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Ah Calorougus Shark Media, Hi, and welcome to Palace Intriega.
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I am your host, Mark Francis checking in on the
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Easter scorecard. King Charles and Queen Camella were joined by
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a slimmer carefully chosen royal lineup at the Easter Sunday
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service in Windsor, with the biggest takeaway being not who
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turned up, but who did not. The King and Queen
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attended the service at Saint George's Chapel alongside Prince William
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and Catherine, Princess Wales, who returned to the traditional Easter
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gathering for the first time in two years. They brought
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Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, giving the event
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a very clear Wales family center of gravity. Also present
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were Princess Anne and Sir Tim Lawrence, along with Prince
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Edward and members of his family. Notably absent were Andrew
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mount Batton Windsor, Sarah Ferguson, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie,
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all of whom attended last year. It is being said
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that Beatrice and Eugenie made alternative plans for Easter, but
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their absence will only fuel the sense that the public
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royal circle is being drawn more tightly. The service itself
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was traditional and low drama, the King ARAIV smiling and waving.
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The Queen later described it simply as good, and Charlotte
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was seen waving to crowds as the Wales family walked in.
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What the pictures really showed, though, was the shape of
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the monarchy as it wants to be seen right now,
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Charles and Camilla at the top, William and Catherine firmly central,
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the children visible and reliable as ever, and everyone else
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increasingly optional. One other absence at Easter quietly stood out, Sophie,
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Duchess of Edinburgh. Reports say she was simply under the weather,
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which is plausible enough, but it is notable because this
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now makes three major royal events in a row she
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has missed. She was also absent from Commonwealth Day, and
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Edward attended the Nigerian State banquet without her as well.
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Case return to Easter Sunday service was widely praised, but
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it also sparked an unexpectedly specific day bait online the
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length of her dress. The Princess Wales attended the Eastern
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Mountain Service at Saint George's Chapelain Winds are wearing a
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cream self portrait dress with a matching hat, tan hills
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and a coordinating handbag. It was a polished, very Catherine's
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sort of look, and for many royal watchers are welcome
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return after she missed the service for the past two years.
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Still not everyone was sold on the silhouette. A number
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of commenters focused on the hemline, arguing that the midy
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length sat too low and aged the overall look. One
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Instagram user wrote, all nice and pretty, but her hems
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are always too long for my personal taste. Ten centimeters
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less would look much better on her figure. Moreover, she's
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young and good looking. Another agreed, writing I agree lately
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her hems are always too long. Pity even Queen Camella
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wears shorter hems than her. Others made the point more practically,
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with one commenter saying I'm her height, they are too
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long proportion, and another wrote I agree with all her
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hemlanes need to come up just a bit. I like
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Middy on Herbert weakening too close to the ankles. She
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is dressed too old for her age. A rarely seen
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member of the royal family drew attention at the Easter Sunday,
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with James, Earl of Wessex, making one of his few
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public appearances alongside senior royals. The eighteen year old, who
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was the son of Edward and Sophie, attended the Eastern
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Maintenance service at Saint George's Chapel, wearing a navy suit
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and red tie, keeping a notably low profile as he arrived.
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James is not often seen at major royal events, so
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his appearance prompted some confusion online, particularly among casual royal
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watchers who did not immediately recognize him. His older sister,
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Lady Louise Windsor, was not present, reportedly because she is
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at university. His appearance has also renewed interest in a
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long running royal question whether James will eventually use the
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title of Prince in the style of his Royal Highness
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under the rules set by Queen Elizabeth. As a male
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lion grandchild of the Monarch, he became entitled to that
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styling once he turned eighteen. However, his parents have long
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chosen a more low key path for their children, and
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it is widely expected that James will continue to be
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known simply as the Earl of Wessex. That approach would
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mirror his sister Lady Louise, who has also not taken
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up the HRH style she is entitled to use. King
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Charles is facing criticism after deciding not to issue a
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personal Easter message this year, a move that has prompted
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debate given his role as Supreme Governor of the Church
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of England Buckingham. Pallas's position is that an Eastern message
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is not a formal annual requirement in the same way
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as the monarch's Christmas broadcast. Queen Elizabeth only issued one
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Eastern message during the pandemic, and there is no long
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standing rule that the sovereign must deliver one every year.
