The Royals with Roya and Kate - The Qatari State Visit & why Harry is to stay in the USA

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

The Queen's health recovers in time for the King and Queen to host a state banquet in London for the Emir of Qatar, and among the guests are the Beckhams - David and Posh. And in New York , Prince Harry opens up about his family's future at an event in New York. And the Princess of Wales’s heartfelt welcome to carols at the Abbey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How often can you say a gift is truly unique? When you gift a loved one an Ancestry DNA test, you're giving them the keys to unlock their own personal journey of discovery. And with our festive sale now on, you can save on a truly meaningful gift. Help them discover their heritage, learn about their ancestors, and make new family connections this Christmas. Visit ancestry.co.uk to give them a gift that is truly unique. Terms apply. This episode is brought to you by Google Pixel. I'm Jessi Krikstank. I host the number one

comedy podcast called Phone a Friend. I also have three kids. I need help making every day easier. So I switched to Google Pixel. It's a phone powered by Gemini, your personal AI assistant. Gemini, your personal AI assistant. Gemini can help you summarize your unread emails, suggest what to make with the food in your fridge, and it helped me achieve a family photo where everyone is smiling at the camera. I didn't think it was possible, but it is with Google Pixel 9. Learn more at store.google.com. Welcome to the Royals with me, Roya Nikar from the Sunday Times. And me, Kate Mancy from the Times. Now Roya, Buckingham Palace was brimful with royalty this week, more than usual.

Literally brimful, yes. We had the Qatari royal family this week and the British royal family out in force. And the Beacon royal family, top billing, top of the throne. They love a throne. Football and fashion royalty. We must point out who might be in line for knighthood, Kate. Who might that be? Rumours are still swirling, but we should start with the big story of the inward state visit from the Emir of Qatar.

The last at Buckingham Palace until 2027, while everything gets refurbed. There was a lot of maroon wasn't there, Kate? Yes. Not just on the Qataris. Diplomatic dressing from the Princess of Wales, who we saw return to public duties as she greeted them, didn't she, at their official residence? In those splendid boots as well.

So we had a bit of job showing going on this week, didn't we? Because Kate was back, which was great, and she was there at Horse Guards welcoming, you know, they went to see the emir in Sheikha Jowaha and then drove with them to Horse Guards Parade for the ceremony with the king, but not the queen. Because we had this sort of dramatic about turn the night before when we were out together at the Tower of London. Not because we'd misbehaved. We weren't sent to the tower. Very nice event and trying to enjoy ourselves over a glass of fizz at the Tower of London with the Historic Royal Palaces team when Buckingham Palace dropped the bombshell

that the Queen wasn't going to be at the original, as planned, at horse guards to welcome them officially. So that was interesting because obviously we know she'd been suffering from a chest infection for some time. We have seen her back on some engagements, not others, but for them to pull it the night before, not just that, she wasn't going to be there standing up at horse guards in the cold, fair enough. She also wasn't going to be at the receiving line for that night's banquet, which meant that she wouldn't be on her feet for sort of 20 minutes or something as she shakes all the hands of all the guests coming into the ballroom for the banquet. So that was interesting. It was sort of one in one out. Kate's back, the Queen's away.

Kate's back, does the welcome, does the lunch, doesn't do the state banquet. Camilla doesn't do the welcome, does the doesn't do the state banquet Camilla doesn't do the welcome does the lunch does the state banquet job sharing exactly kind of yeah spreading maroon outfits around you know this is a trouble they're sort of trying to patch patch it together with all the illness that's been going on the speeches didn't really conclude till about nine o'clock and so there wasn't even any food served even the starter wasn't served until about nine o'clock so that's they go on and on. Selfish of them, did you get hungry? I had already had my supper in the room where Andrew had done his

disastrous Newsnight interview. So the press was sort of watching it as we were there looking around. We went to see the layout, which is always great fun. But then it emerged. So we were all thinking, oh, gosh, is Khmer's chest infection much worse than we thought this would be going on for a month? And then at the lunch on the Tuesday with the Qatari's and all the guests, she mentioned to a couple of guests that actually she'd had pneumonia and she was recovering from pneumonia. We then thought, ah, this is why she's had to pull out of so many

