#saudi being the royal family

[hymnsofheresy]

its so funny because i specialize in interfaith dialogue. but when it comes to interfaith work there are two sides of the coin. there is the most well known kind of interfaith work where you are working within a community to bring about a mutual understanding of different religious groups; essentially enabling people to form and create genuine relationships with each other.

and then there is like the diplomacy and corporate aspect of it. working either with governments to engage in dialogue so they either don’t kill each other. or alternatively, working with capitalists to make sure they can coordinate with oil barrons or whatever.

anyway, sometimes the lines between the two kinds of work is a bit blurry, and i don’t like it. especially when someone suggests i should work for the saudi royal family that they personally could get me a position in.

[cutejk123]

Violet's Friends

So a couple of weeks ago, I used picrew to create Blossom's friends. I promised you guys that I would do Violet's friends (Luigi and Daisy's eldest daughter fan child), So here they are:

Which one is your favourite out of all of them, let me know <3

Here is the link

TOON ME! ⟪ A ⟫｜Picrew

Lilliahoshi

Age 14

Female

Straight, ''Cis''

She/her

Birthday: May 13th

White

Dad- Andy, Mum- Shirahoshi (The mermaid princess from ''One Piece''- a fan child)

Has a 19 year old older brother named Rikoboshi and a 16 year old older brother named Saunoboshi

Has 3 pets: A Ragdoll cat (Female, colour: blue bicolour) named Aqua, a Husky dog (Male, colour: black and white) named Megolo II and a Holland Lop rabbit (Female, colour: white) named Melody

She is a mermaid princess and she is part of the mermaid royalty

Also, she has a mermaid form

She is a Christian

She is Violet's best friend, they hang out a lot together and have lots of fun. Also they are there for each other no matter what.

Such an Amazing Singer

Lilliahoshi first met Violet when they were babies, since both their parents know each other very well and they have been very close ever since. They love to see each other as much as they can. Another thing that Lilliahoshi is Violet's opposite, Violet is the tomboy and Lilliahoshi is the girly girl.

Personality: kind, a sweetheart, friendly, a cry-baby (like her mother), cowardly, royal, grateful, shy, gentle, talented, humble, a bit gassy, sensitive, creative.

Loves: singing, learning about her mermaid line, mermaids, the ocean, sea animals, playing the piano and violin, hanging out with friends (especially Violet), Violet's little sister Blossom, her family, her pets, swimming, shopping, music, collecting shells, giving hugs and kisses, going to the beach.

Dislikes: sharks, being embarrassed, the dark, being gassy a lot, screaming, loud noises, creepy animals like bats, people negatively commenting on her looks, dark stories.

Clothing aesthetic style: VSCO, Soft girl and Mermaidcore.

Delilah

Age 14

Female

Lesbian, ''Cis''

She/her

Birthday: September 27th

White

Dad- Alvin, Mum- Joanne

Has a 10 year old younger brother named Alvin Jr.

Has no pets

She wears heart-shaped glasses on her head.

She's in love with Y2K/90s girl bands and she even have lots of posters in her room.

She came out as a lesbian around the same time when she turned 14 years old and her parents and her brother were very accepted for that and believes that she can be in love with anyone that she wants to choose.

She is part of the Girls' Basketball team at school.

She has a Lesbian flag up in her room.

Delilah first met Violet during the first day of the spring term, when they were 13 years old. Delilah had moved house and as a result, also have to move schools. Delilah was very nervous but Violet welcomed her into her friendship group and from that point, they became great friends. Also, Violet has been very supportive of Delilah's sexual orientation and accepts her as a human being who is loved.

Personality: tomboyish, loyal, friendly, cool, sociable, funny, kind, supportive, honest, sassy, strong, brave, adventurous, personable.

Loves: basketball, sports, Y2K music, The Spice Girls, Britpop, making videos about her sexual orientation and Y2K things, yoga, hanging out with friends, bubble tea, going to parties, going to clothes shopping.

Dislikes: getting sick, people being homophobic, waking up too early, fake people, tomatoes, certain drama, selfishness, coconuts, burnt popcorn.

Clothing aesthetic style: Y2K.

Fatima

Age 14

Female

Straight, ''Cis''

She/her

Birthday: April 6th

Asian- Arabic (Saudi)

Dad- Adeel, Mum- Zara

Has a 11 year old younger sister named Halima, an 8 year old younger brother named Qamar, a 5 year old younger brother named Ezra (has autism), and a 2 year old younger sister named Basma (has autism).

Has 1 pet: A Persian cat (Male, colour: ginger) named Biscuit.

She was originated from Saudi Arabia, and she moved to Brooklyn when she was 8 years old.

