If you’ve ever listened to music released in the 1980s, you’ve likely heard the iconic TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. Artists like New Order, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston and Beastie Boys all used these machines during that decade and newer artists like Daft Punk, Outkast and Bjork continued the tradition as the years rolled on. Roland understands this legacy and , the TR-1000. It only took 40 years.
The TR-1000 looks to be an amalgamation of the analog grit of the original machines and modern digital features. It includes true analog voices, along with digital sampling technology. The company says it worked with “creators across scenes and geographies” to ensure the machine meets the “real-world needs and workflows of today’s most innovative producers.”
It features re-designed engines from the original 808 and 909 machines, along with a new sequencer and over 2,000 pre-installed factory samples. However, users can easily import their own samples. It also comes with 46GB of internal storage, dozens of effects and a full suite of connection ports.
“The TR-1000 feels like the true, classic lineage of the 808 and 909, not a digital remake,” El-P of the rap group Run The Jewels said in a press release. Roland fans are no doubt aware that there have been throughout the years, and none of them quite managed to capture the mojo of the original units.
The drum machine is available right now to order, but there’s a spot of bad news. The Roland TR-1000 costs a whopping $2,700.
HE was courted by the doyennes of Germany’s high society but Adolf Hitler’s own dark obsession and warped sexual fantasies revolved around much younger women.
The Fuhrer, hailed as a rockstar politician by wealthy women who sought to refine him, bedded a series of teens including his own 16-year-old niece – who met a tragic death as consequence.
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Hitler, seen with wife Eva Braun, was known for his sexual relationships with much younger womenCredit: Alamy
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Historians believe Hitler’s depraved love life was sparked by his complex relationship with his mother KlaraCredit: Alamy
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Eva’s devotion to the monster would cost her her lifeCredit: Alamy
Behind closed doors, he also indulged extreme sexual fantasies – getting one naked lover to put on his own boots and savagely kick him.
His deadly affairs also led to at least one other mysterious death and the attempted suicide of a 17-year-old, who was 20 years his junior.
Now, a new Sky History documentary, Hitler’s Handmaidens, details the Fuhrer’s secret sex life and relationships with the women he wanted to keep hidden.
Author and historian Jane Thynne says: “What is interesting about many of the women that had relationships with Hitler is that they either attempted or, or committed suicide, and he patently had a very, very potent traumatising and almost desolating effect on women to cause them to try and kill themselves.”
Experts believe that Hitler’s bizarre relationships with women began with the very first one in his life – his mother.
When Hitler was born in Austria in April 1889, he was his mother Klara’s fourth child – but the only one to live – and she was determined that little Adolf would not only survive but thrive.
While he was doted on and spoiled by his devoted mother, he was brutalised by his alcoholic father. Historians have been left wondering if Klara loved her son too much, and this is what warped his future relationships with women.
Psychologist Anna Motz says: “Hitler’s relationship with women appears to have been extremely complicated. So we know from the records that he had this enmeshed, over-involved relationship with a loving, protective mother.
“And he was brutalised by a man who appears to have been sadistic and violent. So, on the one hand, he’s seeking this maternal comfort. On the other hand, he doesn’t seem able to relate to women who are his equals.”
But Klara’s never-questioning love for her son gave him one thing – huge self-belief. He had an unswerving faith in his opinions and thought of himself as devastatingly handsome and intelligent.
World’s biggest gun ‘Gustav’ was built by the Nazis to destroy France – it weighed 1350 tonnes & friends 12ft long bullets
Disturbing fantasies
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Stefanie Rabatsch was Hitler’s first teenage crush – reports say he was sexually obsessed with her
Hitler was convinced he was meant for greater things, and his steadfast ambition would eventually cast a shadow over Europe.
But his first teenage crush didn’t go how he planned. An awkward Hitler became enthralled with 19-year-old Stefanie Isak, a tall, blonde and wealthy music student a couple of years older than him.
Historian Phil Carradice explains: “He worshipped her. She was the ideal Germanic woman, the Aryan woman. And for two years, two years, Adolf Hitler followed her, stalked her, for want of a better word, but never spoke to her.”
