May 24, 2025

Kate Middleton's Intentional Comeback, Sophie Winkleman’s Royal Candidness, and Charles Buys an Electric Lotus

Show Notes
Transcript

As Princess Kate refocuses on her well-being, her Early Childhood Taskforce sees major corporate wins. Lady Sophie Winkleman shares behind-the-scenes royal stories — from awkward hairdos to sweet royal moments — and King Charles quietly orders a £160K electric Lotus in Royal Claret. Also in this episode: Dame Emma Thompson recalls asking Prince William for a kiss, and Lady Gabriella reveals Kate’s touching support after tragedy.

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Calorogu Shark Media at a lower Molcan Joe Palace intrigue

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game your host mind, Francis. We'll often use Saturday to

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take our eyes off Montecito so we can recap all

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the glowing press. The Wonderful Princess of Wales gets in

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Style took a look at the changes in Kate's schedule.

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The whirlwind of back to back engagements has been replaced

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by something quieter, more intentional, Royal biographer Robertjobson, since the

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change is both natural and necessary, telling the Sun, Catherine

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has always put a huge amount of pressure on herself,

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but she's now more forgiving, not forcing herself to be

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the best all the time. It's more important for her

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to prioritize herself. That means every appearance now has to

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earn its place on her calendar, whether it's Commonwealth Day

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or a recent British Fashion Council event. The engagements she

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accepts must feel personally meaningful, not just because she's royal.

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Jobson added, She's realized that she doesn't have all the

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time in the world. A project has to suit her.

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That means going to the gym or playing tennis instead

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of a photo op so be It. The Express shared

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how Kate's long standing mission to spotlight the importance of

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a child's first five years is now reshaping corporate policy

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thanks to her business task Force for Early Childhood, launched

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last year through the Royal Foundation. The initiative, which includes

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major UK firms like Deloitte, net West, Kia and Lego,

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has already prompted real change. Deloit is now offering equal

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parental leave for new fathers, Ikea is donating baby goods,

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Lego is supplying emotional development kits and the co Op

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has funded over one hundred thirty Early Years apprentices. Even

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while undergoing cancer treatment last year, Kate kept a close

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eye on the project's progress. A new report shows their

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efforts have already reached over five hundred thousand children. Force

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chair Sir ron Khaliffer praised the business for stepping up,

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saying they're not just economic engines, but champions of childhood.

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As Royal aides put it, this isn't a side project

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for the Princess. It's her life's work and now it's

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delivering results. Lady Gabriella, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael

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of Kent, and second cousin to King Charles the Third

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has revealed that in the months after her husband's tragic death,

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Kate personally invited her to contribute to the together at

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Christmas Carol Service, a gesture that Gabriella has described as

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deeply touching. Speaking to Hello, Gabriella said she was given

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an advisory role for the twenty twenty fourth service of

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Westminster Abbey, helping to suggest music and artists for the event.

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It was such an honor to be involved, she said,

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very thoughtful and kind hearted to the Princess to include me.

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I was very touched. She praised the Princess as lovely

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to work with, always gracious, very creative, and with so

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much vision and passion for the many charities and causes

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she supports. Both women have endured profound personal trials in

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the past year. In February last year, Gabriella's husband, financier

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Thomas Kingston, was found dead from a self inflicted gunshot

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wound at his parents' home in the Cotswolds. An inquest

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later concluded that his death followed an adverse reaction to antidepressants,

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which he had recently started and then stopped taking. In

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a statement read by the coroner Gabriella described their marriage

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as deeply loving and trusting, adding if this could happen

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to Tom, this could happen to anyone. Prince William, often

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hailed for his grace and good humor, has once again

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found himself the subject of fond recollection, this time from

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Dame Emma Thompson. The celebrated actress reflected warmly on her

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twenty eighteen Damehood ceremony at Buckingham Palace, where it was

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the future King who carried out the investiture. Prince William

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was absolutely fantastic, she shared in a video interview while

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promoting Cruella. His face and body language so kind and

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generous to every single person. I've known him since he

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was little. Really, I've always liked him. Following the event,

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Dame Emma admitted she sent William a fan letter and

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even cheekily requested a kiss during the ceremony. I couldn't

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believe how tall he'd got, she recalled. I did say

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I suppose I better not kiss you, and he said

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probably better not, in a moment that perfectly captured the

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Prince's modesty, She said, he quickly turned the focus back

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to her, replying will you please stop talking about me.

