This week, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe removed the royal titles and royal styling from four of her grandchildren. Crown Prince Frederick’s four children are now her only “royal” grandchildren, while the children of her second son, Prince Joachim, will no longer be HRHs or Princes/Princesses. Joachim’s four kids are now his/her excellency count/countess of Monpezat. Honestly, I like the idea of taking royal titles and leaving them with a lesser-yet-still-special title. It’s what the Earl of Wessex’s children have – his son is Viscount Severn and his daughter is Lady Louise. That seems like a decent compromise, overall. But the story in Denmark has become about HOW Queen Margrethe decided this and how she did it. The mothers of the four children seem very upset about the Queen’s decision, and Prince Joachim only had a few days’ notice. Originally, this change was supposed to happen when all of the kids were older. This is what Joachim told Danish media outlet Ekstra Bladet:

Prince Joachim of Denmark is breaking his silence on a family decision. The Danish prince, 53, reacted to his mother Queen Margrethe II’s decision to strip his four children of their prince and princess titles, which the Danish Royal House announced Wednesday.

“We are all very sad. It’s never fun to see your children being mistreated like that,” he told the national newspaper Ekstra Bladet on Thursday. “They find themselves in a situation they do not understand. I was given five days’ notice,” Joachim added.

The reporter responded that she thought he learned of the Queen’s plans in May, prompting the sixth in line to the throne to explain that wasn’t quite the case.

“In May, I was presented with a plan, which basically stated that when the children each turned 25, it would happen,” Joachim said. “Athena turns 11 in January,” he added of his youngest child.

“How has this affected your relationship with your mother?” the journalist asked. Holding for a moment, looking emotional, Joachim replied, “I don’t think I need to elaborate here,” and turned to walk away.

In a statement to B.T., another national outlet, the palace insisted that the announcement should not have come as a surprise.

“As the Queen stated yesterday, the decision has been a long time coming. We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen’s wish to future-proof the Royal Palace will be respected,” a spokesperson for the Danish Royal Palace told the outlet.

Doubling down on his argument in his own remarks to B.T., Joachim stated, “I was given five days’ notice of this. To tell my children that on New Year’s their identity will be taken from them. I am very, very sorry to see them uncomprehending about what is happening over their heads.”

The father of four — who is dad to sons Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, and Henrik, 13, and daughter Athena, 10 — added that he’s mystified why everything was accelerated.

“I simply don’t know. I originally asked for time to think and give my feedback. That would also be taken into account,” the Danish royal told B.T., adding that his kids were having a hard time processing the change. “I can say that my children are upset. My kids don’t know which leg to stand on. What they should believe. Why should their identity be removed? Why must they be punished in that way?”

[From People]

I don’t know who to believe here – I kind of doubt that Margrethe would completely blind-side her son this way and make it look so punitive out of nowhere. I also think Joachim seems genuinely hurt and he feels like he and his children are being snubbed in public by his mother. I definitely feel like there’s more backstory here, and I also think that how it’s being done – “you are only a prince for three more months and that’s it!” – is very strange and wrong. To go back to the Wessexes, I don’t think it would have been *as* big a deal if Joachim was told from day one that his kids wouldn’t have royal titles, but they would be counts and countesses of Monpezat. Doing it now – when two oldest sons are adults – feels very shady and half-assed. I also agree that perhaps Frederick’s three younger children should maybe get their royal titles yanked too, out of fairness. I mean…??

