Bradley Cooper took a surprise guest role in the season premiere of The Righteous Gemstones and now people think he?s going to win an Emmy. [Just Jared]
Monica Barbaro had a mostly-great awards season, style-wise. [Go Fug Yourself]
Britney Spears is back to dancing on social media. She posted a video where she?s dancing to Justin Timberlake?s ?Senorita.? [Socialite Life]
Stylist Jason Bolden got the cover of THR. [LaineyGossip]
Review of Bong Joon-ho?s Mickey 17. [Pajiba]
Donald Trump does not know what he?s doing at this point. [OMG Blog]
Blake Lively wore Renee Masoomia at SXSW. [RCFA]
Jennifer Hudson made an excellent short joke about Kevin Hart. [Seriously OMG]
A 90 Day Fiance couple has already divorced. [Starcasm]
John Goodman got injured on a Tom Cruise film. [Hollywood Life]
Oscar Isaac & Pedro Pascal are non-toxic kings. [Buzzfeed]

I?ve been waiting to see when the Windsors turn up for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. I guess it?s a late-afternoon service in London, or maybe I?m just still mixed-up because of Daylight Savings. In any case, no photos of the royals are in as I write this, and yet the photographers are already in position at the Abbey. Turns out, republican protesters have already set up shop outside the Abbey as well ? check out Republic?s protest for Commonwealth Day!

I?m pleased to see that Republic now has a variety of signs and banners now. Their go-to sign was the simple and elegant ?Not My King? ? an easy and memorable message. Now they?re doing ?Ditch the Duchies? and ?Abolish the Monarchy? banners and signs too. There was an outpouring of republican sentiment after a series of expos?s revealed just how corrupt the Duchy of Cornwall and Duchy of Lancaster really are. Like, Prince William and King Charles really are slumlords who keep peasants stuck in terrible rental properties. They?re also charging charities, the Ministry of Defense and the NHS exorbitant rental rates too. It?s a mess and the duchies should be abolished.

I remember a few years ago, Republic did a somewhat big protest outside another Commonwealth Day service and Charles looked like he had seen a ghost. I don?t think Republic protested the Commonwealth service last year though, possibly because of Charles?s cancer diagnosis (and his absence from the service).

Also: is that supposed to be a T-Rex? It?s sort of cool, like an art installation. Anyway, the Commonwealth pics will probably have to wait until tomorrow.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Before the Duchess of Sussex?s With Love, Meghan was released, Meghan-haters latched onto a particularly stupid criticism: that Meghan was ?copying? Pamela Anderson. Pamela has been part of the gardening/reno/cooking space for several years now, mostly in Canadian-only shows. Pamela?s new cooking show ? Pamela?s Cooking With Love ? just debuted on Canadian television on February 26th, a week before Netflix began streaming WLM. Remember, WLM was originally supposed to air in January. I?m sure the haters still would have found a way to twist it into ?Meghan is copying Pamela,? but given the fact that Pamela?s trailer and show aired first chronologically, that?s made it easy for smooth-brained people to scream about how, obviously, this is a copykeening situation. Well, now Pamela?s executive producer made a bitchy comment to the Daily Mail.

Pamela Anderson?s team has broken its silence following accusations that Meghan Markle?s new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, closely resembles Anderson?s cooking show.

Hours before Markle?s eight-episode series premiered on March 4, Jesse Fawcett, the co-creator and executive producer of Pamela?s Cooking With Love?which debuted on Feb. 26?issued a statement responding to the backlash.

?We take pride in planting the first seeds?creating original, distinctive programming that audiences love?and it?s a compliment to see our work with Ms. Anderson resonate so strongly,? Fawcett told the Daily Mail.

Eagle-eyed fans of Anderson were quick to point out striking similarities between the two shows. Both series feature the celebrity hosts preparing meals for their famous friends in a cozy home setting, hand-picking fresh produce from their gardens, and placing them in wicker baskets before cooking. Many took to social media to accuse Markle of copying the actress? concept, with one post on X receiving nearly 40,000 views.

