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A Royal Wedding: The Marriage of William and Katherine
Aired April 02, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to London. I'm Richard Quest. Join me as we start the countdown to this month's royal wedding.
If we're going to be talking royalty, you and me, well, we'd better be traveling in style.
Hello, Rodney.
We have driven two hours west of London to the English county of Gloucestershire on the town of Tewkesbury. Just a mile up the road, behind high walls and locked gates, we find Highgrove house, the country home of where Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. It was at Highgrove that Princes William and Harry grew up with their father and late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Tewkesbury itself is a classic, quaint example of an English country town. Right the way down to the souvenir shop for Highgrove house, which at the moment is even selling memorabilia for the royal wedding.
If Tewkesbury has had a royal residence for 30 years, now we need to return to London and visit the real home of royalty, Westminster Abbey, which has seen 38 coronations, going back a thousand years.
Westminster Abbey is where Prince William will marry Kate Middleton. And as Max Foster now explains, the Abbey has many mixed emotions for the prince.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If British-ness can impart be defined by his royalty, then this church is as British as they come. Westminster Abbey is what's called a royal peculiar that is it comes under the jurisdiction not to the church, but of the queen herself. She was crowned here as were all heads of state going back to 1066. Prince William's uncle Andrew was married here and William mourned here to mourn the loss of his mother, Diana. His memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey.
(on camera) The couple told an aide that they chose Westminster Abbey not just because of its 1,000 year royal, but also because of its staggering beauty. But once you're in here, you really do get a sense of what they are talking about. (voice-over) Elaborate mouldings decorate arches and columns holding up a towering vaulted ceiling. Kate will likely be aware of how the long single, narrow aisle was designed to help make the space feel even bigger.
(on camera) Once she's inside the church, Katherine will come through the choir screen there with her father, past the choir stalls where the choir will be standing. We expect her to come up here to the high altar where she'll meet William and be married.
SARAH HAYWOOD, WEDDING PLANNER: A cheer will go up as well of course when they've both said "I do," and he proclaims them husband and wife, I suspect they will hear the cheer outside. And maybe that's the moment for them to acknowledge around the world, people had been watching with them. And I would imagine even the most cynical among of us, surely when you see a couple exchanging their wedding vows, your heart does melt a little bit.
FOSTER: Westminster Abbey is a church steeped in British history. But for William and soon, Kate, that also means family history. Their wedding will be a personal event in the most public of settings.
Max foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now for this week's etiquette and style guide. One of the first things Kate will have had to learn is how to get in and out of an official limousine. It's not as easy as it sounds.
Rodney, we need help here. The temptation is just to sort of come out and launch yourself in a very ungraceful fashion.
RODNEY: That won't do at all, sir.
QUEST: No.
RODNEY: That's not what we suggest. Hang on, sir.
If you just bring yourself to the edge of the seat and then just turn, and then you walk out of the car. It's much easier and much more graceful.
QUEST: Carry on with our engagements.
RODNEY: Indeed.
QUEST: Getting back in again, because you don't want to go --
RODNEY: You don't want to launch yourself back in.
QUEST: No, no. No, launching. We launch ships, not ourselves.
RODNEY: You do the same in reverse. You walk in and then you turn and you sit. QUEST: I walk in head first?
RODNEY: Head first. And then, that's right, step up. Walk in and turn and away you go. That was much better.
QUEST: Oh, I think it was. Home now, please.
RODNEY: OK, sir.
QUEST: Back on the road from William's home at Highgrove to Kate's at Bucklebury, a distance of about 55 miles, an hour on the road. For the couple, the journey of a lifetime.
After the break, we're in Bucklebury.
First, here's what our friends at CNN.com have unveiled in our special wedding blog.
Kate Middleton's oval blue 18-carat sapphire engagement ring has been the talk of the world. I say not surprisingly. Imitations have been appearing everywhere.
