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Anne Heche was in two car crashes on Friday, the second of which was really bad and put her in the ICU and destroyed the home she crashed into. The home’s tenant and her pets were able to escape uninjured (there’s a GoFundMe) and Anne is in the hospital with severe burns. It was first reported that Anne was in stable condition, however, that information was inaccurate and her spokesperson said so to CNN, adding: “She has always remained in critical condition, slipping into a coma following the accident. She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention.”

Before the second, more serious crash, Anne was involved in a hit-and-run with another property earlier that day. Because of the two crashes and potentially due to her podcast episode posted the same day as the crash, the LAPD has gotten a warrant to test Anne’s blood to determine if she was intoxicated while she was driving.

Anne Heche will have to give a blood sample to police after crashing her car into a home in Los Angeles.

The LAPD received a warrant to test the “Six Days, Seven Nights” star’s blood to see if she was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the crash, Page Six confirmed.

Officers believe Heche, 53, was intoxicated when she plowed her blue Mini Cooper into a house Friday and sustained severe burns after the vehicle caught fire, but her blood test results could take weeks, TMZ reported.

Sources also told the outlet that, at the minimum, the LAPD will refer Heche’s case to the LA City attorney, who could press hit-and-run charges, as she reportedly slammed into a garage and drove off before driving into the nearby house.

“The info we received this morning was a warrant was obtained the same day as the traffic collision, which was August 5. The warrant was to draw blood, and an investigation is ongoing pending the blood test results,” a rep for the LAPD told Page Six. “If found intoxicated, [Heche] could be charged with misdemeanor DUI hit and run. No arrests have been made so far.”

Officials with the LAPD West Traffic Division also confirmed that Heche hit another vehicle before taking off again and hitting the house.

[From Page Six]

LAPD got the warrant the day of the crash because the blood draw has to be done within hours. They’re still waiting for the results, but Anne hasn’t been able to talk with them at all due to her serious injuries. As mentioned in the previous post, Anne’s podcast had posted an episode earlier that day during which Anne was drinking vodka and wine. The podcast episode was pulled down after the car crash and her podcast producer has since denied it was taped on the same day, saying that it was recorded earlier that week and posted later. A hair salon owner told The LA Times that Anne was in his salon that morning, just two miles from the crash site. He said she seemed pleasant and not intoxicated, but did say she grabbed his face, which is definitely odd behavior. From the overall reporting, it doesn’t seem like Anne was rushing away from anything and it’s unclear whether the accidents happened in her neighborhood or close to her home.  This sounds like a very dangerous situation and it’s fortunate that no one was killed. Hopefully all involved are okay.

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For months/years, Prince Charles has been lucky. He’s lucky because most of his financial improprieties and crimes have been dull, unsexy and kind of hard to follow for the layperson. In recent months, those dry, unsexy stories got two big boosts. One, we learned that Prince Charles was accepting literal suitcases full of cash from a wealthy Qatari. Two, we learned that Chuck brokered a £1 million “charity donation” from the bin Laden family. Those two stories were easy enough for the most casual observer to follow. I suspect this will be pretty easy to follow too: Charles accepted donations from a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin:

Prince Charles met a Russian oligarch with links to Vladimir Putin the same year his charity accepted a £300,000 donation from the businessman. The Prince’s Foundation received the cash from a charity run by Moshe Kantor in 2020, despite the billionaire having been named on a ‘Putin list’ released by the US Treasury in 2018.

Mr Kantor, who lives in a £31million mansion in Hampstead, north London, was sanctioned by the UK in April after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the Moscow-born oligarch had already spent years forging ties with Putin, while funnelling more than £15.5million into British institutions, including a £3million pledge to the Prince’s Foundation.

The revelations have sparked fresh concerns over Charles’s dealings with controversial donors after reports that he ‘brokered’ a donation from the family of Osama Bin Laden – which Clarence House has denied.

Mr Kantor, 68, who is worth an estimated £3.5billion, has met Putin on at least seven occasions. The Russian president was a keynote speaker at the World Holocaust Forum in January 2020, organised by Mr Kantor. Charles also delivered a speech and was pictured deep in conversation with the oligarch. The same year, the Prince’s Foundation accepted a second £300,000 donation from Mr Kantor’s charity. It followed a payment of the same amount in 2019, which was the first instalment of a £3million pledge to be paid over ten years.

