Queen Elizabeth II has passed away at the age of 96, in the year of her Platinum Jubilee. The past three years were trying for her, with the pandemic, the HMS Bubble, the loss of her beloved husband Prince Philip, the infighting among her family and a lot more. But it did feel, at one point, like she was back out in the world and enjoying herself in the last year. A series of mysterious health issues contributed to her long goodbye, and she passed away peacefully in one of her favorite places, her Scottish retreat Balmoral.

She was surrounded by all four of her adult children and a few of her grandchildren, including Prince William. I don’t believe Prince Harry had made it to Balmoral in time to say goodbye to his grandmother, but he did get to see her back in April and June, and he got to introduce her to her great-granddaughter Lilibet.

Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and the nation’s figurehead for seven decades, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

“The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

Her eldest son Charles, 73, automatically becomes king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

[From Reuters]

Elizabeth became Queen in 1952, when Winston Churchill was prime minister and the UK was still dealing with a post-war slump. She saw and met countless prime ministers, presidents, kings, princes, queens and despots. She loved corgis and gin and she was beloved by a nation. Welcome to the world, King Charles.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Instar and Cover Images.

Tilda Swinton looked regal in Haider Ackerman in Venice. [OMG Blog]
Sheree Whitfield finally debuted her clothing line. [Dlisted]
Emily Ratajkowski is using social media to slam her ex. [LaineyGossip]
Natasha Lyonne looked fabulous in Venice. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Hugh Bonneville out here looking like Paul Hollywood. [Pajiba]
Zendaya and her ugly boots. [JustJared]
This dress is actually very cool on Jodie Turner Smith. [GFY]
Nicole Kidman’s AMC ad is camp. [Buzzfeed]
German bishop: homosexuality is God’s will! [Towleroad]
Bella Hadid’s last days of summer by the lake. [Egotastic]
The trailer for the Real Housewives of the Potomac is here! [Starcasm]
I really like both of the Obamas’ portraits, actually. [Gawker]

On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth was photographed for the first time since mid-July. Her health reportedly took a bad turn in Scotland, and she’s been experiencing additional “mobility problems” in Balmoral. But they still made her stand to receive Liz Truss, the new prime minister, and provide those “proof of life” photos to the British public. Twenty-four hours after those photos were released, Buckingham Palace announced that she was postponing her Privy Council meeting “after being advised by doctors to rest.” The meeting was supposed to happen Wednesday evening. It’s been postponed indefinitely and the Queen, we were told, will remain in Balmoral for the time being.

That was going to be the story I would write about today, that the Queen is now canceling/postponing her important Privy Council meetings and it sounds pretty bad. Then this:

The Queen is under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health, Buckingham Palace says.

“Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision,” they said in a statement.

“The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”

Her immediate family has been informed.

The announcement comes after the Queen, 96, pulled out of a virtual Privy Council on Wednesday, with doctors advising her to rest.

Prime Minister Liz Truss said the “whole country” would be “deeply concerned” by the news.

“My thoughts – and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom – are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family at this time,” she added.

[From The BBC]

Apparently that notice was read out in Parliament too, so it’s pretty official. This is not idle speculation – the Queen’s health has taken a significant turn for the worse over the course of the past two months. Her mobility issues are severe, and I would assume that there are many other things happening now. They’ve been telegraphing a lot of stuff recently, it’s interesting that the Palace is now coming out and alerting people that the Queen is now under constant medical supervision.

Update #1: Charles has already landed in Balmoral via helicopter and Prince William is now headed to Scotland this morning. That’s how significant it is.

Update #2: Camilla traveled with Charles to Balmoral, and Princess Anne is also on her way back. Anne was in Scotland already, so she should be there shortly. According to Rebecca English, the Wessexes are also on their way back to Balmoral and Prince Andrew is headed there as well.