A TV shopping network has made one in silver with, in their words, "oval prong set diamonique simulated sapphire at the center for the low, low price of $54.60." The real thing, perhaps not.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Welcome back. I'm Richard Quest, now in Bucklebury. One of the quaint villages where Kate Middleton, princess-to-be, grew up.
As you can see, it's got just about everything. The pubs up the road, the church yard with the daffodils. And here, the local people, not surprisingly, are excited about royal arrivals.
What do you make of it all? Because you are going around, you are showing people these places. It is a bit odd.
CHARMION GRIFFITHS, TOUR GUIDE: It is very odd. But I'm delighted.
QUEST: It can actually be quite difficult to find your way around these small English villages between Bucklebury and upper Bucklebury. Stanford Dingley, Marlston, Chapel Row, you could be going around for hours.
Peach's Stores has taken the royal wedding to its heart. It is the only place in Britain where you can get these special candy sweets, hearts and rings. And for the owner, they really made a connection with the royal couple.
As Max Foster explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER (on camera): First of all, your reaction when you got the invite?
HASH SHINGADIA, SHOP OWNER: Absolutely overjoyed. You can't discover the feeling. We just want to see the ending up there with the ER on it. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
FOSTER: You have known Kate for years now. Tell us about the Kate you know.
HASH SHINGADIA: Really, the Kate we know really here is a girl from the village, who sort of comes in here to do her shopping, very, very friendly, very, very approachable. One of the things is my wife's achievement --
CHAN SHINGADIA, SHOP OWNER: No, no. No, don't say.
HASH SHINGADIA: No, no, my wife made her curry a little while ago which she totally enjoyed. I think she came in one day and my wife was cooking upstairs. I think she smells it, and she said it smelled lovely.
FOSTER: You brought some down.
HASH SHINGADIA: Yes. So I called my wife and my wife came downstairs, and gave her some to take away, which I think she enjoyed.
FOSTER: And she liked it?
HASH SHINGADIA: She did. Totally enjoyed. Good response.
FOSTER: And tell us about William. What is he like, when he comes in here?
HASH SHINGADIA: It was shocking the very first time I saw him, because obviously you don't expect him to walk in. But when he did, it was lovely. I mean, he sort of came to the counter. He talked to us. He said how are you? And he was fine. Very good and very, very approachable.
FOSTER: I know William has a favorite product.
HASH SHINGADIA: I'm not supposed to tell you.
FOSTER: Ice cream.
HASH SHINGADIA: Ice cream.
FOSTER: And I notice you have some in the fridge.
HASH SHINGADIA: We did.
FOSTER: For that reason?
HASH SHINGADIA: Indeed, yes. We made sure because the first time he came in, that was one of the first products he wanted so we now make sure that we always came in stock just in case he walks in again. (END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The busy local shop which seems to have royal approval. If Kate needs any reminder of what she is getting into, well, she needs to look no further and the post box, the royal mail. At the bottom, "Gr," King George. In future years, it will be "Wr." Her husband.
How much of Middletons or the Williams have you seen around here? Or you just not see them much.
VIVIAN WARD, BUCKLEBURY RESIDENT: Yes, I think they do see the Middletons, but not so much in the village down here.
QUEST: Right, down here in Bucklebury.
WARD: Yes, because they live in Upper Bucklebury.
QUEST: And, of course, as everyone in the country knows, there is a great difference between Bucklebury and Upper Bucklebury.
(LAUGHTER)
WARD: (INAUDIBLE) would like to think so.
QUEST: That is the private driveway that leads down to Kate Middleton's home where her parents live. Needless to say, for Carol and Michael Middleton, it's all new way of life as well as they get to grips with royal etiquettes. The do's and don'ts of marrying in to the country's number one family.
Coming up, you heard the inevitable comparisons between Diana and Kate. It is what you haven't heard. The bits only a royal biographer would know. They may be the crown jewel of surprises.
First, we need to get to grips with royal speak 101. Once William and Kate get married, she will officially become "her royal highness." The exact title she will take will not be known until a few days before the wedding.
