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PIERS MORGAN LIVE

Analysis of Weiner Bombshell Announcement; Royal Baby Coverage

Aired July 23, 2013 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: This is PIERS MORGAN LIVE. I'm Chris Cuomo in tonight for Piers. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

We have blockbuster political news tonight. Anthony Weiner in hot water again for some new not-safe-for-work texts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY WEINER, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I have said that other texts and photos were likely to come out and today they have. As I've said in the past, these things that I did were wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: The question is, why did they come out now? What will they mean? Weiner's wife Huma Abedin standing by her man. What will all this mean for his hopes to be the next mayor of New York? Will the Big Apple still forgive and forget?

Plus, the little prince makes his debut and boy, is he ready for his close-up. Like any parents anywhere William and Kate are thrilled and maybe a little bit nervous and certainly tired. But unlike most parents, they're doing it all with the whole world watching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE: He's got a good pair of lungs on him, that's for sure. He's a big boy, he's quite heavy. But we're still working on a name. It's got her looks, thankfully.

CATHERINE, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: No, no, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Saying the right things. What a picture. Just a typical mom and dad putting their newborn in the car seat and driving home from the hospital. Of course their home is Kensington Palace. Tonight we'll go to London for all the latest on the newest member of the royal family.

But we begin with the big breaking political news of the day, Anthony Weiner's latest scandal. Joining me now CNN's Margaret Hoover and Kevin Madden. Also Lanny Davis, the author of "Crisis Tales: Five Rules for Coping the Crises in Business, Politics and Life." He's also a former special counsel to President Clinton and the founder of Purple Nation Solutions.

Did I get it all in, Lanny? Did I get it all in?

It's a lot. Yes. Thank you.

CUOMO: All right. Good. It's great to have everybody here. I believe there is one obvious question on the table so let's just start with that. Anthony Weiner came out and said, after I resigned there were more of the behavior that got me in trouble that I had to resign for. Why did he say this?

Well, the text messages came out on a Web site. OK? So they're out there. There is more. The obvious question, Margaret Hoover, after he resigned, there was more. He has an explanation, but does it matter?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: You know what? We're going to have to see how this plays. I think it does matter.

CUOMO: Hold on, Hoover.

HOOVER: I think it matters.

CUOMO: Don't take the middle ground. Does it matter? Yes. Why?

HOOVER: I think it does matter. Look, I want to -- you always want to empathize with -- I want to give the benefit of the doubt for this guy, honestly I do, and especially because Huma, his wife, put herself out there today. Clearly this was a behavior that was habitual, it was chronic, and that certainly couldn't be cured when he apologized and stepped down from Congress.

They were going to have to go therapy if there was going to have to have to be a long-term attention put on this, so there is no way that just that apology on the front end was believable that he would then stop immediate this pathological behavior.

CUOMO: So Margaret Hoover is going with the word cured, Kevin Madden, which suggests that she is giving him the benefit of the doubt of some kind of an illness. So, Kevin, I put it to you. How do you think this plays that he continued the behavior after the resignation, though saying while we were working through things in our marriage. Is that good enough?

KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, it's not. I mean, many voters now will say you're out of excuses. You know, they gave him a chance once. Everybody has a chance at -- one chance at redemption, they don't get two. And I think the big problem here again is that this -- in order for Anthony Weiner to get past this issue, to get past the last chapter, he has to start a new chapter that was all focused on what he was going to do for the voters of New York City.

And now, again, the campaign focus is back on him. It's back on his problems with his marriage. It's back on these problems that he's had with sexting in -- in the past and where voters, you know, they don't even know whether they can trust him to be telling the truth this time. So all of that is just devastating for him right now. I just don't see how he gets past this.

CUOMO: All right, well, just to bring everybody up to speed, this is the new universe of possibility for Anthony Weiner. Let's take a little listen to what he said at his press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEINER: I've said that other texts and photos were likely to come out and today they have. As I've said in the past, these things that I did were wrong and hurtful to my wife and caused us to go through many challenges in our marriage that extended past my resignation from Congress.

While some of the things that have been posted today are true and some are not, there is no question that what I did was wrong. This behavior is behind me. I've apologized to my wife, Huma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: All right, Lanny Davis. So you're familiar with this universe of sound. What is your take? What is more important? What Anthony Weiner says, his explanation or the woman standing to his left?

LANNY DAVIS, AUTHOR, "CRISIS TALES": Both. The one thing I would say to my co-panelists is that we can't be sure how voters will react and anything said definitively I think is premature.

