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'Zootopia 2' Dominates Again as Local Titles Hold
TV & Streaming

‘Zootopia 2’ Dominates Again as Local Titles Hold

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Disney’s animated sequel “Zootopia 2” continued to tower over the Korean box office, delivering $6.7 million from more than 1 million admissions over the Dec. 12–14 frame. According to KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the film now stands at a commanding $35.2 million cumulative gross since its Nov. 26 debut, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the weekend’s total market share.

Local comedy-drama “The People Upstairs” held firmly in second place, adding $948,236 to lift its total to $2.6 million after two weekends in release. The film drew 140,352 admissions across 768 screens, remaining the strongest Korean performer in the chart. Directed by Ha Jung-woo and starring Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Dong-wook, Lee Ha-nee and Ha Jung-woo himself, the film follows a downstairs couple driven to exhaustion by constant noise from their upstairs neighbours. A tense dinner meant to resolve the issue quickly unravels into an evening of sharp confessions and shifting dynamics.

Family fare “Pororo the Movie: Sweet Castle Adventure” opened in third with $449,879 from 74,435 admissions, narrowly edging out Universal’s horror sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” which collected $449,123 and pushed its cumulative tally to $1.2 million.

Japanese action-fantasy “Jujutsu Kaisen: Shibuya Incident / Culling Game – The Movie” followed in fifth, earning $405,974 for a running total of $2 million. Directed by Shōta Goshozono, the film condenses the anime’s Shibuya Incident arc as Yuji Itadori and his allies face a coordinated curse attack on Halloween. The aftermath sets up the looming Culling Game and Yuta Okkotsu’s mission that puts Yuji’s fate in jeopardy.

In sixth place, “Wicked: For Good” added $224,840, bringing its Korean total to $6.4 million. “The Running Man” placed seventh with $115,810 in its second weekend.

South Korean crime comedy “The Informant” slipped to eighth, grossing $86,310 for a cumulative $916,697. Directed by Kim Seok, the film stars Heo Sung-tae and Jo Bok-rae as a compromised smuggling informant and a hapless detective who blunders into the operation. Forced into an uneasy alliance after both take substantial losses, the pair attempt to claw their way back while dismantling the criminal ring.

Illusionist sequel “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” followed with $81,568, lifting its total to $8.7 million.

Rounding out the top 10, Japanese filmmaker Miyake Sho’s Locarno Golden Leopard winner “Two Seasons, Two Strangers” earned $80,278, bringing its cumulative gross to $136,275. Drawing from Tsuge Yoshiharu’s 1967 and 1968 short stories, the film follows a screenwriter named Lee (played by Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung) as she embarks on contrasting seasonal journeys — a summer encounter at a seaside town and a winter retreat to a remote mountain lodge.

The top 10 films collectively grossed $9.5 million over the Dec. 12–14 weekend, down from the previous frame’s $12.1 million.

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Forbidden Sex' Among IFFR V-Cinema Titles
TV & Streaming

Forbidden Sex’ Among IFFR V-Cinema Titles

by jummy84
written by jummy84

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled its second Focus program for the 55th edition, turning the spotlight on Japan’s V-Cinema — the direct-to-video movement that exploded in the late 1980s and profoundly shaped the country’s contemporary film culture.

The section, curated by Tom Mes, will run as part of the festival’s 2026 edition from Jan. 29 to Feb. 8.

Originating with Toei’s “Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage” (1989), V-Cinema responded to Japan’s booming home video market by producing films that bypassed theaters entirely. The low-budget, high-speed production model gave directors unprecedented creative freedom, birthing a generation of filmmakers who went on to define modern Japanese cinema — including Miike Takashi, Nakata Hideo, Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Aoyama Shinji.

