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<v Speaker 1>Calorogus shark media now Loo and welcome through palace intrigy game.

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<v Speaker 1>Your host Mark Francis the Telegraph wondered if it is

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<v Speaker 1>time to worry about King Charles. It is natural, perhaps inevitable,

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<v Speaker 1>that questions arise when a monarch cancels public engagements, as

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<v Speaker 1>his Majesty did last Friday in Birmingham. Yet those close

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<v Speaker 1>to the situation insists this is not a sign of deterioration,

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<v Speaker 1>but rather a moment of necessary pause. Aids say the

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<v Speaker 1>treatment is moving in a positive direction and stress that

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<v Speaker 1>the King remains deeply engaged in his duties. The precise

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<v Speaker 1>nature of his cancer remains undisclosed, fueling speculation as ever,

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<v Speaker 1>but that veil of mystery is as old as the

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<v Speaker 1>monarchy itself, and it is worth remembering it was the

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<v Speaker 1>King who personally chose to share his diagnosis in the

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<v Speaker 1>first place, something that would have been unimaginable. Pallace sources

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<v Speaker 1>say the current aim is to maintain the very encouraging

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<v Speaker 1>status quo. That phrase may not spark headlines, but it

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<v Speaker 1>does suggest cautious optimism, and despite the inevitable toll of treatment,

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<v Speaker 1>the King has continued to meet people stand for long

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<v Speaker 1>stretches at engagements, and even joke about the ordeal. During

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<v Speaker 1>a recent visit to Northern Ireland, he asked fellow patients

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<v Speaker 1>if they were managing to survive the side effects. All

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<v Speaker 1>write a frank admission, but delivered with the conroderie. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>most tellingly, when asked how he copes, the King offered

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<v Speaker 1>a phrase from Churchill, keep buggering on. It's hardly the

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<v Speaker 1>language of alarm, but it is the language of a

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<v Speaker 1>man who's determined to carry on. So how worried should

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<v Speaker 1>we be? Vigilant? Yes, but panicked? Not yet? In the express,

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<v Speaker 1>Emily Ferguson explains, Charles is from a generation of royals

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<v Speaker 1>who put the needs of the nation above their own,

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<v Speaker 1>as epitomized by Queen Elizabeth's two famous mantras, we have

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<v Speaker 1>to be seen to be believed, and never complain explain.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's perhaps the words of his late father, Prince

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<v Speaker 1>Philip that have stuck with him the most. No face

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<v Speaker 1>royal would often tell his children to just get on

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<v Speaker 1>with it, and his eldest son has certainly taken on

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<v Speaker 1>that stoic approach to life. Since his cancer diagnosis last February,

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<v Speaker 1>the King's hospital admission on Thursday is simply seen as

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<v Speaker 1>a bump in the road, and sources a King to

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<v Speaker 1>stress that his treatment continues in a positive direction and

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<v Speaker 1>there was no drama. In the Telegraph, Tessa Dunlop writes

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<v Speaker 1>about an increasingly isolated Harry. She tells us alongside Invictus

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<v Speaker 1>center Bali was an easy shorthand for understanding what makes

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<v Speaker 1>Harry tick. It was out of fundraising dinner for the

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<v Speaker 1>latter in January twenty twenty that the Prince gave his

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<v Speaker 1>farewell speech before he and Megant left Britain and the

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<v Speaker 1>royal family behind. We are taking a leap of faith,

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<v Speaker 1>he said, so thank you for giving me the courage

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<v Speaker 1>to take this next step. His princely offerings of polo

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<v Speaker 1>fundraisers and diplomatic glad handing already feel a little dated.

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<v Speaker 1>Recent successful trips to Nigeria and Columbia suggest that the

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<v Speaker 1>Duke has the connections to find new ways forward, but

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<v Speaker 1>Meghan's presence as a woman of color on both those

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<v Speaker 1>tours was transformative. However, these days, the Duchess has considerably

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<v Speaker 1>less time on her hands to lend her husband a

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<v Speaker 1>helping hand. Indeed, Meghan's extraordinary professional resilience only serves to

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<v Speaker 1>further highlight her Harry's current lost boy status. Seemingly imperturbable,

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<v Speaker 1>facing down the trolls on Gwyneth Paltrow's Instagram feed and

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<v Speaker 1>announcing a second series of With Love Meghan as the

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<v Speaker 1>hate watchers pushed her first series into Netflix's global top ten.

