I’ve enjoyed watching the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Australian “tour” this week, and I love how they’ve blown up a carefully constructed hate-narrative around them in a matter of days. But credit where it’s due: their tour would not have worked out as brilliantly as it has if Australians were not enthusiastically embracing them yet again. It looks like the overwhelming majority of Aussies were really looking forward to seeing Meghan and Harry, and Aussies have been turning out to support them and hear what they have to say. I do think that part of it is that Meghan is American, and Australians (more than Brits) are more open to America and Americans. Plus, everyone loves Harry. Anyway, the Times of London was suddenly “curious” about what real Australians think of Harry and Meghan, so they did an interview with Real Housewives of Sydney’s Sally Obermeder. Obermeder could not have been any nicer and more enthused about the Sussexes, even though the Times was desperately trying to get her to be snarky or cruel.

Sally Obermeder on the Her Best Life retreat: Obermeder’s friends have tickets to the retreat where women will drink champagne by the ocean at the InterContinental Hotel, thinks, “the appeal for them is to see and hear from Meghan first hand… everyone wants to be able to say definitively for themselves, ‘I met her/ I saw her/ I heard her speak and she’s xyz.’ What “xyz” is remains to be seen…“I have no doubt it will be brilliant,” enthuses Obermeder, founder of the wellness brand SWIISH. “There is a bit of a buzz, because, you know, at the end of the day, there’s only a handful of royals, right? Royalty is royalty.” (Sort of.)

Pamela Anderson is also in Sydney this weekend: She points out that Pamela Anderson, who’s also in Sydney this weekend for a speaking tour, isn’t attracting nearly the same attention. “Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, Pamela’s here. That’s so great!’… But for some reason, that same, relaxed attitude is not afforded to Meghan.” Although presumably Australian police departments, and ergo taxpayers, aren’t paying for Pamela’s security.

Obermeder loves that Meghan’s into wellness: “This trip, certainly people are very excited,” says Obermeder, noting that with Meghan’s turn on MasterChef and Harry’s Movember talk, “People are appreciative that the things that they are doing in the wellness space fit their true passions. It’s not like you’re suddenly seeing Meghan in an ice bath and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s weird.’”

Vegemite Meg: Obermeder knows Meghan is Vegemite, someone people “absolutely love, love, love” or “absolutely hate, hate, hate”. But, she thinks, “as time has passed, a lot of people have softened, and maybe it’s just a bit more in the middle”.

Aussies are invested in the royals: The issue is that “we [Australians] are deeply invested with big opinions on Kate, William, Harry, Meghan… we care. We all felt a sense of… I say ownership, but what I mean is closeness to Harry and William. We grew up with them, we watched them their whole lives…I think then the whole leaving of the royal family, we’ve all got an opinion and the reason we’ve all got an opinion is because we all ultimately care. We all watched Diana pass away. We watched the funeral. We all cried. So, we feel like we’re entitled to an opinion on what they can do, and therefore who their partners are, and what their partners are allowed to do.”

Whether the Sussexes should move to Australia if they’re “kicked out” of America: Perhaps, if Trump turfs Harry out of the US — if it were to be revealed that he lied on his visa application about taking drugs (although Trump has said he doesn’t plan to for now, quipping, “He’s got enough problems with his wife”) — the pair should relocate to Oz. “They would be very loved here,” Obermeder says, grinning. “Australians are really friendly, really nice, they’re also very respectful. They’ll wave and be like, ‘Hey, love ya! You’re amazing.’” which sounds just like the unquestioning adoration the Sussexes want. Although Obermeder respectfully considers, “Would I ask for a selfie? I reckon I would!”

[From The Times]

A side benefit of the Sussexes’ Oz tour is that the British commentator class is having a mask-off moment about how much they despise Australia and the Australian people. British royalists have been sneering so hard at Harry and Meghan that Australia is taking some hits too. Like in this piece, they’re desperately trying to make it sound like a fate worse than death that Harry and Meghan might be FORCED to live in Sydney of all places, and Sally Obermeder is like “we’d love to have ‘em, they’d fit in really well!” Obermeder also makes the ritzy Australian coastal communities sound like a Down Under Montecito, so she’s probably right – Meghan and Harry would be welcomed and embraced there. I love it when people refuse to pay the British media’s Sussex tax, btw. More of this!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.