The Press Box - ‘Jam Session’ — Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Engagement (Ep. 387)

Episode Date: November 30, 2017

The Ringer’s Juliet Litman and Amanda Dobbins celebrate Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement by detailing the public announcement (2:00), analyzing the royal couple’s first interview on BBC (10:15), and considering the implications for the relationship’s next steps (27:45). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Jam Session. I'm Juliet Litman. I'm Amanda Dobbins. Doesn't get bigger than a royal wedding announcement. It really, really does not. Two days ago on Monday morning, it was official. Prince Harry of House Windsor, first of his name. Not really. Not at all. Not even close. But I like the fanfare. Continue. It's engaged to American divorcee, as a Daily Mail would tell you, Megan Markle. That's so true. I just want to thank them. Monday morning after a holiday weekend, it was really kind of the ease back into the news cycle that I needed.

Well, thanks for bringing that out, the timing. So, Lainey Gossip had a post last week, I think it was on the 23rd saying the announcement was imminent, but the British press didn't know exactly when. But they were told something was coming. So it was in the works. Right. And then there was also the news that the British bookies had stopped taking bets. Yes. That was on Friday of Thanksgiving, which I was just kinding in the corner with my phone.

constantly doing the updates. So we knew it was coming and yet the official announcement was still such a joy. I was just floating all day. I was so happy. I love a royal wedding. You were still in New York. Yes, there was a very nice moment. You were three hours ahead of me, which UK to L.A. updates are tough. I'm just going to say. It's eight hours. One of my best friends have been living in London for the last two years. It's been tough. Yeah. So that was that was not ideal. I was behind, but then I woke up and got to join the festivities already on Slack. And you had a very nice good morning. Welcome to the celebration, which I appreciated. It was like a wave of good cheer rolling across the country.

Going back to work up to Thanksgiving sucks, except when you get to talk about Harry and Megan at your job. So that's what we're doing. It's great. Really exciting. Also on the timing right before Thanksgiving, season seven of suits wrapped. So that meant that Megan was done with her job. Yes. So she was in the clear.

We'll talk more about her future as an actress and the television show's suits. but let's just go over the day's events from Monday. So the announcement comes out via Twitter via the Kensington Palace Twitter feed. So it was the Kensington Palace Twitter feed, but it was from Clarence House. From Clarence House. Correct. Yes, got it. I just wanted to be sure.

Correct. Do you want to illuminate the distinction here? Well, sure. So Claren's House is where Prince Charles lives and that is apparently, I always thought announcements from Prince Charles came from the Palace of St. James, but that might be just that I've been reading too many, like, biographies recently. Clarence's house is where he lives now. It is where the queen mother used to live.

And also if you watched season one of the crown, it is the house that then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip renovate before they are forced to move to Buckingham Palace. Yes. And Prince Philip is pissed. Yes. He doesn't want to move out of there. It's also like right next door to Buckingham Palace, like right there. Yes. We'll come back to Notcott as well. Oh, I have a lot. I have a whole Notcott section on my notes.

Don't worry about it. Okay, good. Because where they live is important. Yes. So the announcement was at Kensington Palace on Clarence House Stationary, and the royal family is delighted to announce that Prince Harry was betrothed to Megan Markle. Yes. And so then there were also announcements from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who will always be Prince William and Kate Madelson to May. Sure. Catherine. I know. That's hard. Do you think Harry only calls her Catherine in public? Or is that like all the time? I was wondering a lot about this because it gives me strong Tom Cruise, Katie Holm vibes.

Remember when he was like, I call her Kate now? Yeah. No. Her name's Katie Holmes. I think it's just a formal thing. I think it's just like. I think so many rules you can break. But they all manage it.

I know. They are well trained. Well trained. Very well trained. And then they did their first photo call in the sunken garden, which is a favorite of Princess Diana's. Yes. It was a typically gray, almost raining day in the city of London. They were, the press was on like the near side of the pool.

And then Harry and Megan were on the far side. She was wearing very appropriate heels and very notably bare legs. Yes. A dress someone over her knees, but she wasn't wearing panty hose. And Kate, Catherine, has to wear pantyhows all the time. That's true. That was a big deal. That was a big deal.