Number one, his conduct and his behavior indefensible, which he described it. He's showing, I think, the right approach as a crisis manager to recount the pain that he's gone through. But most important, having Huma Abedin in full disclosure. I've known Huma and have great, great feelings towards her. I don't know the congressman that well.

Huma being there, the way she spoke and about it being OK with her that he's a flawed human being, that she's proud that she worked through in mentioning her son, that is a very profound and very painful moment for those of us who are her friend, but I think that it offers him an opportunity to get forgiveness from the voters. I don't know whether there is enough time for that to take place.

CUOMO: Well, Lanny --

MADDEN: Can I make a point on that?

CUOMO: Well, hold on, Kevin, because, you know what I want to do to bring this into context? Let's play Huma's sound because it really turned things in this press conference. So let's play it and then we'll comment on it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HUMA ABEDIN, WIFE OF ANTHONY WEINER: As many of you who have followed this campaign, I've spent a good deal out on the campaign trail, at churches and street fairs, parades. But this is the first time I've spoken at a press conference and you'll have to bear with me because I'm very nervous. And I wrote down what I wanted to say.

When we faced this publicly two years ago, it was the beginning of a time in our marriage that was very difficult and it took us a very long time to get through it. Our marriage, like many others, has had its ups and its downs.

It took a lot of work and a whole lot of therapy to get to a place where I could forgive Anthony. It was not an easy choice in any way, but I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage. That was a decision I made for me, for our son, and for our family. I didn't know how it would work out, but I did know that I wanted to give it a try.

Anthony has made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned from Congress and after, but I do very strongly believe that that is between us and our marriage. We discussed all of this before Anthony decided to run for mayor. So really what I want to say is, I love him. I have forgiven him, I believe in him, and as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward.

Thank you very much. Thank you --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Very painful. Very powerful. Kevin Madden, I will come back to you now that we've heard that. "I have forgiven him. And I believe in him. I love him." That comes from the wife. How do you know that voters don't say if it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me, on with the politics?

MADDEN: Well, I think Lanny's point earlier was right in the sense that we really don't know for certain how voters are going to react to that. But there's two things that can happen here. The first is they can find that that's a very personal statement and that in many ways humanizes a situation. Not everybody has perfect marriages. People go through these problems all the time.

But the other side of it is that voters could recoil that Anthony Weiner would ever put his wife in this situation where she had to do this. Because in many ways it could have been humiliating. So you know --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Margaret Hoover said that she had to be there, Kevin.

MADDEN: But what I do find is that she was very likable where he is very unlikable and at the end of the day, he's still the one that's on the ballot and he's the one that has to face the voters' -- the voters' judgment.

CUOMO: But the question is, on what basis? Margaret, you say she had to be there.

HOOVER: She -- well, she has put herself -- look, she is in there. She chose to be there. OK? Nobody forced her to be there. She is an independent woman and she chose to be there and she has basically chosen to be a character witness to her husband in this campaign.

So look, if she were not there, voters would say, where is his wife? Why would we trust him if she doesn't even trust him? But by showing up and saying, I have forgiven him, he -- she is a testament to his trustworthiness and she is giving voters a reason to not completely dismiss him right now.

DAVIS: Chris --

MADDEN: There is elements of truth to that but his trustworthiness, there is such a greater reservoir of information that showed that he's entirely untrustworthy.

CUOMO: All right. But Lanny --

DAVIS: Could I --

CUOMO: Yes, Lanny, please, get in on this.

DAVIS: Look, I just want to remind everybody watching and my co- panelist that this is a very painful experience for this couple and we as Americans have shown over the years from Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, to the Eisenhower and Kennedy and all the way through previous administrations, a capacity to distinguishing personal weaknesses involving hurting spouses and loved ones, similar to this one, and performance in office.

We've shown that ability. We show the ability to forgive and we constantly within the beltway, and I plead guilty to this, underestimate the ability of people to make that distinction and to forgive the person with human weakness.

(CROSSTALK)

HOOVER: I have to laugh out loud. It's just great because this is Lanny Davis. Lanny is a good friend who is Bill Clinton's counselor and that --

CUOMO: So who should know better about forgiveness?

HOOVER: That's exactly what Bill Clinton did. Exactly. I mean that's what Bill Clinton was so successful at being able to do.

MADDEN: Well, then let's call it --

HOOVER: To distinguish personal work on the job from his personal behavior.

(CROSSTALK)

DAVIS: I mentioned Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, too, but I don't know whether they had advisors like me.

HOOVER: Not like you.

MADDEN: Well, let's admit that this is no longer a campaign, that this is instead a public therapy session.

HOOVER: But Kevin, hasn't that been the case all the way along? I mean this has all played out in public with Eliot Spitzer getting in the race as well.