[From The Daily Beast]

Yeah, Jesse Fawcett just should have kept his mouth shut. Obviously, what Meghan is doing is not some new concept, but it doesn?t follow that she?s ?copying? Pamela, or that Pamela owns the original concept. As I said in the previous post, Pamela?s show sounds like a Canadian version of Selena Gomez?s Selena + Chef, so maybe Fawcett should have given Selena her flowers for providing a roadmap to Pamela and ?planting the first seeds.? And nevermind that ALL cooking/entertaining shows owe everything to the actual pioneers in this space like Martha Stewart and Julia Child.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images and Netflix.

Embed from Getty Images
Last week?s episode of Kylie Kelce?s Not Gonna Lie podcast was another fun one. She starts it off by confessing that she?s going to sound very out of breath when she?s talking because her baby is currently pushed up against her lungs and she ?can?t inflate them fully.? She also jokes that because she?s almost nine months pregnant, her TikTok algorithm is showing her lots of ?pick your hospital bag? videos. After sharing what?s going to be in her own hospital bag, Kylie turns her attention over to all of her listeners who are dads or about-to-be dads and tells them what?s in Jason?s hospital bag. All of his previous bags were fairly reasonable, but this year, he may show up with his own air mattress, which?fair, lol. Kylie then goes one step further and shares Jason?s biggest tip for dads in the delivery room. That tip? To eat a snack right before that final action starts to happen.

?Just for good measure, I will share Jason?s biggest tip to soon to be fathers,? the 32-year-old said. ?He is convinced that men pass out because when pushing starts to happen and birth amps up and the baby is on its way out, that you stand up and you get this rush of adrenaline.?

?And a lot of times, you?ve gone from sitting all day waiting to then jumping up and being in an excited situation,? the host, who is expecting her fourth baby girl with Jason, 37, continued. The couple are already parents to daughters Wyatt Elizabeth, 5, Elliotte Ray, 4, and Bennett Llewellyn, 2.

The expectant mom explained that Jason thinks fathers should ?eat a snack right before mom starts pushing because he?s convinced that it?s an issue with your blood sugar.?

?I giggle a little only because it sounds ridiculous, but when you are in it, having gone through it three times, it seems legit,? Kylie said. ?I don?t remember which birth it was, but I do remember looking over as I got the shakes, and I?m like, ?We?re going.? And he?s, like, mid bite getting ready to hold me for a crunch.?

The former collegiate field hockey player continued, ?But he hasn?t passed out. So take it, take the advice. Just have a little sneaky snack before the slip and slide happens.?

[From People]

I can vividly picture that scene she describes of looking over and seeing Jason mid-chew as she?s pushing. It feels like a scene straight out of a sitcom. Having never been a new dad in the delivery room myself, I don?t know for sure if there?s a blood sugar issue to be wary about, but I can see how that makes sense for some people, especially when you consider the waiting all day and suddenly springing into action aspect. Generally, you have a little bit of warning about how far a new mom is progressing, so I?d advise Jason to move his snickety-snack timeline up a bit so he?s fully available when it?s go-time. I was scared when it was time to start pushing with my first son. I would have been so mad if Mr. Rosie had taken a snack break at that moment lol. Eating before you get to the hospital is solid advice for both parents, though. I was too nervous to eat with my first and ended up pushing for 90 minutes because my energy was so depleted. I ate on the way to the hospital with my second and it was only four minutes of pushing. Food is good and those ice chips are teases!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce (@nglwithkylie)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Disney Parks (@disneyparks)

There is so much positivity around the Duchess of Sussex and her family right now. WLM is a huge success, people around the world are inspired by her cooking and entertaining tips, Netflix already greenlighted a second season, and yet another deranged smear campaign went absolutely nowhere. Not only that, but Meghan is suddenly super-active on social media, posting regular updates, cute family photos and even highlighting some of the WLM-inspired fan videos. She has 2.4 million followers now on Instagram, and her IG alone has caused so much consternation, solely because she sets her own narratives. Saturday was International Women?s Day, and Meghan posted new-to-us photos of her mom Doria, plus two personal photos of Prince Harry with Lili, and Harry hugging Meghan on the beach in California. Obviously, the British press is spitting mad ? perhaps even incandescent with rage ? about all of this. So they?re now screaming about the Harry & Lili photo in particular, a beautiful shot of Harry kissing his ginger daughter?s head as she?s curled up on his lap. Who could have a problem with that? You?d be surprised.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been fiercely slammed online after fans noticed a ?dangerous? detail in the recent photo shared of daughter Lilibet. In honor of International Women?s Day on Saturday, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, posted a sweet image of Lilibet, three, enjoying a boat ride with her dad, 40, to Instagram.

