Prince Charles is ‘irritated’ by the Wessexes’ strategic & obvious PR campaign

The Royal Family Attend The Festival Of Remembrance

Over the weekend, the Sunday Times had a fascinating story about Prince Philip’s “Duke of Edinburgh” title and what will become of it now that Philip has passed. For decades, Prince Edward believed that he would “inherit” the DoE title, because that was always the intention of both Philip and Queen Elizabeth. When Edward married Sophie, the eventual handover of the DoE title was built into the decree naming them the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Reportedly, Edward is something of a student of titles, and the Wessex earldom was the one he chose for himself, knowing that he would eventually become DoE. But technically speaking, once Philip passed, Prince Charles became DoE and it’s up to Charles to decide what happens to the title. The Times even suggested that Charles will let the DoE title go into abeyance, meaning no one will use it for years/decades, rather than give it to Edward. So… Richard Kay has a long, shady story about all of this – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

The Wessexes long-coveted the DoE titles: Three months after the 99-year old duke’s death — quite unexpectedly — a fly in the ointment could threaten Edward and Sophie’s long-coveted elevation to Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

Ruthless Charles: Prince Charles, who as Philip’s eldest son inherited all his father’s titles, has let it be known that he is not keen on the idea at all. A source close to him was apparently authoritatively quoted as saying: ‘The Prince is the Duke of Edinburgh as it stands, and it is up to him what happens to the title. It will not go to Edward.’ It is hard to imagine anything more crushing for the Queen’s youngest son than the ruthless certainty of those final six words.

Sympathy for the Wessexes: On the face of it, then, there will be considerable sympathy for both Edward and Sophie, the middle-class daughter of a tyre company executive, who has become especially close to the Queen. After a shaky start, Sophie is also a reliable and dependable working family member. There is also bewilderment. For on the surface this looks a petty, small-minded, almost spiteful manoeuvre by the Prince of Wales, apparently denying one of his father’s most cherished wishes.

It’s about Meghan?? Back in 1999 when Edward and Sophie exchanged vows at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, the Royal Family had a very different complexion. No one then would have imagined that in less than two decades, two members of the family would marry divorcees, that a mixed-race woman would be welcomed into the House of Windsor, and that a royal prince would be permitted to remain an HRH while securing vast sums of money in commercial deals in California. But the Britain of 2021 is a very different place. More meritocratic, more diverse and less inclined to custom and tradition.

Adapting the monarchy: One thing is certain, Charles, for all his fuddy-duddy ways, is aware that the Britain of which he will become monarch is undergoing huge social and cultural change. To survive, the monarchy will need to adapt with it. Even before his father’s death Charles had been devoting more and more thought to the future. ‘It isn’t just about whether Edward becomes Duke of Edinburgh by rite of passage or not, there have been discussions about the whole top tier of the Royal Family,’ says a family friend.

Streamlined monarchy: Charles’s charitable portfolio is being streamlined for when he is king and this same forensic approach is being applied to how much and what the royal family does in his reign. As it will certainly downsize, it means fewer royals carrying out engagements. So it is against a background of a slimmed down monarchy that the Prince has been developing ideas about working royals, their titles and how they fit in with his vision of a modern Britain. Someone close to Charles told me that rather than more royal titles, the Prince prefers fewer.

It sounds like Charles isn’t sure what’s next: If Edward did inherit the Edinburgh title, it would then pass to his own son, James, Viscount Severn, who is being raised to expect a life outside the Royal Family… Charles may even wish it go to his own grandson, Prince Louis. Reports at the weekend suggested Charles was tempted to use the title himself when in Scotland but was advised his existing style north of the border, Duke of Rothesay, was senior to the Edinburgh dukedom. Friends of the Prince wondered if this was because he wanted to absorb something of his father, who was often so critical of him. But those close to Philip say that it was because of the profusion of titles available to Charles, that he so wished his own to go to Edward. ‘If it simply gets merged with Charles’s, it will never be heard of again,’ says the biographer Hugo Vickers.

Wessex fatigue: There is one other issue, of course: sibling rivalry. After two high-profile interviews in which Edward talked about the challenge of inheriting his father’s dukedom, it does seem as if there is a bit of ‘Wessex fatigue’ among some members of ‘the Firm’ and Charles has fired a warning shot. It doesn’t help that Charles and Camilla are not very close to Edward and Sophie. It has been that way ever since the Prince insisted his brother and sister-in-law give up commercial activities after the 2001 ‘Fake sheikh’ newspaper sting when the Countess was recorded making disparaging remarks about senior politicians.

The Wessexes’ PR campaign blew up in their faces: The Wessexes’ physical proximity to the Queen at Windsor Castle and a discreet PR campaign which has emphasised their closeness to the Sovereign and that they are considered a safe pair of hands, has irritated some at Clarence House. ‘It has been noted that they are often described as ‘indispensable’,’ says a figure close to the Duchess of Cornwall. ‘It feels strategic.’

Not a done deal: ‘Charles is making it clear that his brother may have jumped the gun [over the title of Duke of Edinburgh],’ says one of Charles’s circle. ‘It is not a done deal.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m laughing my ass off about the “Wessex fatigue” stuff. Charles really is a sly old dog – I had wondered if Chaz and his people had caught on that Sophie and Edward were doing the most to get attention in the wake of Philip’s death. Charles had, in fact, been paying attention. That being said, I’m sure Chaz would have held back the DoE title with or without the Wessexes’ unhinged Grief Tour. It’s just funnier that it looks like a direct punishment for Sophie banging on and on about how she’s the Queen’s favorite married-in and Philip would have wanted her to be a famewhore. Really though, Chaz has been waiting his entire life to punish his brothers and make no mistake, he’s absolutely petty. William got that from Charles.

The Prince Of Wales And The Duchess Of Cornwall Visit Coventry

Duke of Edinburgh death

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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259 Responses to “Prince Charles is ‘irritated’ by the Wessexes’ strategic & obvious PR campaign”

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  1. Nomegusta says:

    Well I’m upset Charles is an emotional bum. Guess we’ll all be disappointed Chuckles.

    • MMadison says:

      This Family and that awful country. These people are getting the reality check that they needed a long time ago.

      • Chilicat says:

        ‘’That awful country’’………..errr ok. Real
        Nice.
        Anyway regarding Charlie, I really don’t understand what his problem is with his siblings: he’s going to be king. Unless we have a revolution, that’s not changing. Why be so petty about this. What is he achieving really? It just makes him look so bad.

      • MMadison says:

        errr….yes that awful country. The world has spoken and England is on the shit list! Regarding Charlie, IMO he trying to do something different from Mummy. Seems like he wants to have his own agenda and distinguish himself from his mother in some sort of way. Also I don’t think he never really liked Andrew and Edward.

      • clomo says:

        It’s a lovely country but with a few rotten apples for sure.

      • MMadison says:

        I’m sorry but it’s not a few rotten apples. England has a problem admitting it has an issue with racism. The RF has the same problem. STOP trying to dismiss this issue and the pain that racism causes to so many people. Be better and do better.

      • Emily says:

        The problem is that the rotten apples are the ones who run the media. Not to mention the politicians and everybody who voted for them. 😭

      • MMadison says:

        I’m not trying to be confrontational with any of you but you must understand if only a few people in England had issues with race we wouldn’t be talking about it because we wouldn’t know about it. If the media was exhibiting racist behavior and the audience wasn’t racist they wouldn’t have viewership. England is now being forced to look at how it deals with racism. Unfortunately way to many are blaming social media companies and one person in their government. They recently had a panel on Good Morning Britain and the discussion was racism. Sitting on the panel was an editor form the Daily Fail. I kid you not the Daily Fail accusing social media companies of allowing racist tweets. England for some reason wants the world to believe there is no racism in their country yet time after time we see different. They can’t fix what they want acknowledge.

      • Mrs.Krabapple says:

        I don’t think Charles is a nice person (I don’t think ANY of them are). But I can’t argue that the fewer titles given out, the better. Why have a title and perks handed to you just because of happenstance of birth? The ONLY family member that should have a title and paid expenses is the monarch, and that’s only because the monarch is the head of state. None of the other family members count. They should ALL be private citizens with jobs.

      • AlpineWitch says:

        I live in England and MMadison is totally right. Many English people want to live in denial that their issues with everything are quite relevant and personally I think it’s become an intolerant country, something that was not really ‘visible’ 10 years ago.

      • Lori says:

        Wooton has an article on DM about this today. Just encase anyone isn’t clear, between Kay and Wooton, this is coming from KP. There is no doubt that William is briefing against Charles.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ AlpineWitch, thank you for clarifying the subject of racism by MMadison. Many of us are hundreds of thousands miles away and are only looking from the outside in. As British citizens, you both have an excellent opportunity to share and educate all of us as to unpublished truth how Britain works, day in and day out. As you both see the daily lives as citizens, see how absolutely abhorrent and systematic racism is in Britain, we can learn from you both.
        Thank you for sharing as I am always eager to hear how other people live across the globe.

    • Aud says:

      Charles really wants to limit the RF to his line. Nobody else is safe.

      He’s too insecure.

      • notasugarhere says:

        The working royal family is too large. Edward and Sophie were never supposed to be working royals, they shouldn’t be working royals during Charlie’s reign.

      • MissySnow says:

        The current working Royal’s is way too large. I don’t have an issue with Charles wanting to thin the herd to just his line and make it clear to his siblings that their off springs need to find jobs and living spaces outside of the monarchy.

        The future working Royal’s should be Charles, Camilla, William, Kate, George and his eventual spouse one day and that’s it. Charlotte and Louis need to find careers outside the monarchy just like Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilli.

      • MMadison says:

        But what about the magnificent 7? Was that a RR fake story or did it come from the RF?

