Insiders claim that Kensington Palace considered sending Harry, 34, and Markle, 37, to Canada or Australia.
“There have been various ideas floated for them to take on a job abroad, such as governor-general of Australia or Canada, wherever,” a palace source told The Sunday Times of London. “The trouble is that you effectively set them up as king and queen of a whole separate country, and 24-hour media means that Australia is not as far away as it used to be.”
Additionally, Markle already spent years in Canada during her tenure on "Suits," making it "moot," the source said.
The couple reportedly have considered work in Africa.
A friend of William and Harry alleged, “In some ways it would suit William to get his brother out of the country for a few years and Meghan as far away as possible."
What's more, though it was initially reported that Harry and Markle planned on moving to their newly renovatedFrogmore Cottage to ensure their privacy, insiders claim that the couple were actually pushed there by the rest of the royals.
"Meghan and Harry feel they have been cut adrift,” a source close to the couple said.
“They sent them down to Frogmore to try to keep them out of the limelight for a bit," a source said. "This is doomed to fail. They are worried that Harry and Meghan are going to establish a totally separate enterprise that nobody can get under control."
“There are discussions in palace circles about how do we harness Harry and Meghan and this tremendous global attention they get. How do we draw them back, because laying down the law and ticking them off doesn’t work at all,” the source added.
A source also claimed that despite the public goodwill toward Markle and Harry, “People are telling William, ‘Don’t worry. Your influence will grow and Harry’s will fade.’ This is peak Harry.”
Insiders previously claimed that William warned Harry that he may have been moving too fast with Markle, leading to a feud between the Cambridge and Sussex couples. However, some sources — including Kensington Palace — deny any feud at all between any of the parties allegedly involved.
“I do not believe that William and Harry are growing apart,” Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell said. “They may have differences, as they are two very different personalities, [but] I think that her life bond was forged at the time of their mother’s death and they are inseparable.”
Fox News' Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.
As promised, Kanye West brought his “Sunday Service” to Coachella on Easter morning, as dozens of musicians, singers and dancers performed a set of spiritual songs, covers and songs by the rapper himself — including a new one called “Water” — for an audience of thousands from a hilltop on the festival grounds in Indio, Calif. While he rapped briefly on a couple of songs, West was generally the ringleader of the service, as he has been on previous incarnations in California and Oregon since he began leading the service early in January.
To reach the site, Coachella attendees walked some distance from the festival’s parking section to a cordoned-off area of the campground. A full band — complete with harp — was set up on the plateaued top of a circular mound covered with freshly laid sod. A waist-high fence surrounded the hill, which had a sort of VIP area extending up another grassy hill behind the stage. Across the field, patrons could purchase food and beverages including orange juice, coffee and smoothies, plus chicken and waffles, breakfast tacos and burritos. Yet many more were interested in the “church clothes,” — a.k.a. merch — for sale, including sweatshirts for $165-$225, “Jesus Walks” socks for $50, $70 T-shirts reading “Trust God” on the front and “Sunday Service at the Mountain” on the back.
Related
The service opened with a slightly eerie organ prelude, as West and the dozens-strong choir, glad in purple-beige robes, made their way toward the hill. Gradually they arrayed in a circle around it while more robe-clad singers and dancers arrayed atop the hill behind the stage.
After around 15 minutes of prelude, percussion kicked in and the band began playing jazz-fusion-flavored music reminiscent of Stevie Wonder’s and Roy Ayers’ early ‘70s albums. It was a large band, with at least five percussionists, a big horn section, a harpist as well as the dozens-strong choir, all of whom were wearing headset microphones.
After about 20 minutes the musicians stopped playing, except for a single guitarist keeping rhythm, as West took the stage alongside the percussionists, fist-bumping bandmembers along the way.
The music resumed, switching between the full band and organ prelude music, with a pair of vocalists scat-singing while more choir members filed onto the hill, occasionally saying “He is risen!”