Disturbingly, he told his friend he wanted to kidnap her and marry her, followed by fantasies that they would kill themselves by jumping off a bridge together.
Thankfully, he never carried out his twisted plan, and shortly afterwards, his mother died, leaving him devastated.
Every day for the rest of his life, he carried a picture of her in his pocket. But the young Adolf was rejected by the Austrian army and found himself homeless and destitute.
So, he joined the Germans fighting against the Western allies.
One story claims that in the summer of 1917, Hitler was on leave from the war and met a 16-year-old French girl in the countryside. They had a brief sexual encounter, which resulted in the birth of his illegitimate child.
Later analysis showed that the men who could be father and son shared the same unusual handwriting, but experts say the patronage is impossible to prove.
Cruellest Nazi women
Herta Oberheuser
When American soldiers liberated the Ravensbruck concentration camp for women, they saw evidence of unimaginable atrocities.
But one person in particular haunted the survivors. They told of a “beast masquerading as a human”— female doctor Herta Oberheuser.
Historian Wendy Lower explains: “She’s been assigned to experiments to test the effects of wounds on the human body. If they can see how a wound that’s inflicted by shrapnel is going to affect an ordinary German soldier and all the ways that could be treated.
“She’s putting sawdust in there, putting glass shards, putting various chemicals and rubbing that in.
Pauline Kneissler
In late 1939 Hitler turned his attention to euthanasia in the pursuit of racial purity. His sinister secret T4 programme was an opportunity for him to murder anybody who they thought of as disabled.
Pauline Kneissler was one of the nurses hand-picked to make Grafeneck Castle, near Stuttgart, an efficient killing site.
She would travel to different institutions with a list of names and then bus them back to the castle and murder them – with Lower estimating she killed as many as 70 a day.
Irma Grese
There was one woman whose crimes were so brutal and sadistic that the Nuremberg judges had no choice but to order her execution – Irma Grese.
Known as the Hyena of Auschwitz, she had a reputation for stomping on prisoners or setting her attack dogs on them.
She was the lover and accomplice of the camp’s ‘Angel of Death’ Josef Mengele, helping him with the selections where prisoners were chosen for monstrous medical experiments or sent to the gas chambers.
As well as her affair with Mengele, Grese was also believed to have had flings with male guards, and it was alleged she even raped female prisoners.
Hermine Braunsteiner
Despite Irma Grese’s death penalty, most of the female concentration camp guards escaped justice, and many went on to live long and happy lives.
One of these was Hermine Braunsteiner, the woman known as the “Stomping Mare” – a camp guard at Majdanek who liked to stomp on prisoners and was known for her particular sadistic tendencies.
She married an American in her native Austria after the war and moved to the US. However, she was later discovered living in New York and was extradited.
Whether or not he did father that child, it is a fact that throughout his adult life, Hitler sought out maternal figures, perhaps to replace his own mother.
To these older, rich women – many of whom shared his extremist political and anti-Semitic views – Hitler appeared charming and destined for greater things despite being rough around the edges.
Most of these women were married, which also suited Hitler because his vow to be only married to Germany gained him adoration from the millions of young German women who were sending their sons off to war.
To them, he was the rockstar politician who expects have likened to the Elvis figure of his day.
Women like socialites Helene Bechstein from the piano-making dynasty, real-life princess Elsa Bruckmann, and Winifred Wagner, daughter of composer Richard, took Hitler under their wing and taught him how to kiss a lady’s hand and eat lobster in public.
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Hitler struck up friendships with women from aristocratic families, such as Winifred WagnerCredit: Alamy
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He had the adoration of millions of young women in Nazi GermanyCredit: Time Life Pictures – Getty Images
Historian Phil Carradice explains: “Hitler was a rough and tumble country boy. But suddenly, these women took him over and said, we will show you how to carry on, how to live, how to be successful in society.
“Because if you want to make it big, that’s where you need to put your effort. That’s where the money lies. And you need to, uh, to get people on your side. We will teach you how to eat and drink in public.”