She has Autism (ASD)

She is a Muslim

Supports Palestine (Free Palestine!!)

She is a Bookworm and would read books every day.

Arabic is her first language, so she has an Arabic accent

She is a member of the Book Club at school and really enjoys talking about books (that is her main hyperfixation).

Fatima first met Violet during English class in primary school, when they were 9 years old. Fatima started talking about her favourite books that she loved to read and Violet was interested in Fatima's love for books and they friendship grew.

Personality: smart, thoughtful, kind, friendly, cheerful, childlike, bright, hard-worker, silly at times, creative, curious.

Loves: reading, books, her family and friends, writing stories, poems and fanfiction, watching children's shows, Bluey, Muslim holidays, playing games with her siblings, bedtime stories, learning about book history, relaxing time, cooking.

Dislikes: modern music, travelling far, sports, dirty rooms, rude people, bullying about her interests, wasps.

Clothing aesthetic style: Light Academia and Cottagecore.

Cordelia

Age 14

Female

Bisexual, Demigirl

She/they

Birthday: December 10th

White

Dad- Logan, Mum- Meghan

Has a 12 year old younger sibling (sister) named Angel, who is non-binary and goes by they/them (They are in Violet's little sister Blossom's year/class and they are good friends with River and Mars, which are Blossom's friends).

Has 2 pets: A Maine Coon cat (Male, colour: black) named Boxy, and a Golden Retriever (Female, colour: yellow) named Mei.

She has Anxiety

She is really good at playing the electric guitar.

She is a TikToker

Gothic lover

She is a video gamer and they sometimes streams when they are free or have time.

She also is learning how to speak Japanese, and they are quite good at it.

Cordelia first met Violet during Art class when they were 12 years old, Violet was impressed by Cordelia's drawing abilities. Cordelia jokily said, ''That's my superpower.'' They laughed together and the friendship grew ever since.

Personality: moody, sensitive, sassy, kind, helpful, thoughtful, cool, charming, gentle, a bit rude, responsible, creative, tomboyish.

Loves: drawing, art, rock and gothic music, playing the electric guitar, cosplaying, making TikTok videos, anime, spiders, Bluey, playing video games, hanging out with friends, going to anime conventions, Japanese language, her sibling and their pets, J-rock boy bands.

Dislikes: being lonely, having panic attacks, tight rooms, people annoying her, crowded areas, pop music, cute and bright pastel colours, maths.

Clothing aesthetic style: Goth and E-girl.

Tori

Age 14

Female

Straight, ''Cis''

She/her

Birthday: July 1st

Black

Dad- Nathan, Mum- Harmony

She is the only child

Has 1 pet: A Pomeranian dog (Female, colour: white) named Nova.

A Fashion enthusiast (mainly on Y2K, Mcbling and Baddie).

A Great Singer

A Bracelet Maker and she often makes jewellery that is inspired by the Y2K era.

 She is a Make-up artist and would do her friends' make up for amazing parties or special occasions.

Tori first met Violet in primary school, when they were 4 years old. Both Tori and Violet were in the same class, so they became really good friends, alongside Lilliahoshi. Also Tori loved doing people's hair and decorating it with hair accessories, so she did both Violet's and Lilliahoshi's hair and using accessories to make it prettier.

Personality: cheerful, funny, giggly, kind, friendly, fashionable, thoughtful, a bit sassy, lovable, enthusiastic.

Loves: jewellery making, singing, learning about fashion, fashion styles, designing clothes, her family and friends, hanging out with friends, make-up, watching Y2K shows, Barbie and Bratz dolls, making bracelets for her friends, her dog, the colour pink, reading fashion magazines, doing people's hairstyles, Y2K music.

Dislikes: messy rooms, being disorganised, people being mean and rude, petty drama, getting sick, jealous people, science, geography. 

Clothing aesthetic style: Baddie, Y2K, and Barbiecore.

Now, my Luigi and Daisy's fanchildren's friends and their AUs are complete ;)

my friends, I hope you guys like it @itsavee4117 @gracegootee @jessythebunny @jammyjams1910 @oh-my-gosh-its-j0sh @mrs-luigi-vargas

[richarlotte]

Something you’re focused on?

The Markle Sparkle.

Meghan is my inspiration (and should be every black woman’s inspiration) because she chased the bag like no one has before, worked hard to come up, networked with all the right faces, and ended up with the prince. She stayed cool, looked sexy, didn’t get flustered, beat the royal family, and is living her fairytale now. I aspire to be half the woman she is and plan on making some serious moves to continue my journey of leveling up and becoming the woman I want to be before 2024 ends. It’s time to get seriously ambitious and take control of the way you want your life to look like.

