One of the things Omid Scobie does so well in Endgame is use his background as a straight entertainment/royal reporter to show, in detail, how the royal courts blatantly work with the media to get favorable press. In 2022, both Prince William and Kate turned 40 years old. For Kate’s 40th in January, we were gifted with a steady stream of glowing puff pieces about how Kate is the most perfect royal woman ever. My estimate is that about 80% of those birthday pieces were centered solely on positive stuff about Kate, with about 20% devoted to how Kate feels about Meghan and Harry. But it was different for William’s 40th birthday keenery. From Endgame:
I’ve watched Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace repeatedly get worried about being upstaged and derailed by the couple, and leak negative information on Harry and Meghan—a tactic that started before they even got married—during moments that could easily be focused on genuine royal news instead. Around significant birthdays, Palace aides are often eager to quietly provide one or two outlets with access to a select group of sources for quotes and background information to use in puff pieces celebrating the life and work of that royal.
…For William’s fortieth in June 2022, the Daily Mail—a paper whose complex relationship with the Firm has shifted over the decades but is currently very cozy—provided one of the big birthday reads. With contributions from those closest to William (friends and aides who were given tacit approval), the “intimate portrait” promised the “true story” of a king in the making but, in the end, mostly delivered a list of familial complaints about Harry. Instead of hearing more about William’s ambitious environmental plans, we were told in detail by royal sources that he “alternates between grief and anger” over Harry’s life decisions and feels his brother “has 100 percent crossed [a] line” by speaking publicly about his struggles within the family.
And rather than share how William was preparing for his role as the Prince of Wales and taking over the Duchy of Cornwall, we heard from people close to him about how Harry has been “sucked into an alien world [in California] and there’s f–k all [William] can do about it.” Still, opined one close friend, “William is absolutely allergic to drama,” before proceeding to air his grievances about Meghan. Could have fooled me!
The article had an air of insecurity, and instead of showing a transformational prince at work, it inadvertently cast William as a petulant, grudging brother who is so consumed by Harry’s decisions (and his anger over making them all so public) that he, and those around him, are unable to even put it aside to seize his moments.
Scobie goes on to partially blame the courtiers around William, which I think is a fair criticism – someone is obviously feeding William’s insecurities, and clearly, Kensington Palace still believes that all of this is a good look for William, to always be portrayed as angry, wrathful, insecure, petulant, childishly competitive and singularly obsessed with the Sussexes. Perhaps the strategy is “Let William Be William,” and they simply can’t contain it. Scobie then goes on to note that there is a significant “glamour void” post-Sussexit for the Windsors and that void “is harder to fill than they ever expected.” The thing is, I don’t think Charles and Camilla actually want that void to be filled.
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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, wearing PPE including a hard hat and safety glasses, talks with workers from across the construction industry during a visit to a construction site in west London on September 13, 2023. The Prince visited the site to discuss the prevalence of suicide in the construction industry, and highlight the crucial need to focus on prevention, rather than crisis management, when it comes to mental health support.,Image: 804988298, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: JUSTIN TALLIS / Avalon
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- CARDIFF, WALES – OCTOBER 03: Prince William, Prince of Wales visits Fitzalan High School as he celebrates the beginning of Black History Month on October 03, 2023 in Cardiff, Wales. In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush, the Prince and Princess of Wales will hear from pupils about the work they have been doing around black history.,Image: 810533245, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Britain’s Prince William speaks during a panel discussion a he participated in a series of workshops which focus on emotions, relationships and community action at Factory Works in Birmingham, England, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. The Prince and Princess host the forum for young people on World Mental Health Day.,Image: 812604177, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Kirsty Wigglesworth / Avalon
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- The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, meets pupils from Burghead Primary School taking part in Outfit Moray, an award-winning charity delivering life-changing outdoor learning and adventure activity programmes to young people in Moray, Scotland.,Image: 819147731, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, visit Outfit Moray, an award-winning charity delivering life-changing outdoor learning and adventure activity programmes to young people in Moray, Scotland.,Image: 819149398, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with children as he visits the Millennium Powerhouse, a multi-service youth hub which works with a wide range of local organisations with a mission to create brighter futures for young people, in Moss Side neighbourhood, in Manchester, on November 16, 2023. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 822634971, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Prince William The Prince of Wales during a visit to Maindee Primary School in Newport, Monmouthshire, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: Prince William Where: Newport, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales with volunteers by the Hudson River during his visit to the Billion Oyster Project as part of his two-day visit to New York in the United States. Billion Oyster Project is a nonprofit organization on a mission to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor through public education initiatives. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: New York, United States When: 18 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, visit Outfit Moray, an award-winning charity delivering life-changing outdoor learning and adventure activity programmes to young people in Moray, Scotland. Featuring: Prince William, Catherine, Princess Of Wales Where: Moray, United Kingdom When: 02 Nov 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I have never seen a truer headline!! Great job Kaiser!
