Yesterday, Donald Trump did a press conference in the Oval Office. It’s difficult for Trump to waddle into the White House press room, given his age, physical deterioration and bone spurs, so he makes the press come to him. There were a few dozen journalists crammed in there for an in-person briefing from the president. President Elon Musk, that is. Apartheid Clyde was also in the Oval, and he brought his son X, his oldest child with Grimes. Feeble old man Don quickly threw the briefing over to President Musk:

This has the feel of a parody, but it’s really happening to all of us here in America. This is what people wanted – a decrepit figurehead of an ignorant, hateful cult, slumped over the Resolute Desk while Space Karen and his merry band of Nazi youths dismantle the federal government. All people had to do to avoid this was vote for the Black lady, but here we are.

Some of this press conference was for Trump to sign over more power and authority to Space Karen and DOGE. Trump is basically giving President Musk the ultimate hiring and firing power within all of the federal bureaucracy. President Musk also denied that he was doing a “hostile takeover” of the country… while Trump looked like his impotent and frail hostage.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

A few weekends ago, Kensington Palace announced that they would no longer release information about the Princess of Wales’s clothes. Royal sources huffed and puffed about how the time had finally come for Kate to be seen as a woman of substance, and that identifying which designers she wore distracted from the important busywork Kate does every now and then, when she feels like it. As I pointed out, this was not the first time KP had tried to pull this “don’t talk about Kate’s fashion” sh-t before, and they had to walk it back all of those other times too. Just like they’re doing now. It seems that several British papers published critical columns of Kate’s new “substance over style” complaint. So now Kate and her office are complaining and explaining, will you look at that.

Kate Middleton’s office is clarifying the official policy for releasing details about her clothing following recent backlash over new palace guidance. After a week of discussion surrounding the Princess of Wales’ clothing and the possibility of changing the formal policy on sharing her fashion details, Kensington Palace issued a rare statement.

This follows a Feb. 1 Sunday Times article titled “Princess of Wales: Focus on my work, not my wardrobe,” which quoted a royal source saying that Kate “wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 11, a Kensington Palace spokesperson responded with a statement to PEOPLE: “Over the last week, I have received numerous questions about a story regarding The Princess of Wales’s clothing and how Kensington Palace shares information about her outfits. To clarify, the comments that appeared in the article were from me, not The Princess of Wales,” the statement continued. “The comments that were reported should not be directly attributed to The Princess of Wales. To be clear, there has been no change in our approach to sharing information about Her Royal Highness’s clothing.”

In response to the Sunday Times report, several op-eds criticized the notion that Kate’s style should be downplayed, emphasizing the vital role it plays in shining a spotlight on British designers and boosting the British fashion industry. Critics also pointed out that her fashion choices not only pay homage to the legacy of Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth but also serve as an important tool for connecting with the public and should not be minimized.

[From People]

This is bullsh-t, all the way around. First of all, the Times and other outlets made it clear that the “substance over style” quotes were not coming from Kate directly, but the quotes were attributed to an unnamed palace source. I knew what it meant – it was coming from Kate’s office or it was coming from Kensington Palace in general, meaning Prince William’s staffers might have had a hand in it too. Why was Kate’s spokesperson unable to go on the record the first time, when he or she ranted to the Times and other outlets about not releasing fashion IDs? Why complain and explain nearly two weeks later, but not even make a point of changing the new and unpopular policy? It’s basically just an acknowledgement that Kate’s idea is unpopular, that she doesn’t actually have much substance to begin with, and that Kate and her staff are boneheads for orchestrating this completely unnecessary mess. Kate’s staffers are too incompetent to even fall on their swords properly – this clarification just made things dumber.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

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Now that the dust is starting to settle from this year’s Super Bowl, let’s check in with Jason Kelce. Prior to the big game, Jason jokingly refused to pick sides between his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and his brother’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead, he said that he was rooting for Cher, although his wife, Kylie Kelce, was openly rooting for the Eagles. On last week’s episode of their New Heights podcast, he said that he was rooting for both his brother and the Eagles, and that he’d have “mixed emotions” about the outcome of the game.

