Over the years, I often noted the similarities between the Kardashian clan and the Middleton clan. At this point, though, Carole Middleton wishes she could be more like momager Kris Jenner. Kris Jenner found a way to build a billion-dollar empire out of Kim’s sex tape. Carole can’t even break even as she shills party supplies and her daughter will (probably) be Queen Consort one day. The tackiness and grasping nature of the Kardashians is also mimicked in the Middleton family, not to mention the unflattering clothes, wigs and heavy clown makeup. But that’s not the talking point the British media wants to discuss. Ever since those photos of Meghan hiking in Montecito came out, the Sun, the Mail and other British outlets have been obsessed with the fact that Meghan’s bodyguard (as seen in the pics) used to guard Kim Kardashian.
One is the queen of reality TV and the other is a bonafide royal star. But over the years, Meghan Markle has been well and truly keeping up with Kim Kardashian, from building an eerily similar media empire to snapping up LA mega mansions and even sending out identikit Christmas cards.
This week, we revealed another sign that the Duchess of Sussex is morphing into the superstar, after hiring her former bodyguard to protect her. The mystery guardian was snapped walking behind Meghan, 41, near her £14million home in Montecito, California.
Previously, he worked for Keeping Up With The Kardashians star Kim, 42, in 2016 — before and after she was robbed at gunpoint in Paris. And it’s far from the only similarity between two of America’s biggest stars – particularly since Meghan moved to the States with Prince Harry in 2020.
I mean… “the same bodyguard” thing is probably because Kim and the Sussexes hired the same security firm? One would assume? It’s not like this is a slam-dunk case of Meghan trying to become Kim Kardashian and it’s much more likely that Kim and the Sussexes can afford top-of-the-line private security and, as such, there is an existing pool of bodyguards within the A-list California community. That’s not nothing – Kim is literally a billionaire and I’m so happy that Kim and the Sussexes can all afford that kind of security.
Also: after watching the Sussexes’ Netflix docuseries, I can’t believe these people are still trying to convince everyone that it was a Kardashian-style reality show. I WISH IT WAS! I wish we could see the Sussexes at home, or building their Archewell team or whatever. We’ll probably never get that kind of content from the Sussexes. But we’ll probably get it in Prince William’s new “fly on the wall” documentary! Bill and Kathy Kardashian, where art thou?
Meghan Markle wears Princess Diana's $22,000 watch and a $495 crystal necklace on hike https://t.co/99EM8LHEcE pic.twitter.com/e6UmuKfEiR
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 8, 2023
Meghan Markle wears Princess Diana’s watch on hike after skipping coronation https://t.co/5F45veM0zG pic.twitter.com/m8hEMgHr6U
— Page Six (@PageSix) May 8, 2023
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Queens, NY – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex takes in the Serena Williams vs Bianca Andreescu women’s final tennis match at the US Open. Pictured: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 7 SEPTEMBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Queens, NY – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex takes in the Serena Williams vs Bianca Andreescu women’s final tennis match at the US Open. Pictured: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 7 SEPTEMBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Queens, NY – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex takes in the Serena Williams vs Bianca Andreescu women’s final tennis match at the US Open. Pictured: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 7 SEPTEMBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND ** New York, NY – Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, with Anna Wintour, Venus Williams, Patrick Mouratoglou and Alexis Ohanian (the husband of S. Williams) in the stands of the women’s final of the US Open 2019 tournament between Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu (3-6 / 5-7) at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, September 7, 2019. Pictured: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 7 SEPTEMBER 2019 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NEW – Celebrities attend the 2023 Costume Institute Benefit celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Pictured: Kim Kardashian BACKGRID USA 1 MAY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NEW – Celebrities attend the 2023 Costume Institute Benefit celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Pictured: Kim Kardashian BACKGRID USA 1 MAY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
These newspapers Stan the royals who are literally a walking welfare scam but it’s Meghan having money that’s the problem. These people will be forever bitter they couldn’t stop the Sussexes bag and they’re even more angry because they don’t have access to them. They’re mad they don’t know how much money they actually have and they won’t come crawling back to the royals asking for a handout. That’s want supposed to happen.