Meghan studied the world, found out what the men she wanted liked, and acted accordingly. She was at Northwestern and in Kappa Kappa Gamma before she went to Hollywood; she learned how to meet people and build connections there. She’s always been pretty and classy but she showed the world that she knew her worth after she stood her ground. She used connections to meet Harry, took her time playing the long game, and ended up the second black British duchess in history. She’s always been high class but she took it higher class and won against the royals.

High quality men are attracted to the Markle Sparkle. They love and want to spoil a beautiful black woman who knows what she’s worth. But it’s our job to be able to spot a mark, find potential suitors, and make it clear that we won’t settle for anything less than the best. If a man wants to give you a Louis Vuitton, why accept it if you want a Chanel? Being spoiled with things that he wants to give you isn’t the same as being spoiled with the things you want. Meghan wears diamonds from Diana, has sparkling earrings from Saudi Arabia, has Cartier love bracelets from her exes, and is one of the jewels of the crown. We should all aspire to be her.

Time to start Meghanmaxxing.

[airsllides]

airsLLide No. 15932: HZ-HM6, Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 500, Saudia (operating for Saudi Royal Flight), Geneva, January 16, 1999.

Although she is wearing the full, standard livery of commercial airline Saudia of the period, the tailnumber gives it away that this TriStar is a VVIP aircraft, and part of the Saudi Royal Flight. Actually, her tailnumber HM6 stands, according to die-hard rumors, for His Majesty's (family?) aircraft 6 - which might have a grain of truth to it as the undisputed - and well documented - aircraft used by the Saudi King himself were three Boeing 747 with tailnumbers HZ-HM1, HZ-HM1A and HZ-HM1B.

What is fact, not rumour, is that HZ-HM6 is the second to last TriStar ever built, leaving the Palmdale assembly line in summer 1983 as 249th of 250 aircraft manufactured. She was first delivered to Royal Jordanian Airlines and used as a regular passenger aircraft before being converted to a VIP aircraft in 1990, acquired by the Saudi Royal Flight in 1994.

[royal-confessions]

“Crown Prince Hussein juts confirmed he has no leadership skills, in his interview he talked like he rehearsed everything he said, it doesn't come naturally. Apart from being Saudi ARABIA'S puppet I don't know what we learned from his interview.” - Submitted by Anonymous

“I was curious so I watched the interview of Prince Hussein, what can I say about it? Once again he praised his wife, praised saudis and praised MBS in other words : HE IS SAUDI ARABIA'S PUPPET. The man is too weak. Good luck to Jordanians” - Submitted by Anonymous

“Maybe you've had already a few confessions on Hussein's interview with a Saudi channel���� I want to add my opinion if you don't mind. His interview clearly showed why he married a saudi woman. I don't have to add more. Real eyes realize real lies. Ps:I'm saudi😅” - Submitted by Anonymous

“Hussein of Jordan doing an interview : oh I love Saudis people , my wife is a blessing 😂😂. Nobody can teach him how to not make it obvious he is so scared of the big Saudi Arabia? Scared of another coup?? And we thought he could be King one day!” - Submitted by Anonymous

“Prior announcing the engagement of R&H, there was a public poll for the Jordanian public asking which Gulf country should they have better relationships with and the winner was KSA. Recently, Prince Hussein stating in TV he is now related to the royal family of Saudi is the most telling thing ever. He made a clown of himself and showed so much servitude to a different country with that boot-licking statement.” - Submitted by Anonymous

“Prince Hussein said he admires MBS.🤢🤮There is 2 options :1) he is scared of him and it means he is up for a life of submission to him or 2) he is just like him which says a lot about him!” - Submitted by Anonymous

[bibliophile-dendrophile]

Part 2

[ part 1 ]

"Welcome to the supreme guard."

And that caught me off guard. I hadn't planned for that. I was just expecting to go to the army. Be a soldier. Get paid well. But supreme guard? I did not expect that. Yeah, I know I did well, but supreme guard? It means I'll be assigned to guard a member of the royal family. I'll be given my own quarters. I'll be given food. I won't be expected to pay for anything. In fact, I'll get salary. And the amount will be huge.

The military commander chuckles. He must've seen my face while I've been busy being surprised. I must've let my surprise show on my face. Shit. I shouldn't let my walls down. I make my face go stoic and clear my throat once.

"I was just expecting to be enrolled in army, sir," I say.

"You're not interested in guarding one of the most important member of the royal family?" he asks. He seems curios.

"You misunderstand me, sir. I meant that I did not expect to become a member of the supreme guard so easily."

