#house sussex

[queen-susans-revenge]

Book reviews: Spare and Endgame

At the rate royal "bombshells" drop, one might imagine Buckingham Palace a smoking crater of charred ruins.

But after years of drama, not only do all the grand old piles in the British royal family’s vast portfolio of real estate still stand, but the royal machinery that sustains them isn’t even dinged. And that's because all the smoke and dazzle is part of a calculated strategy, a show cooked up in concert between "the Firm" and the tabloids that profit from royal clickbait. The gossipy headlines generate profit for the papers, sustain public interest in Britain's royal family, and provide a useful way to punish members who don't toe the institutional line.

Prince Harry's biography Spare became the fastest-selling nonfiction book of all time and generated countless media headlines. Omid Scobie's Endgame is currently providing chum for another tabloid feeding frenzy.

But ironically, both books are packed with stories the tabloids won't repeat, because they illuminate too much of the "invisible contract" between palace and press.

In probably the best coverage of Spare, Zeynep Tufekci wrote for the New York Times: "Any close follower of the British media should not have been surprised that after Prince Harry fell in love with Meghan Markle, the biracial American actress, years of vitriolic, even racist coverage followed. Whipping hatred and spreading lies — including on issues far more consequential than a royal romance — is a specialty of Britain’s atrocious but politically influential tabloids.

"People like me, uninterested in celebrities, shouldn’t dismiss the brouhaha around Harry’s memoir as mere celebrity tittle-tattle. He has made credible, even documented claims that his own family refused to stand up against their ugly, sustained attacks against Meghan. In other words, it appears that Britain’s most revered institution, funded by tens of millions in taxpayer funds annually, plays ball with one of its most revolting institutions.

"At the very least, it seems clear by now where some senior members of the royal family position themselves in all this."

Endgame goes even farther than Spare in detailing the often sordid workings of the invisible contract between journos and courtiers. Scobie details how Christian Jones, Prince William's communications secretary, fed negative stories about the Sussexes to Dan Wootton at The Sun in exchange for burying another story that might have been highly damaging to the heir: reports of private dinners and a "rural rivalry" that hinted at an affair between Prince William and Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

No proof or confirmation of that royal affair was ever provided, because after Jones' intervention, those stories were comprehensively scrubbed from The Sun's website. Instead, the paper was allowed to break the story of what it would call "Megxit": Harry and Meghan's desire to separate themselves from the Firm.

According to both Endgame and a report by the Byline Times, when Harry pursued legal action against The Sun, he was punished by the withdrawal of his official security. (It's worth noting that the disgraced Prince Andrew is still covered by taxpayer-funded security, despite having a much lower threat profile than Harry.) Scobie quotes a source as saying: "I have never seen the Palace circle the wagons like they did with Christian." Byline Times also quotes a source: "They threatened the removal of the funding to try and protect the royal household from a potential courtroom scandal with Jones and Wootton very publicly at the centre."

Why would the Firm pull out all the stops to protect a courtier, even if it meant putting the monarch's own second son in real and immediate danger?

Because Jones is merely a flunky for Prince William, and it's hard to imagine that Jones's press machinations were conducted without the approval of his "principal." Indeed, he wasn't William's only communications secretary to openly collude with the tabloids against Harry and Meghan: another highly placed aide, Jason Knauf, gave testimony on behalf of the Daily Mail in a case brought against it by the Duchess of Sussex, regarding the leak of a private letter. (Despite the attempted sabotage from William's camp, she won that case and was awarded a front page correction and a large settlement.)

The details of all this sordidness — the sacrifice of Harry and Meghan on the altar of tabloid drama, with obsidian knives wielded by Harry’s own closest kin in an attempt to secure more favorable coverage for themselves — forms the narrative backbone of both books. And William isn't the only one implicated in the matter: Queen Camilla emerges as a canny and ruthless operator, buying the rehabilitation of her own image with the coin of gossip leaked against both her stepsons.

"In a funny way I even wanted Camilla to be happy," Harry writes. "Maybe she'd be less dangerous if she was happy."

It's pretty hard to tell if anyone's happy in Britain's royal family. Endgame tells us that Charles is jealous of William, that William is jealous of Harry, and that Harry will probably never get any of the remorse he'd like to see for the way he and his wife were thrown to the wolves. Hating Harry — and even more so, Meghan — has become its own lucrative, self-sustaining industry. Literally hundreds of negative articles are published about the two every day. It's a relentless, often racist onslaught of character assassination that exploits the same culture-war fissions that drove Brexit.

Spare mostly comes off as a good-faith effort from a deeply weird person to explain to the rest of us why he's like this. Endgame isn't as well-written or compelling, but it backs up a lot of what Harry puts into generalizations with names, dates, and specifics. Together, they paint a very damning portrait of two rotten institutions propping each other up at the people's expense.