MADDEN: Yes. That's true, and I agree.

(CROSSTALK)

MADDEN: And I just wonder if the --

CUOMO: We're going to take --

MADDEN: Yes.

CUOMO: We're going to take a break here right now. We're going to come back and keep talking about this.

I pose a question to the floor and to you at home, who is making this about these problems of Anthony Weiner? Is this something that he's bringing out or is this all about the media? Will the voters care or is this media blood lust? We'll talk about it when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY WEINER, NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Resignation was not a point in time that was nearly as important to my wife and me as the challenges in our marriage and the challenges of the things that I have done and working through them. Some of these things happened before my resignation, some of them happened after. But the fact is that that was also the time that my wife and I were working through some things in our marriage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: All right. The headline Anthony Weiner says "there are more of these sexting-type e-mails that happened after I resigned." That's the headline. The question is do you care as voters, or is this just something about media manipulation? Talking about it, we have CNN's Margaret Hoover, we have Kevin Madden. We also have Lanny Davis, author of "Crisis Tales: Five Rules For Coping With Crises in Business, Politics and Life." Three people perfectly suited to talk about this.

Mr. Davis, I'll begin with you with this question. The idea of veracity, trustworthiness, his ability to tell the truth -- do you believe Anthony Weiner was not telling the truth when he said that there would be more? Was that enough to cover this, or was this new behavior that makes him untrustworthy?

LANNY DAVIS, AUTHOR: Well, clearly, he warned us ahead of time and as someone who looks at crisis and tries to mitigate harm, that was wise decision by him. I would have liked him to address the post- resignation behavior more frontally because that is an issue that would bother some voters.

But the other thing I would point out about his performance today is that without Huma being next to him, it would be a much different conversation. This is a huge, huge, meaningful presence by Huma, and there will be voters that might be turned off by this, and I'm sure there are. And they have a right to be --

CUOMO: But they already said --

DAVIS: But there will be people that will find sympathy --

CUOMO: Of course. Of course. And haven't we seen it already? Kevin Madden, I come to you on this. They've already said it's okay. They know what this is. This is an outgrowth of the same kind stuff. I'm not condoning it, but looking at it politically - I know why it matters in the media. You hear the rabid questions coming from the media after Huma finished her statement. He foolishly took questions, Anthony Weiner, and the media attacked him. The voters have said this is okay. Why should this matter?

KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think this matters because this is no longer a question about a campaign that's really about ideas and issues that they care about. Right now, this is a campaign that's in crisis, and it's a campaign about Anthony Weiner and his past. And I think that is his biggest challenge right now as a candidate.

As Lanny talked about earlier, I think the two things you really need to do to handle a crisis is first, you have to get all the facts out there. I think one of the big problems is there may be more facts to come, and they may be just as embarrassing as the facts that came out today.

CUOMO: But if it's more of the same, it doesn't matter. Go ahead.

MADDEN: The second part is counter communications, which is changing the topic, changing the story. I just don't see how he will be able to change the topic here and talk about that issues that many voters matter. Right now, there is a mother in Woodside, Queens. There is a father in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. They care about very big issues, and instead, Anthony Weiner is talking about his past.

(CROSSTALK)

MADDEN: And right now, you have a host of other very strong candidates that are not novices to the New York City political system.

CUOMO: But if they were that strong, he wouldn't have jumped in the polls, Kev. He wouldn't have jumped in the polls if they were so strong. MADDEN: Well, he jumped in the polls because there was a lot of attention paid to him, and you can coast on that for awhile. But ultimately voters are still going to make their decision based on what matters, what's best for them --

CUOMO: I got you.

MADDEN: -- not whether they will give redemption to Anthony Weiner.

CUOMO: I got you, but Margaret, I'm coming to you on this. Here is my feeling that I can't get past on this. The voters have already said they think it's okay. The attention that Anthony was getting was largely about this. So, that's the attention he was getting. So now, why would the family in Woodside, Queens and everyone Kevin points out demographically say, I don't want to hear about this. Only you do in the media.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Look, everybody knows that Anthony Weiner's sex scandal has not hurt him up until now. In fact, it may have propelled him into one of the top two seeds. And of course, this is a top-two Democratic primary runoff. So, he doesn't have to win in the primary. He just has to be in the top two. And he has a real shot at being there.

His sex scandal actually has helped him because everybody knows who he is. This notoriety may not hurt him. And that's what we have to see. That's why Lanny is exactly right. We don't know how this will play out. And Huma being there today probably helped save the campaign.

CUOMO: Do you think his wife Humanized him?

HOOVER: She humanized herself for sure because - did you notice the first thing she said? She said I've never spoken out and I'm a little nervous. And I hope you'll bear with me.

