Aug. 9, 2026

Prince William’s Private Palace Battles: Is Kate Struggling to Keep the Peace?

Prince William’s Private Palace Battles: Is Kate Struggling to Keep the Peace?

A new report claims Prince William frequently leaves private meetings with King Charles angry and frustrated—and that Princess Catherine is left trying to calm him down. Meanwhile, Kate is said to support reconciliation with Harry and Meghan in principle, but only after trust is rebuilt and private family conversations are guaranteed to remain private. Plus, William and Catherine may seek a media truce as Prince George prepares to begin Eton, Cate Blanchett praises William’s environmental leadership, Philip Treacy explains why the Royal Family must never abandon hats, and the strange story of how Queen Caroline used Merlin’s Cave to convince Britain that the Hanoverians belonged on the throne.

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Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

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Calorougus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigu gay

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I am your host, Mark Francis. Prince George is just

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weeks away from starting at Eton College, and, according to

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a royal commentator, Simon Vigor, Prince William and Princess Catherine

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maybe hoping history repeats itself when it comes to the

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media writing and vanity fair. Viga says the Prince and

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Princess of Wales could seek an informal gentleman's agreement with

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the British press, asking newspapers to respect George's privacy while

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he is at school. The arrangement would echo one that

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existed when William and Prince Harry students. During those years,

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much of the British media agreed to limit courage of

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their private lives while they completed their education. Vigor argues

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that the understanding also gave William and Catherine the opportunity

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to develop their relationships largely out of the spotlight after

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meeting at the University of Saint Andrews in two thousand

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and one. According to Vigor, William and Catherine would like

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their own children to have a similar experience. That means

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not only protecting George's privacy as he begins life at

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Eton the September, but also setting a precedent that could

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benefit Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis when they reached the

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same stage of life. If the media honors such an

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agreement for George, Vigor suggests it could provide all three

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Wales children with a greater degree of normalcy during their

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school years despite growing up in one of the world's

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most closely watched families. A new report in Heat magazine

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claims disagreements behind palace walls between King Charles and Prince

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William remain unresolved, although the claims rely on unnamed sources.

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One unnamed source claimed William and Charles worked very hard

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to put on a united front whenever they're out in public,

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but there's no secret that a lot of their private

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meetings have left William incredibly frustrated. According to this source,

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William comes home in a terrible mood and it's up

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to Keate to try and calm him down. The insider

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added it's exhausting for her and claimed Kate is concerned

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about what it's doing to him over the long term,

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saying she has told him he needs to get a

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hold of him. William totally understands why she's concerned, but

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at the same time, he doesn't want to be the

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kind of person who just sits back and goes along

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with things he fundamentally doesn't agree with. He feels he

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has a responsibility to speak up, even if it means

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going against his father. As much pushback as William's getting,

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he says he's also getting a lot of support from

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within royal circles. He insists he's just trying to help

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his father do what is best for the monarchy as

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a whole, which he already sees as his duty. Radar

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Online is reporting Kate is supportive of reconciliation with the

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Sussexes and principle that believes trust must be rebuilt before

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family relationships can return to where they once were. One

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unnamed source told the outlet the King has always hoped

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that in time, the family could begin repairing some of

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the damage that has built up over recent years, but

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there is a clear understanding that Charles' willingness to reconnect

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does not automatically reflect the feelings of everyone else. William

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and Kate believed that reconciliation has to be earned through

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actions over time. Their verdict is that trust was broken

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and rebuilding it cannot happen over simply because everyone has

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shared the same roof for a few days. A second

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unnamed source claimed Kate has never been someone who enjoys

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confrontation or family feuds, and wherever possible, she would rather

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draw a line under difficult situations and move forward. But

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she feels this was different because deeply personal family issues

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were played out on the world stage, leaving wounds that

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have not simply disappeared with the passage of time. She

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believes trust has to be rebuilt before any relationship can

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return to what it once was, and that will only

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happen when there is complete confidence that private conversations, family moments,

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and personal exchanges will remain exactly that private. She is

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not opposed to reconciliation, but she does not believe for

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giveness automatically erases the hurd or restores the level of

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trust that existed before everything became so public. Academy Award

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winning actress Kate Blanchett is praising William's work on environmental issues.

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She told Harper's Bizarre UK has been an extraordinary leader,

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very hands on in a consistent and practically engaged way.

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He has inherited that interest from the King. He's grown

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up with it well. Palas in just a Moment, one

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of Britain's most celebrated milliners, says the royal family has

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done more than anyone else to keep hats relevant, and

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he hopes they never trade ceremonial dress for casual clothes.