We all know that the Eagles ended up winning and that Travis and his team got their a-sses handed to them. Jason, for his part, released a really nice statement, congratulating his former team and praising his brother’s talent. Calling back to his mixed emotions, he said that the game was “odd” for him watch and the outcome was “tough to process.”

In a lengthy X post on Monday, Feb. 10, Jason, 37, congratulated his former Philadelphia Eagles teammates on becoming Super Bowl LIX champions, even though their victory meant his brother Travis’ team, the Kansas City Chiefs, lost out.

“That game was odd for me to watch if I’m being completely honest. I knew it was going to be mixed emotions before, during, and after, and I now know what my parents had to deal with two years ago,” Jason wrote, referencing he and Travis’ parents, Donna and Ed Kelce, having to watch their sons’ teams compete against one another in the 2023 Super Bowl.

The siblings made history at the time when they became the first brothers to ever play each other in the sporting event.

Jason — who spent his entire 13-year NFL career playing as a center for the Eagles, before announcing his retirement in March 2024 — continued in Monday’s post, “On one hand, I wanted what is best for my brother, and to see his success. And on the other hand, there are so many people, teammates, and coaches, in the Philadelphia Eagles organization that I care deeply about, many of whom I owe my own success to throughout my career.”

The Eagles beat the Chiefs 40-22 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, Feb. 9.

Moving on to discuss his brother Travis, Jason said, “There isn’t a person I love or care about more. It has been tough to process these feelings, of course I feel for him and am always rooting for him, but I know he does not need, nor want my pity.”

“He has amassed greatness few on this planet could ever dream of, as has his team, and they should feel pride in their accomplishments this season and in the past,” the ESPN broadcaster said.

“I know right now they are still thinking of last night and the shortcomings in the last game, but in time that will fade, and the greatness they have exhibited as a group will remain as one of the most dominant eras of football ever,” Jason shared, insisting he loves the sport, as well as “the people that play it, and the fans that enjoy it. Nothing else like it.” He also said he’s looking forward to the victory parade on Friday, Feb. 14.

Following Sunday’s game, Travis told reporters that the Chiefs had dropped pauses and didn’t execute like they have throughout the season.

“We haven’t played that bad all year,” he said. “You don’t lose like that without everything going bad.”

[From People]

Jason’s full statement is really classy and very sweet. I love that he acknowledges how much the Eagles mean to him and then, isn’t afraid to be like, “Yeah, I love my brother.” I also like how he compared his feelings to how his parents felt two years ago, when the two brothers faced off against each other in the Super Bowl. That bit about how the Chiefs players’ feeling of defeat will “fade” over time were wise words, too. He knows what it’s like to win and to lose the Super Bowl. I know Jason has that frat boy energy, but I definitely think he plays it up a lot for his public persona. Anyway, I’m sure Jason and Travis will have a lot to talk about regarding the Super Bowl on this week’s ep of New Heights.

Here’s something to give you a little laugh. I’m sharing it because I think Jason would crack up after seeing it too. The picture is from when Jason did the pre-game show:

Jason Kelce looks like if a river boat captain and a double stuf Oreo had a baby

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— Jason, ex Inferis (@benedictsred.bsky.social) February 10, 2025 at 12:55 AM

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles, my former teammates, and friends on being SB LIX Champions!! There were a lot of emotions last night, and now that I’ve collected my thoughts, I’ll attempt to share them in the longest tweet ever.

That game was odd for me to watch if…

— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) February 11, 2025

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The Oscars are only two-and-a-half weeks away, if you can believe it (I can’t). Between natural disasters and nominee-induced implosions, this has been an awards season like no other. The next three weekends will be bing bang boom, with the BAFTAs, SAGs, and Oscars all in quick succession. But before we look too far ahead, how about taking a moment to glance back to the origin of it all. More specifically, how did the prestigious-sounding Academy Award earn the relatively colloquial nickname, Oscar? Myths abound…

Origin story: MGM art director Cedric Gibbons sketched the figure of an impressively ripped knight as an art crusader for the first Academy Awards in 1929. (The design wasn’t based on a human model.) The Academy didn’t adopt the nickname until 1939, and the nickname’s origins “aren’t clear,” according to the organization’s official history. The Academy trademarked the name “Oscar” (and “Academy Awards”) in 1979, solidifying ownership of the term.

