RUMORS & BUZZ
By Momus
Little known fact: Prince Harry’s real name is Henry Charles Albert David. The media dubbed him Harry — and it stuck, maybe because Henry VIII was called Harry by those who knew him.
And that’s not all: The real name of Prince Henry’s wife is Rachel. Meghan is her middle name.
Henry and Rachel allegedly have a new fight on their hands — this time with Netflix, which contracted with the couple for $100 million worth of content that has reportedly left the streaming giant displeased.
It started with “Pearl,” an animated cartoon produced by Rachel that Netflix canceled last spring before it even aired.
Now the conflict is said to be about “content in the can” that Henry desires to delete or modify in an effort to soften his criticism of his royal relatives lest it exclude him from attending King Charles III’s coronation on May 6 or lead to the withholding of royal titles for his two children.
The documentary or reality show constructed for Netflix by the Montecito couplel’s Archewell Productions has now been postponed until next year.
THE BATTENBERG BUGGERER
Momus always believed it true, and now the truth (as alleged) is out: Arthur Smyth has accused Prince Harry’s great-uncle, Lord Louis “Dickie” Mountbatten, of abusing him when he was 11 at a children’s home in Kincora, Northern Ireland, where 39 boys were abused and three notorious staff members later prosecuted and jailed.
Belfast’s High Court will hear the case.
Mr. Smyth, who waived his right to anonymity and now resides in Australia, claims he was abused twice in August 1977 by First Lord of the Admiralty, Dickie, who was assassinated two years later by the Irish Republican Army.
“You don’t forget who abused you,” says Mr. Smyth. “You block it out but you don’t forget. I shut it down for years. I felt embarrassed by what happened but now I want peace.”
Says author Leonard Downie who last year published “The Mountbattens: The Lives of Dickie and Edwina,” “I am delighted that Arthur Smyth has gone public. It further backs up the claims of the two victims I interviewed who were abused in 1977 and that the claims of pedophilia against Mountbatten in FBI files can be taken seriously.”
Mr. Smyth seeks damages from various governmental authorities in Ireland, including the Department of Health and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, for assault and battery, negligence and misfeasance in public office.
His lawyer, Kevin Winters, stated: “In issuing this action Arthur Smyth has put down a marker over the horrific abuse suffered by him when he was a child. He wants to expose what, until now, have been suspicions and rumors about one of his alleged abusers, the Late Lord Louis Mountbatten.”
Momus will take this a step further and allege that Lord Mountbatten, whose passion was known to be young guardsmen, had been compromised by the Soviet KGB and blackmailed into becoming “the sixth man” in a spy ring that included Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, Sir Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross.
Dickie was caught and his role hushed up, but members of one faction of the British security service were livid and may have taken their revenge.
The IRA, which relished taking credit for their numerous bombings, always denied blowing Lord Mountbatten to smithereens aboard his boat in the Irish village of Mullaghmore, County Sligo.
PRINCE ALBERT OF MONACO, FOOLED AGAIN
The November issue of Vanity Fair, which just hit newsstands, reveals that Prince Albert II of Monaco was fooled into becoming a patron of an economic forum in Monaco, organized by an Australian conman named Anthony Ritossa who fraudulently boasted of having a Harvard MBA but who (states Vanity Fair) “is a Wall Street washout, a deadbeat dad, and a con artist, repeatedly jailed by European authorities.”
Doesn’t anyone at Palais de Monaco vet such dubious characters before bestowing royal patronage — or was someone inside the royal palace paid off to mislead the hapless prince?
As Ian Brodie summarized in Monaco Daily News, “Those in Monaco who promoted Ritossa have enough egg on their faces to make an omelet.”
JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S FAVORITE WOMAN MOUTHS OFF
When Jefferey Epstein’s comrade-in-arms Ghislaine Maxwell (daughter of the Bouncing Czech, Robert Maxwell) gave her first interview from prison calling Prince Andrew her “dear friend” and also cited her “special friendship” with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, nobody but Momus seems to understand the subtle message she is sending them both: “Time to get me outta here, old buddies! (Or else…).”
RICK CARUSO IS LATINO?
It turns out that Rick Caruso, the owner of Montecito’s Rosewood Miramar Hotel who has now spent more than $80 million of his own money running for mayor of Los Angeles, is not white.
At least that is what he told an interviewer from Telemundo when the reporter said, “And this question goes for both of you. The next mayor of Los Angeles will be either an African-American woman or a white man.” (Which isn’t even a question.)
To which Mr. Caruso replied, “I’m Italian,” adding, “That’s Latin.”
So to Mr. Caruso’s thinking, he is not white but Latino.
However, according to Britannica, “Latino does not include speakers of Romance languages from Europe, such as Italians or Spaniards.”
And the National Association of Scholars concurs: “Latino is someone of a Hispanic race, Italians are not and never were Latinos.”
Which makes Mr. Caruso either confused or mistaken.
TITTERS
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Twitter: “The success and future of this city is personal to me. That’s why I’m running for re-election.”
If Chicago’s success is important to you, Lori, shouldn’t you be running from re-election?
Just sayin’.
Santa Barbara thespian Billy Baldwin tweets: “Want to end abortion? Threaten to sterilize or imprison the men responsible for all these unwanted pregnancies.”
Gee, Billy, assuming such men would be given a fair trial (unless you are invoking Gestapo tactics), the courts would be clogged worse than an artery after three double cheeseburgers washed down by as many milkshakes and a cheese plate for dessert.
Former President Donald Trump to Sean Hannity of Fox News on documents removed by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago: “When I left the White House, they were declassified.”
Great news, Donald. Uh, if they’re declassified, may we see them?
Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweets: “Republicans have endless dark money — but Democrats have people.”
Hmm. Don’t you mean, Nancy, it is the Pelosi family that has endless dark money (from in-the-know trading) — but Democrats have young liberals not mature enough to understand money doesn’t grow on trees despite the U.S. Treasury’s propensity for printing greenbacks based on nothing intrinsic yet giving it away (in exchange for votes) to young adults who’d rather not work, which partly explains massive inflation?
Thank you, Nancy, but when Momus wants whine, Momus uncorks a bottle …
Editor’s note: “Rumors & Buzz,” which runs each Saturday in the News-Press, is written by a journalist who has chosen a nom de plume: “Momus.” In Greek mythology, Momus is the god of satire and mockery.
If you have a tip for Momus, send it to momus@newspress.com.
