Sept. 15, 2026

Will the Royal Family Wish Prince Harry Happy Birthday? New Questions as He Turns 42

Show Notes
Transcript

Prince Harry celebrates his forty-second birthday, but all eyes are on whether King Charles and the Royal Family will publicly acknowledge the occasion. We examine the growing speculation, a new Saturday Night Live UK parody of the Sussexes, reports of Harry settling into life in Britain, Meghan's first planned trip back to California, and fresh criticism from Piers Morgan over the couple's return.

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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. Happy birthday to Prince Harry, who is 42 today.

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Attention is already turning to whether the royal family will

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publicly wish him a happy birthday. The official accounts marked

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his 40th birthday two years ago, but did not post

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a message for his 41st. With Harry now reportedly back

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in Britain, any greeting or absence of one is likely

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to attract fresh speculation about relations with his father and brother.

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Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the Express that Charles faces

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an awkward choice. He has put the royal family in

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an impossible position. If they don't wish him a happy birthday,

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they look hostile or at least ambivalent. But Harry's birthday

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is just the start of what happens now when it

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comes to family occasions. What happens at Christmas? Are they

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invited to Sandringham? or Catherine's Christmas Carol concert. He has

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made things really difficult for the royal family who have

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been blindsided by his return. Harry and Meghan's return to

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Britain has become the opening joke of Saturday Night Live

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UK's second season. The sketch imagines the Sussexes arriving at

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Balmoral for an uncomfortable reunion with Charles and Camilla and

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wastes little time getting to their Netflix earnings. Daddy, says Harry,

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played by Jack Shep, I'm home. Larry Dean's King Charles replies...

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Don't tell me you've spent all your Netflix money already.

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It was 60 million, Harry answers. How long was it

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meant to last? Ayode Bangboye plays Megan with Emma Seedy

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as Camilla, whose welcome quickly becomes awkward. Hello, sweet Harry,

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she says. And beautiful Megan, as brown as ever. The

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sketch then turns to Megan's lifestyle television career. Hey, Step Queen,

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I brought you a gift. It's ice. I made it myself.

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I can give you the recipe. I'm kind of a

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whiz in the kitchen. Harry supplies the follow-up. It's true,

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she hires the best cooks. George Fouracres then enters as

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Andy Burnham, portrayed in the sketch as Prime Minister, to

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offer some reassurance about life outside the working royal family.

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Harry was reportedly spotted at Soho Farmhouse asking for a

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towel near the pool reception, a small detail from an

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ordinary outing, but royal journalist Tom Sykes believes it fits

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a broader effort to get Britain accustomed to having the

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Sussexes around again. Sykes approached the Sussex's office before publishing.

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He says they declined to comment and did not deny

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the account. What caught his attention was the tone of

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their response, which he described as less confrontational than previous

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exchanges about the couple's whereabouts. That silence does not confirm

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the citing, but Sykes interprets the exchange as a possible

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change in their approach to coverage. His theory is that

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these accounts of everyday outings serve a purpose. It's like

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exposure therapy. Drip, drip, drip. Megan's getting a coffee, Harry

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at the pool, they're around. In his view, repeated sightings

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could help make the couple's presence in Britain feel routine

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after the attention surrounding their reported return. He also points

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to a separate Daily Mail report by Alison Boshoff, whose

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unnamed source claimed, look, they expect to be let back in.

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Harry expects the royal family need him. Sykes was openly sceptical.

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This is the institution which he compared unfavourably to a zoo,

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which he escaped from on a freedom flight. and we're

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now told it needs him back and he's graciously prepared

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to accede if he's needed. Meghan is reportedly already planning

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her first trip back to California, just weeks after moving

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to Britain with Prince Harry and their children. Harry and

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Meghan arrived in Britain on August 26. Daily Mail senior

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editor Alison Bozhoff says, Meghan is going back to the US,

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by the way, here at half-term and in the holidays.

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Half-term is five weeks, so she's just dipping in and

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dipping out again. In five weeks' time, she'll be back

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in Montecito for a week. Then she'll come back, do

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another five weeks, another five weeks in a Cotswolds prison,

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and then back to Montecito for Christmas. Megan also offered

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a glimpse of family life in an Instagram reel, which

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opens with the couple holding hands. Megan turns toward the

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camera and says, Come on, you. Then come the countryside scenes.

