"The Week Compassion Died: Father Loses Leg as Daughter Sells Chocolate" - The week in royal news with Mark Francis

Harry addresses Canadian real estate professionals for $499 a pop about "service and leadership"—two concepts he abandoned when he quit royal duties. Meghan's Netflix holiday special drops to catastrophic reviews: Independent gives it one star, Telegraph calls it "quite mad and a little bit sad," Daily Mail awards zero stars citing "syrupy hypocrisy and deep lack of self-awareness." Harry's first speaking part on the show? Slagging off a salad. Tina Brown delivers brutal assessment: "I have never seen anybody make as many mistakes as Meghan has, and Harry is not the brightest bulb either. They are pariahs everywhere."

BREAKING: Meghan's father Thomas Markle undergoes emergency leg amputation in Philippines ICU—blood clot turned his foot "blue and then black." His son pleads: "My only wish is that Meghan shows my father some compassion. He is literally fighting for his life." Meghan's spokesman declines to comment. As Tom Sykes writes: "Inconveniently, as the Duchess urged viewers to craft sentimental ornaments and lean into family, her father was lying in ICU after three-hour emergency operation, without any contact from her." Harry appears on Colbert making Trump jokes: "I hear you elected a king." Meghan promotes $12 chocolate bars on Instagram as father fights for life. Andrew formally stripped of final honours—Order of the Garter and Royal Victorian Order cancelled, names "erased from the Register." Demands £75 million to leave Royal Lodge.

William and Kate front-center for German state visit—functioning as "present monarchy" while Charles undergoes treatment. Kate prepares "love in all its forms" carol concert for tonight. Plus: Deep Crown on transactional compassion, terrible Netflix reviews, and the week brand management overtook basic human decency.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Calarogu Shark Media. Hi, and welcome to Pallace Weekly, where
we do a roundup of the week's top stories. If
you want the full versions of these stories, please check
out our daily episodes of Pallace Intrigue. I'm your host,
Mark Francis Let's dive in. Prince Harry stood before Canadian

(00:26):
real estate professionals on Monday, delivering what organizers called a
powerful message of service and leadership to delegates who paid
up to four hundred and ninety nine dollars for the
privilege of hearing him speak. The Duke of Sussex, appearing
at the Ontario Real Estate Association Powerhouse conference, was billed
as humanitarian, mental health advocate, environmentalists and military combat veteran,

(00:50):
though notably organizers clarify that Harry won't be speaking about
real estate. Richard Eden writes in The Daily Mail that
Harry's experience of the Canadian housing market has it's been
largely confined to visits to the three bedroom home in
Toronto where Meghan lived while she was filming suits. One
Royal source told Eden rather pointedly, Harry and Meghan gave

(01:10):
up their message of service and leadership when they left
Britain and their royal duties behind. Presumably they will now
give speeches to whoever pays them our royal inside a
deep crown observed. One would think that, with Meghan's holiday
special premiering her grand Netflix moment, carefully orchestrated and no
doubt expensively produced, the Sussex strategy might involve actually focusing

(01:32):
attention on it. Instead, we have Harry addressing Canadian real
estate professionals about service and leadership, two concepts he spectacularly
abandoned when he departed his actual role serving crown and country.
The timing is almost comically inept. The timing was particularly
notable as Meghan's Netflix holiday special with Love Meghan Holiday Celebration,

(01:53):
dropped on Tuesday, to reviews that can only be described
as catastrophic. The Independent awarded it one star, calling it
not fun, enjoyable or even aspirational, and noting that this
most markedly of Netflix content tests the limit of my
holiday cheer. The Telegraphs Anieta Sing awarded it one star
out of five, writing these specialists quite mad and a

(02:15):
little bit sad, noted Megan's determination to ignore elephants in
the room, Christmas trees are able to really encapsulate your
family story, she says, but I'm not sure how going
non contact with your father, moving five thousand miles away
from Britain because your husband hates his entire family, and
then giving a bombshell interview accusing your in laws of

(02:35):
being racists can be conveyed in baubles. The Daily Mail's
Annabel Fenwick Elliott issued the bluntest verdict of what in
zero starts out at five. It's the syrupe, hypocrisy and
our hostess's deep lack of self awareness that continue to
make her and this show so unlikable. If only she
could lean into her wasp bish type a personality, pok

(02:58):
a little fun at herself, even she could just about
be endearing in a Monica from Friends sort of way.
The Times Hilary Rose labeled the special unfathomable, describing dialogue
that left her feeling as though the English language had
been fed through Google Translate and found wanting. Even The
Daily Star had a laugh, noting that Harry's first speaking
part on Meghan's show was used to slag off a salad.

