WEBVTT
1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:11.039
Calarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I
2
00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:13.759
am your host, Mark Francis. We now have a date
3
00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.519
for King Charles the Third's forthcoming visit to the United
4
00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:19.760
States to mark America's two hundred and fiftieth and adversary.
5
00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:22.879
The Times has reported April twenty eighth, with the King
6
00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:27.440
undertaking a slimmed down three day visit, Palace sources indicating
7
00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:31.280
the reduced schedule reflects considerations around his health and stamina
8
00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:35.439
as he continues cancer treatment. It has been confirmed that
9
00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:37.719
the visit will include one day in Washington and one
10
00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:40.799
day in New York. The location of the third day
11
00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.679
has yet to be finalized. Palace aides are understood to
12
00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:46.280
have ruled out a West Coast leg of the tour,
13
00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:51.479
meaning the King will not travel to Montecito. Royal sources
14
00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.560
insist the schedule is being shaped around a tightly organized
15
00:00:54.560 --> 00:01:00.320
program focused on America's semi quincentennial events. However, the absence
16
00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:03.640
of a California stop is likely to fuel further speculation
17
00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:08.079
about the continuing rift with the royal family. The streamline
18
00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:12.799
itinerary reflects the king's age of seventy seven and ongoing treatment.
19
00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:16.640
By comparison, Queen Elizabeth I undertook a far more extensive
20
00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:19.719
tour of the United States in nineteen seventy six to
21
00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:23.599
mark the country's bi centennial celebrations. On that occasion, she
22
00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:27.000
began in Philadelphia before spending two days in Washington, where
23
00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:30.200
she famously danced with President Gerald Ford at the White House.
24
00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:34.560
She then traveled onward to New York, New Haven, Charlottesville, Newport,
25
00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:38.239
and Boston. Discussions are also said to be ongoing regarding
26
00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:41.760
a potential summer visit to North America by Prince William,
27
00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:44.120
who may travel during the upcoming World Cup in his
28
00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:50.280
capacity as patron of the Football Association. The possibility of
29
00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:54.120
abdication is now showing up in more and more news stories.
30
00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:58.280
On Talk TV, Jeremy Kyle suggested there may be only
31
00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:01.680
one option left for King Jim if the monarchy is
32
00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.760
to move forward. He said, I think it's so bad
33
00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.719
that the King might have to stand aside. I genuinely
34
00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:10.120
have a way out for him is to say that
35
00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:12.800
his medical situation is the reason he is doing that.
36
00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:15.319
We all know it's for the good of the royal family,
37
00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:18.199
and we start with a clean slate with William and Kate.
38
00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:22.360
Royal biographer Andrew Lowney agreed that the idea had been
39
00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:25.400
widely discussed. He said, yes, a number of people have
40
00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:28.639
suggested that. I suggested that myself. I think it may
41
00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:30.759
be the only way to clean out the stables and
42
00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:33.840
start afresh. I think the king is compromised by his
43
00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:38.039
association with Andrew. We have got to that last chance saloon.
44
00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:40.639
In some ways, his legacy will be defined by the
45
00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:44.360
way he deals with this. Kyle argued, maybe the best
46
00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:46.080
thing he can do is fall on his sword to
47
00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:50.039
ensure the continuation of the monarchy. Our royal insider floated
48
00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:53.479
a similar notion in his sub stack several times. Recently,
49
00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:56.639
Deep Crown tells us I will be candid. The King
50
00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:00.360
finds himself in an extraordinarily difficult position when it is
51
00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:03.840
largely of his own making. His decades of loyalty to
52
00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:08.120
his brother, however personally admirable one might find fraternal devotion
53
00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:11.879
in the abstract, has become an institutional liability of the
54
00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:15.479
first order. The palace has no clean answer to Andrew.
