Feb. 11, 2026

Prince William ducks Epstein shout in Saudi as King Charles caves to police pressure

Show Notes
Transcript

Prince William got an awkward shout about “the Andrew and Epstein scandal” while visiting a girls’ football session in Saudi Arabia and, surprise, didn’t answer. The moment hit as King Charles made a rare public intervention back home, saying the Palace would assist police if an investigation is opened into allegations tied to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. While the headlines screamed monarchy crisis, William’s schedule churned out glossy optics anyway, including an esports stop where he admitted, “I have no idea what I’m doing,” before losing at Rocket League alongside Saudi royals. Sky’s Rhiannon Mills and ITV’s Chris Ship say the timing of the two palace statements was no accident and that the royal “keep calm and carry on” machine is now working under the Epstein shadow everywhere it goes. The episode ends with US Congressman Ro Khanna warning the monarchy is at its most vulnerable and urging Andrew to testify.

Palace Intrigue is your daily royal family podcast, diving deep into the modern-day drama, power struggles, and scandals shaping the future of the monarchy.

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

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

👑 Follow our hit series Crown and Controversy! Season 1 and 2 are fully available now for everyone. Season 3 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 3 BEFORE REGULAR LISTENERS as a subscriber! Hit that "UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING" Banner on the top of the Apple player. AND listen to Crown and Controversy "NORWAY'S ROYAL REBELS" here and get the full season as a premium subscriber now.

👑 The Palace Intrigue Social Hub is Live! Join the conve

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:11.119
Ah Caalarougus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue.

2
00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:14.000
I am your host, Mark for Ansis. Prince William faced

3
00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:18.320
questions about his disgraced uncle Andrew Mountbatten Windsor while in

4
00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.800
Saudi Arabia. The Prince of Wales was attending a girl's

5
00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:25.920
football training session, usually a nice William as Soccer Dad

6
00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:28.280
photo op, when a reporter called out to him from

7
00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:31.000
a distance, asking Sir, to what extent do you think

8
00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.479
the royal family has done enough around the Andrew and

9
00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:37.320
Epstein's scandal. William did not respond, and it was unclear

10
00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:41.000
whether he heard the question, which is being generous. The

11
00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:44.200
moment came a day after King Charles made an extraordinary

12
00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:48.200
intervention in the growing controversy surrounding his brother. In a

13
00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:50.240
rare public move, the King said he would assess the

14
00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:55.000
public in any investigation. In an unprecedented statement addressing the

15
00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:58.600
catalog of allegations against Andrew, the King spoke of his

16
00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:02.119
profound concern of ames that his younger brother sexually assaulted

17
00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:04.560
a woman at his former Windsor home and that she

18
00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:08.319
had been trafficked by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and

19
00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:12.560
that Andrew passed confidential information to Epstein while serving as

20
00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:17.000
a trade envoy. Thames Valley Police has confirmed it is

21
00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:21.040
assessing both claims after Andrew's name appeared repeatedly in the

22
00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:25.680
last tranch of millions of documents released by US investigators

23
00:01:25.719 --> 00:01:30.159
examining Epstein's crimes. Buckingham Palace is understood to be prepared

24
00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:34.719
to hand over any documents relating to Andrew's personal engagements,

25
00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:38.400
guests he may have taken to royal residences or correspondence

26
00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:42.959
sent from a royal email address. Andrew has previously denied

27
00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:49.000
any wrongdoing. Normally, William's regular bloke photo ops work well,

28
00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:53.400
but they seemed turned deaf on Tuesday, while newspapers raised

29
00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:56.599
with headlines along the lines of can the monarchy survive?

30
00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:01.200
William was photographed playing video games. Prince William was attending

31
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.640
an e sports tournament at the specially built se F Arena,

32
00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:08.360
where he went head to head with his host, Prince

33
00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:12.319
faisal Bin bandhab Bin Sultan Alsaald, the chairman of the

34
00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:16.000
Saudi es Sports Federation, in a game of Rocket League.

35
00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:19.159
The Prince showed off his gaming skills on his final

36
00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:23.199
engagement in Riad this afternoon, though He readily admitted defeat

37
00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.919
after saying I have no idea what I'm doing. As

38
00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:28.639
he took his seat, the Prince of Wales told his

39
00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:32.120
teammate Abdullah Matib, I have no idea what I'm doing.

40
00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:34.919
You'll have to show me. The match began moments later,

41
00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:38.280
with William steering his blue buggy around the virtual stadium

42
00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.599
while his opponents capitalized on an early chance to score.

