Not All Heroes Wear Beekeeping Suits [#134]

And my, what a tangled web Kensington Palace PR weaves...

Hello from Boston,

I’m in New England for a speaking engagement to mark Women’s History Month and tonight I was walking in the biting wind and freezing temps in my little ballet flats when my dinner mate and former boss, Margaret, goes, “You’re not wearing any socks!” I FORGOT how to deal with winter, okay?! Besides, I have been very busy analyzing grainy TMZ footage of (maybe?) the first video proof of life of HRH Princess Kate Middleton released since … Christmas. Get caught up on the Kate Middleton controversy with The Cut, though there are virtually no places you can’t find coverage of this. My favorite take is from Drew Magary, writing for SFGate: “I can’t believe that the British monarchy, which has caused literal centuries of bloodshed, would deceive the public!”

Reading

Tiny love stories are a delight. The tiny tote bag frenzy. Shoutout to Austin Texas for taking the most insufferable Californians. One-man self help empire Jay Shetty’s origin story is a sham. How bad is the global gender gap? I noted this piece mentions how South Korea’s historically huge disparity might be unique, or a window into the future. Tennis is unusual in how little a share of the league’s revenue actually gets paid out to its players, and also unusual in how it treats players w domestic abuse allegations. The Indian Wells tournament I attended with the kids is over, but not without unprecedented incidents like a bee invasion on the main court. So the unlikely hero of the whole event was the laconic beekeeper who removed the bees humanely.

A Kate Gate Interlude

Why the Kate Middleton crisis matters. A former royal reporter explains why this crisis is so bizarre and details how the royal press system works. After last weekend’s doctored and “killed” photo and Kate supposedly taking the blame for it (dubious), respected news agencies say the only other times they’ve had to kill photos is when issued by, oh, the North Korean regime. Endless conspiracy theories abound — of infidelity, love children, domestic violence, eating disorders, mental breakdowns, Brazilian butt lifts, facelifts, and on. This story has it all. I am really into it mainly for the breathtakingly bad public relations/media management of it, and the friendships. Today’s video footage has not stopped the Kate truthers, a group in which I feel increasingly lured into joining. What a web. I mean, we even have Chinese netizens in an uproar about how Prince William’s mistress, Rose Hanbury (now a household name) and her family plundered the Qing Dynasty for showy objects in their palatial country estate! I’m going on the record with my theory that she may never have had a major health emergency, but is instead just refusing to participate in the artifice of royal “work” until she extracts some concessions from The Crown.

Werk Werk Werk

I am joining

Anne Helen Petersen

and her Culture Study podcast to take YOUR questions about Sephora tweens, following my recent Atlantic piece on the topic, and an entire chapter of Flawless that’s devoted to kids getting yanked into the beauty matrix. We want your questions! Submit through this easy form.

Watching and/or Listening

• The Holdovers. I watched it on a plane so of course I cried like a baby. (Reminder: We cry more on planes)

• A thoughtful conversation about how we survive the media apocalypse.

• Pair it with a journalism history lesson from the legendary Calvin Trillin.

And that brings me to the end of this lil’ dispatch. Please write me with your Kate theories and memes, and as usual I want to hear from you with any great reads or recommendations. I am happy to share them with the group.

Until next time,

E