IFFR’s V-Cinema Focus will showcase a range of Toei titles, among them the “Crime Hunter” trilogy — “Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage,” “Crime Hunter 2: Bullets of Betrayal” and “Crime Hunter 3: Killing Bullet.” The lineup also features Nakata’s debut feature “Female Teacher: Forbidden Sex,” the psychological noir “Betrayal Tomorrow,” and the cult action thriller “XX Beautiful Weapon.”

The program expands beyond Toei to highlight the anarchic spirit and genre experimentation that defined the movement. Among the selections are the ghostly anthology “Scary True Stories: Second Night,” the eerie found-footage investigation “Psychic Vision: Jaganrei,” and Miike’s hyperviolent “Fudoh: The New Generation.” Other highlights include the surreal gangland fable “Tuff: Part I,” Kurosawa’s deadpan yakuza comedy “Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! VI: The Hero,” Aoyama’s archetypal action drama “A Weapon in My Heart,” and “The King of Minami,” about a loan shark aiding small business owners.

“V-Cinema offered filmmakers the space to take risks, move fast and work with a freedom rarely possible within the traditional studio system,” said IFFR festival director Vanja Kaludjercic. “What emerged was a wild and inventive cinema embracing everything from anarchic yakuza tales and psycho-horror experiments to surreal hybrid pieces — work that still feels electric today.”

IFFR’s full 2026 program will be unveiled on Dec. 16.

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bitchy | Mail: Prince William has cleared the way to remove the Sussexes’ titles
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bitchy | Mail: Prince William has cleared the way to remove the Sussexes’ titles

by jummy84
written by jummy84

From where I sit, there was a tipping point on the Prince Andrew/Mountbatten Windsor situation this month which was years in the making. The Windsors misread the public mood, King Charles dithered and Prince William raged from his tenth vacation of the year. The tipping point on Andrew involved a decades-long cover-up, years of lies and abuse, and one of Andrew’s victims speaking from beyond the grave. The situation is simply not comparable to anything involving the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were bullied and abused by the institution and press, so much so that they simply… left the country almost six full years ago. If Prince Harry’s September trip to the UK was any indication, the British public still loves him and supports him. Andrew, meanwhile, was heckled and called a “nonce” at his mother’s 2022 funeral. My point? It’s bizarre to see so many Sussex supporters and haters alike use the Andrew situation to talk about Harry and Meghan. The Daily Mail’s Maurren Callahan basically had a psychotic episode about the Sussexes in her column published after the Andrew Mountbatten Windsor announcement.

It is now a question of when. Not if. The bombshell announcement out of Buckingham Palace that Andrew has been stripped of his status as a prince immediately, that he will henceforth be known as ‘Mr. Mountbatten Windsor’, and that he has been forced to surrender the lease to Royal Lodge leaves no doubt in my mind: Harry and Meghan are next. The sun begins to set over Montecito — permanently.

And Prince William, as we posited earlier this week, emerges as the apparent force behind these most welcome reforms — despite the official statement having come from the King. This is William’s monarchy now. In that light, Andrew feels more like a pawn removed by William to clear the way for his real target: Harry.

If the late Queen’s favorite son can be coldly ejected and stripped of his birthright — if William can have convinced the infamously conflict-averse Charles to renounce his own brother — well, Harry’s days as prince and Duke of Sussex are surely numbered. As for Meghan? Like Fergie, she would just be collateral damage. An afterthought. Flotsam in search of a shore – perhaps QVC’s Pennsylvania headquarters and where she might shill As Ever overstock on deep discount.

To know that Meghan and Harry may now be consigned to the dustbin of Royal history, perseverating over the remains of the day from the cheap seats, is perhaps the most tantalizing and satisfying finale of the modern age. Sayonara, Sussexes!

Kate, though silent, is doubtless among William’s prime motives in dispatching first with his uncle, and perhaps next his brother. It was Harry who reprinted Kate’s private text messages with Meghan in Spare. It was Harry and Meghan’s cheerleader, their glorified biographer Omid Scobie, who named Kate and Charles as the so-called ‘royal racists.’ If William is just getting started, he surely knows the world is cheering him on, that any further attacks from his brother and sister-in-law, those epic dramatists, would be laughed off and dismissed.

