“Harry and Meghan are constantly under scrutiny, with every move being analyzed and interpreted. It could simply be a matter of them needing some time for themselves,” a relationship expert said.Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation

Is a “Hollywood split” in the cards for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?

There has been recent rise in A-list couples secretly parting ways without announcing it to the world, including Jada Pinkett Smith being separated from husband Will Smith since 2016.

Days after the reveal, Page Six broke that Meryl Streep and her husband, Don Gummer, have also been separated for more than six years.

Relationship expert Louella Alderson believes that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could copy and paste the action should they ever choose to divorce.

The So Syncd dating app co-founder told the Mirror recently: “The media attention surrounding the end of their relationship would be difficult to deal with and they have their children to look out for.”

She also suggested that Harry, 39, and Markle, 42, make a “lucrative team” and their working partnership has “the potential to continue bringing in substantial income for their family.”

“While they have their individual endeavors, their partnership has proven to be beneficial for both of them professionally, too,” the dating expert explained.

She went on: “If they were to split, it could potentially impact their careers, especially as a couple who have brands built on their relationship.”

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Rumors surfaced earlier this year that royal couple Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could be splitting up.Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation
Alderson then pointed out that maybe the “Suits” alum and the Invictus Games founder could just be needing some personal quiet time to reconnect as a duo.

“Harry and Meghan are constantly under scrutiny, with every move being analyzed and interpreted. It could simply be a matter of them needing some time for themselves,” she said.

In May, Markle’s estranged half-sister Samantha Markle, predicted that the royal couple would split eventually.

Entertainment expert Mark Boardman also claimed earlier this month that Harry is “frustrated” and desperate for his “old life” back.

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Harry and Markle married in 2018 and moved away from England to California in 2020.ZUMAPRESS.com
“Prince Harry’s social life has notably shifted over the past decade,” Boardman alleged to OK! magazine at the time, adding that Harry misses his old friends from his hometown, London.

Alderson gave some insights into the “Hollywood split” phenomena, explaining that it’s “common for celebrities to maintain a united front in the public eye.”

“This is typically to avoid the inevitable media attention and speculation and to protect their image and brand,” the expert said.

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Jada Pinkett Smith (right) and Will Smith have been living separate lives since 2016 and are a recent “Hollywood split.”Getty Images for FIJI Water
Relationship specialist Kate Mansfield told the Mirror that Meghan and Harry have “additional royal family complications and duties” that could cause a rift.

“The pressure to stay together as a family unit is far greater than it is for other couples,” Mansfield said.

Credits: IMAGO / Sports Press Photo

Known for his aggression and temper outbursts in the past, Max Verstappen didn’t have the reputation for being the most approachable driver on the grid. Over the years, that has changed. A recent video shows the composed side of Verstappen, revealing two lesser-known facts about his personality.

The 26-year-old can be seen signing autographs on Verstappen merchandise bought by the fans. Throughout, he had a smile on his face. He also interacted with them sweetly and the fans were also respectful of the Red Bull driver’s space and didn’t push their boundaries.

This highlighted two important factors. The first is that he is a firm believer of the ‘You get what you give ideology’, something he asserted after a fan flipped him off in Imola last weekend. When one is respectful of him, he too, will don a nice guy avatar.

Secondly, Verstappen appears to be very shy, unlike his nature on the track.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has often spoken about Verstappen’s shy nature, claiming fame doesn’t sit well with him. Despite having legions of followers on social media, Verstappen prefers a life of peace and is a man of simple taste.

His ambitions too, are not ridiculously far fetched. He has often insisted that he doesn’t want to chase records he deems unnecessary.

Number of world championships do not bother Max Verstappen

With three World Championships already under his belt, Max Verstappen stands four trophies away from equaling the all-time record (set by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher). For Verstappen, it shouldn’t be a very daunting task. He has the talent, and is driving for a top team (Red Bull).

However, the number of Championships he ends up with does not matter to the Dutchman.