(03:21):
Harry joins Meghan in the kitchener she prepares Christmas eve gumbo,
and when he takes the accompanying salad featuring the top
things my husband hates to eat fennel, black olives, pickled vegetables,
and beetroot, he remarks, Oh wow, that's like the anti salad.
There are not many things in the world that I
don't like, and they're all in that one bowl. The

(03:41):
special arrived just days after Meghan had been left devastated
by criticism of a Thanksgiving video in which she prepared
turkey with bare hands while wearing a gold ring and bracelet.
Rob Shooter reports that Meghan didn't imagine that the world
would drag her over at turkey, and that she feels
criticized no matter what she does more Palace in Just

(04:01):
a Moment. Meghan is also reportedly taking early legal advice
amid concerns that her title could one day be removed
under a future reign. According to Woman's Day, Meghan has
begun exploring potential legal avenues, with one source claiming she
may actually have a case. The source suggested her legal

(04:22):
team is examining whether the title may be considered part
of the commercial enterprise that she and Harry have developed
in California, adding if William even tries it. She thinks
it could prove that it's personal use the California courts
to defend a California business. Royal author Tina Brown delivered
a stark assessment of the Sussex's post royal life, telling

(04:43):
The New York Times, I have never seen anybody in
professional life make as many mistakes as Meghan has, and
unfortunately Harry is not the brightest bulb either. She added
that the couple are pariahs everywhere, noting that America was
supposed to be the place that paid the bills. Brown
expressed sympathy for Harry's position. What is said is that
Harry's very good at being a prince. He's charming, is upbeat,

(05:05):
he's attractive, he makes people happy when he walks into
a room, and I think he has realized too late
that he was born to be a prince. She suggested
his current ventures amount to just some guy doing pr
gigs while Meghan tries out her latest cooking idea or whatever.
Andrew mount Batten Windsor has been formally stripped of his
final remaining royal honors. The announcement published in the London

(05:27):
Gazette confirms that the King has ordered Andrew's appointment to
the Order of the Garta canceled and his membership of
the Royal Victorian Order revoked. The entry reads, the King
has directed that the appointment of Andrew Albert Christian Edward
mount Batton Windsor to be a Night Companion of the
Most Noble Order of the Garter, dated twenty three April
two thousand and six, shall be canceled in the null

(05:49):
and that his name shall be erased from the Register
of the said Order. With these honors now withdrawn, the
disgraced form of Royal rotines just one formal distinction, his
rank of Vice Admiral in the Royal Navy. Although the
government has pledged to remove that honor at the King's request,
it has not yet been acted upon. Royal biographer Tina

(06:10):
Brown has shared new light on the king's private worries
about his younger brother, writing, Charles, I am told is
not looking to punish his pampered brother to the point
he says that he can't cope. She added, if Charles
were not to pay his brother's bills and ensure a
certain level of comfort, then he may only have one
thing left to do. Andrew would have only his secrets
to sell. Andrew and Sarah are reportedly refusing to leave

(06:33):
Royal Lodge and making outrageous demands. According to schud Scoop,
Andrew has been telling people he wants seventy five million
pounds do we even think about moving out and has
requested a six or seven bedroom home at Sandringham with
continued access to a cook, a gardener, a housekeeper, a
driver and police protection. The Prince and Princess of Wales
have been front and center during the German state visit,

(06:56):
the first way German head of state in nearly three decades.
William and Kate represented the monarch at Heathrow Airport, officially
receiving President Frank Walter Steinmeier and his wife before accompanying
them to Windsor. Royal commentator Tracy Chevren noted, for the
third time this year William and Kate have been placed
in front and center of a state visit, demonstrating their

(07:17):
growing status at the heart of the monarchy. In his
sub stack, Deep Crown writes, the unspoken narrative is compelling.
Every carefully staged photograph, every diplomatic interaction whispers a message.
William is not just the future monarch in many essential respects,
William's already functioning as the present monarch. Prince William praised

(07:40):
Catherine during a visit to North Wales, remarking that behind
every average man there is an even better wife. The
comment came during an engagement at Youth Shared's, where he
heard about founder Scott Jenkinson's struggles with homelessness and addiction.
When Scott noted his wife's support in turning his life around,
William nodded and said, this is it. Behind every average man,
there was an even better wife. Catherine hosted her fifth

(08:04):
annual together at Christmas Carol Service at Westminster Abbey. This
year's event carried the theme of love in all its
forms and paid tribute to Catherine, the Duchess of Kent,
who died in September. Guests arriving at Westminster Abbey were
welcomed by eight young brass players from the Future Talent,
the music charity Catherine co founded. In a personal message
to the sixteen hundred guests, Catherine highlighted the importance of

