Aug. 3, 2026

Royal Power Rankings: Camilla Takes the Crown, and Meghan Finishes Last

Royal Power Rankings: Camilla Takes the Crown, and Meghan Finishes Last

Deep Crown names Queen Camilla the most powerful royal and puts Meghan Markle at the bottom of the list. Plus: Zara Tindall keeps William’s ego in check, Kate tops Britain’s best-dressed list, Charles wears Charlotte’s bracelet, and Andrew prepares to testify.

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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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Ah Calorogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue.

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I am your host. Mark Francis, Royal inside a Deep Crown,

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released the Royal power rankings, place in Queen Camilla at

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the top of the list. In his sub stack, he writes,

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she is without question the most quietly powerful person in

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the British Royal family today. Consider what she has survived.

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She entered public life as the villain of the most

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watched love story in modern history. She was loathed, she

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was protested. There were serious senior people inside the palace

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who believed that she would never be accepted. She became queen.

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But survival alone does not earn the top ranking. What

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earns it is what she has done with her position.

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Camilla has Charles's ear in a way that no courtier,

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no aid, no politician does. Behind every significant decision, there

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is a conversation we are not privy to, and she

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is in that room. She is warm where he is formal.

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She steadies him when his health faulted. She did not retreat.

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She stepped forward and held the institution together with a

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particular competence of someone who has spent years being under

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estimated as For Megan Markele, Deep Ground placed her tenth

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at the bottom of his list, writing Meghan possesses what

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might generously be described as soft power, the kind measured

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in press releases, podcast launches, and most recently, an artisanal

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jam that generated a great deal of coverage in a

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somewhat more modest amount of revenue. The jam sold the

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mockery sold better. She is not without intelligence, she is

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not without ambition, but a power independent of Harry is

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at this point essentially theoretical. The Netflix chapter under delivered,

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the Spotify chapter ended. The lifestyle brand continues to accumulate

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announcements and shared audiences. Each new venture arrives with fanfare

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and departs with silence. This is not power. This is

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the performance of power, and audiences are for a while.

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Notice the difference. She borrows Harry's disruptive capacity when she

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needs it, absent him. She is a celebrity of diminishing returns,

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mistaking engagement for influence and attention for respect. The Palace

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does not fear her. They have simply stopped thinking about

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her very much at all. And you can subscribe to

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Deep Ground's newsletter for free at deep Crown dot substack

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dot Com or just search for Deep Crown and it'll

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come up. Deep Crown may want to revisit his power

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rankings after hearing this next story. One of Prince William's

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closest confidants apparently has a unique privilege within the royal family.

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She can tell the future king when he's getting a

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little too full of himself. According to royal author Robert Jobson,

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that person is his cousin, Zara Tyndall, writing for the

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Daily Mail, jobs and puts it she knew him before

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he was a headline. She can tell the heir to

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the throne he is being pompous, and he takes it.

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Jobson says Zara has no angle when she offers William advice.

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Unlike courtiers or even many friends. She has no official

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role to protect. There no agenda beyond speaking honestly. Zara

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will travel to Archen, Germany, on August eleven, for the

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opening ceremony of the FEI World Championships, one of sports

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premier international events. Although Zara is not a working member

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of the royal family, she'll be among several royals expected

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to attend. Organizers say she'll be joined by the Princess

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of Orange of the Netherlands, while Elena de Bourbon in

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Funta of Spain is also expected to be there. The

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ceremony will feature ceremonial carriages from the royal stables of

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Great Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark. Zara the visit carries

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particular significance. Arkan is where she captured the individual world

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title at the two thousand and six World Equestrian Games,

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one of the defining achievements of her writing career. It

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is not yet known whether they're always entertaining. Mike Tindall

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will accompany Zara to Germany. We encourage Mike to go

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as it's always good for a quote. The Princess of

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Wales has been named the Best Dressed Person in Britain

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by Tatler, reclaiming the top position in the magazine's annual

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style rankings. Kate was praised for her series of polished

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appearances during the past year, including the bright yellow Roxander

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outfitch she wore to Royal Ascot and a tailored Blase

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Melano jacket scene during the Prince and Princess of Wales's

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visit to Italy. The recognition reinforces Kate's position as the

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royal family's most influential fashion figure. Her outfits are closely followed,

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frequently sell out, and are often interpreted as part of

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the wider message surrounding a royal engagement. Kate previously topped

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Tatler's list in twenty twenty two. She also joins a

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long list of Royal women who have appeared prominently in

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Tatler's rankings. Princess Beatrice was named Britain's best dressed person

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in twenty twenty four, a striking turnaround from the ridicule

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she received over the elaborate Philip Tracy hatch she wore

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to William and Kate's wedding in twenty eleven. Megan, the

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Duchess of Sussex, topped the list in twenty eighteen, during

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her first year as a working member of the royal family.

