June 17, 2026
Security stops Zara, and the Great Royal Ascot Pronunciation Debate
Zara Tindall arrives at Royal Ascot and briefly finds herself redirected by security after a member of staff fails to recognize the King’s niece. Plus, King Charles and Queen Camilla welcome racegoers to Ascot and celebrate the event’s growing sustainability efforts.
Fresh from their wedding, Peter and Harriet Phillips make their first Royal Ascot appearance as husband and wife, taking part in the famous carriage procession alongside Princess Anne.
And one of the week’s most unexpected controversies: how do you actually pronounce Ascot? Broadcasters, etiquette experts, racing insiders and society magazines all have opinions, and none of them agree.
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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Calarogu Shark Media. Now hello and welcome through palace intrigue
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game your host Mark Francis and Zara and Tindall had
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an unexpected delay at Royal Ascot on Tuesday when she
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was briefly stopped by security after a member of staff
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failed to recognize her. The King's niece arrived at the
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Berkshire Racecourse alongside her husband Mike Tyndall and a group
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of friends, including former rugby players Austin Heally and Nicki Robinson.
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As the group made their way toward the owner's entrance,
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Zara was reportedly asked to head to the ticket office
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because she did not have a visible pass. According to reports,
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Sarah politely accepted the instruction, but the misunderstanding was quickly
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resolved when another member of staff stepped in and informed
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the security guard that the Olympic equestrian and daughter of
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Princess Ann was in fact entitled to enter. After the
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brief mix up, Zara and Mike stopped to greet well wishers,
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signed autographs and posed for photographs before heading into the
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Royal Enclosure ahead of the days racing. In a message
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printed in the official race program, the King and Queen
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welcomed racegoers and praise and Royal Ascot's continuing sustainability efforts.
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They highlighted the installation of more than twelve hundred soul
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panels on the grandstand roof since last summer, describing it
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as another important step in the race courses sustainability journey.
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The Royal couple wrote, we wish you a very warm
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welcome to Royal Ascot, which promises to deliver another spectacular
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week of racing. Some of the best horses from Europe,
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North America, Asia and Australasia are expected to run this
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week and they will be watched by viewers in close
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to two hundred countries. The global bloodstock industry sees the
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Royal Meeting as a highlight of the year and some
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horses that succeed in this fiercely competitive week will influence
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the breed for generations to come. As enthusiastic racehorse owners,
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Charles and Camilla acknowledged the challenge facing every owner at Ascot.
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They wrote, as owner breeders ourselves, we know how hard
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it is to win races at Royal Ascot and which
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our fellow breeders both at home and abroad the best
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of luck in this most fascinating of challenges. We hope
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that you have a successful week and that you enjoy
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the thrilling action on the track as well as everything
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else that Royal Ascot as to offer. Fresh from their
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wedding less than two weeks ago, Peter and Harriet Phillips
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made their first Royal Ascot appearance as husband and wife,
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joining King Charles and Queen Camilla in the traditional carriage
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procession that marks the opening of the famous racing meeting.
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The newly weds road in the second carriage, alongside Princess
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Anne and Sir Ben Elliot, a nephew of Queen Camilla.
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King Charles and Queen Camilla led the procession into the
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racecourse in the first carriage, accompanied by the Duke and
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Duchess of Wellington. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester followed
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in the third carriage, while the fourth carried several guests
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with long standing tires to the racing and countryside communities.
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The King and Queen enjoyed their first Royal Ascot winner
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in twenty twenty three when Desert Hero captured the King
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George the fifth stakes. This year, they will once again
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be hoping that one of their runners can deliver another
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memorable royal victory. One of the great traditions of Royal
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Ascot is that no one can quite agree on anything,
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not the hats, not the fashion, not whether Champagne is
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preferable to pims, and, as it turns out, not even
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how to pronounce the name of the event itself. The
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debate resurfaced this week when ITV racing presenter Francesca Kumari
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revealed that broadcasters had once received a lesson from Ascot
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officials on the correct pronunciation. Speaking on the Running Loose podcast,
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she said, oh my goodness me, not even a conversation Ascot.
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In our first year of doing Royal Ascot. For ITV,
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we got sat down by the Ascott officials and were
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told how to say it. Podcast host and Sky reports
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A racing presenter, Vanessa Ryle, admitted she was firmly in
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the other camp. She said, I definitely say ascot. I
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didn't realize it was such a big debate until recently.