The picture featured the youngster sitting on Prince Harry?s lap on the water vessel, as he lovingly kissed her head. But many social media users were left unsettled over the fact that the three-year-old was not wearing a life vest in the snap. People quickly took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts, and many scrutinized the former royals.

Some users branded it as ?irresponsible,? while others pointed out that it?s actually against the law.
California, where the couple resides with their two kids, requires that every child under age 13 must wear a life jacket at all times while on a moving vessel of any length.

?Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are so good at showing the world how much they suck at being parents,? one user wrote in a post that has since gone viral.

[From The Daily Mail]

Meghan has been on IG since January, and she?s posted photos and IG Stories with her kids a few times now, and instantly the Deranger talking points went from ?those kids don?t exist? to ?obviously the kids exist but Meghan is a terrible mother to them!? Like? sure, Lili should wear a life vest, as should Harry, but we don?t know the circumstances around the photo and it?s beyond clear that these people are just mad that Harry and Meghan live a happy and peaceful existence in Montecito with their two beautiful children.

Meanwhile, Meghan continues to post ?soft life? videos on Sundays ? yesterday, she posted this video where she recycled a jam/preserve jar for flowers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (@meghan)

Photos courtesy of Meghan?s IG.

In December, the Wall Street Journal published a status report on the James Bond franchise, given Amazon?s purchase of MGM. MGM was the longtime home of the Bond franchise, although MGM didn?t have sole ?ownership? of the 007 property. James Bond was owned by the Broccoli family, first Cubby Broccoli and then Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael Wilson. The WSJ basically exposed the behind-the-scenes drama at Amazon, between executives who want to get the ball rolling on over-leveraging 007 versus Broccoli and Wilson, who were always more cautious. Broccoli reportedly thought Amazon?s executives are ?f?king idiots.? Then suddenly something happened last month: Amazon bought out Broccoli and Wilson so that Amazon could solely own and control the franchise. Broccoli and Wilson sold out, but what was their price? Well, the Playlist had some more information about what went down behind the scenes, with Jeff Bezos apparently taking a particular interest and giving specific orders.

It?s only been two weeks, but James Bond fans are still reeling from the news that longtime 007 producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will no longer be involved with the franchise creatively. So goes the terms of a new joint venture between the pair and Amazon MGM Studios, which sees the studio pay Broccoli and Wilson an additional $1 billion to relinquish any creative control. What prompted this buyout, and why did Broccoli walk away from a franchise she spent the past three decades rebuilding?

THR reports that the updated joint venture came from the very top, as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wasn?t happy with the Wall Street Journal?s long-form piece last December about frosty relations between Broccoli and Amazon executives. And one quote in particular especially irked Bezos: Broccoli reportedly telling friends that some Amazon higher-ups were ?f*cking idiots.? One insider claims that prompted Bezos to find a way to buy out Broccoli altogether. ?He read her quote in the Journal and got on the phone and said, ?I don?t care what it costs, get rid of her,?? said the source.

The new deal between the studio, Broccoli, and Wilson pays the Bond producers an additional $1 billion after the $8.5 million deal from 2022 when Amazon first acquired MGM.

The updated joint venture via Bezos also caught Broccoli in a vulnerable position, as Wilson had recently decided to retire, leaving Broccoli to contend with Amazon MGM alone. And the friction between the studio and Broccoli is already well-documented. THR lists a number of pitches from Amazon execs that made Broccoli bristle: a spinoff streaming series centered on MI6 secretary Moneypenny; a Felix Leiter spinoff; even something with a female James Bond. Broccoli hated all of those ideas, and things took a turn for the worse after Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke called the Bond franchise ?content? in a meeting. By the time WSJ published their piece late last year, tensions between Amazon MGM and Broccoli had hit a crisis point, effectively halting the franchise?s future. That?s when Bezos intervened.

