WEBVTT
1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:10.919
Calarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Pallace Intrigue. I
2
00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:13.839
am your host, Mark Francis. The Royal family has long
3
00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:16.399
been a target for conspiracy theories, but one of the
4
00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:22.320
more unusual claims links the monarchy directly to reptiles. The
5
00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:25.079
late Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family
6
00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:28.359
have in the past been branded shape shifting aliens by
7
00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:32.640
conspiracy theorists, an idea most prominently pushed by a former
8
00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:37.840
journalist investigative historian, Tony McMahon, author of the forthcoming book
9
00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:41.640
The Knights Templar, says the monarchy's unique position makes it
10
00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:45.240
fertile ground for such theories. The Royal family has been
11
00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:49.119
a magnet for conspiracy theories in part because they occupy
12
00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:52.200
the top position in our society and yet are shrouded
13
00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:55.119
in a degree of mystery and ancient ritual. He says,
14
00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:57.840
the pomp and ceremonies set them apart from the rest
15
00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:01.320
of us, and so unsurprisingly some people have deduced there
16
00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:05.519
may be shape shifting aliens. There are aloofnesses because they are
17
00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:10.319
not actually human. But Man traces the modern origins of
18
00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.439
the so called reptilian theory back to the late nineteen nineties.
19
00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:16.879
In nineteen ninety eight, the ex BBC presenter turned New
20
00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:21.680
Age philosopher David Ick claimed in a book titled The
21
00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:25.200
Biggest Secret that members of the Royal family were reptiles
22
00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:29.200
with crowns. He explains, since then, some believers have gone
23
00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:31.920
as far to claim that members of the royal family
24
00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:37.480
blink in a lizard like manner. According to McMahon, the
25
00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:40.200
idea has only grown more elaborate over time. The lizard
26
00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:43.280
theory has become bound up with ancient mythologies and science fiction.
27
00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.560
He says there are different variations, with one being that
28
00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:51.799
the Royal family are reptilian extraterrestrials from a constellation called Draco.
29
00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.799
We did ask our Royal inside a deep crown about this,
30
00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:58.680
who assured us via text. As for members of the
31
00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:01.719
family blinking in a life like manner, one can only
32
00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:05.120
assume these observers have never sat through a long state
33
00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:09.159
banquet or spent hours standing in formation during trooping. The
34
00:02:09.319 --> 00:02:13.919
color the Telegraph caught our attention with the headline did
35
00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:18.159
the BBC kill Diana? This book suggests so now, while
36
00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:20.400
we don't think they did. A new book examining the
37
00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:24.280
events surrounding Princess Diana's nineteen ninety five Panorama interview has
38
00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:27.319
raised fresh questions about the BBC's handling of the program
39
00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:32.319
and its aftermath. Diana Rama The Betrayal of Princess Diana,
40
00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:36.479
written by investigative journalist Andy Webb, sets out a detailed
41
00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:39.479
account of how the interview was secured, how concerns were
42
00:02:39.560 --> 00:02:43.120
concealed within the corporation, and how the consequences shaped the
43
00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:46.280
final years of the princess's life. The author argues that
44
00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:50.280
the interview had far reaching implications. Webrights that because of
45
00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.439
what Martin Basher had done in nineteen ninety five, and
46
00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:57.240
more importantly, because it had then been covered up, Diana's
47
00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:00.360
life had been sent off on a terribly dangerous course,
48
00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:04.879
resulting in her death. He suggests that the program, watched
49
00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:07.840
by twenty three million people at the time, altered the
50
00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:12.159
trajectory of Diana's personal and public life and contributed to
51
00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:17.639
the pressures she later faced. Webb's investigation revisits evidence first
52
00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:19.919
brought to light in twenty twenty, including the use of
53
00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:23.000
Fate Bank statements to gain the confidence of Diana's brother,
54
00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:27.159
Earl Spencer, and by extension, the Princess herself. The book
55
00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:30.479
lays out house senior figures at the PBC dismissed, early,
56
00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:35.319
concerned and concealed internal correspondence that would have shown the
57
00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:39.360
extent of the wrongdoing. Web contends that the corporation went
58
00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:43.719
to great lengths to avoid transparency. The book draws on
59
00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.479
a wide range of sources, including interviews with Earl Spencer
60
00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:49.879
and others with direct knowledge of events. Web also examined
61
00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:53.080
the broader media environment of the period, including the nineteen
62
00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.639
ninety four Jonathan Dimbleby interview with then Prince of Wales
63
00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:01.159
where Charles acknowledged his relationship with Camilla Parker after what
64
00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:05.639
Web describes as pressure from the broadcaster. Web makes clear
65
00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:08.080
that his criticism is directed not at the royal family,
66
00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:11.240
but at the conduct of Bashir and the BBC's response.
