERE’S MEGHAN, SHE VANISHED” reporting to launch yet another delusional attack on Meghan for simply living in California and raising her children instead of going to her dogsh-t father-in-law’s coronation. Tominey has also decided (surprise surprise) that there’s something wrong in the Sussex marriage and Harry will soon find a way to “come back.” Some highlights:

Meghan is… Duchess Dolittle? Much is being made of the Duchess of Sussex’s newfound inconspicuousness. It wasn’t long ago that there was no escaping the American former actress turned wannabe People’s Princess as she revealed her “truth” on Oprah, shed tears on Netflix, and shared pearls of wisdom on her “Archetypes” podcast…But having been completely absent from the promotional activity around Spare – her husband’s warts-and-all autobiography – and now having decided against attending the Coronation, preferring instead to remain in California, “Duchess Dolittle” would appear to be a better moniker.

This B is obsessed with South Park: Biding her time since that South Park episode, there is mounting talk of a rebrand, with Meghan reportedly planning to revive her lifestyle blog The Tig. Think Martha Stewart meets Kim Kardashian, presumably with enough paid endorsements to fund the couple’s quest to maintain “financial independence” from the Crown, and possibly to get a new kitchen.

What will Harry do now that Meghan is rebranding? The John Lennon to his wife’s Yoko Ono (or, as someone once joked on Twitter, Woko Ono), things aren’t quite as straightforward for a fifth-in-line to the throne, for whom Britain appears to be the third person in his marriage. Like his relationship with the royals, Prince Harry’s connection with his country of birth is complicated.

Why is Harry suing British newspapers if he doesn’t want to come back to Tominey?? Yet in making a surprise return to London for his High Court case against Associated Newspapers Ltd, and in agreeing to attend the Coronation on May 6, Harry looks like a man with a yearning for Blighty. And if that’s the case – if he does want to come back, at least for a temporary period – shouldn’t he be welcomed, not only by the palace but the public, too? The truth is that Harry will always seem more at home here than in the United States (even after his imminent eviction from Frogmore House). In America, he’s just, as the South Park creators rather cruelly put it, a “dumb prince”.

The Sussexes are so unpopular in America! The Sussexes aren’t major influencers there. That job is left to people such as the less middle-aged Selena Gomez and Kylie Jenner. The Duke and Duchess are just another pair of celebrities in a country where they are two-a-penny. Any American dream that Harry might have had appears to have gone a bit stale, with the Netflix glow fading much quicker than he may have hoped. His memoir is still among those topping the charts, but that caused a stir because of what it said about the Royal family as a whole, not just him.

WTF: In Britain, by contrast, Prince Harry will always be someone. He’s the son of the King, the brother of a future king and the uncle of a future king. And although he may have done his best to destroy these familial ties, they still mean something over here. That’s why Britons have been so reluctant to write him off completely. Positive memories linger of the lad who was a good laugh before he completely fell under his wife’s spell.

Harry must come home to Britain: It’s reasonable to wonder, too, if Harry can make Britain a home again. Despite his recent penchant for spewing American psychobabble and his insistence that he is loving the LA lifestyle, it does look like he is lost in the States…The man who was once “our Harry” needs a purpose in life beyond attacking the media and his family. By giving him a warm welcome in three weeks’ time, Britain might be able to help him find it.

[From The Telegraph]

“Duchess Dolittle” – Meghan has done more in the past three years than Crymonger Keen (the OG Dolittle), and Meghan has done it all on her own terms, making her own money, working at her own pace and paying for her own life. That’s what I mean about the creepy sense of ownership people like Tominey still want to have over Meghan – they still feel like her life and her work is theirs to discuss, to mock, to belittle and destroy. But the main part of this story is something that we’ll see more of in the coming days and weeks – they can’t hide their need to “separate” Meghan and Harry, and they’ve constantly and openly tried to drive a wedge between the Sussexes since the very beginning. They cannot stand that Harry is – by his own words and actions – madly in love with his wife, devoted to his children and extremely happy in California.

Photos courtesy of Instar and Backgrid.

