Sept. 11, 2026

Harry's Diana Documentary? Meghan, the BBC and the Next Royal Media Battle

Show Notes
Transcript

Reports claim Prince Harry is developing a major documentary marking the thirtieth anniversary of Princess Diana's death, while speculation swirls over Meghan's possible involvement—and why Prince William might object. Plus: rumors of BBC projects, Meghan responds to "Eggxit" jokes, opinion writers debate whether Harry should apologize to William, and the BBC defends its extensive coverage of the Sussexes' return to Britain.

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Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

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

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am your host, Mark Francis. Don't go making fun of

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the chickens on your snarky little royal podcast. Megan is

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reportedly frustrated by jokes about the rescued chickens she and

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Harry left at their California home. The decision to leave

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them in California prompted jokes about exit. A source described

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as close to the couple told Radar Online, Megan can

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see the funny side of plenty of things, but she

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finds the whole exit joke pretty infuriating because something incredibly

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mundane has been turned into another opportunity to ridicule her.

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These are rescued animals they care about, and leaving them

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with people who already know how to look after them

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is simply the sensible option. She certainly doesn't see the

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chickens as some great symbol of whether the family is

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committed to Britain. Another unnamed source claimed Megan was frustrated

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by suggestions... that keeping the animals in California meant the

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move was not permanent. The source said their American home

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isn't being erased from their lives simply because the children

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are going to school in Britain. According to Stylecaster, Megan

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also shared an Instagram story reading, People who take care

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of chickens are literally chicken tenders. Megan was fully behind

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the decision to return to Britain, according to friends of

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Prince Harry, quoted in Reporting by the Daily Mail. Alison

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Boshoff writes, Harry's friends continue to stoutly insist that Meg's

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is 100% all in with the move. Time will tell,

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as it will be a challenge for her to keep

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her as-ever Instagram feed full of aspirational California sunshine content

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when she's having a wet Wednesday on the school run.

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Brand and culture expert Nick E. tells Cafe Casino... She

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would not be arriving as a new royal expected to

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learn an unfamiliar system. She would be coming back as

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an independent woman with her own business's profile and boundaries.

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That could make the experience feel much more manageable. She

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may never feel entirely relaxed about the British media, but

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a private home and clearly defined separation from royal duties

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could allow her to engage with the UK on her

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own terms. In The Express, Alicia Liberty wonders... What happens

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if Prince Harry finally decides that six years of warfare

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is enough, because rebuilding his relationship with William would almost

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certainly require compromise? And perhaps the two words we have

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heard precious little of throughout this entire saga, I'm sorry.

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An apology would therefore be more than an attempt to

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clear the air. It could fundamentally change Harry's relationship with

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the family he left behind. And I suspect Meghan Markle

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can't handle the idea of Harry apologizing to William, not

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simply because of what the apology would say about the past...

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but because of where it could leave her in her

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husband's future. For years, Prince Harry and Meghan have largely

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stood together as one unit against the royal family, publicly

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explaining their departure through the prism of what they believed

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happened to them. But the moment Harry apologises to William,

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that united front becomes far more complicated. Suddenly, the conversation

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isn't about Harry and Meghan versus the institution, it's about

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Harry rebuilding a relationship with his brother, and Meghan inevitably

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moves further into the background. I can't imagine she would

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relish watching a family reconciliation unfold in which she is

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no longer at the centre. And then there is the

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Princess of Wales, perhaps the most interesting person in this all.

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Prince Harry was once incredibly close to his sister-in-law. They

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were often snapped laughing behind the scenes. It's hard to

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imagine that before Meghan came on the scene, the trio

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was once glued at the hip. After everything Princess Catherine

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has endured with cancer, I wouldn't be remotely surprised if

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time has given him a rather different perspective on just

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how precious those old relationships were. If Harry and Prince

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William began talking properly again, Catherine could naturally become part

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of his life once more too, and that could revive

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a bond that existed long before Meghan arrived on the

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royal scene. For the Duchess, watching her husband grow closer

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to both William and Catherine after years of bitterness could

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surely be difficult to stomach. Harry is reportedly approaching people

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who knew Princess Diana about contributing to a television documentary

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marking 30 years since her death. The Daily Mail's Richard

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Kaye told Palace Confidential, Diana has dominated the thinking of

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both William and Harry for the last 10 years. I

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am told that one of the reasons Harry's here is

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to make a television film, his own film, about his mother.