A former royal aide at Kensington Palace, William and Kate’s London residence, told the Daily Mail that ‘now that they’re picking away at the edges [of the family]’ — that would be Andrew — ‘a bigger unravelling is coming.’

That bigger unravelling is, to my mind, Harry and Meghan’s royal titles, status and honors.

‘The role William has — to try to forge something sustainable — is now in stark relief. And no, Charles isn’t up to that job,’ the former aide continued. ‘Once Andrew stops being the convenient cover, then where will people look next?’

[From The Daily Mail]

So… those quotes from a former royal aide are… not about Harry and Meghan, right? “A bigger unravelling is coming” – for the monarchy itself, because this Andrew situation was and is a larger reflection of the monarchy’s corruption and abuses. “Once Andrew stops being the convenient cover, then where will people look next?” Literally, they’ll look to the remaining royals, none of whom are ready for primetime. They’ll look at a dying king, his unhinged, illiterate, workshy heir, and a collection of senior citizens who stagger through their busywork. If and when William “takes away Harry and Meghan’s titles,” it won’t actually mean a thing to Harry and Meghan. They live in California. They own a beautiful mansion. They are free from all of this bullsh-t. Let me say this as well: once the Sussexes stop being the convenient cover, then where will people look next?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

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bitchy | Prince Andrew will be stripped of all titles & become Andrew Mountbatten Windsor
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bitchy | Prince Andrew will be stripped of all titles & become Andrew Mountbatten Windsor

by jummy84
written by jummy84

I was *just* sitting here thinking about how extraordinarily weird it is that there’s been no movement on getting Prince Andrew out of Royal Lodge. Note: Andrew should face criminal investigation and prosecution for his many crimes, but as far as King Charles is concerned, it was simply odd that Andrew was still somehow in possession of Royal Lodge and his prince title and everything else, really. Well, the dithering days are over and Charles finally did it.

Prince Andrew will be stripped of all his royal titles and will leave Royal Lodge, Buckingham Palace has said. He will no longer be known as Prince Andrew and will instead be called Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

In a statement, the Palace said: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.

“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”

“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”

[From The Telegraph]

Good. It’s not enough, not near enough, but this is good. It should have happened years ago, but Queen Elizabeth II refused to do it, and then Charles launched a “bring Andy in from the cold” operation as some kind of screw-you to Harry. So here we are – a day late and a dollar short, but hey, it’s something. I certainly hope that Andrew’s new accommodation will not be Frogmore Cottage. That simply makes zero sense to do all of this and just shuffle him off to a renovated five-bedroom cottage just outside Windsor Castle. Update: The BBC reports that Charles is sending Andrew to Norfolk, meaning it’s more than likely Andrew (and Fergie?) will live at Wood Farm, on the Sandringham Estate. That’s privately owned by Charles, so Charles will fund Andrew’s life/home there.

Incidentally, a few hours ago, Tom Sykes reported exclusively on his Royalist Substack that “the only way Prince Andrew will leave Royal Lodge is if he’s paid ‘fairly,’ in the region of ‘a couple of million.’” It will be interesting to see if anything comes out about this in the coming hours and days, because it’s been perfectly clear (to me) that Andrew would willingly give up a lot if Charles simply paid him off. I could see an off-the-books quid pro quo happening here – Charles gets to look big and tough and like he hasn’t spent the entire month dithering endlessly, and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor walks away with a seven-figure or even eight-figure settlement from the Duchy of Lancaster funds.

Photos courtesy of Instar, Cover Images.