I mean, let's do them in a way. Can we? Sure. Sorry. Okay. The first big deal, I really, really enjoyed the lake's distance. And it's not like a pond here. It's like a full size, a large swimming pool size.

Yeah. Not Olympic, obviously, but I would say kind of community pool size lake between them and the press. Like you can't get a close up without a long lens camera. And that is how I will greet all people from now on in all situations. It's like a body of water enough to fit like aqua aerobics between me and anyone. It was like a quarantine. almost. It was great. I loved it. It was unclear who was being quarantined in the press or Megan, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to go with press. Give them the benefit of the doubt. So the coat was great. She was wearing white. White coat. So, you know, the bridal stuff, you know how I feel about it. But it did, everything else was like gray and British and disgusting. And then she was just a ray of light. And he was wearing a blue suit. Yeah. The blue suit is the royal suit. Right. They never, I've never seen outside of their uniforms when they're wearing suits are always blue. Have you ever seen Harry and a gray suit?

suit, black suit. No, I think I've seen, I have seen William in some like terrible tweed, you know, but he's, again, he's British, so it kind of comes with a territory. I kind of love terrible tweet. Sure. I'm a sucker for terrible tweet. It evokes a place and time, which is kind of the whole point of them. So, yeah, but you're right.

For the most part, they do the Navy Blue. And then also, we didn't talk, did you talk about the ring? No. Okay. She was also wearing a ring, and including, besides the no panos. Yes, and she was wearing, do you want to describe it? Sure. Well, I actually don't know how to describe it.

It's a trilogy. Okay. See, there we go. That's why. Thank you. It's a trilogy ring. It has three diamonds, a center, large one that he's sourced from Botswana. Sure, which is where they spent like some formative time together.

Right. Whatever. Okay. And also where he does a lot of charity. That's kind of like his place. Like, I feel like each of these royals has like picks a country that like they care about. And his is Botswana. That seems right.

I'm trying to say it like a vaguely British. way. Okay. And then the other two were diamonds from his mother, Diana's jewelry collection. Which is nice. And he says in the sit-down interview that it's on a yellow-gold band, because that's her favorite. I was going to add that. I'm glad that you also noted it as well. I think it's kind of weird to note that because, like, that's kind of standard yellow gold. I feel like there's a lot of planning out there. I don't know. Sure. I mean, I don't have a lot of experience with this. Yeah, me neither. I'm not engaged. Yeah. I just got the one and it was handed to. me, which is nice, but it's fine. Yeah, I guess Blanham has become, like, a norm, but it shouldn't.

Like, a ring band should be gold. I think it looked very nice. It did. It was lovely. It's a pretty ring. I liked including the Diana Stones, because famously Kate, sorry, Catherine. She's going to be Kate here. Okay. Okay. That's just, that's the jam session house style. Okay. Kate has Princess Diana's gigantic blue ring. Yeah. Former engagement ring. I never loved that one for the record. I kind of like it. Really? It's snazy. Okay. Yeah. It's fine. I guess it's not the wedding ring, so that's fine. That's true. Yeah. And so in the photo, in the photo call, which lost in about 90 seconds, she literally, maybe two minutes. We could stretch it to three if you include the walking in and out. But she, she's grabbing his arm. Her arms on his, on his, and she's like holding her left hand so that the ring is visible, but there's not like a good clear shot until she puts her hand in position for the clear shot. It's clearly practice.

I mean, how many days? Do you rehearse more for that or your wedding? Like, what's a more important rehearsal? That's true. I like that she went with kind of the full down, kind of the subtler, as opposed to the... In a great manicure. Just a great manicure. It was like not a French manicure, but like the end.

It was like all kind of translucent, but then like the white at the end. Not flashy. Yeah, it looked really good. And that was all just a prelude to an incredible. 20-minute sit-down that they recorded with the BBC. An incredible, incredible document. Should we just get into it? Yeah, well, can I just say that I watched this 20 minutes?

