Lana (00:02):

Check, check one, two. We are interrupting our regularly scheduled programming to discuss the smut. That is Harry and Meghan

Laura (00:11):

 Harry and Meghan

Lana (00:12):

<laugh>. When Harry met Meghan <laugh>, not when Harry met Sally. The whole world watched and everybody was super excited to see the Prince find his princess.

Laura (00:26):

It’s not so fairytale anymore.

Lana (00:28):

I cannot wait to dive into this. We actually decided to do a special podcast today because we feel like we need to dive into this, and whether you’re sick and tired of hearing about the monarchy and Harry and Meghan and their privileged lives, we’re still here for it.

Laura (00:50):

Well, we are here for it and I don’t know, you want to call this current events, <laugh>

Lana (00:55):

Current events with the Sister Brand. That’s what we’re doing today. So if you care to sip and listen with us, we’re actually going to post a royal drink, a little toddy on our Instagram toddy. I dunno if it’ll be hot, but it’ll be delicious. Our friends over at The Champaign Social have created a very special royal drink for today’s podcast. So go check it out and then maybe perhaps you’ll sip on something that detects note of bitterness

Laura (01:21):

Perception deviation,

Lana (01:24):

Pure disdain,

Laura (01:25):

Hatred

Lana (01:28):

Let’s Woman Up royally. Roll that opener.

Laura (01:39):

All right. We’re going to get down to it because the whole debacle with the royal family right now, I think really centres around the idea of perception and what do we perceive happen? What do we perceive their motivations to be? I don’t know. Everyone is very split. I think there’s a big divide between the team, Harry, team, William <affirmative>, team monarchy. I don’t know. Do you have a firm stance?

Lana (02:08):

I don’t have a firm stance, but I do want to say that it has been royally entertaining. Oh, wow

Laura (02:16):

 Wow.

Lana (02:16):

The puns will keep coming. I promise you people honestly, I feel like I’m always team Harry. I love Harry. I love the fact that he’s, in my opinion, he’s pulling back the veil. He’s revealing things that people have talked about and felt like they’ve known, but he’s really, if anything, fueling the fire that yeah, there is corruption within the institution. We did actually a poll on our Instagram a week or so back when he first came out with his Netflix series which was, I thought, riveting. But most of the people, I think it was like what, 10% were team, royal family, 64% team, Harry, Meghan, and 2% said anarchy to the monarchy.

Laura (03:07):

What? At the end of the day, I love how he stands up for her. He stands up for her, and

Lana (03:15):

That’s attractive. It is.

Laura (03:17):

Yeah. I don’t know if you can make Prince Harry anymore sexy, but he seems to do it. He, he stands up for her. He listens to her and he supports her regardless of the situation behind closed doors and what may or may not have happened, he stood up for his wife, and I have a lot of respect for that.

Lana (03:36):

What do you think of them calling each other H and M?

Laura (03:38):

Oh my God. I almost spit my coffee out. I wasn’t drinking coffee, Ashley. I almost spit my line out when that happened and what I’m not trying to judge, but it kind of irked me in a weird way. I’m like, why are you calling them? But I get it. What I’m thinking is

Lana (03:54):

It probably a code?

Laura (03:55):

Code when they were dating in their text profiles and everything else. And then I was like, okay, kind of makes sense. I give it to you

Lana (04:01):

And it’s stuck, and that’s cute,

Laura (04:03):

But it wasn’t cute to me.

Lana (04:04):

But I know that’s their fairytale. That’s what they made their fairytale. They had to take these little crazy moments and what we perceive as a fairytale is one thing and what they do totally is another thing.

Laura (04:16):

And to be honest, by the end of it, it didn’t bother me at all. It was a weird thing for me to wrap my head around at first.

Lana (04:22):

Is it weird that we have l and l on our profile

Laura (04:26):

And we sign everything L and L, L and

Lana (04:28):

L, Xs and Os, l

Laura (04:30):

And l? It’s just our laziness. That’s why I’m too lazy to type it

Lana (04:33):

Up and we’ll answer to anything. So let’s be honest. Okay. So are they pulling back the veil or are they being stuck up privileged people who have really lived a life of incredible wealth and exciting stories and all these things in their lives? Are they pulling back the veil or are they actually just whining?