Also: Queen Margrethe’s decision is anti-Asian!! Joachim’s first wife Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, has Chinese, Iranian and Indian ancestry. Meaning, Prince Nikolai and Prince Flix are mixed-race Danish royals, only they’re being stripped of their titles. Danish racism!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

There are some interesting podcast clips making the rounds this week. The clips are from a pod called The Gal Code, with hosts Rob Gartland & Bibi Bagnall. You can see the Apple page for The Gal Code here, I don’t know which episode these clips are from. During the pod, there’s a discussion with a woman who worked on the project which became the Duchess of Sussex’s Smart Set capsule collection. In 2019, Meghan organized the Smart Set collection to provide basic wardrobe pieces (a white blouse, black trousers, etc) to her patronage, SmartWorks. SmartWorks provides professional clothing and job training for British women entering or re-entering the workforce. Meghan had made several visits to SmartWorks and thought there needed to be more wardrobe staples for the women, thus the Smart Set collection. It was a great, successful effort. But of course the British media tried to rip Meghan to shreds over it. Anyway, the conversation is about how Meghan was completely amazing during the launch event and how the snooty people were the royal advisors:

Revealing clip from The Gal Code podcast about the launch of Meghan’s #SmartSet collection for her patronage Smartworks. Meghan spent countless hours developing the collection & launch event that were never documented in the court circular in order to keep the launch secret. pic.twitter.com/WYWB88zO3d

— R.S. Locke / Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) September 29, 2022

Further proof that the palace aides can often act more royal than the royals. While Meghan is described as lovely and graciously thanking the team behind the event, some of the palace staff are described as divas who felt they were exempt from security procedures. pic.twitter.com/SUDnAxFnjL

— R.S. Locke / Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) September 29, 2022

I love how much this woman loves Meghan! Talking about how much Meghan glows and how prepared and nice she is, then saying the snooty ones were the “royal advisors.” I wonder about who was around Meghan at that time, because at that point in 2019, Meghan and Harry had their own team around them, they weren’t being staffed by Kensington Palace. Curious. Also: the part about the British media going hyper-negative and even flying someone out to the factory? Holy YIKES.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Instar, WENN.

Queen Elizabeth’s death certificate was released this week, which surprised me. In America, death certificates are public documents and anyone can access them. But surely it’s different in the UK, especially with royalty? I guess not. So, here’s QEII’s death certificate:

Occupation:
Her Majesty The Queen pic.twitter.com/4J8TCs9QLn

— Peter Hunt (@_PeterHunt) September 29, 2022

She passed away at 3:10 pm, and they didn’t announce it until three hours later. I get that they had to inform the rest of the family before they announced it, but jeez, I really did believe that they were supposed to announce it faster than they did. Also: on a technical level, wasn’t her surname Mountbatten-Windsor? Wasn’t that decision made by QEII at some point? And yes, I guess we’re going with “old age” as the cause of death. It was the same with Prince Philip – the death certificate isn’t going into the nitty-gritty of exactly what was going on, even though several people said “cancer” for both Elizabeth and Philip.

Meanwhile, I read this story in the Telegraph and I found it slightly amusing. There are already people talking about the “need” to build monuments and statues for QEII, and one of the proposals is that a QEII statue should be erected on the “Fourth Plinth” in Trafalgar Square. The Fourth Plinth is where, for decades now, different artists have exhibited their public work. Originally, there was supposed to be a statue of William IV, but that never came to pass. Currently, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has used the space for a revolving door of exhibitions highlighting trans issues, anti-colonialism, racial justice. Well, Mayor Khan says that right now, he has zero plans to disrupt those pieces of public art just to erect a statue of Elizabeth. Funny, right? I wonder how many monuments and statues will go up in the next few years though.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

I thought we would be discussing Trevor Noah’s new relationship with Dua Lipa, because the photos of the two of them came out in the early evening on Thursday. Then last night, The Daily Show aired and Noah made a huge announcement, one which blows the Dua Lipa news out of the water. After seven years and a massively shrinking audience, Trevor Noah is stepping down as host of The Daily Show:

Trevor Noah is nearing his last laugh on “The Daily Show.” The comedian, who came out of near anonymity to take over the program from Jon Stewart in 2015, plans to exit the flagship Comedy Central series after a seven-year tenure that saw him transform it for a new generation of viewers who are more at home on social media than they are cable outlets and broadcast networks.

Noah revealed his plans to an audience at Thursday evening’s taping of the program in New York, according to two people familiar with the matter. It was not immediately clear when his actual exit would take place, or whether the Paramount Global cable network had begun to consider a successor. Jill Fritzo, a representative for Noah, could not be reached for immediate comment.