When William becomes king, Kate's title will change to "queen consort." She is not a queen in her own right because she is not in the genetic line. So she won't rule if anything happened to her husband.
Throughout royal history, there have been many queen consorts. Perhaps the most famous queen consort in history Anne Boleyn, who was married to King Henry VIII. She could not produce a male heir to the throne, she was beheaded for adultery. How times have changed at the palace.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now this week in royal wedding news. Weeks away from his wedding, William had a visitor. That is Royal Air Force Base in Anglesey, Wales. It wasn't Kate, it was his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. He gave her majesty a personal tour of the search and rescue helicopter, which incidentally he operates in her name.
William's best man, Prince Harry is in Siberia dragging, hiking in subzero temperatures, dragging a 200 pound backpack towards the Arctic Circle. He's raising money for wounded veterans.
And speaking of brain freeze, an English sports betting firm is offering 38 to 1 odds that Prince Harry will forget to take the couple's rings to Westminster Abbey on their big day. But it turns out he only needs to worry about Kate's ring. Prince William announced he's not going to wear a wedding band. "People" magazine reporting that is what the couple wants.
There could be no finer place than the village of Bucklebury for us to begin our discussion about this royal wedding. And Joining me here is CNN's royal expert Mark Saunders.
Mark, we are in April. The momentum is now building.
MARK SAUNDERS, CNN ROYAL EXPERT: And remember what we are facing here is almost in the modern times, because this is a very modern royal wedding. We have got a collision of celebrity, monarchy and history. And when I say collision, it's going to be an explosion, because we cannot lose the fact that William is Diana's oldest child. And there is still is a great love for Diana in this country.
QUEST: So, into that extent, how is Kate being prepared for that? Because, you know, at the end of the day, she is not being brought up for this weight of attention that is now arriving upon her.
How is Kate being prepared?
SAUNDERS: We know she has been with William for several years. They have been living together. So she knows William, her husband-to- be. It is not like Princess Diana who was pretty much the worst prepared queen to be in history. Kate is probably the best prepared.
Now Kate as a person, when she was dating him, and when I first met Kate, it was on a polo field. And she -- the only way I could describe her was charming. A charming, charming girl. Now I would feel, what do I do? Do I have to bow? When I look at her, she has taken on a very regal look.
QUEST: The wedding itself. Let's turn to lighter issues. We now know the Abbey. We know there was a guest list. We know the parties. We know the cars and carriages. We even know the cakes. Who is driving this bus at the moment? Is it Kate? Is it William? Is it the courtiers? Is it the process?
SAUNDERS: We are under this myth that William and Katherine have decided who's coming. It is a bit of a myth. They may be 50 percent, but the rest were various heads of states and government, a very political less side of things. But we hear Kate is designing the dress. We hear Kate is designing the cake. We hear Kate is designing so much. I think she is taking an active interest as to is her mother. But the event is a whole gang of people that are bringing this all together. QUEST: Mark, many thanks. You and I have been talking about the real thing. When we come back in just a moment, we will meet the Kate-a-likes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: I can't be on a royal tour without stopping for a picnic. After all, the sandwich is as English as the aristocracy itself. But even though I have all the right accoutrements, even though the souvenir mug, well so far I haven't seen many royals. And even if you do as Nick Glass, be careful, the Kate-a-likes are about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remember this? How could anyone forget it? It's been shown so many times, but ever wondered what was happening moments before?
Yes, just like any other freshly engaged royal couple, they were being buffed up for the camera. Now, let's be honest here. This is not actually Prince William, although he is thinning on top. No, he is Simon from Australia.
SIMON WATKINSON, PRINCE WILLIAM LOOKALIKE: I'm a civil engineer so it's a completely different career for me.
GLASS: How long is it going to last?
WATKINSON: Well, at least until the wedding, I guess. Perhaps beyond that for the honeymoon and I guess when he becomes king, maybe I might get a call back then as well. I might have to lose a bit more hair by then.
GLASS: And this isn't Kate Middleton. No, it is Jodie from Essex. When she is nervous, she giggles.