Hitler knew he needed these aristocratic families on his side to be taken seriously politically.
And while he would lay his head on these ladies’ bosoms and let them stroke him, their relationships remained purely platonic. His sexual tastes lay with women much younger.
Twisted sexual demands
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Hitler began a relationship with 16-year-old Mitzi, who tried to kill herself when he ended their relationshipCredit: Getty
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Their relationship would set the tone for his future encounters with young womenCredit: Getty
In 1926, Hitler gave a speech in Bavaria, where he met a 16-year-old blonde girl called Mitzi. He was 37. This age gap would become a theme for his future lovers.
Mitzi was just 17 years old when she began a sexual relationship with Hitler, which he abruptly called off to devote his life to his politics. A distraught Mitzi tried to kill herself.
Author and historian Jane Thynne says: “What is interesting about many of the women that had relationships with Hitler is that they either attempted or, or committed suicide, and he patently had a very, very potent traumatising and almost desolating effect on women to cause them to try and kill themselves.”
While Mitzi survived, some of Hitler’s other young secret lovers would not.
Hitler became infatuated with his 16-year-old niece, Geli Raubal. She wanted the bright lights of Munich, so when it was suggested she could live with him in the city, she quickly agreed.
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Hitler became enthralled with his niece Geli Raubal, who went to live with himCredit: Getty
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Their relationship had a deadly consequence for GeliCredit: Alamy
But her move provided the perfect cover for Hitler’s sinister intentions.
Their relationship became intimate, and Hitler became more controlling, jealous of the attention the teenager got from other men. It got to the point where she could barely do anything without his say-so.
But in September 1931 Geli was found dead in Hitler’s apartment – with a bullet in her chest and his gun by her side.
Phil Carradice says: “During the nights, Geli locked herself into her room. She took Hitler’s Mauser pistol with her, and she shot herself and killed herself. Possibly. The body was found the next day by the housekeeper.
“But I have doubts about that one. If you’re going to kill yourself with a gun you normally would aim there, into the, into the head. That’s guaranteed. Geli shot herself in the heart.”
Police quickly ruled her death as suicide, and Geli was quickly buried, while a distraught Hitler considered giving up politics altogether.
Sinister death
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A year later, Hitler moved on with movie star Renate MullerCredit: Alamy
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Renate spoke about Hitler’s bizarre sexual claims and also met an untimely endCredit: Alamy
But a year later, he met another young lover – 26-year-old movie star Renate Muller.
Again, Hitler’s sexual depravity was to be her downfall. She claimed that one night, when they were both naked, he asked her to put her boots on and kick him, which she did.
But Renate did not keep this salacious information to herself, and that brought her to the attention of the Gestapo.
She was put under surveillance, and when she took a Jewish lover, she was blacklisted, and her career was over.
The young woman developed a morphine addiction and was sent to a sanitorium in Berlin for treatment in late October 1937.
A team of SS officers were seen entering the building, and a few minutes later, she was dead. The cause of death was ruled as suicide, but rumours of foul play persisted.
“Ultimately Renate had a terrible end in that she was being treated as, in a clinic for quotes depression and fell out of a window,” says Jane Thynne.
“But falling out of a window was a way that very many enemies of the regime met their end. It wasn’t an unusual way actually to be murdered in the Third Reich.”
Despite these suspicious deaths, women still idolised Hitler. At his rallies, women would be seen in tears, idolising him and wanting to get near him.
Fuhrer’s wife
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Although Eva first resisted a determined Hitler’s advances, she soon fell for himCredit: Alamy
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Eva Braun was more than two decades younger than Hitler and desperately wanted to become the Fuhre’s wifeCredit: Getty Images – Getty
But there was one woman who fell so completely under his spell that, in the end, she gave her life to join him in death – Eva Braun.
Hitler was entranced by the young photography studio assistant, but at first, she spurned his advances, which only spurned him.
But she soon fell for him – despite him being more than two decades older – and longed for their affair to be made public.
When Hitler ignored her or didn’t call, she fell into depression and even tried to take her own life on two occasions.
