June 11, 2026

2006 World Cup Will Prince William Attend? Has David Beckham iced Prince Harry from attending?

Show Notes
Transcript

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins, Prince William's lifelong passion for football is back in the spotlight. We look at William's relationship with England's national team, whether he could attend World Cup matches in the United States, and why Prince George's future role complicates travel plans. Plus, Princess Anne's likely support for Scotland, Harry's reported fallout with David Beckham, Meghan's latest family photos featuring Archie and football, and King Charles approves a special Scottish bank holiday to celebrate Scotland's return to the World Cup.

Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

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Ah Calorouga Shark Media, Hi, and welcome to Ballast Intrigue.

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I am your host, Mark Francis. Prince William's passion for

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football is being highlighted as England begin another World Cup campaign,

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with players, former stars and royal commentators all pointing to

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the Prince of Wales's long standing connection to the game.

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The future King is expected to be following England's progress

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closely as the tournament gets underway, continuing a lifelong enthusiasm

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for football that has become one of the defining aspects

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of his public image. Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton believes

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William's support for the national team is more important than

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many people realize. I do genuinely think he loves football

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the excitement of it, Chilton said. He appears so grounded,

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a natural singing in the crowd with his mates. It's

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incredibly important we as a football loving nation have a

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future king that's so clearly the same way and makes

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us feel more connected to him. He is a genuine

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fan and is a true ambassador of the sport and

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this in turn is a massive boost to the players.

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The Prince of wal also served as Patron of the

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Football Association for two decades and is known for maintaining

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close links with the England squad. Football writer Greg Evans said,

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he really is a proper football fan with incredible knowledge.

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He knows the players and is really down to earth

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and likable in that way. You only have to look

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at his actions really in previous years to see how

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much he loves the national team. He often sends notes

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to players wishing them good luck, visits training camps and

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things like that, and I believe he's been in the

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dressing room a few times as well for England, and

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he never really gets in the way. Royal commentator Richard

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fitz Williams believes football helps connect William to people across Britain,

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observing William finds football absolutely magical. The lively atmosphere at

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matches appeals to him and it is also an excuse

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to let his hair down. The fact that William's passion

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is also the national game undoubtedly enhances is already potent

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appeal to all classes. The football enthusiasm is becoming something

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of a family affair. Prince George supports Aston Villa like

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his father. Well. Princess Charlotte has reportedly followed her mother

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and backing Chelsea as England begin their latest quest for

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World Cup glory. William may not be planning an immediate

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trip to the United States, but few Royal patrons are

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likely to be watching more closely. William and Kate are

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reportedly unlikely to attend the Cup. Royal reporter Emily Nash

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told Page six there's been a lot of talk about

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this over the past few months, but no invitation has

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surfaced so far. So right now, I doubt it will happen.

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As William said himself, these trips take a lot out

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of you. I think he said, you're on send and

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receive the whole time. You are in a situation where

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you're having to give one hundred and ten percent of

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yourself the whole time you're out there, and you're being

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scrutinized at every turn. I think if England would get

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to the final, then I be surprised if William didn't attend.

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As for speculation that William would bring Prince George to

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a game, Royal inside a Deep Ground reminds us that

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things have changed now that George is twelve. One notes

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with some amusement the casual speculation that William might simply

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bring George along to a World Cup final in New Jersey,

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as one would pack an overnight bag. The boy is

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twelve second in line to the throne, his father is first.

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There is a rather long standing convention about two of

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them sharing an aircraft, the purpose of which ought to

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be self evident to anyone who has given the matter

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thirty seconds of thought. William may well attend George would

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travel separately if at all the institution does not pause

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for football, however passionately the Prince of Wales might wish otherwise.

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Formert Royal butler Grant Harold has suggested Princess Anne is

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likely to support Scotland during the tournament, pointing to her

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long standing affection for Scottish sport and at close times

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to the country. Anne is already well known for her

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support of Scottish rugby, serving as patron of the Scottish

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Rugby Union regularly attend matches at Murrayfield. Harold, Princess Anne.

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I know she's a rugby girl, but I think when

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it comes to football I can see her supporting Scotland.

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It's almost an unwritten rule. She's very proud of her

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Scottish roots and her connections, so her choice to follow

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them through this tournament will reflect this. Harold also reflected

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on how attitudes within the Royal family toward football have

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changed over the years, particularly because of Prince William. There

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were strict protocols. The Royals would sit there quietly, have

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a poker face, watching the game, giving no insight into

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which team they were supporting. Now, especially with William, it's

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very different. So the Royal protocol goes out the window.

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William makes it very clear which team he's fighting for.