JODIE BREDO, "KATE MIDDLETON" LOOKALIKE: I can't really say it myself. All of my friends and family say I look like her.
ALISON JACKSON, PHOTOGRAPHER: Jodie, smile, that is really great. Your smile is really great.
GLASS: The photographer, Alison Jackson, has made a career by playing with our notions of celebrity. She shoots in the paparazzi style, peeking n through the window.
The result would be a photographic book about the royal romance as she sees it.
JACKSON: We don't really know much about the royal family and what goes on behind the scenes. So I'm trying to imagine what it might be. We sort of feel we know them, but we don't really know them.
GLASS: Glimpsing some of the contact sheets, you can see Alison Jackson has let her imagination run. The intention is to amuse in the gentlest way. David Beckham's look alike from the movie "Bandits" like Beckham checked out the mirror. His real name is Andy and he is from Eastbourne. His present for the groom with a pair of tiny football boots.
Elton John, Alfie, from Howl popped by the show with the baby in his special platform baby boots. Despite the change of jacket something less sparkly, Elton didn't seem to be bonding with the baby. So as luck would have it, Kate was called upon for some practice nappy changing. Funny that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Time goes so quickly when we are talking royalty. Do join me next week when we will be hearing about Prince William's famous family history. And don't forget on the big day itself, April 29th I'll be there along with Piers Morgan, Anderson Cooper, and Cat Deeley. We'll be at Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. And you're invited, too. It is a right royal wedding on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband and I looked up. You could see blue sky, you could see the wiring and the cabling. We looked at each other and thought, oh my gosh. This is not a good sign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Some scary moments aboard a Southwest Airlines flight after a hole opens in the roof. Now the airline is grounding some planes. This is important information that you need to know.
Remember those sisters right here in Mississippi who were released from prison for a kidney transplant. They were hoping for a pardon from the governor, but that may not be happening, and we get their reaction only on CNN.
And I want you to take a look at this. This is an iReport video from Egypt as fans storm a soccer field during the game between Egypt and Tunisia. What's up with that fireball in the middle of your screen right there? We'll have the details in just a few minutes.
Plus -- how about that for a Saturday night? The business of pro-wrestling. You may think it's a joke, but they are throwing down all the way to the bank and it's mega millions.
And guess what, everyone? The reviews are in on Charlie Sheen's first concert in Detroit and winning doesn't even come close.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. The CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
And we begin tonight with a scary white-knuckle flight aboard Southwest Airlines. The plane's flight data recorders are now in Washington where federal investigators will search for clues into Friday's terrifying mishap over Arizona. The Boeing 737 was at 36,000 feet en route when a four-foot hole suddenly opened in the fuselage.
CNN's Ted Rowlands says part of Southwest's fleet now grounded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The plane is sitting in Yuma, Arizona, as investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board try to figure out what happened.
ROBERT SUMWALT, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: It's very important to find out what happened in this event. We don't want this to happen again and airplane structures should not fail and rupture as it did yesterday here over the skies of Arizona.
ROWLANDS: Passengers say the hole opened up shortly after takeoff.
DAVID SMITH, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: It sounded like an explosion at least, but all of a sudden there was a sunroof in the middle of the plane, a bigger hole. You could see daylight running through it.
BRENDA REESE, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: All of a sudden, the oxygen masks dropped and everyone was just trying to get the mask on. It was scary.
ROWLANDS: This isn't the first time a Southwest 737 ended up with a hole in it. In 2009, a similar incident took place when a Southwest plane lost cabin pressure and was forced to land in Charleston, West Virginia, with a football-sized hole in it. The cause of that hole was found to be metal fatigue. In 1998, a flight attendant was sucked out of an Aloha Airlines 737 after an 18-foot piece was blown off of its fuselage.
SUMWALT: We'll be going back looking at those other events to see what we learned and if the correct solutions from those events -- if they did not work, why they didn't work.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Investigators say they expect to spend several days here in Yuma combing over the aircraft. They've also sent the data recorders and a piece of the fuselage to Washington to analyze it there. And they have sent another team of investigators to Southwest's headquarters in Texas to go over all the maintenance records of this aircraft.