But by and large, you won't read about that in the press.

[sussex-newswire]

Hate campaign watch: I don't even know what to say. It's insane.

[queen-susans-revenge]

Our current royal family doesn’t have the difficulties in breeding that pandas do, but pandas and royal persons alike are expensive to conserve and ill-adapted to any modern environment. But aren’t they interesting? Aren’t they nice to look at? --Hillary Mantel

"I recognized the absurdity, a man in his mid-thirties being financially cut off by his father. But Pa wasn’t merely my father, he was my boss, my banker, my comptroller, keeper of the purse strings throughout my adult life. Cutting me off therefore meant firing me, without redundancy pay, and casting me into the void after a lifetime of service. More, after a lifetime of rendering me otherwise unemployable.

"I felt fatted for the slaughter. Suckled like a veal calf. I’d never asked to be financially dependent on Pa. I’d been forced into this surreal state, this unending Truman Show in which I almost never carried money, never owned a car, never carried a house key, never once ordered anything online, never received a single box from Amazon, almost never traveled on the Underground. (Once, at Eton, on a theater trip.) Sponge, the papers called me. But there’s a big difference between being a sponge and being prohibited from learning independence. After decades of being rigorously and systematically infantilized, I was now abruptly abandoned" --Prince Harry, Spare

I think we've heard the phrase "fame is abuse" before but it applies most to the English royal family, doesn't it? Tapping phone lines, hacking into phones, paparazzi contributing to Diana's death, constant speculation about the women's fertility, hyper monitoring of the women's bodies, the "caged panda" effect of being well taken care of but unable to do anything even mildly of their own will. They're born to do Imperial PR. And while PR for empire is evil, and abdication is always a fantastic option, having an entire family of people born and raised only to look pretty and have babies is also an evil of its own kind. Not as dangerous of an evil as the hoarding of wealth and the abuse of native peoples globally. But still an evil.

It produces warped and stunted people, too. Charles III's total failure to remove himself from politics and his crunchy conspiracy nonsense are the most noticeable effects of being a guy who's never been told "no" in his life (and the one time he was told no, he just carried it on as an affair anyways, damn the effects on his wife). And then we have Harry and William, made to perform their grief for millions of people, and Megan, who had the unfair choice of either giving up her relationship or walking into the greatest historical den of racism in the world.

We have a good teehee about short live the king around here and every royal death is an awesome chance to just stop, to just not hold another coronation. But tbh the whole system is internally abusive to those closest to it as well, and that's a secondary reason to shut it down. It's like releasing a zoo animal into the wild, right? They don't want to go from the million dollar enclosure into an uncertain environment, but set them free and their grandkids will thank you.

[essayisms]

During this peculiar September heatwave we are having, I made the pilgrimage to Virginia and Leonard Woolf's house in Sussex.

[livesunique]

Herstmonceux Castle,

Herstmonceux, East Sussex, United Kingdom

[upstairsdownstairsandinbetween]

“Tilly Losch Footprint” Carpet,’ 1950,

Monkton House, South Downs, West Sussex, United Kingdom,

The Surrealist British poet Edward James was so in love with his ballerina wife, Tilly Losch, that when he saw a trail of her wet footprints up the stairs after her bath, he had them woven into the carpet. He also created a stairwell lined in a carpet woven with his dog’s paw-prints.

[huariqueje]

Summer at Great Dixter - Francis Hamel ,  2023.

British , b. 1963 -

Oil on linen , 18. x 14 in. 46 x 35.5 cm.

[coffeeandstrawberries]

Petworth House by Nathan Rollinson

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

So Sorry...

Thank you to Plant's @anonymoushouseplantfan Anon who created the January 2023 "Royal Family Apology." May I suggest that we reblog, share, and update that master list of apologies as often as the victimized saint reinvents & rebrands herself. Here's my contribution with the original linked below.

Running List of Apologies to the Saint Rachel Meghan Markle

(Updated for 2025)

I’m sorry your boyfriend, a prince, didn’t explain how to courtesy to The Queen 

I’m sorry we respected your boundaries by not hugging on first meeting

I'm sorry we didn't require "H" to know you for a minimum of five (5) years (customary for other family members) BEFORE engagement

I’m sorry you were the first girlfriend to be invited to spend Christmas at Sandringham with Queen Elizabeth II and family

I'm sorry Charles honored your wishes to see and spend the night with William's family at Anmer Hall during his family's private Christmas celebrations

I'm sorry that Catherine (heavily pregnant and suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum) prepared meals for you (in her kitchen) according to your dietary requests

I'm sorry you told the world that members of the British Royal Family had been "wonderful," specifically Catherine

I'm sorry you told us the same lie you told your first husband's family (the Engleson's): "you are the family I never had"