@BRTT
Amen!!!
What a disgusting so called family! Who wants to see a family member fail? What kind of people want to see a family member poor, homeless, penniless and in fear for their lives and the lives of their children? The sickening rf, that’s who!
Worse still, this family is the Head of the Church of England!!!!
WTAF
Complete bs. None embody any so called Christian values. Where is the love, forgiveness grace etc
welfare scam is perfect.
Are they going to stalk this bodyguard now? Show up at his house? Hound his kids? I’d like to see ’em try it. And, yeah, I imagine there are an elite few well-trained bodyguards accustomed to dealing with the worst invasions of privacy. Probably a network of retired secret service and the like.
They don’t publish the UK Windsor bodyguards but they routinely publish hers. This isn’t about kardashian comparison, this is about putting them in danger.
Exactly. Outing the bodyguard to make her more vulnerable to danger.
Yeah, I’m not into the BMs obsession with their security esp after they crow about Harry’s security in the UK being lost. It’s nefarious.
Exactly. It’s really sinister. And the constant harping on Meghan wearing ‘Diana’s watch’. I don’t know how many times I’ve that referenced – dozens? I guess that’s to create a subliminal idea that she ‘ran off’ with Diana’s jewels. Gross.
The fact that RRs were clutching their pearls because she wore Diana’s watch (which she clearly just wears as an everyday piece) to go for a walk makes me batsh!t, considering Kate scales walls and participates in yachting and sailing competitions, goes ziplining, flies through gardens Miley-Cyrus-style and does all sorts of ridiculous outdoorsy activities while wearing Diana’s engagement ring. (I know many of us here think she wears a fake in public, but unless that’s confirmed, they should get as upset at Kate as they do at Meghan wearing her watch to go on a hike 🙄)
This! You’d think with all their obsession over Diana’s watch, they’d also remember how she died…and wouldn’t have perished had the royal family protected the future king’s mother, for her children at the very least.
Bill and Kathy Kardashian. I died laughing at that. This is why I come here.
Hoo boy, they have NOTHNG on her and no-one to leak nonsense to them anymore and they are desperate. I love it for them.
FAFO.
Still trying to make fetch happen with this. They are security teams nothing more and probably get moved around a lot. This is just all they got period.
Well I should hope that the Sussexes get security with prior experience.
Maybe I am in a minority here but I wish Megan avoided the paps for a few more weeks. It seems like she was laying breadcrumbs for exactly this sort of reporting. I’d be happy to be convinced otherwise… where is the benefit for Megan? Firstly, I think Megan can avoid the paparazzi if she wants to (she’s not a prisoner in her own home), and secondly I am thinking, girl, don’t play their game… you know they want you to do this…
Maybe this is part of a larger plan by her agency, so I’d love the hear arguments that this is playing three dimensional chess and not checkers.
Yes I think the Sussexes are excellent at media strategy… I just find this instance perplexing.
How do you avoid pervasive cameras in our world today where almost everyone carries a phone capable of snapshots? And there are security cameras in all types of places? Why should Meghan avoid anything anyway? She has nothing to hide or be ashamed about.
“It seems like she was laying breadcrumbs for exactly this sort of reporting.”
Um…. what breadcrumbs?
@Rapunzel: You ask a good question. I would also add, “What other kind of reporting is there about Meghan in England?” It’s like these “concerned” people think that if only Meghan didn’t breathe so loudly (and so often), then the BM wouldn’t write negative stories about her. Really? If only she weren’t seen? Just how small do you want her to make herself? Should she take the long way everywhere? Try on different disguises?
