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“How can Meg stand by her?”
The Mail on Sunday reveals that the fallout from Jessica Mulroney’s allegedly “threatening” behavior to black influencer Sasha Exeter could end Mulroney's friendship with Meghan Markle. Meghan and Mulroney are incredibly close, or were until now.
“How can Meg stand by her? She is horrified by Jess’ behavior. It is disgusting,” one friend told the Mail.
Meghan has spoken about the racism she has experienced in her life before, and most recently she addressed alumni from her former Los Angeles school, in a moving address in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. She said young people could make “change a reality.”
Meghan and husband Prince Harry watched Floyd’s memorial service, and have reached out to community groups and activists. Now, her BFF stands accused of the kind of behavior she is utterly opposed to.
The paper quoted another friend saying: “Meghan is mortified that she’s been dragged into this complete mess. She said Jessica was in no way a racist, but the way she handled the situation was tone-deaf. Meghan said she can no longer be associated with her, at least not in public. She has to do what she has to do in order to preserve her dignity and her own reputation.”
The Mail reveals that, in private, Meghan “has been a sounding board” for Mulroney as she handles the damaging fallout from the row, including the losses of high-profile TV gigs with CTV and ABC’s Good Morning America.
Mulroney is said to have rung Meghan to warn her of the controversy before the backlash began. “It was, by all accounts, a tense conversation,” the Mail on Sunday reported.
Mulroney’s professional life collapsed after Exeter made a number of allegations in a video, including that Mulroney had allegedly endangered the relationship she has with a number of brands.
Exeter first said that Mulroney had not supported, in her online posts, Black Lives Matter, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, which she “found quite strange because she’s very vocal about supporting many causes. Also, her best friend is arguably one of the most famous black women in the world. I just don’t get it.”
Exeter then mentioned “very problematic behavior” she claimed Mulroney showed towards her personally, which while not racist showed “textbook white privilege,” threatening to reach out to brands asking them to end their relationship with Exeter.
This followed a “generic call to action” Instagram story Exeter had posted about supporting Black Lives Matter.
Mulroney later told Exeter that she was “unequivocally sorry” about what she had done.
Exeter mentioned Meghan in her video. “Jessica never wanted to stand up and use her voice in the first place and didn’t understand why she needed to,” Exeter said.
Mulroney also alluded to Meghan in her subsequent apology to Exeter, or in her words—her “very public and personal experience with my closest friend, where race was front and center. I learned a lot from that. I promise to continue to learn and listen on how I can use my privilege to elevate and support black voices.”
But despite Mulroney’s commitment to handing over her Instagram account “to black voices” to “share their experiences,” that may not be enough to save her friendship with Meghan.
Prince Andrew wants “olive branch” from DoJ
Pity the poor publicist who has to try and mitigate the walking, talking disaster that is Prince Andrew.
In the latest media leak, “friends” of the disgraced prince have been busily briefing the U.K. Sunday Times, but the messaging—as always with Andrew—is deeply confused and lacking in any humility. The tone is one of the hurt royal, who believes he has been wronged.
A source close to Andrew told The Sunday Times: “I don’t think he regrets the intention behind the interview, which was to clear the air for his family, the royal family and the institution. But the fact he was unable to appropriately or sufficiently convey his sympathy for the victims of Epstein, is of course a source of regret.”
“A source close to the duke” also told the paper: “The duke is not going any further in the co-operation process until the DoJ begin to behave honorably...unless they have given him some signal acknowledging there has been a significant breach of trust, and offering some kind of olive branch to rebuild trust.”
That Andrew still has the arrogance to come up with these mealy-mouthed, caveat-laden briefings is extraordinary, especially after a week which has seen him launch a failed fightback against very public FBI claims Andrew is proving unwilling to assist investigators into the Jeffrey Epstein case.
This week, Andrew’s s legal team issued a statement accusing the DoJ of “breaching their own confidentiality rules”, insisting he had “offered his assistance as a witness to the DoJ” at least three times this year. Geoffrey Berman, the lead federal prosecutor in New York, replied that Andrew had “sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to co-operate… The prince has not given an interview to federal authorities, has repeatedly declined our request to schedule such an interview, and...informed us unequivocally… that he would not come in for such an interview.”
