Sept. 14, 2025

Prince Harry’s Ukraine Mission, Trump’s Royal Return, and Kate’s Hair Bun Steals the Spotlight

Prince Harry’s Ukraine Mission, Trump’s Royal Return, and Kate’s Hair Bun Steals the Spotlight

Prince Harry heads to Kyiv with his Invictus team, pledging to help war-wounded Ukrainians while critics question his security contradictions. Donald and Melania Trump’s second state visit kicks off this week, Kate Middleton makes headlines with an improvised hair bun, and Paul Burrell launches a royal podcast. Plus, cancer vaccine theories, Graham Norton’s royal wish list, Sarah Ferguson and Celebrity Traitors, and more.

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Calorogus Shark Media.

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Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I'm your host, Mark Francis. Hey,

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it's Sunday, Happy Sunday, and just before I dive into

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today's show, I want to tell you about some really

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cool things happening for you fans of Palace Intrigue. So

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If you don't have the time to listen to the

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which kind of takes off where The Crown left you

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on TV. And we're just wrapping up season one. The

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last episode of season one drops today, but not of fear.

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Next week season two starts, and along with that we're

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doing another spinoff series. It's called Crown and Controversy. Norway's

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Royal Rebels. If you've ever dived into the Norwegian royal family,

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they're just as much a handful as well, and there's

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some good stories there. So we start off today with

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episode one and that's available for all listeners. But if

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Season two comes out today, Crown and Contry Versy, The

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Norway Royal Rebels begins today as well, plus Deep Ground.

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All right, onto today's show, Fresh after meeting with King Charles,

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where they probably talked about Harry's security concerns. Harry went

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to Ukraine in a quietly arranged visit. The spare traveled

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to Kiev at the invitation of the Ukrainian government. The Duke,

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speaking aboard an overnight train from Poland to the Ukrainian capital,

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said he wanted to do everything possible to aid the

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recovery of thousands who have suffered life changing injuries during

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the ongoing war in Russia. Harry said, we cannot stop

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the war, but what we can do is everything we

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can to help the recovery process. We can continue to

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humanize the people involved in this war and what they

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are going through. We have to keep it in the

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forefront of people's minds. I hope this trip will help

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to bring it home to people, because it's easy to

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become desensitized to what has been going on. Traveling with

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a team from his Invictus Games Foundation, Harry recalled Ukraine's

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presence at the twenty twenty two Games in the Hague.

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The Prince said it was remarkable. Every one of the

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participants had a journey to get to those games, but

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nobody from any other competing nations was going back to war.

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That is why the Ukrainians stood out. Everyone felt an

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immense connection to them. Some of the competitors were being

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pulled off the battlefield, and we're going back to the battlefield.

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It means so much to us because it means so

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much to them. Harry let it be known. I had

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to check with my wife and the British government to

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make sure it was okay. In the Spectator, Alexander Laman

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wondered what Harry was even doing in Ukraine, pointing out

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Harry had been there in April. Laman writes, all of

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this is thoroughly commendable behavior on the Duke's part, compassionate, engaged,

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and using his considerable celebrity and public profile to make

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what he hopes will be a significant difference, coming directly

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off the back of what even his detral actors acknowledged

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was a thoroughly well organized and fruitful return to Britain

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in which he swapped petulant court room shenanigans for children

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in the donations and well child events. It is easy

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to suggest that Harry, smarting from the terrible publicity has

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received from his legal failures and the Center Ballei disaster,

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wishes to reset the dial and remind the world of

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his personal compassionate decency. Royal inside a Deep Crown tells

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us the Duke has spent considerable time and resources arguing

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that Britain is simply too dangerous for his family without

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full Metropolitan police protection, painting a picture of mortal peril

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should he set foot on British soil with his wife

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and children. Yet there he was, boarding an overnight train

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to Kiev, a city that has endured over sixty five

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hundred drones and missiles in July alone, conducted with admirable discretion, certainly,

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but rather undermining his claims about personal security concerns. I

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have rather more to say about this particular contradiction into

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day's substack, and you can get that link for Deep

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Crown's substack in the show notes. President Donald Trump and

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First Lady Malania Trump will arrive in Britain earlier than planned,

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touching down on Tuesday ahead of their second state visit.

