Prince William Takes Over Prince Harry Role & Taylor Swift Makes Nod To Meghan Markle

Prince William and Princess Catherine get new titles as Harry is stripped of his on the palace website. This is an appointed thing. This is simply someone going back and reading through the copywriting and making the appropriate edits. Plus, royal author Gareth Russell reveals that Harry and Meghan will be invited to Balmoral on the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death. So I can't imagine them saying yes to an invitation now for no other reason than nothing really has changed in the dynamic in this family. Plus, fashion influencer Morgan Freeman tells us how to get Kate's looks for less. It's a long, tedious process, but I really try to just show pieces that I'm proud of, pieces that really do resemble or sometimes directly replicate, but on a budget. We've got that plus so much more on today's Royally Us. Hello to our fellow royal lovers and welcome to Royally Us. I'm Christina, that's Christine, and welcome to another big week of royal news. We have a really fun show for everybody. I'm so excited for everybody to see our interview with Morgan. She gives some really great tips and tricks on how to dress like Kate for less. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. I absolutely love chatting with Morgan. And we've said that the summer is the quiet season, but this was not a quiet week. We have so much to get into. So much to get into. And like always, see what you guys had to say about last week's show first. Liz says, let's not forget that Harry and Meghan do not wish the royal family happy birthday. They have created so much chaos, disrespect and damage to the royal family and the monarchy. The royal family has been more than gracious to the troublesome twosome. The royal family is saying enough is enough. We were talking about Meghan's birthday last week about how they didn't wish them a happy birthday. But I think that that tradition may be in the past now. Who knew birthday messages were gonna be so contentious? Seriously, who knew? Another, Bogus Bambi says, at Harry's next court date, he will give evidence that his remaining allegations are within the statute of limitations. So his remaining complaint could still get thrown out. He will not necessarily testify further as this case involves several complaints. The best and strongest cases will be chosen this fall and presented to the judge next year. So, well, yeah, we'll see what Harry presents to the judge in the upcoming trial to see if this does fall within those time limits that were given. So we'll have to wait and see. Yeah, this is a big case. There's a lot of people involved. So there's a lot that still has to play out. Lot that still has to play out. All right, let's get into our news of the week. And there was a lot of big title news this week. So Prince William is now in charge of Prince Harry's former military unit by order of their father, King Charles. For William, that means that he can now add the honorifics of Colonel-in-Chief, the Army Air Corps, Colonel-in-Chief, the Mercian Regiment, and Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Valley. So basically he just has a lot of titles. So a long list of titles to what he already has. So as Buckingham Palace noted, William is a veteran of the British military with extensive service in the Royal Air Force in particular, during which he served as RAF's search and rescue pilot from 2010 to 2013. So it is William's new role as Colonel-in-Chief to the Army Air Corps, a position previously held by his father that now places him in charge of his estranged brother's old army unit. As we know, Harry went on multiple tours of Afghanistan during his time in the British military, but he was stripped of those titles when he left the Royal family back in 2020. So along with William's new titles, Princess Catherine was also bestowed with the new military monikers, making her the Commodore-in-Chief, Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief, First Queen's Dragoon of Arts, and Royal Honorary Air Commodore. There's a lot to get through, but there's a lot of titles given out, and they weren't the only members of the Royal family that were given new titles, correct? Yes, this was definitely a big family affair. I think what they've really done is they've looked at the late Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Andrew, and Prince Harry, all of those positions or affiliations that were sort of lost over the last few years. They've redistributed those. So we saw some going to Princess Anne, obviously to William and Kate, also to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. And these are just sort of military, honorary military titles. They won't really be down fighting at any fronts, but it's really important to the Royal family to keep those ties. It sort of acts as a personal lifeline between the Royal family, the King, the military, and also the people. So it's a really, really important role. Yeah, definitely. All right, well, King Charles took some time out to send a message to President Joe Biden regarding the wildfires in Maui. He said, He noted that they can only begin to imagine the scale of the devastation engulfing the island