Whatever she does some in media will find fault if she is not around media or some would ask what is she hiding
She can’t exactly avoid the paparazzi, personally I don’t believe she called them because before the coronation an actual French television went to Montecito and there were a British “journalist” who pretended to be their neighbor who was showing all the places he says they walk and they literally waited a whole day for her or Harry to be out so they could film them. My mom saw it and was shocked, it showed that people are really willing to wait for them and they showed paparazzis who were waiting at usual spots to caught them.
At the same time, I don’t understand why she should hide, she is also a person and no matter what they know just one picture of Meghan is worth a lot so at the end if she can’t live her own life and have to always wait, why even bother. She shouldn’t hide just because people in that trashy island love to b*tch about her and keep projecting nefarious plan to her just because she happens to breathe.
It doesn’t feel right to say to her she can’t walk with her friends just because paparazzi are harassing her.
It’s not like she is the first celebrity I’ve seen in hiking pics. Paparazzi stalk out popular hiking trails too I guess.
Your concern-trolling is duly noted.
Yep. Noted.
Indeed.
I thought I made it clear that I wanted to be convinced out of an idea I had? (The idea is gross… I get it… which is why wanted to work my way out of it).
Yup. Noted here.
Maybe Meghan should just stay in her house for the rest of her life. After all, if she did, nobody could get a picture of her and she couldn’t be accused of leaving breadcrumbs for paparazzi or trying to get attention, amirite?
Can you imagine someone saying that? Meghan is living her own life, in her own home state, in her own country. Some yahoo newspapers in England hound her and stalk her at every opportunity and yet some random people post that Meghan (the person living her own life & minding her own business) should stay hidden. Oh, but that’s okay because they want people to mount arguments convincing them to see some reason. Such “concern.”
You are in the minority because it’s a myopic & dusty idea. Megan has decided not to be exiled & hidden away by the institution for the past few weeks, or months or years (they do have this pattern in history). She’s showing her family that you can also ride bicycles, hike & leave the house. The royal firm has effected her life enough- the collar & leash are off & she gets to live HER life. Cheers to her!
What game is she playing? She went for a hike with friends at a local trail. We don’t even know when the pictures were taken because new flash TMZ lie about when pictures were taken to paint a certain picture. Like those pictures of Meghan picking Archie up were released by them around one of the Wales kid’s birthday never mind the fact that the picture of Meghan was taken days prior but they released them days later to make her look bad.
Seeing Meghan a few times of year is too much for u – got it. Best she’s never seen. – then she’ll get the best press ever! Out of sight out of mind. Too bad u aren’t her media advisor.
What fucking breadcrumbs!?
You DO realize that paps have long lenses and can completely hide and take these photos without her knowing, right?
Hiking is something she does on the regular. We don’t know exactly when these photos were taken. I don’t care what TMZ said. These could have been taken at anytime and they just sit on it until they think they can use it for something.
Don’t be surprised if they are sitting on tons of photos of Meghan and Harry running their errands.
I wonder if TMZ is worrying about the lawsuits also?
Crumbs! She’s getting ready to shove an entire loaf of bread up their ….. where the sun doesn’t shine!
@Eastern Violent, first of all her name is spelled Meghan.
Secondly and more importantly, she is not playing the media’s game. She is living her life.
@QuiteContrary
Ditto!
And I’m always alerted when a comment is prefaced by a qualifier. Just state your thought. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Where is the benefit for Meghan?? Do you mean fresh air, exercise, and the general freedom to walk outside her front door?? That benefit? It’s called living her life.
Sigh. Just because some celebrities call paps on themselves doesn’t mean all pap shots are staged by the people photographed.
I had a friend who worked for a LA daycare with celeb kids. Very often, they’d get paps at pickup and drop off. Pissed all the parents off. When they were confronted by staff, the paps basically admitted that they stopped by the daycare when they hadn’t gotten anything else they could sell that day.
I’m super embarrassed about having this question. And Its been a learning experience. I apologize if iI offended anyone… in all honesty it was not a passive aggressive attempt at trying to critique her.
