One of the reasons why so many Democrats still kept the faith with President Biden is because we feared utter party chaos if Biden stepped away. It’s been less than 24 hours since Biden ended his reelection campaign and while everything is not perfect, it’s been a shockingly good moment for Democrats and for Vice President Kamala Harris. The enthusiasm for VP Harris was immediate, the fundraising got a huge jolt and endorsements for Harris are still pouring in. Another weird/positive spin on the past three weeks of utter Democratic dysfunction is that “Dems-in-disarray” overshadowed all things Donald Trump. While the Trump campaign saw polling gains in many states, the campaign still sent a babbling, slurring, white supremacist moron on stage at the RNC and the “acceptance” of Trump was contingent on the fact that President Biden is even older and that he did so poorly against Trump at the debate. All of which to say, Cheeto and his people are panicking about Kamala Harris. From The Atlantic:

Republicans I spoke with today, some of them still hungover from celebrating what felt to many like a victory-night celebration in Milwaukee, registered shock at the news of Biden’s departure. Party officials had left town believing the race was all but over. Now they were confronting the reality of reimagining a campaign—one that had been optimized, in every way, to defeat Biden—against a new and unknown challenger. “So, we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden, he polls badly after having a terrible debate, and quits the race,” a clearly peeved Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social. “Now we have to start all over again.”

For months, in talking with Wiles and LaCivita, I was struck by their concern about the potential of a dramatic switch—Democratic leaders pushing out Biden in favor of a younger nominee. They told me that Trump’s campaign was readying contingency plans and studying the weaknesses of would-be alternatives, beginning with Vice President Kamala Harris. By the time of the debate, however, they believed that Democrats’ window had all but closed. Even in the immediate aftermath—as Democratic officials openly called for Biden to quit—Wiles and LaCivita were betting on the status quo. More than anything, Trump’s allies believed that the president’s stubborn Irish ego wouldn’t let him back out of a fight with a man he despised.

But they couldn’t take any chances. Two weeks ago, according to a campaign source who spoke with me on the condition of anonymity, Trump’s pollster Tony Fabrizio went into the field to begin testing the outcomes of a Harris-versus-Trump matchup. These surveys, conducted across several battleground states, represented the most concrete step taken to prepare for the possibility of a new adversary. Still, with the polling a tightly held secret—I couldn’t verify the results—there were no outward signs of Trump’s operation expecting a reset. When convention speakers reached out to the GOP nominee’s campaign, gauging whether to hedge their speeches with attacks on Harris, they were told to keep the focus on Biden.

[From The Atlantic]

Yeah, Republicans spent the bulk of their convention mocking Joe Biden and his presidency. They’re scrambling. Trump is upset that, compared to Kamala Harris, he looks like what he is – a 78-year-old felon in severe cognitive decline who only appeals to bigots, idiots and traitors. Also: the enthusiasm gap is going to be seen very quickly. In fact, we’re already seeing it – Black women locked in within minutes of Pres. Biden’s announcement. It’s been a deeply underreported story, but the enthusiasm has been way down for Trump for several years now. He can’t fill arenas anymore, and his supporters are starting to realize that it’s all a cult and a scam.

Donald Trump donated $5,000 to re-elect Kamala Harris for California Attorney General in 2011.

According to public records, he made an additional donation of $1,000 in 2013. pic.twitter.com/dLt6TkeIiT

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 21, 2024

Something mainstream media won’t report:

There was a Zoom tonight for Black women organizing for Kamala Harris.

The call had a max of 1000 people. They hit it immediately, and got a hold of the Zoom CEO to help.

40,000 people joined. For over 4 hours.

Trump is soooo screwed.

— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) July 22, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

It’s going to be another chaotic week in gossip and world news, but today is also Prince George’s eleventh birthday. He’s now the same age as Drake’s alleged secret daughter! LMAO. To celebrate Prince George’s birthday, the Princess of Wales took a new portrait of her son. Black-and-white, with the child in a suit. It’s a nice photo honestly and it actually looks like it was taken recently, unlike many of the photos released by Kensington Palace this year.

