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bitchy | Prince William & Kate take George & Charlotte to the pub for pub-quizzes
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bitchy | Prince William & Kate take George & Charlotte to the pub for pub-quizzes

by jummy84
written by jummy84

One of the funniest things Kensington Palace tries to do is convince people that the Prince and Princess of Wales are secretly very intelligent and “credible experts” in multiple fields. It really is the palace’s communications office trying to sell William and Kate this way, because William and Kate have shown time and time again that they are not very smart. I’m not saying that they’re complete idiots, by the way. I think Kate is “smart” in a sly, conniving, manipulative way, and hey, she’s figured out a way to survive within that institution (which isn’t nothing). William isn’t even clever in a sly way though, let’s be honest. Every time William opens his mouth, courtiers wince. Well, here’s some PR fluff: William and Kate take their kids down to a local pub for the pub quiz nights.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are enjoying some trivial pursuits after setting up a family pub-quiz team. William, Kate and their two eldest children George, 12, and Charlotte, ten, regularly take part in a weekly quiz in a pub near one of the royal homes.

One rival said: “The quiz is actually very tricky but also a lot of fun. My lips are sealed on whether ‘Team Wales’ has ever won first prize.”

During his Apple TV+ interview with actor Eugene Levy last week, William admitted he struggles with history and said George is “way better”. But the Aston Villa fan impressed with his footie knowledge when he appeared on TNT Sports before last season’s Champions League clash with PSG.

William and Kate, both 43, have degrees from the University of St Andrews. Wills earned a 2:1 in Geography and Kate got a 2:1 in Modern Art.

Their children go to fee-paying Lambrook near Ascot, Berks, recognised as one of the UK’s top 100 prep schools. Kate and Wills were regular pub quizzers when they lived in North Wales following their 2011 wedding.

[From The Sun]

I know pubs also serve food and family members of all ages are welcome in pubs, but it’s fascinating to hear that William and Kate are basically taking their kids to a bar so they can play bar games. This is one of those “if poor people did it, it would be looked down upon” situations. But as I said, this is just some PR fluff, some we’re-so-normal blokery. The Sun was being shady with “a pub near one of the royal homes,” which makes me wonder if this is happening in Norfolk or Windsor? Anyway, the story reminds me so much of all of the weird and fake sightings of Kate in 2024. “We saw Kate in a chocolate shop, we saw Kate at her kids’ practice, we saw Kate at the farmer’s market!” Pics or it didn’t happen (and even then, the pics might be faked).

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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bitchy | Eugene Levy wasn’t ordered to avoid asking Prince William about his brother
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bitchy | Eugene Levy wasn’t ordered to avoid asking Prince William about his brother

by jummy84
written by jummy84

I ended up watching one episode of AppleTV+’s The Reluctant Traveler. I’ve never watched the show before, and I’m probably not going to start. The whole feel of the “Prince William episode” was awkward. Many are putting the blame squarely on William’s shoulders, but I’ll admit something: William would not have come across quite as badly as he did if Eugene Levy knew how to interview people. That was the fundamental problem – Levy’s job isn’t “journalist” or “celebrity interviewer” or “professional conversationalist.” He was just trying to take a tour of Windsor Castle when all of this got thrown onto him. Levy’s stilted discomfort added to William’s dullness, awkwardness and rizzlessness. The show’s editors left in all of those awkward pauses, they left in the lack of segues, they left in William’s habit of making some awful comment about how he doesn’t know anything about history, laughing at himself and then glancing quickly over to Levy, who was never laughing. It looked like William was just performing a series of rehearsed monologues while Levy blinked and tried to spy the exit. Hilariously, Levy has been giving interviews in the wake of this episode, and the only thing people are asking HIM is “why didn’t you ask William about Harry and Meghan??”

Eugene Levy is explaining why he steered clear of asking Prince William about his estranged brother Prince Harry and sister-in-law Meghan Markle during their much-talked-about sit-down at Windsor Castle. The Canadian actor and comedian, 78, joined the Prince of Wales, 43, for the Oct. 3 episode of The Reluctant Traveler on Apple TV+. Speaking to ITV News in an interview released Oct. 2, Levy said he was not told to avoid the topic of Harry and Meghan — but chose not to bring them up.

