Jennifer Lopez & Tom Hiddleston were two of the many celebrities who attended the Wimbledon men’s singles final. People are talking about J.Lo’s big hat too. [Just Jared]
Meghan McCain: What if the Mitch McConnell story is about me?? [Pajiba]
Kathy Griffin is dating a 22-year-old? Yikes. [OMG Blog]
Britney Spears is still having problems. [Socialite Life]
Updates on the new season of Summer House. [LaineyGossip]
The back half of Chloe Sevigny’s career is fascinating. [Go Fug Yourself]
All of Cardi B’s PFW looks. [RCFA]
Ice-T is in every new episode of Law & Order: SVU. [Seriously OMG]
The viral pink cake controversy. [Starcasm]
Okay, so I didn’t know Love Island was something you could “win”? [Hollywood Life]
Those “smart glasses” freak me out completely. [Buzzfeed]

This is the second slam in a row where I completely lost interest in men’s tennis about one week into the fortnight. Men’s tennis really is in the depths of hell right now, especially with Carlos Alcaraz out for months with a wrist injury, and a credibly-accused domestic abuser making two slam finals in a row (and winning one of them). Jannik Sinner, a man who flunked two doping tests and served a half-assed suspension just last year, ended up winning his second Wimbledon title yesterday. I don’t care for Sinner whatsoever, but I’ll always root for him against Alexander Zverev (Sinner has now beaten Zverev ten times in a row).

True to form, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended the men’s final and they brought their two oldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Even People Magazine has started asking where Prince Louis is and why he’s not allowed to watch tennis too. Kate did announce that Louis dreams of being a ball boy. Sure. As I said this weekend, it’s odd that William and the kids make a point of only attending the men’s final, especially when the men’s finalists are so problematic (in different ways). I think Charlotte and George probably would have loved this year’s women’s final, and it’s completely odd to me that Kate went solo for the women’s final. It’s also funny to see how Charlotte and George are not Sinner fans whatsoever. They’re ride-or-die for Alcaraz. They’ve been bummed two years in a row to meet Sinner in the Royal Box.

As for Kate’s look on Sunday… it’s a pretty odd choice for Wimbledon, in my opinion. This is a moss green Emilia Wickstead with a “caped” sleeve. Notably, Kate was copykeening two of you-know-who’s previous looks with one dress. Meghan wore a similar shade of olive green (a Ralph Lauren look) to Louis’s christening in 2018, and Meghan also wore a caped, green Emilia Wickstead ensemble for the Commonwealth service in 2020.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

In the wake of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit to Highgrove on Friday, King Charles’ office began leaking like a sieve. The briefings were two-pronged: on one side, there were threats to Team Sussex to NOT speak about whatever happened at the Highgrove meeting; then, on the other side, Buckingham Palace have strategic briefings to the Times and Mail about the visit. Not details of what was said, but more general thoughts on where things stand from Charles’ perspective. Once again, the thing that bothers the Windsors the most about the Sussexes is that Harry and Meghan refuse to let the left-behinds solely control the narrative. Charles is more upset at the idea that Harry might blow up the palace spin than anything else (like not seeing his grandkids for four-plus years). Some highlights from the Times:

The Sussexes’ UK visit: Those close to Harry said the family’s return was “not how he wanted it”. If extra security had been in place, he wanted his children involved in some public events. Harry will return to the UK in September to support his charity WellChild, and, with one family reunion under his belt, another in the autumn is not being ruled out by either side.

Harry is happy: “Every journey of a thousand miles begins with one footstep,” noted a royal source. On Saturday morning friends of Harry’s said he was “buoyed, very happy and really energised”.

Charles will never shut the door completely: But as a friend of the King’s said of the meeting: “He will never shut the door on the possibility of spending time with his family because despite all the trouble, blood is blood.”

Harry’s statement after he lost the Mail/ANL case: Sources close to the King feared that if Harry had stayed at the Palace, he would have his “Evita moment” on royal turf. Harry’s blistering statement issued after the court judgment described it as “a complete and obvious whitewash”. “There were jaws on the floor with a statement attacking not just a High Court judge but the entire judicial system that acts in the King’s name. There is profound upset constitutionally about that attack,” a source said.