And I knew that Megan Markle was, I suppose I haven't seen that much of her acting, but from you, I knew that she was a talented and important actress. I have read much of her very thoughtful and lovely writing. I knew that she was a- She had a good blog. I knew that she was a poised and experienced kind of public persona. I cannot believe how good she was at this. She's incredibly good at this to the point that I, it was like Harry wasn't even there.

Yeah. He is typically the most charming of that family. Yeah. So a good friend of mine who broke the news to me, Talia. Okay. She's living in London at the moment. So she had. See?

So she's ahead. Yes. She said she didn't like Megan based on this and felt that she talked too much. And I think there is like a weird paradigm here. Everyone just went to like, well, how is this compared to William and Kate's first interview? Right. And in that one, Kate seemed tentative. She spoke much less.

And it's just sort of not really fair. Like she was, first of all, Megan's 36, Kate's 30. Right. Percentage of life. That's a lot. Yes. And also Kate was never like a public person. And Megan does come into this in like a position of strength compared to other royal

spouses. She certainly had media training. She's used to people asking her questions. She's used to the cameras. She's not freaked out by the idea of being on stage. But, like, of all of, like, the negative things that people, like, have already glammed on. The British press has been so cruel about her being biracial and being divorced. And, like, all of these, like, very not controversial and sort of, like, straightforward things.

Yes. But I think that, like, there's already, like, a preconception of her, like, being, like, othered somehow. And now she's so much more vocal than, um, basically, I mean, like, we know way more about Megan's life than we do about, like, Prince Philip before he was married to the queen. That's true. And, like, it's just sort of, like, she's just really walking into kind of, um, an unprecedented situation. And I feel like the interview focused so much on, like, how are they going to survive this? Right. It was pretty wild. You did note that there's so much of it is about they're talking about the attention paid to their relationship

instead of their relationship, which, by the way, is a pretty savvy way of not talking about their relationship that much. Absolutely. So again, they're very good at this. Yeah. Well, let's listen to some clips. We'll break them down. Let's just start with their story, the proposal. Can we start with the proposal and the actual moment of your engagement? When did it happen? How did it happen? It happened a few weeks ago, earlier this month, here at our cottage. It's a standard typical night for us. It was a cozy night. What we're doing? Just roasting chicken and having... Trying to roast a chicken. And it was just an amazing surprise. It was so sweet and natural and very romantic. He got on one knee. Okay. All righty, there's so much that

Pack. Yeah, go ahead. Roasting a chicken, huh? Yeah. So are you familiar with engagement chicken? No, I'm not. Okay. It was the first thing that popped in my head.

It's unclear whether it started with Inan Garden or with Glamour magazine. But there is a recipe for something called Engagement Chicken that made the women's blog rounds for many years. And it was a recipe that if you, this is terrible. This is super retro. But if you make this man a roast chicken, then he will propose to you. And there are like lots of. success stories to go with it, which is horrible. Like, let's throw engagement chicken out the window.

But it was the first thing I thought of. Oh, interesting. Yeah. This is what happened. I was wondering where they get a chicken to roast. Like, who gets their, does the grocery shopping for them? Do they have chickens on the grounds? Like, I have a lot of questions about that.

I think I also thought about it, and I was pretty sure that they have to send a staff out with their grocery list. Like, they're not going to Sandsbury on their own. No, because they would be photographed. Yeah. That would be incredible, though. Yeah. I would like it if, I would like it if they did.

I feel, I think it was our friend Mallory Rubin, who was talking about like a cozy night at home as if she doesn't live there yet. They've only been dating for so long, but I think it's home because they were not allowed to go anywhere else for a year and a half. Do you want to tell us about not caught now? Sure. I'd love to. So it is on the grounds of Kensington Palace. The full name is Nottingham Cottage. Yes. And that's the cottage they're referring to. Yes. So Kensington Palace is, well, it's a palace and it is divided into many different apartments that house many different royals. It was once by one king famously called a, I think it's an auntiep, like your aunts and uncles. And so it's multi-generational

Princess Margaret lived there for a long time. There are kind of like a lot of old cousins of the current queen who live there. Kate and William have always lived there. And Princess Diana lived there for a long time. And so Nottingham Cottage is kind of a freestanding cottage on the And it's 1,200 square feet. Yes. Also, it only has one bathroom. Does that count to you as a cottage, 1,200 square feet? Yeah.