Clarence House said: ‘As with all donations, the decision to accept this money would have rested with the charity’s trustees.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I’ll be honest, I think if this was just the first story we ever heard about Charles taking questionable donations, people would shrug. It’s clear that Moshe Kantor has bought his way into British society in a lot of different ways. What makes this different is that the story comes on the heels of the “suitcases full of cash” story and the bin Laden story. It also makes a difference that this comes after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Britain, America and the EU are cracking down on Russian money, specifically the Russian money of Putin’s oligarch friends and allies. So yeah… what will it be next week? “Charles personally accepted a suitcase full of rubles from Putin and quietly gave Putin a knighthood”?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

The Telegraph ran an interesting and bitter column from Celia Walden this week. Her column was all about Prince Harry’s memoir, which has become the British royal commentators’ favorite late-summer worrystone. Because those commentators don’t want to do a deeper dive on the Cambridges’ marriage and separate living situation, we’re getting this: endless made-up drama about what Harry’s memoir might cover. This isn’t just British people telling on themselves ahead of the memoir, they’re also trying to poison the well. They did the same thing in advance of the Oprah interview, only that smear campaign was thrown together in a matter of days and weeks (although they had prepared the oppo dump ahead of time). These people are trying to toxify everything about and around Harry to the point where the audience will be too exhausted to buy or read Harry’s book. They’re being incredibly obvious about it. Walden’s Telegraph column is sh-tty across the board, but she did drop in some news about how royal commentators are trying to publish some books ahead of Harry’s.

The release of Harry’s memoir: Which means Penguin is going for a “shock drop” game plan that, like a firework finale against a clear night sky, will involve a tantalising radio silence… followed by a bombardment of Hazza revelations so breathtaking that consumers will be dazzled into spending £16.99 on Yet Another Royal Opus (how’s that for a title?).

The other royal books: There’s a problem with this strategy, highlighted by a report in this paper at the weekend about the string of “insider accounts” being rushed out between now and the publication of Harry: Fear And Loathing In Kensington Palace. The tone has been set by Tom Bower, the author of last month’s headline-grabbing Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, and in a fortnight’s time bestselling writer Catherine Mayer will publish an updated version of her Prince Charles biography – Charles: The Heart of a King – promising readers “previously unpublished details” around “Harry and Meghan’s exit”.

Valentine Low is doing a book too: In September, another esteemed journalist will provide new insight into the Duke’s last period of royal life. Valentine Low broke the story about the Duchess of Sussex being accused of bullying staff while at Kensington Palace in 2018 (Meghan’s team have always vigorously denied the accusations) and his sources in Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown are likely to be impeccable.

Katie Nicholl & Angela Levin are doing books too: In November, comes a double whammy from two well-known royal experts. Katie Nicholl will publish a forensic examination of the firm in The New Royals, while Angela Levin will publish a biography of the Duchess of Cornwall. Again, both are expected to include versions of Megxit and, given Levin’s criticism of the Sussexes and rumours that Harry’s autobiography (My Journey to Me-Ville) will contain criticism of his stepmother, hers is unlikely to be favourable in their regard.

Harry Fatigue is what they’re aiming for: It’s enough to make me feel a stab of pity for the prince. Imagine having “your truth” drowned out by a load of other people, all telling different versions of that truth, all collectively prompting Harry Fatigue? And what if the other versions are – whisper it – more compelling? It wouldn’t be fair. Your own story should always be the most colourful and entrancing one out there, surely. But it’s also not beyond the realms of possibility. After all, the prince does now behave as though someone has suctioned every last vestige of charisma out of him with one of those nasal aspirators for babies. And the problem with worthiness is that it’s terribly boring to read about.

[From The Telegraph]

I honestly didn’t know that Katie Nicholl, Valentine Low and Catherine Meyer will all have books out this fall. The Meyer book is likely a sanctioned biography of Charles, endlessly preparing the nation for his kingship and trying to avoid the blame for Sussexit and everything else. Nicholl’s book will be heavy, HEAVY on the Middleton propaganda, because that’s Nicholl’s bread and butter. Nicholl has always had sources deep within Camp Middleton. Valentine Low’s book will be fascinating and probably quite horrible for the Sussexes, likely a high-level coordinated campaign against them. Low has sources deep within the Tory network, aka the men who are managing Prince William as their convenient idiot. As for Walden’s column… imagine believing that Tom Bower’s idiotic book did anything.

