Imagine you’re a member of the royal rota and regularly getting briefings from senior palace officials and courtiers. You could simply print what they say and keep the pretense of their anonymity… OR you could write about the larger narratives at play, and describe how Buckingham Palace officials are openly briefing against this royal or that one and why that is. This is one of the issues at play in Prince Harry’s many lawsuits against the British tabloids – while the papers got tons of information about Harry through criminal means (blagging, bribery and phone-hacking), they also got tons of information on Harry through his father’s office at Clarence House and through Camilla’s network. Instead of writing about how curious it was that Clarence House’s comms guru Mark Bolland was giving off-the-record briefings about a then-teenaged Harry, the royal rota just ran with whatever Bolland told them.

As Prince Harry’s civil trial against the Mirror Group Newspapers (publisher of the Daily Mirror) began this week, there’s already been some interesting positioning from both sides. While the Mirror’s lawyers admitted that some of their reporting came from criminal means – and they already apologized for it – they also said that many of their reports came from then-Prince Charles’s office or other royal courts.

Tabloid newspaper stories about the Duke of Sussex came from other members of the royal family, the high court was told today. Prince Harry claims he was the victim of unlawful information-gathering by the publisher of the Daily Mirror between 1995 and 2011. He says the King and his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, were also targeted, as were former girlfriends, leading to “huge bouts of depression and paranoia”.

Andrew Green KC, representing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), told the court the publisher “unreservedly apologises” for the use of a private investigator for one story about Harry but denies that 28 of a sample of 33 articles about the duke involved unlawful activity.

“Many came from information disclosed by or on behalf of royal households or members of the royal family,” Green said in a written statement. One of the articles came from an “on-the-record interview given by [Harry]”.

David Sherborne told the court: “We all remember the images of [Harry] walking behind his mother’s coffin. “From that moment on, as a schoolboy and from his career in the army and as a young adult, he was subjected, it was clear, to the most intrusive methods of obtaining his personal information.”

Omid Scobie, co-author of Finding Freedom, a book about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, claims as a journalism student he spent a week at the showbiz desk of The People and “was given a list of mobile telephone numbers and a verbal description of how to listen to voicemails, as if it were a routine newsgathering technique”.

[From The Times of London]

While I have every faith in Harry and his legal team that they have extensive evidence of the Mirror’s illegal activity, I also think that the Mirror blaming it on palace briefings is a win-win for Harry. Yes, he’s got enough to prove that the Mirror employed illegal methods to gather information on him (thus proving his case), but he might also get some answers about just how badly his father’s office was briefing against him when he was a teenager and in his early 20s. It would be a hilarious turnabout if the Mirror’s defense is actually naming the courtiers leaking sh-t about Harry all of his life.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

On Tuesday, a New York jury unanimously found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll, the woman he raped in a Bergdorf dressing room and then smeared from the White House. On Wednesday, CNN went ahead with their “town hall” event with Donald Trump. CNN did not cancel their event with a twice-impeached serial sexual predator and unrepentant white supremacist. Full disclosure: I did not watch it and I want to pretend that none of this is happening, that Trump is a political nonentity, but I get that it’s very likely that Trump gets the Republican nomination again. So here we are. Some lowlights from CNN’s platforming of a racist predator insurrectionist.

On the 2020 election & January 6th insurrection: “I think that, when you look at that result and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happens,” Mr. Trump said, calling the election he lost “rigged.” Mr. Trump later said he was “inclined” to pardon “many” of the rioters arrested on Jan. 6, 2021, after the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob during certification of President Biden’s Electoral College win. His avoidance of an unequivocal promise pleased people close to him. He also came armed with a list of his own Twitter posts and statements from that day — an idea that was his, a person familiar with the planning said. He lied about his inaction that day as Ms. Collins pressed him about what he was doing during the hours of violence. And he said he did not owe Vice President Mike Pence, whose life was threatened by the mob, an apology. “A beautiful day,” he said of Jan. 6.

