Meghan Markle & Prince Harry latest news: Spotify work to continue despite ‘concerns’ as Duchess set to ‘relaunch blog’

Sussexes stick with £18million podcast deal

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had come under pressure to ditch their reported £18million mega-deal with the company after it was accused of hosting anti-jab content by US comedian Joe Rogan.

In a statement released over the weekend, they said they had spoken with Spotify bosses about their concerns.

But the couple insisted they were committed to continuing their own deal with the tech giant "to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis".

They said: "Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis.

"Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of mis- and disinformation every day.

"Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of Covid misinformation on its platform.

"We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis.

"We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does."

Platinum bank holiday weekend (Continued…)

A Big Jubilee Lunch will then be held up and down the country on June 5, with over 1,400 people having registered to host their own big lunch so far.

Other celebrations include the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, where performers, dancers, musicians, military personnel, key workers and volunteers will unite to tell the story of The Queen’s 70 year reign in a festival of creativity.

The London based Pageant is said to combine "pomp and ceremony, street arts, theatre, music, circus, costumes as well as cutting-edge visual technology".

A ‘River of Hope’ section will also see two hundred silk flags process down The Mall, appearing like a moving river.

Platinum bank holiday weekend (Continued...)

On the Friday, a Service of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s reign will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Further details of the are expected to be announced in due course.

On the Saturday, the BBC will host a huge 'Platinum Party at the Palace' - a live concert bringing together some of the world’s biggest entertainment stars to celebrate some of the most significant moments from The Queen’s reign.

All UK residents can enter a ballot to secure tickets, set to launch in February.

Platinum bank holiday weekend

The long weekend will start with a bang on the Thursday as the Queen’s Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) is held.

The colour will be trooped by the 1^st Battalion, Irish Guards, and more than 1,200 officers and soldiers from the Household Division will put on a display of military pageantry on Horse Guards Parade, together with hundreds of Army musicians and horses.

On the same day, over 1500 towns, villages and cities throughout the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories will come together to light a beacon to mark the Jubilee.

Beacons will also be lit in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth countries, with the Principal beacon will be lit in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Royal hospital visits sparked a surge in Brits writing wills last year

Hospital visits made by the Queen and Prince Philip sparked a surge in Brits writing up wills last year, according to figures.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s admittance to hospital in February 2021 led to an upsurge of 131 per cent in the number of wills produced.

According to the insight from will writer and funeral provider, Farewill, the ‘Royal effect’ continued with a 26 percent increase in will writing following the Queen going into hospital on 22 October.

Other notable announcements included Sir Captain Tom Moore receiving treatment for Covid, which saw a 39 per cent spike in will writing.

While the tragic passing of Girls Aloud star, Sarah Harding, at the age of 39, had a profound effect on the millennial generation – with a 33 percent increase in end-of-life planning the following day.

Additional research polling 2,000 UK adults also found nearly a third (32 percent) said they rarely consider their own mortality unless prompted by the death of others.

While seeing someone of the same age (34 percent) or younger (36 percent) pass away was particularly impactful.

It also emerged Mondays at 2pm is the most popular time to write a will, with nearly a fifth of all will writing to take place over the last three years being on the first day of the week.

Charity set up by Prince Phillip infiltrated

CHINESE intelligence officers infiltrated a charity set up by the late Prince Philip.

They wheedled their way into FaithInvest to conduct operations and buy influence.

Agents teamed up with the charity to meet the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle. The Duke also met the charity’s co-founder, Martin Palmer, at Buckingham Palace.

The revelations come after UK intelligence exposed a Chinese spy ring that tried to infiltrate Parliament.

And intelligence sources have now revealed that Communist agents working for a Beijing department accused by MI5 of espionage visited the Palace in 2017.

They also met the Prince on several occasions through a second charity, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), which was also set up by Mr Palmer.

Meghan could be set to relaunch lifestyle blog (Continued...)

Meghan launched The Tig from her home in Canada in 2014, when she was an actress in the legal drama Suits.

