Sept. 15, 2026

Prince William Blocks Meghan's Diana Comeback? New Claims Over Canceled Charity Gala

Show Notes
Transcript

A planned Diana Award gala reportedly falls apart amid fresh speculation about William, Harry and Meghan. We sort through the conflicting reports, look at Earl Spencer's deeply personal new Diana book, claims Harry is developing a documentary for the Princess's thirtieth anniversary, and why royal commentators believe William and Harry may ultimately have to reunite.

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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.

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

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Mark Francis. William seemingly was not planning on celebrating Harry's

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birthday today, with the heir having a plan to visit Princetown,

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near Dartmoor Prison, where a new fund will support projects

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proposed by local people. The money is intended for social,

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economic and environmental improvements in the rural community. The plan

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includes a stop at Gather and Moor, community and cultural hub,

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where he will meet representatives from Princeton Press. He will

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also visit a youth club that has received Duchy of

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Cornwall funding to improve its facilities. William may have played

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a role in the collapse of a planned Diana Award

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gala in London. The September 18th event at the Raffles

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Hotel became the subject of conflicting reports after the Mail

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on Sunday claimed Prince Harry and Meghan planned to attend.

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Their spokesperson said, Despite the Daily Mail's reporting to the contrary,

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the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not scheduled to

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attend a Diana Award event at Raffles Hotel OWO London

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on September 18th. Facts matter. Accuracy matters. Apparently neither made

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the guest list for this particular story. Royal commentator Tom

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Sykes now says that despite the Sussex denial, he understands

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an event really had been in development. After a lengthy

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consultation with our lawyers, I am able to say that

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it is my understanding that that an event organised by

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the Diana Awards was indeed booked. Sykes also alleged that

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plans had been made for a particular musician to perform,

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and the key people involved in it had been asked

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about their availability, and if they would be available. According

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to Radar Online, the dinner was subsequently cancelled. Sykes suggested

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tensions involving William, Harry and Meghan may have contributed. But

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why is it no longer going ahead? I think it

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speaks to what you're saying about the difficulty of the relationship,

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the difficulty of the situation that Harry is putting William into.

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Sykes also claimed Meghan has been very keen to go

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to the event and had apparently even got to the

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stage of reaching out to British designers to dress her.

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The Diana Award occupies an unusual position because it continues

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to receive support from both William and Harry despite the

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breakdown in the brothers' relationship. Neither brother is actually a

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patron of the organisation. Sykes said the charity enjoys the

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support of both of the princes before offering his theory

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about William's possible reaction to Meghan attending the dinner And

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I wouldn't be surprised, let's put it this way, if

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William felt that he didn't want his mother's memory used

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as a kind of relaunch pad for Meghan in the UK.

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Earl Charles Spencer has received the first printed copy of

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his new book about Princess Diana just before it goes

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on sale. Spencer shared photographs of himself holding Swan Song, Diana,

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My Sister, which will be published in Britain on the 22nd.

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He wrote, Always an amazing moment for an author to

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receive a printed copy of their new book for the

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first time, particularly on this occasion. with Swansong being my

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most personal work by some distance. At the end of

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the day, it's a brother's tribute to an extraordinary sister.

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Spencer has previously said the approaching 30th anniversary of Diana's

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death prompted him to write the book because he wanted

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to put his own memories of his sister on the

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record rather than continue responding to interview requests. With the

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30th anniversary of Diana's tragic death on the skyline, I've

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been inundated yet again with requests for interviews about my sister.

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This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts

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and memories, ones and for all, rather than having the

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discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of

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which are based on untruths that have become accepted over time.

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The aim of this book is to tell the truth

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about Diana from her brother's perspective, just as I attempted

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to do when speaking at her funeral. As with my eulogy,

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I want to speak on Diana's behalf and do so

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in an openly positive way. I hope this book will

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be of interest to the many who still cherish the

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memory of Diana when she was alive, and I would

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be delighted if those two young two remember her in

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her heyday feel after reading this, that they get who

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she really was, a one-off, dynamic character full of love,

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charisma and self-doubt, who gave life a hell of a

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go and left the world a far better place, despite

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exiting the stage while still so young. Harry is reportedly

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exploring a film about Princess Diana ahead of the 30th

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anniversary of her death next August. The Daily Express reports

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that Harry has approached some of Diana's friends about taking

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part in interviews. For journalist Richard Kay, the brothers' joint

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work around the 20th anniversary offers a reminder of how

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much their relationship has changed. When they made, nine years ago,

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those documentaries to mark the 20th anniversary of their mother's death,

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that was the last time they were really in step together.