Laura (04:57):

I can only imagine the life of royalty and how shitty it probably is. Honestly. It is not a life that I would ever dream of. And

Lana (05:10):

Yet we sit and we watch those royal weddings and those royal funerals. We are so invested in this fairytale in this world.

Laura (05:19):

It’s funny because when I watch it, I don’t watch it for the fairytale. I watch it for more of how dumbfounded I am at the traditions and how they have to keep going with these crazy, crazy outlandish traditions.

Lana (05:34):

Well, and this is what Harry has said. He’s like, it’s time for us to, and definitely race plays a role in this and what he’s getting at and the fact that his wife, his fiance at the time was not accepted the way she should have been accepted, and that really the monarchy is quite behind and needs to step up into a much more generous role and show the world world that the world has changed.

Laura (05:58):

They turned that monarchy on its head. They threw them for a loop. I don’t think anyone ever expected that, which to me is absolutely audacious that you would ever even think that it would be a problem. And maybe that’s mindset for me. And I know that we are very privileged to not deal with a lot of things that most people go through on a daily basis, but for me, I never even thought of it as a problem. Same thing with if you were going to get someone in a political power of a different race, to me, it was never something that wouldn’t be.

Lana (06:36):

But that’s what he’s highlighting. Exactly. That’s what he’s highlighting. And that on top of the fact that he’s toting, he’s really towing the line that Diana had always done. She really stood for something more. She did not want to be in the spotlight the way she was. They talk about in the documentary about how Diana would be forced to buy the institution to walk on a different side of the road from her husband so that her husband could have the limelight. This is crazy shit that we’re hearing. And yet you can totally see how everything is so super orchestrated.

Laura (07:12):

And I do believe that, and this is my opinion, I do believe that the monarchy is doing whatever it can to protect William and his future throne and the perception of what a king should look like. And that does, in my opinion, come at Harry’s expense.

Lana (07:31):

The

Laura (07:32):

Spare. The spare. And I love the title of his world. I was like, some marketing genius really hit the nail on the head. Maybe it was Harry, but I think it’s absolutely perfect because how could he not be considered a spare when you think about the way that the traditions and the monarchy has been and the way that they look at royalty and lineage.

Lana (07:54):

The hierarchy. Yeah. Yeah. So what about those who are saying, it’s super ironic that Harry and Meghan are pulling back the veil and they are saying all of these things, yet at the same time saying, we want privacy. We want privacy. We want to talk to them behind closed doors about all these things. I do see the irony there to some extent, but also at what he’s given up everything at this point. What does he have to lose? What does he have to lose?

Laura (08:24):

And I mean, what does he have to gain? He could gain the world’s recognition for what he’s probably been through. If

Lana (08:30):

A Netflix

Laura (08:31):

Contract that way, a Netflix contract, he could gain some money. It’s not like he needs the money. So I don’t think that’s the whole motive behind it, but I think at the end of the day, he’s trying to uncover a life that he’s been put through help.

Lana (08:46):

Didn’t choose a life he didn’t choose. Exactly.

Laura (08:49):

And he’s like, and I feel like he probably does not feel supported in any of the things that have gone on.

Lana (08:54):

And there’s some clear injustices as well. Exactly.

Laura (09:01):

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Lana (09:02):

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Laura (09:11):

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Lana (09:24):

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Laura (09:46):

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Lana (09:59):

Okay, so Piers Morgan just went on a rampage about them. I mean, shockers. Yeah, exactly. But he’s demanding that Harry apologize to the royal family. He calls Harry diluted. What’s your response? My

Laura (10:18):

Response is in what world? Did you ever live a day in his shoes? In what world? How do you know you were not a part of those? Sure. I understand. He has been a part of the royal family to some degree. He’s been more in the know of the bridge lifestyle and everything else. He than us over here in Canada, sitting in our house, drinking our wine. However, you did not grow up like him. You did not grow up in that family behind closed doors with those situations. And who are you to say that he’s diluted?