"Well, if you think what you did was easy, then you are perfect for the job." He smiles brightly. Looking at his face, I realize he's a young man. He looks like he's in his mid 30's. All the weight and responsibility he carries on his shoulders make him look much older. I wonder if I'll look like that, too.

"It would be an honor, sir," I bow.

"Want to know who you'll be guarding?"

"Of course, sir."

"Princess Amirah Ayad. As you might already know, she's on vacation in Iran along with Prince Zayn and will return day after tomorrow. That would be enough time for you to get all prepped up?"

I might have a heart failure. Princess Amirah is the most important person of the royal family. Being the king's daughter, she's very famous. She's also known for her kindness. But her face is always hidden. Nobody except the royal family and the supreme guard has seen her face. Which means I'll get to see her. Which also means that she'll have to trust me and I'll have to become worthy of it.

I see that the military commander is still looking at me and I realize he's waiting for me to answer his question. I quickly say, "Yes, sir."

He smiles. "Good. So I'll meet you at the court room at 5 o' clock on that day."

"Okay, sir," I say and turn to leave when suddenly he calls my name.

"Aria, one more thing. Call me by my name from now on. I have a feeling we'll be good friends."

I gape at him. The military commander of Saudi Arabia thinks we could be friends.

When I don't say anything, he says, "You know my name, right? It's Aaroh Ibrahim, in case you didn't know. Though I'd prefer you calling me Aaroh."

I blink once. I realize my mouth is slightly open. I shut it. I nod once and walk away.

tagging: @hell-lit011019 @morally-gayy @damnn-dorothea @dil-sambhal-ja-zara @alhad-si-simran @lovesickpdf @appki-adrak-wali-chai

tell me if someone wants to be added or removed from the taglist

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

MISHAAL BINT FAHD AL SAUD

MISHAAL BINT FAHD AL SAUD

الأميرة مشاعل بنت فهد بن محمد بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود

1958 - 15 July 1977

SAUDI PRINCESS WHO WAS EXECUTED AGED 19

            Princess Mishaal was a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family. She was the daughter of Fahd bin Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who became King and Prime Minister. She was educated in Lebanon and fell in love with Khaled, the nephew of the Saudi ambassador in Lebanon. The couple met up several times after they returned to Saudi Arabia.

            The couple were accused of adultery, Mishaal attempted to fake her own death by drowning in an attempt to flee with Khaled. She disguised herself as a male but was recognized by a passport examiner at the airport and was returned to her family. In court, it was alleged that she confessed to have committed adultery. Her grandfather ordered their execution.

            Mishaal and Khalid were executed on 15 July 1977, she was aged 19. She was blindfolded, made to kneel and then executed by one of her male family members. Her boyfriend Kahled was forced to watch before he too was executed by someone who was inexperienced.

            Death of a Princess (1980) you can watch this for free on YouTube. Antony Thomas is a film maker who travelled to Saudi Arabia to interview various people about the princess’s life and death.

Saudi Arabia attempted to stop the screening of the film, in retaliation of its screening; the king of Saudi expelled the British ambassador and refused to meet Queen Elizabeth II. The Saudi’s sponsor, Mobile Oil Corporation, took a full-page ad in New York Times opposing the film and declaring it will destroy US & Saudi relations. The King of Saudi offered $11 million to one American network to prevent it from being screened, despite this the screening went ahead. Saudi placed restrictions on issuing visas to British businessman and banned British Airways’ Concorde from its airspace. In Australia, acting Prime Minister Doug Anthony didn’t want the film to be screen; however it was broadcast on Channel Seven. Australian business men had to put up with delays in obtaining visas to go to Saudi Arabia.

            Thomas stated publicly that Mishaal wasn’t given a fair trial and there was no official execution. He said that she was executed in a car park and wasn’t given an official executioner.

#mishaalbintfahdalsaud #saudiarabia #deathofaprincess #deathofaprincess1980

[thatdebaterguy]

'Colonisers'

So along with saying the west is some genocidal oppressive system, another big argument is saying that the west is solely responsible for the idea of colonisation and settler colonisation. This is when people need to do their history. The UK, arguably the most successful empire in history, has been subject to being colonised so many times in history it's unreal. Viking invaders establishing settler colonies in the North-East of England are mostly responsible for why people in that region have blonde hair. I personally have about 12% of my heritage tracing back to Scandinavia. The Saxons moved over to England and intermixed with the native Anglos and Gaelic speaking peoples to create Anglo-Saxons. Then the Normans invaded in 1066 and created the modern English culture over hundreds of years.

