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Has Harry’s book been delayed?

The continued mystery over the whereabouts of Prince Harry’s memoir seems to have led to an outbreak of optimism at Buckingham Palace, where family and courtiers are likely worrying what fresh hell is about to rain down upon them.

The source of this optimism is based around the somewhat flimsy notion that no one knows if and when the book is coming out. Penguin Random House had said the book was due out in the fall, but it’s not on its upcoming list of books. It’s being ghost-written by author JR Moehringer, and Harry has said of it: “I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become.”

A royal insider told The Sun on Sunday: “If this book’s coming out this year as originally planned it should be in the publisher’s marketing and promotional list—unless they’re planning a surprise or there’s been a delay. Its omission has raised lots of eyebrows in royal circles.”

Given it’s such a huge property, the possibility that the publisher could be planning a surprise drop to maximize publicity is a distinct possibility—so any soothed nerves at the palace may soon start jangling again at what Harry might be about to dish or bitch about, which could affect any hopes of a reconciliation with brother Prince William and the rest of the royals.

Indeed, a spokesperson for Transworld, part of Penguin Random House, told The Sun on Sunday: “We don’t put every book on the list so there is nothing to be extrapolated from that.”

Harry this week won the latest round of his and Meghan Markle’s legal actions against Associated Newspapers.

Queen leads royal popularity poll

Queen Elizabeth leads the latest survey of the most popular royals. A YouGov poll reveals 75 percent of British adults have a positive view of the monarch; Kate Middleton is second at 68 percent, then Prince William with 66 percent, and then—weirdly—the very much dead Prince Philip with 64 percent. Next, Princess Anne scores 53 percent, her daughter Zara Phillips 49 percent, Prince Charles 42 percent, wife Camilla 40 percent, with Prince Harry at 34 percent, running behind Prince Edward and Sophie, and Meghan Markle at 25 percent, just one place above Prince Andrew at the bottom of the heap.

The pollsters break down the statistics according to certain demographic markers. Among millennials, Harry and Meghan score way better, though the queen, Kate, and William (and Prince Philip) still beat them. Among Generation X, Prince Philip is the most popular royal! Among women, Kate is the number one royal, running ahead of the queen.

Kate Middleton’s parents may house Ukrainian refugees

Carole and Michael Middleton, Kate Middleton’s parents, want to help house Ukrainian refugees who have made their way to Britain, the Mail on Sunday reports. The couple are reportedly contemplating building an annexe to their manor in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

“Bucklebury has housed a good number of refugees and Carole has been getting advice from villagers and seeking information about how the process has worked for others in the area,” a source told the Mail on Sunday. “Carole talked about wanting refugees to feel they have their own space in her home and has been talking about the logistics of how it all works. There have been a few conversations about this, back and forth. Carole suggested she and some of those who are housing refugees should meet up, to get to know each other and because she wants to find a way to house refugees herself. She’s very philanthropic and wants to be known for her charitable nature as well as her business.”

The paper says there were “issues around security,” and if their plan would affect Kate and Prince William and family’s visits.

“Carole doesn’t have many outbuildings and Kate’s security stay in the main house when they come, so she’ll have to find a way to make it work that is safe,” a villager told the Mail on Sunday. “Carole is very popular here and she’s done wonders for the community and for the family farm. She’s a real tour de force.”

Until she houses a refugee or refugees, Carole has other plans, a source said. “Carole is looking for other ways to support some of the refugees while she sorts out the logistics for accommodating them at her home. She has looked into hosting a fundraiser or a village social event for refugees which could take place at the farm.”

The Middletons, who have been seen enjoying the tennis at Wimbledon this year, declined to comment to the Mail.

BBC still hasn’t paid Bashir ‘guilt’ money

The Sunday Telegraph reports that the BBC still has not paid the £1.5 million ($1.8 million) so-called “guilt” money promised to give to charity in the wake of revelations of the methods BBC Panorama interviewer Martin Bashir used in order to obtain his bombshell 1995 interview with Princess Diana.

In the interview, Diana candidly discussed the breakdown of her marriage, mistreatment by husband Prince Charles and the royals, and how there had been “three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” (referring to Prince Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles). Bashir used fake documents to persuade Diana to give the interview, and as The Daily Beast reported, told her (according to Earl Spencer, her brother) “that she was being spied on by security services, that her staff were betraying her to the tabloids, that Prince Edward had AIDS, and that her husband was having an affair with her son’s nanny.”

The Sunday Telegraph reports that the BBC will donate the money to charities of its own choice, rather than in consultation with Princes William and Harry, as had been previously mooted.

“The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life,” Prince Harry said last year. “What deeply concerns me is that practices like these—and even worse—are still widespread today. Then, and now, it’s bigger than one outlet, one network, or one publication. Our mother lost her life because of this, and nothing has changed.”

“I never wanted to harm Diana in any way and I don’t believe we did,” Bashir told the Sunday Times. “Everything we did in terms of the interview was as she wanted, from when she wanted to alert the palace, to when it was broadcast, to its contents...My family and I loved her.”

Camilla and Charles love garden gnomes

Much fanfare in the Mail on Sunday about revelations contained in a new British documentary about Camilla Parker Bowles set to screen this week to mark her 75th birthday a week today on July 17. Let us run through these marmalade droppers: she liked “sneaking a crafty fag” with obnoxious TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson (before quitting smoking), is known to tell “risqué and naughty jokes,” and loves “invigorating” cold-water swimming in the sea (which is typically bloody freezing off the British coast, so props for that).

The headline revelation is…that Camilla stole her sister Annabel’s teddy bear and buried it under the roses in her grandmother’s garden when they were kids.

Camilla also loves garden gnomes, and so does Prince Charles, apparently. “No place like gnome!’ she says. “Actually the Prince does at Highgrove, too—he’s got a gnome hidden away.” More mischief: Camilla also dressed her two female Jack Russells, Beth and Bluebell, in pearl necklaces; the magazine is famous for its pictures of posh “girls in pearls.”

Kate Middleton took Camilla’s picture for the cover of the posh persons’ magazine Country Life, the latest issue of which Camilla guest-edited.

Kate took the pictures of Camilla at Ray Mill, Camilla’s country retreat in Lacock, Wiltshire.

“It was very relaxed,” Camilla told the magazine. ‘[It was] very kind of the Duchess of Cambridge—[she] came with her camera. She’s an extremely good photographer and it was all very casual, there wasn’t much hair and make-up—it was just done in the garden with a lot of laughs. It was a lovely way of doing it.”

Happy royal families

Princess Anne just showed that not every royal divorce ends in dysfunction. She and her children Zara and Peter Phillips attended the wedding of Stephanie, daughter of their dad (and Anne’s first husband Captain Mark Phillips) by his second marriage, the Mail on Sunday reports.

Stephanie, who married partner William Hosier at St Mary The Virgin Church in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, grew up on the Gatcombe Park estate (where Mark Phillips kept on living after his 1992 divorce from Anne), so was close to her half-siblings. Zara and Peter were at the wedding with their partners, and Peter’s first wife Autumn was also in attendance with her partner. All very modern and refreshing.

This week in royal history

A big week for Henry VIII and Six: the Musical fans. On July 12, 1543, Henry VIII married his sixth wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace; and on July 16, 1557, Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, died. She is buried at Westminster Abbey.

Unanswered questions

Is Harry’s book coming out this autumn, or has it been delayed? And if and when it does appear, what bombshells will it contain?

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