“Were you ever told you couldn’t ask questions, for example, about Harry and Meghan? Did you find that was just something you didn’t want to go near?” the reporter asked.

Levy replied, “I was not told I couldn’t ask anything, but it wasn’t really, you know, up to me, to get into that. I had no interest in asking him about that, because it was, you know, very delicate issue and certainly not up to me to get into it.”

“I think there were other things, you know, I could lead the conversation to that might be interesting for him and interesting for the world to hear, but that was something I wasn’t necessarily interested in getting into,” Levy continued.

[From People]

“I was not told I couldn’t ask anything.” First of all, I don’t believe that. I think somewhere, someone at the palace sent some AppleTV producer an email saying “tell Levy to avoid Sussex questions.” These are the same f–king people who were micromanaging Meghan’s necklaces and Suits scripts after all – it’s simply not believable that they would send big dummy Peggington in there with his rehearsed speeches and expect him to field questions about Harry and Meghan on the fly. Second of all, that’s the reason why Willy gave this “interview” to Levy – because he’s not a professional journalist, because of course there were no follow-up questions, because of course Eugene Levy was told that certain topics were off-limits and he adhered to those rules. Meanwhile, in an interview with Town & Country, Levy claimed that he genuinely didn’t know that he would be meeting William until he got to England and he was already filming there.

Eugene Levy wasn’t planning to interview Prince William when he went to Windsor Castle. The veteran actor didn’t even know he was going to meet the future King until he was in the UK to film an episode for season three of his Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy. “The only thing I knew was when I was on camera filming the episode and found out I got an invitation from him to come to Windsor Castle,” Levy tells Town & Country. “I didn’t know he was gonna be on the show.” Even then, Levy thought it was only going to be a tour around the castle at best. He didn’t realize he was about to spend the better part of the day in conversation with Prince William.

Levy tells T&C he was pleased that the Prince felt comfortable enough to speak about those [personal] issues with him. But he admits there’s one lingering question he still wishes he had asked. “I was sorry I didn’t get a chance to ask him why he picked this show for an interview quite this extensive. I wish I had asked him that,” Levy says. “There must have been something about [this show] or about me that made him feel that this could possibly be a very good vehicle for him to do it. It appears he was familiar with who I am because of American Pie, but there must have been something else.”

[From Town & Country]

“Even then, Levy thought it was only going to be a tour around the castle at best. He didn’t realize he was about to spend the better part of the day in conversation with Prince William.” You can really feel that within the episode too, that Levy was completely unprepared to spend that much time with a prince who had nothing else to do. William had no meetings, no events, no school run, no kid’s football practice. It came across that way too, that William simply has a lot of time on his hands and he refuses to fill his time with meaningful work or tasks or even hobbies. Anyway… there are already a lot of thinkpieces and KP clean-ups on this, so this week should be pretty fun.

Screencaps & promotional images courtesy of AppleTV+.

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bitchy | Did Princess Kate wear a grey suit on purpose, as a reference to Prince Harry?
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bitchy | Did Princess Kate wear a grey suit on purpose, as a reference to Prince Harry?

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Yesterday, Commodore Keen wore a grey Bella Freud suit to an RAF base. The Princess of Wales was appointed the Royal Honorary Air Commodore in 2023, and this was her first-ever trip to RAF Coningsby. I’ve included more photos of her visit in this post. Anyway, I didn’t have much to say about Kate’s suit yesterday. It was fine – appropriate, sedate, professional. If I have one criticism, it’s that Kate actually needs more of a flared or straight legged trouser – the subtle taper of the trousers is unflattering, imo.

