Caravan King, Movie Snuggles & Charles Heads to Washington: The Royals' Week From Hell with Mark Francis

0:03 Calorougus Shark Media now lo and welcome to Palace Intrigue Weekly. I am your host, Mark Francis. It's been one of those weeks where the monarchy seemed to be testing how many plates it could spin at once before one of them hit the floor. Let's go through it. We start, as is traditional with Easter, because what better way to assess the state of the British royal family than to see who showed up for church and who suddenly had alternative plans. King Charles and Queen Camilla led the procession into Saint George's Chapel at Windsor for Easter matins and were joined by a notably curated guest list. William and Katherine were very much present, returned to the fold after keep miss the service for the past two years, and they brought George, Charlotte and Lloyd, giving the whole occasionally reassuringly.

0:52 Wales's family flavored. Princess Anne was there, reliable as ever. Prince Edward and family attended, including eighteen year old James of Wessex, who made a rare public appearance and confused a fair portion of casual royal watchers online, who weren't entirely sure who he was. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh was absent, reportedly unwell, though this is now the third consecutive major royal event she has missed, which people are quietly noting. And there is the guest list that wasn't Andrew Mount Patton windsor not there, Sarah Ferguson not there, Prints Beatrice and Princess Eugenie also not there, having reportedly made alternative plans or four attended last year. The circle is being drawn tighter and the shape of the institution is becoming clearer with every passing occasion. It is Charles and Camilla at the top, William and Katherine firmly in the center, the children visible and dependable, and everyone associated with the York Family increasingly optional. Keith's return drew warm coverage, though it is also sparking an unexpected debate online about the length of her dress. The princess wore a cream midy length self portrait ensemble with a matching hat and tan hills, and while the majority response was positive she looked wonderful, welcome back, lovely to see her, a determined faction of commenters came to the conclusion that the hemline was simply too long, when Instagram user wrote that ten centimeters less would look much better on her figure. Another noted with some bewilderment that even Queen Camilla wears shorter hems. This

2:23 is now apparently a thing. Meanwhile, the King attracted some criticism for not issuing a personal Eastern message, particularly given that the royal family had publicly acknowledged Brahmadan and Id earlier in the year. Buckingham Palace noted that an Easter message is not a formal annual requirement in the same way as the Christmas broadcast. That is technically correct, it did not fully satisfy Lady Colin Campbell, who received what she described as a multitude of complaints and who suggested that failing to respond could prove irreversibly damaging, invoking in the same breath saw Nicholas the Second and the events of February nineteen seventeen, which does feel perhaps slightly proportionate, but the concern is noted now to the story that has dominated the week and shows absolutely no sign of tidying itself up. Andrew mount Batten windsor the ongoing saga of where he is, what he is doing, who is visiting him, and what he allegedly did at his mother's house in the year two thousand. Andrew has been at wood Farm on the Sandringham estate since February, following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct and public office. He denies any wrongdoing, but his presence has become a problem on multiple fronts simultaneously, which is quite an achievement. First, there is the matter of Prince Edward, who is now said to be frustrated that Andrew has been dragging his hills about vacating wood Farm, a property Edward and Sophie like to us. According to reports, Edward has a quiet word with his brother and was reportedly the first and only member of the family to visit Andrew directly since he left Royal Lodge. Andrew has been ignored by everyone since

3:56 he left Royal Lodge, including his daughters and ex wife, who have stayed away, one source said, which, if true, is quite a portrait of isolation. Then there is King Charles, who was said to be maintaining near daily contact with Andrew, not out of warmth, but out of a very real anxiety about what Andrew might do if cut off entirely. One source described it as Charles been pressured into keeping that line open because of the lingering fear that Andrew could go rogue on the Royal family if he feels isolated or backed into a corner. So the King is to summarize funding the lifestyle of the man he cannot afford to alienate, managing him carefully to prevent an escalation, while simultaneously telling him to dial back his expectations about his new Norfolk accommodations. One source said Charles has threatened to put him in a caravan if the demands don't stop. Remarkably, this appears to have been taken seriously. The caravan, by the way, reportedly already exists. Andrew allegedly took delivery of a secondhand static model and has been spending time sitting in it. One source said he likes it. He really is a changed man. We are choosing to take that face value. Then there is the Epstein to mension, which Royal biographer Robert Jobson revisited this week with some extraordinary claims about a shooting weekend at Sandringham in the year two thousand. Andrew had previously described the gathering as simply a straightforward shooting weekend jobs, and says the palace staff were left appall by what they found afterwards, including items distributed among guests, which he described as including sex drugs like poppers and condoms and lube. He alleged these were

