The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reports on “Project Thaw,” a supposed effort to soften the Sussex freeze, with Harry’s security review framed as part of a wider plan that could include UK schooling for the children—prompting a pointed response from royal insider Deep Crown about the logistics and emotional reality. New claims also swirl about tension between Queen Camilla and Catherine over whether Harry deserves any path back, while separate reporting suggests Kate’s friendship with Sarah Ferguson is being watched closely amid worries about leaks. Overseas, Sweden’s Royal Court confirms Princess Sofia was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein around 2005, stressing she declined a Caribbean invitation and has had no contact for 20 years. We also spot a small but loaded detail at Clarence House: family photos on display include images tied to Harry and Meghan’s wedding and Louis’s christening. And in a new ITV documentary, King Charles speaks candidly about climate, legacy, and the world his grandchildren will inherit—Steve Backshall’s Royal Arctic Challenge airs on ITV1 at 9pm.
Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.
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Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.
Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.
👑 Follow our hit series Crown and Controversy! Season 1 and 2 are fully available now for everyone. Season 3 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 3 BEFORE REGULAR LISTENERS as a subscriber! Hit that "UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING" Banner on the top of the Apple player. AND listen to Crown and Controversy "NORWAY'S ROYAL REBELS" here and get the full season as a premium subscriber now.
👑 The Palace Intrigue Social Hub is Live! Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram or click the links to start your royal journey!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Calorogus Shark Media Now lo and welcome to the Palace Intrigue.
I am your host, Mark Francis. In The Daily Mail,
Richard Eden tells of a plot to bring Harry and
Meghan back into the fold. Eden says Project Thor is
to warm the frosty relationship between the Sussexes and the
(00:24):
rest of the Royals. According to Eden, the reevaluation of
Harry's security is part of the plan to allow Harry
to educate his children in the UK. Eden told Palace Confidential,
Harry loves life in California in many ways, but he's
got old attachments here. He's involved with charity patronages, and
he's really keen for his kids to grow up here.
Our royal inside had deep ground, commented in his free
(00:47):
sub stack. Let us be clear about what such an
arrangement would actually require. We're not discussing a brief summer
holiday term a broad program. We're contemplating the placement of
two young children in British schools while their mother remains
some five thousand miles distant in Montecito, separated by eight
time zones, and with them an entire continent. But the
(01:07):
logistics tiresome as they are paled beside the emotional reality.
This is Harry. We're discussing a man who has constructed
his entire post royal identity around a single, immovable principle.
He will not repeat his mother's experience. He will not
separate his family. He has said as much repeatedly in
every interview and memoir chapter. The Diana narrative isn't merely
(01:29):
part of his story. It is his story. Every decision,
every move, every bridge burned has been rationalized through that lens.
Does anyone seriously believe he would place an ocean between
his children and their mother? There are fresh claims of
tension behind palace walls, with one royal insider suggesting relations
between the Princess of Wales and her mother in law,
(01:50):
Queen Camilla, have become strained over the question of Prince Harry.
According to reports, the Queen is said to be astounded
that Catherine would entertain the idea of any reconciliation with
the Duke of Sussex, and insider told the Globe Camilla
wants nothing to do with Harry. She's revolted by the
soft stance Charles is taking at the moment and fully
supports William's zero tolerance, no forgiveness policy. She's astounded that
(02:14):
Kate continues to stick up for him, but Kate couldn't
care less what Camilla thinks. The inside claimed Camilla believes
Harry is dangerous to the institution, fearing that any renewed
contact or reconciliation could provide material for another horrific tell all.
Camilla and Kate had a poisonous showdown at the palace.
The insider said. Camilla told Kate flat out that she
(02:35):
is being naive and reckless not to mention disloyal toward
her husband by refusing to respect his wishes. It got nasty.
