The Spill: Friday's best entertainment and gossip news.

1. Prince William and Kate Middleton have taken their kids on a commercial flight and people think it’s a jab at Harry and Meghan.

In a move uncommon for royals, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis boarded a 40-seat economy flight on their recent trip from Norwich International Airport to Aberdeen Airport in Balmoral, Scotland.

It’s estimated the total cost for their trip would totalled to a very unroyal £365 (AU$660).

In comparison Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have recently made royal headlines for travelling via a private jet on their recent European holiday, going from London to Ibiza, to Nice and back to London. While The Sun estimates it would have cost the royal couple £20,000 (AU$ 36,150) for them to hire the private Cessna jet, but it was actually a gift and paid for by Sir Elton John.

The singer later defended the royal couple, he likened the negative press attention directed at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, to the media stalking received by the late Princess Diana.

“I am deeply distressed by today’s distorted and malicious account in the press surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s private stay at my home in Nice last week,” he tweeted.

“Prince Harry’s Mother, Diana Princess Of Wales was one of my dearest friends. I feel a profound sense of obligation to protect Harry and his family from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana’s untimely death.

“After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquility of our home. To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight.”

I am deeply distressed by today’s distorted and malicious account in the press surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s private stay at my home in Nice last week. pic.twitter.com/WjVRDSMX0z

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) August 19, 2019

After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquility of our home. To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight.

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) August 19, 2019

I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan’s commitment to charity and I’m calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis.

Elton

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) August 19, 2019

Laura Brodnik and Kee Reece debrief on the best celebrity stories of the day, including Prince William and Kate Middleton potentially throwing shade at Meghan and Harry, Miley Cyrus’ social media outburst and the new season of 13 Reasons Why.

2. Taylor Swift has released a new album and we finally get some info on her boyfriend of three years.

Taylor Swift’s seventh album, Lover, dropped today and it’s fair to say it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Not only do we have 16 new songs that we’ll be binge-listening to over the weekend, we now know a little bit more about Swift’s incredibly private relationship with her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.

The album is sprinkled with juicy clues about Swift’s three-year relationship with the 28-year-old British actor.

What clues you might ask? Let’s dive in.

In one track, “Cornelia Street”, Swift reveals details about the beginning of their relationship. “We were in the backseat, drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar.”

And it sounds like the relationship may have gotten off to a bumpy start.  “I thought you were leading me on / I packed my bags, left Cornelia Street / Before you even knew I was gone / But then you called, showed your hand / I turned around before I hit the tunnel,” she sings.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

This album is very much a celebration of love, in all its complexity, coziness, and chaos. It’s the first album of mine that I’ve ever owned, and I couldn’t be more proud. I’m so excited that Lover is out NOW.

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Aug 22, 2019 at 9:02pm PDT

Another track is titled “London Boy” and you don’t need to be genius to decipher that one. In the song, Swift sings about Alwyn’s laugh, dimples and accent and admits “you know I love a London boy”.

“And now I love high tea, stories from Uni, and the West End / You can find me in the pub, we are watching rugby with his school friends,” she sings.

In another song, titled“I Think He Knows” Swift sings about the moment Alywn knows she’s fallen for him. “He got that boyish look that I like in a man.”

Swift also hints at a possible engagement in the song  “Paper Rings”,  admitting that he’s the one. “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings”.  “You’re the one I want and I hate accidents, except when we went from friends to this.”

The album is the first to be released by her new record label, Universal Music Group, after Scooter Braun bought her former label, Big Machine, earlier this year.

“It’s the first album of mine that I’ve ever owned, and I couldn’t be more proud,” Swift announced on Instagram.

3. Kristen Bell has shared a rare photo of her daughter on Instagram, after she was taken to the emergency room.

Kristen Bell has always tried to keep her personal life as private as possible, but in a rare post to Instagram, she’s shared a picture of one of her daughter’s while in the hospital.

“First emergency room visit,” the Veronica Mars actress began her caption, alongside a selfie with her child’s face covered by an emoji.

“One hairline fracture and a finger smushed so hard in the door it popped like a jelly donut,” she continued.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

First emergency room visit. One hairline fracture and a finger smushed so hard in the door it popped like a jelly donut. Thank you so much to @childrensla for the amazing care, thank u Dr. Olsen, and Sonia our child life specialist. Did you know that when you enter the emergency room at @childrensla you immediately get a “Child Life Specialist” trained to make sure your child knows what happening? And to make sure you understand all of what’s happening and your choices? It made us feel so safe. And @childrensla follows up the next day with a phone call to make sure all is well after the trauma. Excellent care all around. Thank you to all who helped my baby. (Ps I’m not attaching a pic of the finger because there was literally burger popping out all over and it as pretty gross.)

A post shared by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on Aug 22, 2019 at 6:25pm PDT

Her daughter was taken to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where she commended the support and care she received by the nurses.

“Excellent care all around. Thank you to all who helped my baby.”

She added: “Ps I’m not attaching a pic of the finger because there was literally burger popping out all over and it as pretty gross.”

Bell, 39, shares two daughters – Delta, four-years-old and Lincoln, six – with her husband Dax Shepard, 44.

4. Oh no, Jennifer Aniston almost missed out on playing Rachel in Friends.

Thanks to her role as Rachel Green on Friends, Jennifer Aniston is one of the most recognised celebrities in Hollywood.

However, according to the upcoming book Generation Friends by Saul Austerlitz, it nearly wasn’t meant to be, and pop culture history as we know it would have changed completely.

Prior to auditioning for Friends, Aniston had already filmed several episodes of a comedy called Muddling Through for a rival network, and NBC executives were wary that the actress would pull out of Friends if the other comedy was given the green light for a full series.

However, NBC made sure to sabotage Muddling Through’s chances before it even got a chance. The network scheduled multiple blockbuster TV movies in the same time slots, meaning the competing show was never able to establish an audience.

And thank goodness for that.

via GIPHY

5. ‘I cannot accept being told I’m lying.’ Miley Cyrus’ emotional response to cheating rumours.

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that singer Miley Cyrus and actor Liam Hemsworth had split after less than a year of marriage.

“Liam and Miley have agreed to separate at this time,” a statement made to People on August 10 read.

“Ever-evolving, changing as partners and individuals, they have decided this is what’s best while they both focus on themselves and careers.

In the days following, countless rumours emerged about the reason for the relationship breakdown. On the one hand, it was claimed that Liam’s partying and use of ‘certain drugs’ was the main problem, while other ‘sources’ suggested Miley had been unfaithful during their marriage, most recently with Kaitlynn Carter.

Now, Miley has responded to those rumours for the first time, in an emotional post shared on Twitter and Instagram.

We debrief on the drama in our earlier post here.