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A fire, muddy boots, Lilibet riding her bicycle and Archie

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running alongside her as deer cross ahead. Harry can be

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heard calling, Archie. There is also a dog racing along

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a wooded path, followed by Harry and the children in

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a fishing boat. As a fish splashes in the water,

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Archie declares, I've got this. A Union Jack and a

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heart accompany the footage. There is no detailed explanation of

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the move or discussion of relations with the rest of

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the family. This is a collection of domestic moments, leaving

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the larger questions unanswered. Megan is reportedly missing life in

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California with an accountant. in InTouch claiming she has found

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the first weeks back in Britain difficult. She is very homesick,

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one source said. She misses her mom, her friends, the beach,

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even her chickens. The source claimed Meghan has more freedom

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in America, particularly when it came to ordinary outings. She

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can jump in the car to go shopping or meet

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someone for lunch without thinking too much about it, whereas

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she's more nervous about being out in public in England,

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so there's a real sense of isolation. Another unnamed source

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portrayed the relocation as a concession to her husband, claiming

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Meghan agreed to make Harry happy again. If she could

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go back home tomorrow, she would, the source said. That's

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just not in the cards, though. Even a quick business

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trip would be seen as an admission of failure. More

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pallets in just a moment. Piers Morgan accused Harry and

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Meghan of trying to create what he describes as a

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rival royal operation in Britain following their return from California.

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Speaking on the Royals Uncensored, Morgan argued that Harry and

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Meghan appear to want the profile associated with royalty despite

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having walked away from official royal duties. Speaking on the

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Royals Uncensored, Morgan argued that Harry and Meghan appear to

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want the profile associated with royalty despite having walked away

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from official royal duties. He called their position stinking hypocrisy

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and warned that their return could result in a rival

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royal family now in this country. Morgan said they couldn't

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have their royal cake and eat. He also seized on

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reports that the Sussexes would rather be called public figures,

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contrasting that with their complaints about the intense public attention

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they received before leaving Britain. You trash our country, you

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trash our family. In the Express, Carol Malone writes, This

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entitled pair seem to forget the King don't need their

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approval for anything he says about them. He can say

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what the hell he likes precisely because he's the King.

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I suspect Charles felt compelled to say what he did

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because he'd already got wind of what the couple were

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planning to do now they're back There had been boasts

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from Harry's camp that the pair were delighted they'd maneuvered

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the half-in, half-out deal they'd always wanted, and so the

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King had no choice but to disabuse them of that notion,

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and to make clear to everyone else that the terms

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of the Sandringham Summit Agreement remained exactly as they were

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in 2020. He also said that the couple's HRH titles

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remain in abeyance, translated, they can't use them or monetize them.

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But Harry and Meghan didn't like that, so they issued

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their own childish retort, saying then it wouldn't be called

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private citizens, but public figures. Charles has been decent enough

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to give them an audience, but it's clear he doesn't

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trust either of them. If he did, he'd never have

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had to make that statement public. He'd have had a

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quiet word with them, and said there was no way

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back into the firm. But he chose not to do

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that because he knows from past experience that recollections may

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vary about certain conversations, and that Harry and Meghan could

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very easily choose to misinterpret or ignore what had been

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said to them. So, to avoid any confusion... He made

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their status clear, and he made it public, and their

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response has been predictably childish. Instead of realizing that they

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have many bridges to build before they can be trusted again,

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instead of just saying graciously, we will respect the king's wishes,

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they chose instead to take him on in public, stroppily

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saying they want to be called public figures, not private citizens.

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Don't they get it? No one cares what they want anymore.

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They have no power here and no clout. In terms

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of the firm, they are nothing, and whatever demands they

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make as the private couple, they... Ah, will not be heeded,

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especially not by our long-suffering king. Harry and Meghan need

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to understand that the British public are over them. After

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years of slagging off the royal family, people have seen

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them for what they are. Arrogant, entitled, demanding, tone-deaf, and

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utterly selfish. There you have it. If you'd like to

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email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue at gmail.com. If you're

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We appreciate your support. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to

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John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue. Good times.

Will the Royal Family Wish Prince Harry Happy Birthday? New Questions as He Turns 42

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