Welcome to The Royalist—all the latest royal news and gossip with Tom Sykes and Tim Teeman. For Beast Inside members only.
Report: Prince Andrew and Fergie ‘Are Friends With Benefits’
Prince Andrew and his ex wife Fergie are back on.
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Rumors that the couple, who divorced in 1996, have maintained an on-again of-again romantic relationship have always circulated, due to the fact Sarah moved back into Andrew’s home as she was beset with financial woes, and has often been stoked by Sarah herself who once said she regarded herself as 'divorced to' Andrew.
A favored ITV News reporter tweeted this week that they were back together and The Sun followed up with a report that they are "back in a romantic relationship that pals say makes them ‘friends with benefits.’"
Intriguingly, The Sun says that Fergie's nemesis, Prince Philip, has dropped his objections to the relationship—but Charles has doubled down on his. So if Andrew does want to retie the knot, it would be best to do it before Mama dies.
Meghan: I Don't Want Men in Grey Delivering My Baby
Meghan has declared she doesn’t want the queen’s team of male ob-gyns overseeing her birth, and has engaged the services of her own, female-led team as her due date approaches.
The Mail reports that Royal Household gynaecologists Alan Farthing and Guy Thorpe-Beeston who attended at the arrival of all three of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s children have been ‘politely’ informed their services as lead physicians are not required. “Meghan said she doesn’t want the men in suits. She was adamant that she wanted her own people,” says The Mail.
The Mail says that insiders are “baffled” at her decision. Er, why?
Not As We Do
“Growing up in today’s world, social media is more addictive than drugs and alcohol,” said Prince Harry on Wednesday, on a visit to to a young adults support centre. His team promptly posted pictures of his visit to the centre on their new Instagram account, which has gone up to 4.2 million followers since we last checked, not that we are addicted or anything.
Instagram Eviction
Spare a thought for the previous owner of @sussexroyal who was evicted from his handle to make way for Instagram’s glamorous new stars. Kevin Keiley, from Worthing, West Sussex, grabbed the @sussexroyal handle when he joined Insta because he lives in Sussex and supports Reading football team, whose nickname is the Royals.
“All they needed to do was tell me over email what is happening, that the royals want your name and I would’ve given it, but no, they went behind my back and did it without telling me,” an aggrieved Keiley told ITV.
He still owns the Twitter account @sussexroyal, however, where he defiantly posted this week: “This is the original and only Sussexroyal. We talk about supporting Reading FC.”
He’s delighted with his updated Twitter follower count, however; it’s gone from single figures to 759.
The fact he has not had his Twitter handle wrested from his grasp suggests Harry and Meghan are not bothered about using the site.
Splendid Chap
Fergie has a new press officer, former Daily Mail political editor James Chapman, who posted a picture of himself with her at the Grand Prix last weekend. In 2017 Chapman appeared to have something of a social media fueled breakdown while on holiday in Greece, prompting friends to beg his family to take his phone off him. They didn’t, and he challenged the prime minister to a public debate in Parliament Square. Great to see ‘Chappers’ back in the saddle.
Relocation, Relocation, Relocation
It’s good to see that a life of royalty doesn’t exempt you from all the woes of a normal existence. The builders busy renovating Harry and Meghan’s new abode, Frogmore Cottage, were running well behind schedule.
The expectant couple were supposed to be in situ long ago, instead, they made the big move to Frogmore Cottage only this week. Still, it is now done, meaning Meghan and Harry have much to celebrate this weekend, having taken several giant steps to establishing their independence from the royal sausage machine.
Royal Fashion Watch
Tuxes ahoy. Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry all got dressed up (alongside Sir David Attenborough) for the premiere of Netflix’s Our Planet series, held at the Natural History Museum in London. They’re all very 007, but which royal bloke wore it best? We say Harry, but each to their own.
This week in royal history
On April 9, 2005, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles married in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall in Windsor. For some, it meant a couple who had long been in love could finally be together; many others could never forgive the misery endured by Princess Diana as a result of Camilla and Charles’ long affair. As time has gone on, public opinion has softened, even if many will never accept Camilla as queen, which (whatever title she is given) she will effectively be when Charles becomes king. Happy 14th anniversary to them!
Coming up
We should get more details about the official planning for the birth of Meghan Markle’s child this week. Will Meghan choose the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London? Don’t rule it out. Will she make an appearance on the hospital steps? Very possibly not, say sources, who argue that as their child will have a lowly position in the order of succession it is therefore not a legitimate subject of national interest. We’ll see how that one plays out.
