Sept. 10, 2026

Prince William and Princess Anne Honor King Harald

Show Notes
Transcript

Prince William and Princess Anne join royals from across Europe in Oslo for King Harald V's state funeral, as Norway bids farewell to its beloved monarch. Meanwhile, new reports claim Prince Harry has finally spoken with King Charles since returning to Britain, conflicting with earlier accounts. Plus: fresh questions about Meghan and The Gentlemen, Sarah Ferguson reportedly considers a Jeffrey Epstein interview, and new controversy over her latest comeback plans.

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Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

WEBVTT

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Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host,

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Mark Francis. Prince William and Princess Anne joined mourners in

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Oslo on Wednesday for the funeral of Norway's King Harald V.

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William attended on behalf of King Charles while Anne was

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there in a private capacity. The Princess Royal is godmother

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to Harald's son, Norway's new King Harkon. The two British

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royals walked in the procession from the royal palace to

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Oslo Cathedral. They were pictured behind Japan's Crown Prince Akashino

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and Crown Princess Kiko as royal families and world leaders

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gathered for the service. Tens of thousands of people lined

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the streets following 13 days of national mourning. Harald died

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in August at the age of 89 after 35 years

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on the throne. William and Anne joined a congregation that

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included the kings and queens of Sweden, Belgium, Spain and

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the Netherlands. King Abdullah and Queen Rainia of Jordan also attended,

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along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Norway observed a minute's

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silence before the cathedral service, with bells marking its beginning

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and end. Members of the Royal Guard carried Harald's coffin

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into the church where he and Queen Sonia married in 1968. Inside,

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Sonia placed a red rose on her husband's coffin and

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bowed before returning to her seat. She sat alongside King

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Harkin and Queen Metamorite with Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and

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Prince Svea Magnus nearby. Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria, Harald's goddaughter,

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read the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi in Swedish.

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In her tribute following his death, she described her uncle

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Harald as an exceptionally nice person and a role model.

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After the service, four Norwegian F-35 fighter jets flew overhead

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in a missing man formation. The coffin was then taken

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to Akershus Fortress for a private ceremony ahead of the

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burial in the Royal Mausoleum, Harald was laid to rest

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alongside his parents, King Olav V and Crown Princess Martha,

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and his grandparents, King Harkin VII and Queen Maud. Olav

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threw some shade on Princess Catherine under the headline Kate

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Middleton skips Norway's funeral for family. The magazine does point

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out that 13-year-old George arrived at Eton on September 8th

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a day before the funeral in Oslo. Charlotte and Louis

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were back at Lambrook on Wednesday. Ola attributes Catherine's absence

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from the funeral to those family commitments which we all

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kind of knew. Prince Harry has reportedly spoken directly with

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King Charles since returning to Britain despite earlier claims that

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father and son had not been in contact. Page Six,

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citing an unnamed insider, said the conversation took place within

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Harry's first week back in the country with Meghan, Archie

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and Lilibet. The report does not specify whether they spoke

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by telephone or met in person and gives no details

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of their conversation. Newsweek's chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston, notes

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that press coverage alongside difficulties with relatives and palace staff

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was among the reasons the Sussexes gave for leaving royal duties.

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Royal commentator Afua Hagen told Newsweek, This is a concern

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for everyone because it's going back to what happened before.

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It is a rerun of the same briefing against each other.

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To be honest, they should have expected this, and it's

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a shame we've just gone back to the same old,

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same old, but this is to be expected. It's boring

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and unnecessary, but it sells papers. They're back in the

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lion's den. They're just going to have to get on

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with it. Another story with many versions is what happened

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with Megan and the Gentleman. Page six suggests Megan was

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never formally offered a role in the Gentleman. The outlet

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cites unnamed sources who say Megan had One conversation with

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the Netflix series casting director, but no offer followed. One

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insider claimed she took it as an offer and it wasn't.

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The source also alleged that Meghan and Harry believed the

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prospect of a British television role would help explain their

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return to the UK, saying, and she and Prince Harry

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thought it would be helpful in the moment for there

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to be a reason for their move. More palace in

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just a moment. Sarah Ferguson is reportedly considering a television

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interview about her association with Jeffrey Epstein, and the prospect

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is already drawing comparisons with Andrew's disastrous Newsnight appearance. The Sun,

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citing an unnamed source, claims Sarah has received approaches from

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producers interested in hearing her account. Fergie has been bombarded

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with requests from all over the world to do sit-down interviews,

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especially with big streamers, to tell her side of the story.

