Dec. 13, 2025

King Charles Shares “Good News” on Cancer as Andrew’s Epstein Shadow Returns

Show Notes
Transcript

King Charles the Third delivers his most hopeful health update since announcing his cancer diagnosis in early 2024, revealing in a prerecorded video message that his doctors will reduce the intensity of his treatment schedule in the new year. The Palace stresses he did not say he is cancer-free and did not disclose the type of cancer, describing the next stage as a “precautionary phase” after what it calls an “exceptionally” strong response to treatment. Our royal insider Deep Crown reads the Palace language as deliberate, balancing public reassurance with constitutional stability, while The Telegraph’s Hannah Furness writes that the King’s illness has made the monarchy feel more human than ever. The Daily Mail’s Rebecca English adds a vivid behind-the-scenes moment from early in the diagnosis, including Charles’s famously dry reaction to the news. After the break, House Democrats release a new batch of photographs from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, reviving scrutiny of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, with Tom Sykes arguing the scandal keeps mutating and that allowing a York family christening in the Chapel Royal sent the wrong message about Andrew’s place in royal ceremonial life.

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Calorogus Shark Media Hellong, Welcome through Pallace intrigue game your

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host Mark Francis. King Charles the Third has shared what

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he described as good news about his cancer treatment, revealing

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that his doctors plan to reduce the intensity of his

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treatment schedule in the new year. The update came in

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a pre recorded video message broadcast as part of cancer

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awareness program, marking the most hopeful public signal about his

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health since he announced his diagnosis in early twenty twenty four.

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In the message, the King said, today I am able

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to share with you the good news that, thanks to

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early diagnosis, effective intervention and doctor's orders, my own schedule

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of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year.

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He added that the moment was both a personal blessing

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and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been

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made in cancer care in recent years. The Palace stressed

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that the King did not say he was cancer free,

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nor did he specify the type of cancer or suggest

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that treatment was ending entirely. Buckingham Palace said he had

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responded exceptionally well to treatment and that his care was

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now moving into a precautionary phase where a significantly reduced schedule.

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The King has taken great comfort and encouragement from being

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able to continue leading a full, in active life throughout

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his treatment, while always heeding the advice of his medical teen.

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His ability to uphold all of his state duties and

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to continue with public engagements and overseas tours has helped

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greatly with the positive mindset that, as many families will know,

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is such a vital part of the recovery journey. The

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message was also used to underline the importance of cancer screening.

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The King noted that many people delay screening out of

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fear or embarrassment, saying if and when they finally do

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take up their invitation, they are glad they took part.

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He highlighted the impact of early detection, adding when bowel

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cancer is caught at its earliest stage, around nine to

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ten people survive it for at least five years. When

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diagnosed late, that falls to just one in ten. Charles

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has chosen a careful balance between privacy and disclosure since

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making his diagnosis public, explaining at the time that he

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did so to prevent speculation and in the hope it

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may assist public understanding for all those around the world

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who are affected by cancer. Since then, details of his

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condition and treatment have remained limited. Despite his illness, the

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King has maintained a demanding schedule of public duties and

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high profile meetings at home and abroad, a piece that

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has been widely interpreted as either a sign of recovery

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or a monarch determined to carry on regardless. Even so,

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comments from within the family have occasionally fueled concern, with

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Prince Harry recently saying I don't know how much longer

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my father has and another report suggesting Charles wanted to

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make the most of this Christmas in case it were

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his last. Our Royal inside at Deep Crown tells us

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reduced treatment schedule is not cancer free, and those of

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us who have watched this institution navigate crisis after crisis

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recognize the deliberate choice of language. The King is doing

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what he has always done, balancing the public's genuine concern

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for their sovereign with the constitutional necessity of protecting stability.

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A monarchy cannot appear vulnerable, yet a modern monarch cannot

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appear dishonest. It is a type rope walked with considerable grace.

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What remains unspoken, of course, is precisely what type of

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cancer we are discussing and what precautionary phase actually entails.

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The Palace's discretion in this regard is both understandable and

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I would argue appropriate. Hama Fernz writes in the Telegraph.

