Why King Charles Must Abdicate Now: Andrew Lownie

Summary

The Daily Beast Podcast: Why King Charles Must Abdicate Now (March 18, 2026)

Host: Tom Sykes (for The Royalist, Daily Beast)
Notable Guests: Andrew Lownie, Plum Sykes, Paula Froehlich, Shauna Kay
Main Theme:
A no-holds-barred exploration into the ongoing crisis enveloping the British royal family—specifically the ramifications of Prince Andrew’s scandals on King Charles’s reign, and the argument for abdication. Other highlights include insider royal fashion at Cheltenham, a caustic examination of the Harry & Meghan “Rent-a-Royal Tour,” and the cultural resonance (or lack thereof) of Sussex commercial ventures in Australia.

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Episode Overview

This kickoff episode of The Royalist, led by royal journalist Tom Sykes, delivers incisive commentary and exclusive interviews, promising listeners transparent, source-based reporting on royal affairs. The episode’s anchor is Andrew Lownie’s explosive take on the Prince Andrew-Epstein scandal, its cover-up, and why the monarchy teeters on the edge. The tone is sharp, gossipy, and sometimes irreverent, matching the podcast’s “truth-telling, no fluff” mission.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. The Andrew Update – Should King Charles Abdicate?

Guest: Andrew Lownie, Royal Biographer
Timestamps: 00:53–21:34

• The Palace’s Internal Crisis:

  • Recent Epstein document releases caught the palace unprepared ([00:53], Lownie).
  • Public posturing (“fully cooperate with authorities”) contradicts private warnings & suppressive legal letters.
  • Charles’s approach echoes decades of royal pattern: denial, delay, and attempts to ride out scandals.

• How Much Did the Queen and Charles Know?

  • Lownie is adamant: “plenty of information…could have obtained themselves from just talking to people…protection officers would have reported back. So I have no doubt that she knew a lot—as did King Charles” ([07:38], Lownie).
  • Suppression tactics were widespread: legal threats, restricted journalist access, and explicit efforts to manage internal dissent.

• Cover-up or Malpractice?

  • “Every time there was some allegation about Epstein, Andrew was given some new honour or new sign of endorsement… sending out a signal that…her son was innocent” ([07:23], Lownie).
  • The palace’s “sit it out” strategy failed under the avalanche of evidence.
  • Lownie: “It is a cover up and the cover up is proving to be as bad as the initial crimes” ([09:43]).

• The Abdication Question:

  • Lownie’s verdict: Charles may need to “fall on his sword and accept the blame for this and William takes over” ([10:24]).
  • Lownie compares the potential scenario to Edward VIII’s abdication ([10:59]).
  • Public trust could only be restored by true transparency; so far, the monarchy “seem[s] to have ducked that one” ([18:30]).

• Notable Quote:

  • “What makes me slightly cynical about this is that I saw Paul Page’s letter… reminded of his obligations of confidentiality… So on one hand, Charles is saying, ‘We’ll fully cooperate with authorities…’ and there are these letters going out reminding people not to speak. So I just wonder if what's been done for public consumption isn't actually what's happening in reality.” – Andrew Lownie ([12:33])

• On Royal Daughters’ Involvement:

  • New book material will cover Beatrice and Eugenie’s “involvement”—including money allegedly “fenced through their bank accounts.” ([16:34])

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2. Royal Fashion at Cheltenham – Insiders’ Guide

Guest: Plum Sykes, Vogue writer
Timestamps: 21:40–33:17

• Atmosphere at Cheltenham:

  • “It’s like Ascot with welly boots and tweed. Not quite as formal, a lot of fun…they have a royal box, but it's all much more casual.” ([22:15], Plum Sykes)

• Style Watching:

  • Camilla’s “incredibly elegant camel colored coat… huge hat with tons of giant kind of pheasant feathers…always this kind of theme of pheasant feathers and countryside and tweed.” ([23:05], Plum Sykes)
  • Unfashion-conscious: “They just want to wear what they feel comfortable in… the opposite of the Oscars.” ([24:10], Plum Sykes)

• The High-Low Social Scene:

  • “At the top end is the boxes… Bamfords, Vestys... then the Guinness Village where everyone goes to drink Guinness…all the really posh dukes, viscounts, earls… they get bored of the boxes… Guinness Village, that’s their favorite place… they all start fighting with each other… then they all hug each other and congratulate each other for having a marvelous fight.” ([29:38], Sykes)
  • Fashion highlights: “Zara wearing a Katherine Hooker wrap coat… me and Em is this British brand… taking off hugely in America.” ([29:01])

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3. Tea with Tom – ‘Rent-a-Royal Tour’ & Sussex Commercialism

Guest: Paula Froehlich, News Nation & Substack
Timestamps: 33:19–45:59

• Meghan’s Australian “Besties” Retreat:

  • Ostensible sell-out is quickly debunked: “A source…puts her name on the wait list…within hours, she gets an email going, congratulations. Yeah, we'd love to have you.” ([35:52], Froehlich).
  • Pricey VIP package ($3,100 AUD) includes “twin share rooms,” breakfast, dinners, “inspiring conversations, some yoga and sound healing. As well as you can partake in a disco.” ([37:10])

• Partner Troubles:

  • Gemma O’Neill (event host) is bankrupt, owing $550,000 AUD: “She had no savings, limited income, and couldn't refinance her Sydney apartment…Two weeks later, she announced the girls retreat with Meghan… as a grifter.” ([39:48])

• Social Media Hypocrisy:

  • Meghan leverages personal stories and children’s images for promotion, while publicly denouncing social platforms.
  • “I actually think it's causing a lot of tension in their own relationship.” ([42:17], Froehlich)

• Memorable Exchange:

  • “What do you get when you get two girls, zero funds, and one very expensive weekend? You get the grifters getaway.” – Paula Froehlich ([38:39])

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4. The Royal Roast – Aussie Reaction to Sussex “Pay-Per-Play”

Guest: Shauna Kay, The Vintage Read
Timestamps: 46:18–56:50

• Meghan’s New Partner’s Debt Issues:

  • Meghan is “partnering and appearing on stage with somebody whose company is in liquidation and owes…half a million dollars” ([48:26]).

