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Ah Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Weekly.
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I am your host, Mark Francis. If you'd like to
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hear the full versions of all these stories, please check
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out our daily show Palace Intrigue within this same feed.
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But let's check out what happened last week. It was
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a week book ended by two of the most watched
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events in the Royal calendar. On Saturday last Peter Phillips
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and Harriet Sperling married quietly in Gloucestershire while the world
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tried to read the guest list for clues, and yesterday,
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Trooping the Color brought the Working Monarchy to the Buckingham
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Palace Balcony for its annual thirty seconds of televised unity,
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in between a continuing police investigation, a brand that launched
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a matchbox to mixed reviews, a duke who went largely
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unseen for over a month, and a question about whether
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Prince William might one day voluntarily step aside for Joe.
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Let's get into it. We begin in Gloucestershire, where the
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wedding of Peter Phillips and Harriet Spurling took place at
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All Saints Church in Kemball on Saturday, with the reception
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moving afterward to Gatcombe Park. The ceremony was private, the
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tone was deliberately quiet, and the guest list was as
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things now always are scrutinized for signal. The most watched
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interaction of the day was not between the bride and groom,
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but between Prince William and Princess Beatrice, who he greeted
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with a kiss on the cheek as guests arrived. Royal
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biographer Ingrid Seward wrote that the gesture demonstrated William and
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Catherine believed the sins of the father should not be
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attributed to his daughters. Critics were less generous. Royal commentator
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Norman Baker wrote that bringing the York sisters back into
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the royal picture was a huge mistake and raised immediate
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questions about what their presence at trooping the color and
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Royal ascot might now mean. Once source alleged if it
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had been entirely William's decision, they wouldn't have been there.
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The invitation came from Charles and Anne. Whether the kiss
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on the cheek constitutes full rehabilitation or a minimum of
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human decency extended under family obligation, is a matter the
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Palace has left deliberately ambiguous. Zara and Mike Tindall were
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warmly present. The Wales family attended. Princess Anne was central.
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King Charles and Queen Camilla managed to fit the wedding
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in before heading to Darby Day at Epsom, which Deep
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Crown summarized with characteristic efficiency, the monarchy, at its least complicated,
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is simply a family with a very full diary. Kate
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wore a cream rowland moret ensemble and Diana's three strand
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pearl and diamond bracelet piece, created by jeweler Nigel Milne
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and worn by the late Princess on several occasions in
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the late nineteen eighties. It is one of several Diana
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pieces Katherine has worn over the years, and one of
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those quiet visual choices that generates extensive coverage without requiring
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a single word to be said. The rain also generated coverage.
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William was photographed horn an umbrella over Catherine while she
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spoke with the guests. The moment prompted a wave of
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appreciative online commentary. Peter held a large white umbrella over
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Harriet as they emerged from the church. Lena Tindall's brightly
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colored umbrella stood out among the more traditional attire British
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weddings in June remained. Despite everything optimistically planned, Harry was
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not there. A source told New Idea that Harry put
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on a brave face at home over the weekend and
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described him as having never felt more homesick after seeing
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photographs from the day. One inside had said the most
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painful part was not simply that Harry was off the
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guest list, but that Archie and Lullabet missed another family occasion.
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Peter and Harry once attended each other's weddings. They haven't
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spoken in years. The source said. Harry blames William for
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the estrangement from his cousin. A source connected to Peter
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said they simply lost touch. Both things again may be
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true more palasa just a moment. Hey, you've heard us
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mention the murriusg Hoybe case, but aren't sure why it's
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become such a big major story. Check out our series
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Crown and Controversy, Norway's Royal rebels. Marius is the son
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of Crown Princess Mata Marie and the stepson of Norway's
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future king. The allegations against him of sparkling national debate
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about privilege accountability in the future of the Norwegian monarchy itself.
