WEBVTT
1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:10.439
Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I.
2
00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:12.960
I'm your host, Mark Francis. According to The Daily Mail,
3
00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:16.199
Megan Michael is reportedly eager to score an invitation to
4
00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:19.519
the upcoming wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey, though
5
00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:22.640
her efforts so far appear to have fallen flat. The
6
00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:25.679
Duchess of Sussex recently shared a promotional clip for her
7
00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:29.960
lifestyle brand as Ever, using Swift's new song Opelite as
8
00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:32.960
the soundtrack, a move seen as a most direct attempt
9
00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:35.880
yet to get the pop star's attention. The track, widely
10
00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:39.560
believed to be inspired by Swift's romance with Kelsey, was
11
00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:42.479
a carefully chosen nod at a clear olive branch from Megan,
12
00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.840
who has long admired the singer, but despite the gesture,
13
00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:48.960
there's little sign that the friendship is blossoming. Swift has
14
00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:52.119
long been friendly with Prince William, performing with him at
15
00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:55.439
a charity gala in twenty thirteen and posing with him
16
00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:58.320
and his children George and Charlotte backstage at her London
17
00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:02.119
concert this summer. Fans dubbed Swift Team Wales after the
18
00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:05.120
singer shared a birthday selfie with the Prince, while Meghan
19
00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:09.560
and Harry were notably absent. In contrast, Meghan's earlier attempts
20
00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:12.680
to connect haven't gone well. She previously invited Swift to
21
00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:16.400
appear on her Archetypes podcast, but lea singer decline through
22
00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:19.599
her representative inside to say the Duchess has made multiple
23
00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:24.040
approaches since with no luck. Adding to the awkwardness, Prince
24
00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:26.120
Harry hasn't been much help in closing the gap. When
25
00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:28.799
comedian Hassan Minaj asked me about a supposed feud between
26
00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:33.120
Swift and Charlie XDX on his podcast, Harry appeared bewildered,
27
00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:36.439
replying the what no, no, suggesting he's not following pop
28
00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:41.159
culture closely. Meghan was reportedly spotted dancing enthusiastically at Swift's
29
00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:43.920
Los Angeles errors to a Stopped last year, but she
30
00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.920
wasn't photographed with a singer or seated in the VIP section. Meanwhile,
31
00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.359
Swift's public closeness with William has been interpreted by Royal
32
00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:54.840
watches as a deliberate signal. For now, Meghan's pop star
33
00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:57.799
diplomacy seems to be going nowhere. As one Royal insider
34
00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:00.400
put it, the Duchess may be sending all the rights signals,
35
00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:02.640
but Taylor Swift appears firmly on the other side of
36
00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.599
the royal isle, and an invite to what's being billed
37
00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:08.840
as the wedding of the Decade looks unlikely to arrive
38
00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:14.400
in Montecito. A royal biographer's claims about Meghan Markul's twenty
39
00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:18.560
sixteen charity trip to Rwanda have resurfaced amid new controversy
40
00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:23.240
surrounding the organization that hosted her world vision. According to
41
00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:27.439
Revenge author Tom Bauer, Meghan opportunistically orchestrated the visit to
42
00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:31.680
promote her humanitarian image, demanding first class flights, a personal
43
00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:34.800
makeup artist, a fashion photographer, and several suitcases of clothes
44
00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.000
for the four day trip. He alleged that each pose
45
00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:40.360
was followed by a change of clothing, as she was
46
00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:43.719
photographed hugging and playing with village children while filming a
47
00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:47.439
campaign about clean water projects. Bauer wrote that the actress
48
00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:50.120
insisted on flying to Rwanda first class and being accompanied
49
00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:54.639
by Gabord Jurina, a Canadian fashion photographer, along with American
50
00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:58.199
stylist Michael Goyette, explaining that only Michael knew how to
51
00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:02.759
style My Black Hair. Mans reportedly pushed production costs over budget,
52
00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:06.479
forcing the original producer to drop out. Afterwards, producer Brenda
53
00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:09.360
Saminsky said she was mind blown that anyone would stage
54
00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:13.599
a photoshop in an impoverished African village, adding that Meghan
55
00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:18.439
opportunistically orchestrated the trip to pose as a philanthropist. Meghan
56
00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:21.080
has had no formal connection with the charity since twenty eighteen.