• Australian Response:

  • “Polite disinterest on one end and raging resentment on the other…Very much seen as commercial, very much seen as a B-grade sort of influencer event of not much note, bit tacky...only the desperates would turn up.” ([49:39], Shauna Kay)
  • Contrast with 2018’s rapturous reception—“the gold couple had their moment in the sun”—vs. post-tour stories of staff tears and negative impression: “Aussies don’t like fake…We want to know you’re genuinely a good person and that you treat your staff well…that’s where it came undone.” ([53:18])

• Regulatory, Financial, and Cultural Barriers:

  • Logistical challenges for product launches: “A lot of products don’t launch in our country because it’s prohibitive to actually get the product to Australia.” ([54:24])

• Petition and Official Backlash:

  • Over 8,600 signatures on a petition demanding no taxpayer-funded security for Harry & Meghan on their private commercial trip. ([55:06])

• Notable Line:

  • Aussie sentiment toward the Sussexes’ event is summed up as: “Yeah, nah.” ([49:39], Shauna Kay)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Andrew Lownie [09:43]:
  “It is a cover up and the cover up is proving to be as bad as the initial crimes.”

• Tom Sykes [13:17]:
  “It really is going to be very hard for Charles to claim that he knew nothing about this and that he did not cover it up… it is just inconceivable that this wasn’t run past Charles at a minimum.”

• Plum Sykes [29:38]:
  “There’s a very funny video where they all start fighting… finish the fight, this poor guy’s got a bloody nose… then they all hug each other and congratulate each other for having a marvelous fight. And then they go start another fight in the corner and have a pint of Guinness.”

• Paula Froehlich [38:39]:
  “What do you get when you get two girls, zero funds, and one very expensive weekend? You get the grifters getaway…”

• Shauna Kay [49:39]:
  “The sentiment… could be summed up with those two words: yeah, nah.”

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Timestamps at a Glance

• Andrew Lownie Interview (Scandal/Abdication): 00:53–21:34
• Royal Fashion with Plum Sykes: 21:40–33:17
• Tea with Tom (Paula Froehlich/Sussex Commercialism): 33:19–45:59
• Royal Roast (Shauna Kay/Aussie Reaction): 46:18–56:50

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Detailed Themes & Insights

• Transparency vs. Tradition: Lownie hammers home that only genuine transparency can save the monarchy’s reputation—yet the institution is “ducking” every chance.
• Cultural Contrast: Whether in fashion (low-key, tradition-bound) or commerce (British/royal resistance to American-style influencer culture), the British royals occupy a strange, contradictory space in modern public life.
• Public Perception: Across all panelists, a sense emerges—both in the UK and Australia—of eroding royal prestige, whether through cover-ups or cashing in.
• Media Savvy vs. Authenticity: The Sussexes’ relentless branding is met with skepticism, especially where their activism appears at odds with their private conduct.

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Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode offers deep, insider-y, and sometimes unvarnished discussion on the British royal family’s present perils—from Prince Andrew fallout, to the king’s accountability, to the pop-culture collision of royal celebrity and commercial ambition. Whether you’re interested in palace intrigue, royal fashion, or global royal perception, the fast pace and punchy tone ensure you’ll get the “real scoop”—with a particular eye toward what’s missing from the official narrative.

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Tip: For further details or to keep up with the guests, check out their respective Substacks:

• Andrew Lownie: The Loney Report
• Plum Sykes: PS by Plum Sykes
• Paula Froehlich: Inside Scoop
• Shauna Kay: Red Hot Royal Reveals

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End Note:
Episode 1 of The Royalist serves as both a royal news digest and a pointed critique of royal secrecy. By the end, you’ll understand not just what’s happening, but why palace narratives don’t fit the facts—and why, as one guest observes, “The cover up is proving to be as bad as the initial crimes.”

Transcript

[A]

Generations of intrigue, unbelievable family feuds, jaw dropping scandals, crazy traditions and of course, corgis. The British royals have it all. And now you can too, with the newest addition to our Daily Beast podcast, Line up the Royalist. Each week, veteran royal correspondent Tom Sykes and his team of informed insiders serve you every bit of royalty you could possibly want. If it's happening behind palace gates, they are going to be talking about it. Enjoy this episode and join them in the throne room for every episode by heading to Beast Pub Royalistpod for new episodes on YouTube every Tuesday or catch them next day on all major podcast platforms. Enjoy.

[B]

The palace have been caught on the back foot because they never expected these Epstein releases to be made. On one hand, Charles is saying, we'll fully cooperate with the authorities and everyone should speak freely. And there are these letters going out reminding people not to speak. I just wonder if what's been done for public consumption isn't actually what's happening in reality. Charles has to fall on his sword and accept that he is, you know, he has to take the blame for this.

[C]

When you say fall on his sword, do you mean that Charles should or would or will be forced to take, take the nuclear option and like his great uncle Edward VIII before him, be forced to abdicate? Is that where this story ends? Welcome, Royalists. Hello, I'm Tom Sykes and this is your new weekly destination for a staggering cornucopia of royal scoops and scout scandal. I've been writing about this extraordinary family, the Windsors, the Mountbatten Windsors, the Battenbergs, who knows at this stage for almost three decades. And that's no exaggeration because my first job, my first royal job was covering the funeral of Princess Diana when I was working at the evening standard in 1997. My first job in journalism, so that dates me a bit. Now I'm bringing all my knowledge and insight to this fact fabulous new podcast. In all the years I've been covering this story, I've never seen such an extraordinary disconnect between what's being reported in the papers and on the legacy media news websites and what's actually going on on the ground. If you read the British newspaper websites and the global media that inevitably recycles and repackages a lot of their content, you would be forgiven for thinking that everything is absolutely brilliant with the British royal family, that the Andrew problem has been packed up into a nice little box and tucked away, that everybody loves Queen Camilla, that King Charles has a kind of mild cold, and that the royal family are as popular as they ever were in the time of Queen Elizabeth's second. In fact, the royal family is in the middle of its gravest crisis in well over 100 years. And here on the Royalist, I'm going to be telling you the absolute truth about that. Free of censorship, but also staying a long way away from the fact free conspiracy theories peddled on some other corners of the Internet by people who frankly have no sources and no contact. So without further ado, let's get stuck into today's show and here's the royal rundown. First of all, we have our Andrew update and I'm thrilled to say that we have none other than Andrew Loney, the legendary biographer whose book entitled Brought down the ex Prince Andrew. Andrew is joining me for a blockbuster interview on the unthinkable sacrifice King Charles must make to save the monarchy. Then we have Royal Fashion with Plum Sykes. The royals were out looking chic at the Cheltenham races last week and we had a spy in the camp, none other than my sister Plum Sykes, the legendary fashion editor and Voguette. She'll tell us which royal characters struck up a very surprising friendship and has all the details on what sounds like a very exciting fight in the Guinness tent. Then tea with Tom. I'll be joined by my old friend and ace showbiz reporter Paula Froehlich to discuss the latest jaw dropping revelations about Harry and Meghan. And we will end our show with our Royal roast where we are excited to roast the hell out of Meghan and Harry with the help of top Aussie YouTuber Shauna Kay, who you will know from her show the Vintage Read, who joins me from the land down under to discuss the horrified reaction in Australia to Meghan and Harry's pay per play Rent a Royal Tour. So without further ado, let's get stuck into our first topic of the day, which is the Andrew Update. So joining me now is Andrew Loney, whose book entitled Brought Down Prince Andrew. Andrew is joining me for this blockbuster interview to celebrate the launch of the new Royalist podcast and I'm so delighted and thrilled to have him with us. Andrew, let me ask you a question that lots of people have been asking you lately. How does it feel to be proved right about absolutely everything?

