MEGHAN Markle has had a very busy year despite taking a step back from the Royal family and one expert has claimed that Meghan ‘”speaking the truth”‘ has been an “absolute disaster”.
The Duchess recently won a privacy battle, but judges made a point of her “unfortunate lapse of memory”. An expert claimed this has exposed her true nature after she apologised to the court for ‘forgetting’ information.
In an article for ‘The SPECTATOR’ Julie Burchill said “‘Speaking her truth’ has been one of Meghan Markle’s USPs – and what an absolute disaster it’s been.”
Burchill continued to state how despite Meghan ‘quitting’ her acting career she was still continuing playing a ‘role’.
She said “Though the Duchess had been assumed to have quit her acting career in order to spend more time with her merchandise, perhaps she was actually performing her most convincing role yet; that of a loving daughter unwillingly estranged from her darling dad, distraught when the clammy claws of the press got their hands on private correspondence.”
Read our Meghan Markle live blog for the latest news and gossip
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Prince Charles & Camilla share Happy New Year post
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have shared a series of pictures on their social media as they wish everyone a Happy New Year.
Taking to their Twitter account, Prince of Wales his wife wrote: “A joy to see so many of you again this year – whether that be with elbow bumps, handshakes or a friendly wave from afar!
“Wishing you all a very happy and restful New Year.”
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Prince Harry’s letter ‘tells you where his head is at’ (Continued…)
Speaking about this, royal expert Russell Myers said: “We have heard, certainly over the last few months and the last couple of years after Harry was stripped of his military titles, about how disappointed he was of that.”
Mr Myers said: “I think Harry really does get bad press some of the time,” but added “but when Harry is speaking from the heart, I think that that is to be applauded.
“And the fact that he reached out in this way by just saying ‘I deeply empathise with what your family is going through and I so wish that I could assist formally had I been in the role that I once was’.”
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Prince Harry’s letter ‘tells you where his head is at’
According to a royal expert Prince Harry wrote an emotional letter to the family of a fallen military hero shortly before Christmas, which “tells you where his head is at”.
Nathan Hunt served in Afghanistan with Harry in 2008, but sadly took his own life in 2018 after suffering from severe mental health troubles, which his parents believe were linked to his military service.
Nathan’s parents turned to Harry in a bid to have their son’s name put on an armed forces memorial, and in a letter back to them The Duke said: “I deeply empathise with what your family is going through and so wish I could assist formally, had I been in the same role I once was.”
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Start of the Royal Family calendar
The Queen will be joined by the nation in celebrating the Platinum Jubilee in the summer of 2022, but there are also other key events in the New Year that the Queen is due to attend.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said to Express.co.uk: “there’s so much we don’t know” the royals’ calendar in the coming year.
He said: “Trips abroad, for example, royal engagements, how many will be in person? The pandemic has and will continue to affect a great deal of events.”
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What are the New Year’s Honours judged on?
The honours system recognises individual achievements in fields including:
- community, voluntary and local services
- arts and media
- sport
- science and technology
- health
- education
- business and the economy
- civil or political service
To receive an honour, the recipient must be actively involved in the area where they would have been nominated for and the only honours which can be awarded after someone’s death are bravery awards.
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Explained: Who decides who receives an award?
Whether someone gets an honour is decided by the honours committee.
Honours committees are made up of both senior civil servants and people who are independent of government with an independent chairperson.
All nominees are checked by various government departments to make sure they’re suitable for honour and this may include checks by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) before their recommendations are passed on to the Prime Minister, and then the Queen.
Once all recipients have been decided and checks have been completed, the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood at St James’s Palace then arranges for the recipients to be presented with their medals by the Queen or other members of the Royal Family.
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When is the New Year’s Honours list announced?
A list of approximately 1,350 names is published twice a year, at the New Year and on the date of the Sovereign’s (official) birthday.
The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and those for next year were announced on 30 December.
Recipients of the honours list this year will have a scheduled event at some point in the upcoming year with The Queen or her regal representative to mark the occasion and award their medals or decoration.
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Royal news you may have missed
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Piers Morgan: ‘powerful men could be sweating… and not sweating’
PIERS Morgan says “a lot of powerful people could be sweating… and not sweating” in a jibe at Prince Andrew following Ghislaine Maxwell’s guilty verdict.
