00:00Charlie, I almost feel like I dare say I'm back in 2020 because Meghan and Harry are on a visit
00:06to Jordan, which is kind of giving official royal visit vibes. It is giving official royal visit
00:12vibes with the exception of the forewarning. So this, as far as the world is concerned,
00:20as far as those not in Meghan and Harry's immediate camp are concerned, was a surprise
00:25visit. The couple touched down in the Middle East this morning and set about going on a crazy
00:33schedule of different events, but no one really had any awareness that they were going to be there.
00:39As far as we were all concerned, they were still chilling in their mansion in Montecito.
00:44And I also think the timing of it is very interesting. There is obviously a lot going on
00:51with the royal family in the UK. This visit comes about a week after no longer Prince Andrew was
01:00arrested and held in custody for 11 hours for questioning over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
01:07And it's interesting that Harry and Meghan have not really said anything about that scandal. I'm sure
01:14they've been asked a thousand times over. And it almost looks as though with this visit,
01:21they are trying to separate themselves even more so from the British royals, especially at this time of
01:29kind of turmoil for the monarchy. And I think Meghan and Harry choosing to go on this trip when they
01:38did
01:38really speaks volumes about them wanting to prove that they can still go about the kind of positive work
01:49that they did when they were members of the royal family, but without the ties to the monarchy that
01:54have become very messy for a number of different reasons.
01:57It's very royal-esque that they took this trip to Jordan. They're there for humanitarian reasons,
02:03and they're sort of shining a light on different causes as they did when they were official royals
02:09and as their relatives do. Not for nothing, Prince Harry is very close to his cousins,
02:15Eugenie and Beatrice, Andrew's children. So I'm sure a lot of people, fans are thinking,
02:21oh, they must be so happy about what's going on because they have kind of stepped away and have
02:27spoken out publicly about this. But I'm sure it's even more complicated for Harry to really
02:34become involved in it again because of that relationship that he has with his cousins.
02:39And as you said, it sort of just seems like they had this trip planned, and now they're moving
02:44forward with it to kind of separate themselves and continue to grow their own entity. And they have
02:50been focusing on these causes in Jordan that they probably pre-planned before anything happened
02:58with Andrew. Yeah, because again, even the royal family didn't know that Andrew was going to be
03:02arrested. So there's no way that Harry and Meghan would have. No, and I don't think that this trip
03:06was in any way an attempt from Harry and Meghan to prove that they're so much better than the other
03:13members of the royal family. I agree with you. This kind of trip is not organized last minute. You know,
03:19I don't think they heard the news that Andrew was arrested, got on the phone to their travel agent
03:23and was like, rally the private jet. Off we go. I think this trip was definitely a long time in
03:30the
03:30making. They also did it in collaboration with the World Health Organization. So that will have taken
03:36some planning. They did a lot of their kind of scheduled events today with the director general of the
03:43World Health Organization. And, you know, to your point, we have talked at length about
03:50Harry and Meghan kind of wanting to do it all, if that makes sense. But, you know, they have always
03:57said that humanitarian work, charitable work is at the center of everything that they do. And I think
04:07this trip is really one of the first times in recent history that we've seen them actually putting that
04:15ethos into practice. You know, so it's all been about Meghan's lifestyle brand and the Netflix show and
04:23this, that and the other. And, you know, this is really the first time in a very long time. And,
04:29you know, I won't lie, my memory is not sensational. But to the best of my recollection,
04:34this is the first time in a in a long while that we've really seen them taking part in any
04:41kind of
04:42activity that is 110 percent dedicated to humanitarian efforts. Right. So I think that's
04:48interesting. And, you know, they didn't kind of focus on any one thing, obviously. I know they were
04:55busy for such a short trip. They I mean, on their first day, they literally hit the ground running.
05:00They must have got some good sleep on their red eye flight because, you know, they kind of landed in
05:05Jordan. They attended an event with the World Health Organization, a kind of round table.
05:11Then from there, they went straight to a youth center in Amman where they were seen showing off
05:17their football skills or soccer skills. Playing soccer. I thought those pictures were so funny because
05:23it was like they had a battle of who was better. And I'm like, whose form is better? I think
05:29Prince Harry
05:29probably grew up kicking a soccer ball around with William. I think so. But it's funny that you drew
05:34those comparisons to the royal family because, you know, it it is almost identical to the kinds of
05:42things that William and Kate do. You know, that same thing. William and Kate have always, whenever
05:46they do anything related to sport, find a way to make a competition out of it and incorporate
05:51themselves in trying the game of whatever it is. Right. It's almost like with this trip,
05:57Harry and Meghan are trying to become the American royals, you know, like the Kennedys can move
06:03aside. Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr., even though they are all over the news right now because of
06:09the Ryan Murphy show. Pause love story. Right. And start looking at Harry and Meghan.
06:13They don't need to be British royals anymore. Like they are content being Americans.