[B]

Well, it's very nice to say every single thing. I'm sure there's some things I didn't get right, but I'm relief really, because one always knows, as you know, when you do some work that you can't always be sure of your sources. I mean, everything had to be verified and I did trust them, but you're always a little bit nervous that someone has got a bit. Has got the wrong end of the stick. But yeah, no, it is good to see that the stuff that I found has been backed up by what's been released in the Epstein papers. I mean, people couldn't believe, for example, that the Queen had protected Andrew. I was vilified for saying that. That now seems to be pretty much generally accept. And I think the role of the daughters was seen as. They were seen as collateral damage and as innocence tainted by their parents. I think people are now coming to be aware of just how involved they were. So, yeah, it's relief, but of course it's always good to be proved that one's research has proved to be accurate.

[C]

Andrew, how involved do you think the Queen was? I mean, do you think she had general or specific warnings about what Andrew was up to?

[B]

Well, I mean, there was a lot of stuff in the press going back 15 years, not just about Epstein, but his time as a trade envoy. And, you know, she couldn't have failed to have read this stuff or been briefed about it. I know that MI6 officers and the heads of the Foreign Office went to certainly her private secretary and I'm sure he would have briefed her as well. The fact is that, you know, every time there was some allegation about, you know, Epstein, Andrew was given some new honor or new sign of endorsement. And I think, you know, she was sending out a signal that she didn't believe these stories and her son was innocent. I mean, the lie from palace now is that he lied to everyone and they were taken in. But there was plenty of information that was in the public domain that they could have obtained themselves from just talking to people. I mean, the palace is filled with ex spooks, for example, but protection officers would have reported back. So I have no doubt that she knew a lot, as did King Charles. You know, he's been on the throne now several years. He was briefed by her in the last few years of her reign. I mean, he was very much sort of co reign. So I just don't accept any of these arguments that, you know, we were all, you know, caught on the hoof and we had no idea. And in fact, I'm getting stories of other members of the royal family talking to friends and saying we're very worried about Andrew's associations with Epstein and other people. And those are conversations going back to 2011. So, you know, and we also know that people who came to the palace with Stories, journalists. There were denials, there were legal threats, there were pressure put on them to withdraw access. It's just totally inconceivable that they didn't

[C]

have a full, well, a pretty full

[B]

picture of what he was up to.

[C]

Andrew, I suppose the key question for Charles is what did he know and when did he know it? And of course that's been such an important question in scandals going back to Watergate and beyond. It's the question that protesters were asking the other day outside the Commonwealth Service with their banners and their flags and what do you think about this? What do you think he knew and when did he know it? Do you think there was a cover up for Andrew and do you think that there is some radical step that Charles could take to finally draw a line under this whole mess?

[B]

Yeah, well I think the palace have been caught on the back foot because they never expected these Epstein releases to be made. But they didn't do anything when Sarah Ferguson was caught selling access to Andrew in 2010. There are all series of occasions they didn't do anything which are widely reported. The Selman Turk case where Andrew had over a million pounds into his bank account he couldn't account for. I think the interesting thing is that when my book came out and I think, you know, there was quite a lot of chapter and verse there, again, nothing happened to Andrew. The idea was that we would just sit this out and the problem would go away. And I think it's only because this drip, drip feed and just the wealth of material that has now emerged in pretty clear black and white with all these emails that they've been forced to do anything. And their problem is having denied it before, they've just got to keep denying it. I mean it is a cover up and the COVID up is proving to be as bad as the initial crimes. So I mean all they can do I think is either to hope that a war in the Middle east takes everyone's attention away from this, but I don't think that's going to work. Or they accept that basically Charles has to fall on his sword and accept that he has to take the blame for this and William takes over.

[C]

When you say fall on his sword, do you mean that Charles should or would or will be forced to take the nuclear option and like his great uncle Edward VIII before him, be forced to abdicate? Is that where this story ends?

[B]

Well, I mean he's saying that the law must take its course and you know, if he has perverted the course of justice then I'm afraid You know, he has to bite the bullet and accept responsibility. I mean, I'm sure the firewalls are all going up. They're throwing other members of the family under the bus to divert attention. They will say that, you know, there'll be some poor courtier who will have to take the rap. And Charles wasn't briefed, didn't know anything. But it's just not conceivable, just from all the research I've ever done in the Royal Family, that the people at the top aren't aware of what's happening. Particularly in a huge scandal like this. There would have been briefings and they brought this problem on themselves. If they dealt with it much earlier and been more ruthless, there wouldn't be these wider questions being asked about royal accountability and privilege, but there also wouldn't be questions now being asked about the King himself. And I just don't think a sustainable position continue, will continue to be a sustainable position if we find more and more evidence that he was warned. I mean, the Mail on Sunday have published their email from 2019 showing the king was briefed, but these emails go back to 2010. Anyone reading the papers knows this stuff and it's quite clear that they just hoped the problem would go away and they didn't deal with it. So I think they've got a huge dilemma. And they do. I mean, they haven't really, I don't think, done enough to satisfy public opinion on this, but also to really show that this is important. And I think what makes me slightly cynical about this is that I saw Paul Page's letter where he was being reminded of his obligations of confidentiality in December because he was beginning to speak out about unsecurity, vetted people coming into Buckingham palace, some of these girls. And I was talking to one of my UK ti sources the other day and they were getting letters reminding them of their obligations of secrecy. So on one hand, Charles is saying, we'll fully cooperate with the authorities and everyone should speak freely. And there are these letters going out reminding people not to speak. So I just wonder if what's been done for public consumption isn't actually what's happening in reality.

[C]

Yeah, it was very interesting, actually, because I was in London last week and I dropped around to see Andrew because although having dealt with Andrew for years over the phone, we'd never actually met. So I did go around and see Andrew and I was there in that famous book line study, which has now been seen on television screens and news channels all over the world. And Andrew and I were talking about how it really is going to be very hard for Charles to claim that he knew nothing about this and that he did not cover it up specific because of the payment to Virginia Giuffre in 2022, a multimillion dollar settlement paid to Virginia Giuffre. And it is just inconceivable that this wasn't run past Charles at a minimum. And as I told Andrew when I was with him on Friday, I know one of the last people to have last outsiders, like not a member of the staff to spend a significant amount of time with the Queen. And this person was told before they went in to meet her, listen, I want to warn you, she can't really see very much, she can't really hear very much. She drops in and out of the past. She gets very tired very easily and you need to go very, very easy. You need to be very calm. Essentially, the Queen was, I'm afraid she was an elderly woman. Right. But the extent to which she wasn't fully compass, I think does make it, as you say, Andrew inconceivable that Charles was not involved in that settlement. And that settlement effectively was done to buy Virginia Giuffre. Silence. I mean, that's what the purpose of it was.

