Prince William's 'last-minute text sparked ceasefire' in bitter feud with Harry
Despite the high-profile estrangement between Prince Harry and Prince William having no end in sight, one simple olive branch saw the brothers join together in a poignant and emotional reunion
Prince William turbulent relationship with Prince Harry has been a major topic of discussion for years, with the royal brothers having long been stuck in a very public stalemate.
But despite there seemingly being no possibility of reconciliation in the near future, one major family event saw the brothers put their differences aside and call a temporary truce almost three years ago. The pair have not seen each other during Harry's recent trips back to the UK, including for the court case over his security arrangements in the country, which he fought - and ultimately lost - to have police protection for him and his family when returning to his homeland.
And although William and Harry's relationship continues to be at an all time low, which is largely linked to a series of bombshells detailed in Harry's memoir Spare, their feud came to an abrupt - albeit temporary - truce in 2022 after the death of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
William reportedly reached out to Harry via text in the days after Her Late Majesty's passing, asking if Harry and Meghan wished to join him and Kate on the Long Walk in Windsor, to view floral tributes and meet grieving members of the public who had gathered to pay their respects to the monarch.
Their display of solidarity was the first and only time that the two royal couples, who had once affectionately been referred to as the 'Fab Four', had been seen together in public since Harry and Meghan took a step back from their duties as senior royals and relocated to California.
A well-placed source told the Daily Mail at the time: "It happened very quickly – remarkable really considering they didn't see each other in Scotland.'
The publication went on to confirm that it was William's decision to extend the olive branch to his brother, and 'absolutely not' the idea of his father King Charles, as was previously reported.
It claimed William felt that a united front was essential in the wake of the Queen's death, as the family reunited to share in their collective grief in front of the world.
Both brothers had flown to Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire when they had been informed of the Queen's failing health, but both they tragically missed the chance to say their last goodbyes to their grandmother, arriving in Scotland after the Queen had died.
In the months after Queen Elizabeth's passing, Prince Harry's bombshell memoir Spare was released, in which he claimed he found out about his grandmother's death via the media and not from his family.
However, royal author Robert Hardman claims Harry's version of events isn't true, instead insisting that the royal family attempted to contact Harry to discuss the Queen's health. Hardman wrote: "In his memoir, Spare he suggests that no one had told him and that he was reduced to learning the news from the BBC website as the plane was landing. Not exactly.'
"A member of the Palace staff says that the King had been urgently trying to make contact with his younger son. There were repeated attempts to get through to him but no calls were going through because Harry was airborne,' said the official."
Despite the brothers not having seen each other in several years, it seems that the royal feud between the brothers is still very much alive. Earlier this week, William's joked about warring families that seemed to stem from his own personal history.
As William visited Harry's old Army regiment - the Army Air Corps in Suffolk - on Wednesday, he joked with servicemen and women about not always wanting to see their families.
During an important discussion as the Colonel-in-Chief about the welfare of service people in the regiment, he lightened the mood when he joked, after asking one soldier if he spent enough time with his family "some of them might not want to see you that much – it's a mixed bag".
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Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Prince William's 'last-minute text sparked ceasefire' in bitter feud with Harry
Despite the high-profile estrangement between Prince Harry and Prince William having no end in sight, one simple olive branch saw the brothers join together in a poignant and emotional reunion Prince William turbulent relationship with Prince Harry has been a major topic of discussion for years, with the royal brothers having long been stuck in a very public stalemate. But despite there seemingly being no possibility of reconciliation in the near future, one major family event saw the brothers put their differences aside and call a temporary truce almost three years ago. The pair have not seen each other during Harry's recent trips back to the UK, including for the court case over his security arrangements in the country, which he fought - and ultimately lost - to have police protection for him and his family when returning to his homeland. And although William and Harry's relationship continues to be at an all time low, which is largely linked to a series of bombshells detailed in Harry's memoir Spare, their feud came to an abrupt - albeit temporary - truce in 2022 after the death of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. William reportedly reached out to Harry via text in the days after Her Late Majesty's passing, asking if Harry and Meghan wished to join him and Kate on the Long Walk in Windsor, to view floral tributes and meet grieving