May 20, 2026

Meghan's controversial selfie, UK trip and Hollywood Denial plus Prince Harry’s Money Fears and the Montecito Mansion Mockery

Show Notes
Transcript

Meghan shuts down claims of a Suits return as commentators question the Sussex finances and future plans. Plus, Harry’s reported Balmoral hopes, criticism of their Montecito home, falling As Ever traffic, and another sharp look at Harry’s public contradictions.

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Ah calorogus shark media that low and welcome to Palace Intrigue.

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I am your host, Mark Francis Meghan Markles otherwise well

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received Geneva appearance, he had an unexpected snag this week

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after a photograph surfaced of the Duchess posing for a

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selfie with Willie Ridman, Finland's Minister for Social Affairs and Health,

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a politician with a history of controversy that includes an

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alleged joke about being a Nazi and a racism scandal

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that forced him from a previous political position. Riidman posted

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the image i Instagram with the caption A dinner with Megan,

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prompting Royal watchers to flag his background and prompting a

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swift response from the Sussex team. A spokesperson said the

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Duchess does not know mister Ridman, had no prior awareness

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of him attending the event, and was unfamiliar with the

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concerning reports relating to him, adding that vetting every person

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who requests a selfie at a public dinner is not possible.

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The statement is taken on its own terms entirely plausible.

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The dinner was a whoe event with more than twenty

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five ministers and delegates. Present. Selfies happen. Politicians happen. Unfortunately,

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for Meghan, so does the internet. Meghan made a brief

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and unannounced return to British soil on Monday, stopping at

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Heathrow on her way back from Geneva to La, her

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first time on UK ground since transiting through the airport

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in twenty twenty four en route to Nigeria. The stopover

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came two days before her eighth wedding anniversary, and the

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British Airways crew on her London to LA flight apparently

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made the most of the timing. Meghan posted a photograph

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of a handwritten card from the flight crew, reading dearest

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Harryan Meghan, wishing you a wonderful wedding anniversary with love

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the whole British Airways family, alongside a Union Jack Emojian

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note of thanks. A source told people the crew came

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to wish her happy anniversary, shared their memories of the wedding.

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Daan sent her home with a bottle of champagne and

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British suites for Harry and the children. Her flight BA

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two sixty nine departed Heathrow twenty six minutes later at

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three thirty one pm, arriving in La at seven twenty

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five pm. Back in Montecito, Harry marked the occasion by

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delivering a lemon older flour cake to the kitchen, a

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nod to their wedding cake, singing Happy Anniversary in gray

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track suit bottoms, and presenting Megan with a statue of

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two penguins arm in arm, a callback to the animal

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onesies they wore at their engagement party. Following reports that

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producers connected to Suits would be interested in bringing the

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Duchess of Sussex back for a reunion film, nothing has

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been officially confirmed, though Suits creator Aaron coorsh has previously

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said revisiting the franchise in the future was not an

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insane notion. Real commentator Mark Dolan discussed at the speculation

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during an appearance with Daily Expresso host jj an Isiobi,

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saying He's got one word for you, desperation. It's very

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interesting because the former editor of People magazine, which is

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the pro Harry and Meghan publication, that even this guy,

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the ex editor, has turned on Harry and Meghan with

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that awful thing called the Truth, which they detest, and

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he revealed that they've burned through Harry's inheritance from his

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mother and his great grandmother, the Queen Mother. Dolan added,

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he said, actually, Megan is really freaking out about money,

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that she's really worried, and he revealed that Harry's not

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because Harry is an aristocrat and doesn't understand money, doesn't

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understand bills or liabilities or debt, and that actually love

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her or hate her, Meghan has climbed her way to

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the top of her own She's been someone that didn't

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have money then did, so it's my understanding and based

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upon what this guy from People magazine has said as well,

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that she's freaking out. So I suspect that this move

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into Hollywood is to bring some money. And I think

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it's crushingly embarrassing for Megan because she has set herself

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up as an international global influencer, entrepreneur and humanitarian. And

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that's Meghan's brain. She ditched the actress thing, he continued,

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and the reason why is because in a rare Megan's

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self reflection, she realized that she's not a horrible actress.

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I mean, she couldn't even pretend to be a nice

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person on her own TV show with a crew of

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one hundred and an editor However, a representative for the

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Duchess of Sussex's deny the reports. A spokesperson told E

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there is no truth to claims Meghan is in talks

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to reprise her role as Rachel Zane. An insider told

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Radar Online, Harry was raised in an environment where he

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never really had to think about money in practical terms,

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so seeing huge sums disappear so quickly has been a

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real shock for him. He's become much more conservative and

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risk averse lately because he's terrified of burning through their

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fortune with enough stable income coming back in. Meghan, on

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the other hand, still believes they're building something enormous and

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that all of these setbacks are temporary. In her mind,

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this till one breakthrough project or business deal away from

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becoming a billion dollar global powerhouse. That difference in mentality

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he is creating serious friction because Harry is now focused

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on scaling back and protecting what they have, while Megan

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is putting to invest even more aggressively in their future.