The livestream occasionally pulled back to an aerial shot that showed how the performance area, with the cleared grass around it, resembled an eye. (Many commentators on social media also pointed out the setup’s similarity to the fictional world of the surreal 1990s children’s TV show “TeleTubbies”.)
After about 45 minutes the singing began in earnest, with the choirleader exhorting the singers as well as the crowd: “Come on, turn up a little volume on that praise! Can we hear that name one more time? He is Jesus!”
After a gospel vamp around the phrase “You’re the only power!,” the singer suddenly broke into the chant from West’s 2010 hit “Power,” clapping out the rhythm. That quickly morphed into “Higher,” and another that seemed to be a rearrangement of Otis Redding’ “Try a Little Tenderness” with a chorus of “Jesus won’t leave us,” then Stevie Wonder’s “As” and then a stirring take on Soul II Soul’s 1990 hit “Back to Life,” the chorus of which sounded stunning sung a capella by a gospel choir.
The music gradually segued into Teyana Taylor singing her West-produced “Never Would Have Made It,” which morphed into a take on West’s “Fade,” which itself interpolates Motown artists Rare Earth’s cover of the Temptations’ “(I Know) I’m Losing You.”
The choirmaster continued to lead the choir through vamps on phrases like “We absorb the light” and “We have everything we need.” Dozens more dancers were arrayed around the hills surrounding the performance area, breaking out synchronized dance moves.
Through the performance, West — with his short-cropped hair dyed several shades of purple— was beaming and joining in, but not really performing until toward the end, when he sat down at a keyboard and chopped up some soulful vocal samples with beats while a choir member danced.
“Ye, we all want some of that brighter day!” the choirmaster shouted as the choir broke into Kirk Franklin’s song of the same name.
The group continued vamping on various phrases and snippets of songs — we even think we heard someone briefly say “Poopity scoop,” a reference to West’s jokey song “Lift Yourself” — until finally West picked up a mic and, with his voice hoarse, rapped on “All Falls Down,” with the choir joining him on the chorus.
He then announced a new song called “Water,” a low-key song with spiritually themed lyrics and a gentle rhythm revolving around the chorus “We are water,” closing with some verses from “Ultralight Beam.” After more extended vamping, the set ended with a long take on West’s 2004 song “Jesus Walks”; West picked up the mic and hoarsely rapped the song’s verses, finishing on his knees on the hilltop as cameras and applauding singers surrounded him.
Finally, he rose and smiled at the camera, pausing for several long moments before the band played a medley of gospel and soul covers and the dancers filed off of the hill.
Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros/New Line’s James Wan-produced horror pic The Curse Of La Llorona haunted cinemas in 71 overseas markets this frame, opening to $30M at the international box office. Along with domestic, the global bow is $56.5M.
In many countries, the Easter weekend is bracketed by holidays on the Friday and/or Monday, and Llorona, with its Catholic iconography, tapped into that. Latin America leans into horror and this film, with Mexican folklore at its center, was No. 1 in the region where it is tracking above The Conjuring (+11%), Halloween (+30%), A Quiet Place (+60%) and Lights Out (+95%). Mexico leads all play at $5.3M while Europe and parts of Asia had decent starts; Brazil was slightly soft with the market dominated by family fare (Shazam!, Dumbo) and the faith-based Breakthrough.
The thriftily-priced $9M La Llorona still has Japan and the UK to come. Too bad it didn’t release in the latter this weekend which could have used the jolt. Right now, it looks like the current session in Britain could be the first four-day Easter weekend this century to gross under £10M. There’s been lovely weather there, but the lack of a major opener also is showing impact.
Of course, next weekend will be a different story amid the thunderous arrival of Avengers: Endgame. Cinemas in London, Leicester, the Midlands, Bristol and many more are already selling out shows. Highlighting the anticipation for Endgame, even China was quiet this frame, led by the continuing play of P Storm ($113M cume), and as pre-sales on the MCU pic have surged past $60M.
Widely for non horror fans, this weekend was all about holdovers. Notably, WB/New Line/DC’s Shazam! added another $22M to cross the $200M mark overseas and $300M globally. Families also leant an ear to Disney’s Dumbo, pushing the expensive little pachyderm above both those same milestones.
