The Royals with Roya and Kate - The King visits Auschwitz, Kate follows in Princess Diana's footsteps and a new royal baby

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

Kate shares her first-hand account of a historic moment - witnessing the King become the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, marking the 80th anniversary of the concentration camp's liberation. Roya and Kate also talk about the Princess of Wales's visit to Wales and her new role as patron of Tŷ Hafan Children's Hospice in Wales, following in Diana's footsteps. And Princess Beatrice gives birth to a second baby.Get in touch: [e-mail] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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ACAS powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. On October 3rd, 1980, a bomb was detonated outside a synagogue on Copernic Street in Paris. Three decades later, French investigators finally identified a suspect in the case. A Lebanese-Canadian sociology professor living a quiet life on the outskirts of Ottawa, Canada. Is Hassan Diab guilty? Can you introduce yourself? Or is he a scapegoat? Hassan Diab.

From Canadaland, this is the Copernic Affair. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com Hello, I'm Roya Nikha, Royal Editor for the Sunday Times. And I'm Kate Mancy, Royal Editor for the Times. Welcome to the Royals with Roya and Kate. The King paid tribute to Holocaust survivors and made history as he became the first British

monarch to visit Auschwitz on the 80th anniversary of its liberation from the Nazis. King Charles said, It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world. It was also a day of reflection as the Prince and Princess of Wales attended a memorial event in London where they met Holocaust survivors and their families. And Kate makes more welcome public appearances. And in some happy news, Buckingham Palace announced a new addition to the royal family. Princess Beatrice last week gave birth to a little girl, Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli-Mozzi.

Athena Elizabeth Rose Mappelli-Mozzi. This week, King Charles became the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz when he walked in the footsteps of more than a million men, women and children who were transported to the Nazi concentration and extermination camp and put to death. It was a deeply moving experience for all of us who were there. The King laid a wreath at the reconstruction of what is known as the Death Wall, where

thousands of political prisoners were shot. And it was at night in the moonlight and the wreaths were laid in flickering candlelight. The King looked profoundly moved. He had written a special message on the wreath which read, In special remembrance, Charles R. I think it was the plight of the children in particular that appeared to have such a profound effect on him. This was all happening after the ceremony in which he was joining world leaders

including President Zelensky from Ukraine, the King of Spain and other politicians and dignitaries. And after that he went to Auschwitz 1, which is on a separate camp. And in 5 which is part of the General Museum that's there where visitors can see thousands of personal belongings that were confiscated from Jewish people who were sent there to their deaths. He was shown an exhibition of children's shoes which were all piled up just thousands of them. They were told to take their shoes off before they were murdered.

Palisades, perhaps unsurprisingly, described this visit as a personal pilgrimage, that he was going there as both a man and a monarch. And when he saw the shoes, he pointed to them and said, these little tiny ones here, I remember reading a story of one child, just two years old. And he just looked very overwhelmed by the whole experience. And away from the cameras, Kate, the King's final stop was where he signed the visitor's book.

He did, and that was away from the cameras and the journalists, and it was a private moment in which he went into what was the former laundry at the camp. And there he added his signature to the visitor's book, and he wrote, remembering what took place here, and those who were so cruelly murdered is a duty, a sacred duty, that must be protected.

Being here today, hearing the stories of those who experienced its horrors, seeing the shoes of children whose lives were taken when they'd just begun, and walking the paths upon which such cruelty was inflicted is something that I will never forget. Was there any moment when you were at Auschwitz-Kate and watching all of that that particularly struck you about the King and how emotional he felt? The most poignant moment was when he laid the wreath at the death wall as a reconstruction of a wall where political prisoners,

many thousands of Polish political prisoners, were first shot and they were the first inmates really at Auschwitz. The first victims before it was widened out for the shipments of well over a million Jewish people who went there to their deaths. But he laid the wreath, stepped back, looked up at the wall, and he did that thing, and he sort of pushed his lips together in a kind of hard line, as if he was just taking it in, trying to hold back the tears, really. And I know we talk about the king being emotional,

