Prince William’s Batman Obsession, Kate Gets a Podcast Invite & Charles Spencer’s “Meghan” Move

0:03 Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host, Mark Francis. Prince William has a particular favourite when it comes to Batman, and he has plenty to say about why. Speaking with Thomas Duke, who runs the social media channel Stepping Through Film, William praised Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. The pair sat down in a cinema for a conversation about the films William enjoys when he has time to watch them. The prince said, I love my film. I'm obsessed. I mean, frankly, we could talk for hours about film. I love it. But it's trying to find enough time in the day to watch a film. That's the problem. Asked about his introduction to Nolan's work, William singled out the director's second Batman film. The one that left the most impression on me early on was Batman, The Dark Knight. I absolutely loved that. For me, I thought he completely revolutionized the Batman franchise for another generation.

1:04 I liked the dark edginess of it, and I thought Heath Ledger, sadly, had an incredible performance as the Joker. Just the whole undertones of the film were fantastic. It brought enough of the action, it brought the sort of intensity, it brought the complete believable world that is Gotham City back to life, which I thought was fantastic. His enthusiasm extends beyond Gotham. William said he absolutely loved Nolan's work and had watched Oppenheimer the previous summer. I thought it was fantastic. I love the way his characters kind of brew a bit, and he always has a slight darker edge to his characters, which I really like. I think sometimes some of the films can be a bit too frivolous or a bit too sort of shallow, and I like the way Christopher goes into more depth and more darkness in all his films. What I love is that when you've watched a really good film, that feeling of watching it for the first time, you never get that again with the same film. Each film I find is different to how you had that first experience. When Duke shared a clip on TikTok, some viewers seemed as entertained by the identity of the reviewers by his choice of film.

2:05 One wrote, We got Prince William reviewing The Dark Knight before GTA 6. Kate was invited on a podcast, and if that's news, we'll let her know that she's invited on here. In fact, all the royals are. For this story, it was Kyle Kelsey who invited the Princess of Wales onto her podcast, suggesting they could talk about sport, children, and a few things their families have in common. The invitation came on the Not Gonna Lie pod after Kylie saw Catherine playing shinty during a visit to the Isle of Bute in Scotland. Kylie's sister-in-law to Taylor Swift said, Princess Kate just reminded everyone that she's still an absolute boss at field hockey, adding that Catherine looked beautiful doing it.

2:45 For everyone in the comments who are about to correct me, I'm aware that she's actually playing the Scottish sport of shinty. I'm still calling it a win for field hockey because where do you think she got that skill? Yeah, that's right, she's a field hockey player. She then addressed Catherine directly using her former title. Princess Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, if you ever wanted to come on and chit-chat about some field hockey and maybe kids. I don't know, we've got a couple things in common. Kylie is married to Jason Kelsey, who hosts New Heights with his brother Travis, according to the Daily Express. William has already appeared on their show. Our husbands chatted on the other podcast, Kylie said. But you could come on this one. I don't know, just a thought. It's a thought. We'd love to have you.

3:25 No pressure, please. For now, Kylie's invitation remains an on-air offer. The report includes no announcement that Catherine will appear. When the princess comes on Palace Intrigue, we'll be sure to use her correct title. An Australian appeals court has rejected an Indigenous activist's attempt to bring a private prosecution against King Charles over allegations of genocide. Three judges in Victoria's Court of Appeal dismissed the bid, making it the third legal setback for Uncle Robbie Thorpe, who began pursuing the case in 2023. Thorpe alleges that the King, the Australian government and its institutions perpetuate genocide through systems that disadvantage Indigenous Australians. Thorpe's remaining domestic option is to seek permission to appeal to the High Court of Australia. He says that after exhausting the Australian process, he intends to take his allegations to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.

4:18 Charles Spencer could be adding preserves and wine to the business at Althorpe with reports that he has sought trademark protection for the name Spencer Farms. The Sun reports the proposed range covers products including honey, tea, marmalade and wine. The Sun also reports seeing intellectual property office filings covering Spencer's own name for public speaking, appearances and voiceover services. One unnamed source told The Sun, More palace in just a moment. Prince Richard, a cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth and his wife Brigitte, who are the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, will visit Botswana from October 5th to the 8th to mark 60 years of the country's independence.

5:07 The program will focus on the relationship between Botswana and the UK, including economic cooperation and connections between people in both countries. It will be the first royal visit to Botswana since Sophie, now Duchess of Edinburgh, travelled there in 2022. Lauren Welch writes in The Express... Although royal tours are essential, some may come with an extra sting, whether deliberate or not. The announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are heading to Botswana next month may look like a typical royal tour, but for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle it will hold much more significance. Botswana, for Meghan and Harry, is not just another dot on the map. It is a place that was woven into their love story. Harry took Meghan to Botswana for their third date, with the couple spending a few days away from the spotlight, a chance to really get to know one another. For Meghan and Harry, the announcement will likely serve as a curious reminder.

5:57 You can leave the institution, but you cannot take every royal association with you. Queen Camilla is reportedly urging restraint as King Charles and Earl Spencer clash over Spencer Diana's memoir. Radar Online, citing an unnamed source, claims she wants to support the King without encouraging another public exchange of accusations. She isn't looking to involve herself in a point-by-point argument with Charles Spencer or publicly challenge his recollections, the source said. Mark Dolan has accused Prince Harry of siding with Charles Spencer, speaking on the Daily Espresso podcast. Dolan argued that because of Harry's silence, we can only interpret, therefore, that he supports the content of the book, and that means he supports an attack on his father, the man he's trying to build bridges with. Dolan also called the Sussexes' silence a diplomatic nuclear button, questioning why a couple willing to speak publicly about royal disagreements had not responded on this occasion.

6:52 In the iPaper, Simon Kellner tells us the British monarchy has never needed to win the argument. It simply needs to outlast it. Kelsner writes about Charles Spencer's book through the lens of the Piers Morgan story, according to Kellner. It was, he wants us to believe, one small error in 384 pages of otherwise faultless recollections of Diana, and that he made this assumption because it explained why Morgan was surly and annoyed when told he was uninvited to Diana's funeral in 97. But inevitably, it leads us to wonder how many other small errors there are in the book. And what does this sorry episode say about the state of our publishing industry? Has Earl Spencer's book been fact-checked at all? Earl Spencer insists that he stands by everything else in the book, including the explosive claims that the now King Charles sounded giddily elated in the aftermath of Diana's death and that he told Earl Spencer we would forget her soon enough. But can we trust an author who presents assumptions as facts? Most pertinently, his book, Swan Song Diane and My Sister, recalls a time when the relationship between the royal family and the British public was historically unsettled, and the depiction of Charles as cold and uncaring in the light of her death is highly damaging.

8:03 It led to Buckingham Palace issuing an unprecedented statement which, while acknowledging that it did not comment on books as a matter of principle, wanted to say that fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment, and colour memory in ways others do not recognise. And there you have it. If you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue 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 five bucks a month. We appreciate your support. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue. Good times.