June 15, 2026

Trooping the Colour 2026 Recap: Prince Louis Steals the Show While Harry Appears at the NBA Finals

Show Notes
Transcript

The Royal Family gathers on the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour 2026 as Prince Louis once again becomes one of the day's biggest stars. We recap King Charles's birthday parade, the Wales family's appearance, Princess Charlotte's balcony moment, the RAF flypast, and the anti-monarchy protests along The Mall. Plus, Prince Harry attends the NBA Finals and sparks debate after an unusual interaction with Spike Lee, and we look at the biggest names honored in King Charles's Birthday Honours list.

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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Ah Calorogus shark media now low and welcome through Palace Intrigue.

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I am your host, Mark Francis. The Prince and Princess

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of Wales have shared a behind the scenes look at

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Trooping the Color after the royal family gathered in London

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for one of the biggest ceremonial events of the year.

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The footage posted to William and Catherine's social media accounts

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showed members of the family preparing for the King's official

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birthday parade, including moments before the carriage procession and the

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return to Buckingham Palace. The video included the royals getting

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ready for the spectacle, horses being prepared, and quieter moments

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away from the crowds before the traditional balcony appearance. Trooping

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the Colour brought together thousands of spectators along the mall

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as King Charles marked his official birthday with the annual

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military parade. The King and Queen Camilla led the carriage procession,

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followed by the Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess

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Charlotte and Prince Louis. Prince William rode on horseback. Colonel

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of the Welsh Guards joined in formation by Princess Anne,

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Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and Prince Edward, Colonel

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of the Scots Guards. Catherine appeared in a powder blue

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outfit by Katherine Walker, paired with the Philip Tracy Haddon

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statement pearl earrings. Royal watchers noted that the look appeared

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to echo the style of Diana, Princess of Wales. Once again,

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Prince Louis proved that no matter how much royal pageantry

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surrounds trooping the color, he has a remarkable ability to

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become one of the days most talked about figures. Early

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in the day, the eight year old prince was spotted

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alongside his older brother Prince George and Princess Charlotte watching

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events and fold from the first floor window overlooking horse

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Guards parade. Also nearby, Worthy Duchess of Edinburgh and Sir

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Tim Lawrence. On the Buckingham Palace balcony, Louis appeared fascinated

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by the area flypast. Dressed smartly in a jacket, tie

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and trousers, he was seen reacting enthusiastically as aircraft roared overhead.

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At one point he appeared to tugg at his collar,

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while later turning to speak with his parents during the

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aerial display. His comments prompted smiles and laughter from both

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William and Catherine. The fly pass featured ten separate waves

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of aircraft, including typhoon fighters, Chinook helicopters, C seventeen transport planes,

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and the Red Arrows, whose signature at red, white and

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blue smoke provided the traditional finale. Prince George and Princess

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Charlotte was appeared relaxed throughout the event, with Charlotte once

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again displaying the confidence and composure that has increasingly drawn

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praise from royal watchers. As the family took their positions

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for the Aria fly past, Kate seemed to indicate that

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Charlotte should move a little closer to the group. The

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eleven year old quickly adjusted her position, effortlessly, stepping into

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place beside her family before the aircraft passed overhead along them.

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All thousands of spectators gathered to watch the procession and

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celebrate the King's official birthday. Not everyone present was there

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to celebrate, however, Members of the anti monarchy campaign group

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Republic staged a demonstration nearby, displaying umbrellas that spelled out

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stopped the Rain. As the royal family appeared on the balcony.

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According to lipreader Jeremy Freeman, one balcony moment appeared to

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show Charlotte asking whether it was time to wave as

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the fly past concluded. King Charles was then said to reply,

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very good. Now we give a wave. Waves everyone, cheerio.

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That's right, Thank you very much. The balcony appearance also

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featured Princess Ann, Prince Edward, Sophie, Duchess Edinburgh, along with

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other working members of the royal family, including nineteen year

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old Duke of Kent. One notable absence was Princess Alexandra,

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Queen Elizabeth's first cousin. Although still technically a senior royal,

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she has not appeared on Trooping the Color balcony since

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twenty twenty two. Her most recent public appearance came in April,

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on what would have been Queen Elizabeth's one hundredth birthday.

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Prince Harry not there released a message about the Invictors

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Games around the same time the royal family appeared on

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the Buckingham Palace balcony, Because of course he did. Speaking

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in a video for Invictors Germany, he said, thank you

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for your service, have a fantastic time, and Duseldorf lean

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on those when you need to, and celebrate everything you

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achieved and most importantly that fun. The day also included

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protests from the anti monarchy group Republic, whose members gathered

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along the mall with science calling for the abolition of

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the monarchy. Former Prince Andrew was not present at the ceremony.

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He was spotted separately near Sandringham before the event, with

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a fading bruise still visible on his face. Despite those

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side stories, the focus of the day remained on the pageantry,

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the military display, and the royal family's appearance on the

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palace balcony. William and Catherine later thanked those who had

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gathered for the occasion, writing a great day at trooping

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the color for His Majesty's Birthday parade, from the Grenadier

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Guards trooping their color to seeing so many faces on

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the mall, thank you for making it a day to remember.

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Harry found himself at the center of an unusual court

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side moment during the NBA Finals after an interaction with

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filmmaker Spike Lee left social media users debating what exactly happened.

