Why Andrew's Epstein Shame Will Never End: Author | The Daily Beast Podcast

Dec 4, 2025 | Andrew Lownie joins Joanna Coles with a bracing account of a royal family in complete public meltdown. Lownie, an author and British historian, lays out why Prince Andrew’s downfall is no longer a contained scandal but a widening corruption crisis—one that now stretches from sex-trafficking allegations to financial misconduct, secret meetings with Bahrain, and the Queen and Prince Philip’s decades-long blind spot for their “favorite” son. As King Charles battles cancer and Prince William quietly takes the reins, Joanna presses Lownie on whether Andrew will flee Britain, what Sarah Ferguson might reveal, and whether this is the most perilous moment for the monarchy since the abdication.

BBC: What’s the Monarchy For?

Broadcaster David Dimbleby has reported on countless royal occasions – from weddings to funerals and jubilees. But often he feels his role has been to help the palace and the people inside it present themselves as they want to be seen.

Now, as recent events put the family under the spotlight, Dimbleby probes politicians and royal insiders on fundamental questions about the institution at the heart of our national life.

In this episode, we are told the monarch is politically neutral and would never influence the running of the country – but is that really true?

How much power does the king or queen really have? And in a world where political leaders are continuingly under attack, what role is there for our unelected head of state?

Featuring interviews with royal insiders alongside political players such as David Cameron and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Less

Watch this BBC documentary here (if you can access the BBC.)

Royal Hypocrisy Pushes the Monarchy into Isolation

Nov 1, 2025 | “The monarchy projects family values, but in reality they struggle to live up to those moral values.”

The younger generation can’t stand the hypocrisy of the monarchy, says Ed Owens, royal historian and author of After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?

King Charles Chooses Firm over Family as He Strips Andrew's Titles

Oct 31, 2025 | “The main thing they’re worried about is us, the great British public thinking where is all this money coming from.”

King Charles’s main concern is the British public's opinion of Andrew as they fund the royal family, says historian AN Wilson.

25 Secretly Gay Kings of England You Never Knew

Sep 9, 2025 | What if England’s crown was passed not just through bloodlines… but through secrets? Behind the portraits, beneath the thrones, lingered whispers of forbidden bonds, vanished favorites, and kings who loved in shadows. For centuries, history scrubbed them clean. But the silences remain. And sometimes, silence says everything. Tonight, we dig beneath the velvet and gold to unearth 30 royal lives… and the hidden love stories history refused to tell. Welcome to 30 Secret Gay Kings of England. This isn’t a scandal. It’s a pattern.
Unfortunately, this video cannot be embedded on external websites. It must watched on YouTube itself. Here's a link to it. Enjoy! — Mark

Duchess of Kent Has Died Aged 92, Says Buckingham Palace

THE GUARDIAN: Palace says duchess, who was married to late queen’s cousin, ‘passed away peacefully surrounded by family’

The Duchess of Kent, the first Catholic convert in the royal family for centuries and who was known for presenting numerous Wimbledon trophies and consoling runners up, has died aged 92.

The duchess was married to the late queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent but for decades led a separate life from him.

She will be best remembered for a moment in 1993 when she put her arm around a distraught Jana Novotná after the Czech tennis player narrowly lost the Wimbledon women’s singles final to Steffi Graf. Novotna cried on the duchess’s shoulder after blowing a 4-1 lead in the third set.

During the exchange the duchess, whose husband was president of the All England Club for more than 30 years, told Novotna “I know you can do it”. Five years later the duchess presented her with the winning trophy.

In 1999 the duchess became disenchanted with the Wimbledon authorities when she was refused permission to take the young son of the murdered headteacher Philip Lawrence into the royal box.

The duchess, who preferred to be referred to as Katharine or Mrs Kent, dropped her HRH title when she stepped back from public life in 2002. » | Matthew Weaver | Friday, September 5, 2025

Duchess of Kent dies aged 92: Duchess ‘passed away peacefully’ at Kensington Palace on Thursday night »

The Duchess of Kent, popular member of the Royal family who found her calling quietly helping the vulnerable – obituary: With the Queen’s permission, she stepped back from royal duties and taught in a primary school in Hull under the name of ‘Miss Katharine’ »

Starkey Talks about King Charles, Diana & Future of Monarchy | David Starkey Talks... to Alex Larman

