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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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at gmail dot com. If your aunt's Spotify, leave us
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a comment. If you're on Apple, hit that button that
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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