67
00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:13.879
He writes that the bad smell that hangs over the
68
00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:16.720
interview has robbed Diana of her voice in the segments
69
00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:19.240
where she actually did have something very valuable to say.
70
00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:23.240
As Web concludes, the questions surrounding the interview and its
71
00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:27.040
legacy remain unresolved. What I think the BBC does not
72
00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:29.399
appreciate is that this is a story which will not
73
00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:32.720
go away, he writes, arguing that the events of nineteen
74
00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.480
ninety five continue to shape public understanding of both the
75
00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:41.560
princess and the national broadcaster. Prince Philip privately remarked upon
76
00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:45.279
what he saw as eerie similarities between Megan and Wallace
77
00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.319
Simpson when Meghan was first introduced to the royal family.
78
00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.319
According to Richard Eden, drawing on Ingrid Seward's book My
79
00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:55.759
Mother and I, Eden said Queen Elizabeth initially championed Prince
80
00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:59.959
Harry's new partner, but Prince Philip was weary from the outsie.
81
00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:03.920
Seward writes, while the Queen continued to champion Harry's new love,
82
00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:08.319
Prince Philip warned his wife to be cautious. It was uncanny.
83
00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:10.560
He told her how much Meghan reminded him of the
84
00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:13.839
Duchess of Windsor he wasn't, simply referring to the fact
85
00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:17.319
that both were pencil slim, dark haired, and glamorous. American
86
00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:21.279
Divorce says Philip had met Wallace Simpson on several occasions
87
00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:24.240
before her death in nineteen eighty six, and Suard suggests
88
00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:28.879
he says that Meghan might prove similarly disruptive to the institution.
89
00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:32.480
Eight decades before Harry and Meghan met through a mutual friend,
90
00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:35.920
Wallace had played a defining role in the abdication crisis
91
00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:39.279
as King Edward the Eighth relinquished the throne after three
92
00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:43.480
hundred and twenty six days to marry the twice divorced socialite.
93
00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:45.959
Eden notes that while Harry's marriage to Meghan would later
94
00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:48.720
lead to its own period of upheaval, the Duke of
95
00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:52.399
Edinburgh had been skeptical well before their engagement. When Harry
96
00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:56.279
confirmed plans to marry after a swift sixteen month courtship,
97
00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.360
Philip had said to have offered appointed warning, one steps
98
00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:03.600
out with actress, one doesn't marry them. Comparisons were drawn
99
00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:07.120
beyond their backgrounds. Wallace first encountered Edward in nineteen thirty
100
00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:11.360
one while married to her second husband, Ernest Simpson. Megan
101
00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:14.199
likewise had a previous marriage, having wed and later divorced
102
00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:18.120
producer Trevor Engelson in Jamaica before her wedding at Saint
103
00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:22.040
George's Chapel in twenty eighteen. In commentary on her substack,
104
00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:25.720
Royal's Extra, historian Sally Bedell Smith writes that Harry had
105
00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:29.839
no problem marrying a divorcee whereas Wallace's situation had been
106
00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:33.720
all but impossible, As she notes in nineteen thirty six,
107
00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.160
neither the government nor the Church of England would permit
108
00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:39.120
the future king marrying a woman with two husbands. Living,
109
00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:42.480
as Queen Mary famously put it, Edward was urged by
110
00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.319
his mother in Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin to end the
111
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:49.000
relationship for the good of the country. Edward and Wallace
112
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.600
ultimately married in France in June nineteen thirty seven, a
113
00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:54.360
modest ceremony held without any members of the royal family.
114
00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:58.040
Wallace chose a pale blue dress, Edward wore a civilian suit.
115
00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:01.399
Meghan's wedding, by contrast, was a grand and televised event,
116
00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:06.160
attended by senior royals and international figures including Elton, John Oprah, Winfrey,
117
00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:10.759
Prianca Chopa and George Clooney. There were, however, private misgivings,
118
00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:14.079
but Delsmith recounts that Lady Elizabeth Anson, a close friend
119
00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:17.319
of the late Queen, recalled her majesty, believing Megan's two
120
00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.079
hundred thousand pounds Javonci gown was too white and that
121
00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:24.040
it was not appropriate for a divorce getting remarried in
122
00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:29.399
church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal. Eden also points
123
00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:32.399
out that Gavon She had been a label favored by
124
00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:36.000
Wallace Simpson decades earlier, and that the Rolls Royce Phantom
125
00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:38.759
four carrying Meghan to the chapel was the same model
126
00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:43.240
used for Wallace's funeral. Eden highlighted another detail noted by
127
00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:47.360
a biographer, Robert Hardman. Both brides had only one family
128
00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:51.360
member present. In Wallace's case, only her aunt Bessie was present,
129
00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:55.879
and Megan had just her mother, Dorria Ragland, Hardman said.
