Prince Charles meets Queen Rihanna
Charles handed over the “reigns” to the rock star as Barbados became a republic
Look, if you’re going to hand the keys to the nation to anyone, you’d want it to be Rihanna. Our favourite news story this week was Prince Charles attending Barbados’ republic ceremony on Monday, where Rihanna was also honoured as a National Hero.
Kerry wrote a fun opinion piece for The Sunday Telegraph this week. Here’s an extract:
Calling Rihanna the new Queen of Barbados, after the nation ditched the monarchy and became a republic this week, is Frank last absurd. Rihanna is no queen – she’s an absolute goddess.
It was impossible to take your eyes off her at the ceremony in the Caribbean island on Monday night. Rihanna, who was declared a National Hero during the event, was resplendent in an orange silk Bottega Veneta gown. She looked magnificent and certainly dazzled Charles, who was positively beaming behind his mask, as he was snapped clasping her hands and having a chat.
Rihanna, who grew up in Barbados before moving to the USA, is the 11th person to be given the honour and only the second woman - joining 19th century activist Sarah Ann Gill. She can now call herself the Right Honourable Rihanna. Quite right, too.
Meanwhile, poor Charles was in a right honourable state, as he attended the midnight ceremony and was spotted dropping off in the middle of it. The 73-year-old must have been shattered with a mix of jet-lag, humid heat, late-night and long speeches, but he executed a tremendous recovery as he did an ignominious head nod, jerking back into action and pretending to peruse his pamphlet. We feel there should have been some sort of award for that.
Charles should have had a word with Queen Rihanna, as she could have loaned him some of her new pyjamas, if only she’d known HRH needed a nap. Her new Savage X Fenty jim-jams come in a tartan print and look super-cute from the front, until you realise the bottoms have no bum.
They won’t exactly protect the crown jewels, but they would have been just the thing to pep up Charles with a bit of Bajan breeze. We’d like to think Rihanna gifted him some in the VIP goody bag at the Barbados Leaving Party.
Catherine’s a good egg
We know she’s a jewel in the monarchy’s crown, but Catherine also proved herself a good egg this week at the fabulous new Faberge exhibition at London’s V&A.
The Duchess of Cambridge visited Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution on Thursday, which celebrates the craftsmanship of Russian goldsmith Carl Fabergé and includes items on loan from the Queen, the Colonnade Egg, Basket of Flowers Egg and the Mosaic Egg.
For the visit, Catherine sported a Lauren Ralph Lauren paisley top, £139, and her Jigsaw wide-leg trousers, similar ones here. The exhibition runs until May 2022.
Meghan’s media ruling
It was two-all for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex this week, when she successfully won the appeal between her and the Mail on Sunday, over a letter the paper published from her to her father Thomas Markle.
The duchess said her win was “not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right”.
It’s the latest round in a long battle between the Sussexes and the press. Much of it was played out on the recent BBC documentary The Princes and the Press, by journalist Amol Rajan. The documentary analysed where royal stories come from and suggested there were many leaks within the royal households. Kerry wrote about it for The Saturday Telegraph – read here.
The palace responded to the documentary with a statement saying, “A free, responsible and open press is of vital importance to a healthy democracy. However, too often it is overblown and unfounded claims from unnamed sources that are presented as facts and it is disappointing when anyone, including the BBC, gives them credibility.”
The Cambridges also announced their Westminster Abbey Christmas Carol Concert will be broadcast on ITV this Wednesday.
Sophie parties on
How much do we love Sophie Wessex? The Countess got into the Christmas spirit this week when she visited the Disability Initiative (DI) centre in Camberley on Wednesday, sporting a Mrs Claus headband, joining in a music and drama session and making chocolate sculptures and wreaths.
She then visited the Lighthouse volunteers in Woking on Thursday, where she baked mince pies and served festive snacks to those in need, as well as preparing Christmas care packages for children. The Lighthouse charity supports and empowers marginalised members of society.
A corgi Christmas
The Royal List is putting up our tree this weekend, so we’re ordering these corgi Christmas tree decorations from Buckingham Palace, especially as they’re on sale for £10.36. Other decorations include a mini-guardsman, crowns and coaches.
If you’re looking for more Christmas gift ideas, don’t forget The Royal Christmas List from last week – check it out here, if you missed it.