Kate and William Return to Work (Briefly) as Harry and Charles Plan Emotional Reunion

After a long summer aboard a secret superyacht, the Prince and Princess of Wales finally return to royal duties—with a photo-op at the Natural History Museum. But behind the scenes, reports say King Charles is preparing for a private meeting with Prince Harry, though William reportedly thinks it’s “a terrible idea.” Meanwhile, Meghan shares new behind-the-scenes photos of Archie and Lilibet to promote her Netflix series, raising eyebrows about whether the kids are off-limits—or part of the brand. Plus: another key ally steps away from Invictus, and critics are openly mocking Meghan’s latest reinvention as a “jam-making butterfly.”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Caloroga Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue and
your host Mark Francis. Kate and William realized that after
a summer of well, not working so much and hanging
out on a secret souperyard, it's time to feed the media.

(00:23):
The often vacationing royals will get in a few hours
of work taking on the exhausting task of visiting London's
Natural History Museum, their first official engagement since attending the
Wimbledon's men's final on the thirteenth of July, which they
needed six weeks vacation to recover from. Princess Catherine, who
serves as patron of the museum, will accompany Prince William
as they explore the newly transformed gardens designed to foster

(00:46):
biodiversity and inspire a deeper connection to nature. The couple
will meet with children and young people participating in the
museum's educational programs, including pupils from lewis Ham engaging in
a ponder dipping activity, and students from Manchester who have
created wildlife habitats as part of the National Education Nature
Park initiative. Expect lots of cute photos and the tabloids

(01:08):
falling over the relatable royals. More details about the super
yacht have come to light. According to the local Greek
outlet Keerfula knee Press, the superyacht is the Lady Beatrice,
a one hundred and ninety seven foot yacht once owned
by the late Barkley twins, former proprietors of the Daily Telegraph.
Named after their mother, the vessel is known for its

(01:30):
opulent interior, pinstriped sofas, faux Greek columns, and a dining
room ceiling painted in Renaissance Fresco style. It accommodates up
to sixteen guests, featuring dining areas across two decks and
a pool upper level. The yacht is now owned by
financier Peter Dubins, an investor in Thomas's Battersea, the London

(01:50):
School previously attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte. We're
not the only ones giving Kate and William a hard time.
Their long stretch away from royal duties, combined with the
recent reports of costly refurbishment at their Winds of residence,
Forest Lodge, has reportedly caused some frustration at the top.
Sources suggest King Charles has grown concerned about their reduced

(02:10):
public workload. The tension may have been compounded recently when
William initially declined to attend the funeral of Pope Benedict
the sixteenth, reportedly preferring to watch his football club Aston
Villa instead, a decision said to have irritated the King.
Some observers have wondered whether the publicity surrounding the Wales
family summer at sea is part of a broader effort

(02:32):
to apply pressure from within to maybe do some work.
A source from the US tells The Mirror that the
King will make time for Harry next week, but William
will not. Per this source, it's clear there is now
a determination on both sides to make this happen. Nobody
is pretending the wider family issues have been resolved, but
this is about beginning with Charles and Harry. For the

(02:55):
first time in a long time, there's a genuine sense
that reconciliation is within reach. Prince Harry's team in the
Palace have opened a line of communication and there is
every hope that father and son will see one another
when the Duke returns to London in September. After twenty
months apart, and with the King continuing his treatment, the
feeling is that the time is right to take that step.
This is not about grand gestures or set piece meetings.

(03:18):
It's about a simple face to face conversation between a
father and his son. The priority is privacy and dignity,
but also ensuring the door stays open for further dialogue.
As for Harry and William, though any chance of reconciliation
between them has been rejected out of hand, the Fleet
Street Fox writes in the Mirror, we're told Harry is
due to sit down with King Charles. Who knows where

(03:38):
or when, or whether an unwise podcast might yet derail things,
But a summit is on the cards. Wife Megan won't
be joining, Busy as she is scattering flower petals on food,
and Trilla lying about collecting eggs without every one's mentioning
who cleans out the chicken coop? Nor will Archie and Lilibet,
the latter of whom has never met her royal Grandpa
in the flash, and the former who probably can't re

(03:59):
met him. And what will happen is entirely predictable. A
parent who will always love their child no matter what
I wish to keep talking, coupled with a total lack
of trust on all sidnes that whatever is said once
somehow be weaponized to shore up a creaky monarchy or
upsell a minor Californian celebrity. And do you know, it
doesn't matter, because, as Harry once said so tastelessly, who

(04:22):
knows how long his father has left? Even cancer free
Charles are still seventy six. Perhaps he has the longevity
of his parents, but at best there's twenty years, a
long time, of course, But whenever he goes, Harry was
to have half his own life span left and will
be spending it in permanent exile. Very chilly willy for
the older prince never forgives. It is a remarkable feature