It’s been forgotten in recent weeks, given the outsized conversation about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s failure to RSVP to the coronation, then the announcement that only Harry planned to go, but there’s been a lot of chaos around the coronation concert. The idea was always that King Charles and Queen Camilla would do the coronation “crowning” ceremony in London, at Westminster Abbey, then they would go to Windsor Castle later that day and enjoy a festive concert. The problem was that no one wanted to perform at the stupid concert – Adele, Ed Sheeran and Kylie Minogue all turned down the palace’s very public overtures, and there was some talk about how most artists are being advised to avoid the coronation like the plague. Enter Katy Perry. In 2020, then-Prince Charles appointed Katy to an ambassadorship for the British Asian Trust. The appointment was widely and deservedly mocked. But it’s a connection, and now Katy is heading over to England to perform at the Chubbly concert.

Katy Perry, Take That and Lionel Richie are among the first names to be announced for King Charles III’s coronation concert. It is set to take place in the grounds of Windsor Castle on 7 May, with an audience of more than 20,000 people. Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel and Freya Ridings will also be performing at the celebration. The show will be based on themes of love, respect and optimism.

Perry, who has sold 57 million albums worldwide, has a connection with King Charles III, who appointed her in 2020 to the British Asian Trust. She said she is “excited” to be performing and “helping to shine a further light” on the trust’s children’s protection fund, which raises money for causes including finding solutions to child trafficking”.’’

Richie, who was the first global ambassador of The Prince’s Trust charity, has called the coronation concert “a once-in-a-lifetime event” and an “honour and celebration”.

Robbie Williams is not expected to perform alongside the rest of his Take That band members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, who haven’t performed together in four years. They said “we can’t wait” to be back on stage and have promised a live band, orchestra and military drummers to accompany their performance.

There will also be nods to the four nations of the UK, with community choirs and singing groups combining to form the 300-strong Coronation Choir, which will be coached by Amanda Holden and Motsi Mabuse ahead of their performance. A Commonwealth choir group will also perform, by appearing virtually. A light show with drone displays, lasers, projections and illuminations is billed as one of the highlights of the evening.

The concert, produced by BBC Studios, will be broadcast live from the grounds of Winsor Castle on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds. The event will reflect a broad mix of music genres from pop to classical along with spoken word and dance. It will be attended by members of the public plus a few royal guests.

[From BBC]

This is so low-energy, my God. The BBC sounds so rote, like even they can’t polish this turd. No offense to Lionel Richie – an icon – or even Katy Perry, who regularly sells out stadiums. But WTF does Katy Perry have to do with Britain or the coronation? She’s been married to two British guys, sure, but she’s not a British citizen. None of her songs are about kings or coronations or anything. What is she going to sing? “Teenage Dream”? “I Kissed a Girl”? Obvs, she’ll do “Firework.” A hit from 13 years ago. Anyway, as much as I believe the crowning will be a sh-tshow, nothing will compare to this weaksauce Chubbly concert.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

One of the stories I’ve ignored recently is all of the hoopla about the Duchess of Sussex renewing all of her trademarks for The Tig. She’s always done that, over the years, even after she shut down her successful lifestyle blog. Every time she renews her trademarks, the British media goes into a tizzy about how she’s going to blog again. That’s been happening yet again in recent weeks, as the royal reporters have convinced themselves that The Tig 2.0 is upon us, and thus, Meghan deserves to be mocked and smeared. I would love nothing more for her to revive The Tig, but until I see a blog post, I feel like she’s just keeping her trademark so Piers Morgan doesn’t buy it, you know? I bring this up because in all of the coverage of Meghan “vanishing” because she’s not going to the fakakta coronation, they keep saying that Meghan is too busy plotting her next move (which includes The Tig). Page Six has a lengthy exclusive about what’s really going down between the Sussexes and the Windsors, and some of the quotes and asides are somewhat interesting/notable. Highlights:

Archie’s birthday: Meghan Markle is planning an “intimate” birthday bash for Prince Archie’s 4th birthday on May 6. Alongside her and Prince Harry’s flock of rescue chickens and three dogs, her mom Doria Ragland, Archie’s school chums, and some mommy friends, there may be a few recognizable faces at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Montecito, California, estate — after all, they “do have celebrities in their life,” one source familiar with the family told Page Six.