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bitchy | Did Prince William personally threaten to take away Eugenie & Beatrice’s titles?
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bitchy | Did Prince William personally threaten to take away Eugenie & Beatrice’s titles?

by jummy84
written by jummy84

On Monday, British journalist Emily Maitlis spilled some interesting tea about an odd moment last week. Last Thursday, late in the day in the UK, there was a sudden buzz that some big news would be coming out of Windsor. Maitlis claimed that Buckingham Palace told various media outlets to station reporters and photographers somewhat close to Royal Lodge, and that they should expect some interesting “passing traffic.” Several royal reporters were camped out for hours, and the BBC apparently sent a helicopter. Then, the palace “chickened out,” according to Maitlis. They decided not to do whatever staged skit they had planned. Maitlis also revealed what she thought it was going to be: either a meeting between Prince William and the York princesses OR King Charles arriving at Royal Lodge to personally demand that Prince Andrew vacate the premises. From the Royalist Substack:

According to Emily Maitlis, palace officials even tipped off the media that King Charles would be photographed driving into Royal Lodge to read his brother the riot act last Thursday. Cameras trained their lenses on the gates.

But when a BBC chopper began hovering above Windsor Great Park, Buckingham Palace “chickened out,” suddenly calling off what would have been the most public act of royal discipline in years.

“There was a question,” Maitlis then said, “over whether there had been, earlier in the day, a meeting between Prince William and the princesses Beatrice and Eugenie saying: ‘You’ve got to get your dad to move out of Royal Lodge, otherwise we will start re-examining the state of your own titles.’”

It is a remark that is brutally, unmistakably William, given that the continued status of a whole raft of non-working royals as princes and princesses has long grieved William, who is planning a wholesale rewriting of the royal settlement when he accedes. William’s decision to threaten Beatrice and Eugenie is clearly tactical, but it will be seen as a personal betrayal by them, as he used to be close to them.

[From The Royalist Substack]

Yeah, at no point did Maitlis say that she definitively knows that William was in the area or that he would be part of this stunt. Personally, given the facts at hand, this whole incident strikes me as more of a “classic Charles” bungling. Charles and his courtiers have f–ked up the York situation from start to finish, and these days, they’re even trying to shove the late QEII under the bus and blame everything on her.

As for the idea that William would personally go to Eugenie and Beatrice and threaten them with the removal of their titles… I don’t see it. He would send someone to do that, or he would demand that his father do it and then Scooter King would take credit for it. This whole story is also fascinating because I’m almost positive that William was nowhere near Windsor last week. His kids’ school break, remember? He was either in Norfolk or he was on vacation in some undisclosed location. Interestingly, as Maitlis’s quotes went viral throughout the day, “sources” piped up and told the Telegraph this: “Sources close to both the Prince and the Princesses deny the existence of any meeting. The Prince also does not have the power to remove their titles, or to ask Parliament to do so.” Again, Maitlis was just theorizing, and I suspect William was nowhere near Windsor last week.

All that being said, people are gunning for Eugenie and Beatrice’s titles, HRHs and everything else. That’s abundantly clear, but I believe that Buckingham Palace is the one trying to manipulate the parents through the daughters.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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bitchy | Will Parliament give the monarch the power to strip all royal titles?
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bitchy | Will Parliament give the monarch the power to strip all royal titles?

by jummy84
written by jummy84

As an American, I am often confused by the British monarchy and government’s “separation of powers.” Before this week, it seemed like prime ministers and Parliament basically left all of the title debates and housing issues up to the monarch’s prerogative. But Prince Andrew’s situation has changed everything, as MPs are loudly fuming about the monarchy’s mismanagement of this crisis. There is a growing political consensus that Andrew cannot be allowed to live out his days in a grand and rent-free 30-room mansion on the Windsor estate. It’s very likely that Parliament will have a formal inquiry into Royal Lodge and perhaps even the wider mismanagement of the Crown Estates. But there’s also proposed legislation to give the monarch power to remove titles on his own, only needing a “recommendation” from Parliament. The NY Times tried to explain:

Britain has been one of the world’s most durable constitutional monarchies, in part because its two pillars — the crown and Parliament — stay out of each other’s business. King Charles III steers clear of politics, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves the affairs of the royal family to the monarch. That longstanding arrangement has come under rare stress in the last week, following scandalous new disclosures about Prince Andrew, the king’s younger brother, and his ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The details were outlined in a newly published email between Andrew and Mr. Epstein, and in a memoir by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an Epstein victim who accused Andrew of raping her when she was a teenager — an accusation he denies. They have led to calls for him to be stripped of his most familiar title, prince. This would likely require an act of parliament.

