Nov. 24, 2025

Meghan’ Markles “Duchess of Sussex” Door Announcement Sparks Etiquette Row and New Harper’s Backlash

Show Notes
Transcript

Meghan Markle’s Harper’s Bazaar cover is making headlines not just for the clothes and quotes, but for the moment a house manager reportedly announced, “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,” into an almost empty Upper East Side room. Supporters say it is simply protocol and branding, with etiquette expert Myka Meier noting that using a British title socially or professionally “is not unusual or improper,” especially when that’s how someone is widely known. Critics, however, accuse Meghan of clinging to status she once claimed not to care about, with royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams calling the scene “pricelessly comic” and suggesting it would fit straight into a South Park sketch. The New York Post’s Kristin Fleming compared it to an old Saturday Night Live bit about overblown introductions, while others pointed out that protocol usually calls for visitors to be presented to a royal, not the royal being announced to a guest. Meanwhile, opinion writers are picking apart the “makeup-free” aesthetic of the shoot, with The Independent’s Katie Rosseinsky questioning why bare-faced celebrity portraits are treated as acts of bravery in between luxury knitwear, Balenciaga, and perfect skin.

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Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I

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am your host, Mark Francis. Meghan's Harper bizarre cover guarnered

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all sorts of reactions. Let's begin with her introduction to

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the room. Writer Caitlin Greenidge described arriving at a friend's

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Upper east Side home to meet Meghan, noting, when I

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enter the house, manager announces Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, even

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though we appear to be the only other two people

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in the house. That single line prompted a flurry of

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reactions on social media. One user on x asked, wait,

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this is a direct quote from the interview. Another replied,

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I bet that happens everywhere, just like her use of

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h Others accused Meghan of clinging to her title, with

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one comment reading her royal title is worth nothing to

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her now, so why be all desperate over using it?

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Another recalled her Oprah appearance, writing didn't she say in

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the Oprah interview that titles meant nothing to her? Others

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criticized what they call pretentiousness, adding they were surprised it

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had taken this long for people to notice. Etiquette expert

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Micah Meyer tells US Weekly. From an etiquette standpoint, using

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a British title, either socially or professionally globally including the US,

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is not unusual or improper, especially when the person is

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widely known by that title. The choice of how each

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member of the royal family wishes to be addressed is

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ultimately up to that individual. In Meghan's case, specifically, her

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title would be the formal way of address, which is

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likely how her team was trained to introduce her. Meyer added,

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it is more a matter of personal style or preference

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of each titled person. Fair enough, but why is Meghan

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being introduced into a room? Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told

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The Daily Mail, I have often felt that Megan took

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to heart Oscar Wilde's dictum to love oneself is the

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beginning of a lifetime's romance. He went on to say

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that the exchange is described in the piece would have

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made a wonderful skit in the South Park series, arguing

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that the detail speaks volumes in an interview calculated not

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to offend about the importance Megan attaches to her royal status.

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Fitz Williams noted that the etiquette dictates the visitor should

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be announced to the Royal, not the other way around,

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so this breaks protocol, he said, adding it also makes

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it look silly. He then referenced the well known comedy

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sketch from the opening ceremony of the London twenty twelve Olympics.

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Someone is obviously announced when say, James Bond arrives to

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escort Queen Elizabeth to the Olympics. Fitz Williams said, he

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has announced as mister Bond, your majesty, and then he enters.

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Fitz Williams argued that the latest incident fits a broader pattern.

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Megan wants to have a halo in the interview by

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saying nothing nasty about anyone and being full of positive thoughts. However,

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in her use of her title in this pricelessly comic way,

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she speaks volumes about herself. She could be alone and

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be announced. Official guidance from Buckingham Palace and Etiquette Authority

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Debrettz supports the view that it is normally the visitor

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who is presented to the Royal, not the Royal who

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is announced to the visitor. Presentations, as they are formally known,

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require no more than the visitor's name, as in the

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traditional introduction, Your Majesty, may I present mister John Smith.

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Upon being presented and upon departing, men are expected to

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bow and women to curtsey, though a handshake is now

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common in less formal settings. Debretz also reiterates the correct

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form of address, Your Majesty is used initially for the

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King or Queen, followed by sir or man, while other

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members of the royal family are addressed by their styles,

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such as His Royal Highness. Harry and Meghan stopped using

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their HRH styles after stepping back from royal duties, though

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their ducal titles remain. Any removal of those would require legislation.

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Perhaps the most direct was Kristin Fleming, writing for The

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New York Post under the headline Meghan Michael has risen

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to truly comic levels of self importance in her ridiculous

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Harper's Bizarre Interview, Fleming writes about the introduction of the

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Duchess of Sussex to a mostly empty room. You seriously

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can't just open the door yourself. Maybe give your friends

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help the day off. The scene immediately conjures up the

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old Saturday Night Live sketch in which Garrett Morris playing

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a crier at a Victorian era ball announces the arrival

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of Lord and Lady Duchberg more palacing just a moment.

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Also drawing attention Meghan's confirmation that she personally initiated the

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contact that led to her much discussed appearance at balanci

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AGA's Paris Fashion Week show. Supporters called the move an

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example of her taking control of her narrative, while critics

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said it breached royal convention and appeared overly self promotional.

