Intro: Minutes 0 to 4:30
We had a minor earthquake last week that I thought was a groundhog who comes on my porch. We remember the big 2011 earthquake that hit our area of Virginia. I got a covid test because I’ve been feeling run down with a sore throat. It was negative thankfully. Here are links to the tweets I mentioned. (Update: Since we recorded the podcast, the urgent care facility called to say I tested positive for strep c, which they explained is a less severe form of strep.) You can listen below or on YouTube through the links.
Finding Freedom: Minutes 4:30 to 27:45
Finding Freedom really delivers and explains the Sussexes’ point of view on so many tabloid stories we’ve covered. It’s very matter-of-fact and sets the record straight. It’s interesting what goes unsaid.
The narrative in the British press around Harry and Meghan’s relationship has been that Meghan is driving it and controlling Harry. Finding Freedom makes it clear that he pursued her and would do anything for her. Harry was the one who wanted a small family home with less staff in Windsor. He was the one who wanted to take Meghan and Archie away from London.
Chandra says Meghan is the compromiser and Harry is the one who cuts ties and decided to leave the royal family.
Minute 9:00: The tiara story was a huge segment in the book. Angela Kelly decided to ignore Meghan’s calls asking for access to the tiara. We also learned that Meghan picked out her tiara from a selection The Queen provided her. The tabloid stories in the fall of 2018 claimed that Meghan demanded a tiara, which never happened. Meghan and her wedding dress designer, Clare Waight Keller, talked about how they were interested in a particular emerald tiara, but they waited to see what was on offer.
Minute 10:45: Meghan and Harry’s romance first got leaked to the press from Prince Andrew’s staff. Harry was close with Eugenie and she knew about Meghan. It’s possible the staff just overheard something.
Minute 12:00: We heard that Meghan announced her pregnancy at Eugenie’s wedding. We think Eugenie had every right to be mad and Meghan had every right to tell people because she was excited.
Minute 13:30: We heard that Meghan was “well prepared and respectful” for her first outing with The Queen. I think it’s a little scandalous that The Queen told Meghan to exit their car first when Meghan asked, because her majesty must have known the protocol. Chandra notes that The Queen was trying to embrace Meghan and give her a stamp of approval. I play a segment from Zoom where Rhiannon talks about the work Meghan did to prepare for being in the royal family and how much stress it must have been for her. Meghan has that personality where she thinks if she prepares enough everything will be ok.
Minute 17:00: Meghan was set to attend Pippa Middleton’s wedding, but The Sun ran a cover story pitting Meghan against Pippa. Meghan decided at the last minute to skip the church part of the wedding so she wouldn’t be photographed. Plus the Middletons were worried that Meghan would overshadow Pippa on her wedding day.
Minute 18:30: Katie Nicholl, Kate’s biographer, ran a piece in Vanity Fair with the Cambridge’s take. Kate and William are said to “come under fire more than other senior royals.” We note that most of that is innuendo though. The book isn’t as bad as we thought it would be and doesn’t go after the royals like we assumed it would. I play a segment from Zoom where Courtney, Sara and Ameerah talk about how the book is nicer than they thought it would be. Chandra points out that the Sussexes want to stay on The Queen and Prince Charles’ good sides.
Chandra says Omid Scobie might be following Andrew Morton’s model of writing royal biographies. She thinks a follow up book will probably come out next year.
Minute 24:30: We heard that Harry and Meghan purchased an estate in Montecito. Chandra hasn’t looked at the photos and feels like it’s an invasion of their privacy. I think it’s a great place for them to be secure. Chandra worries about their neighbors being annoyed if paparazzi come to that small town. We think Meghan will fit in well there.
Minute 27:45: This week we heard that Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris as his running mate. It says great things about Biden that he picked someone who challenged him in the primaries. We talk about the idiotic and racist argument that Kamala isn’t an American citizen because her parents are immigrants. I play a segment from Zoom where Angelina, Rhiannon and Ameerah say how excited they are for Kamala. Chandra was hoping to vote for Kamala in the primaries but she dropped out. The mainstream news ignored Kamala’s candidacy.
User Feedback: Minutes 32:00 to 32:30
Thanks wildwaffles and Silvercharm for your nice comments!
Comments of the Week: Minutes 32:30 to 37
Chandra’s comment of the week is from Dazed and Confused on the post about Donald Trump saying the Spanish Flu ended WWII.
My comment of the week is from Chelly on the post about Brian Austin Green shading Megan Fox for dating Machine Gun Kelly.
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The book was WAY nicer than I expected. I felt like there was a lot of innuendo about the Cambridges (Kate isn’t a bitch, she’s “guarded,” etc) but nothing too bad, but the last two chapters were a little bit blunter regarding those two, especially the commonwealth service.
I was actually disappointed they did not mention the budget plane stunt. I feel like that was probably such a “moment” for Harry, he’s in the midst of all this media fire for taking private planes, and Will and Kate stage that – I can see that being the final straw for Harry and the moment that made him say, “you’re not only not supporting me, you’re actively working against me, and I don’t need that in my life.”
The Royal reporter are deliberately ignoring the fact that Harry has been talking about his wish to leave the royal life for the past 15 years. He has said it CONSTANTLY. And has said how much he despises them.
It’s amazing how much they deluded themselves into thinking they had a good relationship with him just because he was gentleman enough to be polite when interacting with them. They are legit acting like they got dumped by a boyfriend. Or they got served divorce papers. Lamenting how Harry has “changed” and blaming Meghan.
Meghan had nothing to do with this. Her only crime was not needing them and supporting Harry’s decision. For loving Harry the man and not his title. And for still marrying him despite all of the shit they put her through when other women ran away. No wonder Harry is ride or die when it comes to her.
I’ve just finished listening to Omid Scobie read the book and I agree with a poster above who talked about Harry telegraphing this move for about two decades!
What I liked about the book was it put all that into perspective. For the last couple of years there’s been a fair amount of focus on Kate and Meghan’s interaction but the book offered a broader perspective to show that Harry had really been travelling in this direction for many many years and it was meeting Megan and seeing the press persecute her and hound her in the way they had his mother that really cemented his desires to leave his family.
I thought it was amazing how a few times Kate was mentioned in the book – although the times that she was mentioned you could even here in Omid Scobies voice how pointedly he described her as being distant and how ‘confused’ Meghan was by Kate not wanting to get to know her. You could really read between the lines in the way that he read those sections aloud.
I was also surprise that I came away from the book with more of an understanding of how Charles and William might feel about what Harry did. I did have some sympathy for them as well – they are caught up in this Royal machine too. I feel like it would be so difficult to have functional family relationships when you have PR people running to the press to present your side of an argument every time.
Imagine if that was happening in our families, that every time I had an argument with my sister we had our PR people putting stories in newspapers and magazines about it?! It’s just crazy.
Early on, the book talks about Thomas Markle’s support of Meghan. The story about buying her dolls to match her family was very touching. It broke my heart listening to that knowing how horrible Thomas would behave later. It’s also sad listening to how William was initially welcoming of Meghan when we know what we know now. The book has been great and Omid Scobie is a wonderful narrator.
Hey ladies, I’m pretty sure MGK is from the Cleve!! Cleveland, Ohio, that is. He became a thing after I moved from there, but I don’t think they are necessarily eager to claim him
I did google it afterwards but we meant that Florida dirtbag is more of a vibe that he embodies.
oh, for sure!!!
Thank you for this podcast. Thanks.
We feel sorry for megan fox, her self esteem issues, BAG being a controlling husband and grooming her when she was so young-and her thumbs! Lol