If you love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage, then we hope you’ll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get it in your inbox on Sunday.
Epstein used Andrew’s name to lure teenager: report
It has long been known that Jeffrey Epstein used his friendship with Prince Andrew to burnish his reputation. Now, however, comes another damaging claim (which is likely to heap more pressure on the prince to disclose under oath exactly what he knew); that Epstein used Andrew as “bait” in an attempt to lure a 15-year-old girl to his Caribbean island, Little St James.
ADVERTISEMENT
The girl, now in her late twenties and who has declined to be named, was 15 when she was first spotted by individuals working for Epstein on a school trip to New York with her drama club, according to a complaint which was filed in November to New York’s Southern District Court and is reported today by the Daily Mail.
The Jane Doe was taken to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse by one of his assistants where she was given an iPod and photographed, court documents say. Two weeks later, she says, she was raped by Epstein as part of a “vicious, prolonged sexual assault.”
After this incident, according to a letter sent to Prince Andrew by lawyer Gloria Allred last week, Epstein “directly touted” his connections with Andrew “in his attempts to engage in further harm.”
Allred, who is representing five of Epstein’s victims, urged the prince to provide “sworn testimony” to the FBI in order to help the victims of Epstein “find peace” and for the “interests of serving justice.”
On Wednesday, Virginia Roberts Giuffre posted a chilling message on Twitter announcing “I am not suicidal” after receiving word from the FBI of a “credible” death threat against her.
All hail the queen of cakes
The British obsession with baking, symbolized by the success of TV show The Great British Bake Off (known to American fans as The Great British Baking Show), apparently extends to the royals.
Kate Middleton disclosed that among Prince Louis’ first words was “Mary,” after Mary Berry, 84, the doyenne of the original Bake Off, who is due to appear on a BBC Christmas special. According to a report in today’s Sunday Telegraph: Kate, 37, said: “One of Louis’s first words was ‘Mary’, because right at his height are all my cooking books in the kitchen bookshelf, and children are really fascinated by faces, and your faces are all over your cooking books and he would say ‘That’s Mary Berry’... so he would definitely recognise you if he saw you today.”
A Berry Royal Christmas sees the presenter join William and Kate for some cookery lessons at a homeless charity in London.
No royal wedding bells here please
Princess Beatrice will announce early next year that she will be married in June to her fiancé Edo Mapelli Mozzi.
However, having told friends last month that the Guards’ Chapel, St James’s Park, was the likely venue, that now appears to be under threat.
Beatrice’s slot at the chapel was predicated on her father Prince Andrew’s position as an honorary Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. Now, however, the Mail reports, even the Guards don’t want anything to do with Andrew; this week he was not even present at a festive dinner for the First Guards Club, so it seems unlikely they will want him in their chapel.
Queen is having ‘a difficult time’: source
Vanity Fair reports that the Queen is preparing her Queen’s Speech, with mystery surrounding how much detail she will go into on a year which has seen some hard moments, including Prince Andrew’s royal career-imploding Epstein scandal, and Harry and Meghan making clear how hard they were finding their royal lives.
“We don’t know what the queen plans to say because we haven’t seen the speech yet, a “royal source” told Vanity Fair. “It has been a very difficult time behind the scenes, and morale is at a bit of a low.”
The Queen is naturally reticent, so going full-heart-on-sleeve seems unlikely. But some well-targeted, telling adjectives or pointed thoughts may do the job effectively.
This week in royal history
On Dec. 17, 2007, Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex’s son, James, Viscount Severn, was born—one of the lowest-profile royal grandchildren. Happy 12th birthday!
Royal fashion watch
Kate Middleton went super-grand at the Queen’s diplomatic reception on Wednesday night. The gown was full-length Alexander McQueen, and was worn with Princess Diana’s Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara. Kate also wore the Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, and the Queen's Royal Order, which features a jewel-encased image of the Queen as a young woman.
One’s optimum cuppa
Tea is a famously British obsession, and now we may know how the famously demanding Prince Charles likes his. (The future king was once forced to deny a rumor that he is presented with a line-up of seven eggs boiled each morning for breakfast, each cooked 15 seconds longer than the previous one, so he can get the optimum egg.)
How Charles likes his tea has galvanized The Sunday Times this morning. Evan Samson, 27, Dumfries House’s hospitality manager, says the key to the best cuppa is to use loose tea (not bags) and a teapot at a rate of one teaspoon of tea leaves per person plus an extra one for the pot.
Organic honey should be used instead of sugar, and should be added to the teacup before you pour. The handle of the teacup must be placed to the right, with the teaspoon under the handle, and milk added after the tea, with a jug of milk supplied in case guests want to top up.
Unanswered questions
New prime ministers are required to go to Buckingham Palace after winning an election, where they are asked by Her Majesty to form a government. Usually this is a quick in-and-out formality, but Boris Johnson spent over half an hour behind palace walls.
Was the Queen upbraiding him for embarrassing her earlier in the year by illegally suspending Parliament? Or was she perhaps trying to figure out exactly how soon the state opening of Parliament could take place?
The Queen usually travels to Sandringham, her country estate, on the Thursday before Christmas so plans to conduct the opening, which she must attend, on that day could be inconvenient.