Update #3: The Sussexes are apparently en route to Scotland now as well. Their spokesman confirmed that they are traveling to Balmoral.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Buckingham Palace is absolutely telegraphing that the end is nigh for Queen Elizabeth II. The whole thing started with the Palace’s announcement mid-day (GMT) that the Queen was now under medical supervision and “the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health.” They said the Queen “remains comfortable.” It feels like the British media is already beginning to execute Operation London Bridge, the detailed planning for all of what is about to happen. Operation London Bridge involves how the Queen’s passing is announced, what is done by the Windsors in the days, weeks and months to follow, the Queen’s funeral and Charles’s first days as king. The BBC has transitioned over to full coverage of the Windsors. There’s one BBC correspondent now saying that there have been “rumours of cancers” although that’s never been reported.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived at Balmoral by helicopter soon after the Palace confirmed that the Queen’s health has taken a turn for the worse. Prince William was the next to confirm that he is en route to Balmoral, but Kate has been left at Windsor with the kids (it’s the Cambridge kids’ first day of school). The Earl of Wessex and his wife Sophie, Princess Anne and the Duke of York have now all traveled to Scotland – they got there fast, probably because they were told about the Queen before the Palace released that statement. Everyone thinks it’s notable that Kate is the only “wife of” not going to Balmoral. I… kind of understand why she would want to be there for her kids’ first day of a new school though.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now en route to Scotland as well, even though they were scheduled to make an appearance at the WellChild Awards this evening. No one is saying whether Harry and Meghan have officially canceled their appearance at WellChild, but I’m assuming that. I would also think that if the sad event happens today, every event is going to be canceled in the UK anyway.

Update: Now Omid Scobie is saying that Meghan, like Kate, has stayed behind in Windsor. Prince Harry apparently flew up to Scotland alone.

A source has shared an update stating that only Prince Harry has made the trip up to Balmoral.

Like the Duchess of Cambridge (who is in Windsor with their three children), the Duchess of Sussex is staying back in England (but still not attending tonight’s WellChild Awards).

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) September 8, 2022

NEW: Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are travelling to Balmoral Castle. They were supposed to be doing a charity event in London this evening.

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) September 8, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

The Duke (Dook) and Duchess of Cambridge surprised everyone except their Daily Mail handlers with some photos at Lambrook yesterday. We were supposed to get the “first day of school” photos today, this morning. But William and Kate took the kids – all dressed in their new school uniforms – to a preview day at Lambrook. Apparently, there was a set-up with one friendly photographer and one videographer, and then the Cambridges released the photos and video. They filmed it like a lil’ a real movie scene, the improbable white heroes rounding a corner, the sun shining only on them as Kate held her sons’ hands and William held Charlotte’s hand:

I think William was trying to hold Louis’s hand and Lou was like “nah.” As for Kate… fresh blowout, janky wig attached, and wearing a £245 Rixo dress which looks totally ‘80s. Kate’s love affair with polka dots is (again) fundamentally an extensive of her love of buttons. She loves small, round things. Polka dots are fabric buttons.

Anyway, such big changes for these kids. Suddenly, they’re moved into a much smaller “cottage” in Windsor, they are going to a new school, they will have to make new friends at Lambrook, and they’re probably not going to see much of William these days. To make matters worse, apparently they didn’t even get to move all of their stuff into Adelaide Cottage? If only there was an Early Years expert around to help these kids transition into these kinds of radical changes to their lives and routines.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Camila Morrone was seen out with her two dogs, so it looks like she got full custody of the pups. She’s also moving into a new apartment? [LaineyGossip]
Justin Bieber canceled the rest of his tour due to his health issues. [Dlisted]
Dr. Oz has some disgusting thoughts about incest. [Jezebel]
Rachel Brosnahan wore Versace in Venice and it’s kind of meh? [RCFA]
Sadie Sink’s complicated fashion backstory! [Go Fug Yourself]
Will Olivia Wilde end up in Director Jail? Very likely. [Gawker]
This year’s CMA nominations are out & Taylor Swift got one? [Just Jared]
Some thoughts on Leonardo DiCaprio and his exes. [Pajiba]
These “warning signs” that layoffs are coming are all pretty obvious, but I guess the younger people need to learn them. [Buzzfeed]
A violent homophobic church is facing eviction. [Towleroad]
Jennifer Lawrence’s “73 Questions” with Vogue. [Egotastic]
Misha Collins’ kids gave him a makeover.[Seriously OMG]

