Sept. 8, 2026

King Charles Draws the Line on Harry and Meghan as Prince George Starts Eton

Show Notes
Transcript

Prince George begins a major new chapter at Eton College, following in the footsteps of Prince William and Prince Harry—but his first day is quickly overshadowed by a blunt reminder from King Charles that Harry and Meghan are not working royals. The Sussexes say they were surprised by how the guidance was released, while palace sources insist their team received it in advance. Plus, Prince William prepares to represent the King at King Harald the Fifth’s funeral in Norway, Meghan pays tribute to Gloria Steinem, social media critics seize on one of her photographs, and new sightings at Soho Farmhouse fuel speculation about the Sussexes’ life in the Cotswolds.

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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. Prince George has begun his

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first term at Eton College, arriving with William and Catherine

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on a day that also marks four years since Queen

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Elizabeth II's death. The 13-year-old wore a jacket and tie

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as his parents carried umbrellas through the rain. Headteacher Simon

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Henderson said, and Provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge greeted the family

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before they went inside. Welcome, good luck and enjoy, Henderson

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told George as they shook hands. The family briefly discussed

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the weather with staff before entering the school, where fees

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are around Â£ 65, 000 a year. George, who is second in

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line to the throne, follows both his father and his uncle,

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Prince Harry, in attending the boys' boarding school near Windsor Castle.

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Prince George's move to Eaton means adjusting to full-time boarding,

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a formal uniform and a school vocabulary that comes with

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its own glossary. The 13-year-old is beginning Year 9, known

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at Eton as F Block. According to the Daily Express,

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new pupils are assigned an older mentor called an uncle

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to help them settle in, a time lord helps them

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manage their timetable and find their way around the school's schedule.

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Former pupil and royal biographer Hugo Vickers says newcomers also

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face a colour test covering house colours and Eton terminology.

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Teachers are known as Beaks, senior prefects belong to Pop

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and cricketers are called Dry Bobs. George will also become

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accustomed to wearing a black tailcoat, waistcoat and pinstriped trousers

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with a stiff white collar. George will be boarding close

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to home. Eton stands across the Thames from Windsor Castle

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and the Express puts the journey from the Wales Family

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Forest Lodge at around 10 minutes by car. Weekend arrangements

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can allow pupils to visit their families, including on Saturday

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evenings or for Sunday lunch. Phone access will remain restricted.

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William had previously said that his children did not have

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mobile phones, describing the family's approach as very strict about

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the issue. As with most things royal, George's big day

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is being overshadowed by Harry and Meghan. In a letter,

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the King has reminded everyone that Harry and Meghan are

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not working royals. According to reporting by the Press Association,

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Charles directed the Lord Chamberlain to write after requests for

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guidance about the couple's position. The letter states, Following the

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decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to relocate

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to the UK, we have received a number of requests

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for guidance. To help avoid doubt or confusion, the King

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has directed that the following information be shared. It is

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well known that in January 2020, The Duke and Duchess

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stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the

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Sovereign and are no longer working members of the Royal Family.

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This position, distinct from the state and royal duties undertaken

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by the working Royal Family, and with the personal latitude

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it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and

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protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue

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to be fully respected. Harry and Meghan's team say they

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were caught off guard by the publication of a letter

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setting out their status following their return to Britain. A

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spokesperson for the Sussexes said, We were a little surprised

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not to have been told about this in advance. Palace sources, however,

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say the couple's team received the letter before it was

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released publicly, although they were not consulted about its contents.

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The Mirror reports their team was sent the contents at 1.59

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on Monday afternoon. Twenty minutes later, the team asked Buckingham

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Palace whether the guidance had already been distributed. hoping to

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inform Harry and Meghan before it reached the media and

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clarify several points. The letter was released to journalists at 3.06.

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According to the newspaper, Harry was in a meeting and

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could not be reached until 3.09. His team received confirmation

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two minutes later that the letter had already gone to

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the media. An unnamed royal source offered the newspaper a

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more pointed interpretation of the letter. Timing is everything. Harry

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and Meghan have only been in the country a matter

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of days. But this important line has been drawn early,

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leaving no one in any doubt where his feelings lie

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on the matter. Undoubtedly, there will be clashes in the

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future with the Sussexes. No one expects them to give

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the royal households the courtesy of their plans, and even

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less so now. But the King could not be clearer.

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You may have come back to the UK, but you

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are on your own. Meanwhile, working royal Prince William is

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attending Norway King Harald V's funeral on behalf of King Charles.

