Jobson: The Windsors’ 2024 is ‘the biggest crisis since the abdication’

Robert Jobson is one of the old-guard royalists and royal biographers. He’s more of a King Charles supporter, having covered Charles for decades. That being said, a few years ago, Jobson authored a biography on Prince William, and he portrayed William as insolent, mean, volatile, angry and childish. The quotes and excerpts were so bad, the whole thing sort of got buried and barely anyone mentions the book or those quotes anymore (sidenote: I always believed that Jobson’s sources were mostly Charles-affiliates). Of course, Jobson says a lot of sh-t about the Sussexes, but I doubt he would be able to book lucrative columnist and commentary gigs if he was positive about the Sussexes. In any case, it looks like Jobson believes that royalists should go ahead and start panicking, because 2024 has turned into the Windsors’ “biggest crisis since the abdication.”

The royal family is in the midst of a challenging time, which royal expert Robert Jobson likened to King Edward VIII abdicating the throne.

“I think people will be talking about this as the biggest crisis since the abdication,” Jobson said in ABC News Studio’s IMPACT x Nightline: The Crown in Crisis broadcast special, which is currently streaming on Hulu. “It’s quite vulnerable.”

After 70 years as sovereign, Elizabeth died in September 2022 at the age of 96. Her eldest son, King Charles III, subsequently assumed the throne. Eighteen months later, Charles, 75, was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer and took a step back from his public duties. (He has continued to hold a few audiences at Buckingham Palace and attended the royal’s Easter service late last month.)

In Charles’ absence, he has leaned on wife Queen Camilla, son Prince William and brother Prince Edward to take over at his engagements. William’s wife, Princess Kate Middleton, is also a senior working royal but is in the middle of her own battle with cancer and canceled all of her public duties while she undergoes treatment.

“I’ve covered the royal family since 1990 and it’s always been a roller-coaster,” Jobson said in the special, which dropped on Thursday, April 11. “I think this particular period of 2024, where you’ve got Camilla who used to be regarded as the ‘Rottweiler pariah,’ she’s leading the royal family into ceremonies at Westminster Abbey. I think it’s been quite shocking.”

“I would argue that the royal family, prior to any of this happening, was already facing a crisis regarding their future when it came to their popularity, when it came to apathy towards the royals in the U.K., particularly when it came to younger generations,” royal expert Omid Scobie claimed in the documentary. “This health crisis in the middle of it has given them their biggest challenge in all the years.” Per Scobie, there is a “huge void in the royal lineup.”

“This is not the slimmed-down monarchy that King Charles dreamed of,” Scobie added. “He imagined a lineup of his strongest royals in the family, including Prince Harry. And now we have a really limp lineup at times. And you know, the queen said it best herself: ‘To be seen is to be believed.’ If we’re not seeing the others and what they’re doing, what are we believing in?”

[From Us Weekly]

ROTTWEILER PARIAH!! LMAO. Us Weekly added some historical context, because most casual royal-gossips don’t live and breathe royal history. King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 and became the Duke of Windsor. Everyone blamed it all on Wallis Simpson. Most royalists have tried to compare the Duchess of Sussex and Wallis Simpson for years, to the point where I imagine that Jobson intended this as a dog-whistle reference of the Sussexes and their 2020 exit. I mean, the Sussexit was actually called “the biggest crisis since the abdication” as well. Maybe we should just call this five-year period “the biggest crisis.” It’s a slow-motion crisis and so much of it is self-made. Literally, all these people had to do was not be rageaholic racists. All they had to do was work consistently and stop manipulating photos and videos. All they had to do was hire competent managers and quality communications professionals. Oh well!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, Cover Images.

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202 Responses to “Jobson: The Windsors’ 2024 is ‘the biggest crisis since the abdication’”

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  1. Tessa says:

    Charles wimped out and did not rein in William. William does as he pleases. The abolish the monarchy may make some headway if William refuses to work

    • Amy Bee says:

      Why would Charles rein William in when he and Camilla were in on the smear campaign against Harry and Meghan? He wanted Meghan gone as much as William. And let’s not forget how he treated Harry and Meghan in the aftermath of the Queen’s death.

      • Tessa says:

        Charles is shortsighted. In the long run It was a disaster. Harry and Meghan left and the elder son refuses to work

      • @debbye says:

        Charles should have been a present father. And yes. He should have reined him in 20 years ago. And should Not have allowed KP to have their own comms team

      • BeanieBean says:

        @Tessa: short-sighted and stupid. William’s been a foot-dragger all his life. Why on earth would Charles think he could count on him?

      • Lilly (with the double-L) says:

        @Tessa and @Amy Bee, he really is short-sighted. Yes, he also joined with William to smear H&M and got what he created. In my mind, I could never quite understand how they keep poking holes into their sinking ships, but it’s that short-sightedness. No leadership skills, NO servant leadership, no strategic planning and no family loyalty and love.

    • Cessily says:

      Peggy has been working towards a “permanent sabbatical status” since he got his greedy little hands on the money. At this point he only makes appearances when Prince Harry is out working and getting fair or good media coverage and attention.

      • @debbye says:

        Waiting for the idiot to play polo like was it last year after Sentabale fundraiser?

      • Water Lilly says:

        William’s half-assed attempts to top Harry are pathetic and risible. The man’s a born bottom.

      • Sarah Westwood says:

        Willie has always been jealous of Harry’s charisma and he hates tbat Harry has the wife with brains and personality a well as looks

    • Lolo86lf says:

      It iticks me off when they call “work” attending fancy state dinners, balls, ribbon-cutting events, etc. William does not know what working 8+ hours 5 days a week feels like. Why is he so lazy? Anyone of us here would kill to be him. Many women would love to be Princess of Wales too.

      • Cairidh says:

        I think he’s damaged rather than just lazy. Maybe he has ptsd from his childhood where his parents were constantly screaming at each other. Psychological abuse is like passive smoking, if one person in the room is shouting, everyone else in the room is hit by the abuse and is a victim of it, not just the person it’s aimed at.
        I think if he was normal/poor he’d have gone to his dr and been signed off work sick with mental health issues. As he was rich he didn’t need to. But perhaps just getting up and dressed in the morning is an achievement, and he’s not able to function fully in a normal life with a full time job.

        Perhaps he is just lazy, but he has a job that allows him to do fun things and call them work. A lazy person in his position, could go to the theatre every night, sports games every week, regularly visit art galleries or museums or if he’s not interested in those things, whatever tourist attractions he is interested in. He literally gets to go anywhere in the uk for free, go to visitor attractions and call it work. A lazy person could do these things and have it be called work and their annual number of royal duties would be 5-600. William doesn’t do that either…… so I think he’s damaged and not able to function in a full time capacity.

      • Liz says:

        Yes Lolo – we’d appreciate the tremendous opportunities they have. They clearly don’t.

        Or they only want to hobnob with Tom Cruise (haven’t seen his recent films but read they use AI) 😀

      • Nic919 says:

        That theory doesn’t explain why Kate is even lazier. Her parents didn’t have a public divorce and yet she’s never worked a real job in her life.

      • aftershocks says:

        @LOLO86LF, I doubt that. Beware of the gilded cage. Royal titles, vast wealth, claustrophobic-inducing overattention, does not make being Prince & Princess of Wales desirable, much less something to ‘kill for.’ Toxic family relations, and an overdone burden of public expectations does not make for envy by others.

        Certainly, WanK are pitiful, vomit-inducing so-called ‘role models.’

      • BQM says:

        @calrid you could be right it’s it could be a combination of his natural temperament and messed up childhood. Harry has spoken about generational trauma. And William no doubt observed more than Harry. So you get a natural inclination, messed up childhood, catering to him as the heir and now a ton of cash he doesn’t have to work for.

