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Pallo and welcome to Palace Weekly. I am your host,
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Mark Francis. It's been a week of considerable range. A
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police investigation expanded dramatically, a king danced, dodged a seagull
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and declared a toilet role very important. A prince lost
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his voice in Istanbul celebrating his football team's first European
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trophy in forty four years. And Megan Markle stopped at
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Heathrow on her way home from Geneva, posted a photograph
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of a card from the British Airways crew and inadvertently
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generated a news cycle about a selfie with a Finnish politician.
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Nobody had heard of. The monarchy, as ever, contains multitudes.
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Let's get into it. We begin with Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,
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because the week demanded it. Thames Valley Police announced this
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week that their investigation has expanded significantly beyond the original
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misconduct in public office charge to now include potential sexual
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offense and corruption. When Andrew was arrested at wood Farm
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on his sixty sixth birthday in February, the inquiry centered
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on allegations that he shared confidential trade documents with Jeffrey
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Epstein during his decade as the UK's Special Representative for
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Trade and Investment. That charge alone carries a potential maximum
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sentence of life imprisonment. The investigation has now grown considerably larger.
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Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright confirmed that a dedicated team
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of the force's most experienced specialist investigators, including detectives with
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expertise in serious sexual offenses and financial crime, has been assembled.
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Officers are already in contact with the Crown Prosecution Service
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for early investigative advice, and are liaising formally with the
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American Department of Justice to request access to material from
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the Epstein files. The specific new allegations are serious. Detectives
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are examining claims that Epstein arranged for a non British woman,
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then in her twenties, to travel to Royal Lodge in
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Windsor for sexual purposes in twenty ten. Her lawyer has
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stated that following the encounter, she was given tea in
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a tour of Buckingham Palace. Officers have spoken to her
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legal representative, but have not yet formally interviewed the woman herself,
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as she has not made an official complaint. The Force
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made clear this week that they are ready to proceed
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whenever she chooses to come forward. The original misconduct allegations
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center on emails suggesting Andrew forwarded confidential trade briefings to
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Epstein while serving as Envoy, sometimes within minutes of receiving them.
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One email from No. Number twenty ten was forwarded just
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five minutes after being sent by his then special advisor.
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On Christmas Eve the same year, Andrew allegedly copied Epstein
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into a confidential briefing about investment opportunities in the reconstruction
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of Helmand Province in Afghanistan. The investigation police warned will
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take many months. Separately, fifteen pages of previously classified government
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documents were released this week relating to Andrew's Trade Envoy appointment.
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They reveal the late Queen was very keen for has
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Son to take on a prominent role in promoting national interests,
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but that he should not be burdened with meetings and paperwork.
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He expressed a preference for missions to sophisticated countries. The
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documents were released following pressure from MP's in the wake
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of the Epstein files. The week also brought Andrew Lowney's
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updated paperback of entitle which contains fresh allegations, including the
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claim that Andrew once kicked one of his dogs at
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Sandringham Shoot, leaving the animal whimpering on the ground. A
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guest confronted him directly, Andrew allegedly replied, it's none of
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your business and I will do precisely what I want
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to my dogs. Philip, it is claimed, later approached the
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same guest and said what he said to my son
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today was absolutely right. The book also includes new claims
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about Sarah Ferguson's links to Sean Combs, which Ferguson had
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strenuous denied. Lowney says he stands by the reporting the
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paperbacks in shops now Lowney is not a man who
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publishes and retreats. Meanwhile, Lowney also suggested this week that
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Ferguson may be attempting to negotiate a pension from the
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royal family, with the outcome likely to influence whether she
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proceeds with a tell all interview. Neither Ferguson nor the
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Palace has confirmed or denied the claim. More Palace in
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just a moment. King Charles and que Camilla spent the
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week in Northern Ireland and managed to pack an extraordinary
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amount of living into a short period of time. The
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visit began in Belfast at Thompson Dock, where the Titanic
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Last sat on dry land in nineteen eleven, with a
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welcome involving more than two hundred performers marking the upcoming
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largest traditional Irish music festival coming to Belfast this August.
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For the first time, the King got his feet going
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to a live percussionist, was warmly embraced around the waist
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by Zimbabwean born Belfast resident, who declared with enthusiasm the
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King's got rhythm, and both he and Camilla were handed
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bodins and given a tutorial. The King picked it up immediately.
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The Queen persevered. When Charles went on stage to thank
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the young dancers, he asked if they were professionals, appeared
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startled when told they were not, and replied, impressive, you
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must wear out your shoes very quickly. At Titanic Distillers,
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housed in the restored Edwardy and Pump House beside the
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dry dark, the couple were offered a tasting. It was
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barely passed noon. The Queen raised her eyebrows dramatically asked
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what proof, was told forty percent, and decided to proceed
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quite strong, she said, but nice and warming. She turned
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to warn her husband, who was already reaching for his glass.
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The head distiller noted afterwards that the Queen had actually
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tried the stronger of the two paws. She must have
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had a more refined palette than the king. On day two,
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operating separately across County Down, Charles visited a food bank
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in Newcastle, where he packed grocery boxes, stuck his head
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into a paper bag to smell freshly baked wheaten bread,
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and seized on a toilet roll, with the declaration very important.
