May 17, 2026
Kate’s Breaking Point, Camilla’s Warning, and Harry and Meghan’s Surprise Praise
Catherine is said to be losing patience as new reports claim she believes Prince Harry must take more responsibility for the Sussexes’ public image. We also look at fresh claims involving Queen Camilla, Meghan Markle, and the continuing fallout from Spare, before royal photographer Chris Jackson offers unexpectedly warm comments about Harry and Meghan. Then after the break, a very distant royal family tree link to Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
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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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Calarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to you, Pallace Intrigue.
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I am your host, Mark Francis. Kate Middleton is said
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to have reached a point where she believes Prince Harry
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must take greater responsibility for the public role. Megan Michael
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is carving out amid fear's inside royal circles that the
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Sussex's appearances are making any reconciliation even harder. A report
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from Radar Online claims Princess Catherine has grown increasingly frustrated
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by the steady stream of Sussex headlines since Harry and
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Meghan stepped back from royal duties in twenty twenty. Their
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recent appearances, including visits in Jordan, Los Angeles and Australium,
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are set by critics to resemble the kind of public
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facing work normally associated with working royals, which in turn
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has added to tensions within the family. A source quoted
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by Radar Online said Kate feels she's reached a tipping
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point where stein quiet is no longer an option. For
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a long time, she's made a conscious effort to rise
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above the tension and act as a calm influence. But
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from where she stands, the situation isn't settling, it's intensifying.
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Each new appearance or headline seems to add another layer
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of strain, and she's increasingly convinced that some of Megan's
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moves are calculated in a way that provokes a reaction
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that's becoming harder for her to overlook, particularly given the
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toll it's taking on women and the rest of the family.
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Catherine firmly believes that if anything's going to change, it
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has to come from Harry. In her mind, he's the
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one with the influence to draw a line and reset
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the dynamic. That's why she's now effectively calling for Prince
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Harry to put a leash on Megan, not out of hostility,
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but because she sees it as the only way to
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bring some control back into what she views as an
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increasingly unmanageable situation. Radar Online also suggests there is irritation
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within palace circles over the timing of recent Sussex appearances.
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Their Jordan visit reportedly drew notice because of Catherine's known
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connection to the country, while the Australian trip overlapped with
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William and Catherine's fifteenth wedding anniversary. Another source told the outlet.
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Within royal circles, there's an increasing sense that the overlap
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in timing isn't purely accidental. The Sussex's appearances keep landing
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at moments that coincide with the significant engagements or milestones
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for William and Kate, which naturally invites comparison and fuels speculation.
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Whether intentional or not. It creates an atmosphere where everything
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feels competitive rather than separate. The report goes on to
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say Catherine finds that particularly dispiriting because she has behind
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the scenes trying to ease tensions between the brothers, when
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insiders said for Kate, that's particularly disheartening because she's just
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put considerable effort into trying to ease tensions between the brothers.
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Just as she feels she's making even the smallest amount
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of progress, something on surfaces another appearance, another headline that
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seems to undo that work and push things back to
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square one. It's a cycle she finds increasingly frustrating and
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difficult to manage. Meanwhile, tensions are said to be rising
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within the royal family as Queen Camilla and Prince Harry
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navigate the possibility of reconciliation with Megan also central to
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the situation, where Online claims Camilla is taking a firm
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stance ahead of any potential return by Harry and Meghan
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to the royal fold, when insiders said Meghan is willing
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to be conciliatory and take the high road with a
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lot of people, but Camilla is a different story. She's
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convinced Camilla has been trying to undermine her and paint
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her as the villain from day one, and she's adamant
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that she won't open herself up to more cruelty. She's
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not planning to start a scene, but she's not going
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to pretend everything is fine and play nice with Camilla.
