November 1, 2025 • 9 mins
A website claims the Palace is sketching contingency plans in case of a Sussex split, with talk of a structured settlement and tight NDAs — a claim our Royal Insider pushes back on by stressing Harry’s determination to keep his family together.
Commentators suggest Meghan’s enthusiasm for her lifestyle venture has cooled after a downgraded Netflix deal; others warn Andrew’s saga risks pulling down the late Queen’s reputation. Theologians ponder whether a less religious William could reshape the monarchy’s purpose even after Charles’s successful Rome visit. For lighter fare, William and Catherine’s apple-bread banter in Northern Ireland charmed crowds, and Earthshot heads to Rio on Nov 5 with Kylie Minogue, Shawn Mendes, Gilberto Gil, and more — “the greatest Earthshot yet.”
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 is fully available now for everyone. Season 2 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 2 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!
Commentators suggest Meghan’s enthusiasm for her lifestyle venture has cooled after a downgraded Netflix deal; others warn Andrew’s saga risks pulling down the late Queen’s reputation. Theologians ponder whether a less religious William could reshape the monarchy’s purpose even after Charles’s successful Rome visit. For lighter fare, William and Catherine’s apple-bread banter in Northern Ireland charmed crowds, and Earthshot heads to Rio on Nov 5 with Kylie Minogue, Shawn Mendes, Gilberto Gil, and more — “the greatest Earthshot yet.”
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 is fully available now for everyone. Season 2 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 2 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. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I
am your host Mark Francis Radar Online, which tends to
be a little more gossipy than the British tabloids and
all that you debate how reliable, suggests the Palace is
making contingency plans should Harry and Meghan split up. According
(00:24):
to this insider, the Palace is quietly drawing up continuously
plans in the event of a split. The thought is
that Harry might push for a return to the UK,
but Meghan won't want to come back from the US,
and that schism is potentially dangerous, We're told. Courtiers are
said to be considering a Golden Handshake settlement, which would
be more generous than might be assumed, but heavily structured.
(00:45):
It would include a strict gagging order designed to prevent
further expose as of private life. It's like with Princess
Diana all over again, and in this time the language
will be tighter and the penalties for breaking it heavier.
The agreement would also grant Meghan the continued use of
her of Sussex title. The Palace sees it as a
face saving measure. Because tearing it away from her could
(01:06):
spark a media war. We asked our Royal Insider about
this and received an interesting response. The critical point, the
one these reports entirely miss, is Harry's lived experience. Having
lost his mother at such a vulnerable age, He understands
precisely the emotional devastation of growing up without a parent.
(01:26):
His entire approach to family is defined by ensuring his
children will never experience the profound separation he endured. The
very notion that he would create a scenario where his
children might be left without their mother or father is
antithetical to everything he has demonstrated about his character. In
The Daily Mail, Allison Boshoff writes, it seems Megan has
(01:47):
lost enthusiasm for her lifestyle, cooking jam, making wheeze. Part
of this dip and enthusiasm on Meghan's part could surely
be traced back to the sting that her and Harry's
hugely lucrative Netflix deal was renewed as a mere first
look rather than an overall deal in September. You could
read this in her face saving reference to being in
the same boat as the Obamas, who were similarly downgraded
(02:09):
by Netflix with their higher ground projects, because they were
also deemed to not be worth the money. In The Independent,
Andrew Lowney suggests Prince Andrew is in danger of dragging
the late Queen's name down with him. Lowney writes, since
her death in twenty twenty two, Elizabeth II has been
sanctified as not only the greatest monarch that the country
ever had, but as somewhat of remarkable acuity and perception
(02:32):
when it came to running the firm. Unfortunately, when it
came to Prince Andrew, who was commonly regarded as her
favored child, the Queen's good sense and sound judgment deserted her.