Well, it didn’t even occur to me yesterday that Kate was actually sending a “message” by wearing a grey suit. Where else have we seen “grey suit” written and discussed ad nauseum in the past week? That’s right, Prince Harry’s clapback on the Sun. Harry didn’t actually say “the men in grey suits,” but he referenced nefarious people behind the scenes who are trying to sabotage his reconciliation with his father. Diana was the one (I think) who coined “the men in grey” term in reference to her biggest opps, the palace courtiers. Diana’s youngest definitely shares her hatred for these shady figures pulling the strings and manipulating the Windsors. So… Kate’s message is that she can wear a grey suit as well! She’s one of the shady courtiers turning father against son and brother against brother! Honestly… that’s on brand for Kate. We’re long past the Linchpin Era, when Kate tried to convince everyone that she alone could repair royal relations. She’s in her Men In Grey era now.

During this visit, Kate also “revealed” that Louis wants to become a fighter pilot. When she next visits a garden, she’ll say Louis wants to be a gardener. When she next visits a mill, she’ll say Louis wants to work in fashion.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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Prince William won't make 'same mistakes' as his parents
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Prince William won’t make ‘same mistakes’ as his parents

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Prince William doesn’t want to make the “same mistakes” as his parents when raising his own children.

Prince William wants to learn from his own upbringing

The 43-year-old royal – who has Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, with wife Catherine, Princess of Wales – has pledged to “learn from” the way his own life was impacted when King Charles and his late first wife Princess Diana separated because he’s aware of how any “drama” his brood are exposed to can have an effect when they are older.

Speaking to Eugene Levy on his Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler, William said: “You have to have that warmth, that feeling of safety, security, love.

“That all has to be there, and that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced at eight, so that lasted a short period of time.

“But, you take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes as your parents. I think we all try and do that and I just want to do what’s best for my children, but I know that the drama and the stress when you’re small really affects you when you’re older.”

William prioritises finding the right “balance” with his work that works for his family and he and Catherine try to be present for the start and end of the school day.

Asked if he keeps a 9-5 schedule, he said: “Not really, no. It doesn’t quite work like that, but I do try and stick to school time tables as best as possible. So, most days we’re in and out of school doing pick-ups and drop offs.

“Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important. Because for me, the most important thing in my life is family, and everything is about the future and about if you don’t start the children off now with a happy, healthy, stable home, I feel you’re setting them up for a bit of a hard time and a fall.

“And so, it’s about making sure that we can look after our families, look after our children, in a way that is best for their future.”

And the family always have dinner together.

Asked if they sit at the dinner table together, William said: “Yep, absolutely, yep definitely. So, we sit and chat; it’s really important. None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about.”

The prince and his wife encourage their children to stay active and take part in various sports.

He said: “Louis loves the trampoline, so he’s obsessed with trampolining and actually Charlotte does a lot as well.

“As far as I can tell, they just end up jumping up and down on the trampoline, beating each other up, most of the time. Apparently, there is an art to it.

“Charlotte does her netball as well, and her ballet, and so keeping them busy with sports and being outdoors is really important.

“They’re trying to learn musical instruments. I’m not sure how successful we’re being with that. George loves his football and his hockey.”




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bitchy | Prince William & Kate’s 150-acre land-grab ensures an ‘uninterrupted view’
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bitchy | Prince William & Kate’s 150-acre land-grab ensures an ‘uninterrupted view’

by jummy84
written by jummy84

It’s so interesting that the Prince and Princess of Wales are still facing so much criticism for their planned move to Forest Lodge on the Windsor estate. In August, the criticism was about why William and Kate “need” a fifth forever home, and why they need a home which is so isolated and in need of such expensive, taxpayer-funded security upgrades. There was also criticism of the fact that William and Kate evicted residents with valid leases living in the cottages around Forest Lodge. One of those residents is an octogenarian cardiologist. This week, there’s a new thread of criticism: the “necessary” security upgrade to Forest Lodge means that a huge part of Windsor Great Park is now closed to pedestrians, pedestrians who pay an annual fee to have access to the park. William and Kate “need” 150 acres to ensure their privacy, as it turns out. Luckily, Will and Kate’s bonkers land-grab is all for a good cause: an interrupted view!

The new security fence at Forest Lodge will not block Prince William and Princess Kate’s views, thanks to a special feature already in place at the estate. The property includes a ha-ha wall, a sunken boundary designed in the 18th century to secure gardens and parks without interrupting the landscape.

