Meghan Goes ‘MIA’ When ‘Times Are Tough’ For Harry - Doesn't Want To Be ‘On The Arm Of A Loser’

Coming up on this week's Royal Exclusive, has the King's patience finally snapped over Prince Harry's chaotic UK return?The truth behind Prince Andrew's infamous Pizza Express alibi, plus why Prince William says his dad hates football.Welcome to the show.We start with the ultimate royal rejection.Palace aides say the King's patience has been tested beyond endurance after a dithering Prince Harry missed a strict deadline to stay at Buckingham Palace, sparking a furious briefing war over whether the Duke was set up to fail, and to add to insult to injury.Harry had to endure a crushing defeat in his lawsuit against the Mail, leaving his reputation and possibly finances in ruins.

Plus, Andrew's infamous pizza express alibi is back in the headlines after an extraordinary investigation into whether he really was in Woking all those years ago.Are we any closer to knowing the truth?We'll also look at how Prince William has dropped his dad right in it ahead of England's massive World Cup clash.I'm Matt Wilkinson, Royal Editor of The Sun, and joining me to unpack it all, our Royal Editor at The Times, Kate Mansi, and host of podcast, Unfiltered, Kinsey Schofield.Welcome to you both.Look, guys, finally, after weeks and weeks and weeks of chat, the circus has rolled into town.

Within a few short hours, OK, Harry had been accused of causing the King's patients to snap and he lost what is ultimately a humiliating £50 million court case.For many years, you know, we respected Harry as Captain Harry Wales, OK, when he served in the army.Surely now he's just becoming Captain Chaos.Is this chaos and drama that we're seeing, just within a few short hours of you arriving, all the drama, the noise, is that just what we're seeing?we now have to expect.Is that just part of the deal for every time Harry comes to these shores?

Well, I don't think that...thought that it would... reflect so poorly on him this visit.I'm under the impression that he thought that this was going to be his redemption tour.And he had all of these engagements lined up because he wanted positive headlines.But the reality is he just can't get out of his own way.And I think that he acts without thinking ultimately about the consequences.

And, you know, you ask yourself, do you have the right team around you that walks you through every possibility?If you do A, you know, This is the way that it might unfold for you and you might embarrass yourself.But it does seem like chaos continues to follow him.I think we've seen him trying to rebuild his brand over the last six to 12 months between Ukraine, the letter he wrote in the New Statesman regarding anti -Semitism in the UK.He wants to be taken as a serious character.And then a week like this happens and he loses all authority, all credibility.

And a judge says, I just don't, I didn't trust your testimony.And that wreaks havoc on that.

Well, we'll get on to the Buckingham Palace farce, and it is a farce, whether he's going to stay there or not.get on to the repercussions of losing this case.But Kate, before we do that, I remember, I was looking at what's happening to Harry in the last couple of hours or the last couple of days, I remember a couple of years ago you wrote a story that the Palace were dubbed Andrew and Harry the same nickname, what was it?

It was Dukes of Hazzard, that's the name that they had for Andrew and Harry because Hazzard, chaos, followed both of them and they were the two big problems that were pointed out to me by courtiers as you know big kind of hurdles for the king during his reign big kind of you know alarm signals flash every time their names were mentioned but to your point about you know do we expect this or chaos every time harry comes well yes we do because i think what we've seen andI was speaking to and you're speaking to at the Palace, you know, I think it's a pattern of behaviour.Harry announces he's going to come for weeks beforehand.There's briefings from his camp about what's going to happen.Maybe the children will come.He wants to bring the children.

Then we have the familiar row over security, despite the fact that he lost his legal battle to have automatic right to UK police security.And last year in the Court of Appeal, you know, it always seems to be a kind of a pressing and it's always presented, isn't it, as a kind of an urgent and pressing issue, despite the fact that that it's he does have security, albeit on a case by case basis.Now, It does seem to be that every time he comes Palace courtiers just get more and more weary about it and I frankly I think you know the public do too because they sort of think well here we go again.

Here we go again.I mean let's break down the Buckingham Palace scenario.How hard can it be?Seriously, this is a vast building, OK?It has staff and you've got the complications of the King and Harry, but for weeks we were told that the offer had been made from the palace, from the King, for Harry to stay there, and that he would ultimately accept.But it seemed to be...

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think the scenario was the deadline was Friday.On Saturday morning, he said to the palace he didn't want to stay there.Then on Saturday night, he changed his mind.I mean, how can this go so badly wrong?guys just to be able to get a room at Buckingham Palace.