Theory 1 — Actress Bette Davis: Bette Davis claimed in her 1962 autobiography, “The Lonely Life,” that she recognized the backside of the “Hollywood male” when accepting her best actress award in 1936 for “Dangerous.” That peachy gold rump could only belong to her then-husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson Jr. “I stared at the little gold-plated man in the palm of my hand,” Davis wrote. “In a kind of madness, his backview was the spit of my husband’s … Oscar it has been ever since.” Because the term had appeared in newspapers years before Davis took the Oscar stage, the star eventually pulled out of naming contention.

Theory 2 — Columnist Sidney Skolsky: During the sixth awards presentation in 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky, a contemporary of famed Hollywood scribes like Hedda Hopper, used the name in his column in reference to Katharine Hepburn’s first best actress win for “Morning Glory.” In his 1975 memoir, “Don’t Get Me Wrong — I Love Hollywood,” Skolsky fiercely maintained anointing Oscar and ridiculed all other challengers. Skolsky wrote that the name appeared when he was stumped spelling “statuette” on deadline. The transplanted New Yorker recalled vaudeville comedy shows where Oscar was the go-to name for the butt of jokes. The easily spelled name would also puncture the award’s “phony dignity.” … “During the next year of columns, whenever referring to the Academy Awards, I used the word ‘Oscar.’ In a few years, Oscar was the accepted name.”

Once again, earlier recorded uses dispel the story: [Former Academy executive director] Bruce Davis (who is not related to Bette) and other historians take issue with Skolsky’s account because the term Oscar appeared in an entertainment column for the defunct Los Angeles Post-Record dated Dec. 5, 1933. This was six weeks before Skolsky’s alleged inspiration. Like other claims, Skolsky’s “buckles under scrutiny,” Davis writes.

Theory 3 — Librarian Margaret Herrick: A popular story has been that Academy librarian Marget Herrick thought the gold award resembled her dear Uncle Oscar, so the Academy staff began referring to it as Oscar. A significant problem with the account is that no dear Uncle Oscar existed. “Mrs. Herrick was never able to produce an uncle with that name,” Davis writes. After researching 1948’s “International Motion Picture Almanac,” film historian Terry Ramsaye cited the inspiration as Herrick’s mother’s cousin, a Texas wheat farmer named Oscar Pierce.

Leonard Maltin gets the last word: In Maltin’s view, Herrick, who served as the Academy’s executive director from 1945 to 1971, has the most plausible case despite the flaws. “But I take perverse pleasure knowing that in a town built on hyperbole and rumor, there is no conclusive answer as to who named the famed Oscar,” Maltin.

[From USA Today via AOL]

Wait, what?! How have I gone REDACTED years on this planet without realizing that the Oscar statuette (it’s not that hard to spell, Skolsky) is an art crusading knight? Let alone an “impressively ripped” one, at that! I thought the guy was, I don’t know, clutching a microphone. Where’s the hilt! Anyway, CNN did a fun piece a couple years ago about the process of making the statuettes, with great pictures on the figure in development. As for these theories, I grew up familiar with #3, only I didn’t know it was an Academy Librarian named Margaret Herrick, just the broad story that someone thought it looked like their uncle. Skolsky seems like a petty b who really wishes the evidence wasn’t there to disprove his claim. And I think Bette Davis genuinely thought, or at least made a quip, about the award looking like her husband from the rear. If anyone wouldn’t GAF about the (nick)naming rights of Oscar, I think it’d be Miss Davis.

Finally, “Hyperbole and Rumor” has simply got to be the title of a book/movie, it’s too delicious. (Damn, why did I say that out loud. Now I have to rush to trademark Hyperbole and Rumor; The Kismet Story.)