Andrew was very much his father's son, a Falkland's hero
whose tabloid reputation did him no harm in his family eyes, until,
of course, it became quite clear precisely what this behavior
had involved. Yet long before then, it was clear that
(02:55):
the Queen venerated the outdoorsy, hearty Andrew rather than the
more effet, Cambridge educated Charles and Edward, and in many
regards the best of the bunch was a woman, and
therefore not taken it seriously. To dote on a favored
child is one thing but to facilitate their increasingly rackety
lifestyle is another. While the Queen was alive, the stories
(03:16):
about her second son's behavior began to come to light,
especially after his disastrous would be exculpatory Newsnight interview in
twenty nineteen, which it is widely believed that she agreed
to allowing him to participate in with a view to
clearing his name in public. It did the opposite, and
while Andrew continued and continues steadfastly to deny the allegations
(03:38):
against him, his withdrawal from royal duties would have been
reluctantly authorized by his mother. Yet a more serious charge
against Elizabeth I is that when it became obvious that
the civil suit against the son had the potential to
become embarrassing, she bankrolled an out of court settlement that
he made to his accuser, Virginia Geoffrey, to the tune
of a considerable twelve million pounds. This was not only
(04:00):
a vast sum, given that there was no admission of
liability or guilt, but hush money on a scale more
associated with Banana republics than Britain. Make no mistake, this
is a crisis of existential magnitude. For the firm, the
danger of which they seem to have only just begun
waking up to. If they are seen it's too slow
or too inept to right the wrongs that Andrew has wrought,
(04:21):
then the tide of public opinion will do it for them,
and at that point all bets are off more palat
in just a moment. Last week's meeting between the King
and Pope was a nice moment, but in The Independent,
Catherine Pepinster wonders if it will matter in the long
term because of King William. Peppinster writes, as the King
(04:44):
prayed with Pope Leo in the Sistine Chapel in an
unprecedented display of Christian unity. I suspect some Vatican officials
will have breathed a sigh of relief. At one time,
there was considerable anxiety about what would happen when Charles
came to the throne, and one seeing a Vatican official
told that they considered his mother, Queen Elizabeth I, to
be the last Christian monarch. Those Vatican officials needn't have fretted.
(05:07):
The two huge volumes of Charles speeches as Prince of
Wales show a keen interest in faith no wonder then
that alongside the prayer service in the assisting chapel, the
Vatican decided to give him what is called a spiritual honour,
to be made a confrator of the Abbey of Saint Paul,
that the papal Basilica of Saint Paul's outside the walls,
and installed in a special chair with his royal coat
(05:29):
of arms. It will then be made available for the
King and his successes to use when they are in Rome.
Charles the third may well use it again, but William
the fifth there is little sign that the Prince of
Wales has much time for religion. Yes, he was hatched
and matched in the Church of England, with his christening
in the music room at Buckingham Palace and his wedding
to Cape Middleton at Westminster Abbey watched by millions around
(05:50):
the world, but there is a little sign of engagement
with religion other than those formal ceremonies. One formal religious
ceremony will soon start to loom over his life. His
father's wig will undoubtedly be much shorter than that of Elizabeth,
which is why clerics started talking about how William needed
to start thinking about his own crowning as soon as
his father's coronation was over. I know of at least
(06:11):
one clerical coronation expert who sent a detailed memo to
William's office about it, urging him to think about it
as soon as possible. The coronation has always been essentially
a religious service, involving anointing and receiving of Holy Communion
as well as the taking of oaths. Watching the nineteen
fifty two ceremony and that in twenty twenty three, you
can see that the key participant firmly believes in its
(06:33):
christian essence. It cannot be taken for granted that William
will that matters not only for the Church of England
but for all of us. A monarch with a belief
in something greater than themselves is in effect a signpost
to that greater thing. Without it, it is much harder
to see the monarchy having any profound purpose. Sometimes we
have some fun stories to share with you that wind
(06:54):
up having to wait because of breaking news. Before Andrew
gave up his titles and before Charles met with Leo,
kat and William rounded off a busy day of engagements
in Northern Ireland with a lighthearted baking challenge and long
Meadow Cider in County Armagh, where William's running commentary kept
everyone laughing. Invited to try their hand at potato apple bread,
(07:15):
the couple pulled on aprons and got to work as
baskets of apples were passed around, when him blast at
his first effort and told the mkiva family if we
are billing every apple, you're going to have to start helping.