That, in turn, has set off a chicken-and-egg debate. The government says the decision of whether to deprive Andrew of his titles is one for the king, not for Mr. Starmer. Officials at Buckingham Palace say it would be improper for the king to take any position on a parliamentary act that might come before him for royal assent. Both sides are drawing on centuries of convention, a powerful argument in a country with an unwritten constitution. Yet as the outcry grows over Andrew’s alleged misconduct during his friendship with Mr. Epstein, falling back on century-old laws and even more ancient customs is proving contentious.

“The argument that this is purely a matter for the royal family will not wash,” said Vernon Bogdanor, an expert on the constitutional monarchy at King’s College London. “Our monarchy since 1689 has been a parliamentary one. It exists only so long as Parliament, representing the people, want it to continue.”

On Wednesday, a Labour member of Parliament, Rachael Maskell, introduced a bill that would give the king the authority to rescind royal titles on his own initiative, following a recommendation from a parliamentary committee. Without the government’s support, however, it has little chance to pass.

Last Friday, Andrew announced that he would stop using one of his titles, the Duke of York, a step he took under pressure from his brother Charles. But he did not formally lose either the dukedom or the title of prince, to which he is entitled under a 1917 royal prerogative, known as a Letters Patent. Under that decree, issued by King George V, the title of prince or princess is limited to the child of a monarch, the child of the sons of a monarch, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne. Amending the Letters Patent to strip Andrew of his title is possible, experts have said, but it would be such a grave, unusual step that it would probably happen only if the king and the government agreed in advance.

[From The NY Times]

This is interesting from a how-the-sausage-is-made perspective, but it also has larger repercussions. Let’s be real – everyone can agree that Andrew should be stripped of all of his titles and that he should be forced onto an ice floe and set out to sea. THAT is not the debate. The real debate is: who will do the title-stripping and what happens if and when we give the monarch power to strip titles at will, with nominal input from the government? The actual debate is “what happens when we have a king who is petty, jealous and violently unfit to lead, and who uses his power to childishly settle scores?” Gee, I wonder why everyone is hesitating to give the crown these powers???

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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bitchy | Scooter King William will ‘remove titles’ from the Sussex family & the York family
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bitchy | Scooter King William will ‘remove titles’ from the Sussex family & the York family

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Tom Sykes is doing his Royalist Substack full-time now, and he’s had some interesting exclusives, straight from sources close to Scooter King William. That was the case in Sykes’ Daily Beast days as well – his sources are consistently Scooter-adjacent, let’s say. Well, in one exclusive, Sykes was going on and on about how Prince William was claiming credit for Prince Andrew’s title-demotion, all because King Charles is “dying” and William is regent in all but name. Sykes also noted: When William “ascends to the throne, I am told he will issue new letters patent (as royal executive orders are known) to strip Andrew (and Harry, Archie, Lilibet, Eugenie, and Beatrice) of their HRH and Princely titles.” Perhaps sensing that this was a bigger exclusive than “William demands credit for Andrew’s demotion,” Sykes then spun out this Letters Patent story into a second exclusive:

Prince William will strip Prince Andrew, along with all other non-working royals, of their HRHs and princely titles when he ascends to the throne, friends and allies of the Prince have told The Royalist. The dramatic change will be effected by an executive royal order known as “letters patent” ratified by Parliament in the early weeks of the reign of King William V. It will remove princely titles not just from Andrew but also from Beatrice, Eugenie, Harry, Archie, and Lilibet. The children of Prince Edward and Princess Anne have never used princely titles.