43
00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:44.960
The first game ended with the Saudi side winning three

44
00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:48.240
to two, followed by a second match that finished two

45
00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:51.719
to one to the hosts. The Prince did not score

46
00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:54.680
in either game, but played his role by repeatedly ramming

47
00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:59.080
opponents as they pressed towards his goal. Abdullah, aged twenty four,

48
00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.919
said afterwards he was very good. He shook my hands

49
00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:04.039
afterwards and said very nice to play with you. I

50
00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:08.360
am very proud on the winning team. Armored. Abdullah aged

51
00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:10.960
twenty three, said it was very fun to play with

52
00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:14.439
both princes. Wasn't easily actually, Prince William was a good

53
00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:17.439
opponent and it was very close. It was my pleasure

54
00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:20.599
to play with them and meet Prince William. Our royal

55
00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:23.400
inside a deep crown tells us one rather hesitates to

56
00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:26.759
criticize the Prince of Wales, who has proven remarkably adept

57
00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:30.439
at navigating the modern media landscape. But this was an

58
00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:35.520
unfortunate misstep. On an ordinary Tuesday, photographs of William gaming

59
00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:39.520
with Saudi Royalty would have charmed the younger demographics and

60
00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:44.400
demonstrated the monarchy's contemporary relevance. But timing, as they say,

61
00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:47.759
is everything. On a day when the monarchy's very future

62
00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:51.080
is being debated, the image of William losing that rocket

63
00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:55.960
League while the Kingdom metaphorically burns, does rather reinforce the

64
00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:00.520
critics narrative. Sometimes what plays brilliantly on most days simply

65
00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:04.240
cannot overcome the weight of a particularly unfortunate news cycle.

66
00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:08.520
For Sky News, rhiannon Mills says, do not underestimate how

67
00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:12.039
significant it is that King Charles' statement was released just

68
00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.479
a matter of hours after Prince William had landed in

69
00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:18.319
Saudi Arabian. Usually there's an unwritten rule that nothing should

70
00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:22.120
ever overshadow an important diplomatic visit like this, but there

71
00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:24.639
was a sense in the Palace that something had shifted

72
00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:28.720
over the weekend in terms of the allegations against Andrew Mountbatten,

73
00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:33.079
Windsor and no response wasn't an option. Royal editor Russell

74
00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:36.759
Meyers pointed out the reference to mister Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,

75
00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.519
saying it underscores that Andrew is now regarded as a

76
00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.839
private citizen, a clear message that Andrew is no longer

77
00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:47.800
being shorted by the Institution for itv X Chris ship writes,

78
00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:50.439
what we learn on this visit in Riard is that

79
00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:53.360
right now the work of the Royal family is being

80
00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:56.720
seen solely through the prism of the Epstein files and

81
00:04:56.759 --> 00:05:01.680
the allegations swirling around Andrew Mountbatten. And that is true

82
00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:05.000
even when an official overseas visit is this big for

83
00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:08.680
Prince William and for the British government. But perhaps this

84
00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.480
is one occasion when keep calm and carry on won't

85
00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:14.360
cut the mustard. To say the two statements from the

86
00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:17.519
two palaces on Monday were unusual would be to commit

87
00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:21.759
a journalistic crime of understatement. Firstly, at the start of

88
00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:24.319
his own trip, the Prince's team were forced to clarify

89
00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.600
William and Kate's position on the Andrew issue. It made

90
00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:31.519
breaking news headlines even before William's plane had touched down

91
00:05:31.560 --> 00:05:34.120
in Riard. As the Prince and Princess of Wales have

92
00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:37.639
never before made a public statement about the claims surrounding

93
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:40.720
William's uncle, But even that moment was blown out of

94
00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.079
the water by the second royal statement of the day,

95
00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:47.079
this one from Palace h Q, Buckingham Palace and approved

96
00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:50.160
by King Charles. And it is worth stopping for a

97
00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:52.759
moment to think about what the Palace said. Should the

98
00:05:52.759 --> 00:05:56.240
police need to launch a criminal investigation into the actions

99
00:05:56.279 --> 00:05:59.199
of the King's younger brother, than we as the institution

100
00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:04.120
of monarchy, stand by ready to help. Senior Palace staff

101
00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:06.720
acknowledged the good will the King had earned from his

102
00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:09.759
decision last year, and it was monumentally difficult to get

103
00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:12.199
Andrew to agree to it and run out, and they

104
00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:15.079
would rather volunteer to cooperate with the police than risk

105
00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:18.839
creating any impression they were being dragged to that position.

106
00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:21.399
The Royals need to find a way to meet the moment.

107
00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:24.519
So far they have been unable to do so. In

108
00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:27.560
the Daily Mail, Russell Meyers writes, the truth is the

109
00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:29.519
Royals have to get a grip on this. The public

110
00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:32.360
clamor for an apology is growing, and for an apology

111
00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:37.360
that specifically mentions Andrew. People are rightly growing frustrated at

112
00:06:37.399 --> 00:06:40.600
the lack of transparency and accountability at the heart of

113
00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:44.560
our establishment. Whether it is the royals, politicians or the church,

114
00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.439
the truth has to be dragged out of them. Surely

115
00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:50.480
our intelligence services had a handle on Epstein and some

116
00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:53.519
understanding of what Andrew was up to. His Scotland yard

117
00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:55.759
protection officers would keep logs of where he was at

118
00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.639
all times. Shouldn't those logs be made public? Everyone who

119
00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.160
was part to any knowledge, it seems, has been afraid

120
00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:05.199
to say anything for fear of repercussions. But silence is

121
00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:09.160
serving no one. Andrew insists he's done nothing wrong, fine,

122
00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:11.639
then let him say so under oath. Let him testify

123
00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:14.160
to what he saw, what he knows, what he did.