It's a catastrophic kind of communication breakdown isn't it?I mean between father and son.

Do you not think it's a control issue where Harry wants to tell people at the very last minute because he doesn't like giving his itinerary he doesn't like for people he's afraid that they'll leak what's going on so he's in control if he holds on to this for the very until the very last minute and then you know I think I mean it was I saw your article on Saturday about Harry not gettinghis Ravik security, and that seemed to be when the spiral began, the leaks about, well, now I'm not bringing the wife and the kids.And I think that there was a tug -of -war between Harry and his security team, who probably said, look, we're going to sit you down and let—the truth is, there's no safer place in the world for you to be than Buckingham Palace.I think that's when he finally changed his tune and said, well, fine, I guess I'll stay there.But I mean, what a wild ride.

I think people will think, come on, it's a huge palace.Surely, surely the king can, you know, dust off a few dust sheets.Okay, there's building work going on.There's this big 369 million pound reservicing program going on.We've been in there recently, you know, huge parts of the palace still off limits because there's building work taking place and people with hard hats working away.But, you know, there is room for Harry.

So there was a couple of things going on, wasn't there?First of all, the King lost patience.He gave him a deadline.That offer had been open for weeks and Harry hadn't had the courtesy to tell his father.The King said, you've got to decide by the end of the week, so presumably end of business hours on Friday.He comes in late on Saturday, first of all saying he doesn't want to stay.

then changing his mind and the King clearly, as you've written, snapped and lost patience and said, you know, we can't be messing the staff around because as a courtesy to staff who then had been stood down, he wasn't about to get people to ring up and say, oh, by the way, can you make those rooms available?There was the added complexity, of course, of the fact that the day that Harry wanted to stay at the palace, he was going to be receiving that judgment, which I'm sure we'll come on to, of his case against Associated Newspapers Limited, who publish a Daily Mail in the Mail on Sunday.And I think that, you know, there were a lot of minds within the palace that that was concentrating their minds as to what would he say when that judgment came out?Would he be broadcastfrom within a room at Buckingham Palace?And given that he hadn't made the deadline, you know, they weren't about to extend it on that basis.

There was lots at play as he talked there, Kate.We'll get on to the case in a minute.But it was discussing earlier, it's classic behaviour from Harry.He wanted to leave up to the last minute.But also classic behaviour from the King.He wants things to be organised.

He's got staff that he wants to be places.And he probably just gets to the stage and goes, well, I've got so many balls in the air.I've got staff here.I need them to go to Highgrove, to Sandringham, to Buckingham Palace.I've just run out.And I'll give you the quote.

This was a royal aide said that the King's patience snapped.And that sounds like the king, to be fair.He said he wants to be a loving father and grandfather, but that was being tested beyond endurance.He was not willing to be pushed around nor indulge a constant state of, back to the word again, chaos.

Well, and I can tell you that my understanding from the audience online is relief.People were thrilled that the king took this stance and some finally saying, or some saying he finally had a backbone.It's rude.It's rude not to, it's rude to wait to the last minute to say what you're going to do.And also you have to keep in mind, I mean, I know that they have a lot of resources, but for the last few weeks, the palace had been organizing.a staff to support a family of four plus an entourage.

And then here comes Harry saying, no, no, it's just gonna be me.Well, they would have to re -strategize his entire stay, along with calling up the chef again or making sure that the food and beverage are there to entertain one person and a few of his security guards.But it would just, it just threw everything, to chaos, it just threw everything up in the air and, you know, I think that that's unfair to do to them at the last minute.

Do you think that Harry was triggered by the fact that he was offered the spare room?

Was he?

I thought that was a joke.

Or was that a joke?Well, if it wasn't as big as Williams, if it wasn't as big as Williams.I loved it.I like your jokes.

Well, let's move on to the media case.Look, it's quite tricky.Obviously, you know, he sued lots of media organisations.He sued mine.He sued the Mirror newspaper.He's won in the past.

This was, I think it was an 11 -week trial.He came over and gave evidence.This was against the Daily Mail group.He lost all 57 claims of illegal news gathering.Actually, there was other claimants, Elton John and David Furnish.

I think he was 14, right?

Yes, I think he was just 14, I think.But look, there was attacks on journalists.It went on for ages.It was incredibly stressful for everybody.He's now, this week, in London, asking for press to turn up and cover his events.I mean, what's your take on this situation, guys?