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When I watched the trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, I was surprised to see Harrison Ford pop up. That should tell you how little attention I give to the comings and goings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Apparently, Harrison Ford replaced William Hurt, who passed away in 2022. Ford stepped into the role of Thaddeus Ross, and within the film, he’s president of the United States. He’s also Red Hulk. Well, Marvel has Harrison out here promoting the film and he manages to sound less peeved than usual. Some highlights from his WSJ interview (via Variety):

The “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” box office flop: The film lost Disney a reported $130 million after its global box office haul fell well below the $400 million mark. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal Magazine, Ford shrugged off the disappointment. “Sh-t happens. I was really the one who felt there was another story to tell. When [Indy] had suffered the consequences of the life that he had to live, I wanted one more chance to pick him up and shake the dust off his ass and stick him out there, bereft of some of his vigor, to see what happened. I’m still happy I made that movie.”

Why he signed on to a Marvel film: Ford told WSJ Magazine that he accepted the Marvel role with “no script” presented to him, adding: “Why not? I saw enough Marvels to see actors that I admired having a good time. I didn’t really know that at the end I would turn into the Red Hulk. Well, it’s like life. You only get so far in the kit until the last page of the instructions is missing.”

A Marvel movie is just another day at the office: “I tried to understand the ambition of the filmmakers, and to be useful to them. I just didn’t sit home at night and say, ‘Oh, what do I want to do when I turn into the Hulk?’ It didn’t seem to me to be a terribly difficult acting proposition.”

He’s feeling nostalgic for a time when movies made a far bigger impact. “What I miss, really, truthfully, is the connection [cinema had] to the culture overall. Now we’re in people’s houses more than we’re in the commons. We work for niche audiences. Which doesn’t lessen the work. But we’re living in a different world, without the comfort of knowing that we’re all in this together. ” When asked what a Marvel movie is then, Ford answered: “It’s a big niche.”

[From Variety]

While Ford misses being in huge cultural-moment films and misses when films had a huge impact, I actually think he’s weathered the industry changes really well. In some ways, he has much more freedom now than he did during his movie-star heyday. He can do an AppleTV show or join the MCU or do a TV show with Helen Mirren. He’s talked before about how he just likes to work, and that’s what it feels like too – he’s not taking this sh-t seriously, he just likes having something to do. As for what he says about the last Indiana Jones movie… I ended up watching it and I hated it, and yet I sort of loved that Harrison was hellbent on making it. He loves the character, and that script was f–king bonkers. Still, it was such a depressing way for Indy to go out.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Denzel Washington & Jake Gyllenhaal did a photocall for their turn in Othello on Broadway. I can’t believe Jake is playing Iago, honestly. [Socialite Life]
Who are the betting favorites for the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime performers? I think Taylor Swift is probably someone the NFL has always wanted, but she probably isn’t interested? And it won’t be Drake, let’s be real. [JustJared]
This is why Tom Cruise was all over the Super Bowl. [LaineyGossip]
JD Vance continues to be despicable. [Jezebel]
I remember Eva Victor when she was just a Twitter person. [Pajiba]
People just age differently nowadays – I remember when 21-year-olds looked like fully grown adults, now they look like little kids. [Buzzfeed]
I love how no one really knows how long Serena Williams & Drake were dealing with each other and when she actually broke up with him. [Hollywood Life]
Man, Penn Badgley has been around for a while. [Seriously OMG]
Okay, this dress is lovely on Renee Zellweger. [RCFA]
Hawk Tuah has resurfaced after scamming people with her crypto coin. [OMG Blog]

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People are still talking about Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and the Super Bowl, obviously. The more I think about it, the more shocked I am that the crowd booed Taylor Swift. I get why the Kansas City Chiefs were booed, and why so many people were rooting for the Eagles. But for the crowd to boo Taylor like that felt different. Maybe it was MAGA dumbf–ks booing, maybe it was all about politics, I really don’t know. What I do know is that Taylor got the f–k out of New Orleans as soon as possible.

Taylor Swift jetted out of New Orleans after her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl 2025. The “Lover” songstress was photographed being escorted onto a private jet while surrounded by several black umbrellas on Monday, according to photos obtained by the Daily Mail.

