April 11, 2026

Kate the “Backbone” of the Monarchy, and Prince Philip's secret illness

Show Notes
Transcript

Princess Catherine is being described by insiders as the emotional backbone of the Royal Family, with growing concern she may be carrying too much as pressure on the institution intensifies.
We also look at the lighter side of royal life, including Kate’s famously practical car routine, why King Charles refuses snacks on the road, and a columnist’s very selective list of royals she would actually curtsy to.

Plus: a new biography claims Prince Philip lived with pancreatic cancer for years in secret, and one writer tests Meghan’s one-pot pasta — with surprisingly decent results.

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Royal Books:

Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors by Tom Bower

William and Catherine: The Monarchy's New Era: The Inside Story

The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana

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Ah Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to you, Pallace intrigue.

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I I'm your host, Mark Francis. As his tradition, we

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use Saturday to take a break from all the horror.

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Montecito brings to this wall to tell you all the

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wonderful things the media is saying about Catherine, the Princess

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of Wales. Kat is reportedly facing growing concern behind Pallace walls,

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amid claims she has quietly become the emotional backbone of

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the royal family at a time when the institution is

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under heavy strain. One source alleged that Catherine has long

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played a grounding role in Prince William's life, dating back

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to their university years, and that her influence has only

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grown as pressure on the monarchy is intensified. The insiders

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said she's always been his steady hand, even back in

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their university days. She was the voice of reason, always

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pushing William to think of the bigger picture and his

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role within the monarchy. Just look at the way she

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handled her cancer battle last year. Even in the midst

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of her illness, she was the one holding everything together

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and supporting William while he was struggling to process at all.

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According to the report on the ib Times, concern is

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now growing because it is no longer only William relying

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on her. The worryful lot of people close to her

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is that it's not just William that's leaning on her anymore.

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The sources said, she's become the go to person. The

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thing with Kate is she rarely says no because she

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loves to be of service, which is a beautiful quality,

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but it also means she runs the risk of burning

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herself out. Everyone agrees she's incredibly capable, They just worry

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that she's carrying too much. Good Housekeeping wanted us to

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know how Kate expertly packs a car. We're told the

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Princess of Wales reportedly keeps her car routine simple but

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practical during long days of royal engagements, with two essentials

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always close at hand. According to former royal butler Grant Harold,

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bottles of water are consistently stopped in the back of

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the car to keep her and other members of the

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royal family hydrated while traveling between engagements. He added that

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mints are also a regular feature, explaining we would always

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have bottles of water in the back of her cars

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for all the royals, and normally there would be ments too,

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as they obviously spend their days talking to people. Harold

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also described the precise etiquette followed when royal women exit

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a vehicle, noting there is royal etiquette for how to

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get out of the car. Especially when it comes to

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royal ladies. They have to be very graceful and it's

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a bit of a skill. They tend to keep their

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legs together and swing them around and just use their

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hands on the seat to push themselves up. That's what

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they're taught to do. When it comes to King Charles,

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his car is said to include similar basics, but with

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a few personal preferences. The King always had a cushion

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on his seat to support his back. We always had

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to make sure there was one in there for him. However,

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there is one thing the King reportedly refuses to allow

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in his car, snacks. Harold explained he never had snacks

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in the car as he really doesn't like a mess.

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Even while being driven, the King is said to remain

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focused on his duties. Harold noted the royals will always

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work in the back of the car, especially the King

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who was always working so staff will set up the

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back seat with his papers and anything else he needs.

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He was always working away, especially it was a long

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drive in the telegraph Rowan Pelling writes, there are only

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three royals to whom I had curtsey her list. She writes,

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the answer is blindingly obvious. King Charles the Third and

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his consort out of respect for hours of tedium shaking hands,

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having vinyal conversations and saving us from the prospect of

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President Blair, and Princess Anne for her exemplary sense of

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service and thrift and resurrecting old outfits. My juries out

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on William and Kate. I like them, but they're younger

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than me and cultivate a distinct down with the people

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in formality, so it seems a bit odd to suddenly

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go to brats on them. I also think their work

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life balance seems quite enviable to me, so why should

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they marvel at their duty when they get more holidays

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than I do? Edward Sophie Beatrice Eugenie, I'm afraid not.

