Social etiquette
Was it a deliberate snub or are the fans overreacting?
Multiple interpretations are now being offered on the failure of Meghan and Harry to issue effusive congratulations on social media to Prince William on the occasion of his 37th birthday.
The mini controversy has been unfolding since Friday, when Kensington Palace shared a photo of William on Instagram saying: “Thank you everyone for your lovely wishes on The Duke of Cambridge’s birthday!”
Shortly after the post went up, Meghan and Harry commented on it via their Sussex Royal account, writing: “Happy Birthday to the Duke of Cambridge!”
The inoffensive message became a target of ire for the Meghan-hating sections of the internet: “Wow... that sounded so heartfelt,” was a typical response.
The mainstream media was swift to join in: where were the emojis, kisses and phrases like “lots of love” that the couple have used to send their love to others on other birthdays?
Given that the two couples formally ended their joint charitable foundation the day before William’s birthday in one of the most public expressions of their falling out yet, maybe congratulations for mustering a message of congratulation at all would have been more in order.
BBC comedy accused of Meghan ‘racism’
A digital puppet representation of Meghan Markle has led to the BBC being accused of racism by social media users.
The puppet will feature on a spoof chat show, ‘Tonight With Vladimir Putin,’ which will be broadcast in the U.K. on Sunday evening.
In the sketch, Meghan Markle’s Royal Sparkle, Meghan is imagined as threatening to ’cut’ Kate Middleton for using her hairbrush, and threatening to fight someone who asks about her marriage to Prince Harry. Some online have questioned the apparent darkening of Meghan‘s skin in the portrayal, as well as accusing it of racism and misogyny.
The BBC told The Daily Telegraph that the program was a “highly satirical” spoof, and lampooned a number of public figures and the perceptions of them.
The performer Gbemisola Ikumelo, who voices the animated Meghan character, said that she wanted to find “humor in the ridiculous,” and imagined an angry Meghan to contrast with her “incredibly agreeable, always smiling” public image.
Ikumelo said she could not “censor legit choices and feelings because someone might misinterpret me as an angry black woman. That trope belongs to the media, not to black women.”
Happy days for the Duchess
Fergie looked absolutely delighted with herself at day four of Royal Ascot this week, resplendent in shocking mustard and bouncing around the course, on and off the arm of her ex-husband, Prince Andrew. The new pep in her step, friends say, is not unconnected to the fact that her nemesis Prince Philip has retired from public life and she may never, ever have to see him again.
New horizons
The Sussexes are said, surprise surprise, to be “very excited” about the launch of their own foundation following their split from the Cambridges.
Writing in Harper’s Bazaar, royal commentator Omid Scobie said that Prince Harry, 34, and Meghan Markle, 37, were looking forward to “stamping their own personality” on their charity work.
A palace source told Scobie: “Their operating style is very different to the Cambridges and so having their own space to think as big as they like, working on a global scale, is perfect for them.”
They hope their new foundation will be up and running by the end of the year. Elsewhere, intriguingly it's being rumored that aides are contemplating setting up a full-time office in America.
‘Suits’ has a selective memory
In the most egregiously opportunistic example of trading on past glories, the trailer for the new series of Suits—now entering its ninth and final season—features rather a lot of footage of paralegal Rachel Zane played by a promising young actor by the name of Meghan Markle.
Although Rachel married Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams, before leaving the show way back at the end of season seven, we do of course understand how imperative it was for narrative continuity that fans are reminded of the story so far.
Royal fashion watch
This week, Royal Ascot saw the queen swank it up in a series of light blue ensembles, until a late explosion of hot pink and lime. But the look of the week was very My Fair Lady-ish, and belonged to Kate Middleton in this beautiful light blue Elie Saab dress with pussybow, sheer sleeves, and a tulle skirt. Philip Treacy made the hat.
This week in royal history
On June 25, 1997, Christie's in New York sold 79 cocktail and evening dresses belonging to Princess Diana (who had just have months to live). The auction raised $3.25 million for the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Fund and AIDS Crisis Trust, and included the off-the-shoulder, ink-blue velvet dinner dress that Diana wore when she danced at the White House with John Travolta in November 1985.
Unanswered questions
Having Prince Charles and Camilla to stay can be trying. They bring their own bedsheets and eat in private, a source tells The Daily Beast. Why? “Fear of poisoning,” sniffs our man with the linen bag and two empty seats at the table.
