Talking Royals

Did the royal family make a mistake letting Harry and Meghan walk away?

In this week’s episode of Talking Royals, Charlene, Chris and Lizzie discuss whether Meghan and Harry should have ever been allowed to leave the royal family. And is the Palace now missing that Meghan Markle magic?Charlene, Chris and Lizzie recorded this episode right after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s surprise trip to Jordan made global headlines — including reports that they were “snubbed” by the Jordanian royal family. The British royal family have a famously close relationship with the Jordanian royals, with the Crown Prince and Prince William maintaining a genuine friendship. So in this episode we unpack how Harry and Meghan's humanitarian‑focused visit was received, and whether the timing caused any tension back home.Meanwhile, as the Royal Family continues grappling with the crisis involving Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor, our experts explore how the ongoing scandal is impacting royal work, public perception, and discussions around the line of succession.And at the BAFTAs on Sunday night, there was an unexpected hot-mic moment from Prince William. When asked if he’d watched the new Hamnet movie, he was overhead admitting “I’m not in a calm state”. So was the comment a subtle reference to the Andrew situation, or were the newspaper headlines overwritten?Plus, is Kensington Palace’s commitment to social media content the most significant change to royal reporting in the past decade?

How was this iconic image of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor leaving a police station captured?

It’s the photo that will define a moment in history for the royal family. A press photographer captured the split second that the former Prince Andrew was driven away from a Norfolk police station after being arrested.So how was the iconic photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor captured? Our royal experts, Chris and Lizzie, tell Charlene everything they have learned about that moment, the historic arrest and release of a former Prince.This week, Andrew became the first member of the royal family to be arrested in more than 350 years. So is this a constitutional crisis for King Charles? Or can he weather the storm?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrest: How it all unfolded

Historic scenes in Sandringham, as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Our royal experts talk through what we know, and what this means for the royal family.Plain-clothed police officers were seen arriving at the royal property, before Thames Valley Police confirmed the news of an arrest.Shortly afterwards, King Charles III released an unprecedented statement expressing his 'deepest concern' over the news of his brother’s arrest. The monarch added that “nobody is above the law”. It comes just weeks after more than 3 million files relating to Jeffrey Epstein were released by the US Department of Justice.So what next for the royal family? What exactly is going on behind palace doors? And should the royal family have acted earlier?

Did the Palace response to the Andrew-Epstein allegations go far enough?

What happened when Prince William decided to speak out on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein? And did the statement go far enough? Listen as Chris and Lizzie describe how it all unfolded, while they were in Saudi Arabia with Prince William. They talk us through how they found out that Kensington Palace, and Buckingham Palace, decided to end the royal wall of silence, addressing the allegations against the former-Prince Andrew. So what did Buckingham Palace’s statement on Andrew say? How does Prince William really feel about his uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor? And what are the police now looking into? A reminder, that ITV News have put the latest allegations to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who did not respond, and when he was previously approached for a response he strenuously denied all wrongdoing.

Is this the biggest royal scandal in living memory?

As the latest Epstein files uncover more claims about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince moves out of his royal mansion in the dead of the night. But who told him it was time to go?Our royal experts delve into the latest drop, and question whether the late Queen Elizabeth II could have done more to intervene after allegations against her son?Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor strenuously denies all allegations of wrongdoing.