Welcome to The Royalist—all the latest royal news and gossip with Tom Sykes and Tim Teeman. For Beast Inside members only.
Her Way
Meghan Markle will not give birth at St. Mary Hospital’s Lindo Wing, like Kate Middleton did, and does not want to be “primped and blow-dried to within an inch of her life” for a public appearance just hours after the birth.
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The Sun says that Meghan is instead planning to give birth at a maternity unit closer to their Windsor home of Frogmore Cottage.
A source told The Sun: “The talk of all the senior clinicians there is that Meghan doesn’t want to copy what Kate did. Meghan is nervous about complications such as an emergency Caesarean and doesn’t want the pressure of having to look immaculate on the hospital steps just hours later.”
The Lindo Wing was famously used by Diana for the births of William and Harry in 1982 and 1984.
Dressed Down
Imagine if your in-laws owned the world’s largest private jewelry collection, but kept telling you that you couldn’t borrow anything.
Well, pity Meghan Markle, who was told by Prince Charles not to wear an ostentatious diamond tiara to a state dinner in Fiji because it would look “extravagant,” and could stir up colonial-era resentments against the royals. A source tells The Mail on Sunday: “Meghan did not understand all of this because she was new to the role and so Prince Charles told her that it would not be appropriate.”
The report recalls an incident in the run-up to the royal wedding when Meghan wanted to wear an emerald tiara of Russian origin and was told not to, prompting Harry to remark, “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
However, in both these tiara-related disputes, it appears she did not.
Off Road
The Queen has followed the example of her husband and agreed to stop driving on public roads.
The Sunday Times reports that her Majesty has agreed to give up driving on public roads following Prince Philip’s car crash earlier this year, much to the relief of her security team. She will likely still drive on the extensive network of private roads that criss-cross the royal estates in England and Scotland.
Call of Duty
Prince William might not be in the country for the birth of Harry and Meghan’s first child, as it was announced this week that he is to make a last minute visit to New Zealand in “late April” to honor the victims of the Christchurch terror attack which killed 50 people.
The palace said William will be making the visit on behalf of the Queen, but the precise dates have not yet been announced.
William has visited the city before, shortly after the earthquakes which devastated the city in 2011. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said: “I’m really pleased that he can make a short visit to support those affected by the attack and pay tribute to the extraordinary compassion and solidarity that New Zealanders have displayed.”
Will it be Diana or Victoria?
If Harry and Meghan do have a baby girl, as the internet seems to have decided they will, it’s easy to imagine them calling it Diana, as a touching tribute to Harry’s late mother. The name therefore seems a good wager at 10/1 with British bookies, making it co-favorite with Victoria.
‘I Just Hope He Doesn’t Marry Her’
A gossipy article in the new issue of British snobs’ bible Tatler gives a good example of the classist and sexist attitudes Meghan Markle is up against every day. The story claimed that palace staff refer to Meghan as ‘Me-Gain‘ and that Prince Charles is said to have told a friend after meeting Meghan for the first time, “I just hope he doesn't marry her.”
The nastiest element of the piece, however, was its bitchy subtext that Meghan has brainwashed Harry, whom it called ‘hen-pecked’ (really,) and turned him against old friends such as Tom Inskip who urged him to take his time over any proposal. The fact that it was Tatler—usually a loyal friend to the royals—running this horrendous hit job on Meghan just weeks before she is due to give birth is another sign of how wise it is of Meghan and Harry to install a new press team to at least try and manage her media coverage.
Royal Fashion Watch
Sometimes, casual is best, as Kate Middleton showed when hanging out with the Scouts on Thursday. A rumored former Brownie herself, Kate, reported Entertainment Tonight, wore a maroon J. Crew turtleneck, brown cargo jacket, black skinny jeans and See by Chloe combat boots.
This week in royal history
One royal tradition is the family's annual Easter Day church service gathering in Windsor. On March 31, 2o13, for example, the Queen wore a fabulous pink hat, and was accompanied by Prince Philip. Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were there, with Edward’s wife Sophie (with reach-for-the-skies peacock feathered hat) and their daughter Lady Louise; so were the Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice. Yes, there was a time BM (Before Meghan).
Next week
On Wednesday, Harry, as part of his ongoing work with Heads Together, will meet organizations supporting the mental health of teenagers and young adults. Interesting to note that Meghan is not scheduled to appear. And a coup for Netflix: Charles, William and Harry will attend the Global Premiere of Netflix’s Our Planet on Thursday. We are taking this as confirmation that they do watch The Crown.
