Aug. 3, 2026
Meghan Markle Accused of “Playing a Character” as Her Stories Come Under Fire
Critics accuse Meghan Markle of looking performative on MasterChef Australia as old stories about her childhood spark fresh questions. Plus: her blackberry launch is mocked, Harry reportedly pushes for a royal Christmas reunion, and Palace staff are said to dread his return.
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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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Ah Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue.
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I am your host, Mark Francis. Some people find Meghan
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Markle to be a little fake. Legan's guest appearance on
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Master Chef Australia has drawn criticism from some commentators. One
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told Radar Online there was a sense she was trying
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to embody the role of a culinary authority rather than
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simply a guest. Another claimed some of the gestures and
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presentation came across as performative, like she was stepping into
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a character for the show. Radar also quoted body language
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expert Judy James, who offered her interpretation of Megan's appearance.
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James said, as she struts in through the studio, her
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browser raised in her eye expression register's excitement, her poise
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though as pure duchess to remind everyone of her status.
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She also described Meghan's wardrobe as having what she called
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a chef cosplay quality, arguing that it projected authority alongside
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the show's rare judges. James added, there's her duchess image
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with the air of elegance AND's specialness, but there's also
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apparently a not a royal request that means she needs
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to veer onto the side of being herself rather than
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making the slot look too much like a royal visit.
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Then there are the perceived differences in the stories she tells.
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Radar Online highlights how Meghan spoke about growing up in
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California and how that influenced her cooking. Meghan said, my
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cooking style is really relaxed. I grew up in California,
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and as you know, we have incredible produce, so I
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think you just start to really love farm to table
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at an early age. My mom's an incredible cook, and
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I grew up watching so many cooking shows. Rada argues
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those comments differ from stories Meghan shared on with Love Meghan,
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where she described a very different childhood experience. Speaking with
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Mindy Kayleig on the Netflix series, Meghan said, I was
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a latchkey kid, so I grew up with a lot
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of fast food and a lot of TV trade dinners.
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I grew up with that, watching Jeopardy and having a
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lot of fast food. She went on to mention meals
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from El Poyo, Loco, Toco Bell, and Jack in the
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Box as a childhood favorites. Radar also pointed to other
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public comments Meghan has made over the years, including a
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twenty twenty one letter to members of Congress in which
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she recalled family trips to the Sizzler Salad Bar, writing
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that she felt lucky when her parents could afford the
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four ninety nine meal. The outlet also references at twenty
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thirteen social media post in which Meghan fondly remembered having
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lunch with her father at Hollywood's Musso and Frank Grill
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after dance classes. The publication says those different anecdotes prompted
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discussion online, with some Reddit users questioning whether Meghan's various
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stories fit together. Supporters counter argue that a person can
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grow up in California with access to fresh produce, have
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a parent who enjoys cooking, and also eat plenty of
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fast food or frozen dinners. Meghan's burry picking video was
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marked The Duchess of Sussex posted a short Instagram video
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showing herself picking blackberries in the garden while teasing what
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she disc flab is something sweet. Arriving soon following day,
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as they were confirmed the lunch of a new BlackBerry
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fruit spread, telling subscribers meet our newest pantry favorite made
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with beautifully ripe blackberries for a rich, vibrant flavor that
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brings a little taste of the season to your table.
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But the promotional video quickly became the subject of criticism
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on social media, where it uses question Megan's choice of
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clothing for BlackBerry picking, noting she wore a white glouse,
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white shorts, and white brimmed straw hat. One asked, white
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shorts and berry picking, is this your first day on earth?
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Another commentator wrote, picking blackberries in shorts is a catastrophic mistake.
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BlackBerry bushes will scratch the but Jesus out of a
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person to be realistic about this one way or the other,
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she would not be smiling. Another was even more direct,
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I'm so inspired to go out to my garden, expensive
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clothing and a big dumb hat and smile and laugh
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at no one. Social media users also seemed concerned that
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the berries did not appear to be ripe. The berry
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video assigned we have seen less of Meghan lately. Brand
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expert Nick E tells The Express, I think it's actually
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a good thing that she isn't making big appearances and
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keeping a low profile works really well for the two
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of them. It stops them being scrutinized relentlessly, and also
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allows her to build her reputation in life back rather
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than big events where she can be open to ridicule.
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Richard Fitzwilliams tells The Express, I didn't see any chance
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of the Sussex's returning to the UK for good. Meghan
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would never consider it. The humiliation would be huge as
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their brand does attract world wide attention and the public
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don't like them, as shown by their abysmal ratings and
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recent polls. The royal family don't want them because with
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good reason, they don't trust them. The Sussexes are ruthless
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and shameless, but they wouldn't try this. It would show
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makes it for what it is, shallow, callous, and because
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it trades off their royal connections which they were happy
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to attack, so publicly hypocritical in the extreme. According to
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Closer magazine, Harry is eager for Prince Archie and Princess
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little Bit to spend more time in the UK and
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strength their tires to his side of the family, but
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the publication claims Meghan Michael has made one condition clear,
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the children won't travel without her once it's tall close
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up getting the kids back together with Charles is absolutely
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top of Harry's agenda right now. It's practically all he
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can talk about. He has his heart set on bringing
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them back for Christmas, but he'd love to fit in
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a trip before then too, if they can find a
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window in everyone's schedules. She certainly doesn't want the children
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going without her, not at this stage. As far as
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Megan's concerned, it's time Harry's family made some effort to
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see them. It's very hard for Harry to imagine a
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scenario where Charles comes to American instead. He just can't
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see it happening, which means in the end, it all
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comes down to whether he can persuade Meghan to get
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back on a plane, and right now even Christmas is
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looking like a long and difficult conversation. Megan Kelly suggested
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these sussex hate seeing Kate and William do well. Kelly said,
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of the Sussexes, They've got no viewership and Netflix that's
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the reason they didn't renew any sort of deal with them.
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Her company, ever, is reportedly doing poorly, so yes, they
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go back to the one source of fame and money
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that they know will work. But I think there's something
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else going on at the same time. Not only are
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all those things not going well, everything they touch turns
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to crap in America, but they're watching the air. They're
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watching Prince William and Princess Catherine. Everything they touch turns
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to gold. More palad than just the moment. Prince Harry's
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expected return to the UK this September is reportedly causing
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unease behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace, with a new
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report claiming that some palace staff remained deeply unhappy about
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the prospect of hosting the Duke of Sussex. A source
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tells Gossip columnist Rob Shooter the King may want Harry
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under his roof, many of the people who worked there don't.
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They felt deeply betrayed by everything that followed spare in
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the interviews, and that resentment is still very real. Another
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insider claimed the King's biggest concern wasn't logistics, it was
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his staff. Many employees feel deeply hurt by what Harry
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has said about the royal family. They fiercely to the institution,
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and the King didn't want to force them into welcoming
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someone they believe betrayed. Another unnamed source told shooter. The
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atmosphere in September would be incredibly uncomfortable. People will remain
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professional because that's their job, but don't mistake professionalism for forgiveness.
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Those are two very different things. And there you have it.
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If you like to email us our addresses the Palace
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intrigert gmail at dot com. Please follow us on Spotify
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and leave a comment there. And if you're listening on Apple,
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hit that button that says listen uninterrupted, and you can
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get this show commercial free, along with hundreds or thousands
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of other episodes from Callaoger Shark Media, for just five
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bucks a month. I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott.
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This is Palace Intrigue and good terms
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