The National Trust describes it as “a type of sunken fence… to give the viewer of the garden the illusion of an unbroken, continuous rolling lawn, whilst providing boundaries for grazing livestock.” The name is thought to come from the surprise of encountering the hidden drop, with some suggesting people would exclaim “Ha ha” if they stumbled across it.

While it is not known if the family plans to keep animals beyond their dogs, the wall will not interfere with outdoor play for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The estate itself is surrounded by open countryside, ensuring uninterrupted views across the grounds.

[From GB News]

As I said a few days ago, if I was paying to access the park, I would sue the f–k out of these people. It sounds like this whole thing is less about “security” and more about Kate having her very own country estate with extensive, uninterrupted views. She’s trying to see all the way to Montecito! Meanwhile, People Magazine also had coverage of the land-grab, and they added some new info:

As Kate Middleton and Prince William prepare to move to Forest Lodge in Windsor, new security measures around the home are affecting neighbors. According to The Times, a 2.3-mile perimeter has been enacted around Forest Lodge, where the Prince and Princess of Wales plan to relocate by the end of the year. As of Sunday, Sept. 28, locals no longer have access to the area — and trespassers are to be arrested under the Home Office’s security plans.

Fences were being installed on Sept. 28, with neighbors losing access to the Cranbourne Gate entrance and parking lot of Windsor Great Park, which they pay around $150 per year to use, according to the outlet.

The Daily Mail previously reported that two households near Forest Lodge were asked to vacate earlier this summer. PEOPLE understands that there were no eviction notices, and the tenants have moved to similar or better housing within Windsor Great Park, with everyone remaining in Crown Estate properties.

In another move to ensure their privacy, Prince William and Princess Kate will continue not to have any live-in staff after their move to Forest Lodge, PEOPLE understands. Their three children’s longtime nanny, Maria Turrion Borrallo, and housekeepers will likely stay in smaller properties nearby.

[From People]

Did we already know that? I think it was more of an assumption, that of course the Waleses’ staffers would not be live-in. But to see it written in People Mag is interesting. So much privacy! Weird that they’re not the ones described as “privacy obsessed,” right? Even Nanny Maria can’t live-in. They can’t even allow a cardiologist to live somewhat close-by!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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bitchy | Platell: Paranoid Prince Harry is going to end up like his paranoid mother
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bitchy | Platell: Paranoid Prince Harry is going to end up like his paranoid mother

by jummy84
written by jummy84

The British media is really mad at Prince Harry. They’ve been mad since 2019, really. Which is when Harry first started suing them. The year before, 2018, was when Prince William and Kate really decided to sell out Harry and Meghan, and W&K have never stopped. Additionally, Harry’s father has always used both of his sons for his own image, and Charles clearly doesn’t give two sh-ts about Harry OR William. All of which to say, Harry’s spokesperson issuing a correction to the Sun’s curious weekend cover story has gone off like a bomb. Even more so because Harry clearly points to the Sun’s “sources” as attempting to “sabotage” his reconciliation efforts with his father, drawing direct lines to both Charles’s courtiers and William’s office. The reaction from the Windsors and the royalist media has been full of gaslighting, hastily rewritten narratives, lies and threats. Now the Daily Mail’s Amanda Platell is saying all of it pretty explicitly: they’re running the “Harry is paranoid, just like his dead mother” play.

What a terrible error of judgment Prince Harry has made. Just days after landing back in California after a triumphant UK trip during which he met his father for the first time in 19 months, the Prince has once again displayed the least attractive quality he inherited from his mother Princess Diana – her utter paranoia.

At least Diana had good reason, having been cruelly duped by the disgraced BBC journalist Martin Bashir who manipulated her into that infamous 1995 Panorama interview by feeding her lies, telling her that even her most trusted courtiers were traitors who were selling untruths about her to the media.

Now, nearly thirty years after his mother’s death, sources ‘close to Harry’ are making the same lurid accusations Diana made – just days after what should have been a game-changing meeting with his Pa. They say that the Palace’s ‘men in grey suits’ were working against Harry and ‘sabotaging his reconciliation with the King’.

