This is Part 2 of our coverage of Katie Nicholl’s The New Royals. Part of Nicholl’s new book was excerpted in Vanity Fair’s October issue, although this excerpt seems to have been furiously rewritten the second Queen Elizabeth II passed away. In Part 2 of my coverage, Nicholl discusses the Sussexit and how it’s screwed up Prince William’s plans to lean on his younger brother forever. I don’t doubt it – the royal establishment has made it perfectly clear that Harry falling in love with a beautiful American woman and leaving his toxic f–king family was never part of their plan. In fact, their plan seemed to be “Harry needs to stay single forever, to support William.” Nicholl also casually suggests that the Duchess of Sussex really should have stuck around so she could be diversity set dressing for the monarchy, even if they treated her like sh-t from the word go. Maybe if Meghan was super-important to the monarchy, they could have treated her well? I guess not. Some more highlights from VF’s excerpt:

The Sussexes probably would have done a better Caribbean tour: Had Harry, who had been assigned a prominent role as a Commonwealth ambassador on the queen’s behalf, been on the tour with Meghan, the optics might have played out differently. Sadly, the significant role Harry and Meghan were expected to play in the life of the Commonwealth—their interracial marriage emblematic of equality, diversity, and unity—was lost when they left. The royal family is an institution based on white inherited privilege. Its future lies in the hands of three white men, and that is a fundamental problem in a diverse country such as Britain and across the countries of the Commonwealth too. Meghan played a huge part in relieving some of this tension; the loss of all she represents as a biracial woman in the royal family, as well as her energy and talent, has had a real impact.

The Third Way: Harry and Meghan press ahead with what some have called a “third way” of being royals, capitalizing on their new lives in America, their glamorous and richly endowed alternative court is a contrast to the House of Windsor. It remains to be seen whether they will ever reconcile with their family.

Harry & Meghan’s stop in Windsor before the Invictus Games: Some progress was made, however, when Harry and Meghan stopped off in Britain on their way to The Hague. Charles insisted on meeting Harry and Meghan before their audience with the queen. According to one insider, he wanted to make sure Harry wouldn’t be able to sweet-talk her the way Andrew had and get her to agree to anything without Charles’s say-so.

The meeting with Charles & Camilla: The meeting with Charles and Camilla was more awkward than their cordial tea with the queen. The Sussexes were late, and Charles had just 15 minutes with his son and daughter-in-law before he had to leave for the Royal Maundy Service at Windsor Castle, where he was standing in for the queen for the very first time. While father and son are said to have greeted each other warmly, there were moments of tension. “Harry went in with hugs and the best of intentions and said he wanted to clear the air,” according to a family friend. “He actually suggested that they use a mediator to try and sort things out, which had Charles somewhat bemused and Camilla spluttering into her tea. She told Harry it was ridiculous and that they were a family and would sort it out between themselves.”

William’s ass still hurts about the Sussexit: For Charles and William, the situation with the Sussexes hasn’t just been hurtful and upsetting on a personal level. There have been real repercussions, particularly for William, whose young family has been thrust into the spotlight prematurely. He always expected Harry would be his wingman; there was a long-term plan in place for the brothers to work together and support one another. After Harry announced their departure, William summoned aides to address the future, in what has been referred to by some in William’s circle as the “Anmer Summit.” But William and Kate also felt a sense of relief, that “the drama was gone” when Harry and Meghan left, as a source told me. To this day, William still cannot forgive his brother.

Harry’s big shadow: The brothers’ estrangement also threatens to cast a shadow over Charles’s reign and possibly William’s. Charles knows his public reputation could suffer if he is seen to be turning his back on his youngest son. The queen, who was deeply hurt by Harry’s decision to leave his family and the country, nonetheless ensured the door was always open for her grandson and his wife and children to return. For now Frogmore House is still theirs.

Charles will continue to try to heal the rift: Those close to Charles say he won’t stop trying to heal the rift with his son, as he made sure Harry and Meghan were by the family’s side at the queen’s funeral. “He is hurt and disappointed but he has always said his love for Harry is unconditional,” says a friend, adding that Charles also wants to have a role as a grandparent to Archie and Lilibet.