It’s safe to say that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are panicked. Maybe they’ve been panicking for three years. Maybe longer. William showed his jealous hand when he demanded a trip to New York so HE could speak at the United Nations, just like Prince Harry. Except the UN didn’t want him, so now Mike Bloomberg has to spend the money to rent out some basement room somewhere so Peggington can have an “Earthshot Summit.” It’s extremely desperate. What’s worse is that it’s pretty clear now that Kensington Palace is trying to drive a narrative that the Sussexes are no longer popular in America, so Americans will fully embrace Peggington and Jeggington. KP clearly commissioned Camilla Tominey’s Sussex hit piece last week, and over the weekend, the Mail had a piece called “Are William and Kate about to steal Harry and Meghan’s US crown? America’s love affair with its adopted royals seems to be on the wane – but a new favourite may arrive as the Duke of Cambridge prepares for two State-side visits to promote Earthshot mission.” Peg, you are one silly bitch. This piece is completely BONKERS.

Peggington’s high watermark: When the Duke of Cambridge goes to New York later this month, it will be a new high watermark in all his years of public service. At the United Nations General Assembly, Prince William will have the world’s attention as he meets the city’s former mayor and billionaire philanthropist Mike Bloomberg to promote Earthshot, his annual awards for innovative solutions tackling climate change. The pair will discuss the thorny subject of how to save the planet. William is expected to be received warmly by VIPs both at the UN and by New Yorkers in general as he meets community groups.

Just LOLZ: For the [NYC] visit – his first to the city since 2014 – will come at a moment when, in the eyes of America at large, the popularity of his younger brother and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, appears to be on the wane. Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are winning hearts and minds in the US. According to a recent poll, Kate is now more than twice as popular with the American public as Meghan.

William will be more “upbeat” than Harry: William, however, is determined to remain upbeat about the environmental challenge that lies ahead. Perhaps rightly, he now sees that America is the perfect place to launch an upbeat, optimistic battle to save the planet. And as a future king, he has the sort of access to the influential elite that a lesser royal, certainly one in self-imposed exile, can only dream of.

30 staffers at Earthshot? William has hired a team of around 30 staff for Earthshot. Leading them is Hannah Jones, a British woman who has spent much of the past two decades working in corporate America. Before she accepted the job as the CEO of Earthshot this year, she worked for Nike, spending 16 years as its chief sustainability officer. It’s clear to see why William has been so enamoured with her approach, which combines ‘have-a-nice-day’ American cheerfulness and down-to-earth British common sense.

What is this mess: The Duke – or ‘Dook’, as he is known State-side – will be there to present awards and praise the huge amount of work that goes into trying to save the planet. Rather than stir up division by blaming governments and corporations, William hopes to galvanise a great wave of grassroots optimism to create innovation and change – and urge institutions to sign up.

Slow & steady: After dismissing several suggestions that it should be known as The Prince William Prize – the duke’s response was ‘no, no, no’ – the Earthshot Prize was born. His thoughtfulness looks set to stand him in good stead. And, perhaps, that is where the brothers are different. Harry’s ambition appears to be to enact immediate change – vastly different to William’s slowly-but-surely approach, which is more likely to be bring lasting results. Even in the US, where Harry is raising his family, William’s attitude appears to have won him more fans than his virtue-signalling sibling.

[From The Daily Mail]

The tone of all of this is just so strange. I’m reminded of William and Kate’s Caribbean Flop Tour, when I had the sudden realization that literally nothing that they were doing was for the audiences in Jamaica, Belize or The Bahamas. William and Kate just get sent out to pose for photos in “foreign lands” and all of it is for British consumption. That’s what William’s New York trip will be too – it’s not actually about succeeding in New York or winning over Americans. William is going to New York to pose for photos for the British media, so that they can embiggen him in the domestic press. That’s it. This whole (expensive) trip isn’t just embiggening for an American audience, it’s to give the British press fodder to write about how William is so much bigger and more impressive than Harry, and Americans loved hearing from a keen environmentalist like Peggington, trust us! It’s so bizarre.

