Nov. 14, 2025
Wills Vs. Charles - Beckham’s Knighthood Snub and a Royal Fight for the Spotlight
Prince William reportedly tried to scale back duties during what he called the hardest year of his life, as both Kate and King Charles faced cancer diagnoses—only to be urged by his father to carry on. Now new reports say William was “hurt and angry” when Charles chose the same week as Earthshot to finally knight David Beckham, hijacking the headlines while Harry staged a quasi-royal Canada tour and Meghan chased Kardashian-adjacent fame. Deep Crown calls it three royal operations fighting for oxygen, William opens up about parenting through illness, and viewers rage at the BBC for calling the Princess of Wales “Kate Middleton” on air—wait until they find out about our podcast.
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He hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host,
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Mark Francis. Prince William reportedly asked to scale back his
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royal workload in twenty twenty fours. He struggled through what
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he described as the hardest year of his life, but
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King Charles urged him to think again. According to royal
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biographer Robert Jobson's new book The Windsor Legacy, Jobson writes
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that William was shaken to the core by the duel
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cancer diagnosis of his father and wife, Kate Middleton. The
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Prince of Wales, balancing his duties as heir alongside caring
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for his young family, privately sought a brief reprieve from engagements,
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but Charles denied the request. Sources quoted in the book
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say the King encouraged his son to stay the course,
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even as he himself was coping with mounting pain before
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his own diagnosis. Jobson reported that doctors eventually discovered Charles
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cancer while treating him for an enlarged prostate. Kate meanwhile
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announced her own diagnosis just weeks later, a malign twist
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of fate, as the author put it. Royal experts told
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Fox News Digital that William's attempt to ease his workload
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reflected exhaustion rather than reluctance. He struggled to keep everything
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on track, said broadcaster Helene the Chard. He should be
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applauded for his honesty and for recognizing he needed a
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moment to step back. Jobson also notes that both William
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and Kate became more religious during the ordeal, seeking private
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solace in church attendance. Yet despite personal strain, William remained
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the public face of royal stability, overseeing engagements, supporting his
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father and ensuring the monarch's continuity behind pallace walls. The
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relationship between father and son was tested. The two share
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what Jobson describes as fiery tempers, with Aids sent to
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tread lightly around both. Still, the king and his heirs
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are said to respect each other's judgment, and William has
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taken a tougher line than his father on matters of
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royal reform. William was said to be hurt and angry
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after what he perceived as a royal own goal his
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father decision to night David Beckham. On the very same day,
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the Prince of Wales launched his Earth Shot Prize ceremony
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in Brazil. According to the Royalists, the timing of King
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Charles headline grabbing investiture left William feeling undermined during a
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week meant to highlight his global environmental initiative. Of all weeks,
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one of William's friends told the outlet, this was the
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one week he needed his family to be pulling for him. Instead,
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it felt like they were pulling against him. He was
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left hurt and angry. Beckham's long anticipated knighthood ceremony, complete
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with front page photos of Sir David and Lady Victoria,
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dominated headlines in London just as William's Earthshot coverage reached
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its peak. Meanwhile, Prince Hary Meghan Michael conveniently re entered
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the media spotlight. Harry's team announced a quasi royal trip
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to Canada overlapping with William's itinerary, and Meghan's acting comeback
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made the Sun front page midweek. In any normal world,
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William would have been the Royal story of the week,
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and newspaper editor told The Royalist. But Beckham and Meghan's
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comebacks swallowed the headlines. The entire Royal press corps was
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in Brazil, and somehow none of it mattered. The King's
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allies insists the clash was coincidental, with one source saying
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his Majesty is immensely proud of his son's work. Investitures
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are scheduled months in advance. A long time courtier said
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the dynamic has changed since the King's cancer diagnosis. The
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change of rain is happening in real time, whether they
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admitted or not. Source said, as one royal watcher put it,
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William sees himself leading the monarchy's future, Charles still sees
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himself as a present, and moments like this Beckham's Knighthood
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Week show how awkward the transition can be. In his
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sub stack Royal Inside a Deep Crown writes, the chaos
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perfectly illustrates what's become an exhausting pattern. Three separate royal
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operations competing for oxygen, and none of them bothering to coordinate.