We'll be here a while. When what should own? A
Pat mckevah called out, I like mine thick. William shot back,
you'll get what you're given, then turned to his wife,
who was quickly finding her rhythm, and teased do keep
(07:36):
up rolling out his dough. The prince looked at the
decidedly rectangular shape and quipped two more laughter a circle.
Oh you tell me if you look this way, it
looks like a circle. This is a new variety. He
agreed with staff that his creation was more of a
rectangle circle, while the princess produced a neat, perfectly round sheet,
prompting William to exclaim, how does that look like a
circle when this is a rectangle. Social media reaction to
(07:58):
the day's lighter moments was enthusiastic Prince Williams showing off
his cooking baking skills will never not be funny. His
comments are hilarious, one user. Another added, I just love
these two so authentic, while a third joked if Prince
William opens up a royal participty, I'm first in the queue.
A fourth praise the pairs were poor. The future King
and future Queen have a great sense of humor. Prince
(08:21):
William's Earth Shot Prize is said to light up a
Rio next month with a star studded celebration of innovation
and sustainability. Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey has lent his voice
to the official trailer for this year's ceremony, declaring when
the stakes are highest, that's when heroes rise. The event,
taking place on November fifth, will feature performances from Kylie
(08:42):
Minoguan Sewn Mendes joining the Prince of Wales for what
organizer's promise will be the greatest earth Shot yet. The
Knight's lineup also includes Brazilian music legend Gilberto gil performing
alongside Grammy nominee Anita, with television host Luciano Huck serving
as MC, and football great Cufu making a special appearance
(09:04):
in a statement minoguez at Brazil. I'm coming back. It's
a privilege an honor to be part of the Earth
Shop Prize in Rio on stage with the people and
the ideas that could save our planet now. In it's
fifty year of the earth Shop Prize awards one point
three million dollars to each of five winners developing groundbreaking
solutions in the categories of protecting nature, cleaning the air,
reviving oceans, building a waste free world, and fixing the climate.
(09:27):
William will arrive in Rio on November three for several
days of events before attending the UN Climate Conference in
Blamon November sixth. The Princess of Wales will not be
attending this year's ceremony and they have it to email
us addresses the Palace Intry get gmail on dot com,
please follow us on Spotify, Apple or all your favorite apps.
I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is
(09:49):
Palace Entry and Contents
Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I
am your host Mark Francis Radar Online, which tends to
be a little more gossipy than the British tabloids and
all that you debate how reliable, suggests the Palace is
making contingency plans should Harry and Meghan split up. According
(00:24):
to this insider, the Palace is quietly drawing up continuously
plans in the event of a split. The thought is
that Harry might push for a return to the UK,
but Meghan won't want to come back from the US,
and that schism is potentially dangerous, We're told. Courtiers are
said to be considering a Golden Handshake settlement, which would
be more generous than might be assumed, but heavily structured.
(00:45):
It would include a strict gagging order designed to prevent
further expose as of private life. It's like with Princess
Diana all over again, and in this time the language
will be tighter and the penalties for breaking it heavier.
The agreement would also grant Meghan the continued use of
her of Sussex title. The Palace sees it as a
face saving measure. Because tearing it away from her could
(01:06):
spark a media war. We asked our Royal Insider about
this and received an interesting response. The critical point, the
one these reports entirely miss, is Harry's lived experience. Having
lost his mother at such a vulnerable age, He understands
precisely the emotional devastation of growing up without a parent.
