View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Misan Harriman (@misanharriman)

Misan Harriman released two portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Monday. It’s been more than forty hours of crying and bleating from the British media ever since. The portraits were done in Manchester, on September 6th, either just before or just after Meghan made her keynote address to the One Young World summit. The photos happened just days before Queen Elizabeth II passed away, and I sort of believe that the original plan was probably for Harriman to release his photos within a week or two of the One Young World summit, but the funeral and mourning period changed everyone’s plans. As it happened, the Sussexes’ portraits came out just two days after Buckingham Palace posted a new portrait of King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales. They were all dressed in mourning clothes (it was taken the day before QEII’s funeral) and they all looked smug and happy. It was supposed to be “the new Fab Four,” we were told repeatedly. More like the Drab Four, especially seeing Misan Harriman’s lovely photos.

Anyway, in the wake of Harriman’s photos, the British media predictably fell ass-first into a toxic cycle of screaming, crying and throwing up about the Sussexes. Body-language experts were called and they dutifully parroted the Mail’s talking points about how sad and weak Harry looked with a smile on his face and his hand on his wife’s ass. Royal commentators were called to froth at the mouth about how the pure evil on display in the portraits too:

Biographer Tom Bower — who wrote “Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors” — told Page Six in an exclusive interview that he “absolutely” believes the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their most recent portraits to humiliate the royal family.

“It was all about, we’re back now on course to build Brand Meghan and the book, the Netflix series, the podcast,” he told us. “Everything is money. And to their advantage, they were in the public eye for seven days during the funeral or more, every day they were filmed.”

Bower further compared it to their appearances months earlier during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations where the couple was barely seen.

“They were shuffled off to a window upstairs and hardly seen,” he said contrasting it to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, where “they were center stage.”

“You know, she has really got one interest,” Bower added, “and that’s Meghan and the casualties are the royal family and as far as she’s concerned, that’s terrific.”

[From Page Six]

Imagine your existence, as portrayed in two lovely photos, “humiliating” a whole-ass royal family. That’s what it comes down to – Harry and Meghan’s existence and their ability to survive AND thrive is a slap in the face to the monarchy. HOW DARE THEY!

Also: you can tell the Mail is still really bothered by Harriman’s photos because one of their top stories today is about how one of the photos is reminiscent of a photo of Wallis Simpson. That is… all they have. “Meghan is another Wallis!” *sob*

Photos courtesy of Misan Harriman, Chris Jackson/BP and Backgrid.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk decided that he should try to buy his way into popularity by making a bid to buy Twitter as-is, with no due diligence. Twitter took him up on the offer and they made the deal for Musk to purchase the company for $44 billion. Musk then spent the next six months trying to worm his way out of the deal. In those six months, we learned more about Musk than any of us wanted to know – how much he wants to platform white supremacists, how he sexually harasses employees and buys their silence, how he impregnates coworkers/subordinates, how he’s completely idiotic and skeezy. We also heard, repeatedly, that Musk was actually too broke-ass to own both Tesla AND Twitter. In any case, Musk tried to terminate the Twitter purchase and Twitter was about to drag his ass to the Court of Chancery. Suddenly, Musk is ready to purchase Twitter under the original terms of the deal he made in April.

After months of trying to get out of a deal that he struck in April, the billionaire made a proposal on Monday night that could bring the acrimonious legal fight to an end. Mr. Musk said he would do exactly what he said he would do in April: Acquire Twitter at $54.20 per share, according to regulatory filings made public on Tuesday.

Twitter, which sued Mr. Musk in July to force him to go through with the $44 billion deal, has yet to accept his new proposal and plans to add conditions to try to ensure that he doesn’t change his mind again.

In a short statement, Twitter said it had received Mr. Musk’s letter and reiterated the company’s intention to close the deal. Twitter may ask a court in Delaware, where it filed its suit, for protections that would force Mr. Musk to follow through with his new proposal, said three people familiar with the company’s plans, who were not authorized to speak publicly about them. The company could also demand that Mr. Musk pay interest on the deal price for the delays in completing the acquisition, one of those people added.