War-gaming a Sussex meeting: When it comes to the Sussexes and the Palace, where there is “existential mistrust” about Harry and Meghan’s motives, planning a family meeting is never simple. For much of last week courtiers were war-gaming any potential fallout from a meeting, including if Harry was to come out and claim that Charles sympathised with his case against the media. “Would it create peace in our time or discord and constitutional controversy?” a royal aide said. “We are always trying to think about what is best not just for a grandfather but for a sovereign and a head of state.”

Team Sussex DGAF: Those close to Charles said all of this weighed on his mind before seeing the Sussexes on Friday, but a friend of the prince’s scoffed at the idea that Harry’s excoriating statement would have any lasting impact on the bond between father and son. “Is any of that actually going to make a difference to their personal relationship? I don’t think so,” they said. “Harry is very principled in what he stands for and he’s just going about his life in the way he said he would.”

Camilla’s presence: But Camilla, 78, is a canny operator and fiercely loyal to Charles. Whatever her views of her stepson, she wanted to support her husband for an emotionally loaded meeting, and to witness what was — and what was not — said. “Oh, to have been a fly on the hydrangeas,” a friend said.

Prince William’s reaction to the Highgrove Summit: What will the Prince of Wales make of his father’s olive branch to the Sussexes? He won’t like it, that’s for sure. While William now rarely speaks of Harry in royal circles, his feelings of betrayal by his brother’s departure from the monarchy and subsequent outbursts still sting. The Sussexes will make a pilgrimage to Althorp, the Spencer family seat in Northamptonshire, in the coming days to visit the resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales, where they will see Harry and William’s uncle, Earl Spencer, and some of the wider Spencer family. The Waleses won’t be joining that family reunion either. Harry has, wisely, all but given up hope of a reconciliation with his brother.

One Year to Go for the Birmingham Invictus Games: Harry is always happiest with his “military family”, and his dedication to the Invictus cause is admirable. When the Invictus Games are held in Birmingham next July, he will be applauded. But a year is a lifetime in the Sussex soap opera, and his charity work is not enough to lift him back on to the podium as one of the most popular members of the royal family, as he once was. Green shoots of a rapprochement with the Crown and his father, however, will help. In the coming days, the Sussexes will spend time catching up with friends in the UK and Harry is said to have pledged not to think about the court judgment and whether to appeal against it until he returns to California later this month.

[From The Times]

The British coverage in the past two weeks has been very focused on Prince Harry, his father, his brother and the institution itself. But I can’t help wondering what Meghan’s reaction to the past two weeks has been. She’s so good at supporting Harry and letting him lead the way when it comes to dealing with his horrible family, but I genuinely wonder if she’s tempted to put her foot down at this point. Like, okay, the kids met Charles but only after he treated us like crap for years and showed absolutely zero interest in actually spending time with us. Enough is enough.

As for the rest of it… the way they interweave their royal talking points with the Sussexes’ work irritates me to no end – “his charity work is not enough to lift him back on to the podium as one of the most popular members of the royal family…” Yeah but who cares? That’s not his goal. His goal is to thrive and do charity work and raise his children. Only the left-behinds care about their emotional-support popularity polls.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

It’s been ten days since the “wedding of the year,” Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Madison Square Garden wedding on July 3rd. Reportedly, they spent about $20 million on the wedding, which makes zero sense when you hear about what actually went down during the ceremony and reception. All of that money, all of that careful planning, and it just had the vibe of a corporate retreat in a cavernous sporting venue. The Daily Mail had a big exclusive about how most of the guests were aghast by the bad vibes all around:

Of the 1,000-person main event [on July 3], one guest reports that ‘the ceremony was really long,’ with couple’s vows each lasting ‘around 20 minutes’. And there has also been criticism of the food laid on for the famous attendees.

‘I couldn’t believe that there was a buffet at the wedding of the year,’ another guest said. ‘That felt like such a tacky move… amazing A-listers having to stand in line. It wasn’t quite what I expected.’

And now there’s more, with the raffle that Swift and Kelce held at Friday’s reception raising eyebrows.

‘It was really bizarre,’ one insider told the Daily Mail. ‘Straight after the ceremony, Taylor and Travis did a raffle and gave out expensive gifts for an hour. Everyone was weirded out. It was a circus meet-and-greet. Everyone kind of felt like, why are they giving away Chanel bags as if we are all their poor fans? It was pretty demeaning. It killed the vibe.’