and the heart-rending anguish of those whose livelihoods have been so disastrously affected. He said that he and Queen Camilla both wanted to send their deepest possible sympathy to the families of those who have so tragically lost their lives, and their prayers remain with all of those loved ones who are missing and whose homes have been destroyed. Their thoughts are with the Extraordinary Brave People who are providing some support and assistance. I mean, I'm sure if you've seen some of the pictures and videos that have come out of Maui, it is absolutely catastrophic. It looks like something out of a horror movie. It's so terrible, but it's nice that King Charles spent some time to send some well wishes, because we know that the people over there definitely need it. Absolutely, and this really sort of reaffirms that King Charles and President Biden have a friendly relationship. You know, these statements, these messages aren't really a given. You know, they don't send them out for every single serious disaster that you see around the world. So it just sort of cements those really positive relationships between the US and the UK. Definitely. All right, well, Prince Harry was busy taking a big trip over to Singapore, and proved that his equestrian skills are still up to par when he participated in a polo field match. He competed with the Royal Salute Sensible Team during the annual Sensible ISPS Hand-a-Polo Cup. So he was wearing a blue team uniform. He was photographed on the horse, and he faced off against the Singapore Polo Club's home team, which was led by his friend, Nacho Figueras. The match ended in a 7-7 tie, with both teams sharing the trophy. So everybody got a trophy, but they co-founded this nonprofit in 2006 to support young Africans who are living with HIV and AIDS. So this was definitely a big trip for him, and it seems like he had a lot of fun. He was photographed out shopping for Meghan with his friend, said that he missed her very much, but also participated in this polo match. So it seemed like it was a great event. Yeah, I loved seeing Nacho posting photos of Prince Harry out shopping. They do clearly have a very close relationship, and their wives are quite friendly and close. So it's nice to see that they have, you know, a support system, even if it's not specifically from their family, they have good support going around. But this is a cause so important to Prince Harry's heart. I mean, he is still very passionate and very dedicated to supporting the Centre Ballet Foundation. So this polo match is sort of an annual event that we'll probably see some variation of year after year, and it was just really great to see him out and about again. Definitely. Well, speaking of things that Prince Harry is very passionate about, the Invictus Games are just one month away, and he sent a video message on social media to encourage the players and the athletes to get ready for the big games. And so take a look at this. Exactly one month away from creating a home for respect in Dusseldorf 2023 for the next Invictus Games. I hope you're excited. I'm probably a little bit nervous. I'm both. So yeah, the Invictus Games, they are headed to Germany and we're just one month out. So we will definitely see a lot of Harry within the next few weeks. Yes, definitely. Another hugely important organization to Prince Harry. We will definitely see a lot of him and Meghan over the next few weeks, sort of cheering on the teams at Invictus and, you know, really supporting all the staff and volunteers and athletes that are part of that. Definitely. All right, let's spill the Royal tea. And while Harry was in Singapore, Meghan was living her best life attending the Taylor Swift Heiress Tour in Los Angeles. So each stop of the Heiress Tour, which unfortunately I didn't get to see because I couldn't get tickets, but the show features two surprise performances from Taylor each night and Meghan's mystery songs were the perfect match. So Taylor belted out, "'I Know Places' and "'King of My Heart," which appeared on her 1989 album, "'N' Reputation," and both revolve around a whirlwind romance. Two people are desperately trying to keep private. So that's a situation Meghan knows all too well. Who knows if Taylor did that on purpose, but coincidence, maybe I think not. Yeah, this was a really fun story. I love hearing that Meghan, again, was out and about. You know, she's been having dinner and going to movies with her friends. She does sort of seem to be, you know, getting out there a lot more, less, you know, less sort of hiding and laying low, and now she's out there living her best life. Yeah, it seems like, like you said, she's been spotted out in, you know, Montecito. They were going out for dinner a little bit more. So they're kind of like slowly inching back into the public after maybe taking some much needed break from, I mean, we're still talking about them every single week, so we don't get a break, but they got a little bit of a break. But this was a story that a lot of people were talking about last week and this week as well. So the official Royal Family website deleted Prince Harry's HRH title three years after the Duke of Sussex and Meghan stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family. So