Jan. 26, 2025

Can the Royal Family trick Donald Trump into doing what the UK wants?

Show Notes
Transcript

The Royal Family might be the UK's best weapon heading forward.

Meanwhile, it's a day that ends in Y so more negative articles about Meghan Markle.

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Calorogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I

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am your host, Mark Francis. In last week's Vanity Fair article,

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fashion commentator Tom Fitzgerald said Meghan is the type of

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woman who would check a menu out online before going

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to a restaurant to pick out what she was going

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to eat. So the idea that she didn't know she

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was supposed to Curtsey for the Queen, I just didn't

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find it particularly believable because, based on everything she ever

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told us about herself, I cannot imagine that she went

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into meeting the royal family completely cold, with no research whatsoever.

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Fitzgerald highlights Meghan's repeated claims that she was compelled to

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wear neutral tones during her time at the Palace to

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avoid overshadowing or competing with Queen Elizabeth and other senior royals,

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pointing out Meghan's wardrobe today largely reflects that same palette.

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A PR expert believes Harry is best off staying out

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of the PR for Megan's cooking show. Edward Coreham James

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tells gb News Harry not being very involved in Meghan's

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show is for the best right now, their joint brand

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has taken a hit after hit in recent years. It's

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a solid chance for Megan to show that she can

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thrive on her own. His best move is to carve

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out more independence from Megan in both his public and

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professional life. Meghan knows her brand has taken some hits,

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so this is about softening her image and giving people

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a reason to like her again. Koran believes Megan will

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rely on her celebrity friends to push the show. Daniel

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Martin ties her to her royal wedding Abigail Spencer is

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a reminder of her Hollywood roots. Mindy Kayling, that's just

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a signal to her audience that she's aligned with strong,

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successful women in entertainment. In the Vanity Fair article, a

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local claims they've never heard anyone refer to Montecito as

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the American Riviera. It's such a kind of hucksterism. It's

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just finding every way she can too model something. I

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still think they're the most entitled, disingenuous people on the planet.

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They moved away from England to get away from the

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scrutiny of the press, and all they do is try

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and get in the press. In the United States, Meghan's

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engagement ring, a significant piece of jewelry designed with sentimental elements,

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continues to spark intrigue as fans speculate about further changes

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to its design. Originally gifted by Prince Harry in twenty seventeen,

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the ring features a diamond source from Botswana and two

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smaller diamonds from Princess Diana's collection, set on a yellow

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gold band, A favorite of Megan's. However, in twenty nineteen,

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Meghan debuted a redesigned version of the ring with a

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thinner micropave band. Around the same time, she also received

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a custom eternity band from Harry featuring birthstones representing their

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family of three peridot for Meghan, emeral for Archie, and

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sapphire for Harry. In twenty twenty three, Meghan was seen

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without her engagement ring on multiple occasions, reportedly due to

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maintenance for a loose stone. The ring's return has reignited discussion,

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with fans now speculating about a possible change to the

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central diamond's shape. In the trailer for her Netflix series

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With Love Meghan, the diamond appears to be square cut

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rather than the original round cut design, prompting social media

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users to wonder if the Ring has been updated again.

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Actress Meg Bellamy, who portrayed a young Kate Middleton in

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the Crown's sixth season, has suggested that Meghan Markele should

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play herself if the series ever returns for another installment.

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We agree, according to Bellamy, only Meghan could do Meghan

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markel justice Meghan is a great actress. Bellamy also praised

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Kate Middleton, saying Kate is awesome palas indrigam a radeback.

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The return of Donald Trump to the White House presents

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a diplomatic conundrum for the UK, but British Prime Minister

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Keir Starmer may have a secret weapon the Royal family.