Archie & Lilibet’s titles: We know titles matter to Charles, and he reportedly wants to limit them to the top tier of royals. He is also reportedly reluctant for his brother Prince Edward to take the title Duke of Edinburgh, even though it was their late father’s wish. So what is he considering in relation to his family so far overseas yet still intent on leveraging their royal links? Would Charles go as far as barring Archie and Lilibet from becoming a prince and a princess now that the Sussexes are no longer working royals? According to a source close to the king, “it depends a lot on what happens in the coming months, particularly with Harry’s book and their TV show.”

William & Harry’s strained relationship: There is still coolness between William and Harry—and on William’s part, a serious lack of trust. I asked a senior aide who has been close to William and Harry for decades what he thought about the brothers’ falling out and the prospect of two rival courts, the Sussexes and the Waleses. He offered a far more optimistic answer than some: “Actually, the more you see about how the Sussexes are approaching these things, it is much more Californian, much closer aligned to activism and celebrity than it is to royalty. The point about royalty is it’s the only institution that links together civic society, the philanthropic world, and establishment.” That person added, “The Sussexes know they’re not able to compare to them. The key point is that they’re not even trying. What they are doing is making a difference in their politico-philanthropic world, and that’s great.”

[From Vanity Fair]

The fundamental miscalculation of all of the British commentators and biographers is assuming that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in any way eager to reconcile or return to the UK or be back in the fold in any way. All of the commentary is predicated on that falsehood, that if this or that happens, suddenly Harry would come back, that he secretly wants nothing more than to dump his wife and children in America and come running back. Nicholl makes the same mistake as everyone else, acting as if everything is fundamentally William’s call or Charles’s call. The fact that the king and the Prince of Wales are basically supporting players to Prince Harry’s super-stardom has thrown everything into disarray. I’m also curious if Nicholl will even bother trying to present anything from the Sussexes’ side, like why they left in the first place, or how Meghan and Harry’s statements in the Oprah interview are verifiable.

Also: “There have been real repercussions, particularly for William, whose young family has been thrust into the spotlight prematurely. He always expected Harry would be his wingman; there was a long-term plan in place for the brothers to work together and support one another.” Again, the “long-term plan” was that Harry would never marry and William would take credit for Harry’s work and Harry would stay silent as William threw Harry to the wolves to cover up his affairs.

Oh, and I think Harry’s idea about getting a neutral third-party mediator is really great? It’s clear that the family is toxic as f–k and they all need a great deal of therapy. Why not? If Charles actually wants to have a relationship with his son and grandchildren, he might want to consider it. It’s also fascinating because Harry has not leaked one single thing about his conversations with his father, per Charles’s explicit request. Meanwhile, Charles has been openly leaking against Harry for months now.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

We knew a few months ago that Katie Nicholl was doing a new royal book, called (obviously enough) The New Royals. Nicholl’s book is one of a dozen tomes set to be released around the same time as Prince Harry’s memoir. All of these royal biographers and commentators will be lamenting and bashing Harry for telling his own story when they’re all clearly trying to profit from telling highly selective versions of his story. For what it’s worth, Nicholl has always been known as more of a Middleton-specific biographer, although from I can see, she’s trying hard to convince everyone that she has sources deep within the new king’s court, as well the royal court of Montecito. Nicholl’s The New Royals got a lengthy excerpt in Vanity Fair, and I’m splitting up the excerpt into two posts. This is Part One: King Charles III and The Heirs.

Charles’s woes. Closest to home are: his youngest son and daughter-in-law’s familial abdication and the complete disgrace of his brother Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who has been stripped of his honorary titles and royal role. Charles is said to desperately want to reconcile with his son Harry, but it remains to be seen if the rift which caused the queen so much upset will ever be truly resolved. Charles and William, however, are unified in the decision that Prince Andrew will never represent the family on the public stage again.

The Commonwealth & Scotland: Charles is acutely aware that the future of this voluntary group of nations [the Commonwealth] is uncertain, and he has said it is “‘a matter for each member country to decide.” But what worries him more than any of this, according to my sources, is the existential threat to the United Kingdom posed by the Scottish independence movement. “His absolute preoccupation is keeping the union intact,” according to a close friend. “His view is that if he ends up being the King of England, then the kingdom would be diminished and it would become a huge issue in terms of our global status.”