Meghan and Harry will also see their dukedoms and HRHs formally revoked by the new king, the source said. Meghan continues to use her HRH despite being ordered not to do so by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

A source said William’s own children may have their titles informally “parked” until they become adults and can decide for themselves if they want to be full-time working royals or lead lives as private citizens. The source said they are never addressed as prince or princess in any situation by their parents, teachers, staff, or family.

As an ally of William’s told The Royalist: “On Wednesday, the king’s office was saying that removing the dukedom would be a completely lame and ineffectual gesture unless you took away the prince title as well. On Friday, it’s suddenly the other way round, and persuading him to drop the duke title, without even taking it away, is being held up as a triumph of the king’s steely will. His operation is a mess.”

Another friend of William’s, who told The Royalist about the plan to remove a huge swathe of princely titles, said: “It should have been done by Charles this week, but William knows he doesn’t have the strength because of his illness. William is understanding of his father’s situation. William won’t be afraid to take the next step.”

They added: “William thinks about Queen Margrethe of Denmark a lot.”

In 2022, Queen Margrethe II removed princely titles from four of her grandchildren—Nikolai, Felix, Henrik, and Athena. The Queen said the decision was made to allow her grandchildren greater freedom to shape their own lives.

The intel gathered on this issue by The Royalist meshes with a report in the London Sunday Times today that Andrew will be excluded from William’s coronation, that he considers his uncle a “threat” to the monarchy, and is deeply concerned about the message Andrew’s presence at royal events sends to victims of sexual abuse.

[From The Royalist Substack]

While this is not the most important thing to note, I can’t help thinking that William’s coronation is going to be really pitiful. He openly loathes the pomp, he hates most of his family, and he hates to work. He’ll probably demand that they pop the crown on his egg head in front of literally twos of people, and then straight from his coronation, he’ll head to one of his castles and no one will see him for weeks.

As for William’s promises to strip almost everyone of their HRHs, ducal titles, what have you… so be it. He’s been threatening that for years, specifically with the Sussexes. At this point, it makes no difference to Harry and Meghan or their children. I find it bizarre that William is so set on “punishing” his niece and nephew, considering he’s only met Archie once or twice and he’s never even been in the same room as Lili. But the Scooter King’s Letters Patent will just show how idiotic the whole thing really is. Either it matters that you’re born into royalty or it doesn’t. Either all of QEII’s descendents have magic royal blood or they don’t. Make up your mind.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images and Kensington Palace.

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bitchy | Prince William wants credit for Prince Andrew giving up his titles & honors
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bitchy | Prince William wants credit for Prince Andrew giving up his titles & honors

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Included in this post are some photos of Prince William out in London on Friday. He barely works, full-stop, but he rarely works on Fridays in particular. The event was William visiting the London Ambulance Service, where it looked like he was awkwardly making small-talk with EMTs and then awkwardly sitting at a big kids’ table and making “I’m listening” faces. By most accounts, this was his last bit of work before he and his family took off for the kids’ school break. God knows when we’ll see him again.

I bring up his family holiday, because William and his office want people to believe that William is responsible for what happened with Prince Andrew on Friday. Throughout the day, there was a persistent buzz that Buckingham Palace was going to make a move on Andrew, or that some kind of news would be forthcoming. It was all centered on what King Charles would do, and the potential conversations between the brothers (Charles and Andrew). In the first few hours after Andrew’s big announcement – that he would no longer use his ducal titles or his honors – the story remained centered on Andrew and Charles, and their consultation with each other. It still seems to be that this was all a generous deal struck between brothers, especially given that Andrew will retain Royal Lodge. Well, a short time later, William wanted credit for the Andrew situation.