      • Alexandria says:

        @Nota yeah but doubt Charles would be reducing the budget even if working royals were reduced.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ Alexandria, of course not!! Someone will be demanding of her buttons and bows as enticement for performing her actual duties!! I wonder if Keen Guevara also needs to be “encouraged” to perform marital duties with TOBB without something sparkly first? But it’s probably the other way around. I wonder what TOBB fancies, as it certainly isn’t Keen Guevara!!

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ Missy Snow, but Edward is his sibling, so the fact that he and Sophie are campaigning for the DoE title, they would still be included in his smaller working royals ideals. Though, Chaz is certainly quite frosty about his brother his SIL pushing this campaign. As for Anne, another sibling, there are no signs of her being removed as well. But Anne does deserve the position and the support as she is one of the hardest working royals. But it wouldn’t surprise me if TOBB demanded that his Pa give the DoE to George. I am certain than I can picture TOBB as he is on the floor, kicking and screaming, as he carriers on incessantly to have his way, no exceptions!

      • Jais says:

        @missynow- if they were culling the herd of working royals so that the taxpayers pay less and the monarchy is less expensive, then sure. But as of yet, that doesn’t seem to be the case. And this title doesn’t come with money. This just seems like a petty act against one’s brother. Can’t imagine where William gets the idea to treat his brother like sh*t.
        Now, is this coming from CH or KP? IMO, this makes Charles look petty AF so could see it coming from William, especially if he wants one of his kids to get the title. Also, who really does the most with PR? KP does the most so they might be annoyed to see the wessexes trying to do the same. At the same time, I could still see this coming from Charles. Idk?

      • Sylvia says:

        Charles indeed seems like a horrable, jealous person with an inflamed ego. He treads everybody who stands in this way the same ugly way as how his parents treated him.

        It looks like, besides Camilla, nobody in that family realy loves/likes Charles. Mimd you, even his patents didn’t like him as a child and as a young man growing up; his father made that known openly. His ex-wife Diana and sons saw him failing by the lack of affection. His parents might even still not have liked him much, as they both were in their older ages. It is believed that the queen has never considered abdication because she still don’t believe that Charles is fit for kingship, and that she would support the idea of W becoming king after her, if it was possibility by the law of the land (God forbid).

    • Catherine says:

      Yes, England is in laughable denial about its racism. I mean, we know racism well in the US. But can you imagine asking a family member what color the baby would be? Yes, we get some jerks in the stands sometimes. But the vicious attack on the soccer players? Sorry, that would not happen here. We know we are racists, some of us are even aware of unconscious bias. England has not faced this. They still think they are heroes of ending slavery, even though they started and supported it here through the Civil War. Also, Brexit has redounded to its everlasting shame. Of course, I am not saying every English person, etc.

      • Eurydice says:

        Well, the government did publish a report that there is no institutional racism in the UK, that racism is often an excuse for poor life choices, that slavery wasn’t all bad, and the UK should be a model for other countries on how to deal with racism. Just from optics alone I can’t imagine any US administration officially publishing something like this – they’d all lose their jobs.

    • @bothsides now-
      Earth is 24,900 miles around. If anyone is hundreds of thousands of miles away and reading Celebitchy I am truly impressed

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Maybe BothSides is hanging out with Sir Richard Branson and Elon Musk??? LOL! LOL!

  2. BABSORIG says:

    Bwahahahahaha 😅 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 let them devour each other, LOL. Harry was very smart to grab his little family and escape the dragons’ den, LOL.

    • Millennial says:

      This family is so screwed up, Harry and Meghan were right to gtfo.

    • Snuffles says:

      Exactly. While Meghan and Harry are minding their own business in Montecito, the rest of the family will destroy each other.

      • Pao says:

        This just again shows that meghan and harry did the right thing. Can you imagine them being dependent on william??? He’s even more petty than his father. I do wonder if charles is tired of the middletons “charles must be skipped” pr

    • Esmerelda says:

      Sounds a bit like “If you want it, Eddy, do recall you must s*ck up to me and Camilla, not Mummy. Mummy can’t help you, Eddy, I have the power! (evil laughter)”
      I guess this is exactly the sort of gossip that entertains royal watchers of Charles’ generation, so it’s probably good to sell a few newspapers.
      On the other hand, a few more iterations of this squabbling over the corpse of Phillip, and Andy will start to look dignified by comparison. Blech.

    • Christine says:

      Right?! Harry and Meghan look like psychics now!

  3. TIFFANY says:

    As I have no horse in this race ( I am not English), but damn, I dislike Chuck as much as Cain now. If he keeps this up, all that work he has been putting in for Camilla’s image will be for naught.

    A lot of us are still around Chuck, and know what you both did to Diana.

    • Lauren says:

      Yeah, it’s ridiculously petty.

      Makes me wonder what he plans for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. That’s Edward’s thing, and he got it because he was going to be Duke of Edinburgh eventually.

  4. Becks1 says:

    Damn, Charles.

    This article does not make any of the Windsors look good. Charles looks petty and mean spirited and the Wessexes look desperate.

    But note the line about the DoE going to Louis one day……that tells you, IMO, who actually wants it (william for one of his boys.) That’s the change – William is pushing for it for George or Louis.

    • Kalana says:

      All that sucking up Sophie did to the Cambridges for naught. Lol.

      • popsicle_vp says:

        Haha! I am with Charles on this one. The Wessexes are dead weight. They tried to embiggen themselves by staying close to the Cambridges, hoping to ride the train in to become permanent senior royals. Well, they played themselves. They didn’t help Meghan to curry favors with Cambridges, but hoping that they would see them as allies. But Cambridges don’t have allies, they have helpers. The Wessexes need to sit down and take that L.

      • mariahlee says:

        I was just thinking last week about how Kate won’t even invite her into the royal box at Wimbledon. Embarrassing.

      • Becks1 says:

        Sophie doesnt need Kate to invite her to the royal box.

      • mariahlee says:

        i meant invite her to come with kate..

      • Lori says:

        I think Charles had every intention or withholding it from Edward all along. With the intention of giving it to Harry when he became King. Harry would be the obvious choice based in his military career, invictus and other work. Edward was only ever a place holder in Charles mind. And also why Harry was given Earl of Dumbbarton. To later be upgraded to DoE. But than Harry had the nerve to have mixed race children so plans were scrapped. Obviously this family feels that being a military deserter is better than a race traitor.

    • L84Tea says:

      Ouch! I bet you’re right.

    • MsIam says:

      Well we know Richard Kay is one of William’s favorite mouthpieces….. But I just think it’s a warning shot to Edward and Sophie to pipe down. I don’t think Charles will screw them out of the title or being working royals. He (and Camilla) are just sick of the “Queen’s favorite daughter-in-law” articles. I imagine even Anne might be a little bit hurt.

      • Becks1 says:

        Oh I think this is DEFINITELY a warning shot for the Wessexes, but I think the specific nature of it comes from William (I don’t know if this particular story is a William-sanctioned story, just the whole “I want DoE for Louis” bit.) Like I think William is pushing behind the scenes for Charles to hold onto it so that Louis can have it (or even George like I speculated yesterday) , and that is being used (by Charles) to publicly try to rein the Wessexes back in.

      • Harper says:

        I’m here for the addition of a “source close to Camilla.” If Camilla’s starting in on spilling the family tea then she must be feeling very secure in her standing. I think the initial leak of this story was from William since it appeared in The Times and William has lately been feeding them stories, I assume as part of his “king in training” work with the media. Which means directing the tabs’ negative attention to any other Royal besides himself. And Richard Kay is also Will’s go-to Rota Rat, so more confirmation that the story is from Will and the title is going to Louis or George. But a source from Camilla! Bravo, Richard Kay for adding some new characters to the mix.

      • Tessa says:

        Camilla is here to stay. She is secure because even if Charles is cooling off towards her, there can be no divorce because he cannot afford to get another one and he would risk the throne and he spun the Great Star Crossed Lovers spin and he would not want to look foolish. Camilla, unlike Diana, has a retreat to go to, she got to keep her own home.

      • Harper says:

        @Tessa, absolutely Camilla is secure with Charles, but is she feeling more of a sense of security as far as her standing with the British public? Enough to start being linked to tea spilling to Richard Kay? That’s the dynamic I’m referring to.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Becks1, I can definitely see William demanding the Edinburgh title for Louis. Leaning on the Queen, manipulating her. ‘But we named him for Grandpa’s beloved uncle Louis, he should have that title as an adult’

      • liz says:

        @Harper – Camilla is 73 years old. She got what she wanted (Charles) and will be able to keep what is important to her if she and Charles split (even unofficially). She has her own kids, who have their own lives and grandkids, who are all but unknown to the public. She has a home that is entirely hers and enough assets to manage very comfortably for the rest of her life (even if it involves selling some of the jewelry she has acquired in the last 20 years).

        She doesn’t GAF about her standing with the British public.

    • Over it says:

      I guess snubbing Harry and Meghan did sophie and Eddie no favors. If I were Charles I would redirect this story to say that Willy put pressure on me to save it for Louis.This is why you don’t make deals with the Devil

    • S808 says:

      And after Sophie climbed up Kate’s butt too tsk tsk….hate (actually, no, LOVE) to see it.

    • Sunshine says:

      OMG Becks. You’re right.

    • Lizzie says:

      Not that I am an expert but many commenter said the second son traditionally gets Duke of York title. However Pedo andy has that one for now. Perhaps they feel it’s tainted and want DoE for Louis instead.

      • Becks1 says:

        I think its going to be tainted for a while, but regardless, that’s only if Andrew is dead by then. He’s only 61, that’s young for a Windsor.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Though this is really weird, if Sarah died or just plain left him and Andrew remarried someone very young, he could have a third child. If this third child is male, this child would be an HRH and would inherit the York Dukedom when Andrews dies.