Kate's been very patient and biting her tongue for much
of this year over Camilla's bad attitude toward her, but
this Harry situation is making things one hundred times more tense. Meanwhile,
Kate is said to have grown close to Sarah Ferguson
(02:55):
in recent years, bonded in part by the shared experience
with cancer. According to Shports, that closeness involved Kate confiding
personal details about her life, something that is now causing
unease amid concerns Sarah could speak publicly about their relationship
and inside a told Radar Online, Kate has become friends
with Sarah over time, but one thing she will not
abide is her going on TV or writing a tell
(03:18):
all for money. Now she and Andrew have been ousted
from their lodgings and stripped of their royal titles over
the Epstein scandal. She cares deeply for Sarah, yet she
cannot allow herself to become entangled in another controversy. Her
focus has to remain on her children, her well being
and safeguarding the future of the monarchy. Meanwhile, although most
reports have William being done with Andrew, royal expert Jenny
(03:39):
Bond tells The Mirror, while there is no love lost
between William, Catherine and Andrew, my understanding is that they
and the rest of the royal family believe they still
have a duty of care for his welfare. Bond added
that Andrew is reported to have become isolated, describing his
current situation as one of solitary living. Referring to recent
photographs of Andrew circulating in the media, It's not his
(04:01):
fault of photographers are ready to balance if he dares
to venture out, Bond adds, I don't think the Prince
and Princess would begrudge him a ride around the park
and some fresh air. Obviously it would be more convenient
if it wasn't on the doorstep. Bond also pointed out
that the situation is temporary, but they know that this
is about to end, she said, and he will be
living miles away in sandring Anne. Another royal family is
(04:24):
getting dragged into the Epstein mess. The Swedish Royal Court
confirmed that Princess Sophia was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein following
the publication of emails that appeared to link the two.
The confirmation came after a Swedish newspaper revealed email exchanges
between Epstein and financier Barbo Enbom, who has been described
(04:45):
as a mentor to Sofia and attended her wedding to
Prince Carl Philip in twenty fifteen. In one email dated
December two thousand and five, Enbom wrote, alongside a photograph,
this is Sofia, an aspiring actress who just arrived in
New York, the girl I told you about before I left,
who I thought you might like to meet. Maybe we
can visit before you go on holiday. Epstein responded, I'm
(05:07):
in the Caribbean. Did she want to come for a
couple of days. I'll send a ticket. In response to
the report, the Swedish Royal Court said Princess Sophia has
been introduced to the person in question on a few
occasions around two thousand and five, stressing that this was
before Epstein's two thousand and eight conviction. The palace added
that Sofia did not accept the invitation to travel to
the Caribbean, and stated the princess has not had any
(05:30):
contact with the person in question for twenty years. The
revelation emerged as the Swedish Royal family gathered in Stockholm
for the annual Nobel Prize ceremony. Princess Sophia, who has
regularly attended the event in previous years, including last year
while pregnant, was notably absent the day after the report
was published. Before joining the royal family, severe Helkvist was
(05:53):
known publicly as a model and reality television contestant. After
her relationship with Prince Carl Philip became public in twenty ten,
she faced intense online criticism. She later said in a
twenty eighteen interview, I was met with an enormous hate
storm from people who had opinions about me as a person,
about my relationship. I was surprised and it definitely affected me.
(06:13):
It was very tough. More palacein just a moment. Hey,
if you hate those commercials, why don't you buy yourself
a subscription to Calorogo, Shark Medium and Palace Intrigue and
you can get this show and hundreds of others commercial free.
Just click that banner up there that says listen uninterrupted
in four ninety nine a month. You get them all
(06:35):
commercial free. You can try it out for a month
for free, and it really supports us behind the scenes.
Here at Palace Intrigue. During a Christmas gathering for children
hosted by the Queen at Clarence House, family photographs displayed
on a table were visible in the background of official
images from the event. Among them was a portrait from
Prince Louise Christening in twenty eighteen showing Prince William Kate Middleton,
(06:57):
Prince George, Princess Charlatt, and the Duke and Duchess of
suss Beside it sat a framed black and white photograph
capturing a moment from Megan and Harry's wedding in twenty eighteen.