Meanwhile, did everyone just forget that Earthshot is now an independent charity? It was removed from the sketchy financial scheme of Kensington Palace shortly after William blew £7.1 million on Earthshot keenery whilst only handing out five £1 million grants to the Earthshot winners. As in, he truly spent £7.1 million on PR rehabilitation, staging and a bloated 30-person staff just to hand out £5 million in prize money.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Instar, Avalon Red.

I’m still sort of absorbing the layers and layers of weirdness that happened in and around the Venice Film Festival premiere of Don’t Worry Darling. The Florence Pugh situation, from start to finish, obvs. But it’s also so odd that it felt like Harry Styles, like Miss Flo, needed to be separated from Olivia Wilde, and that he made zero move to even be pleasant to her or be seen looking her way. But yes, the weird moment which has captured everyone’s attention and imagination is the “did Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine” issue. I watched the video a few times on Tuesday, and after about three or four viewings, I did believe Styles spit on Pine. I’ve since watched it again and now I feel even more strongly about it: Styles absolutely spit on Pine.

#HarryStyles appears to spit on Chris Pine i won’t sleep until i know the truth pic.twitter.com/wLXjIHTYgU

— JZMaclin (@Mac70J) September 6, 2022

Of course, there are other videos with different angles where the “spit” isn’t as obvious. All of that is moot right now, because Chris Pine’s rep is trying to do damage control on this mess of a film promotion.

Chris Pine is breaking his silence on the viral moment in which many believe they saw Harry Styles spitting on him at the Venice International Film Festival. In a statement exclusive to PEOPLE, a rep for Pine, 42, says of the feud buzz surrounding the actor and his Don’t Worry Darling costar, 28, “This is a ridiculous story — a complete fabrication and the result of an odd online illusion that is clearly deceiving and allows for foolish speculation.”

“Just to be clear, Harry Styles did not spit on Chris Pine,” the rep continues. “There is nothing but respect between these two men and any suggestion otherwise is a blatant attempt to create drama that simply does not exist.” A rep for Styles has not commented.

[From People]

I genuinely pity Chris Pine’s rep, who had to call Pine on his flip-phone and explain Twitter and this video. Now, do I still think Styles spat on him? Yes. But I think Pine is too much of a pro and he doesn’t want to be the story. Considering the reviews, Pine wants people to completely forget that he’s in this movie. Too late!

Following the premiere of Olivia Wilde’s #DontWorryDarling, where videos recorded from the premiere showed Styles apparently spitting on Pine, Pine’s rep denied the incident occurred, calling it a “ridiculous story” and a “complete fabrication.”https://t.co/m3UUwFZnSk pic.twitter.com/pqkYyrtaQV

— Variety (@Variety) September 6, 2022

someone needs to begin a full fledged investigation into what happened on that don’t worry darling set… wdym harry styles spitting on chris pine on NATIONAL TELEVISION? pic.twitter.com/jpow9JT8pk

— ceo of kory (@korysverse) September 6, 2022

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Omid Scobie’s weekly Yahoo UK column is all about Prince William and Prince Harry and how there’s really nothing new to report, despite the British media’s unhinged focus on their relationship. I would argue – and I believe Scobie is indicating this as well – that William has gone on a briefing spree alongside the Sussexes’ visit to the UK and Germany. There’s clearly a delusional need for William to overemphasize that HE doesn’t want to see Harry… even though Harry has made it abundantly clear that he has zero time for Peggington drama. The briefing spree says more about William’s immaturity and his short-sightedness more than anything else. Anyway, Scobie has some fun tea. Let’s get into it – you can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:

On all of the stories about the Cambridges “snubbing” the Sussexes during their visit: Speak to real sources and you’ll find that the breathless speculation is questionable at best, gossip with an agenda at worst. “There’s a laughable effort to suggest the [Sussexes] have been shunned,” someone familiar with the current family dynamics tells me, adding that Sussexes kept their work-focused itinerary…as tight as possible so not to be away from their children for too long. “The true story is, they never reached out to the Cambridges.” Even a senior palace aide confessed to me, “Looking at [the coverage], you would be forgiven for thinking that certain family members have had a say in the matter. They have not.”