and lots of people write about him having tears in his eyes, but it really was something that I thought he was really overwhelmed. He had that moment, and he walked away away and he stopped and turned back to just sort of take it in and then he did it again. He just couldn't stop kind of looking at it, sort of taking in the horror of it all. And just seeing, I think, you know, we know about the awfulness of Auschwitz. We've read about it in the books, but I think going there and seeing it, and I was unprepared for how moving it was actually being in the spot where those people were so cruelly murdered

in such a callous way, just discarded, made to strip, being escorted into the gas chambers, women and children, and then their bodies incinerated by prisoners who had to do that sort of dirty work for the SS guards there is something that is so hard to fathom and to comprehend that it's only really by being there that you can see it. And I still find it quite astonishing that he was the first British monarch to go because although the Queen went to Bergen-Belsen camp and another concentration camp. The late Queen. Yeah, the late Queen had camp and another concentration camp. The late Queen. Yeah, the late Queen. Queen Camilla had been to Auschwitz.

That's right. Queen Camilla has been. But we haven't had a kind of sovereign, we haven't had a monarch go there before. But I think this being the site of the worst kind of mass murder in history, that they should rightly, you know, that he did rightly go. And I think it was right that he went went to a very important personal pilgrimage for him. Yes, indeed. On the same day here in London, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended a Holocaust memorial event at the Guild Hall, which was also attended by the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.

William thanked those presents for their bravery in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives. Kate hugged and held hands with the elderly survivors and also spoke to 89-year-old Stephen Frank. They had met before in 2020 when she photographed him for an exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. There are lovely pictures of her smiling as she's seen giving him a big hug. Prince William also spoke of one of his own relatives who helped to protect Jewish

people during the Second World War. His great-grandmother, Princess Alice, Prince Philip's mother, had helped to protect a Jewish widow and her family when the Princess was living in Greece during the Nazi occupation. And it was announced, wasn't it, earlier in that day that the Princess of Wales was going to join Prince William at the event as she makes her kind of gradual return to public duties. I think it was a quite a solemn one for them to both be at and I think this year it's particularly poignant that the royal family gathered around, you know, we had the Queen the previous week Queen Camilla at the Anne Frank Trust event in London because this is the last major

Frank Trust event in London because this is the last major milestone, the last major anniversary at which we're going to hear those first-hand testimonies of Holocaust survivors who are now obviously in their 80s, the youngest is 80 because she was born in Auschwitz. Yes absolutely and the King has talked hasn't he? He's talked about how sad he is about the dwindling numbers and how it's so important to keep their stories going. At that event at the Guild Hall, I thought it was interesting the reading that William chose. He chose to do a reading which talked about, from a book which talked about Princess Alice's huge contribution in terms of protecting Jewish people during the war and it was sort of almost keeping the memory of her alive. Obviously that's something that the late Prince Philip did a lot, something the King has done a lot, and it was sort of almost keeping the memory of her alive. Obviously that's something that the late Prince Philip did a lot, something the King has done a lot and it was almost

evocative of that trip, that solo trip he did to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2018 where we went to sort of pay homage to Princess Alice's grave in Jerusalem and it was very it was a very moving moment and it was interesting that he sort of chose to remind people of the royal family's own intervention to protect Jewish people during the war against the Nazis and persecution. It was an interesting moment. We also saw William and Kate meet with some survivors and some families including Stephen Frank, who Kate had photographed a few years ago for that Imperial War Museum exhibition. And they all seemed very pleased to see each other, didn't they?

