Introduction: Minutes 0 to 6:30 We’ll be off the next two weeks, June 25th and July 2nd. We will have an episode out on July 9th and then will be off on July 16th and 23rd. I’ve been sick, but thankfully my covid test came back negative. I’ve been watching Imposters on Netflix. Chandra is happy that Serena Williams is coming to Wimbledon this year. Royals: Minutes 6:30 to 33:45 Order of the Garter and Royal Ascot: Minutes 6:30 to 14:30 This week we had the ceremony for the Order of the Garter, the third highest knighthood. Duchess Camilla was inducted. At the ceremony Kate wore a blue McQueen coatdress that was apparently new. Prince William got headlines for looking glum but he always looks like that. The Queen was not there but we got a photo of her with Charles and Camilla which The Royal Family posted on their Instagram. She didn’t wear the robes because she’s too frail now. We also had Royal Ascot this week. Sophie and Beatrice looked fug in unique ways. Charles and Camilla were also there. The big story was that Carole Middleton wore an ugly pleated pink shirt dress to Royal Ascot that her daughter, Duchess Kate, had worn in Scotland. Chandra remembers when Kate wore one of Carole’s dresses ten years ago. Prince Andrew: Minutes 14:30 to 17:45 Prince Andrew is a Knight of the Garter and we heard in late May that both he and the Queen would be at the service. He was listed in the printed Order of Service for the Order of the Garter ceremony and his attendance was announced by the press. At the last minute he was barred from the public-facing events although he was still there behind the scenes. The Sun reported that Charles and William lobbied the Queen to get Andrew removed. Omid Scobie had a column about how Andrew is getting mixed signals from the royal family. Royal charity appearances: Minutes 17:45 to 25:15 Will and Kate attended the Grenfell memorial ceremony. Most of the crowd was in green, “Green for Grenfell,” but Will and Kate didn’t wear anything green at all. We wonder if that was deliberate or not. I play a segment from Zoom where we talked about that. We also heard that Meghan left a voicemail for the Hubb Community Kitchen, the organization that she worked with to release the cookbook to benefit the Grenfell community. They posted on Facebook that she left them a sweet message. In return they got hate comments on Facebook. They also shut down their Instagram. There were new photos of Duchess Meghan at an after school program for girls and non-binary youth in Amsterdam called Project Fearless. She visited them in April when she was there for the Invictus Games. The organization held on to the photos until their anniversary. Cambridge move: Minutes 25:15 to 30:15 As we’ve been talking about for months, the Cambridges are planning a move. They finally settled on a place on the Windsor estate called Adalaide Cottage. This will be their third property as they are keeping Anmer Hall and their apartments in Kensington Palace. The children will going to go to a private coed school in Bucklebury, a 45 minute drive away. We assume Kate and the kids will spend a lot of time with her parents, who live in Bucklebury. The Cambridges are pushing the narrative that this is a modest four bedroom home, that they will have no “live-in” staff and that the place doesn’t need renovations. We assume Will and Kate will be living apart. It’s curious that the Cambridges were putting out feelers for Frogmore House, Fort Belvedere or Royal Lodge but were given this smaller home. I play a segment from Zoom where we talked about this. Kate’s big discussion: Minutes 30:15 to 33:45 Kate did an event where she talked about the Early Years with British politicians. All the photos are of Kate looking businessy. The writeup is so superficial and ridiculous it reads like a parody. The purpose of this meeting was for an awarenes...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 6:45 We’ll have an episode out next week and then we’ll be off on June 25th and July 2nd. We’ll have one episode on July 9th and then we’re taking off the 16th and the 23rd. Chandra worries we’ll miss Prince William’s birthday extravaganza on June 21st. I saw the Downton Abbey movie and liked it. There were weird filters on some of the actors though. Chandra finished Shining Girls on Apple and recommends it. My favorite show, P-Valley, is back on Starz. Chandra mentions that Megan Thee Stallion might make a guest appearance. (We know she did an original song for the show.) Royals: Minutes 6:45 to 25:00 Last week we talked about the Sussexes’ triumphant appearance at the Jubilee service on Friday. It turns out that was all they did during the Jubilee apart from being behind the scenes during the balcony appearance. On Friday they met privately with the Queen and on Saturday they had a garden party for Lilibet’s birthday. People magazine had a story ...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 5:30 We’ll have episodes out for the next two weeks and then we’ll be off for two weeks. We’re also taking two weeks off in July because I’m moving. Both of us want new cars but we’re waiting on that. Chandra has been watching the French Open and is happy that American Coco Gauff will be in the final. Royals: Minutes 5:30 to 29 Duchess Meghan made a quiet visit to the Uvalde memorial and she brought food to blood drive volunteers, who had no idea who she was. One woman said she thought Meghan was a neighbor and that Meghan was sweet. Meghan seems to prefer to do quiet, respectful work on the ground. After we heard that Harry and Meghan were going to the Jubilee there was so much hysteria about whether they would pull a “stunt,” if they would overshadow the Queen and if would bring Netflix cameras despite the fact that Netflix didn’t request a press pass. It’s all very predictable. We also heard that the Sussexes likely arranged with the Queen to s...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 6:30 We recorded on Wednesday this time due to my schedule. We’ll be off next week and back on June 4th and 11th hopefully. Chandra is watching Shining Girls on Apple+ and really likes it. She’s also watching The Essex Serpent but is not sure about it. Royals: Minutes 6:30 to 25:00 On the Friday after we last recorded, the Sussexes confirmed through their spokesperson that they would be attending the Jubilee and would be bringing their children. Chandra was surprised that they’re coming but not that they’re skipping the balcony. Just prior to that announcement there was an official statement from the Queen that the balcony would be reserved for working royals. It’s very likely this was Harry’s idea so they could avoid that media circus. Omid Scobie reported that sources have long said that Harry doesn’t want to be on the balcony. There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about how the Sussexes are going to pull focus from the Queen along with the concern...