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The Duke of Sussex attended Game five of the NBA

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Finals in Texas on Saturday, night, where cameras captured a

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brief exchange between Harry and the legendary director. Video circulating

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online appeared to show Lee trying to get Harry's attention

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from nearby seats. After noticing him, Harry turned back and

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extended his hand for what looked like a greeting. For

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a moment, however, the handshake didn't happen. Instead, Lee continued

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gesturing and speaking to Harry, creating what some viewers interpreted

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as an awkward pause. Harry briefly placed a hand on

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Lee's stomach as the conversation continued. The moment quickly passed.

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The two men ultimately shook hands, smiled, and appeared to

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share a laugh before continuing their conversation. As Harry moved away,

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both exchanged pointing gestures and seemed to be in good spirits.

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The brief interaction nevertheless attracted attention online, with some observers

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describing it as a snub, while others suggested it simply

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appeared to be a misunderstanding captured from an unfortunate camera angle.

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The encounter also revived interest in one of Harry's more

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unusual royal error stories. Years ago, it emerged that the

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Prince maintained a private Facebook account under the alias Spike

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Wells while dating Chelsea Davy. The nickname reportedly combined Harry's

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childhood nickname with an alias used during his military service.

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Lee had previously joked about the connection. During a television

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appearance several years ago, the filmmaker revealed he had even

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asked Prince William whether he knew why Harry had chosen

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the name. Rather than sitting courtside among some of the

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game's celebrity attendees, Harry watched from several rows back alongside

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in Victor's games competitor in the U. S. Army veteran

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j P Lane. The NBA Finals appearance marked a rare

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solo outing for Harry, who attended without Megan Royal Inside

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a deep Crown observed that Harry seemed to be enjoying

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himself in the uncomplicated way of a man attending a

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basketball game with a friend. When it is prepared to

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take that at face value, he was. It should be

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said that also at some distance from the court, which

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is a sort of detail that once would not have

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been noted at all, and which now is. He was

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also at some distance from a situation that often makes

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him appear to be at best not relaxed, and at

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worst unhappy or palasy. Just a moment, hey, don't forget

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to check out our sister show, Crown and Controversy Norway,

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where we've been covering the Norwegian royal family's most turbulent

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year in modern history. And this morning Marius borgway By,

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the son of Crown Princess Madame Marie, was convicted of

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rape and sentenced to four years in prison in Oslo

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while his mother waits at home for a lung transplant

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that could come at any moment. It is one of

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the most dramatic royal stories anywhere in the world right now,

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and we have everything you need to know. Just hit

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follow on Crown and Controversy Norway wherever you listen. Some

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of Britain's most recognizable figures from entertainment, music, television and

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literature have been honored in this year's King's Birthday Honours list.

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Among the biggest name recognized are David Sproxton and Peter Lord,

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the co founders of the acclaimed animation studio Ardman, the

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pair whose creations include Wallace and Grummitt, Shawn the Sheep,

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Chicken Run and Morph have been awarded knighthoods and recognition

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of their contributions to the creative industries. Have You Metal

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pioneer Tony Naomi, guitarist and founding member of Black Sabbath,

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has been appointed an mb The Birmingham born musician called

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the recognition an unbelievable honour. In addition to his influence

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on music, Miaomi has spent years supporting charitable causes, particularly

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after his lymphoma diagnosis in twenty twelve, raising funds for

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cancer charities and international disaster relief efforts. Television personalities Anaka

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Reus and Lisa Riley have also been recognized with mbes.

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Rice became a household name through programs including Treasure Hunt

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and Challenge Janica, while Riley is best known for portraying

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Mandy Dingle on Emmerdale. Riley described the honour as the

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best fiftieth birthday present. The literary world is also well represented.

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Beloved children's author Julia Donaldson, creator of The Gruffalo, has

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been made a dame, as has acclaimed novelist Mallory Blackman,

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author of the Norts and Crosses series. Both were recognized

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for their services to literature entrepreneur Dave Fishwick, whose story

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inspired the Netflix film Bank of Dave, has been appointed

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an OBE for services to finance, business and charity. Fishwick

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said receiving the honor was both wonderful and unbelievable. Several

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figures from broadcasting and music have also been recognized. Broadcaster

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and former Cattonia star Serice Matthews receives an OBE alongside

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international No and DJ Carl Cox. Composer Patrick Doyle and

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active director Dexter Fletcher have also been appointed obees. Meanwhile,

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DJ Judge Jules received an MBE, as does veteran broadcast

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and former BBC Radio presenter Gary Richardson. The honors from

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part of the King's Birthday Honors List, which recognizes individuals

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who have made significant contributions across public life, culture, charity,

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business and the arts. And there you have it, hey,

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all this month, we're encouraging listeners of Palace Intrigue to

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help spread the word. If you enjoy this show, tell

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a friend an artist of Betty It, just share an

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episode with someone who loves following the Royal family, and

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be sure to follow Palace Intrigue on Spotify and turn

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on notifications so you never miss episode. We appreciate all

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your support and we'd love to hear your thoughts on

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today's stories. You can leave comments for us on Spotify.

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I'm Mink Francis My thanks to John mcderm at This

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Is Palace Intrigue, Good Times,

Trooping the Colour 2026 Recap: Prince Louis Steals the Show While Harry Appears at the NBA Finals

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