Transcript
Tom Sykes (0:00)
Presidents, they come and go. Who cares? Charles was able to go, I'm the king. I have this entirely unique kind of power and celebrity that Donald Trump responded really well to. And Donald Trump enjoyed, I think, rolling out the red carpet for him.
Joanna Coles (0:18)
I'm Joanna Coles. This is the Daily Beast podcast. And what a historic week we have seen for King Charles. Coming with the weight of the world, the Western world, the free world on his shoulders. Dispatched by the British government to ensure that the special relationship between the UK and the US Remains intact, an ergo NATO remains intact, he came amid all sorts of speculation that this was a terrible waste of his time, that he was going to be mocked and used as Donald Trump's stooge. And in fact, so far, and we're recording this on Wednesday morning, the day after, he made two stellar SPE speeches, the visit could not have gone better. Both men, the President and the King, appear to have got on very well. King Charles's speech managed to unify the House, or unify the House, as Melania might say. But what a moment when you saw repeated standing ovations in the House of Congress from both sides of the House. Not something we've seen for a long time. And I will say it gave me a real. It gave me a jolt of optimism that we will get through what feels like sometimes a very dark time in America. Anyway, who better to discuss this with than Tom Sykes, who is the Royalist and has been the royal correspondent for the Daily Beast for many, many years. No one has better information than Tom. But before we talk to him, I just want to ask you to press the subscription button. We are independent media. It's why we can bring you these sometimes off the wall conversations. It's why Michael Wolff and I dive into Don Trump's head three times a week, because of your support. So we really appreciate it. And now, no more time to waste. Let's get into it with Tom Sykes about what was going on in that speech. And then, of course, even more interestingly, the weird shifts of power in the Windsor family, as not only Prince Harry but Prince William appear to upstage their own father during the most important week of the year. We are thrilled that you are in our New York studio and you are here to groom us. All the conniptions and the complications of being a British royal, because on the one hand, we've got King Charles doing what appears to be a stellar diplomatic job, and then on the other, we've got his kids trying to upstage him. No one knows more about this than you do. You're an incredible reporter for the Royal Family. I know you're a bit of a toff secretly, so you hang in the same circles. And Tom, you know, give us a sense of what's happening in this family right now.
Tom Sykes (3:21)
Well, I mean, this family, they never cease to amaze one, do they, Joanna? So here we are. It is, you know, the day after Charles's fantastic speech to the joint session of Congress. Historic speech, widely praised, standing ovations across the aisle. Donald Trump saying that he's jealous of his speech. Another fantastic speech at the state dinner. He gave him the special bell from the old submarine. You know, made a little Batman joke. If you never need us, give us a ring. You know, it was. It was all fantastic. It was all going to so perfectly. So what of course, had to happen then was of course, that Meghan and Harry had to chuck a bag of spanners into the works with an incredibly unfairly timed front page story on the COVID of People magazine, you know, about how they won't be ruled by the Royal Family anymore. They're stepping into their destiny. They're doing their own thing. And equally. Well, perhaps not quite equally, because William and Catherine are the future of the Royal family. I mean, they are part of the institution. But they have Today released a 15th wedding anniversary photo of them and their kids on holiday in Cornwall. It's a lovely, lovely photo. It's kind of neo Victorian in a way. It sort of very much speaks to the big fecund family, the continuation of the line, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The problem is, is it's going to knock Charles off the top of news feeds and off the top of the front pages. And what Charles is doing today is arguably. Well, it's not arguably. It is the most sombre part of the tour, which is that he is going to the 911 memorial. You know, by the time this podcast goes out, he will have visited the 911 memorial, and we will have seen him at the 911 memorial. And it just. It's so. I just find Harry and Meghan's behavior so unbelievably cruel. Actually, Joanna, I just think here is his father finally stepping into his destiny. Finally. No one's saying Charles is a laughingstock. Charles is a joke. Charles talks to trees and, you know, knits his own yogurt. And what does Harry have to do?
