Weird how Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace all briefed the media openly about their finances and hiring practices, and in the wake of those disclosures, we’ve been getting endless stories about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Incredibly obvious! They’re not even hiding it – the Windsors aren’t hiding the fact that they’re STILL briefing about and against the Sussexes, and the British media isn’t hiding the fact that Harry and Meghan are the biggest stars of the British monarchy. Well done, everyone. The Telegaph’s Camilla Tominey had a big, dumb story about Harry and Meghan’s lack of visibility at the Jubbly a month ago. Yes, the palaces are still briefing about that. There’s some old news getting regurgitated, but there’s some new info here.

Harry & Meghan missed the Red Arrows flyover at Trooping the Colour: The Telegraph has learned that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in such a rush to leave last month’s Trooping the Colour ceremony in honour of the Queen’s 70 years on the throne that they missed the flypast altogether. As the aerial show featuring the Royal Air Force aerobatics team captivated the nation, the couple were already making their way back to Frogmore Cottage, their Windsor home, to see their children Archie, three, and Lilibet, one. Although prevented from watching from the balcony, they could have joined their fellow “non-working” royals on the roof of St James’ Palace, but opted to go home instead.

They missed the Cousins Lunch: The swift exit meant the couple also avoided a family lunch with royal cousins, including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, after watching the parade of pomp and pageantry together from the Major General’s Office overlooking Horse Guards. According to several sources, the cousins had planned to pay Harry and Meghan a visit at Frogmore later that day, but the “celebratory” lunch went on much longer than planned. As one insider put it: “It was quite boozy and went on well into the early evening, by which point there was no time to get to Windsor to see the Sussexes.”

The silence around the Bullying Inquiry: The decision [to not release the report] has raised serious questions about transparency at the publicly funded institution and its responsibility towards members of staff working closely with the Royal family. The unusual silence on either side about the issue has also led to speculation that Buckingham Palace and Sussexes, who work closely with their lawyers, are both moving to downplay the long-running dispute. Both sides are understood to be hopeful of drawing a line under the episode – after the Duke and Duchess met with the Queen at Windsor Castle as soon as they arrived in the UK on June 1.

The Sussexes saw the Queen upon their arrival: Contrary to reports they introduced her to Lilibet after the Trooping ceremony, they actually flew into Farnborough airport the day before and headed straight for Her Majesty’s private apartments. The couple had hoped to bring their own photographer to capture the first meeting between the sovereign, whose family nickname is Lilibet, and her great-granddaughter. However, the Queen personally intervened to prevent an official image being taken, apparently advising the couple that she had a bloodshot eye and did not want to feature in any pictures for public consumption. It came after aides expressed fears that publicising a private meeting could set a dangerous precedent, not least if any photographs were shared with US television networks or Netflix, with whom the couple have signed a multi-million dollar contract. The Duke is thought to have expressed a desire to get an official photograph of the two Lilibets together at some point in the future.

People were mad that Harry & Meghan walked at the Jubbly service: The Telegraph has also learned that the Sussexes’ decision to take a solo walk down the lengthy aisle of St Paul’s Cathedral for the service of thanksgiving on June 3 “raised eyebrows” behind palace walls – not least when they could have walked with Beatrice, Eugenie and their husbands, who were seated next to them in the pews. One of the reasons the couple were spotted leaving Clarence House that Friday morning was because they were in a security “pod” with the Duke of York’s daughters, having apparently expressed concerns about their level of protection throughout the whistlestop visit.

The Sussexes didn’t speak to the Cambridges: Clive Alderton, the Prince of Wales’ private secretary, was strategically seated at the end of the row behind the Sussexes – who had no contact with the Duke of Duchess of Cambridge during the hour-long service, nor throughout the weekend.

Lili’s birthday party: Although the wider family were invited to Lilibet’s first birthday party on the Saturday, only the Tindalls’ and Mr Phillips’ children attended, while their parents spent the afternoon at the Epsom Derby. According to one source: “There was a bit of reluctance among the royals to admit to having any involvement in Lilibet’s birthday party.”

[From The Telegraph]

There was some confusion about whether Harry & Meghan did go to the “cousins’ lunch” after Trooping, so I appreciate that there was some clarity about that. They went to Trooping, watched it with the cousins and then left. The cousins were then too drunk to go to Frogmore later on that Thursday. The next day, Meghan and Harry went to the Jubbly service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where everything was stage-managed down to the minute, and yet some of the royal houses are big mad that the Sussexes got their very own mini-procession, where all eyes were on them? Gee, I wonder who was mad about that? As for the stuff about the “reluctance” to go a baby’s birthday… the eagerness with which these people WANT to be seen snubbing little kids is actually appalling. This is not “family first” or “family values.” And the whole thing with wanting a photo with the Queen and Lilibet… Jesus. They’re falling all over each other to brag about exactly why they snubbed a baby.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.