5:27 distributed like party bags and that the host giving them out was by implication, Andrew, can you imagine what the late Queen would have thought, Jobson asked. I'm not sure that she would have been overly impressed. That may be the understatement of the calendar year. Separately, a report claims Andrew was recently spotted arriving at Marsh Farm with an unidentified woman in the back of the vehicle. The intrigue around this has been described as intensifying. Make of that what you will, and if you wanted to visit the property yourself, you are apparently not alone. A steady stream of tourists has been making their way to the village of Wulferton, drawn by what locals have taken to calling Crown Ghul's energy a kind of morbid curiosity about witnessing the fallout up close. The land Rover safari experience on the Sandringham estate prior to approximately two hundred and eleven dollars per person, now passes near both wood Farm and marsh Farm Royalty, a discount. Sarah Ferguson meanwhile, and said to be on what The Daily Mail described as a secret sofa surfing world tour, staying at the homes of wealthy friends and cycling through three phones because she fears she may be tracked. She is described by associates as disheveled, has not been keeping up with her roots or a botox, has been asking friends how she is going to get through this. She is said to be in contact with Andrew, though not frequently. It is almost as if they have run away from each other. One source said. She's also reportedly furious that what she has seen as a betrayal by Queen Camilla, because she is owed at least a conversation and has been advised firmly not to write another memoir.

6:59 The argument that any financial gain would be outweighed by the scrutiny given that some of her past public statements have not, according to one insider, entirely aligned with information that surfaced later. She has reportedly also made clear she will never set foot in America again Elsewhere. A report in heat Weld cites a source saying Ferguson feels she is owed more than being cut off without any proper explanation, and that a closer look at the Andrew timeline has in the male prompted Liz Jones to write a sympathetic piece arguing that Ferguson is not evil, merely reckless and stupid, and that Andrew once called her a fat cow. The column ended with the motto from Fergie's coat of arms, out of adversity happiness grows. We hope. So now to Washington, because there is a rather significant trip on the horizon.

7:47 King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel to the United States on April twenty eighth for a state visit tied to the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of American Independence. The visit will include an address to Congress and a White House state dinner. The Palace's announcement carefully noted that the trip is taking place on advice of His Majesty's government and at the invitation of the President, wording that was immediately passed online for subtext. One commenter read it as translating to we were told to go, but we'd rather not. The Palace did not clarify. Donald Trump, for his part, has been enthusiastic to the point of complication. He told the Telegraph that the King would have taken a very different stand from Prime Minister Stama on the war in Iran, implying essentially that the King privately agrees with him. The Palace responded with five words in silence, which Deep Crown, writing in his sub stack this week, described as the correct response. The trap, he noted, remains set.

8:41 Deep Crown spent considerable space this week laying up precisely how difficult this visit will be. The King, he wrote, is walking into a room where everyone wants something from him that he is constitutionally forbidden from giving. The administration will be looking for an endorsement, The opposition will be looking for a flicker of comfort. The British government will be hoping Charles can achieve diplomatically what their own diplomats have failed to do. And he must do all this while saying functionally nothing that can be quoted out of context, clipped or held up as evidence of a royal view on an active political controversy. Did Crown called it an almost impossible brief, and then he said he believed Charles was in fact uniquely suited to it. He has spent his entire adult life learning to inhabit a role that requires him to mean more than he says. That is a very particular skill. Most people never acquire it. He has had seventy odd years of instruction. The Crown itself deep Crown concluded, is the message. We commend the full piece.

9:41 The linkers in the show notes one subplot that will not be part of the Washington visit Harry. A source confirmed this week that any plans for Charles and Harry to meet in America have been scrapped. The source said the logistics simply did not allow it. Did Crown observe that the flight from Montecito to Washington is approximately five hours compared to the sixteen hour journey Harry is about to take to Australia, and noted that the laws of aviation apply consistently regardless of direction. But he concluded that a meeting was probably never as close to happening as the coverage suggested, and that the decision not to have one is almost certainly correct, a state visit is not the moment for a Sussex sidebar. You can subscribe to Deep Ground's newsletter by searching deep Crown on Google or following the link in the show notes. Just check out Deep Crown on substack or powercing. Just a moment on the subject of Australia, which is where we are headed now.

10:38 Harry and Meghan are both traveling there this month, though not together in any formal sense. Harry is due to speak at Melbourne's inter Edge Summit on April sixteenth, a workplace mental health event. Originally priced at platinum and gold tiers of nearly two and a half thousand dollars, organizers have since introduced a delegate ticket at one thousand and a virtual option at five hundred ticket prices. Words moved in only one direction as the event drew closer. Megan's Wellness Retreat with her Best Life Podcast is scheduled from April seventeen to nineteen at the Intercontinental Koogie Beach in Sydney. Well up to three hundred guests expected. The event attracted some attention after earlier promotional material claimed tickets were exhausted.