[B]

Yeah. And actually fun enough. One of my researchers, or people I'd be using my sources, has been talking about her. Peter Loughborough, who is now the secretary to Camilla and the King that was then head of Royal security, was busy shutting down all sorts of stories about Andrew. So this was in 2005. So, you know, they'd been aware of the problem for a long time and as I say, talking to friends of mine who are friends with members of the Royal family. The members of the Royal family were talking to these friends about the Andrew problem and Epstein and the problems of him as a trade envoy. But the fact is that, you know, from 2001, people were writing, complaining about Andrew's behavior. Again, researching the paperback. I've talked to lots and lots of people in the Foreign Office and they said was the nearest the Foreign Office came to some sort of revolution because of the problems of Andrew and he was actually counterproductive to what they were doing. So everyone knew everything was reported back and everyone at the palace stuck their head in the sand or sat in the fence.

[C]

I know, it's extraordinary. Extraordinary. And your book, of course, did so much for it. And we understand there is a paperback of entitled coming out soon with some new sections, some new information. What are you going to be without giving Too much away. Can you give us a hint of some of the terrain that you're going to be covering? Is there going to be more? I think people are particularly interested to know is there going to be anything more about Beatrice and Eugenie in the new section of the book, Andrew, and how involved do you think they were?

[B]

Yes, there is a lot about them. There's a lot I took out on the instructions of the publishers because they felt that it was unfair to tile them with the same brush. But there's plenty of evidence on their involvement. We're seeing more and more of that payments made to them from the Rolands activities in the Middle East. I mean there should have been some grounds for suspicion with the Selman Turk case. Again, money being in effect fenced through their bank accounts. So yes, there's a lot on Beatrice and Eugenie. I'm looking a little bit more at the trade envoy years with some stories there. There's more about his activities elsewhere. For example, Mongolia, which I hadn't talked about. I think I'm going to be able to put in some of my Ukraine material. Peter Mandelson. I've just been talking this morning to someone who was the sort of right hand person to Sarah Ferguson for five years with wonderful stories of the madness of her life. And so yes, there's more and more stuff coming in. I've got over, I think, 117,000 words of material which I need to cut down to 8,000 words of text.

[C]

Well, better than the other way. Indeed.

[B]

Exactly.

[C]

Do you think that in the end this, when we met on Friday, you said to me, do you know what, it's extraordinary that the Royal Family haven't just said, okay, we'll be transparent and we'll be accountable from now on. And I've really been thinking about that in my head. And that is the other way out of this for them, isn't it? Is that they say, okay, full register of our interest, full declaration of everything, who's living where, what house? I mean another story in the paper today about Charles buying the house next to Camilla's house. I mean just unbelievable. Like you know, every day like more and more opaque, you know, we'll give you a chapter on verse, how the duchy is run, the accounts of the Duchy of Cornwall. I mean that's the other way out of this, isn't it?

[B]

Absolutely. And I mean this is a huge opportunity for them to restore public trust and they'd seem to have ducked that one. And I've been seeing the various parliamentary questions that were put in recently, I mean George Fuchs who's a former Labour Cabinet Minister now in the Lords put in some very good questions about Andrew and we just got the same mealy mouthed response from the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Office and Elvis saying absolutely nothing. So you know, this is all window dressing. You know, we are going to have parliamentary scrutiny or we're going to be a bit more open and it's not happening. So the pressure is not really just on Buckingham palace to come clean, it's also on the government to release files and to start answering questions, questions about Andrew's activities. And I don't know how one changes that. Everyone is this complete imerto around the Royal Family's complete sense of deference. I've had two interviews in fact I've done this morning with people researching the paid back who are close to the Royal family and they just won't hear a word against them even if they'd been involved in criminal behavior. And I find it extraordinary, Extraordinary.

[C]

And of course it was interesting to see Andrew did finally get arrested. We're told that he was referred to as defendant A when he was at that police station in, in Norwich somewhere. But the, the history of the Royal family wouldn't give you enormous confidence, shall we say Andrew, that this is going to actually end in prosecution in open court, would it?

[B]

No, it's very interesting. I mean there seem to be two lines of thought. There are several lawyers saying absolutely, this is a slam dunk case, we've got all the evidence and there should be no problem, but seems to be very quite a number of people. I mean whether this is all again fed out there but to prepare us, but that he's not really a public official, that he's not going to get a fair trial, that it's a very high bar and we're not going to get this stuff through. And I have a sense that this is going to be kicked into the long grass and then some fudge will be found not to charge him. But I think the interesting thing case to watch will be the Mandelson one because if they charge Mandelson they have to charge Andrew. So how are they going to get out of not charging Mandelson? I don't think he can be seen as a sacrificial lamb. He's just another person doing exactly the same. So it'll be really interesting to see how it plays out. But I think the problem is it probably won't be played out in our lifetime.

[C]

Right, well those are historians, historians long term Ye for the long view. Andrew, thank you so much for being with us. Andrew has a brilliant substack, the Loney Report. I strongly urge you to subscribe. And Andrew also is the author of entitled the paperback and don't spend your money now. Wait three weeks and you can get the exciting. No, six weeks is it till the paperback comes out. Andrew, 21st of May. So.

[B]

So yes, two months I'm afraid.

[C]

Very exciting, very exciting. We can't wait to see what's new and going to be in it. Thank you so much Andrew for being with us.

[B]

Well, thank you Tom. Always nice to appear on your show and good luck with the new show.

[C]

Now let's talk about Royal Fashion with Plum Sykes. Welcome to Royal Fashion with Plum Sykes. The royals were out looking chic for the Cheltenham races last week and we had some spy in the camp. None other than my very own dearly beloved sister, the legendary fashion editor, voguette, novelist and writer par excellence, Plum Sykes. Plum. Thank you, Tom, how are ya?

[A]

I'm good, thank you, Tom. I'm recovering from Cheltenham Gold Cup, Cheltenham Festival, which is where all these royals were. It was quite funny. So the Cheltenham Gold cup is the final day of five days of racing at Cheltenham, which is a bit like the sort of wintertime Ascot. It's like Ascot with welly boots and tweed. Not quite as formal, a lot of fun. And the royals appear, but they don't do the procession and stuff. They're just kind of, they're just kind of there wandering around and they have a royal box, but it's all much more casual.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. And who caught your eye? I mean we saw obviously the amazing photographs of Zara, amazing photographs of Princess Anne and Carol striking up a very unlikely friendship. Who caught your eye?