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While they will undertake no public engagements that day, the

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visit will formally begin on Wednesday with a welcome from

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the Prince and Princess of Wales, followed by King Charles

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and Queen Camilla. The couples will take part in an

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open air greeting and carriage procession through the grounds of

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Windsor Castle. On the final day of the state visit Millennia,

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Trump will tour Queen Mary's Doll's House and the Royal

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Library at Windsor before joining the Princess of Wales at

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Frogmore Gardens. There, the pair will meet Chief Scout Dwayne

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Fields and members of the Scout's Squirrels Program, highlighting Kate's

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role as president of the Scout Association since twenty twenty.

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Following this Missus, Trump will travel to Checkers to reunite

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with the President before their departure. Kate Middleton wasn't about

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to let Harry have all the press as she masterfully

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distracted the media by putting her hair in a bun.

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The Princess turned heads at a taxtile mill in Cuxton

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on Thursday, not for her outfit but for her hairstyle.

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Kate Middleton managed to twist her long hair into a

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neat bun without using a hairtie or clip, relying only

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on skill and a bit of creativity. The moment, captured

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in photographs showed Kate's smiling as she worked alongside local

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craftsmen during her visit to two historic mills in Cuxton

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and Sudbury. She later rolled up her sleeves and tried

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her hand at screen printing, but it was her impromptu

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hairstyle let's stop the spotlight. Royal watchers were quick to

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note how rare it is to see the princess style

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her hair in such a casual, improvised way, and even

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more impressive that she pulled it off flawlessly in style,

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wrote the Queen of Sartorial symbolism strikes again. Her jewelry

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carried a distinctly personal touch, a gold necklace with charms

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featuring the initials of her three children. At the same time,

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her choice of gray plaid suit served as a subtle

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nod to her husband, Prince William, as it was tailored

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in the historic Prince of Wales's check. Princess Diana's former

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butler has a new podcast, Paul Burrell's Royal Tea. In

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the series, Bureau will share his unique insider perspective on

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royal life, blending commentary on the latest royal news with

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first hand stories from his time in the royal household.

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Speaking about the launch Paul Burrell said, what a perfect

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way to reach all corners of the world and all

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my followers, every single one of them can actually log

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in to listen to my podcast. It's not something TV

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or radio can do, but a podcast can, and I'm

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so excited to be reaching so many people. Royal commentator

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Richard Fitzwilliams doesn't seem all that impressed by the reign

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of King Charles so far, telling The Express there is

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no doubt his reign has, apart from ill health, been

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beset by two problems, that of Harry and Meghan, though

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less so recently, but the rift remains deep and that

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of Andrew. The Sussexes overshadows so much Royal news which

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could be positive. British cardiologist doctor Assim Malhotra, who advises

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Robert F. Kennedy Junior's mh AH, has suggested it is

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highly likely that the COVID vaccines have been a factor

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a significant factor in the cancer of members of the

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Royal family. Cancer Research UK told The Guardian there is

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no good evidence of a link between the COVID nineteen

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vaccine and cancer risk. The vaccine is a safe and

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effective way to protect against the infection and prevent serious symptoms.

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Graham Norton has revealed he would love to welcome Prince

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Harry onto his famous red sofa, saying, Brad Pitt, we've

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never had. He's on my list, Norton said, before being

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pressed on whether he'd want a royal guest. We'd love

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a little royal. Quite like a rebel, so I quite

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like a Harry. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, was

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reportedly considered for the BBC's new spin off Celebrity Traitors,

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though she ultimately declined to take part. The Sun first

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revealed the full celebrity line up for the show earlier

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this year, but the Duchess was not among those confirmed.

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Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the series will see a cast

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of well known figures from television personalities to stars, compete

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in a game of deception and strategy, with up to

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one hundred thousand pounds available for charity. A source told

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The Daily Express the Duchess was approached about Celebrity Traitors

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early on. We got the impression she was a fan

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of the show, but eventually turned it down on the

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basis that she doesn't do celebrity shows. The source added

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it doesn't mean the BBC has given up on trying

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to get her to take part in a future series. However,

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the BBC declined to comment, while representatives for the Duchess

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also offered no response. And there you have it. If

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you'd like to email us our addresses the Palace Intrigue

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at a gmail dot com And a reminder about all

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those shows that are out today. Crown and Controversy season

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one wraps up, season two is starting. We've got a

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new one about Norway, the Royal Rebels, plus yourregular Palace

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Intrigues plus Weekly plus Deep Grown. There's a lot happening

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and you can get all the info in the show

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notes or links to them there and Mark Francis my

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thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue in good terms.