Ever since the Mother’s Day photo fiasco back in March, Kensington Palace no longer releases their photos to photo agencies and media outlets. Their new thing is posting exclusive photos on social media, so now Getty, Reuters, etc, all add disclaimers, saying that they got the photos from KP and they can’t independently verify the photos. I don’t see any glaring problems with this one, except I do wonder if Kate was the one who actually took it. But whatever. They play fast and loose with the photo credits constantly.

George was most recently seen at Trooping the Colour at some football matches with his father. George got to attend the EURO final with his dad and they watched England lose the second EURO final in a row. They say that George is obsessed with football too. It’s also notable that as of yet, he’s not in a boarding school. That might change soon enough – it seems pretty likely that he’ll eventually go to Eton.

Photos courtesy of the Princess of Wales/Kensington Palace, Backgrid, Avalon Red and Cover Images.

Last week we covered Brisket’s Dad (pka Glen Powell) describing the epiphany that led him to adopting Brisket: “I just had the desire to be a father.” Y’all had strong and varying opinions in the comments about whether it was appropriate to use the parent comparison for one’s pet. All points of view are valid! I think the key to remember is that pet relationships are unique to everyone and to respect ones that differ from our own. That preamble aside, researchers from the University of Helsinki are throwing a bone (sorry, not sorry) to those like Brisket’s Dad who feel that their pups are their babies. The study showed that human parents of puppies can get “puppy blues,” akin to “baby blues” when raising a baby. The primary symptoms are anxiety, frustration, and weariness. Unfortunately, there were no results to explain why I’m still carrying the litter weight.

If you’re one of those people who refers to your dogs as your “babies,” a new study is going to make you feel pretty validated. According to researchers at the University of Helsinki, for some new dog owners, the experience of raising a puppy is comparable to the postpartum “baby blues” many human parents experience with their newborns.

The puppy stage gives rise to a variety of worries, mood swings, irritability, and sometimes, difficulty bonding with the dog that feels at odds with what you’re “supposed” to feel raising something so cute.

“Both ‘pet parents’ and human parents describe anxiety and depression-like symptoms triggered by the life change of a new family member, though it typically diminishes over time,” said Aada Ståhl, a psychologist and doctoral student at the University of Helsinki and one of the lead authors of the study.

Puppy blues symptoms play out in three distinct ways, Ståhl told HuffPost, though usually, people experience multiple symptoms at once:

Anxiety: The new puppy owner might seriously doubt their ability to raise the dog or worry about the puppy’s well-being and development. (For instance, maybe they fear creating a yappy, unhousebroken puppy).

Frustration: The challenges and unexpected difficulties of puppy care — poor behavior, an inability to establish an emotional bond — are common stressors, too. Some puppy owners may feel so overwhelmed by their new responsibilities, they may even regret their decision to get a dog or wonder if they should give the puppy up.

Weariness: Fatigue, difficulty sleeping (even if the puppy is sleeping fine), and anxiety about the time and attention the puppy needs are all common among new pet owners.
Ståhl’s interest in this subject began a few years ago when she came across discussions from beleaguered pet parents on dog forums.

“Puppy owners were sharing their struggles with anxiety and frustration and difficulties in forming an attachment to the puppy during this period, and there were a lot of ‘baby blues’ comparisons,” Ståhl said. “As a psychologist, this caught my attention, prompting me to search for existing research, which was lacking at that time.”

The findings of Ståhl’s study are no surprise to Brett Endes, a professional dog trainer and canine behavior consultant in Los Angeles. Many new dog owners are unprepared for the amount of work that goes into raising and training a puppy, he told HuffPost.

“Training, socialization, and establishing a routine are crucial, yet they can be daunting tasks for new owners,” Endes said. “Additionally, some people adopt puppies to fulfill emotional needs, expecting them to provide immediate comfort and companionship.”

In the rush and excitement of getting a new puppy, people tend to underestimate the significant lifestyle adjustments and the constant attention puppies demand.

