Prince William’s Shock Interview: Fit for Purpose or Fit for Battle?

Prince William’s candid comments in a travel show interview have ignited a royal firestorm. Speaking with Eugene Levy, William said he wants to avoid the mistakes of his parents—and openly questioned whether the monarchy, in its current form, is still “fit for purpose.”

Royal expert Tom Sykes calls it the clearest sign yet of a deep rift between the Prince and his father, King Charles. Deep Crown weighs in on William’s sudden ruthlessness, while Sky News explores how “change” has become William’s quiet manifesto.

Meanwhile, King Charles reacts to the tragic Yom Kippur attack in Manchester, Aunt Sophie shines a light on sexual violence in the Congo, and Thomas Markle says he’s safe—and watching Charlie Chan movies—despite what Samantha Markle claimed. 


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Calorougus, Shark, Media.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Ballo and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host,
Mark Francis. There are plenty of reactions to Prince William's
interview with Eugene Levy that he wants to avoid making
the same mistakes as his parents. In The Royalist, Tom
Sykes writes how he has been reporting for months on
how King Charles and Prince William have secretly been enduring
an intensely strained relationship and are at loggerheads over the

(00:38):
direction of the monarchy. The King's team have denied and
sought to rubbish my revelations in the pages of craven
British medium. So I must say it is with some
satisfaction that I observe we now have chapter and verse
on this matter from the Prince of Wales himself, who
at one stage openly questions whether the monarchy in its
present state is fit for purpose. This is astonishing stuf

(01:00):
and is the pathology of decades of resentment of his father,
which has exploded in spectacular style recently over charles appalling
handling of the Harry and Andrew crises. William openly talked
about his reign in an astounding breach of protocol that
is likely to wound his father deeply. It will be
seen by many as high level acknowledgment of the open
secret that the King, who has cancer is not expected

(01:22):
to live many years, hence in an undisguised rebuke to
his father that will stoke fears that relations between the
two are even worse than the royalists have been reporting.
William said that changes that need to happen, and added,
tradition has a huge part in all of this, but
there's also points where you look at tradition and go
is that still fit for purpose? Today? Sikes wrote a

(01:43):
second piece reacting to the criticism of his first column.
In this one, he writes, when I say William is ruthless, obstinate,
and challenging his father's anachronistic and weak style, while we
need kings to be ruthless, stubborn, and not content to
have the supreme friends of the world's most famous pedophile
appear alongside them at church on Christmas Day, William's comments

(02:03):
about his parents are not a million miles away from Harry's.
In the twenty twenty one Apple TV Plus series The
Me You Can't See, where Harry recalled his father saying
to both boys at unhappy moments during their childhood, well,
it was like that for me, so it's going to
be like that for you. William is more tactful, but
stripped back William's measured and deliberately non inflammatory language. And

(02:24):
you see at the core that both men believe they
were profoundly traumatized by their upbringings. Royal expert Phil Dampierre
tells the Express the King may be slightly taken aback
by the frankness with which William has spoken. He may
be slightly upset that William has said that he made mistakes,
but they are undeniable. We will know that his first
marriage didn't work, and sadly there are always consequences from that.

(02:48):
Royal inside a deep Crown adds. One is to ask
whether this new William is ruthless. Surprisingly so, perhaps at
least compared with the cautious Charles we watched for decades.
But I don't think it is Mary. It is clarity.
He knows exactly what he wants to do, and he
is no longer afraid to assert it. That determination feels
very much like his grandmother's influence. Elizabeth instilled in him

(03:10):
the lesson that monarchy is not for the faint of heart.
One must project confidence or risk being diminished. Of course,
the irony is a For years, William was labeled as lazy,
too fond of the country life, too reluctant to shoulder
a full schedule. What we are seeing now is almost
a complete reversal. A prince who is exacting with his staff,
determined to set his standards, and willing to test his

(03:30):
voice in public. Whether the public warms to that or
bristles at it remains to be seen. But I do
not think this is a man hiding any longer behind duty.
He is showing us the king he intends to be.
For Skye News, Rhianna Mills writes over a paint of
cider with his pet dog Orler, by his feet, Prince
William sets out in one sentence his manifesto for the monarchy.