Explaining the blog's name, she previously said of her first sip of Tignanello wine: "It was an ah-ha moment at its finest.

"For me it became a 'Tig' moment – a moment of getting it."

Around the time of joining the Royal Family, Meghan closed her blog, personal Instagram page and quit acting.

But since stepping down as senior Royals, she and Harry have explored new opportunities like working with Netflix and high-profile interviews - meaning a return to blogging could be Meghan's next business venture.

Meghan could be set to relaunch lifestyle blog

The Duchess of Sussex shut The Tig, which is named after her favourite wine Tignanello, in April 2017 - before announcing her engagement to Prince Harry that year.

Now Meghan has applied to reactivate The Tig trademark, a move sure to excite her fans.

She previously described the blog as a "passion project" which "evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity".

Public records in America, accessed by , show LA lawyer Marjorie Witter Norman filed a new application to trademark the name in July last year.

"There are deep, deep worries that this will get worse"

Princes Charles, 73, and William, 39, are leading efforts to persuade him to stop the case dragging on to protect the family from further humiliation, royal sources say.

A Royal source told The Sun: “After the car crash of News night no-one thinks a seven-hour deposition is a good idea. If he were to appear in court it could be many times worse and senior royals were deeply shocked when they heard that he was demanding a jury trial.

“The best outcome for everyone is that this is settled as soon as possible. There are deep, deep worries that this will get worse and worse for the family and will overshadow Platinum Jubilee celebrations.”

Lawyer for Virginia Roberts ‘to quiz him Andrew in UK'

THE lawyer for Prince Andrew's sex-abuse accuser is set to question him in the UK for two "uncomfortable" days - but will reportedly spare the other Royals.

The renowned attorney, 80, has said he will not require evidence from Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, his daughters or the Queen, however.

"I’m going to try to get him to understand that this is not going to be combative"’ he told The Mail On Sunday.

"Obviously, I’m going to ask him a lot of questions.

"And although some of the questions may be uncomfortable, I’m not going to be aggressive or in any way offensive to him. I’m going to be respectful."

He expects his visit to last "a day or two" and, should the case go to court, Mr Boies said he "doesn't think we would need" other members of the royal family to testify.

Prince Andrew could face 'BAILIFFS coming round'

PRINCE Andrew faces bailiffs turning up at his home - the £30 million Royal Lodge to seize his assets - if loses his sex case trial, a lawyer has warned.

Already there have been claims he has sold his £17 million ski chalet in the Swiss alps to avoid having it seized should he lose the case.

And while his home, the Royal Lodge, is not owned by him - he could see officers from the court turning up at the gates.

Lawyer Arick Fudali, who has worked closely with victims of Epstein for Lisa Bloom’s firm, said Andrew faces having his assets seized if he loses.

"There is a method and procedure for seizing assets, even overseas assets, in the event there is an award of damages and the defendant tries to avoid paying,” he told The Sun Online.

“This could include seizing bank accounts, physical property, etc. 

“Assuming for the sake of this question that there is an award of damages against Prince Andrew, he would be able to avoid the seizure of assets by posting a bond pending the inevitable appeal.

“Assuming the appeal goes in favour of Ms. Giuffre, Prince Andrew would either have to pay the amount owed, settle the matter for another amount, or risk his assets being seized.”

Prince Andrew news you may have missed

• The Sun On Sunday revealed  after his accuser’s lawyer signalled she would reach a settlement if he admitted the claims against him.
• The monster bill is far less than the Duke would face if he lost a jury trial.
• It was mooted as Virginia Giuffre’s veteran lawyer David Boies suggested for the first time she would accept a payout.
• Speculation over the case was fuelled by Mr Boies’ remarks which came days after Andrew issued a denial of her claims in legal papers and demanded a jury trial in the US.
• Ms Giuffre — who alleges Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17, which he has always strongly denied — has previously insisted a financial settlement alone would not be enough for her.
• Her lawyer — who has previously represented Hollywood sex offender Harvey Weinstein — said: “We would be unlikely to settle in a situation in which somebody has just handed over a cheque.