55
00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:19.879
Every accommodation, every half measure, every quiet arrangement has only
56
00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:24.159
deferred the reckoning the health rationale would simply provide the
57
00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:28.319
necessary dignity, the polite fiction that allows everyone to move
58
00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:31.719
forward without open wounds. That is not cynicism. That is
59
00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:36.759
how institutions survive. Charles himself would understand this better than most.
60
00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:40.439
Whether abdication is truly the only path forward, I am
61
00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:43.159
not yet prepared to say with certainty, but I will
62
00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.879
say this, the window for other solutions is closing. William
63
00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:50.759
and Catherine represents the monarchy's clearest argument for its own continuation.
64
00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.199
The question is simply how long the current chapter must
65
00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:57.560
run before that argument is allowed to be made. As
66
00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:00.599
I wrote on Sunday, the chapter is Andrew, the story
67
00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:04.919
is Charles. In the Royalist Tom Sykes writes, if the
68
00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:08.280
crisis now engulfing the monarchy were to end in abdication,
69
00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:12.479
the parallels with Watergate, which ended with Richard Nixon helicoptering
70
00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:15.319
out of the White House, would be unavoidable. For the
71
00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:18.120
central question now is not simply what Prince Andrew did,
72
00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:21.040
but what King Charles knew and when he knew it.
73
00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:24.759
That question destroyed Richard Nixon. It could yet unseat a
74
00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:28.399
sovereign if prosecutors move against the former Prince Andrew the
75
00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:31.279
spotlight will widen, and if it becomes a question not
76
00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:34.639
of Andrew's conduct but of royal complicity, then the crisis
77
00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:39.639
ceases to be personal and becomes existential. In The Independent,
78
00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:43.199
Katherine Pepinster writes the notion of the House of Windsor,
79
00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:46.279
together with its motto never complained, never explained, and its
80
00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:50.519
underlying philosophy of understated Christianity. After all, the monarch is
81
00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:53.040
head of the Church of England, is no longer enough.
82
00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:57.759
The idea of leadership has shifted, and so have public expectations.
83
00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:01.000
It took years for the royal family to act regarding
84
00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:04.120
Andrew mount Batten Windsor. Now, as the police get involved,
85
00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:06.519
the King will have to decide whether his statement about
86
00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.560
duty is enough or whether the new royal approach will
87
00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:13.079
require him to speak to the nation. For the time being,
88
00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:14.680
he can say that he must not interfere with the
89
00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:17.360
police inquiry and the legal process. But there will come
90
00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:19.879
a time when those are over, and then people may
91
00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:23.120
weld demand more from Charles. Show us you care, sir.
92
00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:26.439
It could well determine not only how his reign is remembered,
93
00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:30.879
but the future of the monarchy itself. Royal biographer Andrew
94
00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:34.160
Morton told Sky News every Monday morning, the palace will
95
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:36.319
wake up to a new headline, he warned, calling it
96
00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:40.240
a slow motion car crash. Morton argues that monarchy has
97
00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:42.759
lost the initiative, while the king has stepped back and
98
00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:45.439
allowed the law to take its course. That high ground
99
00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:48.160
comes at a cost. The scandal continues to seep into
100
00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:53.240
public consciousness, with homes searched and questions swirling about financial links,
101
00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:57.279
lifestyle funding, and the so called money trail. Charles is reduced,
102
00:05:57.279 --> 00:05:59.920
in Morton's words, to a spectator in his own fare
103
00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.759
only crisis. The deeper issue, he says, is the evaporation
104
00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:06.480
of royal magic. When a former prince is questioned like
105
00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:10.360
any other citizen, deference disappears. You can't be magical and
106
00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:14.399
under investigation at the same time. Some listeners may want
107
00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:17.120
to note a content warning for the first story after
108
00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:20.879
the break. Some listeners may choose to skip that segment.
109
00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:27.279
We'll be right back. Note a content warning for this
110
00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:30.480
next story. Some listeners may choose to skip this segment.