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I know he's been reaching out to his friends and

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others who knew her, asking them to contribute. That's going

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to occupy a lot of his headspace over the next

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12 months. Of course, it throws up that old canard.

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People always link Harry to Diana. but she was the

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mother of two boys. William is just as much his

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mother's son as Harry is, and Harry has tried to

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claim the Diana legacy for himself to William's intense frustration.

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The issue of trying to use Diana, the Spencer brand,

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the Spencer name, to divide himself away from the House

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of Windsor, I think is something we're going to see

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even more of. Let's not forget who Harry spent time

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with when he was here in July. It was Diana's

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family at Althorp. More Palace in just a moment. We're

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going to come right out and call hogwash on this

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one from gossip columnist Rob Shooter, who claims Megan could

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narrate a proposed television film about Princess Diana, according to

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the seemingly always unnamed sources. As the story goes, Megan

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was initially described as a behind-the-scenes supporter, but Shooter's account

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now suggests she could become the voice of Diana's story

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and a central figure in the film. An unnamed production

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insider said her involvement won't be a cameo. Harry may

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be the son, the insider said, but Meghan would be

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the voice viewers hear. Shooter also quotes an unnamed source

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claiming that William would object to Meghan narrating the project.

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The source said, William believes Diana's legacy belongs to him.

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Harry's making his own film is one thing. Meghan becoming

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the narrator of their mother's story is something else entirely.

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That will be extremely difficult for William. Harry and Meghan

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are reportedly considering television projects with British broadcasters, with Radar

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Online claiming that a possible BBC collaboration could cause concern

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at Buckingham Palace. A royal source claimed, The prospect of

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Harry and Meghan working with the BBC would inevitably cause

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anxiety at the palace. Charles has been trying to rebuild

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his relationship with his son privately, and the last thing

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he wants is another television project generating headlines about the

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royal family. If it became another vehicle for discussing private

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royal matters... he would be furious. An unnamed British television

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industry source told Radar, Being back in Britain completely changes

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the landscape for Harry and Meghan. They don't need another

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gigantic Netflix-style agreement. They can potentially make individual programs with

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the BBC or commercial broadcasters and retain much greater freedom

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over what they produce. An unnamed Palace Insider claimed, The

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BBC carries a significance that another streaming service simply doesn't.

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It is Britain's national broadcaster. and has a long-standing relationship

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with the monarchy. Seeing Harry and Meghan potentially earning substantial

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money from it would be difficult enough. Seeing them discuss

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royal business would be another matter entirely. The BBC has

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defended its coverage of Harry and Meghan's return to Britain

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after viewers and listeners complained that the story was receiving

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too much attention. Based on the download numbers we've been seeing,

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we'll side with the BBC on this one. The BBC said,

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We believe our approach to this story was proportionate, offering

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transparency legitimate analysis of the different implications. News that the

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Duke and Duchess of Sussex were moving back to the

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UK with their children was unexpected, given Prince Harry had

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stated in a BBC interview last year that he didn't

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think the family would return due to security concerns. This

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announcement raised several questions, including what prompted this decision, what

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roles they would fulfil once back in the country, how

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their security would be funded, how they would navigate dealing

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with the British media, and what effect this move would

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have on family relations between the Sussexes and the wider

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royal family. We gave appropriate scrutiny to these issues, reflecting

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the context in which they occur. And there you have it.

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If you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue

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at gmail.com. If you're on Spotify, leave us a comment.

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from Calaroga Media. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to John McDermott.

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This is Palace Intrigue. Good times.

Harry's Diana Documentary? Meghan, the BBC and the Next Royal Media Battle

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