the title was removed from the site after the Express reported last week that Harry was still referred to as HRH in his bio. The page still features a 2017 tweet referring to Harry as HRH when meeting with military veterans. So this comes as a source tells us weekly about the Queen's upcoming first anniversary of her death that William, Kate, and Charles are still planning how they will commemorate the passing of the Queen. The wound still feels fresh, and it's been hard for them to find a way for a celebration that will match the gravitas that the Queen exuded. On September 8th, there will be some acknowledgement or event, but details are still being ironed out. So I feel like, you know, we're gonna talk to Gareth Russell. We spoke to him, who's obviously a good friend of ours and Royal author about what the title means, but it seems like it's kind of maybe a much to do about nothing. Maybe they just didn't update their website. Yeah, it sounds like there was a sort of a missed three letters on that website that someone didn't edit out. This isn't a pointed thing. This is simply someone going back and reading through the copywriting and making, you know, the appropriate edits. Definitely. All right, well, to talk about this a little bit further and to see what the Royal Family maybe has plans for Queen Elizabeth's anniversary and if Harry and Meghan will be going, here's our chat with Gareth. Three years after Harry and Meghan left the Royal Family, they stripped the HRH title on the website. It seems like we knew that they were stripped of the HRH titles years ago, but why now? Well, part of it is without throwing too much shade in the general direction of the Royal website is that it is chaotically curated. I think it's a really nice way to put, you know, the Royals no more update the website and then the president of the US would update the presidential website, but there are thousands upon thousands of pages on the website. In fact, there's still some areas where Elizabeth II is referred to in the present tense, so they really need to get that dealt with. They have updated, interestingly, this part of the Duke of Sussex's page. They also have updated his children's reference to keep it in line. They're now referred to as Prince and Princess. So it wasn't just removing the HRH, it was also putting Archie and Elizabeth's proper titles on as well. There's also a bit of a general confusion across the board in Royal circles about what do you do when you're referring to someone's past activities by a title that they no longer have? So the big example is when they're trying to refer to a monarch, but if someone was in HRH when they did it, but they don't use it anymore, which is the case with Prince Harry, you have to decide what way to do that. So I think it's simply the fact that they're catching up bit by bit and trying to update this as they go. I don't think it's necessarily a slight to Prince Harry. I don't think at the moment, either the Sussexes or Buckingham Palace seem to be interested in slinging arrows or trading in insults, which I think is probably the best for both of them. Whether you're more sympathetic to the Sussexes or to the British dwelling branch of the family, I think a lot of people have reached a certain amount of fatigue with it being a he said, she said situation with the Royals. I think it serves both of them better to hold off from things like this. So I think it's more administrative rather than any insult intended. Certainly if you look at the fact that they made a real point of making sure that the Sussexes' children are properly referred to by their titles, I don't think we can see it as an insult. Right, I agree with you. I feel like everybody's kind of maybe exhausted by the he said, she said type of thing, and maybe hopefully the dust will settle, we can all move on. But there, you know, the he said, she said still goes on in the press, and a lot of people are wondering whether or not Harry and Meghan were even invited, will come over to Balmoral to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death. My guess is probably not, but who knows if the invitation was sent out. We don't know if the invitation was sent out. I, like you, would be quite surprised if they would have accepted it. We know that they declined the invitation when Elizabeth II was still alive. So I can't imagine them saying yes to an invitation now for no other reason than nothing really has changed in the dynamic in this family. Prince Harry allegedly still wants and expects a full apology. Recollections may vary, continues to be the royal's perspective on things as much as we can tell. So I suppose we'll find out one way or the other someday whether they were invited, I would be stunned if they had said yes and went to it. I don't think we'll see a great deal of interaction between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family for quite some time, if for no other reason than I'm trying to think, and I hope I'm not gonna be too incorrect on the contrary, I can't think of a really big royal event that's coming up in the next couple of years. There's none, really. There's obviously no coronation, no wedding. As far as we know, no christenings. There really aren't