A deal would allow both sides to avoid a messy trial that was expected to start in two weeks in Delaware Chancery Court. The trial most likely would have featured testimony from Mr. Musk, who runs the electric automaker Tesla, and senior Twitter executives. Mr. Musk is scheduled to be deposed on Thursday and Friday in Austin, Texas, according to a legal filing.

[From The NY Times]

This reminds me of the fact that originally, Musk was interested in a seat on Twitter’s board, but Twitter wanted him to pass a background check and he stepped away from that offer – because he knew he wouldn’t pass a background check. In an attempt to avoid being deposed and having Twitter’s lawyers crawl up his ass and then hand him his ass in the Court of Chancery, Musk is suddenly prepared to purchase Twitter under the original terms. Imagine buying a $44 billion company just because you’re scared of background checks and depositions, my God. Anyway, if this sh-t goes through, it’s going to be so f–king bad.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

The Princess of Wales stepped out today for a solo event at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. Her focus, for this visit, was visiting the maternity and neonatal wards and hearing about the hospital’s work to support babies and mothers. Judging from People Magazine’s piece, which was basically published straight from the Kensington Palace press release, it sounds like this hospital’s maternity and baby programs are incredibly supportive, with a focus on allowing new parents to bond with their babies while also giving moms some mental health support.

Kate wore a new-to-us dress by Karen Millen. The dress retails for £220, which sounds about right for this kind of piece. I’m always sort of surprised by how good Kate looks in shades of yellow and mustard. She doesn’t wear the color that often, but she really should. Even this somewhat dull mustard shade really pops with Kate’s coloring. In general, I don’t hate the dress either – it’s far from the worst thing she’s ever worn. Do I find the style a bit dated and vintage-y? Yes. I’m not going to look it up, but I feel certain that Diana probably wore a dress very similar to this.

Meanwhile, during the mourning period, I mentioned a few times that Kate’s mourning wiglet was looking a bit obvious and unblended. It’s happening again in these photos too. I think it’s a combination of factors – Kate is clearly going for honey-blonde highlights for autumn, plus she’s got a lighter mourning wiglet which she refuses to blend, plus she really needs some kind of deep-conditioning treatment for her dry-ass hair. All in all, since she’s become Princess of Wales, her hair has definitely been going through some things.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Kanye West showed his latest Yeezy collection in Paris on Monday. It didn’t go over well, because he turned up to the show with right-wing fascist nutjob Candace Owens, and they both wore “White Lives Matter” sweatshirts. Not only that, Kanye put Black models in those same sweatshirts and made them walk his runway. People had a lot to say about Kanye’s immersion into the white supremacist Sunken Place. It was also clear that Kanye is doing this sh-t for attention, like always, because he feeds on the negative reactions he gets when he, say, wears a MAGA hat or a White Lives Matter sweatshirt. He thrives on it because then, like every fragile white person, he gets to play the victim and act like he’s being martyred for his white supremacist ideology.

Vogue contributor and Garbage editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson was at his show and she criticized him afterwards, calling his white supremacist message “incredibly irresponsible and dangerous.” Kanye then posted photos of Karefa-Johnson on his Instagram (which he later deleted) in which he made fun of her appearance, said that “this is not a fashion person” and called her a “droid.” The reaction from the fashion community was swift – Gigi Hadid and other celebrities and models called him out and defended Karefa-Johnson. Gigi wrote a comment on one of his posts:

“You wish u had a percentage of her intellect. You have no idea haha…. If there’s actually a point to any of your s— she might be the only person that could save u. As if the “honor” of being invited to your show should keep someone from giving their opinion ..? Lol. You’re a bully and a joke.”

[Via People]

Hailey Bieber sent support to Gabriella, writing: “My respect for you runs deep my friend! To know is to adore you and to work with you is an honor…the most kind. the most talented. the most fun. the most chic.” Vogue also took issue with Kanye’s harassment of Gabriella, which apparently was the final piece of the puzzle – Vogue’s official condemnation finally convinced Kanye to delete all of his body-shaming harassment. Then he posted an all-caps message about how he and Gabriella apologized to one another (jesus h.) and they’re all good now.

pic.twitter.com/qhedLksfl2

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) October 4, 2022

Gigi Hadid slams Kanye West as she comes to fashion editor Gabriella-Karefa Johnson’s defense:

“You wish u had a percentage of her intellect… You’re a bully and a joke.” pic.twitter.com/zIvFr93XAi

— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 4, 2022

pic.twitter.com/e8nlOFBg06

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) October 3, 2022

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ye (@kanyewest)

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.