    • UnionSnack says:

      Apparently Louis will get DoY title as it always was a title for King’s second son. Moreover if William is stupid enough to give the Scottish titles… welp, good luck to him.

      Anyway I am glad Sophie will get nothing. Her brazen behavior throught sussexit when she demonstratively showed she is “Team Monarchy” (Team Cambridges to be exact) piss me out. I am somehow sure when she and her husband will get no DoE all of their “elegance and silence” will dissappear and we’ll heard a lot of interesting from Sophie and Ed’s new interviews.

      • Sofia says:

        Andrew has to die before the York title can be bestowed on anyone and considering that Andrew is 61 and his dad lived to 99 and his mother is 95, Louis might be married before Andrew dies.

      • ElleV says:

        that’s an interesting point – handing out scottish titles will end in pr tears if/when Scotland breaks free

      • UnionSnack says:

        @Sofia
        Tbh, I think no Louis no George will get anything. I am not sure monarchy will survive after TQ death and Start of Charles reigning

      • Catherine says:

        Agree about Sophie. It is laughable the way these women go to the mat for the RF. Apple polishers.

    • Weatherby says:

      It’s almost as if they are a whole “family” of people who do not even like each other.

      Otherwise, what’s the point of this little snub? It isn’t as if the Wessexes will have it forever in their line – James can’t inherit the Title from his father. Why not just give it to Edward, for the remainder of his life? Then Louis can have it, if he still wants it.

      And why *why* discuss this with each other through the press, and not phone each other up.

      Such a dysfunctional mess, this lot, isn’t it? Makes you wonder what the point is for them continuing to have titles in the first place.

      • RedWeatherTiger says:

        Why couldn’t James inherit the title from his father (if his father actually got his hands on it)? Ducal titles do pass from father to son, unless the DoE title is different somehow?

      • Feeshalori says:

        James can inherit the title, this is why there’s concern that it’ll go out of the direct royal line and why William may want it for one of his boys.

  5. Merricat says:

    Lol, this whole year has been a series of rakes that the royal family has stepped on, over and over, like the scene with Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons.

    • Can’t unsee it, MERRICAT. Thanks for the laugh. Everyday, The Firm reveals itself to be a Monty Python sketch. When Meghan married in, I’m sure she didn’t “expect the Spanish Inquisition.” I’m so glad House Sussex is far away from this horrible, toxic family.

    • Rnot says:

      I’ve made that exact same comparison more then once! The bungling ineptitude by the BRF post-interview is genuinely astonishing.

    • Christine says:

      OMG!!!! YES!!!!

  6. Kalana says:

    Richard Kay straight up said “different complexion.”

    “More meritocratic, more diverse and less inclined to custom and tradition.”
    Less inclined to tax-payer funded emblems of incompetence and white supremacy.

    • Millennial says:

      That really stood out to me, too. Not even trying to hide the white supremacy.

    • TheOriginalMia says:

      Yep! Saw that and my stomach dropped.

    • Adri3nne92 says:

      Same here, my jaw dropped at that part. As if it was SO UNHEARD of in the 90s to welcome a mixed race person into the family? It makes me sick. Every day this family shows their entire ass and proves Harry and Meghan’s exact point. I’m so glad they’re here in Cali now with their beautiful family, minding their own business and making money.

      • Christine says:

        It is shocking that Harry and Meghan can have a newborn baby and do next to nothing, and yet, and YET!, these giant babies still serve them up, daily, like a cat coughing up a hairball, to the British media.

    • Weatherby says:

      The word choice is… illuminating to say the least. Offensive on the whole.

      The press know they’ll get called out for the obvious racism, but if it’s just subtle enough to be deniable, then really it’s *your* problem isn’t it, that you’re seeing racism everywhere.

      These kinds of dog whistles and gas lighting make me sick.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ Weatherby, they make me sick as well. The press is in constant discussions/leaks to maintain a platform for everyone of the stinking BRF to spew their dirty laundry! Harry was right in that the press/royal 🐀 own this family. Hopefully it will all come tumbling down on them all!!

    • Reece says:

      Yep! He absolutely did.

    • Isabella says:

      So racist. At least in the U.S., we are more subtle.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      Yes. Richard Kay, could you please explain further on what you meant by ‘different complexion’, in case some of us don’t understand what you meant? I’d like to see him talk himself out of that. He’s really not helping the “very much not a racist family” cause.

  7. Lala11_7 says:

    It’s like the Sophie & Edward ARE BRAND NEW and don’t know how jealous…petty & insecure Charles TRULY IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN…so it INEVITABLE to see all that bowing & scrapping blow up in their faces and I am loving it…especially after Sophie opened her mouth about Meghan!

    • Aud says:

      I think they felt safe because Philip wanted it. They didn’t think Charles would go against that.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Aud, it seems that the statement from BP for Edward’s wedding (I think) included not just TQ and PP, but also the Prince of Wales didn’t it? So, it was understood at that time that the title would pass to Edward. If I remember correctly, I think PC needs to decide whether he’s going to honor his father’s decision. IMO that’s what this is all about.

        The Wessexes really want to be part of the working royals. It appears that they’ve put all of their eggs in one basket. I think that was a strategic error. They should have been putting more effort into PC rather than the Keens. It appears that this is a family in bloodline only. That’s it.

  8. Sakura says:

    *grabs popcorn* because this sh*tshow is just getting started….

    • BayTampaBay says:

      As there is no new news on the Sussexes, the British Tabloids needing click$ to generate revenue$ will hype this family feud into a full family war.

      • Jais says:

        I’m waiting for Charles to go to war with the middletons. Don’t get me wrong, the wessex pr campaign was obvious but it doesn’t hold a candle to Kate’s. That’s why I’m a little confused by this.

      • Sofia says:

        @Jais: I think Charles doesn’t go after the Midds because if he does, it might annoy William. And Charles wants him on his side rather than against him.

      • TabithaD says:

        The Middletons are way overdue a clampdown. They’ve really overstepped the mark lately. First, there was the blatant attempt to get invited to Philip’s funeral. When that failed, Carole did a magazine interview on why she wouldn’t be seeking publicity in the week of the funeral (which of course was widely publicised in the week of the funeral). Then there was all the “future Queen Kate (and her husband)” stuff. And dodgy Uncle Gary wheeled out to share his thoughts on the succession. And then the article about what a terrible mother Diana was and what a great mother Carole is – in the week of the statue unveiling.
        If Charles is irritated by the Wessexes, I can’t imagine what he feels about the Middletons.

      • SnoodleDumpling says:

        I’m thinking that Charles is waiting for William to turn on the Middletons before he gets his hands dirty dealing with them. It would probably upset William to go after something William regards as his territory without William’s approval and Charles needs William onside, if William is busy attacking the Midds then he doesn’t have time to attack Charles, AND it screws over the Midds WHILE someone other than Charles takes the heat for it.

        It also seems to be rather inevitable at this point, from the outside at least. I imagine Charles has been waiting for this for 20 damn years.

  9. Woke says:

    I don’t know why he’s wasting his time with the Wessexes when it’s the Cambridges that are threatening for his reign. The Cambridges launched a smear campaign against the one member of the family that makes him look good in decades. And they’re still undermining him by suggesting they will be better at the job than him. He doesn’t have his priorities straight.

    • equality says:

      Really. Makes you wonder where is the article about him being irritated by the Middleton PR to “skip Charles”.

      • Princess Peach says:

        He seems afraid of the Cambridges. I think he knows his sons know where the bodies are buried AND have actual interest in what they have to say (unlike the Wessexes who no one cares about) and can blow up his carefully crafted. He underestimated Harry and has been ducking him ever since, running to Scotland every time he is back home. He won’t make that mistake with William because he is afraid of him and his temper.

        It is curious though that everyone in William’s circle acts like a battered wife.

      • Merricat says:

        Lol, Charles is not afraid of the Cambridges.

      • Harper says:

        @equality I am thinking the same! If Clarence House is tracking the Wessexes interviews and taking offense, surely Charles has a working file on Uncle Gary and Ma Middleton and they are next. Or on the hit list for the appropriate time.

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Woke: Wiliam and Charles are not the mortal enemies that everyone thinks they are. It’s been reported that the Harry and Meghan Meghan situation has made them very close. They’re a team and Charles prefers to have William on his side than against him. He supported William in the smear campaign against Harry and Meghan and did everything in his power to make their lives in the US a living hell. I believe it was Charles not the Queen who banned Harry’s participation in last year’s Remembrance Day ceremony and it was probably instigated by William who has been always jealous of Harry’s links to the military.

      • Woke says:

        I don’t believe Charles and William are in good terms either. Yes they were united in the smear campaign but other than that they don’t get along.

      • Tessa says:

        They are “allies” when it is convenient to them. I think they will continue to have falling outs over the years William and Charles IMO use each other. And he has encouraged William’s bad behavior, not reining him in.

      • Jaded says:

        Charles is really tactical at playing the long game. He’s been at this royaling stuff a lot longer than William. As Tessa says, they are “allies” when it suits them but once Charles is monarch, well…the saying “there’s a new sheriff in town and it ain’t Prince William” comes to mind. He’ll get even with the Midds and may even be encouraging William to ditch Kate as a result.

  10. BayTampaBay says:

    Charles is so stupid.

    People who do not care for the Wessexes or are ambivalent about them see this as a petty insult dreamed up by Chucky III. Even over at the DM commentariat, there many comments telling Future Chucky III to shut-up and RESPECT the wishes of his mother and father.

    If I were QEII, I would make Edward Duke of Dover or Duke of Glasgow tomorrow!

    • L84Tea says:

      If the queen gave him a new title, Charles wouldn’t be able to remove it when he’s king, will he? I don’t understand how the whole title thing works.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        No! Chucky cannot die a dame thing.