(08:26):
checking in on loved ones at a time when life
can sometimes feel fragmented or uncertain. She reflected that Christmas
speaks of love taking form in the simplest, most human ways,
including small acts of kindness, the contribute to the beautiful
tapestry of life to which we all belong. The service
featured performances from Kate Winsor, Hannah Wantingham, Cubitul, Edge of

(08:46):
Four and Bestille's Dan Smith, with the Prince of Wales
delivering one of the readings. Prince George, Charlotte and Prince
Louis also attended. The week's most shocking development came when
Megan Michael was a strange father, Thomas Michael, underwent emergency
surgery to amputate his left leg below the knee after
a blood clot cut off circulation to his foot. His son,

(09:09):
Thomas Michael Junior, confirmed to The Daily Mail that the
eighty one year old former Hollywood lighting director was rushed
into surgery in the Philippines. My dad is being very brave.
His foot turned blue, then black. It happened very quickly.
There was no option. I was told the leg had
to be removed and it was a case of life
or death. One of his doctors said, the next two
or three days are critical. I would ask everyone around

(09:31):
the world to keep him in their thoughts. My only
wish is that Meghan shows my father some compassion. He
is literally fighting for his life. A spokesman for Meghan
declined to comment to The Royalist on her father's hospitalization
and amputation, a silence which, is to put it, mildly,
not helping matters. In The Royalist, Tom Sykes pulled no punches. Inconveniently,

(09:53):
as the Duchess of Sussex was urging viewers to craft
sentimental ornaments and lean into the solace of friends and family,
her father was lying in an intensive care unit in Cibou,
the Philippines, after a three hour emergency operation to remove
his foot and lower leg, without any contact from her
Sich's ads. Thomas Michael himself has conceded that he has
been foolish, vain and thoughtless over the years, but Megan's

(10:15):
refusal to forgive him at a timeless severe illness presents
a strategic problem for a daughter who has marketed herself
as the embodiment of compassion. This is, after all, the
man who raised her single handedly from the age of
eleven to eighteen, driving her to auditions, bankrolling private schooling.
Our Royal inside a deep crown wrote, the compassionate response
is remarkably simple. Pick up the telephone, send flowers, dispatch

(10:38):
a representative, something, anything that acknowledges basic human concern for
a parent in crisis. She won't. Of course, one hopes
I'm wrong, One hopes there has been private outreach. We're
not privy too. But the longer the silence extends, the
more it confirms what her critics have alleged all along,
that the compassion is transactional, performed only when cameras are
rolling and brand partnerships are at stake. More palas in

(11:02):
just a moment. As if the week couldn't get worse
for the Sussexes, Prince Harry prompted fresh controversy after making
pointed jokes about Donald Trump during an unannounced appearance on
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. When Colbert disputed Harry's
claims that Americans are obsessed with royalty, Harry delivered one
of the night's most talked about lines, Really, I hear

(11:24):
you elected a king. Harry continued by listing what he
would do to secure an imaginary Hallmark role. I'll record
a self tape, I'll fly myself to an audition, settle
a baseless lawsuit with the White House. All the things
you people in TV too deep, Crown writes in his
sub stack. What made the exercise particularly dispiriting wasn't the content,

(11:45):
which covered well trodden ground, but rather the unmistakable air
of diminishing returns that hung over the entire proceedings. One
notices these things. The media coverage was notably more muted
than his previous American television appearances. When once persona becomes
this predictable, this thoroughly rehearsed, the very authenticity one claims
to champion begins to ring hollow. As the Sussex's week

(12:09):
of absolutely terrible optics continues, Meghan took to Instagram to
promote her new chocolate bars. According to Vans tracking the launch,
all three varieties, priced at twelve dollars each has sold
out on the as ever website, where thein ours this
is the weak. Compassion died not metaphorically, not as a
vague concept, but as a concrete example of what happens

(12:30):
when brand management overtakes basic human decency. Her father lies
in intensive care, missing half his leg, a daughter who
has built her entire public persona around compassion and connection,
says nothing. A husband who claims to understand family estrangement
encourages reconciliation, but apparently only when it's convenient for the narrative.
Kate celebrated love in all its forms. At Westminster Abbey.

(12:53):
Meghan promotes chocolate bars while her father fights for his life.
The contrast could not be starker. The Institution and the dapts,
the Grifters Market, and somewhere in California someone is learning
that you can't package compassion in a twelve dollars chocolate bar,
no matter how ornate the floral packaging. And there you
have it. I'd like to email us our addresses the

(13:13):
Palace intrig At at gmail dot com. It's been a
busy week for everyone here at Palace Intrigue, and don't
forget today. We have our other shows out Crown and
Controversy and Crown and Controversy, King William, Prince Andrew. There's
several series and specials available now. Those shows are in
the show notes, or just search for Ground and Controversy now,

(13:34):
Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermot. This is Palace
Weekly in good terms.