(01:26):
His entire approach to family is defined by ensuring his
children will never experience the profound separation he endured. The
very notion that he would create a scenario where his
children might be left without their mother or father is
antithetical to everything he has demonstrated about his character. In
The Daily Mail, Allison Boshoff writes, it seems Megan has
(01:47):
lost enthusiasm for her lifestyle, cooking jam, making wheeze. Part
of this dip and enthusiasm on Meghan's part could surely
be traced back to the sting that her and Harry's
hugely lucrative Netflix deal was renewed as a mere first
look rather than an overall deal in September. You could
read this in her face saving reference to being in
the same boat as the Obamas, who were similarly downgraded
(02:09):
by Netflix with their higher ground projects, because they were
also deemed to not be worth the money. In The Independent,
Andrew Lowney suggests Prince Andrew is in danger of dragging
the late Queen's name down with him. Lowney writes, since
her death in twenty twenty two, Elizabeth II has been
sanctified as not only the greatest monarch that the country
ever had, but as somewhat of remarkable acuity and perception
(02:32):
when it came to running the firm. Unfortunately, when it
came to Prince Andrew, who was commonly regarded as her
favored child, the Queen's good sense and sound judgment deserted her.
Andrew was very much his father's son, a Falkland's hero
whose tabloid reputation did him no harm in his family eyes, until,
of course, it became quite clear precisely what this behavior
had involved. Yet long before then, it was clear that
(02:55):
the Queen venerated the outdoorsy, hearty Andrew rather than the
more effet, Cambridge educated Charles and Edward, and in many
regards the best of the bunch was a woman, and
therefore not taken it seriously. To dote on a favored
child is one thing but to facilitate their increasingly rackety
lifestyle is another. While the Queen was alive, the stories
(03:16):
about her second son's behavior began to come to light,
especially after his disastrous would be exculpatory Newsnight interview in
twenty nineteen, which it is widely believed that she agreed
to allowing him to participate in with a view to
clearing his name in public. It did the opposite, and
while Andrew continued and continues steadfastly to deny the allegations
(03:38):
against him, his withdrawal from royal duties would have been
reluctantly authorized by his mother. Yet a more serious charge
against Elizabeth I is that when it became obvious that
the civil suit against the son had the potential to
become embarrassing, she bankrolled an out of court settlement that
he made to his accuser, Virginia Geoffrey, to the tune
of a considerable twelve million pounds. This was not only
(04:00):
a vast sum, given that there was no admission of
liability or guilt, but hush money on a scale more
associated with Banana republics than Britain. Make no mistake, this
is a crisis of existential magnitude. For the firm, the
danger of which they seem to have only just begun
waking up to. If they are seen it's too slow
or too inept to right the wrongs that Andrew has wrought,
(04:21):
then the tide of public opinion will do it for them,
and at that point all bets are off more palat
in just a moment. Last week's meeting between the King
and Pope was a nice moment, but in The Independent,
Catherine Pepinster wonders if it will matter in the long
term because of King William. Peppinster writes, as the King
(04:44):
prayed with Pope Leo in the Sistine Chapel in an
unprecedented display of Christian unity. I suspect some Vatican officials
will have breathed a sigh of relief. At one time,
there was considerable anxiety about what would happen when Charles
came to the throne, and one seeing a Vatican official
told that they considered his mother, Queen Elizabeth I, to
be the last Christian monarch. Those Vatican officials needn't have fretted.
(05:07):
The two huge volumes of Charles speeches as Prince of
Wales show a keen interest in faith no wonder then
that alongside the prayer service in the assisting chapel, the
Vatican decided to give him what is called a spiritual honour,
to be made a confrator of the Abbey of Saint Paul,
that the papal Basilica of Saint Paul's outside the walls,
and installed in a special chair with his royal coat
(05:29):
of arms. It will then be made available for the
King and his successes to use when they are in Rome.
