Monday Missive: March 8
What a day! We’re recovering from all of the build-up and excitement of the Harry and Meghan interview last night. Usually, those kind of celebrity interviews are overhyped, but this one really delivered on the drama. Dinah’s going to share her expert take, but in my (Eloise’s) non-expert opinion, Harry and Meghan seemed very in sync as a couple and happy to be in this new phase of life with Oprah and their dogs and rescue chickens in California. It seemed like their exit really came down to their feeling a lack of support with fighting the press and a general feeling of being trapped. I could totally see that it would be claustrophobic to be stuck in the palace and not able to do what you want and that the entire royal family is definitely hemmed in by having to worry about the press coverage all the time. It reminded me so much of The Royal We-such a good book!
The complaining about having their security detail taken away seemed kind of whiny to me-I mean you moved to Canada and you’re mad that the tax payers aren’t going to pay for your security? I doubt that anyone else in the royal family has moved to another country and expected to maintain a full security detail. Also, I was very surprised (and also fascinated) that Meghan would get into specifics about her relationship with Kate and that Harry would say that Charles doesn’t take his calls. I could listen to the minute details of that kind of stuff all day.
To me, the most shocking part of the interview was when Meghan said that Archie was denied the title of being a prince, and that it wasn’t their choice and that it was likely motivated by race. That’s very upsetting and had me all worked up on Archie’s behalf-who wouldn’t want to get their child out of a situation like that? But then I read an article today in People that, according to normal royal protocol, as a great grandchild of the monarch, only the family of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales receives prince and princess titles (William’s children), and that Archie would become a prince once Charles was the king and Archie was the grandson of the monarch. So then that made me feel like she sort of misrepresented the whole thing and that it wasn’t a huge break with normal royal protocol. Obviously, anything that’s racially motivated is super wrong and upsetting, but I honestly can’t tell what’s going on here! Let’s see what Dinah has to say about this whole thing…
Dinah here! I said a lot on Instagram stories this morning, but Eloise is right that there were some major misrepresentations in that interview. First, the issue around the titles is definitely something set in law by the Letters Patent, and it would require Parliamentary approval to change that, so it’s beyond the control of just the monarchy. It’s the same with the security they were talking about, which is provided by the Metropolitan Police and funded by the taxpayers. Only the working royals have that kind of protection, and when they stepped down as working royals, that was part of what they gave up. I honestly think part of why they proposed the “half in, half out” model was to keep that security, and who can blame them, it’s expensive! That said, they can’t really blame the family for not asking the public to fund sending British police officers halfway around the world to protect them, or blame it on racism.
One of the things that has been consistent between both the palace staff that spoke against them last week and the royal reporters, is that the palace team spent a TON of time defending Meghan, killing untrue articles and trying to minimize the articles that were true to protect her. It’s been interesting to see some of those reporters speak out on Twitter, like in this tweet from Emily Andrews. I also don’t understand her whole “I had absolutely no idea what my daily life would be line” - did she have no idea what Harry did all day? Did he not tell her and did she not ask? It’s almost as implausible to me as Meghan not googling Harry before or knowing anything about the royals. First of all, I know that isn’t true from someone I know who grew up with her, also, what woman wouldn’t do that in this day and age? I google everyone I date and I’m certainly not dating world famous men!
I think the pressure of being a royal is insane, and I don’t doubt that it impacted her mental health. I can understand why the royals wouldn’t want her to go away for treatment in case that got out and she was hounded even more, but I don’t understand why they wouldn’t get her treatment when Harry has been in therapy and the whole younger generation is so supportive of mental health. That seemed very strange to me.
There is so much to unpack here and many accusations that were made last night, that we may never know the truth of. I think Meghan and Harry have won in the court of public opinion in the US, and that they have effectively torched the monarchy, and even more sadly, his family.
What We’re Reading and Watching
I just finished reading If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha, which is about four young Korean women living the same building in Seoul. Kyuri is incredible gorgeous thanks to some very painful plastic surgery and works in an elite room salon. Her roommate Miho is an orphan and artist who has just returned from a fellowship in New York with a rich boyfriend and haunted past. Across the hall from them lives Ara, a mute hairdresser and her best friend Sujin, who covets Kyuri’s seemingly glamorous face and career. It’s a fast-paced and exciting read that had me stressed out about all of the choices that the girls were making and hoping that they would find happiness. -E
I also read Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby, the authors latest collection of essays. I laughed out loud while reading the one about being a home owner. - E
Outside of royal news, I read the book People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd. It was about a British mom-influencer who has a mysterious stalker that wants to hurt her and her family. The insight into how she creates her “honest” and “faux messy” “authentic life” and how she views her followers is hilarious and pretty dark. - D
What We’re Buying
I got the prettiest Xirena skirt from Wrabyn this weekend. It’s not quite warm enough for it yet but I think it will be a good multi season piece that I can layer with a sweater and flats in the spring or with a t-shirt and sandals in the summer. - E
I’m super late to this party but I finally ordered an air fryer. Actually, I just looked at my Amazon account to see when it would arrive and it looks like I ordered two by mistake-haha! I can’t wait to try it this week. Send me any recipes that I should try, and I’ll have an initial report for the Missive next week. -E
What We’re Making
Salmon is a thing that I’m always trying to make happen on a regular basis but I’m super picky about it so I get very nervous cooking it. Chad found this New York Times recipe and it was simple and very good-the ginger and dill were so flavorful that even the kids would eat a few bites. -E
I haven’t been making much this week, but I have been spring cleaning! I fully went through my dresser this past week and Marie Kondo-d my clothes, throwing away anything with a hole or that I hadn’t worn in the past two years (I extended that time limit because there was so much I didn’t wear last year with the pandemic!). Now everything is all rolled up and my drawers are so relaxing to look at. - D