June 9, 2025

Trooping the Colour: Royal Pageantry Meets Modern Controversy

Trooping the Colour: Royal Pageantry Meets Modern Controversy

On today’s episode, we dive into the splendor of *Trooping the Colour*, one of the British Royal Family's most magnificent traditions. This year, King Charles marks his official birthday with a dazzling display of military precision, vibrant pageantry, and royal spectacle. From the Coldstream Guards to the thrilling Red Arrows flypast, it's a tradition that connects centuries of royal history to the modern age.

But it’s not all pageantry—King Charles also made an unexpected appearance at SXSW London, mingling with cultural icons, braving the rain at a market, and enjoying his day with his signature warmth. Meanwhile, the Sussexes are back in the spotlight, this time for a controversial twerking video that has everyone talking. Was it a PR move? Or just another misstep?

We discuss the implications and whether Meghan Markle's brand is on the ropes.

(As always, if you’d like this program ad-free, head to Caloroga.com/plus for more info!)

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:13.640
Calarogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intury Game.

2
00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.559
Your host Mark francis one of the most explendid traditions

3
00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:19.359
in the British Royal calendar. Trooping the Color is a

4
00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:24.359
dazzling display of military precision, pageantry and regal spectacle held

5
00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:27.280
each June in honor of the sovereign's official birthday. The

6
00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:30.239
event sees thousands of spectators lining them all in London

7
00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:33.119
to witness a parade of soldiers, musicians and horses. Is

8
00:00:33.159 --> 00:00:36.719
a process from Buckingham Palace to horse guards parade and

9
00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:39.840
back again. Although King Charles was born on November fourteenth,

10
00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:42.840
like monarchs before him, he marks his official birthday in

11
00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:45.320
the summer, when the weather is at least in theory,

12
00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.520
more favorable. This year, the ceremony is scheduled for Saturday,

13
00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:51.240
and will also coincide with the publication of the birthday

14
00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:55.439
honors list and a rival Meghan Markel event. The tradition

15
00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:58.520
itself dates back to centuries, but became a fixed annual

16
00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.359
event in seventeen sixty the reign of George the Third.

17
00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:04.879
The name Trooping the Colour refers to the ceremonial display

18
00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:08.719
of a regiment's flag or colour, which was historically trooped

19
00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:12.239
before the assembled soldiers so they would recognize it in battle.

20
00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:15.519
Each year a different regiment of the Household Division is

21
00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:18.120
selected to leave the parade. In twenty twenty five, the

22
00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:20.920
honor falls to the cold Stream Guards, who will be

23
00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:23.120
trooping their colour in front of the King for the

24
00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:26.560
first time. The parade involves some sixteen hundred soldiers, over

25
00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:29.959
two hundred horses, and four hundred musicians from ten military bands.

26
00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:33.439
Senior royals participate either on horseback or in ornate horse

27
00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:35.959
draw on carriages. At the culmination of the parade, members

28
00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:38.439
of the royal family gather on the Buckingham Palace balcony

29
00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:41.599
for the ceremonial fly past by the Royal Air Force

30
00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.760
the Red Arrows, the RAF's aerobatic display team, providing a

31
00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:49.040
thrilling finale as they streak overhead in a dramatic formation.

32
00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:51.920
A forty one gun salute is also fired in Green

33
00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:54.599
pot to mark the occasion, while crowds cheer and wave

34
00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:57.760
flags along the procession route. In recent years, the event

35
00:01:57.799 --> 00:02:00.640
has served as a barometer of royal visibility, especially in

36
00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:03.280
twenty twenty four, when it marked the first public appearance

37
00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.719
of the Princess of Wales following her cancer diagnosis. Though

38
00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:09.599
deeply rooted in tradition, trooping the color continues to evolve,

39
00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:13.400
balancing age old ceremony with modern significance and offering a

40
00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:17.960
unique glimpse into the relationship between Crown, military and public.

41
00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:20.439
If I told you one of the royals, was it

42
00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.840
south By Southwest did probably guess Harry or maybe Meghan Well.

43
00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:27.680
In a rather unexpected but spirited endorsement of Britain's cultural sector,

44
00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:30.639
his Majesty King Charles the Third made a surprise appearance

45
00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:34.479
of the inaugural edition of south By Southwest London on Thursday.

46
00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.319
Arriving at the festival grounds in shortage, the King was

47
00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:40.159
warmly greeted by the soulful harmonies of the Kingdom Choir.

