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Showing posts from November, 2019

A note from Nutty: The inactive Sussexes

Just a note to check in. The Sussexes have been so inactive recently that they've given me very little material, which isn't an entirely bad thing. I've always said that my hopes and dreams for the Sussexes were not some kind of macabre violent end, but for a quiet fading away, so it would be hypocritcal of me to complain when they take some long-overdue time out of the spotlight. A few Sussex notes from the past week: ➯ It's not clear where the Sussexes are currently located, and nobody seems particularly concerned where they are. The Sunshine Sachs PR money tap appears to have been turned off for the moment, so there are fewer articles about Meghan and even fewer commenters defending her in the Daily Mail. ➯ Talk about the upcoming Sussex "move to the US" has vanished entirely after Prince Andrew's defenestration. Apparently it has dawned on the Sussexes that they are very likely candidates for the slimming down of the monarchy which Prince Cha...

Meghan and Harry's "mental health documentary" with Oprah - some thoughts

While Duchess Meghan clearly has an interest in getting back into show business - Prince Harry was even heard promoting her voiceover talents to Disney chairman Bob Iger - show business seems to have much less interest in Meghan. Although various blind items have suggested that she is setting up meetings to discuss projects with various production houses, only one US-based project has been definitively announced: Prince Harry's documentary series about "mental health" in co-operation with Oprah Winfrey for the new Apple+ network. (While Harry is the co-creator co-executive producer, it seems inevitable that Meg will play a role in the production and make one if not several appearances.) What does Prince Harry have to teach us about mental health? William's mental health video The most convincing hosts and spokespeople speak from experience: Prince William's one-and-a-half minute PSA about mental health , released this week, is a good example. Willam ex...

Open Post: What does Andrew's decision mean for the Sussexes?

Prince Andrew has chosen to step down from active royal duties due to his role in the Epstein scandal. What do you think this means for the monarchy as a whole, and for the Sussexes in particular? As Winston Churchill once (reportedly) said, " Never waste a good crisis ."  Will Charles show himself to be unusually decisive and use Andrew's situation as an excuse to slim down the monarchy? What will the idiotic Sussex stans do, now that they can no longer insist that the media is harassing Meghan to cover up for Andrew's misdeeds? And what does it all mean for Beatrice's wedding ?

Thoughts on Disclosure vs Nondisclosure, or Andrew vs Meghan

There's been plenty of ink spilled today about Prince Andrew's interview with the BBC last night and whether or not he was appropriately sorry (or truthful) about his interactions with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew's explanations may have sounded limp ( I don't drink. I don't recall meeting that women. I was busy that night, taking Beatrice to the Pizza Express in Woking ), but unlike his spin doctor, I think the interview was a good idea. Andrew's reputation was in tatters and his business and charity projects were overshadowed by his role in the Epstein case. And the lives of his daughters were on hold too, leaving them unable to bid for a place as working royals, or even get someone to design them a wedding dress, as long as the unanswered cloud of accusations hung over Andrew's head. Now that he's spoken out, the Royal family can decide what to do with him. More precisely, Charles can decide what to do with him. Or, given Char...

Frogmore Cottage, Archie, and the Absence of Images

Most of us have never met Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth, Donald Trump, or Meghan Markle in person. These people play roles in our lives and in our consciousnesses, for good and for bad, but we know them only through still photo and video images. Images are something we have in common, whether they are joyful or horrifying . They're the building blocks of our shared culture. So for two people so obsessed with building cultural influence and fame, why are the Duke and Duchess Sussexes so stingy with personal photos? In particular, why are they so unwilling to share photos of their official home at Frogmore Cottage or their son, Archificial? You can't see us Yesterday we were informed that former US first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had visited the Sussexes at Frogmore Cottage. No photos were released of the event. Ellen DeGeneres also supposedly visited the couple at Frogmore Cottage and fed their son, Archificial. No photos were released of the ev...

California Nightmare: On the Sussexes' upcoming "six week break"

When you get married, you don't always know exactly what you're getting; when you marry a celebrity that's even more true, since most famous people are adept at creating a persona for the cameras that is quite unlike the human they are in real life. Linda McCartney married Paul McCartney shortly before the breakup of the Beatles, upon which time Paul took his young family and retreated to a rural area of Scotland to nurse his grievences with alcohol. "I married a famous rock star and then I found myself in an isolated cabin with an angry drunk," Linda reportedly said. Meghan Markle married a famous prince who is increasingly resembling an angry drunk.  But they're not going to Scotland - they're going to California.  The documentary they would have enjoyed Even Meghan's fans would have to acknowledge that she has never really fit in in the UK; her non-fans might argue that she didn't really try.   A truly "whip-smart...

Open post: Remembrance Day Ceremonies

The Royal Family will be arriving shortly for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall. On Sunday, the Queen and several other women from the Royal Family will watch from the balcony of Foreign and Commonwealth Office as Prince Charles lays a wreath at the Centotaph to honor the British war dead. This open post is a place to (respectfully) discuss both events.

Archie the Invisible Wonder Baby: Thoughts on the Sussexes and their rarely-seen infant

There is nothing stranger in the Sussex story than that of Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, who supposedly reached the age of six months on November 6. On precisely that day, the Duchess of Sussex took the opportunity to inform military families she was greeting that Archie was already crawling and had two teeth .  It is, indeed, possible for a six-month-old to have two teeth. And it is technically possible for a six-month-old to be crawling, although that is usually a seven-to-twelve month milestone . But the intersection of both suggests that Archie is a bit older than advertised. No photos, please That's not news, of course: supposedly born May 6, Archie appeared much older than 2 months at his baptism on July 6.  He appeared to have the size and neck muscle control of a 4 month old baby when carried by Meghan at a polo match a few days later. Perhaps mindful of the criticism - the Daily Mail repeatedly referred to the child as "two month old A...

Big Girls Don't Cry: Meghan Markle and Free Speech

Earlier this week the Nordic Council Literature prizes were given out in Sweden, and in the audience was Mette Frederiksen, the new prime minister of Denmark. Mette is almost the same age as Meghan Markle - she is 41 - and she's accomplished a fair amount in her lifetime, most of it without draping herself over a man. Now she's the head of (small) country, in charge of its finances, its educational system, and its military. When you're in the spotlight like that, not everyone is your fan. In fact, the winner of the Nordic Council Literature prize was not Mette's fan. "You are the head of a racist government of a racist country," Jonas Eika, a 28-year-old Danish writer, said in his speech to the woman sitting right in front of him. "You claim to care about children, but you tear families apart. You claim to be left wing, but your policies are no better than the policies of the right wing." Was Mette pleased? Probably not. She didn't appl...