Meghan Markle’s Secret Diana Grave Photo Dump Sparks ‘Low Blow’ Backlash

Coming up on this week's Royal Exclusive, why has Prince Harry got another invite to Buckingham Palace?Who is the Wasp and why is he out?Did Meghan's MasterChef appearance go full cringe?Plus, is Fergie about to land a £600m windfall?Welcome to this week's show, where King Charles is giving Harry another chance to stay at Buckingham Palace.But is this a royal olive branch, or has Harry simply worn his dad down?

Plus, one of the King's most powerful aides, dubbed the Wasp by Harry, is leaving the palace.Is this a win for the Sussexes?Meanwhile, Meghan has also been playing the Duchess Down Under with a gushing Masterchef appearance, a Prince Harry cameo and a very public reminder that she is apparently just Meghan.And Fergie could be in line for millions after the death of her ex -lover Paddy McNally, so is Sarah Ferguson about to land on her feet yet again?I'm Matt Wilkinson, Royal Editor of The Sun, and joining me to unpack it all are 5 News Royal Correspondent Simon Viger and TalkTV host Samara Gill.

Welcome to you both.

Look, ding dong, round two, a couple of weeks to go.Harry will be coming back in September.He always comes back in September for these WellChild Awards.We do know that the setup is when Harry says he's going to come to the UK, he has to give 28 days or 30 days notice.When he does that, The procedure is he has offered Buckingham Palace, which will happen again.It will click into force when he comes over in September.

After everything that happened earlier this month with the to -ing and fro -ing, he calls the King's patience to snap.Is this the right decision?Should he be giving Buckingham Palace?Will he behave himself this time?Go on.

I mean, honestly, offering something like Buckingham Palace to two of the most hated royals, Harry and Meghan, is a really, really bad move, in my view.I don't thinkwith it.I think that Harry faffed around way too much last time, and there are no consequences now for his actions.He's being offered it once again.I do think it is an olive branch from the King, absolutely, but I don't think it's the right move.

Is he just being the bigger guy, then?Is Charles just being the royal household as a whole, just rising above it, you know, and giving Harry another chance?

Yeah, he's 77 years old.He's still being treated for cancer, as we know.And, you know, it was such a mess last time and so avoidable again.I mean, again and again, these avoidable things happen.So just, I disagree.I think just make it happen.

Let them stay there.Obviously, the security is in place when they're behind those palace railings.And, you know, he just wants some sort of rapprochement with his son, doesn't he?He's 77 years old.

He hasn't, since they were evicted from Frogmore, which I think was two or three years ago, it was just up six months after Queen Elizabeth II died, so my maths are terrible, but after they were evicted from Frogmore they haven't had a UK base, so Buckingham Palace has always been offered to them whenever they come.Why haven't they accepted in the past?Why has it always ended up with a bit of a row and a bit of a to -ing and fro -ing and then they've, you know, gone in a hotel instead?

Well, it's the standoff on the security question, which still isn't resolved.And, you know, Harry has appealed to the new Labour government to assess it again.So he hasn't brought Megan and he hasn't brought the children until very recently because of that ongoing row about security.So it's a mess.I mean, it's just such a mess.I think they should just sort it out.

I mean, you could say that, but I don't want to drag up old times past.But the things that Harry has done to the royal family, the way that he has dragged the firm through the mud, you know, with Oprah, with Spare, with the litany of Netflix specials, all the different comments, all the cross -briefings,I mean, is it really OK to just now backtrack on all that and say, I'm going to stay in what is really the symbol of the royal family, Buckingham Palace?It's sort of him submitting back into the fold, but not necessarily in the most clean way.

It's the symbol of the royal family, Buckingham Palace.

It really is.

It's like Palace HQ, but we do know the king and queen aren't ever going to live there.William's not going to live there when he's become king, because he's got his Windsor home.I mean, it's now basically become a hotel for ex -working royals to stay.

There's no danger of bumping into William, which I think will suit both of them fine, because that rift is obviously still ongoing.But the king obviously wants to, and the Highgrove meeting shows that, he wants to reunite with his son and his grandchildren, who he's hardly ever seen.when they're in the UK.And Buckingham Palace is the obvious place to do it.It's mostly finished being refurbished now.So, you know, he's 77.

Live and let live.

Should he bring...We're talking about what's going to happen in September.Early this month was complete chaos because Meghan and Harry...Sorry, Meghan and the children were coming over.He never normally brings Meghan and the children when he comes over in September.It was reasonably successful in July.

There was no, you know, no one really packed the kids.There was no kind of drama once Meghan and the children actually got here.Should he bring Meghan, Archie and Lilibet in September?

I mean, school will be in, so I think that will be definitely a consideration.

Do you think the children will be back at school?