With Broccoli out on the creative end, it?s unclear who Amazon MGM will tap to replace her. But Bezos has what he wants now: unchecked control on the property and the ability to do with it whatever he pleases.

[From The Playlist]

ONE BILLION? That?s what it cost for Barbara Broccoli to relinquish control? That?s insane. I mean, I would have sold out too, and I don?t blame her for just cutting her losses. She was fighting against more than Amazon executives ? she was fighting against a movie industry which has fundamentally changed for the worse, and there?s no going back. I figured that the WSJ article was part of this too ? Bezos did not appreciate the fact that Broccoli had zero patience for his bros. And it?s just a drop in the bucket for Bezos, especially now that Amazon has total control over everything. (Also: a Felix Leiter spinoff is not the worst idea, especially if they get Jeffrey Wright to come back to the role.)

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

You?ve got to wonder if the review-bombing of With Love, Meghan was always going to be baked into every conversation about the show and the Duchess of Sussex. What I mean is, the same people are always going to hysterically criticize and mock every single thing Meghan does and says, to the point where it?s just baked into the system and it becomes white noise. Oh, they?re at it again, ?it? being ?hating on a woman making a breakfast sandwich.? If anything, the critical tantrum worked entirely in Meghan?s favor ? it doesn?t matter if you were genuinely interested in WLM or you were hate-watching it, the numbers are the same and the numbers are great. Meanwhile, millions of people just watched it and actually picked up some lifestyle and cooking tips which they are now going to incorporate into their everyday lives. That includes the beans-on-toast people, the Land of Unseasoned Food. Apparently, there have been spikes of interest in several food items & recipes featured on WLM.

The Duchess?s show is something like a lifestyle magazine come to life: it is a guide to hosting the Montecito way. It is a show of brown labels and glass jars, of fruit displayed in a rainbow and lavender on the towels. Is it inane and insufferably twee (at one point she says ?goodnight, sweetheart? as she puts a cake in the oven)? Of course. But it appears the public are viewing it with a less cynical eye, and some may be taking Meghan?s advice to heart.

In fact, according to Waitrose, since the show began airing on Netflix, their website has seen some huge rises in interest in particular ingredients. According to the supermarket ? the Standard has no way of verifying it ? there has been fresh interest in everything from edible flowers to bruschetta.

Some of these rises are perhaps more telling than others. There has been a 3200% upping of searches for truffle salt, for instance, though one wonders how many people were really looking for it before. On the other hand, honey ? ever popular ? has spike 49 per cent, suggesting the show really has had an impact. Other items also seeing a rise include edible flowers and crudites, both up a whopping 200 per cent, ?assorted fruit platter?, up 33 per cent, ?microwave popcorn?, a rise of 200 per cent, and bath salts, fizzing up by 65 per cent. Somewhat curiously, searches for sparkling water also risen by 233 per cent. Had viewers not come across sparkling water before?

The full list of items With Love, Meghan, has had an impact on is below:

?Crudites? + 200%
?Honey? + 49%
?Sparkling water? + 233%
?Assorted Fruit Platter? + 33%
?Truffle salt? + 3200%
?Microwave popcorn? + 200%
?Edible flowers? + 200%
?Bruschetta? + 50%
?Focaccia? + 86%
?Bath salts? + 65%

[From The Evening Standard]

LMAO, I was in the grocery store on Friday and I paused in the produce section, wondering if I should buy a veggie platter too (sorry, a crudite platter). What?s also amazing is that some of these are deep cuts ? like, truffle butter wasn?t even a huge part of that episode. She only made bath salts in one episode (the first one). Honey and edible flowers are not a surprise, those were used consistently throughout the show. Focaccia was only in one episode (the one with Delfina Blaquier, who is absolutely gorgeous in motion ? seriously, still photos do not do her justice). I would also not be surprised if there were spikes in Google searches in the UK for ?parboiling chicken? and ?Korean fried chicken? or ?chicken tinga.? Right now, multiple British newspapers are running articles about Meghan?s one-pot pasta though ? the Korean and Mexican recipes might be a bit too much for the beans-on-toast crowd.