Aug 17, 2025 | This week the latest revelations about Prince Andrew prompted a discussion with historian and author Alex Larman, author of several books about the Windsor family. Together we talked about how our Royal household has gotten itself into its current position, with a King who frequently opines on matters of significant political contention in ways that erode support for the institution among the very people most likely to back it. We trace this trend back to its origin in the early twentieth century, when the monarchy was reinvented as a popular institution. The very name of the dynasty is changed and democratic orders of chivalry are invented, even one for socialists. The area around Buckingham Palace is transformed in order to create a public venue for the display of the Royal Family to its people. Shepherding this popular monarchy has always been a tightrope act, and on many occasions the acrobat has come close to falling, such as during the crisis of Edward VIII's abdication or the devastating scandals afflicting the marriages of Queen Elizabeth II's children. But King Charles is pushing the act to its very limit. Enjoy the episode!

Nb: I am posting this video sight unseen. — Mark

Prince Harry Denies Giving Prince Andrew Bloody Nose at Family Gathering

THE GUARDIAN: New biography of the Duke of York claims ‘punches were thrown’ after heated argument became physical

Prince Harry has denied he gave Prince Andrew “a bloody nose” during a fight at a family gathering in 2013.

According to an excerpt from a new biography of the disgraced Duke of York, published in the Daily Mail on Saturday, the pair had a heated argument that escalated into a physical altercation. “Punches were thrown over something Andrew said behind Harry’s back”, the author Andrew Lownie claimed.

The alleged fight began when “Harry told [his uncle] he was a coward not to say it to his face. Harry got the better of Andrew by all accounts, leaving him with a bloody nose before the fight was broken up.”

Lownie’s biography, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, also claims Andrew told his nephew that his marriage to Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, would “not last more than a month”. » | Bethan McKernan | Sunday, August 3, 2025

King Charles Axes ‘Embarrassing’ Train over Soaring Costs

Jul 1, 2025 | “It has become a little bit of an embarrassment.”

King Charles has decided to axe the royal train, which has a history spanning 180 years, as it has become “too expensive”, says The Times’s royal editor, Kate Mansey.


THE GUARDIAN: Royal train to be retired as King Charles seeks to modernise monarchy: Palace accounts show Treasury funding to remain at £86.3m, while duchy of Cornwall will waive some charity rents »

TATLER: The Royal Train isn't as glamorous as it used to be »

Thinking Class | John Gillam: How the British Monarchy Is Busy Destroying Itself - David Starkey

Feb 3, 2025 | About Thinking Class: Thinking Class is a free-speech YouTube show and podcast about the state of our world. Join John Gillam and his guests to understand why elites and their ideas matter, and how what they think, say and do impacts the health of our society, culture, and civilisation. This podcast explores what made our civilisation, what is unmaking it, and how each of us might respond to keep it together.

A Republican’s Viewpoint: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on the Monarchy

May 8, 2024 | Author and journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown recorded this video to be broadcast on the big screen at Republic Day.

Monarchy to Receive Extra £45m due to Soaring Profits | Charlotte Griffiths | Graham Smith

Jul 25, 2024 | "It's outrageous when we're being told we can't scrap the two-child benefit cap but we can give the Royals millions of pounds more."

Graham Smith from anti-monarchy organisation Republic debates the Mail on Sunday's Charlotte Griffiths on the news that the Royal Family is set to get a boost to their funding, to the tune of £45 million.


Considering that this country is on its beam ends, we really must ask ourselves one simple question: Can we really afford the luxury of having a horrendously expensive royal family?

When governments are asked for more money for the needy, they always plead poverty; however, when the royal family demands an increase, untold millions can be found. Is this 1789 or 2024? – © Mark Alexander

Related article here.

King to Receive Extra £45m of Public Money as Crown Estate Income Soars

THE GUARDIAN: Royal accounts show estate made £1.1bn profit, meaning sovereign grant will rise to £132m for 2025-26

Screenshot from this Guardian article | The king’s crown estate profits have more than doubled. The accounts also show that £600,000 of the sovereign grant was spent on the coronation and related events last year.Photograph: Benjamin Cremel/AFP/Getty Images
King Charles is set for a huge £45m pay rise with an increase of more than 50% in his official annual income, official accounts reveal.

Profits of £1.1bn from the crown estate – a percentage of which funds the monarchy – mean the sovereign grant, which supports the official duties of the royal family, will rise from £86m in 2024-25 to £132m in 2025-26.

The monarchy currently receives 12% of the crown estate profits to fund its work as well as to fund the 10-year, £369m renovation of Buckingham Palace. Royal aides said the increase will be used to complete the palace reservicing programme by 2027.

