December 11, 2025 • 10 mins
Meghan has finally managed to get a private letter to her father after days of trying to reach him, with her team accusing the Daily Mail of making discreet contact nearly impossible. An Express columnist criticises the email approach, calling it a “box-ticking exercise” while revisiting the long-running tensions inside the Markle family. Harry and Meghan also release a statement praising Australia’s ban on under-sixteens using social media, saying the move protects children but doesn’t solve tech’s deeper problems. The couple add a surprise new Netflix documentary to their slate, Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within, celebrating a Ugandan dance collective they’ve long supported. A PR expert argues Meghan should embrace the Hollywood model more openly. Meanwhile, King Charles launches a new line of royal Christmas ornaments and attends an Advent service at Westminster Abbey, speaking of “light, hope and peace.” Princess Anne earns praise for signing her Christmas card simply as “Anne and Tim,” a modest gesture that fans call quintessentially her.
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Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.
Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.
👑 Follow our hit series Crown and Controversy! Season 1 and 2 are fully available now for everyone. Season 3 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 3 BEFORE REGULAR LISTENERS as a subscriber! Hit that "UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING" Banner on the top of the Apple player. AND listen to Crown and Controversy "NORWAY'S ROYAL REBELS" here and get the full season as a premium subscriber now.
👑 The Palace Intrigue Social Hub is Live! Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram or click the links to start your royal journey!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Callarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I
am your host, Mark Francis. After several days of attempting
to make private contact, the Duchess of Sussex has now
succeeded in sending correspondence to her father. Meghan had been
unable to confirm which hospital her father was in, prompting
(00:25):
her personally to telephone medical facilities in the Philippines in
an effort to match the hospital logo visible on his
gown in published photographs. In a statement on Wednesday, Meghan's
spokesperson said the Duchess had managed to get a letter
to her father and accused The Daily Mail of breaching
clear ethical boundaries. They said, given that a Daily Mail
(00:49):
reporter has remained at her father's bedside throughout broadcasting each
interaction and breaching clear ethical boundaries, it has been exceedingly
difficult for the dutch Is to contact her father privately.
Despite her efforts over the past several days, with the
support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now
(01:10):
safely in his hands. Megan and her father have remained
estranged for more than six years. Mister Markle has never
met either of the Sussex's children, Archie and Lillabet, and
has not met Prince Harry. Express columnists Meeker Smiles writes,
let's cut a long story short. She didn't do what
(01:30):
any normal person would do and give her dad a call. No,
that would be too easy and means she'd actually have
to speak to him. Her representatives say she contacted him
via wait for an email. Now, I'm sorry, but anyone
who has been on the planet for the last few
years knows that sending someone an email is about as
effective as launching a carrier pigeon with a handwritten note.
(01:52):
I receive thousands a day, and the likelihood of being
sent anything of even vague importance to my personal email
addresses pretty slim. And if I just had a major operation,
the last thing I'd be doing is trawling through Black
Friday spam offers clogging up my inbox. So, yes, she
reached out awful phrase, by the way on paper. In reality,
(02:15):
what Meghan did had all the sincerity of a box
ticking exercise. Initially, like many I'd imagine, I wondered why
on earth she hadn't hopped on the next plane to
the Philippines, where he's currently in hospital. But then this
sad story got darker. Let's not forget why Meghan and
Thomas's relationship initially went sour. He set up pretend paparazzi
(02:36):
shots of him preparing for his daughter's wedding for cash.
Since then, her father, sister, and brother have popped up here, there,
and everywhere, taking potshots at her at every given opportunity.