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He had it a second one, very very important. Leaving
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the building, the passing seagull made its contribution to the occasion.
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An aid offered an overcoat. The King waved it off
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and told a concerned member of the public, no, it's fine.
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At least it didn't land on my head. A local
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resident noted that a seagull strikers traditionally considered good luck.
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The King appeared to share this view. Meanwhile, in Hillsborough,
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Camilla pulled a pint of guinness at the Parson's Nose
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Pub with fierce concentration, held it aloft to a round
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of applause, declared it too early to drink, and was
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serenaded in the street by a primary school choir singing
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A Million Dreams from the Greatest show Man. She called
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it really lovely, admired a baby, and shook a considerable
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number of hands between them. In the space of forty
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eight hours, the King and Queen had danced, drummed, done
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whisky shots before lunch packed grocer, has been targeted by
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wildlife and pulled a Guinness. The Visitor has been widely
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covered as one of the most warm and unguarded royal
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tours in recent memory. On the Sussex front, the week
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generated its usual volume material for multiple directions simultaneously. Meghan
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traveled solo to Geneva on Sunday for the inauguration of
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the Lost Screen Memorial of the WHOSE World Health Assembly,
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fifty illuminated light boxes, each bearing the lock screen image
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of a child loss to online harm. By all accounts,
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her speech was strong. She called children's online safety of
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public health issue and described systems designed to capture attention
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at any cost. The cause is genuine and the credentials
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are real. The visit then hit a snag when Finland's
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Minister for Social Affairs and Health posted a selfie with
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her captioned at dinner with Megan, prompting rapid research into
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his controversial past, including an alleged joke about being a Nazi.
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Meghan's team responded swiftly, noting she had no prior awareness
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of him, that vetting every selfie request to a twenty
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five person ministerial dinner is not possible, and that she
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had simply agreed politely as she was leaving. The statement
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was plausible. The Internet was not entirely satisfied, but the
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story moved on. On her way home, Meghan transited through Heathrow,
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her first time on British soil since twenty twenty four,
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and posted a photograph of a handwritten anniversary card from
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the British Airways crew, who had sent her home with
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champagne and British suites for Harry and the children. Her
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flight departed twenty six minutes later. Back in Montecito, Harry
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was waiting in grey tracksuit bottoms with a lemon older
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flower cake, singing happy anniversary and presenting Megan with a
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statute of two penguins arm in arm, a call back
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to the onesies they wore at their engagement party, a
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body language expert reviewed the footage and declared the whole
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thing very genuine. No visible tension. He said, no staged awkwardness.
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Harry's smile engaged his cheek, muscles, his eyes, and his
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entire face. The same week also confirmed that Harry and
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Meghan were not invited to Peter Phillips's wedding. Peter, Princess
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Anne's son is marrying Harriet Spurling and Syrih Kester. On
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June sixth, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were already confirmed absent.
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Harry's exclusion was confirmed by a source who simply said
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that the two cousins haven't spoken for several years and
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have simply lost touch. Mark Dolwan, on a podcast said bluntly,
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poor old Harry wasn't even in the mix for an invite,
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so he's done. The New York sisters Beatrice and Eugenie
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are expected to attend. The Waleses and Edinburgh's may also appear.
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The circle continues to define itself by who stands outside it.
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Harry also wrote a piece for The New Statesman this
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week about the rise of anti Semitism in Britain, directly
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acknowledging his two thousand and five Nazi costume and calling
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for a strength and responsibility from all science. ITV's Chris
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Ship noted that Harry's office said they were unaware of
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the King's separate visit to Golder's Green, which had not
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been announced in advance, and that the overlap was not deliberate,
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no more than the Princess of Wales did by having
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engagements in Italy on the same day as the King's visit.
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Ship wrote, whether that framing satisfied everyone, There's another question
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more palace in just a moment, and Prince William had
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his week entirely defined by nineteen minutes in Istanbul on
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Wednesday evening, aston Villa beat Freiburg three goals to nil
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to win the Europa League, their first European trophy in
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forty four years. William was in the stands, fist pumping
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and jumping with each goal, filming on his phone like
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every other fan in the ground. He joined the players
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at the after party, flew home, lost his voice and
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was back in Cornwall for an engagement by Thursday morning.
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On Heart Radio's Breakfast Show from the Aisles of Silly,
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he called Catherine absolutely stunning and said the family couldn't
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cope without her, confirmed Louis Leave's jam fingerprints in the car,
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and revealed that Charlotte supports Chelsea. My daughter loves Chelsea.
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He told a young girl on the crowd, George follows Villa.
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The householders divided. William declared himself a cream first scone
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man in the Devonian tradition. He learned it from the Queen.
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The debate, he made clear, was closed. And there you
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have it. If you like to email us or addresses
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the Palace Intrigue at a gmail at dot com, please
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follow us on Apple or Spotify, and you can leave
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a comment on Spotify about the show or any of
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the others. I'm Mark Francis by thanks to John McDermot.
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This is Palace Intrigue in good Times.