Per Verstappen, there are more important things in life. Once he stops racing, the book is closed and the numbers don’t matter anymore (as reported by Motorsport). Then, all the championships he wins will be irrelevant and what will actually matter is the quality of life he leads.

Meghan’s biggest strength is also her fatal weakness

Meghan Markle has many admirable qualities, but one has palace staffers concerned — and it spells disaster for her survival in the royal family.

Here’s something I often wonder about: Do the royals ever have to do performance reviews?

Sure, they are an actual family but being royal doesn’t just mean drinking gin mid-morning whenever you fancy, collecting emeralds and getting to see your face on postage stamps.
They are also all members of an archaic institution which has been around for a millennium. Ensuring the survival of that creaky beast requires dull, monotonous graft, year after year, decade after decade. All new “hires” (AKA the new husbands and wives) are consequently dragooned into the family biz.

Meghan’s compassionate reactions to the world and the people around her spells disaster for her survival in the royal family.

So, I’ll ask again: Do you think the royals are ever graded on their previous year’s work achievements?

Because if so, I think the Buckingham Palace mandarins would give the Duchess of Sussex a big, red “Must do better” while they peer over their half-moon spectacles and glower at her.
No, not because she scribbled on bananas or crossed her legs in the Queen’s presence or even because she dared to paint her nails a dark shade (THE HORROR!). But because,
in their eyes, she has committed, and continues to commit, what they consider a terrible offence.

I’m talking about showing emotion. (Elevating interest in the royal family to unprecedented heights and in the former colonies too only gets you so far.)
Whether it be sheer joy when she meets schoolchildren or dogs or when she spies her hottie husband during a walkabout, Meghan is a woman who often wears her feelings on her (vintage Dior) sleeve.

Meghan’s emotional displays threaten the diplomatic machine that is the royal family.

It is not just happiness either. When her father Thomas Markle was perpetually appearing on TMZ to castigate his daughter, the former actress betrayed her (totally understandable) anger and hurt by giving five friends tacit permission to speak to People. (It is impossible, given how close they are to the Duchess, that these chicks would have opened their mouths without her seal of approval.)

Meghan clearly reacts passionately to the world and people around her, however, this sort of behaviour has no place in The Firm.
The current British monarchy’s longevity can be put down to the fact it is largely run more like a dispassionate business (albeit with cracking perks) than a loving familial unit.
Anna Pasternak, a royal biographer, wrote in The Telegraph recently: “ The Firm requires that it operates as a diplomatic, rational machine. What is not tolerated, far less understood, is emotion.”

Meghan’s capacity to expose her emotions seems to be the very trait that could spark her royal undoing.

Ironically, what is viewed as weakness on the part of courtiers, is perceived by the public to be a significant royal weakness also. Time and time again they have faced harsh (but fair) criticism for their inability to publicly express their feelings, such as after the Aberfan disaster which claimed the lives of 116 children and Diana’s death.

Sadly, what first attracted Harry to Meghan, that is her exquisite capacity to feel and to be open about those feelings, also seems to be the very trait which could spell her royal undoing.

As Pasternak says, “Excitable characters in the royal family who try to steer their own course tend not to reign triumphant.”

By contrast, the Duchess of Cambridge’s tenure as a Windsor Wife would only get the highest of performance review scores. She smiles broadly (scratch that, she beams) and curtsies and always looks just delightfully HAPPY to be in whatever gloomy suburban church hall she finds herself in, surrounded by gawking commoners.

Anger, sheer joy and boredom never, ever cross her face, in public at least. (God knows how p**sed off she probably looks when she finds out that Prince George has just used her lace Alexander McQueen dress from last year’s Ascot as a tadpole net.)

What is viewed as weakness on the part of courtiers is also perceived by the public to be a weakness.

In the eyes of Buckingham Palace, her dedication to keeping all that messy emotion safely sequestered away from public view must surely rank as one of her more admirable qualities.
Conversely, Meghan’s openness and vivacity, and her seeming commitment to letting her innermost emotions show could be a crucial misstep — one which ultimately might spell disaster for her future in the royal family.