Also: Walden and the royal book writers have made a fundamental miscalculation. Yes, those books will get a lot of play… in the UK. Within the British media. Their mistake is that they believe Harry’s audience is the same as Valentine Low’s audience. That’s not the case. Same with the Oprah interview – the audience was America and the world. These people can’t shake their parochial, nativist worldview.

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

Senate Republicans refused to pass a $35 cap on insulin. Remember to vote these douchebags out in the midterms. [WaPo]
A rare (!) sighting of LeAnn Rimes & Eddie Cibrian – they were out and about in LA. I haven’t seen photos of them in a while. [Just Jared]
Senate Democrats passed a massive climate bill! [Jezebel]
Nicola Peltz slams people for making her feel bad…? [Dlisted]
Keanu Reeves in The Devil in the White City? Yes! [LaineyGossip]
Ashley Tisdale loves stocking shelves at Target. [Seriously OMG]
Issa Rae has really upped her style game in the past year. [Go Fug Yourself]
Blind item about a pop star with a temper. [Gawker]
A review of Bodies Bodies Bodies. [Pajiba]
Indiana Republicans banned abortion. [Buzzfeed]
Sister Wives’ Cody Brown cut his hair? [Starcasm]
Um, what’s up with the sinkhole in Chile? [Towleroad]
Addison Rae tried to recreate a famous Angelina Jolie photo, to sad results. [Egotastic]

We always try to note the many times the Duchess of Cambridge “copykeens” the Duchess of Sussex. Kate is a longtime copykeener – the people around her pretend that she’s simply doing harmless “homages” to Diana or the Queen, but no one wants to talk about Kate’s Meghan Lookbook or how often she style-stalks her sister-in-law. Prince William certainly can’t say anything to Kate about it either, because he’s obsessed with copykeening and “one-upping” his brother as well. William just doesn’t take the same kind of hit for it. If Harry and Meghan visit Afghani refugees, then William has to do the same. If Harry plays polo for charity, then William has to do the same. If Harry gets a big-month contract with Netflix, William has to make a deal with Discovery+. And if Harry is invited to speak at the United Nations for Mandela Day, then suddenly William is going to barge into the UN and demand to speak too! Literally.

The Duke of Cambridge is expected to travel to New York next month as he prepares to take his climate change message to the United States. During the trip, Prince William plans to meet Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City Mayor and American philanthropist who sits on the board of the Duke’s Earthshot Prize.

It is thought William could also address the United Nations General Assembly, where world leaders convene to discuss the biggest issues of the day. A source said: ‘William is planning to go over to the US for some big meetings with Bloomberg’s team who are getting it all ready. It’s going to put his Earthshot Prize on a global footing and get some real interest going in the States ahead of the next awards.’

Kensington Palace has previously announced that the second annual awards ceremony for the environmental prize will be hosted in Boston in December. It was inspired by John F Kennedy’s Moonshot award in the 1960s, when the US President pledged to put a man on the Moon within a decade.

Prince William’s initiative aims to promote inventions over the next decade that help the planet.

Mr Bloomberg, who is also a UN special envoy on climate change, is now a global adviser to the Earthshot Prize and co-wrote an article for USA Today with Prince William last year. They wrote: ‘The science tells us that this is the decade to act – and that waiting is not an option.

[From Mail Plus]

So… William will make a trip to New York in September to spread some Earthshot keenery and hype ahead of the December trip to Boston? If William is eyeing a visit to the UN, he’ll probably time his visit to the big opening week of the United Nations, when hundreds of international delegations come to New York. The UN opens its new session on September 13th. Will Baldemort travel alone? Will the UN allow him to speak at the General Assembly? Will he flop? Will anyone call him out for being a sad desperado pathetically copying his younger brother?

The last time William was in New York, Kate wore hot pink to the 9/11 Memorial. This was the year after Prince Charles accepted more than a million dollars from the Bin Laden family.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

In 2018, there was a surprisingly messy child support battle which spilled out into the entertainment media. Britney Spears had, at that time, recently signed on to a residency in Las Vegas, which would mean a huge increase to her income. Kevin Federline went to court to ask for an increase in child support from Britney, given her increased income. After months of sniping privately and publicly, K-Fed and Jamie Spears worked out a deal, and wouldn’t you know, Kevin got more money than he asked for, all because Jamie didn’t want all of his financial impropriety within Britney’s conservatorship to be exposed. That moment was fascinating to me because it highlighted the strange limbo situation that K-Fed was trying to navigate with Britney and Jamie-as-conservator. Kevin had no say in Britney’s conservatorship, and he always maintained that he genuinely wanted Britney to be healthy for their sons. That moment also showed that Kevin had some idea of all of the financial mess of Britney’s conservatorship, and he was perfectly willing to use that information to get more money.