King Charles’s coronation, reportedly code-named Operation Golden Orb: His coronation is expected to be shorter and less expensive than his mother’s, and the new king wants the public to witness the experience just as they did his accession. The ceremony will likely highlight the line of succession, with William, Kate, and their children featured more prominently than other members of the family. Camilla will reportedly wear the Queen Mother’s crown, made for King George VI’s coronation in 1937, with its bewitching central diamond, the 105.6-carat Koh-i-Nûr (meaning “mountain of light” in Persian). In this way Charles will align his wife with his beloved grandmother, the last queen consort to be crowned in the UK, whose memory is still treasured by many Britons.

Charles doesn’t want to see the end of the Commonwealth: “I imagine it is important to Prince Charles that the Commonwealth won’t die with him,” notes constitutional expert Alastair Bruce. “No one wants to be holding the institution when a significant part of its profile is taken away. That’s not going to happen in the next reign, but it’s up to the Commonwealth where it goes in the longer term.”

The photogenic (?) Waleses: They will be showing off their photogenic family, as they are doing more and more. George, Charlotte, and Louis, who had starring roles at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, are being raised by their parents with an awareness of their positions and the roles they will one day carry out in support of the monarchy. George knows that like his papa, he will one day be king, while Charlotte will likely juggle the role of being the spare with a career. Louis could well be a private citizen undertaking occasional royal duties, like William and Harry’s cousins Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, as well as princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Inevitably, because he is an heir, there will be more pressure on George, something William and Kate are acutely aware of.

Another move coming for William and Kate: They recently downsized, moving from Kensington Palace into the much smaller and more discreet Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park and moving their three children into the private Lambrook School in Berkshire this month. Their next move, I am told, will be into Windsor Castle. Their incarnation of British royalty looks more like today’s Spanish royal family with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia on the throne, or perhaps Denmark’s, where Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian-born wife, Crown Princess Mary, are poised to succeed. And the appealing prospect of King William and Queen Catherine with Prince George next in line may quell any rumblings of discontent in a country reigned over by an aging King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla.

[From Vanity Fair]

The fact that Charles plans to crown Camilla with the Kohinoor is disgusting to me. India wants it back and Britain has every reason to give back the stolen treasure. It also continues to be profoundly disturbing that Charles truly wants his wife draped in his grandmother’s jewels constantly. The Queen Mum left all of her jewelry to Charles, and Charles in turn gave it all to Camilla. He loves when she wears his grandmother’s pieces. It’s… a lot. And now Cam will wear the Queen Mum’s crown? Nope.

As for Charles’s well-placed concerns about Scotland and the Commonwealth… I agree with the people who say that Charles has pretty much given up on the Commonwealth. He knows he’s going to “lose” most if not all of those countries. Which is why he’s so focused on the United Kingdom – if Scotland gets independence, all hell breaks loose for the monarchy. And for the UK as we know it.

As for William and Kate’s kids… Charlotte will be a spare with a career and Louis will be a private citizen? I thought that the Declaration of the Sandringham Summit of 2020 was that there is no “half-in” for HRH royal princes? And now it turns out that Charlotte will have a career AND be a princess, and Lou will be a private citizen? Huh.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, book cover courtesy of VF.

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Ashley Greene and her husband, Paul Khoury, just welcomed their first baby, a girl they named Kingsley Rainn Khoury. I don’t think I’ve seen Ashley in anything since the Twilight series, but I’ve seen plenty of her pap and event pictures. According to his Instagram, Paul is a “Director | Entrepreneur | Story Teller | Artist.” Cool! Ashley and Paul got married in 2018 and announced they were expecting a baby in March 2022. And now baby Kingsley Rainn is here and the new parents are thrilled.

Sink your teeth into this good news: Ashley Greene is now a mom!

The Twilight actress and husband Paul Khoury welcomed their first child together, a baby girl named Kingsley Rainn Khoury, on Sept. 16.

“And just like that – everything changed,” the couple shared on Instagram on Sept. 19. “In a single moment, you came into our world and everything else faded away. Nothing else mattered. The love we’re engulfed in cannot be explained, only felt in the deepest of ways. We love you so much baby girl. Welcome to our world.”

