If you love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage, then we hope you’ll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get it in your inbox on Sunday.
Meghan and Harry’s pre-election chat with Gavin Newsom
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spent an hour before the 2020 election speaking via video-link to California Governor Gavin Newsom, according to the Sun on Sunday. The call happened on October 19, with Newsom’s office refusing to tell the paper what the subject/subjects of the call were.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was listed as an “introductory meeting,” with the call taking place out of Newsom’s mansion. A Newsom spokesman told the paper: “We do not comment on the content of meetings between the Governor and private parties or his staff.” Harry and Meghan’s spokespeople had nothing to say either.
The Sun on Sunday calls the video call a “secret summit,” inferring—what?—that it would be more normal having a private conversation in public? It also makes a big deal out of what Meghan and Harry said in the run-up to the election, which basically amounted to saying how important it was, and that people should vote in it.
Meghan said: “When we vote, our values are put into action and our voices are heard. Your voice is a reminder that you matter. Because you do. And you deserve to be heard.” Meghan had called Trump “misogynistic” in 2016, and Trump said he was “no fan of hers.”
The Sun on Sunday talks about the need for royals to be apolitical, and suggests this call might violate the terms of “Megxit,” when it comes to representing the royals properly. But Meghan and Harry are no longer senior working royals. Most recently, they have—like their apparent nemesis, former president Trump—been focused on attacking the media, with Harry particularly calling out digital platforms he claims foster hate.
Samantha Markle’s book “barely registered” with Meghan
Meghan Markle was reportedly extremely nervous about the release of her sister Samantha’s “memoire,” The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister, Part 1. As the Daily Beast reported, Samantha writes that Meghan has “seemingly brainwashed” Prince Harry, and also holds forth on a bunch of other tidbits, like Meghan allegedly trying to get their dad to disown Samantha and her brother Tom Jr. There’s also a confrontation…over toothpaste.
However, Vanity Fair reported a friend of Meghan’s says Samantha’s book “barely registered on her radar. Meghan has not seen Samantha for years so the idea that she is worried about the book is nonsense. Meghan barely knows Samantha, they haven’t seen each other for nearly 20 years.”
The bigger VF scoop is that a friend says Meghan considering writing a book herself, “and has had numerous approaches and lucrative offers from respectable publishing houses. Meghan has some very serious book deals on the table. They are all up for consideration.”
The wheels on the bus
James Corden, who attended Meghan and Harry’s wedding reception dressed as Henry VIII, was photographed filming with Harry on the top level of an open-air double-decker bus in Los Angeles on Friday. In the picture, Harry is smiling, wearing a dark polo shirt as he sits in the sun and is interviewed by Corden while a small crew films.
We assume they didn’t sing “God Save The Queen” for Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” slot.
However, if Harry has chosen Corden for his first major interview since leaving the royal family it would make perfect sense as they have been friends for many years.
After Corden and his wife, Julia, attended the royal wedding back in 2018 he told his audience: “It was so lovely. I’ve known Prince Harry about seven years now and it was wonderful. It was one of the most beautiful ceremonies I’ve ever been to. It was gorgeous, it was a whole affair, it was happy, it was joyous, it was uplifting.”
Shoot for the moon
Seven young people named 2020 Young Champions of the Earth by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) have been told by Prince William that they could “easily be in the mix” for his Earthshot Prize. Five winners will get £1 million (about $1.37 million) for their organizations each year, and the award is intended to pump out cash for the next ten years.
Prince William, 38, listened to all the participants’ projects and said he was “hugely honored” to have met them during the video call.
Among them are an engineer who turns plastic rubbish into paving stones and an activist fighting to save endangered salmon. All will now receive some $10,000 in seed funding and tailored training to help scale up their ideas.
Nzambi Matee, from Kenya, who manufactures sustainable building materials, told the duke it was hard to change the attitudes of older people, although her grandmother had adopted sustainability easily.
She laughed: “If we can convince my grandmother not to use plastic bags, we can do anything.”
This week in royal history
It’s one of those weeks where A LOT happened in royal history. On February 8, 1952, Elizabeth II was proclaimed queen. On February 9, 2002, Princess Margaret died. And on February 10, 2005, Charles and Camilla were officially engaged. So, royal fans, keep all eyes peeled for any big royal news this week.
Unanswered questions
Is the Duchess of Sussex really planning on writing her own book? And with the mystery around whether she and Harry invaded their own privacy, or had others do the same, to help the authors of Finding Freedom, how does she plan to garner material for this proposed new tome?