[A]

Well, do you know what? I actually was really, really interested by Camilla and what she was wearing. So she was there I think again it was on Gold cup day and she was wearing this kind of incredibly elegant camel colored coat clearly made for her with a huge hat. She was the only one of the royals with a big hat. All the rest were in like trilbys and fedoras and things. Huge hat with tons of, kind of looked like giant kind of pheasant feathers. And there's always this kind of theme of pheasant feathers and countryside and tweed and all of that kind of stuff. But what's so interesting about what they wear is that they always kind of telegraph something. These royals with every single outfit. So Camilla was wearing an Anna Valentine coat, sort of coat, slash coat dress. Who of course, made the coat slash coat dress that she wore on her wedding day to Prince Charles. So they sort of Camilla's like all of them, they stick with these basically unknown British designers who are almost more like a seamstress or a kind of personal dressmaker who then make them the things that they feel really comfortable in. And actually they don't want to look fashionable. It's not a red carpet for them. They're not doing, you know, they're not influencers trying to sell clothes. They just want to wear what they feel comfortable in. And I do quite like that thing of sort of like being the opposite of the Oscars and not showing off. And then Carol Bamford. Sorry, not Bamford, Carol Middleton.

[C]

Carol Middleton.

[A]

I'm getting confused because I went to. So I went to the Bamford's box, which the Bamfords of the other royal family at Cheltenham because they sponsor Cheltenham. And there they are, they're both called Carroll. So there we are.

[C]

Yes. And tell us about the box culture. Because there's a box culture at Cheltenham, isn't there?

[A]

Okay.

[C]

I mean obviously there's a massive party culture, but at the higher end there's a box culture, but it's actually kind of.

[A]

There's the high low. There's the high low. So the top end is the boxes in what's called the Princess. I think it's the Princess Royal stand, which was named after Princess Anne. And that's where, you know, the Bamfords have got their box, the Vestys have got their box, you know, big Gloucestershire families. And then actually one of the most interesting boxes was the Donnellys, who are this Irish racing family who also kind of own like half of Mayfair or whatever. And I did a little bit of box hopping, as it's known because I had a few invitations to a few different boxes actually. And in the Donnelly's box was Kristin Scott Thomas, this famous actress who's now married to this Englishman with her mother in law. And they had a couple of winners. So that was super exciting. The other box that was good fun was Jade Holland Cooper's box. She's kind of fashion royalty at Cheltenham. She sells all the tweed coats with the gold, you know, the gold buttons and everything. And of course in her box there was Katie Nicholl, fresh from her, fresh from the stand. And she said that she absolutely slaughtered the barrister from the other side, David

[C]

Sherborne, which she did actually. She did because David Sherborne said you've never. The truth, Ms. Nicholl, is that you've Never heard of, never met Prince Harry. He was not a friend of yours, was he, Ms. Nicholl? And she said, well, he was actually, I was at a party at the Reef Gardens. He said, would you like to come and have. I was having a cigarette. And he said, would you like to come into my party? And I said, oh yes, I would. And he said, you're making this up, aren't you? And he said, no, I'm not. Because one tends to remember being invited to a party by the most famous prince in the world. So I'm glad she was on good form.

[A]

She was on really good form. And she said they finished with her an hour early because she was so good. So they didn't, you know, they didn't have any more questions. So what else? So Carole Middleton very much hanging out with Princess Anne Bless was quite interesting. And I keep seeing all these articles talking about how Carol is very discreet. The royal family absolutely love her. She's kind of made a virtue of being diplomatic. She doesn't tell any stories, she doesn't talk to anyone, she doesn't give an interview. And she's kind of looking completely at home in the Royal family and wearing the same unfashionable clothes as them. So she's really fitting in with them. So she was wearing a coat from this English company called really Wild Clothing. Okay. Which sounds like it's going to be something from Hollywood Boulevard. But it's all tweed coats for wearing outside when you go shooting. And interestingly, guess who owns the company?

[C]

I'm going to leave it to you to tell us.

[A]

Nadia Swarovski.

[C]

Okay. Of the jewels of the Jewel family.

[A]

Right. They bought this kind of English hunting shooting, fishing company. And they're all dressing, all of these really kind of sloaney posh girls are wearing this brand of tailored tweed coats and things. But the other person who. I always love to see what she's wearing. Cause she's always clearly just pulled it out of the back of the closet. Princess Anne classic forest green kind of boot, clay coat that looked like it last been worn in sort of 1962. And then what's quite funny is her hat of choice is always a version of a pillbox hat. You know, the kind of hats that Jackie O wore. But on this occasion they always have like little pheasant feathers and things, you know, dotted alongside. And then who else we got? We've got Zara. Yeah. So Zara was wearing Katherine Hooker wrap coat. Catherine Hooker, again a favorite of Princess of Wales.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Been dressing her for Years and again, you know, a little studio on the Fulham Road, you know, very discreet, very slony, isn't gonna tell anyone who she's dressing and all the rest of it. And Zara also wore a dark green velvet suit from me and M. And me and M is this British brand probably the only one that's kind of fashiony, which is actually taking off hugely in America. And Rebecca Brooks, who was in the Bamford box, was wearing the same suit as Zara.

[C]

There we go.

[A]

But the most excitement was the fighting in the Guinness Village.

[C]

Tell us about the fighting. Was Mike Tindall involved?

[A]

Do you know what? Luckily he wasn't. Cause I think that they would have had more than a few bloody noses if he was. So we were just talking about the high low of Cheltenham, right? So there's the boxes, which is like the super, super high end. And then there's something called the Guinness Village, which you could call it low, but I think that's a bit rude. That's where everyone goes to drink Guinness. And it's like tons. It's miles of bars selling just Guinness, basically. And all the Irish boys that go there to drink. And the other thing is, is that all the really, really, really posh dukes, viscounts, earls, they get really bored of being in the boxes. And guess where they all go? Guinness Village. That's their favorite place. They start drinking at 11 o' clock in the morning on Gold cup day. And they drink all the way through. And then what happens? They all start fighting with each other. And there's a very funny video where they all start fighting. They're all wearing the same clothes, little tweed coats. They're all getting their clothes ripped. They finish the fight. This poor guy's like got a bloody nose and everything. And then they all hug each other and congratulate each other for having a marvellous fight. And then they go start another fight

[C]

in the corner and then have a pint of Guinness.

[A]

Yeah. And then there was also a girl's fight in the loo. In the ladies loo.

[C]

I mean, I would say that Cheltenham is the only place, I think, where you will genuinely find a duke and a Dutchman at the bar together.