And that would be a massive shame. For her, for Harry, for their kid/s and for us, Her Maj’s subjects.

To the Buckingham Palace potentates — I think it is definitely time rethink some of the royal KPIs.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and freelance writer. Continue the conversation @DanielaElser

Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton’s secret agreement

Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton have a frosty relationship — but they made a secret agreement early on, says a royal expert.

Rumours of a feud between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton are greatly exaggerated, a royal expert claims, but that doesn’t mean the duchesses are necessarily eager to hang out together.

“I think this idea of there being a catfight between the two duchesses has made tantalising headlines, but I don’t believe that,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told Glamour. “I’ve never heard from my sources that there has ever been a feud or a falling-out.”

However, Nicholl says there is one rumoured incident between the royal wives that she does think holds some water.

Prince Harry reportedly had high hopes that Meghan (left) and Kate would be friends. Picture: AFP

“I had heard about an upset over the dress fitting for Princess Charlotte,” Nicholl said, referring to Markle allegedly making Middleton cry ahead of Prince Harry’s royal wedding. “And I had heard that while Harry was very keen for the two of them to become best friends, there was never that sort of a friendship.”

“I know in the early days Kate invited Meghan over to apartment 1A for tea. Obviously, she took her on that high-profile trip to Wimbledon, so they have spent time together. But what I think hasn’t happened is — they haven’t become best friends out of all of it,” Nicholl said. “That’s not to say they hate each other. I don’t believe that to be the case at all.”

“They quite quickly realised they were two pretty mature women — quite different women — and really the only thing they had in common was they’d married princes,” Nicholl explained. “Not just Prince Harry, I think probably the world wanted them to become best friends.”

However, Nicholl does believe that Prince Harry and Prince William may not have seen eye-to-eye recently. Reports suggested that William warned Harry not to rush into marriage with Markle, which allegedly “riled” the Ginger Prince.

The royal expert says there is “truth to the tension.”

“I do think there is some truth to there having been some tension — not just between the duchesses but between the dukes, as well,” Nicholl said. “As we all know, things can gather momentum pretty quickly. So while I think there’s been tension, I don’t believe there has been some feud.”

As for Markle and Middleton’s recent highly publicised hug, Nicholl says that was a strategic move.

“I do know that Meghan and Kate have come to an agreement to get along, to make an effort, to be amiable and warm toward each other in public,” she said. “They both realise it’s in neither of their interests to have these catfight headlines. It’s not what either of them want.”

Credits: IMAGO / HochZwei

Monaco has always been an iconic location on the F1 calendar, making for some of the most exhilarating races in history. However, over the years, the race has lost its charm as the sport developed. Now, it is one of the more tedious races to sit through, with little to no action. To bypass the dullness, Lewis Hamilton wants F1 to come up with an experimental new GP weekend format for Monaco.

Speaking to Autosport, Lewis Hamilton said that Monaco hasn’t changed much and that there isn’t much scope for it to change. He stated, “The cars are getting bigger and you can’t really overtake down the pits without a huge risk of colliding.”

He then suggested that F1 could introduce special tires for the Monaco GP. Tires with a smaller life cycle would add more pitstops to the race, adding variability to the Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion wondered if others also found the main race to be a bit boring. “Do you guys not fall asleep on Sunday watching the race?”

Thus, the Briton called for the introduction of a new weekend format to maintain Monaco’s relevance on the calendar. With a sprint weekend structure already in place for several venues, Hamilton does not see why a special structure for Monaco would be a no-go. The 39-year-old’s suggestion makes even more sense given his experience of racing in Monaco.

Lewis Hamilton has been racing in Monaco for nearly two decades

When he first came to race in Monaco, an 18-year-old Lewis Hamilton was still a Formula 3 driver. Riding his scooter, the Briton went for a ride around town and was amazed at how “epic” everything was. 

