Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
Speaker 1: It's Tuesday, April twenty eight, twenty twenty six. Penny Woe
Speaker 1: wants China to commit to fuel and fertilizer for Australia,
Speaker 1: and she's prepared to leverage our ninety three billion dollar
Speaker 1: iron ore trade to get it. The Foreign Minister will
Speaker 1: meet with her Asian counterparts on a diplomatic trip this week.
Speaker 1: Plans by the Albanese government to shake up capital gains
Speaker 1: tax and negative gearing in next month's federal budget would
Speaker 1: add just five billion dollars to the bottom line over
Speaker 1: the next four years, and it would do little to
Speaker 1: improve housing supply, according to a new analysis in The
Speaker 1: Australian Today. Those exclusives alive right now at Beaustralian dot
Speaker 1: com dot au. He's picked a fight with Donald Trump,
Speaker 1: embarked on an unsanctioned royal tour and undermined one of
Speaker 1: his late grandmother's last wishes. So what is rins Harry
Speaker 1: playing at and what will the Royals do about it?
Speaker 1: Today we unpack the inner workings of Sussex Inc. With
Speaker 1: Associate editor Jenna Clark. She's here in just a moment.
Speaker 1: Jenna Clark is an associate editor with The Australian, and
Speaker 1: I've dragged it back into the front to help me
Speaker 1: understand what on earth Harry and Meghan, the Duke and
Speaker 1: Duchess of Sussex, are actually up to. Jenna, I am
Speaker 1: looking at the statement that the Queen released in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty after the so called Sandringham Summit, where Harry and
Speaker 1: Meghan had pitched their big idea of being half in
Speaker 1: half out working not working royals, and what the Queen
Speaker 1: said at the time was that with a Queen's blessing,
Speaker 1: the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and
Speaker 1: associations while they can no longer formally represent the Queen.
Speaker 1: The Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will
Speaker 1: continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty. The Sussexes
Speaker 1: will not use their His or her Royal Highness titles
Speaker 1: as they are no longer working members of the royal family.
Speaker 1: So looking at what the Sussexes are actually up to,
Speaker 1: and let's start with Prince Harry's visit to Ukraine, where
Speaker 1: he showed up in Kiev and made a speech nominally
Speaker 1: in association with his Invictus charity.
Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished leaders and friends, it is an
Speaker 2: honor and a privilege to return to Kiev, my third
Speaker 2: visit to your beautiful country, and the privilege to be
Speaker 2: asked to speak to you today.
Speaker 1: Do you think they're sticking to the letter of that
Speaker 1: agreement with the Queen?
Speaker 3: Look.
Speaker 4: I think they would definitely have lawyers poring over that
Speaker 4: statement for sure, because it just seems a very, very
Speaker 4: confusing considering we've just come off the back of that
Speaker 4: non royal royal tour slash money making exercise in Australia,
Speaker 4: and then all of a sudden he's hosting and fronting
Speaker 4: security summits in Ukraine, which you know, sure, but I
Speaker 4: don't think that their whole concept of what the Sussexes
Speaker 4: actually stand for and what their brand is all about
Speaker 4: has really cutting through. I don't even think Harry knows
Speaker 4: exactly what he's doing, and I think he just looks
Speaker 4: like a little boy lost and that's why he's running
Speaker 4: around the globe now embarking on these trauma porn tours.
Speaker 2: I am not here as a politician. I am here
Speaker 2: as a soldier who understands service as a humanitarian, who
Speaker 2: has seen the human cost of conflict, and as a
Speaker 2: friend of Ukraine who believes the world must not grow
Speaker 2: used to this war or numb to its consequences.
Speaker 1: It's kind of sad to see him almost sort of
Speaker 1: playing dress ups as a royal, isn't it, going to
Speaker 1: lay wreaths at cenotaphs and showing up, as you say,
Speaker 1: in war zones Like if I did that, people would
Speaker 1: think I was insane.
Speaker 4: Look, I think you can kind of understand where Harry
Speaker 4: is coming from, because when he did kick off his
Speaker 4: remarks in Ukraine, he did, you know, I'm here as
Speaker 4: a soldier. And one thing that we all understand about
Speaker 4: the armed forces, you never ever leave because it is
Speaker 4: your family, it is your you know, it is basically
Speaker 4: more than a vocation, and it's do with you for life.