Harry’s travels to and from England: Page Six is told that Harry will be flying commercial, not private, and may even jump on a flight back to California following the 11 a.m. ceremony — meaning he could arrive home in the early evening, thanks to the eight-hour time difference. “Harry’s going to make every effort to get back in time for Archie’s birthday,” said the source. “It’s going to be an intimate party, it’s not going to be like ‘My Super Sweet 16’ or Portia de Rossi’s 50th!”

Harry’s relationships with William & Kate: As one highly placed royal insider told Page Six of Harry and his family: “Even though Meghan is not going, it’s still going to be extremely awkward.” For one thing, Harry is still not talking to his older brother Prince William, multiple royal insiders confirmed. However, claims that William’s wife, Princess Kate, made the decision to uninvite Markle from the coronation are completely false, according to senior palace officials.

Seating arrangements: Harry’s appearance also comes after months of tense wrangling between the palace and the Sussexes, as Harry had questions about where he would sit in the abbey — after having been relegated to the second row for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September — and what security he would be provided amid his ongoing legal fight with the British government over safety measures. The family members he remains close to are his cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. They will be by his side as he watches his father’s onetime mistress, Queen Consort Camilla, be crowned queen, the title once promised to his beloved mother.

“Intense scrutiny”: Markle, meanwhile, has come under intense scrutiny for her decision to stay home with the children, particularly as Archie could have celebrated his birthday at the couple’s UK home, Frogmore Cottage, where his sister, Princess Lilibet, enjoyed her 1st birthday party last June. However, a palace insider told Page Six that Charles has been kept abreast of Archie and Lilibet’s lives. Insiders say there is definite thawing between Charles and Harry, with one source adding: “There is now, more than ever, a willingness to try and have a relationship.”

Meghan wants peace: And while Markle has been accused over the years of stirring up drama, the source familiar with the Sussexes said that’s not the case: “Meghan doesn’t want any more rifts. She wants her children to know their grandfather, Charles, particularly when they are not going to know their other grandfather [Markle’s long-estranged father, Thomas Markle]. She does hope they will meet and hopes her decision will be seen as an unselfish one, as it was best to keep the attention on His Majesty.”

Why she’s really skipping the Chubbly: The Sussex source added that Markle made the decision to skip the coronation in the hopes of not stirring up more drama. “She just really doesn’t want a song and dance and everything being lived out in the public eye,” the source said.

Meghan’s next moves: As for her own future, Markle has been keeping a low profile and concentrating on the children lately, although she is believed to be bringing back her “Archetypes” podcast for a second season. And a source told Page Six that Harry’s attendance at the coronation is important to remind everyone that he is indeed, a royal — and to help keep the Sussexes’ brand bright and shiny. Last month, meanwhile, a patent application to revive Markle’s Tig website was given preliminary approval by US authorities, meaning she will be able to reboot the blog as soon as June.

[From Page Six]

I don’t think Meghan has ever “wanted” a rift – they treated her like sh-t and she left, that’s not Meghan wanting a rift, that’s Meghan walking away from an abusive situation. One of the things I admire about Meghan – as seen in the Netflix series and in Harry’s memoir – is that she actually tries to stay out of Harry’s many dramas with his family. She’s not getting in Harry’s face about “your father should do this or that.” She’s just there to support Harry and his choices. His family is obsessed with blaming her for everything. Besides, it was absolutely clear from all of the palace briefings that Charles and the rest of the family didn’t want her or her children there. Charles didn’t even invite Archie and Lili.

This talking point continues to drive me crazy: “after having been relegated to the second row for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth’s funeral…” Yeah, Harry and Meghan were in the second row… right behind Charles and Camilla. Harry looked like the heir, while William was “relegated” to a position further away from the king. I still believe that Harry’s qualms about the seating arrangement for the coronation were mostly about not wanting to sit near William or Andrew. If he’s seated with his cousins, that’s probably what he worked out with the courtiers. Anyway, I hope Archie has a lovely birthday.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red, Netflix.