I think so, too, but I just curious. I mean, what's your other, what other nomenclatures in the running? House or, I don't know, bungalow. Okay, yeah. 1,200 feet. It's a lot, actually. I mean, it's small for Harry and Megs. Sure, because they're royal.

Yes. But, like, I'd be happy to buy a 1,200 square foot house in the middle of London. Sure, that's a great point. One bathroom is tough, though. Yes, that is true. But how great for their relationship. I do just kind of feel like if you are going to have a royal title, it should come with two bathrooms, like one bathroom each. I don't know.

What else is it good for at this point? What? The title? Yeah. Besides, like, if you have to share a bathroom with someone else, what is the honest-to-good point? I don't know. And it's good. Do you mention that because they're planning to live there after they get married?

They're not planning to move anytime soon. I suspect that they will soon get what's called a country retreat. Sure. Yeah. Like their own Valmoral. Yes. Yeah. Like probably somewhere in Wales.

Yeah. That's where William Kake go. They go to Wales. So. Yeah. Well, they also have a place on. And I think that's on the Sandringham estate. Oh, okay.

Which is in Norfolk and I don't know where Norfolk is. But anyway. Or if I said it correctly. They seem like city people to me, though. Like, will they retire to the countryside? like the queen does often? They were living in the country until last year or when they were basically ordered back

to do their jobs full time. So I think they very much liked living. All of them like living in the country because they can have... They can move around. Yeah. A friend of mine was in Scotland over the summer and she just heard that like when the queen's around,

this is the church she goes to in Balmoral and so she just went to church with the queen and she said it was like amazing. And that when they were saying God save the queen, everyone sang a little bit louder. But like yeah, if you see them in the countryside, you can just go. So I suspect that this will be their home base for working and then they'll kind of like be around with horses and stuff.

Yeah, at least for now. Yeah. So they started the interview with like this very like the way you have to. Like tell us about the proposal. Right. In fact, they were asked at the photo call and he was like, that will come later. Yes. And so this all was like pretty staged.

And then they launch into like pretty quickly about like two minutes later sort of how they perceive each other. And let's roll this clip at what she says about what she knew about Prince Harry. For the friend who introduced you, was she. trying to set you up. Yes, it was definitely a set up. It was a blind date. And it's so interesting because we talk about it now and even then, you know,

because I'm from the States, you don't grow up with the same understanding of the royal family. And so while I now understand very clearly, there's a global interest there, I didn't know much about him. And so the only thing that I had asked her when she said she wanted to set

us up was, I had one question. I said, well, is he nice? Because if he wasn't kind, And it just didn't seem like it would make sense. And so we went and had a met for a drink. And then I think very quickly into that, we said, what are we doing tomorrow? We should meet again. Okay. Is he nice?

I mean, like, that's the most generic thing you could share. It's great media training. Yeah. I see what they're doing here, which is just putting forward the blandest, most distant answers that they possibly can. And they're doing it really well. I, so before he got married to Kate, I think Prince Harry was in some ways more famous than Prince William because he was like the bad boy and he had scandals and he had girlfriends and he partied and I just don't believe that she didn't know anything about him. It's like so bizarre. I think, I mean, I completely agree with you though. I'm obviously a crazy person who knows way too much about them. So I can't like speak to this in an objective way. I guess you could just know who he is. They do a thing later on in the interview where the interviewer, Prince Harry, you know, everyone knows so much about you and he corrects or thinks they know.

Yes. Actually, let's play that. Okay. And was that quite refreshing for you in the way that you've been brought up, you know, with a lot of people knowing a lot about you? Was it refreshing? Well, thinking they know. Exactly.

That clip is useful in the same context that they are really trying to distance themselves from all tabloid, all gossip, everything that has clearly rattled them, understandably. And also from, it's a kind of attention that, I don't think anyone, but especially the royal family, has never really wanted. Can you think of another time when a royal has talked about the press coverage, so plainly like this? Yes, actually. And it was in the documentaries about Princess Diana. Oh, cool.