    • Debbie says:

      The way it’s all going, I truly think that the commentators above should also add William’s stubborn lassitude and inability to step up in his father’s absence as one of the symptoms of the shambles of 2024. Clearly, he’s not helping and it’s his job to do so.

    • StillDouchesOfCambridge says:

      @tessa charles was absent and true he didnt reign him in, because of all that time spent on making rottweiler parias part of the fold, he is short sighted with no plan B for his slimmed down monarchy, concentrating on himself being there until 90. His top planning advisers are complete s#it at their jobs. This smells like the end.

    • SarahLee says:

      William has the Duchy of Cornwall now. I wonder sometimes if he even wants to be King? Would he be ok with abolishing the monarchy? He certainly doesn’t need the $$ and I doubt he cares that much for the properties that go with the sovereign grant.

      • HeatherC says:

        He wants that title like Kate wants to be queen. Not to do the work, but just to have that title. If the monarchy falls and William just relies on his money and nothing else, the chances of being negatively compared to Harry rise. If he becomes he king, he’ll be able to include that in his temper tantrums over Harry. “But *I’M* the king” as he stomps his feet. He’ll be able to fake being a statesman even more. “I just had a state dinner with the head of (whatever country) and she/he loves me! Take that Harry!” He wants the perks desperately. And he knows he doesn’t actually have to do any work because the degree of apathy from the people and how intertwined the monarchy is with the government guarantees it won’t fall in his life time. All he has to do is outlive Charles, and I’m certain he will.

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        Doesn’t care for the Commonwealth or the church either.

    • one of the marys says:

      William being the heir was always going to lead to a crisis. I’m only surprised it happened before he was actually crowned.
      A different man may have chosen a different wife, may have supported his sister-in-law, may have supported whatever his brother decided, stepped up for his father, inherited the prince of wales trust etc etc But this man in this environment has been a slow rolling train wreck that celebitchy has seen coming for years.

      • Liz says:

        You sure have. I’m fairly new here but often read older posts and am amazed at the prescience and insight.

  2. Bklne says:

    Dear Jobson,

    Just a gentle reminder: Andrew is still a credibly accused sexual predator and the US Dept of Justice would welcome a chance to speak with him about same. We know it’s been a hectic few months, but we wouldn’t want that to slip off your radar.

    Sincerely,
    Literally Everyone

    • Lady Esther says:

      Bravo!!

    • Tessa says:

      Andrew seems to be off limits what with his being front and center with his ex tagging along

      • BeanieBean says:

        Yes! They mentioned the Rottweiler leading the family into Westminster (that Commonwealth service), but utterly failed to mention Andrew leading the family into church (into church!) for that memorial for the King of Greece or into church (again, into church!) at Easter. Way to re-write history, Jobbo.

      • BQM says:

        Camilla led the family at the memorial. But Andrew made sure he was front and center in all the photos outside. But his seating inside wasn’t near the front. He was with Marina Ogilvy.

    • Babz says:

      I love that you keep this front and center! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

  3. equality says:

    Another liar acting as if PW is doing something major to help out when he has mostly cancelled appearances same as Kate. Give me a break on even the abdication being a crisis. There was obviously someone to step into the position as king and things rolled on. The “experts” have to make it seem like the monarchy is so important to make their own job seem important.

    • Tessa says:

      William had a fun outing and met tom cruise. Went to a fun Sports event and went to an awards show
      I guess that counts as stepping up. Lol

      • Liz says:

        Tom was probably giving him AI tips – been using it in his movies

      • Lolo86lf says:

        @ Liz: ha ha ha ha. Tom uses AI to look younger in his movies? I haven’t watched in decades.

      • Gabby says:

        Don’t forget his under the influence swaying show at the investiture. Just like one of those inflatables at the local used car lot.

    • Chloe says:

      That is what annoys me too. People act like William is pulling double shifts when he literally stopped working. He hasn’t been seen at all. Idk how long “easter holidays” usually last in the UK but i am sure it’s not 3 weeks

      • Brassy Rebel says:

        And it seems he’s not even doing the school run, as promised. Carole Middleton is now claiming those.

      • Lorelei says:

        Right? He sent one tweet (that he probably didn’t even write himself) and attended a sporting event.

        Give me the biggest break ever with all of these claims that he’s “picking up the slack” from Charles (the 75-year-old cancer patient who is still outworking William!!) and single-handedly saving the monarchy. I detest Camilla, but even she’s done more than Bill has, and The Rottweiler Pariah has done very little, vacationing for long periods of time. Yet her 2024 numbers still manage to dwarf William’s in comparison.

        Also LMAO that one of *Charles’s* longtime, trusted sources referred to Camilla as The Rottweiler Pariah! The only mistake he made was using the past tense. Most people still see her as exactly that. I’m going to start calling her that because it’s hilarious.

    • Harper says:

      All this tiptoeing around the real reason they have a crisis! It’s because William has bounced from his duties and no one has any idea how to fix it. He is probably threatening to abdicate behind the scenes whenever anyone suggests he show up, a ploy that has always worked for him.

      Or, his alleged drinking or temper might have actually forced the men in grey to come up with alternate plans for the monarchy–all those Twitter rumors about using the Duke of Gloucester might be a test run. Bypass Elizabeth’s children and get a fresh start with a stable unknown placeholder until George is of age and then hopefully start over.

      • Nic919 says:

        This is exactly it. William hiding out has been the issue. As Prince of wales he should be stepping up more, as his father did when he was in that position and the Queen was unable to do things, but William is just refusing.

        I don’t think the slimmed down monarchy is the issue here, it’s the lazy prince of wales who is the problem. William, if he hadn’t let his ego control things, would have been able to hide much longer if Harry and Meghan had still been around, but they aren’t and his laziness is now visible to the world.

      • @debbye says:

        My theory is that Won’t is with his mistress/other family

      • Gabby says:

        I agree that he probably threatens to abdicate just about every other day, most likely spitting on those nearby when he shouts it.

        I am less convinced that there is a mistress, however. That would require some woman wanting him, both physically and emotionally. How is that possible?

  4. Jais says:

    Edward was the heir. Harry is the spare. It makes no sense to compare Meghan to Wallace, unless they’re trying to say Harry is as important as the heir. Which I mean…
    Also, it shocking to see Camilla leading the way bc it should be William doing it….

    • Tessa says:

      William is like Edward . Only worse
      At least Edward did not check out of doing work as prince of wales. And Edward never drove out any of his siblings

      • WiththeAmerican says:

        Good point, it’s as if King Edward drove out his brother *before* abdicating, and then quite quit while still taking the same money with no one to step up.

      • Ishara says:

        @TESSA Edward was far worse when it came to slacking off. You should read Lascelles account of working as his equerry. William may well be Edward reincarnated, bar the appetite for committing treason. Juvenile? Check. Lacking in intellectual rigour? Check. Lazy? Check. Married lover? Check.

    • Josephine says:

      It feels like Camilla did a handful of appearances for good press and then went on vacation and has rarely been seen since. But the rota fall all over themselves to give all of those grifters credit for breathing. No one works in that cult.

      • BeanieBean says:

        That’s what I was thinking, we really haven’t seen her for a while! She did that first bit, after the initial news about Charles, went on vacay and…Commonwealth service and… that’s it? Now she’s on vacay, again, with Charles (presumably). My god, what these people consider work! I’m a federal employ & we’re now required to have quarterly reviews in addition to our annual reviews. Not sure what I’d say to the boss if I put in as few days as Camilla in that first quarter; as few as William would get me on a Performance Improvement Plan.

      • rosa mwemaid says:

        The Question is, is Camilla not doing anything now or is the RR just not interested in what she does, or have they been instructed to say nothing about what she is doing because it will make William look bad.