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What began as a criminal investigation has grown into the
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biggest challenge facing Norway's royal family in decades. To understand
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today's verdict and why it matters, just search for Crown
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and Controversy Norway's royal rebels. Wherever you get your podcasts,
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it's Crown and Controversy Norway, and it's me hosting soon
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you know you can enjoy it. Trooping the Color took
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place yesterday and as always, it functioned as both a
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military ceremony and an annual status update on the state
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of the House of Windsor. King Charles and Queen Camilla
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led the procession, with William, Catherine and the three children
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forming the visible future of the institution. King Charles and
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Queen Camilla led the procession with William, Catherine and the
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three children forming the visible future of the institution. Edward
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and Sophie were present and was on the balcony. The
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Whales children drew their usual attention. Louis in particular has
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become something of an annual headline generator through facial expressions alone,
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and the Palace appears to understand perfectly well the value
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of that absent from the balcony. Harry and Meghan, Andrew
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Beatrice Eugenie deep Crown, in his substep, framed the balcony
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with his usual precision, approximately thirty feet of stone frontage
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on the east wing of Buckingham Palace and the most
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consequential piece of real estate in the British calendar. He
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noted that for perhaps three or four minutes, the assembled
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family waves the crowd below, while the red arrows pass overhead,
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and in that window the whole country draws its conclusions.
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The conclusions this year were largely consistent with the conclusions
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of recent years. The working monarchy is a tight group,
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the circle is small, and the people standing outside at
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a standing well outside. One logistical detail from the day
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worth noting. Reader's Digest reported this week that the royals
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watching the crowd from the balcony can't actually see very
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much of it because the Queen Victoria Memorial blocks their
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sight lines. Discrete television screens are reportedly installed behind the
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balustrade so the family can follow proceedings. The balcony kiss tradition, meanwhile,
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apparently dates to Charles forgetting to kiss Diana at the
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Altar in nineteen eighty one and the crowd demanding a
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remedy It has continued ever since. These are the kinds
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of details that make Royal history more human than it
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sometimes appears. The Andrew investigation continued to expand in the
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background of the week's events. Thames Valley Police confirmed there
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following all reasonable lines of inquiry in connection with a
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separate allegation connected to Royal ascot in two thousand and two.
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Details remain limited. Questions are also building about the extent
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to which historical documents could eventually shift scrutiny from Andrew's
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behavior to the institution's response to it. Rob Huter's newsletter
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quoted sources claiming Pallace figures fear the story will stop
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being purely Andrew's personal scandal and become a much broader
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examination of how the monarchy itself responded. Deep Crown addressed
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the related question of the late Queen's legacy with characteristic care,
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warning against a retrospective trial conducted in newspaper columns of
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a woman who can no longer explain or can textualize
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her decisions. One Royal aide, Andrew Lowney, also suggested this
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week that Andrew may eventually relocate to the Middle East,
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which Lowney argued would solve a lot of problems for
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the royal family. Andrew has not confirmed this plan. Beatrice
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and Eugenia are facing fresh scrutiny on a separate front
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their housing arrangements. Reports confirmed that neither carries out official
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royal duties. It both reportedly continued to benefit from royal accommodation,
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including properties at Kensington Palace and Saint James Pallace. Writer
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Tessa Dunlop raised the obvious question in The Independent, if
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William's vision of monarchy involves non working royals vacating Crown
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estate properties when he eventually takes the throne, where does
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that leave the York sisters. Daniela also writing from Australia,
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that Beatrice and Eugenie have won the Royal Lottery for decades,
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enjoying the prestigious events without the dull Wednesday engagements, but
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that a true reckoning may be approaching. They currently sit
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ninth and twelfth in the line of succession the head
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of Prince Anne and Prince Edward, both of whom completed
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over a thousand official engagements last year. Beatrice and Eugenie
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completed officially zero More Palace in just a moment on
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the Harry and Meghan front. The week offered its customary
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mix of personal content, financial reporting, and competitive brand analysis.
