Queen Mary reprimanded for patting a dog and Harry and Meghan Australia controversy: Royal Briefing vodcast hosts Natalie Oliveri and Nicole Douglas unpack Queen Mary’s uncomfortable moment and the commercialisation of Meghan Markle’s wardrobe

Royal Briefing is a new vodcast on nine.com.au discussing the biggest royal stories from around the world. The first episode can now be viewed on YouTube.

There was universal shock when Queen Mary appeared to be publicly reprimanded by her mother-in-law for petting a dog late last week.

Nine.com.aus royal reporter Natalie Oliveri says the vision of the incident “really shocked me.”

Watch the video above.

In what was her first public appearance since her father’s death five days earlier, Queen Mary had joined King Frederick on the steps of Fredensborg Palace, north of Copenhagen, to celebrate Queen Margrethe II’s 86th birthday. 

As Mary bent down to pet the Queen’s dachshund, Tilia, Margrethe was seen saying to her, “Now is not the time for that.”

“This moment really made me feel uncomfortable,” Oliveri says in the latest episode of the new vodcast Royal briefing.

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In Royal briefingOliveri unpacks the now-viral moment with entertainment editor Nicole Douglas, who suggests Margrethe may have been trying to avert a potential disaster.

“If that dog had jumped up and bit Mary, can you imagine the absolute scenes it would have caused: chaos,” says Douglas.

Oliveri believes the situation was handled poorly.

‘You could see further [Mary’s] facing how uncomfortable she felt when she had to parade in front of the cameras,” says Oliveri.

“Mary put on a brave face and her mother-in-law said she told her off!”

Douglas says the moment was a rare insight into the inner workings of the royal family

“She probably didn’t even realize she said that,” Douglas says.

“I love it when a bit of personality comes out in the royal family and you don’t often see it when the mask slips a bit.”

Also up Royal briefingOliveri and Douglas delve into the most high-profile issue surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan’s recent quasi-royal tour of Australia.

“The biggest problem was the commercialization of Megan’s wardrobe,” says Oliveri.

The Duchess of Sussex can earn a commission from sales of her clothes worn to various engagements, including charity events, through a new shopping platform that uses affiliate links.

“The problem with this is that if you go to a children’s hospital and make money flogging a $1,200 designer dress, that’s in bad taste,” Oliveri says.

But Douglas calls Meghan’s move ‘strategic genius’.

“It’s great because, as we know, when Kate [the Princess of Wales] steps out, it doesn’t matter what engagement she goes to, everyone wants to buy exactly what dress Kate is wearing,” says Douglas.

Oliveri disagrees, stating, “The difference here is that Megan earns a commission…Meghan gets a cut.”

Douglas says the Duchess is simply “supporting local designers in exactly the way she wants to”.

“People just find ways to make it bad.”

Oliveri added: “I think for a lot of royal watchers it’s just very shocking.”

Douglas replies: “Oh, it’s always shocking for these royal watches, honestly they’re always shocked”.

Watch the full Royal Briefing podcast on YouTube here