Charles the third may well use it again, but William
the fifth there is little sign that the Prince of
Wales has much time for religion. Yes, he was hatched
and matched in the Church of England, with his christening
in the music room at Buckingham Palace and his wedding
to Cape Middleton at Westminster Abbey watched by millions around
(05:50):
the world, but there is a little sign of engagement
with religion other than those formal ceremonies. One formal religious
ceremony will soon start to loom over his life. His
father's wig will undoubtedly be much shorter than that of Elizabeth,
which is why clerics started talking about how William needed
to start thinking about his own crowning as soon as
his father's coronation was over. I know of at least
(06:11):
one clerical coronation expert who sent a detailed memo to
William's office about it, urging him to think about it
as soon as possible. The coronation has always been essentially
a religious service, involving anointing and receiving of Holy Communion
as well as the taking of oaths. Watching the nineteen
fifty two ceremony and that in twenty twenty three, you
can see that the key participant firmly believes in its
(06:33):
christian essence. It cannot be taken for granted that William
will that matters not only for the Church of England
but for all of us. A monarch with a belief
in something greater than themselves is in effect a signpost
to that greater thing. Without it, it is much harder
to see the monarchy having any profound purpose. Sometimes we
have some fun stories to share with you that wind
(06:54):
up having to wait because of breaking news. Before Andrew
gave up his titles and before Charles met with Leo,
kat and William rounded off a busy day of engagements
in Northern Ireland with a lighthearted baking challenge and long
Meadow Cider in County Armagh, where William's running commentary kept
everyone laughing. Invited to try their hand at potato apple bread,
(07:15):
the couple pulled on aprons and got to work as
baskets of apples were passed around, when him blast at
his first effort and told the mkiva family if we
are billing every apple, you're going to have to start helping.
We'll be here a while. When what should own? A
Pat mckevah called out, I like mine thick. William shot back,
you'll get what you're given, then turned to his wife,
who was quickly finding her rhythm, and teased do keep
(07:36):
up rolling out his dough. The prince looked at the
decidedly rectangular shape and quipped two more laughter a circle.
Oh you tell me if you look this way, it
looks like a circle. This is a new variety. He
agreed with staff that his creation was more of a
rectangle circle, while the princess produced a neat, perfectly round sheet,
prompting William to exclaim, how does that look like a
circle when this is a rectangle. Social media reaction to
(07:58):
the day's lighter moments was enthusiastic Prince Williams showing off
his cooking baking skills will never not be funny. His
comments are hilarious, one user. Another added, I just love
these two so authentic, while a third joked if Prince
William opens up a royal participty, I'm first in the queue.
A fourth praise the pairs were poor. The future King
and future Queen have a great sense of humor. Prince
(08:21):
William's Earth Shot Prize is said to light up a
Rio next month with a star studded celebration of innovation
and sustainability. Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey has lent his voice
to the official trailer for this year's ceremony, declaring when
the stakes are highest, that's when heroes rise. The event,
taking place on November fifth, will feature performances from Kylie
(08:42):
Minoguan Sewn Mendes joining the Prince of Wales for what
organizer's promise will be the greatest earth Shot yet. The
Knight's lineup also includes Brazilian music legend Gilberto gil performing
alongside Grammy nominee Anita, with television host Luciano Huck serving
as MC, and football great Cufu making a special appearance
(09:04):
in a statement minoguez at Brazil. I'm coming back. It's
a privilege an honor to be part of the Earth
Shop Prize in Rio on stage with the people and
the ideas that could save our planet now. In it's
fifty year of the earth Shop Prize awards one point
three million dollars to each of five winners developing groundbreaking
solutions in the categories of protecting nature, cleaning the air,
reviving oceans, building a waste free world, and fixing the climate.
(09:27):
William will arrive in Rio on November three for several
days of events before attending the UN Climate Conference in
Blamon November sixth. The Princess of Wales will not be
attending this year's ceremony and they have it to email
us addresses the Palace Intry get gmail on dot com,
please follow us on Spotify, Apple or all your favorite apps.
I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is
(09:49):
Palace Entry and Contents
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