Feb. 24, 2026

Is the Monarchy in Peril?, William Admits He’s “Not Calm” as BAFTAs Red Carpet Turns Political

Show Notes
Transcript

The Prince and Princess of Wales returned to the BAFTAs for the first time since 2023, stepping onto the red carpet at London’s Royal Festival Hall amid the ongoing fallout from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.

As president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 2010, Prince William’s presence was expected. What wasn’t expected was a shout from the crowd: “Your Royal Highnesses, is the monarchy in peril?” The couple did not respond and continued inside, coordinated in burgundy tones — a deliberate image strategy, according to fashion designer Juan Avellaneda, who said such appearances are carefully crafted to project unity and stability.
But beneath the composure, tension may have been visible. William admitted he hadn’t watched

Hamnet because he was “not in a calm state.” Jennie Bond in the iPaper described the remark as anything but accidental, writing that the heir “is seething with anger — and he wants you to know it.” Body language expert Judi James suggested subtle signs of strain, pointing to a lack of touch and what she described as William’s self-soothing gestures on the carpet.

Behind the scenes, sources told the Daily Mail that William is frustrated the scandal could linger into his own reign, calling it “a mess left by Andrew and the late Queen.” Catherine, by contrast, has remained publicly silent. The couple are said to be deeply concerned about the toll on King Charles, who is reportedly exhausted.

William did, however, strike a solemn note elsewhere — paying tribute to Corporal Lucy Wilde, the 25-year-old army medic found dead in her barracks earlier this month, calling her warmth and compassion “unmistakable.”

For now, the Waleses appear determined to carry on. But as one commentator noted, business-as-usual is increasingly difficult when every word is filtered through the prism of the Andrew crisis.

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Calarougus Shark Media. Hell, Lord, welcome to Palace Intrigue. I

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am your host, Mark Francis. The Prince and Princess of

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Wales returned to the Bafter's red carpet for the first

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time since twenty twenty three, stepping out together at the

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Royal Festival Hall in London for the seventy ninth British

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Academy Film Awards. Prince William, who has served as President

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of British Academy of Film and Television Arts since twenty ten,

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walked the red carpet with Kate, in his first public

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appearance since the arrest of his uncle Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

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While entering the red carpet, the couple were met with

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an unexpected shout from a member of the public. In

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a video circulating online, a voice can be heard calling out,

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your Royal Highness is the monarchy in peril? It's not

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clear whether the Prince and Princess heard the question. The

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couple did not respond and continued walking down the red

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carpet into the venue. The royals coordinated in Burgundide terms,

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with William wearing a velvet dinner jacket matching the belt

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of Catherine's pink and white gown, a reware from a

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twenty nineteen engagement. During the pre ceremony conversations, William admitted

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he had not yet seen Hamnet, the adaptation of Maggie

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O'Farrell's novel about the death of William Shakespeare's son. He

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told Elaine Biddell and Allison Kirkby, I need to be

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in a quite calm state, and I'm not at the moment.

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I will save it. The Princess of Wale was revealed

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she had watched the film the previous evening, telling Emily

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Stillman and Emma Baar, yes, I think it was a

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very bad idea, actually ended up with very puffy eyes.

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It was really very very powerful, praising its fantastic and

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raw score and its portrayal of intergenerational grief. Speaking about

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her children, she added, they love the idea of being

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behind the scenes and finding out how it all happens.

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It's a really great way to have some of the

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hard conversations with them. We have still got a long

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list of films we haven't seen. Hopefully this will help.

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As the ceremony began, after chair Sarah part thanked William

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for his year Round support. Host Allan Coming later joked

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mid show, I've had a costume change. Thank you for noticing,

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Prince William, prompting laughter from the Prince. Toward the end

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of the evening, William presented the baft of Fellowship to

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Dame Donna Langley, saying her transformative leadership and unwavering commitment

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to creative partnership have brought some of this century's most

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iconic films to the big screen and to audiences around

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the world. She has championed films that have shaped culture

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and it's responsible for some of our most beloved franchises

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I saw. I was told the Daily Mail William is

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frustrated because it's still likely to be a problem on

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his plate when he eventually becomes king. I'm sure the

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Prince and Princess of Wales have been itching to say

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something publicly to distance themselves, but they have to be

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cautious because of the police investigation. I think William and

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Catherine are acutely aware that this is a scandal that

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won't be going away for a long time. It's a

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mess left by Andrew and the late Queen, and although

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His Majesty is very much in charge, William is frustrated.

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Another source told the male obviously William's not feeling calm

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and he would have spoken on behalf of them both.

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It's a terrible situation and they are very concerned about

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the health of the king and the impact this will

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be having on him. He is exhausted and it's draining

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for him. Also, as parents of young children, to be

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reading all of this is pretty awful, and they are

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clearly concerned. William let this slip out last during a conversation,

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and he would have done that on purpose, that is

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very clear, but Catherine has kept very quiet. In the eyepaper,

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Jenny Bond writes, William is seething with anger and he

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wants you to know it. She writes, as a young journalist,

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I was taught that the one question a reporter should

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never ask is how are you feeling? It was I

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was told just to trite, and yet in all honesty,

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it's generally the one answer we want to hear, and

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Sunday night, William gave it. He is not, he said

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in a calm state. I don't believe it was an

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off the cuff remark. He knows full well that the

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world's medium are looking for a reaction from him and

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the Bafti Sarahoni is a high profile global event. Unprompted

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William off of the information that he hadn't joined his

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wife Requa at movie night watching Hamnet because he wasn't

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feeling calm. It was probably the understatement of the century

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to me. It spoke of a man seething with anger.