The reality is, puppies require guidance, patience, and training to develop into well-behaved dogs. This mismatch of expectations and actual experience can lead to disappointment and contribute to the “puppy blues,” Endes said.

[From HuffPost]

I have a confession to make: I’ve never been through the rigors of raising a dog from puppyhood. When I adopted My Girl from a rescue fair, the vet looked at her teeth and estimated that she was about 18 months old. Still young, but not a newborn — which I think worked out best, because whenever I imagine how adorable a teeny tiny My Girl must have looked like, I run the risk of spontaneous combustion. But even without having seen My Girl through her first year-and-a-half of life, I can still vouch for having experienced anxiety, frustration, and weariness in our 11 years of being family. That’s what love does to you! And I wouldn’t trade it for anything. (Even considering that unlike a human baby, puppies basically grow up to be permanent toddlers.)

A note from My Girl: Not that anyone asked, but I’ll have you all know that I feel all those feeling things too a million times a day! There’s the anxiety that I’ll never have another meal. And then the frustration that I haven’t been given another meal. And of course the constant weariness of having to remind Mama to frickin’ give me another meal! And, for the record, the only Brisket I’m interested in is the one that has been doused in gravy and roasted in the oven for a few hours… I’m hungry.

Photos credit: Yogendra Singh on Unsplash, Garrett Karoski, Polina Chistyakova, Valeria Boltneva, Pixabay and Thirdman on Pexels

Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theaters this Friday. For the last few months, we’ve been treated to some delightful interviews with its stars, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. I was somewhat meh on another Deadpool movie until the trailer came out in April. It made the movie look really fun. At the time, I mentioned that the use of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” fit perfectly in the trailer. Well, it turns out that awesome addition to the trailer required some extra effort to make happen. In an interview with Andy Cohen on Friday, Reynolds, Jackman, and director Shawn Levy revealed that in order to license the song, they had to visit Madge herself to ask for permission in person. I hope she didn’t keep them waiting.

“It did involve a personal visit to Madonna, where we showed Madonna the sequence where ‘Like a Prayer’ would be used,” Levy, 55, explained.

“Also, let’s preface it with the fact that they don’t license — that Madonna doesn’t just license the song, particularly that song,” Reynolds, 47, added.

“It was a big deal to ask for it and certainly a bigger deal to use it,” the Deadpool actor continued. “We went over and met with her and and sort of showed her how it was being used, and where, and why.”

Levy added that it felt like the production team was “meeting royalty,” before Reynolds jokingly said that he asked one of the members of Madonna’s team how to address her when meeting her.

“Like am I allowed to just say, ‘Madonna?’ ” he recalled. “Like, ‘Hello Madonna, I’m Ryan.’ ”

Reynolds also said that not only did Madonna agree to let them use the track (and it helped that her son was a fan of the first two Deadpool films), she also offered them notes on the scene where it would be used.

“She gave a great note,” Reynolds said. “She watched it, and I’m not kidding, [she said], ‘You need to do this.’ And damn it, if she wasn’t like spot on.”

“We literally went into a new recording session within 48 hours to do this note. … It made the sequence better,” Levy added.

[From People]

To be fair to Ryan, I probably would have no idea how to address Madonna in a business meeting either. (Though I think overall, I’d be more intimidated by Mariah Carey, lol.) I wonder if they’re going to use the movie for a fight sequence in the film itself. It would totally fit! It’s kinda cool that she gave them notes that they felt improved the trailer. I’m kinda curious as to what that change was! Also, I didn’t realize that she doesn’t license out “Like a Prayer” without special permission. This reminds me of how it was a big deal when Led Zeppelin gave permission for “Immigrant Song” to be in the trailer for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I believe R.E.M. is also pretty strict with songs they license out too. I get it, though. You don’t want your music to be misused or used by a campaign or group that doesn’t reflect your values. Remember when Neil Young sent a cease and desist to the Trump campaign for using “Rockin’ in the Free World?” I can only imagine what nefarious means people would use “Like A Prayer” for. I’m glad she gave Ryan and Hugh permission. It’s a fun trailer and I can’t wait to see if it’s also used in the movie.

