royal family

abs Ad art campaign Cancer Cars celebrities Celebrity Charity Court Death depression fat GMA H&M health ice t image IRS lace Lost Money OWN photos Prince Prince Harry Princess Diana quote rap real red royal family royals size son stage thin white

Prince Harry admits he didn’t talk about his mother’s death until he was 28

marc

It does feel like I’ve been ignoring Prince Harry, right? I didn’t mean to. It’s just that he’s so consistently awesome these days, and I feel like sometimes you guys might be tired of Honking For Harry. So, what has Harry been up to recently? He’s doing consistent events every week, but he’s not always getting attention and coverage for the events. Over the weekend, he hosted a barbecue for Heads Together, the mental health umbrella organization he started with William and Kate. William and Kate did not attend the BBQ, even though it went down at Kensington Palace. Harry spent a lot of time with mental health care providers and people struggling with mental health issues. Harry even spoke about how he wish he had started talking about his mother’s death much sooner. Prince Harry has revealed that he regrets ‘not talking’ about the death of his mother Princess Diana for much of his life. Speaking with former football star Rio Ferdinand, who lost his wife to cancer last year, Harry, 31, discussed bereavement at a Kensington Palace barbecue for mental health campaign group Heads Together. The young royal discussed the impact the Princess of Wales’ death in 1997, when Harry was 12, has had on him when asked by Ferdinand how he coped with the loss. The prince admitted that it was only three years ago that he began to open up about how he felt about losing his mother, saying he didn’t speak about Diana’s death ‘for the first 28 years of my life.’ He said he’d come to realise that talking was the key: ‘It is OK to suffer, but as long as you talk about it. It is not a weakness. Weakness is having a problem and not recognising it and not solving that problem. A lot of people think if you’ve got a job, if you’ve got financial security, if you’ve got a family, you’ve got a house, all that sort of stuff, everyone seems to think that is all you need and you are absolutely fine to deal with stuff.’ ‘It is very easy for someone to look at someone like Rio Ferdinand and say, “You get paid all the money in the world, you are a successful footballer, you have fast cars.” But at the end of the day his wife was snatched from him at an early stage of his life with her. So of course he is going to suffer, it doesn’t matter if he has an amazing job.’ The prince said the ‘key message’ is that ‘anyone can suffer from mental health problems, whether you’re a member of the Royal Family, whether you’re a soldier, whether you’re a sports star, whether you’re a team sport, individual sport, whether you’re a white van driver, whether you’re a mother, father, a child, it doesn’t really matter. What you’ve had to go through in your day, week, year, (the) experience you’ve had – whether it’s losing a parent, whether it’s depression, whether it’s anxiety, whatever it is – you are actually unbelievably similar to each other in the way you have to deal with it.’ [From The Daily Mail] I just love him. And notice that his message seems contrary to the often-bungled message from the Duchess of Cambridge, who often seems to indicate that mental health issues mostly occur when children don’t have two parents and a home. Harry’s message is universal. And I like how personal he is, talking about his mother and how he closed up and didn’t talk about her death for sixteen years. While talking (and talk therapy) doesn’t solve every mental health problem, it’s the first step and just talking about it and de-stigmatizing mental health issues is a great thing. It’s a shame that Will and Kate wanted to go sailing instead. Photos courtesy of WENN.

2013 abs Ad alexander mcqueen arms art Birth Births buckingham palace Cake celebrities Celebrity Cher coat Court dress Engaged Fashion gues H&M hair image IRS Kate Middleton lace live looks OWN Party photos Prince prince george Prince William quote real red RIP royal family royals size son style tan thin TV Twitter Weight Weird

Duchess Kate repeats a McQueen for the Queen’s garden party: cute or meh?