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Even so, the decision has raised eyebrows. The reaction appears
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to stem less from the absence of a message on
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its own, and more from the wider context. The royal
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family had publicly acknowledged Ramadan and e earlier in the year,
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so for some observers the lack of direct Easter statement
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from the King has looked at the very least like
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a misstep. It is also notable because Easter carr's particular
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significance for the British monarch, who is not only head
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of state, but also the ceremonial head of the Church
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of England that inevitably brings added scrutiny when major moments
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in the Christian calendar are handled quietly. Lady Colin Campbell
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said she had received what she described as a multitude
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of complaints about the decision and urged the King to
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respond to public concern. She warned that failing to do
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so could prove irreversibly damaging, adding I hope he will
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begin listening to the complaints of his subjects and not
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fall prey to the error which his first cousins three
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times removed saw Nicholas the Second and Serena Alexandra made
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in the months before February nineteen seventeen. Had Nicholas and
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Alexandra simply listened to the valid concerns of their subjects,
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rather than ignoring them in the mistaken belief that they
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were too trivial to warrant attention, all that happened after
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February nineteen seventeen might well have been averted. The royal
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family did mark Easter publicly in other ways. The official
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family social media accounts shared an Easter greeting more Palace
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in just a moment celebrity photographer Megan Mikels shared an
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Easter glimpse of Archie and Lilibet. In clips shared to Instagram,
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the Sussex family is seen taking part in Easter activities,
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including an egg hunt, decorating eggs, and feeding chickens. One
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video showed Princess Lilibet walking through the garden in bunny
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ears while holding a toy rabbit, while Prince Archie is
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shown the decorating Easter eggs. Megan also appears in the footage,
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including one moment inside a chicken coop searching for eggs,
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alongside the simple caption happy Easter. As usual, the children's
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faces were not shown. Megan michael has also shared a
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new family video showing Harry skiing with Archie. The clip
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posted to Megan's Instagram shows six year old Archie on
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a snowy slope, following behind his father in ski gear.
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Meghan captioned it they boys quick learner Archie so proud
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heart Emergie. While many praise the family moment, others were
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more critical, particularly in light of ongoing headlines surrounding Prince Harry.
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One commenter wrote, quick, let's use the children to distract
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the public. From Harry lying and caught and being in
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bed with the press. Another added this flirting with griff
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and creepy movie snuggles debucle is so effing messy. Mm
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is literally spiraling a third joke. Please everybody stop looking
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at the flirty text message h had with a journalist
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with movie snuggles now in court record. Meghan is said
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to be fuming over the release of the messages and
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deeply unhappy that his more playful, flirtatious side of Harry
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is now being picked apart in public. One source claimed
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this has led to Harry picking up the nickname Flirty
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Harry because of the tone of those messages, and Meghan
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markelers fuming that all of this is now doing the rounds.
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Megan Fields of this embarrassing and frustrating, especially given how
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hard they have worked to control their narrative and now
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these old comments stations are being picked apart publicly. The
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fact that the messages come across as so playful and
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familiar has left Megan particularly unhappy that this side of
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Harry is being highlighted in such a public way. Meanwhile,
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Harry has popped up in a new celebrity adjacent ski
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photo this time alongside former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
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and Olympic star Aileen Goo. The image was shared by
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Goo on Instagram as part of a photocarrasel from a
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recent ski getaway. One of the standout shots show Goo
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seated between Harry and Trudeau on the ski lift, all
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three bundled up in winter gear and smiling for the camera.
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Harry and Trudeau have known each other for years, and
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Trudeau was publicly supportive of Harry during the Invictus Games
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in Canada in early twenty twenty five. So while the
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image may have raised eyebrows online, it appears to be
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more old friends on a ski trip than anything especially dramatic,
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and they have it. If you'd like to email us
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addresses the palasintrig at gmail dot com. Please follow us
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on your Face of It podcast app O Mark Francis
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Thanks to John McDermot. This is Palace Intrigue and good terms.
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M