Yeah, I think that they will be back at school.I don't think that they'll pull them out to go and do this very hectic tour in September.But I think, you know, them actually stepping foot in the United Kingdom after all those years just a couple of weeks ago was a massive triumph in some sort of way.And so, yeah, I mean, I know that there are rumours about it.I don't think the children will come back and I don't think Meghan will come back for this tour.

Yeah, agreed.There's no point.And the security issues is still unresolved.So why would he?

I can't wait.I can wait, by the way.

His week of engagements last year in September, as you say, that week of engagements, Wellchild Awards, one of his longest running patronages.It was really great.It was Harry back at his best.Look at what you're missing.He's really good at that stuff.

He's famously, you know, he has rows with the royal household going back many, many years.And famously, there was a row about Buckingham Palace, whether he was actually going to stay there or not, whether he actually accepted the invite in time, you know, caused the King's patience to snap.But he's had rows with Sir Clive Alderton.We know Sir Clive as in because he's part of the fabric of the Royal Household.We see him about on jobs and occasionally get to, you know, we get a little bit of time, a little chat with him.And he's, I think he's a decent fellow.

I quite like what he's done in the Royal Family, but he's leaving.Why?Who is, can you tell our viewers who Simon is and what, sorry, who Clive is and why he's leaving?

Well, Sir Clive really is the King's right -hand man.And he's been there for 20 years pretty much.So incredibly trusted.I mean, there aren't, if you're in, If you're the king or the queen, there aren't that many people you can trust implicitly.But he obviously trusts the Clive totally.Very influential in the planning for the accession, which, as we now know, happened in 2022.

But there was a long lead up time to that.They were worried about how that would go.I mean, this is sort of forgotten now, but that week they were worried how it would go.It went really well.There was a huge amount of warmth and sympathy towards the king and the family.And then the planning for the coronation as well, you know, the first coronation in 70 years.

So those are two very public moments where his, you know, his influence was felt.Yeah, I think, you know, he's 60, they're saying it'sto do with retirement plans.Seems a bit early to me but you know who knows.

It's a huge change and I think because we know him because he's part of the fabric and he's very important right -hand man to the King but lots of people will know him by his nickname, the Wasp.Where did he get the nickname the Wasp from?

Well for Harry really, Harry and Spare called him the Wasp and that was where that started in my view.It's interesting.It is a little puzzling.I think that this is a man who, and I don't know him as well as both of you, but he's on his career high.He just finished the state visit in Washington.He actually had a big hand in the speech that was made there that was a massive triumph.

He's on a career high.Why would he step down now?60 is a young age to do so.And we know, at least I know from public things that I've read, that He was a massive critic of Harry coming back into the Royal Family and Meghan.He was not a fan of that.So now, of course, his deputy, Theo Rycroft, I think has his eyes on the prize, wants that type of job or maybe will fit in there.

We know that Theo's a big fan of wanting Harry and Meghan to come back in.

Do you think they're connected?

I think they are.I'm not trying to go tinfoil hat here, but I do think we've got someone who's diametrically opposed to having Harry and Meghan back in and someone who does want them back in and of course as you say at the heart of it is just a father who does want rapprochement with his son.

Yeah so the wasp and the bee and the fly they were given these nicknames in the book it was all a bit tortured in my view but yeah Sir Clive was given that nickname because of his sting.Harry actually in the book very rarely referred to people by name so they had they had these nicknames.And Harry obviously is still bruised by what he thought was notof a hybrid role, you know, half in, half out, which was then whipped away when he got to Sandringham for the Sandringham Summit, which, of course, led to Megxit.

So in the book, Harry, as I say, doesn't name Sir Clive, but he calls him the Wasp.He says, if you're on his list, he could give you such a stab with his outsized stinger that you would cry out in confusion.

Yes, he also spoke about a lot of, you know, sidestabbing and backstabbing that the Wasp might do.as sort of inferred to there.But yeah, I think they don't have a good relationship at all.And I have to say, I think that he is somewhat he was has somewhat been in the middle of them, of the King and Harry these past few years.I'm just speculating, of course.

But feel free to speak.It's really interesting, because as Simon points out that, you know, the King's had a successful reign, I think with the coronation, it went well.Yeah.The trip to Australia, you know, that was fought with difficulty.Even dealing with his cancer, I thought they'd been excellent with getting them message across and telling us what's been happening and managing his return but the ongoing problem is the relationship with Harry and Samara's suggesting that there are suggestions that he's not retiring because he's 60 but because maybe there's getting him out the way could improve relations between the King and Harry.

Well we will see won't we?We will see over the next year or so.

Or is that a conspiracy theory?

Well, I mean, next time bring a tin hat in.Just wait until I'm proven right.I think, yeah, I think it's bigger than that.But, you know, the Harry and the Sussex issue is a little local difficulty, which they've got, you know, has been mishandled, and they've got to sort it out.But I don't think it's the main issue.We'll find out.