        If QRII gives Edward a Dukedom, there is NOTHING Chucky III can do about. It takes an act by both the House of Lords and the House of Commons to remove a title and/or peerage. Neither Prime Minister Boris Johnson or Natalie Evans, Baroness Evans of Bowes Park is interested in touching this matter even with Jacob Rees-Mogg’s or Michael Gove’s ten foot pole.

        News You Can’t Use Footnote: Sarah Vine and Michael Gove have separated and are divorcing.

      • LaraK says:

        Since people seem to know stuff, what happens if Scotland leaves the Uk? Like what happens to the royal titles, lands, etc? Do they keep their palaces? Or do those revert to Scotland?
        And who becomes head of the Church of Scotland?

      • anotherlily says:

        But she can’t give the Dukedom of Edinburgh. Charles has automatically inherited this title.

      • Becks1 says:

        She can’t give the Dukedom of Edinburgh but she could give him another dukedom (i.e. if she’s really concerned that Charles is not going to give the DoE to Edward, and she is concerned he will never be a duke, QEII can make that happen now. )

        @LaraK – people on here have said that if Scotland leaves the UK, they still have the royal family, it would just be the royal family of the UK and Scotland. Like the Queen would specifically be the Queen of Scotland at that point. It’s a different process to remove the royal family. But we have some Scottish people on here so hopefully one of them chimes in.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        @LaraK – During the last Scottish Independence Referendum it was stated that QEII would be retained as Head of State as Queen of Scotland if Scotland voted to leave the UK. If this happened then UK would consist only of Wales, England and Northern Ireland.

        If Scotland gets rid of QEII then the Scottish peerages awarded would be allowed to “die out” is my guess.

        The problem that arises is that many Scottish Peerages pre-date Great Britain or The United Kingdom. Some of the Scottish peerages pre-date 1603 when James VI of Scotland became James I of the Union of the England & Scotland Crowns. I assume this would become the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament to decide what to do.

        In a nut shell, no new Scottish peerages will be issued and the pre-existing peerages will carry-on or die-out just as in the Republic of Ireland. I think there are only two Irish Dukedoms left, Hamilton & Abercorn but I could be wrong.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Scotland could choose to keep the Windsors, or choose to go down the Jacobite line as some suggested at the time. It could eventually go to the Liechtenstein heir’s heir (Wenzel, son of Sophie who is second in line in the Jacobite version).

      • BayTampaBay says:

        @nota – Thanks for bringing that up as it totally slipped my mind. Getting rid of the Hanoverian-Windsors and going back to the Stewarts is an idea that I see possibly gaining traction.

        I wonder if Wenzel Liechtenstein, son of Sophie, speaks English with a British, Yank or Deutsch European accent??? The Daily Fail will want to know! LOL! LOL!

      • notasugarhere says:

        Joseph Wenzel may have a combination of all of them, leaning heavily on upper crust British. His mother was educated for years in the UK, and he was at Malvern for several years too.

      • Jaded says:

        @LaraK – The Church of Scotland is Presbyterian and recognizes only Jesus Christ as ‘King and Head of the Church’. They have no hierarchy like the Anglican or Catholic churches. So when the Queen attends church services in Scotland she does so as an ordinary member.

    • MissySnow says:

      Why? The Queen and Phillip knew that Charles wants to slim down the monarchy and one step in that direction is to NOT give Edward and his heir the DoE title. Let that title stay with Charles and he can eventually pass it on to William and William can give the title to George and George can one day give the title to his own son. Edward should have taken a Ducal title when it was offered to him at the time of his marriage and he IS way down the line in the succession.

      I say now is the time to make it clear to the rest of the Royal’s that a slimmed down monarchy means everyone outside of Charles, Camilla, William, Kate and George will have to make do with whatever title they currently have, except for Charlotte and Louis.

  11. Scorpion says:

    That picture of the Wessexes is so jarring.. Its children of the corn like 😂😂😂😂🤭. Anyhoo, Charles is a scorpio and we can be some of the prettiest set of people you will come across.

  12. L84Tea says:

    Is there something that happened between him and Edward that he wants to punish him? I get why he’d want to punish Andrew–he’s an embarrassment and a creep. But what has Edward done to Charles other than be married to annoying Sophie? I feel like I’m missing something.

    Please note that I do not feel any sympathy for the Wessexes in any way. I’m just curious what his issue is with Edward. He’s always seemed so boring and in the background, but steady and reliable, that you’d think Charles would want to keep them around for when William inevitably screws up some important visit.

    • BABSORIG says:

      At this point, I’m beginning to strongly, strongly believe that Charles wants the monarchy to end with his reign.

    • Pippi says:

      I’m really certain that garden-variety poisonous sibling dynamics are at play here. Pitting the heirs and spares seems to be their whole thing. That said, maybe this Kids in the Hall sketch from way back in the day was accurate and Edward really is Betty’s ‘most precious’ and Charles is especially mad at him personally?

      https://youtu.be/IloIoGj5Mj0

    • popsicle_vp says:

      Go look up the Sophie Scandal. The only reason they are senior royals right now is that BP didn’t want them doing any more damage, so they had to bring them in. Charles sees both Edward and Andrew as a liability.

      • L84Tea says:

        But wasn’t that a Sophie specific scandal? I didn’t realize Edward was involved directly in that mess.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Edward was a failure at his tv production company and did the embarrassing Royal Knockout tournament. Who knows if they failed deliberately because they wanted to be at the working royal trough.

    • AnneSurely says:

      I think he’s going to completely cull his siblings when he becomes King. I think we’re going to see Anne ‘retire’ after her many decades of public service and everyone else get cut off. It’s a good PR move. If he removes the need for royal patrons, there can be less talk of how little fundraising revenue they actually generate and get rid of the bad press they all generate.

      They made a mistake a decade ago trying to mold Kate into the new Diana. It would have been far easier to manage expectations and
      Put out a statement that they were very far removed from the crown and Kate and William were going to focus on having a family and then have her take a similar path as Rose Hanbury- chatelaine of one of the big residences, with art installations, etc. No one really expected a London party girl to suddenly have a social justice or charity agenda.

      Kate is provincial and limited. She likes shopping for whatever she wants, but the top of her imagination only includes Longchamp and Mulberry. She’s a fashion victim with her clothes, buying what’s expensive. Her and her mother’s mistake was overexposing her. No one would care if she popped out of the woodwork for trooping the color and Christmas mass twice a year until Charles’ reign. And even then, I doubt anyone would care if she had set the precedent early on. It was the embiggening stories that took them down.

      • TeamMeg says:

        Excellent analysis @AnneSurely — thank you for that! I think you are spot on.

      • LahdidahBaby says:

        Brilliant summary of Kate’s possibly limited future (and her personal limitations), AnneSurely, and of her and her mother’s missteps. I believe you are right.

  13. Sofia says:

    I think Charles should give the Dukedom when he’s King like his parents wanted. I know Kay says it’s because he wants to give it to Louis but if we’re being realistic, Charles is 72. Even if he gets on the throne tomorrow, he’s got what 20-25 years of a reign???? Maybe 30 if we push him to 100+? Louis is 3. Which means when Charles dies Louis will most likely be 23-28 or up to 33 if we push it. He might not even be married. And when Charles dies, the Duke of Cambridge title will merge with the crown and William can give that to Louis. And even if he’s married, it’s what? a few years of waiting for a dukedom? I’m sure Louis will manage. Or give him an Earldom and upgrade him later like they were planning for Edward.

  14. Jay says:

    If Edward and Sophie are counting on a lot of public sympathy over ” losing out” on one particular inherited title when so many people have lost so much – bless their little hearts. I don’t think people care that much about the Wessexes.

    I’m still clinging to my conspiracy theory from yesterday that Charles will somehow try to award it to Camilla as a consolation prize for not being called queen when he takes the throne.

    • Maria says:

      She will be Queen. The statement that she wouldn’t use that title was scrubbed from Clarence House’s site and I am sure Charles has every intention of letting her use the title Queen Consort (which she will be legally anyway).
      But I do think this push about him asserting his prerogatives about titles may be connected to that. Not because he’ll award it to Camilla, but because it’ll show the rest that he’s in charge of the titles not them.

    • equality says:

      Where is Megyn Kelly to tell Ed and Sophie to stop whining that nobody cares about titles? They have certainly put out far more on the issue than Meghan ever did.

      • Babz says:

        The Wessexes aren’t high enough on the totem pole for her to bash them, and they are the right skin tone. Besides, we all know why that hateful piece of DNA bashes Meghan – something to do with her heritage, isn’t it? Megyn Kelly is just as disgusting as the worst of the RRs. Maybe she should try to sign with them – she’d fit right in.

    • Tessa says:

      Camilla has no royal children, I think it would be inappropriate for her to get the title, besides which she has a lot of titles of her own after marriage to Charles.

      • Emmitt says:

        Camilla is already Duchess of Edinburgh.

        And having children, royal or not, doesn’t matter. Wallis Simpson was Duchess of Windsor…she had no children.

        I think Charles should let “Duke of Edinburgh” stay in the vault and give it to George or Louis (who should be Duke of York but Andrew will probably still be alive). Why waste “Duke of Edinburgh” on Edward and then James when James will never be a working royal and Charles is trying to phase the hangers-on out?

      • BayTampaBay says:

        @Emmitt – Because Brenda & Stavros Glücksburg want/wanted Edward to be the DoE. Charles is really disrespecting his mother in this matter. I hope QEII makes Edward Duke of London, Dover & Glasgow just to spite Charles.

        Edward can then go hang out with Charles Gordon-Lennox, The Duke of (this guy holds 4 dukedoms) Richmond, Gordon & Lennox and Aubigny-sur-Nère and make fun of Chucky & Baldy while being interviewed by Richard Kay of the Daily Fail,

    • notasugarhere says:

      No, she’ll be Queen Consort legally. Publicly she might be known as Princess Consort, but legally she’ll be Queen Consort.

