Sept. 19, 2026

Will King Charles Attend Prince Harry’s 2027 Invictus Games Despite the New Sussex Feud?

Show Notes
Transcript

Will King Charles III open Prince Harry’s Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027? As Commander-in-Chief, could Charles feel obligated to support the military competition despite his latest dispute with Harry and Meghan Markle—and would appearing alongside the Sussexes blur the Palace’s insistence that they remain private citizens?
We also examine a growing religious controversy surrounding the King. Is Charles still “Defender of the Faith,” or is Buckingham Palace redefining him as a monarch who “protects the space for Faith” in a multi-faith Britain? Could Prince William eventually weaken—or eliminate—the sovereign’s traditional connection with the Church of England?

Plus, Ricky Gervais reveals what might persuade him to accept a knighthood; King Charles’s former gardener recalls accidentally swearing after addressing the new monarch incorrectly; and royal biographer Andrew Lownie urges Harry, Meghan, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson to surrender their titles.

Is Prince William preparing a smaller, more European-style monarchy—and has the Royal Family reached its “last chance saloon” for reform?

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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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Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host,

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Mark Francis. Ricky Gervais says he still does not know

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whether he would accept a knighthood, but the comedian has

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identified a few circumstances that might persuade him. In comments

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shared on his YouTube channel, Gervais said, If my mum

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was alive, I'd definitely do it. Would I do it now?

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Do I care? Does it matter? It doesn't matter. If

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it was close to my house, I might. Gervais described

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himself as neither a royalist nor an opponent of the monarchy.

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He compared the institution to tourism and called the idea

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of receiving a knighthood so irrelevant. There is, however, another

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possible incentive, annoying his critics. Oh, I might do it

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to annoy people. Maybe I would. All the people that

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would be really annoyed. That would just tip the balance.

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I like that. It's my favorite. If a knighthood meant

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like it did in the olden days, if I could

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ride around on a big horse with a sword, I'd

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take it. Gervais even joked that Buckingham Palace may already

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be trying to reach him. For all you know, they're

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calling me all the time and I'm going, nah. King

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Charles is facing criticism over how Buckingham Palace describes his

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relationship with the Church of England and Britain's other faiths.

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The debate was triggered by wording in the latest Sovereign

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Grant annual report. Instead of describing Charles simply by the

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traditional title, Defender of the Faith, the report says, His

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Majesty is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and

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protects the space for faith within the multi-faith nation. That

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change has upset some traditionalists. Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain

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to Queen Elizabeth, has accused Charles of deserting Christians and

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abandoning part of his religious responsibility that comes with being monarch.

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Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News that the wording

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has created considerable controversy. He said the traditional title should

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have remained, arguing... Defender of the Faith could have been

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followed by a language acknowledging modern Britain's many religions. Fitzwilliams

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was particularly unimpressed with the new phrase, saying, Whoever wrote

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Protects the Space for Faith Within the Multifaith Nation is

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no credit to the English language as this phrase is

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both weak and woke. Royal author Christopher Anderson says, The

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current king has long believed that no one religion has

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all the answers. He also knows that if he is

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going to have a big tent reign, then he can't

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leave non-Christians standing out in the cold. He's going to

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have to let Muslims and Hindus and Jews and Buddhists inside.

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Anderson argues that William may eventually go further than his

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father in reconsidering the monarch's traditional religious identity. He points

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to an incident when William enrolled at Eton in 1995

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and reportedly looked to his father for guidance when asked

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to write down his religion. Anderson concludes, if that is

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any indication, it is obvious that once they are king

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and queen, William and Kate will in all likelihood move

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to phase out the defender of the faith role altogether.

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Royal broadcaster Ian Pelham-Turner offered a similar assessment, saying, Fitzwilliams

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takes the opposite view and argues that weakening the monarch's

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connection with the Church of England would be a mistake.

