There was a baby! And of course it was born on the day we published the podcast, so just missed the good news. Helllloooo little Louis Arthur Charles, it’s nice to meet you!
While the world was waiting for you, this is what the BRF were getting up to:
The Court Circular
The whole family including Meghan’s spectacular cape dress (but minus Our Cath) showed up at the Royal Albert Hall for Her Majesty’s 92nd birthday hosted by the BBC and featuring a whole lot of people I didn’t really know except Kylie Minogue.
Camilla did get to decorate a cake and talk about gin though, so not all was lost.
Haz and Meg (dubbed the Commonwealth Couple after this onslaught) attended a reception hosted by Malcolm + Lucy Turnbull, celebrating the forthcoming Invictus Games Sydney 2018. They also attended a Reception on Women’s Empowerment at the Royal Aeronautical Society, and at the Commonwealth Youth reception, where Harry was named Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.
Now I suppose they need a nap.
Unrelated: I HOPE he keeps that beard for the wedding. I hope he keeps that beard forever.
CHOGM was a real thing for a week, with fancy dinners, Buckingham Palace ballrooms, tiaras, and JUSTIN TRUDEAU. And also the eyes people were making at JUSTIN TRUDEAU.
Beth was thrilled that Her Maj unveiled a Commonwealth Walkway Panel in the Gardens of Buckingham Palace because trees, and we discussed the Queen’s Green Planet documentary with David Attenborough, aka heaven. Liz’s sass is top notch throughout, and she even gives D.Att a ticking off for confusing some trees. It’s perfection.
The Palace Wardrobe
Much fashion to be discussed in the Palace Wardrobe segment, namely my obsession with Liz’s tiara she wore for the Commonwealth dinner: the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara:
This tiara was a wedding present from the ‘Girls of Great Britain and Ireland’ to the Duchess of York, later Queen Mary, in 1893. It was purchased with money raised by a committee chaired by Lady Eva Greville, who became one of Queen Mary’s ladies-in-waiting. In November 1947 Queen Mary gave the tiara as a wedding present to her grand-daughter, Princess Elizabeth. The Queen has worn the tiara regularly throughout her reign and is depicted wearing it on certain issues of British and Commonwealth banknotes and coinage.
As previously mentioned, Meghan’s navy Stella McCartney Stella Cape Dress at the Queen’s Birthday Concert was glorious, and we loved the black Halo Jackie O Dress for the women’s empowerment gig.
Not loved so much was the Self Portrait Floral Cold Shoulder dress although that McQueen blazer was a thumbs up, and Beth was a bit meh on the Altuzarra Studio Audrey midi dress with all its pinstriping. While she was finally relieved to see Meghan wear some shoes that fit, she was horrified to see the causalness with which Meghan wore a handbag (Oroton this time) as a cross-body bag.
Which prompted the discussion – can she do that? Like, I mean is she allowed to? I admit I raised an eyebrow when I saw her with a handbag over her shoulder at the Invictus Games thingo, but is that because I’m so used to handbags or clutches in royal hands only, or is there actually a rule about wearing one over the shoulder? I’m leaning toward the former (I doubt there’s many, if any, hard and fast royal dressing “rules” at all to be honest), but it’s something I may have to dig around a bit more on.
Births, Anniversaries, Marriages
Not a birth, sadly the opposite, but under this category falls the news that the Queen’s last Corgi, Willow, was put to sleep after a battle with cancer. Liz was said to be devastated, understandably, and Willow’s passing marks the end of a dynasty – the first time Her Majesty hasn’t had a corgi in her household since World War II.
She still has two dorgis left, but no purebred corgis that have all been descendants of the Corgi named Susan that the Queen was given on her 18th birthday. She stopped breeding them about 10 years ago as she didn’t want any of them to outlive her.
I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Alexi Lubomirski was named the photographer for the royal wedding – you might remember him from such films as “Harry and Meghan’s Engagement Portraits”.
And the Daily Mail have been going after Meghan’s family HARD, they’re absolutely loving every time the “Moaning Markles” speak up about how devoed they are about not being famous and rich or Meghan inviting them to the wedding. What’s been utterly horrific though is the way they keep stalking Meghan’s poor dad, splashing pictures of him working out, and buying a toilet in Mexico. They even follow him to the supermarket like taking a photo of him bagging apples is completely necessary. It makes me feel sick every time I see a headline about it drop in. Poor bugger.
In the Nursery
Our Cath was READY TO POP as we went to air, and Charlotte was still on holidays from Nursery. I believe she starts back again this week, but George has been going to school as usual. Kate even drove him herself on the Friday before she gave birth, as she does pretty much every day. Granny Carole has been seen collecting him this week while his mum’s home with the new bebeh.
Much was made of Willz going to a football match and declaring he was going to insist the baby was named Jack, which was taken to mean OBVIOUSLY THE BABY WAS A BOY but all the people in the real know (not just us pundits from the sidelines) all agreed that neither William nor Cath found out the sex of the baby and they’re much more well-placed to know this.
I honestly thought it was going to be a girl, so a boy threw me a bit! I did speculate Louis to be the name before I was convinced out of it (it appears in both William’s and George’s names so I backed down) before wildly jumping to James, completely forgetting that Sophie and Edward already have a James. Oops.
The Royal Times
Meghan was seen in Chicago renewing her Visa, and despite trying to go incognito was accompanied by four bodyguards who cleared the entire Visa building for her 15 minute appointment.
Meghan was also seen leaving a yoga studio in London – both she and Haz have reportedly bumped up the PT sessions prior to the wedding… bless poor Harry, a ranger in his mid-30s just about to marry a glamorous actress in front of the entire world. I dare say he’d be more worried about looking out of shape than any new bride! He is the actual cutest, he’s so fucking thrilled he found a bangin’ lady friend.
Chuck has been appointed head of the commonwealth at this year’s CHOGM, which was interesting to watch. The head of the Commonwealth is not hereditary, so technically it could have gone to anybody the Heads voted in. The Queen went to bat for Charles though, specifying she wished to see him take the mantle, to “continue the work” her father started when the Commonwealth was first conceived.
Harry and Meghan made the Time 100: Most Influential People of 2018 List. Elton John wrote about Prince Harry for the magazine about where he first met the “extremely shy and sweet prince” and how stoked he is that he’s carrying on an extraordinary legacy and also keeping the fight against AIDS alive.
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Catch you next week!
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