Of course Harry and Meghan's Holiday Card was criticized

0:03 Caloroga Shark Media. Hello, and welcome to Palace Intrigue Game, your host, Mark Francis. Royal biographer Ingrid Seward told The Mirror the Duke of York's close links to the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tangbo have come at a most inopportune moment. Christmas for the royals is the only time in the year so many of them get together under one roof. The multiple scandals he has been associated with have embarrassed his family and made him a subject of ridicule. Although when the Queen was alive he was partially protected by her devotion. His irresponsible behavior and dubious friendships have exasperated his older brother for some time now, but nothing has been quite as damaging to the monarchy as Andrew's current situation.

0:53 It involves the British government MI six and the Chinese government. It almost sounds like a television spices. Can the King dismiss his brother? He will leave it up to his advisers to deal with that. That is why kings throughout history have surrounded themselves with what we now call gray men. A royal source added, the King and other members of the family are as exasperated as can be with the Duke with this latest issue. It is of grave embarrassment to him. In the Institution, Royal author Phil Dampier told the Son the fact that this guy obviously inveil himself into Prince Andrew's circle and was seemingly in and out of Royal Lodge is a worry for the security services.

1:34 Who knows what a spy might stumble across. It's a very big scandal. Certainly. The problem for Andrew is that on top of this scandal he was involved with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It's not a very good look. It's backfired on him dramatically, and on top of the Epstein thing, it's kind of a final nail in the coffin. Really. In The Guardian, Marina Hyde writes under the headline pity the Royals, How could they possibly have seen this coming? Marina writes, No matter how much you try to digest the implications of the alleged Chinese spy scandal, some details are just comically indigestible. Take the fact that Prince Andrew has somehow contrived to find staff even stupider than him.

2:15 Here is one senior aide called Dominic Hampshire, writing in March twenty twenty to the Chinese businessman with whom the Duke of York has found himself unfortunately entangled outside of Andrew's closest internal confidence. You sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on. Sorry is this March twenty twenty, a full four months after the four dimensional pile up that was Andrew's newsnight interview, which was followed immediately by the Duke's own mother sacking him. Dominic, there were ventilators that people would rather have seen on that tree. Anyway, if you're just joining us after a news fast, I'm afraid that Prince Andrew may have let the wrong one in again. If the Duke's mate does turn out to be a spy, it feels a little too easy and a lot too convenient to blame this latest calamitous episode for Andrew solely on him. After all. The thing about spies is they are supposed to be quite hard to detect. If it can be a struggle for the security services to identify who was a spy to a suitable threshold of proof, then it's unlikely to be a Doddle for the dimmest member of a family internationally recognized for its dimness. Obviously, the international sex trafficker should have been a somewhat easier one for Andrew to spot. I guess the biggest clue was that one the guy whose New York house he went to stay in twenty ten, was that Jeffrey Epstein had quite literally just finished serving a grotesquely plea bargained jail sentence for soliciting girls as young as fourteen for sex.

3:40 If only there had been science, etc. But speaking of science, if only there had been some before this week that could have indicated to the Royal Family that Andrew was permanently unsuited to activities involving either judgment or money. He should really have been forcibly retired from both these arenas in the mid nineteen nineties. After all, strange things invo foreign money and influence have been happening to him for decades. His previous trade envoy job, though seemingly concocted to get him flown around international golf courses on the public dying without arousing too much criticism, in fact ended up taking him willingly into the orbit of some of the world's least appealing dictators and political operators. All of this and so much more has long been known to the royal family, who, with the obvious sole exception of Andrew himself, are more responsible for his permanent liability status than anyone. Yet again, the King and his so called firm find themselves at a fork in the road. Either they let Andrew carry on trying to seek his fortune in the real world, or they pay for him to a level sufficient to close him down. Those are the only two choices left.

4:47 The family very deliberately shut off the third avenue, allowing Virginia Geoffrey's claims against Andrew to be tried and tested in open court. Instead, they felt the wiser option was to retreat into their money and set behind closed doors for many millions of dollars in the absence of allowing some form of justice to at least play out and exonerate Andrew or not. The fork they should now take as using more of that money to pay entirely for their black sheep. This mad situation where a proven liability is forever grubbing around grim regimes and their operatives, is ultimately of their making. Why should the people of this country be exposed to unknown security risks simply because King Charles thinks it looks bad to keep Andrew with palatial grace and favor splendor and not have his courtious leak.

5:31 And Andrew said to be turfed out of Royal Lodge story thrice yearly. It does look bad, but it was the family's choice that them own it. The cost to the state of investigating this latest fell up by Andrew probably runs into many millions. The Crown might consider itself lucky again not to have those build to it too. Palace indrinca browback. Harry and Meghan shared their holiday card, which features the children and the family's three dogs. The card, it warmly reads on behalf of the Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archbold Productions and Archibald Foundation. We wish you a very happy holiday season and a joyful New Year. Harry's father, Charles, is the head of the Church of England, which is gearing up for Christmas this holiday season. Princess Anne also shared her annual Christmas card, featuring a striking photo of herself and husband Sir Timothy Lawrence riding in a carriage following a service at Saint George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The card's message reads simply with best wishes for a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year from Anne. In the image, the possible former Royal Secret sax Bomb becuts a regal figure in her dark blue velvet garter robes, complete with white gloves and a Tudor style hat adorned with plume ostridge feathers. Well. Sir Tim looks sharp in a formal morning suit and top hat. Anne and Sir Tim quietly marked their thirty second wedding anniversary on December twelfth to form the Princess Royal remained busy with engagements in Norfolk and Suffolk, showing no sign of slowing down even as the holidays approach. Comedian Matt Ford divided opinion during the

7:06 Royal Variety performance after he opened his set with a personal revelation about his cancer diagnosis. Entering the stage where the crutch, Ford explained his health journey, telling the audience, just over a year ago, I had terrible nerve pain in my leg. I went to get an MRI scan. I was diagnosed with cancer he quickly lightened the mood, quipping, I'm telling you this mainly just to get you onside, because I'm going to impersonate a few politicians now, and if I insult one you like, just remember I've been very brave. Ford, who also confirmed he has now cancer free, proceeded to deliver impressions of figures like Keir Starmer and Donald Trump. While some viewers praised his performance as funny and engaging, others found his initial remarks to be poorly judged, particularly given the context. King Charles, who was in attendance, had reportedly been undergoing cancer treatment this year, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by critics. One viewer commented, is a joke about cancer really the way to start a comedy routine? It certainly did not get me on his side.

8:04 Another added, as a cancer survivor, I'm amazed Matt Ford thought it appropriate to use his diagnosis as the basis for jokes given what the royal family has gone through this year. Tasteless. Others felt the timing was off, saying a cancer joke with a king watching bit tasteless. Still, there were those who appreciated Ford's humor, with one audience member remarking funny guy Matt Ford, and another calling his impressions spot on and the habit. If you'd like to email us our addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please follows on Spotify, Apple, on the app of your choice and leave some stars or a review. If you're enjoying the show, don't forget. You can get the show and with hundreds of others from Calla Roger Shark Media. Commercial Free makes a great Christmas gift. It's only four ninety nine a month. All the details are in these show notes or episode notes and Mink Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue and good terms and