Bringing his focus back to racing, the now 39-year-old knew he had to do a good job as F1 teams were also there for their race. Nearly 20 years later, Hamilton is still competing at the venue and remains confident of being able to do a good job.

Fighting off performance issues with the W15, Hamilton and Co. have seen a steady improvement in their results. Heading into the Monaco GP weekend, Hamilton is much more confident with the car than on previous race weekends.

He feels the car is much more predictable and much more enjoyable to drive. Nonetheless, he added that the W15 is still far from perfect but the progress is in the right direction.

Credits: IMAGO / ANP

Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari opened a can of worms that has infested the F1 paddock. Meanwhile, Red Bull had its own turmoil to deal with. All of this somehow led to the possibility of Max Verstappen moving to Mercedes. It’s still bizarre, but the F1 world will not stop discussing it. But, according to Guenther Steiner, there’s nothing to talk about.

Starting his own feature with the Red Flags Podcast, Steiner will now share all his hot takes on ‘Vankah Hours.’ What better way to make your debut as a podcaster than to talk about what’s hot in town? In explaining the movement of the busy driver’s market, Steiner puts it very bluntly, “Max will stay at Red Bull.” 

To back his statement, Steiner has a simple question: “Why would he leave?”

Looking at the way Toto Wolff has openly and unabashedly, for lack of a better word, courted Max Verstappen – singing his praises and readying the Mercedes seat – Steiner raises his eyebrows. “Partly putting on pressure. And he must have a belief that it maybe could be possible.”, he said.

Steiner, however, believes that it goes way deeper than Verstappen right now. The strongest driver on the grid is nothing without the strongest car.

And so, the market isn’t only excited because of Verstappen; it’s the man who made his success possible, Adrian Newey. Steiner explains that Verstappen, like any other driver, is looking at who Newey graces with his drawing board.

If not Max Verstappen, then who?

If Max Verstappen chooses to stick through his contract, which is the likely scenario, the question remains: Who will fill Lewis Hamilton’s shoes at Mercedes? Guenther Steiner believes the answer lies with Carlos Sainz.

Advocating for Sainz in Mercedes colors, Steiner would also cheer for Sainz in an Audi. Arguing that the German team will not find someone better than Sainz for their lineup, he acknowledges, “You cannot force Carlos to go there.”

The former Haas boss goes on to highlight the conundrum that clouds over Sainz: “Carlos is just waiting.” Moving to a team like Sauber after being a multiple Ferrari race winner isn’t necessarily the job promotion Sainz is hoping for.

However, Steiner knows what the problems are at Mercedes. The 58-year-old is of the shared belief that Sainz would go to Mercedes in the blink of an eye if given a deal. A good deal. “If Carlos were to go there it would have to be a long-term contract in my opinion. I think Mercedes is not willing to do that because they’ve got Kimi Antonelli waiting.”, he said.

And so the Mercedes seat remains hauntingly empty, with no guesses on who will replace Hamilton. F1 continues its course with some strong undercurrents to this season – stories that develop by the day, and in the blink of a moment, could change the game completely. It’s just a matter of time before the 2025-26 grid will be confirmed and we will be in for a season of excitement.

Credits: IMAGO PanoramiC

For a change, Mercedes is having a pleasant outing with the start of the Monaco GP weekend. More specifically, the reason behind it is Lewis Hamilton and his performance alone. The Briton topped the charts in the first practice session and came in second behind Charles Leclerc by two-tenths in the second session. The 39-year-old managed to deliver such a fine performance because of his cautious approach.

After catching the attention with their front wing design on the launch, Mercedes did the same in Monaco. The team is fielding an upgraded design.

However, they prepared just one and had to choose between George Russell and Hamilton to field it. The seven-time champion made the decision easier for the team by backing out. There is, however, a clever reason behind his decision. Ted Kravitz was quoted by Sky F1 as explaining,

“There is only one…and they agreed between George and Lewis that George would run it, because George was happy to and Lewis was worried, so the team say, about the risk of damage between qualifying and the race.” He added, “If they had to change it, they’d have to change it to an old spec and that would require a pit lane start.”