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While the late Queen was very neutral, William is biased.

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The former butler was also asked whether Prince Harry, who

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holds the title Earl of Dumbarton, might be tempted to

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support Scotland rather than risk a family rivalry with his brother.

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Of England and Scotland were to cross paths back in

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the day before they fall out, one hundred percent, you'd

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have William and Harry literally shouting and joking with each

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other over the football. Harold seven, I really don't know.

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I reckon Harry and Meghan will do an online post

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to say good luck to all teams. Prince Harry is

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reportedly unlikely to play any formal role during the World Cup,

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with one report claiming his long running fall out with

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David Beckham remains a factor in their strained relationship. Rob

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Shooter's Gossip column quoted an unnamed source, David never forgave it.

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The accusation destroyed the trust. Once that happened, there was

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no coming back. The Beckhams chose William and Harry knew

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exactly what that meant. The relationship has been over for years.

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The report goes on to speculate that if England were

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to reach the World Cup final, Beckham would be among

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the high profile guests likely to receive official invitations. Another

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source claimed, if football has to choose between Beckham and Harry,

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it's not even a debate. Beckham's football royalty more palace

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in just a moment. Hey, All this month were encouraging

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listeners of Palace Intrigue to help spread the word with

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the show. Tell friend about us, Betty, yet share an

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episode with someone who loves following the royal family and

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you know who they are. Be sure to follow Palace

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Intrigue on Spotify and turn on notifications so you never

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miss an episode. And we'd love to hear your thoughts

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on today's stories. You can leave comments for us on Spotify.

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The paparazzi within Harry's own house continues to appear to

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be more troublesome than the actual photographers. Meghan Paparazzo shared

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a collection of personal photographs and videos on Instagram under

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the caption springing into Summer. Among the images was the

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photo of Harry playing football with Prince Archie and the

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garden of the family's Montecito home. The picture shows Harry

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and his seven year old son with an oversized football

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right before the start of the FIFA World Cup. Another

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image featured Princess Lilibet wearing a Beyonce themed T shirt,

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while a separate photograph showed Harry and Meghan embracing The

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collection also included what appeared to be an older photograph

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of the couple from March twenty seventeen, before their engagement

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was announced. The image appeared on a computer and revealed

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that Meghan's photo library contains more than thirty thousand images.

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When social media user wrote Meghan was posting pics and

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accidentally didn't crop one, she wanted us to think this

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photo from twenty seventeen was recent. Another commented she is

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getting sloppy. Someone else suggested she posted eleven photos and

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probably realized she didn't have a recent one with her

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and Harry. It was probably rushed. The Duchess also shared

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several snapshots of everyday life at home, including a video

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of a self cooking, photographs fresh fruit and vegetables, and

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a picture of Mama Mia, one of the families rescue beagles,

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resting in the California sunshine. One image showed a mysterious

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envelope addressed simply to the one and only King Charles

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has approved a special bank holiday in Scotland to mark

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the country's return to men's fee for World Cup for

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the first time in nearly three decades. Monday, June fifteenth

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has officially been designated a bank holiday in Scotland, following

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a proposal from First Minister John Swinney. The holiday comes

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after Scotland secured qualification for the ending, an absence that

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stretches back to nineteen ninety eight. Scotland's opening matches scheduled

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to take place against Haiti in Boston, with kickoff occurring

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in the early hours of June fourteenth, British Time. Announcing

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the move, Sweeney said he wanted Scott's to have the

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opportunity to celebrate the national team's achievement together. He said,

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Scotland would be on the world stage this summer and

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I want as many people as possible to be able

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to celebrate the moment. Football means a great deal to

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many people in this country and it has been almost

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three decades since our men's national team played at the

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World Cup Finals tournament. The joyous reaction when Steve Clark

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and his players secured qualification demonstrated what it meant to

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end that long absence. We want to make the most

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of Scotland's participation in this global sporting event by ensuring

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people have the opportunity to come together and celebrate, no

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matter the outcome of the match. I am very grateful

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to His Majesty King Charles for approving the proposal. The

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Bank holitay applies only to Scotland and will not be

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observed elsewhere in the UK. However, football supporters in England

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have noticed a separate proposal being discussed at Westminster. A

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parliamentary motion is suggested that England shall receive a bank

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holiday on July twentieth if the Three Lions go to

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win the World cup and they have it. If you'd

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like to email us our addresses the Palace Intrigue at

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the gmail dot com. I'm Mark Francis My thanks to

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John McDermott. This says Palace Intrigue and contems

2006 World Cup Will Prince William Attend? Has David Beckham iced Prince Harry from attending?

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