The arrival of their daughter comes nearly six months after the Aftermath actress shared images of herself hugging Paul as they held photos of their baby’s sonogram.

“I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything and somehow my heart just keeps expanding to love you EVEN more,” she captioned the March 25 post. “I cannot wait to watch you share your light, love, and passion with our baby.”

In July, Ashley showed off her growing baby bump in a steamy nude shower photo on Instagram, writing, “Baby Khoury coming soon…”

The newborn joins the family more than four years after the actress tied the knot with Paul in July 2018 during an outdoor ceremony at the Nestldown retreat in Los Gatos, Calif. The bride wore an all-white Katie May wedding gown, while the groom sported a dark-colored suit with a calla lily boutonniere.

A source told E! News at the time, “It was a beautiful and unique venue with redwood groves, waterfalls and beautiful ponds with lily pads.”

Several of Ashley’s celebrity friends attended the nuptials, including her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, Aaron Paul and his wife Lauren Paul, Evan Ross, Josh Duhamel, Eiza Gonzáles and Cara Santana.

[From Yahoo! Entertainment]

I like the name Kingsley for a girl. It’s unique without being wtf. Rainn and variations of it seems to be a pretty popular middle name, but it’s good they broke up the alliteration with another letter. Overall, a very cute name! Ashley is quite active on Instagram, including with her bump photos, so I’m a bit surprised her birth announcement IG was so restrained! Also surprising? That they got married in 2018. I really didn’t know she was married, but from the article it seems that their wedding was very well-attended. One might even say, star-studded. Ashley’s celebrity friends sort of belie her status in Hollywood, actually. Anyway, congrats to the new parents on their baby. In a world of surprising celebrity pregnancies, especially during covid, it’s nice that they waited a few years after marrying to have a baby.

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I now know that Ashley and I share the same favorite ice cream.

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Millie Bobby Brown covers the September issue of Allure. The editorial isn’t great, but it is youthful and fun, if that makes sense. I understand why they would do something lighter and silly with MBB – I think there’s too much of an urge to treat her as a mature woman as opposed to an 18-year-old who has already dealt with more than her fair share of bullsh-t. MBB splits her time between her home in England and her work-home in Atlanta. She’s making money, she’s got a production company, she’s got a beauty-brand side business and she sounds like she’s in a pretty good place in her life.

On deciding to become a child actor: “My parents were like, ‘Well, it is a job. And if you commit to it, you have to commit to it. You can’t audition and then give up.’ So I was like, ‘I don’t care. Whatever it takes, I want to act.’”

She loved working so much as a kid: “I enjoyed being different people because I always struggled with self-identity and knowing who I was. Even as a young person, I always felt like I didn’t quite belong in every room I was in. I also struggle with loneliness a bit. I always felt quite alone in a crowded room, like I was just one of a kind, like nobody ever really understood me. So I liked [playing] characters that people understood [and] people could relate to because I felt like no one could relate to Millie.”

At the age of 10, she was told that she was “too mature” to make it as an actress: “I always knew that I was mature and I couldn’t really help that. Going back to what I said earlier about being kind of very lonely in who I was and feeling like no one was quite like me in school and no one was as mature as I was, [hearing that] was really hard because I thought [maturity] was a good thing. And then being told that it wasn’t, that I wouldn’t make it in this industry, it was so hurtful. I got really down about that.”

Her beauty brand, Florence by Mills: “I don’t know anything about beauty and skin care. That’s why I created this. I’m going to take you on this journey with me, so we can learn more about botanicals, serums, fruit and vegetable extracts, enzymes. Things that are so important for your skin, but we don’t know about because we’re young. Everything’s antiaging, everything is depuffing. We don’t know what that means. I need to know more. And I know our generation needs to know more.”

She deleted all of her social media apps: Now Millie only speaks directly to fans via blog posts that read like diary entries on the Florence by Mills website. It works because, as she says, “Nobody can comment.”