CUOMO: Lanny Davis, I come to you with this last thought. He made the mistake -- I call it a mistake. He then decided to take questions --

DAVIS: No --

CUOMO: And the media was straight bloodlust. Am I reading that wrong? Do you think he had to do that?

DAVIS: As your crisis manager, I hope you never need my services, my friend, Chris.

CUOMO: Me, too.

DAVIS: He did the right thing because the unbelievable outbreak of being accosted by the media on something like this is going to accrue to his benefit. And I think he had to open himself up, and he did answer the important question, yes, this happened after my announcement. CUOMO: Lanny Davis, Kevin Madden, Margaret Hoover, thanks to all of you for the perspective on this. It seems that if this winds up winding up okay for Anthony Weiner, he may benefit from something that is lamentable in society, which is the low bar for public service and what people seem to be able to tolerate in these days in their leaders. Thanks to all of you for this.

We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, the little prince makes his debut. We have every moment of the baby's first day in the public eye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Look at that little face. That (INAUDIBLE), as they say in Italian. The royal baby is definitely ready for his close-up. Joining me now to talk about the as-yet unnamed prince, CNN royal correspondent Max Foster. Also, one of my favorite people in the world, my NEW DAY partner, Kate Bolduan. They're both outside Kensington Palace.

Hello, guys. Let's get right to the moment of the day, and then we'll talk about it. Okay? Everybody waiting for the prince coming out with his new baby and his wife. Let's take a look and a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE WILLIAM: Well, he's got a good pair of lungs on him, that's for sure. He's a big boy. He's quite heavy. We're still working on a name. We'll have that as soon as we can. The first time we've seen him, really, so having a proper chance to catch up. Very emotional.

CATHERINE, DUTCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: Yes, it's very emotional. Such a special time, I think, any parent, I think probably knows what this feeling feels like.

PRINCE WILLIAM: It's very special. I'll remind him of his tardiness when he's a bit older because I know how long you all have been sitting out here. Hopefully you can go back to normal now, and we'll look after him. He's got her looks, thankfully.

CATHERINE: No, no, no, no.

PRINCE WILLIAM: Wait and see, wait and see. We've done that already. It's good. He's got way more than me, thank God. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Beautiful, beautiful, the moment we have been waiting for. They seem overjoyed as they should be. There is no blessing like a child in anybody's life.

Kate, let me ask you. It's interesting William learned the pararenting rule 101 of guilt, putting guilt on the child right away, which is very important. But what do you think this meant there, this moment. Kate comes out in a dress not that dissimilar from the dress that Diana had. This is a big moment. Same place William was brought out. What did that moment mean there?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Chris, Max and I have been talking about that moment -- obviously, everybody has been talking about that moment quite a bit. But what struck both of us at the same time is they were both so calm, which is surprising because it was such a crush of people and excitement and the noise and the media and the cameras that had been there for weeks now waiting for this exact moment. I have been down there earlier in the day when Charles and Camilla had come to visit the newborn, and it was -- it went from -- I would say a surprising calm amongst people to this fever pitch --and I can only -- you were there at that very moment. It was insane.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: We've been waiting awhile.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

FOSTER: I like the way he talked about being tardy. It's funny, isn't it? The baby being tardy and remind him of that. They would have thought about that moment a lot. It's a huge moment. And they were trying to keep it personal but knew there was this huge interest, huge amount of media there. But they came out and they looked calm. She looked calm. He looked really happy. He can get stressed about the cameras, particularly that number of cameras. But he looked happy and calm. I think they look like a great little unit.

BOLDUAN: They are obviously adorable. And when you saw that moment, Chris, I know it touched everyone's heart when the baby's little hands reached up above his blanket, it was just so sweet. I think William was also suggesting in a very delicate way when he said hopefully the hospital and all of you can go back to normal and we can take care of him. Kind of suggesting here is your moment and now we're going to go into kind of a lockdown mode. We probably won't see them any time soon.

CUOMO: That would be very nice, right? Probably not expected but would be very nice. You're right, there was a feeling of normalcy there they were going for. Let's take a look at the moment as they drive away. Do we have that? Because that's you know, every parent's first big memory, right? You take your kid out. There he is with the car seat. He's never carried anything so delicately in his life. He's hoping he installed the base the right way because his wife is blaming him for that. See how he goes in there? Waiting for the click.

FOSTER: (INAUDIBLE) normality -- It's what any other sort of family would -- would do. Any other couple would do. But actually, this is a royal family and in the past, there would be people carrying the baby. He wouldn't be driving off. I mean, I think they were literally saying this is a sign of (INAUDIBLE), of the new monarchy. We're normal. We're down to earth. He was there, wasn't he, during the whole labor, stayed overnight?