They did, yeah. It was quite a moving moment. It was funny because it was quite a juxtaposition to what was happening at Auschwitz, which was extremely sombre and sacred, the King's own words for it. And there it was more perhaps away from the site site there could be more kind of likeness in some ways there was a real kind of connection between them wasn't there? I think having William and Kate lead that service in London and then having the King in Auschwitz it felt like the royal family wanted to absolutely make known how important it is to keep those memories alive as

survivors dwindle. So this was the Prince and Princess of Wales' first joint appearance of the year. We know Kate's first big public engagement was a couple of weeks ago, when she met staff and patients at the Royal Marsden, where she received her own treatment for cancer. And this week, we've also seen her in Wales. So, she's been out and about in Wales, two solo engagements, the first at a children's hospice. The second looking at textiles.

And I think we both think it's quite interesting that she's chosen her second solo engagement to go to Wales. Because the relationship with Wales is an interesting one with William and Kate. When they took on those titles, when obviously the late queen died, they put out a statement saying, honored to inherit the titles from, you know, or be given the titles by the king. There was a lot of speculation about what would that mean, or would they suddenly spend a lot more time in Wales? And there was a statement from them saying,

we will build a meaningful relationship with the people of Wales and gradually build that through our own way. It was a bit of controversy. You had Michael Sheen coming out saying it's completely outdated having a Prince and Princess of Wales and all of that. So I've always thought the visits to Wales are particularly carefully thought through. Yes, and I think they're very conscious of that as a sensitive area, aren't they? I mean, when Charles was Prince of Wales, of course, he learnt Welsh. He did.

He went to spend some time there. OK, he didn't have a young family like William does now. But he also had a place there. He used to go, spend a week there. He had kind of schemes where he would pick harpists from Wales to promote and do things to promote the Welsh language. And we haven't so far, he's only been Prince of Wales for two and a bit years, but we haven't seen that from William yet.

No. But, you know, they do seem keen to see, like you say, two solo engagements in Wales. It's a second big thing since coming back, if you like. So the comeback continues, doesn't it? Yeah, gradual return. And when do we stop calling it a comeback? But I think that's the thing with it being gradual, that everything is, in some ways,

the way that they've done it is brilliant, but in other ways, I think it's difficult because there's so much emphasis now when she does do something, I think maybe that will kind of die down with time. Gradually receive the more she does in time. But there was a big kind of fanfare under a 2pm embargo that she was going to be joining William at the Holocaust event.

And I think sometimes that builds the anticipation, doesn't it, on people who are watching what she's doing, what she's going to do next. But I think that's always going to be the case around her. She's such a star of the show at the Royal Family, isn't she? There's always huge interest in everything she does. And the kind of spotlight that she can shine on some of these causes in Wales, I think, will be very welcome. Well, Kensington Palace has also announced that the Princess of Wales has become

patron of the children's hospice she visited, Te Havan, which was also championed by the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Emotional scenes at the hospice that Kate visited and a little bit of fashion. Her passion for textiles was mentioned again, wasn't it? Her passion for fashion. Passion for fashion. Welsh. Very good.

Yeah. Well, she shares it with the king, doesn't she? He's a sustainable textile. He loves a kind of a local craftsmanship and so does she. And I think that's where some of their, some of their interests kind of align. They should do a fashion show together. I would love that. But can the model be Princess Anne? Because she is upcycling from the 1970s.

Indeed, yeah. Let's put in that request. So I expect we'll see a lot more of Kate in her gradual return in due course. And a lot of the public, I'm sure, will be delighted to see her progress. Indeed. And in some other happy news, Kate. Yes. Another addition to the royal family. The royal family has expanded officially. Got the announcement today that Princess Beatrice had given birth last week to a little baby girl.

A little bit premature. A little, very little baby girl. Only four pounds. Athena, Elizabeth, Rose, Mepelimozzi. Great name. Elizabeth, always a nod to the late queen. Yes, as Sienna, so her older daughter who's three. Sienna, her middle name's Elizabeth as well. Princess Charlotte's middle name. There you go. Elizabeth and Diana, I think, as well.

