Names and faces
■ Congratulations are in order for Taylor Swift and her loyal fans, known as Swifties. The pop star officially has more No. 1 albums than any woman in history. “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)”, released this month, is the third in her endeavor to re-record her first six albums, instigated by music manager Scooter Braun’s sale of her early catalog. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming her 12th album to reach the top spot. Barbra Streisand had held the record with 11 No. 1 albums. Swift ties Drake’s record of 12 No. 1 records and sits just behind Jay-Z, who has 14 to his name, and the Beatles, who have 19. Swift also has the year’s biggest album release to date, with 716,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate, including 506,600 in traditional album sales.
■ The amount of public funding for King Charles III and the royal family’s official duties has been recalculated for next year because of an unexpected profit boost from offshore wind farms on the monarch’s Crown Estate, the U.K. Treasury said Thursday. Treasury officials say they will halve the proportion of the estate’s profits paid to the royals from 25% in recent years to 12%. Charles and the royal family receive an annual Sovereign Grant from the Treasury that is based on income from the crown estate, a vast collection of land and property across the U.K. The estate is run independently and has assets worth about $20 billion, including some of London’s most expensive properties. The crown estate also manages coastlines and the seabed around the country, and six new offshore wind farm lease deals secured this year have generated a windfall estimated to be worth $1.3 billion a year. Charles has asked for those profits to be used for the “wider public good.” He’s known for championing green energy, but he has also spoken about the cost-of-living crisis and the pressures faced by millions of his subjects in the face of criticism that the royals are out of touch with British society.