      • Lady D says:

        Will that be Kate’s title too, or is she forever and always Princess/Duchess Kate?

      • Sofia says:

        @Lady D: As long as she makes it to Queen, she’ll be “Her Majesty The Queen” when William becomes monarch

  15. LadyE says:

    I don’t have any particular sympathy for the Wessexes, but I do find it disingenuous to frame this as their “long-coveted” wish. Whatever else sucks about them (a lot), that’s not really an accurate description. This was clearly the expectation of the Queen and Philip- for an *incredibly* long time. I mean c’mon! To me, the more interesting thing is that Charles would float this publicly or not squash it more strongly while QE is still alive. Unless there’s some indication that she and Philip changed their mind or don’t care anymore, this is a blatant act of disrespect to her, completely sidelining her wishes and showing that she is already irrelevant. I realize that technically her wishes no longer matter in that it is within Charles’ full control to decide. But, to not even put on the appearance of getting her ok on something that she and Philip thought was a done deal is really disrespectful.

    • Jais says:

      Right where is the outrage over Charles disrespecting the queens wishes? So is the Queen ok with this? Maybe she is idk? or Charles can really just do whatever and the Queen is checked out.

      • LadyE says:

        If you put this side by side with the outrage over the Queen allegedly not “approving” the use of Lilibeth, the hypocrisy and double standards at play here are just so blatant that it’s hard for me to understand how anyone can not just roll their eyes at all of these people- RF, RR, courtiers, all of ’em. Somehow, Harry and Meghan committed the most disrespectful, faux pas ever by not requesting the use of the name in writing and getting the Queen’s formal approval, but here a WEDDING GIFT from the Queen to her own son (!!) is being rescinded with zero mention of her even being informed, nonetheless consulted or agreeing!

        I really don’t understand British people who are genuinely offended on the Queen’s behalf by Harry and Meghan. How can they take themselves seriously with their crazy petty complaints and recriminations, yet see this kind of thing happening and not lose their minds if they really care so much about QE being respected? It makes absolutely no sense. I’d like to say that there aren’t really that many Brits who behave this way and that most of it is manufactured by the media, but I lived in Europe for many, many years and have tons of UK friends and former colleagues who, much to my surprise, are offended by Meghan and Harry WRT the Queen. I’ve had so many conversations with them about this and it’s sincere. Bizarre and nonsensical, but sincere. Yet, if I ask them about this, I have no doubt they’ll view it as royal intrigue. They may not agree with Charles, but they won’t be on a warpath about QE at all. Just so strange.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        “this is a blatant act of disrespect to her, completely sidelining her wishes and showing that she is already irrelevant”

        @All of the Above – I am with you guys. Why is the Daily Fail NOT calling-out Charles for disrespecting the wishes of his 95 year old mother and his RECENTLY deceased father?

      • Jais says:

        Agree @ladye- it really compares with the lilibet situation. The only way this isn’t offensive is if a source goes to the bbc and says the Queen actually does not want Edward to get the doe title. It comes back to who is in charge and how much does the Queen really know or care about at this point. I truly have no idea. And yep @btb why isn’t the DM outraged on behalf of the Queen? I mean obv they are willing to prop Charles and William to an extent.

  16. Ainsley7 says:

    I think that Charles should give the title to Edward as promised. However, the Duke of Edinburgh title is a big deal. People who don’t follow the Royals closely often forget Edward even exists. So, it wouldn’t look good to give an important Scottish title to a minor member of the family. Especially with Scotland potentially leaving the UK. It would be better to give it to someone who has a more prominent place if it’s still available. If the Scottish leave the UK, the title could no longer be used. Also, the Duke of York title is usually given to the second son of the monarch. Even if it’s available for Louis, it’s more than a little tainted. So, I can understand why Charles might want to save Edinburgh for Louis. Poor Edward though. No amount of PR will shame Charles into giving him the title.

    • Sofia says:

      Like I said above, Charles is 72. Even if we say he’s got 30 years more to live, Louis will be 33. Louis may not be married. And once William becomes King, the Duke of Cambridge title merges back with the crown and William can give that to Louis. If Louis is married, it’s a few years of waiting max for a dukedom. If they don’t want to manage then they can give him an Earldom and upgrade him later.

      So the Edinburgh dukedom doesn’t even need to go to Louis especially when Philip wants it to go to Edward (according to Sophie herself)

      • Ainsley7 says:

        The Edinburgh title carries more weight diplomatically than Cambridge. England isn’t threatening to leave the UK. That’s why Charles initially wanted to be referred to as Duke of Edinburgh over Duke of Rothesay upon inheriting the title. It’s more instantly recognizable as Scottish. The Royals have been accused of using Scotland as their vacation spot and not doing enough for the Scottish people. So, honoring the Scottish has become more important. Giving a prominent Scottish title to a Royal no one cares about could be twisted into a snub against Scotland. Edward might deserve the title, but Louis is the better option.

      • Sofia says:

        But whether or not Edward deserves the title or not is not an issue to me. I just think Louis can get the Cambridge title instead and keep Edinburgh as part of the Crown if Charles doesn’t want to “waste” it on Edward.

        I’m not Scottish but I’ll doubt they’ll be offended if the Edinburgh title isn’t being used. I actually would like to know if most of them would even care if Edward gets it? Can any Scots chime in??

    • LaraK says:

      What happens if Scotland does leave? And I truly hope they do. But what happens to the royal tiles, lands, etc?

      • Ainsley7 says:

        They would lose their titles (I doubt they’d go around pretending like other royal families) and crown properties like Holyrood House. They wouldn’t lose their privately owned homes like Balmoral though. They’d likely be forced to pay full taxes on the properties though. They voluntarily pay some taxes now, but they don’t legally have to.

      • Becks1 says:

        I don’t think they would lose their crown properties bc the Queen (or Charles) would still be the monarch/head of state (basedon the last referendum.) She would just be the Queen of the United Kingdom and Scotland.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        I saw somewhere in the last 48 hours that she would be HRH QEII of The United Kingdom of England, Wales & Northern Ireland, Queen of Scotland.

        However, I would not count on Northern Ireland sticking around as some famous political-economist, which I have never heard of, stated that he believed the re-unification of Ireland would happen in the next 15 years.

    • Ann says:

      But is Edward a “minor” family member? He is the Queen’s son just like Charles is, just younger. Of course Charles being the oldest will be King but that doesn’t make Edward some poor cousin or something. And Philip wanted the title for him!

      IDK, maybe as the youngest of four myself I’m just chapped by this, lol.

      • Ainsley7 says:

        He is minor. It’s not just because he’s the youngest though. He was never able to gain any real popularity the way Andrew and Anne did when they were younger. Like I said earlier, people who don’t follow the Royals often forget he even exists.
        The only reason that he became a working Royal at all is because his private ventures were a complete disaster. He literally wasn’t cut out for anything other than ribbon cutting and hand shaking. It is what it is.

      • Becks1 says:

        Edward is “minor” in the public’s eye and as soon as the Queen passes, he goes from being the son of the current monarch to the youngest brother of the current monarch and that’s going to put him down the list even further in terms of public interest .

  17. Catherine says:

    I don’t believe that the Wessexes could have set up those interviews on their own without palace approval ( including Charles) I think they were sent out because the Cambridge’s keep stumbling over themselves and the palace PR thought the Wessexes who I do believe had a close relationship with the Queen and Philip would be a source of positive PR. But, they blew. It was too much. Too contrived and the references to the Sussexes were a huge mistake. So now they want to put the Wessexes back in the box. I don’t think these DOE stories are coming from Charles. They are leaks from KP. I absolutely think that Charles had concerns about the Wessexes having “control” of the title and the awards and the title becoming heritable to Edwards children. But it serves no purpose for anyone close to Charles to leak this info now. It does make sense that KP would leak it to distract from the Cambridge’s foibles. Richard Kay has established himself as the Cambridge’s clean up man. The fact that he slipped in the idea that the title could go to Louis tells me he is doing work for KP. No way is Charles concerned about what title Louis will have. Louis won’t get any dukedom until he’s married which Charles may not even be alive for. But William certain may be thinking ahead about things that will affect his reign. I think that neither William nor Charles want the title to be passed down through Edward because it puts it out of their control.

    • Red Snapper says:

      I would like to co-sign this comment.

    • notasugarhere says:

      The Palaces operate independently. Buck House, Clarence House, KP. Sophie and Edward wanted to schedule interviews for their own PR campaign, so they did. Charles had always planned to cut them off during his reign, they’re scrambling to stop that happening.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      I agree Catherine. This DoE stuff sounds more like murmurings from KP/Cambridge’s.

  18. equality says:

    So Charles thinks that modernizing means slimming down. That’s fine if you also trim finances, which I bet is not in his plan. What would make the royals more modern is dumping some of these stiff protocols and silly dress up in ancient robes and costumes. Maybe stop pretending to be military when you’re not also (I find that offensive). Also stop pretending your blood is superior and everybody else is a commoner who should bow down to you. I doubt anybody cares about the number of titles out there or the HRH if it’s not attached to receiving public money. So why, when Bea, Eugenie and the Queen’s cousins are allowed HRH and to earn a living is that a problem with Harry? Do they just find it offensive that he makes “vast sums” and is, as a non-working “spare” supposed to be barely scraping by like Andrew?

    • Nick G says:

      It’s because they think Montecito is “Hollywood”. It’s all about America, baby.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      They can’t stand that Harry and Meghan are WAAAYYY more successful than the rest of the family. It’s jealousy that a bi-racial American and Harry (the non-future monarch) could make the rest of the white, British, royal family look like failures in comparison. Nationalism and racism.

