April 17, 2025

Why is the media bringing up Succession and Abdication all of a sudden?

Show Notes
Transcript

Interestingly, there has been a run of Abdication/Succession articles. There are no coincidences in royal circles.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry has spoken publicly for the first time about the success of Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand *American Riviera Orchard*, launched under the label *As Ever*, which sold out its debut product line in under an hour.In an exclusive interview with *PEOPLE* magazine, the Duke of Sussex said, “I am so happy for my wife and fully support absolutely everything she’s done and continues to do. I’m incredibly proud.”

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Callaroga Shark Media.

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Hi, and welcome through Pallace Intrigue. I am your host,

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Mark Francis. Prince Harry has spoken publicly for the first

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time about the success of Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand, American

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Riviera Orchard, launched under the label as Ever, which sold

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out its debut product line in under an hour. In

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an exclusive interview with People magazine, the Duke of Sussex said,

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I am so happy for my wife and fully support

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absolutely everything she's done and continues to do. I'm incredibly proud.

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The remarks come as Meghan's business ventures continued to expand,

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including her Netflix series With Love Meghan, which premiered in March,

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and a new podcast entitled Confessions of a Female Founder.

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Harry is acutely aware of the parallels between Meghan's current

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situation and that of his late mother, Diana, says at

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Wales It echoes the painful history of his childhood, writes People.

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Diana lost her royal protection following her divorce and died

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in a Paris car crash while being chased by paparazzi. Harry,

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it has said, is determined that history not repeat itself.

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Harry's once close relationship with his father has grown so

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strained that the Duke of Sussex was reportedly unaware of

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the King's most recent hospital stay, learning of it only

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through news coverage. Despite both men being in the United

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Kingdom at the same time. Last week, the father and

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son did not meet. It is now said that they

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have not seen one another in person for over a year,

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and since the King revealed his cancer diagnosis, the gulf

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between them has only widened. Friends close to Harry have

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told People magazine that his attempts to contact his Majesty,

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including calls and letters, have gone and answered. Charles has

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been unavailable during Harry's last three visits to the UK,

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one source told the magazine. Another palace insider was blunt, stating,

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I don't think there is any reproachment. A second added simply,

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they are distant. To be fair to Charles, he wasn't

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so much unavailable last week as he was in Italy

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for a long planned, well announced trip. Curiously, Harper's Bizarre

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went with the story about succession planning. Royal author Tom

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Quinn tells half as bizarre. The people I've spoken to

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have said that the succession planning, as they call it

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began even before charles diagnosis. I mean, he's the oldest

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to Prince of Wales to become king in history. So

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succession planning had begun before Charles came to the throne,

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simply because of the age issue. Officials and the aides,

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people who work very closely with William and Kate and Charles,

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they are all conscious that William might have to become

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king earlier than expected, partly the cancer. Partly simply because

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Charles is seventy six. He could go on another ten years,

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he could go on for twenty. But with the cancer diagnosis,

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it's a wake up call. Robert Hartman, author of Charles

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the Third, New King, New Court, The Inside Story, notes

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that while Charles waited longer than any air in British history,

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that time wasn't spent in any formal preparation for the throne.

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It's always a role where you learn by example. Hardman says,

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Quinn concurs observing they're preparing William by giving him more

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of his sort of work that Charles would do. Obviously,

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the cancer diagnosis has made everything more urgent. Christopher Anderson,

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author of The King, The Life of Charles the Third,

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provides a sobering assessment. The palace is putting on a

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good front, but the situation in reality is still very fluid.

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When it comes to the King, it's still touch and go.

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While the King has shown a little sign of slowing

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down continuing engagements abroad and at home, there are increasing

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signs of strain. Anderson says Queen Camella still worries that

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her husband is perhaps pushing himself too hard. Nobody really

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expected him to be an ideal patient. King Charles has

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always been very impatient and is accustomed to getting his

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way at all times. Anyone who thought he would obey

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his doctors and take it easy indefinitely doesn't the man. Indeed,

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less than two weeks after a hospitalization in March, Charles

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was on a plane to Italy. The pace of his

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reign hasn't changed since it started. Since hardman life is

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carrying on as it would have done if he hadn't

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had the cancer. I think the best way of putting

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it is he's living with cancer rather than suffering from cancer.

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Sally Bedell Smith, author of Prince Charles, The Passions and

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Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, reveals the night of his

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March twenty seventh hospitalization. He came back to Clarence House,

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he had dinner with Queen Camilla, and then he proceeded

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to do what he does every night, which his work.

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That's just an indication of how committed he is to

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doing his job with every ounce of energy he has.

