Spaced Out

Blue Origins New Shepard rocket launched on Monday with its all-female crew, including Santa Barbara singer Katy Perry, CBS News anchor Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, fiancée of Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos.

It soared through the Texas sky with the tony triumvirate and three other crew members enjoying a few minutes in space before returning to Earth after a historic 11-minute space flight.

The celebrity trio flew about 62 miles above our planet, just above the Kármán line designating outer space – where they caught sight of the void of space, the moon and the blue planet.

Given the short duration of the event, the amazons only got to experience about four minutes of weightlessness.

The trip ended with a soft parachute landing back in the Texas desert with Katy and King kissing the earth when they landed on terra firma.

The former Dos Pueblos High student revealed she sang Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World” during the trip rather than one of her own compositions and will be writing a new song reflecting on her out-of-this-world experience.

Montecito resident Oprah Winfrey was present at the launch and landing.

Back Home

Prince Harry winged back to London last week to appear at the U.K.’s Court of Appeals claiming he has been “singled out” for “unjustified, inferior treatment” since his leaving.

The Duke of Sussex and wife Meghan Markle “felt forced to step back” from frontline royal duties in 2020 as they considered they were not being protected by the institution,” his barrister Shaheed Fatima claimed.

He flew 5,000 miles to the Royal Courts of Justice to support his own two-day appeal against a ruling over the right of he and his family to have taxpayer funded bodyguards while visiting the U.K.

But hitting back, the Home Office’s barrister said Harry’s appeals involved “a criminal failure to see the wood from the trees.”

After the hearing, Harry made a secret visit to the Ukraine to visit the Superhumans Center, an orthopedic clinic in Lviv treating and rehabilitating injured military personnel and civilians…

Unexpected Orders

Sweet things to come for those who wait… Fans of Meghan Markle’s new culinary line have been left disappointed after placing orders for her new $28 offering of honey – only to be told they won’t be receiving the products.

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, celebrated the launch of her lifestyle brand As Ever by releasing a handful of products on its website.

The Riven Rock resident included a limited edition $28 Wildflower Honey with Honeycomb, $12 herbal tea (hibiscus, peppermint and lemon ginger), a $14 crepe mix and shortbread cookies.

But reportedly less than five minutes after the launch, the limited-edition honey had sold out. Meghan sent out emails apologizing for the short supply, saying customers would get full refunds as well as another complimentary As Ever product of their choosing, adding that each person would also receive a free upcoming limited-edition product in the future for the inconvenience.

“The excitement created a volume of traffic on the site that even we couldn’t have anticipated, with everything selling out in an hour,” Meghan’s email explained.

Extraordinary volumes…

A Learning Process

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has opened up about her “rough and rocky” time becoming a stepmother.

The Oscar winner, 52, admits it took years to get to know TV producer husband Brad Falchuk’s children – Isabella, 20, and Brody, 18 – and that she now deeply regrets waiting so long before moving in with him after they got married.

“In an ideal world, the relationship you have works out and you never have to experience divorce or blending families or anything like that. But a lot of times, that’s not the case.”

Paltrow has two children, Apple, 20, and Moses, 19, from her previous marriage to Coldplay rocker Chris Martin, while Falchuk shares his children with film producer Suzanne Bukinik.

“Step-parenting is a pretty tricky arena. It requires a great deal of accountability, vulnerability, understanding your triggers – and nothing quite seems to trigger somebody, especially women, like stepchildren,” she explained on her Goop podcast.

“I think women come in wanting harmony and good relations, and it’s all like The Brady Bunch and it bodes really well. But the truth is the children act out against the stepmother because they don’t want to push the dad away.”

Sightings

Gwyneth Paltrow and Katy Perry at the Breakthrough Prize for Scientists gala in Santa Monica… Kevin Costner noshing at Tre Lune… Meghan Markle taking in Gypsy on Broadway.

Pip! Pip!