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The beauty of our modern democracy is that we can

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be loyal to the institution of monarchy without having to

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genuflect on the satellite royals who surround it. It's not rudeness,

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just the fact that we live in the twenty first

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century where many women would rather Curtsey to Joe in

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a lumly or Judy Dench for the hours of pleasure

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they've given us more palace in just a moment. A

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new biography of Queen Elizbeth claims Prince Philip lived with

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pancreatic cancer for nearly eight years before his death, a

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revelation that dramatically reframes the final chapter of his life

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and the extent to which his declining health was kept

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from public view. The account comes from Royal biographer Hugo Vickers,

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whose new book says Philip was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic

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cancer in June twenty thirteen afters discovered what they described

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as a shadow on his pancreas during an extended hospital stay.

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According to the Male's report, he then went on to

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live far longer than doctors would normally have expected following

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such a diagnosis. That alone would make the story notable,

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but the portrait painted by The Daily Mail goes further

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than simply describing a hidden illness. It suggests that Philip,

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even in severe decline, remained stubbornly himself right up to

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the end. According to the paper, on the final night

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of his life, he slipped away from his nurses, made

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his way along at corridor a Windsor Castle using a

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zimmer frame, poured himself a beer and drankard in the

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oak room. The following morning, according to the report, he

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got up at a bath, said he did not feel well,

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and then died quietly. The image is striking because it

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fits so neatly with the public impression of Philip determined,

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independent and not especially interested in being fussed over, even

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at the very end. The report also claims Queen Elizabeth

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was not with him when he died, and that she

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was deeply upset by the way it happened. According to

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The Daily Mail's account, she was said to have been

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absolutely furious that, as so often in life, he left

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without saying goodbye. Erin McDowell decided to try out Meghan's

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one pot pasta for business inside. As she explains, after

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some viewers tried the recipe, it received criticism online, with

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some outlets calling the finished product bland and others comparing

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it to similar recipes already in existence. I decided to

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make it too, and while the dish is by no

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means packed with rich, creamy flavor, I did think that tomatoes, cheese,

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and red pepper flakes did a lot of heavy lifting.

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I started by gathering the ingredients for the one pot pasta.

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Megan doesn't list any exact measurements in the scene other

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than how much water she uses, so I estimated how

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much of each ingredient to use. I spent twenty eight

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dollars ten cents including tax on ingredients at my local

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grocery store in Brooklyn. I chopped the tomatoes in half

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and added them to my skillet. Megan says this doesn't

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need to be precise, and that you can use whatever

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tomatoes you have on hand, from a mix of red

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or yellow plum tomatoes or more exotic varieties like airlooms.

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I added the tomatoes to my skillet with chopped garlic

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and olive oil. After adding the olive oil and tomatoes

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to the pan, I sprinkled the entire skillet with salt,

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and then added the chopped garlic and mixed it with

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a wooden spoon, and then added about a box of

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spaghetti to the pan. When the pasta was fully brought

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to a boil, I lowered the heat and added the greens.

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I tried to separate the spaghetti noodles using a wooden spoon,

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but finally initially stuck together. As the pasta continued cooking,

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they eventually separated. Meghan said the stars from the pasta

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would create a creamy sauce without the need for cream.

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Even after letting it cook down for a few minutes,

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it still looked pretty watery. After I added the grated

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parmesano reggiano, the sauce started to come together. The blistered

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tomatoes cheese made the sauce slightly thicker and a light

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orange color. The past and noodles were also perfectly aldente.

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I topped the dish with a pinch of salt and

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red pepper flakes, per Megan's suggestion. I was really impressed

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by the final resultant by how easy it was to make.

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It was unbelievably quick and easy to make, an even

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easier to clean up. I could see myself adding this

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recipe into my weekly rotation for a quick dinner, though

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I'm not sure I would make it for a dinner

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party or when I'm really wanting to impress someone with

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my culinary prowess and they have it. I'd like to

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email us addresses The Palace Intrigue at a gmail dot com.

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Please follow us on your favorite podcast app. I'm Mark Francis.

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Thanks to John McDermott, This Palace Intrigue and good terms

Kate the “Backbone” of the Monarchy, and Prince Philip's secret illness

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