Well, K-Fed only makes public statements every few years, but it sounds like he’s ready to get some sh-t off his chest, given Britney is now out of her conservatorship. Some highlights from Kevin’s interview with a British TV program (the Daily Mail had the first quotes):

Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden, 15, haven’t seen Britney in months: ‘The boys have decided they are not seeing her right now,’ Kevin reveals. ‘It’s been a few months since they’ve seen her. They made the decision not to go to her wedding.’

Britney’s situation has been rough on the boys: ‘This whole thing has been hard to watch, harder to live through, harder to watch my boys go through than anything else. It’s been tough. It’s the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.’

On Britney posting naked photos constantly: At the time, Kevin says he felt compelled to apologise to the boys for any flak they experienced as a result. He insists the boys love their mother, saying: ‘I try to explain to them, ‘Look, maybe that’s just another way she tries to express herself.’ But that doesn’t take away from the fact of what it does to them. It’s tough. I can’t imagine how it feels to be a teenager having to go to high school.’

Father of six: Theirs is a blended family: Kevin and Victoria also have daughters Jordan, 11, and Peyton, eight, while Kevin’s eldest children – Kori, 20, and Kaleb, 18, from his prior relationship with actress Shar Jackson – are frequent visitors. All six siblings are close. Kevin jokes that they are like the famous American sitcom family, The Brady Bunch.

Kevin wants Britney to understand how hard she’s making it for their sons: ‘If there was a way – any way – I could possibly say something to just open [Britney’s] eyes – but I haven’t found that yet. I feel like, if I found that, I’d be on the phone trying to tell her.’

When Britney filed for divorce: ‘I called my lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan and we sat down and I told him all I care about is getting 50 per cent custody. Nothing else mattered. Nothing. I’m not the person that will take money over family.’

Britney’s 2008 breakdown & the start of her conservatorship: It was a chaotic and bewildering time during which Kevin says he believes everyone tried to do their best. ‘There were so many different things that were happening within a short period of time. It just all came to a head and I don’t think anybody knew what to do. How can anybody prepare you?’

Kevin’s thoughts on Jamie Spears: Kevin acknowledges he has his own questions about why the arrangement lasted so long, but maintains Britney’s father did everything with the best intentions. ‘I saw this man that really cared, and really cares about his family and wanting everything to be OK,’ he says. ‘When Jamie took over, things got into order. He saved her life.’

Sean & Jayden didn’t understand the conservatorship: ‘They’ve had a lot of questions about it. I don’t know that I can answer all of them for them but I just tried to explain to them that your mom needed help, you know, and the people were in play to try to make that happen, to make it better.’

Even though he once had a restraining order against Jamie Spears, K-Fed would welcome him back into Sean & Jayden’s lives: ‘I would absolutely welcome Jamie Spears back in the boys’ lives. Especially if that’s what the boys wanted. I don’t have any hard feelings towards Jamie Spears. People make mistakes. I feel bad for him. I feel like he’s been put through the wringer.’

He’s close to Lynn Spears too: ‘Family is supposed to stick together, and just because they’re not my immediate family, you know, they’re my sons’, my kids’ immediate family. They love their memaw. My priority has always been: it is about what is good for the boys.’