On abortion: Before the town hall, his team spent considerable time honing his answer to a question they knew he would be asked: Would he support a federal ban, and at how many weeks? His repeated dodges and euphemisms were hard to miss on Wednesday. “Getting rid of Roe v. Wade was an incredible thing for pro-life,” he began. That was about as specific as he would get. He said he was “honored to have done what I did” — a line Democrats had quickly flagged as potential fodder for future ads — and that it was a “great victory.”

On E. Jean Carroll: Mr Trump was asked directly about Tuesday’s verdict in the E Jean Carroll civil case, when he was ordered to pay about $5m (£4m) in damages for sexual abuse and defamation. He repeatedly denied having any contact with the writer despite a photo emerging of them together. “I don’t know her. I never met her. I had no idea who she is,” he said. The audience in New Hampshire then laughed as he he mocked Ms Carroll’s claim and called it “fake news”.

On Russia’s war in Ukraine: “I don’t think of winning or losing, I think in terms of getting it settled,” he said. “I want everybody to stop dying.” He added that he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin made a mistake in invading Ukraine but, when asked, would not label him a war criminal.

[From The NY Times & BBC]

There was obviously a lot more, like Trump calling the moderator a “nasty person” and the new Hampshire audience laughing constantly at Trump’s unhinged “greatest hits.” President Biden’s team watched the town hall and they cut an ad and put it online quickly, and the people running Biden’s social media accounts were on top of what was happening. It actually does feel like we’re going to get a repeat of the 2020 election, Biden v. Trump.

There were not fine people on both sides of Charlottesville.

The January 6th rioters were not good people.

End of story. pic.twitter.com/1Jc9yQwTvh

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 11, 2023

It’s simple, folks.

Do you want four more years of that?

If you don’t, pitch in to our campaign.https://t.co/EwCflbYn22

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 11, 2023

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

The civil trial against the Mirror Group began this week. This is Prince Harry’s lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, a British tabloid on which Piers Morgan served as editor in chief from 1995 to 2004. It was during that time period that Morgan oversaw a large-scale phone hacking operation on royals, celebrities and victims of crime. Not only did he oversee the operation, he lied about it when questioned during the Leveson Inquiry years later, just as he continues to lie and obfuscate to this day. Prince Harry’s lawyer is David Sherborne, who (by the sound of it) must be dedicating his practice to Harry’s media-specific litigation. Sherborne’s new legal filings show just how prevalent the phone-hacking operation was and just how often Piers Morgan bragged about it:

Piers Morgan knew about illegal phone hacking when he was editor of the Daily Mirror, it has been alleged at the high court. The first day of the phone-hacking trial initiated by Prince Harry and other well-known figures heard claims that illegal activity, including voicemail interception, was “carried out on an industrial scale” by staff at Mirror newspapers.

David Sherborne, the barrister acting for Harry and the other alleged victims, told the court that Morgan “must have known” about illegal behaviour at the newspaper he edited between 1995 and 2004.

The former Daily Mirror political editor David Seymour told the court that staff at the newspaper heard Morgan openly discussing how phone hacking operated when at a dinner with executives. Having worked closely with the editor for a decade, he alleged Morgan was “unreliable and boastful, and apt to tell untruths when it suited him”.

The veteran political journalist recalled an incident in which Morgan obtained a voicemail left by Paul McCartney, in which the singer sang a Beatles song to Heather Mills as part of an attempt to patch up their relationship. According to the legal filings: “Mr Seymour recalls that he was walking through the newsroom one day, likely in March 2001, and Mr Morgan was standing in the middle with a group of reporters around him holding a tape machine, and played the message to all present a number of times, laughing mockingly. Mr Seymour recalls that the Beatles song played by Mr McCartney was actually And I Love Her.”

Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, a former Downing Street official, recalled going for dinner at a Chinese restaurant with Morgan during the Labour party conference in September 2002. During the meal, Wegg-Prosser asked Morgan how the Daily Mirror had obtained a story about an affair between the then England football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson and the television presenter Ulrika Jonsson, according to the court filings.

The legal filings say: “Mr Morgan asked Mr Prosser which network provider he used for his mobile phone and then told him the default pin for that network, and then explained that the default pin numbers were well known and rarely changed, which is how mobile phone messages could be accessed remotely. He then said, with a smile, that the story on Mr Eriksson and Ms Jonsson was obtained through that method.”