Another guest told us they enjoyed the ‘playful’ raffle – which reportedly saw the bride and groom give away Cartier watches and a vintage 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle – though that was perhaps because they won an expensive Chanel bag. And the happy guest did note that many of the bigger-name celebrities present did not ‘care to play.’

Several of those high-profile names were spotted leaving the wedding early. They included Tom Brady, Jessica Alba and Hugh Grant, according to paparazzi pictures. Though, it remains unclear exactly why they left. Meanwhile, those who stayed were reportedly buzzing over the realization that some guests had never even met Swift and Kelce, and yet somehow bagged an invite.

‘We actually don’t know them. We were surprised when we got the text,’ one source said. ‘It was just all odd and seemed like a corporate charity event.’

Some of those big-name invitees were potentially there for Kelce’s benefit. ‘Taylor and Travis worked the room like crazy with Taylor introducing him to every heavy hitter there, especially Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, and Tom Cruise, all people who can help get him cast in movies because he wants to become a big actor after he retires from football,’ a guest claimed. ‘It felt like a networking event to help Travis get a leg up in Hollywood.’

Some who did know the bride and groom well allegedly tried to go up to the newlyweds to congratulate them, but felt rebuffed by the bride’s ‘minion’ friends who were closely guarding her, according to one insider.

[From The Daily Mail]

The parts I believe: that they had a buffet and people hated it, and that Taylor was trying to introduce Travis to people so that he’ll have a post-football cushion. I can absolutely see both of those things being true. I’ll defend the buffet actually – there were a thousand people, I doubt sit-down service would have been possible, and a buffet ensures that everyone gets what they want. I won’t defend Taylor using this wedding to network on Travis’s behalf though. Oh, and I totally believe that people were weirded out by the raffle. As I said last week, a raffle is a weird vibe for a supposedly A-list wedding.

What else? Page Six had an interesting piece about how Taylor snubbed Ellen DeGeneres and didn’t invite Ellen to the wedding. It’s notable because Taylor appeared on Ellen’s show 19 times! One person told P6 that while Taylor was a regular guest, “it was always just a talkshow relationship. They did lots of fun stuff together, but there was never a friendship beyond a professional one.” Yeah, but Taylor clearly invited a bunch of Hollywood types who were just there to network. I think it’s less about “Taylor and Ellen were never really friends” and more like… Ellen has zero clout these days and Taylor didn’t want to bother inviting someone who couldn’t help her or Travis.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Well, this broke my heart this morning. Sam Neill has passed away at the age of 78. While he had battled blood cancer for five years, he announced this past April that he was cancer-free after a clinical trial in Australia. Heartbreaking. In their statement, his family said that his passing was quite sudden too.

Sam Neill has died at the age of 78. Neill was best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park as Alan Grant, the film’s hero. He also had starring roles in The Hunt For Red October and The Piano and appeared in TV shows like The Tudors and Peaky Blinders.

In a statement shared on Instagram on Monday, July 13, the actor’s family said that his death was “sudden and unexpected.”

“It is with immense sadness that the whānau [extended family] of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia,” the statement began.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life,” the statement continued. “The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”

Neill was born Nigel Neill in Northern Ireland in 1947. His family moved to New Zealand, where his father was from, when he was 7 years old. “I’ve often thought that was the genesis of me becoming an actor,” he told The Irish Times in 2022 about adapting to a new country. “I think I had to learn how to act and sound like a New Zealander to avoid getting bullied at school.”

[From People]

I genuinely had no idea he was born in Northern Ireland – I thought he was a lifelong New Zealander. Everything I’ve ever heard about him is that he was a lovely guy, beloved by colleagues and friends. Some of my favorite Sam Neill performances: The Piano, Jurassic Park and The Hunt for Red October, but he was around, doing interesting work for decades. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

We were all expecting an update on Senator Mitch McConnell this weekend, considering he’s been mysteriously “hospitalized” for the past month with few legitimate updates. Then, rather suddenly, Republican senator Lindsey Graham died on Saturday night. At least his Senate office confirmed it immediately, although that seems to be the only straight-forward part about this. Graham was *just* in Ukraine a few days before his death, touring a drone factory and promising to put significant sanctions on Russia. So… yeah.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, has died after a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said. He was 71.