Meghan Markle could relaunch her blog

MEGHAN Markle could be set to relaunch her lifestyle blog, five years after closing it down.

The Duchess of Sussex shut The Tig, which is named after her favourite wine Tignanello, in April 2017 - before announcing her engagement to Prince Harry that year.

Now Meghan has applied to reactivate The Tig trademark, a move sure to excite her fans.

She previously described the blog as a "passion project" which "evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity".

Public records in America, accessed by , show LA lawyer Marjorie Witter Norman filed a new application to trademark the name in July last year.

The trademark application was filed under a Delaware-based holding company called Frim Fram Inc, which is linked to the Duchess' business manager Andrew Meyer, according to the Mail.

Harry & Markle ‘express concerns’ to Spotify

PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle have hit out at Spotify after the streaming giant was accused of hosting anti-vaxxer content.

The couple - who have an £18million deal to produce podcasts for the company - have come under pressure to ditch their contract.

And in a statement released on Sunday, they said they have spoken with Spotify bosses about their concerns.

They said: "Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis.

"Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of mis- and disinformation every day.

"Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of Covid misinformation on its platform.

"We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis.

"We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does."

The platform is home to Covid jab sceptic Joe Rogan's podcast 'The Joe Rogan Experience', as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Archewell Audio.

The Sussexes making celeb connections

Elsewhere, it's reported that the royal pair are making more celeb connections.

Meghan and Harry are understood to have asked for secret talks with Spider-Man couple Tom Holland and Zendaya, despite them never meeting previously.

The Duke and Duchess were reportedly eager to rub shoulders with the stars, whose recent release took £1.27billion at the box office.

Harry vowed to become “financially independent” when he and Meghan, 40, quit their lives as senior royals in 2020 and moved to the US.

Ms Levin, who spent a year working with Harry for an authorised biography, told Sun Online: "This all seems to be a big turnaround from their philanthropic and non-profit work to just pure entertainment.

"It suggests they want to earn loads more money."

Highlighting Harry's appearance on James Corden's show last February, and Meghan's on Ellen's back in November, Ms Levin said there are "rumours" the pair will hit Hollywood.

Prince Andrew dubbed Beijing’s ‘useful idiot’

PRINCE Andrew has been branded Beijing's "useful idiot" after reportedly making trips to China as the guest of an organisation linked to communist spies.

The  - who is facing turbulence over his ongoing sex abuse case - is said to have heralded closer co-operation between the UK and China during eight visits between 2010 and 2019.

According to the , the trips were at the invitation of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs - which allegedly answers to the Communist regime's intelligence and propaganda unit.

The Duke, 61, has been dubbed a "classic useful idiot" for "seemingly allowing himself to be used" by the United Front Work Department, which the MI5 says has been involved in "foreign interference" and was seeking to "corrupt and coerce" British politicians.

Camilla to take Meghan Markle’s patronage

The Duchess of Cornwall is to become royal patron of the National Theatre - a position previously held by the Duchess of Sussex.

Meghan was gifted the prestigious duty by the Queen, 95, in 2019 after herself holding it for 45 years.

But the former actress was stripped of the patronage when she and Prince Harry, 37, announced their departure from royal life one year later.

It reverted back to Her Majesty in 2020 but will be passed on to Camilla, 74, in the next few months, The Sunday Times reports.

A source close to the theatre-loving duchess claimed she was "pretty miffed" to have lost out on the role three years ago.

"She really wanted it," they said.

"She was pretty miffed when it went to Meghan, and will be all the more delighted to take it on now, after being disappointed not to get it first time round."

Prince Andrew 'seemingly allows himself to be used'

Mareike Ohlberg, co-author of Hidden Hand, which talks out the Chinese Communists Party's attempts to influence opinions abroad, told the Mail: "Prince Andrew is a classic 'useful idiot' and seemingly allows himself to be used."

Senior Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith added: "It is unfortunate that Prince Andrew appears to have been used this way."