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Photos credit: James Shaw / Avalon, Cat Morley / Avalon and via Instagram

Well, the Democratic Party bedwetters got what they wanted: utter chaos. The Republican Party is getting everything they wanted too – they successfully neutralized the only man who ever beat Donald Trump. President Joe Biden is dropping his reelection bid, despite his incumbent advantage, despite his primary victory (14 million votes), despite the fact that he’s been an excellent president. As it turns out, one bad night can destroy a presidency. But only when it’s a Democrat. Here’s his full statement:

My Fellow Americans,

Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.

I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.

It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.

I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision. For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.

I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.

Joe Biden.

My take: President Biden was fully prepared to stay in the race and then, if re-elected, he would have stepped down at some point in his second term. I think he was devastated and disgusted by the lack of support he has received from the party writ large and from very specific allies, Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama among them. He served his state and the country for nearly his entire adult life and this is how his party repaid him. It’s despicable.

As for his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. It literally has to be VP Harris. There is no other option which doesn’t involve a huge catastrophe at the DNC or an enormous fundraising mess. I love VP Harris and she will make an extraordinary president. I appreciate the fact that she didn’t knife President Biden in the back once in the past month or throughout the Biden presidency. I will make one joke through my tears: we better get new coconut-tree-themed Kamala Harris campaign merch.

And if you’re with us, donate to her campaign here:https://t.co/A0T3v7ItQm

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images, cover courtesy of Time.

On her 18th birthday back in May of this year, Shiloh Jolie filed the legal papers to drop “Pitt” from her surname. We soon learned, via People Magazine, that Shiloh made the decision herself and she went out and hired a lawyer on her own accord and wanted to file the name-change papers on her 18th birthday, perhaps as a gift to herself on the first day of her legal adulthood. Shortly after that, “sources close to Brad Pitt” threw a tantrum about Shiloh’s name change, and those “sources” showed exactly why Shiloh did it with this quote: “He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. He’s never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter.” He already had a daughter when Shiloh was born: Zahara was more than a year old when Shiloh was born. Of course, we’ve also heard that the other kids have dropped “Pitt” from their surname, but it’s done informally, at college and on playbills. By all accounts, Shiloh is the only one to change her legal name thus far. Well, here’s an update:

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s daughter, Shiloh, is taking the next step to ditch her dad’s last name — all so a judge can speed things up and make it all official.

Shiloh — who just recently turned 18 — recently took out an ad in the L.A. Times newspaper to announce she’d filed a petition to drop “Pitt” from her surname — which is a standard legality before the court green lights a name change.

Shiloh filed to change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie, per the newspaper notice. It also states anyone who has objections to the petition should show up in court later this month. Otherwise, she’s going forward with her plan.

[From TMZ]

Apparently, this is some kind of quirk of California law, you have to put a public notice in the newspaper when you’re about to change your legal name. Basically, Shiloh is just following her lawyer’s advice. What happens if Brad Pitt shows up at the hearing and throws a tantrum in person? Not much. People Mag spoke to a family law attorney about this:

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Shiloh Jolie-Pitt’s public name change announcement in a newspaper “could not have been avoided” for the process to move forward, a legal expert tells PEOPLE. According to California-based family law attorney David Glass, the 18-year-old’s petition to drop “Pitt” from her last name — which was recently published in The Los Angeles Times — follows legal regulations that such filings must be printed in a newspaper before the official name-change process can move forward to its next steps.

“In reality, it could not have been avoided,” Glass tells PEOPLE. “… She has to file a formal petition with the court to change her name. And she has to run an ad 4 weeks in a row before the hearing is scheduled, in addition to giving both of her parents written notification.”

“These name change petitions usually run very smoothly and are granted, unless the person has a criminal history and is trying to get away from punishment or liabilities,” he continues.

