Harry, Meghan and the Kids' UK Visit, Starmer Resigns as PM, King Charles's Horse Finishes Last at Ascot

0:00 Ah Caalarogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Pallas Weekly. I'm your post Mark Francis. It's been a week in which Britain got a new prime minister in waiting, Harry and Meghan's plan returned to the UK, became the most analyzed royal event of the summer before it has even happened, and Charles's horse finished last at Ascot. Again. The monarchy as ever in jures. Let's get into it. We begin with the constitutional moment that arrived without much fanfare but will reshape the political backdrop of the King's reign. So Kier Starmer informed Charles he is intending to step down as Prime Minister. Buckingham Palace confirmed the King received the call that Hygrove. Starmer said he would remain in post until Labour's leadership contest concluded. Andy Burnham, former Greater at Manchester Mayor, is the overwhelming favorite to succeed, which would make him charles fourth Prime minister in less than four years.

1:04 For context, Queen Elizabeth had four prime ministers across the first twelve years of her reign. Charles is working at a rather more brisk pace. The constitutional process itself is unchanged. One prime minister informs the King he is leaving, another arrives to seek permission to form a government. The faces rotate around a monarch, who increasingly is the fixed point in an otherwise turbulent political landscape. What observers noted most was the relationship Charles and Starmer had developed weekly private audiences, shared interests in housing and community, Stalmer's quiet evolution from republic supporter to reliable constitutional partner. That chapter is now closing.

1:47 If Burnham wins, there is a genuine potential for a common ground with the King. Burnham's political identity has been built around local community's regeneration and regional investment, themes Charles's champion for decases. One of the lesser understood aspects of the monarchy is that weekly prime ministerial audience, conducted in private, where the sovereign may advise and courage and warn. Charles are still building that experience with each change of government. He is doing so at pace now to Royal Ascot, which delivered its customary combination of pageantry, fashion, sport and spectacular royal horse racing failure, Kate made her return to the meeting for the first time since twenty twenty three, appearing in a reworn bright yellow Roxander dress previously seen in Jamaica. In twenty twenty two, to general approval, William presented the trophy for the Prince of Wales stakes. Mike Tindall executed what has apparently become an annual tradition, removing his high top hat during the King's greeting to reveal a miniature charbonnel at Walker chocolate confection hidden inside. Charles burst out laughing and was photographed grinning broadly. This appears to be at least the second consecutive year Micas deployed the specific maneuver. The King still finds it funny, We find it's very relatable. Zara, fresh off her wedding attendance, was briefly stopped at the owner's entrance by a security guard who did not recognize her. Her identity was confirmed by a colleague. They then signed autographs the most dignified possible response to being turned away from your own uncle's racecourse.

3:18 Peter and Harriet Phillips, married barely two weeks, made their first ascot appearance as a couple, riding in the second carriage alongside Princess Anne. They looked relaxed and happy. One notes that spinning your honeymoon period at trooping the Color and Royal Ascot in quick succession is a particular kind of introduction to royal family life. The King's horse, Reaching High, trained by the legendary Willie Mullins and ridden by Ryan Moore, started as a fancied runner in the Ascot Stakes. It finished last beaten by fifty nine lengths after what was described as holding its challenge for much of the running. The direction of travel thereafter was entirely downward. Horse racing does not negotiate with lineage more into the moment. The story that dominated the week's royal coverage and will likely continue to dominate for the foreseeable future, is the planned visit of Harry, Meghan Archie and Lilibert to the UK.

4:12 In July, the BBC confirmed the visit. Reports suggested Harry wants to bring the family for the first time since the Platinum Jubilee in twenty twenty two, coinciding with Invictus Games one year ago events in Birmingham. The King has reportedly offered accommodation on a royal estate. Harry and Meghan have not yet responded to the offer. One columnists described the absence of a response as a galactic sized ego. A source close to the Sussexes described Meghan as someone who loves Britain and believes a vast majority of people are fair minded. Neither characterization appears entirely complete. The mechanics of the visit are genuinely complicated. Harry lost his legal challenge to restore publicly funded police protection earlier this year.

4:54 He has said repeatedly that he does not consider it safe to bring his family to Britain without guaranteed security arrangements. How a family visit is now being planned under those same conditions remains publicly unexplained. The government reiterated that security arrangements are assessed confidentially. The Palace noted, as it has before, that these decisions are made by government officials in the Home Office, not Buckingham Palace. Sources close to Harry rejected suggestions that bringing the children constitutes leverage in those discussions. Sources on the other side of the argument used considerably sharper language. Speculation about where the family might stay has coalesced around Allthorpe House. The Spencer family estate in Northamptonshire and the burial place of Diana, Princess Wales. The estate announced it would be closed to the public on July tenth and eleventh, dates that overlap with Harry's expected schedule.