The journalist Omid Scobie claims he heard Morgan discussing the use of voicemails when he was a journalism student doing work experience on the Mirror’s entertainment desk in 2002. “[Scobie] recalls during one of those days in the office the editor, Piers Morgan, came over to talk to someone about a story relating to Kylie Minogue and her boyfriend James Gooding. Mr Morgan asked how confident they were in the reporting, and was told that the information had come from voicemails,” legal filings state.

[From The Guardian]

Yeah – again, the phone hacking was no secret. As these cases proceed, Harry is basically just going to redo the Leveson Inquiry all by himself. Piers Morgan and the Mirror hacked a lot of phones, as did News of the World, The Sun and the Mail. If you ask me, I think the Mail’s operation has outdone every other tabloid’s op post-Leveson. Anyway, I’m glad that Harry’s legal team seems to have all of the ducks in a row, and (to mix metaphors) it sounds like Piers Morgan’s goose is cooked. Hilariously, reporters accosted Piers outside his home yesterday, where he promptly raged about Prince Harry “invading his family’s privacy” and stormed into his home. I haven’t seen Piers Morgan move that fast since a Black weatherman suggested that he is an unhinged stalker on live television.

‘I’m not going to take lectures on privacy invasion from Prince Harry.’

Amid allegations of phone hacking while he was at the Mirror, Piers Morgan tells ITV News Harry should apologise to the royal family for ‘invasion of privacy he’s been perpetrating’https://t.co/P3RH5guPSb pic.twitter.com/4uGvezu5y6

— ITV News (@itvnews) May 10, 2023

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

One of the things I like most about Bebe Rexha is her memorable, sometimes wacky red carpet style. She always serves up something flashy and fun–you’ll never see her looking basic. Another thing I like about Bebe is that she talks about her struggles in an authentic way. She recently shared that one of the TikTok suggested searches is about her weight, which she said sucks but is understandable. In an interview with Gayle King she revealed that she’s been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, which has contributed to her weight gain. She also mentioned that she’s faced pressure to lose weight since the start of her career.

Bebe Rexha revealed that she recently learned that she has polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS.

During an appearance on Gayle King’s SiriusXM show Gayle King in the House, the 33-year-old singer opened up about her experience with PCOS — a hormone imbalance that affects 1 in 10 women of childbearing age.

The condition can cause symptoms like irregular periods, excess hair growth, acne, weight gain and infertility.

“I definitely struggle with my weight and I struggle with the way that I look, and it’s been tough for me. I just found out recently that I have PCOS and a lot of women have it. And a lot of women have it and don’t know,” Rexha said while noting that weight gain is a common symptom she’s dealt with. “It’s tough. I think for me, I’ve been definitely struggling with my weight and I’ve been struggling with food forever.”

She continued, “I remember starting out and getting my first record deal, they kind of put it in my head and they said to me when I first got signed, ‘Are you ready to get into bootcamp shape? Because you need to lose 20 lbs. in order to do this career. Like you have to lose weight.’”

[From People]

I feel for Bebe because it sounds like she’s faced both internal and external pressure to change how her body looks for several years. This is a familiar feeling for me personally, and most days I don’t want to look at myself in the mirror at all. So many women feel this pressure to change their bodies to fit a thin ideal. Even if we don’t get told “you need to lose 20 lbs,” some research suggests that women in larger bodies are paid up to 10% less than their thinner peers. It’s disappointing that someone as talented as Bebe could still be reduced to her appearance. But it’s not surprising. It must have been a crushing thing for Bebe to hear when she was starting out. What she needed as a budding singer and songwriter was support, not judgment. It’s also short-sighted and dumb for industry execs to try to make all their pop stars conform to a thin ideal.

Bebe’s story shows that so many factors influence a person’s weight. And not all of them are in our control. The causes of PCOS remain unknown, so getting effective treatment is often easier said than done. I like that Bebe is being so open about what she’s going through and raising awareness about PCOS. Still, it sounds exasperating for her to deal with negativity about her body over and over. Bebe is currently headlining a tour around the US and I hope she feels the love from fans who come out to her shows. And I hope she continues to wear flashy, wacky outfits.