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Philip Trecy, whose designs have been worn by a Queen Camilla,

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the Princess of Wales, and generations of royal women, told

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The Telegraph that the monarchy remains vital to Britain's tradition

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of formal dressing. The Royal family have kept hats alive

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and the imagination of people. If the Royal family didn't

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wear hats, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you.

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It's as extreme as that, Tercy said. The Irish born

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designer has worked with Queen Camilla for a quarter century,

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creating hats for countless royal engagements, including both outfits she

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wore for her two thousand and five wedding to then

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Prince Charles. He also designed the ceremonial caps used with

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King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation grounds in twenty twenty three.

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Looking back on that project, Tercy said, I worked with

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the Crown jeweller Mark Appleby for four months. It was

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the most mind blowing experience to work with these objects

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that are symbols of a thousand years of history. Royal

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weddings have also been a major part of his career.

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Tercy revealed that he created thirty six hats for guests

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attending the wedding of Prince William and Catherine in twenty eleven,

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and another twenty for Prince Harry and Meghan Mark's wedding

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in twenty eighteen. He believes the Royal family continues to

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set an example when it comes to formal style. They

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look their best and we look to them for how

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to look our best. He said. We don't want to

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see them in a tracksuit. You want to see them

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looking absolutely beautiful. It's an uplifting vision that matters intrinsically

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to people. Tercy also praised Royal ascot, arguing that his

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strict dress code helps preserve one of the last great

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occasions for traditional millinery. You need those moments, he said,

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adding that many of his American clients tell him they

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wish they had similar opportunities to dress up. One of

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his most famous royal creations remains the dramatic bow shaped

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hat worn way Princess Beatrice to William and Catherine's wedding

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in twenty eleven. The design divided public opinion at the time,

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but Treacy told the telegraphears no regrets. I love it.

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If there was no opinion, it would be pointless. It's

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impossible to design something that billions of people agree with.

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The British royal family has always understood the importance of storytelling.

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Long before there were press secretaries, communications teams, or social

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media accounts, there was another form of public relations. According

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to a new article in The Conversation, one of the

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most fascinating examples dates back nearly three centuries, when Queen Caroline,

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the wife of King George the Second, used the legend

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of King Arthur and Merlin to help solve the public

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on an imported royal dynasty. At the time, the House

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of Hanover had only recently inherited the British throne. The

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family was German by birth, and many Britons still questioned

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whether they truly belonged to the throne. Supporters of the

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exiled Stuart family continued to challenge their legitimacy, while King

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George the Second was also dealing with a very public

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feud with his eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales. Historian

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Amy Louise Blainey argues that Queen Caroline recognized the monarchy

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needed more than legal legitimacy. It needed a compelling story.

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So in seventeen thirty five, she commissioned something called Merlin's

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Cave in the gardens of Richmond Palace. It wasn't actually

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a cave, It was a decorative Gothic style building filled

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with wax figures of Merlin, legendary prophets, and characters from

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Britain's mythical past. Some contemporaries thought it was rather odd

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when critic dismissed the displays as a great many strange puppets,

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But beneath the eccentric appearance was a carefully crafted political message.

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Rather than emphasizing the Hannaverians German ancestry, Caroline rapped the

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monarchy in Britain's oldest national legend, King Arthur belonged to everyone,

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He wasn't tied to anyone royal house By connecting the Hanoverians.

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With the Arthurian mythology, Caroline was effectively presenting them as

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heirs to Britain's ancient traditions rather than foreign rulers. Interestingly,

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Blainey notes that Caroline focused less on Arthur himself and

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more on Merlin. In Arthurian legend, Meerlin serves as an advisor, prophet,

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and guide. He links Britain's past with its future, making

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him an ideal symbol for a monarchy trying to present

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itself as the guardian of national stability. Because King George

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the Second and his son Frederick were locked in a

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bitter family dispute, Merlin's cave was also interpreted as a

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plea for reconciliation within the royal family. Not everyone was persuaded.

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Opposition writers mocked the attraction and turned Merlin himself into

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a vehicle for satirizing Queen Caroline and a government. But

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as Blainey points out, that actually demonstrates they understood exactly

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what Caroline was trying to accomplish. And then you have it.

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If you'd like to email us addresses the Palace Intrigue

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says listen uninterrupted, and get this show, along with thousands

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of others, commercial free for just five bucks a month

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by Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermott. This is pallace,

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intrigue and good terms