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Andrew, at 5%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Meghan, at 20%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Harry, at 28%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/a>YouGov royal family poll released on August 8, 2025 (Photo: YouGov Twitter account)<\/p>\nHistorian Andrew Lownie spent more than four years researching his new biography, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, which comes out in digital format<\/a> in Canada on Thursday (hardcover in October<\/a>). <\/p>\n
With one sordid detail after another, he eviscerates the reputations of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, along with any remaining sympathy for the divorced couple who live together in Royal Lodge.<\/p>\n
Prince Andrew comes across as boorish, arrogant sex pest who is lazy, entitled, and not that smart. Lownie recounts how he cozies up to any dubious politician, dictator, or businessman who was willing to finance his luxury life. The quid pro quo is self evident: those shady benefactors have the son of Elizabeth II in their debt. The result is scandal after scandal, including his long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which one source described was \u201clike putting a rattlesnake in an aquarium with a mouse.”<\/p>\n
Sarah, Duchess of York, comes across as a charismatic woman who lives a life well beyond her ability to finance. That outrageous spending leads to overwhelming debt, and then her using anyone and anything to get her finances in order. Rinse and repeat.<\/p>\n
The best summary of Lownie, his reputation, and his results may be from Sean Coughlan<\/a>, the BBC\u2019s royal correspondent: <\/p>\n
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\u201cThe author’s best-selling biographies have a habit of changing the reputation of famous figures, such as establishing the Nazi intrigues around the Duke of Windsor, the former Edward VIII. Although, in the case of Entitled, he hasn’t so much cemented Prince Andrew’s reputation, as put it in concrete boots and thrown it in the river.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
While the book has generated a lot of headlines during the normally sleepy summer of royal news, much of that attention has been limited to British publications. I think the impact is dampened because Andrew hasn’t been a working royal for six years, largely due to many of those same scandals. <\/p>\n
Aside from Lownie cementing the duke and duchess’s reputations as people who will go anywhere for money, a free meal, or luxury vacation, what also comes across is how the late Queen’s indulgence of her son has been replaced by a firmer, even harsher attitude from his brother, King Charles III.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nPrince Harry reportedly called in his lawyers over allegations in Entitled. According to Jack Royston of <\/a>Newsweek<\/a>,<\/a> the legal action is over two claims in Lownie\u2019s book: <\/p>\n
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Harry got into physical altercation with his uncle during an argument in 2013<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Andrew said Harry was going “bonkers” over Meghan and that their marriage wouldn’t last a month (It’s lasted seven years, and counting). <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Interestingly, the legal letter has been sent to his old nemesis, the Mail tabloid that published the excerpt, not Lownie or his producer. As Royston wrote: <\/p>\n
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Harry’s team has told Newsweek they have called in lawyers: “Such are the gross inaccuracies, damaging and defamatory remarks made in the Daily Mail’s story, I can confirm a legal letter from Prince Harry<\/a>‘s counsel has been sent to the Mail.”<\/p>\n
Saturday’s statement, also sent to Newsweek, read: “I can confirm Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make the comments he is alleged to have made about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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<\/a>Screengrab of the sale catalogue (Photo: AeroAsset)<\/p>\nThe royals regularly sell old automobiles but this is something special: A customized Sikorsky helicopter. Officially, AeroAsset is selling an anonymous “head of state helicopter” but everyone recognized it as the one frequently used by the late Queen Elizabeth II and other royals for 15 years. Now that the royals have upgraded to newer, more environmentally-friendly helicopters, this one is for sale<\/a> for roughly 5 million pounds or CAD$8 million. As befitting its users, it comes with some pretty nice features, including leather seats and even a dog guard for one\u2019s corgies. <\/p>\n
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<\/a>The 75th birthday image of Princess Anne with Tim Laurence (Photo: Chris Jackson \/ Getty) <\/p>\nSure, the Royal Mint is putting <\/a>her image on a commemorative coin, but we still wanted a photo. Princess Anne obliged \u2014 a week early \u2014 with an image of her and Tim Laurence taken at last month\u2019s state dinner for the French president at Windsor Castle. Their outfits are formal, yet Chris Jackson of Getty has captured the couple in a relaxed mood. <\/p>\n
She turns 75 on August 15. She and her husband expected to pass the day as they usually do in August, sailing on their annual voyage through the Scottish isles. Maybe they\u2019ll aim for an out-of-the-way lighthouse, as Anne is determined to see every lighthouse in Scotland (There are more than 200). <\/p>\n
And for those interested, here’s her 21st birthday photo<\/a> as well as a video of her changing style from the Press Association<\/a>. <\/p>\n
The upcoming wedding of Princess Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, to Harriet Sperling<\/a>, may provide an opportunity to test how Prince William and Prince Harry can attend the same royal and\/or family event. <\/p>\n
The last time they were photographed at the same event was their father\u2019s coronation in 2023 (they attended their uncle\u2019s memorial service last year, but it was done in total privacy until after it had been completed). <\/p>\n
Such a happy family event as a wedding may be the perfect opportunity to figure out a template for future royal interactions by Harry \u2014 how he arrives, where he sits in relation to other Windsors, whether he is included in official photographs, etc.<\/p>\n