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Reports have suggested that Prince Harry was uneasy about Megan

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attending the Paris show without a formal invitation, citing concerns

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over security in the optics of an unannounced appearance. She

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also then took what some called a tasteless selfie near

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where Diana was killed. Megan's comments about her marriage also

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prompted a wide discussion. Speaking about Prince Harry, she said,

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no one loves me more than Harry, describing him as

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her greatest source of strength. The line circulated quickly on

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social media, dividing opinion between those who found it affectionate

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and others who viewed it as feeding into an already

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polarizing narrative. According to editor in chief, Samara Neser. The

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cover was the combination of a conversation that began five

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years ago. One can only imagine the emails that must

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have passed back and forth in that time. It is

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undeniably a major moment for the Hearst title. At forty four.

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She fronts the issue in a black dere bar suit,

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tiffany diamond drop earrings, and loosely styled hair. Her makeup,

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credited to British artist Diane Kendall, is intentionally minimal, a

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sweep of mascara, a touch of soft pink. Followers will

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recognize it as very much in line with the barely

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there esthetic she has favored recently. Glimpsed in that Instagram

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clip of her dressing table, whether she, like Pamela Anderson,

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moves falling into a bare faced beauty era remains to

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be seen. Inside the magazine, she appears in a red, balanced,

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younger cape dress, the label whose Paris show she attended

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this season, along with a series of looks that echo

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her post royal style, wide leg cream proenza shouldered trousers

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with a Kashmir knit, crisp black trousers paired with an

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unbuttoned celene shirt and a pencil skirt and trench ensemble

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that nods unmistakably to her suits years. As for the

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styling choices, her long standing relationship with de Or continues.

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It was among the first major houses she turned to

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after her marriage in twenty eighteen, and she has worn

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its coachuur for significant moments since, from Archie's christening portrait

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to the Platinum Jubilee. Became the subject of such intense

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speculation that Dior issued a statement in twenty twenty three

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denying she was set to become an ambassador alongside fellow

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royal Beatrice Barromeo. On makeup, the Duchess appears to align

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herself with the current movement of midlife women rejecting heavy cosmetics.

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Although she has always favored a natural look, her wedding

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makeup famously allowed her freckles to shine through. The Harper's

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Bizarre shoot strips things back even further. It is a

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quiet message she has no interest in conforming to unattainable

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beauty standards. On Here, she opts once again for the informal,

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slightly undone styling that became her hallmark during her time

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as a working royal. While she never embraced the more

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structured princess blow dry, she leaned into relaxed buns with

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face framing wisps, even on her wedding day, signaling a

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more laid back sensibility. In her pose, she offers a

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direct gaze and a gentle, understated smile. Portraitit more in

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line with royal tradition than Hollywood glamour. Additional black and

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white images of oak Mario Tastino's compositions of Diana, Princess

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of Wales, while shots of her barefoot recaller trademark Megan Flourish,

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and the cover itself makes a statement using her full

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duchess title and declaring that she meets her moment. In

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The Independent, Katie Rozanski asks can we please stop applauding

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celebrities like Megan Mirkle for posing makeup free? In an

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opinion piece, she writes, it's her face, or more precisely,

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what's on or not on her face that has got

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people talking because in keeping with this pared back esthetic,

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Megan appears to be pretty much makeup free, skin brows

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that has sculpted but not too sculpted, and a smattering

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of freckles. I should add, of course, for accuracy's sake

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that Harper's has credited the veteran makeup artist Diane Kendall

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for the shoot, so it's probably not the case that

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the Duchess just rolled out of bed beforehand, but the

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overall feel is natural and low key. There's no denying

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that Megan looks incredible and that her fresh face nicely

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compliments the clean lines of the understated outfits she's been

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styled in. But what can't help but needle me is

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the way that this cover and the many many celebrities

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that have followed a similar formula, are using going makeup

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free as sort of a shorthand for honesty, relatability, and

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my personal bugbear bravery. You can practically visualize the words

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authentic and real pinned on the mood board beforehand. Her

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truisms would possibly carry more weight if she hadn't spent

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most of the past year trying to sell all of

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us a lifestyle that seems to the casual observer at

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least pretty perfect. The Lauro piano knitwere the Nancy Meyer's

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movie worthy kitchen. The homemade jam sure said flaws might

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be barely perceptible with the naked eye, but that doesn't matter.

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They're actually just like you. Showing off blowing skin and

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perfect bone structure has been reframed, aimed as some sort

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of radical act that is somehow supposed to empower the

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rest of us. And as the mediate landscape has changed,

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we've been introduced to more opportunities for celebrities to supposedly

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defy the norm by an assuing foundation in mascara. Earlier

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this year, Meghan went make up free for her podcast

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interview with friend Jamie Kern Lima. She and I decided

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to do the episode the same way we spend most

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of our time together, with no makeup on, in our

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sweats and cozy it up in these two rocking chairs

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I have at my house. Lima gushed as she introduced

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the recording. The implication, of course, was that by swerving cosmetics,

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their chat was somehow more real than unfiltered. And there

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you have it. If you'd like to email us O

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addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Don't forget,

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we have a new series out called Crown and Controversy

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Prince Andrew and new episodes drop tomorrow. You can see

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the link in the show notes, or just search for

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Crown and controversy. Prince Andrew, I'm Mark Francis mean. Thanks

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to you and John McDermott. This is Palaes, intrigue and

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Meghan’ Markles “Duchess of Sussex” Door Announcement Sparks Etiquette Row and New Harper’s Backlash

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