Glass adds, “I’ve never seen one opposed in court. Brad could come to court and say, for example, that Shiloh has been alienated against him by the mother. … But because she is no longer a minor, she can essentially call herself whatever she wants.”

[From People]

“But because she is no longer a minor…” That’s why she waited until her 18th birthday too, so that there wouldn’t be some commotion in family court with Brad dragging her mother into some bullsh-t again. Something I’ve been wondering is whether there was some coordination among the kids and it was decided by all of them that Shiloh should be the first one to go through the legal process. I know Zahara, Maddox and Pax want nothing to do with Brad and I’m sure they don’t use his name at all, but what if they believed (correctly) that it would be more of a statement if Shiloh was the first one to go through the legal name-change route?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Suki Waterhouse covers the new issue of British Vogue with her baby girl, whose name has still not been publicized. Suki and Robert Pattinson welcomed their daughter in March of this year. Before this interview, I honestly thought they were already living full-time in London, but no – they met in LA and they’ve been mostly based out of LA throughout their six-year-plus relationship. Suki covers British Vogue because she’s promoting her music – her new album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, comes out this summer. The Vogue piece is full of conversations about her music, but I’m only really here for the gossip (I apologize to all of the Suki-music lovers). Some highlights from the interview:

Her last trimester, nesting mode: She was doing a “complete excavation” of her “Virginia Woolf disaster room” – a fashion and God-knows-what-else dumping ground – to turn it into a nursery; Rob was “doing things he’s never done before, like driving to [shopping mall] The Grove at 6pm on a Saturday evening and staring at Williams Sonoma pans”.

She played at Coachella six weeks after giving birth: “Every mum’s morality is in question so much, not just from yourself, but from society. Everyone’s projecting something onto you. That’s an insane thing.” Take the criticism she came under online for playing Coachella six weeks after giving birth. “Like, honestly, of course [I was thinking]: ‘Holy sh-t, how is this going to work, is this even going to be possible?’” she says. But ultimately: “You just have to go, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is what we’re about and f–k what anyone else thinks.’”

She was one of the last of the old-fashioned It-girls: She wasn’t scared to be a bit messy, to let it hang out a little, to make the most of the opportunities that come your way when you’re young and beautiful. “Didn’t you feel like there was an energy then that’s a little bit lost now? Everything’s become so clean. You would look at all of us and think, ‘Oh, they’re actually having fun.’”

Modeling as a 19-year-old: “It’s not an industry where everyone has their sensible cap on all the time [but] it was a brilliant thing to happen to me really young in a lot of ways.”

Her two-year relationship Bradley Cooper, which started when she was 21 & he was 38: “I really will say that I’m pretty strong at this point, but when something very public happens to you and the story behind it is dark and difficult, and you’re actually not doing well, and you can’t explain yourself to the world, that’s very isolating and disorientating. It probably has taken a decade to work myself out and actually be able to have this expansion in my life.”

Her chaotic relationships in her 20s: “Your 20s are pretty sadistic. The love I experienced [then] was only ever a fetishisation, and I think when you only get loved in that way, you only get punished. When you get into your 30s you’re almost instantly afforded a little bit more respect. It’s kind of delightful and shocking at the same time.”

Whether she & Rob will move back to the UK: “Trust me, it’s at the forefront of our minds.”

Her pregnancy was planned: “No, we really planned it. One day we looked at each other and said, ‘Well, this is as ready as we’re going to be.’ I was like, ‘What can make more chaos?’”

She’s planning a tour but not obsessed with her weight: “I definitely think, ‘Oh, I’m shooting the cover of Vogue and I’m 25 pounds heavier than I normally am right now,’ but it’s also like, ‘Who gives a f–k?’ It is what it is.” (And also? “The boobs are so fun.”)

There was zero prep or classes with her pregnancy: “I really had no concept that there was a baby inside me. Like, I knew that was the case, but I was like, ‘What do you mean? That’s insane.’”