This could be relatively low key, low stress proving ground because no one would do anything to provoke the wrath of the groom’s mother, Princess Anne, by upstaging her son and future daughter-in-law. <\/p>\n
It won\u2019t be the only upcoming family wedding that could serve as a rehearsal for larger, more public events, such as 2027\u2019s Invictus Games; their cousin, Lady Eliza Spencer, recently announced she’s engaged<\/a>. <\/p>\n
Share WRITE ROYALTY by Patricia Treble<\/a><\/p>\n
A month after Netflix released half-year viewership numbers for With Love, Meghan, Archewell Productions announced a \u201cmulti-year, first look deal for film and television projects\u201d with the streaming giant. <\/p>\n
The announcement by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex marks the end of their lucrative exclusive five-year deal, announced in September 2020. Is it a renewal or extension or a completely separate deal? Well, that depends on how you look at it. Their press release talks about \u201cextending their creative partnership.\u201d <\/p>\n
What is different is how closely Hollywood is monitoring its finances, outlays, and return on investment. The old business model of throwing a lot of money at creators to exclusively lock up talent and their products has been replaced by a far less expensive first-peek\/first right of refusal style of contract that reduces costs while still allowing giants to green light the best ideas from favoured producers before they shop those projects to other entertainment companies. <\/p>\n
(In media terms, it\u2019s similar to how so many journalists have been involuntarily shifted \u2014 ie, laid off \u2014 from their positions as full-time employees to more precarious perches as freelancers who are then offered small stipends in return for the first right of refusal for future stories. It saves a lot of money by shifting risks down the food chain.) <\/p>\n
The new deal also includes Meghan\u2019s As Ever lifestyle product line. \u201cThe brand, developed in partnership with Netflix, will continue expanding into new product categories,\u201d the announcement stated. <\/p>\n
In addition, the couple\u2019s Archewell Productions offered information about upcoming projects: <\/p>\n
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With Love, Meghan\u2019s second season returns this month<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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There will be a special holiday episode of the lifestyle show<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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A documentary short, Masaka Kids, about an orphanage in Uganda, will be released later this year<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In addition, the adaptation of the best-selling romantic novel, Meet Me at the Lake, is apparently in \u201cactive development,\u201d two years after it was announced with a bang in 2023 then went eerily quiet. <\/p>\n
I wrote more about how Sussex productions have fared on Netflix in \u201cWhere do Meghan and Harry go after being No. 383?\u201d Click here to read the post<\/a>. <\/p>\n
A day after celebrating her 44th birthday, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, released the 2024 vintage of her Napa Valley Ros\u00e9.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nFurthermore, an As Ever “brand spokesperson released some sales data to <\/a>Harper’s Bazaar<\/a> (no, they didn\u2019t give out raw inventory numbers):<\/p>\n
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10,000 bottles were bought in the first 10 minutes. As each bottle is US$30 and there\u2019s a three-bottle minimum, that means US$300,000 from at least 3,300 customers. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Of those early sales, 20 percent were repeat customers, with As Ever claiming that \u201cmany\u201d bought 6 or 12 bottles.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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It sold nearly 50 percent more on August 5 than it did on its sold-out July 1 drop for the 2023 vintage<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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It increased available inventory \u201cby three times\u201d from its July sale<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While demand is clearly there for the wine, there are one sign that pent-up demand for Meghan\u2019s wine may not be as strong as some expected: The 2024 vintage is still available for purchase this morning, six days after first going on sale. <\/p>\n
While As Ever boasts that first day sales were up nearly 50 percent, the continued availability of the wine means that As Ever exhausted the supply of the most eager customers before coming near running out of product. <\/p>\n
The U.K. Charity Commission finished its investigation<\/a> into governance issues at the Sentebale charity on August 6. The compliance case was launched after Prince Harry and many of the charity\u2019s directors resigned in March after failing to oust its president, Sophie Chandauka. (For more on the issues, read my post from that time<\/a>). <\/p>\n
Bottom line from the governmental body: <\/p>\n
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The Commission has identified a lack of clarity around role descriptions and internal policies as the primary cause for weaknesses in the charity\u2019s management. It finds that this confusion exacerbated tensions, which culminated in a dispute and multiple resignations of trustees and both founding patrons.<\/p>\n
The regulator has criticised all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly, and further concluded that the then trustees\u2019 failure to resolve disputes internally severely impacted the charity\u2019s reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Importantly, Chandauka stays in control of the charity. Prince Harry was reportedly \u201cdevastated\u201d by the decision, which he says “falls troublingly short in many regard.”<\/p>\n
The rancor may not be over. Sentebale has to release its annual report soon, and Prince Harry is considering whether<\/a> to establish a rival charity.<\/p>\n
Official statements: <\/p>\n
Charity Commission report<\/a><\/p>\n
Sentebale statement re bullying<\/a> and commission decision<\/a><\/p>\n
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