Princess Kate pics at Wimbledon deal new blow to Prince Harry peace deal
never gotten more publicity than in the last 24 hours.
Yesterday, the Daily Mail revealed it was the setting for an extraordinary peace summit between the trusted lieutenants of King Charles and Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. (Has anyone checked on the fiery depths of hell for ice?)
Yesterday, the Mail revealed that Tobyn Andreae, the King's communications secretary,
Meredith Maines, the Sussexes' communications chief, and Liam Maguire, in charge of their
UK PR, had met for drinks at the ROSL for drinks in what been hailed as the beginning of the long slog towards a 'rapprochement' between London and Montecito.
'A channel of communication is now open for the first time in years,' a source told the Mail.
'It was finally the right time for the two sides to talk.'
But before anyone cues up 'We Are Family' on the Clarence House tape deck, events playing out on the other side of London could prove to be a major stumbling block.
On Sunday as the Mail was reporting their scoop, Prince William and Kate, the Prince and
Princess of Wales were arriving at Wimbledon for the men's finals. Glaringly absent from the
ROSL drinks from their office.
Whether William and Kate's reps were either not invited or they declined for them to go
(their diligent foot soldiers probably too busy for afternoon drinky poos, as the Queen
Mother called them, when there are reefs to save and conscious farming manuals to read),
the bottom line is the same. Any real and lasting peace would have to involve Team Wales.
The problem is that when it comes to loose-lipped malcontent Harry, his father and brother
have staunchly different feelings. His Majesty has always stressed his love for his second son
and is reportedly 'devastated' by the years-long feud, even despite Harry's blabby proclivities and the duke suing his father's own government. (Dead awkward that.)
The prince, however, 'absolutely f***ing hates' his brother, as a Wales friend previously
told The Daily Beast's Tom Sykes.
The same friend told Sykes this weekend: 'William will never, ever forgive Harry for what he
has done. Charles is the king; he can do what he likes. But make no mistake: William
believes with every fibre of his being that giving Harry and Meghan back any royal imprimatur is a huge mistake.'
And part of the reason that the prince will reportedly not be readily extending any olive
branches? Harry's inclusion in Spare of details about Kate such as her encouragement of him
to dress up as a Nazi, her 'grimacing' at having to share lip gloss with Meghan, and
portraying her as something of a cold fish towards the former Suits star.
Such is the froideur, if not ice age, between the brothers and their wives that William and
Kate reportedly didn't bother to inform Harry and Meghan about her cancer diagnosis. They
found when the rest of the world did. When Sussexes 'reached out privately,' per the
Times, the 'contact was unreciprocated.'
Which is to say that the King and the Sussexes' staffers can stand each other any number of
rounds of drinks but how real and lasting can any healing of breaches and mending of fences
be if William, both as Charles' son and the heir to the throne, is not on board?
Also, breaking from his elder son comes with the risk of increased tensions between the
King and his heir.
There is also the question of the possible public cost in Charles burying the Harry hatchet.
Would His Majesty doing so make him look like a magnanimous, loving parent or unpopular
for welcoming back the person who (some believe) did the UK's beloved Kate dirty?
Quite simply, Britain by and large adores the Princess of Wales – and has a dim view of the
Duke of Sussex. As of May, 72 per cent of Britons have a favourable view of Kate versus 27
per cent who feel that way about Harry.
The depth of feeling towards the future Queen was on show over the weekend.
On the same day that the photos of the ROSL meeting were gracing the pages of the Mail,
for the second time in as many days Kate was at Wimbledon, her presence being met with
the sort of rapturous applause usually reserved for a minor deity or the original line-up of
Take That.
Fans hung over balconies and photos show her entering the stadium amid a sea of phones
held aloft to record her arrival. Then, taking her seat for the women's final, the princess was greeted with a standing ovation.
While it's debatable if the King would let public opinion sway things, him embracing Harry
and letting the duke back 'in' to the royal fold some way could put him out of step with
wider feeling.
It's hard to find much sympathy in Britain for the Sussexes in the numbers.