Exactly 💯! When I first saw this header, my instant reaction was, “No 💩, Sherlock!” Talk about nailing it.
I am wondering if all the queen’s former staff members who were fired when charles and mistress took over are now spilling the tea. They probably cannot talk directly due to NDAs but can talk behind the scenes.
Hmm. That makes sense.
@ Chantale, oohhhhhhh……delicious question indeed!!!
This is what happens when your deciding factor of hires are based on loyalty instead of competence.
Omg, I wonder if Sir Christopher Geidt is talking! Scobie would have (understandably) wet his pants with excitement if that happened! Maybe GC loyalists talked to Scobie?
Peter Hunt traces everything going off the rails in the RF to when Charles and Andrew joined forces (2014? 2015?) to push Geidt out. He says Geidt had a firm hand and made sure all the palaces followed the same agenda. The backstabbing, undermining, competitive bitchery went into overdrive after he left, and Edward Young couldn’t/wouldn’t manage it.
Hunt is on record saying Geidt would have managed Meghan’s entrance into the firm in a way that could have turned out very differently.
Endgame talks quite a bit about Geidt and he comes out very well, maybe the best of the named courtiers. At least the people who talke to Scobie were positive about him.
I saw Peter Hunt’s comments about Geidt a while back. Geidt left and Young came in October 2017. Haven’t read Endgame yet so don’t know what else Omid writes, but IMO also worth noting, is Philip had finally retired that August, which probably cleared the way for Charles and Andrew to get rid of Geidt.
Oh well spotted! And in addition to Geidt, how about all of those who were very publicly fired from Clarence House (and at Christmas, IIRC) once Charles became King? And the “middle management layers” at BP singled out for the chopping block, again very publicly? Rich mine of sources about if you’re a halfway decent journalist…
Great question @chantale! That would certainly make sense and help explain how Scobie got so many Palace sources.
Chantale, I also applaud and appreciate your question!
Very interesting thought. Wouldn’t be surprised. Had TQ even been buried yet when it was made public her entire staff had received the equivalent of pink slips?
I was thinking about this before, that one of Charles’ initial mistakes was not trying for continuity, at least early on, with the previous reign of a respected, long serving monarch. Instead, he quickly publicized he was dumping her staff, and selling her beloved horses. Had a photo taken, during the official mourning period and before the funeral, of him and Camilla, Will and Kate, grinning like idiots. At least have the good sense to look a little solemn, and make it less obvious the women had raided TQ’s jewelry box.
I said the same thing under a different post here. I reiterate: the British media is lying when they attribute Scobie’s sourcing to the Sussexes– because they know it brings the clicks from the Sussex haters. But I think they know that a significant number of palace staff, both current and former, don’t like the status quo, even if they’re not fans of the Sussexes. But I also think that some staff actually miss the Sussexes work ethic and dynamism and believe that the Sussexes were pushed out because of jealousy.
He is so ugly, ugh!
@Sophie
….aided and abetted by his ugly insides spilling out.
He really is. And looking more like the Windsors every day. That unfortunate squash of his and ug nose, I mean who would sleep with him. I can’t see him having “numerous affairs,” ugh.
@kelleybelle, ITA. I’ve often wondered why anyone would want to be intimate with him. He’s so unattractive in every way, including the disdain with which he treats his wife. But I guess some women will debase themselves to sleep with a prince.
