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Diana’s Butler: Meghan Is ‘Courting Attention’
Paul Burrell, Princess Diana’s former butler has written a no-doubt lucrative column in The Sun slamming Meghan Markle for her lavish baby shower in New York.
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Burrell writes, “I think Prince William will be angered by all of Meghan’s lavish extravagance this week and the fact her baby shower looked so ‘celebrity’ rather than ‘royal’… Meghan is doing exactly what he doesn’t, courting attention all for her and her baby.”
Burrell then moves on to attack Meghan on another tiresomely familiar front, accusing her thus: “Meghan knows to project herself, so every time you see her she is holding her baby bump, she is presenting herself in a certain manner, she is wearing designer clothes. I can see it all unfolding the way Meghan has planned it.”
Still not content, Burrell also has a pop at Meghan’s guest list: “The baby shower was obviously arranged to be in the spotlight. Why would you invite a CBS anchor to your event if it was private?”
Er, because Gayle King is her friend, perhaps, and you know, doesn’t sell her out?
It’s not hard to imagine what Diana would think of the man she trusted with all the secrets of her life (and her kids’ lives, of course) and whom she tenderly called ‘my brick’ using his position of trust to trash Harry’s wife in the paper.
Burrell, who generally refuses to do media interviews unless handsomely remunerated, was arrested and charged with theft after 300 of Diana’s personal items were found hoarded at his home after her death. However the 2002 trial collapsed and he was acquitted when the Queen said he had told her he was taking some items for safekeeping.
Harry and Meghan Head To Morocco
Meghan and Harry touched down in the deeply conservative Islamic state of Morocco a few hours later than planned on Saturday evening after their (commercial) flight was delayed. Meghan, who will be using the trip to highlight the country’s provision of education for girls, wore a red Valentino dress, referencing the color of the national flag, and carried a pink clutch handbag and matching high heels by Christian Dior and gloves. The pair are guests of King Mohammed VI, and their first engagement was a meet and greet with the country’s Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who is 15. Don’t expect many impromptu moments on this three-day tour, however, as public walkabouts have been ruled out due to security concerns.
Yes, One Will Sue
The Mail on Sunday has, oddly, published no further extracts from Meghan’s letter to her father. The reason for this mystifying restraint is now revealed by The Guardian, which says the palace has threatened to sue the Mail over publishing the extracts. Under British law, the writer owns the copyright to a letter they have written. The recipient can show it to whoever they like, but they can’t reproduce it at length without the author’s consent.
Shadow Fighters
This week, of course, it was all about Meghan’s impossibly glamorous, super-luxurious baby shower in New York. It was a private trip, so it was initially unsurprising that Meghan was not accompanied by any members of the Kensington Palace press team. But that none flew out to be on hand after the fact of her presence in New York became public knowledge was staggering.
It’s yet another sign that relations between Meghan and the KP press office have taken a turn for the worse, after her decision to authorise five friends to speak to People magazine blindsided her own press team. Should Meghan have needed a little advice on handling the media, however, guests at the shower included CBS anchorwoman Gayle King (to Paul Burrell’s displeasure, as per above), NBC Cable Entertainment chairman Bonnie Hammer and fashion publicist Celine Khavarani. There has been some speculation that Meghan is assembling a shadow press operation, and these could be the core team.
Regal
Gayle King, in fact, did do a little PR for Meghan on CBS This Morning the day after the shower, revealing the shocking news that Meghan is a really nice person. “I hope she won’t mind me sharing this, because I’ve never seen anything like this at a baby shower,” King said, “They had flower arranging. They brought in somebody to explain how to arrange flowers. We all each made an individual vase.”
King said the flowers were then donated, at Markle’s request, to different charities. “I thought that was a very sweet thing. I mean it just speaks to who she is. She's very kind. She's very generous, and a really, really sweet person.”
Family Time
One face notable by its absence at Meghan’s baby shower was Kate Middleton, who spent the week on the ski slopes in France with her family. The vacay went almost unreported. Life is quiet for the Cambridges these days. What with all the royal photographers being elsewhere photographing Meghan, Will and Kate have finally got the privacy they craved for so long.
Royal Fashion Watch
For the second week running, and despite all of Meghan’s well-dressed column inches from her trip to New York City, the winner in this category is the Queen. Last week, she wore a very trendy coat; this week she upped the coat ante even more with this cobalt number, with fur-looking trim and matching hat.
Runner-up, in a special royal-adjacent position, is Amal Clooney, who appeared, during a snowstorm in NYC, wearing a red jumpsuit and gold heels for Meghan’s baby shower.
This week in royal history
A royal engagement announcement should be cute, and on February 24, 1981 certainly people wanted to believe that then-Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles were star-crossed lovers. His relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles was, however, the unseen ghost at the feast. In the cringiest moment that echoes fatefully down the years, Charles and Diana are asked if they are in love. “Of course,” Diana cooed though through gritted teeth. “Whatever in love means,” Charles added. And the rest, sigh, is history.
Next week
Harry and Meghan will once again be center-stage this week, as their visit to Morocco will make headlines. Sunday sees a visit to organizations that educate girls and on Monday they will learn about equestrian programs supporting children with special needs. A cookery demonstration that day looks likely to see keen chef Meghan get her hands dirty.