And it was William and Harry. And with good reason, because their mother died in a press chase. Yes. So they are very clearly affected by that. And it is the most animated that you see either of them and the most emotional. And even a little bit angry when they are talking about the effect that the press had on their mother's lives. And it's really the only time that William ever shows any life behind the eyes, basically. He's so good at it. He's really good at it. He's likable and charming while being very bland.

Yes. And I think Harry's good at it too, but he definitely has more flavor to him. He's charming. Yeah. And there's one more press club that we should talk about. There's a misconception that because I have worked in the entertainment industry, that this would be something I would be familiar with. with. But even though I've been on my show for, I guess, six years at that point. And working

before that, I've never been part of tabloid culture. I've never been in pop culture to that degree and lived relatively quiet life, even though I focused so much on my job. And so that was a really stark difference out of the gate. And I think we were just hit so hard at the beginning with a lot of mistruths that I made the choice to not read anything. That's like a pretty big deal, like not to read anything. I wonder if that's even true. I doubt it's true. But I think what they're trying to do, and I both understand it and also think it's very savvy,

is that they don't want to be on this podcast, basically. They don't want to be treated like a gossip story, and they have no choice over it. Sorry, people. Yeah, and they are, and I think it's so interesting there's a, at some point Prince Harry talks about, she would be ready for the job aspect of it. and there is a job that's built into this, which is really weird, and we should talk more about it. But they're clearly trying to position back into what the idea of how royalty wants to present itself and the kind of public relations that they want after not having a lot of control over it.

Sure. Yeah, yeah. But it is, it's pretty intense. Totally. I think because she's so good at this and also they've, like, prepared their answers, it makes them seem like less in love than they may be just because it's, like, very prepared. and they're so hyper aware of like the meta-narrative and like, is she going to be good at this job and whatnot?

He even says it. He says like that her, that he knows she'll be good at that and it's going to be a relief for him. I know the fact that she'll be really unbelievably good at the job part of it as well is obviously a huge relief to me because she'll be able to deal with everything else that comes with it. That's like crazy. And she is, she says that she's not going to act anymore.

Like she's just going to be the Duchess of wherever. Yeah, I don't think that they would be getting married if she were still like, I'm going to be on suits or I'm going to be pursuing an acting career. I think that being willing to do the work is necessary. Yeah. Which is very weird. Totally. Like, if you're her friend, are you supportive of this? I guess so.

If she's happy. I mean, here's the thing. It's weird and it's not because you decide to be with someone and you do what you have to do to make it work. Well, and you're also like, you know, marriage is not just like a romance. Sure. It's a partnership and you're making some of it. Yeah, so everyone is kind of doing this in one way or the other, but I think for it to be so plainly spoken that you are taking on both a husband and a job simultaneously is strange,

and I suppose a lot to take on. That said, I think she was already, she was very active in charity work on her own. If she weren't interested in that, she would not be marrying him also. Yeah. So in some ways, it is just an aligning of paths. Sure. Yeah, I don't know. And I'm going to miss her from acting, though. Juliet, I would like to ask you about suits and the future of suits and all of your feelings about it. But first, a word from our sponsors. First, we'd like to thank Hotel Tonight. Hotel Tonight is an awesome app for finding and booking great deals at great hotels.

The holidays are coming up, and you know what that means? Lots of family time. But with Hotel Tonight, you can have the best of both worlds. Visit your family and stay in a sweet hotel. No crashing on an air mattress in your old bedroom that your parents turned into a gym. It's harsh. You don't even have to wait until your family starts to drive you crazy. You can actually book a room up to seven days in advance everywhere

and up to 100 days in advance in certain major cities. It's actually really far in advance. That means that you can lock down your holiday plans before you head home. Or you can wait until the last minute, if that's more your speed, and make a break for it when Uncle Tony starts talking politics. Whether you need a room for tonight, the holidays, or beyond, you definitely want to download the Hotel Tonight app, because while home is where the heart is, hotel is where the room service is.

