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Calarogu Shark Media, Hello and welcome through palace intrigue. I
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am your host, Mark Francis. A new security scare has
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reportedly triggered urgent concern around Windsor Castle after allegations surfaced
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that armed police officers guarding the royal residents were caught
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sleeping on duty and abandoning key security posts. According to
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Rada online, the Metropolitan Police have launched an internal investigation
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involving members of the Royalty and Specialist Protection Unit assigned
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to Windsor Castle. The report claims between twenty and thirty
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officers and now part of the inquiry. Once was familiar
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with the investigation said there was genuine concern internally that
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some office became complacent because Windsor can appear quiet for
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long stretches when senior royals are not constantly moving around
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the estate. The fear is not simply about officers nodding
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off the wader concern is that any lapse of the
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site acting members of the royal family could create an
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opening for somebody with far more dangerous intentions. One source
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claimed one of the claims being examined involves an officer
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allegedly signing in for an armed protection shift but then
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failing to properly attend the position they have been assigned
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to cover. It proven true. That's being viewed internally as
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an extremely serious lapse, given the sensitivity of the site
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and the level of responsibility attached to Royal protection duties.
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Another source familiar with the Royal security operations described a
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Windsor Castle as one of the most difficult Royal sites
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in the country to protect. The inside had said, You've
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got a vast estate to monitor, multiple access points, tourist
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traffic every day, staff coming and going constantly, official vehicles, deliveries,
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and major public events happening throughout the year. The fear
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among security professionals is that it only takes one lapse
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in concentration or one unattended position for somebody dangerous to
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exploit a weakness in the system. Meanwhile, Megan My's recent
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public appearances and promotional campaigns are reportedly triggering fresh security
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concerns among some observers, particularly because of her increasingly high
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profile display of expensive jewelry and design of fashion. A
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security consultant told Radar Online whenever somebody with Megan's global
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profile repeatedly displays extremely expensive jewelry, watches, and luxury items
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across social media and promotional campaigns. There will inevitably be
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conversations about whether it increases personal vulnerability. High profile figures
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are already targets for obsessive attention, and visible wealth can
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intensify those concerns. One security source claimed some believe she
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is unintentionally putting a target on her back for a
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kidnapping or heist by appearing draped and valuable jewelry almost
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everywhere she goes publicly. It's a day that ends in
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Ysomegan is facing criticism, this time after speaking about online
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harms affecting children, just days after posting a photograph featuring
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Prince US a little Bit on Instagram. Internet personality Samara
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Gill accused the Duchess of Sussex of hypocrisy following Meghan's
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speech in Geneva on online safety. Gil said, it is
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tone death. It's not a good thing to be doing
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when you're trying to lecture those on keeping children away
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from social media, having some really strong words towards the
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tech companies, and then going and doing quite the opposite.
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Speaking on the Sun's Royal Exclusive podcast ATV News, Royal
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editor Chris Shipp said, pick a lane either don't put
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your kids on social media at all or do it.
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But if you do it, that's your choice as a parent.
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It's not your child's choice to go on social media.
