July 1, 2025

Meghan Markle’s Wine Launch Sparks New Scrutiny Over Her Brand

Meghan Markle’s Wine Launch Sparks New Scrutiny Over Her Brand
Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand *As Ever* launches its first rosé wine—on Princess Diana’s birthday and the anniversary of Meghan and Harry’s first conversation. But not everyone is raising a glass. Critics have labelled her business model “Meghan Mark-up,” with some calling her recent podcast appearance lacking in authenticity. We also dive into her tea supplier’s ties to Netflix, a new viral royal fashion icon, and the latest whispers about Mike Tindall’s party plans for Princess Anne’s upcoming 75th birthday.



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WEBVTT

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Calorogus Shark Media. Hello, A welcome, Tu Palace Intrigue. I

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am your host. Mark Francis Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand as

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Ever is expanding into wine. Today, the brand announced that

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his debut alcoholic offering is a bespoke blend with soft

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notes of stone fruit, gentle minerality in a lasting finish,

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arriving just in time for summer gatherings. But the significance

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of the launch date is unlikely to be a coincidence.

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July first is the birthday of the late Princess Diana,

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who would have turned sixty four this year. It also

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happens to be the very day Prince Harry first connected

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with Megan in twenty sixteen. In Spare, his memoir, Harry

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records seeing a photo with Megan on Instagram and asking

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a mutual friend for contact info, beginning a text conversation

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that lasted well into the night. It occurred to me,

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how uncanny, how surreal, how bizarre that this marathon conversation

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should have begun on July first, twenty sixteen, my mother's

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fifty fifth birthday, he wrote, as Ever is positioning the

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wine as the perfect companion for seasonal entertaining, but for

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those watching the Sussex's journey closely, the date adds an

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extra layer of meaning and perhaps a quiet tribute to

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the woman who shaped Harry's life in so many ways.

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Meghan Markles as Ever brand has reportedly been sourcing its

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tea bags from a company already tied to some major

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entertainment players, including Netflix, the same platform behind her own

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docu series. According to Mail Online, the teas featured in

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as Ever flavors like hibiscus, lemon, ginger and peppermint, appear

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to come from the Republic of Tea, a California based

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retailer with a manufacturing facility in Illinois. The company already

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sells licensed products linked to Downton Abbey and Netflix's Bridgeton,

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and now it seems Megan's premium price blends may be

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part of the same supply chain. The teas have seemingly

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proven popular. Both of Meghan's product drops sold out quickly,

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with the most recent batch vanishing in ten minutes, although

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it is unclear how big the band it was. Questions

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have also arisen of a pricing, with Royal commentator Margaret

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Holder dubbing the Duchess of Meghan markup, which is a

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line we'll be stealing. Holder said customs of being a

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considerable increase for Meghan's label. She's taking advantage of celebrity branding,

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but it's a case of Meghan Markup, not Meghan Markel. Initially,

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as Ever's website listed, Republic of Tea is the product brand.

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This has been since changed to as EVER Store. It's

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unclear whether Meghan bought the tea's wholesale and repackaged them herself,

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or whether the supplier handled everything from production to branding.

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In a statement on its FAQ page, as Ever explains,

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we partnered with best in class vendors to bring our

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product ideas to life, translating our founder's recipes and bespoke

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concepts into beautiful, scalable goods. The Republic of T's own

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website notes its use of caffeine free Nigerian hibiscus, a

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detail of note given Meghan's recent visit to Nigeria during

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a high profile tour with Prince Harry. The Duchess previously

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revealed in a twenty twenty two episode of Archetypes that

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DNA tests show she is forty three percent Nigerian. On

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her recent podcast appearance, Mega told emm agreed about how

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she gardens with the kids. Meghan said, we grow a

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lot of veggies, and part of what I want them

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to learn is and gardening is really so great for

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children because it teaches them patients, teaches them to value

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and appreciate their food. You start from seed, you watch

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it grow and they wait. But with that it's like,

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now do you want to sell your harvest? Do you

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want to share it with our community? And also what

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do you want to do with those funds once you

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have them? So really starting to understand is they're learning

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counting and numbers and all of those things that there's

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a cost and a price of things. And I think

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that's key for children to understand that, especially children who

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are very lucky to have a home that has privilege.

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You need to know that just like manners and taking

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care of things around you, there is value on things.

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Speaking on The Son's Royal Exclusive, Royal commentator some Marra

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Gil commented on Meghan's recent podcast appearance, saying, Meghan really

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socially mountaineered her way to the top, So it's very

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difficult to take this authentic side that Emma was giving

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in this complete lack of authenticity that Meghan was showing

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in the interview. It was very hard to watch. Royal

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author Hugo Vickers echoed the sentiment, asking the thing is

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nobody ever listened to Meghan Markle if it wasn't the

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fact she'd married Prince Harry. I mean the social mountaineering.