[From Variety]

I’ll just say what’s on my mind, okay? Trevor Noah was the wrong person to take over from Jon Stewart, and Noah stayed on way too long. It was clear that the audience wasn’t buying Noah’s (Bernie Bro) shtick years ago – TDS’s audience and cultural relevance fell off a cliff during Noah’s years as host. His tenure should have been, at best, a two-year transitional gig. I’ll never really forgive TDS producers for not looking harder for a woman to replace Stewart, especially given that Samantha Bee was RIGHT THERE. Bee left TDS the same year as Stewart, 2015. I’ve always wondered if she left when it was made clear to her that she wasn’t getting promoted to the anchor desk.

As for Dua Lipa, I guess Dua and Trevor are dating now. The Daily Mail had exclusive photos of Dua and Trevor out and about this week in New York. I’m also including photos of Dua out last night, going to a Clooney Foundation event. Her dress has giant buttons, y’all know the Princess of Wales is in ruins right now.

Dua Lipa, 27, and Trevor Noah, 38, spark romance rumors as they’re seen KISSING after dinner in NYC https://t.co/KqO4GoaORE

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) September 29, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

On Thursday, the Princess of Wales had an “event” at Windsor Castle. Considering Kate is now fully doing meet-and-greets and events within Windsor Castle, my guess is that William and Kate were truly measuring the drapes the day after QEII’s death. Kate barely even moved into Adelaide Cottage, and she put the move off so long because the family all had the feeling that QEII would not make it to the end of the year. William and Kate knew that Windsor Castle would be theirs soon enough, and here we are. My theory is that William and Kate will take different wings of the castle, and that Kate will keep up some kind of appearance she sort of still lives in Adelaide Cottage, but not really.

Anyway, this event on Thursday was Kate meeting the HMS Glasgow’s company. The HMS Glasgow is a battleship and Kate was appointed the sponsorship of the big battlegworl last year. It was a weird moment too, because Kate wasn’t actually there when she was appointed the sponsorship. QEII made her take it on and then William accepted it on Kate’s behalf when he was in Scotland (without Kate). I don’t believe the HMS Glasgow is fully functional yet (much like Kate). They’re still building her and making her sea-worthy.

From the airbrushed and hyper-selective photos, I can tell that Kate’s staff just told her to show up at a certain time and she waltzed in, gurned for a few minutes, posed for some photos and then it was off to raid the Royal Collection jewelry.

Photos courtesy of Instagram.

I definitely wasn’t expecting a potential SNL scandal involving Kenan Thompson of all people, but here we are. Kenan and his wife Christina Evangeline were married for 11 years and have two children together. Kenan filed for divorce earlier this year, around May. Christina has moved on and is now dating… Chris Redd. Yep, that Chris Redd, Kenan’s co-star on SNL and his recently-canceled sitcom, Kenan.

No, this isn’t an SNL sketch.

Nearly six months after reports emerged of Kenan Thompson and wife Christina Evangeline’s quiet separation, ET can confirm she has a new man in her life — and he’s someone Thompson knows well.

According to a source, Evangeline is dating Chris Redd, Thompson’s longtime Saturday Night Live co-star, who also played his brother on his canceled sitcom, Kenan.

“Chris and Christina Evangeline are dating. The two know each other through SNL since Chris worked with her ex, Kenan Thompson,” a source tells ET. “They started dating after Kenan and Christina split.”

As for how the new romance is going, the source notes, “They are having a lot of fun and really get along well.” TMZ was first to report the news of them dating.

Mere days ago, Redd announced his exit from SNL after five years on the show. As for Thompson and Evangeline, they tied the knot in 2011 and share two daughters — Georgia, 8, and Gianna, 4. According to TMZ, which broke the news of their split in April, the couple had already been separated for more than a year. ET reached out to both for comment at the time.

The following month, Thompson filed for divorce, TMZ reported, citing online records.