BOLDUAN: We've seen that all along the way with William and Kate. They do things their own way. They are a modern couple, and it is interesting that the palace, they allow them to do it their own way. They are giving them that leeway and for kind of giving Kate and William that space to create their family, which some would argue maybe has not happened in the past. And that might have been some trouble facing William's parents all along the way.

And so you see that, and yes, it seems like a simple moment, William getting in the driver's seat to drive them away. But that's actually quite a big deal. The folks I was talking to, that I was around were like, whoa, that's a big deal. That's a break from royal tradition.

FOSTER: And they did it really easily, as well.

CUOMO: It's a big deal for everybody, by the way. As you know very well, Max, he's never been more nervous putting anything into anything in his life than he was putting that baby in that car seat.

Let me ask this question to the two of you. Do you think that in their disposition of trying to be normal, trying to be like you, everybody, do you think that may actually magnify the draw to them in this kind of new blush of enthusiasm for the royals?

FOSTER: I think the jury is out on that, Chris.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

FOSTER: Because a lot of people would say they want them to be loose and mysterious and not normal because they're almost aspirational, I think, right?

BOLDUAN: Yes, but also, you know, I think on some level you're kidding yourself if you can really be, quote-unquote, "normal." They live completely abnormal lives from you and I, and all of us, but they are trying to connect with people, and that is what Kate -- what everyone has been drawn to Kate -- why everyone has been drawn to Kate from the very beginning. They really see that connection because she's, quote-unquote, "a commoner."

She comes from a really working class background and that's where people connected them. And that's also, as I've been speaking to many people who, you know, watching this couple, that normalcy is what drew William to Kate from the very beginning. Obviously, something they're going to strive for with this child, but let's be honest, I mean, this child was born into the spotlight. His first moments leaving the hospital was to flashbulbs and hundreds and hundreds of cameras that they're going to have to get used to it. As simple as it is.

FOSTER: That's really simple, I think, wasn't it?

BOLDUAN: Yes.

FOSTER: His first sort of view to the world, it was more cameras than I've seen in a long, long time.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And now they're back spending their first night at home at least here in Kensington Palace and then it's kind of everyone's guess where they go from here.

FOSTER: Yes. At Bucklebury probably.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. Back to Kate's hometown.

FOSTER: Secretive Bucklebury.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CUOMO: Kate, have you figured out how to say that word yet?

BOLDUAN: I like to say it as Max does but it ends coming out with an Indiana accent. I end up saying Bucklebury but I would love --

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Blueberry? Is that like with cream? Is it a fruit?

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: I knew it. I would love to say Bucklebury but doesn't it just sound a little --

(LAUGHTER)

FOSTER: You say it beautifully.

CUOMO: It sounded pretty good. You know --

BOLDUAN: I'm trying, you know.

CUOMO: What I liked is that you -- there was such a genuineness to the exhaustion that they both showed. Kate looked great for a new mom. She looked great, but that they're both tired, that they're both in it. They are more together now as a couple than they've ever been before this moment.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CUOMO: That's what a baby does.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CUOMO: And I'll tell you, I don't know much about the royals but I do know baby's heads, and that kid has a nice-shaped head. I was very -- I paid a lot of attention to that with my three kids.

(LAUGHTER)

And this kid got a very nice shaped head, it's a good start in life.

All right, Kate, Max, I know it's been a real long day for you. Kate, I miss you very much but I know you're there doing important work. Thank you for joining me here tonight and discussing all of this.

BOLDUAN: I miss --

CUOMO: Knock it out tomorrow morning. I'll see you there.

And Max, so much thanks to you, as well. This is a great moment you brought us.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Max needs a nap. We'll see you.

FOSTER: I'll go and collapse now.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Don't. You'll ever more news that way.

Thanks to them very much.

Let's go to Buckingham Palace right now. We got Katie Nicholl there. She's CNN's royal commentator. Also royal correspondent for "The Mail on Sunday." Also joining us CNN royal commentator Victoria Arbiter.

Victoria, I'll start with you because you're sitting right next to me. This moment as it sets up for what you want in terms of perception but also what you may want personally, how do you think this went?

VICTORIA ARBITER, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: I think this couldn't have gone any better. As max said, it was very cleverly choreographed. They made sure they did it on their term.

I like the fact that they took 24 hours in hospital beforehand to really enjoy that privacy because they knew the minute those doors opened and they presented their baby to the world, they've opened a can of worms that can never be closed again.