So this year, skip to pull out couch and get a room with hotel tonight. Let's talk about credible.com. Student loans can completely wipe you out if you don't get a handle on them. So how do you do that? You go to credible.com. It's an online marketplace for student loan refinancing and using their simple platform, it takes less than two minutes to find out if you're overpaying on your student loans. Plus, you could save thousands by refinancing.

All you have to do is visit credible.com slash, jam, answer a few quick questions, and right away, you'll get real rates, not range of rates, for multiple lenders. Credible.com is completely free to use, and checking your rates will not affect your credit score so you really have nothing to lose. The average user who refinances through credible.com saves almost $19,000 over the life of their loan. So think about what you could do with $19,000. Quite a bit. You could use hotel tonight. So for a limited time, our listeners will get a $200 welcome bonus when refinancing through credible.com slash jam. Pay off your student loans faster or lower your monthly payment, whatever works for you.

Go to credible.com slash jam. Juliet, please speak for Soots Nation. I would love to. Yeah, tell us how you're feeling. You know, I'm happy it was that we weren't blindsided. Okay. Newt was coming. Okay.

The show will be fine. The show is Harvey, so it'll be totally fine. But it is really weird. Like, suits is down, like one of the most important shows ever. It's like, where did that woman come from? Oh, from suits. Yeah. Like, okay, cool.

It is really weird that we will just be parsing. seven seasons of the USA show's suits for the rest of our lives in order to like know things about. And it's very weird. Like every birthday, there will be some internet headline that is like 10 things to buy, you know, Princess Megan for her birthday based on what Rachel wore on suits. I don't know. It's weird. It's very weird to have all this content out there that will be mined forever.

It really is so unexpected. One thing I'm curious about, why are they so protective of the identity of the person who introduced them? Because at the beginning of the interview, they're like, let's protect the identity. They're like mentioned that around to introduce them. They don't want to say who that is. And I don't really know why. I think they want to be left alone. They want to be extremely left alone.

And that's not up to them. And it's that I feel bad for them, except not really because I'm having a great time. But they know that a million people will be knocking on that person's door, calling, asking for more information about that. them so they'd rather not. They're not giving out free tips. You've got to work for it. We can figure out who it is. I'm sure that you 20 minutes on Instagram could figure out.

I think I probably could too. I think I've isolated the few days in which they've met too. Okay, right. Because we were watching this video earlier today where, like, honestly, right before they meet, you can tell they haven't met yet because she's so flip. And it's from July 2016. She's being asked about Britishism to help promote the suits in the UK. And it's like, what is the word for chips in England or whatever?

And then it's like, what's the national animal of whales, of Scotland? Right. And she's like, what are these stupid questions? And she's like, I don't know this. How could I know this? And it's very, like, dismissive of this trivia. Right. And she certainly wouldn't do that now.

No. It's really good. Yeah. What are some things that we need to know about the royal people to really understand this relationship? Like, what are some things that have come up that we need to go over? Thank you so much for asking. You know, this means a lot to me.

You're so welcome. Well, so there are two things. that people have been talking a lot about. One is that, and you mentioned this, and people have been very snotty about the idea that she's a divorcee. Yes. And here's why people are being snoddy about this. They're not right.

Everyone's an asshole. Sure. But again, if you watch The Crown, you're familiar with some of this stuff. Yeah, I was about to say, this is, so this is pretty interesting. And this is kind of, I mean, it's not a milestone, but it's not nothing. It makes you feel really bad for Princess Margaret, was the first thing I thought of. So essentially, 100 years ago, almost, right before they. Second World War, the then King of England, King Edward the something. I can, seventh, eighth,

I never remember. I think it was sixth. Okay. That sounds right too. And he was just played by Guy Pearson, the King's speech, and that's all I know. So he abdicated the throne in order to marry an American divorce say because Wallace Simpson, because essentially you couldn't be the head of the church and also marry a divorce person. It was Edward the 8th. You're correct. Okay. You know. Carry on. So he quit being king. He was like, I don't want to be king because I'd rather marry a divorce person. and it kind of tore the whole royal family apart. And the reason that the current queen and all of these people are royal are going to be on the throne is because he just bounced. So it's a pretty big deal.