130
00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:59.439
Eden later remarked, isn't it strange that both Americans had
131
00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:02.319
barely any family members present on the biggest day of
132
00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:04.759
their lives. I'm not sure what that says about them,
133
00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:08.360
but isn't it a bit of a red flag? More balancing?
134
00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:14.560
Just a moment. Zara and Mike Tendall say the secret
135
00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.120
to their long lasting marriage is accepting that life isn't
136
00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:21.000
perfect and remembering to have fun. Speaking of the Beauty Awards,
137
00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.279
Zara said, We've been together for twenty one years. Nothing
138
00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:27.560
runs smoothly. Ever, You've got to accept that in life
139
00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:30.199
it's a work in progress, but you've got to have fun.
140
00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:33.519
Mike added, the kid's are the biggest challenge that ever
141
00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:36.519
comes your way in a marriage, especially with three children
142
00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:41.080
or doing different things. Former BBC Royal correspondent Jenny Bond
143
00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:44.360
said the couple are clearly still madly in love, don't
144
00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:47.799
take life too seriously and remain really good friends, recalling
145
00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:50.000
how they met in Australia and that, as Mike once
146
00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:52.559
put it, we realized we both like to get smashed.
147
00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:56.279
It appears the media has taken the secret weapon nickname
148
00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:00.399
away from Sophie. The new secret weapon is Lady Louise Windsor.
149
00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:03.840
According to Vanity Fair, Louise is being quietly positioned as
150
00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:07.559
a potential asset to a modernizing royal family, with sources
151
00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:11.120
describing the twenty two year old as its secret weapon
152
00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:15.240
amid growing questions about the monarchy's future. Attention on the
153
00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:18.559
younger generation of royals has intensified following Prince William's comments
154
00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:21.919
about wanting to change the institution when he becomes king,
155
00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:26.679
combined with ongoing fallout from the Andrew mount Batten Windsor scandal.
156
00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.799
Against that backdrop, Lady Louise is being singled out as
157
00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:33.080
a figure who embodies a more low key relatable image.
158
00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:36.399
She is the daughter of Prince Edward and former secret
159
00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:40.679
weapon Sophie. Unlike many of her royal cousins, Lady Louise
160
00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:43.440
does not use an HRH or princess's title, despite being
161
00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:46.000
entitled to one. Her parents chose not to style their
162
00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:49.480
children as princes or princesses, leaving the decision to them
163
00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:53.759
when they reach adulthood. Speaking about that choice, Sophie said,
164
00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:55.879
we try to bring them up with the understanding that
165
00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.000
they are very likely to have to work for a living.
166
00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:00.799
They have them and can decide to use from eighteen,
167
00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:04.720
but I think it's highly unlikely. Louise is currently studying
168
00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:07.080
for an English degree at the University of Saint Andrew's,
169
00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.559
where she began her studies in twenty twenty two. The
170
00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:13.679
Scottish university has strong royal connections, having also been attended
171
00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:18.000
by Prince William and Catherine, Princess Wales. Despite her lineage,
172
00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:21.519
Louise grew up largely shielded from royal formality. Sophie has
173
00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:24.279
previously revealed that her daughter did not initially realize the
174
00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:27.240
Queen was her grandmother, recalling how Louise came home from
175
00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:30.519
school confused after classmates mentioned it. I don't think she
176
00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:34.000
had grasped that perhaps there was only one Queen. Sophie said,
177
00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:36.639
her reputation is one of the most down to earth
178
00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:39.039
members of the royal family that has been reinforced by
179
00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:42.960
her everyday choices. Before university, she worked at a garden
180
00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.759
center while waiting for a level results, reportedly earning an
181
00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:49.720
hourly wage and helping customers on the tills. She has
182
00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:52.159
also been photographed sitting on the floor of a crowded
183
00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:55.440
train carriage while working on her laptop, prompting one insider
184
00:10:55.480 --> 00:11:00.720
to label her the most down to earth Royal. If
185
00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.080
you would like to email us our addresses the palaceintric
186
00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:06.240
at email dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple, Facebook, Instagram.
187
00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:08.879
We're on all the social media sites, and leave us
188
00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:10.679
a nice review for him joining the show and Mark
189
00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:13.440
Francis My thanks to John mcdermoy. This is Palace Intrigue
190
00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:14.919
and good terms.