And so I think they came out together, they were very much together. Kate carrying the baby then handing it very cleverly to William. That's a tricky maneuver when you're just learning with a newborn baby. And they came out laughing, smiling, William was rubbing the back of -- Kate's back, and they were just really enjoying the moment, I think.

And what struck me more than anything was how calm they were. You know, when a lady has had a baby, you've got three children, it's a very emotional time. There's so much going on and yet, Kate came out grace personified, smiled at everybody, and clearly they enjoyed showing off their baby.

CUOMO: And such pride. And Katie, I'll bring you in right now. I made a clumsy comparison early on to Diana's moment of presenting William, and if there was a similarity, obviously the same hospital 31 years ago, it was William. But the dress, the polka dots, a little bit of a similarity there, no? I mean, is there something to that? KATIE NICHOLL, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: There was. I don't know whether that was intentional or not. I mean, it was a very pretty dress, it was loose, it was floating, but yes, it was a polka dot dress and that's exactly what Diana stepped out in when she walked out holding the little bundle that was William.

Kate's was, I would argue, a little more stylish. But whether the dress was a coincidence or not, the ring certainly wasn't. And some of the pictures in tomorrow's front page newspapers you see that ring against that baby and you just think this is history repeating itself. It's such a momentous occasion for us to sat and watch it and commentate on it feels like a great privilege.

And for me there was so much significance in William driving his wife and his baby off. You remember the wedding day, he left the (INAUDIBLE) behind me driving his new wife back home to Clarence House. Well, this evening he drove his wife and his son back home to Kensington Palace to start a new life. The three of them.

There was a lot of meaning. We're talking about modernizing, we're talking about change, we're talking about this little boy, this prince, this future king, taking us into the 22nd century and driving that is William. And I think it's a very interesting analogy.

CUOMO: Now in terms of the historic nature of this, obviously, there is no distinction more important to these new parents in that their young son is healthy but of course they do have to think about the lineage and you will have now three generations of direct heirs, all kind of under one roof, so to speak there, right? I mean, what does that mean historically?

NICHOLL: Well, historically we haven't seen this since Queen Victoria so it is something very, very new for all of us. We haven't seen it for hundreds of years. In terms of what this means for the future heir, I think it's going to be very difficult to even compare what Queen Elizabeth has had and seen in her 61 years on this road to what this little boy will see.

Victoria was talking about moving into a digital age, an age where everyone has camera phones. I think the greatest obstacle for this prince and future king and certainly for his parents is how they're going to navigate that, how they're going to satisfy a relentless press who wants updates, want everything monitored, chronicled, and how they're going to reconcile that with being what essentially they are, which is a very private couple and they'll want to be a very private family.

CUOMO: That's going to be a difficult struggle by the nature of their birthright. But I think you're right, maybe these are about modern times.

Katie, I want to thank you very much for bringing us the prospective from there. I love talking to you about this. Thank you very much. Very helpful.

Victoria, I'm going to ask that you stay there as we go to break because there's more I need to know. Growing up in the palace, you understand that life. You can help us with that.

And when we come back from break, I want to bring in CNN's Christiane Amanpour, who's also outside Westminster Abbey. There she is. Always great to see Christiane.

Stay with us. A great conversation for you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: There they are, the most visible, new family on the planet. Prince William, Kate and their still unnamed baby son behind closed doors now at Kensington Palace, as we speak. They'll give William's comment earlier about his son's powerful lungs. Likely nobody is going to get much sleep right now.

Joining me to talk about this newest significance in the country, we have chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour at Westminster Abbey. Also with me CNN royal commentator Victoria Arbiter.

It's great to have you both. Christiane, always a pleasure. Let me ask you. You have seen just about all that the world has to offer in terms of significance. What did you make of this moment?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, it is incredible just because so many people around the world have been so galvanized by this. You know, it's central, this royal family, to the United Kingdom, to Great Britain. It's what makes this country tick, it what brings and attract so many people to this country and you really saw all of that in action today, and this news being sort of boomeranged around the world in warp speed with so many people interested.

But I guess sitting here in front of parliament, this unbelievable century's old building behind me, I can't help but think about that little piece of democracy, that big piece of democracy that happened here earlier this year to bring a little flavor of democracy to the royal family, and that was an act of parliament. They passed legislation to change the royal law of succession. So that if we had seen today baby girl Cambridge she would have been queen and that would have been a first.

And then, you know, for all of us who do happen to be women and girls, that was, you know, going to be something really, really great. But nonetheless, this is an incredibly moving day and as Kate said, every family can identify with what they are feeling today.

