Dec. 30, 2025

King Charles Softens on Andrew but reportedly annoyed that William Is Quietly Prepping for the Throne

Show Notes
Transcript

King Charles is reportedly rethinking how harshly he sidelined his brother, Prince Andrew, as new details emerge about life behind the gates at Royal Lodge. According to palace insiders, Andrew lost staff, access to Windsor kitchens and even basic freedoms before the King quietly softened his stance and resumed regular contact.

Meanwhile, Andrew faces fresh reputational damage after another release of Epstein-related documents, with BBC analysis warning that Andrew’s long-running scandal may still have further depths to reach.

We also look at growing reports that King Charles the Third is uneasy with the intense focus on succession, and why some commentators believe the monarchy has become an unavoidable public soap opera.

Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.

Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.

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WEBVTT

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A calorogus Shark Media that hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue.

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I'm your host, Mark Francis. King Charles is said to

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be quietly regretting how firmly he acted against his brother Andrew,

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according to a report citing palace insiders, as the disgraced

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former royal faces what are described as ongoing behind the

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scenes degradations at Royal Lodge. Daily Meil columnist Ephraim hard

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Castle writes that beyond losing his titles, honors and long

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term home, Andrew has seen a series of lesser known

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privileges stripped away. He says Andrew has lost royal staff

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funded by the King, been cut off from Windsor Castle's kitchens,

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and was issued with an instruction to stay out of

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public view until he is eventually relocated. Hard Castle adds

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that Andrew's final plea to his brother was not to

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be reduced to the rank of commoner. In what is

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described as a gentle softening of approach. The columnist reports

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that King Charles is now telephoning Andrew frequently and has

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begun restoring some access to staff and stables. For the BBC.

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Sean Conflin writes every time you think the Andrew Mountbatten

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Windsor story must have finished, there's another twist. The latest

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batch of documents from the Epstein files includes emails that

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could further damage his reputation, or perhaps his reputation is

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already at rock bottom, and this will only reinforce existing

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negative impressions. The identity of a who also uses the

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name Invisible Man is not made clear, and we do

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not know for sure it is Andrew. And there might

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be some quizzical looks at some of the language in

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the emails, for instance fall rather than autumn, which is

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more like American English than British. But there are lines

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in the emails that seem to tally with Andrew's biography,

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such as talking about when he left the Royal Navy.

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This is a downward spiral, and every time you think

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it has ended, it keeps getting deeper, a source tells

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us Weekly, William and Kate have been preparing for a

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while in case Charles can no longer serve as monarch.

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Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams explained there is an awareness that

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not only are the Waleses and their family the obvious

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future of the monarchy, but that William's time may come

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sooner than originally expected. According to the outlet, Prince williams

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already being positioned differently. A source said, he is becoming

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more serious and we're all starting to see what kind

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of a monarch he will be, adding that the palace

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is consciously elevating and presenting him in an authoritative manner,

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anticipating wants to come. Kate is still cautious about pacing

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herself with her schedule and the kids schedule. A source

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said she knows she will have to take on more

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when she's queen. The source said the family is slowly

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allowing Prince George to take on more responsibilities, making clear

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that the next generation is already in view. Royal expert

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Ingrid Seward says of George, he is a very impressive

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young man, but I think William is anxious to bring

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him up differently to how he himself was brought up

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after his mother died. He is very conscious of not

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wanting George to be seen as an elitist kid. He

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just want him to be as ordinary as he can be.

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I remember the Princess of Wales once saying that they

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always discussed these appearances with George, and that he has

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never pushed. William is doing what he can to get

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him to look at the world in a certain way.

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But you can see how good George was with those

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old soldiers. He wants to do all these things, and

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William is happy for him to have a taste of it,

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but not the full meal. Royal biographer Christopher Wilson agrees

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there is obviously valuable experience to be gained from seeing

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his father operate as a charity patron and to see

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the work of places like the passage when he is

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so young. Ultimately, though, George is a twelve year old

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boy and no more ready for this spotlight than William

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was at that age or Charles was at that age.

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The kindest thing they could do for his future is

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to let him go and be a teenager at secondary school,

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far away from the pressures of his life role and

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the glare of the media. There will be enough of

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that once he becomes an adult. William will know that

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better than anyone, and insider adds William and Kate have

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created their own bubble for themselves. They are a young

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family trying to live as normal life as possible. They

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are trying to enjoy the moments before they become king

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and queen, and their lives change forever. According to sources,

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the focus on Prince William's eventual succession has left the

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King not thrilled. A source told Us Weekly he doesn't

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feel great about it, as he has finally attained the

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position he has waited for his whole life. Now that

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he's king, everyone is focused on who will come next.

