The royal tea is steeped and ready. Robert Lacey has spilled a lot in Battle of Brothers, but plenty is happening IRL too. Here’s the latest.
TROLLING
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appeared on the Teenager Therapy podcast, which is hosted by five seniors at a California high school, and Meghan divulged what it felt like to be constantly slammed by the public.
She said: “I’m told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female. Now, 8 months of that I wasn’t even visible — I was on maternity leave or with a baby. But what was able to be manufactured and churned out, it’s almost unsurvivable.”
HEADING HOME
Harry is set to return to the UK after months in California, but TBD what will shake out. Some wonder if the Queen will strip him of his titles after he spoke out on politics, traditionally a royal no-no, The Daily Mail reports. It is also unclear if Meghan will join him.
“Harry and Meghan have burnt some significant bridges that may be beyond repair,” royal biographer Penny Junor told The Mirror. “Right now, that doesn’t seem to bother them. And I can’t see Meghan ever wanting a way back.”
PRINCE CHARLES
Prince Charles and Princess Diana famously split in a bitter divorce, and when she died in 1997, he made a nasty comment to her brother, Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, Lacey writes. During heated discussions about proper funeral arrangements, Diana’s brother Charles opined that Prince William, then 15, and Harry, then 12, should not follow their mother’s coffin in the public procession to Westminster Abbey.
“Spencer felt quite sure that Diana would have been horrified at the idea of her sons having to endure such an ordeal,” Lacey writes. “He had already told Charles as much.” One call “had ended with the earl slamming down the phone on his brother-in-law after Charles had made a particularly offensive comment about Diana.”
In the end, the boys, Charles and Spencer, along with Prince Philip made the walk.
History seems to be on Diana’s brother’s side. Harry told Newsweek 20 years after her death: “My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television. I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
TABLOID APOLOGIES
Harry and Meghan, meanwhile, have reached a settlement with photo agency X17 over photos taken of their baby Archie at a private property in Southern California.
“Over the summer, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took action against intrusive and illegal paparazzi photos taken of their family at a private residence,” Harry and Meghan's attorney said in a statement to NBC News. “Today, the agency responsible for those photos—X17—apologized and agreed to a permanent injunction and reimbursement of a portion of legal fees. This is a successful outcome. All families have a right, protected by law, to feel safe and secure at home.”
DOUBLE DATE
Meghan and Harry appear to be moving on with their life in California. The pair were spotted out having a double date with Katharine McPhee and David Foster, who recently announced they are expecting their first baby together.
The foursome enjoyed a three-hour dinner together at Lucky’s Steakhouse in Montecito. They dined outside and wore masks until they were seated. Katharine and Meghan went to high school together.