We learned one month ago (almost exactly) that Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen were and are having big marital problems. We’ve heard that Gisele and Tom were largely apart over the summer, and Gisele apparently moved out of their Tampa home a while ago. She’s renting a place in Miami, and she sees the kids a lot, but Gisele’s absences have forced Tom to do more of the daily parenting. Tom has apparently begged her to come back, to no avail. Despite the fact that sources have sworn up and down that Tom’s un-retirement was not “the reason” for their marital problems, it’s very clear that everything fell apart the minute Tom made the unilateral decision to play for another year with the Buccaneers. After a month full of Gisele letting the world know that she was done with all of Tom’s BS, it now seems that Tom and Gisele have hired divorce lawyers:

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen seem to be heading for the end zone: Both have retained divorce lawyers, multiple sources tell Page Six exclusively.

As previously revealed, the couple have been living separately for the past couple months following an epic fight — and they’re now apparently looking at dividing up their multimillion-dollar empire.

“I never actually thought this argument would be the end of them, but it looks like it is,” one source in the know tells Page Six. “I don’t think there will be any coming back now. They both have lawyers and are looking at what a split will entail, who gets what and what the finances will be.”

Insiders close to the seven-time Super Bowl champ, 45, and the supermodel, 42, say both are very involved in their children’s lives and would share joint custody in any separation. The couple would likely file for divorce in Florida, as that’s where they are primarily based, legal experts say. Another source who knows the couple confirm they are looking at dividing their assets, which includes a $26 million property portfolio.

[From Page Six]

While Page Six seems focused on the money, I doubt the financial aspect will be a huge fight. They’ve kept their assets separate for the most part, and clearly, Gisele wants no part of the Tampa real estate. She might not even want the Miami real estate. Meanwhile, People Magazine is more focused on how everything fell apart. People’s sources say that only Gisele has hired a divorce lawyer and Tom is “trying to figure out what to do” and he’s looking to hire a lawyer now too. Here’s what’s been happening behind the scenes:

Sources previously told PEOPLE that a rift between Brady, 45, and Bündchen, 42, began in part when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback decided to return to the NFL earlier this year after a brief, 40-day retirement. Bündchen had looked forward to Brady being more involved in the lives of their children — son Benjamin Rein, 12, and 9-year-old daughter Vivian Lake, along with Brady’s son John Edward, 15, with ex Bridget Moynahan — in his post-NFL career.

Another source said Bündchen did not like how Brady handled his return to the Buccaneers.

“She was so happy when he announced his retirement, and she wasn’t thrilled at all when he went back on that,” the source said.

“They’re hitting a rough patch,” they added. “But I know they’re trying, or at least he’s trying, to figure it out and make it work. He wants to get through this and for things to get better.”

Since the start of the 2022 season, Bündchen has not been seen at any of her husband’s four games. One source told PEOPLE she has been “spending time away” from Brady.

“Going back to Tampa after the retirement put a strain on the personal side of his life,” a source said. “Gisele is frustrated and sick of his career coming before their family, who has always supported him.”

The couple spending time apart from one another “has happened before,” the source explained. “They decided together that [Brady] would retire, and then he decided by himself that he’d come back,” the source told PEOPLE. “She said they’d talk about it more, but then he came back anyway before they had really talked it all through. She’s a very ‘pros vs cons’ person, and she sees very few pros to him playing anymore,” they continued.

[From People]

I’m reminded again of Gisele’s Elle interview, which seemed to be perfectly timed for her newly-separated persona. Gisele sounds completely over it in that piece, like she had emotionally and physically detached from Tom and she was ready to focus on herself. She has been over it for months, if not years. Anyway, good for her.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.

