July 23, 2025
Prince William: Tea at 3AM, Drug Busts, and a 109-Year-Old Fan
A former soldier named Hugh phoned in to LBC with a story that says everything about Prince William’s approach to leadership. During a freezing, 3AM training exercise on Salisbury Plain, it wasn’t an officer barking orders—it was William brewing tea. “NATO milk and two sugars,” the soldier requested. “Yes please boss.” That boss? The future king.
From the trenches to the tropics: another old story has resurfaced about William’s quieter heroism. In 2008, just days into his Royal Navy stint, the prince played a key role in a £40 million drug bust near Barbados. Alongside a sniper and pilot aboard a Lynx helicopter, William helped intercept a boat smuggling 2,000 pounds of cocaine.
Also today: a Big Issue vendor credits a 2022 meeting with Prince William as the turning point that got him off drugs. The vendor, now clean and thriving, is set to speak at Lambeth Palace. Meanwhile, William’s Homewards project is already helping hundreds escape homelessness—with 300 new homes in the pipeline.
Then there’s Catherine Masters, who politely turned down a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II—because she wanted Prince William instead. The 109-year-old even gave him potato-mashing tips during a surprise visit in 2009. No fork, no respect.
And finally, while Princess Catherine will one day be queen consort, her parents Carole and Michael Middleton are unlikely to receive any royal titles. Unlike Camilla’s family, they may be offered ceremonial roles—but nothing more.
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WEBVTT
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Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I'm
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your host Mark Francis. During a recent call into LBC Radio,
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a listener named Hugh shared a memory that stuck with
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him from William's military days. On a rainy, miserable three
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am training exercise on Salisbury plane, the future King wasn't
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issuing orders, he was brewing tea. Hugh described the moment
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one of these soldiers who was on stag sentry duty,
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kick the other one who was in his doss bag
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and said, Smudgeer, would you like a cup of tea?
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And Smudger stuck his head out of his magan and
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said yes, please, Boss, that would be great. He asked,
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how would you like your Bruce Smudger? He said, NATO milken,
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two sugars. The man who made that NATO standard tea,
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Prince William. Hugh added, that is what the military teaches you,
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that we are all the same, we respect one another
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and look after one another. Host Nick Ferrari then asked
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the obvious follow up, Kenilliam make a good cup of tea?
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Hugh refused to answer. We'll just assume it was at
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least serviceable, but that small act tea in the mud
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at three am is perhaps the most telling Royal moment
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of all. Less balcony, more brew, less pomp, more cattle,
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and from Prince William. Perhaps that's exactly the point the
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Express dusting off a story of a lesser known chapter
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of his military service. William played a key role in
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a major international drug bust during his time in the
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Royal Navy. In two thousand and eight, just four days
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into his second men from the Royal Air Force, the
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then twenty six year old Prince of Wales was aboard
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a Lynx helicopter from HMS Iron Duke when the crew
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intercepted a speedboat suspected of smuggling cocaine across the Atlantic.
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Acting on intelligence, the British frigate and its US Coast
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Guard partners seized around nine hundred kilos roughly two thousand
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pounds of cocaine, with a street value estimated at forty
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million pounds. William was one of the six Navy personnel
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aboard the helicopter, alongside a pilot and sniper. The operation
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took place northeast of Barbados and was described by the
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sh ship's commanding officer Commander Mark Newland as a fantastic
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start to their North Atlantic deployment. The moment resurfaced years
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later during a Remembrance Day video calls, when William jokingly
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referenced the bust after a serviceman mentioned a smaller drug
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seiz aboard HMS Montrose. I wasn't going to bring up
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that damon, the Prince quipped, but I'm glad it's still
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being talked about a big issue. Vender has credited a
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chance meeting with Prince William as the turning point in
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his journey to get off drugs and rebuild his life.
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Amon Kelly, who sells the magazine on Trinity Street in Cambridge,
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said the twenty twenty two visit by the Prince and
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Princess of Wales gave him the motivation. Amon Kelly, who
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sells the magazine on Trinity Street in Cambridge, said the
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twenty twenty two visit by the Prince and Princess of
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Wales gave him the motivation he needed. I just lost
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my mum that February, he told reporters. But when I
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met William and pulled me out of wallowing and got
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me motivated, I realized I had to get those drugs
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out of my system. Since then, I've not touched anything.
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Counter happened during a Royal tour of modular homes for
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homeless people run by Jimmy's at cambridges Here charity, the
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couple visited in June twenty twenty two. Mister Kelly had
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been living in one of the units at the time.