marc

I wouldn’t have even used this ^^ photo but the @KensingtonRoyal Twitter account actually posted this pic to promote the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s appearance at Tuesday’s Buckingham Palace garden party. Isn’t that interesting? The KensingtonRoyal account – the official account for Will, Kate and Harry – is often accused of cherry-picking particular images that reflect the younger royals as looking particular good and/or engaged. But this photo seems particularly unfortunate for Kate – it’s almost like the KP press office is just owning the fact that this is Kate’s Social-Interaction-Face. As for Will and Kate’s appearance at the palace yesterday, Kate has been to the annual garden party several times before, but this is William’s first time. I would suspect that, if pressed, his press office would say that this is the first time he’s ever had an opening in his diary to attend! Kate repeated an Alexander McQueen coatdress which we saw back in 2013, for Prince George’s christening. I didn’t really care for it then, and I really don’t care for it now. The boob ruffle is just odd, and whenever Kate tries to move her arms (to touch her hair, or whatever), the coat bunches up in weird places. The whole thing looks sloppy, and it’s not just the sh-tty tailoring. It’s the design! Why would anyone want a big, vertical ruffle down their chest? Will and Kate also chatted with some medical personnel at the garden party, because apparently the “support” OBGYNs who delivered George and Charlotte were there. Maybe this makes me sound prissy, but I would not want to socialize with my gyno at a garden party at the palace. That just seems awkward and unnecessary. You can read some quotes from the doctors here. They’re very forthcoming with details about the lead-up to the royal births. Also, check out the refreshments at the garden party! I hope Will and Kate are taking notes on the Queen’s refreshments – when Will and Kate hosted a get-together before their India-Bhutan tour, the refreshments were really struggling. That strawberry (??) cake looks AMAZING. ? A selection of the cakes available to guests at today's Garden Party pic.twitter.com/E1ZL1KaYtX — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 24, 2016 Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Photos courtesy of @KensingtonRoyal and Getty.

abs Ad Annie Leibovitz Birth buckingham palace celebrities Celebrity Court Dog Dogs Fashion H&M image lace lips looks photos Pink Prince prince george royal family royals running size son style Win

Queen Elizabeth releases three Annie Leibovitz portraits for her 90th b-day

marc

Today is Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, so course Buckingham Palace released more never-before-seen new portraits of Her Majesty. Annie Leibovitz was invited to Windsor Castle to take a series of portraits last month. One involves the Queen with the youngest members of the royal family: her two grandchildren (Louise and James) from Prince Edward and Sophie, plus her great-grandchildren, including Princess Charlotte (on her lap) and Prince George, who looks mischievous as hell. The other children are: Peter Phillips daughters, 5-year-old Savannah and 4-year-old Isla, plus Zara Phillips’ daughter Mia Tindall (the one holding the Queen’s purse!). Zara and Peter’s daughters look SO much alike. My favorite photo? This absolutely amazing and beautiful portrait of the Queen with her only daughter, the Princess Royal (Princess Anne). The way Anne has her arm around the back of the couch and the casual intimacy of this mother-daughter photo is so striking and lovely. Anne is the best! And of course, Annie Leibovitz couldn’t come to Windsor Castle and not take a shot of the Queen and her dogs! The Queen hasn’t gotten any more puppies in years, so these dogs are the last dogs she’ll ever have: Willow, Vulcan, Candy and Holly. I love it that the Queen has a dog named Candy. And Vulcan. I’m also including some photos of the Queen at an event yesterday in Windsor. E! News is running a story about the Queen’s impeccable style throughout the years – go here to read. Personally, I love it when she wears hot pink and diamonds. The Queen has an inner showgirl! Photos courtesy of WENN, Annie Leibovitz/Buckingham Palace.

Ad art celebrities Celebrity Charity Court debate Dog future General H&M image interview legs OWN photos pot Prince Prince Harry quote red royal family royals size The Game thin Weird white

Would we feel differently about the monarchy if Prince Harry was the heir?

videos

Here are some photos of Dirty Ginger Snap Prince Harry unveiling the UK Invictus Team in London on Wednesday. These photos made me sigh deeply and think about his mother. I actually thought, “His mother would be so proud of him in this moment.” To turn his military career into something so positive for veterans… it’s a unique and wonderful thing. At this event, Harry spent a lot of time posing with veterans (and a dog!) – go here to read more. The Invictus Games are in May, and Harry still has more to do to promote the games and work with some of the commonwealth teams. It’s just been announced that he will be traveling to Toronto on May 2 to launch the countdown to the games and meet the Canadian Invictus team. While Harry is in Florida next month, he’ll also be playing a polo match for charity, and he’s bringing his favorite horse. With all of this positivity about Harry (HONKS!), would it be weird if we also discussed the recent comments by Dr Anna Whitelock? She’s a historian – a royal-history historian – and she gave an interview a few days ago about how the British monarchy will likely end in our lifetimes. Whitelock predicted that after the Queen has passed, there will be a larger conversation about ending the monarchy, especially when Charles takes the throne. Whitelock said, in part: “All of those questions about ‘What the hell do we want this kind of unelected family (for)? What does that represent in Britain today?’, all these profound questions have been held in check because of the Queen. I think there’ll be a discussion and a debate in a way that there hasn’t before [after the Queen dies]. As the older generation who are generally more wedded to the monarchy die out, the question of the future of the monarchy will become even more pressing, and then potentially more critical voices will come to the fore. I would say by 2030 there will be definite louder clamours for the eradication of the monarchy. I can’t say that there won’t be a monarchy. I would definitely say that the monarchy – its purpose, what it’s about, will be questioned and challenged in a way that it hasn’t been before. I don’t think it’s out of the question that the monarchy would be potentially be on its last legs.” [From The Express] I do wonder what will happen after the Queen passes. I’ve stopped worrying about what Charles would be like as a king, just because he’s a workhorse and I believe he genuinely cares about public service. Charles has always been prepared to step up to whatever challenges would face him. But yes, when the queen passes and Charles becomes king, there will be these conversations and it will mostly be about what comes after Charles, whose reign will likely be brief. Because people are actually pretty concerned about Workshy Will. If Harry was the heir? If Harry was going to be the Prince of Wales? I think it would be a different story altogether. Photos courtesy of WENN.

