Meghan seated next to Pearlena Igbokwea, the Chairwoman of Universal (NBC) Studio Group. Universal is launching Suits LA. Getty.
Happy Sunday!! When planning this week’s newsletter, we forgot to consider that this was Super Bowl Sunday!! So, if you are taking a break from watching the game to read this or not really a football fan, welcome!!
Royal fans received the best news on Friday, as Richard Eden revealed that Kate was well enough to leave Windsor on Thursday and travel to Anmer Hall on the Sandringham Estate, for the children’s half-term break. With Charles and Camilla also at Sandringham this week, I’m sure there will be a mix of relaxing and planning, as the Royal Family navigates these next few months.
Indeed, there was an interesting article released late Saturday night from The Times. Written by Roya Nikkhah, titled “As the King thanks nation for support, William’s dilemma is between royal duty or family”, it examines how William will handle the coming weeks, as Charles undergoes treatment for cancer and Kate is recovering. While it has great details on how William and Charles are coping during this period, it also pushes one of the worst assumptions, I feel, is made about the royals. The belief that “duty” trumps all, even family. William and Kate have shown that a balance can be made, as they have excelled as the most popular royals, yet they continue to foster a close, happy family unit. I inwardly cringe at this topic and I think it’s used as almost a backhanded attack on the royals.
The first step the palace is taking, making sure Charles, whenever he’s in London, has a visual presence. Charles will be dividing his time between Sandringham and Highgrove, with weekly visits to London for treatment. Whenever in London, he will be driven in the state Bentley with its extra large windows, “he’s keen to be seen,” a source told The Times. His weekly meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be held at Buckingham Palace, photos and videos of these meetings will likely be released.
Officially, the palace’s public stance is “the Prince of Wales may step in for His Majesty, nothing is scheduled currently, Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace are in constant communication and should the need arise, appropriate arrangements will be made.” But, Roya (as she’s commonly referred to among royal watchers) notes that “in some royal circles, however, there is a slight sense of bewilderment at William’s determination to so fiercely protect his boundaries when it comes to his diary.” Meaning, Buckingham Palace officials don’t understand William’s insistence on taking time off as Kate recovers.
Sources close to William shared that he’s still in shock and digesting the news of his Father’s diagnosis, as he also deals with Kate’s recovery after major surgery. I think this reflects how serious Kate’s condition really is, it has given William a great deal to consider. The source added this about William, “At times like this, it is a reminder that as well as being the future head of state, he is also a human being. He is processing the news of his father having cancer as a human being. Given the seriousness with which he takes his role, of course it is something he will be thinking about.”
William and Kate attending Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey, 2023. Getty.
On March 11th, the Commonwealth Day service will be held at Westminster Abbey. Camilla and William are expected to attend, Charles is not. William may read Charles’ traditional Commonwealth Day message or it might be recorded by Charles. William’s presence at the BAFTAs is still under consideration. It falls on the last night of the children’s half-term, February 18th, and no decision has been made yet concerning his attendance. Palace sources had this to say about William’s return to public engagements, “After spending half-term with the children, you can expect to see the Prince of Wales return to work in a more normal way, in the knowledge that he will still be supporting his wife and still be doing the school run and pick-ups.”
A close aide had previously shared that during the final months of the Queen’s life, as Charles and William were stepping in for her on occasion, “There is a sense of the future accelerating towards him … and the added pressures on his family being under even more scrutiny.” With a close friend adding, “He knows the future [of the monarchy] rests on his, Catherine’s and his kids’ shoulders, and that’s a lot of pressure.”
Since Kate’s surgery on January 16th, with William returning to engagements shortly after February 19, William will have only been gone about a month. And while we have no confirmation on what condition caused Kate’s surgery, I think it’s safe to say that it’s very serious, with an extensive recovery time. William and Kate have always been measured, considered, thoughtful, and history has proven right, about planning their royal roles. I think they are taking that same approach now and it will prove to be just as effective and successful going forward. Right now, they need this time.