Speaker 4: So you can understand his passion for that, and we
Speaker 4: see that through Invictus and things like that. But then
Speaker 4: when he's standing there saying I don't come as a royal,
Speaker 4: I don't come as a politician. I come as a humanitarian.
Speaker 4: It's all very you know, the American buzzwords just keep
Speaker 4: popping up. He's and he's telling one of his favorite
Speaker 4: journalists when he's there, I'm here to speak truth to
Speaker 4: power and you couldn't help it, Ayral thinking you've definitely
Speaker 4: caught that on the school run in Montecito.
Speaker 2: For sure, this is a moment for American leadership, a
Speaker 2: moment for America to show that it can honor its
Speaker 2: international treaty obligations, not out of charity, but out of
Speaker 2: its own enduring role in global security and strategic stability.
Speaker 4: It just feels a bit icky about what he's sort
Speaker 4: of doing. He's kind of like the Malcolm Turmbul of Royals.
Speaker 4: You know, he used to be cool, so influential within
Speaker 4: the institution of which he helmed, and then it just
Speaker 4: turned out to be a really big disappointment. Now you know,
Speaker 4: they're just boring white dudes throwing rocks from their mansions.
Speaker 3: It's just really disappointing.
Speaker 2: Prince Harry, how's he doing?
Speaker 5: How's his wife?
Speaker 2: Please give him my regards? Okay, No, no, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I know one thing.
Speaker 3: Prince Harry is not speaking for the UK, that's for sure.
Speaker 2: I think I'm speaking for the UK more than Prince Harry.
Speaker 2: But I appreciate his advice, great advice.
Speaker 1: He also started a fight with Donald Trump, and Harry
Speaker 1: is not silly. He would have known that going to
Speaker 1: a war zone and essentially criticizing the West and Trump
Speaker 1: for not having saved Ukraine before now was going to
Speaker 1: start a fight. And Donald Trump, you know, was happy
Speaker 1: to play ball. He really criticized Harry quite sharply. And
Speaker 1: this is someone Trump is a massive monoch. Kirsten royalists.
Speaker 1: He loves the royal family, he loves the pomp and ceremony.
Speaker 1: You think you get the field. He was quite late
Speaker 1: to be king himself. We're just waiting for those means
Speaker 1: to roll through next week. And again you can just imagine.
Speaker 4: The absolute clutching of pearls that's going on not only
Speaker 4: in Buckingham Palace from this visit from Harry, but also
Speaker 4: number ten because don't forget, we've got the state visit
Speaker 4: from King Charles and Queen Kimilla kicking off to the
Speaker 4: US within a manner of hours. And the fact that
Speaker 4: you know, Charles has basically been dispatched to fix everything
Speaker 4: that Sirkis Starmer has cannot do. It is just it's
Speaker 4: going to be one for the ages, that's for sure,
Speaker 4: and it is interesting to see some of the commentators
Speaker 4: say that maybe this is a trip that, you know,
Speaker 4: Queen Elizabeth would have canceled. But Charles is sticking to
Speaker 4: his guns and he's heading over there to the United
Speaker 4: States after a very fractuous weekend obviously for the President
Speaker 4: and the administration.
Speaker 5: But we begin with what appears to have been an
Speaker 5: assassination attempt on the president another one and his top
Speaker 5: officials in Washington, DC yesterday. Donald Trump has called the
Speaker 5: accused and sick and described a frightening incident as a
Speaker 5: moment of unity.
Speaker 3: So it's going to be very interesting.
Speaker 4: I think maybe Harry's comments could be the least of
Speaker 4: their problems, but definitely for the royal family, it's going
Speaker 4: to be front and center. I mean, maybe I've got
Speaker 4: this conspiracy theory that probably I need to add some
Speaker 4: meat to the bones that Harry is basically being dispatched,
Speaker 4: this double agent to the royal family, you know, go
Speaker 4: in there and add some WD forty to an international
Speaker 4: a very tricky international situation. And then the official royals
Speaker 4: come in and add the pomp and grandeur and the
Speaker 4: tiaras and the air kisses with the administration to kind
Speaker 4: of make things all rosy again. I'm pretty sure the
Speaker 4: British government and the royal family would like that right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a role that the Queen might not have
Speaker 1: thought of. It would probably be quite useful and certainly
Speaker 1: saw Trump absolutely loving being fated at Buckingham Palace, sitting
Speaker 1: next to Katter and toasting her. She was wearing a
Speaker 1: gold sort of larmeaie dress, which was very appropriate for him.