I’m sorry we hid your alarmingly shady past from the public and wiped most of it off the internet

I’m sorry we lied to the press about the existence of the nude pictures you took of yourself, easily available on the internet

I’m sorry we helped perpetuate your lie that you have two (2) degrees: ‘international relations & theatre’ when Northwestern actually awarded you one (1) degree=one (1) diploma: a  Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Communications

I’m sorry we helped perpetuate your lie that you were employed by the US Embassy in Argentina instead of enrolled in a 5-6 week program organised by the uncle (Mike) you refused to invite to the wedding and paid for by the father you refuse to "show up" for

I’m sorry we didn’t silence you by making you sign NDAs, therefore allowing you to secure multi-million-dollar deals and projects

I'm sorry we didnt insist that you maintain employment as an actress and blogger, similar to Sophie (Prince Edward's wife) who maintained her employment as an entrepreneur and business owner

I'm sorry we didn't require you to become a British citizen as a condition of your service to Queen and to country

I’m sorry we granted you, an American, your own coat of arms from the 500-year-old College of Arms

I’m sorry we granted you (a divorcee) the privilege of marrying in the historic Royal Chapel at Windsor Castle, a courtesy denied to divorcee Charles, the future king of England and his bride, Camilla

I'm sorry we (Charles and Queen Elizabeth) created a British gospel choir and invited a black American guest preacher for your wedding ceremony

I’m sorry we spent £32 million on your heavily promoted wedding 

I’m sorry we acquiesced to you inviting celebrities you’d never met, and only one (1) blood relative (Markle/Ragland) to your wedding

I’m sorry the future king stepped in to walk you down the aisle 

I’m sorry we loaned you the use of the historic diamond-encrusted bandeau tiara

I’m sorry we gifted your husband the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Earl and Countess of Dumbarton and Baron and Baroness Kilkeel

I’m sorry we spent £1 million on your first-year wardrobe 

I’m sorry we spent £4 million-a-year on your security

I’m sorry for any jewellery gifted to you, including a pair of pearl earrings from Queen Elizabeth II and two (2) diamonds from Princess Diana's private collection

I’m sorry we advised you twice not to wear those blood diamonds gifted by Jamal Khashoggi’s murderer

I’m sorry we appointed you several advisers and assistants, along with a plethora of written documents to ease the transition to royal life

I'm sorry we believed you when you were offered the Queen's handpicked counselors which you rejected in favor of "H" training you

I’m sorry The Queen invited you to a theatre charity and overnight engagement less than four weeks after marrying "H," the earliest ever joint engagement with The Queen

I’m sorry we introduced you to world leaders, high-ranking officials and A-list celebrities

I’m sorry we’re the reason George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and Elton John know your name

I'm sorry you didnt invite Oprah Winfrey to visit your Cotswolds Farmhouse

I’m sorry we gave you your own independent team of staff and that prime office space

I’m sorry you only undertook 72 days of royal work

I'm sorry for the dozens of international trips you took as a member of the British Royal Family

I’m sorry we gave you platforms to assist with a cookbook fundraiser, to guest edit British Vogue, and a one-time fashion capsule (designed by your friend)

I’m sorry your behaviour on the Oceania tour angered your hosts and we covered it up by encouraging positive coverage from the press

I’m sorry we covered up your rampant bullying of young professional women and then covered up the results of the bullying investigation in an effort to protect you

I’m sorry we helped cover up that you worked with the authors of Finding Freedom

I’m sorry we didn’t clamp down on you monetising your official royal engagements

I’m sorry for allowing you to keep all those freebies you’re definitely not allowed to keep

I’m sorry we footed the £3.2 million bill to renovate your house to your liking

I’m sorry we gifted you an 11-room house on the Windsor estate, for free

I’m sorry we let you live free-of-charge in a two-bedroom London property while the free five-bedroom country house we gave you was renovated

I’m sorry we funded a household staff of cooks, cleaners and nannies for you

I’m sorry that while you were dating "H," we took an interest in what colour your future yet-to-be-conceived baby’s hair might be

I'm sorry we thought little gingers, similar to the adorable little orphan annie, would make a welcome addition to our family

I'm sorry "H" said your genes were stronger than his genes

I’m sorry for providing a team of highly-trained, expensive doctors at your disposal

I’m sorry nobody stopped you from wearing a maternity coat and announcing your 8-week pregnancy at the wedding of your husband’s cousin

I’m sorry you publicly announced your first pregnancy on Infant Loss Awareness Day

I'm sorry you weren't asked to unveil your children as they departed the hospital or on the day of Christening

I’m sorry we permitted you to ban the British press (in favour of the American press) from covering the unveiling of your first child in Windsor Castle several days after the birth