Surge in Brits writing wills last year due to Philip’s passing

HOSPITAL visits made by the Queen and Prince Philip sparked a surge in Brits writing up wills last year, according to figures.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s admittance to hospital in February 2021 led to an upsurge of 131 per cent in the number of wills produced.

According to the insight from will writer and funeral provider, Farewill, the ‘Royal effect’ continued with a 26 percent increase in will writing following the Queen going into hospital on 22 October.

It also emerged Mondays at 2pm is the most popular time to write a will, with nearly a fifth of all will writing to take place over the last three years being on the first day of the week.

Read the article in full here.

A quiet year for Harry and Meghan?

The royal editor of the Daily Mirror Russell Myers highlighted this as a point of concern for the couple in 2022 following their multi-million deals with Spotify and Netflix this year.

An Australian TV host asked Mr Myers: "Russell, is it a quiet year ahead for Harry and Meghan or are we going to hear more from them?"

Mr Myers responded: "Anything can happen with those two, to be honest.

"They pop up every now and then and the world laps it up."

Lady Louise Windsor to 'go her own way'

A royal historian has opened up about the futures of Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, who told Express.co.uk that the Queen's grandchildren will "go their own ways".

The royal futures of Louise and her brother James have been discussed by royal historian Marlene Koenig, who said the pair are to “go their own ways”.

She told Express.co.uk: “She is going to be doing her own thing. She has already finished with boarding school, so she is on her gap year.

“Then she might choose to go to university, but again, that is going to be far more private than if she were Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wessex.

“It is the same for her brother. I think that is the plan. They are the grandchildren of the Queen. But they are going to have a far different, more quiet life.”

Harry to give lecture on importance of ‘taking a break’ 

PRINCE Harry is set to give a lecture on the importance of taking a break - despite making just one podcast since signing an £18million mega-deal with Spotify.

The talk will be screened to 100,000 people who subscribe to BetterUp. Harry was made the firm's chief impact officer last year.

Promos for the lecture show a photo of Harry alongside the slogan: "Breakthroughs happen when you take a break."

He will be joined at the Inner Work Day seminar by Meghan's friend Serena Williams.

Forget the Andrew saga - it's all about Harry

A source last week said: "Forget the Prince Andrew saga, the main topic of discussion at Clarence House is Harry’s book — and the reputational damage it could very well do.

"There are concerns about Harry’s recollections of Camilla’s entry into the Royal Family, and how her long-running romance with Charles damaged him from a young age.

"Harry is fiercely loyal and protective of his late mother and her legacy, and didn’t approve of Camilla sweeping in as the great love of his father’s life.

"Understandably he found those early years incredibly difficult, and he might publicly blame Camilla for much of what he believes went wrong in his childhood, and the trauma the whole situation caused.

"Charles is deeply protective of Camilla. The last thing he needs — especially in a year of celebration that should be all about the Queen — is an excoriating takedown of Camilla at a time when people have finally taken her to their hearts.”

Harry & Meghan's multi-million pound deals

The couple signed multi-million pound deals with both Spotify and Netflix back in 2020 - a decision Harry says he was forced to take after he was stripped of his security detail during Megxit.

The streaming giant said it was looking forward to a "full-scale" launch of shows in 2021 - but nothing appeared.

And after the lengthy wait, a host of in-house producers have been hired to finally deliver content for the royals.

Bosses are currently recruiting new in-house staff to work with Harry and Meghan's Archewell Audio for a show that features "the voices of high profile women."

Despite the delay in recording podcasts, the Sussexes are believed to be making plans for an Oprah-style media empire that could reportedly see them fronting their own talkshows.

Harry's book will provide a 'definitive account of his experiences'

Prince Harry's book will provide a "definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses and life lessons that have helped shape him".

Exactly what it will reveal remains to be seen, and just how damaging it could prove to Charles and Camilla similarly hangs in the balance.

But Harry has previously shared how he experienced "pain or suffering" because of the pain his parents endured in a potential dig at the way Charles handled the death of Diana when he was just 12.

He also told Oprah Winfrey that his father "literally cut me off financially" in 2020 and discussed his "genetic pain".