I guess I was working on the assumption that she now had more control over how much coverage the paparazzi have. Otherwise, why are there not daily shots of her? — the intrusion is noted… and still aligns with how awful the british media is.
The Daily mail wants it to look like she set it up … and I fell for the bait hook line and sinker which makes me feel about an inch tall.
@ Concern Fae, it should be considered illegal for the lengths to which the paparazzi will take in order for a few photos of someone, their children as well as their family members. It’s disgusting and disrespectful to seek out private citizens, like H&M who are simply trying to live their lives in peace.
It reminds me of Kristen Scott Thomas claiming that she chooses to live in France as the paparazzi are restricted more heavily than Britain, as well as the US. it’s become out of hand as it’s constant harassment as well as infringing upon the lives of private citizens, nit to mention those like your friend who works at the daycare.
As I said here and it’s widely known, Backgrid is not papparazi. It’s a site to load pictures. The first picture TMZ had was grainy as hell so that shows that whoever shot this was taken from a long distance away. And someone else, I wish I could find the thread, was able to figure out that the photo was taken several days earlier, but TMZ sat on it just for this reason. To act like Meghan dared go outside during the Coronation weekend and “steal Charles’s” thunder.
At this point, everyone needs to just say she needs to never go out and ever speak because way too many people seem to believe that only then will people leave her alone. She was hiking with friends.
This makes total sense to me now. I wish I was able to frame the question how the press made it look like Meghan was trying to steal Charles’s thunder… and not about Meghan.
@EasternViolet, another point – if you’ve seen the documentary, you’ll remember, towards the end of their time as working royals, H&M stayed in a waterfront property in a secluded area on an island in an unexpected part of Canada. This location was not made public (though the RF knew). Ultimately, they were located, and the doc showed footage of paps in a boat patrolling the waters in front of the house, with others walking up the driveway trying to see inside.
Likewise, their next location, at Tyler Perry house, was discovered. Harry said in the doc for the first few weeks the RF didn’t even know where they were, thought they were still in Canada. Perry put up a covered fence, had trees planted, etc., but the media stalked the Sussexes with cameras from the hills, and ripped holes in the fence. Perry said, there’s a large number of celebrities living in the surrounding hills, and none had ever seen that kind of media assault.
In other words, after going through all that, the last thing the Sussexes want to do is call photographers for anything not related to one of their projects. The rest of the time, they just want to live their lives as normally as possible. But as they’re still big news for the BM, paps continue to stalk them. Casual shots like Meghan out with friends hiking tells me either a pap was staking out an area hoping to see them, or a member of the public ran across them and took a photo.
Listen, even if Meghan did take a walk on the day of the coronation, what’s the frickin’ deal? She’s a private citizen living her life in a free country and no one has any right to dictate her movements, least of all those living in another country. She did not call the paparazzi. And if these numb nuts have an issue over anything that starts with an M and ends with an N, that is just.too.bad.
@EasternViolet: Your concerns can be allayed. I’ve just seen a screen shot of an instagram post from the photographer basically saying Meghan didn’t stage the photo or as you said leaving breadcrumbs. He said if she did it would make his job easier. Considering what happened to Diana and Harry, I very much doubt that Meghan would having relationships with the paparazzi.
You are doing the most !
Do you know, that the pictures were taken on the day of the coronation and not weeks ago?
Somehow I don’t think Meghan would go hiking on her sons birthday, rather that the paps kept the pictures back to create a narrative on Meghan stealing the spotlight.
That assumption was my mistake. As I’ve said elsewhere, I fell for the story the tabs wanted me to create. When I asked my original question, I was hoping to be pointed in another direction, and the comments have been helpful. This whole thread has better helped me understand how insidious the press is in creating a story where none existed in the first place. Meghan went for a walk in the mountains — who knows when — and the photo is designed to play into the Rota’s fantasy that Meghan just wants to insert herself in the narrative. I’m mad at myself for letting myself BE manipulated, in all honesty.
