Prince Harry was in Oxford today, visiting Oxford Children’s Hospital, spending time with parents and kids with cancer and also the OXSRAD Disability Sports and Leisure Centre. 

As you can see from these photos, and as he always is when he’s representing the royal brand, Harry is present and engaging, everyone looks delighted to be around him. Here’s a really cute moment: 

Prince William and Kate were also out on official duty today. Will spoke at the joint meeting for the United for Wildlife task force:

Kate, meanwhile, was at Betchley Park. 

Full day for the young senior royals, all of them out there working – and it’s a good look, to see them individually fronting their causes, busy on behalf of the family, but it works as a collective effort, which of course is important especially now, since for months there have been nothing but rumours about a fracture between the two Houses, Cambridge and Sussex. And that’s happened the last few days too, as Will and Kate haven’t yet met Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, born just over a week ago. 

 

The Cambridges will reportedly visit with Harry, Meghan Markle, and baby Archie some time this week, but there’s been talk about why it hasn’t happened yet, and whether or not it’s because Meghan is being difficult because you’re supposed to throw open your home to people days after giving birth. Are you though? 

I don’t want throw open my home to anyone after I’ve taken a nap, I can only imagine how I would feel after carrying a child in my body for 9 months and then having to push it out. 

Still, the UK media is determined to extend this drama and blame it on Meghan, particularly now, as they’re still pissed about her masterful baby rollout last week. Many members of the UK media are in their feelings about not being told exactly when Meghan went into labour, and they’re fussed about the announcement being made on Instagram, and they’re also still holding a grudge about how the Sussexes chose to present Archie for the first time at Windsor Castle with only a couple cameras, and one producer and reporter. There’s probably a little embarrassment involved too. It was the UK papers that first floated the story that Meghan and Harry were planning a home birth and now a lot of people think she actually gave birth at Portland Hospital in London, although no one knows for sure because the Sussexes aren’t releasing the birth certificate which is another thing that the British media are enraged about. 

Basically she outplayed them. Why? Because she is a celebrity and she is using the celebrity playbook. Like I keep saying, she was trained in Hollywood, the birthplace of famewhoring, her star ascending in the time of social media – she’s Kardashianing the sh-t out of them and they don’t get it. Of course she’s beating them at the game. Even her Mother’s Day picture was pure celebrity/Instagram generation: Archie’s feet nestled in her hands against a backdrop of blue violets…? Corn flowers? Hibiscus? Geraniums? F-ck, I don’t know, I’m not goddamn botanist, I’m a gossip columnist. Whatever. It’s a basic-ass IG Pinterest photo, reminiscent of the aesthetic of The Tig. This is how she’s reviving it.