Jan. 26, 2026

Meghan Markle and The Sundance Kid - plus Prince Harry blasts Trump

Show Notes
Transcript

Harry and Meghan made a Sundance appearance for Cookie Queens, the Girl Scout documentary they executive produced, but Page Six reported noticeable empty seats in the reserved section and critics questioned the optics of a festival outing so soon after Harry’s privacy arguments in court. Meghan spoke warmly about Girl Scouts, telling the crowd “Nothing that little cookies and coffee can’t help,” and later said of the organisation that it “embeds such great values from the get go.”

We also have Harry’s pointed response to President Trump’s remarks about NATO troops in Afghanistan, with Harry saying, “Allies answered that call,” and noting, “The United Kingdom alone had 457 service personnel killed.” Plus: London’s annual King Charles the First commemoration march, and a TikTok “new luxury” trend piece that somehow turns royal hobbies into the latest status symbol.

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Calorogus Shark Media, Hello and Welcome through Palace Intrigue game

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host Mark Francis, Harry and Meghan showed up at Sundance

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and inside A told page six for Harry to go

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from the hearing on Wednesday and pleading for Privacy to

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then go to Sundance. Just days after is Nuts, the

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couple attended a screening of Cookie Queens, a documentary the

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executive produced through Archwell Productions. The screening reportedly came with

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some empty seats. According to page six, roughly one hundred

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and fifty seats reserved for high paying pass holders were

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left uncleaned, while waitlisted attendees were later allowed inside. Around

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sixty seats appeared unoccupied throughout the screening. The documentary follows

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a group of girl Scouts from across the United States

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as they compete to sell as many boxes of cookies

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as possible, offering a look at ambition and competition within

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the youth organization. The turnout stood in sharp contrast to

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other recent premieres at the same venue. The previous day,

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the theater was filled to capacity for the Invite, directed

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by Olivia Wilde. That screening drew such a large crowd

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that Nearly one hundred ticket holders were turned away after

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seats ran out. The film stars Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz,

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and Edward Norton. Even smaller profile releases reportedly outperformed Cookie Queens.

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The horror film Buddy left only around forty seats empty,

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despite fireless advanced buzz. Speaking to Deadline following the screening,

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Megan spoke about her own cookie selling experiences as a child.

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I don't remember my record, but it certainly wasn't twelve thousand,

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but I think I did really well. She said. We

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didn't have the same perks and leverage of using social

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media and Venmo and QR codes that the girls used

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these days. It was really about charm and a smile

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and who doesn't love a girl scout cookie. It's a

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pretty easy sell. Meghan was introduced on stage as Megan

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Markle the Judgeses of Sussex, and said, think you so

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much for being here, bright and early. I know some

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of you probably had late nights last night, so extra

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thanks for the effort. Nothing that the little cookies and

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coffee can't help. At the Eccles Theater, the Duchess also

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discussed the broader lessons she believes the organization instills, she said,

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it embeds such great values from the get go. Expanding

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on that, she haded, I was a Girl Scout, my

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mum was a troup leader, and I think the value

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of friendship being dedicated to a goal, as you can

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see that in Cookie Queens is so reflective of how

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these goals stick with something that's important to them and

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don't give up. And self belief is an integral value

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that comes with being a Girl Scout. When asked with

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her daughter, Princess Lilli Bit four might one day join

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the Girl Scouts, Megan said, I think we'll continue to

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explore whatever feels right. Alyssa is a mom of a daughter,

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and I think for both of us working on this project,

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it's been incredibly special as parents, as mothers to be

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able to see something our girls will be able to

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enjoy and watch as well. She also shared her personal preferences,

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saying her favorite Girl scal cookies are thin mints, while

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her husband prefers short bread cookies but also loves the

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Samoas social media speculated about Meghan's hair, sharing images and comments,

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one observer tweeted, what am I looking at here? The

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makeup is too dark and doesn't match her neck, and

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what is up with the back of her head? Another

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added bad hair extensions. The Sundance outing led to a

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think piece in The New York Post. One source said,

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in some ways, the prince's a glorified house husband, while

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markle brings home the artisanal bacon. Harry's not really doing

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anything in America. It seems he's still very wrapped up

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in the past. There have been rumors that Harry is

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starting a business, but he and Meghan don't have the

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best track record. The same source suggested that Harry should

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return to work that aligns with his background. He's really

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great at service. Look at the success of his Invictor's charity.