Note by CB: Welcome our new writer Carina. She loves Old Hollywood, red carpet fashion, and all things glamorous. When she’s not watching old movies or reading the latest gossip, she’s trying to decode Lana Del Rey’s latest Instagram post.

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Mindy Kaling has lost a lot of weight in recent years. You can see the weight loss in her arms, her face and the rest of her body. Some people theorized that she has been on “the Ozempic diet.” I hope not – while Mindy has gotten tons of crap for her weight, I bet her old baseline (non-pregnancy) size was an American 10 or 12. Well, Mindy isn’t saying anything about Ozempic, but she does credit her weight loss to a change in her fitness and diet. She talked about all of that and more with People Magazine, as she promoted her new partnership with Andie Swim, a partnership which had Mindy co-designing a 33-piece collection.

Why she’s working with Andie Swim: “I’ve been a fan of Andie Swim for years. I’ve had six different iterations of my body in the past five years [Kaling is mother to daughter Katherine Swati, 5, and son Spencer Avu, 2], and Andie has always been incredibly flattering. So when they wanted to work with me on this collection, I was thrilled.”

Flattering swimwear for her body: “It’s not like you become a mom and you give up on looking cute and sexy and all you want to wear is a modest navy bathing suit. I don’t need to have a skirted bathing suit. These pieces make me feel young and carefree — they’re not too revealing, they give me support where I need it and the colors are gorgeous. I’m not someone where every piece of clothing is flattering on me. I am curvy and I have big thighs, and the collection is great for my body type. And I think a lot of women will like it for themselves as well.”

Whether she’s aware of all of the chatter about her appearance: “I know people are really interested in the changes in my body, and I think it’s flattering but sometimes it’s just a little much, so I try not to tune into it. The truth is that I spend so much time and energy trying to be healthy. I run or hike 20 miles a week and I lift weights. It’s a big commitment for me. I basically live in workout clothes so I can get it in.”

She feels really confident now: “I’m feeling really confident in my body these days, which is not something that I’ve been able to say for my whole life, unfortunately. I feel great.”

Eating in moderation: As someone who loves going out to eat and trying new foods, Kaling says she’s also been eating in moderation in order to maintain the results of her workouts. “It’s really a big commitment,” Kaling admits, noting that her schedule is busy with her children. “It’s hard with two kids that I wake up really early and I fit it in — and I basically live in workout clothes so I can get it in, get an extra mile in. I just tell myself I have to do basically 20 miles a week of either hiking or running. And so that’s been incredibly helpful to me.”

[From People Magazine]

I do more than 20 miles of walking or hiking a week and my body has not transformed like Mindy’s. Seriously though, I love walking. I average 25-30 miles a week. My legs feel so strong these days. I don’t eat in moderation, but I’m also not gorging myself. Hmmm!! Anyway, I’m happy for Mindy and I’m glad that she sounds like she’s in a healthy place psychologically and physically. When she came out during the awards season, people really were startled to see how much weight she’s lost.

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We are on day three of the Kim Zolciak/Kroy Biermann divorce and it’s already getting muddy. So when sources were dispatched to say that this was going to get nasty, the outlets responded with a general, ya think?! Both Kim and Kroy have released their filings to the press, making it look like the other person is responsible for their $1.1 million tax bill. Now they’re getting various people to tell the media that they are simultaneously a very tight-knit, close family but also that this split has been brewing for a while. Both Kim and Kroy are making it clear there is no third party involved – yet. However, they’re dropping major hints that the other person shouldn’t be trusted with the children. Or the money, apparently. This isn’t *going* to get messy, it already is.

Kim Zolciak-Biermann and Kroy Biermann’s divorce could become contentious as a potential custody battle looms.

A source close to The Real Housewives of Atlanta star, 44, and her estranged husband exclusively tells PEOPLE that “everyone expects this divorce is going to get really bad because neither of them will give in.”

“Divorce is terrible but the kids are going to have to go through this in a very public manner,” the insider adds, referring to the couple’s four children: 9-year-old twins Kaia Rose and Kane Ren, plus sons Kash Kade, 10, and Kroy Jagger, 11.