The image shows King Charles, then Prince of Wales, walking
arm in arm with Megan inside Saint George's Chapel at
Windsor Castle. While Meghan began her walk down the aisle,
she was accompanied by Charles for the latter part of
(07:17):
the procession. As Charles reached his son, Prince Harry, was
heard to say thank you, Pa. The moment came after
a late change to the wedding plans. Charles stepped in
to escort Meghan after it was confirmed that her father
Thomas Michael, would not attend the ceremony. The decision was
made less than forty eight hours before the wedding. Charles
had spoken with striking frankness about his fears for the
(07:40):
world his grandchildren will inherit as he continues to put
climate change at the center of his public work. In
a new ATV documentary Steve Blackshaw's Royal Arctic Challenge, the
King tells environmentalist Steve Baxall that he finds it very
frustrating that scientific warnings about global warming are still not
fully acted upon even as the planet approaches would he
calls a tipping point for change. The program looks back
(08:03):
at his nineteen seventy five journey to the Canadian Arctic,
when as Prince of Wales, he took part in an
under ice dive, now acknowledged by organizers as to have
been more dangerous than they realize at the time. Speaking
to Backsaw, the King says, these things are rescuable, but
it seems very peculiar to me that in other areas
everybody takes what the scientists are saying is absolutely vital truth.
(08:24):
But in this case, for some reason or other, it
is not so apparently simple. Reflecting on his decades long
campaign to highlight environmental dangers, he explains, you have to
just go on trying I find because I mind, for
what it's worth about the younger generations. To me, it's
not fair to leave them something in a far worse
state than I found it, if you know what I mean.
(08:44):
The whole point I've always felt is to improve it
for people so they don't have a ghastly legacy of
horror to have to deal with. That's why I spent
all these years, because I don't want to be accused
of my grandchildren of not doing anything about it. That
is the key describes his Arctic expedition nearly fifty years
ago as a formative experience, saying it helped shape his
determination to protect the natural world. Baxel now retraces that
(09:08):
journey to show how dramatically the region has changed in
the intervening decades, and spoke to the King before departing.
Recalling his own thirty minute dive some thirty feet beneath
the ice with physician and researcher Joseph Mcinness, the King
admits the challenge is no longer one he could undertake.
I'm afraid I've always tended to live life dangerously, he chuckles.
Thank God I was young in those days. I could
(09:30):
never have survived. Now I think I'm too old to
go back. He remembers that die It was a fascinating experience,
adding I wouldn't have missed it for anything. It was
amazing in those days. Thank god I saw the Arctic
as it should be. I learned a great deal from
going there. That's the tragedy now that it's all going
so fast. I was very glad I was able to
see it. I just want others to witness the same thing.
(09:53):
Reflecting on how wildlife is struggling to adapt to the
rapidly changing conditions. The King warns, this is what I
had been trying to warn about for years. We have forgotten.
I think that we are as well totally connected with nature.
The problem is trying to rediscover this link. What we
do to nature is fundamentally a disaster for ourselves. Steve
Basor's Royal Arctic Challenges scheduled to air on ITV one
(10:15):
at nine pm. And there you have it. If you'd
like to email us and addresses the Palace intrigu at
gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple or
the app of your choice, and check us out on Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube are all over the place. Come by and say hi, Hey,
Mark Francis my thanks to John mcdermy. This is Palace
Intrigue and good times.
Calorogus Shark Media Now lo and welcome to the Palace Intrigue.
I am your host, Mark Francis. In The Daily Mail,
Richard Eden tells of a plot to bring Harry and
Meghan back into the fold. Eden says Project Thor is
to warm the frosty relationship between the Sussexes and the
(00:24):
rest of the Royals. According to Eden, the reevaluation of
Harry's security is part of the plan to allow Harry
to educate his children in the UK. Eden told Palace Confidential,
Harry loves life in California in many ways, but he's
got old attachments here. He's involved with charity patronages, and
he's really keen for his kids to grow up here.
Our royal inside had deep ground, commented in his free
(00:47):
sub stack. Let us be clear about what such an
arrangement would actually require. We're not discussing a brief summer
holiday term a broad program. We're contemplating the placement of
two young children in British schools while their mother remains
some five thousand miles distant in Montecito, separated by eight
time zones, and with them an entire continent. But the
(01:07):
logistics tiresome as they are paled beside the emotional reality.
This is Harry. We're discussing a man who has constructed
his entire post royal identity around a single, immovable principle.
He will not repeat his mother's experience. He will not
separate his family. He has said as much repeatedly in
every interview and memoir chapter. The Diana narrative isn't merely
(01:29):
part of his story. It is his story. Every decision,
every move, every bridge burned has been rationalized through that lens.