Ahead of the worldwide reckoning with Thanos that begins Wednesday offshore, Disney/Marvel’s Captain Marvel put a couple new notches on her belt. With a global cume of $1.09B through Sunday, Carol Danvers now fronts the No. 8 all-time superhero movie, passing The Dark Knight Rises.
Elsewhere, Voltage’s teen drama After had another good weekend, grossing $9.5M in 38 markets for a $25.4M overseas cume. Lionsgate/Millennium’s Hellboy meanwhile picked up just $3.4M in 40 hubs.
Breakdowns on this week’s films are being updated below.
NEW THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA
The Michael Chaves-directed horror pic, which is not directly connected to the Conjuring universe as it doesn’t involve paranormal investigators, the Warrens, opened in 71 overseas markets to $30M on 13,262 screens. The top film internationally in a largely holdover weekend ahead of next frame’s Avengers: Endgame was No. 1 in the Latin American region, tapping into the Easter holiday and Mexican folklore. As noted above, it bested a handful of comps in the region.
In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it’s on par with The Conjuring, A Quiet Place and Lights Out. In Asia, it’s the No. 1 movie, coming in more than double Pet Sematary and Halloween.
The best overall play was Mexico at $5.3M on 2,600 screens with a 32% share of the Top 5 titles. It outperformed nearly all comps there including Insidious: The Last Key (+36%), The Conjuring (+61%), A Quiet Place (+101%), Pet Sematary (+158%) and Lights Out (+185%).
Colombia was the next best start at $2.4M and ahead of all comps except Annabelle. France grossed $2.1M on 254 screens to rank No. 2, on par with a number of comps and over Lights Out (+20%) and A Quiet Pladce (%39%).
Spain brought in $1.7M on 330 screens, ranking No. 3, but above most comps including 34% over Annabelle. Indonesia scared up $1.6M on 654 screens at No. 1, also topping most comps.
Korea ($1.3M/620 screens/No. 2), India ($1.1M/1,032/No. 1 U.S. movie), Russia ($1.1M/1,758/No. 3), Italy ($863K/314 screens/No. 3) and Brazil ($796K/350/No. 4) round out the Top 10.
The UK and Japan are still to come along with a handful of markets as the movie looks to act as counterprogramming to Thanos and crew.
HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS SHAZAM!
Warner’s family friendly superhero added another $22M with school breaks and the Easter holiday helping fuel the box office. Playing on about 16,000 screens in 80 markets, the Zachary Levi-starrer has now grossed $201.5M abroad and $322.8M globally.
Japan opened this session with $2M on 723 screens at No. 4, but No. 1 for a U.S. movie. The release topped Ant-Man by 9% and is on par with Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Brazil in the 3rd frame dropped just 21% to stay No. 1 and gross $11.4M to date. Australia held the No. 1 spot while Mexico dipped to No. 3. The UK took back the No. 1 slot on a very quiet weekend and Spain increased 2% in the 3rd session. Colombia also saw a sizable increase, up 34%.
The Top 10 markets are China ($43.5M), the UK ($15.4M), Mexico ($14.2M), Brazil ($11.4M) and Australia ($9.8M).
DUMBO
Also in the family sphere, Disney’s Dumbo added $13.7M from 55 material markets. The offshore cume is now $206.6M for $307.9M worldwide. Belgium is a big fan of the pachyderm, maintaining No. 1 for the fourth straight weekend. Within the rest of Europe, holds were good for the holiday including in Denmark (-5%), Spain (-12%), Portugal (-24%) and France (-46%).
In Lat Am, Dumbo dropped just 12% with strong holds in Colombia (+28%), Argentina (+20%), Peru (+5%), Chile (-3%), Brazil (-19%) and Mexico (-35%).
Across Asia-Pacific, strong holds include New Zealand (+30%), Singapore (+19%), Hong Kong (-4%) and Australia (-9%).