While Swift’s entire body was not visible, cameras caught a glimpse of her distressed blue jeans, red loafers and tan socks.

One of the 14-time Grammy winner’s assistants trailed behind her carrying a bag of snacks and cat litter. According to the outlet, her plane was heading to Nashville, Tenn.

Swift, 35, was last seen cheering for Kelce in her star-studded $3 million VIP suite at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday. The “Fortnight” singer attended the sporting event with Ice Spice, Ashley Avignone and the Haim sisters, Este, Alana and Danielle, by her side. She appeared stressed while leaning over the rail of her suite, as the Eagles took a massive lead over the Chiefs early on in the game.

At one point, Swift whispered to those around her and anxiously scratched her head, with one NFL commentator saying the pop star “hasn’t had much to cheer about.”

[From Page Six]

I have no doubt that the original plan was to watch the Chiefs win and stay in New Orleans for a day or two so that they could party, which is what happened last year in Las Vegas. The kitty litter is such a fascinating detail too – did Taylor bring the kitties to New Orleans?? Or was she just preparing to see the kitties in Nashville? Where IS Meredith??

Anyway, there’s also a lot of gossip about Travis Kelce, who was last seen slinking off in a Bee Gees costume after the loss. Page Six also says that Taylor is “comforting” Travis after the loss, and of course there’s gossip about how Travis would have proposed to Taylor if the Chiefs had won the Super Bowl. With the loss, there’s now gossip that Taylor plans to dump Travis. I doubt it. I mean, yes, Taylor watched as her man took one of the biggest Ls of his football career, but I doubt she’ll dump him after that. What else? The Hollywood Reporter has a piece about whether Travis will retire from football and focus on acting. It wouldn’t be the worst idea, honestly.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

Last week, the Princess of Wales went on a field trip with some schoolkids. They took a bus to the National Portrait Gallery and checked out a new interactive exhibition for children. In the days after the field trip, we learned that it was likely something NPG put together with the school, and NPG likely asked their royal patron to ride along, which is exactly what Kate did. Hilariously, this outing came just a few days after Kensington Palace briefed far and wide that they would no longer speak about Kate’s clothing or provide fashion IDs. Those briefings did not go over well, and neither did Kate’s muddled outfit for the NPG outing – charcoal trousers, charcoal turtleneck and a shapeless brown blazer. Well, now the blazer’s designer is speaking out – even though Kate doesn’t want to talk about clothes, for the love of god – and saying that Kate is “one of a kind” and more.

Kate Middleton’s style choices are a reflection of her priorities, in more ways than one. When the Princess of Wales wore a minimalist outfit to visit an art gallery on Feb. 4, the look seemed to underscore a recent report that the palace would be focusing less on what she wears and more on her charitable causes. However, the designer of the chocolate brown wool-blend blazer she wore to hang out with kindergarten kids at the National Portrait Gallery recently says that her style directive is so appealing because of its simplicity, not in spite of it.

“I think she looks much more modern in the way she dresses now,” Petar Petrov, the Austrian-based designer tells PEOPLE. “She looks relaxed, and I think she can win the hearts of people even more because she feels like a real person that people can connect with, like Princess Diana. That’s special and makes her even more relevant than ever.”

The designer, whose celebrity clients include Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldana, says he had no idea that Princess Kate was going to wear the blazer until he saw pictures of her getting off the minibus outside the museum in London.

“We were so surprised when this happened! We don’t know which retailer she bought it from but we are so happy to see she bought it independently and wears it so well,” he says.

The $1,530 jacket sold out within 24 hours. The designer says, “We have had a lot of requests! We are continually trying to restock the blazer. She definitely has an impact, and we have experienced the ‘Kate Effect’ — and we are enjoying it!”

On how the impact differs from his other clients, the designer says, “We are used to working with Hollywood celebrities, but she is not that sort of celebrity, Kate is a very different thing entirely, she is truly one of a kind. She is not a movie star or a top model, she is an amazing addition for us.”