In a crazy, dystopian way, it’s fascinating to watch the royal establishment try to coordinate their smears on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, specifically by lying about the Sussexes’ work projects. For weeks now, there’s been a palace-led narrative that Prince Harry is trying to shelve his memoir or edit it to be more obsequious towards his father and brother. This is all wishful thinking on the part of Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, but it’s being reported as if this information is coming from sources close to Harry. It’s the same thing with Harry and Meghan’s Netflix projects – all we know is that they’ve been working on a docu-series (or something like that) about their marriage and their work. The royal establishment is trying to force a counter-narrative that Harry and Meghan also want to re-edit their Netflix series in the wake of QEII’s death. I guess I never realized how Charles and William’s wishful thinking would somehow become mainstream reporting in the Murdoch press. But here we are, an “exclusive” from Page Six:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are at odds with Netflix and even their own production team, sources told Page Six, as they backtrack on what they want to show the public in their upcoming docuseries. The couple allegedly wants to cut chunks from the doc — which they have been filming for more than a year now — but Netflix chiefs are standing by the Sussexes’ filmmakers who want to keep the content, according to insiders.

“Harry and Meghan are having second thoughts on their own story, on their own project,” a Netflix source told Page Six this week.
According to another industry source, “Harry and Meghan are panicked about trying to tone down even the most basic language. But it’s their story, from their own mouths.”

Page Six previously revealed how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wanted to edit the show in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death last month, as it’s believed to include a number of truth bombs involving King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, as well as Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Sources now say the couple actually started rethinking the show — which is being produced by their own company, Archewell — before the monarch died on Sept. 8 at age 96.

“They’ve made significant requests to walk back content they themselves have provided — to the extent that some Netflix staff believe, if granted, it will effectively shelve the project indefinitely,” the Netflix source said. “Netflix is standing by the filmmakers.”

While Harry, 38, and Markle, 41, want the show to launch next year, the streaming service — which has paid the couple millions of dollars — has long wanted it to debut it right after season 5 of “The Crown,” which drops on Nov. 9.

“Netflix has made it clear that the project is going forward,” said the industry source.

Netflix and a representative for the duke and duchess did not respond to requests for comment. The filmmakers are not believed to have the final edit; that rests with the Sussexes and Netflix, sources said.

[From Page Six]

Let me get this straight – Harry and Meghan have their own production company, through which they’re executive producing a docuseries about themselves, over which they have final edit. And in the wake of QEII’s death, according to Page Six’s sources, Harry and Meghan want to constrain their narrative and re-edit the series and… the filmmakers aren’t happy, and Netflix is standing with the filmmakers? Do these palace sources – and make no mistake, this is ALL coming from Salt Island – understand the basics of production companies, final edits and how any of this works? Besides all of that, this is all part and parcel of the palace-specific narrative that Harry feels in any way conciliatory towards his father and brother now that QEII has passed. As opposed to Harry feeling like his last emotional tie with that family has been released and now he’s more than ready to burn it all down.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Back in February, Brad Pitt sued Angelina Jolie over her sale of Nouvel, her 50% stake in the Chateau Miraval estate and winery. Jolie sold Nouvel in 2021, after doing all of her legal due diligence and clearing everything with the courts. Brad’s lawsuit is nothing but lies and pettiness, and he’s attempting to keep financially abusing her. Stoli and Tenute del Mondo (who now own Nouvel) have her back – they’ve said quite clearly that the sale was above-board and that they only bought Nouvel after Pitt tried to force Jolie to sign a non-disclosure agreement about how he abused her. Well, Angelina has now filed a cross-complaint and it’s peak “f–k around and find out.” She cites the sustained abuse and trauma she and her children sustained on that plane in September 2016. She provides more details about the assault, details which were not included in the heavily redacted FBI report. Some highlights from the NYT:

Brad Pitt choked one of the children: Jolie’s filing goes on to describe an extended physical and verbal outburst in September 2016 as Mr. Pitt, Ms. Jolie and their six children flew from France to California. “Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face” and “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her,” the filing states, adding that at one point “he poured beer on Jolie; at another, he poured beer and red wine on the children.”

Why & when Jolie sold Nouvel: Ms. Jolie’s cross complaint said she only sold her stake elsewhere after talks broke down over his demand for a nondisclosure agreement. Her filing states that the F.B.I. agent who investigated allegations that Mr. Pitt physically assaulted Ms. Jolie and their children on the plane in 2016 had “concluded that the government had probable cause to charge Pitt with a federal crime for his conduct that day.”