    • Proud Mary says:

      Thank you! Facts just don’t matter to those people at all. It’s similar to them decrying the fact that people are questioning Kate’s disappearance: I mean, you can say on the one hand that Kate is the center of the royal universe, then be surprised that people want to know why she hasn’t been seen since December.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Jais, it really does seem like that’s *exactly* what they’ve been implying ever since Harry left. And I REALLY hope we soon learn the reasons why.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ Lorelei, I think that they twist the narrative of Meghan as Wallis is because Incandescent with Rage intended on being King and having Harry do ALL of the work as he took credit!! Let’s not forget that that was the reason why he has been lazy, causing constant temper tantrums and refusing to conduct the necessary procedures that as PoW as well! Incandescent with Rage loves his control on his father and his constant manufactured lies.

    • Visa Diva says:

      For.me the Edward-William comparison is about incoompetency.to be the King. In Edward’s situation, Wallis was a convenient way to get him out and all his brothers were still working royals so it was easier for the press and public to look at the monarchy as a stable institution.
      In William’s case the sliming down of the working royals and driving out Harry and Meghan means there’s no sense of.stability and that there’s a broad family of working royals who can keep the boat afloat. I think this is a more dangerous time for the Windsors since the public can see what’s going on more clearly than in 1936

  5. Liz says:

    No lessons have been learned since Diana. They drove Meghan out who had the charm and the drive to make a difference.

    They are reaping what they sowed – left floundering without Harry and twisting in the wind.

    • Debbie says:

      Exactly. And I still say “Once a rottweiler, always an… etc.”

      • Gabby says:

        Which, ironically is a WORKING breed known for loyalty, good looks and is a protector of the family.

    • Ciotog says:

      They don’t want to make a difference. They want everything to stay the same so they can keep the grift going.

    • Square2 says:

      “No lessons have been learned since Diana.”

      Actually they learned. They learned to poison the well early, viciously, and frequently. Let the Brits hate Meghan before she was beloved by the UK people like Diana.

      • Liz says:

        And Square2 sadly it doesn’t seem to have worked out for the other brother’s wife – the one who supposedly ‘fits in’

      • Square2 says:

        @LIZ. TOB’s wife is not a “Diana”. She has no work ethic, is not charismatic, is not relatable despite coming from commoner background; people in The Firm do not worry about her eclipsing the Monarchy.

        And her current situation is all her (& her mother’s) own doing. Being a mean girl your whole adult life…

      • Liz says:

        That was exactly my point Square2. She wasn’t a superstar like Diana or vibrant like Meghan. She wasn’t really anything. Like you say her and her mother’s only plan was to be royal and royal adjacent.

        But it hasn’t worked out for her being bland and boring. I do agree too she’s very much been a mean girl instead of evolving into a woman of the world.

        Having said that I don’t wish ill health on her and I think something much much worse has happened.

  6. Roo says:

    I think Omid framed his comments accurately. This is a crisis for the Windsors. They look unprepared, disorganized, skittish and lazy. This isn’t a crisis for the country. The people have more important things to worry about, and the family is showing just how irrelevant they are.

  7. Chloe says:

    This crisis has been coming since 2020. 2019 if you count Andrew’s disastrous interview. When you bully out 2 of the youngest (hardworking) and charismatic royals you are left with a very small attractive pool of royals. Within the next few years more of these “working” royals will die because they are nearing the age of 80 if not older and that roster of working royals will become even smaller.

    George should count himself lucky if he gets to finish uni before becoming a working royal at this rate.

    • pottymouth pup says:

      if George is really lucky, the monarchy will be abolished before William has a chance to ascend. That said, I’m imagining how William and Kate will handle all the press of William should step aside in favor of George if George has the work ethic his parents do not and is forced into being a working royal at a young age

    • Snaggletooth says:

      My two cents is that these mini-crisis are baked into the whole Royal brand at this point and no one cares enough to punish them. No one likes them that much, but that’s kind of a good thing for them in an odd way. They’re just another c-list reality tv family and they will limp along forever that way. Like Ramona Singer or Brandi Glanville, they may get pushed to the back burner for awhile, but they will never really be gone.

  8. Over it says:

    With work from home willy , well they end is so near

  9. Brassy Rebel says:

    Oh no, another annus horribilis!

  10. s808m says:

    If the BRF had an heir that went to work and was worth a damn, Harry and his family leaving would not be a big deal. He is the SPARE, not the HEIR. Comparing M to Wallis Simpson makes 0 sense cause that would make H Edward and why in the world are we comparing the “irrelevant” spare to a King, hm?

    • Liz says:

      Exactly S808 – it centred around the heir and the spare, Charles and Wills. They made sure to leave Harry out of photos of them and George lining up.

      But despite their self importance it’s all falling apart without H&M which is a kind of karma after the way they treated them.

    • Laura D says:

      @s808m – Exactly! I came on to type a similar response. Yes, Harry and Meghan was a huge shock but, that was over four years ago and yet the BRF and their client journalists are acting as if it was last week.

      William and Charles are responsible for this so-called “crisis” and no-one else. If they had been half-decent people they would have wished H&M well and then gone about their royal duties. Instead (especially in the case of William) they rant and rave through their unnamed sources at the imagined treachery and betrayal of a couple who are not interested in arguing with them. If William put as much effort into performing his duties as he does in slagging off his brother then maybe (just maybe) there wouldn’t be a crisis.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ Laura D, given that Willie has many, many anger issues, he will never forgive
        Harry as he had counted on Harry doing ALL of his work as King but he certainly screwed himself, along with Keen. Can’t simply ignored learning or preparing as he fully intended to have Harry by his side and now that Harry has escaped the abusers of the BRF, he is SCREWED and he knows it. This is why Willie IS constantly beefing against Harry and yet he never takes responsibility for himself. It didn’t help that Charles or QEII rode on W’s ass to get to work early. IF QEII had been smart, she should have had Anne replace her as she is the most competent out of ALL of the siblings!!

      • Laura D says:

        @BothSidesNow – Given how it’s all gone over the past few years I think most people would be shocked if William did actually come out and say he “forgives” Harry and would like him (and his family) to return to the UK!

        He got what he wanted and Harry is safely out of the picture, it’s now up to William (and possibly his father) to start making proper decisions about how he will reign. Someone should have the b*lls to stand up to him and tell him Zoom meetings and emails really aren’t going to cut it. They should also be telling him that raging about his brother and his wife definitely won’t wash. OK he might not go out and about as much as QEII or KCIII but, he will be expected to make public appearances whether he likes it or not. The sooner MPs and the PM start making him accountable for the amount of money he is taking from the public purse the better. He was born to be king and he should be reminded that now is the time to start behaving like one. If he really feels he’s not up to it or incapable of doing so then he must be told he’s out the door and a regent will be appointed until George is ready to take over.

      • Chrissy says:

        100% correct, Laura. William never grew out of his Billy the Basher phase and that’s pathetic. No one ever cared enough to rein him him, assuring he got some help with his temper, narcissism and whatever else. This “crisis” is of the BRF’s own making…let them drown in the mire and leave the successful and happy Sussex’s alone!

  11. ML says:

    At the beginning of the 20th century, the British royals were in disarray. Ties to fascists, the bleeding of the British Empire, abdication, etc, and Elizabeth was able to come in and wallpaper over all of the holes and the cracks. She rebranded the Empire as the Commonwealth. She wore fashionable clothes (in the beginning). She went bland so people could project what they wanted to see on her. Now she’s gone, the wallpaper is tearing and the holes are becoming visible again.
    That must feel miserable for those who make a living off of the royals, which includes Jobbo. Omid Scobie saw this coming.