(voice-over) In 2008, Southwest was penalized by the FAA for not keeping up with mandatory inspections for skin cracking in their planes. In that case, Southwest discovered its own error and reported itself to the FAA. After the latest incident, Southwest elected to ground 79 of its 737s to check them for cracking. An effort the company says to make sure their passengers are safe.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Yuma, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Southwest's entire fleet is made up of various models of the Boeing 737. All told, the airline has 558 of them. The fleet has an average age of just over 11 years. Each aircraft flies an average of six flights per day. That's just under 11 hours each day. Southwest is awaiting government approval to buy AirTran Airways.
And as Ted Rowlands just mentioned just a moment ago, the worst accident of this type was 23 years ago over Hawaii. A flight attendant died and many people were hurt. Tomorrow night, we will speak with one of the passengers on that flight. UCLA professor Emeritus Eric Becklin.
Another close call in the air today. An Atlantic Southeast Airlines jet, a Delta regional partner, was forced to make an emergency landing in Little Rock, Arkansas, after striking a flock of birds. You can see the damage around the plane's nose and around the engine. The 49 passengers and crew members were shaken but nobody was hurt.
To Japan now where officials say the crippled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is leaking radioactive water into the ocean. The source of the leak is an 8-inch crack in a concrete pipe. Efforts today to seal the crack with concrete were not successful. They'll try again tomorrow to plug the leak using synthetic material, but they still don't know where the contaminated water is coming from.
And of course, Japan is dealing with a much bigger problem than just the Fukushima plant. The prime minister visited one of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami on March 11. He promised aid to the victims, quote, "until the end."
President Barack Obama is spending part of his weekend trying to avoid that looming government shutdown. He called both John Boehner, Republican speaker of the House, and Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate Majority leader. The president's message to them, stop squabbling and reach a solution. Lawmakers have to pass a new spending plan by Friday when the current short-term bill runs out or the government shuts down.
A developing story in Libya to tell you about. A NATO air strike may have taken out the wrong target. And new developments in the story out of Mississippi where two sisters served 16 years in prison because of an $11 armed robbery. Why they feel they deserve a full pardon, although it appears they may not get it.
I'm online. I know you are too. Check us our social media account. You can check us out at Twitter, Facebook, CNN.com/Don and on FourSquare.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're turning now to Libya where NATO forces may have committed one of the worst kinds of mistakes in battle. The Libyan opposition says NATO air strikes killed 13 rebels in the eastern oil town of Brega and wounded seven. NATO is sorting out the details, but Moammar Gadhafi's forces are showing no sign of backing down after rejecting a cease-fire offer from rebels.
In the City of Misrata, two mortars from Gadhafi's forces hit a medical clinic according to a doctor there. Reports say one person is dead and 15 others are hurt.
And the opposition says it has recaptured Brega after losing it on Wednesday to troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.
Libya is receiving the most attention at this moment, but it's only the latest tipping point in a region primed for revolt.
Gordon Chang has been watching the events in the Middle East with a close eye. He is a columnist for Forbes.com. He's also the author of books on both China and North Korea.
So, Gordon, I want to start by talking about the U.S. role in Libya. We've heard since the beginning that the U.S. would be involved for days, not weeks. Now it's almost two weeks later. How much longer will this last?
GORDON CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, tomorrow -- you know, American planes will not be flying air strikes over Libya. We'll be providing some support, but it's going to be limited. The problem is that Gadhafi is still in place. The rebels don't really have a way to get rid of him. And Gadhafi is probably going to continue to brutalize his citizens and the United States is going to look a little bit weak. So this is a political problem for the American president.
LEMON: In his speech last week, the president said, OK, the U.S. is out of the lead and we're virtually out of there. The talk show on Friday night, they were the same subject and I'm sure it will come up tomorrow.
