The worst Meghan Markle article yet makes explosive claims!

lot to unpack here, so let's pick away. At the piece. A producer named Jane Marie is quoted. Jane is credited with collaborating with Harry and Meghan on audio projectsit Archwall and tells Vanity Fair they had this naivety and their hopefulness about what's possible in terms of storytelling and good works and all those things. I wish I had that kind of optimism. A second unnamed person is quoted. I

thought that I had the role of a lifetime. I thought I was going to be besties with Megan and Harry and we were going to like run around the world saving people. An Appeal. Author of the Vanity Fair piece, then tells us interest in the couple was unslackable, but it remained to be seen whether they were actually interesting beyond Harry's uniquely difficult upbringing and Meghan's years of defending herself from shoddy treatment and racism, whether in the British

press or from members of her husband's family. As one former Spotify employee put it, the thing you're escaping is the reason you're compelling. The Spotify employee tells us Harry and Megan didn't do what celebrities do on podcasts, which is turn on the mic and talk. They wanted a big theme that would explain the world, but they had

no ideas. Anna also tells us people involved with production say the couple did trial runs on some big ideas, like a This Is American Life style show, where Harry and Meghan took turns hosting and talking to interesting civilian guests. As Bloomberg reported, Harry wanted to host a series where he interviewed powerful men with complicated stories like Mark Zuckerberg, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump. The concept wasn't just that the men shared challenging early lives. It was their experiences

made them into sociopaths, or so Harry envisioned. One person familiar with the ideation process says the person who worked in media confirms there was a Sociopath podcast. The person who worked closely with the couple on audio projects recalls Harry saying, I have very bad childhood trauma. Obviously, my mother was essentially murdered. What is it about me that

didn't make me one of these bad guys? To implore a season's worth of world famous sociopaths to talk about how they developed sociopathy would be what is referred to in access journalism as a booking challenge. Interestingly, a Netflix sources quoted, we don't disclose our financial deals with talent, but I can confirm to you on the record that the one hundred million dollar figure is not correct. With so much to unpack here, will take a few days to break it all down, but there's plenty else to

cover today. In other news, Megan ignored her critics and was spotted again last week lending a hand to relief efforts for the victims of the devastating Los Angeles fires. This time, the Duchess of Sussex was seen bringing large bags of donations to the Altadena Teen Girls Fire Recovery Fund, an initiative set up to help young girls affected by

the tragedy. In an Instagram reel shared by the Recovery Fund, Meghan kept a low profile, dressed in black leggings, a T shirt, trainers, and a baseball cap emblazoned with LA, which, to our eye appears to be a generic LA type hat a tourist might buy, not a Dodger's cap or something a local might wear. A quick Google search to find a similar cap black with L and A in block letters failed, but we did find a vintage nineteen forty one La Angels cap that had the L and

A in red letters. Perhaps Megan is a fan of defunct minor league baseball teams. The video shows Megan warmly greeting volunteers and delivering donations, which reportedly included new clothes and beauty products. Meghan also spent time chatting with families stayed for luncheon assisted the young girls leading the charity effort. The fund was founded by fourteen year old Avery Colvert from Pasadena, who aimed to collect items for teams impacted

by the fires. The Mirror reported the couple also made a secret donation to the charity through their Archibell Foundation, a donation so secret that it made The Mirror, this podcast and Instagram, where the charity posted a special thanks

to the Archwell Foundation for your support. Royal expert Jenny Bond is bothered by how much criticism Harry and Meghan get, telling the Mirror, Harry and Meghan must have expected much of the criticism they received after their accusations about the rest of the Royal family, but I find it disturbing that almost everything and anything they do now is still criticized, in my view, quite unfairly. They could have stayed holed

up in their Montecito haven while so much of California burned. Instead, they went out and offered what help and support they could. Megan could have let her new show go to air as planned, but she either instigated or fully supported the Netflix announcement that it would be postponed. Whatever they do is dismissed as cynical by someone or another, which must be dispiriting. They have a platform and they are using it. Their criticism of the removal of safeguards by Facebook strikes

me as perfect use of the influence they have. The danger posed by the Internet is something they have been actively campaigning on for some time, and the criticism of Mark Zuckerberg is totally consistent with the stand they have taken. Good for them. Someone needs to speak out about the potential dangers of the Internet. So I say give Harry and Meghan a break. They haven't attacked the royal family for some time. What's done is done. Time to move on.

Prince Harry is gearing up for a legal showdown with Rupert Murdoch's media empire, as the case officially titled HRH the Duke of Sussex versus News Group Newspapers Limited, kicks off today in what promises to be a highly scrutinized

courtroom battle. The Duke of Sussex's taking on The Sun and the now defunct News of the World, both owned by Murdoch's Newsgroup Newspapers and Miss Harry stage is a last minute retreat, the move that seems highly unlikely the High Court will begin hearing his allegations against the tabloid giants. This case marks another chapter in Harry's ongoing campaign against the British press, as he continues to hold media outlets accountable for what he claims are unethical and invasive practices.

The spotlight is now firmly on the court room where Harry's grievances will be aired against one of the most powerful media moguls in the world. Some wondered if Kelly Osborne took a shot at Megan and Harry. Kelly uploaded a video on Instagram in which she disapproved using other

people's pain and suffering as a photowhop. She said, is it just me being my normal, overthinking, cynical self, or is it really disturbing to see all of these celebrities using other people's pain and suffering as a photo wop to say, Look, I'm helping, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. I don't believe you help so you can get attention for helping. I believe you just help because you want to. No one asked you to come out and give hugs

go home. A reporter had observed the sussexes, saying it looked as if the two of them might really want to be helpful. I actually saw Meghan Markele stoop down and take off the lid of a plastic bin. Do they really want to get down and dirty. Candae Owen's commented on TikTok. That's how I knew my girl was real And I just want to thank Meghan for doing that. It's very helpful for her to stoop down and do that.

If there's any plastic bins that you guys see around that need picking up, you can hit up your girl. Megan Michael, Well, it's intrigue a radback. Meanwhile, let's put a typical Megan style media spin on this next story. Instead of flying to Los Angeles to help with the fires, Prince William was hanging out at a bar watching soccer. Prince William found time last week to mingle with fellow

Aston Villa supporters at Weatherspoon's in Birmingham. The Royal was in town for the College of Paramedics Emergency and Critical Care conference, but he made a pit stop to talk football over a pint before Villa's match against Everton that evening. William treated the table to beer while sipping on side to himself, engaging in an animated discussion about all things asked in Villa. Steve Jones, one of the fans who met the Prince, told reporters he was fantastic. I was

amazed at how engaged he was with the club. He's not a fair weather fan. He really loves the club with a passion. According to Jones, the royal meetup was arranged by the club, which reached out to a few lucky supporters ahead of William's visit. We talked about transfers, the Champions League, trip to Monaco and everything Villa, Jones said, adding that the Prince's knowledge and enthusiasm for the team were evident. William also shared a bit about his family's

football loyalties. Like his father, Prince George is a devoted Villa fan, but William is hoping for a bit of variety among his younger children. Jones revealed. Williams said, like Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to support other teams, so it's not a household full of Villa fans. He was massively interested and came across as a really genuine guy who just wanted to talk about Villa. And there you have it. I'd like to email us of addresses The

Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple or the apple of your choice and you can find us on YouTube. Now head on over there and be a subscriber, and don't forget. You can get the show commercial free, along with hundreds of others from Callaoga Shark Media. All the details, I'm in the show notes. I'm Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is palace intrigue in good terms.