Andrew emerged as the most talked-about royal by a wide margin, with his Epstein-linked fallout, loss of titles and forced departure from Royal Lodge defining the institutional crisis of the year. Prince William followed closely, as he quietly stepped into a larger leadership role amid growing expectations of a future royal reset.
We examine why Meghan Markle and Prince Harry continue to dominate headlines from California, how the narrative around the Sussexes began to shift, and why Netflix remained a central battleground. We also reflect on King Charles’s first full year as monarch during cancer treatment, Kate’s health journey, and the words that kept appearing again and again: controversy, feud, scandal and security.
Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.
Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.
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Episode Transcript
Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Pallas Intrigue. I'm
your host, Mark Francis, hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas.
Our staff have used AI to go through four hundred
and seventy episodes we produced this year, every single one
(00:23):
from January first through December nineteenth, and we pulled the
data on who dominated the headlines, what stories captivated us,
and what themes defined the royal narrative in twenty twenty five.
This was a massive year for royal news, as you
well know. So let's dive into some of the numbers
and see what they tell us about the monarchy in transition. So,
(00:45):
according to AI, the most mentioned royals were we'll do
this backwards from number ten, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie forty
eight mentions each, ninth place, Sarah Ferguson sixty. Princess Diana
at number eight with eighty eight mentions. In seventh place,
Queen Camilla had ninety five mentions. Number six, Kate Middleton
(01:07):
three hundred thirty seven mentions, Number five, Prince Harry four
hundred and fifty in fourth place, King Charles four hundred
eighty one. Number three Megan Michael seven hundred and fifty
five mentions In second place, Prince William nine hundred sixty
nine mentions. The winner or loser, depending on how you
(01:27):
look at it, is Prince Andrew with twelve hundred seventy
one mentions. Twelve hundred and seventy one times we talked
about Andrew in twenty twenty five. That's three times an episode.
Why because Andrew's story defined the institutional crisis facing the
monarchy this year, from his ongoing connection to Jeffrey Epstein
to losing his military titles, to being forced out of
(01:49):
Royal Lodge to his exile from public royal life. Andrew
was the biggest story in the royal family in twenty
twenty five, and it wasn't even close. Prince William came
in second with nine hundred sixty nine mentions. This was
William's year of transition, preparing for kingship, expanding his role,
quietly reshaping what the monarchy will look like when he
takes the throne. William's not making as much noise as Andrew,
(02:10):
but he's making moves that matter. Meghan Michael rounded out
the top three with seven hundred and fifty five mentions,
I thought it was going to be a lot more,
even living in Montecito, Even not being a working royal,
Meghan still generates constant headlines her Netflix projects, her relationship
with her father Thomas Markel, her lifestyle brand, her every
move still analyzed, still covered, still driving conversations. Seven hundred
(02:35):
and fifty five seems lo to me. I would have
guessed seven thousand. King Charles at four hundred and eighty one.
This was Charles' first full year as monarch, dealing with
his own health challenges, managing family drama, and trying to
modernize the institution while Andrew's scandals threatened to burn it
all down. Prince Harry at four hundred and fifty mentions
(02:55):
He's still in the mix with his Invictus Games work,
his security battles with the US UK government, is ongoing
memoir drama, and the endless will they reconcile speculation with
William Kate came in six with three hundred and thirty
seven mentions. This was a health crisis year for Kate,
her cancer diagnosis, her treatment to recovery, her careful return
to public life. The Princess of Wales faced the biggest
(03:18):
personal challenges of her royal life in twenty twenty five,
So what were the topics that dominated? What did we
actually talk about? What were the themes? Well, the word
controversy appeared one thousand, five hundred and fifty four times
this year, although some of that may have been me
promoting our series Crown and Controversy. But one, five hundred
(03:39):
and fifty four times that averages out to more than
three times per episode. Why because twenty twenty five was
defined by controversy and not the word Crown, Andrew's scandals,
Harry and Meghan's ongoing battles with the institution, Kate's health crisis,
Charles cancer treatment, family riffs that won't heal, Pallace came
up twelve hundred nineteen times because revolves around the institution,
(04:01):
Buckingham Palace, windsor the machinery of monarchy that's both protecting
and imprisoning the family, And of course it's the podcast name.
Netflix got one hundred and eleven mentions because streaming has
become the battleground Harry and Meghan's and Netflix projects documentaries
about the Royals, dramatizations tell as Netflix is where the
modern royal story is being told whether the Palace likes
(04:23):
it or not. Cancer appeared forty one times. Both King
Charles and Princess Kate faced cancer diagnosis in twenty twenty five.