Eastern Germany around Berlin used to be controlled by tribal Slavic groups like the Polabian people, before the Germanic people under the Holy Roman Empire conquered it and integrated the land. Spain was full of Catholic Europeans until the Umayyad conquests where Southern Spain was occupied and integrated into the Caliphate. The West has some of the most documented cases of colonising each other, invading each other, assimilating each other. African and Native American tribes had been waring each other for centuries long before the Western civilisations showed up. And this is my hot take; if you yourself believe that the colonisation of America or Africa by white Europeans were worse than the Africans and Natives slaughtering themselves and enslaving each other, then you yourself are racist. The West did exactly what any other country throughout history has ever done, but on a larger scale due to technological superiority over the rest of the globe. When the Islamic golden age was taking place, the Muslim Caliphates of Arabia conquered the Turkic lands, the Steppes, North Africa, parts of Europe, even the Ottomans who were around until only 100 years ago, subjected millions of Christians in the Balkans and enslaved them, long after places like Britain abolished slavery. In fact, the gap between 2024 and 1918 (when the Ottomans existed) is a larger gap than 1918 and 1807, which is when the UK abolished slavery.

The thing is, you don't see Saudi Arabia paying Spain reparations for conquering half of their entire country and selling their women across the Mediterranean, and you don't see Turkey giving reparations to America for raiding American ships and capturing their women too, even in recent history, Turkey has killed Americans in Syria despite being allies, and the US recently sent a variety of aircraft to Turkey to bolster their military. Meanwhile in the US, you've got affirmative action and diversity quotas, and Microsoft proudly displaying how minorities are paid more than white people, which is literally pay discrimination based off skin colour. If you asked a South African what they'd think about introducing quotas where the minority and discriminated white population get benefits, they'd tell you to leave before they drove a knife through your skull.

The point is, colonialism, oppression, slavery, it's a stain on human history, not just Western history, but at least the West has had the decency to acknowledge its dark past, teach it, learn from it, pay reparations from it, even the UK is sending aid to India, while the UK has a cost of living crisis and India has a stronger economy. The west has the freedoms and liberty to let you scream in the streets about how oppressed you are and how bad it is, something you can't do in half the world. You call the government, which is a royal family, terrible in Saudi Arabia and you get hanged for treason or beheaded, same if you're openly gay. Yes we've done some bad things, but no one is innocent throughout history. What matters is what we do now.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Police investigate Brazil’s intelligence chief under Bolsonaro over claims of political spying

Brazil’s Federal Police have opened an investigation into the former head of the intelligence agency during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential term on suspicion that he organized a large illegal espionage operation against the latter’s rivals, including a governor who is now a minister, judges, lawmakers, politicians and journalists for a total of about 30,000 people, as revealed by the head of the Federal Police a couple of weeks ago. Officers on Thursday raided several locations with ties to Alexandre Ramagen, who in the period 2019-2022 directed the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN). Police Commissioner Ramagen, 51, is now a federal lawmaker.

Ramagen is very close to the former president, so this case adds to Bolsonaro’s multiple headaches. The 68-year-old former president has faced various investigations and judicial processes since he lost the election in 2022 and the immunity he had enjoyed for three decades. Disqualified for abuse of power, he cannot run in the next two presidential elections. He is also being investigated for inciting the riots of Jan. 8, 2023 when thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court building. He has additionally been charged with trying to keep jewels given by the Saudi royal family. A former justice minister and Bolsonaro’s personal secretary are behind bars for the antidemocratic acts of January 2023.

The Supreme Court, which ordered this latest operation, suspects that Ramagen was part of a “criminal organization that sought to illegally monitor people and public authorities” for the “benefit of the Bolsonaro family.”

Among the espionage operations without a court warrant, investigators mentioned the surveillance of the then governor of Ceará, Camilo Santana, of the Workers’ Party, now serving as education minister in the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; also the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Rodrigo Maia, as well as a wayward Bolsonaro lawmaker and the prosecutor investigating the murder of Marielle Franco (a leftist councilor from Rio).

Continue reading.

[gaykarstaagforever]

How soon we forget. Saudia Arabia only exists as the weird, awful slave labor-reliant theocratic autocracy with insane amounts of wealth it is because 1) the British backed the current royal family when they were conquering the peninsula, because they wanted it as a unified protectorate, and having the Sauds do the heavy-lifting was ideal, and 4) after oil was discovered there in 1938, the United States swooped in and basically agreed to turn a blind eye to anything and everything they did or would do from then on for reasonable oil prices.

The Sauds conquered Mecca and Medina during their push. It wasn't like they had those before then. They were just one of the groups vying for control there, and the West was intimately involved in supporting them.

This is all 20th century history, with the bulk of the territorial gains happening in the 1920s. My grandfather was born then.