As small glimpses of the meeting between Harry and his father began to emerge in the days afterwards, a source close to the Prince claimed he was infuriated with the briefings, stating rather pompously: ‘The relationship between the Duke and His Majesty The King is a matter for the two of them only’, before adding that ‘the men in grey suits should stay out of it’.

The vehement denials that followed surely must have stung Harry as Palace insiders began counter-briefing that Harry ‘would never be allowed to return as a half-in half-out working royal’, that there were ‘no plans now or in the foreseeable future for father and son to appear together in public’ and perhaps most painfully that ‘those inside Team Harry had mistaken a brief tea and a slice of cake for the Treaty of Versailles’. Others claimed that the meeting between father and son had been ‘distinctly formal’, with the duke allegedly describing it as ‘very official, like an official visit’ – a comment his spokesman vehemently denied.

Now, after the latest lurid accusations that ‘men in grey suits’ are sabotaging the Prince, the harsh reality is clear: the only thing sabotaging Harry is his own self-perceived victimhood, a role he continues unhealthily to wallow in – and unforgivably monetise through his memoir, Spare. How paranoid must Harry have felt then when it was reported that Buckingham Palace had been left ‘saddened and perplexed’, increasingly ‘bemused’ and ‘clearly not a little irritated’ by Harry’s ‘wild, conspiracy theories’.

Even more upsetting for Harry is that the latest comments have been met with ‘disappointment’ by friends of King Charles, with a royal source adding: ‘The reality is that senior aides have been working behind the scenes to improve what is a delicate but important private family relationship.’ At which point, we should point out that in refined royal circles, the word ‘disappointment’ is equivalent to a nuclear warhead going off.

Harry’s obsession with conspiracy theories has horrible echoes of his mother’s bitter and collapsing marriage to Charles – and her completely out-of-kilter state of mind back then….it’s the paranoia that Harry shares with his late mother that is most troubling. For it was not only Diana’s least attractive characteristic, but the one that led to much unhappiness…. Diana never did stop manipulating the media or blaming the men in grey suits for her unhappiness. She was so paranoid that she cancelled her official Scotland Yard protection detail, believing they were loyal not to her but the palace. And look how that ended.

[From The Daily Mail]

That last sentence is the explicit threat to Harry: if you continue to correctly call out the people harming you, you’re going to wind up like your paranoid mother. Diana was “paranoid” and she had every reason to be paranoid, because people were actively harming her and plotting against her because they saw her as an existential threat to the monarchy. They still mock Diana years after her death – “Diana was so paranoid, she thought she would die in a car crash organized by her ex-husband and the institution which protects him!” And look at that. The “paranoid Harry” talking point doesn’t even hold up because Platell explicitly details that the courtiers WERE BRIEFING AGAINST HARRY after he met with his father! Jesus.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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Prince William calls for aid workers to be 'championed'
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Prince William calls for aid workers to be ‘championed’

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Prince William believes more needs to be done to “champion” aid workers in both Gaza and Ukraine.

Prince William has stressed the importance of protection for humanitarian workers

The Prince of Wales has called on the public to “fight” for aid agencies to be able to help those most in need in areas of conflict across the globe.

Speaking at the unveiling of a memorial for humanitarian workers in London on Wednesday (01.10.25), William said: “Around the world, far too many people continue to face unimaginable pain, suffering and loss, whether through natural disasters or man-made conflict and famine.

“We are witness to the appalling suffering of those who are victims of war and violence from Ukraine to Sudan, from Myanmar to Haiti, and indeed throughout much of the Middle East. And alas in so many other places.

“Yet, the presence of humanitarian aid workers, like those in Gaza, runs like a thread of shared humanity through even the grimmest of environments. Rather than running away from danger, discomfort and hunger, these incredibly brave men and women stay behind to bring whatever respite, compassion and care they can to those who need it the most.

“We must champion and fight for their access to people in the most desperate of circumstances.”

William explained that 300 aid workers have been killed on duty so far this year and called for those working in warzones to be given more protection.

The 43-year-old royal said: “Every single one of those deaths is a tragedy.

“A cruel affront to the international humanitarian principles which must remain sacrosanct.