A poll done by YouGov in May found that 46 per cent of Brits felt that the royal family had
treated Harry 'fairly', twice as many (23 per cent) who said 'unfairly'.
On the same day, 97 per cent of readers of the right-leaning Express said they thought
Charles should strip Harry and Meghan of their titles.
Still, there is something of a deadline looming here. In 2027, Harry's Invictus Games will
return to the UK for the first time since 21015 and will be held in Birmingham and it would
be a terrible look for the royal family to not do their bit and come out barracking for the
military and for veterans. Harry, reportedly, has formally invited the King along. And that in
turn would necessitate some sort of patching things up.
How to square the circle of Chalres, Harry, Invictus, William and Kate is enough to make
anyone's head hurt and that's before we even factor in the question of Meghan and Invictus
2027 too. (The duchess has not missed a Games since meeting her husband in 2016.) What.
To. Do.
The only sensible, easy part to all of this – that the Charles/Sussex peace summit happened
over a stiff drink. There is a time for a nice cup of tea – and situations that demand 40
per cent proof.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
BBC cuts ties with former MasterChef UK host Gregg Wallace amid dozens of sexual misconduct allegations
The United Kingdom's BBC says it will no longer work with MasterChef host Gregg Wallace after a report found dozens of misconduct allegations made against the hit cooking show presenter were upheld. The report, led by a law firm, said 45 out of the 83 allegations made against Wallace during his time on the show between 2005 and 2018 were substantiated. It said the majority of the claims related to "inappropriate sexual language and humour," with one incident including unwelcome physical contact. Wallace, 60, stepped away from hosting the hit BBC reality show, which is made by an independent production company, last year while an investigation was launched into allegations made by multiple women that he made inappropriate sexual comments and behaved inappropriately over 17 years. The BBC has come under pressure over how it handles sexual misconduct allegations and how Wallace had continued to front some of its most popular shows for so long despite the complaints. The broadcaster issued a statement of apology, adding Wallace's "return to MasterChef is untenable". The broadcaster previously said that Wallace was warned by his employers after a complaint in 2018, and an internal investigation at the time found his behaviour was "unacceptable and unprofessional". Wallace had claimed he had been cleared of the "most serious and sensational accusations" against him ahead of publication of the report into his alleged misconduct. In a statement posted on his Instagram account last week, he said: "I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience. I was tried by media and hung out to dry well before the facts were established." MasterChef is one of the BBC's most popular and long-running competition shows, and has been adapted in other countries including MasterChef Australia. AP
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Meghan and Kate: Feud that tore the ‘Fab Four' apart
Tensions between Princess Kate and Meghan Markle were apparent from their very first meeting. But as their husbands clashed, the inevitable rift deepened into a full-blown feud. A palace insider has recounted stories of the unravelling of the relationship between the so-called 'Fab Four', which began with statements made in the press by Meghan about Princess Kate's behaviour behind closed doors, and her lack of familiarity on social occasions between the couples. Royal biographer Tina Brown claims the media comparisons between the two women after Prince Harry introduced Meghan to Prince William and Princess Kate became a sticking point for the two women. 'Now that Meghan was a feminist hero, tensions with the more senior royal beauty, the (former) Duchess of Cambridge, offered an irresistible story to the tabloids, who always love to stoke a rivalry between women,' Ms Brown wrote in the Palace Papers.. The initial meeting was reported in the press to have gone well; however, in the Sussexes' Netflix documentary series, Meghan recalled that she felt uncomfortable about the level of formality that remained between the two. 'Even when Will and Kate came over and I was meeting her for the first time, I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot. Like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger. I didn't realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits,' Meghan said. 'I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward-facing way of being and then you close the door and think, 'okay, we can relax now'. 'But that formality carries over on both sides, and that was surprising to me.' Ms Brown said Meghan became concerned that she had an immediate personality clash with Princess Kate and that she found her to be 'cool' towards Prince Harry's partner. 'Meghan later said she found Kate to be cool of temperament, but that's likely because Meghan is a 'gusher', who hugged even the guards outside Kensington Palace,' Ms Brown said via reports in the Daily Mail. 'Kate is not a woman given to spontaneous rapport. She'd avoided recruiting new girlfriends to her inner circle/slumber party list since Marlborough and St Andrew's. 'Preoccupied with two young children and public duty, Kate had no serious reason to see the latest and most glamorous of Harry's string of girlfriends as a potential threat'. Just as in the days when Princess Diana's new updo upstaged the Queen at the opening of Parliament, the increasing media comparisons of Meghan and Kate - invariably casting Kate as dull and dutiful - began to inject tension. Soon after Prince Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in 2017, the former actress spoke glowingly about her relationship with Princess Kate and her efforts to welcome her into the family. 'Catherine has been absolutely amazing, as has William as well, you know, fantastic support,' Meghan said. But as the wedding day approached, the pair were to clash over royal protocol, and the length of the bridesmaid dresses to be worn on the big day. Reports filtered out that the two had a heated exchange, and Meghan made Kate cry during the argument over the outfits in 2018. In his book, Revenge, Tom Bower claimed unnamed sources told him Princess Kate and Meghan disagreed over the length of Princess Charlotte's hemline and the fit of her dress. The Duchess of Sussex played down the disagreement during her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, saying 'she (Kate) was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers'.