He had potential when he was younger, all the hate and jealousy is now showing on his face and in his behavior as he ages. What was he thinking when he married the incompetent, exhibitionist, mumbler with zero social skills. He set himself up for failure, no one else did. He could write a book ” How NOT to be a successful public figure” Focussing on destroying Harry and his happiness is only making W more ugly, bitter and twisted.
Harry was the only person, besides William’s wife and kids, William would be able to exercise kingly control of. Wear this, not that . Live here, not there. Shave your beard. Give me credit for this or that. That is mine, not yours.
The old folks wouldn’t be as much fun to boss around.
I hate to talk about people’s looks but gosh William is quite ugly. Like I cringe when I see him. Yeesh
Most handsome bald man, NEVER!
Yes, never!!! Unless PoWailing is dropped off onto an island that has been vacant to any males for decades.
And, WTF had the audacity to publish this cockamamie lie??
🤢🤢🤢🤢
Scobie’s perfectly sensible words will be twisted all around – “He’s calling William petulant and grudging!” I haven’t read the book, so I wonder – does Scobie give a reason for this fixation on Harry? Of course, there’s the lifelong jealousy and the fact that Harry’s name generates clicks – but it seems also a diversion because William really isn’t a “transformational prince at work” and every project that he’s announced has gone nowhere. So, if there’s nothing substantive to say about William, the BM and “William’s friends” have to fall back on how much he hates Harry.
YES TO EVERYTHING, it is a diversion strategy. Remember this was Harry’s role as a spare, so William could hide behind him. Harry has been gone so long, but William hasn’t been able to adjust/to live without a spare.
@ Eurydice, as we watch Bullyiam dictate to how he is perceived and printed by the masses, TOB will continue to live in the shadow of his younger brother, the “spare”, for the rest of his life.
It’s the same pathetic pattern with Keen/SWF v Meghan. Keen will never be as competent nor brilliant so the RR will perpetuate the same old puff pieces.
TOB will spend his remaining life chasing the spotlight of Good King Harry without any success.
The way Endgame paints William, he has become a “company man” and as such is angry with Harry for not playing by the rules the Firm has set. The book still claims the brother’s were very close and things deteriorated once William became a “full-time” royal and started fulfilling his role in the machine.
It doesn’t really talk about jealousy or wanting Harry to do his bidding per se, it’s imo very light touch about William himself. There’s a lot of blame placed on courtiers although, if it doesn’t outright says he was involved in the briefing against H&M, it heavily implies it at least.
@ace, they may have been close as children while Diana was alive. But according to Spare, that changed after her death.Separate paths, blah, blah. I will never forget the part about how Harry was relieved when he got to Eton because he thought he would spend more time with TOB. But Bulliam said, “I don’t know you here.” Lovely. Doesn’t sound very close to me.
That’s an interesting take. With all his devotion to the Company, you’d think William would be more respectful to the King.
The only reason Will’s become a “company man” is because being king is the one thing Harry will never have, the one way Will will always outshine him (according to his narrow aristo world view), even if his other attempts (e.g., Earthsh!t) to stand out fail. It was clear for years post uni that Will didn’t give a sh!t about the Firm or his position in it. Harry was there doing the necessary work, covering for the media protected Will, as usual. Wasn’t until Meghan’s arrival, and Harry began to be seen outside of Will’s shadow, significant in his own right, that Will suddenly got interested in his future. He’s not devoted to the Company, he’s devoted to the power, position, and money he automatically gets being born into it.
This is so SO true and so insightful and why I love so many of the Celebitches analysis and comments! Deductive and exacting! Bravo!
Kaiser your deductions of Scobie are bhas calculated and utilized his position IS brilliant!! They ARE all guided by incompetence, inadequacies with the BRF, the courtiers and “close friends” as well.
Do they all not see how they are
sorry
Do they all not see how they ALL look incompetent??
You don’t want the truth be told about beating up your brother? Then you shouldn’t have done it. Onus is on you, William, not Harry.
I mean, I see no lies here. The royalists are equally obsessed with what Harry and Meghan are doing instead of focusing on William and Kate.
He more than comes across obsessed and insecure he is both fully. When you hire yes men things don’t change. Peg only listens to yes men because they encourage his stupid ideas and behavior. Peg will never stop beating his head against the wall with this obsession with Harry. It is his only goal in life is to be pissed that his scapegoat got away.