And then in the crown, as you know, Princess Margaret, the sister was not allowed to marry her chosen partner. Yeah. Because he was also a divorced man. And then sad things happen. Although, season two coming up soon, Matthew Good is going to play the man that she actually does marry. So it's, you know, it works out. All worth it. So this was a very big deal for a long time on the royal family.

And basically every scandal until Princess Diana was about someone being in love with a divorce person and not being able to marry them. Which is insane. And now things times have changed. Charles got divorced. Yes. But also the thing was he was basically not allowed to marry Camilla, who he is not married to. Until Diana died, right? Well, no, he was in love with her even before.

He was in love with her in the 70s, but she was never even a candidate because she was already married. And even if she got divorced, she wouldn't be able to marry him. Also, he had to marry a virgin, which, like, that's a different conversation. Ridiculous. When did they get married? Charles and Camilla. Yeah. I believe it was 2005.

Yeah, so they waited until after Diana died. Like. Yeah. I think they had to wait a while. My understanding, based on the Tina Brown book that I've read too many times, is that Camilla was about to be brought in the fold. And then Diana died, and so they had to wait. Yeah. It's fascinating. So, I mean, if your father married a divorce woman. Right. And he's going to be the king. Then it's fine. But I think that's why people are making a big deal out of it because for such a long time, it was kind of the only. So taboo. Yeah. I'm not looking forward to Charles being king. I just want you to know. I think it's pretty short, don't you? Yes, probably. That's just my instinct at this point. It's going to be like 10 years. Our goal should be to outlast it. That's all. You're right. There we go. We'll dream big. Okay.

What are some other of the intricacies that everyone's making a big deal about? Well, everyone thinks it's weird that she's going to be baptized and confirmed, which is definitely unusual. So she's joining the Church of England. Yeah, although I think technically she was part of it. She's a Protestant. It's just that she hadn't gone through whatever. She did attend Catholic school. Yes, that's true.

Here in L.A., I believe. Yes. But so she has to do all that rigomerole, I guess, because they run the Church of England technically. Yeah. Another note that's been poignant or pointed, the royal family will be paying for the wedding. Yes. Why is it necessary to state that? I don't know, I guess. I don't know whether it's to get out ahead of snarky speculation about who will be doing it. Because traditionally the women's family plays for it, though I don't really think that's even in effect anymore. I don't know, though. Britain is weird. Everyone gets married in the country at like 24. So it's maybe that or it maybe has something to do with, there is a lot of scandal always around how the royal family gets its money, but especially right now because they were part of the. Paradise papers.

Yeah. They are like part of their investments were in an offshore haven or something, you know, whatever. So I think it's almost an attempt to be transparent in order to not have people sniping about. I don't know, but that's a theory. Interesting. Okay. My next question for you. Yes.

Do you think she'll be allowed to wear Alexander McQueen? Or Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. That's what Kate wore. I think she would be allowed to, but I don't think she would want to. Yeah. Will she have to have covered shoulders? Probably. Okay.

Just wondering what your rules do and don't apply to her. I mean, I think she can do whatever she wants. You know what's interesting? So they're getting married at St. George's Chapel on Windsor. So there's not going to be the balcony. Right. They're not going to do the bucking. I mean, maybe they will, but they'll be in a separate location.

Right. So the Buckingham Palace, like, kiss on the balcony thing probably won't happen. I'm so fucking excited. What, like, what time will you wake up to start watching the proceedings? Well, so eight hours. Yes. I was in San Francisco for Prince William's wedding. Okay, so what time did it happen?

I think I got up at 2.30 and I watched like 2.30 to 5, then went back to sleep for a little bit. And you want to know what? Yeah. I had the time of my life. It's like two and a half, the best hours I've ever had. I was in New York and I woke up by five and possibly before five. But then it was kind of like they say the Super Bowl starts at four and it doesn't start till six. I was like I could have had a couple hours sleep here before she came down the mall.

Oh, my God. It was so much fun. I'll probably just stay up. Oh, interesting. I'll nap beforehand. Yeah. Try to get on London time, you know. I'm just so excited.