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It's about you. It's not the only time the heir

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to the throne has been on the receiving end of

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an affectionate request. In twenty twenty one, while visiting Queen's

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Bay Lodge care home in Scotland as Lord High Commissioner

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of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the

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Prince found himself in conversation with ninety six year old

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ex servicewoman Betty McGhee. It's customary in these pasts to

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give a lady a kiss on the cheek, she teased

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with a bashful smile. William responded, oh, you are sweet.

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You'll make me blush. When Betty pressed her, Lucky graciously

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promised to kiss once the rules relax, referencing the Curvid

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protocols of the time. More palancy, just a moment. Big

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Sus Sophie Winkleman has offered a rare and candid look

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into her life as a royal in law, actress and mother,

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revealing a mix of admiration for her extended family and

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strong convictions on the perils of modern parenting. Speaking on

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the Daily Tea podcast, the peep Show star was warm

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in her praise of the royal family, calling them very

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sweet and declaring I love all of them. Married to

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Lord Frederick Windsor, son of Prince and Princess Michael of Cantona,

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first cousin once removed of King Charles since two thousand

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and nine, Lady Frederick Windsor said she's grown closer to

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her royal relatives over time. I've got much more friendly

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with them as I've gotten to know them, she said.

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She recalled sharing jokes with the King and Queen at

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Royal ascot at twenty twenty three last year, described the

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Princess of Wales as amazingly brave and as beautiful as ever.

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Following her cancer and diagnosis, still Sophie admitted her royal

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wedding at Hampton Court Palace was a bit of a blur.

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I don't remember a single thing about it, she laughed,

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noting she was busy preparing form move to Los Angeles

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and an acting job. She described her wedding hairstyle as

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disgusting and said even husband Freddie was unimpressed coming up

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the aisle. The first thing I said when I saw

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Freddy was I'm so sorry about the hair. He said, yes,

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what on earth have you done? She revealed her mother

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in law, Princess Michael of Kent, did absolutely everything for

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the wedding. In choosing her dress. It was very sweet

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and puffy, but I looked barking, Sophie joked, I should

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have worn a simpler dress, and I should have got

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my hair blow dried by someone who had done it before.

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King Charles has reportedly placed an order for a British

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made one hundred and sixty thousand pound electric Lotus to

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be used as his personal vehicle on his private estates.

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The vehicle, a Lotus Elettra, will reportedly be painted in

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the traditional royal claret, ensuring it maintains the magnified appearance

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expected of a royal motor even when off duty. According

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to the Sun, the choice reflects the monarch's ongoing commitment

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to environmental sustainability, and Insider remarked the King has always

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liked eco friendly vehicles, but seems conscious that royal claret

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is the right look even when off duty. It will

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look far more professional for the King's personal car to

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match the state vehicles. The new purchase follows a successful

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trial of the loaned Lotus Electra last year, which is

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understood to have met the monarch's standards. As part of

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a broader initiative, King Charles is also said to be

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encouraging the full electrification of the state car fleet, a

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challenge that may place pressure on Bentley, the current supplier

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of Royal limousines, to offer fully electric models. The move

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is part of a long running Royal tradition of green motoring,

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the Charles having been an early adopter of sustainable fuels,

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he still uses his beloved nineteen sixty nine Aston Martin

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dB six, gifted to him on his twenty first birthday,

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which now runs on bioethanol derived from surplus white wine

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and away from cheese production. Speaking to BBC, the King

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once quipped about the conversion, the engineers at Asketon said, oh,

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it'll ruin the whole thing. I said, well, I won't

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drive it then, so they got on with it and

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now they admit it runs better and more powerful than

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on fuel than it is on petrol, and also it

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smells delicious as you're driving along. In addition to the

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Aston Martin, the King also owns a one hundred thousand

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pounds out EQ eight which he uses around his estates,

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and he personally championed modifications to make the Royal Train

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more environmentally friendly. It took me a long time to

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battle to get them to run it on used cooking oil,

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he said, which actually in the end worked quite well.

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And there you have it. Play email. Usho addresses The

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Palace Intrigu at gmail and dot com. Please follow us Spotify,

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Apple or the Apple Choice and leave us a nice

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review if you're joining the show, and mark frances my

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thanks to John McDermott, This Palace Intrigue and as

Kate Middleton's Intentional Comeback, Sophie Winkleman’s Royal Candidness, and Charles Buys an Electric Lotus

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