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You had William in Brazil trying to establish earth shot
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as as defining proj Charles staging a knighthood ceremony that
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dominated the British press, and Harry manufacturing his own quasi
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royal Canada visit complete with poppy and military visits. Then
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Meghan shows up at a Kardashian party while simultaneously hawking
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jams through Oprah. It's utterly mad. What strikes me most
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is the complete absence of strategic thinking. The monarchy only
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works when it speaks with one voice, when the institution
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comes before individual vanity. Charles should have pushed Beckham's ceremony
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by a fortnight without a second thought and ensured William
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had a clear run for his signature project. But instead
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we've got a king clinging to every ceremony and headline
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as if he's proving something. William justifiably frustrated that his
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father won't give him the space a future king requires,
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and Harry treating remembrance like a personal brand opportunity. The
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Sussexes have worked out they can play it being half
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in royals whenever it suits them. Harry does the military
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bits and uniform with his poppy prominently displayed, Meghan the
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celebrity bits with the Kardashians and tech billionaires, and they
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both pretend it's authentic service rather than strategic positioning. William
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opened up about navigating Parento during one of the most
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difficult chapters of his family life, describing the challenge of
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balancing honesty and protection as his children process their mother's illness.
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Speaking to Brazilian TV host Luciano Huck during his trip
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to Rio for the Earthshot Prize Awards, the Prince reflected
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on the past year, in which both his wife and
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his father, King Charles were diagnosed with cancer. William said,
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every family has its own difficulties and its own challenges,
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and I think it's very individual as to how you
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deal with those problems. We choose to communicate a lot
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more with our children. That has its good things and
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its bad things. Sometimes you feel you're oversharing when you
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probably shouldn't, But most of the time, hiding stuff from
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them doesn't work. He explained that honesty has helped his
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children process what's happening around them, explains them how they feel,
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why that's happening, giving them other view as to why
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they might be feeling the way they are. Sometimes that
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helps give them a bigger picture and they can relax
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more into it rather than being really anxious about what
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you're hiding from them. There can be a lot more
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questions than answers. It's always a balancing act. Every parent
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knows that. In later moments, the future King also spoke
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about the rhythms of family life and Adelaide cottage, revealing
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that he and Kate still prioritize the school run and
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playtime in the garden whenever possible, play dates, taxi driver,
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sports days, matches, he said with a smile, school run
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most days. I mean Catherine and I share it, but
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she probably does the bulk of it. William also discussed
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the couple's cautious approach to technology. Our children don't have phones.
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When George moves on to secondary school, maybe he'll have
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one with limited access. We talk to him and explain
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why we don't think it's right. With full access, children
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end up seeing things on the Internet that they shouldn't.
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But with restricted access, I think it's good for messaging. Well, Pallace,
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it just a moment. Social media erupted after the BBC
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reportedly referred to Princess Catherine by her maiden name during
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coverage of the Remembrance Service, a slip viewers branded disrespectful
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and inexcusable more than a decade after her marriage and
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two years into her role as Princess of Wales. The
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phrasing came during the BBC's live broadcast from the National
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Memorial Arboretum, where the Princess Liathy's Service of Remembrance. Viewers
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quickly took to x to voice their frustration. Who is
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the moro on calling the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton
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on BBC News? One news affumed, Another wrote, my missing
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something is the BBC now not just left wing but
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also republican Kate Middleton? How bloody disrespectful this woman keeps
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on calling her Kate Middleton f FS. A third demanded,
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can somebody have a word in the ear of your
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reporter at the National Memorial Arboretum. She should not be
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referring to the Princess of Wales as Kate Middleton, while
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another viewer added, how dare the BBC once again be
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disrespectful to Catherine, Princess of Wales? Several times the presenter
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used to a maiden name. I am fuming, dozens of
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others joining the outcry, insisting the broadcaster should know better.
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Here at Palas Intrigue, we have been criticized about the
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same phrasing as we do the program for a primarily
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American audience. We refer to the princess the way most
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of our audience does Kate Middleton. You may also notice
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we often refer to her father in law simply as Charles.
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There you have It'd like to email us and tell
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us off. It's Lee Palasintrigant gmail dot com. And don't forget.
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We have a new show out, Crown and Controversy Prince Andrew,
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and it follows a young Prince Andrew all the way
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through his life and downfall. And you can find that
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show wherever you get your podcasts like this one. There's
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a link in the show notes, or just search for
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Crown and Controversy Prince Andrew. I'm Mark Francis my thanks
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to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue and Good Times.
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00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:34.160
128
00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:38.079
129
00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.639
130
00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:45.920
131
00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:51.759
132
00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.360
133
00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.199
134
00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.240
135
00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:02.000
136
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:06.319
137
00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:09.439
138
00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:13.600
139
00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:16.959
140
00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:20.680
141
00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.160
142
00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:28.279
143
00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:32.039
144
00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:35.279
145
00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:40.480
146
00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:43.559
147
00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:45.600
148
00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:49.000
149
00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:51.360
150
00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:53.039
151
00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:57.519
152
00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:00.720