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She's told Harry she refuses to be a punching bag anymore,
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especially for someone she believes has spent years trying to
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destroy her reputation. Sources suggest Camilla remains particularly upset about
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Harry's memoir Spare, which included critical portrayals of her role
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within the royal family. The report claims this has had
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a lasting impact, more so than Harry and Meghan's decision
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to step back from royal duties in twenty twenty. There
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are also claims that Camilla expects Harry and Meghan to
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show deference if relations are to improve, when insiders said
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she is demanding the respect rank and know their place
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or face the consequences. At the same time, the report
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suggests Meghan is prepared to respond if tensions escalate further.
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One source claimed if Camilla wants to keep playing dirty,
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Michael is ready to head back. Harry has told her
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all the family secrets, so she has plenty of ammunition.
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Royal photographer Chris Jackson has offered a notably warm assessment
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of Prince Harry and Megan Michaels, saying he has always
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had a great experience photographing the couple. Jackson, who serves
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as Getty Images official Royal Photographer, made the comments while
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speaking to Page six at an event in New York
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celebrating his book Modern Majesty, The British Royal Family in
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a New Era. Reflecting on his experiences with the Duke
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and Duchess Sussex, Jackson said, I've always had a great
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experience photographing them both. He also looked back on some
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of the overseas trips he's covered with Prince Harry, including
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visits to Sotho, and Balley, as well as Harry's work
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with the Invictors Games, a project Jackson ascribed as an
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incredible achievement. About those assignments, he said, I did all
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the behind the scenes and described the trips as fantastic.
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Jackson added that he had always enjoyed photographing Harry and
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Meghan because of the way they interacted together. I enjoyed
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the trips that they went on with the couple, he said,
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adding that the pair have a great dynamic. He also
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noted that each royal brings something different to the frame, saying,
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there's all these different characters in the Royal family, so
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I've always enjoyed photographing them. That said, Jackson made clear
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that his new book is focused on the current working
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members of the royal family, rather than the Sussexes who
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stepped back from royal duties and moved to California in
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twenty twenty. So that's what I focus on, he said.
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The book centers on what Jackson sees as a change
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in royal error under King Charles, with the cover featuring
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Charles and Queen Camilla on Coronation Day. He suggested the
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monarchy has become more open in some ways under Charles' reign,
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particularly in how senior royal is engaged with the public.
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They spend a very long time meeting members of the
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public and taking selfies, Jackson said, adding that's not something
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we've really seen before. He also praised the King's ease
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with people, saying Charles has an incredible ability to make
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those around him feel comfortable and relaxed. For Jackson's real
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challenge and joy of photographing the royals lies in capturing
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the unscripted. I love the element of things, he said.
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You know, fifty percent of my job is luck, and
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in one of the more revealing comments of the evening,
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he added, so many of the pictures in the book
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are unexpected moments, more palati, just a moment. New reports
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suggest that Hollywood siblings Jake and Maggie Gillenhall may have
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distant ancestral links to the British royal family. According to
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genealogists cited in reports, the actors are believed to share
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a lineage that traces back more than six centuries to
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King Edward the Third. This connection would make them extremely
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distant relatives, reportedly nineteenth cousins of Queen Elizabethan by extension
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King Charles and Prince William the Lincoln said to come
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through their paternal line, with the Gillenhall family, connected to
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a Swedish noble lineage that itself traces back to medieval
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European royalty. Despite the reported royal ancestry, both Jake and
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Maggie were born and raised in la and built their
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careers in the film industry. Their father, Stephen gillen Hall,
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is a director, and the family has long been involved
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in creative fields. The report also touches on the siblings relationship,
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with Maggie previously reflecting on their early dynamic. She said
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she may have been in touch with the envy as
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her younger brother began acting at an early age, but
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added that their bond has since strengthened, saying they have
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never been as close as we are now. While such
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genealogical links are not in common among individuals with European ancestry,
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the claim highlights how even modern public figures can be connected, however, distantly,
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to historic royal bloodlines, and they have it. If you'd
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like to email us or addresses the Palace Intrigue at
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gmail dot com, please foll us on Spotify, Apple or
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the app of your choice. I Mike Francis, my thanks
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to John McDermott. This is palace intrigue in good terms.
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