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With their unparalleled ability to deliver pomp, pageantry and a

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touch of grandeur. The Royals could serve as Starmer's ace

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in maintaining the special relationship amidst looming policy disagreements. Trump

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has shown a fondness for Britain's monarchy, repeatedly expressing the

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admiration for the late Queen Elizabeth and King Charles the Third,

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calling the latter a really good person. His previous state

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visit to the UK in twenty nineteen was a spectacle

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of royal tradition complete with tea at Windsor Castle, a

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forty one gun salute and a glittering state banquet at

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Buckingham Palace. For Trump, who thrives on symbols of status

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and grandeur, these events are more than diplomatic formalities. They

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are affirmations of his standing on the global stage. According

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to biographer Robert Hartman, the Royal famili's enduring soft power

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gives Britain an edge in dealing with unpredictable US leaders.

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Hardman chairs other countries are far more interested in the

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monarchy than they are in Downing Street. It has been

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suggested that King Charles and Prince William could visit the

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US in twenty twenty six to mark the two hundred

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and fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The Times

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has reported that senior royals were being lined up for

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the task and that plans had been discussed at the

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highest levels of government. Also on the table, Soccer's World

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Cup in twenty twenty six, also held in America. Prince

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William's patron of Britain's Football Association. A source to All

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the Times, Donald Trump is a clear affinity for the

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royal family. He has had a great relationship. Late Queen

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recently met Prince William and a spoken highly of King Charles.

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A royal tour to the US would help reinforce the

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special relationship. Another source added, playing up to his pro

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monarchist tendencies is one of a number of important ways

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we can exert our soft power. You saw that during

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his first administration and can expect to see it again.

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Declassified m I five files have revealed that Queen Elizabeth

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was kept in the dark for nearly a decade about

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Anthony Blunt, a member of her royal household, confessing to

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being a Soviet double agent. Blunt, a celebrated art historian

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and surveyor of the Queen's pictures, admitted to espionage in

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nineteen sixty four, but the Queen was only fully informed

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in nineteen seventy three, nine years later. The documents showed

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that the secrecy was titally maintained even within the palace.

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At the time of Blunt's confession. Only a handful of individuals,

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including MI five and certain government officials, were aware. The

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Queen's private secretary, Martin Charteris, eventually informed her at the

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behest of Prime Minister Edward Heath's government citing concerns that

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Blunt's failing health might lead to his secret being exposed posthumously. Remarkably,

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the Queen received the news calmly and without surprise, reportedly

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recalling suspicions about Blunt dating back to the nineteen fifties.

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Despite this, Blunt continued to serve in his royal post

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and even received a knighthood after his confession, as authorities

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deemed it in the greater public interest to avoid drawing

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attention to his past. Blunt's confession was extracted during an

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MI five interview in nineteen sixty four after testimony from

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Michael Strait, an American Blunt had recruited during their time

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at Cambridge. Blunt was offered immunity in exchange for cooperation.

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His admissions painted a vivid picture of his role in

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the infamous Cambridge five spy ring, which included Kim Philbey,

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Guy Burgess, Donald McLean, and John Cairncross. The files detailed

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blunts account of covert operations, including a chaotic episode where Burgess,

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in a state of disarray, fled to warn McLean about

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imminent exposure. Blunt himself resisted pressure from his Soviet handlers

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to defect, recalling their poorly planned and chaotic instructions as

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absolutely insane. The secrecy surrounding Blunt's treachery only unraveled in

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nineteen seventy nine, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher publicly named

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him as a Soviet spy. By then, the Queen had

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long known the truth, but the revelations still caused shock waves. Blunt,

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who died in nineteen eighty three, remains one of the

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most infamous figures in British intelligence history. The files are

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being released as part of an MI five exhibition at

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the National Archives, which will feature accounts of blunts can

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fashion and other Cold War espionage activities, and they have

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it to email us, who addresses the palasintrig at gmail

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dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple, on the

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Apple of your choice and write us a review and

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leave five stars. If you're enjoying the show, I'm Mark

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Francis My thanks to John McDermott's Palace Intrigue. Good Times,

Can the Royal Family trick Donald Trump into doing what the UK wants?

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