I mean, look, I think it's one of the biggest issues for the King.I think it is thethorn in his side.I think he genuinely needs to know how to navigate this.And he's finding it very hard separating his role as the king from his role of being a father.And, you know, I just it does puzzle me that Sir Clive Alderton is stepping down now when he's doing a job that he's waited decades to do.

Yes, and he has done it for decades, but just not for when Prince Charles was Prince Charles rather than the King.

So will there be, you know, if we take on their word, they say, well, he's reaching pension age, leaving age 60, and that's just kind of what happens in the job.If we take that, if we believe that kind of line, it's not connected to the rounds with Harry.So if we go along what the Palace are telling us, is there now a change of direction?for the King?He's been there for many years, he's very well respected.Is there a new development for where the King's headed?

It's obviously a key appointment and if you look at those private secretaries over the years for the late Queen, and Sir Clive with Charles.You can't really overstate how important that role is, the trust, the total level of trust.And ultimately, of course, Charles and Camilla will be the people who appoint.

But they have to make big decisions.They were there at Megxit.They're making all the big decisions for the royal family.

Yeah, and it'll be very interesting to see who gets it.I mean, there are various people who've worked with Charles in the past who might go for it.And you've mentioned another name there.So yeah, we'll just have to wait and see.

I've got to ask, because we do know that the King has cancer.We were told back in December that things were looking rosy, things were improving.They were dialing down his treatment.He's been looking great, I've got to say.When I've seen him recently, he's looking very fit and healthy.But losing somebody so close, so important,

after such an amount of time, do you think this suggests anything about his longevity?I've got to ask.

I don't know.I don't think so.

Yeah, I mean, I think it might do, but I also think...It's difficult to speculate on something like that, because you're right, the King has been looking fantastic.He's doing all his duties.He seems to be absolutely on turbo charge in terms of how much work he's doing.But he has always been like that.You know, it's going to be difficult, though, to replace this role.

It's going to take a lot more work.It's not something you just swim into and can just do easily.And so I think that's going to be cause a real headache for Charles to be honest because he seems to be kind of, he seems to be on the up and up with his role and I think this will cause some problems potentially with the communication side of things.

I think it's going to be fascinating the change, I don't know how soon we will see it but the change in kind of direction of the King whether it just moves you know the ship keeps on sailing in the same direction or is there anything dramatic because it's a huge change for that and it's a huge change for the royal family it's going to be incredible.

The king is the king, and ultimately he will decide how much or how little.As you say, he's packing a lot in at the moment with all of these public engagements.He will decide what the direction is.

We'll come back in a year's time.We'll sit here and if just everything is exactly the same and then we'll say, well done Simon.If Harry has moved back and is now a half in, half out working royal because we've now got a private secretary that wants to allow that, then we'll say, well done.Absolutely.

Will I get the £300 ,000 a year that Clive will be getting in his retirement?I don't believe that.We agree that.

You're very well remunerated working here.I don't believe you want to do it for a pay cut, do you?

No, no, not at all.Yeah, no, the media pays swimmingly.

But help me out because Megan has been on Masterchef Australia.I avoid a lot of her appearances on television.because I don't consider it royal.She did get into a bit of a royal rumpus here, Samara, where she was...Is she the Duchess?Is she Meghan?

What was happening here on MasterChef?I assume you watched it, because you're Australian.

Of course, yeah.No, I've just got direct access to Australian TV from over here in the UK.No, but you might not consider it royal, but I think she certainly does, Matt, because she was announced by Poe, who is basically Australian royalty.She's MasterChef royalty.She's a beloved sort of national treasure.She was hosting the MasterChef show.

She introduced her as the Duchess of Sussex.

She is the Duchess of Sussex.She is, yeah.

She is, but she...There was a bit...And also Meghan Markle.She called her Meghan Markle, which, as we know, or Mindy Kaling will tell you, she's not particularly a fan of that.She's Meghan Sussex now.And I think, from what we hear, there are different rumours about producers saying that she wasn't particularly happy with that sort of intro, which I find a little weird, because the actual prompt for the meal was... a meal fit for a duchess.

So I think behind the scenes there was a little bit of drama with how everything had gone.We know that Meghan does like to control situations and she didn't have as much control as she would have liked over this production.How it went down with the Australian audience, I think it was mixed.There are a lot of people that are staunch monarchists in Australia and they don't like Meghan and what she's done to the royal family and they just never will like anything that she was trying to push.But I think there's a faction of Australian a society that was fine with it.

Were there lots of flower petals and everything?

There were flower petals.I tell you what, watching it though, it was almost like they were being cynical about Megan's use of flower petals.I don't know if she would have appreciated the tone.They were like, oh, we added the flower petals for you, Megan, but in a bit of a joking way.And I think that's where the cultural difference comes, because Megan wasserious throughout the whole Masterchef process, and Australians are very unserious.

And I did see that chasm there.

