Prince William Steals the Show

0:03 Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host, Mark Francis. Kate could be joining William in India next month for the Earthshot Prize, according to Vanity Fair, as the Prince and Princess of Wales prepare to undertake more public engagements together. Kensington Palace has not announced her attendance, but Katie Nicholl reports that sources close to the couple expect their autumn schedule... to include the awards ceremony in Mumbai. A joint visit would put them together on an international stage after a period in which family health concerns have shaped their working lives. Royal biographer Russell Myers told Vanity Fair, William and Catherine have quietly supported each other away from their public life over the last couple of years due to Catherine's health crises and the King's health woes, but what they have really missed is supporting each other in public.

0:58 Now we are seeing a return to that. The palace and foreign office are planning various official engagements while the couple are in India, highlighting the prince and princess's soft power roles. The British government will see this as a chance to secure some form of diplomacy, and they will be doing other engagements outside of Earthshot. The increase in joint appearances also comes as Harry and Meghan resume visits of their own following their return to Britain. That timing has prompted another round of comparisons between the couple's with one unnamed insider telling Vanity Fair that William and Catherine want the purpose of their work to be clearly understood. It's no coincidence that William and Catherine are doing more together.

1:39 They want their roles to be very clearly separate from what Harry and Meghan are doing, and the brief from them is to stay focused on their work and causes and not be distracted by anything else. They are making their presence felt at a time when it matters. They don't see life as a competition with the Sussexes. The Sussexes are here doing their thing. William and Catherine are doing what's in front of them and focusing on what they care about. Former MP and columnist Nadine Dorosuing, writing in the Daily Mail, said, Love her or loathe her, Meghan knows how to snatch the spotlight. The past week has been marked by a renewed media blitz from the Duchess and all eyes are on her again, which is exactly how she wants it to be. Meghan was photographed leaving Claridge's with Malala, shared footage of Archie and Lilibet outdoors, and promoted a collaboration with mums offering more for International Day of the Girl. Dorries believes the timing of that activity following a recent sighting of Kate was intentional. Was the timing a coincidence? In my opinion, it wasn't. Meghan knows exactly how to divert attention her way. In his Substack Royal Insider Deep Crown, writes of Doris Swing's advice, I am sure this is kindly meant. It is also the single worst thing the Princess could do. The Princess has spent the past two years in circumstances few people would choose to endure in public, and she has returned to work at a pace that suits her rather than the newspapers. Her public life is built on accumulation, the

3:09 same causes year after year, the early years' work pursued long after the camera's lost interest, until the record speaks for itself. To enter a contest of moments with the Duchess of Sussex would be to accept the terms of of the one arena in which the Duchess is genuinely accomplished. The Princess has no need of a blow-up. She has a diary, a husband who appears to enjoy standing next to her, and, if Vanity Fair is right, a seat on a flight to Mumbai. Those are better weapons than sparkle, and they have the further advantage of not looking like weapons at all. Deep Crown also commented on the dueling photo ops, explaining, Every household with public duties keeps a diary, and every diary is a tool. I wrote recently about its spacing function, the business of making sure members of the family do not trample one another's coverage. The same machinery has a second use, less often discussed and in its way more important. It decides what the family is seen doing in the weeks when someone else is expected to be the news. There's nothing sinister in this. A household that knows the Sussexes will be in Nottingham on a particular Thursday has broadly three options. It can leave the surrounding weeks thin, which invites the press to fill the space with comparisons of its own devising. It can put something directly against Nottingham, which looks petty and hands the story of a fight it would otherwise lack. Or it can make sure the fortnight around the date is full of substantial, well-photographed work, so that when the comparison is drawn, as it will be, the material is already there.

4:37 The Waleses appear to have chosen the third. It requires no briefing against anyone. It requires a full diary. and the patience to let other people draw their own conclusions. More Palace in just a moment. William had plenty to celebrate at Villa Park last week, watching Aston Villa beat Fenerbahce 6-0 in the Champions League. I'm sure I mispronounced that team. The Prince of Wales was on his feet and punching the air after Johan Manzabi opened the scoring in the 12th minute. There were another five goals to come, making it a particularly rewarding night for a supporter who wants... said he chose Villa because he wanted an emotional rollercoaster. William was reportedly at the match with friends. Photographs of William celebrating brought an appreciative response from some supporters online.

5:25 How a real fan reacts, one wrote. One woman outside Buckingham Palace decided William's selfie technique could do with an adjustment. The prince was holding out a phone for a picture during last week's walkabout on the mall. when the well-wisher reached over and raised his arm, making sure the camera caught them from a higher angle. William accepted the correction and smiled for the photograph. William's recent cricket appearance got a good reception on many fronts. The game on the Mall was organised to promote next month's Earthshot Prize ceremony in Mumbai. Bringing together players from Britain and India with grassroots cricketers, William spent about 10 minutes batting, missed several deliveries, and then connected with a shot that sailed over the heads of some of the players. West Indian cricketer Brian Lara was willing to give him a place in his starting 11. Well, I think he underrates himself, first of all, because, you know, he's a big football fan, as we all know.

6:18 I think his bowling needs a lot of work, but his batting across the line, I think he'd just be my sort of number six or number seven batter, the guy that comes in at the end. And if he hits a couple of boundaries, he hits a couple of boundaries. Joe Root, English test captain, reached much the same conclusion. His batting was pretty good, to be fair. I think he's definitely a batter rather than a bowler, but he played some lovely shots. There's a lot to work with there. Root described the mall as a challenging wicket and said it was a huge privilege to play there. There are some wonderful backdrops in cricket, but none quite like Buckingham Palace, he said. William had first tried bowling to Lara before taking his turn with the bat against deliveries from Harry Brook and former India captain Surav Ganguly. Ganguly was generous about the prince's performance while admitting, that his own batting might be a little rusty. He batted all night. He's better than me at the moment because I just picked up a bat for the first time in eight or nine years. He was so friendly with everyone, simple and down to earth. India will welcome him, cordially. He's such a lovely, natured person, smiling, shaking hands with everyone. There was something for the family to take home too. William was presented with a cricket shirt for Charlotte, who played the sport at Lambrook. Afterwards, William went over to meet spectators.

7:31 Shaking hands and posing for selfies, one photograph attracted particular attention when he copied footballer John McGinn's familiar celebration, making a pair of upside-down goggles with his hands. For William, an Aston Villa supporter, it was a football reference at the end of a cricket appearance. Body language commentator Darren Stanton said, What's really great about Prince William is that he likes to get his hands dirty and wants to get stuck in, Stanton said, describing how seriously he is taking it. His eyes are fixed on a particular position, and you can see the jawbone and cheekbone tensing. It means he's extremely focused and concentrating on what's going on in front of him. Stanton said William never puts himself above anybody else, and that the outing shows that he's having fun playing sport and interacting with people on their level.

8:16 He's very approachable, and he always gives people the respect they deserve, which was demonstrated here as well when he lowers his height to make sure that the rapport was established. Social media reactions included one person writing, oh, you big dork, I love him. Another commented, lucky woman is Mrs. Wales who married the Joker. A third said, he's so dad. And there you have it. If you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrig at gmail.com. If you're on Spotify, leave us a comment. If you're on Apple, hit that button up there that says listen uninterrupted and get the show commercial free for just five bucks a month. Also, if there is a podcaster or a social media content creator in your life, tell them to check out our new program from Calaroga Media here. It's called Linnet, L-I-N-N-E-T, and you can find it at linnetmedia.com. And it'll get you into the next stage of being a great creator.

9:10 I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue. Good times.