It was the health crisis that defined the year for
the Wales. Family enforced the monarchy to show vulnerability. Feud
came up forty times. Because the riffs are real William
and Harry, Kate and Meghan, Charles and Andrew, the institution
versus the exiles. These aren't tabloid inventions. These are real
(04:47):
family breakdowns playing out on the world stage. Scandal appeared
thirty two times, Security thirty four, titles thirty three. Every
one of these topics represents an ongoing battle. Who gets protection,
who ca keeps their royal status, Who's in and who's out?
More Palace In just a moment, Let's talk about the
(05:09):
elephant in the room, or rather the disgraced prince in
Royal Lodge. Prince Andrew dominated the show in twenty twenty
five with twelve hundred and seventy one mentions because his
story is the crisis that won't end this year. Andrew
lost his remaining military rank. He was stripped of everything
the Defense Council formally demoted him. There's no coming back
from that. He was forced out of Royal Lodge, the
(05:30):
thirty room Windsor mansion he's occupied for years, with King
Charles finally pulling the financial plug. Andrew's moving to a
shoe box sized property at Sandringham, and sources say the
exit from Royal Lodge happens slowly, roomed by room, like
watching someone get evicted from their own life. The Epstein
connections continued to haunt him. Every few weeks, new documents
would crop, new testimony would surface, new allegations would emerge.
(05:54):
The Metropolitan Police announced no further action on some claims,
but the damage is permanent, and, perhaps most tellently, Andrew
attended his granddaughter's christening alone this year, his first royal
family event since being stripped of his titles. Even his
own family doesn't know what to do with him. Andrew's
story is the story of a monarchy trying to survive
one of its own members, and in twenty twenty five,
(06:16):
that survival meant exile. While Andrew imploded, William and Kate
faced their own crucible. Prince William had nine hundred and
sixty nine mentions because this was his year of stepping up,
with his father dealing with cancer, with Kate fighting her
own battle with Andrew's scandals threatening the institution, William became
the stabilizing force. Sources save William is planning a royal reset,
(06:37):
potentially beginning in twenty twenty six. He's quietly reshaping what
the monarchy will look like. Less drama, more impact, fewer
working royals, clearer purpose, a slimmed down modern institution. Kate
had three hundred and thirty seven mentions, and almost all
of them were about her health. And then as Harry
and Meghan, Megan Michael had seven hundred and fifty five
mentions according to the AI. Again that seems low, and
(07:00):
Sarry had four hundred and fifty combined. That's twelve hundred
five mentions, almost as many as Andrew alone. The Sussexes
are still dominating headlines, but in twenty twenty five the
narrative started to shift. Meghan's Netflix holiday special debut to
zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics called it unfathomable, quite
mad and a little bit sad. The Daily Mail gave
it zero stars. Then there was the Thomas Mikle situation,
(07:23):
Megan's father had a leg amputation in the hospital in
the Philippines. Reports said Meghan sent a letter to reach out,
but it turned out to be an email sent to
an address he has it checked in five years. Hospitals
confirmed no phone calls were received. Samantha Mirkle tweeted Houston,
there's been no contact. Time to stop the PRBs. Harry
appeared on Colbert and got booed after making a Trump
(07:46):
joke about America electing a king. Pr experts said the
jokes landed like a man reminding you of a punchline
that expired three years ago. Meanwhile, they attended Chris Jenner's
birthday party, fueling speculation they're trying to position themselves as
Hollywood players. There are reports they viewed it as key
networking opportunity, leaning into the Kardashian connection and through it all,
(08:07):
Project Thor rumors kept circulating claims that Harry might bring
the kids back to the UK for schooling, that security
reviews could pave the way for reconciliation, but nothing ever
actually happens. The rift remains, so what does that all
tell us about the monarchy. In twenty twenty five, while
Prince Andrew's crisis has defined the year. William is preparing
(08:30):
for kingship amid chaos. The Sussexes still dominate headlines, but
the narrative is shifting. Kate's health battle humanized the Royals,
Charles and navigating his first full year as king with cancer.
Controversy is the defining word of the year. Family rifts
show no sign of healing, and Netflix remains the battlefield
(08:52):
and the institution is in transition and nobody knows what
comes next. There you have it to email us. Her
address is the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please
foll us on Spotify and Apple or the app of
your choice, and live is a nice review for you
enjoying the show. I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott.
This is Palace Intrigue and good times
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