West Australian
7 hours ago
- West Australian
Princess Kate, Meghan Markle's disagreements that drove Prince William and Prince Harry further apart
Tensions between Princess Kate and Meghan Markle were apparent from their very first meeting. But as their husbands clashed, the inevitable rift deepened into a full-blown feud. A palace insider has recounted stories of the unravelling of the relationship between the so-called 'Fab Four', which began with statements made in the press by Meghan about Princess Kate's behaviour behind closed doors, and her lack of familiarity on social occasions between the couples. Royal biographer Tina Brown claims the media comparisons between the two women after Prince Harry introduced Meghan to Prince William and Princess Kate became a sticking point for the two women. 'Now that Meghan was a feminist hero, tensions with the more senior royal beauty, the (former) Duchess of Cambridge, offered an irresistible story to the tabloids, who always love to stoke a rivalry between women,' Ms Brown wrote in the Palace Papers.. The initial meeting was reported in the press to have gone well; however, in the Sussexes' Netflix documentary series, Meghan recalled that she felt uncomfortable about the level of formality that remained between the two. 'Even when Will and Kate came over and I was meeting her for the first time, I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot. Like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger. I didn't realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits,' Meghan said. 'I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward-facing way of being and then you close the door and think, 'okay, we can relax now'. 'But that formality carries over on both sides, and that was surprising to me.' Ms Brown said Meghan became concerned that she had an immediate personality clash with Princess Kate and that she found her to be 'cool' towards Prince Harry's partner. 'Meghan later said she found Kate to be cool of temperament, but that's likely because Meghan is a 'gusher', who hugged even the guards outside Kensington Palace,' Ms Brown said via reports in the Daily Mail. 'Kate is not a woman given to spontaneous rapport. She'd avoided recruiting new girlfriends to her inner circle/slumber party list since Marlborough and St Andrew's. 'Preoccupied with two young children and public duty, Kate had no serious reason to see the latest and most glamorous of Harry's string of girlfriends as a potential threat'. Just as in the days when Princess Diana's new updo upstaged the Queen at the opening of Parliament, the increasing media comparisons of Meghan and Kate - invariably casting Kate as dull and dutiful - began to inject tension. Soon after Prince Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in 2017, the former actress spoke glowingly about her relationship with Princess Kate and her efforts to welcome her into the family. 'Catherine has been absolutely amazing, as has William as well, you know, fantastic support,' Meghan said. But as the wedding day approached, the pair were to clash over royal protocol, and the length of the bridesmaid dresses to be worn on the big day. Reports filtered out that the two had a heated exchange, and Meghan made Kate cry during the argument over the outfits in 2018. In his book, Revenge, Tom Bower claimed unnamed sources told him Princess Kate and Meghan disagreed over the length of Princess Charlotte's hemline and the fit of her dress. The Duchess of Sussex played down the disagreement during her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, saying 'she (Kate) was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers'.