Archewell launch delayed till next year
Harry and Meghan have postponed the public launch of their new philanthropic vehicle, Archewell, figuring now is not the time as America reels from the death of George Floyd and impact of the coronavirus.
The couple had initially said they were planning to launch their new non-profit in the spring, but sources tell the Sunday Telegraph that the launch of Archewell is now likely to be delayed until next year.
A source told the paper: “What’s absolutely clear is that they want to get it right and there’s no point in rushing. They are settling into a new life, a new era. This is about getting it right and making sure they are able to make the difference they want to make.
“They are always going to want to respond to the issues of the day that are meaningful to them and where they think they can make a difference,” the source added.
The Daily Beast has been told that the couple have spent much of the last two weeks speaking with campaigners and organizations related to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Keeping it in the family
Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mom, has moved into their LA mansion as an “unofficial nanny” to one-year-old grandson Archie while they continue their search for a permanent home, the Sun reports. The paper’s source said: “Doria has her own quarters and whilst a few of Harry’s chums have been ribbing him about living with his mother-in-law, he has a brilliant relationship with her.”
Trooping a smaller color
Saturday saw the much-awaited, scaled-back Trooping the Color. Instead of the usual Buckingham Palace flyover, and large-scale London pageantry, the queen inspected the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards at Windsor Castle.
The Queen, dressed in a beautiful mint green dress with a diamond leek Welsh Guards brooch, was greeted by a royal salute upon arrival. From the shade of a dinky mini-marquee—accompanied by Vice Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt and Lieutenant Colonel Mike Vernon—the queen then watched a number of military drills while a Band of the Household Division played songs including “God Save the Queen.”
It looked beautiful, especially with the officers in their uniforms on ceremony on a clipped, green lawn. It wasn’t the Trooping the Color royal fans are used to, but it was still perfect. And social distancing actually made the parade look quite chic—like synchronized swimming in regimental dress.
Harry on becoming a dad and saving the world
Prince Harry has revealed how his views on the environment have sharpened since becoming a parent to his son, Archie.
In a letter released before the publication of the annual report of African Parks, which oversees the management of parks throughout the continent (covering an astonishing 13.3 million hectares), Harry wrote: “Since becoming a father, I feel the pressure is even greater to ensure we can give our children the future they deserve, a future that hasn’t been taken from them, and a future full of possibility and opportunity.
“I want us all to be able to tell our children that yes, we saw this coming, and with the determination and help from an extraordinary group of committed individuals, we did what was needed to restore these essential ecosystems.”
Harry also strong spoke of the need for urgent action to tackle the global environmental crisis, and the challenge of COVID-19: “We are currently living through an extinction crisis, and now a global pandemic that has shaken us to our core and brought the world to a standstill.
“On the extinction crisis the science is clear: we have perhaps a decade to course correct before we lock in our fate. On this pandemic, while much is still unknown, some evidence suggests that the virus’ origins may be linked to our exploitation of nature. The gravity of these challenges is coming to light, but we must not be paralyzed by them.”
Harry also wrote of the how the organization has met challenges like Cyclone Idai, “ensuring that the protected areas under our management directly benefit surrounding communities through security, education, jobs, and investments made in local services and enterprises that can stimulate conservation-led economies.”
Harry also spoke of his love of Africa: “I have always been grateful for what wild places provide. Since my first trip to Africa as a young boy, I knew I would keep returning to this continent if I could, for its wildlife, for its people, and for its vast expanse.”
This week in royal history
Prince Edward and wife Sophie married on June 19, 1999 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, meaning that Friday marks their 21st wedding anniversary. In recent times, Sophie has been especially close with the queen, and granted a one-on-one interview with the U.K. Sunday Times recently in which she revealed… nothing remotely juicy or controversial. No wonder the queen likes her.
Unanswered questions
Prince Andrew and the American authorities are still in a stand-off. Who will blink first, or will they still carry on accusing each other of not behaving in a co-operative manner until we are all dust? And will Meghan dump Jessica Mulroney—and could that leave her vulnerable if Mulroney starts talking to the press?