Let's listen to Bill Maher, and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL MAHER, HOST: You're talking about Libya?
DOUG HEYE, FMR. RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Yes.
MAHER: But we're out of Libya. We got in, we got out. He said last week, it's going to be a matter of days, not weeks. It was.
HEYE: We don't know that's over yet because we don't know what's next. The president gave us a very good review of what happened. But he didn't put a road map forward for what's next and we don't know.
MAHER: We know what's next. It is not going to boots on the ground, not even sneakers. We're not even flying air sortis anymore. So obviously he got in and got out. He did something for humanitarian reasons. Over.
HEYE: Let's hope so.
MAHER: OK. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Gordon, is Bill right?
CHANG: Yes, it's not over. I mean, we do have sneakers on the ground. We have CIA operatives there. We may even have Special Forces and contractors. And right now, we're providing jamming in the air. We're providing refuelling. And when our NATO allies are not able to dislodge Gadhafi, we probably will come back in again. So it's over for the moment, but not over for over.
LEMON: Here's what -- I think what the average person wants to know, because once you say that Gadhafi should leave power, as President Obama did before operation Odyssey, Don, even started Gordon, how do you back away from that?
Are U.S. officials publicly pretending that taking out Gadhafi is not a goal here?
CHANG: Well, you know, this thing is about Gadhafi and everybody knows that, and the president knows that. And if this goes on for three or four months, then the president is probably going to have to reconsider his limited involvement, especially because if other countries ask for U.S. help, if the rebels ask for U.S. help, we've got to come in because otherwise the situation could drag on forever. And that would just be really unacceptable to everyone around the world, especially when civilians in Libya are bound to be disadvantaged and brutalized by the regime.
LEMON: Gordon, before I let you go, we have to talk about Syria, which many believe could be the next game changer in the Middle East.
Can the regime there suppress opposition protestors? If not, where would a revolution in Syria leave the region?
CHANG: Well, clearly, you know, I don't think that Assad can stay in power forever. You got a lot of people protesting, and the real consequence of this is that if Syria goes down, it means Iran loses it its best friends in the world. And that's really good for everybody else. Not only the Gulf Arabs, but also for us.
LEMON: All right, Gordon Chang, thank you so much.
Two sisters released from prison for medical reasons. They're looking for a full pardon. Now Mississippi's governor is weighing in. You'll hear from them. But first --
In Boston, Massachusetts, more than 2,000 women are homeless. But this week's CNN hero is giving them something that they can count on. Quality health care right in the shelters for free. Her name is Roseanna Means.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. ROSEANNA MEANS, CNN HERO: You OK?
Every week I talk to women who are sleeping outside.
It's only 17 degrees out, so I didn't want you to get frozen.
There's so much pain and suffering right on the fringes of our perspective.
Do you need some help, hon?
In Boston, despite all the medical resources for the homeless population, I was seeing very few of the women using the services. For women who are poor, homeless or battered, to deal with a system of health care becomes overwhelming.
They don't have an address. They don't have a phone. There are lots of emotional issues, psychiatric issues.
I just didn't like the idea that they were falling through the cracks.
I'm Dr. Roseanna Means, and I bring free, high-quality medical care to women and children in the shelters of Boston. Good morning.
The women come into the shelters to get warm, to feel safe, and we're there.
Come on in Ellen.
There's no registration. We're not charging anything.
If they want to come see us, we'll use that moment to try to build a relationship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my safety net right here.
MEANS: The women learn to trust us as ambassadors of the health care system.
All right, hon. God bless. You're doing great.
Over time, we can teach them how to use the system as it was intended, and eventually they do move forward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I knew she really cared, I started wanting to take care of myself.
MEANS: I love these women, no matter what.
You're doing a great job.
That starts to get taken inside, that if I matter to somebody else, maybe I matter to myself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: There are new developments tonight in the Mississippi case of two sisters who served 16 years in prison for robbery, but were released for medical reasons.