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 3:45 Chandra’s washer broke so she got a new washer/dryer. The AC in my car is broken too. I want a newer car but I’m going to wait. Supreme Court: Minutes 3:45 to 7:00 On Monday night, when the Met Gala had wrapped and we were headed to bed, Politico leaked a draft majority opinion from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in the Hobbs case, stating that Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey must be overruled. The leak seems to be a power move by conservatives. We kind of knew this was coming, but it still sucks. Met Gala: Minutes 7:00 to 17:00 So many attendees ignored the theme of Gilded Glamor completely. Chandra thought the Louis Vuitton people had the best and the worst looks. Chandra’s best dressed was Billie Eilish. We loved the Thom Browne looks as they were on theme along with Laura Harrier in H&M. Chandra thought Blake Lively looked very mall girl in her Versace. I play a segment from Zoom where we talked about the Met Gala. We liked Mega...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 7:00 We will have an episode out next week and are off May 14th. I finished the first season of Yellowstone and really liked it. Chandra is watching Gaslit and loves Betty Gilpin and Dan Stevens’s performances. Chandra really liked The Batman and thinks Robert Pattinson was excellent. Royals: Minutes 7:00 to 32:00 There are two new royal books for which we are getting advanced details and interviews with the authors. The main one is Tina Brown’s The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor–the Truth and the Turmoil, which came out this week on April 26th. Brown has sources in the palace as well as in the Middleton camp. Brown’s book takes Harry and Meghan’s strengths, like their shared vision of helping people and Meghan’s skill at public speaking, and makes them sound like they’re bad and a nefarious plot. Meghan is called “actressy” and characterized as swag-hungry. Chandra has been reading and reporting on the book. In the book, Brown is bitc...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 7:00 I went skydiving! I got through it by focusing on the things I was supposed to do. I’ve been watching The Last Kingdom and Yellowstone and Chandra watched a movie called Shiva Baby. Royals: Minutes 7:00 to 29:00 This past week we had the Invictus Games in The Hague. Before that, Prince Harry and Meghan went to Windsor palace to visit the Queen and we didn’t hear about it until afterwards. Ahead of the games we were hearing that they needed a win with Invictus and that they were getting VIP security in the Netherlands. Chandra says that the UK press was trying to toxify the games. This was such a contrast to the beautiful pictures and videos we saw of Invictus. The fact that they were done visiting the Queen before anyone knew means that the Royal Rota had no idea what they were doing! That may be because William and Kate were on vacation on a ski holiday in France with Kate’s family. Charles was also leaking to the press and was clearly playing cat...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 6:00 We changed our plans and will be taking off next week for Easter. Our next episode will be out April 23rd. I’m learning how to play pickleball but am confused about the scoring. Chandra mentions the Fast Four rules in tennis. Serena Williams’ tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has announced he’ll train Simona Halep. Royals: Minutes 6:00 to 17:30 Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were part of a fraud case involving their mom and dad. Eugenie defended her payment of £25,000 by saying she thought it was for her mom’s birthday party. Beatrice received £750,000 for her wedding, which was during lockdown in July, 2020. She didn’t issue a statement like Eugenie but a source told the DM “She knew nothing about this, poor thing.” We think Charles’ fingerprints are all over this news. There are still stories about the Cambridges moving to Windsor and that they’re looking for estates there. Chandra thinks they’re going to keep Kensington Palace apartment...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 6:30 We will have episodes out for the next two weeks and will be off on April 23rd. I’m surprised to hear that the Grammys are Sunday. Chandra was sick last week with a GI illness that’s been making the rounds. Royals: Minutes 6:30 to 18:00 Introduction: Minutes 0 to 6:30 We will have episodes out for the next two weeks and will be off on April 23rd. I’m surprised to hear that the Grammys are Sunday. Chandra was sick last week with a GI illness that’s been making the rounds. Royals: Minutes 6:30 to 18:00 Last week when we were off the Cambridges had their royal tour of the Caribbean. We thought it would go poorly but it went so much worse than we expected. They had multiple photo ops where they reminded people that they’re out of touch colonialists. They got dumped live on camera by the Jamaican Prime Minister and they did the standing up riding in the Jeep photo op after that. It was so bad that mainstream international media was picking up the stor...
Introduction: Minutes 0 to 8:45 Chandra loved CODA, but wishes that The French Dispatch and Cruella got more attention this year. We both saw Summer of Soul and want it to win Best Documentary. Chandra is watching The Golden Age and loves it. I play a segment from Zoom where we talk about The Golden Age. Jane Campion: Minutes 8:45 to 17:30 Power of The Dog won Best Picture and Best Director at the BAFTAs, Critics Choice and at the Directors Guild Awards. Oscar voting runs from March 17th until the 22nd. Although Power of The Dog might have been considered the frontrunner for Best Picture and Director after it won so much, that has hopefully changed after director Jane Campion put down Venus and Serena Williams in her speech at the Critics Choice Awards. On Monday Campion issued an apology. I play a segment from Zoom where we talked about this. Zakia pointed out that Venus and Serena got a standing ovation when they presented King Richard and that’s why Jane Campion tried to take th...