It's a generational thing as well.I mean, the cultural difference, but the generational thing as well.And this blurring between celebrity and royalty, which we're seeing now.And you see it with William and Catherine as well, a little bit, not as much, but it's OK to go on comic relief or children in need.But how far do you take it?I mean, you could include the late Queen appearing in the James Bond sketch at 2012, starting to blur that line a little bit.

But that's on a completely different level to appearing as a judge on Masterchef.

did she did she appear as did she clear this up then did she appear as megan or did she appear as the duchess of sussex did she appear as a member of the royal family or did she appear as a presenter of the as ever uh with love i think it was duchess of sussex wasn't it i don't know no i mean the intro could not have been more this is a royal per i mean it was actually very revealing because they introduced her as philanthropist um you know and some global changemaker, something like that.And then on the side, she has a jam company.So that was quite interesting, because I guess her PR people would have controlled that sort of intro if they had half a job to do.And it shows that it's basically The jam company is just a sidebar for her.It's not the real her.And they were like, we've never had royalty like this come into the MasterChef realm.

So it was very clearly sold as a royal thing.Yeah, I was kind of holding back.

I did see a clip, because Meghan wasn't the only royal to appear on MasterChef.Harry did a video call phoned in, did he?Did he rescue this show from disaster by appearing or did he make it even more cringe?

I've seen as much of it as you have.but i did see a video clip of him on the phone and she says hello my love doesn't she and uh he uh he interjects maybe that was a contractual obligation i don't know she spoke also a lot about the

Well, I have to attend to many different palates in my house.And then she says that Harry's favourite food is meat, potatoes and cream sauce.

I've got this here.Is that British?

I want to ask these two British men here.What?

Harry, being from the UK, loves a lot of meat, potatoes, cream sauces.

Yes, which is what we have all the time.

Is that what you survive on?

I have that for breakfast.Yeah.That's an American view of what the English diet is.

We also got a bit of a look into how she parents, where she said that she only allows the children to have desserts that they can pick off a tree.And I was thinking, my God, that reminds me of my Whole Foods -y mother, who was like, you can have a, you know, a lentil for dessert or whatever.Or a vanilla bean.It just shows you that she is trying to do this sort of holistic approach.But that doesn't sound very fun.That's what I'll say.

Do you think she's a goer?

Do you think she'll appear more?Could she appear as, you know, a judge on Celebrity Bake Off or a food judge now in any other shows?Or is this a one -off?

Traitors.

Traitors.

No, I didn't say...That was just a joke, obviously.

Of course that was a joke.Just telling the lawyers that was just a little joke.

It was funny though because they were advertising to the Australian traitors in the corner of the MasterChef and it was just Megan's face and then traitors over there.So it was a bit, anyway.But yeah, I don't know.To be honest, she didn't seem that at home in the studio, I have to say.She was wearing all black.It was a bit, it just didn't quite go.

She hasn't got that sort of Nigella Lawson quality to her.I must say, maybe she's someone who likes to cook, but I don't know if she's someone who likes to eat.And that might be where the whole judging a bake -off or a MasterChef thing is a problem.

It's a very difficult line to tread that we saw it with Harry appearing on the Colbert talk showas well.Once you start going into once you start going into celebrity...

You don't like this, do you?You don't like this move into celebrity?

No, I mean, it might be a generational thing.I don't think the royals are stars, you know, but I think younger people do think that and there's obviously less less deference.But, you know, there has to be some magic about it.As soon as the magic's gone, you're just a celebrity.You're just another disposable celebrity at that point.

So...Are we far down that road now with Meghan?She is just turning...She's just using her royal family status or whatever to sell as a celebrity.Are we...Is that ship sailed now?

She's down that route?

No, I don't think that ship has sailed.I mean, the ship is still in the harbour, isn't it?But that's definitely a route that they could go down.I wouldn't rule out politics for the Duchess of Sussex.

She doesn't take criticism well.The way she could become a politician, because people would criticise her and she wouldn't like it.

Governor of California.I'll be back in a year.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.Be back in a year when that happens.

Let's stick on Meghan still, which I think is more of a royal story than her appearing on MasterChef.Just putting it out there.This is the hill I'm willing to die on.But this is genuinely a royal story, and this is her photo dump.This is the series of photographs that she put on Instagram.We'll go through some of the pictures in a minute and talk about where they were taken and while they were released.

But should we be surprised?Meghan took the children to meet the King and Queen, and we were told there wouldn't be any information, wouldn't be any pictures of that meeting.But should we be surprised that she still published a bunch of photographs from her trip to the United Kingdom, including the children taking flowers to Princess Diana's grave at Althorp?

I thought it was such a low blow and I just thought, oh my goodness, I mean, they banged on about privacy and all they do is to continually invade their own.We actually didn't know much about this trip.It was very, you know, sanctioned in that way.And then she releases this sort of millennial Gen Z style photo dump, totally showing us everything.I mean, there was so many different Easter eggs and different things that you could pick up.from the dump.