I'm sorry you thought it appropriate to gift Catherine a knife for Christmas

I’m sorry we allowed you to mistakenly believe you were more popular than Catherine and William

I’m sorry our support made you feel emboldened to behave appallingly towards staff and ticket-holders at Wimbledon, florists, gardeners, etc

I'm sorry you and H chose to attend the Lion King movie premiere instead of the Veterans event. You were desperate to meet Beyonce and JayZ, and you also demanded H ask Bob Iger to hire you for a Disney voice over job

I’m sorry we invited you to The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee after you’d called us all racist abusers on international television

I’m sorry we invited you to the funeral of the longest-serving monarch in British history after you continued to slander everything she ever worked for in multiple interviews and podcasts

I’m sorry nobody asked if you’re okay.

"So sorry about all that."

[rainydetectiveglitter]

What Not to Do with Your Chiron: A cautionary tale from Meghan Markle’s 11th-House Wound

Chiron wounds are tricky. They’re the part of us that never quite heals, no matter how much we try to fix, prove, or control them. The more we chase validation in this area, the more it feels like rejection follows.

Meghan Markle is a prime example of this. She has Chiron in the 11th house, the house of community, social impact, networks, and collective belonging. This means her deepest wound is tied to fitting in with groups, being accepted by the public, and making a large-scale impact.

And yet, what does she keep pushing? 11th-house themes. She leans into the role of a global humanitarian, a community leader, someone trying to create large-scale influence… but instead of being embraced, it constantly backfires. The more she tries to prove herself in this space, the more rejection, criticism, and skepticism she receives.

Her new show, With Love, Meghan, is a perfect example. It’s meant to be warm, uplifting, and communal. But instead of praise, it’s being called inauthentic, calculated, and disconnected from reality. Why? Because she’s forcing an 11th-house role rather than letting it unfold naturally.

What Not to Do with Your Chiron (Using Meghan Markle as a Case Study)

1️⃣ Don’t force the wound. Chiron isn’t meant to be “overcome” through sheer effort. The more you try to prove yourself in this area, the more it feels like you're swimming against the tide. Meghan’s relentless push to be seen as a global humanitarian keeps triggering resistance instead of support.

2️⃣ Don’t seek external validation. Chiron wounds often make us crave approval in that specific area. But acceptance in the 11th house can’t be forced, it has to happen naturally. The more Meghan tries to craft an image of social impact, the more it comes off as curated rather than authentic.

3️⃣ Don’t mistake performative efforts for real connection. The 11th house rules genuine community and belonging, not just PR campaigns. People sense when someone is trying too hard. Instead of telling the world she cares, Meghan’s best move would be to let her impact speak for itself.

4️⃣ Don’t ignore your strengths Meghan has Fortune (a point of luck) in the 11th house, meaning opportunities for public influence are already there. Instead of constantly pushing her narrative, she would benefit from simply letting things flow. Her luck will work better when she stops trying to micromanage how she’s perceived.

Instead of chasing recognition in your wounded area, lean into what feels natural and effortless. Meghan’s struggle shows that Chiron wounds can’t be “fixed” through PR strategies, they have to be moved through with authenticity and self-awareness.

Want to stop the backlash? Stop forcing what isn’t landing. Instead of trying to control how people see you, let your presence and actions do the talking.

Because when you push Chiron’s wound, the universe pushes back imo

[queen-susans-revenge]

It's so fun watching the Sussexes crush another freelance royal tour! I know I've said before that the beef between them and the Palace is fundamentally a labor dispute, and here they are, just viciously displaying their competitive advantage.

I mean, William and Catherine can't do this. They're fundamentally incapable of going to diverse countries and forging diplomatic bonds, generating that kind of free global goodwill just through their charisma and performance. Surely there must be some beancounters sitting around back home, chewing on the inside of their lips, and wondering if there's any way to walk back the hardball that they played before?

Or is it really just so feudal, still, that it actually does come down to William being jealous of his little brother's wife?

Because Harry and Meghan are signaling that they'd be fine with a truce, and William is letting it be known that no, they are in exile. This is in no way good for Britain, or the monarchy, or anything like that. It only soothes William's ego.

So if they just keep shutting the Sussexes out entirely, well, that's amazing. Whole state level decisions still being made by one spoiled boy!

Anyway I'm having a lot of fun putting newspaper clippings into my scrapbook/sideblog @sussex-newswire

[peacefulandcozy]

Instagram credit: aquietdiary

[livesunique]

Arundel Castle, Arundel, West Sussex, United Kingdom,

Courtesy of Paul Highnam. ©Paul Highnam for Country Life

[trexalicious]

More like her ratings fell faster than a Soho House girl's knickers...🤣

[silverfoxstole]

Nymans, West Sussex, June 2024.