Well, I mean, this was a huge defeat for Harry, because the judge came back, didn't he, on Tuesday, just as Harry was doing his first public appearance in association with his Invictus Games.And almost exactly the same timing, within minutes of him appearing there at Chatham House in London, the judge handed down you know, the verdict, which was that Harry and the six other claimants had comprehensively lost every single point.

Do you think he was expecting that?I think he was expecting to be here and get a couple of the stories in and get a couple of wins.

I think he was expecting to win on a couple of points, I do, at which point he would have claimed a victory.But it was such a comprehensive defeat that I think it really seemed to knock the wind out of his sails.You know, we saw him stand up and start address the room.

So bearing that in mind the fact that you know the whole run -up to this thing's chaos he can't bring his familyor says he can't bring his family to central London he's caused his dad's patience to snap I mean how is he gonna cope for the rest of the week with this everything just turning into a nightmare?

Well, it's not a great start, is it?Let's put it that way.I mean, he had planned to be here with the Duchess of Sussex as well.Now, she wasn't seen at all, was she, at any point during that 11 -week trial.Harry himself gave evidence in January and it all unfurled over the course of a few weeks at the High Court in London.She didn't come to support him.

She doesn't seem to be anywhere so far in the UK that we've seen her so far.And, you know, the question is whether she'll want to be associated with this action at all.And given such a, you know, he's had such a defeat, I don't think it's good for her brand, is it?

This is a really good, really, really good point.Do you think, because we're still up in the air now, I'll check the Sussex WhatsApp group quickly and find out.No, still no update on whether she's coming over.But we still don't know, but do you think that she will want to distance herself now from what is turning out to be a very difficult week for her husband?

Well, I predicted that we might see her if we won, or if he won, and we would not see her if he didn't win, because I don't think she wants to be on the arm of a loser.But to your point, she does disappear when times are tough.When Harry was being, you know, when Harry became the butt of the joke in the United States over Spare, and Jimmy Kimmel was mocking him on his late show, Meghan disappeared.She disappeared throughout the promotion of Spare.when Harry was tearing into the British royal family during his BBC interview right after the original Ravik verdict.Where is Meghan Markle?

When times are tough, she is MIA.And so I don't believe we will see her throughout this visit, because there's a pattern there of her disappearing when things are hard.When things are hard for her, he's front and center, trying to protect her, going on Oprah Winfrey, talking about herMe You Can't See documentary, talking about how Meghan was crying herself to sleep.He's very protective of her, but she does not give him the same shield.

How do you think the royal family and the King are going to react to this?There's two things I want to ask you about, Kate.Money.but also his statement that he made, basically criticizing the King's court.But it's going to cost him a lot of money.Potentially, people are talking 50 million, but I think there might be something in there saying that the costs are going to be limited or split.

And it depends on how much the insurer will actually cover.And the insurer could look at some of those statute of limitations and say, this should have never been brought to court in the first place, so we refuse to actually honor this.

Well, there's always a clause, isn't there, with insurance.If you take out insurance, they will want to know that, you know, the lawyers did the very best due diligence they could before bringing the case forward.

And the judge specifically says some of this stuff shouldn't have been presented to me in the first place.So the insurers absolutely could say, no, we're not going to cover that.

Yeah.I mean, it's still a big chunk of change, isn't it?Because the Daily Mail group is suggesting that it's £50 million.Now, we understand that Hacktoff has a big pot of cash to help fund some of these litigations against the press.So how much of that they will cover, we don't know.It's hard to figure out quite how wealthy Harry is.

Obviously, he had he had a big inheritance from his late mother.And if that had been invested wisely, that would be a lovely nest egg for him.We know that when they bought the house in Montecito, they have a mortgage on that house.It wasn't bought outright.We don't know quite how successful Megan's brand has been because the accounts aren't published, ditto Archwell Media and all their other arms of their, you know, their financial freedom that they went off to find in America.So

it's hard to see.But I mean, in terms of Harry as a brand, it's not helpful because this is the week.Invictus Games is such a feather in his cap.It's something that really, it's very hard to criticise because he's done a brilliant job with that.It's been going over 10 years.And next year, it's going to be hosted in Birmingham in 2027.

this was supposed to be a big hurrah for it, perhaps the Duchess would be by his side, maybe the children would come and meet the King, but that all seems to have unravelled so quickly, and not just because of the High Court defeat, but because of the sort of Like we discussed, the back, the toing and froing over where he would stay.