The statement posted on social media late Saturday did not provide any additional details about the South Carolina Republican, a former Air Force lawyer, and said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”

“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on social media early Sunday. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “my heart is heavy this morning to learn the passing of my friend and colleague.”

Thune said Graham was “a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”

Graham was one of the most influential figures in Washington on foreign policy, and he advised Trump on matters such as Iran and Russia. The senator had just returned from Ukraine and announced an agreement on Friday with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions. He had been scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning.

[From The AP]

The fact that he was scheduled to appear on Meet the Press on Sunday is WILD. Like, it was not on anyone’s radar that he was anything other than perfectly fine. He was 71, which is “young” for a Republican senator, you know? McConnell was/is 84 and Chuck Grassley is 92, for what it’s worth. Graham’s colleagues must have been a bit suspicious too, because they got the medical examiner to look into his passing immediately, on Sunday. The DC Office of of the Chief Medical Examiner found that Graham’s cause of death was “a ruptured aorta brought on by chronic heart disease.”

Additionally, Graham was up for reelection this year. He won his 2020 election by a healthy margin, but even before this, Democratic candidate Dr. Annie Andrews was only trailing Graham by about three points. Democrats need to flood her campaign with money and high-profile surrogates. Get Barack Obama down there. Joe Biden too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Andrew Thomas/CNP/INSTARimages, Michael Bihlmayer/DDP/INSTARimages.

Long-term, I can’t escape the gut-feeling that the Sussexes’ visit to Highgrove will end up being more trouble than it’s worth. On Friday, Prince Harry spent much of the day in Birmingham for the Invictus One Year to Go events, then he slipped away with his team. They apparently met with Meghan and the children, and they all traveled together to Highgrove, where they spent a few hours (??) with King Charles and Camilla. No one is saying that the Sussexes spent the night at Highgrove. I think it’s very likely that they went straight from Highgrove to Althorp, actually, and that they based themselves out of Althorp from Friday through the weekend (minus some goat yoga for Harry on Saturday). So, how were the Sussexes able to slip into Highgrove unnoticed, even with royal reporters stalking their every move? The Daily Mail tried to answer that question with this piece: “Inside Charles’s reunion with Harry, Meghan and their kids: How they used a Highgrove lunch for Chanel students to hide the private meeting… and why the Sussexes were full of smiles during the trip.”

As a procession of luxury cars swept through the gates of the King’s estate in Gloucestershire on Friday – carrying guests for an exclusive Chanel luncheon – one vehicle attracted little attention. Inside were Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, who had arrived at Highgrove for a private family meeting.

Far from the cameras and public gaze, the Sussexes entered Charles’s 900-acre site unnoticed as dozens of guests turned up for the French fashion house’s event to honour students who had completed an elite 24-week embroidery course.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘There were a large number of cars coming and going from Highgrove for the Chanel event which allowed the Sussexes’ car to blend in and helped them to enter the estate without being spotted.’

Harry and his family are believed to have met King Charles and Queen Camilla between 3.30pm and 4pm, remaining with the couple for more than an hour. The gathering was particularly significant because it marked the first time that Meghan, Archie and Lilibet had seen the 77-year-old monarch – who is still undergoing treatment for cancer – in person since 2022.

Earlier in the day, there had been clues that something important was unfolding when Harry arrived at an engagement for the Invictus Games at the National Exhibition Centre, near Birmingham. An observer said: ‘Harry turned up at Invictus with a massive smile plastered all over his face. Everybody was looking absolutely delighted. It wasn’t just acting. Liam [Maguire], his UK aide, looked absolutely like the cat that had got the cream as well. Then rumours started to go round that they were going to Highgrove.’

The family reunion at Highgrove had clearly put Harry in high spirits following a week dominated by negative headlines, including a row over his security and a crushing defeat in his court case over privacy against the Daily Mail.

This weekend, the Sussexes are believed to be staying at the Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire – the ancestral home of Princess Diana’s family and where she is buried on a private island in the middle of a lake.