[From People]

I’m sorry, this jacket costs HOW MUCH? $1530 for that?? For some reason, I thought of that Alessandra Rich interview from a few years ago, where she was basically like… sure, I’m glad Kate wears my pieces but people get the wrong impression of my clothes because Kate makes them look so fussy and conservative. I think that’s a consistent designer dilemma – I know people roll their eyes at “The Kate Effect” at this point, but it’s true that Kate can and sometimes does give designers exposure. The problem for those designers is that Kate tends to bring all of her fussy, buttony, doily energy to their pieces. All I’ll say is that seeing Kate in this jacket did not make me want to see what else the designer is doing, you know?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.

Two weeks ago I complained that the new Paramount+ show The Agency had too many plots going on for me, a woman of moderate intelligence, to get a grip on what was actually happening. Now that the series has concluded… I’d still like to know what went on in those 10 hours I watched! OK, I may tend to hyperbole, but sometimes it’s frustrating to see really good actors underserved by less-great material. Among the ensemble was Richard Gere, who played a long-suffering CIA desk executive (at least from what I could glean; see above). Well, The Agency aside, Richard was just given a lifetime achievement honor from the Spanish Goya Awards over the weekend. He and his wife Alejandra Silva have been based in her home country since last fall, a move from America that they’d planned before the election. But though Richard is gone from the States, his country has not been forgotten by him, as he used his acceptance speech to condemn Trump and the age of authoritarianism he’s ushering in:

Film star Richard Gere slammed President Donald Trump and warned of the rise of authoritarianism globally during an award show in Spain over the weekend.

“I’m coming from a place now that we’re in a very dark place in America, where we have a bully and a thug who is the president of the United States,” Gere, 75, said as he accepted a lifetime achievement trophy at Spain’s Goya Awards on Saturday.

The crowd cheered.

But Gere — who last year announced he was moving to Spain, where his wife, Alejandra Silva, is from — said the problem isn’t confined to his homeland.

“It’s everywhere,” he said. “Everywhere.”

He said he read a “moving letter” in The New York Times from a writer in Hungary who warned of the “slippery slope.”

“Authoritarianism takes us all over,” he said. “We have to be vigilant. We have to be alert. We have to be energetic. We have to be brave. We have to be courageous. And everyone who’s watching this — in the Spanish-speaking world and elsewhere — we have to be willing to stand up, tell the truth, be honest. And there’s a place in all of our lives for basic kindness, for basic love and understanding.”

Variety noted that Gere made similar comments at a news conference on Friday where he warned that the “dark marriage of money and power” in the United States is a danger to the entire planet.

“The millionaire clowns surrounding Trump are immature and narcissistic, a deadly mix,” he said.

[From HuffPost]

I like the term “millionaire clowns.” Though I think in Elon Musk’s case, since he appears to be the ringleader anyway, his title should be upgraded to “Billionaire Elno the Clown™” (not a typo!). As for the rest of Richard’s comments… Do I believe in his sentiments? Yes. Do I think his saying them in an acceptance speech will change anything? Not really. But I’ve been wrong about plenty of things (like what would happen last November), so I’d love nothing more than to be wrong about this! Or maybe my pessimism/grumpitude is down to me having a negative knee jerk reaction to his saying we need to be “energetic,” because nothing makes me feel more tired than hearing someone tell me to bring more energy. Or perhaps I’m just jealous that I don’t have a country on the Iberian coast that I can escape to! In any event, I’m glad Richard is still connected and concerned about the US. As Bill Nighy says in the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, “These are dark times, there is no denying.”