Ad art Birth buckingham palace campaign celebrities Celebrity Court debate dumb fat figure Glee H&M image Intervention Kate Middleton lace Lost OWN Pee photos Political Politicians politics pot Prince Prince William quote rap real red rock royal family royals size son tan the real the Royals thin

The Guardian brilliantly trolled the British royal family for April Fool’s Day

marc

The Guardian got me. The British paper pulled an April Fool’s Day prank and they got me. I really, really thought their “exclusive” royal report was for real, and I was even in the midst of writing it up before it occurred to me that this was an April Fool’s Day prank. You can read their hilariously trolling piece here. The gist? For more than a month, the British papers have been going HAM on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. For the most part, the royal stories have been a sideshow to the larger political conversation in the UK, which is about “Brexit.” Brexit = the British exit from the European Union. The vote isn’t until June, and it’s one of the big political stories in Britain. So… the Guardian suggested that there was a conspiratorial connection between the political Brexit story and the gossip stories about “Work-Shy Will” and the “Duchess of Do-Little.” According to the Guardian’s prank, the royals believe there’s a connection. I should note that they’re actually basing this in reality: one of turning points for William was his vague speech back in February which many interpreted as “William speaks out against Brexit.” There were also stories last month in which real “sources” claimed the Queen is pro-Brexit. So, the Guardian slyly claims that the royal family thinks there’s a conspiracy afoot, and they plan on saying something about it. The royal family is seriously considering making a dramatic intervention in the referendum debate with an announcement that it supports Britain remaining inside the European Union. That the royals are prepared to risk provoking a potential constitutional crisis shows just how deep their anger is at parts of the British press and senior politicians. According to a senior source close to official figures, there was particular resentment at the Sun’s newspaper’s depiction of the Queen as a Brexit supporter. But the anger runs through the generations at Buckingham Palace: there was fury at the claims about “workshy” Prince William, a campaign mounted by two papers with an anti-EU stance, the Daily Mail and the Sun. And there was a feeling last week that rock bottom had been hit with a story in the Mail that Kate was now posher than the other royals. Another well-connected source explained that the royals now see a tightening conspiracy between the pro-exit papers, notably the Sun, Telegraph and Mail, and certain politicians. “The leader of Vote Leave is Michael Gove – that awful little leaker who put it about that the Queen wanted out. They can’t stand him. And as for Boris, the other main outer – he’s a cycling maniac from Islington. All he has done for the royal family is make it difficult to get around London in a decent-sized Daimler. And the third of the trio – Farage – what another awful little man.” Part of the reason for stepping into the debate in such an unprecedented way is huge disappointment in the prime minister, David Cameron. “The feeling is that we can’t leave it to him. Look what happened at the last referendum we had, on Scotland. We nearly lost Balmoral and the shoots. Nicola Sturgeon could be sat in that castle now – we know she had her eye on it – it was a damn close-run thing.” Royal circles found particularly offensive Cameron’s portrayal of the Queen as having “purred down the line” when he telephoned her to tell her Scotland had voted against independence. “The cheek of the man. There was real fury about that comment. And the irony of it – coming from a fat cat,” said a source. [From The Guardian] The whole piece is rich with irony, and they claim that the Palace is going to send Prince Philip out on his 95th birthday in June, possibly to tell Ant & Dec that Britain should stay in the EU. So… yeah, I’m dumb. I honestly thought this was real for a solid hour this morning. While my glee soured to disappointment with the realization that it was a prank, I still have to tip my hat to the Guardian. This is a brilliantly written piece of satire. Well done! Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News, WENN.