So do I believe Meghan's version of events has always
been entirely truthful? No? But do I blame her for
wanting to put distance between herself and this mad circus? Not? Really? Yes,
(02:59):
It's incredibly sad. After all. At one point, her dad
came across as being the kind of father a girl
could rely on. Now it seems his vulnerability has left
him wide open to manipulation. If I could give Megan
one piece of advice for once, when the press came
calling on Friday, a simple we won't be commenting on
this private issue would have more than sufficed. Harry and
(03:20):
Meghan have issued a new statement through their Archwell Foundation,
responding to Australia's decision to ban under sixteens from accessing
social media platforms. Their message said, we celebrate Australia's leadership
for seeing and acting on how these technology companies are
negatively impacting young people with little to no recourse or
accountability and feeble efforts from the companies to stem the
(03:43):
flow of harms. Under the new measures, major platforms face
flanes of up to forty nine point five million dollars
if they failed to take reasonable steps to disable underage accounts.
The couple continued This bold, decisive action to protect children
at a critical moment in their development sends a strong
signal that a child's mind is not a commodity to
(04:05):
be exploited. It buys young people valuable time back in
their childhoods, but it doesn't fix the fundamental issue we
all still face with social media platforms. Here's the truth.
The ban is an effective measure to stop imminent harm,
but ultimately only works as a band aid that does
not address tax's broken design and exploitive business incentives requiring
(04:27):
us to protect young people in the first place. We
hope this ban is only the start of a reckoning
between society and the tech companies that built these platforms
with growth as their first principle instead of safety. We
look forward to the next step to hold tech accountable
for its design choices, and hope leadership of new technologies
learn the lessons of failing to prioritize the well being
(04:49):
of young people. The world is watching to see if
they'll finally take responsibility and make the changes the world
so desperately needs. Harry and Megan have quietly added a
new project to their Netflix slate, releasing a documentary titled
Masaka Kids. A rhythm within. The film tells the story
of the Uganda based dance collective whose young performers have
(05:13):
endured extraordinary hardship, including the effects of famine and conflict,
and who have found strength and joy through music and movement.
The couple served as producers and last month donated fifty
thousand dollars to the Masaka Kids Africana through their Archwell
Foundation via go fund Me. When the documentary was first announced,
(05:33):
a spokesperson for the Sussexes explained how the project came
to their attention, saying they would watch the videos regularly
with Archie at home, so they were already admirers of
the organization before the film project came to them. Men
twenty twenty three, pr expert Ria Freeman tells the express.
We continually get told more and more about Megan's missteps
(05:56):
and how disasters her show's projects are, and yet she
keeps going to make them, so we have to assume
that maybe, just maybe it's not as bad as many
would like to believe. Personally, I feel they should fully
lean into the Hollywood side of life, embrace social media
fully rather than just as and when it's needed, and
give people who want to like them a chance to
(06:17):
get to know them better in a less edited way.
Take inspiration from the successful reality stars of Hollywood, the
Kardashians being a prime example, and learn some lessons there.
I appreciate for a long time the couple have asked
for privacy, but their actions don't echo this. I feel
the best course of action would be to really lean
(06:38):
into it, as I feel that more opportunities, maybe even
better headlines, could come from that in the long term.
What palace in just a moment? Megan isn't the only
Royal entrepreneur. King Charles has introduced a new range of
Royal themed Christmas tree decorations through the Royal Collection Trust,
(07:00):
offering festive ornaments inspired by Buckingham Palace, windsor castle and
symbols close to the royal family. The collection includes a
Buckingham Palace for Sad decoration made from white velvet crystals
and traditional Zardozi embroidery for forty pounds, a Buckingham Palace
State coach ornament for twenty four pounds, and a Windsor
Castle facade decoration also twenty four pounds, crafted with velvet, gold,
(07:24):
thread and beading. The most expensive item is the Coronation
Limited Addition Bauble, an eighty five pound fine bone China
ornament produced in a run of one thousand. Decorated by
hand with the Royal coat of arms, national emblems and
twenty two carrot gold. It commemorates the coronation of King
Charles and Queen Camilla in twenty twenty three. King Charles
(07:47):
has attended an annual Advent service at Westminster Abbey, joining
senior Christian clerics from the UK and the Middle East
for what he described as a celebration of light, hope
and above all, the peace of the season. Thereation drawn
from churches across the country gathered at the abbey to
mark the run up to Christmas. In a forward to
the official Order of service, the King, who is a
(08:08):
committed Anglican and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, wrote,
it is a great joy to gather with you in
the most glorious setting of Westminster Abbey as we celebrate
the light, hope, and above all, the peace of this
season of advent. This period is one of preparation, of
readying ourselves and looking forward to the wonder of Christ's birth.