Richard Gere, “We have a bully and a thug who is President of the United States”

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— Farrukh (@implausibleblog.bsky.social) February 9, 2025 at 9:29 AM

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Photos credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages and Getty

I saw some people posting this Daily Mail headline over the weekend, and it seemed very strange, like the Mail was poking Prince William for some reason. I mean, I think I know the reason(s), but still. The headline: “The secret posh pecking order: Our high society insider reveals the REAL ranking and rivalry of blue bloods, from the top-tier toff every husband wants to bed, to the C-list woman William calls when he wants to blow off steam.” Absolutely fascinating, right? It’s almost as if (once again) they want to yank on William and Kate’s leashes and get them off their asses somehow. The piece was written by Charlotte Griffiths (the same one bitching about how Harry and Meghan call each other “my wife/husband”), and it’s full of all sorts of shady sh-t. First of all, the “top-tier toff every husband wants to bed” is exactly who you think it is: Rose Hanbury. Some highlights:

Proximity to the Windsors determines your A-list status: As a long-time observer of the in-crowd, I can tell you that behind the perfect teeth, and even more perfect manners, these elite circles harbour intense rivalries. The ultimate test of who is ‘in’ is still judged by proximity to the Royal Family. Beyond that, social influence and good old-fashioned money are the things that count.

Top of the A-list: Top of everyone’s dream guest-list is Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley (pronounced ‘Chumley’). The 40-year-old entered the A list in 2009 when she married the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley and became chatelaine of Houghton Hall, a 106-room neo-Palladian pile in Norfolk built for Britain’s first Prime Minister Horace Walpole, bedecked with chinoiserie and hand-printed wallpaper.

Enigmatic & cool Rose Hanbury: Rose has remained top-tier ever since her marriage – and is a source of endless fascination in high society, which is why she gets invited to everything. However, very few ‘stiffy’ invitations – the nickname for those written on card so stiff it can’t be folded – are grand enough for her to accept, so it’s tricky to earn a place on her marble mantlepiece. Part of her allure is that she’s enigmatic and choosy about her friends. Invitations to Houghton are like gold dust. She tends to mix only with a trusted inner circle of fellow Norfolk ‘Turnip Toffs’, the name given to the county’s landowning set.

Absolutely fascinating: At parties, I have noticed that Rose often slinks into the shadows, preferring private chats with girlfriends to dancing on tables. More beguiling in real-life than she is in photographs (she’s not so consistently photogenic as her neighbour the Princess of Wales), most husbands secretly – and not so secretly – fancy Rose. When it comes to royal circles, Rose ticks this box too. Much mischief is spoken of her being the Princess of Wales’s ‘rural rival’ in Norfolk’s social hierarchy but they are close friends. One wouldn’t imagine that the Princess’s sister Pippa would have named her younger daughter ‘Rose’ if there was any tension between the two women.

Prince William’s friendship with a C-lister: If you measure aristocratic clout by your royal friends then Susanna Warren, 36, has certainly earned her place thanks to being the first person Prince William calls when he needs to blow off steam. On those increasingly rare occasions when he decides to go ‘out-out’, it’s velvet-rope queen Susanna, whom William calls ‘Suze’, who can help. She’s events director at Camden’s trendiest members club House of Koko. Despite the insalubrious location, Koko is a hot ticket and William was spotted dad dancing there in 2023 with his best friend Guy Pelly, Susanna’s ex-boyfriend. She may not flaunt her connections but underneath Susanna’s bashful demeanour lies a steely woman with 17 years of loyal service in the inner royal circle.

[From The Daily Mail]

The thing about William “needing to blow off steam” is so interesting, because there’s a conspiracy of silence about William’s whereabouts and activities on a daily level. Occasionally, over the years, people will get a glimpse of how he parties without Kate, or goes to clubs with his bros or goes to dinner with some mystery woman. And then there’s zero follow-up and the press plays dumb about how the Wales marriage is being held together with a flimsy piece of string. As for the Rose Hanbury stuff… lmao, Pippa naming her daughter “Rose” is cited as the reason why the affair rumors are false. Yeah. Enigmatic, cool, not-so-photogenic Rose who slinks off to corners and gets the attention of all the toff husbands. Sure. Nothing to see here, folks!

Top ten stories about Prince William’s alleged affair with Rose Hanbury

Prince William’s lawyers threatened news outlets over stories about Kate’s “rural rival,” Rose Hanbury, in 2019. Get the top ten stories about Prince William’s alleged affair when you sign up for our mailing list.

– Katie at Celebitchy

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