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It's safe to say that, even though he's working as

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hard as he always has, that he doesn't appear to

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be quite as robust as he once was. But then again,

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he's getting older. Bedell Smith also confirms that discussions about

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the succession are very much taking place and that Charles himself,

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like his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, is involved. I think

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he is probably measuring the rest of his time in

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years rather than decades, she says. And as for the Waleses,

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I think they're very much aware that their time as

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Prince and Princess of Wales may be limited. Bedell Smith

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adds it's probably safe to assume that they're preparing for

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it sooner rather than later. Interestingly, this was the second

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such story of the week Fox News had flat out

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talked about abdication. Royal expert Hillary Fordage told Fox News

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Digital Prince William has been assuming more responsibilities, and there

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have been preparations for more transitions of responsibility. Both Prince

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William and Princess Catherine have been ready to assume leadership

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roles with an accelerated schedule of preparation for their future

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positions as King and Queen, but most certainly they are

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not in any way actively seeking an immediate ascension the

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entire family. All senior roles more focused on the best

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interests of the monarchy's stability and continuity, hence all being

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content with the gradual transition rather than any immediate decisions.

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The only definite thing is that an abdication would be

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a significant departure from all tradition. She pointed to the

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last abdication, King Ebert the Eighth nineteen thirty six. You

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know the guy who gave it all the way for

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the love of his life, an American devor say, as

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a reminder of the turmoil such a move can bring.

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Fortage said, the last time I Royal abdicated, it caused

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the crisis in the UK, something firm won't want to repeat.

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Given his mother's values, King Charles is most likely to

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do all he can to continue serving, dedicating himself to

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duty royal biographer Ingrid Seward agrees that the king remains

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steadfast despite his diagnosis, telling Newsweek, the trouble is has

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been so conditioned to work that I don't think he

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functions unless he's working. When he's not working, he's probably

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a bit all over the place. He's always working. And

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it's not just as nature had taken afternoon nap, which

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I'm sure Camilla is trying to make him do. Cancer

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treatment makes you very, very tired. The trouble is it's

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his duty as monarch to do these stifling, boring handshakes

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with incoming and outgoing ambassadors. How boring that must be.

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I would think that's very exhausting. But the only way

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he could slow down is if someone took over some

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of his official roles as monarch. If someone could take

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some of that away from him, I think his life

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would be easier. Queen Elizabeth the Second's final official royal

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engagement was meeting with Liz Truss on September sixth, twenty

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twenty two of Boumorral Castle, where she formally appointed Truss

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as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This

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took place just two days before her death or palaceing

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just a moment. When we last checked on Wednesday morning,

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Megan's podcast had fallen to number eleven on the US

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Apple Podcast charts, despite having released an episode on Tuesday. Normally,

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a new episode will cause a series to go up.

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A check of the Spotify chart had it at number

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twenty one. Confessions of a Female Founder has drawn scrutiny

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over its early morning release strategy in the United Kingdom,

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a choice that has left at least one Royal commentator

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scratching his head. Royal expert Richard fitz Williams told The

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Express that releasing episodes between eight and nine am UK

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tyan equating to just after midnight in California doesn't make sense,

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particularly for a show that appears tailored to an American audience.

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This strategy doesn't make sense, and the listening figures are

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not impressive either, he said bluntly. We checked in with

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an American podcasting executive, who told us Fitzwilliams is wrong.

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You drop a show at three am East, which is

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midnight Pacific, so that it shows up as today in

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all podcast apps. The American audience is way bigger than

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the UK audience. Megan's right on this one. Fitz Williams

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also questioned who Megan thought would be tuning in at

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that hour in the UK, especially as the show launched

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with an interview with Whitney Wolf heard the co founder

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of dating app Bumble. Hardly typical breakfast fare for the

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British commute. Surely a time to suit a potential audience

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in the US would have been more sensible, he said.

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Our executive added, I don't think mister Fitzwilliams understands how

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podcasts work. Royal expert Mark Borkowski tells the son that

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Megan appears. One could argue that's a major success because

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it keeps her in this sort of public gaze and

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keeps the global media obsessed about his story, whether it's

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the President of the United States or Megan Markel. It's

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all about noise now. But you know, what are the

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cut through messages? And I don't think we've seen that

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with Megan at the moment, because everything seems to be

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the next thing that's thrown against the wall hoping it

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will stick. Any large personality can generate a huge instant following,

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But how do you stop being boring? What did Trump say?

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Everybody needs a little crazy and there you have it.

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Face the email us. Our addresses the Palace Injury at

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Why is the media bringing up Succession and Abdication all of a sudden?

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