March 23, 2026

Hollywood turns on Harry and Meghan as Netflix drama grows

Show Notes
Transcript

Are Harry and Meghan hitting a rough patch in Hollywood? A new wave of coverage — from Variety to The Times — suggests the shine may be wearing off, with questions about their Netflix deal,

Meghan’s As Ever brand, and whether the couple can turn attention into actual results.Netflix is pushing back hard, insisting “there’s no juicy story,” but critics aren’t buying it.

Royal author Tom Bower warns of a “tough future,” while insiders suggest Meghan may be ready to go it alone as Harry drifts back toward philanthropy.We break down the competing narratives: a power couple still in the game, or a brand losing momentum in a results-driven industry.Plus, Meghan makes a red carpet appearance, shares new behind-the-scenes family footage that’s raising eyebrows, and Harry gets support from the U.S. Warrior Games team amid fresh controversy.Is this just another cycle in the Sussex saga — or something more serious this time?

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Royal Books:

Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors by Tom Bower

William and Catherine: The Monarchy's New Era: The Inside Story

The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana

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Caloroga Shark Media at low and welcome to Palace Intrigue.

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I am your host, Mark Francis. In The Times, Shane

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Watson wonders Meghan and Harry in a jam and we

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see what you did there, Watson writes, say would you

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like about Meghan and Harry? Theirs is the story we

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never tire of, and this March is proving to be

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one of the most fertile periods for updates from the

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Megan and Harry sphere. Since Harry published Spare First, there

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has been the publication of the new Tom Bauer biography Betrayal.

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At about the same time, we learned that Netflix, which

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struck a deal with the Duke and Duchess in twenty

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twenty to the tune of an estimated sixty million dollars,

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has divested from their latest project, Meghan's Lifestyle brand as ever,

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and now Variety, the premier American entertainment trade magazine, has

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run an in depth article about the Netflix falling out,

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headlined why the royal couple is struggling in Hollywood and

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Timothy Chalomage thought he was having a bad month. There's

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no doubt that when the Sussexes are called out by America,

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the country to which they fled to be better understood

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and serve in the other ways they felt unable to

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under the dry, cold call of the royal family. Its

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impact is roughly ninety nine percent more significant. I too,

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get to make mistakes. Americans don't have the assumed loyalty

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to the betrayed royal family. They don't care if Meghan's

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jam is pretentious, or if she insists people genuflect when

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she passes in corridors or wears all white cashmere when

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cooking bolonnaise. They're more interested in whether she and he

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have the brass and the grit to transform their inherited

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good fortune into real world success. Now we have the

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weighty words of variety, not just an American voice, but

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the voice of the world in which Meghan and Harry

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now move. Plus it wouldn't dare print a word of

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it if it couldn't back it up with its six

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well placed industry sources. Netflix is pushing back on the

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growing narrative that its relationship with Prince Harry and Meghan

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Markel is in trouble. Speaking at the next on Netflix event,

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Chief content officer Bellabaharia made it clear that the partnership

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is still active, saying we still have a relationship with them.

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We have movies in development, an amazing doc and projects

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across TV and film. She also dismissed as the recent

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wave of negative headlines, adding don't believe whatever you read.

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Maybe we should all do a little fact checking and

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insisting there's no juicy story there. Royal author Tom Bauer

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weighed in on the situation, telling The Daily Express their behavior,

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lack of original talent, and suffocating self importance have made

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it even more important for them to return to Britain

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in July, meet the King and be revalidated as royals.

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That option I believe will be denied to them. They

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face an increasingly tough future. That's the price of betraying

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the Royal family since Mexi. At the same time, there

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are indications the couple may be moving in different professional directions.

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One source claimed what's happened with Netflix has really sharpened

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Meghan's thing thin. It's made things much clearer in her

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mind that if she wants to keep progressing and building

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something sustainable, she needs to take control of it herself.

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She now feels completely ready to go it alone and

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drive her career forward on her own terms, rather than

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waiting for joint opportunities to come together. There's an increasing

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awareness on her side that relying on shared projects with

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Harry isn't necessarily the best path anymore, particularly as their

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interests and priorities continue to move in different directions. Meanwhile,

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Prince Hary is said to be reassessing his role in

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the entertainment industry. One insider described the experience as tiresome

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and tiring, suggesting he may be more comfortable focusing on

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philanthropic work. Another source said Harry seems to have arrived

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at a point where he's consciously distancing himself from that

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whole entertainment space. He gave it a genuine try in

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the early days because he wanted to support Megan and

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what they were building together, but it never felt like

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a natural fifth for him. By contrast, Megan is reportedly

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continuing to focus on building her brandie It tells Radar Online,

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Meghan's always been very motivated. She's treating this as another

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challenge rather than a setback. There is a clear determination

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on her part to prove that she can build something

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credible and lasting in her own right. Several Royal experts

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weighed in on the current drama. Kinsey Schofield told Fox

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News Digital high value partnerships are built on execution, not

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just vision or vibes. A deal of that magnitude requires

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consistent delivery across formats, especially in a competitive streaming environment.