“One thing that should unite all of us is support and protection for those that seek to help others in the most dire situations. The brave humanitarians that seek to feed and heal innocent people deserve our respect and deserve their safety.

“Humanitarian aid workers bring solace in the darkest of times. We must do more to recognise their service, and more to protect them.”

The prince hopes that the Gunnersbury Park memorial – which has been created by artist Michael Landy – serves as a “place both for quiet contemplation and for education”.

William said: “Children now and in the future can learn about humanitariasm, and the remarkably brave men and women who endanger their lives every day to help others in their hour of greatest need.”




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bitchy | Prince William & Kate need 150 acres of land around Forest Lodge for ‘security’
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bitchy | Prince William & Kate need 150 acres of land around Forest Lodge for ‘security’

by jummy84
written by jummy84

On Monday, Prince William put on a big-boy suit and returned to big-boy statesman work! We know it was super-important because William’s office posted a breezy, wordless video about William’s meeting with the Crown Prince of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Sabah. The two heirs met at Windsor Castle. So I would assume that William probably returned from Scotland over the weekend. William wasn’t seen at church at Balmoral on Sunday, so his hunting trip had probably already ended. As for the meeting between the heirs… guess which one is older? Sheikh Sabah is actually 72 years old, only four years younger than King Charles. He honestly looks pretty good for his age, but that’s probably because of the side-by-side comparison with William, who has never touched a drop of moisturizer in his life.

They can post all of the wordless behind-the-scenes videos they want, it still doesn’t make Willy a statesman. It’s actually pretty sad, because William comes across as such a lightweight who can’t even be trusted in these kinds of meetings with friendly Arab royals. God knows what kinds of gaffes he made which will never be spoken about.

Anyway, I guess we can expect more of this kind of “work” – a meeting in Windsor Castle, a ten-second social media video, and they call it a day’s work. This will be William’s work life when he moves fulltime into his fifth forever home, Forest Lodge. As we learned, royal security apparently demands that a sizable chunk of Windsor Great Park is now off-limits to peasants because of the Waleses’ move to Forest Lodge. Those peasants paid an annual fee to be able to enter through the park’s gates to walk their dogs. So just how extensive is Will & Kate’s land grab? 150 acres is now Will and Kate’s “ring of steel” around Forest Lodge. What a huge f–king waste of money.

Work is underway on William and Kate’s new ‘ring of steel’ as they set about fencing off a 150-acre no-go zone around their forever home. The Prince and Princess of Wales have imposed a 2.3-mile personal exclusion area around Forest Lodge, a Georgian mansion in Windsor Great Park.

It is understood those who venture past the ‘no trespassing’ signs – intended to keep William, Kate and their three children safe – will face immediate arrest.

New images show the beginning of preparations aimed at keeping members of the public out of the area as cars and lorries arrive to erect a wooden fence. State-of-the art equipment is visible assisting workmen who hammer in the new measures. Meanwhile, pick-up trucks have also arrived on site transporting the necessary materials to ensure full protection.

Home Office plans mean the estate will be getting the latest CCTV equipment. In addition, the area around Forest Lodge is set to become a designated property under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) 2005.

Security minister Dan Jarvis’s order, which came into force on Sunday, gives officers the power to arrest trespassers and is intended to act ‘as a deterrent for incursions’.

But the new plans have not gone down well with some locals, many of whom will see substantial changes to their access arrangements. A car park has been permanently closed, while there will no longer be access to Windsor Great Park at Cranbourne Gate, which residents could use for an annual charge of £110 annually.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m mad on the dog-walkers and pedestrians’ behalf, but I’m also astonished by the collective shrug over this insane land-grab and these costly security measures. Did it seriously not occur to William, Kate or anyone in their office that turning Forest Lodge into their own sub-Windsor Estate was going to be an incredibly costly venture for British taxpayers. Will and Kate are paying out-of-Duchy-pocket for paint and furniture – taxpayers are paying to shut down part of the park and round-the-clock security to ensure that a dog-walker doesn’t step one foot on Will and Kate’s 150-acre royal estate.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Kensington Palace.