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Living there gave me a purpose to get up in
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the morning, he said, adding that he's since been invited
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to Lambeth Place the September to speak about the homes.
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I'd like to get as many built as it can.
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The visit also tied into the future King's larger ambitions.
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In twenty twenty three, William launched Homewards, is five year
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project to tackle homelessness, with six pilot locations across the UK.
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The initiative has already delivering results, with three hundred homes
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in the pipeline and over one hundred active programs. In
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a recent letter to local coalitions to the Prince wrote,
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there are now people who are no longer experiencing homelessness
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thanks to your tremendous efforts. Mister Kelly says he owes
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much of his turnaround to the big issue as well.
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They have helped me a lot. They've got me a cooker,
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washing machine, a freezer, a double bed, my blands. They've
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also believed in me, he said. Without the Big issue, though,
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I would be a wee bit lost Elise in just
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a moment. Queen Elizabeth the Second was admired by millions,
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but one royal fan had someone else in mind when
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offered a once in a lifetime meeting with the monarch.
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That fan was Catherine Masters, a spirited one hundred nine
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year old woman who, when given the opportunity to meet
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the Queen, politely declined and asked for Prince William instead.
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British politician Lord ed Vezi shared the story during an appearance
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on Times Radio, recounting how he'd written to Missus Masters
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when she turned one hundred and eight, asking if there
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was anything special she wanted to do. Her reply, she
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wished to meet a member of the royal family. Vezie
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said he offered the possibility of Queen Elizabeth, but she
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had someone else in mind, Prince William. According to The Telegraph,
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Missus Masters had written to the royal family after receiving
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five identical birthday cards from the Queen over the years.
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Rather than dwell on the repetition, she suggested the Queen
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might enjoy a new dress, saying I told him I
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would like the Queen to have a new dress because
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the one she wears has been the same on every
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birthday card. I think either at blue or white one
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would be nice. In May two thousand and nine, her
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request was granted in the most charming way. Staff at
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the Grange Care Center in Stanford in the Vale, Oxfordshire,
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were taken by surprise when they received a phone call
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from Saint James Pallace just minutes before a casually dressed
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Prince William arrived. Flanked by his security detail, He stayed
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for about forty minutes, talking to Katherine about a Baston history.
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The cares facility manager told The Telegraph the two shared
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tea scones in the claires and even chatted about cooking.
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He told me he liked making shepherd's pie and said
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he used a masher to mash the potatoes. Missus Masters
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later recalled play told him was doing it wrong. He
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should use a fork to fluff the potatoes. Lord Vezi
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called the visit fabulous and added that although it was
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meant to be a secret, Prince William couldn't resist posing
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for a photograph with Katherine, sealing the memory. Born in
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eighteen ninety nine during Queen Victoria's reign, Catherine masters witnessed
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the lives of six monarchs, but in the end it
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was a prince with a mashed potato debate and an
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easy smile who truly made her day. While Catherine, Princess
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of Wales will eventually become Queen Consort when Prince William
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takes the throne, her parents, Carol and Michael Middleton, are
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unlikely to receive royal titles of their own, despite their
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close relationship with the royal family, Though the Middletons have
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been warmly embraced into royal circles, attending events like Royal
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ascot and King Charles Coronation. Tradition offers little president for
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granting titles to the family of a Queen consort. Royal
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and noble titles are typically reserved for those born into
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or marrying into the royal family, or for distinguished individuals
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chosen by the reigning monarch. That category has historically not
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included the in laws of royals, as with Queen Camiller's family,
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whose children and siblings do not hold titles. The Middletons
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are expected to remain untitled. Carol or Pepper Middleton could
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be named as official companions to Kate, a modern, slim
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down version of the traditional lady in waiting, but the
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position is ceremonial and not a title of nobility, and
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they have it. I'd like to email us addresses the
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Palacentric at gmail a dudcom. Please follow us on Spotify,
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Apple or the app if you're joys and leave us
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a nice review if you're enjoying the show. By the way,
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if you enjoy it true crime podcasts, please check out
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Celebrity Trials. It's available now wherever you get your podcasts,
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and it's from everyone here in your family at Pelorogo
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Shark Media. It's not only the daily trials in the
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system right now, but also a lot of classic celebrity trials.
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Check it out if you're a true crime fanatic, I
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mind Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace
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intrigue and good terms
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00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:58.399
134
00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:01.079
135
00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:02.879
136
00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:05.199
137
00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:08.399
138
00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:12.480
139
00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.800
140
00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:18.920
141
00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.399
142
00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.120
143
00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:27.560
144
00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:34.120