(04:42):
of William's backstory that whenever someone was less than perfectly
loyal and close lipped about him, they were mercilessly and
permanently shunned, And Harry did more damage of any of them.
He trashed Kate, trashed the monarchy, and even accues his
brother of starting a physical scrap over the rolling catastrophe
of Harry's marriage. Harry, his therapist, might call it consciously uncoupling,

(05:02):
but to William, it was the detonation of a nuclear
bomban twice as toxic. You'll never forgive the suggestion that
his wife made Megan Crayle, wondered about the skin color
of their first child, nor that his younger brothers should
have a role of any kind. And it's William who
will control the purse strings, William who will dictate protocol.
William will be the person Harry has to swear fealty too.

(05:26):
Other sources answer, sure a meeting will happen. Time will tell. Meanwhile,
Prince William reportedly believes a potential meeting between King Charles
and Prince Harry would be a terrible idea. According to
a friend who spoke to the Royalist column at the
Daily Beast, Ultimately, William is a loyal soldier. He respects
his father's rank, and he respects his father's a right
to make his own decisions, and he won't make a
fuss if it happens, the source said, But he thinks

(05:48):
a Harry meeting is a terrible, terrible idea. Tom Sykes
reports that one friend of the king said, whatever the
King does, he will make his relationship with one of
his son's worse reconciliation with Harry will be a provocation
to William, who has made it very clear he does
not believe Harry can be trusted. William was right about
Andrew and he is right about Harry. Charles is weak

(06:10):
more palace in just a moment. Harry has suffered another
setback involving one of his most closely associated projects, as
JJ Chalmers has stepped down as the trustee of the
Invictors Games Foundation. The Daily Mail reports the Charmers, a
former Royal Marines reservist and longtime friend of the Duke
of Sussex, left his position after just two years. Charmers,

(06:32):
who was seriously injured in a twenty eleven roadside bomb
attack in Afghanistan, went on to become a gold medallist
in the Invictors Games and later a familiar face on
British television, including a memorable stint on Strictly Come Dancing.
His departure from the board came as a surprise, though
he will reportedly continue to serve in an ambassadorial role.

(06:54):
The change at in Victors follows a turbulent period for
Prince Harry's other charity center, Ballei. In the Telegraph, William
Stillwell writes, the word Megan once sparked fury and senior
members of the royal family, but now it surely warrants
merely a snigger, sometimes coffee spat out at the breakfast
table as the belly wobbles in a fit of giggles,
rather than fear and loathing. With her latest series of

(07:15):
With Love and the Inevitable Royal Reflections, she seems to
have gone properly bonkers. So successful has the unresolved trauma
therapy that she and Harry so espoused ben that she
has now crafted a whole new absurdist memory of that
short period between her marriage to Harry and May twenty
eighteen and the January twenty twenty Megsit rebrand a series
of scenes in which she has the starring role was struggling,

(07:38):
constrained butterfly, aching to be set free from a brutal
family of stiff's, chained to the archaic rigamarole so called duty,
and in which she was forced to wear nude panteose
all the time. The idea of princesses being constrained in
royal palaces, ordered to wear specific tights and hairbands. Aside
from the hope that they be normal and nice to
the staff is the stuff of fairy tales. Harry may

(08:00):
have left the UK to avoid the prying eyes of
the paparazzi, but what if the enemy is coming from
inside the house. Meghan shared more photos of Prince Archie
and Princess Lilibet in an effort to promote her cooking show.
The Duchess posted the images on Instagram, revealing that a
children joined her during the filming season two. In one photo,
Archie and Littlebit are seen intently watching a screen, with

(08:20):
Archie holding sound equipment and little Bit her sit that
You're red hair visible, clutching what appears to be a
communications device. Another snap show is four year old Littlebet
seated behind these scenes, her back to the camera, while
a further image captures Archie holding eight director's clapboard with
his face obscured by a heart emoji. Meghan also included
a photo that appears to feature her late dog Guy,

(08:41):
as well as a cameo from her longtime friend Daniel Martin.
The captain read filming season two of With Love Meghan
was more fun than you can imagine. Pardon how he
kept the vibe alive? Music between sat up so I
would play a song from my phone, and today I
wanted to share some of the favorites I kept on rotation.
Add them to your plays, press shuffle and enjoy. Happy

(09:02):
Labor Day, weekend, work hard, play hard, and there you
have it. If you'd like to email us our addresses
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in and say hi. The link is also in the

(09:23):
show notes I Mike Francis, Thanks to John mcderman. This
Palace Intrigue and contains