  19. GrnieWnie says:

    Ugh, all those smarmy faces mooning at the camera in that last photo. Hereditary rule is such a joke.

  20. Merricat says:

    So the crux of all this “Philip loved us and Sophie is the queen’s favorite!” is that the Wessexes see the DoE title falling from their outstretched, grasping hands.
    I don’t feel a bit sorry for Sophie.

    • June-O says:

      Thank you. I don’t feel sorry for either of them. They can get jobs.

      • notasugarhere says:

        They failed at their jobs. What they could do is sell the sublease for Bagshot Park for millions, and live off that.

      • Sid says:

        Selling the sublease might be the best way to go. They already have to lease out part of the property to pay the bills right? Also, I can’t imagine a scenario where non-working royals Louise and James are able to afford the upkeep of Bagshot when they inherit the lease, unless they both manage to marry big money like the Casiraghi boys did.

  21. Lizzie says:

    Speaking of fatigue, could this family stop promoting themselves for one minute?

    • L84Tea says:

      For real. For a family who only several decades ago lived within an air of mystery, they now live like a royal series of Big Brother or The Real World.

    • goofpuff says:

      No kidding. The Royal Family PR machine is relentless. Constantly leaking to the press, constantly trying to promote themselves, constantly being petty and whiny, and constantly trying to grift the public. Wonder why the media doesn’t report on THAT.

  22. Lili says:

    Its a great idea to have a slimmed down monarchy, but they have already lost 2 families, the workload is left to Anne, Edward and William. So why deny your father his promise, Just to fullfill a failing dream, I dont think William is quite ready for a leadership role based on his recent antics. i think it would be highly problematic to leave everything to William and his off spring, Louis is just 3 years old will there be a monarchy when he comes of age? On the other Hand Go full throttle Charles.

    • June-O says:

      I mean, if the monarchy fails because they brutally drove out two decent people, then who cares?

      Not directed at anyone in particular, but I don’t get the tone of these comments. No one in the royal family “deserves” or has earned these hereditary titles that come with a boatload of underserved wealth and privilege, and upholds a destructive class system.

      Hoping the load of bs that is royal “working” life goes to a literal toddler is baffling. After everything we’ve learned from Harry and Meghan and Diana etc, I would have thought people here would be rooting for this system to crumble and the Cambridge kids to be free. At the very least that Charlotte and Louis and whomever they choose to love won’t have to be ground up in this institution.

      • Becks1 says:

        @June-O oh most of us are rooting for the Cambridge kids to be free!

      • Eurydice says:

        I can’t speak for others, but I think we’re witnessing the crumbling of the monarchy in real time. Commenting on what’s happening now, on the missteps the monarchy is making, on the choices they could have made is kind of an academic exercise (at least, for an outsider like me). It’s like when historians analyze the events that led up to WWI.

      • Ainsley7 says:

        The titles come with nothing. They’re entirely empty. Only Cornwall and Lancaster still of money/property attached to them. They are attached directly to the heir and monarch. The other titles don’t really mean anything. I think Edward deserves the title because it was promised to him by his father. The same way he would deserve an object that Philip promised him. He seems to want it for sentimental reasons rather than a dukedom for a dukedoms sake. He’d be a Duke already if it was merely about status. I dunno, my dad died a year ago. So maybe I’m just sensitive about the idea of an older brother keeping something promised to his younger sibling.

      • Becks1 says:

        @Ainsley I definitely think it would be a petty and mean-spirited move on Charles’ part. That dukedom was basically promised to Edward and it was clearly something that both Philip and the Queen wanted to happen. For Charles to essentially take it away from him (I know it wasnt guaranteed for him but still) would be a really low blow IMO.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      “I think it would be highly problematic to leave everything to William and his off spring”

      If William does not have a Royal Family to bully or beat-up on, what is he going to do? Will he bully and beat-up on his own kids.

      If you take away the titles and the Royal funding, what members of the British Royal Family and extended Coburg-Windsor-Mountbatten family do you really think will stay and listen to Baldy’s exploding rage and belittling of them?

      • Ainsley7 says:

        I’d like to think that William learned from experiences with his own father that it’s wrong to bully your kids via the press, but I see William repeating the same mistakes.

  23. Eurydice says:

    Lol at “the middle class daughter of a tyre executive.” But, but, but, she’s the Queen’s favorite and Philip loved her best and, and, and, she looks like Diana! Doesn’t matter – she could be Helen of Troy, daughter of Zeus, and they’d still keep reminding people that her blood isn’t blue enough.

    I think Richard Kay missed the part where, after the House of Windsor welcomed the mixed race woman, they tried to destroy her and then forced her out , along with the HRH who lives in California – thus leaving the RF less diverse. And by rewarding William, certainly less meritocratic.

  24. Haylie says:

    Why do the Wessexes care about tithes so much when people are dying. As we’ve been told about Archie, Earl is a perfectly acceptable title, right?

    Or is that all bullshit that only applies to Harry and Meghan’s children?

  25. anotherlily says:

    Nothing can happen with this dukedom until Charles is King. He currently holds all his father’s hereditary titles. When he is King all his titles merge with the Crown and he will be free to dispense them as he sees fit, apart from the Dukedom of Cornwall which is automatically given to the eldest son of the Monarch. So William will not automatically be the Prince of Wales and Edward will not automatically be Duke of Edinburgh.

    It is possible the title will go to Princess Margaret’s son, the Earl of Snowden. He has apparently taken on some aspects of the DofE Award Scheme. More significantly he is a skilled craftsman who has built a successful furniture business and his son and heir appears to have the same work ethic. This kind of ethic is at the heart of the DofE Award Scheme.

    • Sofia says:

      If Charles doesn’t want to give the title to his own brother, son of a monarch, because he wants to apparently save it for Louis, he’s not going to be giving it to his cousin.

    • Becks1 says:

      Edward has done more with the DoE awards than the Earl of Snowden, who I think is tapped to run the Prince’s Trust after Charles becomes king.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        @Becks1 – You are correct Edward has done more as he represented the person of Prince Philip after Philip’s retirement.

        However, It is my theory that Charles is not letting go of any strings publically until he becomes Chucky III so David Snowdon’s role, at this time, is administrative with the Prince’s Trust and the PoW umbrella organization.

    • notasugarhere says:

      If he’s holding it back from Edward, he’s not handing it to David. Snowdon has his own made-up title, that the one that will stay with his line.

  26. Bettyrose says:

    What did poor Edward ever do to Meghan to deserve her witchery denying him his much anticipated title?

  27. Talie says:

    This is why it was wise for H&M to get out, make their money and widen their global influence. See, you can hang around for decades, sucking up, taking the beating from the press and it won’t mean a thing if the next heir wants what’s yours. There’s only one heir and the rest are expendable.

    • taris says:

      i’ve never bought the ‘harry and meghan couldn’t handle hierarchy and duty, so they left the sacred monarchy to make deals in LA and be celebrities’ angle of attack that the british media are constantly pushing. i always understood perfectly well the reasons why the sussexes packed their shit, and i find myself supporting their decision to leave even more by the week, at this point.
      this entire monarchy is truly a clown show.

  28. MellyMel says:

    This whole family is power hungry and petty. They’re going to destroy each other in the press once the Queen dies for sure! Glad H&M got the hell out.

  29. Melly says:

    Lol! Chuckles just named checked Marcus Rashford in his article on farming and climate change. The desperation is real with these people!!!

  30. Amy Bee says:

    When I said two days ago that Charles sabotaged Edwards’s career and he may have had a hand in Sophie’s misstep, I wasn’t speaking in a vaccuum. Those who doubt that, knowing that he has long worked with the media to his and wife’s benefit, watch the BBC documentary “Reinventing the Royals”. Hopefully it’s still on YouTube.

    It’s clear CH briefed the Times and Charles doesn’t want to be DoE. And don’t be surprised that when he becomes King, he strips Harry of his title. A Tory majority Parliament would be more than willing to do his bidding.

    Sophie and Edward’s sucking up to the Cambridges is to ensure they continue to maintain the lifestyle and standing they have under the Queen’s reign. Their PR campaign since Philip’s death was not to promote their work but to persuade Charles of their importance in the family. It looks like that has backfired.

    Someone said yesterday that the reason why the Queen gave Edward a second Earldom was because she knew Charles wasn’t going to give him the DoE title. I believe that. It’s interesting that Charles doesn’t have a good relationship with anyone who is close to the Queen. I think him never having that close bond with her has made him jealous of those who do, including Harry.

    • Sofia says:

      “A Tory majority Parliament would be more than willing to do his bidding.”

      There’s also a second chamber called the “House of Lords” made up of aristos who may not be so keen in taking away titles for no real reason because it can easily be used against them and their heirs.

      Edit: I also want to add that I’m not saying “never say never”. But I think it’s unlikely. I also think he would float the idea if he was seriously thinking about it.

      • Amy Bee says:

        Harry married a black American those aristos DGAF about him and would endanger their own status to punish Harry. Most of them are probably Charles and William’s friends anyway and it’s not like the House of Lords hasn’t voted to strip people of their titles in the past. All Charles needs is persuasive argument to get them to agree to do what he wants. And the idea has already been floated in the press. It is recognized that the Queen is opposed to it but she won’t be around forever.

      • Sofia says:

        Most of these aristos are going to look out for number 1 and that is themselves. Not Charles or William. If it affects them or their descendants badly, they won’t do it. Hence why the “let’s give titles to females” bill discussion happens and dies every few years because they don’t want to give their titles to their daughters and have the money (whatever’s left) “leave” the family.

        And Harry is the son and brother of future monarchs. He’s not a “regular” aristo anyway.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        “There’s also a second chamber called the “House of Lords” made up of aristos who may not be so keen in taking away titles for no real reason because it can easily be used against them and their heirs.”