2011 abs Ad art celebrities Celebrity comparison Court criticism Engaged Families H&M Hollywood image interview interviews IRS Kate Middleton lace magazine Marriage Married Owe OWN photos Prince Prince William quote rap red rock royal family royals running Sad size son sur tan thin Tours TV Weird Win

Ingrid Seward: William & Kate are ‘a rich, increasingly spoiled couple’

marc

Ingrid Seward is a prominent royal writer, biographer and editor in the UK. She’s often called in by American publications to explain royal traditions or provide sugary quotes about the greatness of the Queen, the Prince of Wales or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Like, People Magazine interviews her all the time and often throws in some of her quotes in pieces about the Cambridges. She’s known as a more conservative and pro-monarchy royal writer. So this is sort of amazing – Ingrid Seward wrote a column in the Mail on Sunday about the Cambridges’ janky media strategy and just what a boneheaded idea it was for Kate to skip out on the Irish Guards on St. Patrick’s Day. If even Seward feels bold enough to issue a public smackdown, you know there are issues. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights: Missing out on the Irish Guards ceremony on St. Patrick’s Day: “So unthinking were her advisers in Kensington Palace that when a row about her absence erupted they replied that she’d simply gone home to Norfolk to be with her children. For Kate to miss an opportunity to honour the Armed Forces with such a lame excuse shows a distinct lack of understanding. If she wants to be thought of as a modern princess who will go the extra mile for the brave soldiers she represents through her charities, she should have been there at their new barracks at Hounslow, not at home in Anmer Hall. It somehow made the covenant between Royals and the military look as if it didn’t matter.” Seward blames bad advisors: “The Duchess’s advisers should have stopped to think how pitiful an excuse it looked to soldiers who have been divided from their families for months on operational tours since British Forces became engaged in the War on Terror in 2003. But they clearly did not. Sadly, for William and Kate, who could do no wrong at the time of their marriage in April 2011, it’s another unnecessary mistake.” William gets slammed too: “Last month the Duke failed to show up at the Baftas for the second year running. He is the Academy’s president, so it’s as if the cream of British cinema and a clutch of Hollywood A-listers had been stood up by their host. Again….Prince William said recently that the growing criticism of himself and his wife ‘came with the territory’. But it doesn’t have to. If he did not appear to be chafing quite so much at his Royal responsibilities and was more accepting of the affection on offer from the millions who will one day be his subjects, he could be forgiven a lot.” Instead of being friendly to British media, William is courting foreign media: “Prince William seems to be impervious to this idea. Instead he has begun to groom foreign media who give him the same platitudinous message that they give various celebrities. While holding the British press at arm’s length, the younger members of the Royal Family are giving cuddly, banal interviews to favoured publications and American TV networks.” Surrounded by privilege: “When William and Kate first married they insisted they didn’t want to be hidden in the ivory tower of royalty. They wanted to be with the people doing what they did, not surrounded by riches and privilege. Now they are doing just that. Of course they will one day be anointed King and Queen, and they will need their people behind them. Courting favour overseas won’t work and nor will ignoring public opinion at home.” The spoiled couple: “They may have been thrilled by their own cleverness at having a secret four-day ski break in Courchevel earlier this month but where they see an entitlement to privacy, the public see a rich, increasingly spoiled couple growing surprisingly distant.” [From The Daily Mail] The rest of Seward’s piece is a comparison of the Cambridges to the older royals, with Seward even saying that the Duchess of Cornwall understands the royal role so much better than William and Kate. Charles gets compliments as well for always putting duty first, for working so hard, etc. As I said, if someone like Seward is throwing down some heavy criticism of William and Kate, you know it’s bad. You know what I’m starting to wonder? I’m quietly developing a theory that all of this criticism might work in William’s favor in one particular way – he’ll use this as an excuse to quit his part-time EAAA job, which clearly already bores him to tears. He’ll say he has to quit the EAAA because something something criticism and his royal role. Then he’ll be on to a new scheme to avoid royal work. Oh, and the Sunday Express ran an interesting piece about Kate skipping out on the Irish Guards too – go here to read. Apparently, Kensington Palace is now claiming that they informed the Irish Guards “months” ago that Kate would not be handing out shamrocks this year. And somehow she knew months ago that she would need that day to prioritize her children? It’s a weird explanation. Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

"roar" abs Ad aging art Baby celebrities Celebrity chanel Court Engaged Entourage Friends H&M Huffington Post image IRS Kate Middleton Kids lace Owe OWN Photographer photos Piers Morgan pot Prince prince george Prince William quote Rant Rants rap real red RIP royal family royals runway size son style tan thin Twitter Weight Win