Biermann also legally adopted Zolciak-Biermann’s older daughters Ariana Biermann, 21, and Brielle Biermann, 26, in 2013.

The source shares that Biermann, 37, is the “absolute sweetest guy” but struggled with his role in the household.

“As a couple, it’s obvious that Kim has always been the head of the household,” the source explains. “Because of that, this makes [the divorce] even harder for him.”

“It’s really sad because he is a great dad,” the source adds. “With that said, they were both very involved parents and they both deserve to share custody and anyone that knows them would agree.”

“She’s not cutting the kids off from Kroy,” a second source close to the mom of six previously told PEOPLE. “She wants him to be involved as their dad.”

A friend of the RHOA star also told PEOPLE that she had been planning her split from her husband of nearly 12 years for “a long time,” though that fact hasn’t made the divorce news any easier for the family.

The divorce news now makes Zolciak-Biermann a strong candidate to join the cast of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, the first source tells PEOPLE.

“I am sure they are considering her for the next Girls Trip and I know if she is offered to do it, she will take it,” the insider adds. “Sadly, this drama makes her have a huge story line and that is obviously attractive for reality TV.”

[From People]

Good lord, day three and we already have so much to unpack! Keep up, too, because we know every moment of this divorce will be aired. Kim will be screaming from her turret like the town crier each morning. Everything Kim does turns angry. She couldn’t even give a tour of her house without bitterness. Kim says she doesn’t want to cut Kroy off from the kids but I’d put money on the fact she’s not ready to be a full-time parent. And with the IRS about to freeze her assets, a full-time nanny will be an issue. Kroy getting full custody means a big ol’ support check, which means he doesn’t think he’s getting much spousal support.

That bit at the end, though, the part about Kim being eligible for the Housewives Girls Trip – klassy. Were it any other person I would say no, they aren’t throwing a grenade in the middle of their family so they can get hired for a reality show. But if the tacky platform heel fits…

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It’s sweet how close sisters Halle and Chloe Bailey are to each other. They were a singing duo and they were both on grownish. They’re a little less than two years apart and until recently I actually thought they were fraternal twins. Anyway, they’re pursing more separate careers now and Halle is Ariel in the live-action Little Mermaid. At the world premiere of the movie, Halle spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her preparations for the role and noted that the hardest part of the process was being away from her sister, Chloe. Aw!

Hollywood Boulevard was taken under the sea on Monday for the long-awaited world premiere of The Little Mermaid.

“I feel honored to be here today, I’m so grateful that everybody’s going to be able to watch it all together, and I just cannot wait, honestly,” Halle Bailey, who takes on the iconic role of Ariel in Disney’s live-action adaptation, told reporters on the red carpet.

To become a mermaid, Bailey went through three months of training and rehearsals ahead of shooting, though she admitted that the hardest part of that process “was just mentally and physically being away from my sister [Chloe Bailey], who’s my best friend. But other than that it was just a lot of strength training.”

Melissa McCarthy, who transforms into sea witch Ursula, also spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about that intensive rehearsal process, which involved five weeks of practicing with her tentacles.

Director Rob Marshall “had eight dancers around me, and each dancer had an 8-foot-long tentacle with suction cups, and they had them on poles, so as I would float across or go up into the air there were people with me doing my tentacles,” McCarthy explained.

“I have to say, getting to do that, especially when you’re filming in such a virtual world that you don’t always see, to have the tactical and practical for all of those weeks of rehearsal — we all talked about it, what a difference it made,” she continued. “We were like, ‘We really do know what the world looks and feels like.’”

Javier Bardem, who plays King Triton in the adaptation, teased that his and Bailey’s mermaid training was a bit different, as she was much more of a natural. “I’m a big guy, she’s a mermaid,” he joked. “When you see her moving on the set like she won’t need anything, any of that. Me, try to move this thing, it takes a lot of work and a lot of people.” He added that the real-life mermaid tail was only worn on occasion when learning the depth and distance between each other, “but most of the time no, I was wearing just some pants.”