He IS obsessed with Harry, lol.
But this is a good point in general and one we have discussed here in various degrees – if the royals want to the press to focus on the leftover royals, they need to give the press information about those royals – not just constant “Kate cant believe Meghan said that” or “William can never forgive Harry.”
The Windsors should have pivoted long ago to a media strategy that is pro Windsor and focuses on them and less on the California royals, even if they’re just insulting the Sussexes. They look petty, insecure, and like they can’t get over the audacity of H&M to actually leave.
The Windsors (and hence the British monarchy) has made unintentionally made their brand into “we hate Harry and we really hate Meghan” into their brand – and that is a really bad long-term strategy. The familial soap opera has begun to overshadow their brand as a national symbol, and that is actually very very bad for them.
What is worse, they’ve lost control of this media strategy (serve up Harry and Meghan to cover their own misdeeds). Harry and Meghan sell and now the royalist media is slowly undermining the BRF’s national symbolic value but keeping this soap opera in the headlines constantly. The War of the Waleses was very bad for the British monarchy, but this is worse.
Yes, indeed. The media may be royalist, but it’s primarily profit-minded. The H&M strategy required a delicate balance and a lot of focus – something that couldn’t happen with an aging Queen, competing interests in the RF and, now, a weak King.
Popular queen dies leaving a glamour and charisma vacuum. The working members of BRF downsize. The working members take on less work. KP and BP are at war and H&M can no longer be used as collateral. The newspapers are willing to publish information like KC’s ghoulish use of dead people’s money to fund his estates. The problem is indeed that the BRF united in disparaging H&M and seemingly little else. The BM can’t make enough money on them and the cracks are showing.
The rota wouldn’t get the clicks to the articles without H&M names attached. That’s the problem. The palace created this monster and they have to continue feeding it if they don’t want it to turn against them. The newspapers are already losing a lot of money with no exclusive pics, info from H&M. I noticed whenever BBC gets an update from Harry, it becomes their daily most read piece. Others with only positive news about how great they are don’t sell like that.
I’ve also read somewhere that the Daily Fail readership has dropped by 17% 😮
@Swaz, all of them losing money and readers. And now, they have to deal with the court cases, which will cost a good deal of money. Brexit broke UK’s economy and the tabloids were the cheerleaders of it. The tabloids shot themselves both with Brexit, then Sussexit financially.
There have been attempts to be pro-Windsor, but they’ve been so ham-handed and unbelievable. Instead of presenting William as a serious person, he’s a Sex God with thousands of adoring fans lining the streets just for a glimpse of him, he’s a Global Statesman who will reverse climate change, he’s a Crusader for the Homeless, etc., etc..
@Eurydice – almost, dare one say, a Dear Leader of sorts? All his golf shots are holes-in-one, that sort of thing? Hmmm.
Dont forget hes a SOCIAL LEADER!
And yes, these are attempts to be pro windsor but they’re so over the top that its hard to take seriously.
💯
Omid is simply observing what the tabloids write and what KP releases with obvious conclusions. And somehow this is slamming William? Like seriously dude, you’re the one who made your 40th about how much you hate Harry, not omid, jeez.
@ Jais, YES!!!! And Omid is simply playing/pointing out the rules of the game!!!!
@ Jais, oh how I wish you could decipher my gibberish of sleeplessness and heavily medicated brain to translate my mangled verbiage……😫😫😫😫😫
The point about the glamor void is interesting. Kate is clearly the most glamorous of the lot, and their strategy SHOULD be to give her a huge budget for better wigs, A STYLIST, A STYLIST, i’ll say it a third time, A STYLIST, better outifts, and the glamor void would solve itself.
Instead, because William and Charles both have insecurity issues, they are trashing the few assets they have left. Hoist by their own petards, here!
Well said!!! And let’s not forget the most critical and necessary steps in utilizing the brazen Laziness of Keen as their obvious void. Keen is teamed up to a consistent f@(#ing speech coach, public and private. In addition, a detailed contract with fully, non negotiable, commitments to the duties as the PoW!! No more playing dress up as she spends millions of pounds for countless Walker coat-dresses in a rainbow of colors, etc…….