111
00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:35.920
Queen Camilla hosted French rape survivor Giselle Pellicott at Clarence House,
112
00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:39.240
telling her she was left speechless after reading her memoir
113
00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:44.040
Him to Life. Shame has to change sides. Camilla, who
114
00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:47.120
has campaigned against domestic and sexual violence since twenty ten,
115
00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:49.480
said she read the book in two days and couldn't
116
00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.639
put it down. During their private, thirty minute meeting over tea,
117
00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.000
she told Pellicott, I've met so many survivors of rape
118
00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.360
and sexual abuse. I never thought I could be shocked
119
00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:01.399
by anything anymore, but I was shocked at your case.
120
00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:06.040
It left me speechless. Pelicott waived her right to anonymity
121
00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:09.079
during a mass rape trial in France that lasted nearly
122
00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:13.040
four months. Her former husband, Dominique Pellicott was jailed for
123
00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:17.439
twenty years after being convicted of drugging and raping her
124
00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:21.360
over nearly a decade and facilitating abuse by dozens of
125
00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:25.120
other men. Fifty men were ultimately found guilty of rape
126
00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:28.720
or sexual offenses. Earlier this month, Pellicott said she felt
127
00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:31.839
overwhelmed and very honored to receive a personal letter from
128
00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:35.040
the Queen. In that message, Camilla praised her courage and grace,
129
00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:37.720
writing that she had inspired women across the globe and
130
00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:41.319
created a powerful legacy that will change the narrative around shame. Forever.
131
00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:45.480
The news cycle has been so heavy lately, we thought
132
00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:48.560
we'd mix in a little silliness. Megan has been mocked
133
00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:53.319
over her raspberry champagne post, as fans call her promo Lane.
134
00:07:53.639 --> 00:07:56.319
The Duchess posted a series of Instagram images featuring her
135
00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:00.600
twenty twenty one vintage Napper Valley Brute, including up shots
136
00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:04.120
of raspberries and wine glasses and engraved ice cube bearing
137
00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:07.439
the brand's name. The caption read a simple hosting tip.
138
00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:10.759
We always returned to chill your brute well, poor, slowly,
139
00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:14.920
and finished with a few raspberries for garnish. Effortless, unfussy,
140
00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:17.959
and just celebratory enough for an easy evening in or
141
00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.279
before a fun night out. Reaction online was immediate and divided.
142
00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:25.800
One user wrote on or read it the raspberry close
143
00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:29.319
up and blurry drink plus raspberry picker screaming early two
144
00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:32.399
thousands high school photography class student with a teen who
145
00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:35.399
thinks there artistic, but they're so lame that not even
146
00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:37.080
the teacher can do anything but pat them on the
147
00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:40.879
head and say nice work. Another said, I hate having
148
00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:43.720
fruit in my champagne or in her case, sparkling wine.
149
00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:46.440
I want to enjoy the champagne for itself. A single
150
00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:48.440
raspberry is not going to alter the taste, but it
151
00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:52.639
will bob about and bother me. One fan asked, does
152
00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:54.960
she think she discovered the concept of putting something like
153
00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:57.799
a raspberry or strawberry into a glass of sparkling wine
154
00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.639
that she somehow elevated it. I've been doing it for
155
00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:04.240
decades and as have we all. The engraved ice cube
156
00:09:04.279 --> 00:09:07.080
also drew comment. One user wrote, the as ever on
157
00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:09.799
the ice cube made me laugh. The last letter swoop
158
00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.120
isn't even on the cube. She has an obsession with
159
00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:16.440
elevating ice. It's ice. It's just fine. Leave it alone. Finally,
160
00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:19.799
one social media user asked, why is everything she does
161
00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:23.960
just so uninteresting? And there you have it. If you'd
162
00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.039
like to email us our addresses the Palace Intrigue at
163
00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:28.559
gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple, or
164
00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:30.960
the app of your choice. I'm Mark francis My thanks
165
00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:34.200
to John mcdermo. This is Palace Intrigue in good terms.