Sept. 22, 2026

Kate and Tom Cruise Hit the Red Carpet as Harry Returns to America

Show Notes
Transcript

Why are Prince William and Kate Middleton appearing with Tom Cruise, and why has Prince Harry returned to the United States? The Prince and Princess of Wales are attending the world premiere of Digger in London, while Harry travels to New York for the Clinton Global Initiative—his first known US visit since moving back to Britain. This royal news roundup also explains what Harry knew about Earl Spencer’s Diana memoir, why Meghan Markle missed the Invictus Spirit Awards and whether Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel’s new book could contain revelations about the Sussexes.

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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. William and Catherine are heading

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to the red carpet today for a film premiere alongside

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Tom Cruise. The Prince and Princess of Wales will attend

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tonight's world premiere of Digger at London's Odeon Luxe Leicester Square.

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The evening is this year's Royal Film Performance, raising money

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for the film and TV charity. According to the program

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reported by the Express, the couple will meet members of

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the cast and creative team before watching the film. Digger

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was filmed at Pinewood Studios, giving the occasion a direct

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connection to the British industry, William Champions as president of BAFTA.

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The royal couple will also meet people supported by the charity,

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which helps workers across film, television and cinemas including those

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behind the scenes. While we suspect Kate and Tom Cruise

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will get the big photo box on the websites, Harry

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will give it a go in New York today at

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the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, marking his first known

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trip back to the United States since he moved back

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to Britain last month. Harry is taking part in the

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two-day gathering convened by former President Bill Clinton and Hillary

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Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. It is his second appearance at

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the Clinton Global Initiative after attending the event in 2024.

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This year's theme is How Do We Get It Right?

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With organisers promising an affirmative vision for the future amidst

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rising turmoil, division and continued cuts to government funding, Harry

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joins a line-up that includes Chrissy Teigen, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman,

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former British Foreign Secretary David Milband and actress Kerry Mulligan.

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Earl Spencer's book, Swan Song Diana, My Sister, is out today.

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Page six, citing multiple unnamed sources, says the book's existence

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and general subject would not have surprised the Duke of Sussex. Harry, Meghan,

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Archie and Lilibet reportedly visited the Spencer estate that month

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to pay their respects at Diana's burial place. Reports differ

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on how much he knew. Some sources say the contents

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were discussed at Althorp, while other reporting suggests the manuscript

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was closely guarded. and that Harry did not receive its

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details in advance. He declined to comment on the book

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when questioned at the Invictus Spirit Awards on Thursday. His

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silence may be deliberate. Publicly supporting his uncle would place

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him back inside the dispute over his parents' marriage, while

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challenging Spencer could strain one of his closest remaining family

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relationships in Britain. Writing in the Daily Mail, Royal Editor

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Rebecca English says William had already been described to her

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as deeply disappointed. When he learned his uncle was publishing

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Swan Song Diana, My Sister, what good can ever come

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of it, one source asked. Another said, you can imagine

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how this has gone down. When the Mail published Spencer's

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claim that Charles said, we will forget her soon enough

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after Diana died, Buckingham Palace responded within approximately 90 minutes.

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While we do not comment on books as a matter

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of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of

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fraternal grief can cloud reason. affect judgment and color memory

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in ways others do not recognize, even many years after

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such a loss. One former courtier describes the statement to

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English as recollections may vary on steroids. That wording does

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more than disagree with Spencer. It suggests his grief affected

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his judgment at the time and has continued to shape

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his memory of the conversation. English acknowledges that a discussion

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between the two men almost certainly occurred. The dispute concerns

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the words used. Charles' tone and the meaning Spencer now

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assigns to it. She also notes that Spencer is a

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historian and, according to people familiar with his working methods,

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a careful note-taker. Julian Payne, Charles' former communications secretary, told

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the BBC that the alleged remark does not resemble the

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man he worked for. Payne said, I personally was working

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for Charles during the 20th anniversary of the late Princess's

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death in 2017. He was very clear that there was

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never to be any criticism, never to be any pushback

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on the narratives that were usually highly critical of him.

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But he was absolutely emphatic that we were to respect

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her memory and not to undermine it in any way.

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It seems to me very odd that in the moment itself,

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with the grief of his family and his own shock,

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that he would choose that moment to use those words.

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It's just not language that I recognise. When BBC presenter

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Laura Cussenberg described the King as plainly furious... Charles Spencer

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questioned whether anger was the only possible explanation. Well, is

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he furious, Spencer asked. Is he furious or is he embarrassed?

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Because I can tell you here and now, those are

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exactly the words he said. I've only ever had two

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calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage

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of my life. I was hyper-alert to what he was saying,

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and those are precisely the words that he said, and

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I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what

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he said. I don't hear him saying he didn't say that.

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More Palace in just a moment. Overshadowed by the book,

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Harry attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards without Meghan last week,

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prompting questions about why she missed his first public appearance

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since the family's return to Britain. The Duke of Sussex

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arrived at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich wearing

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a black suit and bow tie. He appeared in good

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spirits as he posed for photographs and joined guests at

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the gala dinner. Meghan has regularly accompanied Harry to Invictus events,

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but her attendance was never announced for Thursday's ceremony. No

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official reason has been given for her absence. A source

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close to Harry and Meghan told People that settling the

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children has been and remains their focus. Everything else will

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fall into place when the time is right. There is

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a lot to do. They have just moved halfway across

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the world and it's been really busy getting the kids settled.

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Their focus has been on that and will remain on

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that for the time being. They are happy to be back.

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Harry joined pupils for a game of pickleball in Birmingham.

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According to The Independent, Harry played alongside pupils from years

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7 and 11, stretching for returns and joking that his

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back hurt after reaching for a low shot. When a

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student won a point, he called out, Nice. But the

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clearest message came during a question and answer session when

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a pupil asked who inspired him. It's not a single person.

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It's a whole group of people. And it's not always

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the people you probably think it is, Harry replied. He

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then gestured towards the Invictus competitors. It's these guys, the

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Invictus community of people who get knocked down but keep

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getting back up. Another book could cause some trouble today.

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Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel is releasing his memoir, Roll the Calls.

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He is the powerful executive whose agency William Morris Endeavor

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signed Megan in 2023. According to the publisher, the 432-page

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memoir covers the signings and firings, the triumphant mergers and

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nasty breakups, the hard-won victories and the crushing mistakes from

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Emanuel's career. The book is described as being written in

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a punchy telegraphic style with disarming humility and ribald candor.

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That description has prompted speculation that Emanuel may discuss his

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reported difficulties working with Meghan. However, a representative for the

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book declined to reveal whether the Duchess of Sussex is

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mentioned at all. There is also one notable connection to

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Prince Harry. Emmanuel worked on the book with J.R. Moringer,

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the same writer who collaborated with Harry on Spare. An

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unnamed Hollywood production executive told the Sunday Express that Emmanuel's

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clients may be nervous about the book. Ari isn't the

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kind of guy who will pull any punches, the source said.

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As a result, clients past and present who have crossed

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swords with him, including some very prominent household names, are

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going to be holding their breath till Tuesday, waiting to

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see what he says about them. I would certainly imagine

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that includes Harry and especially Meghan, with whom he has

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hardly had the most productive relationship. And there you have it.

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If you'd like to email us or address us at thepalacentry.gmail.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.

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This is Palace Intrigue. Good times.

Kate and Tom Cruise Hit the Red Carpet as Harry Returns to America

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