CUOMO: Which is utter exhaustion. When you look at the continuity versus change, Christiane, you know, obviously you had Queens Victoria and Elizabeth, so on the women front, we're doing OK in terms of a representation at the top but they were going to change the rule to let any heirs that are female have the same rights that male heirs would have been. And that's why there was a little bit of excitement to see if William and Kate had a girl, Of course, understandable.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

CUOMO: But now they had a boy, and now we look at the continuum of change in a different way. And I want your take on this. Diana set the stage for a lot of this, didn't she? With how she presented William, what she wanted for him. And do you see that now as kind of a carried forward of what he will want for his life as a royal?

AMANPOUR: Well, look, she did obviously, and she was the one and she and Prince Charles brought their children up slightly differently from the way Prince Charles had been brought up, whether it was having her children in a hospital, whereas Prince Charles was born in Buckingham Palace, whether it was sending them to a real school rather than homeschooling for a lot of their -- a lot of their young lives, whether it was letting them go out to various theme parks, and other places that were public places.

All of that was Diana's influence. There was also, of course, a huge amount of trauma that went on during the Diana years, and I think that was very traumatic for the family, for the country, and what we've seen since is the royal family, with Kate coming into it, get another lease on life, if you like, another real breath of fresh air. That accompanied by the Queen's incredible longevity, her 60-plus years on the throne, and this feeling that the more it changes, the more it stays the same.

This is a royal family which is unlike those that exist around Europe today and certainly unlike those that exist around the rest of the world. It is so central to this country, and this is their job, this is their profession. They are not just ornaments sitting on the top of a cake atop Buckingham Palace. They do work hard, as strange as some people may find that to hear. They do work hard at it and Prince William will have his work cut out for him and so will this young prince.

But I might just say, you mentioned Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, two of the greatest monarchs that this British Isle, this United Kingdom have ever known. They said during Queen Victoria's time that the sun never set on the British empire and as you know during Queen Elizabeth the first time that was the golden, golden era. The Elizabethan era was the golden age, unparalleled height. So women queens, good.

CUOMO: Of course, they're women, of course they're going to do well. We all know that. We just -- we're just still trying to figure out how it is that men ever got in charge. It doesn't make any sense once you go past the caveman days. It should never have been, we both know. Even I know that, Christiane.

Victoria, let me bring you on on something. Someone --

AMANPOUR: That's what I like talking to you.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Someone from the U.K. paper, "The Guardian," wrote a column today that said, enjoy today, young prince, it's all downhill from here. All downhill from here. Cynical journalist hopefully, right? Because you know what it's like to be in that palace and the palace life. What will it be like for this little boy in terms of how he is treated and when he has to realize who he is?

ARBITER: I think it's unfortunate that that's the viewpoint taken already because I think William and Kate have made it very clear that they're going to do everything they can to give their child as loving and well-adjusted childhood as possible. They don't have a nanny. That is just one of the many changes that they're making, but yes, this life comes with enormous privilege but it also comes at a huge cost.

Yes, people grumble and say, well, the royals, they've got so much money, they get to do this, they get to do that. But they're working all the time. They're never off duty. It doesn't matter what they do, they are picked apart. Apparently already press and people are tearing apart William because he didn't put the baby in the car seat right. I mean, I didn't see that.

CUOMO: Looked OK to me. I saw straps across the top, I heard the click, I believe. Then that's enough.

ARBITER: And that's enough. It looked all right to me, too. Let's give him a break. He's a new dad. It's the first time he's doing this. But that's what I mean in terms of the constant scrutiny. It doesn't matter what you do, someone is going to tell you how to do it differently and it's learning how to switch that off.

William and Harry don't. They are constantly paying attention to it and I think that's why Kate has been refreshing because she doesn't read any of it. And so in a way she has a very calming influence on William. So I simply wish them all the best and I think this child has landed very loving wonderful parents who are going to give it a beautiful childhood.

CUOMO: And to bring it back where it started, I think that the greatest gift William will have as a parent is something that we believe his mother instilled in him, which is be your own person, know who you are. I think he'll pass it on to his son. That's all the kid will need.

Victoria Arbiter, thank you very much for the perspective.

ARBITER: Thank you.

CUOMO: As also our thanks to Christiane Amanpour, always a voice of pure, unadulterated genius. Thanks to both of you.

We're going to take a quick break here on PIERS MORGAN LIVE, when we come back, much more on the newest member of the royal family. I'm going to talk to a woman who knows a lot about what goes on behind palace walls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Well, there you go. Part of a 21-gun salute for the new boy prince. London still buzzing tonight over the debut of the newest member of the royal family.

Joining me now a woman who knows a lot about life behind the palace walls. Bestselling author, Philippa Gregory whose new novel, "The White Princess," went on sale today.