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She is looking at her options. Making money. Sarah has

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a tight-knit group of friends and is extremely well-connected. She

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would only allow someone she knew well to tell her story.

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Former Palace Secretary Dickie Arbiter is already deeply sceptical. Speaking

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on Talk TV's Jeremy Kyle Breakfast show, he said, Fergie

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will get a soft ride. It's just a mere fact

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that she's sitting down with him, pouring her heart out, saying,

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Poor me, poor me. Yes, I am entitled, but I

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am still poor me. It beggars belief that she's actually

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got the audacity to put herself up. Kyle, meanwhile, questioned

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whether the exercise could repeat the damage caused by Andrew's

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attempt to explain himself on television. It could end up being,

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for her, as Newsnight was for him, a bad, bad decision.

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Arbiter went further, calling Sarah delusional and arguing that an

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appearance would not persuade organisations that had distanced themselves from

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her to reverse course. A source told Closer... Kate's heard

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about Fergie's plan to open up about her life and

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knows how much damage she can do by speaking out.

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She may try to persuade her to remain tight-lipped and

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avoid giving interviews, but Sarah hates being told what to do.

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William and Kate called an emergency meeting with his aides

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after learning that Harry, Meghan and Sarah had all flown

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into Britain within days of one another and nobody gave

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them any warning. Sarah thinks people have always had affection

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for her and that given the chance, they will listen

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to what she has to say. A documentary... or a

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book that allows her to show a warmer side is

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certainly something she is considering. She wants to do something

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that helps the public understand her. Kate supports William because

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she knows how much pressure he is under. They cannot

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deal with yet another scandal exploding around them. In the Express,

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Alicia Liberty writes, After months spent largely out of sight

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following the implosion of the York brand, the former duchess

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is reportedly preparing to move into a six-bedroom gated property

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in the home counties, costing an eye-watering Â£ 10, 000 a month.

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That's Â£ 120, 000 a year in rent alone, before we even

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get to the small matter of actually running the place.

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You might have thought that after Royal Lodge, Jeffrey Epstein,

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and one reputational disaster after another, a quieter re-entry into

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British life would have been the obvious move. Apparently not.

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My jaw dropped when the news landed because this does

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not look like someone returning with humility. It looks... tone-deaf, brazen,

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and beyond belief. Sarah Ferguson has spent decades mastering the

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art of the comeback, but some chapters cannot simply be

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edited out when they become inconvenient. And that is why

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this comeback feels so outrageous. Sarah can rent the gates,

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the postcode, and the privacy, but she cannot rent a

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new history. Sarah reportedly tried to arrange contact between Lady Victoria, Hervey,

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and Kash Patel shortly after he became FBI Director in

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February 2025. Lady Victoria Hervey is famous for being a

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1990s London it-girl, a British aristocrat, and a socialite known

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for high society circles, modelling, reality television, and is an

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ex-girlfriend of Andrew Malbatten Windsor. Radar Online says the newly

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released emails described an approach through a senior diplomat at

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the American Embassy in London. The report does not establish

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why Ferguson wanted to make the introduction or whether any

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contact followed. According to Radar, an embassy official told Patel

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that he had previously met Hervey and Ferguson's assistant Antonia

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Marshall at Trump International Golf Club and had requested their

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contact details. A spokesperson for Patel disputed that account, saying

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he does not know who this Victoria Hervey person is,

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as you can see from the emails referenced. Royal commentator

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Hilary Fordage offered her own interpretation. Fergie is always about

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looking out for herself, so it would not surprise me

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if she was trying to work out a deal with

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the FBI, she said. It's in line with everything she

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has ever done. A tiger doesn't change its stripes. People

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are who they are. She's always done that. And there

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you have it. If you'd like to email us, our

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address is thepalaceintrigue at gmail.com. If you're on Spotify, leave

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commercial free for just five bucks a month. We very

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much appreciate your support. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to

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John McDermott. This is Palace Intriguing. Good times.

Prince William and Princess Anne Honor King Harald

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