The deterioration of Britney’s relationship with her sons: Kevin clearly has no wish to embarrass his former wife but acknowledges he became increasingly uncomfortable with what his then younger teenage sons confided they were witnessing during their visits in recent years, although he declines to go into detail. He just says: ‘There were a lot of things going on that I didn’t feel comfortable with.’ He explains that in recent months, in the wake of increasingly erratic posts by Britney on Instagram, his boys have come to their own decision. ‘They tried to give her the benefit of the doubt but at the same time, I can tell that sometimes, it hurts to be in that position. So, I made sure all my kids can come to me at any moment and discuss anything. The boys – all my kids – know that they come to me and to my wife and discuss anything. They’re teenagers right now. You know, we talk about sex, we talk about drugs, we talk about all the things that teenagers go through. I want my kids to make all the mistakes they possibly can in my house, because [that way], I can protect them.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Everyone always made fun of Kevin for getting child support and having his lawyer on speed dial, but you know what? It’s been 14 years and I’m glad Sean and Jayden have the stable base of the Federline house. Kevin is not saying anyone is wrong – Britney is enjoying her freedom and trying to find some kind of balance, but of course it’s going to be messy and of course she’s not going to be perfect – that’s her right. Kevin has every right to listen to what Sean and Jayden tell him about why her behavior makes them uncomfortable, and he has every right to talk about it publicly. I know people think he’s a miserable, out-of-work loser, but if the genders were reversed, we would praise him for being the stable parent, raising his kids and navigating a difficult situation. That is my take – others obviously feel differently. Sam Asghari feels differently. Britney feels differently.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.

The Sun published a curious story about the Duchess of Cambridge this weekend: “Kate Expectations: Kate Middleton and Prince William are ready to move on from ‘glorious prison’ of Kensington Palace, say royal experts.” Nevermind the fact that British outlets are increasingly using Kate’s maiden name! The real story is that something seems to have significantly shifted in recent weeks, where Camp Middleton is being incredibly “extra” about how Kate is incredibly important, completely perfect and that everything she does is queenly. To say that someone is laying it on thick is a gross understatement. So, why? Is it just some sleepy summer keenery? Or something more nefarious? Some highlights from this Sun piece, including new quotes from everybody’s favorite nutjob, Dodgy Uncle Gary Goldsmith.

One last Norfolk summer: The family are making the move to Windsor after one final “normal” summer at their country estate of Anmer Hall in Norfolk. They are believed to have the keys to Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom house on the Windsor estate. Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith says: “William and Kate are going to have their hands full this summer as they move home to be nearer the Queen and settle the kids into a new school. But I think they are ready for the next chapter in their lives.”

Why they’re moving to Windsor: Royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, Ingrid Seward, explains: “I think Wills and Kate need space to bring up their children. Kensington Palace is a glorious prison for kids – they want to be able to play football without being watched from behind the gates. I think Windsor will be perfect for them, as they will have lots of freedom and they can all be at school together.”

The kids were “brought up” in Norfolk? Having enjoyed a relatively normal upbringing in Norfolk, it’s inevitable that the children will become more visible following the move, and William and Kate have been preparing them for their role in the public eye.

Kate’s Jubbly mess with Prince Louis: The young Cambridges were front and centre during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, including enjoying an official visit to Wales in June, and George attended the tennis at Wimbledon with his mum last month. Kate’s reaction to Louis when he became restless during the Jubilee celebrations cemented her place in the heart of the nation, proving that she faces the same challenges as any mother. She gave her youngest a stern talking to after he jumped up and down on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, covered his ears due to the noise from the RAF planes overhead, and pulled funny faces and shook his finger at his mum, before placing his hand over her mouth, at the Jubilee Pageant. Her common touch provoked a swell of support on social media.

Uncle Gary has more to say: “Kate has been brilliant in so many ways – as a wife, a mum, a counsel, a partner, an ambassador, a figurehead and a future queen. She never lets anyone down. She shines in every situation, on every stage, and behaves with class. She is already the one we all watch first as a role model. We are all, as a nation, super-proud of her. The royal family is in safe, beautiful and heaven-sent hands. She has got this in both the good times and the bad times.”

[From The Sun]

“The royal family is in safe, beautiful and heaven-sent hands…” Oh, my. The Middletons are surely worried about something. It’s not just rumors of William’s sexual proclivities either, although I feel like the Middletons are well aware of those rumors and reacting to them partially. I’m genuinely asking: what is going on behind-the-scenes that has the Middletons so unsettled? If Kate and William are – as I’ve long suspected – living separately for the better part of two/three years, why does it feel like DefCon Keen over in Bucklebury? They brought out Uncle Gary, for the love of God.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Instar.