[From ET Online]

Incidentally, I once saw Kenan and his wife walking around in the East Village, probably about 10-12 years ago. Even if there are no hard feelings involved and everyone is okay with it, this is super awkward, right? Kenan and Chris were not only SNL co-stars for the past five years, but they played brothers on Kenan’s sitcom. That sitcom had two seasons over the past two years. They must have been pretty close if Kenan pulled Chris from SNL to join him, as his brother, in his own sitcom. And the article is pretty clear that Christina met Chris through SNL aka Kenan. (Also, Chris and Christina,  cutesy). Not saying there was any overlap, after all, Kenan was the one to file for divorce, but this just seems so awkward! But I wonder if it has anything to do with Chris’ SNL departure. As in, is it too awkward to keep working together and one of them had to go?

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The latest in a series of celebrity cheating scandals is super complicated and involves the Try Guys. These four guys used to have videos on Buzzfeed where they — you guessed it — tried things, and they later split off from Buzzfeed, paying for their name and setting up their own shop. Of the four founding guys, Ned Fulmer was the “wife guy” of the bunch, handled HR for the company, and his wife, Ariel, was one of the “Try Wives” and deeply intertwined in the business.

The timeline is complicated, but the gist is Ned has now been fired after infidelity accusations. Why, you ask, was a man fired from his job for being a cheater? Well, because he was cheating with one of his subordinates, a woman employed by the production company. And the rest of the guys are taking a week off the podcast to regroup.

The Try Guys are taking some time off.

Following the announcement that Ned Fulmer would no longer be a part of the group after infidelity accusations, the remaining members announced that they will be taking part in a brief hiatus from their podcast.

“The TryPod will be taking a week off, and returning next week on Oct 6.,” a tweet from the group, whose members now include Keith Habersberger, Zach Kornfeld and Eugene Lee Yang, reads. “We wanted to take some time to formulate our thoughts before recording the episode. Thanks for being patient.”

TryPod is the group’s weekly podcast where they recap their experiences trying different things.

“In this weekly podcast they dissect their experiences as internet creators and best friends who have made a living failing upwards,” a description of the show reads.

The Try Guys was first formed in 2014 when the four founders worked for BuzzFeed. They eventually left the media giant and started their own production company, 2nd Try LLC.

Earlier this week, the group released a statement via Twitter stating that Ned, 35, “is no longer working” with them.

“As a result of a thorough internal review, we do not see a path forward together,” the statement continued. “We thank you for your support as we navigate this change.”

After his departure was announced, Ned posted a statement on his Instagram account, admitting to having “a consensual workplace relationship.” Rumors previously swirled on social media alleging Ned was seen out with another woman.

“Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus,” the statement read. “I’m sorry for any pain that my actions may have caused to the guys and the fans but most of all to Ariel. The only thing that matters right now is my marriage and my children, and that’s where I am going to focus my attention.”

Ariel Fulmer, his wife, also shared a statement of her own via Instagram. “Thanks to everyone who has reached out to me — it means a lot,” she wrote. “Nothing is more important to me and Ned than our family, and all we request right now is that you respect our privacy for the sake of our kids.”

Representatives for Ned and The Try Guys did not immediately return PEOPLE’s requests for additional comments at the time of the initial announcement.

To date, The Try Guys have accumulated 7.8 million subscribers on YouTube.

[From People]

When I first saw a headline that boiled it down to Ned being fired for cheating, I was super confused. But after getting a detailed backgrounder from my friend Ameerah, it all made sense. Ned, who handled HR, carried out an ongoing, long-term affair with an employee/subordinate out in the open. Not out in the open of the company, but out in the open of the world, including public makeouts at Harry Styles concerts and NYC outdoor dining. Of course he was going to get caught. Complicating matters, not only was Ned’s affair partner an employee, she worked with his wife as well. They all knew each other. So much so that apparently the affair partner’s fiancé messaged Ned’s wife to tell her of the affair, which Ned’s wife had believed was a one-time thing in the past and not an ongoing affair. And Ariel had a baby recently as well. Wow, Ned really treated his marriage and family and his business like crap. This misconduct from the HR guy probably opened them up to a whole world of liability and the rest of the guys were right to part ways with him — from a business sense and probably from a personal sense as well, considering how closely the wives are involved with the company.