  12. ales says:

    The BRF and the BM have become boringly repetitious. Worse than a “Z” grade soap opera. Lazy William and the mattress,yacht girl, stalker and her grifter family are dragging the monarchy down. Nothing to look up to or admire. Maybe she is dead, maybe not, the guessing games keep her publicity going. What a fiasco. The royal experts seem to be looking worse by the day.

  13. Amy Bee says:

    Omid’s looking like prophet now.

    • Christine says:

      He really does. He has lapped all of the other royal “reporters” several times over.

  14. Izzy says:

    All they had to do was NOT be racist, and they would still have Harry and Meghan. But they’re trash, so they now look like the trash heap they are.

    • Jais says:

      NOT be racist and also NOT plant stories and start a smear campaign against Harry and Meghan.

  15. mycatlovestv says:

    All the comparisons of Meghan to That Woman make me nuts. The apologists for the RF get away with that noise because (evidently) most blind royalists don’t know nor take the time to research the real story of Wallis and the abdication. One thing was that Wallis didn’t love Edward VIII (David) and didn’t want to marry him. She felt trapped after he gave up the throne because he threatened suicide if she didn’t become his bride. Her letters allude to her still loving Ernest Simpson and were, frankly, quite sad. It’s apples and oranges. But the arsehats keep trying to make it a thing. Like I said…it makes me nuts.

    • sunny says:

      Yes to all of this. To say nothing of Edward and Wallis being Nazi sympathizers playing no small role in why they wanted him out. It just is such a wild comparison.

    • Tessa says:

      William is shirking work and is the direct heir. Harry never abdicated much less became king.

    • Lorelei says:

      It’s easier for these simpleminded people to run with the stereotype, rather than do any actual research.
      Just like they do with Yoko Ono.

    • Jaded says:

      Wallis got her comeuppance when Ernest Simpson fell in love with and married one of her closest childhood friends, Mary Raffray. Wallis had actually encouraged Mary to visit Ernest to help him get over his depression and anger over the ruins of his marriage to Wallis. It was necessary to prove that Ernest was the *adulterer* in order for Wallis to be granted a decree nisi so Ernest and Mary agreed to go to an inn where they were photographed in bed together. Well played Wallis, you got your divorce but regretted it for the rest of your life.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      Edward’s behaviour towards Wallis, emotionally blackmailing her into the marriage, seems to have more in common with Chucky and the Rottweiler Pariah.

  16. Lady Digby says:

    They will have a real crisis if Will continues to spiral and is unable to cope with the daily task of signing off government documents granting Royal Assent when he becomes King. Certain things he can delegate but the red boxes need to be dealt with promptly so skiving off for 5 months is not an option.

    • Lady Esther says:

      Maybe that’s why William wanted his “executive CEO” – so he could delegate things like the red boxes to him and ignore his duties until/unless things got screwed up, in which case the CEO falls on his sword and William hires another one over Zoom….

      How is that CEO job search going, I wonder? It’s been crickets on that all through the last few months. Maybe all contenders were scared off?

  17. Becks1 says:

    I think what the past 4 years have shown is how ill prepared will and Kate are and THAT is the true crisis. (Ill prepared and lazy). The past few months have been William’s time to shine – no Charles, no Kate – and he’s basically been MIA.

    Imagine if he had attended the England – Ireland game WITH GEORGE and had a photo op with the retiring lioness. Imagine showing his support for the Lionesses that way. He would have gotten attention and positive press. And instead….he went to a men’s villa game and that was that.

    William has shown over the last few months exactly what kind of king he will be, and it’s not an active hardworking king. And I think everyone from Charles to the royal has finally realized that, and that is the crisis.

    • Jais says:

      It feels like a crisis for the royal reporters more than anything else.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Jais, 🎯

        The only way I see William’s numbers holding steady or increasing is if he starts counting every phone call, text, Zoom, FaceTime, everything. That’s clearly where he’s headed and what he’s going to try to make a reality.

      • Julianna says:

        @Lorelei . I think he is already heading that way. He literally counts meetings with staff for the Duchy of Cornwall as engagements. Sometimes 2 in one day depending on how many people he supposedly met with about it. So, when they tell him how many millions they managed to scrounge away for him he tacks it on his calender as work.

    • Nic919 says:

      Exactly. I would add that it doesn’t matter as much if kate is lazy because the role of the consort isn’t the constitutional one. It is more PR for a happy family image. But William has not shown he can step in at all. He’s 42 in a few weeks and it’s like he’s a child the way the media pretend he’s still learning.

      William should have been doing around 300 engagements per year since Philip stepped down. He barely did 150 and he’s likely to not even do that this year. And he clearly avoids anything that doesn’t seem to be sports related. In comparison Charles was doing hundreds of engagements per year as Prince of wales even with kids in school.

      William is the problem here, hence why it’s worse than abdication. Because Albert (George VI) could step in and replace Edward VIII. William is the next in line and he’s not capable.

      • WiththeAmerican says:

        it’s always the incapable who jealously run the capable out, and bad management that allows it, because this is what it gets.

      • Unblinkered says:

        Agree.
        I wonder how much The Queen, and Philip, realised what jealousy had done and what their diaries will one day reveal.

    • Berkeleyfarm says:

      Yeah they let him do less when he was younger because there were plenty of people around to do the work and they assumed he would step up when it was his time.

      And it’s bleeding obvious that he is not going to. Of course the compliant press is biggening him up but … it’s obvious.

  18. Just Jade says:

    No sh…. Sherlock.Good luck with the working from home Heir.

  19. Bettyrose says:

    The abdication was blamed on a divorced woman, and now a divorced woman is leading the monarchy. The King is sick, the heir is MIA, the spare is a predator wanted by the FBI, and the most charismatic prince they had is now an American and never coming back.

    Liz knew what she was doing holding out till 96. She knew the crown would crumble without her.

    • Moondust says:

      The crown almost crumbled with her too. Remember the days after the death of Diana?

    • Tessa says:

      And three out of four of the queens children divorced. So divorce is no longer shocking to that clan.

    • Ishara says:

      Liz destroyed the Crown. She did a piss poor job of raising her children, hence in the 90s, they turned the Palace into scandal central with their antics. Had she done a good job of raising them, she would not have ended up working well into her 90s in an effort to conceal the fact that she’d birthed and reared horrible, entitled, arrogant philanderers and perverts. Anne is just as bad as her brothers; arrogant, entitled, promiscuous, the only difference is that she’s good at pretending she’s a hardworker.

      Also, the queen always wanted the attention on herself, she would seethe if anyone else got the lime light (she hated Diana because of all the attention she got). As a result, everyone was unsure and insecure because they didn’t want to upstage her, little wonder they are so bad at their jobs.

      Charles was happy to Mau tsin status quo, because he’s just as insecure and jealous as his mother.

      • Liz says:

        Ishara I agree with every word. The politician Alan Clark wrote in his diaries that he could see the Queen’s jealousy when Charles married Diana and thunderous applause came for the young bride from outside.

        Also they were annoyed when Diana came back from engagements and said she’d enjoyed them. She was supposed to view them as duties and a burden.

        Anne is surly and downright rude and often on public visits too.

      • Blithe says:

        You have an interesting set of expectations. Any thoughts about Philip? Or was Elizabeth supposed to be the only parent responsible for raising their children — even as she assumed her role as monarch much earlier than she expected? Whatever your thoughts are about Elizabeth, or the upperclass British child rearing practices of the time, it’s fair to say that as a model for their children, arrogance and philandering and the sorts of behaviors that create insecurity in children could easily be attributed to what we know of Philip’s parenting .

        If “Liz destroyed the crown” in your view, the older Philip who cultivated a relationship with Elizabeth when she was barely a teen, and had some rather brutal moments with Charles completely gets a pass? Is it really ALL the woman’s fault?