48
00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:43.560
He was then received by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Raider,

49
00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:47.159
Mayor of London, Sadik Khan, and organizers of south By

50
00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:51.879
Southwest London. The King took in grounding, an immersive AI

51
00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:56.199
powered art installation by Damien Roach which generates an ever

52
00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:01.120
shifting visual landscape using data and artificial intelligence. His Majesty

53
00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:03.919
appeared genuinely engaged as he conversed with the artists and

54
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.599
other works technological and artistic implications. The king also met

55
00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:11.120
with several figures following their panel on the new animated

56
00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:16.039
environmental series Love the Earth, including Julian Lennon, Moe Brings Plenty,

57
00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:19.599
John Paul Martinez, and Volka Turk, the UN and High

58
00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:23.159
Commissioner for Human Rights. Following this, the monarch attended a

59
00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:26.599
panel event titled Love the Earth, celebrating cultural preservation, nature

60
00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:30.199
and indigenous voices. Declining the offer of a royal Bentley,

61
00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:34.280
he opted to walk to his next venue, christ Church Spittlefields,

62
00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:38.319
protected only by an umbrella. There in the crypt he

63
00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:42.639
toured Beautiful Collisions, an exhibition celebrating Caribbean contributions to British

64
00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:46.360
art and culture. King Charles spoke extensively with Grenada born

65
00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:50.360
artist Denzil Forrester, who recounted his process of sketching dancers

66
00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:53.479
in nightclubs, often working from ten pm until five am.

67
00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:55.680
Are you sure you should be in bed? The King

68
00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:58.400
replied with a smile. The two also reminisced over a

69
00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:02.400
shared memory. One of Forrests paintings featured Hailey Sir Lassie,

70
00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:05.919
the former Emperor of Ethiopia, whom the King recalled meeting

71
00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:08.800
as a young boy. I was fascinated, he said, revealing

72
00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:11.199
that he still has a gift received from Selassie all

73
00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:15.159
those years ago. Braving a downpour, his Majesty meandered through

74
00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:18.199
the historic market established by Royal Charter under Charles the

75
00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:21.560
Second in sixteen eighty two, shaking hands with stallholders and

76
00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:24.480
shoppers alike. One vender, Paul Brimmer, cheerfully offered the King

77
00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.519
a really special discount on a vintage watch before equipping.

78
00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:30.560
Oh but you don't carry cash, he added, with a grin.

79
00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:32.240
I told him he was more handsome in real life

80
00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:34.160
than on the telly. He looks really well, doesn't he.

81
00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:37.560
The King seemed entirely in his element as he admired

82
00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:42.199
vintage cameras, Persian style lacquer boxes, maps and early photography artifacts.

83
00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:45.079
He found common ground with jewels a stallholder with a

84
00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:48.160
passion for maps and telescopes. He was so lovely, she said,

85
00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:52.000
he said, yes, so do I. Elsewhere, the monarch chattered

86
00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:55.480
with Malcolm MacFarland, who explained his lifelong connection to antiques,

87
00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:58.480
having grown up above his parents shop in Calender, Scotland.

88
00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:01.240
The King also took interest in green matcha tea in

89
00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:04.160
quiet about packing up a particularly dense stall and meta

90
00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:07.360
tiny dog named Twiglet. We would have been happy to

91
00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:09.839
tell you about Twiglet last week, but instead of Twiglet,

92
00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.319
we were forced to think about twirking and a video

93
00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:16.279
that unfortunately can never be unseen with warmth, wet and

94
00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:18.439
waterproof shoes. The King's Day at the Market and the

95
00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:21.800
Festival struck just the right note, part statesman, part gentlemen

96
00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:25.199
pottering through the stalls, and as one vendor so succently

97
00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:28.120
put it, it looks really well, doesn't he more? Palace

98
00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:34.000
just a moment, man, It's a lot of commercials. I

99
00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:36.720
feel like this program add free. Go to Calaruga dot

100
00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:39.639
com slash plus for more information. It's right there in

101
00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.639
the show notes. All the information and listeners on Apple Podcasts.