(08:28):
Today we gather for prayer, reflection and music, and to
celebrate the good news in which all Christians rejoice, those
around us and those in areas where it is not
easy to live out one's faith. I am so pleased
to be joined by church leaders from across the UK
and Middle East, leaders of other faiths, charity representatives and
so many of you who contribute to your communities in
(08:49):
myriad ways. Princess Anne has won praise from Royal watchers
for the understated way she chose to sign her annual
Christmas card. The Princess Royal's Festive mess surfaced online after
it was shared by an Australian state governor who had
received it following Anne's recent visit. The card features a
photograph of Anne and her husband, Sir Tim Lawrence, taken
(09:10):
during their landmark trip to sark As the Channel Islands
marked Liberation Day in May. Shot by photographer Aaron Chown,
it shows the couple smiling as they travel by horse
and carriage towards La coupee. Inside the greeting reads simply
with best wishes for a happy and peaceful Christmas and
New Year from Anne and Tim. The absence of Anne's
(09:33):
title immediately caught the attention of royal fans and commentators,
who applauded the modesty of the gesture. No need to
blow the trumpet with princess's title, and yet so impactful.
I like it, wrote one person. Another remarked, real royals
don't need to announce themselves. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told
The Daily Mail the card struck the right tone, saying
Anne needs no one to blow a trumpet for her.
(09:56):
The informal photograph of her and her husband, in aid
to life fully bucolic setting, sets the tone for the
simple greetings from Ann Tim. Some observers drough comparisons with
Megan Markle's frequent use of her Duchess title despite no
longer being a working royal, and there you have it.
Would like to email us addresses the Palace Intrigue at
gmail dot com and don't forget you can get this
(10:20):
show commercial free, along with hundreds, if not thousands of
others from Calirouger Shark Media. Just go up top there
on the Apple Player and look for the button that
says listen uninterrupted and you can get this show and
bonus series before anybody else, commercial free. It's just four
ninety nine a month. You can try it out for
a month free if you want. Makes a great Christmas
(10:43):
present for yourself. Oh my, Francis my thanks to John McDermott.
This is Palace Intrigue and contains
Callarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I
am your host, Mark Francis. After several days of attempting
to make private contact, the Duchess of Sussex has now
succeeded in sending correspondence to her father. Meghan had been
unable to confirm which hospital her father was in, prompting
(00:25):
her personally to telephone medical facilities in the Philippines in
an effort to match the hospital logo visible on his
gown in published photographs. In a statement on Wednesday, Meghan's
spokesperson said the Duchess had managed to get a letter
to her father and accused The Daily Mail of breaching
clear ethical boundaries. They said, given that a Daily Mail
(00:49):
reporter has remained at her father's bedside throughout broadcasting each
interaction and breaching clear ethical boundaries, it has been exceedingly
difficult for the dutch Is to contact her father privately.
Despite her efforts over the past several days, with the
support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now
(01:10):
safely in his hands. Megan and her father have remained
estranged for more than six years. Mister Markle has never
met either of the Sussex's children, Archie and Lillabet, and
has not met Prince Harry. Express columnists Meeker Smiles writes,
let's cut a long story short. She didn't do what
(01:30):
any normal person would do and give her dad a call. No,
that would be too easy and means she'd actually have
to speak to him. Her representatives say she contacted him
via wait for an email. Now, I'm sorry, but anyone
who has been on the planet for the last few
years knows that sending someone an email is about as
effective as launching a carrier pigeon with a handwritten note.
