King Charles Prays with the Pope in the Sistine Chapel; Harry Sounds AI Alarm; Fresh Heat on Prince Andrew

A historic first as King Charles and Queen Camilla join Pope Leo XIV for an ecumenical service inside the Sistine Chapel, before a second ceremony at St. Paul Outside the Walls. Plus: Prince Harry co-signs an open letter calling for a halt to “AI superintelligence,” and Prince Andrew faces new scrutiny—from explosive book claims to questions over his peppercorn rent at Royal Lodge, reported China meetings, and talk of a US invitation to testify.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Calarogu Shark Media.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hello and welcome to Palace intrigue game, your host, Mark Francis,
King Charles and Queen Camilla marked a historic moment in Rome,
joining Pope Leo the fourteenth for an ecumenical service inside
the Sistine Chapel, believed to be the first time in
hundreds of years that a British monarch as head of
the Church of England has publicly prayed with a pope.

(00:35):
The setting underscored the significance the very chamber where Pope
Leo was recently elected. The King and Queen attended as
part of a state visit aligned with the Catholic Church's
jubilee year. Before the service, they were received in a
private audition with the Pope. Afterwards, the King also met
Cardinal Pietro Paolin with the Vatican, noting discussions on matters

(00:56):
of common interest, including protecting the environment and alleviating povity.
During the service itself, prayers were led in English and
Latin by Pope Leo and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell,
while Anglican and Catholic choirs performed with the King and
Queen's seat in nearby on gold chairs. From there, the
King and Queen moved on to a second service at
the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the walls. The king

(01:18):
assumed the honorary title of Royal Confrator, reflecting historic tires
between the British crown and the Basilica. The Vatican designed
a chair for the king and his successes, bearing the
royal coat of arms and the inscription that they may
be one. The moment carries both religious and diplomatic weight.
Queen Elizabeth I met multiple popes across her reign, but

(01:39):
never publicly prayed with one. Charles Long, an advocate of
interfaith understanding, has sought to be seen as a unifying figure,
noting years ago that while at the same time being
defender of the faith, you can also be protector of
the faiths. That pluralistic approach may frame this visit as
much as any single ceremony. Church leaders stressed the symbols

(02:00):
ahead of the visit. The Vatican's Reverend Martin Brown said
these services were intended as a sign of our closeness
and willingness to see one another as brothers and sisters
despite differences, adding that such witness matters not just in
terms of the Ecumenical project, but for humanity in general.
On ongoing theological gaps such as the ordination of women,

(02:22):
Archbishop Flavio Peace acknowledged the issue as a potential problem,
but said it is more urgent that we stay together,
that we dialogue, and that we continue to walk together.
With the Archbishop of Canterbury's seat in transition following Justin
Welby's resignation, the Archbishop designate Sarah Malaley is expected to
be installed early next year. As Professor Anna Rolands observed,

(02:45):
she will be once installed the head of a fellow
Christian ecclesial community. The Archbishop of Canterbury's representative to the
Holy See, the Right Reverend Anthony Ball, put it plainly,
the development of having female clergy and female bishops in
the Church of England is one that is recogniz it
does a matter for the Church of England by the
Catholic Church. Analysts cautioned that unity in prayer does not

(03:06):
signal agreement on every question. The very Reverend Andrew McGowan said,
we don't have to change each other, while the Reverend
Thomas j Rees remarked there's certain topics you don't bring
up at Thanksgiving dinner, adding, you know where everybody stands,
and so the effort is to see where we can
work together. Prince Harry has issued a stark warning declaring

(03:26):
there can be no second chance when it comes to
artificial intelligence. In a new open letter co signed by Megan,
the Duke of Sussex, joined an eclectic group of public
figures from tech pioneers to political commentators, calling for a
halt on the creation of so called AI superintelligence. The
future of AI should serve humanity, not replace it, Harry wrote,

(03:46):
I believe the true test of progress will be not
how fast we move, but how wisely we steer. There
is no second chance. The couple's names appear alongside an
unusual mix of co signatories, including Glenn Beck, Steve Bannon,
Richard Branson, Apple co founder Steve Wozniak, and Stephen Fryer,
all part of the Future of Life Institute appeal warning

(04:07):
on the dangers of unregulated AI development. The open letter
states we call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence,
not lifted before there is a broad scientific consensus that
it will be done safely and controllably in strong public
buy in. This is a pivotal moment in our collective
mission to protect children and support families in a digital age.

(04:28):
More palace in just a moment. According to the new
book entitled The Rise and Fall of the House of York,
Prince Andrews's behavior behind palace stores was as arrogant as
it was erratic, and his treatment of staff, colleagues and
acquaintances has left a long trail of appalled witnesses. The
book describes how Andrew allegedly demanded that maids claimed four

(04:50):
flights of stairs each morning to open his bedroom curtains
while he lay in bed beside them. One form of
staff acclaimed his bedtime habits as a single man, left
a lot to be des with a collection of scrunched up,
soiled tissues, left the staff to clear away. On another night,
Andrew reportedly summoned a television technician to his royal residence
to explain how the remote control worked. A former equerry

(05:12):
to the Queen Mother branded him a rude, ignorant sod,
adding that doit had effectively become his catchphrase. In contrast
to the Queen Mother and King Charles, who were said
to treat their staff as human beings, The Duke even
allegedly sent his armed protection officers to retrieve lost golf balls.
The book paints a portrait of a man who treated