The gulf of performance between the two drivers comes as a surprise, though. With Russell running the upgraded front wing, he should have been the one leading his teammate. However, the 26-year-old has only managed P3 and P10 finishes in the first two practice sessions.

Monaco is a track with shorter straights and twisty sections. The nature of the track further raises the importance of the front wings to give the drivers a stable platform to make steady turns.

A surprising change in Lewis Hamilton’s approach

Mercedes is going through the worst start to a season they have ever endured. In the middle of it all is Lewis Hamilton who made every effort to lead the team out of the slump. That shows in his readiness to experiment with the setups and provide the team with some crucial data points.

That often came with the risk of him slacking behind. The prime example of the sacrifice came in China where he qualified on the front row for the Sprint.

Hamilton finished P2 after keeping the threat from Sergio Perez at bay. He looked to be on the right path to repeat the result in the main race. However, a failed experiment with the setup cost him dearly. After qualifying in P18, Hamilton finished the race in P9 with just two points to his name.

The lesson in Shanghai may have led him to stay away from the front wing upgrade in Monaco. With George Russell running the new part, the team will gather some crucial data. Perhaps Lewis Hamilton will switch to it once the package proves to be worth it.

IMAGO / Marco Canoniero

Lewis Hamilton hasn’t won a race for Mercedes since the Silver Arrows entered their slump following the onset of the ground-effect regulations in 2022. What would hurt the Briton even more is that he hasn’t finished in the top three in Monaco since then. However, he is confident of turning the tables in 2024.

Speaking during the drivers’ conference (as quoted by Formule.nl), the seven-time World Champion said,

“Although we don’t have any upgrades but I’m more looking forward to it than the last two years. The cars really weren’t as good back then as they are now. [The W15] is a work in progress – I hope this one is a lot better.”

Hamilton’s words, however, are in direct contrast to reports that state Mercedes have brought upgrades to the Monaco GP. Those include design changes to the floor, front wing, and rear wing. Each upgrade aims to extract more downforce, as Monaco is a track full of complex slow-speed turns.

Hamilton, however, will still use the old-front wing, as the upgrades will feature on his teammate George Russell’s car.

Despite this apparent disadvantage, Hamilton is faring better than Russell so far. The 39-year-old topped the FP1 timings before taking P2 in FP2 on Friday. The only driver who lapped quicker than him on the day was hometown hero Charles Leclerc, with less than two-tenths of a second separating the two.

Hamilton will be hoping that this performance lasts for the remainder of the weekend because Mercedes’ start to the 2024 season has been woeful overall. The uptick in performance has given the Brackley-based outfit hope, and Hamilton will look to capitalize on the advantage to end his 2024 podium drought.

Lewis Hamilton backs out from experimental game

Mercedes failed to produce two front wings with the upgraded design. Hence, they had to pick between Hamilton and Russell to feature this new part and the former opted out of it to let his teammate run with the upgrade.

Sky F1‘s Ted Kravitz reported, “There is only one…and they agreed between George and Lewis that George would run it, because George was happy to and Lewis was worried, so the team say, about the risk of damage between qualifying and the race.” He added, “If they had to change it, they’d have to change it to an old spec and that would require a pit lane start.”

Hamilton’s decision to let Russell take the new front wing might stem from the lessons he learned earlier. The Stevenage-born driver ran a slew of experimental setups on his car to extract the best he could out of it. More times than not, the experiments failed.

Most recently, he secured P2 in the Chinese GP Sprint, but after changing his setup ahead of the Grand Prix, he qualified in P18 and finished in P9. In Monaco, Hamilton has decided not to take a similar approach.