(03:52):
Change is on my agenda. The setting and the choice
of platform for it a travel series where a Hollywood
actor could not feel more unexps and we are told
it wasn't necessarily planned to happen that way. Those close
to William would say it's the most publicly vulnerable we
have seen him. What does change really mean Fewer garden parties,
ditching the ermine robes, less ribbon cutting and blank and veiling.

(04:15):
That is all leys clear, But just the fact that
we have now seen William exactly say it is hugely significant.
Why well, you have to remember this is a family
who don't like to talk publicly about transition. Remember that
death and mourning come hand in hand with a change
of rain, and there's the public reaction to talking about it.
He still makes clear that he respects tradition, but his

(04:36):
source has told me he is not afraid to ask
why certain things happen and question if it's really fit.
For now we have seen it with his approach to
the Duchy of Cornwall, and apparently the worst answer you
can give him is, well, we've always done it that
way more palers, It's just the moment. King Charles has
expressed a deep sorrow following a deadly attack outside of

(04:58):
synagogue in Manchester on Earth kippurr. Two people were killed
and several others injured when a car was reportedly driven
at members of the public outside the Heaton Park Hebrew
Congregation synagogue on October second. Man was also stabbed in
a security guard attacked before Greater Manchester Police declared a
major incident. The suspected attacker was later shot by armed officers.

(05:21):
In a statement released through Buckingham Palace, the King said,
my wife and I have been deeply shocked and sad
to learn of the horrific attack in Manchester, especially on
such a significant day for the Jewish community. Our thoughts
and prayers with all those affected by this appalling incident,
and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services.
The Prince and Princess of Way was also released a

(05:42):
joint message signed WNC saying our thoughts are with the
victims and the families of the terrible attack at Heaton
Park Synagogue. The fact that the strategy occurred on the
Young Kimpurr, the holyest day in the Jewish calendar, makes
it all the more shocking. We are thinking of the
entire community, as well as the emergency responders who attended
this terrible incident. Aunt Sophie the Secret Weapon carried out

(06:05):
a four day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo,
traveling under tight security, to highlight the devastating use of
sexual violence as a weapon of war. The Duchess said
her aim was to shine a light on the issue
and to recognize the efforts of those supporting survivors. She
began her trip in Benny, in the conflict ridden east
of the country, where she listened to deeply distressing accounts

(06:28):
from women and girls, including a sixteen year older said
she had been assaulted by a police officer and another
who was attacked while fleeing rebel controlled areas. On Wednesday,
the Duchess visited the Pansy Clinican Conchaza, where she observed
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr Dennis mcguigee operate on a
five year old girl. Afterwards, she told reporters you have
to really question yourself and go how can we have

(06:50):
reached a point where rape is just accepted as a
part of daily life. She added, So it's horrible to
hear their stories, but each one deserves to be told,
and each one deserves recognition. I just wish we didn't
have to hear them, but it's important that we do.
I think you have to allow this to get under
your skin, and there is only one way to achieve that.
You only have to go and see it. For yourself.

(07:10):
You have to understand the environment in which these people
are living in. Sit with these people where they come from.
Don't make them come to you. You have to go
to them. Thomas Mikel has denied claims from his daughter
Samantha that he was left trapped after the powerful earthquake
that struck the Philippines this week. Samantha Michael had written
on her private ex account that her father was stuck
on the nineteenth floor of a building following the six

(07:32):
point nine magnitude quake, which killed at least seventy two
people and injured more than two hundred. She added a
blistering attack on her half system Megan, the Duchess of Sussex,
accusing her of being to blame for their father's situation.
But speaking to TMZ, Thomas Michael said there was no
truth to the suggestion he was in danger. The epicenter
was one hundred miles from here, he explained, confirming that

(07:53):
his hotel was not affected by the tremor. He went on,
I'm currently sitting on the couch in my hotel room
with my feet kicked up and watching movies. I'm quite comfortable,
and there you have it. If you'd like to email
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(08:14):
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