(05:33):
rules and courtesies as optional. Dangerous driving was described as
one of his favorite games, with Andrew allegedly speeding down
motorways in an attempt to lose his protection officers. In
two thousand and two, he reportedly refused to step out
of his car after being stopped for speeding, declaring I'm
in a hurry. Seven years later, Windsor estate workers petitioned
the Late Queen after he nearly hit them while racing

(05:55):
through the park in his Aston Martin, and in twenty sixteen,
when gates at Windsor malfunctioned, he allegedly rammed them with
his range Rover, causing thousands of pounds in damage. He
has a bit of a reputation for roaring around like
Toad of Toad Hall, one staff member said, and seems
to think he can do what he likes. Socially, Andrew
was said to be equally graceless. The book recounts that
he made inappropriate jokes about urinating himself during an event

(06:17):
in Indonesia, and that after a tense lunch were then
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the future Prime Minister, equipped
that dining with Andrew was enough to drive someone to republicanism.
One ambassador described him as weird, he invaded one's personal space,
wood rant, and he was unable to read a room.
Journalist Petronella Wyatt added he was as charming as a
bull in a china shop. As a trade envoy, Andrew

(06:39):
allegedly instructed staff to invite attractive women to official functions.
One diplomat recalled being told he likes blonds, to which
he replied, I'm a diplomat, not a pimp. Lowney claims
the duke boasted of sleeping with more than a thousand women,
including models and socialites, but expected them to come to him.
The book also includes disturbing claims about bullying and cruelty

(07:00):
towards staff. Andrew allegedly called one aid a effing imbecile
for using the wrong title, demanded bows upon entering a room,
and would say let's try that again if ignored, before
exiting and re entering. He said to have dismissed one
employee over a facial mole and another for wearing a
nylon tie. A former lover described Andrew as a serial

(07:21):
sex addict who had no boundaries, saying he wanted me
to engage in kinky sexual activity. It told me he
had an open marriage arrangement with his wife. Jeffrey Epstein
once reportedly referred to Andrews one of my closest friends
in the world and called him exactly that, a serial
sex addict. During a trip to Thailand for the King's
Diamond Jubilee, Andrew allegedly entertained as many as forty women

(07:42):
in his hotel suite, with one leaving as another arrived.
Royal reported Tom Sykes echoed the account, writing that sources
had confirmed Andrew's industrial scale sexual consumption, describing it as
a revolving door of female bodies carried out under the
auspices of royal diplomacy. Finally, Lowney's book alleges that the
Duke's childish streak often turned cruel. He would hand guests

(08:04):
open tubes of mustard under the pretense of a gain,
push faces into plates, and even unzipped women's dresses at
social advents. A senior member of the US House Oversight Committee,
Stephen Lynch, told the BBC's Newsnight that he was sure
an invitation would be sent to Andrew, saying we would
be extremely interested in hearing from Prince Andrew regarding his
involvement in all of this. During the same program, Epstein

(08:25):
victim Annie Farmer urged Andrew to cooperate, saying I'm not
holding my breath that Prince Andrew will do that because
he's had a lot of time to share information that
he has. But I also think that this is an opportunity.
This is a moment if he wants to do right
by a Virginia and the rest of us, he could
do something different and say I have information I want
to share because I believe it could be helpful. She

(08:45):
added that there was a lot of powerful people that
are implicated in this, and we know that powerful people
protect each other. The controversy deep and further with The
Telegraph reporting that Andrew met two alleged Chinese spies during
twenty nineteen on a trip to China promoting his Pitch
at Palace initiative. According to the paper, he met Kaya Chi,
now described as the spymaster at the center of a
major espionage case, and businessman Yang Tengbo, who was later

(09:09):
banned from Britain over suspected spying. Andrew has not paid
any meaningful rent on his sprawling Royal Lodge home for
more than two decades, according to newly released documents from
the crowned State. The tenancy agreement shared with The Independent
shows that Andrew paid one million pounds for a seventy
five year lease in two thousand and three, plus at
least seven point five million pounds for refurbishments two years later.

(09:32):
Since then, his annual rent has amounted to just one
peppercorn if demanded. The thirty bedroom Royal Lodge, set on
ninety eight acres and wins a great park, is leased
until twenty seventy eight, effectively giving the disgraced Royal a
lifetime residence. Royal author Norman Baker tolt The Times that
the public deserves to know whether the Prince could be
forced out. All leases have some kind of break claws,

(09:53):
so the public must know how he has been able
to remain there and on what terms he could be
forced to leave. Another royal expert, Andrew Lowney, echoed that sentiment.
I think it is important for transparency that the full
details of that arrangement are made public and why the property,
in effect public property, was only offered to him. The
Crown of State confirmed that the contract could be forfeited

(10:13):
if rent goes unpaid for twenty one days or if
the tenant preaches any terms, and that inspectors may visit
upon reasonable notice. Former BBC Royal correspondent Jenny Bond said,
the King faces a dilemma should he be this lodge
from the Royal Lodge. He has a pretty cast iron
tenancy agreement and that is difficult. The King has been
trying to get him out, Andrew likes us all to
believe he's a tendency to be rather too honorable. Well,

(10:35):
I do think the honorable thing might be to say
I will relinquish not only my titles, but I will
also relinquish this rather large home. But I didn't see
that happening. For now, the Duke no longer Duke, remains
firmly in residence, rent free, scandal shadowed and increasingly isolated
within the walls of Windsor Great Park. And then you
have it. You like to leave us an email or

(10:55):
address is the Palasindric at gmail dot com. Please follow
the Spotify, Apple and fine us on Facebook, Instagram, all
the social media sites. I'm your host, Mark Francis. Thanks
to John McDermot, this is palace intriguing.

Speaker 1 (11:07):
Good terms,