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The Sussexes are being criticized for not knocking down a

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fourteen million dollar home. Some neighbors in Montecito are said

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to view the Sussex's sprawling property as unusual by local

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billionaire standards because the couple chose to keep much of

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the original design intact rather than carrying out a dramatic rebuild.

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A source told The Royalist, it's kind of shameful, because,

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of course, in America, if you're a billionaire and you

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buy a house for fourteen million dollars, what's the first

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thing you do? Knock it down or at the very

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least remodel it. The source also mocked the home's rustic

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kitchen style, comparing it to Olive Garden nineteen ninety four.

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The couple purchased that Montecito was stating twenty twenty for

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approximately fourteen point sixty five million. Property estimates cited in

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recent reports now place its value closer to twenty nine million.

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The home features extensive grounds, a pool, spa area, games room,

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a cellar, and chicken coop. With glimpses of the property

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previously shown in the couple's Netflix projects and Megan's social

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media content. Harry is reportedly hoping to spend time at

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Bowmorral with King Charles this summer, is part of an

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effort to repair relations with then the Royal family. According

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to Closer Magazines insider, Harry and Meghan are expected to

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spend over a month in Europe this summer, using their

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newly completed villa in Portugal as a base while traveling

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back and forth for engagements and private visits. The family

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understood to be flying over shortly after Archie and Lulibert

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finish school in June. Harry is pushing hard for a

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family stay at Bowmorral this summer while he and Meghan

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are based in Europe, with hopes of arranging a private

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meeting with King Charles. He's determined to make it happen.

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Harry genuinely believes bow Moral could be the place where

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things finally start healing, but Megan still doesn't feel fully

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comfortable in Britain. That hasn't changed. The security concerns are

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very real to her, especially with the children involved. The

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situation is said to be causing strain between the couple.

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The article also suggested Harry may attend at the wedding

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of his cousin Peter Phillips and Harriet Spurling in June,

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potentially placing him in the same room as Prince William

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for the first time since twenty twenty four, a source

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reportedly told Closer the royal family are feeling anxious about

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having the brothers in the same room again. Well, Harry

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holds on to hope William is still furious about his behavior.

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There were so many unresolved feelings between them, and the

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family fear that William's ready to unleach how he feels,

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which could even lead to an altercation. More palacing, just

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a moment in the eyepaper Victoria Richard's writes for a

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man who supposedly wants to be left alone to live

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a non working royal life. Prince Harry certainly is well everywhere.

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We saw him in April accompanying his wife Megan Markle

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on a four day tour of Australia. Just weeks later,

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up popped Prince Harry again, this time in Ukraine, where

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he urged the world not to lose sight of what

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the country is up against. Prince Harry, it appears, is

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desperate to be seen and respected. How else to explain

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the way he keeps saying one thing and doing another,

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And yet there are his fierce attacks on press intrusion.

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Yet this week you guessed it. Here is Prince Harry

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once again like whack a mole writing in the British

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press about anti Semitism and Islamophobia. You couldn't make it up.

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After all, he is at once one of the most

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famous people in the world, and keeps reminding us of

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the fact by making bids for armed security for his

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visits home provided by the government. It insists he wants

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to be left alone to live a normal family life

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in Montecito. He's publicly bemoaned the way he grew up

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in a goldfish bowl under constance of valence, and Megsitt

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allowed him and Meghan to remove themselves from the Palace

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a spotlight, but they then went on to thrust themselves

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very publicly and very intentionally into a Netflix one from

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that warts in all reality TV show Harry and Meghan

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to Meghan's solo cooking and candle making series With Love Meghan,

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the couple haven't exactly been living the quiet, homely life

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they professed to want. They've transformed themselves into documentary makers,

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lifestyle gurus and motivational speakers, even Middle East envoys in

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Meghan's case. On a personal level, the Duke of Sussex

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has already sought to repair the relationship with his dad,

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spending fifty minutes within at Clarence House last September in

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their first face to face interactions since the King's cancer

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diagnosis in February twenty twenty four, and Harry is expected

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to return to the UK again in July for a

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one year countdown event for the Invictus Games in Birmingham

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in twenty twenty seven. Like an unwonted guest who keeps

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turning up on the doorstep whether we like it or not,

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Prince Harry keeps coming back and we'd better get used

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to it. And there you have it. If you'd like

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to email us or Justice the Palace Intrigue at gmail

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

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app of your choice. I'm Mark Francis my thanks to

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John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue in good terms.

Meghan's controversial selfie, UK trip and Hollywood Denial plus Prince Harry’s Money Fears and the Montecito Mansion Mockery

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