Other than the church walk on Easter Sunday, the Princess of Wales has not done a public event since March 21st. Prince William hasn’t done a public event (other than Easter) since March 23, his trip to Poland. Their kids are on a school break, and per usual, William and Kate seem to believe that they deserve a mandatory month-long holiday as well. Again, I’m not saying that they shouldn’t have family time, but I’ve always been shocked by William and Kate’s commitment to never scheduling one single day of work during their annual five-to-six week Easter break. In this post, I’m including photos of King Charles last Friday, where he inspected the 200th Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst, which is like the graduation event for cadets. There was some talk about how William – a Sandhurst graduate – should have joined his father. William did not. Because, again, Peg is committed to being lazy. It’s starting to be a real problem, the fact that the “working royals” are either in their 80s OR they’re two lazy-ass 40-somethings.

The Royal Family is in danger of “abolishing itself by stealth” by spending less time engaging with the people of Britain, a shock report reveals. King Charles has been warned the monarchy is at risk of becoming “too distant” from the nation it seeks to serve after a dramatic slump in the number of public engagements.

Death, scandal and resignation are blamed for a 40 percent drop in ribbon-cutting and hand-shaking duties over the past decade, says a study by an influential think tank. And it predicts that if missing junior royals don’t do more to support the new King the monarchy could easily “collapse”.

The tally of UK-based engagements has slumped from 3,338 in 2014 to just 2,079 last year, according to analysis by Civitas. And last night royal author Margaret Holder backed the report, warning a lack of a public presence could “herald the demise of the institution”. Queen Elizabeth II famously believed she had to be “seen to be believed”. But the think tank is concerned the Royal Family could “disappear from public view”.

It has been rocked by the death of the Queen and Prince Philip, the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to the US, and the Duke of York stepping back from royal duties amid scandal. Now the King is being urged to appoint more “working royals” who will meet people across the country.

Frank Young, the Civitas report’s author, said: “The Royal family as we know it is on the brink of collapse and risks abolishing itself by stealth if the King doesn’t take steps to boost visits that have fallen radically over the last decade. Through death, scandal and resignation the Royal family is increasingly reliant on a few hard-working members, with Charles, Anne and Edward, doing almost half the work. We now need new working royals or will have to accept a Royal Family that is more distant from the people than at any time in the past 100 years.”

Civitas claims family members over the age of 70 are responsible for the greatest share of engagements and warns of a potential “shortage of royals”. The Duke of Kent is 87, Princess Alexandra is 86, the Duke of Gloucester is 78 and the Duchess of Gloucester is 76. It fears that the number of royal engagements could “shrink to barely 1,000 a year” over the next decade.

Civitas suggests Princess Beatrice should be considered as a potential “full-time working royal” and adds the Princess Royal’s daughter Zara Tindall would be a “popular addition” as she is “steeped in the school of Princess Anne”.

[From The Daily Express]

That was always the flaw in Charles’s design for a slimmed down monarchy – he believed that his heir would step up and work as much as Charles did when he was Prince of Wales. That’s not going to happen – William has been coddled, protected and shielded all his lazy life, and the family treats Kate like she’s the village idiot, someone too incompetent for substantive work. When Charles decided to side with William and sign off on the Sussexes’ exit – with no “half-in” option – he did so with the belief that William would step up with Harry gone. That has not happened, and it’s hilarious. Charles pushed out Harry and Meghan – two charismatic royals who would have been the future of the monarchy – because he and William were too petty and jealous of their popularity. So here we are. This dull-ass, uncharismatic, all-white royal family. Good luck.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Judy Blume is 85 years old. She’s generally considered to be a literary icon and very open-minded and liberal-minded. She writes kids’ books and young-adult books, and she’s currently promoting the film adaptation of her iconic book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. She’s been doing a lot of press in America and Britain, which is why she sat down with the Times of London’s Hadley Freeman. A lot of these British outlets love to ask everyone about Britain’s two favorite “controversies” – the Sussexes or JK Rowling. Blume got the Rowling question and her answer was, within the Times piece, disappointing:

I tell Blume how strangely thrilling it is to see a movie about children where none of them are in possession of magical powers. “Yes, children are so used to superheroes now, aren’t they?” she says. Even in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books the kids are magic, and I love those, I say.

