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“The drama has left”
The royals are keen to move on from the “soap opera” surrounding Harry and Meghan, The Sunday Times reports.
Ahead of the publication of a new book, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, which is expected to give their version of events behind the great royal meltdown that saw Meghan and Harry decamp to L.A., a senior palace source said: “The rest of the royal family will not be telling their side of the story. They feel that in this new world, people are more interested in seeing the family support front line workers than reading about their internal politics.
“It was a soap opera. Everyone knows the narrative that’s coming. The feeling is that drama and everything that comes with it has left. Let the rest of the royal family get on with it.”
Written by Omid Scobie, a former reporter for the American tabloid Us Weekly, and Carolyn Durand, a reporter for Elle magazine, the book will be published by HarperCollins on Aug. 11.
Prince Andrew humbled, briefly
One of the Royalist’s favorite apocryphal stories about Prince Andrew’s military career surfaces in a new biography of the prince as a young man featured in the Mail on Sunday today. In among the usual tales of womanizing, temper tantrums, and an overly indulgent mother is the account of his first tour of duty on the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. When introduced to the captain, he said: “Hi, I’m Prince Andrew, but you can call me Andrew.”
The captain replied: “And you can call me Sir.”
Harry and Meghan pay up
The Mail on Sunday reports that “it has been quietly arranged” for Harry and Meghan to start paying rent on Frogmore Cottage, their British home. The payments began last month. Even though they are seemingly very happily settled in L.A., the rent repayments on Frogmore suggest that Harry and Meghan intend to keep a base in—indeed maintain a close relationship with—Britain.
As the Mail points out, one of the criticisms leveled at the pair has been over the £2.4 million ($2.9m) of British taxpayers’ money spent in renovations at Frogmore before they moved into it, and long before their “senior royal” lives in Britain imploded.
The Mail says Harry and Meghan are now paying £18,000 ($21,800) rent a month on the Grade II-listed property.
“It is being described as a ‘rental-plus’ agreement in which they pay more than what the commercial rate would be, enabling them to pay down those building costs with the excess,” the Mail said.
If kept at this rate, Harry and Meghan would eventually repay the whole sum in 11 years time, “without accounting for interest or running cost of the cottage,” said the Mail.
Rich people problems
Harry and Meghan’s money could come in handy; the famously frugal queen has lost around £20m ($24m) as her wealth portfolio has been hit by the recent collapse in stock market prices. She is still worth some £350m ($420m), giving her a ranking of 372nd richest person in the U.K., according to the money counters at The Sunday Times who today publish their annual rich list.
Buckingham Palace has also been a drain on Her Majesty’s coffers, needing £14.1m ($17m) of renovations in 2018-19. The queen’s day-to-day income comes from the sovereign grant, which was £82.2m in the latest accounts. The Rich List reports that her stamp collection alone is valued at £100m.
Adele is giving Harry and Meghan advice
Harry and Meghan are reportedly living at movie mogul Tyler Perry’s Hollywood mansion, with a modest 12 bathrooms. Now, according to the U.K. Mirror, they are receiving advice from Adele on discreet places to socialize and advice on the best pre-school for Archie. Adele lives in her own mansion nearby (summoning up images of very fancy cups of sugar being exchanged).
A source told the Mirror: “Adele’s just five minutes from Harry and Meghan and they’ve swapped notes on the area. Adele loves the neighborhood. She’s also recommended her four-year-old son Angelo’s pre-school and discreet places to take Archie where they won’t be bombarded by fans. Meghan and Harry want to see how they get on in the area first before they commit to buying somewhere.”
How Andrew crossed paths with another Epstein sex slave
It is alleged today, also in the Mail on Sunday, that Prince Andrew was a guest at the New York mansion of pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein at the same time as a previously unidentified young woman who claims to have been abused for years as a sex slave.
The paper claims that the woman, who was in her 20s at the time of the duke of York’s 2010 visit, was groomed by Epstein as a teenager, sexually assaulted and forced into a sham lesbian marriage in order to obtain a green card for one of Epstein’s female recruiters.
Court papers say the abuse she suffered at Epstein’s hands was so “perverted” that lawyers considered it too graphic to be included in official public legal documents.
The woman, referred to as “Katlyn Doe” to protect her identity, may have given Andrew a foot massage while he watched the movie The King’s Speech at a private screening with Epstein, the Mail said.
Katlyn’s lawyer Bradley Edwards said last night: “I cannot discuss any of the current cases being litigated.”
This week in royal history
Is it really just two years? It feels way longer ago than May 19, 2018, that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Think what has happened since. First, they settle down to royal life, public adore them, Archie is born, rumors abound of bad feeling between William and Harry and Meghan and Kate, Harry and Meghan publicly discuss their unhappiness, and then relations worsen within the royal family to the point where we are now—Harry and Meghan resign as “senior royals” and now live in Los Angeles. All in two years!
Unanswered questions
What will Prince Harry end up doing in Los Angeles? How will he marry his British patronages with U.S. residency? And if Meghan is returning to acting, what will her all-important first role be?
