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Ah Calorougus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Pallace Intrigue.
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I am your host, Mark Francis. Two stories emerged this
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week that, taken together, offer a fairly complete picture of
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where Harry and Meghan currently stand, one from the outside
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looking in, and one from the inside looking surprisingly warm.
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We begin with the wedding Peter Phillips, Princess Anne's son,
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is marrying Harriet Spurling at All Saints Church in syrihn
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Kester on June sixth, and the guest list has become
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as interesting for its absences as its attendees. Andrew mount
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Batten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson were already confirmed as not invited,
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with sources suggesting the couple felt their presence would cause
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a distraction. That was expected. What was not quite so
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expected was the confirmation that Harry and Meghan were not, even,
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in the words of one commentator, in the mix, for
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an invitation. Peter and Harry attended each other's weddings. They
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were once close. Now, a source told Hello Magazine, they
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haven't spoken for several years and have simply lost touch.
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Whether that drifting apart was organic or quietly encouraged by
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other parties is one of those questions the Royal Family
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answers only in the architecture of its guest lists. Commentator
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Mark Dolan put it plainly on a podcast this week,
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Poor old Harry wasn't even in the mix for an invite,
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so he's done. He added that an invitation could have
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marked the beginning of a thawing of relations, and that
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its absence leaves Harry with an uphill struggle getting back
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in that family. The York sisters Beatrice and Eugenie are
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both expected to attend the Whales, and the Edinburgh's may
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also be present. The circle, as ever, is becoming clearer
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by defining whose stands outside it on the other side
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of the ledger. The anniversary celebrations generated one unexpectedly positive
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news cycle. A body language expert reviewing the Instagram footage
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of Harry delivering cake in gray tracksuit bottoms and presenting
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Megan with a penguin statue, declaring the whole thing very genuine,
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noting that Harry smile, engaged his cheek, muscles, his eyes,
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and his entire face, and that there was nothing in
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the clip that suggests anything other than the fact that
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they genuinely do love each other very much. The kiss
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over the cake was cited as particularly convincing. No visible tension,
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no staged awkwardness. So this is where things stand for
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Harry and Meghan in the late spring of twenty twenty six,
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deeply in love by all biometric indicators. Not invited to
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the wedding. Some don't believe Megan would return to the
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UK anyway. Royal commentator Charles Ray told the Son her
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coming back here, can you imagine what it would be
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like for her again to be out on the street.
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So the job, whether it's a Royal job or a
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jam job or whatever, she'll get booed. I don't think
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she'll be able to cope with a lack of enthusiasm
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from the British public for her being here. They don't
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want to hear, nobody wants her hear. Royal expert Jack
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Royston disagreed, suggesting the desire to launch the as Ever
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brand in the UK could push the decision. When that
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moment comes, she has got to come here and launch it.
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You can't do those things half baked. Celebrated interior designer
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Nikki Haslam has oftened a surprisingly warm defense of Meghan Markle,
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admitting he has a sneaking love of fakes as he
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reflected on the Duchess and her public image. Speaking to
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Hello magazine, the designer, whose clients have included King Charles
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the Third and Mick Jagger, said there was something oddly
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touching about Megan, even while acknowledging that much of her
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public presentation feels carefully manufactured. Referring to Meghan's lifestyle content
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and Netflix series, Haslam said, there's something oddly touching about
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her these programs where she puts flowers on top of cakes.
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Christie also used to do that and nobody criticized her.
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I rather like the fact that it's all manufactured. I've
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got a sneaking love of fakes. They're amusing non fakes.
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Serious people are frightfully boring. Haslam did criticize the Duchess
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for battling the press, describing her as foolish and ward
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in that respect, but said he admired her guts and
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believed she makes Prince Harry happy. Wouldn't I rather be
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living in a lovely house in Montecito with film stars
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and going to premiers? I would? He added? Or palacy
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just a moment, Andrew and Sarah are hoping not to
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be forever pariah, is a source told heat Well. Both
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Andrew and Sarah are praying this won't be the status
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quo forever and that soon enough they'll stop being treated
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like total pariahs. But that will never happen without some
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type of forgiveness from the senior royals. So King Charles
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holds all the aces here. While the same source did
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admit it may sound delusional to most, they truly believe
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there's a path to redemption and that at some point
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the dust will blow over and enable them to be
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taken out of exile. Certainly, Sarah is banking on that.
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She's always been an internal optimist. I'll beeit a self
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serving one at that. This has also been called the
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real reason for their continued silence, despite looming rumors that
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a tell all has been conceded. In the eyes of
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the source, it's a big reason why Andrew is staying
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put in Sandringham, putting a pause on any plans to
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write a memoir or flee for a new life in
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the Middle East. Sarah Ferguson's former assistant allegedly compared working
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for the Duchess of York to working with fifty jealous lovers.
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According to Andrew Lowney's new book entitled One Long Time,
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staff has said some people only lasted half a day.
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The book also claimed staff were left embarrassed by what
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was described as freebee grabbing behavior, alleging Ferguson rarely paid
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for anything and often expected products and services at no cost.
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Other claims in the report alleged employees often had to
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buy things using their own credit cards while working for
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the Duchess. The Crown could soon return to television screens,
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with reports suggesting Netflix has approved a new series exploring
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the years between Queen Victoria's death in nineteen oh one
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and Princess Elizabeth's wedding in nineteen forty seven. The new
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project would reportedly examine major royal and historical events, including
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the two World Wars, the abdication crisis involving Edward the Eighth,
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and the accession of King George the six. Royal historian
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Hugo Vickers doesn't seem excited, telling the Express, it is
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depressing that the Crown may be returning to hornt Ow's screens.
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I doubt the royal family will be concerned. However, they
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are aware of what the Crown makers are likely to
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be up to. Vickers had previously said, I really hate
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the series. The problem is that they are real people,
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and the incidents either happened or nearly did, so the
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show is making things up and presenting it as fact.
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I completely understand that fiction can help you understand the truth,
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but it shouldn't pervert facts. One of the problems with
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The Crown is that it's beautifully acted and beautifully filmed.
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It all looks very convincing. I have no issue with
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the timeline, but I do take issue with the character presentation.
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Diana is assured they are obviously thinking of the American market.
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Prince Charles beforehand was an angry whimp, whereas in this
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series he is rather sympathetic. The Queen comes out of
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this very badly. They make us seen like a reactionary frump,
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and unfortunately, Prince Philip is portrayed curmudgeonly, which is the
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opposite of the real Prince Philip. Series creator Peter Morgan
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has previously defended his approach to historical storytelling. Morgan said,
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I sort of have in my head a twenty year
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rule that is enough time and enough distance to really
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understand something, to understand its role, to understand its position,
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to understand its relevance. Often things that appear absolutely wildly
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important today are instantly forgotten, and other things have a
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habit of sticking around, like to email us or addresses
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the Palace intric at gmail dot com. Please follow us
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on Apple or Spotify, and you can leave a comment
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on Spotify. If you're in the mood, I am Mark
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Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Entry
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and good damns