She’s been trying to protect her children: “She has gone to great lengths to try to shield their children from reliving the pain Pitt inflicted on the family that day,” Ms. Jolie’s lawyers wrote in the cross complaint. “But when Pitt filed this lawsuit seeking to reassert control over Jolie’s financial life and compel her to rejoin her ex-husband as a frozen-out business partner, Pitt forced Jolie to publicly defend herself on these issues for the first time.”

More details about the plane assault: According to Ms. Jolie’s account of the 2016 flight in the court papers, the dispute began when Mr. Pitt accused Ms. Jolie of being “too deferential” to their children and then began yelling at her in the bathroom. “Pitt grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall,” the filing states. “Pitt then punched the ceiling of the plane numerous times, prompting Jolie to leave the bathroom.” When one of the children came to Ms. Jolie’s defense, the court papers said, Mr. Pitt lunged at the child, prompting her to grab him from behind. Amid the altercation, Mr. Pitt “choked one of the children and struck another in the face,” the suit said.

Jolie says they never had any kind of formal or informal understanding about what to do about Miraval if one of them wanted to sell: Her filing said there was no written or verbal understanding like the one Mr. Pitt described, claiming that Mr. Pitt had, in fact, rejected the idea that there needed to be a plan in case the relationship ended.

[From The NY Times]

Just so we’re clear, Angelina and the children all told the FBI that Brad had physically assaulted them, choked one child, punched another child and terrorized all of them in a confined space for hours, and the FBI was like “gee, that doesn’t sound so serious, no charges!” It’s also insane that one big talking point immediately following the plane assault was “Brad didn’t punch a child in the face.” No, apparently he CHOKED a child. Anyway, Angelina’s argument makes perfect sense and Brad’s lawsuit was always giving “nuisance suit” anyway. Brad’s truly going to sue himself into owning zero percent of Miraval and having zero relationships with his children.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Instar.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr. have two kids, Charlotte, 13 and Rocky, 10. For the most part, they’ve kept the kids out of the spotlight, choosing to speak about their parenting instead. Both Freddie and Sarah have spoken about the fact that they consider themselves to be stricter parents than most. They really target the kids’ phones when it comes to rules, like limiting time and not allowing phones at the table. Sarah recently told Yahoo’s So Mini Ways parenting series that she also restricts the kids on social media and doesn’t allow them to have their own accounts, primarily because once it’s on social media, it’s out there forever. Sarah likened posting online to getting a face tattoo, saying what her kids want now, they’ll regret later.

As a mom of two children, Sarah Michelle Gellar runs a tight ship.

The Do Revenge star, 45, says she and husband Freddie Prinze Jr. don’t allow their children, 13-year-old Charlotte and 10-year-old Rocky, to have their own social media accounts.

“Our rules are probably stricter than most. Our kids don’t have social media,” Gellar tells Yahoo Life’s So Mini Ways. “They’re allowed to look sometimes when it’s our phones. Sometimes, our kids will be like ‘you guys are the strictest household!’ But I say, ‘yes, but everyone still wants to come here!’”

To emphasize the permanence of what’s posted on social media, Gellar told her kids that it’s the equivalent of getting a Paw Patrol tattoo on your face at age 5.

“Because at that age, there’s nothing better than Paw Patrol. And now you’re 10 and [13], and you still have these tattoos on your face and it’s not even who you are anymore,” explains Gellar, who rose to stardom on All My Children and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. “That’s a very hard concept for young kids to grasp.”

Still, she has no qualms about enforcing the rules with her busy family.

“I believe kids need to know what their limitations are, and they actually thrive in that environment. We’re not mean, we’re not unnecessarily strict, but we have rules,” the actress says. “And the same way I abide by my code of rules, I expect the same from our children.”

[From Yahoo]

Sarah and Freddie’s sense that they’re strict is likely relative to raising kids in Hollywood. Social media is used differently in their circle. Many people, including Sarah and Freddie, use it as a part of the livelihood. So they’re more liberal when it comes to their kids because it’s so prevalent in the home already. In that environment, I’m sure Sarah looks like the strict mom not letting her kid have a TikTok. By contrast, their rules are pretty normal for my kids and their friends, and I’m not considered strict. But everyone follows my rules when they are in my home, just like my kids follows their friends’ parents’ rules in their homes. But that’s suburbia, not moneyed Hollywood.