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He said, Queen Elizabeth memorably compared the Church of England

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to an umbrella under which other faiths could flourish. The

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Church of England is clearly extremely weak. It is emphatically

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not in the royal family's interest, especially as we are

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the only monarchy in Europe to have a coronation to

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weaken it further. Charles may feel obligated to attend Prince

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Harry's and Victor's games in Birmingham next year, despite the

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latest disagreement between Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes. Harry has

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reportedly wanted his father at the opening ceremony of the

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2027 Games for some time. The event will be held

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primarily at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre from July 10th through

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July 17th, with the opening ceremony scheduled for July 10th.

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Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Express, If other

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countries followed Uganda in leaving Invictus, this would be serious.

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Harry wants King Charles to open the Games. Since the

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King is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and Invictus is

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an important military charity, he may well feel obliged to

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whatever his private views. On the other hand, the Sussexes'

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outrageous decision to come to Britain, for reasons which are

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still hotly debated, has led to a formal statement from

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the King which has reportedly displeased them. With the obvious

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danger that the royal family's work will be overshadowed by

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the unpredictable duo, and that, whereas relations could improve, they

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could also worsen, the future is unpredictable. Since Harry has

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lost Centre Bali and Africa Parks, he is left with

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Invictus as his major charitable activity. The king's former gardener

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says becoming monarch did not change the king nearly as

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much as he expected. Jack Stookes, who spent more than

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20 years working at Highgrove, recalled one awkward encounter shortly

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after Queen Elizabeth died and Charles became king. There had

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been a leak in Highgrove's irrigation system, something Stookes says

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Charles would have taken seriously because of his dislike of waste.

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Stukes said, we had a call about a leak in

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the irrigation system. The king hates any sort of waste,

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and losing water like this is a big no-no, so

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the gardeners rushed to fix it. While Stukes was working

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inside a bush, he heard someone approaching and suddenly realized

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it was Charles. And then muscle memory took over. I

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was a bit thrown, so I said, good evening, your highness,

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Stukes recalled. There was just one problem. Charles was no

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longer his royal highness, he was his majesty. Stukes immediately

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realized what he had done. As soon as I said it,

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I realized my mistake and panicked, and in a moment

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ended up swearing. He quickly corrected himself and addressed Charles

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as Your Majesty. But according to Stokes, the king was

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completely relaxed about the mistake. He was completely fine about it.

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He just told me it was okay and not to worry.

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He said he was still getting used to the change

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in title as well. He's a very kind man, and

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this is just one example of how understanding he is.

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I remember thinking that when Charles became king, they wouldn't

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see him as much. I thought his relaxed approach to

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life at home would change, but it didn't. He still

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spent a lot of time with the gardeners and was

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very hands-on. That didn't change, even when he took the crown.

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More palace in just a moment. Historian and royal author

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Andrew Lowney tells News 24, My advice to Harry and Meghan,

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and it would be the same advice to the Yorks,

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is to give up their titles and retire to basically

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a non-royal life. Not to monetize their royal position, but

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to actually get proper careers based on their abilities. He

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then broadened that criticism to include Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

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The problem is that none of those four people have

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any great ability, which is why they've had to use

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their royal status to make money. I think the advice

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would be to disassociate yourself from the royal family. I

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think William will eventually get rid of titles for those

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except in the direct line of succession. He will want

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a much smaller, more European-style monarchy. He's keen to get

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started with that sooner rather than later. He's rather frustrated

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because that his father hasn't made the changes that he

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thinks are necessary. Lowney believes the monarchy itself is approaching

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an important moment. I think they're at a crossroads. I mean,

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they can modernise, they can reform, they can win back

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trust and respect of the British public, which has been

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lost through the activities of people like Andrew and Sarah Ferguson,

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by being more transparent and accountable. There's a whole series

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of things that they could do. I think if they

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were to reform and make themselves fit for purpose in

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the 21st century, then I think they have a bright

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future ahead of them. But if they continue to stick

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their head in the sand to not complain or to

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explain and to carry on as they are with too

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little too late in terms of changes, then I think

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they're in the last chance saloon. And there you have it.

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If you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue

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My thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue. Good times.

Will King Charles Attend Prince Harry’s 2027 Invictus Games Despite the New Sussex Feud?

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