Photos courtesy of Netflix.

For the past week, the British media has been trying to make various talking points ?stick? when it comes to the Duchess of Sussex and her successful new show, With Love, Meghan. They tried screaming, crying and throwing up about how the show was horrible and the worst thing ever. They tried to say that it was so bad, Netflix planned to dump the Sussexes. They tried to say that no one should watch something so pointless and ?inauthentic.? They even dragged out the Toxic Markles to talk sh-t. And in the end, WLM is a huge hit for Netflix, people are loving Meghan?s cooking and entertaining tips, Netflix already greenlighted a second season and it?s already been filmed too (and it will be out this fall). So what?s the new line of attack? They paid (???) a British chef to claim that Netflix came to him to work as a consultant on WLM, but he turned them down and he?s glad that he did because he hates With Love, Meghan.

A Michelin-starred celebrity chef has said he rejected an offer to work on Meghan Markle?s new Netflix show. Jameson Stocks said he was contacted by the streaming company to consult on a mystery lifestyle program which he thought was the 43-year-old?s upcoming series. But the cooking expert was worried about being ?slammed for being a part of it? and declined.

Stocks, 41, said he didn?t want to participate in something ?forced and fake? and wasn?t sure it would be a good series. And the celebrity chef seems to think he made the right choice, blasting the Netflix show as ?terrible and painful? to watch.

He told GB News: ?I honestly thought it was terrible. Everything ? the music is quite slow, it?s quite lethargic, it?s quite painful to watch.?

Stocks said people should stick to what they do best, and in Meghan?s case he thinks this is acting. He added scathingly: ?I think she should go back to acting ? she?s quite a good actress. In real life or on screen.?

He said: ?I was asked last year by Netflix if I wanted to consult on a lifestyle program. They didn?t go into too much detail about who it was but I already kind of knew anyway. I felt like even if she produced a really great program ? which I was quite sceptical of ? that I might get a little bit slammed for being a part of it. I didn?t like the idea of me showing her how to do something and then it being forced and fake.?

?I imagine Netflix would have had two or three consultants ? a stylist, for her clothes, to give her ideas for the food. If she is going to do something herself, she should do something herself. Netflix is obviously such a huge company, they?re going to surround her with quality people to make her look good. At the end of the day, they?re trying to chase the money. I honestly thought it was terrible. Everything ? the music is quite slow, it?s quite lethargic, it?s quite painful to watch. I think she should go back to acting ? she?s quite a good actress. In real life or on screen. People should stick to what they do best.?

[From The Daily Mail]

What?s hysterical to me is that these dumbf?ks apparently think WLM ? a simple cooking and entertaining show set in California ? would need British consultants like they were making The Crown. If Meghan needs consultants, I?m pretty sure she would, you know, go with California-based chefs. She even brought in California-based people on-camera in WLM, people like Roy Choi (LA-based) and Chef Ramon Velazquez, who is Montecito-based. Why would she need a British chef to consult? She?s actually seasoning her food. But this is what they?re left with ? getting some British chef to claim that he was totally approached by Netflix to work on some unknown show, which he now claims is WLM. What a douche.

Update: The only pushback on Stocks? claims ? so far ? are from an unnamed insider ?close to the production? of With Love, Meghan. That insider told the NY Post that Stocks ?was not invited to participate in ?With Love, Meghan,? and any claims to the contrary are incorrect. Jameson himself doesn?t even know which show it was for?he noted ?he thinks it was for this show? and [people should not be] taking his assumption as fact.?

Photos courtesy of Netflix, Avalon Red.

