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Callarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I
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am your host, Mark Francis. Fresh disclosures from the US
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Department of Justice documents show that Andrews sent Jeffrey Epstein
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Christmas cards in twenty eleven and twelve, featuring family photographs
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of his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, despite previously
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stating he had cut off contact with the convicted sex
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offender in December of twenty ten. One card dated December
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twenty one, twenty eleven, reportedly wished Epstein much joy and
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happiness at this time and for the year ahead. The
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message appears to contradict Andrew's twenty nineteen interview on Newsnight,
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in which he told Emily Maitliss he had not been
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in contact with Epstein after they were photographed together in
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New York in December of twenty ten. The twenty eleven
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card included several photographs of Beatrice and Eugenie, alongside images
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of Royal Lodge and family scenes. A second card, sent
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in December twenty twelve also featured photographs of the princesses
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and their mother, Sarah, Duchess of York. Separate documents revealed
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that Beatrice and Eugenie visited Epstein's Florida home in July
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two thousand and nine with their mother, just days after
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his release from prison following a conviction for soliciting a minor.
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Emails show arrangements being made for lunch at the property
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while Epstein was under house arrest. Royal commentators have suggested
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the ongoing drip feed of revelations could place renewed scrutiny
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on the York sister's future roles within the monarchy. While
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neither princess is a taxpayer funded working royal, both retain
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their titles and have continued to attend family events. Hillary
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Clinton has said Andrew mount Batten Windsor should give evidence
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to Congress over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Speaking to BBC,
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the former U S Secretary of State so that anyone
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asked to testify before a Congressional committee investigating Epstein should comply,
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specifically whether Andrew should appear. Missus Clinton replied that those
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requested to give evidence or to do so, a position
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that would also apply to others under scrutiny. Missus Clinton
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and her husband, former US President Bill Clinton are due
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to appear before the House Oversight Committee on February twenty six.
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Initially resistant to give depositions, they agreed to testify rather
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than risk being held in contempt of Congress. Missus Clinton said,
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we will show up, but we think it would be
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better to be in public rather than a closed door deposition.
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We have nothing to hide. We have called for the
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full release of these files repeatedly. We think sunlight is
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the best disinfectant. She also accused the Trump administration of
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withholding information, telling the BBC get the files out, they
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are slow walking it. Speaking on the Daily Beast podcast,
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Royal expert Tom Sykes argued that the controversy linked to
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the Epstein files has escalated dramatically. He said, this crisis
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around Prince Andrew ex Prince Andrew as I suppose we
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really should call him, has metastasized to such a level,
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has become so extreme that it feels like it's going
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to be very hard for the Royal family just to
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come back to its original shape and pretend that nothing
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has happened. Sikes suggested that a criminal investigation into Andrew
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amazingly could actually happen, adding we could end up in
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a situation here where his Majesty's brother is at leisure
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in his Majesty's prison. We are way past the point
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of never complaining, never explained. There is clearly going to
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have to be a massive apology from the royal family
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at some point because this all happened on Charles's watch.
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According to Sykes, tensions between the King and the Prince
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of Wales have intensified over how the situation has been managed.
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He described the anger that William's camp and William's side
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have towards Charles about the way that he's dealt with Andrew,
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suggesting the issue has added stream within the family. Sikes warned,
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if it doesn't end up in court at this stage,
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and if it doesn't end up with a proper investigation,
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I think it's extremely damaging for the royal family. Newly
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released files from the US Department of Justice of Peters
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show that Andrew forwarded sensitive government and commercial information to
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convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the
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UK's Trade envoy between two thousand and one and eleven.
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Reacting to the allegations on talk TV, host Mark Dolan said,
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so I would say to the policing establishment and legal establishment.
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Do your worst. Curiously, enough of bad crimes are committed,
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lock him up and throw away the keys. If those
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allegations are true, which he denies, then he's an enemy
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of the state, an enemy of the family, and a
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dangerous individual. A Spanish model has described how she was
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charmed by then Prince Andrew during a yacht trip off
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Sardinia in twenty ten. Alexandra Escat, who was twenty five
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at the time, was photographed to playing sunscreen to Andrew
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while aboard the one hundred and fifty four yacht Yala
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on Italy's Emerald Coast. The images sparked a speculation about
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a possible romance, particularly after she was later pictured boarding
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his private jet. Escat has consistently denied any romantic involvement,
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calling the suggestion ridiculous. She said she had first met
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out Andrew the previous evening and joined around ten other
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guests for lunch on the yacht the following day. According
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to Escat, their conversations focused on military history and international relations.
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She recalled Andrew speaking about the constraints of royal life,
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allegedly telling her I don't even have my brother's telephone number.