People Magazine kept it simple, merely stating that William had been “consulted” about Andrew’s decision to “give up” his titles. GB News said the same – a mere consultation about the situation, and that consultation could have been an email or text for all we know. The Sun fleshed out some of the details – Charles was in Scotland in the past week, and he was on the phone with his courtiers and with Andrew, “leading frantic negotiations.” At some point, Charles “held crunch talks” with William about the situation. The Sun also points out that William won’t be happy about Andrew remaining at Royal Lodge, which is only half a mile away from Forest Lodge, the Waleses’ new forever home. Well, all of this vague “consultation” has led the Royalist to one inevitable conclusion: this was a huge victory for the Scooter King! Some macabre highlights from “The Fall of Prince Andrew is The First Great Triumph of King William V.”

William is responsible for all of this: Prince Andrew was publicly humiliated yesterday, forced to renounce his ducal title, and is now a duke only in memory. Buckingham Palace is furiously spinning the stripping of his titles as the personification of a resolute monarch, but let’s be very clear: the practical author of Andrew’s public annihilation is his nephew, the Prince of Wales. The announcement may have come from the office of the king, but it was William who wrote the latest chapter (one dare not say the ending because I’m told William still believes too many privileges remain to Andrew).

King Charles is dying: What the Palace refused to say [last year] —what the British papers continue not to print—is that the diagnosis was grave from the start. Reporters on the at times almost corrupt “royal rota” (a press pool) have spread the fiction of the “doing brilliantly” monarch. But everyone can see the truth: Charles looks exhausted, he has lost alarming weight, and he is still receiving regular radiotherapy and immunotherapy. He spends long stretches at Highgrove and Balmoral in near-total rest.

William has been gunning for Andrew since Charles’s cancer diagnosis: The announcement of Charles’s illness fired the starting gun on what courtiers call “the change of reign.” From that moment, power began to flow from the king to the heir. And from that moment, William’s patience—for his father’s sentimentality, for his brother’s chaos, and for his uncle’s entitlement—ran out.

William hated being ordered to chauffeur Andrew at Balmoral: William’s determination to do something permanent about Andrew when he becomes king can be traced to a single, humiliating moment: Balmoral, August 2023. William was ordered to drive Andrew to church. At that moment, Charles hadn’t pre-announced his own death. He was the all-powerful monarch who had to be obeyed. So William obeyed. The image—grim-faced heir behind the wheel, the disgraced Duke beside him—circulated around the world. William’s aides briefed furiously afterward that he had been obliged to do it, that it was not his wish. Those who know William say the episode hardened him. “That,” said one, “was the day he decided he would never be made to do something like that again.”

The Waleses refused to go to Christmas lunch in 2023: In retaliation, he refused to attend Christmas lunch with his family at Sandringham that year after learning Andrew and Sarah would be there. Charles imagined that inviting Andrew and Sarah Ferguson to join the family walk to church at Sandringham Christmas 2023 would be taken as a gesture of magnanimity. It was read as proof of delusion by William, who was incandescent.

William’s succession plan: “This is the pre-succession,” one former courtier told me. “It’s what Charles did to the Queen when he fired her private secretary, Christopher Geidt. Only now it’s being done to him.” William, for his part, has no interest in the sentimental family unity that his father prizes. He sees the monarchy as a brand, and Andrew (and Harry) as hugely damaging to it. His view, expressed repeatedly to aides, is that his uncle should never again be in the presence of the monarch. When Andrew attempted to get into a photograph at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in September, William’s fury was instant.

William is already lobbying for credit: Intriguingly, the media looks ready to credit William for Andrew’s downfall. I’m noting repeated references to his role in reports, and I expect a lot of lobbying from his side on the matter in the next few days and weeks.

The Scooter King’s Letters Patent: But William, I am told, isn’t finished. When he ascends to the throne, I am told he will issue new letters patent (as royal executive orders are known) to strip Andrew (and Harry, Archie, Lilibet, Eugenie, and Beatrice) of their HRH and Princely titles. “When the king announced he had cancer,” said one palace source, “the reins slipped overnight.”

