Harry and Charles Reunion Off, Meghan’s Australia Retreat Questions, and New Hollywood Sussex Drama

0:03 Calorougus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host, Mark Francis. If there were ever any plans for Charles and Harry to meet in America, they've now been scrapped. A source told Hello, the Duke loves his father, and of course he would love to see his father as much as possible, but we are living in the real world. They both have very busy lives and things aren't always logistically or practically possible. In his sub stack today, Deep Crown writes, I have read this statement several times. I find it thoughtful. I also find it, if I am being precise about it, not entirely persuasive. Prince Harry is at the time of writing preparing to fly to Australia. From Montecito to Melbourne is approximately sixteen hours by air, depending on routing. From Montecito to Washington is approximately five. I raised this not to be difficult, but because the laws of aviation are, in my experience, applied consistently regardless of which direction one is traveling, the plains exist. The runway in Washington exists. The suggestion that a private meeting between a father and son could not be arranged because of the competing pressures of a speaking engagement and a state visit. Is the kind of explanation that sounds reasonable until one thinks about it for more than a moment. What I will say and what I think.

1:20 The more candid version of this story actually is is that a meeting was probably never as close to happening as the coverage suggested, and that the decision not to have one is almost certainly correct. On the merits. A state visit is a precisely choreographed diplomatic exercise. King Charles will address Congress, he will attend a banquet with the President. Every moment, every appearance, every photograph will be scrutinized for signal and meaning. The last thing the Palace needs. In the middle of all of that is a sidebar story about a private reunion with the Duke of Sussex, who was simultaneously preparing to speak at a conference whose ticket prices were recently reportedly reduced by fifty percent. The optics, as they say in Washington, were never going to work.

2:03 You could subscribe for free to Deep Crown's newsletter. Just search for Deep Crown on Google or follow the link in the show notes it's deep crown on substack. A new report claims Megan Michael's upcoming Australian wellness retreat may not simply be expensive, but selective as well. According to Radar Online, some attendees for her Best Life retreat in Sydney say they were not able to buy tickets outright, but were instead chosen after registering interest. One attendee wrote online, so very excited to be selected to attend Meghan's retreat weekend in Sydney. I'm still pinching myself. The same person claimed that organizers required applicants to explain why they wanted to attend before places were allocated. She said the organizers had so many people register interests that they needed to select who got to go. We needed to write why we would like to attend. They got chosen. According to the reports, some successful applicants were also permitted to bring a gain guest, with one attendee saying she invited another meg supporter to join her. Radar also cites what it says was an email from a member of her Best Life team which told applicants, We've received thousands of applications, which has been so exciting, but it also meant we had to be very thoughtful about who we could offer places to. The message added, We're keeping the retreat intentionally intimate, so only a very small number of invitations are being offered.

3:28 Fresh speculation is emerging about the real purpose behind the trip to Australia, with some suggesting the visit could also be linked to the promotion of Soho House, the private members club with which Megan as long standing connections. So Her House, founded in London in nineteen ninety five, operates a global network of members only venues, and is expected to open its first Australian location in Sydney in twenty twenty six. The claim appears to stem largely from social media commentary, with some users suggesting a connection between the retreats organizers and the Soho House Sydney project. One commenter wrote, Jemma O'Neil isn't just some random podcast host. She's on the Soho House Sydney Advisory Committee, which means this girl's weekend retreat is Soho House business disguised as women's empowerment.

4:16 A new discussion claims some celebrities may be increasingly cautious about spending time with Megan Markel and Prince Harry following the fallout from the couple's appearance at Chris Jenner's seventieth birthday party last year. Speaking on The Royalist podcast, Variety journalist Matt and Donnelly said the episode may help explain why some in Hollywood are hesitant about becoming publicly linked to the Sussexes. He said, so, I think to me, that's a microcosm of what it's like for established show business people who probably want to be welcoming to the son of a beloved figure like Diana, to someone who does so much for mental health, for someone who is a big supporter and founder I believe in the Invictus Games. But these are the kind of situations you find yourself in, you know what I mean That even extending a simple social invite turns into a five car pr pile up.

5:02 So I think that to me is quite demonstrative of what it's like to even do the most minimal, lowest bar possible socializing with these two. So imagine what it's like to be in business with them. Harry is being portrayed as increasingly uncomfortable in the early years of his marriage to Meghan Markel. According to a new royal book in Queen Elizabeth, Royal writer Hugo Vickers claims that after the Sussses moved into Frogmore Cottage, Meghan quickly began as certain control over their domestic and public life. Among the examples cited is a dispute over the nearby sports grounds at Windsor, where Vickers writes the Duchess of Sussex refused to have cars on the sports ground because she could see them from nearby Frogmore Cottage. He also claims Megan played a significant role in shaping Harry's public voice. During their twenty eighteen tour of Australia and Fiji, Vickers rights observers noted that Prince Harry's speech has already had a Californian ring to them. He adds, in October twenty eighteen they had visited Australia d a successful tour, but every speech that Harry made was vetted by Megan. According to Vickers, by the following year, Harry no longer appeared comfortable in the arrangement. He writes, the following year, twenty nineteen, he appeared uncomfortable and the rapport between them looked nil, and he adds he seemed unhappy on Easter Day and in general sense a man who had bitten off more than he could chew more palace in just a moment. As the Australia trip draws closer, Royal author Richard Palmer says

6:32 their Australia trip is one of, if not the most anticipated royal events of the year. They want to prove their credits wrong, so it will be hoping it is a huge success. If it is, it will be Meghan's revenge. There still seems to be an awful lot of tension with other members of the family and the royal household. Clearly Buckingham Palace and the Sussex camp are speaking, so there'll be a certain amount of deconflicting going on, but I think it will also annoy the King and other members of the family. If, as seems likely, Megan and Harry garner a lot of media attention while they're out in Australia, and then that overshadows whatever was going on back here. One of their biggest frustrations when they were working members of the whole family was that they had to defer to the King and Queen and to William and Kate. They found it really frustrating having to fit in with everybody else when as far as they were concerned, they were the big box office attraction. But from Meghan and Harry's point of view, they don't have to worry about it any longer. There's definitely a market for them and for the as Ever brand over there. But as they do over here, they divide the public. There are many staunch monarchists who really don't like them and see them as having betrayed the monarchy, but there are lots of people who have sympathy with them, who think they're glamorous and will buy into the idea of these products.

7:47 A source close to Meghan's team told The Daily Express. We largely block out the noise. There will always be a small but vocal group of commentators who seem to treat criticizing everything she does as kind of a sport. What is striking is how much hostility is directed at the simple fact that she is trying to build the business, as if that is somehow inappropriate or illegitimate. It's an odd reaction. She and her husband stepped away from the institution and are financially independent. You would have thought. That was precisely what critics wanted, and there you have it. If you'd like to email us addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please followus on Spotify, Apple, or the app of your choice. I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue in good terms.