Dec. 17, 2025
Royal Pre Christmas Lunch Absences, Harry and Meghan Somehow Get a New Netflix Film
King Charles hosts his annual pre Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, with around seventy relatives invited, as the Wales family arrives with the children and senior royals gather ahead of Sandringham. But several notable figures are missing, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Sarah Ferguson, and the Sussexes, while Beatrice and Eugenie return to the wider family fold.
We also revisit striking comments from Sarah Ferguson’s late mother Susan Barrantes about the York separation and the threat of telling “not very pleasant” stories about the Crown, as author Andrew Lownie argues the Royal Household always feared a memoir.
Plus, local backlash grows over security closures around William and Catherine’s new Forest Lodge home, and Harry and Meghan confirm a new Netflix film project adapting Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date.
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Calarogus Shark Media. Now, hello and welcome to Pallace Intrigue.
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I am your host, Mark Francis. King Charles hosted his
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annual pre Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, bringing together senior
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and wider members of the royal family, but several notable
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figures were absent from the gathering. Around seventy relatives were
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invited to the traditional event, which takes place about a
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week before Christmas and allows family members to meet up
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ahead of the festive period, even though not all will
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attend celebrations. At Sandringham. The Prince and Princess of Wales
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arrived with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, while
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guests also included the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh with
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their daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, Princess Anne and her husband
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Sir Timothy Lawrence, the Duke of Kent, and Lady Sarah Chatto. However,
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four key royals did not attend. Andrew mount Batton, Windsor
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and his former wife Sarah Ferguson were both missing. Also
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absent Worth, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Hary
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and Megan markle I, believed to be in Montecito spending
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Christmas with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lillabit. Princess
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Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who had skipped the Princess of
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Wales's Carol concert earlier in the month, did attend the lunch,
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signaling their return to the wider family fold for the
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festive gathering. Andrew was seen riding in Windsor. The former Duke,
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who was not expected to join the family at Sandringham
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on Christmas Day, appeared alone and subdued as he rode
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through Windsor Great Park in heavy rain, wearing a waterproof
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coat and riding hat. He was accompanied by a member
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of staff on horseback as they made a slow circuit
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of the grounds. Speaking to the Italian magazine Gent, Sarah
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Ferguson's late mother, Susan Barrantes, had given a stark assessment
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of her daughter's separation from Prince Andrew and the fears
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surrounding it. In the interview, Barrantes did not hide her
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feelings about her former son in law, saying he did
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not have any character. She also suggested that Sarah's deepest
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concern at the time was the possibility of losing her
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two young daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie following the breakdown of
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the marriage. Barantes warned that Sarah would not go quietly
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if that were to happen, saying, Sarah will not accept
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easily losing her children, and if she does, she has
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prepared to tell stories that are not very pleasant about
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the English crown. So these comments have been revisited by
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Andrew Lowney, author of Entitle The Rise and Fall of
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the House of York. Referring to that interview, Lowney said
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Fergie was determined to avoid the fate of her mother
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and sister Jane, who had both lost custody of their
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children when their marriages broke up, adding that her trump
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card was that she could always sell a kiss and
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Tell memoir. Lowney went on to claim that for Sarah's
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former mother in law, the late Queen Elizabeth, this possibility
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was a constant concern, saying the threat was ever present
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and the Royal household knew it always would be. William
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and Kate's moved to Forrest Lodge continues to be unpopular
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as security measures put in place ahead of their arrival
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have caused significant upset in the local community, with some
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neighbors describing emotional reactions to the changes. Former BBC Royal
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correspondent Jenny Bond told The Mirror William and Catherine must
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be aware that there is some local disquiet about the
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diversion around their house, but it was only to be
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expected and I'm sure people will soon get used to
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the longer route and understand the need for security. Despite
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Bond's opinions, some residents have said they were distressed to
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learn that areas they had walked or ridden through for
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decades were being permanently closed. One local resident told The Mirror,
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I ran into a woman there that I recognized, and
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she said to me that when she got the email,
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she cried for people who have walked there for years.
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It's so sad. Another added everyone I met was upset.
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It is understood that around one hundred and fifty acres
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of previously accessible land have been closed, with a personal
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exclusion zone of approximately two point three miles in po
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used around the eight bedroom property. Anyone caught trespassing within
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the protected area could face arrest. Tina, a dog walker
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who lives near Forest Lodge described months of visible preparations
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ahead of the Famili's move, including trenches, new fencing, resurfaced
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drives and the installation of cameras. Tina also argued that
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the scale of the closures had been underestimated, saying by
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closing Cranbourne Gate car Park and an area of land
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behind Forest Lodge about three times the size of Saint
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James Park, thousands of people from miles around have been affected.