  20. Eurydice says:

    I guess I don’t see where is the crisis. Certainly, William looks to become an uninteresting and disinterested king and I can see how this might be a crisis for the royal watching industry, but is there a real clamoring by the public to end the monarchy? It would take years to untangle the octopus grip the monarchy has on government and society. Before then George would be of age – William could abdicate and stick him with the problem.

    • Nic919 says:

      William saying he wants to be the work from home king is a crisis for the royalists. Especially with the sovereign grant bumping up significantly next year.

      • Eurydice says:

        That’s a good point about the Sovereign Grant. By law, the SG can’t be reduced – they reduced the percentage of profits the monarch gets, but they can’t go below the previous amount. I don’t know what it would take to change that legislation.

        But, in general, the monarch would be more WFH, anyway. He would do whatever official things he does in his office and then go out for the larger events. The smaller, day-to-day appearances and patronages would be left to the rest of the working royals. Unfortunately, between Charles’ “slimming down,” William’s hatred of H&M, Kate’s disappearance and the young age of William’s children – as things stand now, there won’t be any working royals if William becomes king in the near future. William needs to add more “staff” – Ann and Edward can’t live forever.

      • Jais says:

        Can someone explain to me like I’m slow. How in the world did a law get passed that says the SG can never be reduced? I’m assuming QEII requested this law and parliament just said okey dokey. Bc seriously wt-absolute-f?

      • Nic919 says:

        The current sovereign grant funding formula was set up by the Tory government in 2011 and they have been in power as the majority since then. It could and should be changed under the next Labour government. I don’t know if Starmer has the cohones to do that, but William is creating a situation that they will have to reopen it.

      • Eurydice says:

        @Jais – as I understand it, the Civil List (along with some grants from various ministries) was abolished in 2011 and replaced with the SG. The calculation of the SG is some percentage of the Crown Estate income and that percentage is reviewed every 5 years (?). The actual amount in pounds is not allowed to decrease in case the Crown Estate income drops for some reason – which actually happened during the pandemic and the government had to make up the difference.

        And in the current situation where the SG would increase a lot because of profits from wind farm leases, Charles requested that the percentage be cut in half – which looks super generous, but not so much because the total amount in pounds he’ll get is still a lot more than before.

      • Jais says:

        Thank u guys for the info. It really blows my mind.

    • Bettyrose says:

      But could it result in more Commonwealth nations dropping the monarchy? I just rewatched the episode of the Crown where Diana basically reverses a growing Australian clamor to abandon the monarchy.

      • Berkeleyfarm says:

        I’ve been saying for a while that the common mistaken but well-understood “King of England” designation is going to be a lot truer sooner rather than later.

        Scotland did get a chance to shine after Elizabeth’s death which will delay its exit some but it will start happening. Commonwealth first because … they saw how Meghan was treated.

      • Eurydice says:

        It could. It doesn’t seem that William cares about the Commonwealth nations all that much. I remember a while back that one of our Canadian CBers posted how entwined is the monarchy in their regional and local government and that it would take a fair bit of work to change things. It seems to me that there are so many more pressing issues within the Commonwealth nations that a lazy king on the other side of the planet wouldn’t be high up on the list, but I’m just guessing.

      • Nic919 says:

        In Canada it’s mostly inertia that keeps things as they are. And they are just symbols anyway. Canada has a Governor General who provides royal assent to legislation but it’s really the PM who makes the decisions. And GGs always follow the recommendation of the PM, although Harper prorogued government so much that the GG almost said no once.

        So William working from home is irrelevant here in that they barely show up and it’s just for made up tours. Not actual work.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Jais, thank you for asking it that way because I don’t understand it either!

      • Bettyrose says:

        @Berkeleyfarm – that took me a sec to understand, but I get it now. That actually does seem like the more plausible immediate fallout. Not the end of the monarchy but the shrinking of their realm. We’ve discussed before that nations can remain in the commonwealth while dropping the monarch as head of state. Won’t pretend to understand how that works though.

        ETA: It sounds like Canada might not lead the charge but there are nations for whom the monarchy seems to be a direct reminder of imperialist domination.

      • Oh come on. says:

        I only wish there were any appetite to get rid of the monarchy in Canada. Ime people here dgaf about the BRF, and if they care it’s only for the gossip.

        Everything @Nic919 said.

        The Caribbean nations will def get rid of the monarchy first. In Canada people don’t want any more constitutional upheaval than we already endured during the late 20th century. No one likes looking at Charles’ mug on the money, but we don’t use cash much anymore anyway, and it’s not worth reopening the constitutional-amendment can of worms. The BRF don’t affect our real lives or politics.

    • Tip says:

      Years to untangle? This is a royalist lie. Always has been.

      • Eurydice says:

        Why is it a lie? It may be a lie that the monarchy is necessary, but it would take a strong campaign, a lot of political pressure and an act of Parliament to change the structure of the government. Plus, as I understand it, the Sovereign has to sign off on it at the end of the day – basically, the monarch has to be the one to abolish the monarchy. How likely is that? But who knows, maybe William hates working so much that he would agree to it.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        Eurydice is right! Just look at how completely they fucked up Brexit, and that was just disentangling the UK from an entity they had only been a member of for decades, not centuries. It is problematic that they don’t have a written Constitution.

      • Jaded says:

        @Tip — No it’s not a royalist lie. Take Canada for example — every province would have to have a referendum on the subject, and some provinces are staunchly royalist, some are republican. Then you have a myriad of direct agreements between the crown and first nation peoples that would require negotiations with the government, all of which would require a whole new constitution to be written. This would take decades of squabbling and end up accomplishing nothing more than a stalemate.

      • olivia says:

        There is a chance coming up, and it should be the next elections if predictions are to be believed, the Torys will finally be wiped out. If this is the case, it will take a strong hand to bring it to the floor.
        Biggest issue is the house of lords.. they are the upper house (functioning in law making the way the Senate in the USA does) and approve or not approve new legislation and keeping parliament in check. The issue is, the torys have been stacking that house FULL to the brim with lazy, privileged people who get paid insane amounts to do very little as the last two Labour PMs (Blair and Brown) refused to nominate more into aligned with the party beliefs that the House of Lords should be dismantled and replaced with voted in reps.
        The fact that Truss gave people honours, and Johnson (by gawds) put a superinjuction not to discuss some of the people he pushed in (see https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/158ghfg/charlotte_owen_former_boris_johnson_aide_becomes/)
        it all stinks but if there would be a push, next parliament seems to be a one off chance in centuries.

  21. It’s a royal train wreck of their own making. The heir has made himself scarce and has already let it be know that he will be a work from home king and not seen.

  22. Nic919 says:

    I believe that Jobbo was the one who said that William and Kate only throw pillows at each other and not vases. He has always been close to wanting to say so much more and while his sources are aligned with Charles, he’s also been the one to say in earlier documentaries that William partied as much as Harry but just got cover for it in the press.

    • ArtHistorian says:

      Many years ago, William himself said that he parties harder than Harry in some documentary but he just does not get caught. That was straight from the horse’s mouth but when have the truth ever been valued in the rota.

    • Lorelei says:

      Maybe Jobbo will finally get fed up and start saying what he knows will make him a lot more money: the truth about whatever is going on with William. Jobson’s getting up there in years, so it’s not as if he needs to worry about keeping a job for several more decades. He could go out with a bang and make a fckton of money before he retires.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Lorelei, if he’s loyal to KFC, when KFC is no longer around, I wonder if he’ll be a lot more honest about his coverage of Billy & Bone Idle.

      • Jais says:

        Palmer is no longer with the express. How I wish some of these people would start telling the truth. Maybe they will?

      • Lorelei says:

        That’s a good point! I thought a lot would come out after both Philip and the Queen were gone (mostly the Queen), but that doesn’t seem to have been the case at all.