But this forced Hitler’s hand. Robert Kaplan explains: “Hitler’s relationship with Eva has been much speculated on.
“But there were two suicide attempts, and in a sense, he was then trapped because after Geli, if he had a partner who killed themselves again, his public image would be shot.”
Eva had always wanted to be the wife of the Fuhrer. And as the war in Europe is in its last throes, they marry in his bunker – just 36 hours before they took their own lives.
Jane Thynne says: “They got married on the last day. So it was a kind of death wish, but in a way, her entire relationship with Hitler had been a death wish, but it was the culmination of that.
“I think what Hitler did in marrying Eva, right at the end, is a way of not seeing her as a person yet again. It’s not a way of saying how can I answer your needs, her needs really would be to get in, to escape by any means possible. It’s a way of saying, ‘You have served me loyally and here is your reward.’
Hitler’s Handmaidens is on Sky HISTORY every Tuesday at 9pm
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Eva joined Hitler’s cause and stayed with the dictator for the rest of his lifeCredit: Getty
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The pair took their own lives 36 hours after they tied the knotCredit: Alamy
THE gulf between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and the rest of the Royal Family seems to widen every week.
And it wasn’t helped yesterday by the Duchess of Sussex unveiling her new home, food, garden and lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard shortly before Prince William was due to speak at his late mother’s Legacy Award event in London.
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Prince William paid tribute to the winners of the Legacy Awards last nightCredit: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Pala
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Meghan’s brand logo appeared online shortly before Wills’ speechCredit: Instgram/americanrivieraorchard
The move was slammed by slammed by royal experts as yet another attempt to steal the limelight, with one branding it “calculated” and another claiming it would have “saddened Diana.”
Meghan’s glitzy Instagram post showing off her new crest surfaced an hour before William delivered an emotional speech at the Diana Awards at London’s Science Museum, where Harry later appeared via video link.
Meghan and Harry also chose yesterday to announce the winner of their $100,000 (£78,500) NAACP – Archewell Foundation Digital Civil Rights Award.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams slammed the timing, saying there was “nothing accidental” about them, adding: “The announcement of the new brand is totally consistent with the timing of all the Sussexes’ announcements.”
Here we take a look at all the times the couple have shamelessly stolen the royals’ thunder.
Spare bombshell interviews
Ahead of the publication of Prince Harry’s controversial memoir Spare, he sat down for long interviews with ITV’s Tom Bradby and Anderson Cooper, for US channel CBS, in January last year – the day before the Princess of Wales’ 41st birthday.
In a series of shocking accusations against his family, he claimed royals sought to protect their own reputation “to the detriment” of the Sussexes and that they were “complicit” in their “pain and suffering”.
He also detailed the alleged tense relationship between Kate and Meghan in the interviews.
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Prince Harry gave the bombshell interview on the eve of Kate’s birthdayCredit: ITV
Everything we know about Meghan’s new business
MEGHAN Markle has launched a new Instagram brand called American Riviera Orchard.
Industry insiders said the site will focus on home, food, garden and lifestyle goods.
A source told the Mail: “It’s a lifestyle and cooking brand called American Riviera Orchard.
“The brand is meant to coincide with the launch of a new cookery show for Netflix.
“Meghan will be making, and selling, products such as jams. And at some point there will be a book and blog etc.”
As the interviews made global headlines, the official Royal Family’s social media channels posted a simple birthday wish for Kate, writing: “Wishing the Princess of Wales a very happy birthday.”
But the timing didn’t escape the attention of royal fans, with one tweeting: “I can’t believe Harry is doing this to Kate on the eve of her birthday…”
Meghan Markle is using Princess Diana’s legacy to promote her new business – it’s opportunism at its worst
Another wrote: “Prince Harry: I love Kate! Also Harry: I’m releasing this book on your birthday darling.”
Netflix trailer
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Harry and Meghan’s Netflix trailer dropped as William and Kate took on engagements in BostonCredit: Netflix
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William and Kate ignored the issue on their US tripCredit: Splash
Angela Levin told The Sun: “I think that the day seems chosen to ruin Kate and William’s trip – to take away everything from that.