@EasternViolet – you had a question, it was answered, I think the pile on can stop now.
You’ve posted frequently enough before that it should be known you’re not a troll. And I found some of the responses interesting. For example, between this post and the other one about the hike, I learned what backgrid actually is.
You’re fine. Lol.
EasternViolet – sounds like you missed the most basic story about the Sussexes – stories about them sell £££ newspapers, generate clicks, etc. Something that should be obvious to you since you’re here commenting about them.
It’s baffling to me to criticize Meghan. She’s only been seen a couple of times this year. A couple of lunch/dinner dates, a basketball game, and a walk. She gets hundreds of articles written about her for doing nothing. You would think it was her coronation not Charles’ with all of the articles. That’s why people think she’s seen all of the time. The media overdoes it in their coverage.
So Kim has had an award-winning podcast and I missed it? How many awards has Kim won for fighting racism? Was she advocating for vaccine equity? Getting people to vote? H&M’s cards have been simple family snaps; the Kardashians put out over-the-top cards with lots of bling. How does that compute to the same? The “working” royals are the ones who need to try to put out Kardashian style cards to make themselves less boring.
Kim has podcast dealing with the justice system, if I’m not mistaken.
I use to Keep up with the Kardashians. There was a few years that they tried to make their bodyguards celebs/well-known. That is the ONLY way its acceptable to out this guy. If he wants to become a namebrand Personal protection officer. Like puff daddys old guy Gene Deal.
So because he worked for the Kardashians he has to retire!! Cause the press is making him a target. Working for the Kardashians isn’t that bad-as long as they actually pay you-. The Kardashians know the land and can drive themselves. Guarding megan is the challenge.
I hope this bodyguard sues them. They showed his looks and outed his employment history. Personal protection officers are suppose to blend in.
That’s despicable but not surprising. These tabloid are hell bent on destroying everyone’s lives except themselves. These people have no shame in what they do to people who are simply trying to earn an income which is based on their expertise as well as qualifications to boot!!
One it’s not Diana’s watch!, it’s the watch Megan bought herself when her contract in suits was renewed! Two, Megan can walk when she wants and where she wants. Of course the paps were loitering around, the coronation was happening and they were hoping to catch her out and about on the day, but she stuffed them and stayed home. She went for a walk on the day after, but the point is, who the hell cares about a shiny hat party on a toxic little island, and the bodyguard? If the paps hadn’t made it so dangerous for Harry, Megan and the children to go anywhere, she wouldn’t need one in the first bloody place!
It’s Diana’s watch. Meghan has the exact same watch but in 2 tone ( silver and gold)
Yes, I read that she bought the 2 tone to celebrate signing a Suits contract and the gold one was Diana’s, given to her by Harry. If I owned that watch I’d never take it off! It’s stunning.
The BM is mad they can’t get Sussex staff to blab. In the US you do that it’s a) you’re fired and b) you’re unemployable because the word gets out you violated confidences, NDA or not.
All this reporting does is show how eager the BM are to “Diana” Meghan. I believe the media planned to hound Diana to death–with royal complicity. I think it happened sooner than they wanted or expected, but Diana was going to be hounded to the end of her life, one way or another.
The BM can’t do that to Meghan. Harry and Meghan understand the score and the stakes. Their best hope is that the public grows bored with the coverage and stops paying attention. Or that the coverage becomes so noxious that it begins to taint the royal family. But Harry and Meghan can wait it out, and live their lives in the meantime. They need nothing from the British media or the royal family. They can’t be financially abused anymore–they have their own money.
I want Harry’s lawsuit to connect the toyal family explicitly to the British media. That’s the win for Harry. The media treatment of the Sussexes has put many people off the royal family, including all the celebrities they’d assumed would be eager to perform at the Chubbly. They are letting their racism destroy their very dynasty.