While reports from the palace constantly cite the children as the major reason for William’s time away, I honestly think it’s equally supporting Kate through all of this. And assuring her, that her health and recovery come first, no matter the pressures from the outside world. After all, if she’s not healthy and OK, everything else in William’s life, isn’t going to matter.
In other news this week, the Daily Mail is exclusively reporting that Meghan will not be apart of the Suits reboot, Suits LA. I’m waiting until more information is announced about the cast and talent, but if true, this is a massive miss on Meghan’s part. She desperately needed to be involved with Suits LA. And not just as a throwaway producer credit, which even the article is nixing. Meghan has nothing of substance that she’s professionally working on. Her image has been completely demolished, of course, through her own making. Just look at her Instagram account “Meghan”, which her team had to disown because of the lack of interest from the public. Suits was something where she had success before her royal life. Being part of the reboot would have given her an opportunity to turn the page and move on. It would have given her a base to build from, including with brands that won’t touch her right now. She could have branched out with the show, maybe helping to write some episodes or even direct a few. The insanity of throwing that away is absurd.
During her appearance at Variety’s Power of Women gala in November, Meghan was seated next to Pearlena Igbokwea, she is the Chairwoman of Universal (NBC) Studio Group. They are launching Suits LA. Meghan, putting aside her duchess hat, even walked the red carpet, cooing over Suits’ numbers on Netflix. She was in work mode. If it’s true that Meghan is not connected to Suits LA, there’s a massive story there. Probably similar to Spotify. Opportunities like this reboot don’t come around that often, especially with these huge worldwide numbers. It will be interesting to watch and see what becomes of this. Did Universal NBC get the Spotify treatment from Meghan?
So, today Meghan and Harry have launched a new site, sussex.com. I wanted to add some comments on this as it fits perfectly with our newsletter from Sunday. First, Archewell.com has now been scrubbed and it simply points to sussex.com. Sussexroyal.com has a link to sussex.com. This is a very pointed rebrand for Meghan and Harry, going back to their royal days. On sussex.com, it includes pages for Archewell Foundation and Archewell Productions. Archewell Audio, the arm that did Meghan's podcast does not have a area on the site. Lili and Archie are named by title on the site.
As everyone is familiar, Meghan and Harry agreed not to use Sussex Royal in any endeavors after leaving the royal family. In disgust, they publicly hit back on this, griping that the royal family did not "own" the term royal and they could use it, although promised they wouldn't. At the time, I said, that sounds like a threat and I wondered if they actually planned to use it in the future. It looks like that's partly happening. The site says that Meghan and Harry will be using this for "business and philanthropy".
How wise is it for Meghan and Harry to double down on their royal connection? IMO, not wise at all. They have been down this path before and it did not work well. Perhaps, WME or another advisor decided that this royal connection could be rebranded a different way. I disagree. They don't understand the situation and the history involved.
There is a lot to unpack here. Roya's article reminds me of silly season during the Summer when the reporters are desperate for content while the royals take time off. What I'll never understand is why they don't focus on the royals who are actually working right now: Camilla, Edward, Sophie, Anne, and the Gloucesters. I have a hard time believing her because William was very forthcoming about how it would be while Kate recovered. Clearly BP has known that for weeks. And I do think it will come out that he's been working from home while also caring for the family because things like the Earthshot announcement wouldn't be happening without his approval. I do feel for him though. Kate clearly prefers him as her caregiver and now he has to also worry about his only remaining parent. That's a lot and I hope he has good emotional support around him.
I agree something happened with Meghan and Suits but can't really figure out what. Peacock has got to be clamoring for a hit right now as all the streamers fight for subscribers. The show may be a hit without her but having her there would elevate the views for sure. Quality doesn't really matter. And yes Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Gayle King, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and others were all at the Super Bowl last night and no sign of the Montecito royals.