“To pile it on. There was no need to do it that day. It was done deliberately to spoil their visit.”
‘Pregnancy announcement’ at wedding
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Meghan and Harry told family members they were expecting ArchieCredit: AFP
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Eugenie was not impressed by Meghan’s news on her big dayCredit: PA
Princess Eugenie walked down the aisle with Jack Brooksbank in October 2018, just months after Harry and Meghan tied the knot.
But when news of Meghan’s pregnancy broke days later, it was claimed the couple had upstaged the bride by breaking the happy news to the Queen, Prince Charles and the rest of the family at the wedding reception.
Pictures showed Harry speaking to the late Queen, fuelling speculation that this was the moment he broke the news.
A source later claimed the Queen already knew, but had not seen her grandson in person to congratulate him, and that the bride and groom had also been told in advance.
But it is thought that the royal get-together was the first time most of the family learned she was expecting their first child.
And in Finding Freedom, the sympathetic biography of the Sussexes, a source reveals Eugenie was “upset” by the couple going public on her big day.
The Princess “told friends she felt the couple should have waited to share the news”, the books claimed, adding that it “did not go down particularly well”.
Meghan’s career relaunch
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry have been busy since stepping back as senior working royals.
Meghan has signed with American podcast network Lemonada Media to create new content, and her old 12-episode Archetypes episodes will also be distributed by the firm.
The couple still have their deal with Netflix, where they have created shows like their Harry & Meghan documentary, and the Duke of Sussex’s Heart of Invictus show.
And Meghan has enlisted Beverly Hills talent agency William Morris Endeavour ahead of her long-planned relaunch.
The cameo appearance sees the former Suits star doing multiple roles at coffee company Clevr Blends, including packing, working on the digital team, and on the operations team.
Bombshell Oprah interview
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Meghan and Harry’s bombshell Oprah interview contained sensational claimsCredit: AP
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It was broadcast on the day of the Queen’s Commonwealth addressCredit: Getty
The couple used the platform to make bombshell claims against the Royal Family, including a charge of racist comments made about the colour of son Archie’s skin, allegedly made by a senior royal before his birth.
Meghan also claimed she had been “silenced” by the Royal Family and left depressed, with suicidal thoughts, by her treatment.
But the decision to air on March 7, 2021, just hours after the Queen’s annual Commonwealth Day Speech aired on the BBC, was criticised in royal circles.
One expert claimed the clash could have been avoided had the Sussexes forewarned the Palace about the interview, calling the decision to grab the headlines on the day of the Queen’s speech “disrespectful”.
Harry’s job announcement
Harry, once extremely close to cousin Princess Eugenie, risked upsetting her again when he chose her birthday to make a job announcement.
Buckingham Palace released two pictures to celebrate Eugenie’s 31st birthday, on March 23 2021.
Just hours later The Wall Street Journal released news that the Duke – keen to show he could stand on his own two feet – had landed a high-paid job in Silicon Valley as “Chief Impact Officer” at health tech company Better Inc.
Prince Harry ‘pain’ podcast
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Kate and William visited various charities for Mental Health Awareness WeekCredit: Splash
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Harry talked about his ‘pain’ with Dax Shepherd on a podcast that same weekCredit: armchairexpertpod.com
In the pre-split days, when the brothers and their wives were known as the Fab Four, they were joint advocates for mental health awareness, appearing together at a Royal Foundation event on the issue.
But in May 2021, as Kate and William attended numerous charity events for Mental Health Awareness Week, Prince Harry dropped a devastating podcast talking about a “cycle of pain and suffering” – suggesting he was treated badly by his father because “that’s the way he was treated”.
“I don’t think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody, but certainly when it comes to parenting, if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I’m going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on,” he said.
At the time, William – whose own tireless work for mental health charities was drowned out by Harry’s complaints – was said to be “very shocked” by his brother’s claims.
Book clash
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Meghan’s book was announced in May 2021Credit: Rex
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Kate’s book came out days laterCredit: PA
In the same month, Meghan was accused of “trying to upstage Kate” by announcing the release of her children’s book days before Kate’s photography album was released.