(01:52):
I receive thousands a day, and the likelihood of being
sent anything of even vague importance to my personal email
addresses pretty slim. And if I just had a major operation,
the last thing I'd be doing is trawling through Black
Friday spam offers clogging up my inbox. So, yes, she
reached out awful phrase, by the way on paper. In reality,
(02:15):
what Meghan did had all the sincerity of a box
ticking exercise. Initially, like many I'd imagine, I wondered why
on earth she hadn't hopped on the next plane to
the Philippines, where he's currently in hospital. But then this
sad story got darker. Let's not forget why Meghan and
Thomas's relationship initially went sour. He set up pretend paparazzi
(02:36):
shots of him preparing for his daughter's wedding for cash.
Since then, her father, sister, and brother have popped up here, there,
and everywhere, taking potshots at her at every given opportunity.
So do I believe Meghan's version of events has always
been entirely truthful? No? But do I blame her for
wanting to put distance between herself and this mad circus? Not? Really? Yes,
(02:59):
It's incredibly sad. After all. At one point, her dad
came across as being the kind of father a girl
could rely on. Now it seems his vulnerability has left
him wide open to manipulation. If I could give Megan
one piece of advice for once, when the press came
calling on Friday, a simple we won't be commenting on
this private issue would have more than sufficed. Harry and
(03:20):
Meghan have issued a new statement through their Archwell Foundation,
responding to Australia's decision to ban under sixteens from accessing
social media platforms. Their message said, we celebrate Australia's leadership
for seeing and acting on how these technology companies are
negatively impacting young people with little to no recourse or
accountability and feeble efforts from the companies to stem the
(03:43):
flow of harms. Under the new measures, major platforms face
flanes of up to forty nine point five million dollars
if they failed to take reasonable steps to disable underage accounts.
The couple continued This bold, decisive action to protect children
at a critical moment in their development sends a strong
signal that a child's mind is not a commodity to
(04:05):
be exploited. It buys young people valuable time back in
their childhoods, but it doesn't fix the fundamental issue we
all still face with social media platforms. Here's the truth.
The ban is an effective measure to stop imminent harm,
but ultimately only works as a band aid that does
not address tax's broken design and exploitive business incentives requiring
(04:27):
us to protect young people in the first place. We
hope this ban is only the start of a reckoning
between society and the tech companies that built these platforms
with growth as their first principle instead of safety. We
look forward to the next step to hold tech accountable
for its design choices, and hope leadership of new technologies
learn the lessons of failing to prioritize the well being
(04:49):
of young people. The world is watching to see if
they'll finally take responsibility and make the changes the world
so desperately needs. Harry and Megan have quietly added a
new project to their Netflix slate, releasing a documentary titled
Masaka Kids. A rhythm within. The film tells the story
of the Uganda based dance collective whose young performers have
(05:13):
endured extraordinary hardship, including the effects of famine and conflict,
and who have found strength and joy through music and movement.
The couple served as producers and last month donated fifty
thousand dollars to the Masaka Kids Africana through their Archwell
Foundation via go fund Me. When the documentary was first announced,
(05:33):
a spokesperson for the Sussexes explained how the project came
to their attention, saying they would watch the videos regularly
with Archie at home, so they were already admirers of
the organization before the film project came to them. Men
twenty twenty three, pr expert Ria Freeman tells the express.
We continually get told more and more about Megan's missteps
(05:56):
and how disasters her show's projects are, and yet she
keeps going to make them, so we have to assume
that maybe, just maybe it's not as bad as many
would like to believe. Personally, I feel they should fully
lean into the Hollywood side of life, embrace social media
fully rather than just as and when it's needed, and
give people who want to like them a chance to
(06:17):
get to know them better in a less edited way.
Take inspiration from the successful reality stars of Hollywood, the
Kardashians being a prime example, and learn some lessons there.
