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.
Meghan’s emotional Instagram tribute to Harry on his birthday
While most of us are content to receive a cup of coffee in bed on the occasion of our birthday, Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, delivered her husband a carefully curated birthday note on social media Sunday morning that prompted many thousands of birthday wishes in return.
ADVERTISEMENT
As opposed to the usual, “Love you babe!,” Meghan’s birthday wishes were carefully planned. She appended to her post a collage of nine images from Harry’s life, the most recent of which was a new image of Harry and and his son Archie at the youngster’s christening.
The post was a master class in emotionally accessible tributes in which she paid homage to Harry’s charity work, saying: “Your service to the causes you care so deeply for inspires me every day. You are the best husband and most amazing dad to our son.”
That’s undoubtedly more public, interpersonal gushiness than any other royal has ever publicly attempted.
If you still don’t believe that Meghan is here to change everything about being a royal, then compare her remarks today to the queen’s tribute to her husband Prince Philip, on the occasion of her diamond jubilee, when she said: “Prince Philip is, I believe, well-known for declining compliments of any kind. But throughout he has been a constant strength and guide.”
Prince Philip, who was seated by her side as she made the comments, scowled furiously throughout.
Exclusive: Harmony returns to Rocksavage marriage
Domestic harmony has returned to a quiet corner of Norfolk.
Little has been seen in recent months of Rose Hanbury, the neighbor of Prince William who was catapulted into the headlines earlier this year when his lawyers were forced to deny he was having an affair with her.
Rose has not been seen in public since the Trump state banquet at Buckingham Palace, held in June, when she appeared to be seated at a discreet distance from both her sometime friends Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge and also her husband, David Rocksavage, the Marquess of Cholmondeley.
Rose was not wearing a wedding ring which led some observers to speculate that the rumors of an affair, hotly denied by all, had taken a toll on the marriage.
However visitors to Lismore Castle, Co Waterford, home of the 12th Duke of Devonshire, were delighted to come across Rose and her husband, David, strolling around the impressive gardens (said to be the oldest and finest in Ireland, dating from the 12th century) last weekend.
Rose and David appeared happy and at ease in the bucolic splendor, a source tells The Daily Beast, perhaps a respite from the febrile rumor mill in Norfolk. Other houseguests at the weekend included the fashion designer Jasper Conran, our sources say.
Plinth Philip
Trafalgar Square, a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace at the end of The Mall, is most famous for its statue of Nelson, perched atop a 170 foot column, but the four corners of the square were also originally intended to have grand monuments as well.
By a quirk of history, however, one of the four plinths was never filled and the question of who to put on it has become a kind of British parlor game. The problem appeared to be solved when it was decided that the empty plinth should become home to a rotating selection of modern artworks.
However, there have also long been suspicions that these were mere placeholders, and that ultimately the fourth plinth was being reserved for the queen.
Now, however, The Sunday Times reports that secret plans are being made to erect a statue of her husband, Prince Philip on the plinth after his death. A source tells the paper: “A statue of the queen on the fourth plinth was the original plan. Several artists were approached by the palace to sound out whether they would submit designs when the time comes. But in the past couple of years everyone has been made aware that it could also be for the Duke of Edinburgh.”
Flashback
It is a noble tradition that if a lowly member of the public writes to the royal family congratulating them on any one of the number of the happy events that may befall them (birth, christening, marriage or accession to the throne, for example) the cap-doffing urchin who may or may not suffer from an inappropriate level of fixation receives in reply a letter from the royal in question, gracefully expressing their unfettered delight at receiving the inky missive.
A happy fiction is concocted emphasizing that yes, they really did personally read the letter, and were hugely touched by it.
Indeed, many years ago, the Royalist was the recipient of one such letter on the occasion of Prince William’s birth, when a congratulatory pair of hand knitted booties was sent to Buckingham Palace to mark the arrival of the new baby. (Note: the Royalist was eight years old at the time.)
A less storied tradition of the digital age is the immediate sharing of the cards and notes received by correspondents on royal fan pages, and thus it was that this week Instagram was awash with images of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex after their wedding day, which were mailed out to fans who wrote in congratulating them on their first wedding anniversary.
And don’t they look lovely?
Royal fashion watch
Meghan Markle returned to work from maternity leave this week, wearing pieces from the ‘Smart Set’ collection.
The collection was launched with a very big and glossy splash indeed. It was designed with her friend Misha Nonoo and now selling out in stores across the UK.
Each time any item in the collection is bought at retail, a matching item is given to the Smart Works charity, who give clothes to women starting new jobs, to help defray the not insignificant cost of a back to work wardrobe. Meghan delivered a speech at the launch, which impressed many.
Signs of life
The Tig may not be dead. Meghan Markle's now-defunct lifestyle blog may well live again. According to The Sun, Meghan's business manager Andrew Meyer “filed documents in the US using a company called Frim Fram to keep rights to the name until at least 2021.”
It is not inconceivable Meghan could restart the blog, especially as yet another vehicle for her and Harry's activism and campaigning. Now that the couple seem to have their own do-it-out-own way media plan in place, The Tig—far from being something that Meghan feels she has to bench as a royal—could become another effective media tool.
Meghan shuttered the The Tig in April 2017, just after she met Harry, and her spokeswoman told The Sun of the retention of the rights to use the name: “The lasting trademark is to prevent false branding, to avoid others purporting to be the Duchess or affiliated with her.”
Fair enough—it also keeps open all Meghan's options when it comes to The Tig.
This week in royal history
As his wife noted on social media, it’s Prince Harry’s 35th birthday today. The prince was born on September 15, 1984, and celebrates his birthday this year with scrutiny over his use of jets (while lecturing others about the environment), and an increasingly hostile relationship with the press. The next year will be a critical one for him and Meghan as they forge ahead with their various campaigns.
Unanswered questions
What is there going to be left for Prince Andrew to do? Do all his charities support him still? Do they still want him to turn up at events, or will the Jeffrey Epstein shadow loom long over him?