TV host Piers has questioned whether Maxwell will “name names” to in a bid to dodge a lengthy sentence as she faces the prospect of dying in jail.
He wrote on Twitter: “Will vile sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell now sing like a canary to avoid spending the rest of her life in prison?
“If she does, there could be a lot of rich, powerful & famous people sweating tonight… and not sweating.”
His remark about “not sweating” came as a dig at the Duke of York after he claimed in his disastrous BBC interview that he “couldn’t sweat”.
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Queen’s annual lucky dip
The royal family spend quality time together on New Year’s playing games such as charades and the Queen will also participate in an annual lucky dip predicting the year ahead for the royals.
A source previously said to The Express: “The predictions are written up by the household but approved by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
“Each member of the family picks out an envelope and reads out their prediction to the rest of the room.
“They’re meant to be funny but like all the family’s humour there’s an element of score-settling and getting even to them.
“They’re usually taken in good humour but some people can get quite huffy if they feel they’re being got at.”
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How the royal family spend New Year’s Eve
This year will feel very different for the Queen as it is the first since the death of her husband Prince Philip – and her plans have also been affected by the pandemic.
Typically the royal family spends the festive season in the countryside away from the city.
The official royal website says: “The Royal Family traditionally spends Christmas and New Year at Sandringham House. The Queen’s country estate in Norfolk.”
The Queen usually stays in Sandringham until February 6 each year, which is the date of the death of her father King George VI in 1952.
Kate Middleton and Prince William typically take their kids to spend New Year’s Eve with the Middleton family, who live in Berkshire.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have spent the last two Christmas seasons across the pond.
It is not known how the Sussexes and Cambridges will be spending the New Year break this year.
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Ghislaine Maxwell faces ANOTHER criminal trial
Ghislaine Maxwell could face another criminal trial following her conviction for child sex trafficking offences by a New York court.
The disgraced socialite could be back in court next year on charges that she lied under oath about what she know about Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of underage girls.
Maxwell was accused of “serving up” girls for the late multi-millionaire Epstein, her former lover, with the pair described as “partners in crime”.
US District Judge Alison Nathan – who oversaw the case – has agreed to try Maxwell on two counts of perjury separately from her sex-crimes charges, according to Bloomberg.
Prosecutors are looking to further expose the relationship Epstein had with Maxwell.
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A ‘series of tired attempts by Prince Andrew to duck and dodge’
Last month, Kaplan said a trial in Ms Roberts’ lawsuit against Andrew could occur between September and December 2022.
But the prince’s lawyers say the new information about her residence should result in the suspension of any further progress in the lawsuit toward trial until it is settled whether she can sue Andrew in the US.
They asked the judge to order Ms Roberts to respond to written legal requests about her residency and submit to a two-hour deposition on the issue.
An attorney for Ms Roberts, Sigrid McCawley, called the request to toss out the case “just another in a series of tired attempts by Prince Andrew to duck and dodge the legal merits of the case brought against him”.
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Prince Andrew ‘wants to protect Queen’
Royal sources claim that Prince Andrew wants to protect the Queen by avoiding a court case from sex assault accuser Virginia Roberts as he fears it will damage the monarchy.
It’s understood the duke – who denies all the claims against him – told friends he wants to protect the monarchy by having the case thrown out of court.
But insiders say the only way he can convince the British public of his innocence is to go to court next week and disprove the allegations levelled by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, according to the Daily Express.
The publication claims the Duke of York thinks he can still make a “comeback” after stepping down from royal duties in 2019 by avoiding the courtroom and using other means to discredit Ms Roberts’ account.
Read more here.
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The most anticipated Royal birth of all time
Research conducted by childcare experts Little Ones London, analysed Google trends data for major Royal births over the past eight years, to discover which Royal birth had the biggest influence of all.
The birth of Archie Harrison, the first child of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, caused more online interest than any other Royal baby, new research can reveal.
- Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor had the most talked-about Royal birth in the UK, with searches for ‘royal baby’ skyrocketing 2700% at the time of his birth
- Princess Charlotte had the second most influential Royal birth, causing searches for ‘royal baby’ to explode 1000% the month that she was born
- Prince Louis, Prince George and Lilibet Diana also had some of the most talked about Royal births
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‘Prince Andrew needs to be investigated’
Jennifer Araoz, just 15 when raped by Epstein, demanded the royal be investigated hours after his pal Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking.