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I talked to my bodyguard. My bodyguard talks to his
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bodyguard and he talks to him. You're so lucky you
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have such freedom. My life is so regimented. Every single
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hour of every single day is mapped out. Esqatt described
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him as attentive and a strong conversationalist, saying Andrew was
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a good listener, very attentive. There's a real art to
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listening in conversation, and he has it, I thought, in
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the perfect British gentleman. Addressing the photographs that later circulated
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in the press, Esquet said, I'm not stupid. I can
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see what a juicy bit of gossip it must have seen.
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It all looks so romantic that I know what happened
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and what did not. I don't regret it. I know
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who I am and the sort of girl I was
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brought up to be. It never occurred to me he
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would look at me in that way more Pallas in
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just a Moment. A new biography claims that Catherine, the
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Princess of Wales took a different view from Prince William
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when Prince Harry announced he would step back from royal duties.
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In William and Catherine the monarchy's new era. Of The
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Inside Story, author Russell Myers examines how the Prince and
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Princess of Wales responded privately to the decision in January
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twenty twenty, when Harry and Meghan said they intended to
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divide their time between Britain and North America. According to
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an excerpt published in the British Press, Myers writes that
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Catherine had less interest than her husband in trying to
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persuade Harry to stain his current role, believing that the
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fundamental differences between the heir and the spear made Harry's
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desire for something more than a supporting position inevitable. William,
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by contrast, is described as deeply affected. Myers writes that
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he was intensely saddened by his brother's decision, feeling the
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ears of shared experience, from supporting one another through the
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loss of their mother to growing up under constant public
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scrutiny had been overs shadowed by a widening division. The
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book suggests he came to see the break as permanent.
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Biographer Robert Lacey has similarly argued that the rift is
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both profound and long lasting, saying he does not believe
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it will change unless Harry makes the first move toward reconciliation.
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Meyers presents the Sussex's departure not as sudden rupture, but
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as the culmination of years of growing differences in outlook, ambition,
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and working style. Friction is said to have increased as
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William focused on modernizing the monarchy, prioritizing measurable impact and
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long term initiatives over traditional patronages. His environmental work, particularly
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in Africa, became one point of disagreement. During a meeting
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at Saint James Pallas, Harry is quoted as telling him,
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you don't just get Africa, a remark that reflected wide
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attentions about roles, ownership of causes, and the direction of
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royal work. The book also revisits the family's early impressions
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of Megan. When Harry first introduced her, Katherine reportedly described
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her as friendly, though perhaps overly so, with what Maya's
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characterizes as a touch of California. A source recalls that
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William initially found her quite refreshing and was genuinely happy
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for Harry and only wanted the best for him, while
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quietly wondering whether there might be a clash of styles.
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Media attention surrounding Meghan is identified as a major turning point.
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Harry's decision to issue a strongly worded public statement condemning
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a wave of abuse in the harassment, the racial undertones
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of comment pieces and the outright sexism and racism of
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social media trolls and web article comments without consulting his
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father or brother reportedly angered senior Royals and marked an
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outward shift in family dynamics. Meyers wrote that from that
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moment it became increasingly difficult to bring the brothers together
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for joint discussions. Security arrangements for Megan became another flashpoint.
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After being told that formal protection would not be granted
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until marriage, Harry appealed to his father and brother for help.
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The then Prince of Wales maintained that he could not
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intervene in what was ultimately a government decision involving taxpayer funding.
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The episode is said to have fueled Harry's sense that
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there was one rule for him and another for me
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particularly as he knew Catherine had received structured guidance and
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later full time protection after her engagement. Concerns about staff
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relation's further strained tires. According to the book William and
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Catherine became worried about morale within the household and felt
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the difficulties with the Sussex's team reflected deeper differences in
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working culture. One source described the atmosphere as pretty toxic,
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adding that Catherine found Megan abrasive and came to see
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a separation of working lives as inevitable, even if she
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did not anticipate how complete the break would become. The
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argument over security in Harry's independent handling of media strategy
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are portrayed as key moments in the deterioration of relations.
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Mayer's writes that William's reluctance to challenge their father's position
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led to a heated row that ignited what became a
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long running feud. Following the Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey,
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Catherine has said to have concluded that trust had broken
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down entirely I saw his claims. She believed any future
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engagement with Harry and Megan would have to be approached
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with the utmost of caution. For William, the emotional toll
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was significant. A source close to him says he felt
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that somewhere down the line he had lost his brother,
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becoming at times paranoid angry, obsessive, and firmly rooted in
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the past, despite there having been a lot of love
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and support available for Harry earlier on. Mayers concludes that
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the Sussex's departure ultimately reshaped not only the relationship between
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the brothers, but the future direction of the monarchy itself,
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bringing long standing differences about duty, hierarchy, and personal freedom
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into the open and the habit. If you'd like to
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thanks to John McDermott This Palace in freaking good times.
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M