I have genuinely enjoyed all of the conspiracies about the current People Magazine cover story, “The Making of a Queen: How Kate is shaping her role for the modern world and modeling herself on the reigning queen.” Incidentally, both of those things can’t be true at once. Kate can’t “shape her role for the modern world” AND “model herself” on QEII, a 96-year-old woman who wishes it was still 1953. As I said, I’ve enjoyed the conspiracies about why People put Kate on the cover and the timing of it and what it says about the Cambridge marriage. The thing I wish people would remember is that Kate isn’t actually capable of playing four-dimensional chess. Her PR is so simplistic, it’s actually kind of funny. This People cover story was meant as nothing more than sugary keenery about how Kate is perfect and “just like the Queen.” Now, I do think the timing is interesting. This cover came out immediately following the blind item about William’s alleged sexual proclivities and the persistent rumors of Will and Kate’s separation.

Anyway, People Mag continues to release the cover story in drips and drabs, which is why I almost missed this hilarious excerpt. Apparently, Kate needs to remind everyone that she’s super-duper prepared for all of her meetings, and the Queen treats her like a prime minister!!! LMAO.

Kate Middleton is well-prepped for her royal role. The Duchess of Cambridge has had a lifetime to learn from Queen Elizabeth — first as a subject from afar, then as a member of the royal family for 11 years.

Although her roots aren’t royal (as the oldest of three children of entrepreneur parents, she grew up in an affluent but not aristocratic family), her instincts are —including a natural affinity for connecting with the public. Kate, like the Queen, is “able to make each person feel that they are being seen for the three seconds she talks to them,” author and historian Amanda Foreman, author of Queen Victoria’s Buckingham Palace, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. This quality, adds Foreman, “projects immediacy and makes it feel intimate, which is amazing — there are people who simply can’t do that. It is training plus innate talent.”

And diligent preparation. “Catherine always does her homework and doesn’t go on visits on a wing and a prayer,” says an insider. “She has read the papers and puts in the effort. She is a hardworking person.”

As patron of a number of charitable organizations, Kate stays informed on key projects and initiatives and spotlights their work through her various engagements. Kate is also a modern woman who is nonetheless amenable to the centuries-old power structure of the family business.

“It’s a personal willingness to conform to the requirements of the institution,” says historian Sarah Gristwood, author of Elizabeth: Queen and Crown. “That sounds like an unappealing, unglamorous virtue, but it’s an important one if you’re going to be a successful cog in the royal wheel.”

Not one to hand down explicit “lessons,” it’s unlikely the Queen has ever formally tutored Kate. Instead, Gristwood tells PEOPLE that the Queen may have approached her relationship with Kate the way she does with prime ministers.

“The Queen has always preferred to do rather than to say,” Gristwood says. Adds the Queen’s biographer Sally Bedell Smith: “Catherine has learned by observing. She knows what resonates. She will have absorbed a lot from this Queen.”

[From People]

So, what is Kate and the Middleton PR machinery actually trying to tell us? They’re trying to tell us that Kate is in it for the long haul, that she’s not going to be thrown over for any of William’s side chicks, that Kate will be Queen even if she has to peg grind away, day and night. to make it work. Plus, there’s the heavy emphasis on Kate pretending to be “credible” and “smart,” which is something that’s come up a lot in recent years. I dare say that it would be difficult to find a woman more incurious, less intellectual or more ill-suited to the role of Queen Consort, but the Middleton PR demands that everyone see Kate as some kind of deep thinker who has binders full of data and pie charts. Please. I’ve seen the “work” handed to Kate and she should be embarrassed. The fact that she thinks she’s pulling off this charade should tell you how deeply unserious she is.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, Backgrid.

Thursday evening, People Magazine published a story online: “Kim Kardashian ‘Can’t Wait’ to Have Pete Davidson Home from Australia: They’re ‘Still Very Happy’.” Sources said that Kim loved visiting Pete in Australia last month and she couldn’t wait for him to come back to America in a few weeks. Sources said that “the long distance hasn’t been easy for Kim, but they are making it work. They are still very happy. They are very much a serious couple.” That was one of People’s top stories throughout the day on Friday, and still featured near the top of the page for most of Friday. Then, by Friday evening, E! News broke the news that Pete and Kim had called it quits:

It’s time to keep up with a newly single Kim Kardashian. The Kardashians star and Pete Davidson have broken up and decided to just be friends, sources close to the couple exclusively tell E! News.

The insiders share that while the pair has “a lot of love and respect for each other,” they found that the long distance dynamic and their demanding schedules “made it really difficult to maintain a relationship.” The split occurred sometime this week.