[From The Daily Mail]

I love how this quote is clearly from one of the royal reporters covering the Invictus event: “Harry turned up at Invictus with a massive smile plastered all over his face. Everybody was looking absolutely delighted…” They were so mad that Harry wasn’t broken by his legal defeat, and that he kept on doing his events with a smile on his face. They had been telling themselves that they finally got him, that they had finally “beaten” him. Besides, I’m pretty sure Harry was super-happy because he was around the Invictus community, not because his deadbeat father agreed to see him at the last minute. As for the Chanel event at Highgrove, it actually sounds like the Mail’s editors are fuming because they didn’t get photos of the Sussexes in the car or heading into Highgrove. This is the equivalent of “the dog ate my homework” from Charlotte Griffiths and Caroline Graham (who cowrote this piece) – they’re furiously trying to explain why they didn’t get photos or insider information. It was the Chanel event!! WE SWEAR!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Meghan’s Instagram.

Over the weekend, the Times’ Roya Nikkhah had a piece about “the Highgrove Summit.” That’s my ragebait nickname for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex taking their children to Highgrove, where they all spent time with King Charles and Queen Camilla. Nikkhah seemingly got an extensive briefing from Charles’ staffers, some of whom are wary of Harry and Meghan, and some of whom are more realistic, let’s say. Clearly, the old-school royalists are shocked that Charles actually capitulated in such a huge way, just days after Charles took a “hardline” and refused to give Prince Harry housing in a royal residence. Well, I covered the Times piece earlier, and then I read Tom Sykes’ analysis of the Times piece and everything he saw as he stalked Prince Harry’s Invictus event in Birmingham on Friday. There are a few interesting morsels of gossip in here, plus some very Prince William-specific rage-tantrums. Highlights:

The prodigal son: I have previously reported that the King has drawn inspiration from the parable of the Prodigal Son. But the prodigal son rehearses his apology on the road: “Father, I have sinned.” The repentance comes first; the fatted calf comes second. Harry has skipped the apology and Charles went straight to the calf bit.

Charles incentivized and rewarded Harry’s behavior!! If you set out to design an incentive structure to teach Prince Harry that intransigence works, you could not improve on what the King did this week. If you wanted to encourage a renegade son to keep behaving exactly as he has been behaving, this is precisely how you would do it.

Doves vs. hawks in Buckingham Palace: As I have explained before, there are two camps in the King’s court: the hawks, led by Clive Alderton, who agree with William that Harry should not be allowed anywhere near the King and regard it as their duty to protect the sovereign from his own softer instincts; and the doves, clustered around Theo Rycroft, the man being lined up to succeed Alderton when he goes — which could be within a couple of years…By Friday, the doves — led, ultimately, by the King himself — had won. But the hawks’ fingerprints are everywhere… I would not be surprised to see departures from the King’s staff over the coming months as a result of all this. Some aides are very, very unhappy.

Won’t anyone think about poor Peggy??? While all this unfolded, the heir to the throne was playing polo at Guards Polo Club in Windsor, the Princess of Wales in the stands, the pair of them laying on more public displays of affection than we have seen in years. The brothers have not spoken since the late Queen’s funeral. George, Charlotte and Louis have no relationship whatsoever with their Californian cousins.

William is appalled!! As I reported this week, William is appalled by what he regards as his father’s betrayal. His dismay is understandable. Consider what William has actually asked of his father in twenty years: very little, while giving a great deal, including his tacit public blessing to Project Queen Camilla — not one word against her in public, whatever may have been said in private. The one thing he has asked was that Harry and Andrew be kept at arm’s length from the monarchy: the exiled Duke of Windsor as template.

William blames Harry & Meghan for Kate’s health issues: It was William’s wife who was monetized, William who was accused of assault in Spare, William’s family that absorbed it all during Catherine’s cancer treatment — and those close to him, while careful never to say Harry caused her illness, will tell you William perceives a causal link between the stress his brother inflicted and what happened to his wife.

Political capital: Charles is spending political capital he does not have. Ipsos has support for the very concept of a royal family falling from 65 per cent at the start of his reign to 55 per cent now. YouGov’s January tracker has Harry at 31 per cent positive and 60 per cent negative; Meghan at 19 positive and 66 per cent negative, the worst figure the pollster has ever recorded for her. Two-thirds of the country actively dislikes the Duchess of Sussex. There is no public appetite for this reconciliation and no mandate for it.