Speaker 1: It looked like the wallpaper at Trump Tower in New
Speaker 1: York City.
Speaker 4: Totally, it was very much Shamara a Lago meets Sandria.
Speaker 4: And again this is the genius of the royals. They
Speaker 4: absolutely knew how to play Trump like a fiddle, knowing
Speaker 4: full well that he loves, like you said, to be
Speaker 4: fated and to be treated like king. So watch out
Speaker 4: what this mean factory could have installed this week. But
Speaker 4: also on the flip side of that is the darker
Speaker 4: side to don't forget that there's still this bubbling issue
Speaker 4: in the US around Harry's visa, because remember when it
Speaker 4: was disclosed that he used drugs in his memoir, that
Speaker 4: has sort of been one of the aces in Trump's
Speaker 4: back pocket when there's ever sort of some criticism around
Speaker 4: the Royal family or all things like that, but that
Speaker 4: sort of been put on the back burner by the
Speaker 4: security department over there. So it's going to be interesting
Speaker 4: to see when that issue arises, probably within the Daily
Speaker 4: Mail in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: Coming up. How Megan's spinning her wardrobe into passive income.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Meghan on the quasi Royal tour of Australia.
Speaker 1: There were some engagements which were strictly commercial. There were
Speaker 1: some engagements which were not, like, for example, the visit
Speaker 1: to a children's hospital.
Speaker 6: This was the first official stop for Harry and Meghan
Speaker 6: on their Australian too I hear at the Royal Children's
Speaker 6: Hospital in Melbourne. There was quite a lot of build
Speaker 6: up well before they arrived, with lots of patients and
Speaker 6: families and visitors and even staff gathering here in the
Speaker 6: foyer of the hospital hoping for a chance to see
Speaker 6: Harry and Meghan and even have a word.
Speaker 1: But those were subsequently commercialized by the launch of her
Speaker 1: involvement and in fact her part ownership in a platform
Speaker 1: where you could shop Meghan's wardrobe. Now she is undoubtedly
Speaker 1: one of the most stylish women in the world. She's
Speaker 1: a great influence on fashion and you know she's seeing
Speaker 1: an opportunity there to make some money.
Speaker 5: Can you tell me a.
Speaker 1: Little bit about that platform, How does it work and
Speaker 1: what does it mean for that line that the Queen
Speaker 1: drew about everything that the success did being within her
Speaker 1: Majesty's values.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is.
Speaker 4: I think that would be the one thing that would
Speaker 4: definitely stick in the late Queen's cross, specifically with the
Speaker 4: fact that you know, I mean, you see a lot
Speaker 4: of those fan sites now popping up probably on your
Speaker 4: Instagram or your or your TikTok accounts, where they sort
Speaker 4: of highlight exactly what specific royal members of royal families
Speaker 4: from around the globe a wearing on certain occasions. Meghan
Speaker 4: has decided that she would like some affiliate links for
Speaker 4: the affluent. She has sort of spun it the way
Speaker 4: that she wants to make sure that specific brands that
Speaker 4: she chooses to wear because she understands her power, her
Speaker 4: commercial power. They receive the kickbacks and the financial gains
Speaker 4: from when people go searching for things that she wears
Speaker 4: in public. But the very difference, the difference part there
Speaker 4: is that she will also be receiving, as reported by Vogue,
Speaker 4: I believe between ten and fifteen percent in commission of
Speaker 4: all those sales. And look, on one hand, it's been
Speaker 4: amazing because apparently it was an incredible coup when she
Speaker 4: launched it in Australia, because a lot of local brands
Speaker 4: such as Mateo, Camilla and Mark received quite a bit
Speaker 4: of a boost from having her wear they're wears around town.