pic.twitter.com/7v8Lx3WLQI

— The Try Guys (@tryguys) September 27, 2022

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Jason Momoa had a recent feature in British GQ’s Hype, which is like their online-only magazine I think. Momoa is single these days, but he doesn’t talk about his divorced life or dating life at all in this piece. He’s too busy talking about work, masculinity and the environment. Momoa was named the UN Environment Programme’s Advocate for Life Below Water, a natural fit for the actor who plays Aquaman. Momoa has always had strong feelings about ocean pollution and plastic in the ocean in particular. Some highlights from GQ Hype:

The world is on fire: “Every day there’s a dumpster fire. Yes we’re trying to go green but what are the batteries doing? What are we doing to indigenous cultures and what does that mean? I’m not just going to blindly do this, there’s got to be proper laws written around these things. I don’t like bitching, I want to do something. But I feel like I don’t have much time.”

Being cast as Aquaman: “When Zack told me he wanted me to play Aquaman, I was like, ‘What? that’s like the farthest thing [from what I thought] I would ever be’. Then he laid it out and I thought, ‘Why can’t it be someone of Polynesian descent?’”

He loves using Aquaman to talk about the oceans: “These superhero movies dominate our market, which I have my own thoughts on because I love cinema, but we try to put out a positive message and go on an adventure. Aquaman is the most made-fun-of superhero in the world. But it’s amazing to be able to bring awareness of what is happening to our planet. It’s not some story that’s been told over and over, [it’s a] movie about what’s happening right now but in a fantasy world.”

Talking to his kids about the environment: “It made me feel extremely proud seeing them speak for themselves and take this heavy moment in. I’m not as young as I used to be. It’s scary having kids and knowing what is going to happen to our planet if we don’t change sh-t now.”

He wants more control over his films: “I’ve been a part of a lot of things that really sucked, and movies where it’s out of your hands. Conan [the Barbarian] was one of them. It’s one of the best experiences I had and it [was] taken over and turned into a big pile of sh-t.”

Challenge the idea of masculinity. “It’s been hard because people always think I’m just this dude who plays [macho characters]. But I want to be moved, I want something new. Things are changing, and even the villain roles I’m playing now are eccentric.” In the tenth Fast and Furious film, Momoa plays a villain whose toenails are painted purple and pink, with a lavender car to match, and who enjoys laughing maniacally as he blows up co-star Ludacris’s car. “I’m a peacock at the highest level and I’m having the time of my life.”

[From GQ Hype]

Is it just me or is Jason Momoa feeling his age? He mentions variations on “I feel like I don’t have much time” a few times. Part of that is just getting older (he’s 43) and part of it feels…ominous. But I agree with him, the world is on fire. I’ve always appreciated the fact that he talks a lot about the oceans and ocean pollution, and Aquaman gives him a great platform for that. I’m not sure it’s some big challenge to masculinity norms to see Momoa wearing nail polish and blowing up cars, but sure! It’s better than being a toxic mess, I guess.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid. Cover courtesy of British GQ.

In his first address to the nation, King Charles III made a surprising amount of news and almost all of it was about his sons. Charles notably announced that William and Kate would be getting the Prince of Wales/Princess of Wales titles, which means that George, Charlotte and Louis are all now “of Wales” rather than “of Cambridge” or “of Cornwall.” Prince George of Wales, etc. Wales will be what they use as surnames (i.e. George Wales) for school and what have you. Interestingly, King Charles III did not use any titles in reference to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. He said: “I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.”

That one sentence launched a thousand thinkpieces about what’s really going on and what Harry said to his father and what Charles wants, etc. My interpretation: Harry has made it clear that regardless of what happens next, he and Meghan consider Montecito their home. I also think Charles probably prefers that, but I also believe that Charles knows that there can’t be this constant transatlantic beef between them. Other people had different theories about what the new king meant. Like this guy.