Agreed, lanne. Racism, colonialism and the Transatlantic Slave Trafficking EXALTED their dynasty. Only fitting that their stubborn refusal to change, to reflect, to make reparations and acknowledge their crimes should bring about the inevitable downfall of their dynasty.
I for one welcome their ongoing racism with open arms. It only hastens their day(s) of reckoning. As a first generation American with parents from the Commonwealth, the day the House of Windsor falls forever will be a day of rejoicing for me and my house.
Well-stated, lanne and Beverley.
As a second-generation Irish American, I will rejoice with you on that glorious day, Beverley.
Another second gen Irish Americal joining in!
Never mind all the tired blah, blah about the Kardashians and the mansion and the watch, blah, blah, blah – the Sun just named Meghan as one of America’s biggest stars. So, what happened to “nobody in the US likes her, Hollywood is snubbing her, philanthropists are shunning her”?
LOL, WME happened.
Exactly.
Meghan and Kim live 100 miles apart. That body guard must be exhausted trying to protect both of them simultaneously.
The Sun is ridiculous.
“snapping up LA mega mansions” what? Their one home is located nearly 100 miles and a two hour drive away from LA. That’s roughly the same distance as between London and Calais. California is larger than the entire United Kingdom and Ireland combined. The geographical ignorance about America is funny coming from people who sneer at Americans.
LOL, these HATE FOR HIRE typists (not at all journalists) are about as accurate as cheeto on cnn last night.
Took me a while to catch my breath from the line about their eerily similar media empires.
I guess MM’s estranged family regularly trying to get press off her name is the same as a fam-focused reality show? And sure, being on Suits for many seasons is about par with a sex tape. It’s both FILM right?! /s
I think an article came out a couple of years ago when the Sussexes moved to Montecito that they used the same security firm as the Kardashians and some other very rich high profile people so this isn’t really news. And tbh after watching the Netflix series Harry and Meghan I’m really glad they do because that section that showed people traspassing on their property in Canada and the part where Tyler talked about how he had to put up trees, extra security cameras, and build fences when they were at his house in Beverly Hills and then had to keep rebuilding the fences because people were CUTTING HOLES IN THE FENCES was really alarming.
I know we heard about cutting of holes in the fences and constant helicopters at Tyler’s house when they filed and won a lawsuit against a pap agency but to see the videos of the helicopters overhead all day and hear Tyler talk about how he and his neighbors had never seen anything like this even though ADELE lives only a few blocks away was something else. The obsession that some have with trying to get to H&M and their very young children is extreme so I’m glad they have expensive security to keep them safe.
Their own working members of the BRF is sooo boring and the 40 somethings hardly work that they have to get content elsewhere. Even Meghan’s bodyguard is such a big interest to them.lol.. At least taxpayers doesn’t have to pay for HM security.
Ya gotta give it to the writer for taking the vaguest of connections and spinning an entire fiction out of it. That’s hard to do.
I have the exact same j.crew jacket Meghan is wearing on the hike. OMG I’m just like Kim Kardashian!!!!?
Charles is a billionare.
He can afford to cover Harry + family for proper protection.
What a terrible person he is.
Considering all the lies and awfulness C&C kept covered up for decades, Charles could certainly pay for security and just keep it quiet.
RNot, In addition to all their other faults, the English (journalists) have NO concept of the geography of our country. They believe Los Angeles comprises ALL of California, apparently. Because they live on their own dinky island, they don’t have the imagination (or map skills) to realize that the United States is YUGE.
“a bonafide royal star.” My goodness, did they just let that slip! I thought she was irrelevant and ignored by the A-list. Megamansions must be a Kardashian thing- are they into flipping real estate? Anyway, Meghan and Harry quietly purchased a nice estate in an exclusive neighbourhood to establish a home. It looks substantial but not flashy. Megamansion would not be the right description. I’ve seen the real estate video. They just can’t help themselves- always catty, bitchy, or downright smearing.
It really bothers some people on a very deep level that Black women can anything nice.