Anyone else notice a new (old) fashion taking London: pedestrians generously blasting music to everyone? Oh and singing along. And strutting. Often to stadium rock. 🤣

Photographs of an all-American family: mine. In other words, a family forged from different origin stories, gene sets and cultures by immigration, forced and voluntary.

Thoughts on an unhappy birthday 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 #poemoftheday #instantpoem #independenceday #4thofjuly

Why yes, I did go to the @harpercollins.bsky.social author party dressed as my book. #divideandrule

Diana would have turned 65 today. Imagine if she had lived the glee with which the media would have charted the physical changes that come with passing years. Here’s a short 🧵about media misogyny and the princess. Call it my birthday present to her.

Another tricky visit for the king. And, yes, the British government has already paid reparations - to the planters for the loss of their human “property”, who were still forced to work for free after their supposed liberation. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... 🧵

Another tricky visit for the king. And, yes, the British government has already paid reparations - to the planters for the loss of their human “property”, who were still forced to work for free after their supposed liberation. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... 🧵

Two books quite unlike other royal biographies, a gap of 11 years, a lot of death, a lot of living, a lot of writing. No wonder I look tired. 1st photo for @thelondonstandard.bsky.social by Matt Writtle, second for @telegraph.co.uk by Geoff Pugh #CharlestheHeartofaKing, 2015 #DivideandRule 2026

Contrast and compare these responses to Divide and Rule, from @katemaltby.bsky.social and eminent historian Daniel Wootton

Keeping track of messages these days is 🤯🤯🤯. Somebody requested a press copy of my book; can’t remember who. The message is not in any of my email inboxes, nor is it on WhatsApp, Signal, Proton, FB, Insta, Threads, BlueSky or TikTok. And I have wasted a good 20 minutes looking. Gah.

Thank you to the i-Paper for this great mini-review #divideandrule #royalwomen

Hoping @andyburnham.bsky.social’s government features more women than his election playlist… www.instagram.com/reel/DYpswoQ... @miattafahnbulleh.bsky.social for a start

Happiness is guesting on my favourite podcast, Empire. A great discussion of royal women as empire-builders and chattel of empire and how those histories are playing out today, all themes of my book Divide and Rule: Royal Women and Their Battles.

Diana haunts me. Sometimes literally. When I took a night off from promoting Divide and Rule: Royal Women and Their Battles, I found her hanging over me, in this stunning work by John Keane called, pun intended, Untitled. And if the princess is a restless ghost, none of us should be surprised. 🧵

There were 15 Prime Ministers during Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign. There have been three during Charles III’s three-year reign, with a fourth if Burnham becomes PM by 8 September. A monarchist might say “that’s why we need the royals, for stability”. A republican might say, “what stability?”

A short quiz: Which woman, widely viewed as sexless, wrote this about her wedding night? “We both went to bed; (of course in one bed) to lie by his side, and in his arms, and on his dear bosom, and be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before–was bliss beyond belief!” 🧵

A long time ago, Hello! magazine rang to ask if could feature me “at home”. They had me confused with the then Lady, now Baroness Catherine Meyer. Still no Lady but I'm in Hello! www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/9082... and on the podcast podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/k...

Anyone playing a drinking game in which contestants swig whenever a Labour politician says “there is no leadership contest“ is going to be very drunk

Nice. People magazine has just published this edited extract ahead of my book Divide and Rule: Royal Women and Their Battles ahead of the book’s US publication on 23 June. people.com/princess-dia...

Yes there are chaotic times to come. But let’s enjoy this number: 9,231.

I made @iaindale.bsky.social cry - and he me. Here we are on life, death, love, politics and my new book Divide and Rule: Royal Women and Their Battles podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/3...

My book Divide and Rule is out today. And it has some relevance to #Makerfield. It exposes how Royal women are being co-opted into culture wars & disinformation to the benefit of populism. As it happens, when Andy died, the only politicians who sent me condolences were Ed Miliband & Andy Burnham

Interviewed about my new book, Divide and Rule: Royal Women and Their Battles. Out TOMORROW 18 June! #divideandrule #royalwomen www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family...

Oh, for god's sake, BBC, just hire well-qualified, good humoured people with interesting things to say, a cheerfully sceptical view of life and a shrewdly tolerant love of the absurd

Hello! Is it my new book you’re looking for? You can see it on preorder You can get it from tomorrow It’s all you ever wanted On queens and royal brides ‘Cause it knows just who they are And why we don’t know what they do And it will tell you so much That is new. 🧵

From Thursday, people can read for themselves what I actually wrote in Divide and Rule. In the meantime, fulminations against the purported content of my book are providing some great potential blurbs for the paperback. Here’s one: “It’s dangerous!” #DivideandRule #RoyalWomen

There may be more insight and heart in this piece by @rachelsylvester.bsky.social with Lemn Sissay in Makerfield than in all the other by-election coverage combined observer.co.uk/culture/inte...

Well that was a day. Admin, planning, plotting plus three interviews, one photo shoot, a book launch and the last episode of Tip Toe.

“Hello. I’m the job centre in your pocket. Here to help.” “AI has taken my job. What would you advise?”

So sad to hear about the brilliant Marjane Satrapi www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

Out in the wild and available at all good bookshops from 18 June - DIVIDE AND RULE:Royal Women and Their Battles. By me. Published by HQ Stories, @HarperCollins #divideandrule #royalwomen

Quoted in this piece. And seconding that emotion inews.co.uk/news/why-far...

The story that keeps giving... grave concern. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

If you really want to boost birthrates, provide childcare, parental leave, equal pay and solid reasons for hope. Today’s pronatalism is riddled with the reheated policies of earlier dictators www.thetimes.com/article/d3e2...

When Andy played drums for the Mekons www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

Weeks before Andy died, the Sunday Times interviewed us for Relative Values. Interviews take place separately so when they asked if it was OK to go ahead and publish, I didn’t know what to expect, but assumed a high joke content. Instead, he said this. I hope he knew how much I loved him. Still do

Yesterday’s instant poem. And this hag hopes that hag is wrong.

When you know you’re in an aspirational part of London

I had forgotten this piece of genius. The more things change, the more they stay the same www.theregister.com/offbeat/2007...

Some books age better than others

Police: “We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation into all ­reasonable lines of inquiry, wherever they may lead. We encourage anyone with information to get in touch.” www.thetimes.com/article/6894...

Read, share www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Might quibble with the label “punk” but why yes, @rollingstone.com, Gang of Four's Entertainment! does deserve a place high in the pantheon of all-time best albums.

For anyone who doesn't remember the human Barbara Cartland www.theguardian.com/news/2013/ja...

File under super-creepy www.thebookseller.com/news/bolinda...

Today marks the 490th anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s execution. Her fate may seem far removed, but the deeper I delved for my book Divide and Rule, the better I understood her fierce relevance and the cold comfort in her fate. Henry VIII tried to erase her. He succeeded in making her indelible.

Once at a gig after-party, I was chatting with a group of teenagers, the children of band members, when a man lurched over and propositioned me. I detached his wandering hands and told him to eff off. Later he returned to offer me the following apology: “I’m sorry. I thought you were the nanny”.

An instant poem

If you get the opportunity to see the play 1536, no matter how tired you are or busy or tricky the logistics, GO! This standing ovation gives a only a small sense of how powerful the play and performances and staging are.