The King, 73, spoke of both of his children in the address, saying he wished to “express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas”. The Sussexes’ decision to step back as senior royals and move to the US caused a rift in the Firm – but a royal expert says Charles’ comments showed he was trying to heal old wounds.

Royal expert Nigel Cawthorne said the words showed he wanted the couple back “in the fold”.

He told The Sun: “That was rather interesting. [King Charles] is obviously trying to paper over the cracks there and try and draw them back into the fold. And when you think about it, Harry and Meghan may be getting a Netflix contract in the US, but they’ve played their trump card of being royal. In 20 or 30 years times how will they make their money? If they come back that’s a job for life. It was an olive branch. I think he wants them back in the fold. Because he won’t be able to visit them and his grandchildren in California without palaver.”

[From The Sun]

Literally no one considers the idea that Harry and Meghan are creating generational wealth with their business deals and contracts? It’s not like “whoops, we used up $120 million in a couple of years, we better beg the king to take us back!” Besides, as I said, I don’t even think Charles wants them back, nor do the Sussexes want to go back. Charles just wants to stop the bleeding, he wants the Montecito royals to not be his biggest liability. The problem is, he’s still treating them like complete sh-t and even if they never spoke again, they would still be a huge liability.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, WENN.

When Prince William invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to go on a brief walkabout outside of Windsor Castle on September 10th, it was a big deal. It was such a big deal that both William and King Charles III wanted credit for it – Charles’s people were briefing the media that he “ordered” William to call Harry and invite him. Meanwhile, William’s people were briefing the media that William alone decided to make the call. For a brief moment, it made William seem diplomatic and conciliatory. It was all for show, of course. It was just a performance for an hour. Nothing substantial changed, but at least we knew that William and Harry could be in the same space briefly without killing each other. Well, Katie Nicholl has some thoughts about that walkabout, what didn’t come next and what it all means.

Queen Elizabeth II’s death was “a missed opportunity” for brothers Prince William and Prince Harry to make peace, says a royal expert.

“I think it’s very sad [that] in the days Harry was here, there was an opportunity given they were just a couple of hundred yards away from each other for a meeting or dinner or gathering of some sort where they could actually just try to thrash things out,” “The New Royals” author Katie Nicholl exclusively tells Page Six.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in the UK for 11 days after the Queen passed away on Sept. 8 at age 96. During that time, the couple stayed at Frogmore Cottage, not far from Adelaide Cottage where the Prince and Princess of Wales are located.

Nicholl notes that although William “extended the olive branch” by inviting his estranged brother and sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, to join him and wife Kate Middleton on a walkabout outside Windsor Castle, it was not the ice-breaker royal watchers were hoping for.

“When you look closely back on it there’s no real warmth there,” Nicholl opines. “There’s no real coming together, it’s very clear the ‘Fab Four’ are not fab anymore, they were going through the motions. I’ve had it on very good sources that there was no meeting done privately and so yes [there was] a missed opportunity but reflective of how intensely both brothers feel about things.”

Nicholl explains that a détente appears dim as both brothers are digging in their heels.

“William can be very stubborn and hold a grudge,” she says. “Harry is emotional and hotheaded and they’re both very passionate and there’s a lack of understanding on both parts and resentment on both parts and anger on both parts, that hasn’t been able to be placated and worked through.”

[From Page Six]

I actually appreciate the fact that Nicholl says “there’s no real warmth there.” Too many people were like “wow, relations are thawing, maybe something will happen now!” I actually thought William put on a good performance of someone trying to make nice. Harry also made an effort. Meghan seemed terrified that at any moment, William was going to scream at her. And Kate just seemed over it and contemptuous of the whole stunt. Once again, I go back to what Omid Scobie wrote about them just before QEII’s death – Harry wants accountability, William wants an apology. I think it’s more like Harry wants justice and William wants capitulation.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.