Palace Confidential

For Robert Lacey – author of the definitive guide to the fallout between William and Harry – the unveiling of the memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales, represented ‘a Spencer takeover – there wasn’t a single member of the House of Windsor there’. As well as a memorial to their mother, the sculpture is also a testament to the drive of the Princes: ‘they’ve done pretty well those boys – this represents their campaign to insert their mother into the iconography of the British Royal Family – those brothers did that, the Queen didn’t do it, did she? Prince Charles didn’t do it.’ The Mail’s Diary Editor, Richard Eden was less impressed by the finished product from sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley.

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Royal watchers have spent the week reacting to the bombshell new revelations emerging in the updated book Battle of Brothers by Robert Lacey. Among them the suggestion that Prince Charles declared that Harry and Meghan’s son Archie would never be a prince. PLUS is it time to decommission the royal train? Royal finance expert David McClure points out that it’s only been used once this year (at a cost of £49k) and three times last year: ‘it’s not really financially viable, and in the future its days must be numbered.’ AND the Mail’s investigative journalist Stephen Wright tells us all about his new podcast series investigating the events surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a Paris tunnel in 1997. He reveals the details of the police interview with Prince Charles and some of the extraordinary conspiracy theories that have sprung from the event.

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The royal name blame game rumbles on: did Prince Harry ‘ask’ the Queen’s permission to name his daughter Lilibet or ‘tell’ her? Kate Mansey – who wrote about the story in the Mail on Sunday – says that following the row, which saw royal sources questioning Harry and Meghan’s version of events to a BBC reporter, Her Majesty has decided that the Palace will challenge ‘mistruths’ made about the family.

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Choosing a name for a baby can be hard work, but only in the royal family could it lead to another transatlantic royal row and threats of legal action against newspapers. An extraordinary story in the BBC – an institution which usually steers clear of royal gossip – suggested that Harry and Meghan had NOT sought permission from the Queen to name their daughter Lillibet – Her Majesty’s family nickname. The name didn’t go down well with the Palace Confidential panel. ‘A lot of readers emailed me to say that they thought it was really shameless that they had done this,’ says Mail columnist Sarah Vine. ‘To deliberately almost stamp the royal name on this child’s head.’

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In his new show with Oprah on mental health, Prince Harry asks ‘where do we go from here?’ It’s a question many royal watchers will ask when it comes to how many more revelatory shows the Duke is planning to make. ‘Buckingham Palace genuinely don’t want to get into a public slanging match with Harry and Meghan,’ the Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English tells Palace Confidential.

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The news that Princess Beatrice is expecting a baby should mean celebration in the palace. But with royals awaiting the fallout from Prince Harry’s new mental health documentary with Oprah Winfrey, the mood is far from happy. The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English says the frustration in the palace is ‘immense’. The ongoing saga has seem some palace insiders call for Harry and Meghan to be stripped of their royal titles. But do Harry’s comments about the US’ ‘bonkers’ First Amendment signal that he hasn’t found the paradise in LA that he thought he had?

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Just when it seemed like things were calming down in the House of Windsor’s transatlantic royal row, comes another broadside that threatens to both reopen old wounds and cause a couple more.

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Join our panel for a jam packed Palace Confidential, as we discuss the fall out from the announcement of Meghan's new children's book, and look at the other royal authors whose footsteps she's following in. As William and Kate get down with the kids by joining YouTube, our panel discuss how to keep it regal whilst making sure people "like" and "subscribe", and former Royal Protection Officer Ken Wharfe tells us just how easy it is to break into the Royal Estate, following ANOTHER lapse in security at Windsor.

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he Duke and Duchess of Cambridge celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this week with new pictures and family footage to mark the occasion. The Mail's Editor at Large Richard Kay explains how they have grown into their royal roles, but why William is in no hurry to take the throne. And the Mail on Sunday's Diary Editor Charlotte Griffiths reveals that despite their demur demeanour, Will and Kate do go wild behind closed doors. Their success might be food for thought for Harry & Meghan whose popularity has dropped drastically according to new poll by YouGov. Still, they're still more popular than Prince Andrew, who is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, again...

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The Queen could be forgiven for not celebrating her 95th birthday this week, not only was she still mourning the death of her husband, but the very public row between her grandson Harry and the rest of the family remains unresolved. Sarah Vine suggests that there was more to the politics of Prince Philip's funeral procession than first revealed... PLUS Rebecca English examines claims that Meghan Markle called the Queen before the service.
AND security in Windsor is being reviewed after Prince Andrew received an unwanted visitor.

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