57
00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:23.840
Her official website still notes that she traveled to countries
58
00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:28.240
like Rwanda and India to support humanitarian missions with well Vision,
59
00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:31.360
while her now defunct blog The Tig reflected on the
60
00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:35.120
challenge of moving between refugee camps and red carpets. Bower's
61
00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:38.319
book suggests that even then, Meghan's ambitions were clear. She
62
00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:40.439
was on a path with visions of something good happening
63
00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:45.479
at the end, but her destination was unknown. In The Spectator,
64
00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:48.199
Lee Cohen believes Harry and Meghan deserve the same fate
65
00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:52.639
as Andrew Windsor. The contrast with Andrew is instructive. His
66
00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:56.599
scandals were excruciating, but born of poor judgment and settled
67
00:03:56.639 --> 00:04:01.240
civility without admission of liability. The Sussexes output, by contrast
68
00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:05.360
is active and deliberate, a sustained public narrative of grievance
69
00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:10.240
broadcast globally for substantial financial reward. The Oprah Interview, Netflix
70
00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:16.160
documentary and spare detailed family tensions, media pressures, and institutional shortcomings.
71
00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:19.639
Whether framed as transparency or self promotion, The content has
72
00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:23.639
undeniably damaged the royal family. The government has signaled no
73
00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:28.639
appetite for legislation targeting the Sussexes, and constitutional experts say
74
00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:32.680
that their titles, unlike Andrew's HRH, are hereditary and protected
75
00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:36.439
by law. Still, the King retains levels short of statute.
76
00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:39.800
He could further restrict the Sussex's access to royal platforms,
77
00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.959
clarify succession protocols to minimize their Council of State roles,
78
00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.279
or issued guidance limiting commercial use of titles in official
79
00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:51.800
contexts Andrews demotion required no public vote. Future clarifications of
80
00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:56.040
royal branding could follow the same sovereign path. The monarchy's
81
00:04:56.120 --> 00:05:00.519
endurance hinges on reputation, trust and adaptability, not sentiments. The
82
00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:04.279
King and Prince of Wales have rightly prioritized institutional integrity
83
00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:09.560
over familial loyalty, as evidenced by Andrew's swift marginalization, the
84
00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:13.560
Sussex's continued prominence sustained by titles they no longer serve.
85
00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:18.319
Tests that resolve Andrew's punishment was just and proportionate. The
86
00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:21.959
Sussex's case is more complex, not criminal, not passive, but
87
00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:25.480
a calculated divergence from the late Queen's vision. Equity does
88
00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:29.480
not demand identical treatment, but it does require consistency. Why
89
00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:31.680
should quitters who work in the service of nothing and
90
00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:35.560
no one but themselves enjoy these honors more palace? In
91
00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:42.160
just a moment, Prince William the Peer too quietly disproved
92
00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:44.439
one of meghan Markos most talked about claims during his
93
00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:47.560
trip to Brazil. While taking part in football drills with
94
00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:51.279
children at Rio's Maricanya Stadium, the Prince of Wales was
95
00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:54.879
photographed laughing, hugging, and high fiving the youngsters, a warm
96
00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.639
display that stood in stark contrast to Meghan's description of
97
00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.319
her first meeting with him. In the twenty two two
98
00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:02.839
Netflix DOCKU series Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex
99
00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:06.240
recalled that William and Catherine seemed uncomfortable with physical affection,
100
00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:09.439
saying she had greeted him in ripped jeans and barefoot,
101
00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:12.360
explaining I was a hugger. I didn't realize that this
102
00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:14.720
is really jarring for a lot of Brits. Harry later
103
00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:17.920
echoed the sentiment in his memoir Spare, writing that his
104
00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:21.480
brother recoiled when Meghan tried to hug him, but William's
105
00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:23.879
easy embrace of children in Brazil seemed to tell a
106
00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.079
different story. Photos of the heir to the throne hugging
107
00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:30.480
and chatting with the young footballers quickly circulated online, with
108
00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:34.120
fans commenting that the jarring theory had finally been debunked.