The undoing of the Sandringham Summit: This is not an isolated incident; it is the systematic undoing of the Sandringham Summit. It is the unwinding of Megxit itself. And the engine of it all is the King’s recovery. When everyone thought Charles was dying, he did not have the strength — or the standing — to attempt this. Now that his treatment is going well and he believes he has been gifted time, he is taking back control, and the message to his heir is unmistakable: you may not like it, son, but this is my family and this is how I am going to run it.

An impatient heir: History is full of impatient heirs waiting in the wings. What history has never seen is a monarch who faced death, was rescued by medical science, and came back determined to wrestle power back from an heir who had acquired a taste for it — and who believes, not without reason, that his father is running the institution in a way that will damage it by the time it lands on him. The conflict between Charles and William is at the core of everything happening in the royal family right now, and Harry is currently the proxy battle.

[From The Royalist Substack]

It kind of pisses me off that Sykes’ commentary is often unhinged, because he occasionally has some interesting analysis when he focuses more on what’s happening between Charles and William. There is one thing unacknowledged amid all of this talk about reconciliation, grumpy courtiers, impatient heirs and political capital – the difference between short-term tantrums and the long-term strategies of a monarchy caught in a years-long dysfunctional cycle.

Even through pro-William royal commentary, you can spot William’s huge blind spot: William truly believes that if only everyone in the monarchy would simply agree to ignore and/or smear the Sussexes, then everything would be perfect. The reason Charles continues to meet with Harry is not because of sentimentality or any real emotional connection between father and son. It’s because Charles is smart enough to see the bigger picture, and he doesn’t want his defining legacy to be “a deadbeat father who treated his son like crap.” The fact that the Sussexes not only survived the royal onslaught but lived to tell their stories and now thrive on their own terms… well, all of that is a huge embarrassment for the Windsors. Charles knows that. William doesn’t.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Royals: Minutes 5:30 to 16:30
Prince Harry and his co-plaintiffs, including Elizabeth Hurley and Sir Elton John, lost their case against Associated Newspapers for hacking. The suit was filed in 2022 and alleges that The Daily Mail wiretapped, bugged and used illegal methods to get information for stories. The judge in the case was a former barrister/lawyer who represented The Mirror, so he definitely had a conflict of interest. (The judge didn’t represent The Mirror at the same time that Harry sued it.) Harry issued a scathing statement about the ruling.

The timing of this ruling is dark since Harry is visiting the UK now. It looks like Buckingham Palace, King Charles and RAVEC set Harry up. They’ve gone back and forth about whether Harry was offered a place to stay by Charles. They also denied him security, which he’s been trying to get for years, because the investigation into whether he should be afforded security as a non-working royal was paused! This inquiry was paused in March, essentially denying Harry security. However they only told Harry after he confirmed the details of his trip. Meghan, Archie and Lili were originally scheduled to come with Harry, but given the lack of security we weren’t sure they would come. News broke late Friday that they were in the UK and had met with Charles and Camilla. Harry has been so unbothered during his events in London.

No one seemed to care but Charles posed in a tank earlier this week just as Harry was arriving. Kate only did one event this week and William’s events have been lackluster. Chandra thinks there was a real turning point after Harry got such positive press for visiting the UK last year.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding: Minutes 16:30 to 24:30
There was a huge buildup to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s 1,000-person wedding at Madison Square Garden. We still haven’t seen photos.

There weren’t enough seats for everyone and Travis and Taylor’s vows lasted 40 minutes total. The wedding favors were embroidered handkerchiefs.

I play a segment from Zoom where we talk about this.

Comments of the Week: Minutes 24:30 to end
Chandra’s comment of the week is from Digital Unicorn on the post about Carole Middleton being classy despite all evidence to the contrary.

My comment of the week is from Charlie on the post about Taylor Swift’s Dior wedding dress. Here’s a link to the video where Tom Holland calls Zendaya “Marie”. Here’s a link to the photo of Taylor Swift’s wedding bouquet.

Thanks for listening bitches!