Pete has been spending part of the summer in Australia working on the movie Wizards!. As for Kim, she continues to raise four kids—North, Psalm, Chicago and Saint, with her ex Kanye West.

“The divorce is moving ahead with Kanye,” another insider shares with E! News. “They are happily co-parenting.”

[From E! News]

TMZ and People Mag followed up with their own confirmations, and it seems someone (Kim/Kris) parroted the “decided to just be friends” thing to every outlet. My question: the People Mag story was so clearly a cutesy PR hit from the Kardashian-Jenner operation, so what changed so quickly? Thursday they were just fine and then Friday evening, they weren’t. It’s not that Pete was afraid of commitment – that’s not it. My guess is that one of them cheated. Page Six’s sources said it was a different issue though:

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s age difference caused them to split earlier this week, sources exclusively tell Page Six.

“Pete is 28 and Kim is 41 — they are just in very different places at the moment,” the insider says. “Pete is totally spontaneous and impulsive and wants her to fly to New York, or wherever he is on a moment’s notice. But Kim has four kids and it isn’t that easy. She needs to focus on the kids.”

The source also tells us that Kardashian — who runs multiple businesses and stars on a reality show — was “totally exhausted by this relationship and other things going on in her life.”

The “Kardashians” star has recently had a tumultuous relationship with ex Kanye West, which caused strife while she was dating the “SNL” alum.

The insider explained, “When Kim is with someone else, Kanye can cause problems with the kids. He tries to divide and conquer. He can’t help it. Kim is a really dedicated mother, and her kids will always come first. She wants and needs harmony at home and in her life.”

[From Page Six]

I don’t doubt the Kanye stuff, and I think it’s pretty likely that Kanye is still making Kim’s life hellish behind-the-scenes, even though he seems to have taken it down a notch publicly. Kim might simply need less drama overall and she was tired of fighting with Kanye over Pete. As for the age difference stuff… I mean, yeah, I can see how that would be a problem, especially with Pete talking about how his ultimate goal is fatherhood. But this whole situation really does feel sudden, idk.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, Instagram and Backgrid.

The Duchess of Cornwall covers Australian Women’s Weekly, only this cover shot is just the same photo taken by the Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life magazine (which Camilla guest-edited). It seems Country Life made some kind of arrangement with AWW, where AWW got to use the same photos of Camilla, and then AWW got an exclusive interview with Camilla. From my limited knowledge of Australian publications, I always thought AWW was kind of a tabloid? Maybe I’m thinking of another magazine. Anyway, Camilla’s 75th birthday/image-rehabilitation continues unabated. She even name-drops Prince Philip in this interview:

Prince Charles’ wife, who turns 75 this month, sat down with Juliet Rieden of The Australian Women’s Weekly last month (on the busy day of Trooping the Colour!) to chat about everything from her childhood in the country to her future as Queen Consort. During the interview, Camilla also reflected on her relationship with Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 at the age of 99.

“The Duke of Edinburgh was always a very good ear,” Camilla said. “He was a role model to me and a very good person to take advice from because he always told me what he thought.”

As a consort to his wife Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip no doubt provided Camilla with an idea of her role when Prince Charles becomes monarch one day.

Camilla also revealed that there’s a part of royal life that still makes her nervous.

“I get petrified making speeches,” she shared.

In a joint arrangement with Country Life magazine, the image of Camilla that appears on the cover of The Australian Women’s Weekly was taken by Kate Middleton. They also shared an exclusive photo of Camilla, also shot by Kate, where the Duchess of Cornwall smiles as she leans against a fence in the garden of her home Raymill in Wiltshire. (Camilla sported her go-to accessory — her FitBit! — for the occasion.)

[From People]

I didn’t even pick up on the fact that Camilla is wearing her FitBit in the photo. That’s interesting, I guess. As for Camilla being petrified of making speeches… I’ve watched her speeches over the years, and while she’s not the second coming of Winston Churchill, she’s totally fine. She seems more comfortable talking to smaller groups, but who knows. I think it’s really funny and obvious that Camilla is using Prince Philip’s memory to embiggen herself. I mean, she will be the consort, just like Philip. They would have stuff to talk about, and it’s not like Philip hated Camilla or anything, he just never could understand why Charles was so enamored with Camilla and not Diana. I seriously doubt Philip and Camilla had some kind of secret friendship though.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of the Duchess of Cambridge/AWW.