Everything that?s happened in the past three weeks has been so utterly predictable. The British media and the Windsors were hyper-aware of the new release timeline for With Love, Meghan, so they followed the same strategy they?ve used before. They sent Jason Knauf out to remind everyone that, according to Knauf, ?Duchess Meghan bullied staff!? They sent Prince William and Kate out to make horse?s asses out of themselves. And they called on the toxic Markle family to do and say anything for a couple of nickels. As soon as WLM debuted, suddenly Meghan?s half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. was everywhere, talking sh-t about it. I wondered if Meghan?s horrid father would be dragged out too ? Toxic Tom moved from Mexico to The Philippines earlier this year, much to the chagrin of the British tabloid journalists who were regularly invited into his home in Mexico. Well, it looks like the Mail managed to get his new contact information, because wouldn?t you know, Toxic Tom has given the Mail a new interview, all about With Love, Meghan. He claims he hasn?t watched it, yet he details all of the ?inauthentic? moments in WLM. The Mail is just openly writing his scripts at this point.

Seven thousand miles away from the millionaires? enclave in California that she and Harry now call home, sits her 80-year-old estranged father Thomas Markle, whose mother Doris is the ?grandmother? Meghan so lovingly refers to in her new Netflix series. Mr Markle says that while Doris ? who died in 2011 aged 91 ? ?adored? Meghan, she would be spinning in her grave at some of her granddaughter?s latest claims.

For example, at one point in the show Meghan corrects her friend, actress Mindy Kaling, for calling her ?Meghan Markle?. In what some viewers called ?an agonisingly rude moment?, Meghan says: ?It?s so funny you keep saying ?Meghan Markle?, you know I?m ?Sussex? now.? As Mindy looks confused, Meghan ? who has only visited Sussex once ? adds: ?You have kids and you go, ?No, I share my name with my children?. I didn?t know how meaningful it would be to me but it just means so much to go, ?This is our family name. Our little family name?.?

Speaking for the first time about his daughter?s latest foray into showbusiness ? many have described the Netflix series as ?make or break? for the Sussexes ? Emmy award-winning Mr Markle told The Mail on Sunday: ?My mum loved Meghan very much but she would be so disappointed to hear that Meghan no longer wants to use the name ?Markle?. My mother was proud to be a Markle. So am I. Meghan never had a problem with the Markle name until she met Prince Harry.? With bitter sarcasm, he adds: ?Now I have to say, ?I am Meghan Sussex?s dad.??

For Mr Markle, who relocated to the Philippines earlier this year from his previous home in Rosarito, Mexico, the thought of watching his daughter?s Netflix show is too painful. ?I haven?t seen the show but I?ve seen a ton of clips and I?ve read many stories,? he says. ?I might sit down and watch it one day but I?m not sure.?

But after viewing online clips of Meghan tending her bees, cooking in the kitchen of a rented home near her own mansion, and even transferring shop-bought pretzels from one plastic bag to another, he believes his daughter comes across as ?inauthentic?. Mr Markle ? an old Hollywood hand who has worked on shows including Married With Children and General Hospital ? says: ?Cooking show are horrendously boring unless the presenter has a passion for it. You have to be authentic to hold people?s attention. When you are stuffing the turkey?s a*** it has to look like you?re having fun doing it. Unfortunately Meghan has never been authentic. She has to think about everything. She?s not spontaneous. Everything she says is pre-planned and rehearsed. It makes me laugh because I know all her looks and expressions. I know when she?s faking it for the cameras. She?s trying so hard to be perfect that she tenses up every time the camera is on her. The best cooks are funny, they mess up, they are human. She just wants to be perfect. It?s sad because she?s trying so hard to stay in the limelight.?

[From The Daily Mail]

?Meghan?s dead grandmother would hate that Meghan changed her surname when she married a prince? is a hell of a stretch. As is ?Meghan is inauthentic because she?s tense on camera even though I haven?t watched the show!? That seems to be the talking point the British tabloids and commentators have settled on, btw: that WLM showcases Meghan?s ?inauthenticity,? and they will simply never believe that Meghan genuinely likes to cook or enjoys learning new recipes or that she loves entertaining. This is all a false persona cooked up by Meghan for reasons! See, even her terrible father says so! The full Mail interview is a lot longer, because some Mail writer had an ax to grind and Thomas Markle must have given them the go-ahead to just put his name on anything. It?s all so pathetic, the way they keep dusting off this terrible man.

Photos/screencaps courtesy of 60 Minutes Australia & The Sun.

