Speaker 1: Calarugus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I
Speaker 1: am your host, Mark Francis. Royal fans are convinced that
Speaker 1: football legend David Beckham is on the verge of receiving
Speaker 1: a knighthood after his appearance at the Buckingham Palace state banquet.
Speaker 1: David and his wife Victoria Beckham were seen hand in
Speaker 1: hand as they walked through the palace alongside King Charles
Speaker 1: and Queen Camilla, with around one hundred and fifty other
Speaker 1: distinguished guests in attendance. It's believed that David and Victoria
Speaker 1: were invited to the banquet partly due to David's role
Speaker 1: as an ambassador for the Carter World Cup in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two. Among the buzz of the evening, one fan
Speaker 1: noted the relatability of Victoria Beckham, commenting on her slightly
Speaker 1: nervous demeanor in contrast to the regal ambience. Meanwhile, David
Speaker 1: Beckham was described as looking decidedly to the manor born
Speaker 1: regal and handsome. Wet blanket and former Royal Paul Burrell
Speaker 1: said we haven't seen David Beckham knighted yet because a
Speaker 1: he's not old enough and b hasn't earned his stripes yet.
Speaker 1: And see he's still a very commercial world. David Beckham
Speaker 1: is everywhere. He's sponsoring and commercializing himself. Obviously this is
Speaker 1: the end of his career, and once this phase is over,
Speaker 1: the commercial phase, and he goes back into charitable work.
Speaker 1: Because you've seen him with William, you've seen him with
Speaker 1: the King. He's obviously been fast tracked for a knighthood,
Speaker 1: but not just yet. And they're keeping him just dangling
Speaker 1: for a while because you know they're waiting to see
Speaker 1: what happens. I think he is an excellent ambassador, not
Speaker 1: only for charitable foundations but for our country. I think
Speaker 1: he's shown his worth and I'm expecting it. Of course
Speaker 1: it's going to happen. The question is when when will
Speaker 1: the King finally say it's time for David to receive
Speaker 1: his knighthood. I think he has to put some more
Speaker 1: work into the King's trust, and I think he'll be
Speaker 1: seen many more times with the King and William before
Speaker 1: that honor comes his way. The Times took a long
Speaker 1: look at the tale of King Charles and Prince Andrew's
Speaker 1: rocky relationship, saying it reads like a shape experience drama
Speaker 1: with a side of reality TV flare. From the start,
Speaker 1: the brothers were cast in wildly different molds, Charles the sensitive,
Speaker 1: intellectual air and Andrew the robust, indulgent spare. Yet their
Speaker 1: diverging paths have now accommodated in a bitter rift that
Speaker 1: has sunk to new depths, with Charles cutting Andrew off financially.
Speaker 1: Born when Charles was eleven, Andrew was the Queen's favorite,
Speaker 1: a role cemented by her ability to spend more time
Speaker 1: with him during his childhood than she had with her
Speaker 1: eldest son. While Charles struggled through a lonely upbringing punctuated
Speaker 1: by a slip of beatings at Gordonston and a yearning
Speaker 1: for parental affection, Andrew flourished as the family's golden boy,
Speaker 1: charming society as the dashing playboy prince. Even Philip called
Speaker 1: him a natural boss, though that assessment didn't include any
Speaker 1: glowing references to his intellect. Fast forward to today, and
Speaker 1: the brothers couldn't be more estranged. The Epstein scandal and
Speaker 1: Andrew's disastrous attempt at clearing his name during a newsnight
Speaker 1: interview was the turning point. While their mother Queen Elizabeth
Speaker 1: I stood by Andrew, accompanying him on rides and to church.
Speaker 1: Charles clearly sees his brother as a liability to the
Speaker 1: institution he now leads. The fallout has been brutal. Andrew
Speaker 1: has been stripped of his military titles. Royal duties are
Speaker 1: now financial support the final battleground, Royal Lodge. Andrew's Windsor
Speaker 1: estate least on highly favorable terms but increasingly expensive to maintain.
Speaker 1: Charles has been pushing for Andrew to downsize to Frogmore Cottage,
Speaker 1: ironically the Sussex's former residents, adding a sting of poetic
Speaker 1: justice to the drama. Andrew, however, has reportedly scrounged up
Speaker 1: funds to stave off a viction for now, but his
Speaker 1: financial future remains precarious. Their differences have long been stark.