It's the noise that he brings drowns out any other messaging that the King and the Queen and William have been out this week, or any messaging that he wants to do with his Invictus Games.His just general appearance and messing things up, that stops everything else being heard, I think.But on the money, is there a danger that you might have to ask his father to help out?

Based on what you're saying, I just want to stress, Dr. Sophie Shindaka has said everything you said, and Harry is currently being sued by Senebale.

Am I going to be sued for saying that?No, no, no.

My point is that Harry and Meghan are a distraction from the causes that they attach themselves to, that they even build and create.They've become this toxic entity that turns fundraisers away, that turns donations away.And, you know, somebody seriously needs to have a come to Jesus with them and say, you know, you need to behave by the book.But will he have to ask his dad for money?We know King Charles has said he felt like an ATM and he's refused to take, according to Robert Jobs, and refused to take Harry's phone calls in the past because Harry's asked for money.I don't think that it'll go down that road.

But I do think that you've made a very good point that when it comes toInvictus and other causes, the distraction that Harry and Meghan brings, it ultimately jeopardises really great causes that are suffering.

Invictus Games must be, and I'm not going to speak for them, I haven't asked them, but there must be people there sitting on for Invictus Games quite furious.

I will say I've heard it.I've heard it.I have heard that leadership at Invictus is very concerned about Meghan Markle's presence, that it becomes the Meghan Markle show.Why are you changing your outfits three or four times for a one day visit?It seems like this is a catwalk for you while you've got injured veterans, you know, that are competing and trying to show that there's life after such a traumatic event.I have heard that Invictus leadership is frustrated and stressed with the Sussexes.

What about the King?Do you think he's frustrated with the Sussexes?We just mentioned there about his statement that he did with Baroness Lawrence where he accused her of a whitewash and basically criticised the court.How's he going to cope with this?

This is what they feared, wasn't it?That after the judgment Harry would come out with something and it would threaten the King's constitutional role if Harry was delivering those sorts of statements against the King's courts essentially and the justice system from under a sovereign's roof within Buckingham Palace.Now we remember last year when he lost his case against the Home Office in the Court of Appeal, he described it as good old -fashioned establishment stitch -up, didn't he?So it's very hard for the King to have he's put the King in a really difficult position with this statement because, you know, if Charles meets him this week, he'll be linked to the case whether he wants it or not.You know, the Daily Mail has a front page this morning saying vindicated.This won't be the last of it.

They'll have a week of stories like this, I expect.So as this rumbles on, people still talking about the case and what it means, not just for that particular newspaper group, but for theof the press more generally, I think it's put Charles in a very difficult position as to how he goes about meeting Harry, if indeed he will meet him.But as you know, as we've said, I think that The King, friends of the King have said to me, you know, he's a patient man, he's a compassionate man, but, you know, he does, like everybody, has a limit, and you push him beyond that, and you're going to find out about it.

Have we reached the limit, do you think, after what we've seen the last 24, 48 hours?

I think, no, I think the King will always be very fond of Harry, and he will always love his son and always want to see his grandchildren.I don't think that's going to change, but, you know, like all parents and children, there are points when you just think, you know, go to your room, I don't want to see you.I don't think this is the kind of royal equivalent, despite the fact that he's over 40 years old.and says he wants to be reconciled with his father and yet we have these, still have these briefing wars essentially.

I almost feel more sorry, this is horrible to admit, but I almost feel more sorry for King Charles than Thomas Markle because it feels like there is the constant tease of a potential reunion between Charles and his grandchildren and with Thomas Markle it's just cold.So I do kind of feel sorry for the King because maybe he is anticipating seeing these children, maybe he is excited.Thomas Markle has no expectation whatsoever and it might be humiliating for him too when things like this don't work out after the whole world has been hyping up this major, you know, reconciliation.

But how hard can it be?I keep asking the same question, how hard can it be?They're both in London for two or three days How hard could it be for them just to quietly go and have a cup of tea together?

I don't know.

I've been trying to work you on my show for a while.

It seems to be very hard though, doesn't it?I think it seems to be unnecessarily hard and, you know, people I know who I've been speaking to, sources saying that actually, you know, if Harry truly wanted recognition,he really wanted to spend time with the King, who, as we know, is still, you know, still living with cancer.There might be a better way to go about these things.Private conversations behind the scenes, you know.being courteous and saying, yes, dad, I will.