    • Julianna says:

      Yes. Your right Nic919. Jobbo does seem to want to tell more. Several episodes back on the royal beat he literally basically admitted that William and Kate did not love each other and did not marry for love. He blatantly was talking about Harry being in love with Meghan. Kate (the host) tried to stop him and get him to clarify more of what he said about William and Kate but he didn’t elaborate to much further though he wanted too. He said what he said though clear as day.

  23. Mslove says:

    My neighbor became a work from home father after his wife ran off to Texas with another man, so I wonder why Peg wants to be a WFH king. Many questions.

  24. Jks says:

    I wonder how efficient they have been at shielding the Waleses children from all this mess. Is George old enough to have a mobile phone? Surely some of that negative energy from Will and Kate is spilling over in their homes. Children are not that oblivious to their parents’ mood. I do feel for them.

    • Nic919 says:

      There is no way the kids are oblivious to the negative energy, even Louis. If William can’t hide his disdain for Kate in public, there is no way he’s holding back in private.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Nic919, I believe the distain goes both ways. There’s no respect or actual liking between them as far as I can see when they’re in public.

  25. Mrs. Smith says:

    I clicked on the story Kaiser linked to re-read it and the comments. Back in April 2022, the gist of the comments was basically that the royal family was walking on eggshells around W and trying their best to keep him from throwing in the towel. Now that W is facing the reality of ascending the throne relatively soon, he is actively quiet quitting and claiming he can work from home as king (or become king of AI). Is Jobson saying essentially outright that W will quit because no one can make him show up? He’s not even pretending to care anymore.

    • Mary Pester says:

      Psssst, T time, but first I just want to say, who knew jobson was so observant, his description of Billy in his book was so accurate. I don’t know what’s coming, but something DEFINITELY is. Over the last two days there have been a couple of interesting articles in the paper. 1st one pointing out that France got rid of its monarchy in the 1700s, but get 3 times the amount of tourists the UK does, so why do we need a monarchy?
      2nd one saying how good Harry and Megan looked at the polo and well played for charity!!?! Then we have the paper slaying Megan’s half brother for his vile utube channel where he slanders Megan, imitates her and says her children aren’t real. The paper saying utube must shut it down. They have contacted the social media giant and quotes the laws he’s breaking. Jenny bond is speaking up in support of Megan and jj Chalmers wrote a comment in the paper about how Harry is his close friend since their time in Afghanistan and has helped him with his mental health problems caused by his injuries, he also said he knows he can call Harry at any time and they speak regularly.

      • MsIam says:

        I believe those articles are in response to what Anna Pasternak said about the dictum from the palace that nothing positive can be said about the Sussexes. Nothing has changed, they are still the same dogsh*t folks as always, they just know they got exposed.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Mary Pester, that’s really interesting. There could be much in what MsIam says about Anna Pasternak ‘s comments. I can’t remember what they said about Meghan’s visit to the hospital, but I’ve seen comments that is was just PR–completely redirecting people’s attention from the fact that this is something that Meghan would want to do for the children. That’s just ludicrous–we’re supposed to feel sorry for Bone Idle, but we’re supposed to overlook all of those ill children? Then you have the fact that they keep saying Harry wants to go back to the brf. How does that dovetail with the fact that the bm have done everything they can to make it dangerous for the Sussexes in the UK? They make no sense.

        I also wonder if the fact that the bm couldn’t get into the polo venue because the media had to be approved by Harry. I guess they can see that they will be left out of the Sussexes activities/charities in future in the US. That’s got to be a shock to them.

        They should do something about Meghan’s half-brother and half-sister since the bm/brf are the ones to bring them front and center and pay them to talk about Meghan so negatively. Good luck putting that horse back in the barn.

      • BeanieBean says:

        My oh my. And I see the T is below! Off to read that!

      • Debbye says:

        @Mary Pester. First, how are you my friend? So good to see you posting. Sending love and prayers. Second, thank you for the tea! What paper were the articles in? Take care of yourself.

      • Jais says:

        Yeah, idk what’s going to happen @mary pester but the vibes are weird and it def gives calm before the storm vibes. Mostly feels like a wait and see situation. For me, I wish Harry and Meghan and their kids the best, as always. And best wishes to you and your fam.

      • Liz says:

        What a turnaround. Shows the hypocrisy of the media. I wonder if Nostradamus got it right – Charles will have a short rein, William has an ‘incapacity’ to deal with and Harry will step in. Monumental. And he did get the tea right on so many other things 🤔

      • Magdalena says:

        I saw that headline re M’s brother and the faux outrage about YouTube and simply thought that those hypocritical reporters who have been feeding the abuse of M for years and cheering on those vile trolls on Youtube (who recruit their audiences via Twitter), are only “going after” Youtube now because they have seen that their aryan idol kate middleton is now considered fair game. Had Twitter not been raising legitimate questions about her and those fake videos and fake photographs and the state of the Wales’ marriage and had the rumours not been getting traction, NONE of those reporters, including Jennie Bond, would have had any concerns – it would have been business as usual. Are they going to start attacking that “lady” C troll, or Levin, or their own colleagues who pally around with the trolls and repeat their slanders and smears?

    • Lady Digby says:

      Much does depend on exactly what is going on behind the scenes with regards the heir’s ability to be carrying out his duties. Is he temporarily unable due to “personal issues”, addiction, breakdown which for he is currently receiving medical treatment? Is he just lazy and unwilling? Does he genuinely not see the value of doing the bread and butter royal engagements that Belinda talked about the importance of on another thread to the ordinary people of the UK? In November 2023 he visited a youth project in Moss Side Manchester and I haven’t forgotten those present saying how much it meant to them to be visited by a FK. It made them feel important and valued.
      Charles is both King and father to William and he also should be his mentor. Now is the time for honesty and to help each other before it is too late. Forget briefing to the RR about each other and just talk man to man and sort things out between them. Talk him through the red boxes if that is what he needs to know about? As parents don’t we say tell me why you’re worried and let’s talk it through and see if we can help or suggest a way forward? Surely a normal father / son chat just between themselves would help them both. Only Charles can explain what its like to be king ? Why is this family so good with horses but not with their offspring?

      • Julianna says:

        Charles definitely dropped the ball on being a father… with William and especially what he did to Harry. However, at this point I think it is way to late for Charles to help William in any way. William is petulant, hateful, arrogant, entitled, lazy, spoiled and stubborn. IMO, nothing or no one will be able to help or change William at this point.

      • Liz says:

        Lady D – that’s the thing – they’re not normal. Harry tried to have that father/son convo – an open and honest one. And got nowhere.

        The only hope Wills had was Diana – she was the communicator. The rest are repressed dolts.

  26. BeanieBean says:

    I’m surprised anybody said it’s a crisis. These people continue to write baldfaced lies such as this, ‘In Charles’ absence, he has leaned on wife Queen Camilla, son Prince William and brother Prince Edward to take over at his engagements.’ Camilla maybe, William no & Edward no (Eddie does his own stuff). Seriously dumb people if they haven’t figured out contingency plans. Does nobody over there know how to schedule things? Plan ahead, have a Plan B or Plan C or even Plan D at the ready? Set up an Acting for when you’re unavailable? In Charles’ case, that would be William. William’s fine. Kate’s got the cancer (allegedly). The ‘crisis’ is self-inflicted.

    • Nic919 says:

      Jobbo is prepared to go there because he has access to American media and he knows he can say more there. He’s even been somewhat complimentary about Omid’s book because they both work on ABC.