And I know that that is what she wants to do.I know that's the direction she wants to put her brand.But it really does come across very hypocritical, in my mind, for what she publicly says about online privacy, like the children's privacy, for example, and then what she continues to do.I'm sorry, but I'm very cynical about it.

It's almost as if she wasn't quite overly happy with being kept out of the limelight, not being seen in the UK, you know, not being photographed and avoiding social media, that she just kind of had to do that.

Well, yeah, it was special ops sort of coming into the UK, wasn't it?And then Highgrove was a good choice for the meeting with the King and the Queen.But you don't see any, you don't see the faces of the kids, do you?No.So she's, those are always...That's pretty much the only thing we don't see.

Which to me is the weird bit.I mean, either published a photo of the kids or don't.I just don't understand this constant back of the head stuff and blurred out faces.For me, it's one or the other.either don't show them or do show them.

Well, where do you stand on Ulthorpe?We know that they stayed there.We got pictures where we saw Harry leaving Ulthorpe, I think, on the Saturday morning.We knew that...We splashed it in the sun a couple of weeks earlier before the trip that that was their plan, to go to Ulthorpe and go to Princess Diana's grave.What do you think about the fact that Meghan decided to tell everybody that that's what they did with that specific photo?

It was very interesting.In my opinion, it's them setting up for Diana's 30th anniversary, which will be next year.Now we know that there are rumours about a Netflix documentary that might potentially happen.Of course there were different things about a camera crew following them around.I don't believe that.I don't think that happened.

Well we never saw them.

No we never saw them and we would have but if you Cast your mind back to the initial Netflix documentary they did about leaving the royal family and all that.There was a lot of handheld iPhone footage that they used, for example, when they were coming out of horrible Canada on their freedom flight into the United States.You know, Harry getting on his own phone and filming Doria on Tyler Perry's private jet.They obviously used that within the documentary.And in my view, I think that Meghan might've been doing some video footage, some filming, a potential documentary that they will give Netflix first look according to their deal?

Well we know as you pointed out there from the six -part documentary they love to film their own lives, they love to, they document everything that they're doing especially we saw in that documentary and we know that the King and Queen said no pictures from the Highgrove meeting so you could be right.The trip to the UK and to Portugal and stuff like that could be used for a future documentary.

Yeah, and I think people do love the authenticity of a sort of home camera video or whatever you want to call it.So I do think that there is a documentary in the works.

Can I rate something?Sorry, Simon.

They rate well.I mean, we know how well the Harry and Meghan series rated compared to the other stuff they've done for Netflix.Less interest for cooking and polo behind the scenes.

I thought it was fascinating, but I think I'm the only person that did, is that we identified one of the photographs as a random lock up in Scotland called Lock Droma.And they did, they drove to Scotland while they were here.Just humour me.It's just they were here for longer than the week and they weren't seen, they weren't photographed, there weren't pictures, and they went up to, I believe, to see some friends up in Scotland.They can come to the UK and not be noticed and have a quiet life without the chaos and the drama.Have a look at it.

It's Loch Droma up in Scotland, right up in the north, a long way away from Balmoral, but they can be seen.you know, have an unassuming trip to the UK.

Yeah.And London seems to be the issue for Harry, because around Invictus in Birmingham, he might go to Invictus.The Duchess may come to the Invictus Games, but definitely, definitely not London.So that's his sticking point.And, you know, he obviously, his view is that there are viable death threats to life to him and his wife.And he's simply not bringing them to London until that's sorted out.

And his private security detail cannot carry firearms in the UK.

but they can drive around Scotland taking pictures of pretty locks without anyone really paying much attention.

It's such a revelation, to be honest, to know that.And it also makes a lot of their security argument fall apart in my mind.I mean, they are obviously constantly coming up against Ravik and wanting and saying that also it's a political decision for him not to have or it's a decision from the royal family for him not to have security, etc.But to know that they are able to do all of that, and I even cast my mind back to your famous, the Deliveroo, Harry.

Yeah, a year and a half ago, walking up and down the street in West London, knocking on doors, looking for a friend.

Precisely, which I again, always felt that that was another pivotal moment in my mind where I go, wait a second, he doesn't really need, or the security song and dance is a little bit more than just about security.That's what I'll say.

Well, we didn't see Meghan when she came over, although she has published photographs since.Someone we haven't seenfor a long time is Sarah Ferguson.However, is her luck about to change?And it feels a bit macabre to talk about this, but her former boyfriend, her former lover, Paddy McNally, they dated for two or three years in the 80s before she met Andrew Macbeth in Windsor and later married.They've stayed close for so many years.

She's been staying, we believe, in his Verbier chalet recently, and he has put her up.in houses in the past, they have stayed close.Now he's died and he's I think 240th richest man in the UK and he's worth 600 million.