102
00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:45.079
You can just click that banner that says uninterrupted listening

103
00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.120
right up there at the top of the page. For

104
00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:49.519
just five bucks a month, you'll get Palace, Intrigue, and

105
00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:53.079
twenty five other shows from this network without ads or

106
00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:57.560
feed drops, and there's thousands of shows there. Premium subscribers

107
00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.600
also already have early access to the first season of

108
00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:04.319
our upcoming series, Crown and Controversy, which covers the Royals

109
00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:07.920
beginning from where the TV series The Crown left off,

110
00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.920
and we very much appreciate all your support for us

111
00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:15.040
behind the scenes here. Thanks a lot. Amanda Patel in

112
00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:17.319
the Daily Mail, wonders, are these Sussex is really so

113
00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:19.879
desperate to maintain their media profile that they would stoop

114
00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:23.199
to this level. Maybe it is a crass attempt to

115
00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:25.720
make them more likable, more human, an attempt to say

116
00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:27.399
we're just like the rest of you. A couple who

117
00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:29.759
do daft things and have fun. And yet I don't

118
00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:31.839
know how many couples who think it's appropriate to post

119
00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:34.360
a video of themselves prancing around a maternity room moments

120
00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:37.680
before the birth of a child. Whatever the case, it

121
00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:39.360
makes a mockery of their claims to be a deeply

122
00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:41.000
private couple who just want to get on with their

123
00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.160
lives away from prying eyes, A couple so protective of

124
00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:45.959
their children, Archie and little Bit that we had rarely

125
00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.279
seen the proper picture of either of them, even though

126
00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.560
they are now respectively six and four, so fiercely private,

127
00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:53.560
and Megs and Harry so fearful for their kids' safety

128
00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:55.720
that we only saw a tiny glimpse of Archie's forehead

129
00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.800
in the late Queen's arms as a newborn. Until this week,

130
00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.399
most pictures of their cho have been taken from behind,

131
00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:04.800
from a great distance or in profile. It is reported

132
00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.240
the Susks have employed a vast new team of experts

133
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:10.279
to help counter the negativity surrounding them and improve their

134
00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:13.959
personal ratings. Indeed, perhaps this was the brainchild of their

135
00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:17.040
new director of Communications, Emily Robinson, who's been brought into

136
00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.759
jazz up the Sussex brand. After all, Harriet Meghan now

137
00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:23.120
track only just above Gruesome Prince Andrew in the popularity stakes,

138
00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.120
both here and in the US. Who knows, but if

139
00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:28.399
this tawdry video is any example of what's to come,

140
00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:31.680
they already need a new team of experts. When we

141
00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:34.680
last checked, Meghan's tworking video was her second most watched

142
00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:36.800
video of all time. The clip was up to twenty

143
00:07:36.839 --> 00:07:40.079
three million views in counting. But candidly, we don't spend

144
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:42.800
summer weekends checking Meghan's instance, so it's entirely possible that

145
00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:46.040
it's now number one Meghans As ever, name change announcement

146
00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:50.759
post has over twenty seven million views. Twerk Gate did

147
00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.079
not get everyone to stop talking about what a mess

148
00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:56.519
the as ever brand seems to be. Pr Guru Natalie

149
00:07:56.519 --> 00:07:58.519
Trice tells the Mail once again, it would seem that

150
00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.800
Megan is sending mixed messages too audience. Something one would

151
00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:03.839
hope would have been resolved by now is it's not

152
00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:06.519
the first time. People need to feel confident that her

153
00:08:06.519 --> 00:08:08.680
brand is a clear plan and direction and that these

154
00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:12.000
comments and stunts aren't just to gather attention and likes.

155
00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:16.519
She needs to be creating legacy. Consistency and truth are

156
00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:18.399
everything and they go hand in hand when it comes

157
00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:20.519
to building trust and loyalty, which I think she is

158
00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:24.399
trying to do but not quite getting it right. And

159
00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:26.360
they have it. If you like to email us addresses

160
00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:28.800
the palasindrig at gmail dot com, please follows at Spotify,

161
00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:30.680
Apple and the Apple of your choice and leave us

162
00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:33.080
a nice review if you're enjoying the show. And we

163
00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:36.360
have a new show out at the moment called Feuds, Power, Pride,

164
00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:39.720
and Payback, looking at the greatest feuds of all time,

165
00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:43.960
and it begins with the biggest one of this time.

166
00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:47.559
It's the Elon Musk President Trump feud. So check that out.

167
00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:50.919
Wherever you get your podcast. It's called Feuds, Power, Pride

168
00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:54.200
and Payback and Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermot.

169
00:08:54.279 --> 00:09:02.120
This is Palace, Intriguan good dams Hey