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The discussion quickly spread beyond the racing world. Etiquette expert
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William Hansen backed the softer pronunciation, saying it is most
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definitely pronounced Ascot, just as the men in the Royal enclosure,
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where ways cuts rather than waistcoats. Society magazine Tattler has
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previously advised races to wear a hat and pronounce it
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as Ascot, not Ascot. Country Life has also weighed in
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on the matter, reminding readers it's not ascot, it's more
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as good as in soot. Despite the spirited debate, Ascot
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itself is refusing to pick a winner. A racecourse spokesman
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said the pronunciation of ascot has sparked many a friendly
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debate over the years. We're happy to leave that discussion
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to guests and commentators. So while racegoers may spend the
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week arguing over the runners, the fashion, and the forecast,
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they can also add one more question to the list.
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For our primarily American listenership. We will keep saying it
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the way we've been saying it, Ascot more palace in
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just a moment. One of the more unexpected moments from
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Trooping the Color this year came not from Prince Louis,
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not from the fly past overhead, but one of the
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most senior members of the royal family, the Duke of Canton,
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now ninety years old and one of the late Queen
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Elizabeth's first cousins found himself at the center of attention
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after being spotted using his mobile phone while standing on
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the Buckingham Palace balcony as the royal family gathered to
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watch the Royal Air Force fly past marking the King's
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official birthday. Cameras caught the Duke reaching into his jacket
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pocket and pulling out his phone. For a few moments,
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he appeared to study the screen before raising it to
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record both the crowds gathered below and the aircraft passing overhead.
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The site immediately caught the attention of royal watchers when
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social media user wrote I have to ask is the
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Duke of Kent playing on his phone? While there was
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no formal royal rule prohibiting the use of mobile phones
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in public, it is unusual to see members of the
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royal family using their own devices during official appearances. Royal
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engagements are typically carefully choreographed affairs, and the image of
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a senior royal casually recording the scene from his personal
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viewpoint stood out precisely because it felt so normal. Some
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observers view the moment as charming rather than controversial. The
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Duke was positioned slightly apart from the main group on
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the balcony near a stone pillar at one end. Several
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viewers admitted they felt emotional seeing him standing alone during
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portions of the appearance. At ninety the Duke has become
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an increasingly rare presence at major public events, making each
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appearance particularly meaningful for royal supporters. A collection of previously
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unseaten letters has offered a rare glimpse into a more
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personal and playful side of Princess Diana. The correspondence exchanged
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between the Princess of Wales and acclaimed actor Terence Stamp
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is set to go under the hammer as part of
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a Bonham's auction dedicated to the late actor's life and career. Stamp,
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who died last year at the age of eighty six,
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developed an unexpected friendship with Diana during the early nineteen nineties,
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a period that proved to be one of the most
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challenging chapters of her life. The letters reveal a relationship
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built on trust, humor, and mutual affection. In one note,
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written in October of ninety one, Diana thanks Stamp for
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hosting her for lunch and expressed her appreciation for his understanding.
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Touched to the core by your understanding of my job,
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role and what comes with it, she wrote. The princess
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also made a lighthearted joke about antipressants, adding three cheers
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for prozek not the American variet I hasten to add.
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A month later, after another lunch together, Diana returned to
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the subject with another humorous comment, writing no project withdrawals
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as yet. The collection also includes several playful postcards exchanged
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between the pair. One card featured a cartoon image and
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the message all the Breast from London. Another reference to
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lunch shared together and included a joke beneath a cartoon
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of a couple in bed. The card asked why did
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God invent sex? Before delivering the punchline, so that married
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people do something at least twice a year. And there
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you have it. Hey, all this month we're encouraging listeners
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of Palace Intrigue. That's you to help spread the word.
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If you enjoy this show, tell a friend about us
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or belly yep, share an episode with someone who loves
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following the Royal family. Be sure to follow Palace Intrigue
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on Spotify and turn on notifications so you never miss
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an episode. And we'd love to hear your thoughts on
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today's stories. You can leave comments for us on Spotify
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and we read them all and my Francis, my thanks
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to John McDermott. This airs palace intrigue and continue you
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142
00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:39.319
143
00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:41.800
144
00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:44.959
145
00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:48.120
146
00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.680
147
00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:53.639
148
00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:56.800
149
00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:03.879
