Does Prince George have a secret older sister?

0:03 Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host, Mark Francis. A bizarre conspiracy theory about Prince George is raising a much more serious question about artificial intelligence, online disinformation and the royal family. Social media posts have falsely claimed that the Prince and Princess of Wales have a secret fourth child, an older daughter supposedly named Princess Arielle. There is no evidence that this person exists. Prince William and Catherine have three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. One widely shared AI-generated picture combines real photographs of the whale's children with an invented teenager. The fictional princess bears what some observers say is a striking resemblance to a young Brooke Shields. On its face, the story is absurd and easily disproved. However, experts quoted by The Telegraph say that may be missing the point. False stories do not always need to be convincing to achieve their purpose.

1:08 They can still create confusion, weaken public trust, and force legitimate institutions to spend time responding to nonsense. Amil Khan is the chief executive of Valent, he told The Telegraph. This is something we've been looking at for a while. We monitor 15 coordinated influence networks in the UK, and we noticed that just before the King's state visit to America earlier this year, there was a growing campaign attacking him. In the case of the supposed secret princess, one possible objective would be to encourage questions about Prince George's legitimacy or his place in the line of succession. Prince Harry reportedly wants Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to understand their British heritage, but royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told Fox News Digital that Harry's plans also expose a contradiction. Harry spent years telling us why he needed to escape royal life, said his father and brother were trapped but now appears determined to make sure his children understand and retain their connection to it, Schofield said. Perhaps with time and distance, he has realised that walking away from royal duties was much easier than walking away from the history, family and identity that came with them. Royal commentator Hilary Fordage adds, It is totally understandable that Harry wants Archie and Lilibet to grow up appreciating their British heritage, traditions, knowing their extended family. But after all he has said and done, it's highly unlikely the family will ever trust Harry or welcome them all back into the family fold. Schofield argued, I think Harry wants to reopen the royal tour, but

2:39 perhaps on his own terms. The problem is that the monarchy has never operated that way. Harry may want his children to enjoy the history, relationships and privileges that come with being part of the royal family, while maintaining the independence he chose in 2020. That tension has been at the heart of this story from the very beginning. You can bring your children to the UK and surround them with British traditions, but their most meaningful connection to Britain is their family. Harry cannot expect the children to repair what the adults have broken. Any meaningful relationships between the cousins would require trust between their parents first. At some point, Britain stops being a story Harry tells his children and becomes something they will want to experience and understand for themselves.

3:25 Harry and Meghan may be considering a life in the Cotswolds, but according to the Telegraph, finding a house could be easier than finding their place in the region's complicated social hierarchy. Writer and broadcaster Helen Kirwan-Taylor described the divide as one between the so-called Glostocracy and the Celebrity Circle, represented by David and Victoria Beckham. The real snobbism is between the Glostocracy and the Beckhams, she said. Kirwan-Taylor said the fashionable newcomers are usually finance or media bros, and they don't really know anything about the Cotswolds. They'll go to the members' clubs, they chose it because of what their friends do and say, and they've never been outside of that little triangle. One anonymous source claimed that merely mentioning Megan at a recent dinner almost caused another guest to leave.

4:11 He said, if you say that word one more time, the source recalled, that account is impossible to verify, but it illustrates the resistance the Telegraph says the Sussexes may encounter among people who are personally or socially close to King Charles. Then there is Lady Bamford, portrayed in the article as one of the region's most influential hostesses. Her Daylesford estate includes an organic farm, shop, spa and private club. Membership reportedly requires substantial fees as well as committee approval. An unnamed member of the local social circle said an invitation to one of Lady Bamford's private parties represents genuine acceptance. The source said, if you get invited to one of her personal parties, you're in. Carol knows absolutely everybody. Harry and Meghan would also have to navigate the presence of Jeremy Clarkson, who moves easily between the celebrity and traditional country groups. Clarkson apologised after publishing a notoriously offensive column about Meghan in 2022, so any social encounter between them could be uncomfortable. The article also suggests that Meghan's lifestyle credentials may not impress people who already take their own bread, produce their own preserves and raise their own livestock. So many of my friends make their own jams, bake their own breads, Kirwan Taylor said. One person literally came to dinner with her own beef. She could almost name the cow.

5:30 Bringing jam to someone's house in England is always a bit of a joke because they just made their own batch and probably sell it at Waitrose themselves. Author Plum Sykes offered the Sussexes a more encouraging assessment. If you work very hard at it and entertain in fabulous style and with great generosity, becoming the latest queen of the Cotswolds is entirely doable, whoever you are. More Palace in just a moment. Stuart Heritage writes in The Independent, It's clear that Meghan's social media strategy involves lots of anonymous footage of her children enjoying the country, but few of us will be able to relate to idyllic Deer Park bicycle rides. A much more realistic picture of modern British parenting Might come, for instance, if she filmed herself applying a Veruca pen to their feet because the municipal council pool, where they have been having swimming lessons, has trouble retaining cleaning staff. And she should really have a realistic reel of the British High Street. Nobody wants to see bougie little independent traders who sell baskets of edible flower petals for the price of a small used car as much as it would fit her brand. We demand to see Meghan Markle being forced to navigate the liminal, low-ceilinged backrooms-style experience of a pre-administration T.G. Jones. We want to see her right at the back of the shop where all the GCSE revision handbooks are, where there's no natural light and one of the overhead lamps keeps giving out. And then, after that, we want to see her in farm foods with a 24-can multi-pack of R. White's lemonade under one

7:03 arm and a whole frozen turkey under the other. Then she'd be more like us. As romantic as a leafy dog walk might be to her American fans, British people want to see Meghan try to defrost a packet of sausages with a hairdryer because she forgot to get anything ready for tea. Do this next and we'll love her forever. Harry and Meghan have acquired a famous new neighbour in the Cotswolds, although he does not appear particularly thrilled about it. Michael Whitehall, father of comedian Jack Whitehall and his co-star on Netflix's Travels With My Father, lives in the area with his wife Hilary The couple discussed the Sussexes' arrival on their podcast, The Wittering Whitehalls. Hilary began, The big news is that there are some new residents allegedly in the Notswolds, North Oxfordshire, no less, Michael, our territory. I haven't spotted them in Waitrose in Banbury, but we live in Hope. Michael, well, you don't because you wouldn't want to see them, would you? Michael replied, well, no, probably not.

8:01 They're kind of, for me now, beyond ranting about. I mean, they're not just, they're non-people, really. Not worth my getting upset about. There they are. Apparently that was the restrained version. Hilary told her husband, What I'm a little bit disappointed about is that we didn't get the nuclear rant that I got when it was announced that they were coming back. You've tempered it down now. She later joked, We had a bigger rant about the milk carton. Michael was considerably more enthusiastic when the conversation turned to Kate, I'm a big fan of that nice girl who was married to the heir to the throne. I think she's amazing. And there you have it. If you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue at gmail.com. If you're on Spotify, leave us a comment. If you're on Apple, hit that button up there that says listen uninterrupted. And for five bucks a month, you get the show commercial free. We appreciate your support. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to John McDermott.

8:50 This is Palace Intrigue. Good times.