[A]

In the Guinness Village. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. It's like a pub. Do you know what I mean? It is. It's a super democratic. It's not like Ascot, where there's a royal enclosure and you have to have a special badge to get into royal enclosure. And everyone in the royal enclosure has to wear a tail coat and a top hat and Then everyone else is outside and there's that slightly unappealing feeling of like, oh, there's a velvet rope. There's them and there's us. Cheltenham is everyone in it together. And it's very country. There's loads of farmers, there's jockeys, there's hunting people, you know. And then also what made me laugh is there's a lot of girls who get very drunk as well, obviously. And they all wear. It's freezing cold, you can imagine. And they all wear tweed capes and these hats with the pheasant feathers. And then they wear little tiny tweed miniskirt with bare legs. And then they have a bag on their arm that's like a clear plastic Kelly bag, and in it they have a bottle of champagne with a straw sticking out. That's Cheltenham, Rayford.

[C]

Fantastic. Yeah. And I would say to anybody, if you're. If you're interested in, you know, having a trip to. If you're making a trip to England around this time of year, just buy yourself a ticket for Cheltenham because it is. It is fantastic. I mean, it's. It's so much fun. And you don't. And it's. It's a lot more fun than Ascot. And also the racing is a lot more fun because it's. Because it's jump races, whereas Aska is just on the flat. So it's quite boring.

[A]

And the races actually go on for quite a long time. And, you know, you know, sometimes people fall off, which is quite exciting because of the jumps.

[C]

It's all good fun. Plum, thank you so much for your amazing insights. As ever, Plum Sykes is the. Is the author of the fantastic substack PS by Plum Sykes, where you can read more of Plum's insights. And that's the best place to catch. And if you click on that QR code, if you're watching on the screen, you'll find it. And if you're listening to this in your car, just tell your digital assistant to find PS By Plum Sykes on Substack. We can't say the name of the digital assistant or else it'll send everyone's phones into fits of paroxysms of delight. So thank you very much, Plum, for being with us.

[A]

Thanks, Tom. That was really fun.

[C]

Okay, and now it's time for some piping hot tea. It's time for tea with Tom. Ladies and gentlemen, I've got some very exciting news. We are joined by the one and only Paula Froelich. Yes, that seems to have blown my sound. Actually. I can't hear a thing anymore. Oh, no, you're back. Here you are. Sorry, I really. I've been told not to do that because it can blow people's sound. So I'm sorry. Paula Froehlich is a very old friend of mine. I first met Paula in the year 2002 when I was working at the New York Post, and we were both working on Page Six with another great friend of ours, Chris Wilson. The editor was Richard Johnson at the time. There were wild times. They were wild and fast times. Thank goodness there was no social media. Since then, Paula has gone on to have an incredible career as a showbiz media news and royal reporter. And you can catch her on News Nation, where she has her fantastic show. And you can also catch her on Substack, where she is this inside scoop with Paula Froehlich, and on her YouTube channel, where sometimes she has me as her guest. Paula, what's up?

[D]

Oh, gosh, Tom, you're gonna love this. So you and I have talked about this girl's getaway ad nauseam because I literally can't get enough. And we've talked about how basically they claimed it was sold out. You know, everything with Megan is spin. You and I know this. And, you know, they send out the girls weekend, and it's 3100 Australian dollars for the VIP package, 26.99 for a regular ticket. And so. And then they say, oh, sorry, it's all sold out. So the Sussex squad goes bonkers, right? And then it gets sold out. Stop making fun. Everyone wants to see Megan. Okay? So a source of mine in Australia said, all right. And then they go, it's sold out. Put your name on the wait list. So my friend puts her name on the wait list and she adds in a sob story just to, you know, sweeten the deal. And within hours, she gets an email going, congratulations. Yeah, we'd love to have you.

[C]

Oh, really? They've managed to find a space after all?

[D]

Yeah, within hours. Really?

[C]

I don't believe it.

[D]

Within hours. And they say, you know, basically my source says they're doing Internet searches on people before they can go be approved, because we all know Megan don't like nobody in the audience who corrects her or who doesn't love her. She needs to be surrounded by sycophants at all times. Now, in the letter, they said we had to be very thoughtful about who we could offer places to

[A]

because, you

[D]

know, otherwise it would be journalists and we'd all beg. Tell us more. What gobbledygook do you have to say for us today in Montecito, speak, please. We've got our translators. You know, it's ridiculous. And so then the funniest thing was exactly what they got offered for a VIP package. They got offered twin share rooms. Okay, so. And then it said, if you've got a friend going, let us know so we can pair you up with it. Otherwise, you're going to go spend 3,100 Australian dollars to stay at the new Intercontinental on Coogee beach, also known as Puji beach because there's so many sewage spills, and get to sleep in a twin bed with a stranger.

[C]

Can I just say that Pooji beach is the most Aussie thing I've heard in a long while.

[D]

It's the best.

[C]

Literally.

[D]

My Australian socialites were laughing so hard during Pooji. Oh my God. They were shocked and appalled. They're like, it's perfectly fine if you're like a surfer and you know, you don't mind E. Coli. But anyway, you also get. This is amazing. She was told, my friend, you have seven days to pay, so you better pay the money right now. So seven days to pay. You get breakfast, you get two dinners, and you get inspiring conversations, some yoga and sound healing. As well as you can partake in a disco.

[C]

A disco? How old are we?

[D]

A disco, a disco.

[C]

Would there be snogging?

[D]

I mean, I'll partake in a disco maybe, but it's gotta be under special circumstances. Possibly after a trip to. To the Guinness bar at Cheltenham, but not any other way.

[C]

What other tea do we have? What other tea do we have on this couple?

[D]

Because, I mean, I got it, I got it. I got a question for you.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

What do you get when you get two girls, zero funds, and one very expensive weekend? You get the grifters getaway because get this. Gemma O. Who's hosting this weekend with Meghan Markle. Now she holds the podcast Her Best Life with Jackie O. Henderson. We don't know why she puts the O in there. I think she wants everyone to think she fancy. It's very Housewives of Sydney. However, this is insanity. I found out and it broke in Sydney while I was asleep. And all the people emailed me. They're like, gemma O. Is broke. So apparently, November 2025, her talent agency collapsed. And then in February, February 24, 2026, the tax man came after and she owes over 550,000 Australian dollars to the British Revenue Service, actually.

[C]

Oh, interesting.

[D]

Good for her. Two weeks later, she announced the girls retreat with Meghan also Known in some circles, AKA Spotify, as a grifter. So I just think it's insane, you know. So Gemma, in her statement, said she had no savings, limited income, and couldn't refinance her Sydney apartment. So I say best life indeed. I'm really looking forward to what kind of conversations those women are going to be having and how to live your best life on no money, marry a rich international prince, and two, go hold a girls weekend so everyone else can pay your bills.