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Because she is married to Prince Harry. It gives it

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a soap opera quality which seems to appeal to everybody.

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Otherwise no one would care about it. I mean a

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lot of other people doing the sort of things that

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she does. I mean sprinkling petals over salads and stuff.

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Royal commentator Samara Girl may feel that Meghan's brand is lies.

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Girl said the fact that she is a constant liar

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and her whole brand is built on a spin of lies.

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I don't trust a word that woman says. I think

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it is very very low for her to insinuate that

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we should listen to her truth, or that the Royal

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family should tell the truth. I don't want to listen

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to this woman about truth. The fact of the matter

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is that she is a constant liar. More Palace in

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just a moment, Prince Andrew's pub exile has remained firmly

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in place, as he was notably absent from Royal ascot

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continuing this band from the Royal Spotlight, though excluded from

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guar to day parade and the carriage procession to the course,

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the Duke of York was reportedly allowed to attend a

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private lunch at Windsor Castle beforehand. A source quietly suggests

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stand who occasionally plays host behind the scenes when other

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royals are in short supply, though he's not permitted on

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public display. At least the source ads Riley he spared

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the washing up. Royal watchers with a key and eye

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have noticed a striking new addition to Queen Camilla's jwelry ensemble,

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a bold gold signet ring now adorning her pinky finger.

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Her majesty debut the piece during an engagement to the

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Garden Museum recently, where it subtly caught attention alongside her

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more familiar rings. The new item, a chunky and distinguished

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gold band, has been identified as a commemorative creation from

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the Royal Collection Trust, designed to mark King Charles accession

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to the throne in twenty twenty two. According to the

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trust's website, the ring is composed of seven circular plaques,

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each engraved with ancient symbols, plain gold shield in front

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a quietly regal design, befitting the moment it commemorates. On

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her ring finger. Queen Camilla continues to wear her elegant

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Art Deco style engagement ring featuring an emerald cut diamond

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flanked by baguette stones, alongside her classic gold wedding band.

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But it is the pinky signet, with its subtle historical gravitas,

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that has the royal enthusiasts buzzing. Vanity Fair is advocating

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for a new royal fashion icon, suggesting it may be

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time to clear some space in the royal family's fashion ranks,

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as Harriet Spurling made an eye catching entrance at this

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year's Royal Ascot that sparked whispers of a new Windsor

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style icon in the making. Spurling, a pediatric nurse and writer,

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appeared in the Royal carriage procession on Day one of

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the prestigious event, riding alongside her partner Peter Phillips, son

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of Princess Anne and the late Mark Phillips, and catching

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the eyes of more than just the racing crowd. Her

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look a short jacket with balloon sleeves and a tweed

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skirt by Susannah London, a designer well known to Sophie,

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Duchess of Edinburgh. The effect was polished, confident and quietly

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fashioned forward, precisely the sort of esthetic this turned Royal

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women from Diana to Catherine into enduring fashion figures. Mike

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Tendall is reportedly planning to throw a birthday party four

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Princess Anne, despite the fact that the Princess Royal has

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made it quite clear she isn't keen on the idea. Anne,

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who turns seventy five in August, has already marked the

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occasion in her own understated way by bringing together one

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hundred and eleven of her patronages for a charity forum

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at Buckingham Palace. According to Pallace sources, that event was

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all she wanted as a public nod to her milestone,

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but it seems Mike, known for his love of a

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good party, as other plans. According to the Male he's

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already making arrangements for a celebration at the party barn

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he and wife Zara designed on the grounds of Gatcombe Park,

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where the family lives. While Anne may prefer to keep

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the focus on her charitable work. Insiders say she shares

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a strong bond with her son in law and likely

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won't be too surprised. As former royal butler Grant Harold

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put in, I don't think there is anything can do

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that would shocker. Mic has quite a cheeky personality and

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likes that a lot. And there you have it. I'd

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like to email us some addresses The Palace Intrigu at

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gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple, the

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app of your choice, and leave us a nice review

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if you're enjoying the show. By the way, we also

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have another show out from your friends here at Calaruga

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Shark Media. It's called Feuds, Power, Pride and Payback, covering

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some of the biggest feuds of our time, including Elon

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and President Trump and the Baldoni Lively case, and also

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the Royal family versus Harry and Megan. Check it out.

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It's a new episode this week featuring those two. Probably

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not a lot you haven't heard as a good regular

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listener of this show, but fun nonetheless. Feuds, Power, Preye

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Payback available wherever you get your podcasts. I'm mind Francis

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and thanks to John McDermott. It's palace intrigue in good terms.