Paddy McNally was really important in the growth of Formula One, certainly on the sponsorship side and the hospitality side of things, the Paddock Club and so on.And yes, as you say, they stayed close.And we know, the one thing you absolutely know about Sarah Ferguson is bounce -back ability.She's like Tigger, she bounces back.So maybe there will be some bequests to her.But in terms of having a partner, promoting her into a public role.

I don't think that's going to happen.No.

Look, I spoke to someone close to Sarah and they said there is no expectation of an inheritance.That doesn't rule it out, does it?This could be, and I know it's very tragic that Patti McNally has died, but this could be relatively good news for Sarah.She could end up with a house or money or she always finds a way back.

Yeah, God knows she needs it.I mean, she really does.I think the royal family was stressing out, so to speak, about her potentially optioning off a book or something like that in order to make a couple of pounds on the side.And we know that, yeah, she's kind of been all over the place trying to figure out where she's going to set up camp, where she's going to live, and, of course, trying to avoid all the press scrutiny.But it just does remind me of that sort of, there's a line in Great Gatsby which is like, just wealthy people, they go and smash up everything and then they retreat to their vast world of that.and carelessness.

And that's what Sarah Ferguson is to me.You know, she's gone and destroyed multiple lives, albeit allegedly, done some pretty terrible things, befriended some pretty horrible people.And yet she, as you say, still continues to land on her feet, still be fine.She's got her two daughters who married extremely well.She can always rely on them.And Andrew's still there when she needs him.

So, it doesn't seem like they have faced the consequences for their actions at all.

Well, it brings us nicely onto our next topic, Simon, which is your book.Because we have...Thank you.We're talking about... women who have married into the royal family, people who have survived, people who always kind of land on their feet and this is out now, the four wives of Windsor and it's Queen Camilla, Princess Diana, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Meghan.I've got a review on the back, I've called it compelling, I've read it, I agree.Tell us what it's about.

Thank you very much.Yeah, I mean, Sarah Ferguson obviously could be on there and you could have other wives who you've married in like, you know, Sophie the Duchess of Edinburgh, Duchess of Kent.I mean, you could go back.Prince Philip, the Queen Mother, Wallace Simpson.So we had to narrow it down, and we narrowed it down to these four very interesting women.So the idea was that it's the people who marry in who affect change, either deliberately or often not.

And that's four strong women there who, to a greater or lesser extent, will have influence over the royal family for decades.decades to come.Some were given months to get their heads around it and join the firm, Megan and Diana.Catherine was given years and Camilla obviously had decades of preparation.

If you think about it, this is going all the way from the70s when Camilla first met Charles.Yeah.well, progressed for another 30, 40, 50 years with Catherine and Meghan, so these four women do span a huge era in the royal family.

Yeah, I mean, Catherine, obviously, is incredibly important, not only the fact that she's married to the next king, but she's the mother of the one after that, and she and the Middletons.Somebody told me, you know, that the late Queen Elizabeth spotted very early on that the Middletons were the backbone of all of this, and she spotted how Catherine was a good thing very early on.And they still have a very active role bringing up those children.So the Middletons will have an immense influence over the British monarchy for decades to come.Camilla, yeah, back in the early 70s, she met Charles back then.Some people say he dithered and he missed his chance to marry her.

I don't think that's true.It was just a case of he was still in his early 20s there.But yeah, interesting to see how that plays out.they all interweave.

So Simon's written this book so he's the expert so I'm not going to ask him this question because you need to read the book maybe to find out the answer to this.

I've got so many questions there.

But who do you think between, you know, as I say we've got Camilla, Diana, Catherine and Megan, which wife marrying into the royal family did affect the most change on the royal family?

Gosh, it's a good question.I mean, I would actually say Camilla with the way that, I mean, if you think about her, so many different things.I mean, feel free to disagree.

I'm interested.

I would absolutely say Camilla.I mean, the way that she, she doesn't, she gets a very unfair ride usually, but she has really been the person who has steered Charles in the right direction and made sure that the monarchy is actually intact and has, and honestly, since all the kerfuffle in the beginning.She has really never put a foot wrong in my mind and she's such a great life partner to him and I just think I hope she gets her flowers at least once.day.She's coming into her own.

Yeah, attitudes towards her have definitely softened if you compare and contrast with where she was 30 years ago.Somebody told me that she brought the fun back.Prince Charles for a long time it was a pretty lonely job for him.And he said Camilla's non -negotiable and his mother Queen Elizabeth finally got her head around that and we are where we are now.Yeah, they all have different influence.I would say Diana, but it's probably a generational thing.

But the way she brought up the boys and the influence that the boys now have, the school they went to, the normal life experiences they had, as normal as possible.She also changed the monarchy, how the monarchy grieves.She changed the way we grieve.I remember that week in 1997, as you say, almost 29 years ago.Very tragic, obviously, very strange.The country definitely changed.

people are more open ever since of showing their emotions.

So maybe Diana had more of an impact on Britain as a whole in many ways then?