“And I love her,” Blume immediately interjects. “I am behind her 100 per cent as I watch from afar.” Blume is referring to the abuse Rowling has received for speaking up in defence of women’s sex-based rights, and given that Blume has faced repeated attacks since the 1980s, for her books’ descriptions of adolescent sexuality and puberty, she knows what it’s like to be pilloried as an author.

Has she reached out to Rowling? “No, no. I met her very early on in her Harry Potter career, and she said to me, ‘Oh, my sister and I used to read all your books,’ and she talked about Deenie. I think once or twice we sent each other little notes. But I haven’t been in touch with her during this tough time. Probably I should.”

[From The Times]

As many have pointed out, unless you’ve been paying attention online for years, you might believe that Rowling is somehow a victim… of wokeness run amok, or some such nonsense. The truth is, Rowling is a transphobic bigot who uses her wealth, power and legal team to threaten, bully, target and harass trans people and their allies. Thankfully, we don’t have to cancel Judy Blume – it’s more than possible that Freeman removed certain context or even willfully misquoted Blume, because Blume posted a statement and she also spoke to Variety recently, where she got very specific about her allyship and what she thinks of governments banning books about trans rights.

“There’s a little picture book I love [by Jessica Love] called ‘Julián Is a Mermaid,’” Blume added. “He’s a little guy, he likes to dress up in fancy clothes, and he has a wonderful grandmother who has all kinds of beads and feathers. She’s supportive of him. If you go back to the ’80s, it was ‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ [by Lesléa Newman]. That picture book was banned everywhere. Well, there’s a lot of kids who have two mommies or two daddies, and that book is important! Today, they’re considered pornographic by some legislatures.”

“This is the real danger. That a governor can appoint someone to the legislature who’s thinking this way because he’s thinking this way, and getting laws about this,” she said. “We should have laws on the other side! That’s why organizations that work to protect the freedom to read widely and freely are so important.”

“I discovered ‘the little organization that could,’” Blume continued, referencing the National Coalition Against Censorship, which is the nonprofit she’s chosen to highlight as a Power of Women honoree. “NCAC is right there on the front lines. If a teacher, librarian, parent or student needs help as books are being challenged in their classrooms, NCAC is on the other end of the phone to help.”

Blume went on to say, “What are you protecting your children from? Protecting your children means educating them and arming them with knowledge, and reading and supporting what they want to read. No child is going to become transgender or gay or lesbian because they read a book. It’s not going to happen. They may say, ‘Oh, this is just like me. This is what I’m feeling and thinking about.’”

“Or, ‘I’m interested in this because I have friends who may be gay, bi, lesbian.’ They want to know!” Blume concluded. “I just read a book that was wonderfully enlightening to me. It’s called ‘Gender Queer’ [a memoir by Maia Kobabe]. It’s probably the No. 1 banned book in America right now. And I thought, ‘This young person is telling me how they came to be what they are today.’ And I learned a lot, and became even more empathetic. That’s what books are all about.”‘

[From Variety]

Yeah. I believe this version of Judy Blume – the open-minded ally and book-lover, the person who wants kids to be able to read every book they come across to broaden their minds and make them more empathetic people.

Here’s Blume’s statement – it’s as I suspected, she has sympathy for Rowling author-to-author, but Blume has no time for transphobic bullsh-t.

pic.twitter.com/jaRYqNPJv1

— Judy Blume (@judyblume) April 16, 2023

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[From The Mail]

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

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

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[From The Times]

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

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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

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

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

— Populism Updates (@PopulismUpdates) April 14, 2023

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

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

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) April 14, 2023

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

— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) April 15, 2023

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

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

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

— Peter Brookes (@BrookesTimes) April 13, 2023

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

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

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

British Media: pic.twitter.com/9yHaJZxPNo

— Andrew Maxwell (@andrewismaxwell) April 15, 2023

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

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 15, 2023

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.