Tolerating Saudi royal bullshit isn't some necessary thing because of their ancient and noble history in a place. It was colonial and financial expedience. We could just as easily exert pressure now against the abuses they commit, or advocate a less awful political system, both because it is relatively new, and because WE HELPED CREATE IT.

"YES BUT THEY'RE MUSLIMS, THAT'S JUST HOW THEY DO THINGS!"

Right. Because political Islam is an evil, primitive monolith. Which is why there are zero conflicts between different factions of Islam.

Our willful ignorance about one of the world's major religions is merely cover for us to hand-wave away dealing with the fact that we subsidize gross human rights abuses.

All that murder and oppression and the gross public displays of wealth that MBS gets up to are NOT acceptable behaviors, according to the Qur'an. Any more than what US Republicans get up to is "Biblically-based."

Rich shitheads do what they want first, and then bribe and threaten everyone after the fact to say their shared religion condones it. Either through a state church, like in England or Russia, or just through "patriotic" religious instructors.

And when you own the most sacred holy sites like Saudia Arabia does, you can also quietly threaten everyone to get off your back or risk being accused of threatening the religion itself.

This is why human rights need to be the foundation of ethics. You consistently speak out against ANYONE who crosses those red lines. No one gets an exception, under any circumstances.

Otherwise your inconsistency proves you don't actually give a shit, and you can be warned off. Especially when you also have a long history of supporting abusive shit because it benefits you, as we do.

[ingek73]

OPINION

By Omid Scobie

King Charles deserves to be scrutinised as heavily as politicians – just like Harry and Meghan were

At a time when more people are questioning the monarchy, the need for spin-free reporting has never been more important

June 28, 2023 1:38 pm(Updated 1:53 pm)

Those who have dared challenge this system have certainly paid the price (Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

It’s hard to believe that this time last year, Charles, then the Prince of Wales, was still weathering one of the worst storms of his royal career. Explosive revelations from a top political editor had uncovered dubious financial contributions being made to one of his charities, leading many to question the ethics behind the millions being raised.

For the late Queen’s son, the stories threatened to stain his own legacy and bring shame to the institution of the monarchy – particularly when a Palace aide was forced to publicly pledge that Charles would “never again accept” bags of cash to his charities.

The previous year, another scandal, this time involving one of Charles’ charities and a Saudi billionaire, resulted in an investigation being launched by London’s Metropolitan Police Service, in which two men were questioned under caution. And yet follow-up coverage of both of the monarch’s Princes’ Foundation donations saga – particularly from the majority of the royal press pack – has been virtually non-existent.

While there has been little new information from authorities, a lack of updates has never usually been an obstacle for individuals on the royal beat. The months this year when the Duchess of Sussex had not been seen or heard in public certainly didn’t stop dozens of stories being written about her every day. The king, whose foundation has been caught up in a criminal investigation, on the other hand, curiously hasn’t appeared to evoke much interest from many of those who dedicate their lives to covering the Royal Family.

Even in the lead up to Charles’s coronation last month, when the likes of the Daily Mail, Telegraph and Daily Express dedicated countless pages to lengthy, praise-filled profiles of the new monarch, there was hardly a mention of the scandal that he had been apologising for just 70 days prior to becoming king.

This is nothing new. Though heavyweight scoops about members of the family are still broken by other sections of the media, royal churnalism – the regurgitation of press releases and steady supply of briefing memos sent out by royal aides – has become the tried-and-trusted reporting style for a number of royal correspondents when it comes to protecting precious relationships with those at the Palace. Not wanting to bite the hand that regularly feeds is why those with some of the deepest access and strongest relationships are often the ones sharing the very least. And that’s exactly how Palace communications aides would want it.

The nature of these relationships has created a beat where impartiality, though often claimed, is rarely a reality. Being critical or negative in one’s reporting, when necessary, would ultimately mean risking those precious relationships. So, impartiality is usually flexed in other, more easy ways – namely focusing on stories about royals that won’t damage relations with the palace. For the past four and a half years that risk-free option has been the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, whose unpopularity behind palace walls as working royals, and now their autonomous life in California, has made them easy fodder for more critical coverage.

It’s why staff turnovers at the Sussexes’ Archewell business continue to be prime tabloid ammunition and why Kate, the Princess of Wales hasn’t had to face many questions about the four (five, if you count the one who accepted the job and then mysteriously changed their mind) private secretaries who have worked for her over the past six years.

And it’s why the story of that paparazzi car chase in New York was furiously poked for holes within minutes of it breaking, but coverage of Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh’s tax payer-funded motorcade tragically taking the life of an elderly woman hasn’t been the focus of dozens of opinion pieces.