I will take that kind of accommodation up, you know, and getting back to him in due course.And I just think that there are better ways that Harry could go about it.But, you know, as the editor in chief of the Daily Mail said, he seems like a very he said poor Harry, you know, he seems very angry and he sort of...

I've got the quote here Kate if you want, this is Paul Dacre, I've got it here because I thought...

Yes great, yeah.

He says...I feel sorry for the way a confused and angry young man has been drawn into this case.When I read that, it struck a chord because I thought, well, is he poor Harry?Has he kind of been misled in the last couple of years into the situation he is at the moment?

Yeah, I mean, he doesn't seem like somebody who really knows what he's doing.I think that's, you know, he does look to be thrashing around.In his memoir, Spare, he talks about going to visit Sir Elton John and David Furnish at their home in France and meeting David Sherborne, who is the barrister.By accident.Yeah, you know, who said, why don't you hire your own lawyer?And you know, this is a kind of lightbulb moment for Harry, who had been at that point very frustrated by the palace not putting out his side of the story when they've seen reports in the press that he didn't like it.

that he said were false.So it's interesting because the people that only really seem to have benefited from this very long, very costly litigation are the lawyers.

Poor Harry.

No.I mean, I look at...I've been watching The Prince and Princess of Wales this week.They look totally unbothered.They are thriving.And, you know, I think it's a result of never complain, never explain.

They're not weighed down by the tsunami of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and they ignore negative headlines.We don't see William fighting back on these new accusations that he's not going to move into Buckingham Palace one day.He has to live in a castle.You know, there are all sorts of workshy Willie.He just ignores it and continues to show up with a smile on his face.And I think that that's why the public is truly attracted to this couple and adores them.

this couple because they stay above the fray.I think Harry wallows in the past and it's one of the reasons why he's not thriving today because he can't let go of things that happened 20 years ago.

Is there any way of Harry, is he able to turn it around this week?

No, I don't think there's any way for him to turn it around.I mean, I've heard people say you can get the sympathetic headlines by going to Ulthorpe and visiting Diana's grave with the children.I mean, maybe you will get some, People magazine will lean into that.If he got a photograph with his father, that would absolutely change the narrative, but I don't think that that's a possibility.

I think Harry needs to concentrate on what Harry does best and what he does do best, which is focus on the charities, focus on the veterans.Here's somebody who served on the front line in Afghanistan, two tours of duty, that, you know, he's a tough guy and stick to what you're good at, stick to that, move on with life.and you know we're going to see him with children later on this week, his Scottish little soldiers and he'll be talking to children who are bereaved, bereaved children of service personnel and I just think he does do that really, really well.He can and he can still do that.It's just when he starts railing against the press and railing against the establishment, you know, talking about stitch ups, talking about whitewashes.He sounds it's it sounds strange because it sounds paranoid.

It sounds strange.And it just completely devalues all the other work that he does.He needs to now.He's had his point.He's had his say in court.He needs to now accept it and move on, I think, and just focus on what what people love him for.

The royals have been out.this week.I don't know about UK, but whenever, it's a little secret, whenever it's announced that Harry's coming into town, we do get a flurry of op notes for the King, the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

Just a coincidence.And the King, I thought it was amazing on Monday, with the King taking his jacket off, still wearing his tie, with a helmet.And I had to double check with the Rotary reporter.

We were zooming in, weren't we, going, is that the King?Definitely the King riding around in a tank.He never takes his jacket off.On the day that there'd been this briefing war, of course, about whether Harry would or would not stay in Buckingham Palace.And then you have Charles in a Challenger 2 battle tank being driven around, looking like he's just walked off the Top Gun set or something like that.He just looked, you know, you couldn't make it up.

I mean, for journalists, it was a fantastic juxtaposition.on it.

I'd buy that 12 -month calendar.

But also the Princess of Wales, I thought it was quite interesting that the word came out that the King's patients had been tested and then she was with child patients.Royal Marsden.the thing about that that this was the Evelina Children's Hospital she was there to kind of help promote a hundred million pounds they need to build a new Children's Hospital and it's sort of talking about the noise the noise that this has all been drowned out by by Harry's noise do you think that that's a danger for the rest of the week?

I don't think he can drown that sort of thing out.I mean, all those operational notes for members of the royal family just were hitting all those top royal notes, weren't they, with their jobs this week.So we've had, like you say, the King on military manoeuvres, tick.Princess of Wales, tick.you know, high -fiving and hugging little babies at a children's hospital, you know, looking a million dollars.We've had more pictures coming out of the Princess of Wales' Three Peaks Challenge, which is a remarkable achievement, wasn't it, given that just two years ago she was having chemotherapy.