Credits: IMAGO / Sports Press Photo

Red Bull’s Monaco GP weekend has gotten off the wrong foot, with both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez complaining about the RB20’s balance throughout Friday’s free practice sessions. To make matters worse, the team’s sim drivers are unavailable for the weekend. However, a silver lining for Verstappen comes in the form of a ‘special replacement’ available at his disposal.

Verstappen’s partner Kelly Piquet has been present in several of the Dutchman’s races over the years. But this year onwards, her daughter Penelope has also made appearances, gracing the Red Bull garage with some much-needed freshness.

The 4-year-old also decided to showcase some of her driving skills on a sim rig. Quickly, social media decided that Penelope was worthy of filling in as a Red Bull sim driver for the Monaco GP weekend.

Sitting on Verstappen’s lap, Penelope was steering the car on the Red Bull driver’s setup. She was good with her maneuvering of the F1 car around Monaco’s tight circuits, and it was Verstappen who took control of the pedals. Despite a few knocks here and there, Penelope was able to follow the racing line rather well.

As a result, Penelope was deemed a perfect replacement for Sebastian Buemi and Jake Dennis (Red Bull’s sim drivers) because both of them are in Shanghai for Formula E this weekend.

Max Verstappen and Penelope take over social media

With Penelope displaying incredible driving skills for a child her age, fans took to social media to laud her. Many suggested that, like Max, she too would become a Champion driver one day. 

Of course, suggesting Penelope would fill in for an actual F1 sim driver was in good jest. But, that doesn’t take her skills away. Some users noted that she was better than grown adults at steering a car around the streets of Monaco (virtually).

At the same time, Penelope’s driving skills don’t solve Verstappen’s problems in the Principality. The onus falls on him and Perez to get Red Bull’s set up right. Or else, the weekend’s spoils could land in favor of McLaren, Ferrari, or Mercedes.

Credits: IMAGO / HochZwei

Ever since the intense 2021 season, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been arch-rivals. Sharing one of the most iconic rivalries in the history of F1, neither driver backed down from an opportunity to take a dig at the other. While there have been an unending number of stories detailing the rivalry between the two, F1 Nation‘s Tom Clarkson recalled a story that showed the lesser-known peace between them. 

Back at the 2021 Portuguese GP, Lewis Hamilton took home the win, nearly 30 seconds ahead of P2 finisher Max Verstappen. Following the race, they both headed to the cooldown room, where a stool lay in the middle. Clarkson detailed how Hamilton draped himself around the stool in an attempt to stretch his back. 

Meanwhile, Verstappen was witnessing all this, and he wanted to head over to Hamilton to help him stretch. Per Clarkson, it was a lovely sneak peek into the relationship of the two drivers behind the scenes. 

“It’s wonderful, behind the scenes, a chance to see their relationship up close. And it was all very easy after that race.”, he said.

While the two might not share as fierce a rivalry off-track, they certainly aren’t friends. A generational gap between both drivers stands as a significant reason behind the same. 

Not having a lot to talk about and not sharing a lot of interests meant the two drivers never had any real opportunities to bond. Nonetheless, things aren’t too heated between the two drivers, especially once they step out of their cars. 

Max Verstappen details what his relationship with Lewis Hamilton is like

Having shared the last seven championships between them, it is only natural for Hamilton and Verstappen to be arch-rivals. Furthermore, the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP played a crucial in adding fire to the fuel. However, the Dutchman insists that all of the rivalry remains only on the tracks.

Quoted by GP Fans, Max Verstappen detailed that he never wanted a rivalry that extended outside the tracks of F1. Speaking further, he claimed that while they both want to defeat each other on the tracks, once they are out of the car, “it’s like just normal guys.“ 

However, there are always chances of the 2021 rivalry reigniting one day. While it looks unlikely at Mercedes, Hamilton’s forthcoming move to Ferrari could see the hostilities return.

Ferrari has consistently improved over the last two seasons and is doing a great job of cutting down on the gap to Red Bull. In such a case, with Hamilton in one of their cars, fans might well get to witness the two drivers lock horns once again.