Speaker 4: But also I think it's one thing for them to receive,
Speaker 4: you know, one hundred percent of those profits from when
Speaker 4: people decide to go online and search for that specific
Speaker 4: trench code or that specific shirt. But Megan is getting
Speaker 4: a handy little profit on the side there. But again
Speaker 4: I guess girl's got to eat. Girls got to bank
Speaker 4: some money to make your jam.
Speaker 1: The difference with Kasher and when she very consciously wears
Speaker 1: something by a designer whom she wants to boost is
Speaker 1: that she doesn't get a cut, but it is incredibly effective.
Speaker 1: There was a brand called Strathberry of handmade kind of
Speaker 1: handbags and luggage in the United Kingdom which was little
Speaker 1: known until she wore a couple of their clutches here
Speaker 1: and there. That is now a multi multi one hundred
Speaker 1: million dollar one hundred million pound business in the UK.
Speaker 1: She single handedly saved it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think she also did that with a
Speaker 4: Hosary brand, much to Meghan's probably disapproval, and also l
Speaker 4: K Bennett when she burst on the scene shortly after
Speaker 4: her wedding where she wore the LK. Bennett nude pumps
Speaker 4: and they are now a bit of a staple for
Speaker 4: every single, you know, millennial and Oldham gen y woman
Speaker 4: known to me.
Speaker 1: I've got a pair. I have a pair, even though
Speaker 1: I'm slightly older than those. You know. I'm a massive
Speaker 1: fan of the Katherine wardrobe. I even bought a hat
Speaker 1: that she wants wore to be you know, when they
Speaker 1: do the procession to church on Christmas Day, she was
Speaker 1: wearing this cool sort of blue Ford araal which I
Speaker 1: then bought that would.
Speaker 4: Look it amazing. I am a sucker for a print
Speaker 4: and I have bought my little ones the replicas of
Speaker 4: the Jenny K Kowala jumper, the Princess Diana war I
Speaker 4: think in the late babies, and I wish it fit me.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 6: Well.
Speaker 1: We're just doing our part for fashion, keeping the fashion
Speaker 1: industry alive.
Speaker 3: Yep, well without getting links.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, surely we could monetize this. Now there's a
Speaker 1: speculation that the main royals, the Prince and Princess of Wales,
Speaker 1: are going to be coming to Australia on a tour,
Speaker 1: and speculation I'm seeing in some magazines that the Sussex's
Speaker 1: visit has kind of accelerated their planning or made it
Speaker 1: more meaningful for them to come. What do you think
Speaker 1: about that.
Speaker 4: I think that's very true, and I think that they're
Speaker 4: probably going to be watching things like opinion polls bubbling
Speaker 4: away in the background, because we tend to forget that
Speaker 4: it's not just the royal family, it's those hardcore coterias
Speaker 4: in the background, which are very much like political animals.
Speaker 4: They are watching to make sure, you know, when they
Speaker 4: need to go and sprinkle a little bit of fairy
Speaker 4: dust on Commonwealth nations, to make sure that they understand
Speaker 4: that they are still a part of our country, whether
Speaker 4: some people in the Republican movement like it or not,
Speaker 4: they're still the heads of state to some varying levels.
Speaker 4: People that understand and look, I think if you could
Speaker 4: imagine after the winter, we're probably going to have very
Speaker 4: uncertain times, the budget is looking pretty bleak, and then
Speaker 4: all of a sudden, springtime comes and there we have
Speaker 4: imagined the Prince and Princess of Wales and potentially they
Speaker 4: could even bring their three children, which would be a
Speaker 4: massive coup that would probably set social media and the
Speaker 4: local media and of course their fans alike. If they're
Speaker 4: on the steps of the Sydney Opper House comes September
Speaker 4: or something like.
Speaker 1: That, well, I'll start saving up right now because I
Speaker 1: think I'll be purchasing some sailor suits for my children
Speaker 1: and you know, yipsid what are they called fascinators for myself.
Speaker 3: Definitely, I'll see you there. I'll bring the parasol.
Speaker 1: Jenny Clark, thank you very much.
Speaker 3: Thanks for that.
Speaker 1: Jenna Clark is an associate editor with The Australian. You
Speaker 1: can check out all the latest from Buckingham Palace and
Speaker 1: Montecito anytime at the Australian dot com dot a yu