Those who have dared challenge this system have certainly paid the price. I’ve known journalists in the past who have been removed from royal email lists or media briefings after publishing stories or books that the Firm didn’t like.

For me – who also spent years dancing the palace dance for access and perks – my first major “punishment” came after the release of Finding Freedom, a book that told the inside story of the Sussexes’ royal departure. Sources told me that Prince William was so incensed by my revelations that his Kensington Palace team had given negative information to favoured journalists about his brother that he wanted me barred from his engagements.

But in order to tell a full story, it has to be written without fear of favour – regardless of the consequences. It’s one of the reasons why I spent the past year writing my book, Endgame – an unfiltered investigation into the current state of the Royal Family. At a time when more people than ever are questioning the relevancy, purpose and role of the monarchy in modern Britain, the need for thorough, spin-free, and well-rounded insight and reporting has never been more important than it is now.

As well as speaking with those involved in some of the most defining and controversial royal moments in recent years, the book also brings new details on unsolved mysteries as well as stories you will be reading about for the very first time.

Omid Scobie: ‘Endgame not only looks at the successes of our Royal Family but also the failures’ (Photo: HarperCollins)

Of course, it’s not all scandal – there are also some great things coming out of the House of Windsor right now. The launch of Prince William’s ambitious plan to find solutions to, and eventually eradicate, homelessness is bold and important. And Kate’s early years work, something that initially looked like a vanity project, is now slowly beginning to have real impact, with the Royal Foundation’s recent funding of a trial model that assesses babies’ well-being and happiness. But to report on the positive, you can’t ignore the negative.

Endgame not only looks at the successes of our Royal Family but also the failures; the things to be proud of and those they should be ashamed of. Precisely because this is an establishment that sits at the heart of our society, and a family that has often been held up as role models of civility and decorum, it’s more important than ever we can take an accurate look at whether that still holds today.

Just like this country’s politicians, the royals are not, and should not be, above reproach – no matter how desperately certain press secretaries may want you to think so.

Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival is out 21 November and available for preorder now

[jordanianprincesses]

Its crazy to see how much online hate Rajwa is getting especially coming from her own Arab people, the girls online hate her for marrying into a royal family and now she’s a future monarch and her people hate her for being a cute rich girl who married another cute rich guy. I don’t care about her past, I feel like it’s stupid to judge her for the choices she made while in college because we have all been there and have lived different lives during our college years and post college too. I get that coming from a conservative country and being Muslim means something different but at the end of the day she is the only one who knows the type of relationship she has with God. I really think we shouldn’t be judging her for wearing a bikini top with shorts (I also do this so I found it super relatable), there are women who wear less and those that wear more. Let’s stop bashing her for showing a little skin, other women in the Jordanian family have done it too and none have gotten pitchforks and torches the way rajwa has. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

Yeah 💯 I think we have absolutely no right to judge her! I feel so sorry for her too . It's just that Jordanian and Saudi people are too conservative so it was a shock for them. But no matter what , there's no reason for the hate she's getting. Poor one, she's a newlywed, and these days are supposed to be the best days of her life !

[zvaigzdelasas]

As part of an increase in programming aimed toward strengthening a relationship with a key demographic, a new Golf Channel show that debuted Tuesday night is reportedly just a 30-minute praising of the Saudi royals. “I can’t say enough about how much good the House of Saud has done for the sport of golf, as well as for America and the world in general,” Saudi Golf Today co-host Jimmy Roberts said as the latest praise from the golf world for the ruling family of Saudi Arabia scrolled in a ticker across the bottom of the stream. The veteran sportscaster went on to ask a panel of analysts to name their favorite thing about Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “In addition to just being a bunch of really good, standup guys, the Saudis are true champions of golf. [Saudi Arabian public investment head] Yasir Al-Rumayyan and his top-notch team over there are absolutely committed to elevating the public profile and prestige of golf around the world, and it’s really incredible to see what they’ve done with their courses. You haven’t played a true round of 18 holes until you’ve played them at Royal Greens or Dirab. Stay tuned, because coming up in the next hour we’ve got pictures of Saudi royal family members playing golf while a live studio audience applauds.” Roberts added that he didn’t want the show to shy away from controversial issues, so he wished to state the Golf Channel’s official position that the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was well deserved.

[keyki421]

Season 6 of the Crown feels like Propaganda.

It feels like the show went very easy on Charles. He went from being a horrible husband to Diana, to suddenly crying and feeling sorrow at her death. Charles is obviously King now in real life and it feels like the writers and producers decided to portray him in a better light.

In Part 2, the way the writers portrayed Harry and Williams is bullshit. The constant shitting on Harry was a struggle to watch. Then they portray William as the perfect royal. A guy that can do no wrong. Which we all know is absolute bullshit. The love story between Kate and William was giving me Lifetime/Hallmark movie vibes.