So little Athena is now 11th in line to the throne. She's 11th in line to the throne. She bumps Princess Eugenie down. To 12. Auntie Eugenie. You're bumped. And I did wonder if Athena was also a nod to the late Prince Philip. The Greek side of the family. Yeah, playing on the Greek mythology. Obviously he was born in Corfu and into the Greek royal family. And I did wonder whether that was a nice nod because obviously she's goddess of wisdom and war isn't she? Fergie's been on the social media this afternoon saying how thrilled she is and how delighted she is at her ever expanding granny role. I love Fergie

on the socials too. And I think- Very authentic and there's little picture of her but we don't see her face. Hand up to the hand up in front of the camera like lots of members of the Royal Family. No, get my good side. And the Duke of York who as we know has a lot more time on his hands these days, no longer doing working duties. We know he's very keen on his role as a grandfather. Yeah. So there'll be someone else for him to hang out with. That'll be nice. Sarah Ferguson made a note of having her five-a-side team now. Usually Beatrice's got two children but she also has step-son Wolfie. Yes exactly. Who was included in the official announcement

from Buckingham Palace. Yeah very much part of the family and is hanging out with them. Congratulations to Princess Beatrice and her husband Eddie. Yeah premature but doing, we're told. Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. On a cool, cloudy January morning in 2022, Ian Indredson makes himself some eggs, plays with his dog, walks out the door of his waterfront home, and disappears. The 54-year-old senior government spokesperson is a gifted writer.

He lives a life of some privilege and comfort with his wife Gloria and their beloved Black Lab willow. So, what happened to Ian? I'm veteran journalist Laura Palmer. And this is Island Crime Season 7 Evaporated. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. acast.com. It's been a week of meetings for Prince William. First, he met Jordan's Prince Hussein as part of his private trip to the UK. Very little has been shared about their meeting, but they reportedly discussed relations between the two

countries and they're good buddies, those two. And there was a very snazzy video Patel wasn't there, via Kensington Palace about that one. Prince Hussein has also shared a few images of his visit on his Instagram with the caption My dear friend, His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle today. That soft power, still in action on the social media. Still in action indeed. In addition to that meeting with Crown Prince Hussein, Prince William had another meeting this week with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.

What they discussed we don't know because no pictures have been put out, we haven't had any read out of it. But it's interesting that it came just after Keir Starmer had a 45 minute phone call with Donald Trump. And who was the first British representative to meet Donald Trump before he- It wasn't Keir Starmer! It wasn't William as we've discussed in Paris. So I wonder if...

Do you think they can pad notes? What did Trump tell Keir Starmer that he felt the need to suddenly get into a meeting with Prince William? Did he say, can you put in a good word for me William? Did Trump say to Keir Starmer, can you get William and Kate over here? Well I thought what was really interesting this week was Donald Trump on Air Force One talking to journalists saying, yeah, I've got a good relationship with Kirstama. I might not agree with his philosophy. And then we got a lot of briefing from the White House that there is a little bit of

disquiet still over the Chagos Islands, defense spending, push back from Downing Street on defense spending. So, you know, for all this like, are we going to have a state visit soon? The White House and Downing Street are going head to head. Who could bring them closer together? Nice little Kate and William trip to America to appease the new president. Worked me. I'm up for that.

I'm up for that. I think that would be great. Let's send a request into the White House and the government. Anyway, Prince William also visited this week the Lower Blakemere Farm, a Dutchie of Cornwall Farm in Herefordshire. He was shown around the farm and told about what they do to cut carbon emissions through greener farming practices.

And this is all part of the drive to make his Dutchie of Cornwall Estate net zero by the end of 2032, which is very important to William. It is. He was shown two different types of kitchen waste composting bins. Doesn't get sexier than that. That is very sexy royal news. He held some worms as well. Poor.

He's on a little mission isn't he to do this. I think he's trying to promote a lot of this kind of eco stuff. He's really interested in it, wants to find out how it can be replicated on a larger scale. We've seen him also doing an Earthshot event, which he was managed to sort of spray with a water pistol, some journalists as well, which said he was the best day of his life. He was the happiest he looked all week. Disgusting, that's a whole other podcast.