Does anyone seriously believe he would place an ocean between
his children and their mother? There are fresh claims of
tension behind palace walls, with one royal insider suggesting relations
between the Princess of Wales and her mother in law,
(01:50):
Queen Camilla, have become strained over the question of Prince Harry.
According to reports, the Queen is said to be astounded
that Catherine would entertain the idea of any reconciliation with
the Duke of Sussex, and insider told the Globe Camilla
wants nothing to do with Harry. She's revolted by the
soft stance Charles is taking at the moment and fully
supports William's zero tolerance, no forgiveness policy. She's astounded that
(02:14):
Kate continues to stick up for him, but Kate couldn't
care less what Camilla thinks. The inside claimed Camilla believes
Harry is dangerous to the institution, fearing that any renewed
contact or reconciliation could provide material for another horrific tell all.
Camilla and Kate had a poisonous showdown at the palace.
The insider said. Camilla told Kate flat out that she
(02:35):
is being naive and reckless not to mention disloyal toward
her husband by refusing to respect his wishes. It got nasty.
Kate's been very patient and biting her tongue for much
of this year over Camilla's bad attitude toward her, but
this Harry situation is making things one hundred times more tense. Meanwhile,
Kate is said to have grown close to Sarah Ferguson
(02:55):
in recent years, bonded in part by the shared experience
with cancer. According to Shports, that closeness involved Kate confiding
personal details about her life, something that is now causing
unease amid concerns Sarah could speak publicly about their relationship
and inside a told Radar Online, Kate has become friends
with Sarah over time, but one thing she will not
abide is her going on TV or writing a tell
(03:18):
all for money. Now she and Andrew have been ousted
from their lodgings and stripped of their royal titles over
the Epstein scandal. She cares deeply for Sarah, yet she
cannot allow herself to become entangled in another controversy. Her
focus has to remain on her children, her well being
and safeguarding the future of the monarchy. Meanwhile, although most
reports have William being done with Andrew, royal expert Jenny
(03:39):
Bond tells The Mirror, while there is no love lost
between William, Catherine and Andrew, my understanding is that they
and the rest of the royal family believe they still
have a duty of care for his welfare. Bond added
that Andrew is reported to have become isolated, describing his
current situation as one of solitary living. Referring to recent
photographs of Andrew circulating in the media, It's not his
(04:01):
fault of photographers are ready to balance if he dares
to venture out, Bond adds, I don't think the Prince
and Princess would begrudge him a ride around the park
and some fresh air. Obviously it would be more convenient
if it wasn't on the doorstep. Bond also pointed out
that the situation is temporary, but they know that this
is about to end, she said, and he will be
living miles away in sandring Anne. Another royal family is
(04:24):
getting dragged into the Epstein mess. The Swedish Royal Court
confirmed that Princess Sophia was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein following
the publication of emails that appeared to link the two.
The confirmation came after a Swedish newspaper revealed email exchanges
between Epstein and financier Barbo Enbom, who has been described
(04:45):
as a mentor to Sofia and attended her wedding to
Prince Carl Philip in twenty fifteen. In one email dated
December two thousand and five, Enbom wrote, alongside a photograph,
this is Sofia, an aspiring actress who just arrived in
New York, the girl I told you about before I left,
who I thought you might like to meet. Maybe we
can visit before you go on holiday. Epstein responded, I'm
(05:07):
in the Caribbean. Did she want to come for a
couple of days. I'll send a ticket. In response to
the report, the Swedish Royal Court said Princess Sophia has
been introduced to the person in question on a few
occasions around two thousand and five, stressing that this was
before Epstein's two thousand and eight conviction. The palace added
that Sofia did not accept the invitation to travel to
the Caribbean, and stated the princess has not had any
(05:30):
contact with the person in question for twenty years. The
revelation emerged as the Swedish Royal family gathered in Stockholm
for the annual Nobel Prize ceremony. Princess Sophia, who has
regularly attended the event in previous years, including last year
while pregnant, was notably absent the day after the report
was published. Before joining the royal family, severe Helkvist was
(05:53):
known publicly as a model and reality television contestant. After
her relationship with Prince Carl Philip became public in twenty ten,
she faced intense online criticism. She later said in a
twenty eighteen interview, I was met with an enormous hate
storm from people who had opinions about me as a person,
about my relationship. I was surprised and it definitely affected me.