IF Keen wants £££££ she will have to earn it, along with the rest of the Windsor band of grifters as well.
Part of me thinks that royalty resents the fact that they need to earn their place, at all. “I was born to this, why do I have to work for it?” And…I think Charles drank the whole Prince of Wales koolaide and believes that god thinks he’s the next King Arthur, but William doesn’t think about the historic importance of his role at all, and wants to spend all his time in Other Ways. And Kate is like, “I bagged the prince, my job here is done.”
Agree. Elizabeth and especially Phillip rebranded the family as dutiful servants to the people so they wouldn’t end up like the Greek and Russian royalty. But the newer royals like William just seem resentful to the idea of service in exchange for their money and privilege.
I believe KKKHate was given orders to ditch cosplaying Diana and go all in into cosplaying Meghan, act like Meghan and pretty much morph into Meghan. That in and of itself is undermining KKKHate in a major way but I don’t think there’s anyone at KP that has more than 1 brain cell to realize this. So now KKKHate is only obsessed with buying Meghan’s outfits from the time Meg stepped into that family to today.
William is a grown up brat. He sadly has never gotten beyond that stage where as a kid he probably pouted or raged if he didn’t get his way. He seems to be stunted emotionally; absolutely unable to take pleasure in his brother’s accomplishments or happiness. His jealousy makes him an unattractive adult, and certainly doesn’t make him a competent or interesting leader.
I agree @Giddy. But there’s no “probably” here — he absolutely did pout and rage when he didn’t get his way, and we’ve seen it in the videos of William as a young child. He wanted whatever Harry had. And still does. It’s pathetic.
You’re right @Giddy. “Emotionally stunted” is a perfect description.
Scobie is way too kind to talk about “ambitious environmental plans”. There’s nothing ambitious in them, please.
It is so tragic what they did to Meghan. With the UK being so diverse, they could have utilized her to their great advantage but OH NO……their petty childish jealously of her brilliance would not allow that. Talk about shooting themselves in the foot. They are beyond stupid and they deserve all that is going to happen to them. Looking forward to it.
@Ho
The truth is, there are lots of not-so-good-looking bald men out there, right? But those of them for whom we have an immediate and repulsive response, like we do with Bully, are inevitably the ones who are known to have a cruel streak/have done cruel things.
Like Bully.
For me, my revulsion regarding Bully is based solely on what I have observed of him in relation to H&M (and his father) and especially, what his sycophantic aides reveal of his character, thinking it makes him sound like a big strong leader – not. (Its the same with drumf.)
Given that we know now without a shadow of a doubt that the M-O of the palace goons is to ascribe to other members of the family (particularly H, from their youth on up to today) all the negative traits and behaviors that accurately belong to Bully, then by logical conclusion we can go ahead and believe that what we’ve been told about Bully is:
– he’s not and has never been, a smart person
– he has serious anger issues
– he has serious mental health issues
– he’s cruel
– he’s vindictive
– he’s full of envy and resentment toward his brother for all sorts of reasons.
– he does not wish his brother well
Well said and I agree with every word. He’s emotionally stunted and his wealth and power make him a danger to others.
Could have fooled me . Lmfao. Omid you so shady .
If the prick with teeth is allergic to drama, he shouldn’t cause so bloody much, and the rage monster looks insecure BECAUSE HE IS, along with jealous, incandescent, workshy, a bully, and a liar, a poser and a million other nasty, petty little things.
Was this the same blessed article that gave us the moniker TOB ( the other brother)? With the horribly photoshopped dictator-ish portrait?
Nope. It was an article by REBECCA ENGLISH. Defender of Kate’s laziness. Celebitchy may have had a post about it. The article started off with something about Will blahblahblah ready for leadership, kinging, whatever (about 5% of the article). 95% was pretty much about Will seething about Harry. RE should be embarrassed about that article. It probably paid her rent though.
Omid’s point is spot on. And we all know why. The articles don’t generate enough interest without mentioning Harry or Meghan. For two people considered/called irrelevant by the RR’s/BM/BRF, H&M certainly come out of their mouths/writings quite often while living on a different continent for the last 4 years.
I’m being attacked on TwitterX for correcting people’s views on Endgame. Who are these bitter twisted ‘patriotic’ people? The truth is out there.