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Another source rejected the idea that the Prince of Wales

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has taken over the king's responsibilities, while acknowledging his readiness

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for the future. The inside has said William has his

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own office and staff separate from the King, and he

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and Charles work closely together. Charles believes William will do

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an incredible job as king, and he's very supportive. When

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they don't agree, William respects his father's decisions. In the

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Daily Many, Aan Wilson writes, the royal family has become

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a ridiculous soap opera. We're all hooked on. This is

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why I do have sympathy for Prince Harry, but Andrew

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and Fergie's guzzling and fornication are beyond belief. There used

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to be a convention that the press published only flattering

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stories about the family. The public were kept in the

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dark until a couple of days before the abdication in

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nineteen thirty six of King Edward the Eighth, who quit

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the job in order to marry an American devorcee. The squabbles,

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the love affairs, the Royal families defects of character were

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known only to themselves and their intimates. The public were

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shown ideal versions of the story, the little princesses playing

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with Corgi's, the whrse and grown ups reassuringly tweedy, seen

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only when opening hospitals or attending religious services. But it

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is all changed now. The Royal Family is a soap

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opera in good senses as well as in bad. Why

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are people addicted to East Enders or Coronation Street. It's

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not because of all the characters are people we want

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to be now. It's because we half recognize ourselves and

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our own messy limes and the plot lines as the

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characters fall out of love, have complicated liaisons, marital rows,

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and face illness. By the time Prince Charles and his

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siblings had grown up, it was open season, and we

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the press felt free to recognize that the Royals were

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human like the rest of us, and boy, oh boy,

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what is soap opera? They all provided as the catalog

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of mishaps, tragedies and scandals, and the previous paragraphs makes

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clear there is something on the edge of ridiculous about

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the Royal soap opera. None of them would have chosen

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this to happen. Andrew and Fergie guzzling and fornicating and

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spending other people's money, would much prefer not have been unmasked.

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William and Kate would undoubtedly have much preferred it if

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Harian Meghan had not been interviewed by Oprah. Winfrey claimed

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that the royals and one of them were racist. They

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would have preferred it if Harry's self pitying memoir Spear

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had never been published, and that we did not know

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that the two brothers had, on at least one occasion

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come to blows. But it's all out now and nothing

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that we read about this profoundly dysfunctional family could possibly

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surprise us more palace in just a moment. Several county

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pubs in the Cotswolds are favorites of the royal family.

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According to a new research by fintech firm sum up.

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The study examined venues frequented by a senior Royals using

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trip Advisor reviews, Google rankings, and cost data to compile

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its list. Among those highlighted worthy, Rattlebone Inn in Shehurston

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and The Cat and Custed Pot in Shipton Moyne. Both

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were singled out by Jack Stoukes, who worked in the

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King Charles the Third's household at Highgrove for more than

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two decades. Stukes said, when I was at Highgrove, William

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and Harry used to go to the local pubs quite often.

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There was one called the Cat and Custon that they

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always used to go to with their friends. We would

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all be drinking with our friends and they would sit

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on the table next to us and say hello. It

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was all very normal and informal. They were left alone

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when they were there. It was nice for them to

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just be able to go to the pub and be

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normal for a time without all lies being on them.

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The Rattlebones and the Vine Tree were others they used

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to go to. They were just nice, normal pubs. The

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food was good, but nothing fancy. They really enjoyed just

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going to local pubs like the rest of us. According

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to the rankings. The Rose and Crown and Winfield, Berkshire

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took the top spot. It is said to have been

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a favorite of Prince Harry and Meghan Markham while they

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were living at Frogmore Cottage. Second place went to Dean

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Street Townhouse in Soho, where the Duke and Duchess of

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Sussex had their first date in twenty sixteen. Third was

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the Vine Tree in Norton, located on the High Grove

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State and they have it. Like to email us addresses

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the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please follow us

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hubs and leave us a nice review of enjoying the

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show I Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This

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is Palace Intrigue and good terms.

King Charles Softens on Andrew but reportedly annoyed that William Is Quietly Prepping for the Throne

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