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He really should just stick with that. Another source questioned

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how settled the couple truly are in California. I don't

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think they leave the house much. Meghan does, maybe, but

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not so much Harry. Local resident Gail Pollard offered a

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blunt assessment, saying Harry probably came here with a lot

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of gusto, but a lot of it fell flat. I'd

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like to see him go back to England. That was

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a feeling in our small community. I don't care for

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either one of them. They're not sincere. They're doing everything

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but fame. Fortune. Harry has issued a pointed response to

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remarks made by President Donald Trump following comments in which

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Trump questioned the contribution of non American NATO troops during

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the war in Afghanistan. Speaking in an interview with Fox

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Business host Maria Bartiromo, Trump suggested that NATO allies would

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not come to America's aid if asked. We've never needed them,

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the President said, They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,

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and they did. They stayed a little back, a little

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off the front lines. Prince Harry, who served two tours

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of duty in Afghanistan in a front line role, said,

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in two thousand and one, NATO invoked Article five for

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the first and only time in history. It meant that

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every Allied nation was obliged to stand with the the

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United States in Afghanistan in pursuit of our shared security.

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Allies answered that call. I served there, I made lifelong

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friends there, and I lost friends there. The United Kingdom

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alone had four hundred and fifty seven service personnel killed.

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Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect,

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as we will remain united and loyal to the defense

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of diplomacy and peace. President Donald Trump walked back his

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remarks following criticism from British political leaders, military families, and veterans.

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Trumpet shifted tone over the weekend, publicly praising British troops

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who fought alongside US forces. According to The Sun, the

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reversal came after a quiet intervention by King Charles. Citing

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an unnamed source, the newspaper said the King expressed concern

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about the hurt caused by the remarks, whether inadvertent or not.

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On Saturday, Trump described British forces as among the greatest

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of all warriors. Later that day, Trump hosted on social media,

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writing the great and very brave soldiers of the United

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Kingdom will always be with the United States of America.

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He added, the UK military, with tremendous heart and soul,

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is second to none except for the USA. Royal expert

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Jenny Bond tells The Mirror, I think we are fortunate

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to have a king so well versed in diplomatic skills

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because Donald Trump has made the role of the monarch

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trickier than ever, because the President is so enarmored with

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British royalty and so hopelessly flattered by any attention he's

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given by the royal family. They've become key players in

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the so called special relationship between the US and Britain.

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But you have to remember that the King acts on

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the wishes of the government, so the decision about any

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state visit to America is entirely dependent on what the

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Prime Minister and his government want. I think it's highly

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unlikely that the government would cancel a visit, even though

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it has not yet been confirmed. And if Charles and

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Camilla go, then there's no reason to think that William

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would not also go over for the World Cup. More

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Palace and just moment, London briefly stepped back into the

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seventeenth century on Sunday, as members of the King's army

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marched through the Capitol to mark the execution of King

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Charles the First. The procession was organized by the English

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Civil War Society and forms part of an annual commemoration,

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now in its fifty fourth year. The event is traditionally

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held on the last Sunday in January, close to the

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anniversary of the king's death. Charles the First was executed

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on January thirtieth, sixteen forty nine. After being found guilty

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of high trees and the crimes against the Realm by Parliament,

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he was beheaded outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall. Each year,

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participants dressed in period costumes retrace what are believed to

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be the King's final steps, walking from Saint James Palace

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to the banqueting House. Members of the King's army are

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joined by civilians, recreating the somber journey taken by the

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monarch on the day of his execution in front of

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a large public crowd. In Happy and News, the British

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Royal family is being cast as an unlikely symbol of

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what TikTok is calling the new luxury trend for twenty

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twenty six, with King Charles the Third held up as

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its most visible example. According to Marie Claire, while Charles

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is hardly a social media influencer in the conventional sense,

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he nonetheless embodies a growing cultural shift away from conspicuous

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consumption and toward time patients and highly specific skills. As

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the piece notes, his majesty not filming Tartan whole videos

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or food vlogs from Clarence House, but is instead being

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celebrated for pursuits that cannot be rushed or bought outright.

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TikTok influencer Tamsing Wang outlined the trend in a recent

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video predicting what luxury will look like in the coming year.

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She argued that social media has stripped many once exclusive

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things of their rarity. According to Wang, the new form

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of luxury is no longer designer handbags or cosmetic procedures,

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but time itself. She explained, the new luxury will be

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all about the niche interests and skills you acquire through

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a combination of money and discipline, adding it'll be having

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a special interest that you are incredibly well read on

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but requires money to be part of. Wang later summed

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it up by saying it's not something you can pay for,

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It's only something you can work for. The article points

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to the royal family is the ultimate example of this shift.

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King Charles lifelong devotion to gardening and watercolor painting. The

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Princess of Wales beekeeping in Queen Camilla's reputation is one

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of the most widely read. Women in any room are

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all cited as pursuits that require time, patients, and sustained

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effort rather than instant gratification. Well add a billion dollars,

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travel by helicopter and a staff to cook your meals

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also goes a long way to pursuing those hobbies. There

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you have it, Like the email us or addresses the

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Palace Intrigue at email dot com. Please followus with Spotify, Apple,

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or Facebook and Instagram or all over the social media sites.

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I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is

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Meghan Markle and The Sundance Kid - plus Prince Harry blasts Trump

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