      The smart royal experts are going to start saying more, especially outside of the UK.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Nic, from your keyboard to god’s ears 🙏🏻🤞

      • Interested Gawker says:

        It’s going to take foreign media to unpick and expose all of this foolishness, I pray someone does. The Windsors and their media henchmen shouldn’t be allowed to get away with all this fraud, deception, intimidation and perversion international social media companies’ business to everybody else’s detriment.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Nic919, I wondered the bm would realize that the US audience is huge. It’s a smart move on his part–look at Omid, who has always worked to report accurately.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Interested Gawker, I’m amazed that no one has because there is SO MUCH MONEY at stake. Maybe the international attention that KP/#Where’sKate got proved that there is a large audience for news about the royals, as long as it doesn’t consist of puff pieces like the ROTA publish, constantly blowing sunshine up W&K’s asses. The only wide coverage the royals really get in the US is People magazine, which also seems to act as another arm of KP’s comms office.

        So many people who never gave a thought to the BRF suddenly started paying attention…it was everywhere. And it’s obvious that they were only interested because W&K were getting *negative* attention.
        There must be people who see that as an opportunity? Clearly there’s a gap in that market!

      • kirk says:

        Jobbo might have access to American media (GMA, ABC). But this American has chosen to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to him ever since he joked about dangling little Archie off Buckingham Palace balcony at the coronation. I switch the channel as soon as Jobbo shows up on my tv screen.

  27. Mary Pester says:

    Second half! @BETTYROSE, asked the other day if people met the Royals easily, sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier @BETTYROSE, but I didn’t see your comment until the early hours. No, people can’t meet them easily, they have garden parties where people are invited, it’s different Royals on different days. I met Harry while we were both in the army, and I was lucky enough to meet him again once I was back in civy street (but still a police officer).
    , now, small cup of T for you because paranoid is reigning at the palaces! Seems there have been a LOT of very angry and PETULANT phone calls, between daddy and eldest son, Billy being told to “get of his backside and work before this” mess “turns into a catastrophe”, and “your not ill, you have a job to do so just do it”. Seems a phone got throne because Billy put the phone down on daddy, and now camzilla is on the warpath. Bet we see prince incandescent out and about at least twice next week, and I wonder, will we have the 1st day of term picture, to, one, warm the peasants hearts, Two, through the royalist sycophants into a total delerium and three, keep the rota 🤡’s happy

    • Jaded says:

      Well well well…the thought plickens doesn’t it. Charles can huff and puff as much as he wants but that won’t change WFH Willbur one bit. He’ll do a couple of brief, light appearances then eff off to wherever he’s shacked up. I can see Camzilla feeding the press some very tantalizing and shady tidbits. Willbur still hasn’t got it through his thick egghead skull that you don’t eff with TQC. She will seek her pound of flesh. This begs the question, when will Carol(E) jump on the bandwagon with some fluffed up piece on how Kate is the secret sauce holding the BRF sandwich together and how dearly she is missed.

      • Debbye says:

        Hi Jaded, hope all is going well for you. You too are in my prayers

      • Mary Pester says:

        @DEBBYE, Sunday Mirror Lovey, and @JADED, how are you my friend, I have been thinking about you x

      • Jaded says:

        @Debbye and @Mary Pester — thanks for your kind words! Getting my strength and mobility back slowly but surely. Mr. Jaded and I go for a shuffle across the street every couple of days for groceries, cat food and a sniff of fresh air. I’m cooking simple meals and doing minor household stuff like rearranging the dust 🙂

    • Eurydice says:

      @Mary Pester – your small cup of tea gives maximum satisfaction. Seriously, Willy hung up the phone on his liege? What in the world is he thinking? Camilla will eat him alive.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Mary, hanging up on the King doesn’t sound like a sound strategy–it doesn’t sound like Billy Idle wants to change his ways. You really think he’ll get out there because he was told to? I’ll be watching to see what happens.

      I think a first day of term picture is something he would want because it will imply that he’s been with the kids. Very interesting.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Saucy, I was thinking the next photo we’d see from them would be for Louis’s birthday, on the 23rd. It will be interesting to see how they handle it. Are they stupid enough to release another one taken by Kate, in an effort to “redeem” her as the family photographer in the eyes of the public? Obviously the smartest move they could make would be to hire a professional for this one, so there would be absolutely no questioning its veracity. But they rarely (if ever) do the smartest thing, so.

        Plus, William is the type to dig in his heels when faced with any type of criticism, and I could see him demanding to stick with a photo that Kate took, because, in his mind, to do otherwise would be like admitting wrongdoing— or, at the very least, acknowledging that KP couldn’t do it on its own and needed outside help if they didn’t want the picture to turn into another round of international mockery.

    • BeanieBean says:

      Ho ho ho! I can totally see Charles throwing a phone because I can totally see William hanging up on his dad. Remember Charles’ snit fit in the golden coach for his coronation? ‘Cause he had to wait on his son & DIL? Well, chop chop Billy Boy, school’s back in session on Wednesday so you’ll have just a couple of days to get something in. Then again, that’s all he’d need, right? He’s never worked a five-day week in his life.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Beanie, exactly, this is the same man who threw a small tantrum over a *pen* on international television. So yeah, I can imagine that William hanging up on him would really set him off.

    • Debbye says:

      Oh thank you. I cannot wait for Camzilla to get Petulent. Gleefully anticipating😆

    • Bettyrose says:

      @Mary – Thank you for following up! Time zone differences noted. I love that you met him as a fellow soldier. It’s such a great reminder that Harry is a real person, not a symbolic figurehead.

      And that piping hot tea! 🔥

    • Yes more lovely tea from you Mary. Sounds like things are coming to a head. Camzilla is going to bring the heir down a peg or two. Can’t wait to see what she has in store for him.

      • Mary Pester says:

        @susanCollins, @JADED, Betty rose, equality, Debbye @Eurodice, blithe and all of my friends, it’s 20.40 in the UK so I’m not sure what time it is where you are, but a quick phone call has poured me some pipping hot tea. Tantrums were thrown because daddy phone younger son and asked him personally to bring his whole family home to the UK for a six month (she has no idea why 6 months) and accommodation is no problem, nor is security! Wonder if 6 months has a significance health wise!! Daddy was told family might, only MIGHT come for a visit, but they have to many commitments to stay for that long.!, OOOOO Daddy is not used to being told NO, got feeling Billy is going to cop it from camzilla over this, even though she is a massive part of the problem. Stand by for the rota tomorrow giving it Harry snubs king, or king tells Harry no he can’t come home, oh and the usual “Billy fking hates Harry”

      • Mary that is interesting that he invited them for six months. Wonder what it means about his health. I guess at least there is some communication that Harry wanted with his father. That must drive Peg into fits of rage.

      • Jaded says:

        @Mary Pester – WOW!!! It’s 2:19pm here on Vancouver Island. Am gobsmacked — this is hot tea for sure! I wonder if this is Charles getting his ducks in a row before he gets too sick? Those ducks surely won’t include Workshy Son #1 and his vanished DIL. This is crisis management behaviour for sure, what a fine kettle of fish to paraphrase Queen Mary.

      • bettyrose says:

        Are we saying that there’s a chance Wills is 6 months away from being king? Because I can’t even wrap my mind around that possibility.

        ETA: In the Bay Area, same time zone as Vancouver Island.

      • @debbye says:

        @Mary Pester my 🍿 is ready! Lots of love and prayers for you. So jelly and it is so awesome that you got to meet our Prince while you were both serving.

      • Blithe says:

        Wow! Scalding HOT weekend tea! Thanks for the scoop Mary Pester! There are so many possibilities! It will be fascinating to see how this ultimately plays out.

        I’m tempted to think that a few scales have finally — FINALLY — fallen from Charles’s eyes, but that definitely remains to be seen. I wonder what “accommodation is no problem “ might mean? Although I’m still furious about the maliciously twisted way Charles handled Frogmore Cottage, I’ve also wondered if he might decide to will Harry Sandringham. Or gift Frogmore House to Harry and Meghan.