5:44 No connection was confirmed. Harry's uncle, Charles Spencer, has maintained close tires with his nephew. The timing, if coincidental, is remarkable. If deliberate, it's quietly poignant. Harry, Megan, Archie and Lilibert at the place where Diana is buried just days after what would have been her birthday. What happens in terms of family contact remains the central unanswered question. The BBC's confirmation of the visit prompted immediate discussion of whether the King would meet his grandchildren. He has seen Litli but at once. He last saw both children at the Platinum Jubilee. Deep Crown addressed the broader question of what Megan might do during the visit of the customary precision, noting that whether she chooses to appear publicly or remain in the background are both strategic choices with different consequences. Paradoxically, he wrote, stepping back might be more powerful move. The newsletter has linked in the show notes. Closer magazine reported the Camilla as opposed to any leniency toward the Sussexes and has been making that position clear. One source described her as warning Charles that whenever Harry and Meghan had given an inch, they inevitably take mile. Another described Camilla as having already torpedoed plans for a cozy summer reunion. Camilla's office did not respond to requests for comment, which is the correct and expected response. On July tenth, William is reportedly hosting his annual charity polo match in Windsor, while Harry is expected at the Invictus Games One Year to Go event in Birmingham at Villa Park, home of Aston Villa Football Club.

7:13 Several commentators described this as a deliberate provocation. One called it an act of war in fairness. Villa Park is one of Birmingham's most prominent sporting venues, and Harry's event is about Invictor's Games, but the symbolism intended or not has been noted by everyone, including commentators who insist it was not intended or Palace. In just a moment, Buckingham Palace announced that for the first time, King Charles will publicly disclose his personal tax bill as part of the annual Sovereign Grant Report. The decision came at the express wish of the King himself and represents a further step toward the financial transparency Charles has been pursuing since a session.

7:56 Unlike William, who pays the top rate of income tax on Duchy of Cornwall income but has never disclosed the pacific amount, Charles is now said to be more publicly transparent about his personal tax affairs than his heir. The Duchy of Lancaster generated approximately twenty six point eight million pounds last year. The Palace described the move as part of an ongoing effort to constantly improve and evolve. William had a productive week on multiple fronts. He arrived at the Earth Shop Prize Impact Assembly in London by double decker bus alongside Robert Irwin. The event having brought together business leaders to tackle wildlife crime. He donated one thousand pounds to help save the Somerset Arms, a closed village pub in Wiltshire, and promised to pull the first pint if the community campaign succeeds. He agreed to be the guest editor of Country Life magazine in November, following King Charles, Queen Camilla and David Beckham. He also made regular private visits to Duchy of Cornwall, farms that rarely make the court circular, working through the estate every four to six weeks in meeting families and staff, the heir to the throne, it turns out, keeps reasonably busy. George Eaton's place was officially confirmed this week, with Kensington Palace noting that the decision had actually been made in January. William and Kate chose to wait before announcing it publicly. The school offers twenty eight academic subjects, nine languages, twenty five sports, fifty music ensembles and more than three hundred society meetings annually.

9:21 George will follow his father and uncle through the same institution. William described himself as thrilled. The person who breached Kate's medical privacy during her twenty twenty four hospital stay received a formal caution under the Data Protection Act following an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office. The watchdog described the conduct as the deliberate misuse of highly sensitive personal information and an offer to disclose it for a financial gain representing a clear breach of trust. A caution was described as the appropriate and proportionate enforcement response. Sources said Kate remains terrified about future medical visits and whether confort iidentiality can be guaranteed. A new ipsus poul found that support for the monarchy has fallen to fifty five percent, its lowest level in more than thirty years, among people aged eighteen to thirty four. The figure now stands at thirty three percent. In twenty thirteen that number was seventy four.

10:19 King Charles has a sixty percent approval rating, with him has seventy one percent. The institution remains more popular than its individual members. Family dramas might suggest, but the direction of travel among younger generations is one of the palaces watching carefully. Andrew meanwhile, is on a private holiday in Brittany as the guest of a businessman, staying at a rural property near Saint Marlowe with horse riding buley and mills from a private chef. He is reportedly still insisting that the staff and visitors address him as sir and referred to him as the Duke. One source said he sees his position as something that comes from birth rather than privilege granted by others. A new Paul was not required to assess public response to that position, and Princess Anne, marking fifty years since her Olympic appearance in Montreal, admitted she cannot actually remember the cross country phase of the competition because she suffered a concussion after her horse fell.

11:12 I suspect Goodwill remembers it, but I don't, she said. Looking around at fellow athletes from nineteen seventy six, she remarked that everyone looked extremely well on it well, noting the reunion does mark the passage of time just a little. Nobody delivers an understatement quite like Princess and and there you have it. If you'd like to email us her addresses to the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. If you're enjoying the show, please tell a friend or share an episode with them. Follow us on Apple and Spotify, and then on Spotify you can leave comment I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Weekly and good dam