Note: This is a day late because Monday was the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. The weather was beautiful, the pumpkin pie was yummy, and the trees are starting to turn colour.
On Tuesday, the Prince and Princess of Wales spent the day in Northern Ireland “visiting innovative organizations that showcase growth and investment in rural areas and demonstrate entrepreneurial and creative opportunities for young people.”
They visited a huge new training centre for fire and rescue workers that includes a flood water rescue simulator; went to Mallon Farm in County Tyrone that aims to produce linen “from field to fibre to fabric” by reviving the area’s linen heritage through the growing of flax, restoring heritage machines, and producing products for sale; and then finished the day with a bit of apple picking at Long Meadow Cider, a farm in County Armagh that stayed family farm by diversifying and adopting a forward-thinking approach to sustainability (for the record, Prince William is really bad at rolling an apple pie crust).
Prince William didn’t hide his emotions in a video released for World Mental Health Day. He was discussing the impact of suicide and the need for support for those at risk and those affected by such tragedies with Rhian Mannings, whose husband died by suicide a few days after their child suddenly died. Rhian is a strong advocate of the need to talk when trauma hits, especially the sudden death of a young person.
The video coincides with the launch of the National Suicide Prevention Network, an initiative of the Royal Foundation, which wants to link charities across the United Kingdom and ensure their efforts are accessible and evidence-based. The foundation is providing $2 million in funding.
The Princess of Wales wrote a powerful essay with a Harvard professor in which she warned of the “epidemic of disconnection” caused by the constant distraction of mobile phones and other digital devices. It is the latest effort of her Shaping Up initiative aimed at improving the lives of young people.
We sit together in the same room while our minds are scattered across dozens of apps, notifications, and feeds. We’re physically present but mentally absent, unable to fully engage with the people right in front of us.
In particular, she urged parents to put them down during family meal times and give their children their undivided attention — which research shows are crucial to forming strong family bonds. (Prince William revealed that none of their kids have phones in his chat with Eugene Levy.)
The day the essay was released, Kate reinforced the need for face-to-face communication by going to an early years centre, which is part of a big network in the United Kingdom using training developed by the Royal Foundation.
King Charles III and Prince William attended a countdown to COP30 event in London last week. The Prince of Wales will represent his father at the international climate change summit in Brazil, which will be held in early November ahead of William’s Earthshot Prize ceremony, which is also in Brazil this year. The joint appearance is a reminder that father and son may have their differences but they are united in their environmental advocacy.
You will be shocked to hear that a newly released email alleges that the Duke of York retained his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein well after he said he’d cut off relationship in his big BBC interview on the topic in 2019. The Sun reports that Prince Andrew sent a jokey email — “We are in this together” and “We’ll play some more soon” — the day after the photo of him with Virginia Giuffre was published in late February 2011. And that is three months after he visited Epstein in New York City, which is when he told the BBC he’d cut relations with the convicted pedophile.
The drip-drip of bad news comes a few weeks after an email was published showing that his ex-wife, Sarah, continued her relationship with Epstein after telling the public that she’d broken off ties.
The latest York-Epstein news comes after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted of recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein. She has to continue serving her 20 year sentence.
In the aftermath of this latest news, one royal reporter suggested sending Andrew into exile but I ask, “What country would accept him?”
Jack Royston of Newsweek has an interesting episode of his podcast this week: “Prince Andrew is caught lying about Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Harry and Meghan win a humanitarian award, and William cries when talking to a grieving mother.”
Tiara lovers rejoice: There will be a third state visit in the U.K. this year.
The president of Germany gets all the bells and whistles at Windsor Castle from December 3-5. This follows the state visit of the president of France in July and that of the United States in September.
It’s rare to have a third state visit but this grand event helps make up for the lack of a fall tour abroad. (While the King and Queen go for a few days to the Vatican later this month, they haven’t undertaken a big foreign visit, which is usual for the autumn work season.)
The King and Queen giggled as they received Lego figures of themselves at a local event near Balmoral Castle — the figure of the King even shows him wearing a kilt!
After worrying that they didn’t have enough “large competition-standard” chestnuts due to bad weather, the World Conker Championship received 300 chestnuts from the Windsor Castle estate. Phew!
In the fashion world, there is a huge difference between being invited or asking to attend a runway show. One shows that you’re an A-list celebrity, while the other puts you much, much further down the pecking order.
While there’s no doubt that Meghan’s appearance at the Balenciaga show in Paris garnered a huge amount of attention, the invited/asked question hasn’t been settled.
The statement by Meghan’s spokesperson stresses that they “worked closely together collaborating on design for key moments on the world stage,” which left the impression that she was invited by the couture house and its new designer:
“Over the years, the duchess has worn a number of designs by Pierpaolo [Piccioli]. They have worked closely together collaborating on design for key moments on the world stage. She has long admired his craftsmanship and modern elegance, and tonight was no different. This evening reflects the culmination of many years of artistry and friendship, reflected in her support for his new creative chapter at Balenciaga.”
In an interview with The Cut (part of New York magazine), Pierpaolo Piccioli appears to suggest that Meghan invited herself to Paris. As there is a different in the wording between the online/print version and the Instagram video, I’m presenting both versions:
ONLINE: “Meghan and I met some years ago, and we’ve been texting ever since. She reached out and said she’d love to come to the show. There was no strategy or big orchestration. I didn’t tell anyone she was coming because I wanted it to stay a surprise. In fashion, real surprises are rare, and this one was beautiful.”
VIDEO: “We started texting some years ago. We met and we continued texting. And she just happened to say, ‘I’d love to come to your show.’ We’d been talking about the moment. I was starting at Balenciaga and I was explaining what I was about to do and how I wanted to manage the house. It just happened.”
Their two weeks of fashion shows, galas, and summits are drawing to a close. Aside from her electric appearance at the Balenciaga runway show, it all felt like a rerun of previous events, with only some names, dates, or comments changed.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source writeroyalty.substack.com ’