members of the public who had gathered to pay their respects to the monarch. Their display of solidarity was the first and only time that the two royal couples, who had once affectionately been referred to as the 'Fab Four', had been seen together in public since Harry and Meghan took a step back from their duties as senior royals and relocated to California. A well-placed source told the Daily Mail at the time: "It happened very quickly – remarkable really considering they didn't see each other in Scotland.' The publication went on to confirm that it was William's decision to extend the olive branch to his brother, and 'absolutely not' the idea of his father King Charles, as was previously reported. It claimed William felt that a united front was essential in the wake of the Queen's death, as the family reunited to share in their collective grief in front of the world. Both brothers had flown to Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire when they had been informed of the Queen's failing health, but both they tragically missed the chance to say their last goodbyes to their grandmother, arriving in Scotland after the Queen had died. In the months after Queen Elizabeth's passing, Prince Harry's bombshell memoir Spare was released, in which he claimed he found out about his grandmother's death via the media and not from his family. However, royal author Robert Hardman claims Harry's version of events isn't true, instead insisting that the royal family attempted to contact Harry to discuss the Queen's health. Hardman wrote: "In his memoir, Spare he suggests that no one had told him and that he was reduced to learning the news from the BBC website as the plane was landing. Not exactly.' "A member of the Palace staff says that the King had been urgently trying to make contact with his younger son. There were repeated attempts to get through to him but no calls were going through because Harry was airborne,' said the official." Despite the brothers not having seen each other in several years, it seems that the royal feud between the brothers is still very much alive. Earlier this week, William's joked about warring families that seemed to stem from his own personal history. As William visited Harry's old Army regiment - the Army Air Corps in Suffolk - on Wednesday, he joked with servicemen and women about not always wanting to see their families. During an important discussion as the Colonel-in-Chief about the welfare of service people in the regiment, he lightened the mood when he joked, after asking one soldier if he spent enough time with his family "some of them might not want to see you that much – it's a mixed bag".
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
DHS ends controversial Quiet Skies passenger surveillance program
"It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration - weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends," Noem said in a statement on June 5. "I am calling for a Congressional investigation to unearth further corruption at the expense of the American people and the undermining of US national security." Noem said the Transportation Security Administration will maintain its critical aviation and security vetting functions, and the Trump Administration will return TSA "to its true mission of being laser-focused on the safety and security of the traveling public." "This includes restoring the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans," Noem said. Quiet Skies was revealed in 2018 by The Boston Globe, which said the program deployed air marshals, who fly armed and undercover to thwart terrorists, to track dozens of suspicious travelers daily. Lawmakers and civil rights groups have long criticized the program for potentially masking racial or religious discrimination in deciding who to focus on. Part of identifying suspicious travelers relies on noticing behaviors such as fidgeting or having a penetrating stare, which government watchdogs and some lawmakers have criticized in the past as an unreliable basis for probable cause. After the Globe report, David Pekoske, who was then TSA Administrator, told USA TODAY's editorial board that Quiet Skies has been in place for years and was a valuable piece of the air marshals' portfolio. This May, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, exposed that the TSA tracked Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, during the 2024 election for unspecified reasons that Republicans have said were purely political. DHS issued a statement on June 4 alleging that Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, improperly contacted TSA to complain that her husband, William "Billy" Shaheen, was being subjected to enhanced screening. DHS accused Shaheen's lawyer husband, William "Billy" Shaheen, of having traveled with a "known or suspected terrorist" - and said the senator had used her influence to have him removed from a TSA watchlist. But according to a USA Today Network report on June 5, William Shaheen was flagged for the program because he had traveled several times with a New England lawyer who said TSA had inaccurately and unfairly marked her as a possible terrorist. Immigration attorney Celine Atallah shared with USA TODAY Network in an exclusive account that she was the unnamed suspicious "co-traveler" mentioned in a June 4 DHS press release attacking the senator - and that she is "a U.S. citizen, a licensed attorney, a law-abiding American, and Billy Shaheen's legal co-counsel." Shaheen denied getting her husband removed from a watch list, as Atallah, a close family friend, blasted DHS for trying to "score political points by smearing innocent people."