Speaker 1: Charles the thoughtful conservationist and amateur water colorist versus Andrew,
Speaker 1: the brash helicopter hopping party prints. One agonizes over humanity's
Speaker 1: ecological fate. The other once used public funds to charter
Speaker 1: a flight for lunch with friends. Yet, until Andrew's public disgrace,
Speaker 1: their paths rarely collided. Now, Charles seems determined to relegate
Speaker 1: his brother to the background of royal life, leaving Andrew
Speaker 1: clinging to the remnants of his former privileges. As Christmas
Speaker 1: at Standringham approaches, a family gathering might offer an opportunity
Speaker 1: for reconciliation, but don't hold your breath for Charles. The
Speaker 1: institution of the monarchy comes first, and this little room
Speaker 1: for forgiveness when the stakes of the crown's reputation, Shakespeare
Speaker 1: himself would struggle to script a more tangled royal rivalry.
Speaker 1: Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are reportedly making frequent visits
Speaker 1: to their father, Prince Andrew, at Royal Lodge Windsor, often
Speaker 1: accompanied by their children, to lift his spirits. According to
Speaker 1: Hello magazine, the sisters have been taking turns spending weekends
Speaker 1: with Andrew, a marked increase in their time spent with
Speaker 1: him in recent years. A source shared the girls take
Speaker 1: their grandchildren to visit him most weekends. They are quite
Speaker 1: close to their father. They seem to be quite protective
Speaker 1: towards him. The visits include family bonding activities with Andrew
Speaker 1: teaching Beatrice's three year old daughter Sienna to ride horses,
Speaker 1: an echo of the late Queen Elizabeth's passion for equestrian
Speaker 1: pursuits tell us Intrigo, be right back while we all
Speaker 1: wait for Megan Michael's return to podcasting. Denmark's Crown Princess
Speaker 1: Mary is the latest royal to step into audio production,
Speaker 1: announcing her new podcast in an Instagram post featuring her
Speaker 1: sporting earphones and holding a phone, the fifty two year
Speaker 1: old royal, who's already an avid listener, shared, I often
Speaker 1: listen when I have to move from one place to another.
Speaker 1: Some days I'm in the mood for entertainment, and other
Speaker 1: days I use it to gain knowledge and new input.
Speaker 1: Produced by her Mary Foundation, the podcasts first three episodes
Speaker 1: tackle the subject of youth loneliness, aiming to spark awareness
Speaker 1: and conversation about the issue. Mary isn't the only royal
Speaker 1: making waves in the podcasting sphere. Queen Camilla of Britain
Speaker 1: hosts The Queen's reading Room podcast, where she dives into
Speaker 1: the world of literature. It seems Prince William has found
Speaker 1: himself caught in a clash of cultures. On one side,
Speaker 1: the tradition of stiff upper lip royal competition, and on
Speaker 1: the other the cutthroat world of Middleton family gain Knights.
Speaker 1: Royal biographer Christopher Anderson has revealed that the late Queen
Speaker 1: Elizabeth loved a good contest, from Ascot to the Highland Games,
Speaker 1: while her descendants have shown their metal in pursuits like polo,
Speaker 1: equestrian sports, and even carriage driving. But apparently none of
Speaker 1: this quite prepared William for the Middleton's clan's ruthless approach
Speaker 1: to post dinner card games. The game in question Racing Demon,
Speaker 1: a fast paced card game that has the Middleton de
Speaker 1: vying for victory as if crown were at stake. Kate's
Speaker 1: younger brother James, spilled the tea on The Dog Podcast,
Speaker 1: recounting how William often finds clever ways to opt out.
Speaker 1: According to James, Ella, his late dog, was a particularly
Speaker 1: convenient excuse. Does Ella need a walk? William would ask
Speaker 1: before the cards even hit the table, much to the
Speaker 1: knowing amusement of the Middleton siblings. James recalls that William,
Speaker 1: despite his Royal military training and inherent competitive streak, seems
Speaker 1: perfectly content to lose early and escape the chaos. After
Speaker 1: his quick defeat, he'd retreat to curdle Ella, who, in
Speaker 1: William's eyes, was likely the real winner of the evening.
Speaker 1: Now with Ella no longer around, one can only imagine
Speaker 1: William's new strategies to dodge middle and Game nine intensity.
Speaker 1: Perhaps he will suddenly remember some urgent paperwork for the
Speaker 1: Duchy of Cornwall and there You haven't plan to emails,
Speaker 1: so addresses the Palace Centric at gmail dot com. Please
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Speaker 1: If you're enjoying the show, I'm Mark Francis My thanks
Speaker 1: to John McDermott, This Palace Intrigue and good damn