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<v Speaker 1>The Duchess is currently unstoppable. Meghan's marriage to Harry gave

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<v Speaker 1>her the X factor she needed to transfer from beat

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<v Speaker 1>list actor to a list celebrity. Sadly, the same cannot

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<v Speaker 1>be said for Harry. When he married Meghan and left

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<v Speaker 1>the British monarchy, he swapped royal royalty for celebrity and

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<v Speaker 1>naively believed that a life of service would prove a

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<v Speaker 1>straightforward affair outside protective palace walls. The reality suggests otherwise.

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<v Speaker 1>With the Invictus Games, Harry's one significant remaining trymph in

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<v Speaker 1>an increasingly dangerous world full of war and poverty. It

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<v Speaker 1>is tragic that our most able Prince of Hearts finds

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<v Speaker 1>himself not only without his honorary military roles, but is

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<v Speaker 1>now minus his flagship charitable mission in one of Africa's

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<v Speaker 1>poorest regions the Daily Mails. Richard Eden cheers that sentiment,

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<v Speaker 1>writing long ago, before he dreamed up the name Spare

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<v Speaker 1>for his score settling an embittered memoir, before he allowed

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<v Speaker 1>claims of racism to reverberate around the heads of an

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<v Speaker 1>outraged and offended royal family, and before even Meghan Markle

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<v Speaker 1>was a glint in his eye. The center of Prince

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<v Speaker 1>Harry's universe revolved around a charity he named Center Baling.

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<v Speaker 1>It brought a purpose and meaning to his at times

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<v Speaker 1>chaotic life, and it was therapeutic to a young man

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<v Speaker 1>still haunted by the death of his mother when he

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<v Speaker 1>was only twelve. After the nightclubs, bars and brawls, this

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<v Speaker 1>was Harry's coming of age moment, and in the absence

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<v Speaker 1>of a smoking gun about what may be behind this

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<v Speaker 1>extraordinary state of affairs of the charity. The accuations, along

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<v Speaker 1>with doctor Chan Dowker's claimed that the Prince was playing

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<v Speaker 1>the victim card by quitting his patron, is as bad

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<v Speaker 1>as it gets. Even in faraway Montecito, the impact of

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<v Speaker 1>her mockery will be impossible to escape. In one devastating passage,

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<v Speaker 1>she took a swipe without naming names at those in

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<v Speaker 1>this world who behave as though they are above the

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<v Speaker 1>law and mistreat people who but Harry could she have

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<v Speaker 1>had in mind, as she said of such people, that

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<v Speaker 1>they play the victim card and use the very press

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<v Speaker 1>they disdain to harm people who have the courage to

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<v Speaker 1>challenge their conduct. How richly piquant that playing the victim card,

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<v Speaker 1>all too familiar to anyone who has read Spare or

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<v Speaker 1>watched the Netflix Harry and Meghan series, should now be

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<v Speaker 1>applied to the prince more pallacy. Just a moment in

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<v Speaker 1>the news dot co dot au. Daniella also wonders what's

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<v Speaker 1>going on with Kate's ring. Danielle writes, over the last year,

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<v Speaker 1>the Princess of Wales's famous engagement ring has disappeared and

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<v Speaker 1>then real appeared repeatedly, Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it.