She walked away from an “unhealthy situation” with TikTok star Hunter Ecimovic in January 2021: “I felt very vulnerable. Also, no one on the set knew I was going through this. So it was kind of nice to be able to just deal with that myself and no one else knew. Then it was harder when the whole world knew…”

After Ecimovic was disgusting about her online “It was a year of healing. When you get publicly humiliated this way, I felt so out of control and powerless. Walking away and knowing that I’m worth everything and this person didn’t take anything from me, it felt very empowering. It felt like my life had finally turned a page and that I actually had ended a chapter that felt so f–king long. Ultimately, all I wanted to do within my career is help young girls and young people out there know that I, too, go through things. I’m not this perfect person that is selling skin-care products and [who is] in Stranger Things. I absolutely have made wrong decisions.”

[From Allure]

She IS shockingly mature. Older people might call her an “old soul” or “old before her time.” Just the way she speaks of a toxic relationship that exploded online with millions of people watching… I wouldn’t have that grace and healing and I’m more than twice her age. And to understand that yes, you can make some mistakes and date some f–king douchebags and you can survive and thrive. She shouldn’t have gone through all of that at what? The age of 16/17. The sad fact is that she’s so mature because she had to be this mature and handle her own sh-t, because the adults around her weren’t protecting her.

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We got a rare sighting of Timothy Olyphant this week! [LaineyGossip]
Adnan Syed was released from prison! [Pajiba]
RyanAir got a new social media person. [OMG Blog]
The UK’s Channel 5 aired The Emoji Movie instead of QEII’s funeral. [Dlisted]
What was the deal with the broken stick at QEII’s funeral? [Gawker]
Whoa, I did not see Nicholas Hoult’s Emmy bellbottoms! [RCFA]
Kim Kardashian bought a $70 million Malibu mansion. [JustJared]
Viola Davis & the cast of The Woman King are having fun! [GFY]
A Texas sheriff has opened an investigation into Ron DeSantis’s state-organized human trafficking operation. [Buzzfeed]
Pres. Biden talks about Donald Trump’s top-secret documents. [Towleroad]
Bella Hadid wore a backless Alexander McQueen. [Egotastic]
Lennie Alehat launches an online store. [Starcasm]

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Margot Robbie is in New York this week to promote her latest film, Amsterdam. Amsterdam was directed by David O. Russell, who has a long history of being rude, abusive and problematic (and his niece accused him of assaulting her). Considering Margot’s whole professional vibe, I’m really surprised that she signed on to work with Russell, but here we are.

Anyway, I mostly wanted to talk about her fashion. As I stared in horror at this hideous polka-dotted, twee-collared dress, I realized that I was looking at something that reminded me of Princess/Duchess Kate’s go-to style. I thought “I wonder if this is Alessandra Rich.” It is. While Rich arguably designs these monstrosities to be worn with a wink (how Margot is wearing it), it’s really crazy how this has become the default “look” of so much of mass-market women’s clothing these days. Puffy shoulders, weird collars and lapels, polka dots, ruffles, buttons, random pockets (with both buttons and ruffles). Why does everything look like this nowadays?

On Sunday, Margot also went to the New York premiere of Amsterdam. She wore Chanel to the premiere, and it’s one of the better Chanel dresses she’s worn. I like the simplicity of the top of the dress, and the tiered skirt is actually really pretty. It’s a very bridal look, but that’s fine.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

As Peridot reported over the summer, Cameron Diaz is un-retiring from acting. Or she’s back from her extended sabbatical. Or she’s finished with the world’s longest coffee break. When Cameron stepped back from acting, I’m not sure she had a plan to retire entirely, it sort of happened the more she stayed away. She went from becoming more selective, to reprioritizing and finally just not being able to make the demands of a movie set work for her anymore. I don’t remember Cameron saying she was retiring so much as other people applying that term to her and she eventually just agreed with it. Now, however, she’s dipping her toe back in the water. Her last film was Annie in 2014. While speaking to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Cameron said returning to filming was like muscle memory. After spending so much of her life doing it, the extended break melted away and she was able to just fall back into it. One big help was working with two-time co-star Jamie Foxx. That made things much easier.

Cameron Diaz isn’t masking the mixture of emotions she’s feeling as she makes her long-awaited return to performing.