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Zaratnell appeared in last year's ranking, with Tatler describing her

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by saying, riding with polish and dressing with panache. Princess

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Anne's daughter is a vision on and off the horse.

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King Charles has once again been spotted wearing one of

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his most personal accessories, a colorful friendship bracelet believed to

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have been made by Princess Charlotte. Royal watchers noticed the

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bracelet pecking up beneath the King's sleeve during the opening

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ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, adding to a

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growing list of major occasions where he's chosen to wear it.

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Although Buckingham Palace has never officially confirmed the bracelet's origin,

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many observers believe it was handmade by the King's granddaughter.

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The idea gained attraction after Prince William revealed that last

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year Charlotte and embracedlet friendship bracelet tradition made popular by

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Taylor Swift's Heirs tour while visiting South Africa. Whenia One

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was asked about a blue and green bracelet on his

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wrist bearing the word Papa, he explained, this is a

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relic if you liked from a tailor Swift concert that

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my daughter decided that she wanted to create a bracelet for.

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She gave it to me when I came away, so

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I promised that I'd wear it and try not to

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lose him while I was out here. Since both King

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Charles and the Princess of Wales have also been photographed

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wearing colorful handmade bracelets, leading many royal fans to conclude

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that Charlotte has been busy making gifts for members of

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the family. What has stood out is how often the

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King appears to wear His bracelet was first notice during

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the State opening of Parliament in twenty twenty four and

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has since appeared during visits to the Channel Islands, tripping

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the color engagements in Essex and now the opening ceremony

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of the Commonwealth Games. For a monarch whose wardrobe is

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usually defined by military uniforms, tailored suits and carefully chosen accessories,

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the brightly colored bracelet is a surprisingly informal addition. Our

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next story after the break is a little colorful, So

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if you're listening with kids, now might be a good

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time to hit stop or palace him just a moment.

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The death of Formula one businessman Patty McNally has prompted

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a look back at one of the lesser known chapters

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in Sarah Ferguson's life. Years before she became the Duchess

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of York, but nowly who built Formula One's hospitality business

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in to a highly successful enterprise, died last week. Dated

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Sarah Ferguson from nineteen eighty two until eighty five The

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relationship ended before Ferguson met Prince Andrew, whom she married

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in eighty six, but the two reportedly remained close friends

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for decades. Several British tabloids revisited stories from that era,

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including an anecdote originally reported by The Daily Mail from

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conversations with Formula Format one champion James Hunt. According to

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that account, Hunt wants recall staying in a hotel room

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next to McNelly and Ferguson during a race weekend and

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joke that she was the loudest woman I've ever heard.

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The story goes on to claim Hunt would later tease

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the couple by calling out, oh Paddy, Oh Paddy, whenever

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he saw Ferguson ast. Do you think we might someday

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run out of topics for this podcast? Andrew mount Batten

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Windsor is expected to give evidence later this year in

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the criminal trial the man accused of threatening him during

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an incident near his Norfolk home. According to Sky And

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used the former princess due to testify by video link

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when the case to trial on December twenty one. To

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the frustration of podcasters who like to pre tape an

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episode or two around the holidays like us. The defendant,

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Alex Jenkinson, is charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting

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words or behavior during an incident on May sixth, and

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Norfolk prosecutors allege his actions caused Andrew to fear unlawful violence.

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The trial has been scheduled to begin this week, but

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Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring postponed the proceedings after concerns were

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raised about Jenkinson's mental health. The court heard that the

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defendant underwent a psychiatric assessment on Tuesday, with a report

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expected in early August before the case moves forward. Part

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of the prosecution's case centers on an incident in Wolfington,

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near Andrew's Marsh Farm property, where Andrew was reportedly out

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walking his dogs. And there you have it. If you

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like to email us, who addresses the Palacindric at gmail

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dot com. If you're on Spotify, leave us a comment.

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If you're on Apple, hit that button up there that

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says listen uninterrupted and get the show for five bucks

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a month virtual free. Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott.

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This is Palace Intriguing good times. M