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Ex-Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted by TWO DOZEN colleagues as 'coddled, ineffectual, unprepared'
Former Joe Biden White House officials are uncorking their astonishment at former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for leaving the Democratic Party and nabbing a book deal after towing the Biden lies for years in her old job. 'Respectfully, get the f*** out of here – it's not what people want to hear,' one former White House official fumed to hours after Jean-Pierre's publisher confirmed the forthcoming book. 'What is the goal here? Is the goal here to sell a book? Because that's what it feels like,' said the former official, calling the book a 'huge distraction.' 'We're in the middle of fighting against what the [ Congressional Budget Office] called 10.9 million people losing their health insurance. Mass deportations. Potential citizens deported to a f***ing concentration camp in El Salvador. This is the messaging you're sending right now?' 'Her becoming independent because they were mean to her boss is the lamest s--- I've ever heard. Read the room,' the source intoned. Other sources were gobsmacked why Jean-Pierre would wait so long to unburden herself if she truly felt the White House was 'broken' as her book promo claims. 'She lost whatever media cachet she had after the White House, and The View isn't taking her call anymore so she has to resort to a selfish stunt to sell books and get any attention,' another former White House official told after the news broke. The source was referencing her embarrassing rejection from ABC's 'The View' program, despite appearing on it as press secretary. Another source told Axios: 'The amount of time that was spent coddling [Jean-Pierre] and appeasing her was astronomical compared to our attention on actual matters of substance.' Another called her 'one of the most ineffectual and unprepared people I've ever worked with.,' while still another cited the 'hubris' of trying to position herself as an outsider after enjoying the 'perks' of proximity to power. She didn't know how to manage a team, didn't know how to shape or deliver a message, and often created more problems than she solved. 'It's difficult to see how this is anything but a bizarre cash grab,' said the official. Jean-Pierre hasn't responded to a request for comment, but she addressed the subject of her book on her Instagram page. 'Since my final day as The White House Press Secretary this past January, rarely a day goes by that I'm not stopped in the supermarket, at my daughter's school, at the bank, in an airport, or in my neighborhood to be asked for my perspective, opinion, or insight about the state of our country and what we must do to preserve our democracy,' she said -- speaking before a rack of books that one source in a bit of promotion that one source compared to 'a hostage video.' 'In an era of rampant disinformation and regressive social policies, I'm choosing what I champion based on my own compass. And I'm willing to fight side by side with anyone who shares my goals and principles, no matter how they identify politically, so long as they treat me and the communities I love with respect,' she said. The criticism from Democrats followed the shock announcement by Jean-Pierre's publisher about her forthcoming book resurfaced complaints about her own capabilities and officials who insulated the former president from criticism that could have helped right the ship. Former Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who launched a brief primary challenge citing his age long before he dropped out, took a shot a Jean-Pierre without naming her direction. 'I haven't written a book or been paid for a speech and will never become a lobbyist. I just share my perspective and advocate for common sense without charging anyone for it,' he wrote. Many of those urging Biden to get out after his debate disaster argued it was the only way to avoid an electoral wipeout. As it turned out, Vice President Kamala Harris stepped in at the 11th Hour and lost to Donald Trump anyway. Most surprising to many is that Jean-Pierre announced she is leaving the Democratic Party, after a long career as an operative, at a time when Democrats are soul-searching to try to find a way to combat Donald Trump. Her new book, titled Independent, has a cover featuring shattered glass, and a PR release describes its substance as 'a look inside a broken White House, outside the party lines.' Her publisher Hachette describes an 'urgent, timely analysis' and urges Americans to 'vote their values and maintain individuality within party lines.' 'A lot of group chats were revived today,' posted former White House official Symone Sanders-Townsend, a former advisor to VP Kamala Harris, on X, adding a smiling / crying emoji. 'Counting 13 on my end,' chimed in former Biden State Department spokesman Vedant Patel. 'Lol,' wrote former White House assistant press secretary Jeremy Edwads, reposting an article about Jean-Pierre penning the book and leaving the party. Former officials contacted by said they didn't know what kind of advance Jean-Pierre was coming in, after failing to land a high-profile TV gig as did her predecessor Jen Psaki, now an MSNBC host. 'Probably best to purge the party of our most delusional and self-serving personalities,' the former official added. The slack-jawed responses came after news broke that Jean-Pierre, who spent years defending Biden from the White House podium on both substance and questions about his age, health, and mental fitness was writing the book. It comes as her former boss has been hit by a round of tough press coverage with the release of Axios reporter Alex Thompson and CNN anchor Jake Tapper's new book, 'Original Sin,' which rakes the Biden White House for covering up signs of his decline. 'In a country obsessed with blind loyalty to a two-party democratic system, Karine Jean-Pierre, former White House press secretary to the Biden-Harris administration, shares why Americans must step beyond party lines to embrace life as Independents,' according to an online release for the book. She worked as a political director for Obama. She also worked for liberal outside group MoveOn. Jean-Pierre didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on her new project. The write-up for her forthcoming book indicates she'll take on people within the party who tried to force Biden to end his reelection campaign after his debate disaster. 'She takes us through the three weeks that led to Biden's abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision,' according to the release.