(06:13):
It was very tough. More palacein just a moment. Hey,
if you hate those commercials, why don't you buy yourself
a subscription to Calorogo, Shark Medium and Palace Intrigue and
you can get this show and hundreds of others commercial free.
Just click that banner up there that says listen uninterrupted
in four ninety nine a month. You get them all
(06:35):
commercial free. You can try it out for a month
for free, and it really supports us behind the scenes.
Here at Palace Intrigue. During a Christmas gathering for children
hosted by the Queen at Clarence House, family photographs displayed
on a table were visible in the background of official
images from the event. Among them was a portrait from
Prince Louise Christening in twenty eighteen showing Prince William Kate Middleton,
(06:57):
Prince George, Princess Charlatt, and the Duke and Duchess of
suss Beside it sat a framed black and white photograph
capturing a moment from Megan and Harry's wedding in twenty eighteen.
The image shows King Charles, then Prince of Wales, walking
arm in arm with Megan inside Saint George's Chapel at
Windsor Castle. While Meghan began her walk down the aisle,
she was accompanied by Charles for the latter part of
(07:17):
the procession. As Charles reached his son, Prince Harry, was
heard to say thank you, Pa. The moment came after
a late change to the wedding plans. Charles stepped in
to escort Meghan after it was confirmed that her father
Thomas Michael, would not attend the ceremony. The decision was
made less than forty eight hours before the wedding. Charles
had spoken with striking frankness about his fears for the
(07:40):
world his grandchildren will inherit as he continues to put
climate change at the center of his public work. In
a new ATV documentary Steve Blackshaw's Royal Arctic Challenge, the
King tells environmentalist Steve Baxall that he finds it very
frustrating that scientific warnings about global warming are still not
fully acted upon even as the planet approaches would he
calls a tipping point for change. The program looks back
(08:03):
at his nineteen seventy five journey to the Canadian Arctic,
when as Prince of Wales, he took part in an
under ice dive, now acknowledged by organizers as to have
been more dangerous than they realize at the time. Speaking
to Backsaw, the King says, these things are rescuable, but
it seems very peculiar to me that in other areas
everybody takes what the scientists are saying is absolutely vital truth.
(08:24):
But in this case, for some reason or other, it
is not so apparently simple. Reflecting on his decades long
campaign to highlight environmental dangers, he explains, you have to
just go on trying I find because I mind, for
what it's worth about the younger generations. To me, it's
not fair to leave them something in a far worse
state than I found it, if you know what I mean.
(08:44):
The whole point I've always felt is to improve it
for people so they don't have a ghastly legacy of
horror to have to deal with. That's why I spent
all these years, because I don't want to be accused
of my grandchildren of not doing anything about it. That
is the key describes his Arctic expedition nearly fifty years
ago as a formative experience, saying it helped shape his
determination to protect the natural world. Baxel now retraces that
(09:08):
journey to show how dramatically the region has changed in
the intervening decades, and spoke to the King before departing.
Recalling his own thirty minute dive some thirty feet beneath
the ice with physician and researcher Joseph Mcinness, the King
admits the challenge is no longer one he could undertake.
I'm afraid I've always tended to live life dangerously, he chuckles.
Thank God I was young in those days. I could
(09:30):
never have survived. Now I think I'm too old to
go back. He remembers that die It was a fascinating experience,
adding I wouldn't have missed it for anything. It was
amazing in those days. Thank god I saw the Arctic
as it should be. I learned a great deal from
going there. That's the tragedy now that it's all going
so fast. I was very glad I was able to
see it. I just want others to witness the same thing.
(09:53):
Reflecting on how wildlife is struggling to adapt to the
rapidly changing conditions. The King warns, this is what I
had been trying to warn about for years. We have forgotten.
I think that we are as well totally connected with nature.
The problem is trying to rediscover this link. What we
do to nature is fundamentally a disaster for ourselves. Steve
Basor's Royal Arctic Challenges scheduled to air on ITV one
(10:15):
at nine pm. And there you have it. If you'd
like to email us and addresses the Palace intrigu at
gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify, Apple or
the app of your choice, and check us out on Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube are all over the place. Come by and say hi, Hey,
Mark Francis my thanks to John mcdermy. This is Palace
Intrigue and good times.
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