We've had the Queen in the Winnie the Pooh forest, talking about children's literacy and I just, it's all, you know, it's the kind of They're the kind of bread -and -butter royal jobs that they do so well.I don't know what you thought about that.

No, I mean, they still popped out to me, and I kind of realised what you were saying, the argument you were making, so I've gone out of my way to share those posts and to try to spread that message, because while I would love to sit and talk about the Princess of Wales for an hour, the reality is the news cycle won't allow it.Harry and Meghan are just way too loud.You know, I felt like that was their intention in briefing everyone so soon, so early about their intention to come out and bring the children.I mean, I think I did say to you that I thought it would only be Harry here the last time I was here.But I wondered if it was a set up the entire time so that they could continue to stay in the victim category.the royal family can Continue to be in the villain category that they have shoved them in and I just I just don't think that that's fair So I am trying to amplify those stories because I think that they're important.

Okay.

Yeah, we will try we try our best It's already a long week.Yeah, but it's gonna be a very long week.Let's talk about your second Duke of Hazzard That's brilliant, that's what they call him behind the scenes.The second Duke of Hazzard, obviously Andrew, one of the most infamous storylines I think with our royals the last couple of years has been his alibi about the Pizzeria Express in Woking and the BBC have done an investigation into this and they've said, if I get the wording right on this, they found no evidence that he was at the Pizzeria Express but also no evidence that he wasn't and this is the alibi that he used to say that he wasn't with Virginia Dufresne on the night that that photograph was taken.

So it's all emerged, hasn't it, that Pizza Express, the company, has done their own due diligence and their own digging.But I don't know why it's taken so long for it all to kind of emerge, presumably because they kept it quiet.But it doesn't sort of prove or disprove the theory.you know, frustratingly, one way or the other, because he said he was taking his daughter, Danita, to a party there, and therefore couldn't have been in the same place at the same time on the same date as where Virginia Dufresne had placed him as part of her allegations.And he's always denied wrongdoing.But it is, it's just interesting how this story just doesn't go away.

I know.

I mean, obviously, I think that Pizza Express was trying to protect themselves.I'm sure that there was some crisis management meeting where they said, we might end up in court.We might end up having toprovide security footage.Let's know what's coming down the pike.So I don't know if that is how this all came to fruition, but this has to have existed for quite some time.

Why it's coming out, I don't know.And yes, this is a story that just won't go away.And if I'm King Charles and I'm flipping through the papers and I'm seeing Harry on one page and Andrew Mountbatten -Windsor on the next, I'm thinking, Why?Why is this happening under my watch?

Better get in a tank.Yeah, better take my jacket off and get in a tank.With my helmet.

Are you surprised that it took Pizza Express to get to the bottom of it?We haven't had the Met Police there or the FBI or any kind of lawyers or the X -Files team going down there to find out what's going on.Does Pizza Express have solved the mystery?

Let's get the FBI down to the Pizza Express in Woking.Come on, Kenzie, you can make that happen.Let me just make one call.

No, I guess I...I would expect nothing less because it is...The owners, I imagine, are wanting to protect that brand.I will say the only reason I've ever had it was because of his BBC interview.I was curious, so I ate it.

Oh, you've never had Pizza Express?

I had it one and only time at Pizza Express.I went to Pizza Express.It's a classy joint.You'll have to treat Kinsey.

It's a good chain.Sorry, I'm not pushing them as to get any kind of freebies.

Other pizza restaurants are, right?I think you should.I think you should be the next influencer.Move over, Meghan Markle.Matt is posting Pizza Express hashtag ads on his Instagram.

Yeah, no, genuinely.I mean, it's sad that Pizza Express has been attached to Andrew in many ways.

I like that they've owned it, though.It's quite a good marketing strategy, isn't it?He wasn't here.He may or may not have been here.

Now on weeks like this, I don't know about you guys, but sometimes you've got to look up and think about is there a God Almighty that can kind of help save what's going on or bring some reason to everything that's happening.

I don't know your football team is winning.

We'll get on to football in a minute, Casey.Thanks for that.So the King's official job.has changed in many ways, or the actual title of his job.His job is now, correct me if I'm wrong here, because you were in the briefing, I was away watching the football, Kinsey, but you were in this briefing, I believe, for the Sovereign Grant, where it's to protect the faith within the multi -faith nation.This has caused quite a consternation, particularly on my Twitter or X timeline, where people are questioning the King's faith or Christianity, or questioning his commitment, he's the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Where do you sit with this?