124
00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:18.079
If he is innocent, transparency will be his best friend.

125
00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.439
But Charles can no longer wait for his brother to

126
00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:24.240
develop a conscience. The king must go further still. He

127
00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:27.040
needs to address the nation on television to make clear

128
00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:31.560
this institution will not shelter anyone from accountability, apologize on

129
00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:34.040
behalf of the monarchy for the pain cause to victims,

130
00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:37.839
even though he personally bears no blame. Only Charles can

131
00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:40.800
put out the fire before there's nothing left to save

132
00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:49.240
will Palace in just a moment. Soccer Dad William had

133
00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:53.920
another photo op meeting with youth football squads in Riata

134
00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:56.519
as they took part in training skills at the misk

135
00:07:56.720 --> 00:07:59.879
Sports City. The Prince joined the session on the pitching

136
00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:02.759
invited to take part in a crossbar challenge, taking three

137
00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:05.240
shots with the aim of hitting the bar instead, he

138
00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.720
scored with all three attempts. Speaking to the players, Prince

139
00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.360
William said, this is my first time in Saudi Arabia.

140
00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:13.720
Have any of you ever been to the UK? You

141
00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:16.879
know the weather's different, cold and rainy, but you have

142
00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:20.079
the sunshine here all the time. Good luck with the football,

143
00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:22.399
keep practicing and we'll see you in the World Cup.

144
00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:26.120
After a group photographed, one player asked did Princess Kate

145
00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.000
come with you and responded with a disappointment oh when

146
00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:32.120
he said she had not. When told he should bring

147
00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:35.399
his family to Saudi Arabia, William replied, they would love

148
00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:37.840
it here. Well, you show them how to play football.

149
00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:40.320
My children love football, but you guys are another level.

150
00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:42.200
I can see you guys will be at the World

151
00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:44.080
Cup very soon, and then you're going to make me

152
00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:48.080
feel very old. Some senior figures in the United States

153
00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:50.360
have suggested it may already be too late to protect

154
00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:53.799
the monarchy. Roe Kenna, who sits on the committee examining

155
00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:56.840
aspects of the Epstein case, said any Sky News interview,

156
00:08:57.279 --> 00:08:59.519
I think this is the most vulnerable the British monarchy

157
00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:01.600
has ever ben. They ought to ask the King and

158
00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:04.000
Queen questions and maybe this will be the end of

159
00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:07.200
the monarchy if they don't have answers, if they're implicated

160
00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:09.879
in the Epstein class, it's not a good look for

161
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.039
the British monarchy. The King has to answer what he

162
00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:15.919
knew what he knew about Andrew, and just stripping Andrew

163
00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:18.480
of a title is not enough. Andrew needs to come

164
00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:22.240
before our committee and start answering questions. I don't think

165
00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:25.399
the appropriate punishment is you no longer get to be prince.

166
00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:28.720
There's got to be more than that, Royal commentators say.

167
00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:31.519
Attention is also turning back to late Queen Elizabeth and

168
00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:35.039
her role in protecting Andrew after the first allegations emerged.

169
00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:38.039
Royal biographer Tina Brown has argued that the handling over

170
00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:41.480
Andrew under the previous reign allowed the situation to worse.

171
00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:45.519
An over time, and the crisis is not confined to Britain.

172
00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:49.519
In Norway, the monarchy is also under pressure after correspondence

173
00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:52.919
between Crown Princess Madame Marie and Epstein appeared in the

174
00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:56.360
latest document release. In a statement, Mena Marie said she

175
00:09:56.440 --> 00:09:59.639
had the deepest regret for my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

176
00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:02.399
and apologized for the situation that I have put the

177
00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:05.879
royal family in, especially the King and Queen. We are

178
00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:09.559
covering the Norwegian saga in our sister podcast, Crown and

179
00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:13.200
Controversy Norway. Just search for that on whatever app you're using.

180
00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:16.279
Crown and Controversy Norway. The Norwegian royals have their hands

181
00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:20.200
full with the Epstein files turning white hot concurrent with

182
00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:23.279
a rape trial involving the son of the Crown Princess.

183
00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:28.840
Crown and Controversy Norway wherever you get your podcasts and

184
00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:30.639
they have it. If like to email usor address the

185
00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:33.960
palasintrig at gmail dot com, please follow us on Spotify

186
00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.320
and Apple and Facebook and Instagram. We're all over the

187
00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:39.200
social media. I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott

188
00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.480
this Palace Intrigue. Good terms

Prince William ducks Epstein shout in Saudi as King Charles caves to police pressure

Listen On

Recent Episodes