109
00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:37.040
One wrote the Royals did not find hug's jarring from
110
00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:40.680
genuinely lovely people, Prince William and Rio, while another added,
111
00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:45.319
look not jarring at all. Even a tree has now
112
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:49.399
been pulled into the storm surrounding Andrew. Mount Batton, Windsor Lisburne,
113
00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:52.079
a city just southwest of Belfast, no one for its
114
00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.199
long royal connections and celebrating its four hundredth anniversary this year,
115
00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:57.560
has found itself at the center of the latest fallout
116
00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:00.560
over the former prince. Years ago, when lize Burne marked
117
00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.959
it's milestone as a town, Andrew planted an Irish u
118
00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:07.800
tree outside the Council's headquarters at Leighan Valley, Island. A
119
00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:11.000
plaque nearby proudly bought his old title HRH to the
120
00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:13.360
Duke of York. Now that the title has gone and
121
00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:15.360
the city has left wondering what to do with the reminder,
122
00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:19.000
a spokesperson explained the tree was planted to recognize four
123
00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:21.560
hundred years of Lisbon being a town and in line
124
00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:24.800
with our sustainability strategy, we would not be removing it.
125
00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:27.959
Any action regarding the plaque would be undertaken in line
126
00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:31.319
with any future guidance issued by the Northern Ireland Office.
127
00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:34.600
We have contacted the Northern Island Office and await feedback.
128
00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:39.839
Christopher Howes and the Telegraph wonders what will we really
129
00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:43.360
call mister mount Batton windsor hows Rights. After all, you
130
00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:45.600
still find the Princess of where it was being called
131
00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:48.600
Kate Middleton online. I don't think she's ever been called
132
00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:50.560
that at home, and it's now fourteen years since she
133
00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:53.480
became a duchess. There was a vicious circle at work
134
00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:57.160
in calling her Kate. Search Engine optimization sent online traffic
135
00:07:57.160 --> 00:07:59.600
to sites with Kate Middleton. It was like a twitter
136
00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:03.439
pile on a brainless adamibration of the Joys of Ai.
137
00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:07.920
The royal family itself confused things by assuming arbitrary surnames.
138
00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:10.120
Prince William and Prince Harry were known as Wales at
139
00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:13.040
school and had the word written on their military overalls,
140
00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:15.639
but their father, the present King, never had Wales as
141
00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:18.800
a surname, even as Prince of Wales. The King has
142
00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:22.040
wisely kept the present shunting of titles out of Parliament,
143
00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:24.959
but the talkative Chamber of Horrors might have to be
144
00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:28.160
resorted to if we are to ensure Andrew mount Batman
145
00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:31.240
winsor never becomes regent. If by some very sad event,
146
00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:33.720
the King and the Prince of Wales were to predecease
147
00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:36.879
Little Prince George before he is eighteen and twenty thirty one,
148
00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.240
the Regency Act comes into force, it would make the
149
00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:43.639
Duke of Sussex the regent, reigning in George's place. That
150
00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:46.039
would be bad, But the Duke of Sussex lives abroad
151
00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:49.080
and that would disqualify him under the Act. So the
152
00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.759
lot would fall on Andrew. And there you have it,
153
00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:55.440
if you like to email us addresses the Palace intrigue
154
00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.279
at a gmail at dot com. Don't forget Today his Sunday,
155
00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:02.559
and a new episode of Crown and Controversy. Prince Andrew
156
00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:07.039
is out covering the rise and fall of Prince Andrew.
157
00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:09.559
Check it out wherever you get your podcasts like this one.
158
00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:11.840
You can click on the link in the show notes
159
00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:15.879
or just search for Crown and Controversy Prince Andrew. My
160
00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:18.279
France has been thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace,
161
00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:20.000
Intrigue and Good Times.