Entertainment
What US celebs can learn from Queen’s viral video
A large number of people are wondering why Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian have deleted their photos with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from their social media accounts.
The photos were taken at the 70th star-studded birthday party of Kris Jenner where many other celebrities were also invited.
While the internet is flooded with all kind of conspiracy theories, it’s been learned that Harry and Meghan were the ones who requested their friends to remove their pictures from social media.
Sources said it was Harry who convinced Meghan to talk to Kris Jenner and her celebrity daughter, Kim Kardashian.
By getting their photos removed, the royal couple have not only set an example for the future events, but have also sent a message to the US celebrities that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will always abide by the rules that govern the British royal family.
For those unaware, the royal family follows very strict rules about physical contact and etiquette in official hearings.
According to these royals, contact must be initiated by the most senior member present.
No guest can informally touch, hug or greet them unless they explicitly allows it.
The right greeting is a short handshake if they offer it.
Hugs, slaps or kisses are considered gestures too personal for protocol context.
Although the rules outlined above are for the official occasions featuring royal family members, there can be more relaxed moments where they can be seen hugging and kissing guests.
While Harry and Meghan may have their own reasons to ask for the removal of their pictures from social media— because they were not by any means at a royal event— their friends will hopefully understand that the kind of distance the couple seek is to maintain institutional respect.
Royal fans are hoping that US celebrities, before they invite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to a party, watch a video of the infamous moment between the late Queen Elizabeth and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
In the viral clip Chavez is seen trying to greet the Queen, Harry’s grandmother, with a hug during a G20 summit in 2010.
However, the late president was sidestepped by the Queen who kept smiling as he held his arms open, waiting for her to respond.
By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles
2025 offered a feast of great books. To help build your never-ending reading list, here are five titles we particularly enjoyed over the past 12 months:
Simon & Schuster
Lucas Schaefer’s debut novel, “The Slip” (Simon & Schuster), won this year’s Kirkus Prize for Fiction. The story takes place in and around a boxing gym in Austin, Texas, where two lonely teenagers are eager to remake their identities wherever that might lead them.
This sweaty comic masterpiece tackles our most pressing social debates, and delivers a knockout.
Read an excerpt: “The Slip” by Lucas Schaefer
“The Slip” by Lucas Schaefer (Simon & Schuster), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Sourcebooks Landmark 
Susie Dent’s debut novel, “Guilty by Definition” (Sourcebooks Landmark), introduces a dictionary editor in Oxford who begins receiving strange messages about her sister’s long-ago disappearance.
As she follows these clues, she is led into literary puzzles and unresolved parts of her past. Readers who savor wordplay as much as suspense should look up this clever mystery.
Read an excerpt: “Guilty by Definition” by Susie Dent
“Guilty by Definition” by Susie Dent (Sourcebooks Landmark), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Riverhead Books 
“Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State” (Riverhead Books), by Caleb Gayle, traces the rise of Edward McCabe through Kansas and the Oklahoma Territory as Black migrants pursued land, safety and power in the Jim Crow era.
Confronting hostile politics and violent resistance, McCabe fought for community and self-determination, and Gayle lays out this charged landscape to reveal a crucial but long-obscured chapter in the struggle for freedom.
Read an excerpt: “Black Moses” by Caleb Gayle
“Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State” by Caleb Gayle (Riverhead Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
calebgayle.com (Official site)
Knopf 
Karen Russell’s “The Antidote” (Knopf) is a dazzlingly original novel that hovers between fable and history.
This wild tempest of a tale set in Depression-era Nebraska follows a prairie witch and a high school girl swept up into a tumultuous western epic about the tragedies and ambitions of Manifest Destiny.
Read an excerpt: “The Antidote” by Karen Russell
“The Antidote” by Karen Russell (Knopf), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Crown 
Rick Atkinson’s “The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780” (Crown), the second book in his planned trilogy, delivers a chronicle of the American Revolution with irresistible narrative drive.
Moving between battles and diplomacy, he brings Washington, Franklin and their rivals to life while tracing the nation’s fight for independence. The result is an immersive work of history just in time for America’s 250th anniversary.
Read an excerpt: “The Fate of the Day” by Rick Atkinson
“The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 (Volume Two of the Revolution Trilogy)” by Rick Atkinson (Crown), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Historian Rick Atkinson (Official site)
Rick Atkinson on how the U.S. Army was born – and a free nation realized (“Sunday Morning”)
That’s it for the Book Report. It’s been great fun to talk to you about good books over the past year. Here’s to many more in 2026.
I’m Ron Charles. Until next time, read on!
For more info:
For more reading recommendations, check out our library of previous Book Report features from Ron Charles:
Selena Gomez is treating herself to a self care routine ahead of welcoming the New Year.
The Only Murders in the Building star took a quick trip to a tanning salon over the weekend.
On Saturday, December 27, she was spotted visiting Palm Beach Tan in Beverly Hills, California.
As per photos circulating over social media, the 33-year-old singer and actress looked relaxed and low-key as she left the popular salon.
For the casual outing, the Calm Down songstress was dressed casually in a white tank top, black sweatpants, and some fuzzy slippers.
She accessorised her look with a pair of sunglasses and some plum-colored over-the-ear wireless headphones.
The Lose You to Love Me singer was also seen carrying her iPhone and a fluffy jacket.
Prior to her latest sighting, Gomez, who is married to music producer Benny Blanco, was seen out on Christmas Eve.
She was spotted in a black ensemble as she visited a dermatology office in the same area.
Earlier in December, she and her new husband celebrated decorating their first Christmas tree together as a married couple.
They decorated the festive-staple with various ornaments and recorded the process to share it with their admirers.
The Book Report: Ron Charles’ picks from 2025
2025: The year’s top books
Satcom rollout: Services to start after security clearances and spectrum pricing; telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia gives this update – The Times of India
Alabama turned Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff dream into a nightmare
Rare look inside the secret LEGO Museum reveals the system behind a toy giant’s remarkable longevity
Gold prices in Pakistan Today – December 20, 2025 | The Express Tribune
-
Sports1 week ago
Alabama turned Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff dream into a nightmare
-
Entertainment1 week agoRare look inside the secret LEGO Museum reveals the system behind a toy giant’s remarkable longevity
-
Business1 week ago
Gold prices in Pakistan Today – December 20, 2025 | The Express Tribune
-
Business1 week agoRome: Tourists to face €2 fee to get near Trevi Fountain
-
Entertainment1 week agoZoe Kravitz teases fans with ring in wedding finger
-
Entertainment1 week agoIndia drops Shubman Gill from T20 World Cup squad
-
Tech1 week agoWe Tried and Tested the Best Gifts for Plant Lovers With Our Own Green Thumbs
-
Politics1 week agoUS intercepts oil tanker off Venezuelan coast, Reports