Overall, I liked the show, but I'm glad that it's over.

I will say this, I don't understand how you British people put up with this. Like, these royals literally have no purpose. As an American, it makes me cringe when they start talking about their duty of service and whatnot. Cause I'm just like, what service. Ya'll are a family of extremely rigid, privileged white folks. Ya'll have done a day of labor in your fucking life. If my tax money was going to them, I would be pissed.

Now that this is over, I would actually love a show about the different royal families of the middle east. Cause I feel like they are probably the most secretive. Also in Saudi, there are so many guys that have the title Prince. It's so confusing. Especially cause the King, has a large number of wives. It feels chaotic.

[sonicprim3d]

Hey, who wants some headcanons for the ethnicities of the characters if they were human??

Sonic would be a Pacific Asian American, probably having lived bouncing around between Hawaii and California with family in both states.

My Shadow's very hard to pin down due to him being a hybrid of alien and hedgehog DNA in canon. As such, I can say that he's got darker skin but his ancestry is very nebulous, hints of everything in him.

Silver is a white boy. Pure white boy. Go white boy go type of energy.

Blaze is most definitely of South East Asian descent, more than likely descended from Indian and Thai families. Possibly even with some Loasian ancestors mixed into the family at some point.

Tangle is actually descended from African Asian mixed race parents. However, she moved away from Africa when she was able to adventure the world.

Whisper is black. I have nothing else to add here I just don't like it when these parts are so much shorter in comparison asdlherg

Infinite is Arabic, particularly Saudi Arabian Arabic, but who moved around much of the Middle East with his family when he was younger before having to flee his home for commiting... Just numerous crimes as a mercenary with no morals.

Skipping Metal for obvious reasons and going onto Tails who is, also like Silver, a white boy. A stressed white boy, but he manages to make it (his life) work. Somehow.

Eggman is also white, though he is descended from German immigrants to America. Primarily the first wave of German immigration to America in the 1670s.

Starline is mixed white Australian and Native Australian, but who grew up in Europe so he ended up lacking their distinct accent. For better or worse.

Surge is also mixed, of white and black descent. While it's hard to match Surge's canon story to any human version of them unless we want to give that AU superpowers, it is safe to assume she still has the tense relationship with her family that she does in canon, even if it isn't what would lead to her being able to be abducted by Starline without anyone noticing.

Sally is white. Which is of no surprise considering she descends from royalty. Which, thinking on it, if we map it to a realistic human AU would mean she is a part of either the British royal family or is a part of one of the disposed European monarchies-

Bunnie is of mixed Latin American and white American descent, particularly Southern United States American. But she has come to settle along the Northern East Coast for some peace and quiet.

Kit is of Japanese descent and is orphaned just like he is canonically.

Rouge is Afro-Latin and inherited her father's dark skin tone that she actually very enjoys.

Knuckles is mixed African American and Polynesian, and is also dark-skinned like Rouge, but takes a lot after his native Polynesian side due to being raised around their culture so much.

And Amy is of Italian descent, and actually came from Italy, but moved with her parents to the States when she was like four. She still knows Italian very well, but it's a constant battle between that and English to see which is her first language.

[royal-confessions]

“In Jordan it not easy to express negative opinions against royals. But we are afraid that Hussein's engagement to this saudi women will ruin our freedom further more. Being the cousin, she will be the opportunity for Muhammad bin salman to interfer in Jordanian politics. Already he wants the guardianship of Jerusalem. Now it is very easy move for MBS. Israel jordan water electricity treaty will be implemented to ruin the stability. None of the hashimites are happy about this engagement.” - Submitted by Anonymous

“Prince Hussein seems to be a sweet person..Anyone who met him only had good words about him,he cares for his people. Most Jordanians are really scared for their future,they don't trust a saudi after what happened in Jordan in 2021..It's sad to learn that he is forced by his parents to do things he doesn't want to..I'm not a fangirl i just saw pictures and videos of his engagement and after that,eyes can't lie he isn't happy.” - Submitted by Anonymous

“Jordanians are not happy with the choice royal family took for cp Hussein. They were hope that maybe Hussein will break the role or let's say routine of his family and marry a Jordanian girl but he didn't. He preferred the money and power Saudi Arabia will give him rather than make his people happy. Because of that it's quite sad and miserable to see people love and admire prince hamza just because he is marriage to a Jordanian woman. Also Jordanians aren't happy at all with princess iman's engagement. Totally a foreign and non-Muslim guy who converted to Islam just because he want to marry her. What they are thinking?” - Submitted by Anonymous