The Cambridges ‘were just like a family on holiday but with loads of help’

videos

Just thought you’d like to see the front page of The Sun! I love how The Sun doesn’t even care, they’re just calling him Work-Shy Will all the time now. The Daily Mail has been doing it too. Anyway, if you’re still reeling from how tone-deaf the Cambridges’ vacation was, you’re not alone. Obviously, a lot of people in the British media feel the same way. Which is why all the papers have been on the hunt for damaging details about the trip, or any unnamed-source willing to go on the record about how out of touch William and Kate are. HuffPo UK ran some coverage about how Piers Morgan claimed William “hates the press and this is a very deliberate and unacceptable attempt to shackle and control them.” To which HuffPo’s “source” said: A source told The Huffington Post UK that this was not the case and the Cambridges’ decision to holiday in relative privacy was borne out of a desire to shield their young children from a stressful exchange with the media. The source said: “The Duke and Duchess feel strongly that small children should not be paraded around the media and inviting a trusted photographer allowed pictures to be shared with the public in an less obtrusive way. There are no deals to be done around the privacy of the children, and they [the Duke and Duchess] are confident in the decisions they are making.” [From HuffPo UK] That’s their habit, whenever anyone questions the way Will and Kate operate, they deflect to their children. It’s all for their kids, and they are raising their kids their way. Except that The Telegraph points out the holiday was mostly a getaway for Will and Kate, and they brought lots of nannies and staff to handle the children. Details have begun to emerge of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first family holiday as a family in D, which included arriving by private jet and dining in some of the resort’s finest restaurants. They took Prince George, two, and Princess Charlotte, 10 months, on a four-night secret jaunt to the French Alps, with Kensington Palace only releasing photographs following their return to the UK. Conditions were too dangerous on Wednesday to land at Courchevel’s altiport, which has a runway of just 537m and is considered to be one of the most dangerous airports in the world. With no lighting aids, landing in fog and low clouds is impossible. Instead, the royal family are believed to have flown by private jet with their close friend James Meade and his wife Lady Laura Marsham. The jet reportedly owned by the billionaire Duke of Westminster, to Chambery and travelled the remaining 60 miles by a chauffeur-driven private hire car. The royal family and their entourage of nannies and security guards stayed at a luxury chalet in Courchevel 1850, the most expensive district in Les Trois Vallees, hiring an English team of chalet staff from a local company. Lined with designer boutiques including Dior, Chanel and Prada, the resort is the highest in Courchevel and boasts five Michelin star restaurants. It has more expensive hotels than any city in France other than Paris, including three with the top “Palace” rating, 16 with five-star status. The lower resorts – Courchevel Le Praz (1300), Courchevel Moriond (1650) and Courchevel Village (1550) – are more modest and affordable. An employee at Le Pilatus restaurant, at the base of the slopes, said that the royal couple enjoyed a meal at the restaurant during their stay at the exclusive resort….The couple appeared to have just been skiing and were accompanied but two adult friends but no children, he added. The Duke and Duchess were also spotted lunching alone at La Soucoupe, a popular and expensive mountain restaurant above Courchevel that is run by its vivacious owner, Marta Pecchio. The restaurant on the piste, which is only accessible by skiing, has a roaring log fire and serves dishes such as tagliatelle with truffles, squid cooked in its own ink, or grilled lobster. A diner at the restaurant said: “They clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were on their own without even a ski instructor, just like normal people. There was no obvious sign of any security guards.” Emily Taylor, 23, from London, saw William and Kate walking just outside a bar on Thursday lunchtime. “I think George had been in a ski lesson because someone was carrying really baby skis,” she told the Daily Mail. “They looked happy and were just walking and talking. A nanny was looking after Charlotte. They were just like a family on holiday but with loads of help.” [From The Telegraph] Of all the complaints that I have about the Cambridges, I have really never cared about the fact that they have child care. They have nannies… so what? A lot of people have nannies. What I do care about is A) when they lie about how much help they have and B) when they lie about how everything is for the children when clearly, Will and Kate just wanted to go on vacation. They brought along their kids so they could pose for photos with them and then William and Kate enjoyed the rest of their holiday without dealing with the kids. And they honestly believed that everyone would just be so grateful to see the kids that no one would question it further. Embed from Getty Images Photos courtesy of The Sun, Getty & KensingtonRoyal Twitter.