Yeah. Speaking of international trips, another member of the Royal Family has been travelling to South Africa. And that's Princess Anne. Anne has been in South Africa on a two-day visit where she met young riders at the South African Riding for the Disabled Association. She also laid a wreath at the Cape Town Labour Court Memorial, which recognises those overlooked efforts of black South Africans who died during World War I when they were working as laborers rather than combatants. She's also for the first time really opened up about the accident that put her in hospital

with concussion last summer. That's right, it was believed to be caused by a horse, but the Princess Royal says she still recalls nothing about the incident on her Gatkin Park estate that led to her five nights stay in hospital. She's been speaking to the press on her trip to Africa. She turned 75 this year and when she was asked about retirement in true Anne style she replied, it isn't really an option. No, not for Anne. Always called the hardest working royal on account of other engagements. We often call her the workhorse, don't we? The workhorse of the Royal Family. I don't think she would mind that description given her love of all things equine and hard work. No, I think she would tally with that. That would strike a chord.

Anyway, nearly 75 and no signs of retirement. But speaking of horses, she didn't blame the horses for her accidents. We were always told that doctors thought her injuries, her head wounds last summer, were caused by being struck by horses' hooves or head. But she said in this latest interview, she said the last I remember is going to feed the chickens. Nothing to do with going to the horse field. Must be some pretty hefty chickens, of course. Covering up. The horses so, blames the chickens. There's a separate podcast in that as well. Royal Animals will do a special on it. I think we should actually. I think we should.

Right. Last week, dear listeners, we for the very first time shared the podcast email address where you could get in touch with us with any topic ideas for us to discuss. And we've had a brilliant suggestion all the way from the Canadian Prairies where I am delighted we have listeners. It reads, Dear Kate and Roya, last week you spoke about Lady Louise Windsor and as before I questioned whether William, when he's on the throne, will have sufficient workers in the field. By then we might assume the Kent's and the Gloucesters will have sufficient workers in the field. By then we might assume the Kent's and the Gloucesters will have retired from duties. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will be

key workers but not their children. Princess Anne may still be willing and able but her children will not step up. Might you devote some more time to the future of a monarchy led by William and then George? I think that this is the more interesting topic and not the Sussex or Andrew issues. We will take that feedback on board. That is a great topic. And with comments that Princess Anne has made, it just makes you think what future roles the firm will have. What vacancies they're looking to fill.

I'd love to see Prince George getting on, doing some engagements. He has done some already, little Prince George. Yeah, he's been at the Rugby a few times. I've been at the Rugby with him. He's still not totally comfortable in front of the cameras and in front of the media. And I don't blame him. He's got a lifetime of it ahead.

Charlotte though, Charlotte is the lady boss. Yeah, lady boss. She's comfortable in the limelight. Anyway, more on that later. So, a historic event in Poland, a boss. Yeah, lady boss. She's comfortable in the limelight. Anyway, more on that later. So a historic event in Poland, a memorial in London, a royal visit in Windsor and a royal visit to South Africa. That covers quite a bit this week. It sure does.

And next week, I too will be travelling on an overseas royal visit somewhere really quite far away. So watch this space for my dispatch from really quite far away. So watch this space for my dispatch from somewhere very far away. And if you, like our listeners in Canada, also have an idea for something we should be covering on the podcast, please do send us an email at theroyals at thetimes.co.uk. Until then, when I see you from very far away, bye Kate. Bye Roya, safe travels. FanDuel Casino's exclusive Live Dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling,

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Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. On a cool cloudy January morning in 2022, Ian Indredson makes himself some eggs, plays with his dog, walks out the door of his waterfront home, and disappears. The 54-year-old senior government spokesperson is a gifted writer. He lives a life of some privilege and comfort with his wife, Gloria, and their beloved Black Lab willow.

So what happened to Ian? I'm veteran journalist Laura Palmer. And this is Island Crime, Season 7, season 7 evaporated listen wherever you get your podcasts Acast helps creators launch grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere acast.com