[C]

It's incredible. It's incredible stuff. Incredible stuff. And I'm sure more and more will come out about this because the problem is that it just appears to be so incredibly badly organized. It's. It's actually really hard to put together something like this. And we've sort of seen insights into this from Gemma in her initial statement saying that Marcus, you know, called her up from Meghan's house to ask if she wanted to do it. I mean, it's all just so incredibly random and badly organized. Anyway, I was quite intrigued as, you know, something that I'm fascinated by is this tension, shall we call it, between Megan's endless use of social media to commercialize and promote her whole family, new pictures of her kids online today, and the tension that that generates with Harry, who very much doesn't want the kids online. And. And then yesterday they made this extraordinary, very grandiose statement about the LA Tech trial, saying, you know, how awful, basically, mark Zuckerberg was, etc. Etc. Etc. I mean, the whole sort of Sussex social media operation. Do you find it jarring when they put this stuff online in one breath and then in the next breath say, social media is terrible?

[D]

Yeah, it's kind of insane. I don't think they don't understand the dichotomy or hypocrisy of what they say versus what they do. I do want to bring back something real quickly, though, Tom, because you mentioned Marcus Anderson, who's like the global head of membership for Soho House, and he has actually set up several events for Megan and they all just go badly. At this point, I'm just gonna say, Megan, he might be your friend, or is he? Because he keeps having you step in it, girl. Not to mention, maybe you should let someone else do your social calendar. And as for Instagram versus Megan and Harry, I actually think it's causing a lot of tension in their own relationship. So if you look at the Tom Bauer excerpt in the Times of London and he talks about how when they were both in New York last year, there were knockdown drag out fights. And then when we look at the quasi royal tour weirdness to Jordan, you know, you saw Harry brush her off several times, which is the first time that's happened in 10 years, ever. And then you had the line, which was kind of a weird throwaway ending line to the Wall Street Journal article that said, well, when William becomes king, if Harry decides to get remarried, he'll have to ask William for permission. And you're like, whoa, that's a record scratch. Is there tension in paradise? What do you think, Tommy?

[C]

I thought that remark at the end of the Wall Street Journal was. It was so strange. But as a journalist, how I would interpret that is almost when you've, like, gone out to try and get a specific story, you've kind of almost got enough. You've written it up and you've included this big bombshell. And then at the last minute, the lawyers have gone, I'm sorry, we just can't include that. And then someone thinks of a clever way to sort of hint at it or write their way around it. Do you know what I mean? It just slightly had that buzz in there. And the whole piece was so grand and big, and it was like this big headline that obviously people thought of, and it went on and on. It did that real. I'm sorry, I don't mean to denigrate my American colleagues, but it did that real American journalism thing of going, we've spoken to 15 sources. And you're like, well, good for you, man. I don't actually care how many people you've spoken to. Like, what have you found out? Like, good for you doing your homework, guys. But, like, you know, what have you actually found out? And. And there was so little in it other than this sort of one line about him being adrift and one about him being lonely. And then this crazy line at the end saying if Harry wanted to remarry in the future, he'd have to ask the King's permission. And it's like,

[D]

I know. I was like, okay. For the. For everyone else out there who's not in the media, this is a flare. This is sending up an SOS on their marriage.

[C]

Yeah, it was very, very bizarre. Paula, it's been wonderful to have you. If you want to catch me and Paula. At greater length, and by which I really do mean greater length because we keep going for hours. And our poor producer Ben has to, like, go back to school or whatever he's doing. And we're like, no, you can't leave. Join us on either our YouTube channel on Paula's fantastic YouTube channel, the Scoop with Paula Froehlich. Her substack and you can see the QR code there on your screen. If you're in your car, tell your personal digital assistant to look up the scoop, the inside scoop by Paula Froehlich and you will never be sure of entertainment. That's all I can tell you. Paula, thanks so much for coming.

[D]

Thank you. And by the way, I have to say, if you want to also catch me, News Nation, I am the senior story editor and on air entertainment correspondent for the most amazing cable news channel in the world.

[C]

In the whole damn world. Thanks very much, Paula. So now it's time for my personal favorite segment, the Royal Roast. And this week I'm joined by Shauna Kaye. I am looking forward to roasting the hell out of who else? Meghan and Harry. And I am delighted to have Shauna K joining me. Shauna, as anybody who's watched my YouTube channel and her YouTube channel will know, is the host of the Vintage Read show. It's one of the top Australian royal podcasts. Shauna is actually a polymath. She's really, really smart, a really great writer. She has a fantastic substack which she's going to tell us all about as well. And Shauna, I'm just delighted to have you. Shauna is one of my great inspirations on YouTube and I'm thrilled to have her. Shauna, what do you think so far?

[E]

I'm so impressed, Tom, and I'm rather excited to get this invite, I've got to tell you. And I can't wait to dish the dirt about Harry and Meghan coming to Australia.

[C]

So let's catch people up a bit. So this is a pay per view, pay per photo, pay per visit, pay per view visit to Australia that's going to be taking place next month. For just a few thousand Australian dollars, you can get your photograph taken with Meghan. But it now turns out that one of her business partners has got some trouble. Tell us the whole story, Shauna.

[E]

Yes, well, Gemma o', Neill, who is actually the manager of Jackie O Henderson, they both started up the besties company, basically where they would host these VIP weekends away, mainly aimed for influencers, obviously. And so Gemma o' Neill was thrilled that Megan decided to come along and be a very special VIP guest for that table photo. And unfortunately, Gemma o', Neill, her company, her talent agency, has just gone under administration in November last year, but is now actually in liquidation. And she owes a cool half a mil to the Australian Tax office.

[C]

Hang on a sec. So Meghan is partnering and appearing on stage with somebody whose company is in liquidation and owes the Aussie tax office half a million dollars. I'm sorry, did this not come up before?

[E]

We need to clarify because the bestie's weekend is a different arm of her business, so completely separate to the talent agency that she ran. So we have to be clear about that. So it's sort of siloed and separate. And evidently the besties company that she's in partnership with, Jackie O. Henderson, is presumably healthy. It's got a healthy bottom line. Or maybe it does now that Meghan's coming.

[C]

Yeah, I just don't know if I was going on my fake royal tour that I'd partner with somebody who had 500,000 debt to the, to the tax office. But tell me more. What, what's the kind of general reaction to this in Australia? I mean, are people as horrified? I mean, do they find it tacky like we do, or do they. Is this sort of culturally okay, that people like. Good on you, good on you, mate. Have stick another shrimp on the barbie and you know, make yourself a few quid if you can.