        @Sofia – Neither the House of Lords or the House of Commons will touch this issue with a ten-foot pole for the exact reason you so very clearly stated.

      • GuestWho says:

        …and don’t forget that Harry is a Spencer which carries more weight with the aristos than the foreign interlopers the Windsors.

    • Feeshalori says:

      Edward has a second earldom? When did this occur?

    • notasugarhere says:

      I don’t buy that Charles would sabotage their working. He wanted them out in the real world working, he never wanted them as working royals. They messed up so badly and publicly, they were made working royals. The more I think on it, the more I think they (at least Sophie) always wanted to be working royals and failed deliberately at their businesses.

      Charles might be jealous Edward was Philip’s fav. It was never Anne, it was always Edward. Andrew was mummy’s fav, Edward was papa’s fav.

      • SnoodleDumpling says:

        I do seem to remember a documentary talking about it, something about Charles pulling together an agreement with the tabloids to leave his kids alone while they were at school (the pressure cooker agreement? I think?), and something something Edward’s media thingy was sighted in the same town that William was going to uni or something and the tabloids went nutty at Charles and very conveniently Charles killed their newest competitor before it could really get off the ground.

        I doubt that Charles really wanted to do that, but the tabloids DEFINITELY did and there were certainly courtiers who wanted to shut down Eddie’s escape and bring him back into the fold. The latter two’s scheming seemed to give Charles no other choice.

    • MsIam says:

      No way Charles strips Harry of his title and leaves Andrew with his. Charles wants to be a player on the world stage, that’s why he’s focusing on climate change and the Great Reset. These are global issues and while he’s not a policy maker, he does want to be someone respected. That won’t happen if he punishes his son who is working on the same issues, especially if Andrew is keeping his titles. So I believe Charles will let sleeping dogs lie. He’ll find other ways to punish Harry, like through his will and not giving Archie and Lili titles. I think Charles is petty but not stupid. William is petty AND stupid.

  31. Over it says:

    What the f does any of this have to do with Meghan? And by being less inclined to tradition is. Code for whites only. Let’s not kid ourselves, they were definitely not accepting of Meghan and her children or are these old colonialist slave owners ever going to be modern or inclusive. Hence why Harry took his family and flew the f away

    • MsIam says:

      Agree. Sophie and Edward have been married 20 years and she’s still the “tyre executive’s daughter”. No way was Meghan ever going to be considered equal to one of them but you could at least hope for basic decency.

  32. taris says:

    one of these days, somebody from the UK’s really gonna have to explain to me the whole fuss over titles. i mean, i get part of it is about tradition, and part of it is about respect … but damn, it honestly just looks like petty, jejune in-fighting.

    second thing, charles isn’t even king yet and it’s already exhausting to hear, like every other month now, about his plans to “modernise” the monarchy by … streamlining it? from what i gather this basically means just fewer working royals and titles, but not necessarily less money. nice. real innovative.

    i agree – and i think just about everybody agrees – about wessex fatigue. those two have just been trying too damn hard. it’s sad. i’ve long maintained that they’ve been doing their own PR, promoting themselves without the palace really knowing what they’re up to. this just confirms it.

    lastly, this article was a bit of a reminder of what royal coverage is (or, used to be) without harry and meghan in the picture. nobody actually came out looking good in this article. the royal reporters will cut whomever they please, they owe loyalty to noone.

    • Rnot says:

      Groups like the House of Lords have spent centuries shaping the laws and culture to cultivate deference to hierarchy.

  33. Jmj says:

    I’m stuck on the fact that if Edward did get the title, his younger son would still inherit it rather than his daughter. That right there- inherited titles and male preference- is all the reason you need to get rid of this whole thing. The way that all the women in the family are treated just lays bare the absurdity.

    • Niamh says:

      Furthermore can it truly be a title when you’re in charge of absolutely nothing? (see. Royal Family of Greece, Jordan, and so called ‘French Nobility’ and whatever it is that the left over German dukes get up to these days).

      Personally i’d slap them all with a back tax bill for thievery over the ages and pop queenie in the old folks home. Edinburgh has an elected representative and a Mayor. What is this ‘Duke’ of which you speak lmao.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        “left over German dukes get up to these days”

        Tatler covers most of their weddings on a weekly basis so they still get attention if they are still wealthy. A posse of them came to Philp’s funeral.

        After the German Weimar Republic was declared in 1918, the “old German Dukes” were allowed to keep their privately owned property. After WWII, any privately own property in West Germany was also kept by the “left over German dukes”

        Most, but not all, German & Austrian Aristocrats wealthy after 1918 have remained wealthy to this day.

  34. S808 says:

    It’s giving Game of Thrones. Look how Harry & Meghan could’ve ended up…..it wasn’t easy but I believe they left at the perfect time. Sophie was a bitch at the commonwealth ceremony I have nothing for her and Edward by association.

  35. Zapp Brannigan says:

    All I got is that the look on Charles face in that top pic as he looks at Camilla screams “when we get home, it’s tampon time”

  36. Giddy says:

    Charles really is a jealous little bitch, isn’t he? This reminds me of the old saying that in order to be truly successful, a person must excel while their close friends or family fail. Charles will be king, but he can’t allow good things to happen for others.

  37. Tessa says:

    Charles wages his PR campaigns, there was the promotion of Camilla which went along with gaslighting of Diana (even after she died) by his supportive authors like Penny Junor. He is not one to talk.

  38. Chloe says:

    I think any Royal that wants any kind of titles or royal monies sent their way need to take a page out of Anne’s book, she goes to events, shakes hands and waves and doesn’t give out personal interviews, it’s the Charles and William show now and if you don’t get their permission to speak or give interviews they will probably give you the cold shoulder. I will admit that this is pretty cold of Charles, but I can’t stand the Wessex’s so I find this story hilarious. I’m assuming as soon as Charles is King his William will be plotting on how to get him out, Harry was lucky to escape.

    • Tessa says:

      IT seems the put down of Oprah and unsubtle dig at the Sussexes backfired for the Wessexes. They wanted to join up with the Cambridge team but it did them no good.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Putting down Oprah with a stupid unsubtle dig definitely turned most Yanks against the Wessexes even the Yanks who never knew they existed in the first place.

    • notasugarhere says:

      wrong spot

  39. Tessa says:

    The Wessexes are trotting out their children more. They used to give them privacy. I think they should be given low profiles, bringing them out won’t persuade Charles to have them part of the scaled down monarchy.

  40. Lizzie says:

    On line haters asking how Harry can have Duke title but not the queens son. Idk, go ask her yourself. The queen hands out titles like candy for her family.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      QEII should just make Edward the Duke of Glasgow and be done with it. Nothing Chucky can do about that QEII Hat Trick

  41. Fen says:

    Tbh Anne is the only suitable monarch. Best Queen we will never have.

    • Truthiness says:

      💯

    • notasugarhere says:

      Anne is one of the only members of the Windsor family to be dragged to court and found guilty of criminal activities. Her untrained dogs attacked a young child in a public park.

      Anne also benefits greately from shady Sovereign Grant funds from years ago. The Queen bought Gatcomb Park with private funds, but used government funds to fix it up (to the tune of 5-10 million in today’s money). Anne lets her adult kids and their families live in her taxpayer-funded townhouse at St James Palace whenever they want too.

      She’s also known to be incredibly rude during engagements, like when she told someone they’d wasted their time making a flower arrangement for QEII when she was sick. It isn’t like Anne is ‘clean’.

      • TigerMcQueen says:

        @notasugerhere, I totally agree with you.

        I get that Anne works hard at her ‘job’, but she’s also struck me as arrogant and incredibly snotty (as in she really believes the whole ‘the RF was ordained by God to rule and are thus better than all others BS). She’s more than willing, as you said, to take from the public till, and while she might be outspoken at times, she’s more than happy to take advantage of the privilege she was born into and did nothing to earn.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        “as in she really believes the whole ‘the RF was ordained by God to rule and are thus better than all others BS”

        I think William believes it too and more so than Charles.

      • Sid says:

        I remember being rather stunned watching an interview where Anne basically complained about the fact that during walkabouts they were expected to greet the members of the public who came out to get a glimpse of the royals. In her mind, walkabout meant that the royals should just walk about and look at whatever, not have to actually interact with the public. I think Anne is very shrewd, and knows that keeping her head down and just doing her royal work keeps her in good stead financially and helps keep up the image of the hardworking, dutiful daughter that gets her praise from the public.

  42. Kelly says:

    Couldn’t the Queen force the issue now and give Edward the title?

    • Sofia says:

      Charles has the title now and that would mean going to parliament to remove it. Why bother going through all that trouble?

  43. TheOriginalMia says:

    It irritated me too, Charles.

    I give less than af about that title. Edward could have gotten a dukedom when he married. He didn’t. So…too bad, so sad. That said Charles will probably give it to the Wessexes. No reason to hold on to it for Louis when William will grant him a dukedom if and when he becomes king. If not, I’m sure Louis will survive with his lowly Prince title.

  44. MJM says:

    Baldy probably wants the title for louis so Ed ain’t getting it. Charles is keeping all that for his direct line ie. William and kids. The Wessexes only hope now is inheritance from the Queen lol.

  45. Lizzie Bathory says:

    I know we talk about how petty Charles is (which is true) but increasingly, I think his main characteristic is that he’s controlling. He wants to control everything & everyone. He loathed Diana because he couldn’t control her. I suspect he feels similarly about Harry & Meghan–they slipped his grasp even when he pulled their security. Titles are another form of control. He can dangle them before people who care about such things (siblings, children, grandchildren) in order to get what he wants. Having decades to plot his reign has only worsened this tendency.

    It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out with William, who I think Charles has never controlled effectively. He never had to, since Harry was always going to be there to make up for William’s deficits. But now Harry is free & William is a time bomb. So what to do? Hold Prince of Wales over William’s head? Withhold permission to remarry if William divorces Kate? Hmm.