She’s shocked by early motherhood. “Shocking in every way.” She recalls her realisation a baby needs to be breastfed “every two hours. I was alarmed in the hospital when they kept waking me up. I was like, ‘Excuse me? Is this what this entails?’” What got her through the birth was a rap playlist and Pattinson. “He was there with me and like all dads, he was really nervous,” she recalls, “but for someone who’s quite an anxious person, he’s been very calm.” He is “the dad I could have hoped for”, she says. Her eyes go wide and twinkly. “I mean a dad and his daughter? It’s an actual love story.”

[From British Vogue]

She also talks about meeting Rob at a “game night” in LA, a party attended by Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, and of course she and Rob were drawn to each other as fellow Brits. But they didn’t start dating then – they met again six months later and that’s when things started happening. It’s interesting to hear that the pregnancy was planned, especially given her sort of chaotic post-birth life, performing at Coachella (yikes) and planning a tour with the baby. She’s coming across as “eccentric British.” Also: are we really at the point where we’re romanticizing the bygone era of the early-and-mid 2010s modeling scene?

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Cover & IG courtesy of British Vogue.

Ivanka Trump & Melania Trump popped up on the final night of the RNC to support Donald Trump, who absolutely gave a completely batsh-t crazy acceptance speech. [Just Jared]
Russell Brand attended the RNC? That’s on-brand. [Buzzfeed]
Rest in peace, Bob Newhart. [Hollywood Life]
John Stamos knows how to wear a suit. [Socialite Life]
Glen Powell, early contender for People’s Sexiest Man Alive? [LaineyGossip]
Review of Twisters, starring Glen Powell. [Pajiba]
Who should be paying you for all of the PR you give them? For me, it’s probably Daniil Medvedev and Texas Roadhouse’s rolls. [Go Fug Yourself]
Mia Goth’s accuser has been arrested for fraud in the past. [OMG Blog]
Olivia Palermo wore a cute summer ensemble. [RCFA]
A Justin Bieber baby pic. [Seriously OMG]
Heather Dubrow made $30 million by selling her mansion. [Starcasm]

If this clinically-insane Trump speech does not get Democrats out of their defeatist doldrums, and focused and energized around electing their nominee -instead of tearing him down- I don’t know what will.

— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) July 19, 2024

The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden is on another tear. He’s looking at a three-month royal gossip lull with the missing Waleses, a cancer-stricken king decamping to Scotland, a concussed Princess Anne and… let’s not forget the forgettable Sophie and Edward. Who and where are they? So, as always, Eden seizes the moment to once again rake over six-year-old gossip and throw in a dash of faux-sympathy for Toxic Thomas Markle. Apparently, today is Toxic Tom’s birthday and to celebrate, he gave some new quotes to the Mail. But that’s not all, of course not. Some lowlights from “Meghan ‘set alarm bells ringing’ at the Palace from the start. As their star wanes, there are two mistakes from those days she and Harry must fix.”

Toxic Tom’s birthday: There will be mixed emotions when Thomas Markle wakes up at his cliff-side home in Rosarito, Mexico, today. This is his 80th birthday. Yet amid the many cards and presents waiting to be unwrapped, there will likely be nothing from his famous daughter, Meghan. Tom Markle is not expecting so much as a phone call. Not even an email. ‘I’ve never been one for birthdays, but I know the one person I most want to hear from, Meghan, won’t be in touch,’ he lamented to my colleague Caroline Graham in The Mail on Sunday. ‘I would love to meet my grandchildren, but I would be happy with a photograph at this stage.’

QEII was “alarmed” by Meghan’s estrangement from her dad: Queen Elizabeth was so alarmed by Meghan’s estrangement from her father that the late monarch suggested Meghan write to him. In her Netflix docu-series, Harry & Meghan, the duchess confirmed she had sought the Queen’s advice. As she put it: ‘I reached out to Her Majesty and was, like, ‘This is what’s going on. What do you want me to do? I want…whatever advice you have. Ultimately, it was suggested by the Queen and the Prince of Wales [now King Charles] that I write my dad a letter.’ Which she did – although not with the results that Queen Elizabeth had perhaps intended. Speaking later about the lengthy letter he received, Mr Markle said: ‘I thought it would be an olive branch. Instead, it was a dagger to the heart.’