Lana (10:50):

And as a member of the British press, which is probably 65%, 75% of what Harry’s major bone is, and that is the British Press is salacious. They’re the devil, and they’re essentially in bed with the institution and that they tow the institution’s line. So if that’s the case, then God, could you imagine that crushing feeling of no matter what you do,

Laura (11:15):

You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. And his Netflix or their Netflix series, I think really shed light on that. And of course it’s perception. It was one sided. It was just their side. However, the institution refused to comment on anything. So there isn’t another side. So I think that’s also,

Lana (11:33):

Well, it plays into the fact that Harry has come out on record and said the royal family’s motto is to never complain and never explain. Yeah. Well, they got some explaining

Laura (11:46):

To do. They got some explaining to do <laugh>. But that’s the thing. It’s like, oh, Harry and Megan. Oh, Harry and Meghan. I’m so sick of them. So sick of them. That’s because all we’re hearing is Harry and Megan, because no one else is giving another side. No one else is stepping forward and saying, all right, this is our viewpoint. And it might not be the same as Harry’s. Just get ready for it. Could you imagine if Prince William went on a Netflix series? It’ll never happen.

Lana (12:15):

But it should.

Laura (12:17):

It would never happen. But could you imagine what he might say or how that might look like? That would be the highest ranking TV show of all freaking time.

Lana (12:27):

Yeah. If the institution is low on funds, there’s your cash cow. There’s no doubt about it.

Laura (12:34):

Exactly. Oh my gosh.

Lana (12:35):

Let’s talk about Megan for a second, and then I want to get Doug, our pod father’s take on a few things. But Meghan, so she went on Oprah. I mean, they both went on Oprah, but she really went on Oprah and tried to say, listen, things are not as they seem. She got Yeah, lamb based. She where for that. And then they, they’ve been working on this Netflix series clearly since the time they started dating. There’s no doubt about it. Cause they were doing the journaling. Right. So this has been a work in progress for so long. Whether they knew they were going to sell it to Netflix and that it would become what it would become. I mean, I’m guessing they didn’t but this is their path.

Laura (13:16):

They could have had a different vision for it. It could have been a royal journey that they were trying to sell and overcoming and defying odds and all those things

Lana (13:24):

I was going to say, as a woman and being thrust into this crazy situation, life giving up your career you are a woman of color in a very traditional obviously backwards society at this point. What is going through Megan’s head as she’s fearing for her life, because the press is out of control. He’s seeing this through her eyes saying, this is Princess Diana. This is my mom. Yeah. 2.0, this is happening again. And so what they do, they’re like, we’re stepping back. We’re getting the heck out of Dodge. And they run away to Canada. And what happens? Press follows and the insanity follows. So where are you if you’re Meghan at this point, where are you in this? Are you just head down, stay connected to your husband, protect your children? Or are you Anang? Like when does the anger start and be,

Laura (14:24):

Oh, I’m sure she was so angry. But you think about it and we are all about independence and women’s rights and we’re saying and be empowered and you’re do yourself care and remove yourself from toxic situations. And then she does it and gets shit on <laugh>.

Lana (14:40):

Completely. Completely.

Laura (14:41):

We worldwide shit on

Lana (14:43):

You. Did you see in the documentary about her amazing cookbook and how she was giving back to those Exactly. Citizens. It was, was phenomenal. Yet it was given zero.

Laura (14:53):

And that’s my other point to zero code is that I have always been a big Meghan Markle fan just because she has done so much good that has never been recognized.

Lana (15:06):

Never. And since the time she was 11. Exactly. She, yeah, really touted what we’ve believed in as women in business, as women fighting for equality. She was an OG feminist for our time.