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Hollywood is ultimately results driven. Initial curiosity and goodwill can

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open doors, but longevity depends on consistent, bankable output. Without that,

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even the most high profile names begin to lose leverage

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in a crowded content marketplace. There's a difference between infamy

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and influence, and I think Harry and Meghan fall under infamous.

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A spokesperson for Netflix struck a more measured tone, saying,

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Meghan's pasion for elevating everyday moments in beautiful yet simple

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ways inspired the creation of the As Ever brand, and

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we are glad to have played a role in bringing

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that vision to life as it was always intended. Megan

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will continue growing the brand and taking it to the

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next chapter independently, and we look forward to celebrating how

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she continues to bring joy to households around the world.

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Meghan's team echoed that sentiment, stating we have experienced meaningful

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and rapid growth and as ever, is now ready to

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stand on its own. We have an exciting year ahead

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and can't wait to share more. Royal commentator Hillary Fordage

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suggested audience fatigue may be a factor, saying now they

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are viewed as which they are separated from all things Royal.

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Their track record of the failed brand is as bad

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as their plummeting pole numbers and dreadful viewership of each

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of their underwhelming failed ventures. The lifestyle and homewoods area

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is a crowded space and as ever, was received as

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disingenuous at best. Howry is viewed as commercially oriented. Any

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trust in him at all is lacking. Yet another loss

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of such a contract narrows further any option he has,

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so any outreaches to the family are viewed with even

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more skepticism. He needs the selling proposition and the family

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knows it. There are also suggestions the couple could benefit

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from adjusting their public strategy. Our very own John McDermott said,

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if anything, there's a bit of a lesson in how

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William and Catherine handle things. They feed the media just

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enough with a quick photo op of them pulling pants, throwing, dance,

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petting at puppy, et cetera, and then they disappear again.

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It keeps the coverage positive without overexposing them. For Harry

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and Meghan, there may be something in that show up

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look good, Keep it positive. Sometimes less really is more,

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or Palace it just a moment. Deep Crown is our

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Royal inside to hear at Palace Intrigue. He's a veteran

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observer of the British royal family, a devoted admirer of

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the late Queen, a cautious friend to the institution, and

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a man who writes about all of it with a

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candor that the Palace Press Office would almost certainly prefer

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he kept to him. He contributes regularly to this podcast,

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and he publishes a newsletter on substack where the Deeper

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Analysis lives. Free dispatches go out to all subscribers. If

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you want more Deep Crown and based on our inmocks,

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you do search Deep Crown on Substack, Google Deep Crown,

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or find the link in today's episode notes it's Deep

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Crown on Substack. Meghan made a surprise red carpet appearance

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in Beverly Hills, stepping out with close friend Kelly McZee

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Zeefchin at the Alliance for Children's Rights Champions for Children event.

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The outing marked her first public appearance since reports surfaced

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suggesting tension between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Netflix,

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claims that have been firmly denied by both signs. Meghan

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shares and behind the scenes footage of assembling floral arrangements

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in her backyard as part of a shoot for what

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she described as her garden tee bloom Box. During the clip,

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she looked off. Cameron said are you having fun, my love,

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before later calling out Archie. Her daughter, Lilibert, also appeared

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momentarily with a face obscured by flowers as Marco bent

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down and responded to her, saying, yes, I think you can.

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Let's go. Let's go. The post was captioned Mamma's Little

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Helpers bts of our shoot for as ever official at

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our home. The children's faces were not visible at any point,

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with framing and objects used to keep them out of view.

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Online reaction has been mixed. Some credits question the presentation,

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with one writing this video honestly creeped me their fout.

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None of this looked even the tiny bit spontaneous. It's

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all very weird, and others said this is clearly staged

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for the kids to be hidden just so. Others have

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pointed to the couple's previously stated preference for keeping their

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children private, suggesting a contrast between that stance and their

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inclusion in branded content. Prince Ary has received public backing

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from the US Warriors Games Team following controversy surrounding claims

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in Tom Bower's upcoming book Betrayal. The dispute centers on

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a passage in which Bauer suggested that members of the

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US Will chair basketball team at the Invictus Games were

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not physically injured, but instead suffered from PTSD. David g Partial,

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director of the US Warrior Games Team, pushed back strongly

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on that characterization. He said American competitors included individuals with

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both visible and invisible injuries, including athletes with below the

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knee amputations or loss of lower limb function. Paschkell defended

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the broader mission of the Invictor scheme, stating that the

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competition supports veterans dealing with a wide range of service

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related conditions, including PTSD, and that such events can be

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life saving by providing community purpose. There ed it infact,

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email also addresses The Palace intrig at gmail dot com.

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Please follow us on Spotify, Apple, or the app of

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your choice. I'm Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermott's

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Ballance Intrigue. Good terms.

Hollywood turns on Harry and Meghan as Netflix drama grows

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