[From The Royalist Substack]

I like how the pro-Scooter royalists are gleeful at the thought of a vengeful, enraged, incandescent, jealous and punitive king. They’re rubbing their hands together at the thought of all of the screeching vengeance from the Scooter King, but they forget that William actually doesn’t give a sh-t about much, and he’s also lazy as hell. Sure, William is lobbying for credit for this Andrew situation, but you can actually tell from the quiet generosity of the “deal” that William had nothing to do with it. The deal is classic Charles – a half-measure, mid-dither, with barely enough red meat to appease the critics. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure William despises his uncle and I’m sure William wants Andrew completely gone. But I just don’t believe William had much to do with what happened to Andrew on Friday. Maybe I’m wrong! Who knows. As for the new letters patent… lmao. It is what it is. William will look absolutely pathetic, but he’s too stupid to understand that.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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bitchy | Prince Andrew has given up his royal titles & honors, but he’s keeping Royal Lodge
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bitchy | Prince Andrew has given up his royal titles & honors, but he’s keeping Royal Lodge

by jummy84
written by jummy84

I swear, the Windsors really have to stop with these late Friday news dumps. When I left my house this afternoon, there were several increasingly urgent stories about Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. Last weekend, Andrew’s 2011 email to Jeffrey Epstein was published by the Daily Mail – that email proved that Andrew lied about when he broke off contact with Epstein, and the email also suggested that Andrew and Epstein planned to continue seeing each other and abusing women and girls together. Throughout the past week, the fallout has been limited to palace sources openly dithering about what to do next, all while emphasizing that they believed dealing with Prince Harry was a “greater priority” for the Firm. Well, I was wrong – I thought nothing would come out of this latest round of dithering about Andrew. But something happened. Andrew is now giving up all of his titles and honors.

Prince Andrew is discontinuing the use of his royal titles and honors.

In a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Friday, Oct. 17, Prince Andrew said he will no longer use his title or honors as it distracts from the work of King Charles and the royal family.

Andrew, 65, said in the statement, “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”

“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me,” he continued. “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

To officially strip Prince Andrew’s titles, it would require an act of parliament.

Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use her Duchess of York title. She has long gone by Sarah Ferguson professionally and will now use that name in all areas of her life, PEOPLE understands. The former couple will also continue to reside at their residence, Royal Lodge, on the Windsor Castle estate, as Andrew has a private tenancy agreement with The Crown Estate, which is unaffected by issues relating to his titles.

PEOPLE also understands that Andrew will not attend any of the royal family’s Christmas celebrations.

The former couple’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will not have their titles affected by this decision.

Prince Andrew has been styled as “His Royal Highness” since birth. Upon his marriage to Sarah Ferguson in 1986, his mother, Queen Elizabeth, gave him the titles of Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. The Duke of York is the traditional title for the sovereign’s second son, and the elite peerage has a rich royal history. According to British etiquette expert Debrett’s, the dukedom has been traditionally conferred upon the second son of the monarch since Edward IV in 1474. Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, was also known as the Duke of York prior to the shocking abdication of his elder brother, King Edward VIII, in 1936.

[From People]

The Royal Lodge thing is interesting, almost as if that was part of the agreement – Andrew gave up his titles and honors, in exchange for keeping his lease on Royal Lodge. I’ve got to wonder if Charles threw in a few more perks to sweeten the deal, like Andrew will still be allowed to host shooting parties on privately-owned royal property (Windsor, Sandringham, Balmoral). It’s also interesting that Sarah is officially giving up her Duchess of York title too, although people already went back to using her maiden name anyway. Whew… well, it had to be done. And a lot more should be done as well, including Andrew agreeing to be interviewed in the long-running criminal investigations in the UK and America. Also: should we call him Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor now?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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