The Top 5 markets are the UK ($27.9M), China ($21.8M), Mexico ($20.2M), Spain ($14M) and France ($12.2M).
WONDER PARK
Paramount’s animated amusement admitted another $10.9M worth of visitors in 56 markets. That includes a debut in China where the start was No. 3 with $3M at 8,992 locations. The international cume is now $48.5M.
Also new this session were the Netherlands ($328K/135 sites) and Hong Kong ($264K/40).
France led the weekend play and has now grossed $6.1M. Korea is the final market to release, way down the line in August.
CAPTAIN MARVEL
In the 7th weekend, Disney/Marvel’s Captain Marvel picked up $6.5M from 49 material markets. The offshore total is now $689.5M with $1,089.5M worldwide where Carol Danvers is the No. 8 biggest superhero of all time.
Europe dropped 37% regionally with a great +25% hold in Spain and slight eases elsewhere. Korea also got a bump, up 70% as anticipation for Endgame swells. Latin America had a 12% drop, increasing in Chile by 2% and dipping just 14% in Brazil.
Here are the Top 5 grossers: China ($153.6M), the UK ($49.7M), Korea ($45.1M), Brazil ($37.9M) and Mexico ($33.2M).
MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
Pet Sematary (PAR): $5.5M intl weekend (58 markets); $46.1M intl cume Breakthrough (FOX/DIS): $2.8M intl weekend (20 markets/+28% in Brazil); $5.9M cume Us (UNI): $1.7M intl weekend (58 markets); $75.3M intl cume Little (UNI): $1.4M intl weekend (13 markets); $4.8M intl cume How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (UNI): $700K intl weekend (37 markets); $355.4M intl cume Bohemian Rhapsody (FOX): $500K intl weekend (20 markets); $685.6M intl cume Greta (UNI): $500K intl weekend (2 markets); $3M intl cume ($1.5M Universal) Boy Erased (UNI): $200K intl weekend (8 markets); $4.6M intl cume
LOCAL-LANGUAGE
Foxstar’s Indian pic Kalank, a romance drama set during the 1940s partition and from Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, opened to $10.4M in two markets offshore. Of that, $9.5M was from India where the movie is No. 1 this weekend. Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Aditya Roy Kapoor star in the title by director Abhishek Varman.
The Grammy-winning musicians tied the knot Saturday at the Marigny Opera House in New Orleans in front of close friends and family, a representative for Carney told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Among those attending the wedding were the couple's 7-month-old son, Rhys, and Branch's 13-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, Owen.
Branch, 35, wore a dress by Temperley London and walked down the aisle to Elvis Presley's "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You," performed by The Symphony Chorus of New Orleans.
Carney, 39, wore a Burberry suit.
The couple began dating in 2015. They collaborated together on Branch's 2017 album, "Hopeless Romantic."
Branch's hits include "All You Wanted," ''Everywhere," ''Are You Happy Now?" and "The Game of Love," with Santana.
Eminem announced on his social media platforms Saturday that he's 11 years sober.
The rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, posted a picture of his 11-year chip on his Twitter and Instagram pages with the caption, "11 years - still not afraid."
He's spoken openly in the past about his addiction to drugs, including admitting that a 2007 hospitalization originally reported as pneumonia was actually an overdose on blue pills someone gave him that wound up being methadone.
The now-46-year-old says he's been sober since April 20, 2008. Two of the albums he's released since then, "Relapse" and "Recovery," address his addiction and comeback.
Queen Elizabeth ll, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry Anwar Hussein/WireImage
The Queen’s special social media birthday greetings
In honor of the Queen’s birthday, the Royal social media
accounts were brimming with well wishes.
The Kensington Palace Twitter account shared a collection of
photos, tweeting: “Wishing a very happy 93rd birthday to Her Majesty The Queen!
#HappyBirthdayYourMajesty.”