Yeah, I think I would say that, but they've all had an impact.For me, Diana is a cut above and there's something, obviously it's tragic, there's something heroic about Diana as well.She was so young when she got engaged, she was 19 years old.Big age difference to Charles.But the way she coped with everything that was thrown at her, she wasn't a saint.Of course she wasn't a saint and you know she was a human being but the way she coped with it and the way she dealt with it and the impact she's had since is passive I think.

Here's a thought, you mentioned earlier that I think you mentioned that Charles got his woman in the end, he got Camilla, Camilla was you know that's who he wanted.Is there any similarities to be drawn between Camilla and Charles?because Harry got what he wanted, he was kind of told by his brother you sure about this slow down and there was you know question marks from the royal family about whether they were going too fast.Are they similar entrances into the royal family and the fact that it took a while or there was efforts made to persuade everybody else that the marriage is in both both situations were correct?

Yes, well, it's the tortoise and the hare, because with Camilla, it took...In the end, it took decades.Yeah, I mean, Camilla...So, Camilla in the early 70s, I don't think Charles was ever going to pop the question, because he was only in his early 20s then.So, I don't think he missed the boat.But also, back then, whether a woman had a past or not was...

I know it sounds ludicrous, but it was a thing back then.It was a thing even with Diana, because, you know, it was thought that Charles had to marry a virgin.

Well, Meghan had a past.

Yes, so that has changed.William and Catherine lived together before they married in Scotland and Wales.They lived in sin, as it used to be called.If you told that to Queen Victoria, she would have spontaneously combusted.Young people living together before they got married.So that's a big change.

Meghan and Harry's relationship went into warp speed because we know, he told us, he was genuinely worried that he would never find a woman he was prepared to put up with everything that goes around it.He blamed the media for the collapse of his two previous serious relationships and he wasn't going to allow that to happen with Meghan when they both decided on the second date, I think, that this was a, this was a, they're going to give it a go, you know.

With Catherine, because obviously she's going to end up being Queen one day, spoiler alert, it's going to happen at some stage, but she's going to be around for many years and have a huge impact on Britain and the royal family.So casting it forward, you know, maybe for a second version of this book, Simon, what impact do you think Princess of Wales, when she becomes Queen, Catherine,will have?What change will she affect on the royal family and society as she moves forward?

With the children, those children, George, Charlotte and Louis, are having a big impact.it was said to me, a much more Middleton childhood, a much more normal childhood than William and Harry could ever have dreamt of.Just one example, when William and Harry arrived at school, at prep school, there was a big crowd of photographers there shouting out their names.That, we know, has not happened with George and Charlotte and Louis.It's all much more controlled.What's private is private, what's public is public.

First day at school, there's one camera there, one TV camera there.So apart from trooping, the carol service, and a few other events, you don't actually see the children that much.That's a huge difference to what William and Harry went through, and we know from Harry's book.the impact that had on them.

Do you think they'll be working royals when they grow up, the children, or do you think they'll have some kind of almost like hybrid role or end up like, you know, Lady Louise or Beatrice or Eugenie?

Yeah, I would have thought a hybrid role.And that, you know, does play into that because Harry clearly thought that was on offer and then whipped away.

They're way too photogenic to be put in the back room, that's for sure.

No, I'm sure they will.So when the time comes, I'm sure, obviously, they will support King George when the time comes.But will they do that?24 -7, 12 months a year, that's the question.Interesting.

It's so interesting what you say about the Middleton family, because I would draw the comparison between Camilla and Catherine, because, you know, the Shand.clan, which was her family, was sort of that for Charles in some sort of way.They were very stoic, they had their own routines and different disciplines and they were a base for him as well, just like the Middletons were to William, if I'm not mistaken.

And there's the class issue as well, which the British obsess about, but it's worth mentioninghere, you know, Lady Diana Spencer, properly posh.Camilla Shand, posh.But the Middletons, you know, they worked hard.They were successful with their own company.They moved into a different social class, which is unthinkable, even back in the 1970s, for them to, you know, now be part of the royal family.

That's a major change and we just sort of, we don't think about it that much but we should.

Good, all right, well I recommend other people read it.I've read it and it's great.The Four Wives of Windsor by Simon Viger.Right, we've done the research and looked in some of the most searched for questions that people want to know about the royal family on Google.We'll attempt to answer these questions as best we can.Are you ready?

I've got another prop to use.Right, so Oh!No expense spared here at Royal Exclusive.I'll open the first one and then maybe someone else can open the next one.Ah!Which British royals are HRH?

Oh!Oh, right.This is like an exam.

Well, I mean, Harry and Meghan... are HRH but they've just agreed not to use it.And of course we know it's been stripped from Andrew Mountbatten, Windsor.So it's generally the children...

It's the working royals.It's all the working royals, Edward, Sophie, Camilla, etc, etc.But some of them...