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Meghan marked Princess Lillibert's fifth birthday with photographs described on
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Instagram as our dream Girl, keeping Lillibert's face turned away
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from the camera in the now familiar approach. Pers Morgan,
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speaking at south By Southwest London, said he couldn't understand
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why someone who lectures about children's online privacy would simultaneously
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boast their child to millions of followers. A spokesperson for
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Meghan defended the distinction between share moments from her life
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and exposing her children to public scrutiny, arguing that obscuring
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their faces demonstrates the very principle she advocates. The debate
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continued at volume online. One supporter noted that Megan can
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do what she likes with her own social media. One
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critic noted that what she likes appears to involve regular
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appearances by the children whose privacy she is protecting. Harry, meanwhile,
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had been largely absent from public view for over forty
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days following the Australia tour her run of Quiet. The
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columnist daniela Elsa playfully documented missing one Duke, last seen
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in April, answers to h likes his crusts cut off.
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He did appear in Meghan's recent photo compilation wearing a
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T shirt reading girl Dad, a choice that generated its
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own commentary from people who noted he is also the
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father of a son. One hopes Auntie hasn't read the reviews.
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Harry was named to Time magazines in augurial list of
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one hundred most Influential Figures in Sports, recognized for founding
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the Invictor's Games. Use the occasion to speak about expanding
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the games from one week to two and describe the
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events saving lives. He was also tracked by a Newsweek,
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which noted that his public comments have shifted in recent years,
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from enthusiasm about California to criticism of American foreign policy
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and increasingly warm references to Britain. In a twenty twenty
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five essay, he wrote that Britain is and always will
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be the country I proudly served and fought for. He
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is expected back in the UK in July for Invictor's
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Games pre events in Birmingham. Whether Megan and the children
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will join him remains unresolved. Financial reports continued to circulate
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suggesting the Sussex household is under greater pressure than it
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once was. One comment has said on a podcast that
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the information supply has been choked off, arguing that the
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couple's commercial value was always linked to their ability to
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share Royal Family material and that the supply of that
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material has diminished. Newsweek's analysis of as Ever website traffic
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and American yugov polling both showed declining numbers into T
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twenty six compared to the year before. A source close
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to the brand pushed back, saying for any startup, you
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can't deny that it is anything but a success. Both
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things can be measured simultaneously, and both were. William had
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a productive week independent of all of the above. He
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visited the Royal Navy's Submarine Fleet at h M Naval
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Base Clyde to mark the Submarine Services one hundred and
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twenty fifth anniversary, presenting newly qualified sub maritors with their
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gold dolphins. He spoke at London Tech Week about using
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data to prevent homelessness before it begins, arguing that keeping
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people in their homes is inherently much better than trying
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to help them once they are already on the streets.
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He was also photographed at a South London food bank.
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The young man in a crowd called out, I love you, bro,
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and William leaned over and shook his hand. A historian
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on gb News suggested this week that William could become
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the first British monarch to voluntarily abdicate, stepping aside in
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his seventies to allow a younger generation to take the
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throne at a more vigorous age. The prediction prompted mixed reactions.
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One social media user wrote, good Lord, the chap's not king,
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yet give them a break. That appears on balance to
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be the correct response. And Lady Pamela Hex, one of
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the last living witnesses to the Queen's assession in Kenya
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in nineteen fifty two, passed away this week at ninety seven.
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Her daughter India revealed she had requested no eulogy, no sermon,
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no memorial, just as she put it, lots of rousing hymns.
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The King attended both trooping the Color and her funeral yesterday.
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Some weeks ask more than others, and there you have
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it if you'd like to email us our addresses the
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Palace Intrigue at gmail and dot com. All this month,
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we're encouraging listeners of Palace Intrigue to help spread the word.
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If you enjoy this show, tell a friend about us, or,
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better yet, share an episode with someone who loves following
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the royal family. Be sure to follow Palace Intrigue on
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Spotify as well as Apple and then turn on notifications
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so you never miss an episode. And we'd love to
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hear your thoughts on today's stories. You can leave a
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comment for us on Spotify. I'm Mark Francis my thanks
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to John McDermott. This is Palace Weekly in good terms.