[E]

No, I think it could be best. The whole sentiment, I think could be summed up in a two word phrase that we use a lot here in Australia and the phrase is. Yeah, nah. And I think it could be summed up with those two words. I would say I've been a bit of an on the ground, intrepid reporter for you, Tom, and I've checked the mood and I would say that on the scale, it would be polite disinterest on one end and raging resentment on the other. And there's not a lot much in between. Very much seen as commercial, very much seen as a B grade sort of influencer event of not much note, bit tacky. You know, only the desperates would turn up that sort of thing. And I think it's also the media. The media have been really pushing the fact that their popularity is at the lowest point it's ever been. Yet there's no numerical poll to prove that. It's more just commentary. But I mean, I can believe it. I think people would believe it. And they're really emphasizing the gap between the Love Fest in 2018 and what they think will befall them when they arrive this time.

[C]

Well, yeah, that's what I was going to ask you because actually I was talking to Paula Froehlich earlier in the week, who was on earlier, and she was telling me about how you Know, they're pretending that the event has sold out, but actually, if you sign up and send a request, you immediately get something back saying. Saying, oh, please come along. You know, please do come along. And it does seem to me these kinds of things, they are quite risky, aren't they? Because actually, you're coming face to face with what are you really worth, you know, what are people really prepared to pay? I mean, you wouldn't have thought they'd have too much trouble selling 300 tickets. I mean, it doesn't seem like a huge amount, but compared to the screaming crowds that greeted them when they came. She announced, of course, on that first official royal trip that she was pregnant with Archie. It was an unbelievably successful trip. And I suppose the thing is, though, that the actual royal trip, because it's backed up with so much logistical support, everything runs very smoothly. Whereas this is looking. I don't know, is there an Australian phrase? A kick, bollock and a scramble? Is that Australian or not?

[E]

No, but I take your point. I think really the skepticism stems from what came out after the last tour. So we had the love fest and that was real, and they were really the gold couple. They had their moment in the sun. But very soon after that, even before they got back to the uk, there was all these rumblings coming out, of course, of staff in tears. Of course, Rebecca English reported on that. We had really respected journalists on that tour, like Valentine Lowe in the back of the plane. And of course, we know he came out with his book Courtiers, and really, we got the stark reality. But there was rumblings locally, you know, people that worked at Government House talking to their cousin and then their cousin talking, and things were sort of leaking out very quickly. So we had, you know, staff in tears and this awful atmosphere, and everyone sort of really witnessed the hiss in the Fijian marketplace. So there's a lot of skepticism there because, you know, Aussies don't like fake. We don't like a false niceness. We want to know that you're genuinely a good person and that you treat your staff well. And I think that's where it all came undone.

[C]

I mean, yeah, I've only been to Australia twice, and both times kind of east coast, you know, driving up and down the coast and just amazing memories. But my impression of Australian, sort of how Australian national culture and how they see themselves is they actually pride themselves on sort of being able to sniff out bullshit and kind of being immune to that kind of stuff. I mean, obviously, it's a bit of a caricature. But I mean, it seems like, you know, a funny kind of place for them. And then if this is really the launch pad for Megan to launch the product, the as ever products in Australia, I mean, that seems like a whole completely mad concept. Cause I mean, Australia, as I remember, you can't even bring a slice of cheese into the country without being put in an immigration block and questioned about it. I mean, yeah, how do you think it'll work if they do start trying to sell their, you know, products, which frankly have been not got great reviews from food reviewers and food bloggers around the world. And Australians love, very proud of their produce. Right? I mean, they love their produce.

[E]

Yeah, exactly that. Exactly what I was about to say, that we're great nation of foodies, so the product has to be really good and really impressive to impress us. But in this case, I don't think the flower sprinkles are going to replace the Royal Stardust, Tom. I, you know, it's just not going to happen. Also, you would think that even mailing cost, I mean a lot of products don't launch in our country because it's prohibitive to actually get the product to Australia. I mean, that's a real problem. So I don't know how well this was really thought out and I don't really know how genuine than it actually is. I suspect that it was genuinely a favor to Marcus Anderson, who was a friend with Gemma o' Neill. And I think it's a favor for a friend that has very much backfired. There's even a petition tong on change.org, which has currently got 8, over 8,600 signatures from Australians that are serious. They don't want any taxpayer funding for this trip and they are really, they don't want to any government supplied security for Harry and Meghan when they're in because the insistence is it is a private commercial business visit and so they don't want any of that recognition as if they're members of the Royal family.

[C]

Wow, Fascinating. Well, Shauna, final question. Will you be attending?

[E]

No, I won't, Tom, because I have a feeling that I might be thrown out because I've had my podcast for many years now and the Sussex squad have identified me as someone that can be slightly critical at times. So I would have to go in disguise.

[C]

Well, that would be quite a sight. So Shauna came, Paula came over.

[E]

I could go with Paula. We could share a room.

[C]

Besties, besties. Yeah, of course. Shauna, do me a favor so that I don't get it wrong. And tell everybody about where they can find you on substack and YouTube and all those things.

[E]

Okay, well, I've got a substack called Red Hot Royal Reveals and so you can find me there. You can't miss it. It's sort of got an orange background, which is a bit obnoxious, but it makes me stand out. So, yeah, check me out there.

[C]

Fantastic. Thank you so much for being with us, Shauna.

[E]

Okay, thank you.

[C]

Well, thank you very, very much for joining me for the first episode of the new Royalist podcast. Thank you for spending some of your valuable time with me, whatever time it is where you are. What was your favorite bit of the show? Which bits did you enjoy? Let us know, give us some feedback, tell us in the comments what you enjoyed, what you want to hear, more of, what you loved, what you liked. Thank you so much to my incredible guests. Andrew Loney, who has the Loney Report on Substack, Plum Sykes, who has PS by Plum Sykes on Substack, Paula Froehlich, the proprietor of the Inside Scoop with Paula Froelich on Substack, and Shauna Kay, the propriety of Red Hot Royal Reveal on Substack. So we were thrilled to have so many brilliant, high calibre quality guests. And that, I hasten to add, is a very good taster of what you're going to be getting every week on the Royalist podcast. I'm going to bring you the best guests, the insideriest info, the real gossip, the real scoop, the real news on what's going on. So thank you so much to all our amazing producers, to Rachel Patha and Devon Rogerino for their amazing and patient work putting this all together. It's been a labor of love and we're thrilled to finally have it here ready to go if you're feeling. Obviously, the main thanks goes to you for, as I said, taking a bit of time, your valuable time and spending it with us. If you're really feeling kind, it would be amazing if you could like and subscribe and if you're feeling really, really kind, it'd be fabulous if you could recommend it to a friend who you think might enjoy it because that will help us to grow and help us to keep lights on and help us to keep the show on the road. So thank you very, very much, everybody and we'll see you next week.