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Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the Prince of Wales will

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represent his father at the service in Oslo Cathedral on Thursday.

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Princess Anne will also attend in a personal capacity as

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she is godmother to Harald's successor, King Harkon VIII. Harald

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died on August 28 at the age of 89. His

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death has prompted widespread mourning in Norway, where he spent

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35 years on the throne. His widow, Sonia, now the

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Queen Mother, will be among those attending the funeral. We've

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been covering this royal family in our sister series, Crown

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and Controversy Norway. Please search for that wherever you listen

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to your podcasts like this one, Crown and Controversy Norway,

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and there's several seasons there covering the Norwegian royal family.

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King Charles remembered Harold as his dear cousin and a

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much-loved kinsman and friend. In his condolence message, Charles praised

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Harold's unwavering dedication and said his kindness, compassion, deep sense

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of duty echoed from across the sea and across the decades.

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The two royal families share a family connection through King

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Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. They were the great-grandparents of

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both Harald and Queen Elizabeth II, making the Norwegian king

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and the late British queen second cousins. William has previously

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represented his father at a major international funeral attending the

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service for Pope Francis at the Vatican in April 2025.

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More palace in just a moment. Meghan Markle paid tribute

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to Gloria Steinem, reflecting on their friendship and the advice

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the feminist activist shared with her. Writing on Instagram, Meghan

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recalled Steinem's long record of advocacy for women and a

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phrase that became particularly meaningful to her. You all know

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her many accolades and the way in which she helped

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shape the world for women and all people. We are linked,

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not ranked, she would tell me, and the bracelet she

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gave me said exactly that. I still wear it with pride.

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Megan and Steinem developed a friendship after the Sussexes moved

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to California, with the two appearing together publicly on several occasions.

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Steinem also presented Megan with the Miss Foundation's Women of

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Vision Award in 2023. Megan's tribute makes clear that the

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relationship extended beyond those public appearances. The bracelet bearing Steinem's message,

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we are linked, not ranked, became a personal reminder of

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the philosophy Steinem had shared with her. Meghan's tribute to

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Steinem has drawn criticism on social media over what some

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users claimed was a smiling reflection in one of the photographs.

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The Duchess posted three pictures on Instagram. One showed Steinem

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sitting outdoors with a hand resting on Archie's back. His

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face was covered with a white heart emoji. One social

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media user wrote, Meghan Markle is a ghoulish psycho opportunist.

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That ever-present smoke she has when someone dies is one

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of the creepiest things ever seen. Another said, smiling when

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getting an obituary post together and making it about herself.

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What a psycho. Another asked, so she took this framed

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pic to the Cotswolds to put on the shelf of

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a rental when they're keeping the house in Montecito. I

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don't think so. Is she still in California? Reports that

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Meghan has been seen at Soho Farmhouse have added to

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speculation that the Sussexes are making their British home in

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the Cotswolds. According to The Guardian, members of the private

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club say they spotted the Duchess arriving for an early coffee.

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Royalist correspondent Tom Sykes reported that she visited the Comfy

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Farm Lounge before nine in the morning and was introduced

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to senior staff by name. Soho Farmhouse occupies around 100

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acres and includes guest cabins, a spa, an indoor-outdoor swimming pool.

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Its rules prohibit photography, and the Soho House group recently

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banned metaglasses over privacy concerns, according to The Guardian. The

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venue has long attracted well-known guests. David and Victoria Beckham

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live nearby, as does Stella McCartney. who has visited with

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her father, Paul. Other residents in the wider area include

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Jerry Halliwell Horner and her husband, Christian Horner. Princess Beatrice

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and Eugenie are also regular visitors to Soho Farmhouse, the

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newspaper reports. Eugenie previously visited Harry and Meghan after their

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move to the US. Meghan's association with Soho House predates

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her relationship with Harry. She is a close friend of

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executive Marcus Anderson, whom she met in Canada while working

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on Suits. Harry wrote in spare that the group's Dean

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Street venue was her headquarters whenever she came to London.

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He added, Sometimes she just left her luggage at Soho

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House for weeks. They stored it without question. The people

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there were like family. And there you have it. If

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you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue at gmail.com.

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And for five bucks a month, you get this show

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commercial free. We appreciate your support. I'm Mark Francis. My

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thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigued. Good times.

King Charles Draws the Line on Harry and Meghan as Prince George Starts Eton

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