any big events. Even those really big events were not enough to completely reunite the family. We didn't see all of the Sussexes at the coronation. So unfortunately, the next time we see all of them together could be when there is a big attempt at a successful bridge building, or really unfortunately, the next time we could see them all together is another funeral. I agree with you, yeah. There's nothing on the calendar that would call for them to come over. I think Prince William is in the States, in New York, in a couple of weeks or a couple of months, but I can't imagine Harry jumping on a plane to come over there either. So there's really no reason. But yes, unless there's some sort of maybe, not intervention, or just maybe somebody extends the olive branch and maybe they wanna get together. Right, I think, I mean, certainly, I suppose part of the concern would be, is it going to attract so much media attention that it would end up in a lot of speculation and whatever was said between them would end up on television or in a newspaper article. So I imagine there's still a great deal of reciprocal distrust in terms of how tight the privacy would be for any event, any kind of reconciliation, if that makes sense. All right, well, let's switch gears and talk fashion. Christine and I are so excited about this because to help us break down the royal rules this week, we caught up with fashion influencer, Morgan Freeman. She transforms Kate's high-end looks into budget-friendly options that everybody can enjoy. And she is here to tell us all of her secrets. Take a look. Well, Morgan, thank you so much for joining us. We are obsessed with your TikToks, your Instagram, absolutely love it. So tell us first, how did you, or when did you first fall in love with Kate's style? Zina, thanks so much for having me. Oh gosh, I first fell in love with her style, I was 12 at the time. She had just gotten engaged and she walked out to like announce their engagement. She was wearing that navy dress, I will never forget. And I think it was just at a pivotal time in like my time of falling in love with fashion. I saw her on the screen, I was like, oh my gosh. One, I love the way that she's dressed. Two, I love the way that she's carrying herself. And that's kind of where the little spark just ignited for me. So when did you decide to turn your love of Kate's style and turn that into, you know, bringing this to the people on TikTok and giving them ways to find these styles on a budget? Sure, so I come from a background of boutique world. I was 12 years in that industry and then COVID actually hit, decided to kind of just close that book a little bit. And about a year ago, started sharing things that I was already doing. So for every holiday, every event in my life, I would go look at some of Kate's latest looks and say, okay, how can I recreate this? Obviously on a budget, she does wear budget friendly items, but then some things like pee coats and designer shoes, obviously can't afford at 25. Many people probably can't afford. So I was doing this. And then I just love content creation. So I was like, why don't I just film my process, how I come to these final outfits? And I started sharing them about a year ago, just shy of a year ago, and started sharing them on TikTok, on Instagram. And I think it just really kind of like helped people. It kind of brought a style that seemed unattainable and really far away to people's doorsteps using things like Amazon. That's so cool. So you talk a little bit about your process, but what does your process actually look like? Do you start with a look first or do you start with a piece that you found first? What does it look like? It's a little bit of both, but I would say primarily I'm starting with a look first. It's really funny, because when you see these TikToks and Instagram videos, they're 30 seconds, 40 seconds, and it looks like a really quick and easy process. But there's definitely been nights where I'm scrolling, looking for the perfect piece until way too late at night. But it'll definitely start with an outfit. And typically it's an outfit that she's worn recently. Like right now I'm doing a lot of her 2023 Wimbledon looks. So I'll start with the outfit and it really helps. I've kind of curated a little wardrobe because Kate does like to recycle things like shoes and accessories and even clothing pieces like dresses. But it'll start with that outfit and I'll kind of just go scroll and scroll and scroll. It's a long, tedious process, but I really try to just show pieces that I'm proud of, pieces that really do resemble or sometimes directly replicate, but on a budget. Yeah, I mean, you mentioned kind of the process and how much time this takes. And you're watching 30 second videos, but I don't think people realize how much time and effort really goes into it. So from start to finish, are you saying one outfit can maybe take weeks to research and kind of put together? Yeah, absolutely. And like I said, obviously I really don't show things unless I feel like the quality is there, the look is there, the fit is there, the size options are there for all of the different women are watching these videos. So yeah, there's definitely outfits that have taken weeks. And then there's