I like Sarah’s face tattoo analogy, actually, because of the reasons she cites. And those are the kinds of calls parents need to make for kids before they get free reign of unlimited content. Because a child grows and matures so much in those years. And Sarah and Freddie aren’t isolating their kids from their Hollywood world, just introducing it slowly. Sarah recently brought Charlotte to her Do Revenge premiere, which was incredibly rare to see a Prinze child on the Red Carpet. Charlotte looked adorable in a hot pink double-breasted suit and tennis shoes, too. So maybe Sarah and Freddie are Hollywood Strict, but they seem to have it figured out for their family.

Side-note: this clip of Sarah getting emotional watching Selma Blair compete on Dancing With the Stars will also make you emotional. *sniff*

Embed from Getty Images

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sarah Michelle (@sarahmgellar)

Photo credit: Avalon Red, Getty Images and Instagram

Adam Levine performed in Las Vegas and Behati Prinsloo was there, supporting him. She honestly didn’t seem fazed at all by the cheating stories. [Dlisted]
The music video for Sam Smith & Kim Petras’s “Unholy.” [OMG Blog]
Leo DiCaprio & Gigi Hadid were/are in Paris. Camila Morrone was also in Paris. Did that get awkward? Such middle-school drama, my God. [LaineyGossip]
Lashana Lynch wore a sparkly Jenny Packham. [RCFA]
Lea Michele wore Michael Kors on The Tonight Show. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Review of Hocus Pocus 2: Rise of the Pocus. [Pajiba]
Chris Pratt & Katherine Schwarzenegger went to lunch in LA. [JustJared]
Jodie Turner Smith is gorgeous but this dress is so bad. [GFY]
More criticism for Netflix’s Dahmer. [Buzzfeed]
The FBI watched Aretha Franklin for forty years. [Towleroad]
Irina Shayk walked the runway for Vivienne Westwood. [Egotastic]
Tom Brady doesn’t want any 9-year-olds to date his daughter. [Gawker]

King Charles III’s coronation is months away, likely to be scheduled for spring 2023. While Charles wants to dial down the excess, there’s no way to avoid dusting off all of the stolen, looted or “gifted” jewels. Queen Camilla will reportedly wear the Queen Mum’s crown, which features the Koh-i-noor diamond. The Princess of Wales will be expected to wear one of the larger tiaras, I suspect. But again, all of that is months away. What if Camilla and Kate want to get their hands on all of those jewels right now? Well, they’ll give us a preview in November, when KC3 hosts his first state dinner as sovereign.

Tiara time is looming! Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla are set to dazzle in stunning headpieces as King Charles III hosts his first state visit as monarch next month. Buckingham Palace announced that the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, and his wife, Dr. Tshepo Motsepe, will be in the U.K. between Nov. 22 and 24.

Although the itinerary has not been released, it is likely that a glittering state banquet at Buckingham Palace will be a centerpiece of the visit, meaning Princess Kate, Queen Camilla and other royal guests will be resplendent in some of the royal jewels. As the most senior royals aside from King Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Kate — the new Prince and Princess of Wales — will take a central role in helping host the South African leader and his businesswoman wife over the three days.

Kate, 40, attended her first state banquet in 2015, helping the late Queen Elizabeth host the Chinese President of China, Xi Jinping, and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan.

[From People]

Yeah, Kate and William haven’t actually been to very many state dinners and banquets over the years. They’ve been married for over eleven years, and I think they’ve maybe attended four state dinners in that time? Granted, it’s not like QEII threw down the red carpet for every visiting head of state, but I was consistently surprised by how little effort William and Kate made to be included in the soft-power diplomacy moves of the crown. I mean, consider how many state events Charles has participated in throughout his time as PoW, and you realize how William-at-40 comes into this role as a complete lightweight with little to no background in wining and dining VIPs. That’s why there’s such an emphasis on “tiara moments” and jewelry. Because that’s all this couple really has – no thoughts, no strengths, just Kate’s access to jewelry.

All that being said, I do think Kate will get a tiara upgrade now. Usually, she’d only been given the Cartier Halo, the Lotus Flower Tiara or the Lover’s Knot tiara. I bet we’ll see her in something else for this state dinner.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.