On May 4, 2021, Meghan announced she would be publishing The Bench, an illustrated story inspired by son Archie and husband Harry.
But some pointed out the announcement came just days before publication of a photography book that Kate had been working on for a year.
The book, Hold Still, captured life in the UK under lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic.
One furious Kate fan tweeted: “So now just as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, has the HOLD STILL book about to be released on May 7, [Meghan] chooses to release a book she wrote in 2019. Connect the dots, people!”
Christmas card row
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This Christmas image revealed Lilibet for the first timeCredit: Alexi Lubomirski
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The Queen’s image was released the same dayCredit: Getty
Last Christmas, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex caused a sensation when they shared the first glimpse of their daughter Lilibet and the first real look at son Archie’s face on their festive card.
But the post on social media came just hours before Buckingham Palace published an image of the Queen from her annual speech, ahead of its Christmas Day airing.
The much-anticipated speech was the first since the late monarch lost her beloved husband, Prince Philip, in April 2021.
The couple were accused of overshadowing the event, with Kate Garraway suggesting they were trying to “usurp” the Queen.
Queen’s birthday row
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Harry talked about the ‘pain’ of being a royal kidCredit: NBC
On the eve of the nation’s celebrations for the Queen’s 96th birthday, in April 2022, Harry once again angered the royal circle by giving a cringeworthy interview in which he claimed he was her protector.
In an interview with US news channel NBC, broadcast the night before her birthday, he said: “I’m just making sure that she’s protected and got the right people around her.”
Members of the royal household were said to be shocked and angered by the comments.
Angela Levin called for him to be banned from the Jubilee celebrations later that year, commenting: “Harry’s comment on US TV about him checking the Queen is protected is a gross insult to Prince Charles and William.”
Upstaging Dad
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The King’s first official family portrait excluded the coupleCredit: AP
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The new portrait was released days laterCredit: AFP
On October 1 2022, Buckingham Palace shared the first official snap of the recently ascended King Charles, the Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales, as the mourning period for the Queen came to an end.
Harry and Meghan, notably absent from the family scene despite being in the UK at the time it was taken, chose to make their own statement two days later, by releasing two new portraits of themselves at the One Young World conference in Manchester.
New Archie pics
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Meghan and mum Doria Ragland with ArchieCredit: Harris_Duchess/Twitter
In November 2022, a new image of rarely-seen Archie, sitting on Meghan’s knee during a Zoom chat, was released as Kate and William touched down in the US.
The image – which sent fans into frenzy over the unrecognisable toddler – was released by Professor Duchess Harris.
Royal fans suggested the timing was a deliberate attempt to divert from the Wales’ Earthshot mission.
One tweeted: “Notice Rachel Markle [Meghan’s birth name] puts this out to try and distract from Prince William and princesses of Wales!”
Markle sparkle: Duchess’ business ventures from wellness blog The Tig to kids’ book The Bench
ALONG with her well-known acting career Meghan Markle has also carved out something of a career in the business world as well.
Before getting engaged to Prince Harry, the Suits actress had her lifestyle blog The Tig but this was closed down when she got engaged in 2017.
The Tig, named after her favourite wine Tignanello, was seen as something as a rival to Gwyneth Paltrow‘s £200million Goop, which offers similar wellness and “conscious living” content.
She previously described it as a “passion project” which “evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity”.
Since stepping down as senior royals, the couple have produced a podcast, Netflix documentary and memoir, as well as several high-profile interviews between them.
Speaking in docuseries Harry & Meghan, the mum-of-two said of the blog: “It wasn’t just a hobby, it became a really successful business.
“I’ve never really been the type of person to do only one thing. I guess that’s how my website was born.
“There was fashion, tons of food, and travel – all the things that I loved.”
Rumours emerged in March last year that Meghan was going to relaunch the blog.
Meghan also ventured into the world of children’s books with the launch of The Bench in June 2021.