Well, the king, I don't think this is any real surprise to me, because there was all this talk, wasn't there, when he was Prince of Wales, before he became king, about whether he would be defender of the faith, the Anglican faith, Church of England, or whether he would be defender of faith, more generally speaking.And actually, when he came to the throne, it was decided that he would be defender of the faith.the faith.So that was sort of put to bed.But as we know, you know, for years, he's been talking about interfaith relations.We had different heads of different faiths at the coronation service, although it was very much an Anglican service, traditional service.

He's always brought all different kind of religious leaders in.So I think that's interesting that he's sort of rephrased sort of quite what he does within that, because we have these huge documents, hundreds and hundreds of pages to kind of leaf through don't we with figures and where the money's been spent and how it's been spent and what's been done behind the palace walls and that was the kind of one of the interesting nuggets that came out there.So it just speaks to what he's, you know, where he stands.I don't think that it questions his faith in the Anglican Church at all, but I think it just kind of, it's him throwing hisarms open, really, to other religions.

Does it matter, Kinsey?Because I hate going into the cesspit of X and comments, but I do see a lot of people, like in America, kind of saying, oh, King Charles is a Muslim, King Charles doesn't like Christianity anymore.Does it feed into that, which is complete nonsense, he's a spiritual man and he's interested in all religions and et cetera, but is it a danger that it feeds into that weird conspiracy theory?

I mean, I think if we were having this conversation 20 years ago, we would all be like, inclusion is great.Unfortunately, what's going on politically here, I think is negatively affecting the story.When you have mass immigration, and people feel like it's changing the culture, and people are worried that Islam is taking over.That is really why he's being criticized for this.Otherwise, I think we might sit back and admire a man that wants to make sure no one feels left out, and he wants to acknowledge everyone, and he respects your faith and respects the way you choose to worship.I mean, I do think that that's an admirable quality, but unfortunately, with the politics the way they are, and with people worried about the direction of this country, I think he is getting more pushback than he would have several years ago.

But I've gone to church with King Charles.We've worshipped together, singing the same hymns, saying the same prayers.I've spoken to his church leaders and they say he's fully committed to the church and that he is a godly Christian man.So I'm personally not worried about it and I try to ignore the noise.

It's an example of him being, we always thought he would be a reformer or he would change things.It's an example of him just quietly being a, you know, a change maker for his role.

He's a convener as well.So less of a rebel, more of a kind of convener, bringing people together, bringing the different groups together.You know, this is somebody who actuallyHighgrove.home when you walk through the gardens you can see a little chapel he's had built there and he can go and worship on his own and he goes to church and he really you know is like you say he's a spiritual man.

He's a spiritual man but one thing apparently he doesn't worship and that's football.He doesn't seem to like the three lines.Now I'm quite tired I don't know if you notice it because a couple of days ago I stayed up all night to watch probably the greatest England performance of all time.

So you didn't have a kit beforehand and you didn't go to bed afterwards you just did the whole You just pulled an all -nighter.

I couldn't sleep.And I did go out to watch England play in lovely Boston against Ghana, and I had a wonderful time out there.And we think William, patron of the FA, will go to the final when we ultimately get there and beat probably France.maybe, but William was on a podcast and this is Travis and Jason Kelsey, you can help us out here.

New Heights.

Travis married Taylor Swift on Friday.

And it was so brilliant because this podcast dropped the day of their wedding so it almost, the last I checked over a million views and It's my understanding that William and Catherine were invited to the wedding.It would not have been a good look for William to not go to the United States to celebrate 250.They had several commitments here that they didn't want to interrupt.It would have looked so poorly for them to be sitting next to, I don't know, Bon Jovi at the Taylor and Travis wedding.So this was kind of a way for them to honor that friendship, acknowledge that invitation, you know, a huge appearance on a very popular, to begin with, podcast, which is the Kelsey brothers, NFL football players.Travis has yet to retire.

His brother is retired, but yes, married to Taylor Swift.

It was a lot more bantery than I thought.I thought it was going to be about the wedding or be about Taylor Swift, but it was all about football.I don't know if you guys have been watching a lot of football.but it was all about, you know, the game and his love of the game, which we know William loves football.How many times have we gone on engagements and he mentions those?