Alarm bells: ‘Meghan’s public disagreements with her father set alarm bells ringing at the time,’ a royal source tells me. ‘Her Majesty realised the potential damage they could do to the Royal Family in general. Looking back, the Queen might have had an inkling of what was to come,’ says the source.

The Sussexes are so eager to mend fences, you see: In recent months, Harry and Meghan have given the impression they are keen to mend fences with the Royal Family. They appeared eager to let it be known that they had enjoyed a friendly phone conversation with King Charles on his birthday last autumn. Harry certainly rushed to see his father, flying more than 5,000 miles across the Atlantic after the King’s cancer diagnosis was made public. Yet still the Sussexes seem determined to risk conflict. Harry’s decision to go ahead and collect the Pat Tillman award last week – despite protests from thousands of people including the late American hero’s own mother, Mary – was a sign of the couple’s stubborn refusal to heed criticism. With their popularity seemingly on the wane in the US, perhaps it’s time to mend a few fences back in Britain.

[From The Daily Mail]

Here’s the thing… just for argument’s sake, let’s say that QEII was “alarmed” at Meghan’s sudden estrangement from her dogs-t father in 2018. Did QEII or the courtiers honestly believe that the best course of action for the palace or for Meghan to say “to hell with Thomas Markle’s lies, interviews and taking money to sell out his daughter, we should bring him closer?” Besides, everything that’s happened post-2018, including Tom Markle SELLING HIS DAUGHTER’S LETTER TO THE MAIL, has proved Meghan’s course of action correct. Sever contact, cut him off completely. The only reason he wants a photo of Archie and Lili is to sell it for more beer. As for “perhaps it’s time to mend a few fences back in Britain.” Yeah, back in May, Harry’s father made it perfectly clear with his very loud tantrum that he and Camilla are the ones refusing to make any kind of private peace.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, 60 Minutes Australia.

Last Friday, Princess Anne returned to “work” after a weeks-long absence. The absence was due to some kind of incident on Anne’s estate, which the Windsors explained as Anne being kicked in the head by a horse. No one knows for sure because Anne’s head injury and concussion was so bad that she still has no memory of it, and I strongly suspect she has more significant memory loss than they’re letting on. When Anne appeared at that horse event last week, she still had some faint-but-noticeable bruising on her face and you could tell that the swelling had probably only just gone down. Poor Anne looked somewhat frail, and she hasn’t been seen since then. This is how Prince William and Kate’s office welcomed her back:

Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon! W & C x https://t.co/rBk6tQ5Z2G

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 13, 2024

It actually felt weird at the time because the Kensington Palace social media people rarely quote-tweet or acknowledge the other Windsors, especially Anne. It felt like the whole family was sort of pushing Anne to get back to work too, before she had even fully healed. Exclaiming that your bruised and concussed 73-year-old aunt is a “super trooper” is pretty tone-deaf. Well, it looks like the Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle column caught that too:

Did William and Kate give too much away when Princess Anne returned to work? They tweeted: ‘Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon!’ – a message that Aunty Anne mightn’t appreciate.

A mole reports that medical advice was for the Princess Royal to rest up over the summer, the results of head injuries not always being immediately obvious – but Anne isn’t noted for doing what she’s told.

William might have had another reason to see Anne back ‘so soon’. She can share the burden of investitures. So far this year there have been 25, with Anne presiding at 17.

[From The Daily Mail]

It sounds like the Mail just wanted to point out that William and Kate are lazy layabouts who were eager to push Anne to get back to work. It also sounds like even Anne knows that she needs to recuperate too – the one event last week was her “proof of life” event, and now she’ll get the summer off as well. I hope. She actually needs to recover, that kind of head injury is no f–king joke. Also: Anne canceled more of her upcoming events and the palace says she needs to rest and recover. William and Kate look like a–holes.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.