Inside Meghan’s 34-page book The Bench, the illustrations give a fresh glimpse into the Sussexes’ “authentic” life at their LA home – featuring their then newborn daughter.
The publication was a commerical success with it becoming a number one bestseller on Amazon’s chart.
Meghan dedicated her book to the “man and boy who make my heart go pump-pump” in a sweet note for her husband Prince Harry and son Archie.
The mum was “inspired” to write the book after originally creating a poem for Harry’s first Father’s Day.
The royal couple have also been reported to be planning an Oprah-style media empire after registering a series of new entertainment businesses.
They appear to have names which are meaningful to the couple, with one – Cloverdale Inc – bearing the same name as the street that the Duchess lived on with her mother in Los Angeles when she was young.
Both Cloverdale and a second company, Riversoul Productions Inc, are set up explicitly in the “entertainment” industry, and join companies Hampshire LLC, Bridgemont LLC and IPHW LLC.
The couple are already using name Archewell Productions for their Netflix and Spotify deals.
Penelope has been so much a part of royal life, household staff have nicknamed her And AlsoCredit: Alpha Press
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Penelope has been a trusted member of the Royal Family’s inner circle for years and bonded with Philip through their love of carriage-drivingCredit: PA
The Countess Mountbatten of Burma — 32 years younger than the late Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April 2021 aged 99 — has been a trusted member of the Royal Family’s inner circle for years and bonded with Philip through their love of carriage driving.
She was the only non-family member at Philip’s small, Covid-restricted funeral, except for his personal secretary.
Indeed, she has been so much a part of royal life, household staff nicknamed her “And Also”, because whenever Philip listed guests who were to be invited to a royal do, he would end with “and also Penny”.
When Philip was involved in a car accident near the Queen’s Norfolk retreat of Sandringham in January 2019, Her Majesty dispatched Penny to encourage the duke to surrender his driver’s licence.
Ingrid Seward, author of biography Prince Philip Revealed: A Man Of His Century, said: “The Queen had enlisted the help of the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who visited Philip and helped convince him to give up driving.”
Three weeks after the accident, which Philip blamed on him being blinded by the low winter sun, it was announced he had stopped driving.
The Truman Show actress Natascha McElhone plays Penny in The Crown, with veteran actor Jonathan Pryce taking over from Tobias Menzies as Philip.
A TV insider said: “The highly personal relationship is unlikely to be welcomed as a storyline by the Queen or the rest of the Royal Family.”
Penny was introduced to Philip at age 20 while dating husband-to-be Norton Knatchbull, Philip’s godson and grandson of the duke’s uncle Lord Mountbatten.
Norton had been a year above the then-Prince Charles at Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun and the Queen and Philip never forgot his kindness in looking after their eldest child during his challenging time there.
Back then, Penny was simply Penelope Eastwood, daughter of Reg Eastwood, a wealthy butcher turned businessman who founded the Angus Steakhouse restaurants.
Tragedy befell the family in 1979 when Lord Mountbatten — affectionately known by the royals as Uncle Dickie — was assassinated by the IRA.
The bomb blast on board his fishing boat off County Sligo, Ireland, which featured in the last series of The Crown, also killed Norton’s 14-year-old brother Nicholas and his grandmother, Lady Brabourne.
Devastated by this horror, Penny and Norton decided to postpone their wedding for two months.
When they did tie the knot, with Charles as best man, they inherited Mountbatten’s 18th-century, 60-room Broadlands estate near Romsey, Hants, where Charles and Di would spend part of their honeymoon two years later.
‘Tremendous support’
With Philip and Penny, who was previously known as Lady Romsey then Lady Brabourne, it was a meeting of the minds.
Educated in Switzerland, and with a business degree from the London School of Economics, friends describe her as being “outgoing, engaged, clever and well-read”.
She and the duke also both shared a “boisterous sense of humour”, according to Ingrid. But it was after Penny’s five-year-old daughter Leonora died of kidney cancer in 1991 that Philip really began to take her under his wing.
One source said: “He was a tremendous support during a time of unimaginable grief.”
He encouraged Penny to take up his sport of carriage driving, to distract her, and got his head groom Micky Flynn to show her the ropes.