11:19 The phrase that was subsequently removed where organizers announced additional room availability. A further wrinkle emerged when some attendees claimed they had not simply purchased tickets, but had been selected after submitting an explanation of why they wanted to attend. Organizers sent an email noting they had received thousands of applications and were keeping the retreat intentionally intimate. Whether this framing reflects genuine demand management or creative narrative around unsold capacity is as yet unclear. There's also been social media chatter suggesting attendees plan to attend under false pretenses, with posts referencing button cameras and metaglasses. None of this has prompted any announcement of changes to the event. The broader question of what the Australia trip represents came under analysis from several directions. Celebrity pr specialist Kaylee Cornelius told Page six that Megan's trademark filing for as Ever in Australia may reflect not expansions so much as necessity, with Netflix's reported pullback slowing domestic growth, if the brand struggled to resonate in a market like Australia where the conditions are arguably more favorable. She said it could signal deeper issues with the business model did. Crown, assessing the situation from his usual altitude, said, the Sussexes have never satisfactorily answered what precisely they are Royals, private citizens, activists, media entrepreneurs.

12:41 They arrived in California in twenty twenty, having traded one of the most clearly defined roles in public life for a brief They have been attempting to write themselves ever since. He also noted, not without some pointed admiration, that William has mastered the art of managed visibility in a way Harry never did. The lesson he implied was available. Whether it would be absorbed is another matter. This week's other major Sussex development came from the court room. Newly disclosed Facebook messages in Harry's privacy case showed a considerably warm up relationship with Mail On Sunday journalist Charlotte Griffiths than he had indicated in his testimony. The messages from late twenty eleven to early twenty twelve included Harry calling her sugar, signing off with kisses, and referring to movie snuggles. He had told the court he had met Griffiths once at a party and cut off contact when he realized that she was a journalist. The messages suggested something slightly different.

13:35 Deep Crown wrote, what there is is a distance, a distance between from birth and wah. The phrase movie snuggles has since entered the vocabulary of the British press with some enthusiasm. Megan has said to be fuming on the broad at Sussex Business Front. Variety chief correspondent Matt Donnelly reported this week the couple's Netflix deal has become a major disappointment behind the scenes, with one inside a summer the mood and the building is We're done. Penguin Random House is also said to be finished, with the couple, having overpaid for spare and rejected two subsequent book proposals from Meghan. The publisher. One source said we'll never publish another book by them, a reporter als who claimed that they were not invited to the Met Gala, an unnamed source suggesting bluntly that Annawin Tour does not want Meghan there, and a report from Varieties. Matt Donnelly, speaking on the Royalist podcast suggested that even casual socializing with the Sussexes can become, in his phrase, a five car per pile up, which may explain why some in Hollywood are keeping their distance back in London. This week also brought the significant new material about the final years of both Commune Elizabeth and Prince Philip, courtesy of two forthcoming biographies. Robert Hartman's Elizabeth the Second in Private in Public describes the Communis having come close to what one source called nervous exhaustion in the summer of nineteen sixty nine during Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales at Jonathan Castle, which took place against a backdrop of Welsh separatist violence. The palace

15:05 at the time said she was suffering from flu. A palace source later told Harmon it was not flu, but the nearest thing to a nervous breakdown. Hardman also writes at length about the Queen's final summer in twenty twenty two, describing a monarch who appeared to have known her time was running short and wanted all of her great grandchildren, including Archie and a little bit if possible, to spend time with her at Boumorral. Those close to her said she was trying to tie up various loose ends. One person quoted in the book said the final private conversation with the Queen felt like a goodbye, and that she had very clear messages about how she thought things would go in the future, very clear, indeed, more palace than just a moment. Royal biographer Hugo Vickers meanwhile, writes in his new book that Prince Philip came close to dying twice during a heart procedure in early twenty twenty one, just weeks before his death. Because also claims Philip had been living with inoperable pink we had a cancer since twenty thirteen, eight years before he died, a timeline that, if accurate, would dramatically reframe the final chapter of his life and the extent to which his declining health was kept from public view. The account of his final night is striking. According to The Daily Mail's report of the book, Philip slipped away from his nurses, made his way along a corridor using a zimmer frame, poured himself a beer and drank it alone in the oak room. The following morning, he got up, had a bath, said he didn't feel well, and died quietly. The Queen was not with him. When it happened, she was said to have been absolutely furious that, as so often in life, he left without saying goodbye.

16:38 And with that we reached the end of this week, a week that began with the Easter photographs and ended with Philip drinking a final beer alone in the dark, somewhere between the arrest of a disgraced prince and the approach of a king to the most delicate diplomatic moment of his reign. Somewhere in there, William reportedly admitted to BAFT Guess that he was not in a calm state. Given everything seems entirely reasonable and they have it. If you'd like to email us This is the Palace Intrigue at a Gmail and dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple or the app that you're using. I'm Mark Francis and thanks to John Mcturmatt This is Palace Weekly and good terms