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Halle and Chloe are clearly close and provide each other a lot of support. This must have been the most significant amount of time they’ve spend apart and it must have been difficult after being together for so long. Though I knew Halle was on set for the role, I guess I didn’t even think about the physical process of preparing to play a mermaid. It didn’t even occur to me, to be honest, but I guess it’s not unlike when actors train to play a dancer or an athlete or some other physical role. So it was interesting to read about the the physical preparation process for Halle, Melissa McCarthy, and Javier Bardem to learn how to move like mythical sea creatures. I do remember seeing the set pics of Halle with the mermaid tail on the beach and it’s funny to imagine Javier Bardem doing those scenes in just pants.

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Rihanna is doing faux fur faux-maternity looks. [Go Fug Yourself]
Jacob Tremblay is 16 years old now and tall as hell. Remember when he was such a cute little kid in Room? Yeah, puberty hit! [Buzzfeed]
Tom Hanks admits that he’s sometimes a jerk on movie sets. [Dlisted]
Emily Ratajkowski went to the Miami Grand Prix too. [LaineyGossip]
Priyanka Chopra looks great in Proenza Schouler. [Tom & Lorenzo]
This is disgusting. [OMG Blog]
Elon Musk promotes false-flag conspiracies about the Texas shooting. [Pajiba]
Kim Kardashian is trying to appeal to a specific demographic. [Just Jared]
This story is completely bonkers! [Jezebel]
Nicola Peltz Beckham: an underrated theme-dresser. [Egotastic]
Awkwafina’s Saint Laurent look is kind of terrible. [RCFA]
Tucker Carlson is “antsy” to return to Fox News. [Towleroad]

This story explains a years-long mystery for me. When Prince William’s advisors started Earthshot so that William could have a “big project,” one of the billionaires who put money into it was Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and head of his own media/financial empire. Since then, Bloomberg has gone out of his way to align himself with William and the staid “royalist” side of the soap opera. It was always a question for me – like, why would Mike Bloomberg even care enough to pick a side? Now we know – he was married to a British royalist who raised their three daughters to love the Windsors. Huh. Georgina Bloomberg is one of those daughters, and she shared her specifically anti-Sussex mindset last week:

Another famed American dynasty has come out to voice its dislike of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, marking another clear sign that the Sussexes’ popularity in the US is seriously starting to wane. Billionaire former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s daughter has revealed her family is also firmly in the anti-Sussex camp.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com at the Rescue Dogs Rock NYC Cocktails for Canines event in New York, Georgina Bloomberg, 40, suggested that it will be impossible for the Sussexes to reach the upper echelons of philanthropic success in the US – at least where her family is concerned.

When asked whether she would ever team up with Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation as part of her own charitable endeavors, the showjumper and author was quick to say ‘no’, admitting: ‘My mother would never forgive me.’

Georgina’s mother, Susan Brown, is British and – according to her daughter – raised her children in a very ‘traditional British way’, while also passing down her personal dislike of the Duchess of Sussex.

Indeed, when asked if her mother was ‘anti-Sussex’, Georgina said emphatically: ‘Very.’

While many Americans initially threw their support behind Meghan and Harry, the showjumper noted that her mother had her concerns about the relationship ‘from day one’.

Georgina’s 81-year-old billionaire father Michael – who served a the mayor of New York City for three terms, from 2002 to 2013 – has actually met Prince Harry in the past during a 2008 trip to the UK, where the pair had a 30-minute private conversation about the royal’s Sentebale charity. But it seems that chat did little to improve his family’s feelings about the Sussexes, particularly where his ex-wife Susan – who was born in Yorkshire – is concerned.

[From The Daily Mail]

First of all, I have to point this out because it keeps happening, all the time, at every event. The Mail and other British outlets get media-credentials to cover various red carpets, premieres and charity events, and the first question out of their mouths is about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. IT IS INSANE. The British media’s Sussex obsession is oozing out everywhere. Secondly, it’s not actually something to be proud of, to proclaim that your mother hated Meghan from the very beginning and “had concerns from day one.” As for the rest of it… Georgina can feel however she likes, so can Mike Bloomberg. If they want to align themselves with royalism and environmental busy-work, so be it. It literally does not matter? That’s what the British media doesn’t understand – no one was waiting to hear what Georgina Bloomberg thinks about anything.