For Philip, it meant he gained an attractive companion to events such as the Royal Windsor Horse Show and at numerous social gatherings associated with the sport and beyond.
They were even spotted dancing together at the Royal Yacht Squadron Ball during one Cowes Week. Of course, incidents like this on the Isle of Wight only fuelled whispers that they may have been more than just good friends.
It was even rumoured Prince Charles had cut off his friendship with Penny after someone close to him shared their suspicion that his father was having an affair with her.
But author Ingrid said: “We’ll never know how the Queen felt about it all. Philip always was a flirt and the Queen used to joke about his lascivious nature. If she had been hurt by rumours of supposed dalliances, she would never let on.”
Philip himself would simply laugh off any suggestion of impropriety. He told journalist Jeremy Paxman: “Every time I talk to a woman they say I’ve been to bed with her. It’s absolutely cuckoo.”
‘Absolutely cuckoo’
Penny’s marriage broke down in 2010, after 31 years and three children. Her husband Norton, now the 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, fled to the Caribbean to be with fashion designer Eugenie Nuttall. Jeannie, as she is known, is the sister of former Bahamas Attorney General Sean McWeeney.
Penny, left to manage her and Norton’s 5,000-acre Hampshire estate alone, reportedly gathered together all the staff while her estranged husband was mid-flight and told them he had gone but everything else would stay the same.
One source said at the time: “Not for a moment would Penny allow her husband’s departure to interrupt the smooth running of the estate.”
There was never any question she would leave Broadlands, where every day she visits the tall stone monument, about 100 yards from the house, which stands above her daughter Leonora’s grave.
The Royal Family, in particular The Queen, were full of admiration for Penny’s stoicism. She did allow Norton back to Broadlands in 2014, not to the marital home, but to a converted barn there.
Her marriage troubles came on top of worry about their son, Nicholas, who was a year above Prince William at Eton, and had spent years hooked on crack cocaine and heroin. It was only when he feared he would be cut off from the family’s £100million fortune that he checked into rehab and kicked his habits.
In May 2021, tattooed Nicholas, 40, a music producer and gardener, married Ambre Pouzet, a French former fire-eating mermaid performer. The civil ceremony at Broadlands was a far cry from his sister Alexandra’s lavish 2016 wedding at Romsey Abbey, in which she was given away by the now-King Charles, as her father, The Queen and Philip watched.
A family friend said: “It’s very unusual to be given away by someone else at your wedding, even if it is by the Prince of Wales. Alexandra was at the time furious with her father for leaving her mother, but of course she still wanted him at the wedding.”
Alexandra, a financial analyst known as Knatch, chose to marry Thomas Hooper, an entrepreneur, on what would have been her sister Leonora’s 30th birthday. By coincidence, Leonora shared the same birthday as Uncle Dickie.
The day after Philip was laid to rest at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, Irish republican partySinn Fein — the political wing of the IRA — apologised for Mountbatten’s assassination. Penny continued to visit Philip until he died on April 9.
She was one of the only people apart from family members who he saw at Wood Farm, the five-bedroom home on the Sandringham estate where he spent most of his time after he retired from royal duties in 2017.
Ingrid says: “They were brought together by tragedy but were there for each other through thick and thin. He trusted her implicitly and she adored him. She never betrayed him. She was a keeper not only of his secrets but those of the family.”
Penny returned to the Royal Windsor Horse Show without her decades-long comp-anion for the first time. She was seen standing behind the Queen, broad grins on both their faces.
If Philip had been looking down on them, he surely would have been smiling too.
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Jonathan Pryce as Prince Phillip and Natascha McElhone as Penny Knatchbull in The CrownCredit: NETFLIX
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Penny was the only non-family at Philip’s small, Covid-restricted funeral, except for his personal secretaryCredit: Getty
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Penny and Prince Charles pictured in 1983Credit: Alpha Press
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The pair mount their motorbikes during the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Home Park, Windsor Castle on May 13, 2005Credit: Getty
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Philip and Penny at Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2009Credit: Getty
