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Calorogus Shark Media that low and welcome to Palace Intrigue.
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I am your host, Mark Francis. In a conversation with
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Emily Chang, we learn Meghan Michael's real name. You may
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recall Meghan caused a stir earlier this year on the
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first series of her show when she corrected Mindy Kaling,
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who called her Meghan Markel, clarifying that she is Megan
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Sussex Now. She added, well, when I got married, I
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changed my name, but it is a complicated one for
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people to understand because our last name is not typical
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in that construct. Emily then pressed if Sussex really was
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her last name, and Meghan explained, it's not, but it's
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used loosely or roughly. Rather it sounds so silly to say,
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and I get it because I'm American. And then I
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went there and I started to understand. Then you come
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back and as an American, you go, I'm so confused.
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It's a dukedom and that's the truth of it. But
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at the end of the day, yes, my legal name
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is Megan Duchess of Sussex, but Sussex works for us
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as our family name, and it is the name we
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share with our children. But yes, since we've been married,
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that's what I've been called. In the wide ranging interview,
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Megan also brushed off criticism of her show and the
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label of being a trad wife. She said, really, it
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feels odd to me. I hadn't heard that, but I
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am really unapologetic about the fact that would it be
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lovely to go and churn your own But sure maybe,
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but I don't have time for that, and I don't
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think you get an extra gold star if you do that.
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So for me, it's more about how you show up thoughtfully.
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I don't have time to make dinner every night. I
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wish I did, but I'm great at ordering takeout and
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plaiting it beautifully. I have absolutely no judgment on trad wives.
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If it works for them, then they should do it.
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But for me, I feel like there is an in between,
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and joy for me comes from finding that sweet spot
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in the middle. And if you didn't know what a
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trad wife was, it's a trade wife. Moving motivation appears
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to be a thing in the Megan verse. The Duchess
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also used the phrase twice in the new season of
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her cooking show. It is apparently about creating calm how
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does one become calm? In one segment, she tells her
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guests and thinking about putting each of us in our
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comfort zone and out of our comfort zone. So I
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thought we'd begin with flower arranging. In the second episode
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of the newly released Season with Love, Meghan, the Duchess
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of Sussex, welcomes Chrissy Tagan to her craft barn, where
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the two make pressed flower jewelry and exchange memories from
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the set of the American game show they both worked
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on nearly two decades ago. Meghan tells Chrissy, I was
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thinking about how many moons ago we crossed paths, and
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that was past life. That was good old deal or
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no deal. I remember us all having to stand in
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line to get our lashes put in, Meghan recalled, prompting
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Chrissy to chime in in a ziploc bag. Meghan added
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that at the time, her main joy was a practical one.
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I was just so happy to have health insurance on legend.
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Chrissy's husband also makes a brief appearance in the episode.
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If the reviews for season two are any indication, it
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may be remembered more for lavender lattes and flower sprinkles
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than for any meaningful content. Critics across the British press
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have wasted no time tearing into the show, calling it
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everything from narcissistic to a TV program about watching blue dry.
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The Daily Mail's Liz Jones caused the series stage to
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fake and dull, but did offer a surprising compliment she
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seems genuinely earnest it really is not an act. Jones
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described the show as televisual valion, as soothing as warm
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chai on a wind swept beach. The Guardian's Lucy Mangan
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less generous, gave the show two stars, calling it boring,
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contrived and effortlessly whimsical. She joked that if viewers stand
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still in Megan's kitchen too long, they'll be covered in
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violence and served alongside a mug of gray foam to
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a nano celebrity who realizes he hasn't been paid enough.
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At the Times, Hillary Rose lostas somewhere between flower arranging
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and book binding. It occupies the sweet spot where irrelevant
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meets intolerable, an ego trip and a sun hat. Meghan
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is pretty and likes roast chicken and flower arranging. That's
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an entry for miss World, not ten hours of TV Radio.
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Times critic Caroline Frost focused on what she called Meghan's
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failure to feel authentic while filming in an eight nion
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dollar rented home down the road from her real mansion.