The star was a guest on The Tonight Show on Friday, where host Jimmy Fallon asked about her role in director Seth Gordon’s upcoming action-comedy film Back in Action, in which she’s set to star opposite Jamie Foxx. Diaz has opted to step away from Hollywood in recent years and hasn’t appeared in a film since playing Miss Hannigan in 2014’s musical adaptation Annie.

When Fallon asked if she’s either nervous or excited to start working on the Netflix film, Diaz replied, “I’m both. It’s a little bit of muscle memory, you know what I mean? I did that for so long, it’s kind of like the process — I just fell back into it. But it feels a little bit different.”

She continued, “And I’ve also made two movies with Jamie Foxx, which is amazing. The last movie I made was Annie with Jamie, and so the first movie back is this film with Jamie.” She said about her Back in Action co-star, who also appeared with her in 1999’s Any Given Sunday: “He’s so great, he’s so easy, he’s so professional, he’s so talented. And just being able to work with him, it’ll be so much fun.”

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

I remember the late *gulp* Olivia Newton-John talking about doing her first love scene in Two of a Kind. She only agreed to it because it was with John Travolta. They were such good friends, it was the only way she could feel comfortable. So I imagine having Jamie in the film was a big part of Cameron’s decision. Not only because how they get along off set, but she knows what to expect from him as a scene partner. There are so many variables filming a movie with all the different moving parts, familiarity with the film’s star is a big relief. However, I’m fairly certain this project is in pre-production so hopefully Cameron’s predictions about falling back into everything like before will hold true once production gets rolling.

This will be the first movie Cameron’s made since her daughter Raddix was born. It’ll be a big adjustment. At least she has the luxury of picking and choosing her next projects with her wine company thriving and husband Benji Madden to take on child care. As Cameron told Goop in 2020, the demands of a film set left her out of control. As Cameron put it, “For months on end, you have no time for anything else. I realized I handed off parts of my life to all these other people, and they took it.” Cameron is reentering her career with a better understanding of what it took from her before. That can make all the difference. I’m glad she’s coming back because she wants to and on her terms. I hope it proves to be the experience she’s hoping for.

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As we discussed throughout the “mourning period” in the UK, the decisions made about Prince Harry’s (lack of) military uniform were not even popular within the British media and royal-commentary community. When even Piers Morgan and Penny Junor are saying that King Charles III made the wrong call about something Sussex-related, you know it’s pretty bad. Usually the default is “the Sussexes are wrong, no matter what.” Harry releasing a statement saying the uniform stuff is unimportant and the focus should be on his grandmother? That also underlined the fact that these were unpopular decisions being imposed on Harry, explicitly as punishment. Well, the commentators are still discussing the fact that King Charles III and his aides removed the “EIIIR” insignia on Harry’s uniform at the grandchildren’s vigil on Saturday:

The uniforms worn by royal family members for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral have been a topic of conversation — and for one author, a “disappointment” in the celebration of the monarch’s life.

Although Prince Harry wore a suit instead of his military apparel for the events surrounding his grandmother’s funeral, an exception was made for him to wear the uniform at Saturday’s vigil with the Queen’s eight grandchildren. However, the uniform did not have “EIIR” symbol — standing for Elizabeth Regina, which means Queen in Latin, along with the middle symbols indicating she is the second Queen Elizabeth.

“I thought it wasn’t necessary to strip Harry of his EIIR — it doesn’t look good, whatever the rights and wrongs of protocols,” the royal biographer tells PEOPLE. “That was the only disappointment.”

“I’m sure all of them wouldn’t want the headlines to be about Harry and Meghan,” adds Junor. “They were united in thinking that was not what today was all about.”

[From People]

When even Penny Junor is saying something is too petty, it’s too f–king petty. Disrespectfully petty. What I keep thinking is… this is how King Charles III wanted to start his reign! He wanted the focus to be on his first hostile acts as king – banning the Duchess of Sussex from Balmoral, briefing against his son and daughter-in-law in the media, punishing Harry by banning him from wearing a uniform, the indignity of removing his commander-in-chief’s insignia. This wasn’t just a punitive message to Harry, it was massively disrespectful to veterans and British servicemen and women.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

We still haven’t heard anything about King Charles III’s coronation. Which isn’t really surprising? When he was Prince of Wales, Charles liked to schedule things way in advance, and he was regularly “booked” for months. It will take a while for the old schedules to be thrown out and canceled and for his new schedule as king to be filled up. My guess is still that the coronation will be next spring, probably early May. That’s when I would schedule it if I was in his place, but clearly they don’t listen to me! Meanwhile, while everything gets reorganized now that the funeral is done, King Charles III has flown to Scotland to observe the extended period of mourning.