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bitchy | Sykes: Prince Harry’s palace enemies have ‘lured him into their trap’
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bitchy | Sykes: Prince Harry’s palace enemies have ‘lured him into their trap’

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Tom Sykes has been doing the most to promote his Royalist Substack, and this weekend, he was full of drama over Prince Harry’s clapback on The Sun. Harry’s spokesperson drew a direct line between The Sun’s exclusive cover story and the courtiers hellbent on sabotaging King Charles and Prince Harry’s reconciliation. Sykes did a live video in which he explained the connections between what Harry wrote about in Spare and how many institutional factions are anti-Sussex. For what it’s worth, I think a lot of people are missing the fact that Prince William’s office has posed as “sources close to the Sussexes” to spread lies about Harry and Meghan’s moves and motivations for years. Whenever a story pops up with some really shady quotes from “sources close to Harry,” you can assume it’s from Kensington Palace’s workshop. Now, did the Sun’s exclusive come from KP? Eh. I think the detail about Harry giving his father a photo was what set off Harry. It was the kind of thing which could have only come from Charles’s inner camp, imo. Which is why Harry was so forceful in pushing back.

Well, on Sunday, the palace saboteurs responded to all of this melodrama by declaring that King Charles was “saddened and disappointed” by Harry’s spokesperson’s statement. I feel like it’s notable that the reaction wasn’t a full, screeching hissy fit – the response was weak and vague, because Harry hit his target accurately and showed that he’s perfectly capable of calling them out publicly. But, according to Sykes, “Harry’s Enemies in King Charles’ Court Have Lured Him Into Their Trap.” Sykes now believes that “Harry… needs to stop reacting every time his enemies prod him if he is to preserve his fragile reconciliation with his dad.”

I said in my Live yesterday—recorded in the admittedly unsatisfactory lighting conditions of the gloaming outside Slane Castle in Ireland and with way too many ‘ums’—that I believed that the palace had set a trap for Harry when insiders planted a story in the Sun saying that Harry’s meeting with his father was a distinctly chilly affair, more like an official audience than a father-son reunion.

I noted that I felt Harry had walked right into its jaws by taking the bait, and issuing one of his trademark angry outbursts at palace operatives, accusing the “men in grey suits” of leaking “pure invention” to the media with the aim of “sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son.”

I suggested that Harry was pointing the finger at his great foes in Charles’ office, Sir Clive Alderton (“the wasp”) and Tobyn Andreae.

I also said that having provoked a response, anti-reconciliation courtiers would now be able to say that Harry had betrayed his promise not to re-escalate tensions with the family or stoke controversy around the September 10 meeting which saw Harry meet the King for “a private tea” at Clarence House, the first time that the King had met with his younger son for 19 months.

And lo! The trap just snapped shut. My point has been proven (rather quicker than I anticipated, I must confess) by a wounding story in the London Times saying that “the palace” (the Times’s careful choice of words) has been left “saddened and perplexed” by Harry’s claim that “the institution” (more careful syntax) is “sabotaging” his attempts to reconcile with the King.

[From The Royalist Substack]

A few things…it looks more like the courtiers fell into Harry’s trap by leaking the highly specific detail about the photo. “Anti-reconciliation courtiers would now be able to say that Harry had betrayed his promise not to re-escalate tensions with the family or stoke controversy around the September 10 meeting.” Those are the same courtiers who A) leaked the sh-t in the first place and B) have consistently failed to rein in Prince William, who had a loud, messy nervous breakdown over the meeting and hasn’t shut up about it for weeks. Some of you rolled your eyes about my belief that Harry and Charles agreed to not leak details of any conversations and meetings. You guys are wrong – there absolutely was an agreement, and it was one of Charles’s few prerequisites. Harry has maintained his side of the bargain, Charles has not.

Here’s more from Sykes:

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, The Sun.