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William is just as much his mother's son as Harry is.

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The issue of trying to use Diana, the Spencer brand,

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the Spencer name, to divide himself away from the House

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of Windsor, I think is something we're going to see

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even more of. Let's not forget who Harry spent time

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with when he was here in July. It was Diana's

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family at Oldthorpe. Royal author Robert Jobson believes the anniversary

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should bring the brothers together. How can they not be together?

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There's going to be a moment where there has to

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be some sort of arrangement for the 30th anniversary of

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Diana's death. They have to be on the same stage.

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More palace in just a moment. The Royal Collection Trust

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has corrected an Instagram post after Royal Watchers spotted that

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it had given the wrong year for the start of

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King Charles' reign. The Trust shared a coronation portrait on

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September 8th with the caption, On this day in 2023,

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King Charles III ceded the throne. It was a year out.

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Charles became king on September 8th, 2022, when Queen Elizabeth died.

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His coronation followed on May 6th, 2023. For an organisation

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responsible for sharing royal history, the mistake invited some pointed response.

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One commentator wrote, You'd think they'd know. In the news.com.au,

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Daniela also writes, Chekhov had a theory when it came

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to rioting Show, don't tell. Clearly, Kate, the Princess of Wales,

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is a student of Mr Cherry Orchard himself. There she

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was on Thursday in Liverpool, wearing an Adeline Lee suit

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and kicking off the new working royal year by giving

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us a no-nonsense business princess, looking more like the CEO

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of a company gearing up to IPO than someone familiar

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with the technicalities of ribbon-cutting. See that, Mr and Mrs

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supposedly living in the Cotswolds? What Kate seemed to be

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Chekhovian-ly showing was strength and a keep calm and keep

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power suiting on But no $ 1, 200 pair of trousers or

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a crisply cut blazer can take away from the fact

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that Kate's new working royal year is shaping up to

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be hell. It does not appear the Sussexes have any

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plans to sit quietly in the shires to reclusively collect

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delphinium cuttings and rescue dogs. This month Harry will embark

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on a week of charity engagements, thing a charity skydive,

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what more of a bells and whistles way to announce

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his back and howl. But it won't just be him,

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as it's been reported that Meghan is keen to rekindle

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her relationships with British charities. A source close to the

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Duchess told the Times, she wants to pick up with

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a lot of people, though whether they will take the

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call remains to be seen. For Kate, what are the

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chances of Harry and Meghan's off-brand roiling not stealing all

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the available thunder? Who would you prefer to read about?

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Someone doing their duty or a duke willing to throw

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himself out of a plane? hard workers doing competent jobs

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and talking about serious issues, or about two people who

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manage to generate melodrama as easily as plants photosynthesize oxygen.

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Who would be interested in hearing Kate and William enthuse

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about carbon-neutral tenders or some such should Harry and Meghan

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decide to, funnily enough at the same moment, do a

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fundraising bungee jump or decide to write empowering messages on

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oranges to be handed out to OnlyFans stars? The issue

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of the Sussexes 2.0 is not just one of our

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fickle attention but of narrative and image. William and Kate

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have one story they want to tell and sell. Look

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at us helping make the world better. They have professionalized

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prince and princessing, and are selling themselves as doers and

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leaders in climate, mental health, and childhood development. But that

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message could be lost in the wash of the Kardashian-ness

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of the Sussexes' return. And there you have it. If

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you'd like to email us or address us at thepalaceintrigageemail.com,

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If you're on Spotify, leave us a comment. If you're

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on Apple, hit that button up there that says listen

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uninterrupted and get the show commercial free for just five

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bucks a month. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to John McDermott.

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This is Palace Intrigue. Good times.

Prince William Blocks Meghan's Diana Comeback? New Claims Over Canceled Charity Gala

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