Make-up artist Jennifer, now 34, told The Sun: “The authorities should have been investigating other people a long time ago.
“Prince Andrew needs to be investigated for any women who were involved with him.
“The TV interview he had to ‘prove his innocence’ didn’t come across very well in my opinion.
“If the authorities haven’t investigated other people by now, it’s hard to see if they will.
“But I have a lot of faith in the justice system. If they feel like they need to go further then they will.”
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Prince Andrew holed up alone in Windsor
PRINCE Andrew was holed up alone in Windsor last night after pal Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking — and his family left for a ski holiday.
A New York Court will decide on Tuesday if his accuser Virginia Giuffre’s assault claims can go to trial.
Andrew, 61, denies any wrongdoing.
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Duke of Kent to release book before Harry
A source has said that the Queen’s cousin is set to release his own memoirs before Prince Harry’s bombshell book comes out next year.
The Duke of Kent’s royal book is due to be published in May.
A source close to the Duke told the Daily Mail: “Edward’s book will aim to show that the most successful members of the Royal Family are those who support the Queen and don’t compete with her.”
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Where is Ghislaine Maxwell now? (Continued…)
The prosecutor said Maxwell was a “sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing” who “ran the same playbook again and again and again”.
“She manipulated her victims and groomed them. She caused deep and lasting harm to young girls,” Moe said.
“Epstein could not have done this alone. When that man is accompanied by a posh, smiling, respectable, age-appropriate woman, that’s when everything starts to seem legitimate.”
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Where is Ghislaine Maxwell now?
Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking and grooming girls for pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to abuse.
The 59-year-old socialite was accused of “serving up” girls for the multi-millionaire, her former lover, with the pair described as “partners in crime”.
The exact date of her sentencing has yet to be announced.
In what was described as the “trial of the century”, the jury heard how Maxwell snared girls as young as 14 for Epstein – and even joined in the abuse herself.
Maxwell was found not guilty of enticing a minor to engage in an illegal sex act – one of six charges against her.
On the final day of the trial on Monday, Assistant US Attorney Alison Moe summed up the prosecution case against Maxwell, who she said was a “grown woman who preyed on vulnerable kids”.
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Where was Ghislaine hiding?
Ghislaine Maxwell:
- After Epstein got arrested, Maxwell took refuge in many unknown parts of the world.
- Her whereabouts were unknown until the FBI began tracking her and found out she was living in Bedford, New Hampshire.
- Maxwell was also living with a man, Scott Borgerson who reportedly was her boyfriend.
- Borgerson is the CEO of a tech company called CargoMetrics and is 14 years her senior.
- He claims the two were never ‘together’ and were ‘just friends.’
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Explained: Was Jeffrey Epstein a Navy SEAL?
Epstein wasn’t a Navy SEAL.
The theme of Princess Beatrice’s party was the period of 1888, so it is unclear why he wore a Navy SEAL uniform since the special operations force was founded in 1962.
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When did Jeffrey Epstein dress in a Navy SEAL uniform?
Epstein dressed in a Navy SEAL uniform back in 2006 for Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday party.
He wore a white high-ranking Navy commander suit, which is reserved for formal occasions.
Senior officials usually wear this uniform, which includes the Navy SEAL Trident, the insignia reserved for members of the elite fighting force.
Epstein’s suit featured legitimate service ribbons and medals, although some were fictitious.
The Sun exclusively obtained this 2006 photo of Epstein dressed in a Navy uniform at Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday -
Kate’s 40th birthday plan
It is claimed that Kate Middleton will most likely have a “low-key” 40th birthday celebration next month which will avoid comparisons with Meghan Markle.
Royal expert Duncan Larcombe told OK! he believes the Duchess of Cambridge’s birthday will instead be an affair that is “deliberately modest.
He claims the palace is keen to avoid “this awful continuation of one-upmanship” with the Duchess of Sussex.
Mr Larcombe said: “It will be low key and it will be focused entirely on the family.”
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Christmas ‘a test’ for The Queen
A source has said that The Queen’s first Christmas since the death of husband Prince Philip was “a test.”
A source told US Weekly: “Without Prince Philip by her side, Christmas was a bit difficult for the Queen.
“And the fact of not being able to spend it with all your family did not help.”
Despite this, a source said: “Elizabeth II is not the type to feel sorry for her fate.”