The holiday season is always ripe for family squabbles—all that together time!—but this year chaos came for all of us during the first week of January.
In Washington, DC, the House of Representatives staged a historic 15 votes for Speaker, a victory Kevin McCarthy finally eked out through concessions to the far right that will almost certainly damage and limit his tenure. And the leaks from Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir, Spare, reached flood-level saturation, with revelations covering topics ranging from that infamous Nazi costume to an alleged physical brawl with his brother.
When the fights are this knock down, drag out, how does the family move forward? McCarthy and his unruly party hold key responsibilities, such as funding the government. King Charles’s coronation is set for the spring, requiring the monarchy to put on a show.
In both cases, the trappings of power are inexorable, but the more we know about what happened behind closed doors, along palace corridors, and (thanks to C-SPAN’s delectably close-up camera angles) in the House chamber—the less likely it seems that harmony is a viable outcome.
Whether it’s the next move from the far-right flank of the GOP or the British empire striking back, Vanity Fair has a front-row seat. Read Molly Jong-Fast and Bess Levin on the foibles of Congress, and tune in to our politics podcast, Inside the Hive, to hear from the full range of our contributors; read Erin Vanderhoof and Katie Nicholl on the royals drama and listen to our terrific podcast about the Windsors, DYNASTY.
If the first week is any indication, 2023 will be filled with drama on both sides of the pond. At Vanity Fair, we’ll be following it all closely—and we invite you to follow along with us.
Best,
Radhika Jones
Editor in Chief, Vanity Fair