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We now know that it is affecting not only his work,

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with questions being shouted at him wherever he goes, but

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his home life too. On Saturday, Catherine had been at

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Twickenham watching England play Ireland in the Six Nations. She

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might have been hoping for something to cheer about at last,

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but England's dismal performance put a caboche on that. So

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she went home and it seems decided to watch Hamnet.

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She was probably hoping for a cozy film night with

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her husband, but he wasn't in the mood. And we

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know why. William has said that changes very much on

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his agenda, and change there has to be. The demands

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for more transparency and accountability are now deafening, so let's

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have a few answers quickly. For example, why has the

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Palace apparently got a problem with telling us who paid

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the reported twelve million pounds to the late vis junior Jeffrey.

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It probably was indeed largely from Queen Elizabeth's private wealth,

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so why not shut down the questions by giving a

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straightforward answer. William Kay presented a coordinated and composed appearance

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at the bafters, but some commentators have suggested there were

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subtle signs of tension beneath the surface. The couple walked

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the red carpet side by a side at the Royal

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Festival Hall in London, matching in burgundy tones, in what

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fashion designer Juan Avellanada described as a deliberate visual strategy.

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Speaking to Olah, he said, it's entirely an image strategy.

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The British Royal family doesn't do anything by chance, especially

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not on the red carpet like the Baftis. They use

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these kinds of appearances to convey unity, stability and normalcy.

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The fact that they both wore burgundy is no coincidence.

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It's a very subtle way of appearing visually aligned, both

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as a couple and as an institution. I loved both

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looks because I love it when couples coordinate. But don't

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worry exactly the same thing. I like that they're going

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to these a wards lords and taking a few risks.

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Normally he would wear a black tuxedo and she would

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wear a matching dress. But no, I think it's much

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more whimsical this way. Body language expert Judy James suggested

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there may have been signs of strain during the appearance.

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She told hellthough William and Kate delivered their usual impeccable

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red carpet a list glamour here, but there are a

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handful of towels that might reflect the undeniable tensions of

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the past week. James pointed to the lack of physical

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touch between the couple, saying the royals walk side by

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side with their arms hanging loose at their signs, but

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the closeness of the dangling inner hands suggesting a desire

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to clasp hands here, or perhaps to perform the kind

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of signature truncated touches, pats and strokes they often give

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each other to support each other at events like this

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instead of touching, though, we can see the fingers of

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William's right hand slightly curled so that his index finger

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touches his thumb, hinting at a self soothe ritual. William

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has paid tribute to Corporal Lucy Wilde, the young Army

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medic found dead her barracks on February fifth. Corporal Lucy

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Wylde twenty five, who had documented aspects of her daily

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life in the Army on TikTok, was found at a

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barracks earlier this month and investigation is under way. The

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Ministry of Defenses confirmed while joined the Army eight years

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ago and served with the Welsh Guards until December twenty

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twenty five before being promoted to corporal and moving to

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the Royal Yorkshire Regiment. In a statement posted on social media,

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the Prince of Wales expressed is immense sadness at her death.

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He said, I remember our meeting during her time with

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the Welsh Guards, where her warmth and compassion were unmistakable.

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She served with courage and distinction as a medic and

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sought always to help others. I send my heartfelt condolences

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to her family and friends. The Royals gave Operation Change

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the Subject their best try on Saturday, as Kate attended

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the England versus Ireland Six Nations match in her role

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as patron of the Rugby Football Union. Normally a Kates

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solo outing is enough to distract the media till Megan

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sells her next candle, but Andrew remains the main topic

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more Pallas. In Just a Moment in The Standard, Melanie

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mcdonnag writes, it turns out that going on and on

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about mental health hasn't worked for the Prince of Wales.

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The man who has made being in touch with his

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emotions is usp is. It turns out in no fit

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state to look at Hamnet in the keep calm and

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carry on error you whether the disgrace of your family members,

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either by retreating to the country or by putting a

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brave face on things. It would seem that the heir

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to the throne is a little more fragile than that.

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He is a man who once observed I take a

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long time trying to understand my emotions and why I

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feel like I do, And I feel like that's a

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really important process to do every now and again, to

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check in with yourself and work out why you're feeling

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like you do right now. That shouldn't be difficult. The

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reason for his not calm situation can be roughly summarized.

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Thus he and his lovely wife can attend as many

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public functions as humanly possible. The only thing anyone is

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thinking about is the state of his uncle Andrew. When

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your royal uncle, who strongly denies any allegations of wrongdoing,

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has been holed out of bed by Thames Valley Police

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allegedly shouting I heard this from my Norfolk friends, so

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can't swear to it. I am the Queen's son and

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you can't do this. It does rather put paid to

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the efforts of the rest of the family to present

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a cheerful front. The truth is that business as usual

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is almost impossible for the Royals unless they function without

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opening their traps. Everything they say will be interpreted in

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terms of the Andrew tobacco and until the police and

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presumably the Crown Prosecution Service actually decide that there's a

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case for him to answer in terms of misconduct in

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public office, it's going to be hard for anyone to

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think about anything else. And there you have it. If

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you like to email us addresses the Palace Intrigue at

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John McDermott. This is Palace intrigue and good terms

Is the Monarchy in Peril?, William Admits He’s “Not Calm” as BAFTAs Red Carpet Turns Political

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