Two years ago (almost exactly) we learned that King Charles had evicted the Sussex family from Frogmore Cottage, their leased home on the Royal Windsor Estate. The Sussexes paid for the renovation of Frogmore in full, at the cost of something like $3 million, and they had a valid lease on the property, which they used as their UK base. Many ?reasons? for the eviction were cited by Buckingham Palace: Charles was explicitly punishing Harry for writing Spare; Charles didn?t want the Sussexes to feel like they could come and go from UK safely, he actively wanted to put them in danger; and of course, ?the cost? was cited. As in, Charles thought it looked ?bad? for a ?grand property? like Frogmore to sit vacant for most of the year, and that the Windsors must look like they?re utilizing every piece of real estate. Post-eviction, Frogmore sat vacant for more than a year. It still might be vacant, we?ve never nailed that down.

Why am I bringing this up? Because Charles is making some real estate moves in 2025 ? he has put down ?3 million to purchase a private home in Wiltshire, a home and property adjacent to Camilla?s private home, Ray Mill. Charles purchased Ray Mill for Camilla back in the 1990s, after she divorced Andrew Parker Bowles (they used to say Camilla bought it for herself, but that?s a lie). Camilla has maintained Ray Mill as her private bolthole ever since ? it?s a place where her kids and grandkids can come and go, and where Camilla can be by herself, away from her husband. Wait until you find out why Charles bought the neighboring property:

The King has averted a security crisis by buying a ?3million house next to his wife?s country retreat amid fears it could become a rowdy wedding venue. For 30 years Raymill, the Wiltshire bolthole Camilla refused to part with after marrying Charles, has been her cherished sanctuary away from the public glare. But a royal source has revealed that a proposal to sell The Old Mill next door and turn it into a wedding venue has caused her ?great anxiety?.

Another source familiar with the plans said: ?Think of it ? dozens of wedding guests carousing every weekend just the other side of her fence.?

Last month, with concerns growing over the potential risk to Camilla?s safety, the King intervened at the eleventh hour to block the sale and buy The Old Mill with private funds. Its boundary fence stands just 30ft from Raymill. A friend of Camilla?s told The Mail on Sunday there was ?an imperative? to act for Camilla?s protection and privacy because a potential buyer was seeking to ?maximise commercial use of the property as a short-term holiday rental and wedding venue?. The Old Mill will now be installed with a ?security-vetted tenant? who will ensure it is put to ?appropriate? use.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment last night. But a royal source said: ?The new arrangement is a pragmatic solution, being both a sound financial investment and a way of maintaining Her Majesty?s privacy, protection and continued enjoyment of her much-loved home, without any public funds being used. I know how grateful and relieved she is, not least given all the additional stresses and anxieties of the past year.?

Camilla has endured a difficult 18 months. After the whirlwind of her husband?s coronation in 2023, she began last year coping with his devastating cancer diagnosis. Friends say Camilla ?can be herself? at Raymill. It is where she retreated after the state funeral and mourning period that followed the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022 and where she spends as much time as she can when not required to be at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire and Clarence House in London, the official homes she shares with Charles. More than ever, say friends, she has been grateful for the diversion Raymill House in Reybridge, near Lacock, brings.

?She has her horses, she walks her dogs and she loves spending time with her family,? said one friend. ?This business with her neighbour was frankly the last thing she needed.?

[From The Daily Mail]

The Mail also went into the history of Camilla?s beef with her old neighbor, a beef which has apparently been happening for years now. Meaning, Charles probably bought this property just to get Camilla to shut up about her neighbor drama. Anyway, it?s pretty wild that Charles will go as far as purchasing a neighboring property so Camilla won?t be inconvenienced, and yet he wouldn?t allow his son to simply keep a valid lease on a property which his son paid to renovate. ?But Camilla?s security!? Yeah, Harry and his security team now have to stay in hotels whenever they?re in the UK. Charles is forever the biggest dogsh-t father.

This is the Country Life cover which was supposedly photographed by the Princess of Wales. Y?all mentioned it in the International Women?s Day post ? this was Kate going to Ray Mill and photographing Camilla in her garden. Weird that they didn?t include that in the IWD posts.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, cover courtesy of Country Life.