Aston Villa, his favourite team.Of course, some of his, those Aston Villa fans are part of the England squad, aren't they?So he's following it even more closely perhaps than he might.I think, yeah, we know that William likes football and the Palace has kind of leaned into William's love of football as a kind of sign of him being a kind of an everyman.But he did throw his dad under the bus a little bit, didn't he, in the interview because he said, they said, did you get your love of football and your love of Aston Villa from your father or from your dad?And he said, oh no, my dad absolutely hates football.

which I thought was like, oh, poor Charles.He doesn't really need that during the World Cup, you know, and he's made quite a good fist of showing an interest, hasn't he, and becoming friends with David Beckham and asking him how the games are going and things in the past.So, yeah, he might not be the biggest fan, but at least they've got one in Willie, and William can be the kind of, you know, the England flag waver.

And Prince George, yeah.

Football's just, King just doesn't strike me as a football man.No, and I think that's fine.This is fine.

I think that's fine.I think it's, you know...

Well, do we call it soccer, Kinsey?

Wait, you call it, I call it soccer.

You call it soccer?Yeah.So for American viewers we're talking about the round ball just in case we're confusing it.

For American viewers it's like sports.Ew, that's a boys thing.

I just point out that the England women's team have won lots of tournaments.That's true.And we're still waiting.We've been waiting since 1966, I think, for the men's England football team to win the World Cup.That's a very good point.

But you don't want to win everything, you know?It's more fun to kind of struggle and, you know, and then once you win...

You feel it.

Rarely, it's much more fun.If you win every week, it's boring.

Ask Meghan Markle.I was waking up at just after four in the morning the other day by my neighbours cheering and I was fast asleep.

Well hopefully William will be going if we do get to the final but it doesn't seem like he'll be taking his father.

No.

Right we've just got time for our quickfire questions.So as we were discussing there, Prince William appeared on the New Heights podcast this week.If he had a podcast what would it be?What should it be called?

I think it'd be called Villa Till I Die.One of the big Aston Villa wins, he put V -T -I -D, didn't he?

You googled it, what's that?

Yeah, well, you probably knew straight away because you're a footy fan.But yeah, I had to think about that for a while.Yeah, Villa Till I Die.And then every week he could interview a new footballer.He was talking about how much he liked Wayne Rooney, wasn't he?And then we could get him on, get David Beckham on.

I'd listen to that.That'd be a great podcast.

I would listen to Prince William and Charlotte talk about being Swifties.I don't know what you would call that, though.I don't know what you would call that podcast.Sorry, guys.

You're the ideas person, don't worry.Yeah, I'm the ideas person.We'll get marketing on it.Next question.So, Queen Camilla, as we mentioned earlier, was celebrating Winnie the Pooh this week, but...Which member of the royal family is most like Pooh Bear or other characters?

Well, obviously Harry's Eeyore.I mean, I don't think that there's any other option.He's always trying to find his tail and he's always in a funk.

Well, someone actually described the king as Eeyore to me.Do you remember after the Leaky Pen incident when he first became king?And they said, well, he is obviously a bit of an Eeyore character.And I remember saying to someone at the palace, oh, you know, they call him Eeyore.They said, ah, but Camilla brings out his inner Tigger.

Oh, my gosh.Wow.

I said, well, I don't, actually, I don't want to know any more about that thing.That is the best line from the show.

If anything, Louis might be Tigger, I'm wondering.

Yeah, he'd be great to go.So cute, yes.Bouncing around, lots of energy.

Or Christopher Robin or something.Anyway, right.And finally, after becoming Pizza Express's most famous customer, What should they name a new pizza in tribute to Andrew Mountbatten -Windsor?I think this question comes with a health warning, but let's see if we can keep it clean and as tasteful as possible if you have any answers.

What do you think?Meatless?I don't know.Sausage party?Yeah, it would have to be a kind of a title -less one, wouldn't it?You know, we wouldn't give it a name, but something with stuffed crust, I think, because he really, you know, the last few years haven't been kind to him, have they?

Yeah.or formally known as, maybe they changed the name of the pizza and rebranded it and removed, they've removed some toppings from it.There you go, we kept that one clean, that's excellent.Thanks guys, I really appreciate that and as I say it's going to be a long week but thanks for joining us and telling us what you think and keeping us up to date.Right, that's all we have time for on this week's Royal Exclusive.Thanks to my guests Kinsey and Kate and thanks to you for watching.

And as always, remember to comment as well as subscribe to us here on our Royal Exclusive YouTube channel for the latest Royal news.See you next week.