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Omid Scobie wrote a “reporter’s notebook” piece about the coronation for Harper’s Bazaar this week. I would imagine that he’s still hard at work on his latest book, Endgame, about the declining power and declining popularity of the British monarchy. I mention that because that’s the vibe of his Bazaar piece – praise for the Windsors for pulling off a coronation without any catastrophes, but also acknowledging that this might be the last Chubbly, or perhaps the penultimate Chubbly. Still, Scobie’s piece was full of some interesting details and shady asides. Some highlights:

Why the Waleses were late to the coronation: In fact, apart from Prince William and Princess Kate joining the procession late (children were to blame, a source tells me), and Camilla’s ladies in attendance—sister Annabel Elliot, and queen’s companion the Marchioness of Lansdowne—accidentally creating an unfortunate wedgie moment out of her silk Bruce Oldfield dress on the way into the Abbey, very few hitches took place.

The flashcards: Every precaution had been taken to avoid mistakes. From the mountain of flash cards held up throughout the ceremony to ensure that no word was misspoken or missed, to the discreet marks placed on the floor of the abbey so key members of the congregation knew where to stand.

Prince Louis toughed it out: Even Prince Louis, whose playful antics at Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee concert last year stole the show, was (mostly) on his best behaviour. Aides had warned us beforehand that the five-year-old may “retire” during the two-hour service due to his age, but apart from a short 20-minute break, he stuck the entire thing out.

Charles looked sad: Still, despite so much being planned and practiced in advance, nothing could hide the nerves that were evident on King Charles’s face as he entered the abbey. Though this was a moment he had been waiting for his entire adult life, the king looked deep in thought and even confused at times.

Harry’s presence: Prince Harry, who had flown in the day before the proceedings, seemed laid-back and comfortable sitting in the third row of family members next to Princess Beatrice and Edward Mapelli Mozzi, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. Sources said he was keen to support his father on the most important day of his life, but he was equally eager to get back home in time to see his son, Prince Archie, on his fourth birthday.

The coronation didn’t feel celebratory: But, whether it was collective nerves or the pouring rain outside, a sense of joy was tough to sense inside the abbey. Even amongst the family members, few smiles were shared (at one point Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, looked like she was falling asleep).

Queen Side Chick: For Queen Camilla it seemed at times she was unsure of what emotions to express. No doubt aware of the mixed emotions members of the public had about her crowning, she may have thought showing too big a smile would send the wrong message. But any nerves that were visible on her face at the start of the service soon dissipated for Camilla after smiles from the grandsons and great-nephew she selected as her pages of honour. Teenagers Louis and Gus (the latter who was nursing a broken arm following a bike accident) grinned at their grandmother several times during the ceremony, clearly putting her at ease. By the time she was anointed and crowned, and her decades-long transformation from the heir apparent’s mistress to queen was complete, the weight on her shoulders seemed to have melted away.

Andrew didn’t get permission to wear his Garter robes? Of course, the day didn’t come without some controversy—Prince Andrew showed up in his royal garter robes after being asked not to attract attention, and dozens of Republic activists were arrested near the procession despite having the legal right to peacefully protest.

The terribly white balcony: While Charles clearly has an interest in enhancing diversity, it was impossible to ignore the fact that the royal family’s only family member of color (and mother of the House of Windsor’s only mixed-race children), Duchess Meghan, didn’t feel comfortable or welcome enough to attend.

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

Yeah… it looks like Prince William and Kate’s people are putting it out there that the kids are “to blame” for the family’s lateness. It could be, but Kate and William definitely looked like they were the ones fighting. I also think they were late because they were filming a fruity behind-the-scenes fan-cam for social media. As for Louis… he did behave well for his age, which is why it bothers me so much that his parents are constantly putting him in a position to “act right” for hours at a time in front of the world’s media. Will and Kate seem like they’re actively cultivating the narrative that Louis is the “wild one,” the “clown.” The scapegoat, perchance. Also: I found the flashcards bizarre, especially for William, the only one who had a speaking role outside of Charles and Camilla. William had two lines to memorize and he couldn’t do it. He had to read them off of a flashcard, barely making eye contact with his father. A mess.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.