I think it's going to be great. I'm happy for them. Oh, me too. I'm sorry for the suits fans of the world. It's okay. You know, we don't really need Mike and Rachel. Like, I'm honestly okay with it. One thing I doesn't...

That's an evolving thought for you and I'm proud of you. Yeah, I've been thinking about it. And I'm like, I'm ready for the Harvey and Donna show. That's totally fine. Who's Donna? Sarah Rafferty, the Redhead. Whatever. Just watch the show, Amanda.

That's really good. I promise. It's very entertaining. Another thing I've just been thinking about, though, is like, will they play suits in the UK? Like, will that continue to be on? Like, is that even a weird question? I think they will. Her Instagram is still up as of yesterday.

I'm disappointed that more suits people haven't weighed in publicly. Like I was really checking a lot. And I was like waiting for, you know, her on-screen fiancé to say something. Didn't he eventually? He made a joke about her going out to get milk or something? Yeah, they eventually did. But it was just I wanted it more quickly. Okay.

I'm also wondering, did Harry ever go to the set? No, but in the interview, he did talk pretty knowledgeably about how set, like, life works. Yes, he did. He's definitely been in Toronto and I like it. It's part of the Commonwealth. And that was kind of one of the more touching moments when he was like, you know, then she lands, it goes straight to said. And then something as, you know, he knew the intricacies of how it worked. A couple of final questions for you. Are you disturbed by the fact that he has not met her father? Sure. He's talked to her on. He did say he's talked to him on the phone and Harry seems that the kind of guy who would like ask for the blessing or whatever. Fuck that.

interview, they describe her meetings with Prince Charles as a couple of T's. So I don't really think they have a huge intimate, hugely intimate relationship either. She also hasn't met the queen. She was like, yes, it was amazing. Yes. Which I think you just have to say. Does anyone say anything negative about the queen, whoever has to interact with the queen? No.

No. No, you would never do that. If you do, there's like a big scandal and you get your titles taken away. Yeah. That happened once, anyway. How long do you think that they will stay married? Okay. Um, do I have to give my honest answer?

answer. Okay. I'm giving it seven to ten years. Okay. Here's why. I'm excited about this. She is great. This is what we need. Can't wait. I just also, she is 36 years old, has lived her own independent life, is an accomplished and thoughtful person. And I can't imagine what it must be like to be slurped into this weird institution. In a foreign country, yeah, you have to give up or traditionally. And maybe this will change. Maybe they will, the whole monarchy system will completely adapt. But based on past evidence, you just have to become a cog in the machine and lose a lot of individuality, which is basically like a bad word, especially on season one of the crown. And I think she'll get tired of it.

I mean, I certainly would. Maybe I'm just projecting. Sure. I don't know. It seems like a lot. And it seems like it would be restrictive. Yeah. I would give them five to seven years.

Okay. The only thing is that would change my calculation is when she gets pregnant and has their first child. Right. Like, I bet that would be fairly soon. Yes. And that could change things. I don't know. It would be nice if it worked out.

I would love her to work out. I don't mean to be. They do seem to like each other. Yeah, I thought that they, they were a lot more physically close together during the interview than anyone else. And she was holding his hand the whole time. I thought that was nice. There seems to be chemistry. They seemed to be in love.

Did you watch the outtakes? I did. That was very charming. Yes, it was. She seems fun. She seems like a good time. And maybe she will just make everything else fun in the whole royal world. That would be great.

That's what I hope happens. If you just listen to this one clip, you're going to think they're going to be together forever. So I would like to play it and just go out of that note because I would like them to be together forever. I endorse this. I wish them the best. Me too. You know, at the end of the day, she chooses me and I choose her. And therefore, you know, whatever we have to tackle together or individually will always be us together as a team.

Okay. Thank you for listening to our Royal Wedding, Jam Session, Extravaganza. I can't wait until May. There will be updates. We will be following this. I mean, maybe we'll watch live together. Let's go to England. Oh, my God, I'd love to. A jam session on location. We'll see you there. Thanks for listening. Goodbye.