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Baby won’t make three
Meghan Markle will not be bringing baby Archie with her when she joins Prince Harry in Britain this week for their last round of royal engagements.
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The queen, 93, and Prince Philip, 98, are said to be “very sad” about the news, reports The Sunday Times.
Joyless as the development is, it probably shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. The couple are seeking to make their final trip to the U.K. as low-key as possible and an appearance by royal sprog Archie would scupper that plan.
Additionally, Meghan has made it pretty clear she believes her British in-laws to be a toxic bunch, and a well-sourced report this week said she told friends that she and Harry “will continue to rise above jealousy and pettiness and focus on the good they are creating and on being the best parents to Archie.”
That sounds like code for total disengagement.
Archie has not set foot on British soil since his parents departed the country for what was billed as a six-week break in November, but was actually the start of their withdrawal from royal life. Archie has only met his royal cousins a handful of times.
It was reported that Archie was staying in Canada with the Sussexes’ nanny and Meghan’s friend Jessica Mulroney.
In the week when it was confirmed that Canadian cops were pulling their funding for Harry and Meghan’s security, the allegation in The Sun that their decision to leave Archie behind will cost £50,000 in police protection is unlikely to go down well.
A source told The Sun: “Meghan’s London jaunt is proving a real headache. It’s an expensive time just when the costs of looking after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are under scrutiny.”
Going Underground
Princess Anne, Britain’s hardest working royal, loves the simple things in life; horses, dogs and telling people to naff off. Now comes news that she took a subway from Green Park to St Paul’s for a London Fashion Week event nearby. An eagle-eyed member of tube staff told the Mail: “She came through with another older woman and her security. We weren’t expecting any royalty. Hardly anybody seemed to notice them.”
At 69, Princess Anne qualifies for a Freedom Pass which grants the over-65s free travel throughout London.
Wonder woman?
Meghan Markle is having her agents pitch her as the next Marvel superhero. The only problem is, Disney, which owns the Marvel franchise, isn’t so keen.
The Mail on Sunday’s Caroline Graham reports she has told her agents to “actively search” for a suitable role and Meghan’s agent, Nick Collins of the Gersh Agency, has been “busy fielding offers.” A source told the Mail: “He has said she wants her return to acting to be part of an ensemble cast in something like a superhero film. He’s actively seeking such a movie for her. He’s saying she is available and open to the best offers.
“Meghan is planning a series of meetings in Hollywood. She has already done the voiceover for Disney and now word is out that she’s looking for a superhero film, as a voiceover or even on screen.
“She knows she can’t carry a film as an actress. People won’t be able to get past the fact she’s Meghan Markle. But she’s determined to act again and she thinks a big, ensemble film is the way to go… something that pays big but which doesn’t put her front and center.”
However one top Disney executive told The Mail on Sunday: “Meghan needs Disney more than Disney needs Meghan. She’s a controversial figure. There have been reports of a deal but that’s not true beyond the voiceover work.”
Ouch.
Lovely locals
In an intriguing footnote to the above story, The Mail on Sunday says that photographers staking out Meghan and Harry’s Vancouver island home have been “physically threatened” by locals.
“The locals are very protective of Meghan and Harry,” a source said. “It’s got to the point where things are becoming violent. There is a Facebook site which only local people have access to and they are taking pictures of photographers and their license plates.
“There have been at least two cases of physical violence. Men in black pick-up trucks have approached photographers and threatened violence. One photographer sat inside his car as it was rocked from side to side by local men shouting they should leave. It’s all turned very sinister and nasty.”
‘Queen’ Helen Mirren supports Meghan and Harry
There’s nothing like getting a seal of approval from the queen—especially when that “queen” is Helen Mirren.
Meghan Markle is “a fantastic addition to the royal family,” Mirren told Variety, adding she was fully in support of their decision to exit their senior royal roles.
Mirren said: “I think their instincts are absolutely right, and I applaud them for it. Hugely actually. Of course, it is complicated.”
She added: “Meghan Markle was a fantastic addition to the royal family—charming, did everything right, was gracious, was sweet natured, and seemed to be… Wow! What a lovely addition. Didn’t seem to be neurotic…
“So, I think it is a loss in a way, but at the same time I think their instincts are absolutely correct. And I think it will all, hopefully, sort itself out, and the tabloid pearl-clutchers will get over their trauma at not having someone to attack all the time. They’ll find another victim… probably me.”
This week in royal fashion
This week, the royals tried to look as normal as possible. Harry hit the streets of Edinburgh in regular-guy garb; and Kate Middleton attended a SportsAid event on Wednesday morning, in a pair of green culottes from Zara which cost just under $8. Still, Harry also behaved to rich-person type, by reportedly booking out the entire first class rail carriage.
This week in royal history
The quietest of royal partners, Commander Tim Laurence—Princess Anne’s second husband—was born on March 1, 1955, so happy 65th birthday to him. Given the high-profile scandals and public visibility of other royal partners, Commander Laurence is a royal outlier, a bit like Anne herself. They met when he was an equerry to the queen in 1986.
Unanswered questions
Will Harry and Meghan really leave Britain without one last public walkabout? And how will the Royals relate to each other in this last cycle of engagements that Harry and Meghan are participating in?