        Why would Charles think that Harry and Meghan would be willing to uproot their family for six months to return to an abusive environment? Is he really that arrogant? Or that ill — and eager to make amends? What I love about this tea is that there are so many extremely improbable ways to make the details fit.

    • Interested Gawker says:

      👀👀👀

      Ooooooooooh! William slammed the phone down on Charles!? OMFG!
      All my money’s on Cam, good luck Wills…

      Rock on, Mary P, with your pipping hot tea!

      • Lorelei says:

        I miss that about older phones…you can end a call now, but never get the satisfaction that comes with really slamming it down on someone who deserves it 🙃

      • Interested Gawker says:

        “ever get the satisfaction that comes with really slamming it down on someone who deserves it”

        @LORELEI

        Yes, ringing off on modern phones has less potential for drama and that feeling of righteousness. The members of the BRF are so often photographed with corded phones I lost track of which century I was envisioning this in!😂😂😂

    • Julianna says:

      @Mary Pester. Late commenting but just wanted to say that I love your tea and hope you are doing well!

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      My hub and I were having a convo this morning, about whether Huevo is refusing to work/”quiet quitting” due to laziness and fear, or, if KFC3 at BP ordered him to stand down and pretend to be a family man while Kate goes through…whatever tf she’s going through.

      Your tea would seem to indicate the former is more at play than the latter. Would that be accurate?

  28. Lurker25 says:

    I think the snowballing sh!tshow of the past 5 years can be traced directly and very precisely to a moment in 2017, when Charles and Andrew joined forces to convince Mummy that her then private secretary Christopher Geidt had to go. They replaced him with “the bee” Edward Young, and allllll the cookies promptly began to crumble.

    The reason: under Geidt, KP BP Clarence House and every other royal domicile was coordinated by a single press/comms office – his. He worked for the Queen at BP and anything done by KP (at the time for Harry and Will since they hadn’t separated yet) and Clarence House had to be run past him first.

    He had the squabbling, backbiting, currying favor by throwing others under the bus shit firmly under control. Even the rottweiler was afraid to leak to her press pals/they were careful bc Geidt would then cut access to the non-hag royals.

    Charles (probably egged on by cowmilla) and Andrew (impatient bc Geidt was monitoring/curbing his “trade envoy” it or whatever role for the unethical cash grab that it was) browbeat QE2 into firing Geidt then hand selected Young as someone who wouldn’t control them.

    This meant that *no one* was controlling KP either. This meant William (who the
    hired Jason Knauf in 2015) bumped his buddy up to KP press Secretary and the process of using Harry as a human shield only in accelerated. The diff press offices now freely briefed against each other, Meghan was immediately thrown to the wolves, the rottweiler was off leash and running amock, no one stopped Andrews Newnight interview in 2019, etc.

    Geidt certainly used the spare to protect the heir, but he controlled the courtiers
    & chaos agents and kept focus on the long game – protecting the monarchy and burnishing its aura to the public. It’s been a game of thrones since then as a disgusted public watches restlessly.

    • Laura D says:

      @Lurker25 – nothing to add. Excellent summary of where it all went wrong for the BRF.

      *Applause*

      • Lurker25 says:

        @lauraD, @Waterdragon, thanks! I’ve been following Peter Hunt on Twitter and this is his take on things in a nutshell, only he’s far more discreet and sometimes isn’t too enthusiastic about H&M’s more commercial enterprises. He was appalled when they refused to let Harry wear any uniform at Phil’s funeral and the photo of Harry surrounded by his geriatric tin pot set of bodyguards has been his pinned tweet for years now.

    • WaterDragon says:

      @Lurker25, thanks for this succinct insight into where things went off the track. You nailed it.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Lurker25, doesn’t Christopher Geidt work for the Commonwealth Trust now? I wonder what he thinks and feels about what’s happening in the Monarchy?

      • Lurker25 says:

        I wonder too! I don’t know much about him, which only makes me think he must have been very good in a very difficult job

    • windyriver says:

      @Lurker25 – I’d also suggest that, having installed his own man as PS to TQ, with Philip retired and an increasingly ill and frail monarch, Charles has essentially had one butt cheek on the throne for some years, on top of having known for 70 years he was the FK. He couldn’t know exactly when TQ would pass, but she was in her mid-90’s – obviously time to draw up detailed plans for his reign and hit the ground running. He’s been completely uninspiring, and slow to move. Even something simple, like appointing new patrons to the more significant of the hundreds of organizations that Philip, then TQ, were involved with, could have been executed a year ago. Instead, one of Charles first acts was to have loyal staff informed – before TQ was even interred – they were likely to lose their jobs. He announced the immediate sale of her beloved racehorses. Immediately promoted his wastrel older son while continuing to humiliate and harass his younger son (and his wife), even at TQ’s funeral, and took further steps during the year to further threaten their safety and livelihood, while making it publicly clear his criminal brother Andrew was still a valued family member. Oh, did more coronation planning, and bought himself a new gold coach.

      Charles’ illness has made abundantly clear what a massive problem William is, but William is far from the only reason the Windsors are in trouble.

    • Jais says:

      Don’t forget to add Simon Case into that sordid pile. Harry really clocked them. EY and SC. Plus JK and CJ.

      • Lurker25 says:

        Simon Case is the fly, if I remember correctly. He figures in the royal mess but it’s hard to tease out exactly what he did bc he was quietly stirring up poop on so many fronts throughout his career. I don’t have patience to understand these horrible ppl

    • Lorelei says:

      @Lurker, excellent summary and ITA with it all.

      And didn’t Meghan have a good relationship with Geidt? I seem to remember seeing a video of him greeting her with a warm smile and a hug at some event after he’d been fired, and it seemed sincere on both his part and Meghan’s. To think that this one man could have possibly saved her years of torment is just…

      Also, I died at “the non-hag royals” 😭

      • Lurker25 says:

        IKR? Peter Hunt def seems to think the trajectory of the monarchy would have been on a very different path if Geidt hadn’t been pushed out.

        As for his relationship with Meghan..I don’t know. Sincerity seems to be an anathema to the entire British upper class so idk if Geidt genuinely cared for her. I think it’s fair to say he would have recognized her value to the firm better than any of the clowns after him did

  29. ChattyCath says:

    We need a proper candid press that exposes the riches including the hidden away over shore money the Royals have access to and contrast that with the itemised struggles of ‘The People’. Instead we’ve got the opposite and the Poor are all liars and scroungers. That will never happen

  30. QuiteContrary says:

    Meanwhile Harry and Meghan are dazzling in the US and Harry’s keeping the evil rota outside the fence tee-hee.

    The rota and the Firm backed the wrong polo horse and it’s delicious to see the fallout.

  31. AC says:

    Is anyone missing them except the RR. It’s the biggest crisis because They’re worried they’ll be unemployed by next year and the more the leftovers are WFH the more they become irrelevant to the public and the rest of the world.
    Are the other royal families in Europe this much absent from their public duties 🙄. The BRF must be a laughing stock in that circle.

    • Blinkered says:

      That’s why, I’m convinced, W disgracefully dipped out of King Constantine’s memorial service a few weeks back – he knows the European royals regard him as a laughing stock.

  32. TN Democrat says:

    The future of the monarchy is bleak because the FK doesn’t want the job, has little skill/charisma/interest and is a damaged, angry man who lashes out and uses scapegoats instead of owning his behavior. Compared to the tabloid coverage of the War of the Wales and the breakdown of the York marriage in the 80s and 90s, the current KP messes doesn’t seem to register much interest with the general public. A huge segment of the population accept the rota take on Harry exiting, the frankenphoto blunder and Will-not’s behavior. Kate’s cancer announcement removed a lot of the vitriolic interest. I wonder what is going on behind the scenes to warrant this truth nugget?