06:16But yeah, so they visited a youth center and then they went to a hospital again with the
06:24WHO director general and they spent some time with a burn victim from Gaza, a 14 year old
06:30called Maria. It's interesting, I think, because obviously the tensions between Israel and Palestine
06:39are very fraught. And Harry and Meghan, you know, through this trip, they I don't think they have
06:47waded into that kind of hot button topic. I think that this was very much about
06:54kind of wanting to shine a light on a number of different humanitarian causes, but also demonstrate
07:03that human life is the most important thing. And, you know, the victims of any conflict deserve
07:11an opportunity to share their story. That's kind of my thinking when I've seen their schedule and
07:18all of that kind of stuff. Yeah, I would be so interested to have them do. I mean, I know
07:24the
07:24royal family doesn't do this, so they probably will follow suit with how the royal family handles things.
07:28But I would be interested from them to hear like a recap of their trip from their own mouths.
07:33Like, what did they take away from it? Why were they there on what we seem to think is a
07:38more
07:38spontaneous trip? Because it was sort of a surprise to the public. And what they learned from it? Like,
07:44what are some takeaway points that they learned from visiting that hospital? Because we're seeing
07:49images and pictures and, you know, Meghan's bending down and meeting with someone in a hospital bed,
07:55but we're not really involved in the conversations that she's having. So it would be interesting for them
08:01to take a new approach, in my opinion, and step out of that straight and narrow line that the royals
08:07follow. And give us sort of a recap. Like, what did you learn? What was your vision in going there?
08:12What were some takeaways? I'm sure they won't because of that. And, you know, the different layers and
08:18levels of everything that goes into visiting, you know, any place that they that they have that they go to
08:24for the royal family, but especially with this cause.
08:27Well, and it's interesting, because, you know, anytime any members of the royal family
08:31go on any kind of official engagement, whether it is, you know, overseas, or in the UK,
08:37they are accompanied by a small group of dedicated royal correspondents who have, you know, been given
08:44a place, much like the White House press corps, right, there is a royal press corps. And so we get
08:51anecdotes and, you know, reports of like, Kate was seen laughing with a little girl and William shared
08:58a joke with her dad about, you know, how awful it was for them to move into a new house
09:02and what a
09:02nightmare that's been and all of that kind of stuff. And I feel like we don't ever get that personal
09:10touch exactly from Harry and Meghan. And I do think it will be interesting to see
09:18how they treat this trip in terms of, you know, was this a kind of invitation from the World Health
09:26Organization that they thought, yes, great. Did they reach out to the World Health Organization and say,
09:31we'd like to visit? But it would be interesting to know whether this trip had a longer term purpose,
09:38whether it was kind of an educational exercise for Harry and Meghan, and what they kind of plan
09:44to do next, whether this is an indication that they would like to do more of these kinds of
09:49international trips. So I don't know, I, you know, I think a lot of recent activity from the two of
09:56them has been like, oh, Meghan's on a red carpet at a gala organized by a charity or, so I
10:03would really
10:04love to know a bit more about what it is that they've got going on.
10:09I was thinking that as well. And I know the Princess Diana superfans are going to be
10:14unhappy probably with this comparison, but it's kind of giving when Princess Diana and Charles split,
10:21she was still supporting these causes and stepping out and doing things and kind of trying to make her
10:26own way in her own path. They're doing it in a different way, obviously. But as you said,
10:31it kind of feels like they're tapping back into that humanitarian side that they always have said
10:36they're going to be part of and interested in. We're seeing that come to light more now than just
10:41the business side of things that they've been working on. So I think we're going to have to
10:44keep watching to see if they, if they start doing more of this.
10:47I mean, it could just be, you know, the Harry and Meghan global tour, who knows?
10:52Yeah.
10:52Yeah. But yeah, I do. I think this trip kind of stuck out to me in a number of different
10:58ways.
10:58And I really do think it could be the kind of turning point for the two of them in terms
11:04of
11:04what they're going to do next. You know, the Netflix deal is a bit wishy-washy. The likelihood
11:09is Meghan's series is not coming back. So they do have ample opportunity to really recommit
11:16themselves to their philanthropic endeavors. Try saying that 10 times fast. And so I'm interested
11:25to see where it goes. And, you know, I think, say what you want about Harry and Meghan. But I
11:31do think
11:32that shining a light on any person or persons who has been the victim of a conflict or who is
11:40experiencing hardship, I think that is a great thing to do. And, you know, I know everyone out
11:45there will be a surprise that I don't have anything kind of critical to say. But I think it's a
11:50great
11:50thing to do. And yeah, I'm just interested to see what it leads to.
11:55Me too. And we'll keep an eye on it, of course, as we always do.
11:58As always. As ever.
11:59As ever. And hey, you know what? This is really their bread and butter. They learned how to do this.
12:04Harry learned from a young age. Meghan learned when she joined the royal family. So they know how to
12:07do this. And you could see more of it.
12:09Oh, well, yeah.
12:10Thanks, Charlie.
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