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It's as impersonal as a supermarket ad, Frost wrote, calling
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the Duchess's efforts to reclaim her voice unconvincing. The Telegraph
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dubbed her the Montecito Marie Antoinette, pointing out the notable
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absence of Prince Harry and saying the show felt increasingly
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weird without him. The paper's verdict, please let it be
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the last time. In that review, Anita Singh calls a
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series tone deaf because the episode about cocktail making and
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Malibu is dedicated to the first responders and victims of
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the California wildfires. The Independent gave the show just one star,
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comparing it to being gas lit by Amis. Multi millionaire
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writer Helen Coffee described the series as like an Ai
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was fared every Nancy Meyer's film and instructed to burp
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out a TV show. Even Meghan's product die ins have
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drawn scrutiny. In one scene, the duchess admits, usually I
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don't like baking because it's so measured, a curious confession
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given that her as if a brand sells ready measured
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baking mixes. The inconsistency didn't go unnoticed. Still, not all
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the reviewers were entirely negative. The BBC's Sean Coughlin called
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the series escapist, likening it to a glass of something
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sparkling on a gray day. More palace in just a moment.
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By the way, don't forget to check out Crown and Controversy,
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our new royal series. It's coming towards the end of
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its first season. There's a new episode available every Sunday.
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Season two will be out shortly after, and it will
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be available to subscribers ahead of its initial release to
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the pub So check it out. Crown and Controversy available
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now wherever you get your podcasts like this one. As
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Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand as Ever expands its footprint and
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returns to the spotlight with a second season of With
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Love Megan, sources say Prince Harry is struggling with his
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role behind the scenes. According to a report from Radar Online,
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the Duke of Sussex is said to be feeling increasingly
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isolated as his wife devotes long hours to her business ventures.
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He's feeling more isolated than ever one, inside It claimed,
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noting that Meghan starts her day before sunrise and shoulders
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much of the workload herself, leaving little time for their
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previously close knit, homed life. The source revealed that the
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couple's current reality differs greatly from the polished image often
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projected on social media. Harry's been telling friends, this isn't
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the life I thought I was choosing. The inside It
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said they only treated time together as sacred. Now, Harry
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jokes that he practically has to book a slot with
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his wife. Aside from the occasional acknowledgment, she just doesn't
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include him the way she once did. The Telegraphs review
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that's the one with the wonderful Montecito Marie Antoinnette Line
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wonders why Harry doesn't appear in season two. Anita Sing writes,
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you wonder if the reason for his absence is that Harry,
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not being the sharpest night in the drawer, might step
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into this carefully temperature controlled environment and start saying the
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wrong thing, such as whose house is this? Why are
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you pretending you've never practiced any of this stuff before?
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Who makes their own salt and vinegar crisps? Are we
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still friends with anyone who came to our wedding? The
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series is marginally less mad than the first, Who can
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forget Megan throwing a children's party but not inviting any children,
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but more needy. When the Chetties mentioned they host a
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game to night each Friday for forty friends, you can
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see Megan mentally computing how to get on the list.
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These friends, Old and U are subjected to a relentless
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work schedule. The relaxed to get togethers are run with
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ruthless efficiency. The moment a dish goes into the oven,
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guests are frog marched to the craft barn to make something.
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As luck would have it, Meghan is skilled at all
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these activities. In episode one, she launches into some competitive flower.
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Her effort is judged to be the best, like a
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child who insists on winning the party games her own birthday.
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Royle expert Phil Dampier tells the son Meghan I think
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is doing her own thing, and this new Netflix series
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is evidence of that. There's no sign of Harry in
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this program. Maybe he has bigger fish to fry to
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spice it up a bit. Megan starts talking a little
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bit about her time in the royal family. She drops
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a few things here and there and talks about her
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time in the UK. I think if there's any opportunity
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for them to have another dig, they will use it,
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even if it's in a more subtle way. I think
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they've exhausted their ammunition in terms of Harry's book, spare
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the Oprah Winfrey interview and the sixth part Netflix series.
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I think they've done about as much damage as they can.
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And there you have it. If you'd like to email
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us our addresses of the Palacentric at gmail dot com.
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click the link that's in our show notes. My Frances my,
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thanks to John mcdermoy. This is Palace Intrigue and good
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terms