Well Camilla's Her Majesty.She's HM.So it's generally the children of the monarch and the grandchildren of the monarch in the male line, which is why Princess Anne's children are not HRH.We don't have Princess Zara or Prince.

Were they chosen not to be HRH?

No, that was the letter's patent, as they were then.They were offered titles, the Earl and Countess of something, and Princess Anne decided no.And actually, good decision, because Zara and Peter have been able to do their own thing.

Yes.

We don't need Google.

Yeah, wow.Can you openly pull out the next question and then pass on to Samara?

And I'll try and answer this one.This is going to be fun.I hope I get a horrible one.

It's like a job interview, isn't it?

They're all royal questions, right?All royal questions.

These are the most searched on Google questions about the royal family.Do Harry and Meghan still get money from the royal family?No.No, they're completely financially independent.

For now?

For now.They get absolutely nothing.I mean, that was the whole thing.I mean, he says that the King practically cut him off within weeks of leaving.Once they step down as working rules, they get nothing from the sovereign grant.They get no money for their household or anything like that.

I mean, the King used to give him money out of the Duchy of Cornwall.He used to share about five and a half million, half of that to William and his family, half of that to Harry and his family.Now, technically, That fund is now with William, and it would be his choice to how he pays for his family out of it.But no, they're completely financially independent, which, to be honest, give them a bit of credit for it.

Some might say there are some mounting legal bills in Harry's in -tray, that these visits back to the royal family are very timely.You wanted a flowery answer, I'm sorry.Interesting.But I will say, yes.Well, so if that happens, that would be - Insurance doesn't cover it all, Harry.

If that happened, that would be the king's private money.It wouldn't be taxpayers' money.

Yeah.You're completely right.Yeah.Thank God for you, Simon.

They're not working royals.No.

Yeah.All right.Why is the British royal family the most famous?Interesting one.

Oh, because they're the best.They're the oldest.

Because they're people like you.

They're the most successful.I mean, they have the most intrigue, the most storylines.Why are they so famous?I mean, it goes back to 1066, even before then.You know, this is all about this lineage of people.-known, successful, interesting lives and fascinating people.

And if you look at the European royals, because they've taken away a lot of the glamour, I think the Danish royals just cycle around Copenhagen as nice as that is, they're less exciting and interesting.

Yeah, we're going back to magic.There has to be a bit of magic there.And do you want them to be totally normal?And the answer is yes.No.Also Queen Victoria, she was the mother of pretty much every European royal family.

They're all related to Queen Victoria in some way.

There's a famous photograph, isn't there, where it's literally 8 or 15 members of the royal family across Europe were somehow related to Queen Victoria.In the early last century.Right, we're running out of time, so we've got time for our quickfire questions.Do you want to...You can hold on to that one.

Oh, yes, yeah.Well, did you want to...?

Have you got more questions there?We've got more questions here.So these are quickfire questions.So we've answered Google.You don't need to look on the internet anymore.We've solved that.

We are the internet.

We are the internet.Right, after Meghan's appearance on MasterChef, which reality show would you like to see her on next?

The only way is Sussex.

Oh, very good.

The only way is Sussex.I think she's only been to Sussex once, early on in their royal, what turned out to be an 18 -month stretch in the royal family.So she needs to learn more about Sussex, of course.

Yes, she seems to like to use the title.

We know there are some MPs in Sussex who want the title taken away, but that's not going to happen.But yeah, she needs to get to know Sussex.So get local people to take her around and show her the sights.

I'd say Housewives of Montecito.I'd love to see a bit of that.You know, Ellen, Oprah.God, who else lives in Montecito?Yeah, I'd watch that.I'd watch the hell out of that.

That'd be great.

Good ideas.Now, with Fergie set to inherit millions, what should be the first thing she spends her money on?

Simon, go for it.

Is anyone going to say a good lawyer?

I was going to say that.Well, you said that.

Yeah, I said it.

Vanishing cream?

A house in a cave somewhere on top of a hill, away from the public eye.

I think she definitely needs a house.

Yes, she does.Yeah.

OK, and finally, after Harry called Sir Clive Alderton the wasp, what insect would you compare Harry to?

I thought that was all a bit strange, the stuff in the book about the wasp and the bee and stuff.Well, he would be a hoverfly, because he was a helicopter pilot.

Oh, nice.It's not an insect, but I mean, he is known as the farks by Megan.

The Fox?

That was my terrible American accent.The Fox.It's not an insect though, I've completely broken the rules, but yeah.

That's fine, I'm happy with those answers because I was a little bit worried about what we might get and whether you were able to cut the last couple of minutes of the show.So thanks guys, I appreciate that.Right, I've had a lot of fun, so thanks a lot.Thanks a lot.Thank you.Right, that's all we have time for on this week's Royal Exclusive.

Thanks to my guests Simon and Samara, and thanks to you for watching.And as always, remember to comment as well as subscribe to us here on our Royal Exclusive YouTube channel for the latest Royal news, and we'll see you next week.