The Royal Family Instagram account compiled a video that showed
the Queen throughout the years, writing: “Happy 93rd birthday to Her Majesty
The Queen! Our video includes a photograph from each decade of The Queen’s
life, from an image of her as a baby in 1926, to her visit to King’s College
last month. #QueensBirthday #HappyBirthdayHerMajesty.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shared a sweet message on
Instagram
Despite Markle being MIA from the Easter service, the Instagram account she shares with Prince Harry was sure to post a special message to ‘Granny’ on her special day.
Along with photos of the Queen, including one of her with young Prince Harry and Prince William and a too cute pic of her laughing with Markle, was the caption: “Happy Birthday Your Majesty, Ma’am, Granny. Wishing you the most wonderful day! Harry & Meghan.”
Why didn’t Meghan Markle attend the Easter service?
When Prince Harry showed up for the Easter service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, fans noticed that Markle wasn’t by his side. This naturally started chatter about the reason why she was absent.
In addition to Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Zara and Mike Tindall, Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice, Princess Anne, Sophie Countess of Wessex, James Viscount Severn, and Peter and Autumn Phillips were also at the Sunday service.
Many royal baby watchers wondered if Markle is too far in her pregnancy or even currently in labor and due to give birth soon. Still others buzzed about the possibility that she already gave birth to Baby Sussex and the couple haven’t yet announced the news.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle want to maintain privacy
Last week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released a statement that alerted fans that they would be keeping the birth details private.
The statement from Buckingham Palace explained: “The
Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very grateful for the goodwill they have received
from people throughout the United Kingdom and around the world as they prepare
to welcome their baby. Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to
keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private. The Duke and Duchess
look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an
opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.”
A royal source told ET recently that Baby Sussex is expected “any day” now and, with Markle missing out on the Easter Sunday gathering, perhaps the baby will be born very soon.
Baby Sussex is set to enter the world any day now –and the public is anxiously waiting for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to announce the birth of their bundle of joy and finally reveal their name. When Buckingham Palace first stated that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were expecting in Oct. 2018 –the said that the little one was due in Spring 2019. Markle later clarified that she was due in late April or early May.
Baby Sussex could have the same zodiac sign as Queen Elizabeth
If Baby Sussex is born between April 20 and May 21, he or she will be a Taurus just like Queen Elizabeth, and they certainly won’t be the only two Taurus’ in the British Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth will celebrate her 93rd birthday on April 21. Princess Charlotte will turn four on May 2nd, and Prince Louis will celebrate his very first birthday on April 23. All three of these royals share the Taurus zodiac sign. Since Baby Sussex will probably be born before May 21 –he or she will be a Taurus also.
What are the traits of Taurus women?
We are secretly hoping that Baby Sussex is a little girl, which would make her the ideal companion for Princess Charlotte who is the only little lady in the Cambridge household. According to Astrology.com, Taurus is a fixed sign and women born under the sign of the bull can be stubborn, determined, and self-reliant. Taurus women are also hard workers and are often reliable, stable, and find a way to weave in purpose with everything they do. Essentially this describes who Queen Elizabeth II is perfectly.
What are the traits of Taurus men?
If Baby Sussex is a boy –he might have a similar personality to his older cousin, Prince Louis. According to Astrology.com, Taurus men are lovers, not fighters. They’re easy to get along with, dependable, tenacious, and loyal. However, just like their female counterparts, they have a stubborn side to them and do not like change.
Will Baby Sussex’s Taurus zodiac sign affect Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s relationship?
When Baby Sussex is born –Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will have been married for just about a year. With a massive move to Frogmore House in Windsor from their home at Kensington Palace in London and a ton of changes over the past year — adding a baby will certainly be challenging.
However, the duke and duchess’ relationship seems iron clad. According to expert astrologer Sally Kirkman — if Baby Sussex us a Taurus, they might be closer to their dad, Prince Harry. Kirkman told Express U.K., “If the baby is an Aries, it will be closer to Meghan, who is a Leo, as they are both fire star signs. If the baby is a Taurus, it will be closer to Harry, a Virgo, as they are both earth star signs.” Since Aries season is coming to a close we’re thinking that Baby Sussex will share the same zodiac sign as Queen Elizabeth.