Good timing, my friend. Good timing. I'll tell you, I haven't felt so relieved about a birth since my own three kids came into the world and we were discussing about how you feel the same. There's a sense of relief and when you look in the continuum of history here, let me count my greats to make sure I get it right.

This little boy is the great, great, great, great, great grandchild of Queen Victoria. Don't test me on it, it's written down, it must be correct.

PHILIPPA GREGORY, BEST SELLING AUTHOR, "THE WHITE QUEEN": OK.

CUOMO: But when you look at it that way, from Queen Victoria to this child, how have things changed for the monarchy?

GREGORY: Well, you've had a change of family. But you've had cousins come in so it's not a direct line. And I suppose -- I mean, the most outstanding thing will be the changes in security and the changes in social media. Queen Victoria suffered I think four assassination attempts and continued to travel out in public in a horse drawn carriage because she just thought people were crazy so --

CUOMO: And she was right.

GREGORY: She was right. But that -- that's rather disparate than we like to see, I think. Really remarkable. But of course what she never suffered, although she suffered scandal sheets, and she's suffered a lot of criticism, she never suffered the constant, constant nonstop interrogation of every action, which any prince or princess in England now has.

CUOMO: Which is now part of the royal birthright, certainly, for this little boy, despite the best efforts of his parents to shield him.

GREGORY: They won't be able to shield him.

CUOMO: Let me ask you. At what age will this little boy understand that he is not like everybody else?

GREGORY: Well, in a way he will be quite like a lot of people. He's going to play with very rich, privileged kids, and he's going to live in a palace. So, you know, that will occur to him fairly early on. But --

CUOMO: But to be rich.

GREGORY: Yes.

CUOMO: And to be royal are very different things. How do you think that happens that assimilation process? You know, when do they start telling you, by the way, this may all be yours one day? You know, how does that happen?

GREGORY: Well, the -- I know one royal intimately, and what he said was like he just always knew because you know that this particular relation, I mean, he will be introduced to his great grandmother and they will say, this is your great grandmother and you have to bow, you call her mum. You know, there will just be a sort of deference which he will learn.

I mean, he will observe that he goes to see his great grandmother in Buckingham Palace. That's going to be pretty apparent early on. He'll grow up knowing it.

CUOMO: That sense of significance, though, that hey, you have to do things a certain way, and there's a reason. I know you're frustrated, but your grandfather is going to be king or may be king when we're having this discussion. I, I'm your father telling you this. I may be king and you may be king. That is really something.

No matter what about parliament and we have modern represented democracy there, what is that like to have that on you?

GREGORY: Well, I think that's about bringing your kids up right. So you just go like, you behave nicely because I'm telling you to, and you know I have to behave nicely under these circumstances and so do you. So I think, you know, he'll learn very, very early on. I mean, you can see that Prince Charles learned very, very early on that there was an obligation to be present, you know, to journalists and that you had to smile for the cameras and that you had to wave, and that, you know, on certain events you had to go out on the balcony.

But what's very helpful about, you know, his two parents is that they clearly have a quite positive and optimistic relationship with the British public. You know, so they -- at their wedding they did a few things which were really intimate and funny so they came out when they didn't have to come out. They did the little drive down in a car.

CUOMO: Remember that? What a shock that was to all of us there.

GREGORY: Huge. Huge.

CUOMO: He came out in that James Bond car with the top down.

GREGORY: Yes. That's some fast car. Wasn't that James Bond's car?

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But it was, you know, the James Bond --

GREGORY: Yes.

CUOMO: To us Americans that's what it is.

GREGORY: It was -- it's playful. You know, and they are quite playful. How long you stay playful in the long, long years while you wait to be king of England and he is going to wait a long, long time.

CUOMO: Three direct heirs, though, first time since, what, 1894, or something like that.

GREGORY: Do you know you're really good at this? You know, my specialty is the Tudors and the Plantagenets, I'm really, really good on the Medieval Period. This is fantastic.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: I appreciate it. I'm very happy your book came out today. This is a time for it to come out. If people want to read about it now is the time especially here in the states. Appreciate the perspective on what this means to have this boy in this place in history. Appreciate it.

GREGORY: Thank you so much.

CUOMO: We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right. That's it for us tonight. Piers, thank you for letting me sit in. The check's in the mail. I know you're watching right now and feeling good about your overall superiority.

Donny Deutsch will be here tomorrow. He'll be joined by Star Jones and other special guest for an hour special on race in America. That's tomorrow night.

Now up next "RACE AND JUSTICE IN AMERICA TWO," an "AC 360" town hall special.