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bitchy | Mail: Prince Harry believes ‘the men in grey suits should stay out of it’
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bitchy | Mail: Prince Harry believes ‘the men in grey suits should stay out of it’

by jummy84
written by jummy84

As we discussed, on late Friday/early Saturday, the Sun published a curious exclusive. Originally, they claimed that “insiders” told them that Prince Harry was surprised with the formality of his September 10th meeting with his father inside Clarence House. The sources quoted by the Sun proclaimed to have insider information about both Harry’s manner and King Charles’s manner, and even had details about what was discussed, what food was served and what father and son gave to each other. The Sun originally said that Harry gave his father a photo of himself, Meghan, Archie and Lili. Well, within hours, Harry’s spokesperson responded to the story, and then the Sun responded as well:

“Recent reporting of The Duke’s view of the tone of the meeting is categorically false,” Harry’s spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE on Sept. 27. “The quotes attributed to him are pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son. Presumably, those same sources have also chosen to disclose that gifts were exchanged.”

The spokesperson also confirmed that Harry presented his father with a framed photograph, but clarified that it did not include Harry or Meghan Markle. “While we would have preferred such details to remain private, for the sake of clarity, we can confirm that a framed photograph was handed over, however, the image did not contain the Duke and Duchess,” the spokesperson added. The statement suggests instead that the picture featured only the King’s grandchildren, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, whom he has not seen in more than three years.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for The Sun said, “In his statement, Prince Harry confirms the exchange of gifts, including a family photograph. The office of the Duke of Sussex was given full right of reply yesterday in advance of publication and opted not to give a response to The Sun’s carefully sourced account of the meeting. We have today updated the online article to include his new statement.”

[From People]

The more I think about it, the more I wonder which camp is really behind it. Harry’s statement indicates that he believes the courtiers – mostly his father’s courtiers? – are the ones behind this particular story. But… The Sun is owned by NGN (the Murdochs) and Kensington Palace gives so many stories to both the Sun and the Times. Plus, we know that Prince William and his staff love to “forge” Harry’s signature, and I believe they consistently position themselves as “sources close to Harry,” and they spread lies and smears about the Sussexes as they pose as “friends of the Sussexes.” You see what I’m saying? The actual story feels like it’s from Charles’s camp, but the M.O. is pure Peggy. Saboteurs are in both royal courts though, so your guess is as good as mine. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail had an exclusive in which “sources” also blame the palace courtiers.

Prince Harry last night lambasted ‘men in grey suits’ at Buckingham Palace, accusing aides of trying to sabotage his reconciliation with the King. The Duke’s furious broadside is an extraordinary echo of his mother Princess Diana’s criticism of shadowy royal courtiers – who she also derided as ‘the men in grey suits’ and accused of undermining her. Harry is understood to be infuriated at what he sees as a concerted campaign by unnamed Palace officials to torpedo his efforts to strike a rapprochement with his father by giving hostile briefings to newspapers.

‘The relationship between the Duke and His Majesty The King is a matter for the two of them and the two of them only,’ a source close to the Duke told The Mail on Sunday. ‘The men in grey suits should stay out of it.’

The increasingly bitter war of words between Harry’s camp and Palace officials erupted after this newspaper revealed last weekend that talks were under way between aides to gradually bring the King and his younger son together in a public show of unity. The MoS disclosed that as part of cautious plans to foster a reconciliation, the Duke might take part in more public events in Britain, though not as a working member of the Royal Family. But within hours of the MoS publishing its story, insiders began briefing journalists that Harry will never be allowed to return as a ‘half-in, half-out’ working royal – despite such a claim not appearing in this newspaper’s report. In a waspish comment about the significance of the Duke’s meeting with Charles, one unnamed source suggested those in Team Harry had ‘mistaken a brief tea and a slice of cake for the Treaty of Versailles’.

[From The Daily Mail]

“In a waspish comment” – many believe this is the Mail pointing to Clive Alderton, Charles’s private secretary, who Harry described as “The Wasp” in Spare. As in, Harry believes that Charles’s courtiers, including Alderton, are sabotaging his reconciliation attempts with his father, and the Daily Mail is suggesting in their special way that Harry is correct. Now, about this: “But within hours of the MoS publishing its story, insiders began briefing journalists that Harry will never be allowed to return as a ‘half-in, half-out’ working royal.” I still don’t even know how much of this is just Charles vs. William, with Harry as collateral damage. I’m really glad that Harry issued a statement though, and that he’s pushing back on the past three weeks of insanity.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, The Sun.

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