Jamie and Gladys Scott have been hoping to receive a full pardon. But a spokeswoman for Governor Hailey Barber says a new petition for a pardon will be denied.
Back in January, Barber allowed the Scotts to be release under the condition that Gladys donate a kidney to her ailing sister, Jamie. The two were convicted of an armed robbery that supporter say netted only $11, but they have always maintained their innocence.
I spoke with Gladys and Jamie Scott, and I asked Jamie her reaction to the governor's apparent decision. It's tonight's "What Matters."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE SCOTT, REQUESTING PARDON: At first it really disturbed me because, you know, what he's saying is he pardoned five -- six men now that all were convicted of murder. And some of them -- one of the cases where they even murdered a 90-year-old elderly person and another case, one of the guys even amputated, you know, chopped someone up and all this and so, you're saying they deserve to be pardoned.
LEMON: Gladys you've always maintained your innocence even though there are people who say, not so, you wouldn't have gone to jail, you wouldn't have gotten a double life sentence if you were innocent.
GLADYS SCOTT, REQUESTING PARDON: Yes, that is so true. That's why I don't understand Governor Haley Barbour. He wants us to admit guilt, saying that we're guilty in order for him to give us a pardon. And I will not -- I will not admit that I'm guilty because I am innocent and I have, me and my sister have claimed our innocence from day one. And we're going to keep on.
JAMIE SCOTT: There's a lot of people say that we don't deserve a pardon because we was tried and convicted. OK, let's look at all the millions of people that have been tried and convicted, 20, 30 years later, DNA come back and prove that they was, what, innocent. Everyone in prison don't deserve to be in prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I asked Jamie Scott about the proposed kidney transplant. She said a date is set for her to be tested as a match for her sister, but that date is being kept confidential.
Coming up, bet your college escapades never included this, sex on the roof in full view of hundreds of people. It is a college controversy that stunned the campus.
And get ready, set, wrestle mania. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN CENA, WRESTLING PROFESSIONAL: Is that shirt an extra small? You know what they say, everybody's got a chance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You heard it from my future rival in the ring. That's John Cena himself.
And when we come back, a very special surprise guest from Charlie Sheen's first concert in Detroit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Look at this chaotic video from Cairo, sent to us by an iReporter.
Soccer fans swarmed the field during a match between teams from Egypt and Tunisia. It started when a goal by Egypt was disallowed. But when police protected the referee who made the unpopular call, pandemonium erupted. Well, the Tunisian team was able to evacuate the field safely and will return home tomorrow. Amazing video.
A lot of people are talking about our next story as well. A warning, viewer discretion is advised here.
Two students were caught in the act having sex on a rooftop at the University of Southern California last weekend while the crowd watch from down below. Now the male student has been suspended from his fraternity. The woman attends another school, but it got us wondering.
Is this about exhibitionism or something more? That's what I asked human behavior expert Wendy Walsh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: It is a kind of exhibitionism, but I don't actually know for sure their motivations. But remember, sex feels a lot better to some people when it's filled with fear as well. The whole S&M community knows about that. And I'm not quite sure whether their fear was fear of being discovered and basically anybody having sex outside of a dark room with the blinds closed might have some fear of discovery. But do you know they're sort of doing a canine mimic at the edge. Maybe it's vertigo, she wanted to experience some vertigo as she was feeling aroused, so it's potential. Who knows?
What I do know, listen, I have a friend from the Mexican-American Alumni Association at USC and she was over for dinner the other night, and the rumor is that this young woman is from UCLA, so finally these two rival schools are coming together. That's great.
Don, are you there?
LEMON: I'm here. You always make me -- I'm turning rust and blushing.
OK, so, but you know, you said its fear of being cut. But I mean if you do something which is such a public display of affection there, I would think that might be exhibitionism or just sort of thrill of like, oh, look, everybody is looking at me, everybody is looking at me, so.
WALSH: That's the key word, thrill.
LEMON: Yes, OK.
WALSH: Thrill, it increases the thrill factor.