Laura (15:18):

And yet she goes onto the Netflix series and talks about a few of the great things that she’s done now she’s just bragging like crazy about all how wonderful she is and all the great things,

Lana (15:27):

Or poor you or poor you, poor you. No, she’s, I do believe they’re pulling back the curtain. They’re saying, this is no longer acceptable. The world needs to see what this is for what it is.

Laura (15:39):

And to step away from the royal family is something that I, Harry probably never imagined he would ever do. I maybe

Lana (15:45):

He did, but always wanted to knew how to do it. Exactly.

Laura (15:49):

And he probably got the confidence from his wife who said, I’m here with you in this. Yeah. And let’s do this together. I don’t know, that’s just my take. But it could be definitely other conversations behind closed doors.

Lana (15:49):

Laura (15:49):

Lana (16:00):

There’s a lot of conversations behind closed doors. Doug, let’s bring in Doug. Yeah. Because I’d like to hear a male perspective here. Hey, Doug.

Podfather Doug (16:08):

Hey, how are you?

Lana (16:09):

Good. How are you? Where do you fall? What’s the

Laura (16:12):

Pod father

Lana (16:13):

Take?

Podfather Doug (16:14):

Well, I suppose I’m not their audience, right? First and foremost. But why not? I don’t know. Because I really don’t care about their lives all that much. So my problem is and you two described it, it’s the narrative. The narrative is we’re breaking our silence. So they broke their silence on Oprah. That was actually pretty good. Then they broke their silence on Netflix. Then they broke their silence on 60 Minutes with Cooper Anderson Cooper. They broke their silence on ITV. Then they broke their silence on BBC and then they broke their silence on Good Morning America with Michael Strahan. Right. So come on. How many times can you break your silence? Okay,

Laura (16:51):

But my rebuttal to that, Doug, would be you’ve lived a life locked in a freaking cage.

Lana (16:57):

A gilded cage.

Laura (16:58):

A gilded cage. Yes. I should, I should preface that. Yeah. You’ve lived your life being so bound and tongue tied and now all of a sudden people want to listen. I’d be shouting it from the fricking rooftops for anybody that would listen.

Podfather Doug (17:11):

Do they? So I went on Rotten Tomatoes to look up how the Netflix special is doing. Okay. 42% approval from critics, 18% from the audience.

Lana (17:24):

Interesting. That is interesting. Yet look at what it debuted at some crazy number. Oh yeah.

Laura (17:30):

It was the most downloaded show in record history

Lana (17:33):

Or so whether people like it or they didn’t is still getting, is the message not getting out?

Podfather Doug (17:39):

I think we’re just tired of them. It You’re tired of, it really feels there. There’s wine in two aspects in this episode. The wine you’re holding and the whine with an H that we hear from Harry and Megan

Lana (17:50):

<laugh>,

Laura (17:50):

Doug, the wine and ages for Harry

Lana (17:52):

<laugh>. Doug, you have a background in pr. So from a PR perspective, is it just overkill

Podfather Doug (17:59):

Big time and could, I mean, they’re rich, so I’m not sure how much you can hurt them, but in terms of reputation capital, where I’m sitting, this is not going well for them at all. I think the royal family is winning this from where I sit big time.

Lana (18:14):

You’re silent. They’re

Laura (18:16):

Taking the silent.

Podfather Doug (18:16):

Yeah, I’m barely paying attention to it. I’m looking at stats. So someone could probably defeat me on that. But by the way,

Lana (18:24):

Doug Is a numbers person.

Podfather Doug (18:26):

So statistically, cause I looked this up for the episode, the royal family generates 1.76 billion pounds to the British economy every year. And if it were a company, it would be worth 67 and a half billion pounds. So in other words, it generates money for people in the UK.

Lana (18:45):

Yeah. All right. So definitely I see that they are there. I mean, the institution is a thing. It is giant. It is enormous. And the, we’re talking centuries and centuries of just

Laura (18:59):

Traditional

Lana (19:00):

Tradition. But are they ruining tradition

Laura (19:05):

Or are they starting a new era? Or

Lana (19:07):

Are they Yeah, exactly. Ushering in a new era for the monarchy and saying, listen, this is how it can be. This is not how it has to be and this is how it shouldn’t be.