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It's a really difficult choice for parents. The comments came
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after Meghan traveled to Geneva to speak at the opening
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of the Lost Screen Memorial, an event focused on online
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harms and child safety. During the speech, Meghan described children's
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online safety as a public health issue. She warned children
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today are being shamed by systems designed to capture attention
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at any cost, relentless algorithms, exploitative engagement, and endless exposure
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to harmful content that they are not seeking out. Possibly
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as part of the safety initiative, Meghan shared a new
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video revealing the favorite jams of harrying their children posting
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on Instagram for her as Ever lifestyle brand, The Duchess
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spoke about the family's different preferences while promoting the company's
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fruit spreads. In the video, she shared, everyone in my
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family has a different favorite. My husband loves the raspberry,
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Lil loves the strawberry, and Arch likes both, and I
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like the Mamaalade. The Duchess referred to her children by
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the nicknames arch and Lil during the clip. The video
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showed Meghan preparing jam in her kitchen while wearing a
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dark top and apron, before cutting two shots of the
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products themselves, including orange Mama Laide. The accompanying caption read
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inspired by the jams Meghan has created in her own
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kitchen and shared over the years. Each spread reflects a
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small batch, carefully balanced approach to flavor. The post follows
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a series of personal family updates Megan has recently shared online,
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including photographs marking the Sussex's eighth wedding anniversary and earlier
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birthday tributes for Prince Archie. Pr expert Negie told The
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Express family content is incredibly powerful online because it creates
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emotional engagement. Prince also risky when you've previously spoken publicly
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about privacy and protecting children from media exposure. Speaking about
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children's online safety and then almost immediately increasing the visibility
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of Archie and Lulibet even indirectly opened her up to
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accusations of hypocrisy. Fair or unfair, consistency is crucial in
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personal branding, and audiences notice contradictions instantly. Columnist DANIELA Elsa
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points out this is the same digital coal face that
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she and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex have been
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chipping away at for years talking about the psychological and
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emotional cost of social media rampant. But here's the interesting bit,
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not the why where of Megan's appearance, or even who
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made her perfect black suit the money, of course, but
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what was going on in the background of the shots
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in Geneva, which is to say, nothing much. No mobs
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or hoardes on hand to witness the Duchess of Sussex
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give a deeply moving speech. Outside the metal barriers around
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the memorial passes by appeared to be just going about
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their day, generally unfussed the Daily Beast and the royalists.
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Tom Sykes, who was in Geneva, reported that there were
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sixty or seventy invited guests, but perhaps another fifty or
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sixty members of the public who had wandered in or
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stationed themselves at the edges. It was not embarrassing, but
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it was not, by any reasonable measure, a throng more palating,
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just a moment. Royal biographer Hugo Vickers claims Queen Elizabeth
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Icond that remained deeply concerned about Andrew in her final
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years and did not believe the allegations against him. Speaking
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to The Times, Vickers reflected on the late Queen's relationship
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with her second son while discussing his new book about Elizabeth,
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Beckaers said, Prince Andrew was the politest little boy you
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could possibly imagine. Okay, it changed, but you know, that's
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probably the little boy the queen saw, and he was
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good with the Queen. She was worried about him as well,
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worried what was going to happen to him. Thank God
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she didn't live to see what they did to him.
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In The Express, Royal commentator Rebecca Russell added, every legendary
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leader has to have a tragic floor. Achilles had his heel,
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a fellow was plagued by jealousy, Caesar had brutus, and
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Queen Elizabeth I she had Andrew. She truly was impeccable.
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There will never be another like her. It's not treacherous
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to admit that she had a blind spot on his
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substack Royal inside of deep crown rights, I understand why
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the documents keep arriving and why Elizabeth keeps getting pulled
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into the frame. The public appetite for a complete account
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of what happened and who knew and when is legitimate.
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The survivors of Epstein's network are owed a full accounting,
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and they do not begrudge them the pursuit of it.
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But there is a difference between a legitimate account and
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a retrospective trial conducted in newspaper columns, in which a
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woman who died in September twenty twenty two is asked
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to answer for decisions she can no longer explain or
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defend or contextualize. The documents tell us what was written.
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They do not tell us what was felt or feared
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or deliberately not examined. The gap is where Elizabeth actually lived,
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and it is a gap that no biography, however carefully researched,
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is going to close. Don't ask the dead to answer
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they cannot, And the questions we most want answered are
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precisely the ones that they took with them. And there
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you have it. Follow Palace Intrigue on Spotify as well
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as Apple and turn on notifications so you never miss
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an episode. And while you're there, leave us a comment
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on Spotify and let us know what you think about
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today's stories. I'm Mike Francis. No thanks to John McDermott.
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This is Palace intrigue and good times.