Photos credit: Cover Images, Backgrid and Avalon.red

On Friday, everyone got the same confirmation from Buckingham Palace: the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took Archie and Lili to Highgrove to spend some time with King Charles and Queen Camilla. Again, BP announced it, confirmed it and dictated the same facts to every outlet, including the part about “no photos will be released.” So it was interesting to see two royalists closely aligned with Team Keen put their own spin on the BP announcement. Vanity Fair ran an exclusive written by Katie Nicholl in which she bizarrely emphasized that Charles was the one who wanted the meeting kept “private.” The same king who spent the entire week briefing against Harry and refused to allow him to stay in a royal residence? The same king who literally briefed the press as soon as the Sussexes were in the Highgrove driveway?

King Charles reunited with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Archie and Lilibet during a private get together at Highgrove on Friday afternoon, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. While the palace would not comment on the meeting, or how long it lasted, it is understood that Queen Camilla was also present. A source tells Vanity Fair that no photographs will be released to the public, and that Prince Harry has assured King Charles that he will not speak publicly about the family get-together.

While Prince Harry has been in the UK since Monday in support of next year’s Invictus Games, Meghan and the couple’s children, Archie, and Lili, have remained on their European holiday after Harry was told the family would not be given police protection if they came to the UK.

It is expected that after having seen his father, Prince Harry, Meghan and their children will visit Althorp, Princess Diana’s ancestral home after being invited to stay by his uncle, Charles Spencer. Harry has maintained a close relationship with his mother’s side of the family and wants to take his children to see his mother’s grave on the estate’s grounds.

A source close to the Sussexes said, “Archie and Lili were very excited about seeing their grandfather,” adding that “there have been calls from a rather frantic Harry to his father’s aides, trying to make this happen.”

Meanwhile, sources close to King Charles said he “wanted the meeting but was adamant it must be kept private.” Sources close to Queen Camilla said she was also looking forward to seeing her step-grandchildren and wanted to be at Charles’s side.

A spokesman for the Sussexes did not respond to a request for comment.

[From Vanity Fair]

“Sources close to Queen Camilla said she was also looking forward to seeing her step-grandchildren…” Yet another reason why this was all a terrible idea, but sure. Even if you argue that Harry and Charles needed to meet during this trip, Camilla’s presence is a huge dealbreaker. And I bet she was “looking forward to seeing” Archie and Lili. She probably did a brown paper bag test on them.

But, as I said, I really wonder what’s coming from the Prince and Princess of Wales’ office at this moment, especially in the immediate aftermath of the Sussexes’ visit. Tom Sykes ranted for several pages on his Royalist Substack, in a piece called “Harry and Meghan Just Won.” Sykes argues that the Sussex brand is “in the toilet,” which is obviously why he was livestreaming Harry’s Invictus event. Sykes also called King Charles “weak” and said he was “appeasing” emotional-blackmailers Harry and Meghan. Sykes’ piece was incoherent, which makes me feel like Kensington Palace was completely reeling from Charles’ volte-face. It would explain Nicholl’s piece too, just sayin’.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

For the past week, we’ve heard that Mitch McConnell collapsed in his DC home in June, and he has been hospitalized ever since. Since the news started percolating over the Fourth of July holiday, people have wondered if his Senate office is lying about his condition, especially since everyone seemed incapable of releasing a proof-of-life photo or video. Then, on Friday, CNN got their hands on a neighbor’s video of McConnell being loaded into the ambulance last month, and that led to even more speculation. Well, following Lindsey Graham’s passing on Saturday, McConnell’s office put together this package. A “new photo” of McConnell sitting up and alert with his wife Elaine Choa beside him, and a “personal statement” from McConnell and his attending physician. You guys…

“To my fellow Kentuckians –

“When you elected me to a seventh term and made me our Commonwealth’s longest serving Senator, you did so trusting that I’d keep showing up to fight for you every day. And over the past several weeks, Elaine and I have appreciated both your well wishes and your honest questions about what was keeping me away from the Senate. You all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older. Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct – I can’t help it.

“But at the same time, I’ve had more than my share of experience with physical vulnerabilities. Surviving childhood polio meant spending my entire life with mobility challenges. They haven’t exactly gotten easier to manage with age. And last month, I took a fall which landed me in the hospital.

“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia.