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One wonders how it would go over if for Public
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Park were closed to accommodate a new home for Harry
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and Megan, more palacing just a moment. Prince Ary and
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Meghan Markele have offered an update on their evolving relationship
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with Netflix, confirming they are moving ahead with a new
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film project under their revised agreement with the streaming platform.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, though their production company
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Archwell are to developing a screen adaptation of The Wedding Date,
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the best selling novel by Jasmine Gillery first published in
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twenty eighteen. The project will be produced in partnership with
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Tracy Ryerson and falls under the couple's multi year first
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look deal with Netflix. The Romantic comedy centers on a
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driven political strategist whose chance encounter and a left leads
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her to attend a wedding as a strangers plus one,
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ultimately challenging her skepticism about love. Deadline described the story
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as one in which a chance elevator encounter on the
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part of a career driven political strategists led to posing
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as a stranger's wedding date. While the strategist has stopped
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believing in romance, she discovers that love has a way
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of showing up when you least expected. In the News
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dot co dot uk, Daniel Elser writes, It's meant to
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be the time of the year for miracles, right But
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so far this festive season, things Prince Harran, Megan, the
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Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been, as Jesus told
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the Apostles, a real bummer, a quiet night, and a
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main with no phone alerts might be sounding like quite
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the nice thing right now for these two. On a
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human level, this is all just so very sad. A
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woman once so very close to her daddy is now
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left seemingly learning about her father losing a leg via
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the mail. And on a pr level, this has been
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a shambles of epic proportions. In the real world, we've
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had Thomas losing a foot in the Philippines hospital, the
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only place he can afford to live, and begging his
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daughter via his medium of choice, a Daily Mail's journal dictaphone,
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to see him one more time before I die. Over there,
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on Netflix, we've got Meghan in a twelve million dollar
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house with its own crafting barn, trimming trees and sprouting
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lines about love and family and pine cones. The broader
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issue for Megan is that it's impossible to reconcile the
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image of someone preaching about joy and togetherness when she
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and her husband appear to have the sum total of
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two family members they have not fallen out with and
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can actually invite to Christmas lunch, her mother Saorria Ragland
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and her niece Ashley Hale. That Love Holiday Special has
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failed to crack on Netflix Top ten Most Watch Shows,
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and after the usual stories poking giddy fun at her
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raw Broccolini wreath and poor children getting cloying handwritten notes
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instead of Mini Mars bars and a break from their
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high hemp seed diets and their advent calendar, well it
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has disappeared sans trace. None of this is how the
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year started, with the forty four year old Trila La
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skipping along the beach in an artsy black and white
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video to announce her return to Instagram and firing the
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starting gun on Megan Inc. Since February, she's euthanized American
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Riviera Orchard birth as Ever, released two seasons and a
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holiday special of With Love, gotten four point two million
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instant followers, and released a crate mixed short bread mix,
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herbal Teas, spreads Galore, Candles, Arose, a Sauvignon Blanc and
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a sparkling and just last Week chocolates. Unfortunately, this has
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so far not exactly translated into her being crowned the
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natural successor to Martha's lifestyle crown, or suggesting she's on
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her way to out Gooping Goop on the balance sheet
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for the Sussexes, there are so many things hanging in
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the balance this holiday season. Their TV careers, their businesses,
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whether they'll ever be able to return to the UK
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for long stretches. Bet Meghan is cocker Hoop over that possibility,
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their bank balances and their brand, and they have it.
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If you'd like to email us addresses the Palace Intrigue
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at gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple
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at the apples and leave us a nice review from
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enjoying the show, Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermott.
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This is Palace Intrigue in good terms.
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00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:21.680
131
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:24.000
132
00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.480
133
00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:32.079
134
00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:36.360
135
00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:39.759
136
00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:42.959
137
00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:46.519
138
00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:51.279
139
00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:53.759
140
00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:57.360
141
00:07:57.399 --> 00:08:00.800
142
00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:03.040
143
00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:06.480
144
00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:08.560
145
00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:12.720
146
00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:16.399
147
00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:19.560
148
00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:22.120
149
00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:24.480
150
00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:27.319
151
00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:29.920