  46. February-Pisces says:

    You mean to tell me that after all that ass kissing sophie has done, it hasn’t gone in her favour? Ha Ha Ha 😂😂😂! Oh well, that’s what happens when you side with a-holes, eventually they will turn on you. So much for being everyone’s favourite.

    Anyway what’s with Charles wanting all the bloody titles to himself, selfish of what. He wants revenge on all his siblings for the fact his parents loved him the least.

  47. Feeshalori says:

    If those titles were trophies, I can envision Charles lining them all up in his special trophy room rubbing his hands in glee and crowing, “mine mine!”

  48. Athena says:

    William is living in the future, he probably had it in his mind exactly what role Harry was going to play, how he was going to treat Harry and his family. He has titles picked out for his children. The statesman like edicts he will make as king. Instead of living in the present, learning how to manage the Duchy he will inherit. There’s a long list of things he can focus on now but instead he’s raging because his not so well thought out plan is falling apart. Others have said it here, William does need psychological help, what we see as laziness could be untreated depression.

    The queen can always give Edward another title, she gave him a Scottish title a few years back. The Wessexes may want to start downgrading. All of Sophie’s kissing up to the queen was most likely to secure financial assistance to support their life style, that will end when the queen dies and Charles is not about to support them. The thing is Edward is too nice, he knows all the dirt on Charles, if he needs to use them. I think that’s why Charles leaves Anne alone because he knows she would bury him if he came after her.

  49. Gk says:

    I’m not a fan of Harry/ Meghan and who knows down the line how their lives will turn out ( rich unless bad spending/ investment) . But it appears they made a better decision leaving an system where one person rules your life. I think better out in the world where if you get a bad boss you can move on more easily.

  50. Traci says:

    Honestly what an awful family! Charles and his siblings were raised in a way that caused them to basically be strangers and not like each other at all. And now William has followed suit with the pettiness and anger. Sophie and Edwards grief tour was ridiculous but it’s also ridiculous that if his father wanted him to have that title it should be his

  51. myjobistoprincess says:

    every day, this family finds a way to disapoint me. when your brother who is normally pretty low key feels he need to do a PR MOURNING tour to remind his brother future king not to forget that father wanted him to have the DoE title, it’s pretty pathetic and desperate. …and very disrespectful not to respect one’s last wishes if that is true. This feels like Charles king to be – wants everything, even if it’s hidden in the nook and crannies, he will hoard all titles for himself because only he deserves them all and will wait until the Queen passes to just do as he pleases, make all dukedoms disapear and reject everyone to keep all the money to himself and have everybody else work normal jobs to get by, after a whole life of leisure, ribbon cutting and hunting ducks. chaz has been the worst since forever, this reminds me how bad he is. his apple willie fell very close to him, but thank god one apple fell closer to the beautiful diana tree.

  52. Gubbinal says:

    I would love it if Charles named his sister, Anne, “The Duchess of Edinborough” as a life title. Then the title would revert to the crown upon her death in 30 – 40 years. Although I’m getting tired of this family, I want to see a more overtly recognition that Anne was her father’s daughter in many ways. It can be a life-title; such things are done.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      “The Duchess of Edinborough” for her lifetime.

      Winston Churchill is considered by many if not all academics & historians to be the greatest Englishman of the 20th century

      Winston Churchill is considered by many if not all academics & historians to be in the top five Englishmen of all time along with Sir Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare, English bio-physicist Francis Crick, steam-engine pioneer James Watt, Elizabeth I, etc, etc.

      QEII offered Winston Churchill a choice between the Dukedom of London or the Dukedom of Dover. Churchill responded that he did not want or need a Dukedom. If Winston Churchill did not want a Dukedom, why in hell would anyone else want one?

      I think Princess Anne has more in common with Winston Churchill than her brother Chucky.

    • Catherine says:

      Good idea.

  53. candy says:

    It probably irks Edward that everyone around him is a Duke. That said, I will agree that there is a certain Wessex fatigue. They are rank and file royals and seem to be gunning for more. They were only too happy to grease the chute for Meghan and Harry.

    I really don’t get it. I would be so much happier flying under the radar in my country pile. Instead they’re focused on silly titles and recognition. They really are a narcissistic family. It must be an inherited trait, since everyone basically kisses their arse from the day they are born.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      “Instead they’re focused on silly titles and recognition.”

      “I really don’t get it. I would be so much happier flying under the radar in my country pile.”

      It takes money to live under the radar. Duchess Rootintuttin von Moneybags explains all there is to explain.

      I think the Wessexes are more focused on continued personal funding from the Sovereign Grant and from the private purse/wallet/pocketbook of whomever is wearing the Crown of the UK.

  54. 2cents says:

    So if Charles wants to put his head on the political block to slim down the royal family and the royal titles through Parliament, what will stop the government from slimming down the royal budgets and ownership of royal properties even further?

    It’s risky for Charles to make the first move, because the monarchy is an actual department of the government as Robert Lacey accurately stated. And as far as I know a parliamentary committee is already working on Boris Johnson’s post Brexit constitution.

    The royals are sitting ducks, ceremonial puppets of the government. Even with an occasional secret Queen’s consent their influence on the government is futile. Charles should stay put and stop the internal fights and rivalry. It’s senile to fight about royal titles. Their worth is mainly in the power of their PR. As Britain’s international position weakens subsequently the royal status is weakening fast and therefore their use as global ambassadors for the British government.

    That is why it’s so painful for the royals that William and Charles have driven out their only global superstars to Montecito. The Windsors are losing the global market. Charles and William don’t have the X-factor. William can better hand over the FA presidency immediately to George, because George acted more like a statesman at the Eurofinals than his superfan Dad who lost his mind and forgot his duty to congratulate the President of Italy and the Italian players. And George will not make hypocritical anti racist statements like his father and grandfather.

  55. equality says:

    Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see a future monarch leak news about how he plans to help people in the commonwealth instead of hearing constantly how petulant they are toward their own family? All the Meghan haters who like to go on about H&M having no compassion for their families don’t seem to think it necessary for future leaders of a country to have compassion. If Charles and Will don’t care about extended members of their own family, why would you have hopes for them caring about their “subjects”, the inferior people without “special” blood?

  56. PoppedBubble says:

    I thought this line was curious: “Britain of which he will become monarch…,” instead of the UK (or the UK of GB). Maybe it was just misspeak or casual speak, but it’s already so confusing because of the geography vs. the politics.

    • Basi says:

      @popped bubble I thought UK and Great Britain were one and the same. That both could be used interchangeably.

      Edited: just googled. I didn’t realize until now that Britain is just the land that England, Wales and Scotland are on. It leaves out Northern Ireland. Curious indeed he said that. (Thank you for educating me. I feel dumb)

      • PoppedBubble says:

        Don’t feel dumb. The only reason I know is because I have friends who live in England who educated me. We spent a lot of time talking politics these past 4 years, so we educated each other.

  57. swirlmamad says:

    Huh. Interesting. Wonder how long it’s going to take him to retaliate against the Middletons for their PR train that is derailing from the track. Because this right here, is a sure sign that it’s coming. Chuck got ’em all on notice.

  58. Lizzie says:

    As awful as pc is, the queen and pp shouldn’t have made promises that weren’t theirs to keep. And Edward turned down an offer of Duke when he wed in because he wanted to be Earl of Wessex for awhile.
    After the last year we have all had whining about promised titles is about as out of touch as you can get. Really, what nerve to cry over not upgrading your title when the whole world is suffering sickness, death, joblessness, food insecurity and loneliness just to name a few side effects of the pandemic.

  59. Catherine says:

    Nobody getting a scintilla of non-negative attention ever escapes Charles’ notice. His reliable pettiness is sometimes so amusing. And don’t forget Camilla. You would think a double homewrecking disgraced woman would have some humility, but no, she is in fact a desperate snob, always looking to her borders, which she calls “Charles’ best interest.” God, what a nasty family.

  60. Well Wisher says:

    Clearly as mentioned upthread, he is being briefed against, to the Sunday times. The only person in that family that is expected to be loyal irregardless is Harry , while the loose cannon run freely.
    It was announced in 1999 that their parents and Prince Charles agreed to the inevitable, Prince Edward having access to the title of D of E.
    Prince Charles gave his word, it is time to honour his parents wishes in regards to his brother.
    There is no need in trying to ” put Sophie in her place” by reminding the world of her humble origins using Richard Kay.
    Why not write to his brother rather than use the press?

  61. Pickles says:

    Alot has changed in the last 20years since Edward married and chose the Earldom title. Charles doesn’t owe anything to Edward and it’s pretty laughable that Edward doesn’t realise this. The Edinburgh title has too much goodwill and credibility attached to it thanks to Phillip, so shouldn’t be given away to Edward because of some promise 20years ago. It’s better if it goes to George or Louis as it will be better PR and enforce Charles’s line of succession.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Pickles, why would C’s line of succession need enforcement? I thought it is all about bloodline and first borns. I think whether Edward get’s the DoE title will tell us if C has any honor at all.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        Good point Saucy&Sassy! Charle’s line of succession isn’t relevant on George or Louis receiving the DoE nor is it better for PR purposes. If the DoE was promised to Edward by The Queen, that promise should be kept in due time.

  62. Bread and Circuses says:

    Pet theory:
    The royal family nearly went broke. Yes, they’re some of the richest people in the world, but a whole bunch of that comes from properties and jewels they can’t sell, and some of those properties are very old and in need of serious upkeep.

    And (still the pet theory) Charles knows how close they are to losing everything, hence his insistence on “streamlining”. He’s trying to keep the core of the monarchy afloat by slowly forcing all these privileged rich people who never worked a day in their lives to learn to support themselves.

  63. Snuffles says:

    Tcrc