The sovereign grant will be reviewed in 2026-27 to reassess the amount handed over to the palace and ensure it is an “appropriate level”.

Royal accounts also show that the Prince of Wales received £23.6m income from the Duchy of Cornwall in his first full year after inheriting the land and property owning estate from his father. » | Caroline Davies and David Pegg | Wednesday, July 24, 2024

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.K. Royal Family Gets Financial Boost From Offshore Wind and Palaces: Profits at the Crown Estate doubled thanks to offshore wind deals, while visitors to royal palaces are almost back to prepandemic levels. »

Head of king’s property portfolio given 20% pay rise to £1.9m: Crown estate reward for Dan Labbad comes amid doubling of profits on back of offshore wind developments »

St Kitts and Nevis Is Not Totally Free under King Charles III, Says PM – BBC News

May 8, 2023 | The prime minister of a Caribbean nation has said his country is "not totally free" as long as King Charles III remains head of state. Dr Terrance Drew said that a public consultation on whether St Kitts and Nevis should become a republic would begin during his leadership. He also said he would welcome an apology from the monarchy for its historic links to the slave trade. Buckingham Palace said the King takes slavery "profoundly seriously".

Australia: Is the British Monarchy Still Relevant? | 60 Minutes Australia

Msy 7, 2023

A Look at the British Monarchy's Popularity ahead of King Charles' Coronation

May 4, 2023 | The new king inherited the crown at a time when support for the monarchy was as low as it had ever been—a decline that has been accelerated in part by the downfall of Charles’s brother Prince Andrew over sexual assault allegations stemming from his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as by the damaging revelations made in Prince Harry’s unsparing memoir, Spare.

I should like to remind my followers and visitors that I do not post articles, videos and documentaries because they reflect my personal views; rather, I post them because I find their content interesting and, in some way, relevant. I also try hard to be balanced. My own personal views can be deduced and concluded only from the comments I make or from something I myself write. – Mark

How the Crown Has More Power Than You Think

Dec 1, 2022 | The monarch's role in British politics is supposed to be neutral. In theory at least, she plays no role in government decision-making or the setting of policy. …

Quebec Moves to End Canadian Elected Officials’ Oath to King Charles

THE GUARDIAN: ‘It is a relic from the past’: strong opposition to oath from three political parties of French-speaking province

Quebec’s premier, François Legault, will propose legislation to end the oath to the British king.Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
Quebec’s premier, François Legault, said that his government would introduce legislation next week to end elected officials’ required oath to Britain’s King Charles, as pressure mounts in the Canadian province to cut such ties with the monarchy.

Fresh legislation from the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) follows a separate bill introduced on Thursday by the left-leaning Québec Solidaire party that would allow elected officials to just take an oath to the people of Quebec.

“It is, I think, a relic from the past,” Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, a co-spokesperson for Québec Solidaire, said about the oath to King Charles.

“I think there is strong support in Quebec to modernize our institutions, to make sure that the representatives of the people are not forced in 2022 to swear an oath to a foreign king.” » | Reuters in Montreal | Thursday, December 1, 2022

'Keep on keeping on'? King Charles III and the Future of the UK Monarchy • FRANCE 24 English

Sep 11, 2022 Charles III was officially proclaimed the UK's new monarch on Saturday, September 10, and crowds gathered outside St James's Palace to show their support for the new king. But with polls consistently showing he enjoys much less popularity than his mother, could this have an impact on the future of the monarchy?

Prince Andrew’s Behaviour Has Put the Very Future of the Monarchy in Doubt

THE GUARDIAN: The Queen has been a point of stability in a precarious world, but the prince’s misjudgments over Jeffrey Epstein have refocused scrutiny on the institution that produced him

The institution of the monarchy, said Boris Johnson, is beyond reproach. It was such an odd response to the scandal engulfing Prince Andrew – so stiff, so forelock-tugging, so initially lacking in sympathy towards the teenage girls abused by the prince’s late friend Jeffrey Epstein – that it stuck in the mind long after the televised leaders’ debate ended. Perhaps, I thought, he was simply afraid of offending the Queen any further after dragging her into a shabby, unlawful prorogation of parliament.

Yet now one wonders if Johnson had an inkling of what was coming, when he chose to defend not Prince Andrew personally but the institution from which the prince has essentially resigned. For it is the institution itself that is now in danger. » | Gaby Hinsliff | Thursday, November 21, 2019

The toxic prince: Andrew handed royal P45 after tipping point reached »