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In a few short years, the monarch, sovereign, head of state,

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head of commonwealth and defender of faith has gone from

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untouchable quasi deity in the public imagination to almost one

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of us. It has not always or even often been

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as easy as he has made it look. His diary,

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busy at the best of times, has been squeezed around

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his weekly treatment. He has sometimes seemed tired, pale, with

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chapter hadns or lips as a result of treatment. In

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the Daily Mail or Rebecca English tells the story of

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Charles learning he had cancer. She writes in February last year,

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shortly after the King was told he had cancer, he

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sat down with senior aids to share the troubling news. Understandably,

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they were shocked. Oh that's a right bugger, one burst

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out before, inwardly panicking fearing this might have caused offense. Instead,

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his Majesty's lips twitched before he broke into laughter. Yes,

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it is a bit of a bugger, isn't it. He

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chuckled English quotes a well Place's source as saying, I

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think when he first received his diagnosis and wasn't clear

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which way this was going to go, it made him

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more determined than ever to keep going as fast as possible,

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because there was so much more he wanted to achieve.

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He was only persuaded to take a few weeks away

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from frontline duties because his doctors convinced him of the

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danger of contracting his secondary infection in those perilous early days.

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Even now that he realizes it isn't going to be

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a race against time, he still wants to change the world.

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A friend of Charles said, anyone receiving a cancer diagnosis

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is fraud by it, and his majesty was no different.

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But even in that bleakest of moments, he dealt with

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it in a very human way. His instinctive reaction when

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he was asked how he wanted to handle the news

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publicly was to be as honest with his people as

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he possibly could. More Ballance in just a moment. In

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other news, Andrew Mountbatten Winsor's links to the late financier

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Jeffrey Epstein resurfaced once again after House Democrats in the

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US released a new batch of photographs taken from Epstein's estate.

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In announcing the release on ex Democrats said these disturbing

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images raised even more questions about Epstein and his relationships

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with some of the most powerful men in the world.

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The photographs were made public amid an ongoing dispute with

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the White House over the release of the so called

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Epstein Files, a large collection of documents tied to Epstein's

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activities and his abuse of young women over many years.

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One of the newly released images shows and Andrew standing

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alongside Microsoft founder Bill Gates. While Democrats had said as

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many as ninety five thousand images could eventually be released,

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only nineteen photographs are currently available. In The Royalist, Tom

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Sykes writes in a nutshell, the problem is that this

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scandal is not going away. It keeps resurfacing, it keeps mutating,

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it keeps embarrassing the monarchy, and still the King's household

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allowed Andrew and Sarah Ferguson to attend a family christening

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in the Chapel Royal. A breathtakingly lavish jewel of Tudor design,

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one of the most inaccessible and private spaces in the

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royal world. The question is not whether Andrew's daughters deserve

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to be punished for his sins. I'm not saying Andrew

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shouldn't be invited to his grandchild's christening. I am saying

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that Charles was foolish to allow this event to take

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place on hallowed Royal ground. There is a difference between

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allowing a disgraced family member to attend a private event

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and allowing that event to take place on the royal

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estate in a royal chapel steeped in royal symbolism. LL

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Royal is not a parish church that you can simply

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book for the afternoon. It is a highly privileged royal institution.

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Letting Andrew and family use it sends a message that

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despite everything, the Yorks remain embedded in the ceremonial life

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of the monarchy. Royal commentator Meredith Constant told Fox News

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Digital Beatrice was in a difficult position. Do you uninvite

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your father and give the media even more fodder, or

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do you invite him to keep it very low key.

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It's also in the interest of princesses Beatrice and Eugenie

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to keep their distance from their parents' scandals. King Charles

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has made it clear that his nieces are very much

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in the royal fold, but who knows if William is

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going to extend the same compassion when King. The more

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space between the York sisters and their parents, the better.

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There you have it. If you'd like to email us

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addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please followus

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on Spotify, Apple, Instagram, Facebook, We're all over the place.

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Come and say hi and leave us a nice review

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for enjoining the show. I'm Mark Francis my thanks to

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John McDermot. This is Palace Intrigue and names MHM

King Charles Shares “Good News” on Cancer as Andrew’s Epstein Shadow Returns

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