“I can assure you that I’ve been a good patient. At my age, I tend to do what my doctors tell me to do. I’ve submitted to every test they can think of to help figure out what caused this incident. And I’m continuing to do everything they ask to speed my recovery. In fact, with signs of continued progress, I’ve been able to move from hospital care to a rehabilitation center where I’ll keep regaining my strength.

“As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time. And on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet. But rest assured that, in the meantime, I’m not taking a break from the Senate business that matters to you. I’ve been working closely with my legislative staff on current issues, and with my Kentucky team who help me provide timely constituent services across our Commonwealth. I’ve also been keeping in touch with my Senate colleagues on the appropriations process, midterm politics, and everything in between.

“You’re right to expect your representatives to work hard for you. And part of my decision to retire at the end of my term this coming January was being honest about the demands of Senate work. But I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf, and I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.

“I’ll keep working hard to get back on the Senate floor as soon as possible. And I’ll keep you posted on the progress of my recovery. Until then, I’m so grateful for your prayers and well wishes.”

[From CSPAN]

The Office of the Attending Physician backed up this new story, claiming that McConnell simply fell at home and sustained “minor injuries” but no broken bones or hemorrhage. The problem? Well, many think that the photo is AI and/or manipulated and/or from 2023. The inclusion of the Sunday newspaper is interesting, and while the “newspaper” image is from Sunday, the close-up of the newsprint looks extremely odd. Don’t get me wrong, McConnell could have fallen, and he’s apparently been falling a lot in recent years. But this proof-of-life photo and message stinks to high heaven. And it smells like a rotten turtle.

Photo courtesy of McConnell’s Facebook. Additional photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Luke is currently promoting his new Netflix series, The Hawk. It’s a comedy about a professional golfer, played by Will Ferrell, who’s trying to get his groove back. It also stars Molly Shannon and Jimmy Tatro, whom I loved as the student accused of drawing the Ds in the brilliant first season of American Vandal. Baby Girl Wilson made her first unofficial appearance last week at a press reception for The Hawk. Luke and Kendall reportedly introduced her to guests and some of his castmates, including Tatro. Here’s more from Us Weekly:

People reported on Wednesday, July 8, that Wilson, 54, and his girlfriend, Kendall Yates, recently welcomed their first baby together. According to the outlet, the couple brought their infant daughter to a Tuesday, July 7, press event for Wilson’s new Netflix comedy, The Hawk, at the The Resort at Pelican Hill.

Wilson and Yates, 24, apparently introduced the newborn to the actor’s costars such as Jimmy Tatro, per the outlet.

Wilson and Yates have largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight. They have, however, made their public debut at the June 2024 premiere party for Horizon: An American Saga.

The Legally Blonde star had previously been candid about his hopes to expand his family after watching his brothers, Owen and Andrew Wilson, become dads. (Owen, 57, shares son Robert with Jade Duell, son Finn with Caroline Lindqvist and daughter Lyla with Varunie Vongsvirates, while Andrew, 61, is the dad of a daughter.)

“I think I am a fun uncle,” Luke said on a 2020 episode of Conan O’Brien’s late-night show. “I get along great with [their kids]; they are really fun kids. I mean, during this pandemic, I did have a, kind of, Shining-type moment with Owen’s son Ford, where I was saying, ‘You know I love you, Don’t you, Ford? You’re a good boy.’”

He continued, “I get along great with those guys, they’re great little kids and definitely the kind that make me want to have some kids of my own, which I should get on sooner rather than later.”

[From Us Weekly]

While I’m side-eyeing their 30-year age gap, I can totally believe that Luke is the fun uncle who has always wanted kids of his own. Neither of them has shared any details about their daughter, but Luke told Entertainment Tonight at The Hawk premiere that he was “proud” to be a father and was trying to do a “good job.” Kendall hasn’t said anything, but she was photographed pushing the baby in a stroller late last week.

During my search for more information about their relationship, I came across these April, 2026 pap shots published in the Daily Mail. Kendall looks visibly pregnant, yet the DM doesn’t speculate about her appearance at all. Judging by those bump pics, I’d put her somewhere in the six to seven month range. Props to Luke’s publicist for keeping it out of the headlines. I have a feeling they’re going to follow in the footsteps of similarly private celebrities like Jonah Hill and not give much information about their children.

Embed from Getty Images

Photos credit: Getty Images for Netflix and Getty Images