Laura (19:18):

And I think personally, I think that they had the ability to bring a modernization to the monarchy that it so badly needs had the monarchy just taken a step back, listened a little bit and said, how do we get with the times? How do we get with the times, keep our traditions and meld the two. And I think they, Roy holy fucked up.

Lana (19:43):

Oh, another one. Do we drink when we say Royal Pun? You know what, I feel that, I thought the Netflix series was brilliant. I thought it was really well done. I bought the book. I am thumbing through it right now. I do feel that I agree with Doug and the fact that there’s a lot of overkill here, but I do appreciate that they’re just saying, I think that’s what this world, I mean, COVID has taught us that there’s a lot of misinformation out there. And if we can dig a little deeper and have some honest conversations, we can get to the root of things. And that’s when change happens.

Laura (20:25):

And I do also love that they shed light on what they have been living and celebrities all across the world have been living when you do not have an ounce of privacy. And sure, now they’re going the opposite way and they’re putting themselves out there. But is that any different than Ryan Reynolds in a movie?

Lana (20:45):

Right?

Laura (20:45):

I mean,

Lana (20:47):

<laugh>, same. Different. But why are you talking about my boyfriend that way?

Laura (20:51):

But he puts himself out there for movies and just because they’re putting themselves out there with the shed of their light. And it’s bound to get these paparazzi and invasion of privacy. And I think that everyone just needs to see these people as people,

Lana (21:04):

Human beings, first

Laura (21:06):

And foremost. And I can’t stand the paparazzi and that life,

Lana (21:09):

But that doesn’t sell. And really, that’s the incestuous circle. Money maybe.

Laura (21:14):

Yeah. Hunger. Yeah.

Lana (21:18):

<laugh>. Alright. We would love to engage with you on social media about this very topic. It is so timely. There are so many facets to it. And honestly, we could go on for, I don’t know, three days, four days. We talk about it pretty much every time we get together. There are some things that still bother me about totally the whole situation. I feel like sometimes Meghan’s playing to the camera a bit, that bothers me. But

Laura (21:44):

We all act a little bit different when the camera’s turned on. Let’s be honest. Everyone

Lana (21:48):

Does. We all do a hundred percent and

Laura (21:51):

Everyone does.

Lana (21:51):

Yeah. But it’d be not very telling to see what happens in the next few months as all of this has imploded. What they do with

Laura (21:59):

It. You know what I want her to do? What I want her on the next interview to show up as Rachel from Suits. I want that to be her new persona because I really love Rachel from

Lana (22:11):

Oh, well, cheers to Rachel. There

Laura (22:13):

You

Lana (22:13):

Go. Cheers to hear you Megan.

Laura (22:14):

I’m cheers to Megan and cheers to the whole freaking monarchy.

Lana (22:17):

Really?

Laura (22:18):

No. Oh, cheers to everyone. I’m not going to be No cheers to everyone. I’m very inclusive that way. Just stop fucking up <laugh>.

Lana (22:27):

All right. That’s Woman Up With the Sister Brand. If you like today’s podcast, if you want to hear more of us shooting the shit about random things, well, like hearing Meghan please follow along, tell a friend. That goes a long way for us because we’re a new podcast. I’m going to need to get our name out there.

Laura (22:43):

That’s right. And if you have an idea of something you want to hear us chat about, send us DM. We’d love to hear

Lana (22:49):

It. And big thanks to our podfather Doug at Stories and Strategies. He always keeps us on our toes. And he’s the brilliant man behind the laptop.

Laura (22:58):

That’s right.

Lana (23:01):

That’s it. <laugh>

Laura (23:02):

It. All I got, that’s all my brain’s doing today. I’m, I’m tapped out. Cheers.

Lana (23:07):

I would like to do a real toast. Cheers. A royal toast. But I don’t have a very good accent. Cheers.

Laura (23:12):

Cheers. Cheers.