The Diana statue unveiling last year: Last summer, when the Duke of Sussex and Duke of Cambridge came together to unveil a statue celebrating the life of their late mother, much was made about the fact that it could become a day of reconciliation (in the end, it was not—Harry left the event just 15 minutes after their photo call). It was a similar scenario during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June—but beyond some polite hellos, there was little else to report.

Harry wants accountability: “People are desperate for steps to be made but behind the scenes there hasn’t been movement,” explains a family friend. “What [Harry] is waiting for is accountability… Many lines were crossed by William. He was at the centre of a number of painful moments, be it the actions of his own staff or turning his back when support was needed. It was a dark time and one that, so far, William has been unprepared to unpack.”

William wants an apology from Harry: Equally, adds the friend, Prince William is “still waiting” for an apology from his brother for making details of private family matters public. “When you look at the bare facts, it becomes obvious why it is pretty much the same state of affairs as years ago.”

Harry’s memoir: Though recent tabloid reports claim there is hesitation on the Cambridge side to engage with the Sussexes for fear of details ending up in Harry’s forthcoming memoir, the fact that his manuscript was finished months ago (a fact known to all family members), makes it pretty clear that the book is not an obstacle to reconciliation. It just makes for compelling clickbait.

[From Yahoo UK]

Hit after hit: “The true story is, they never reached out to the Cambridges.” And: “Looking at [the coverage], you would be forgiven for thinking that certain family members have had a say in the matter. They have not.” All of that was clear from the start. Harry and Meghan are not hiding family agendas – they came to the Jubbly because they were invited personally by the Queen, and they came to see her and pay respect to her. This week’s trip was also an open book: they were coming for charitable appearances and nothing more. William and Kate are the desperados trying to endlessly force themselves into the Sussexes’ newscycle.

As for what that “family source” says about Harry wanting accountability… that made me so sad. William expected to treat Harry and Meghan like garbage, smear them both for years and steal their work and accomplishments and then William has the delusional arrogance to believe that Harry and Meghan should never have a right to speak about how he treated them. William was always the problem.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instar and Avalon Red.

Here are more photos of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Dusseldorf on Tuesday for the Invictus Games’ “One Year To Go” event. It was cool that they did this little ceremony, and it looks like hundreds of people came out to see Harry and Meghan. Meghan got to talk to a dog too! The dog’s name is Loki and he seemed to enjoy his time with Harry & Meghan. Loki is a service dog and he wore an Invictus bandana.

Hilariously, the way the Sussexes scheduled this trip was brilliant. They stayed undercover in Windsor over the weekend while the British tabloids published all of these reports about Prince Charles and Prince William REFUSING to see them and how Meghan had slapped the Queen with words and ideas. Then the Sussexes breezed into Manchester, Meghan did her speech and Harry supported her, then they were out. The Mail ran dozens of articles crying and screaming about Manchester while Meghan and Harry were already on the ground in Dusseldorf. The Sussexes looked booked, busy, breezy and unbothered, while the British media looks obsessive, racist, nitpicky and stalkerish.

All of which to say, I’m not going to cover all of the crap those people are crying about beyond this post. Remember how the Mail was obsessed with counting the Sussexes’ bathrooms, and then the Mail had to count the words in Meghan’s The Cut profile? Well, now the Mail is counting the number of times Meghan said “I” in her Manchester speech. Deranged. Nigel Farage also called Meghan a “nobody,” which is pretty rich coming from the dumbass cozying up to the American fascists. I said yesterday that the British tabloids are incontinent with rage that Meghan said it was “nice” to be back in the UK too. Piers Morgan was practically crying with fury over that alone. So much for the narrative that Harry and Meghan are nobodies and no one pays attention to them, I guess.

Oh, and I love her trousers. I’ve been dying for the slim-cut to go out of style, and I’m especially over jegging and joggers. Bring back wide-legged everything!!

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.