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<v Speaker 1>The perks of being a member of the royal family

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<v Speaker 1>are hard to miss. The castles, the diamonds, the size

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<v Speaker 1>of mint eas the never having to scrub your own

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<v Speaker 1>grout or remember to take the green bin out. But

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about the downsides, like the nearly unthinkable degree

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<v Speaker 1>of surveillance. It made international news in twenty sixteen and

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<v Speaker 1>again in twenty eighteen, when Kate, the Princess of Wales

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<v Speaker 1>appeared in public wearing small, discrete band aids on her fingers,

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<v Speaker 1>Not even the US President faces such an extreme sort

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<v Speaker 1>of bodily scrutiny. Why has in the six months since

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<v Speaker 1>she announced she was in remission for cancer, has it

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<v Speaker 1>appeared and then vanished, only for it to miraculously turn

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<v Speaker 1>up again. It's there, it's gone, it's there again, and

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<v Speaker 1>then wouldn't you know it's gone? Until twenty twenty four,

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<v Speaker 1>the Cadbury's cream egg sized sapphire and number was all

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<v Speaker 1>but welded onto her finger, only coming off on rare occasions,

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<v Speaker 1>such as for hygiene reasons when she visited a hospital.

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<v Speaker 1>The whole thing might come down to something as simple

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<v Speaker 1>and boring as comfort engagement ringers stunning, but would have

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<v Speaker 1>to be somewhat unwieldly to wear day in and day

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<v Speaker 1>out when trying to wrestle Prince Louis into his pe

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<v Speaker 1>here stuffing a pheasant for supper. Then again, the princess

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<v Speaker 1>wore the bleeding thing pretty much non stopped for more

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<v Speaker 1>than thirteen years without it seeming to bother her. So

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not quite sure if this theory stands up. It

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<v Speaker 1>looks like the hard working Wales family is planning to

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<v Speaker 1>take yet another vacation. As the Easter holidays approach, the

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<v Speaker 1>Prince and Princess of Wales are expecting to take another

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<v Speaker 1>pause from their royal engagements, spending time with Prince George,

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<v Speaker 1>Prince Charlotte and Prince Louis while the children enjoy their

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<v Speaker 1>school break. Reports now suggest Prince William may be making

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<v Speaker 1>a brief detour across the Channel to cheer on his

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<v Speaker 1>beloved Aston Villa as they take on Paris Saint Germain

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<v Speaker 1>in the Champions League quarter finals. William recently gave journalists

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<v Speaker 1>a knowing smile and a brief farewell, see you in

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<v Speaker 1>Paris before stepping into his car. His appearance in France

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<v Speaker 1>now seems increasingly likely, particularly following a report from Get

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<v Speaker 1>French Football News claiming that the PSG president Nassar l

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<v Speaker 1>Klaffi has extended an invitation to the Prince. We noticed

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<v Speaker 1>some royal shade being thrown out by inside a Deep

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<v Speaker 1>Crown when we asked him about Charles. Deep Crown tells

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<v Speaker 1>palace intrigue. This work until the end approach reflects the

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<v Speaker 1>traditional royal understanding. That the crown is a lifetime commitment,

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<v Speaker 1>not merely a job with scheduled holidays. While William's generation

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<v Speaker 1>may be redefining royal duties for a new era, Charles

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<v Speaker 1>remains firmly anchored in the service first doctrine that defined

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<v Speaker 1>his mother's reign. The monarchy has always walked a delicate

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<v Speaker 1>line between public duty and private suffering. King Charles appears

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<v Speaker 1>determined to follow this tradition, keeping the institution functioning despite

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<v Speaker 1>personal challenges, a commitment that will likely define his place

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<v Speaker 1>in royal history. And there you have it. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>email us and addresses the Palace Intrigue at a gmail

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple, or the

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<v Speaker 1>app of your choice and leave us a nice review

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<v Speaker 1>of five stars. If you're enjoying the show, don't forget

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<v Speaker 1>to check out our sister comedy podcast called Daily Comedy News,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's written and hosted by the writer of this show,

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<v Speaker 1>John McDermott affectionately known as Johnny Mack. And you can

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<v Speaker 1>check out Daily Comedy News with all the news about comics, comedy,

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<v Speaker 1>late night shows, everything fun and funny and entertaining. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a daily show. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>Daily Comedy News, Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermott.

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<v Speaker 1>This Palace intrigue and contains