I appreciate for a long time the couple have asked
for privacy, but their actions don't echo this. I feel
the best course of action would be to really lean
(06:38):
into it, as I feel that more opportunities, maybe even
better headlines, could come from that in the long term.
What palace in just a moment? Megan isn't the only
Royal entrepreneur. King Charles has introduced a new range of
Royal themed Christmas tree decorations through the Royal Collection Trust,
(07:00):
offering festive ornaments inspired by Buckingham Palace, windsor castle and
symbols close to the royal family. The collection includes a
Buckingham Palace for Sad decoration made from white velvet crystals
and traditional Zardozi embroidery for forty pounds, a Buckingham Palace
State coach ornament for twenty four pounds, and a Windsor
Castle facade decoration also twenty four pounds, crafted with velvet, gold,
(07:24):
thread and beading. The most expensive item is the Coronation
Limited Addition Bauble, an eighty five pound fine bone China
ornament produced in a run of one thousand. Decorated by
hand with the Royal coat of arms, national emblems and
twenty two carrot gold. It commemorates the coronation of King
Charles and Queen Camilla in twenty twenty three. King Charles
(07:47):
has attended an annual Advent service at Westminster Abbey, joining
senior Christian clerics from the UK and the Middle East
for what he described as a celebration of light, hope
and above all, the peace of the season. Thereation drawn
from churches across the country gathered at the abbey to
mark the run up to Christmas. In a forward to
the official Order of service, the King, who is a
(08:08):
committed Anglican and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, wrote,
it is a great joy to gather with you in
the most glorious setting of Westminster Abbey as we celebrate
the light, hope, and above all, the peace of this
season of advent. This period is one of preparation, of
readying ourselves and looking forward to the wonder of Christ's birth.
(08:28):
Today we gather for prayer, reflection and music, and to
celebrate the good news in which all Christians rejoice, those
around us and those in areas where it is not
easy to live out one's faith. I am so pleased
to be joined by church leaders from across the UK
and Middle East, leaders of other faiths, charity representatives and
so many of you who contribute to your communities in
(08:49):
myriad ways. Princess Anne has won praise from Royal watchers
for the understated way she chose to sign her annual
Christmas card. The Princess Royal's Festive mess surfaced online after
it was shared by an Australian state governor who had
received it following Anne's recent visit. The card features a
photograph of Anne and her husband, Sir Tim Lawrence, taken
(09:10):
during their landmark trip to sark As the Channel Islands
marked Liberation Day in May. Shot by photographer Aaron Chown,
it shows the couple smiling as they travel by horse
and carriage towards La coupee. Inside the greeting reads simply
with best wishes for a happy and peaceful Christmas and
New Year from Anne and Tim. The absence of Anne's
(09:33):
title immediately caught the attention of royal fans and commentators,
who applauded the modesty of the gesture. No need to
blow the trumpet with princess's title, and yet so impactful.
I like it, wrote one person. Another remarked, real royals
don't need to announce themselves. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told
The Daily Mail the card struck the right tone, saying
Anne needs no one to blow a trumpet for her.
(09:56):
The informal photograph of her and her husband, in aid
to life fully bucolic setting, sets the tone for the
simple greetings from Ann Tim. Some observers drough comparisons with
Megan Markle's frequent use of her Duchess title despite no
longer being a working royal, and there you have it.
Would like to email us addresses the Palace Intrigue at
gmail dot com and don't forget you can get this
(10:20):
show commercial free, along with hundreds, if not thousands of
others from Calirouger Shark Media. Just go up top there
on the Apple Player and look for the button that
says listen uninterrupted and you can get this show and
bonus series before anybody else, commercial free. It's just four
ninety nine a month. You can try it out for
a month free if you want. Makes a great Christmas
(10:43):
present for yourself. Oh my, Francis my thanks to John McDermott.
This is Palace Intrigue and contains
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