King Charles has flown to Scotland to begin a royal period of mourning after tearfully burying his mother The Queen. His Majesty is expected to visit Balmoral castle where the Queen died 12 days ago. He could also spend some time at Birkhall, his Scottish home on the Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire. The Royal Family will be in mourning for another seven days at the new monarch’s wish.

King Charles left RAF Northolt on a private jet with Queen Camilla this morning. Police removed their helmets and bowed as he stepped onto the flight.

Yesterday he buried his mother during a service in Windsor. The service was for senior royals only – and completely private – but one senior royal source told the Evening Standard: “Yes there were tears. Of course there were. But at least Her Majesty is at peace now’.”

[From The Sun]

I find it interesting that he went to Scotland. Balmoral is his now, free and clear. He has his own private homes, Castle Mey and Birkhall, not to mention the official royal Scottish residence Holyrood Palace. While I think it’s weird that KCIII isn’t getting to work immediately, I also wonder if the trip to Scotland is a bit strategic too. While the Commonwealth will fall apart almost entirely in the next three years, Charles has an immediate concern about Scottish independence. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants another independence referendum vote next year, even though the Tory rags are trying to make it sound like support for Scottish independence has taken a downturn in the wake of QEII’s passing. Um, wouldn’t it be the opposite?

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

In retrospect, there were many parts of Queen Elizabeth II’s mourning period and funeral which went very well. The Brits know how to do pageantry, and much of that stuff went off without a hitch. But in retrospect, smaller decisions were made and they turned out to be really bad, bad enough to overshadow the larger set pieces. The Windsors’ need to be seen as punitive towards the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was one of those overshadowing decisions. Another was the chaotic decision-making towards Europe’s other monarchies, like putting kings and queens on buses and making a point to uninvite Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary. Considering the complete randos who turned up at the funeral, it looks especially bad that the Windsors made such a point of “uninviting” CP Mary. Now it looks like Buckingham Palace won’t even apologize to her directly – they’ve left the Foreign Office to clean up the mess.

The Foreign Office has offered its ‘profound apologies’ to the Danish Royal family after Princess Mary was invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral by mistake. The FCDO sent an apology to the Danish Royal Household via the Danish Embassy, a spokesperson told MailOnline on Tuesday.

The Danish Royal family had originally confirmed Princess Mary’s attendance on September 13, in a statement reading: ‘HM The Queen and the Crown Prince Couple [will be] present at the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II’.

The invitation mistakenly led the Danish Royal family to believe that Queen Margrethe II’s guest, her son Prince Frederik, could also bring a plus one. However, in a statement released days later, they said that only, ‘Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Crown Prince’ would ‘participate from Denmark’ – making no mention of Princess Mary’s absence.

It has been claimed the ‘regrettable error’ was made due to the Foreign Office having to ‘send out many invitations within a short space of time.’ Protocol meant that official invites were sent to current heads of state who were allowed to bring one guest to the state funeral.

But questions remain over why the Dutch and Spanish Royal families had at least three guests each. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, of the Netherlands, were accompanied by his mother Princess Beatrix to Westminster Abbey yesterday. Meanwhile, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia attended the late monarch’s funeral, with the former King Juan Carlos I and his wife Sofia also present.

A Foreign office spokesperson said: ‘The FCDO has passed on their profound apologies to the Danish Royal Household through the Danish Embassy.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Yep – if exiled and abdicated Juan Carlos gets a place of honor at the funeral, it makes no sense that CP Mary couldn’t come. Sandra Oh was there, for goodness sake. Sarah Ferguson was there, for goodness sake. Every half-cousin twice removed was there. But not the Crown Princess of Belgium. Part of me really does wonder if there were “concerns” in Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace about Mary in particular, simply because she is so attractive and accomplished. They couldn’t find a way to uninvite Queen Letizia, you know.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Danish Royal House, Avalon Red.