also outfits that I try to replicate. I get those pieces in and like, I don't feel quite comfortable sharing this one because I don't think it's meeting those expectations for myself to put out on the internet. I love that you talk about, you know, prioritizing a range of sizes. What tips would you give someone shopping from home? Because not all of us look like the princess of Wales. Yeah, it's really, really hard. I think some tips would obviously be, I mean, I think we're living in a world where like returns are definitely a thing, even with like her perfect body, obviously things are just not gonna work for your body shape. But I do think that's where like dressing for your body type can come in. There's definitely things that you know, can flatter if you're more of a pear shape, if you are more of a straight bodied person, I think tips would be stick to your body type, even if I'm showing a video and it's an A-line dress and you personally know you don't look great in A-line dresses, maybe that's not the outfit for you, but definitely keeping your body type in mind can help for sure. Definitely, what would you say are some of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to buy high end for less? Gosh. I'm trying to think of mistakes that I've made. I think something that's really important on like, I mean, I think this comes into play with like accessories, buttons, zippers and stuff. I really try to look at the hardware on pieces. So say it's a cardigan with gold buttons or a handbag with a gold like clasp or something. I think that's an area that you can really take a piece that's inexpensive and make it look really, really nice. When I'm looking for accessories, I try to stick to like heavier looking metals, things that aren't cheap, plastic looking gold or silver. So I think that's a little area that I specifically think you can really elevate an outfit with. If your buttons, your zippers, your hardware just look expensive or maybe just are a little more quality. Do you think Kate's fashion sense will ever go out of style? Absolutely not. I mean, I just think like the timelessness, the classic mess of all of her looks. And I think that's actually why people are so drawn to her fashion. It's like she's an influencer without trying because it's timeless. I mean, I've recreated looks 2012 that still apply today. And I honestly feel like they'll be in style a hundred years from now, just because they're classic clean cut lines. And it's actually really funny because I feel like now classic is trending again, which I love, I love, I love. Although I think trends are great and they're really, really fun. I think dressing timeless and elegant is just gonna, it's gonna save your wardrobe too because you'll be able to pull these pieces out for years and years and years. So no, I do not think her style will ever go out. Well, Morgan, thank you so much. We really appreciate your time. If you wanna tell everybody where they can follow you to get all the Kate inspiration, that would be great. Sure, you can find me on TikTok. My username is Morgan Freeman. It's spelled F-R-E-M-I-N. And then also the same Morgan Freeman on Instagram. Yeah, I'm not lying when I said that everything that she posts on Instagram, I want to buy. And I feel like my Amazon cart is just overflowing right now. Yeah, it's gonna get expensive for you to start following her. It really is, yes, totally. All right, well, let's wrap this up with our pint-sized palace. And the Duchess of York is revealing a little bit more about what it's like to spend some time with her almost two-year-old daughter, granddaughter, Sienna. So she spoke out on her podcast saying that she had to watch her granddaughter while her daughter, Princess Beatrice, and her husband were away. And she said, Beatrice and Nito are away, so Gigi is in charge. And it's really quite amusing. I wished for the time that Sienna would come in and say, Gigi, come and play. And now every minute of the day, sissy wants to come and play. So be careful what you wish for, she added, because now you can't even have a moment to sort of do anything without this wonderful little girl who is so sweet, pulling at my skirt, jumping into my Ugg boots, and then making me go outside in the pouring rain and jump in puddles in the pouring rain, which is fine, I love it. I know, Christine, and I can totally relate. You can't do anything without these little feet following you around, but you wouldn't want it any other way. It's such a sweet story. It's such a normal, relatable story. I know grannies and Gigi's all over the world will think, oh my goodness, my granddaughter is just the same way. Again, we love these tidbits we're getting out of her podcast. No, totally. We say it each and every week. She does it in such a great way where she's not giving away too much, but giving away just the right amount. And it's so much fun to get these little insights into their life. So keep it going, we love it. All right, well, that is it for this week's episode of Royally Us. Everybody keep commenting, keep subscribing, and we'll see you guys next time. For more news, content, and exclusive interviews, make sure to hit the sub, like, and bell button down below, and visit usmagazine.com.