LEMON: Should they be punished or should we relax our -- what we think is bad or good about nudity and sex?
WALSH: Well, I think there were some laws that were broken. Don't we have some laws about public nudity and that kind of stuff? And when students break laws, then they're breaking school rules, too. So, let the administration take care of that. But yes, there were some laws broken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, on now from that to Charlie Sheen. He knows a little something about encounters with the law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charlie!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So that's him on the road tonight in Detroit, kicking off his self-described torpedo of truth tour.
Apparently, it has been a rough night though. And this is our surprise guest.
Our Kacey Jordan joins me now by phone. You might recognize her name. She was with Charlie Sheen that night back in January when he had that incident in a New York hotel, where he apparently went on a rampage.
So Kacey, thank you for joining us. From the reports that we're getting, not a good night for Charlie Sheen.
KACEY JORDAN, SHEEN'S FORMER GIRLFRIEND: No, we all had our expectations high. And it was really sad to se him get booed off the stage the second part of the night.
LEMON: Why did you show up?
JORDAN: I showed up for support. I thought this tour was going to be a great thing for him, but it didn't go as planned. And I thought it was going to be like a win-win-win situation, but I think it was more like fail-fail-fail.
LEMON: You thought it was going to be a win-win-win. You thought he was going to do great, but according to -- from reading the Twitter feeds and reading an early report that are coming out from the gossip blogs like TMZ and the like, and we also have reporters there from our entertainment unit. And they're saying he lost the audience early on and basically it was a train wreck.
JORDAN: Yes. And he's sober, supposedly.
LEMON: Describe to us --
JORDAN: Wait, why do you say supposedly?
Well, I mean, I think the way he got our attention in the first place, all the jokes and spinning out of control is because he was still anything down off the drugs and he was still not in his right mind. And that intrigues people. Everyone likes to see a train wreck. Everyone likes to see someone go down hill. And that's why people love reality shows. And, you know, the fact that Charlie is sober now and clean right now, and he's making fun of himself, I think he's dragged that too long, and I think people are tired of it, and they were expecting so much more from him and just kind of trying to pull something else. And he has nothing else to offer, you know, at this point.
LEMON: Hey, Kacey, correct me. Were you in New York or were you at his house, at the bender in his house?
JORDAN: No, no, no. The plaza was a different situation I think back in October or November. I was there before he did his last overdose, before he kind of lost it the last time.
LEMON: The last time, OK.
Well, we hope he gets it together. And Kacey Jordan, thank you so much. We have a picture there as well from his Twitter feed that shows the crowd there in Detroit at the Fox Theater.
Again, Kacey Jordan joins us by phone. Apparently Charlie Sheen's show not so winning. As a matter of fact, people are going pound or hash tag, bombing tonight on Charlie Sheen. Thanks again.
If the tour goes off as planned, people in 18 cities will need to prepare themselves for Sheen's arrival over the next month or so.
OK, call it what you will, real or fake, rustling or wrestling, it's certainly popular even in the down economy. During the height of the recession, wrestle mania pulled in nearly $123 million last year. $22 million of that came from T-shirts, belts and other merchandise. How do they do it? I went to the wrestle mania all-access fan experience here in Atlanta this weekend, and ran into a crowd that rivals a Super Bowl in attendance. No joke.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: WWE is a family-based experience meant to be shared by generations, young and old. Mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, grandfathers and grandmothers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no discrimination in our audience. We just want to entertain our fans, whoever they may be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a family sport. If the kids get into it, make me watch it. It's just a lot of fun.
LEMON: Merchandise. You made almost $22 million in merchandising last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So many are collectors. And this becomes part of the WWE experience. Whether it be T-shirts, whether it be championship belts, whether it be programs and all points in between. Merchandise is an incredibly important thing within our framework and certainly our fans continue to demonstrate it's important to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did what we had to do to get here.
LEMON: That's drive 600 miles with the entire family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our superstars, our divas and our legends, these are the connection points for the WWE.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Much, much more tomorrow night here on CNN. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for watching. Good night.