engagements in the last few days. Exactly. And when they said she doesn't still have it, but she had been suffering from it. Which is serious at any age, isn't it? Pneumonia is very serious, but particularly when you're elderly, and it's hard to diagnose as well. They said that hers was a viral infection rather than a bacterial infection, so it's not even something that she could have had antibiotics to get over. She just had to sort of wait it out. But they said that there's extreme periods of tiredness and fatigue

so I think when the palace obviously knew that she had pneumonia but weren't sharing that information because I think it's quite a scary word until they knew she was on the mend and then she definitely is because we saw her holding a big glass of red wine at the state banquet very medicinal yeah she when I left us just after nine o'clock she was tucking into a large glass of red wine she's gone from the small glass to the large glass. I mean, why not, you know? But what was interesting, I think, about the diagnosis and how they share that information, is they're obviously very cautious about how they do it.

The sort of soft landing of her telling guests and it sort of gradually seeping out. And I was told that she'd been telling people at the Buckingham Palace reception, she'd be telling the actors and actresses. Oh really? That she had pneumonia. So I don't want to say I didn't know that at the time. Who you knew lovies were so discreet. Well this was what I thought because normally that would get out within a heartbeat. Sorry to all you lovies who we know are glued to this podcast.

So I wondered if she wanted it to get out there and thought perhaps it would get out there sooner because there were media out there about it and things but perhaps no one overheard it so it wasn't said. Interesting. get out there sooner because there were media at that event and things but perhaps no one overheard it so it wasn't said. Interesting. But yeah it does shed new light on and how ill she's been and why it's taken her so long to kind of bounce back from it but you know seeing her there you know in the picture gallery as well when they came to look around those artifacts with the Qatari royal family she

had the twinkle. She did the departure with the king. I went to Buckingham Palace to do the rota and she did stand outside for about 10 minutes. Right, okay. And that was quite cold that day, wasn't it? I can reveal it was freezing. So freezing that the very kind team at Buckingham Palace let us stay inside for as long as possible before we had to come out and wait for the official departure.

It was really cold. But she was there in another splendid maroon caped caped crusader outfit. The diplomatic dressing. In terms of sort of the deployment of soft power on it, it had everything didn't it? It had a very warm speech by the king talking about the enduring friendship between Qatar and the UK thanking the Emir for all his efforts in terms of attempting to mediate in the Middle East at the moment with the crisis going on there. Those speeches normally have a few jokes as well don't they but it was very serious and I think more heartfelt because of that. Yeah and it mentioned his sort of his time at Sandhurst and you know all his kind of British links and saying

that you know welcome home this UK is your second home. He's clearly an Angerphile at the Emir. Yes he was beaming as well when we were on Horse Guards as he arrived you know he couldn't take the smile off his face so I think that kind of he was obviously thrilled by the hospitality. There was another nice touch at Horse Guards parade which I know you would have appreciated as well. Extra horses! Extra horses were laid on because they know the Emir likes horses. So it's the King's Troop but you're probably best placed to describe why this was so important and different and special. I thought it was well we were all there on horse guards and we were on our stands and normally you just get the sovereign's escort to the House of Cavalry so normally you get

a squadron of blues and royals and a squadron of the lifeguards who form up on horse guards and then do the sovereign's escort, accompanying the characters down the mountain. But before the House of Cavalry arrived, my preferred ponies, because I ride them, I love them, the King's Troop suddenly turned out. The King's Troop was artillery. They're normally at Green Park for the gun salute,

but they'd be moved onto horse guards. So everywhere you looked, there were just horses everywhere. It was brilliant. And it was interesting, because we asked the MOD guy down there, how come the King's Troop are here? And there were two quite interesting reasons given, one of which was the EMEA said, he really likes horses. What's on your rider, Your Royal Highness?

I'd like some extra horses. Extra marshmallows and some extra horses. But also, the feeling was the King's Troop, they wanted to promote themselves. They felt they were more visual at all scars and perhaps not everyone notices them when they do their gun salute in the parks. It raised the profile of the whole event didn't it? Yes, there was extra jingle jangle, extra bells and whistles. It just proves to me I think why, how important that state visit was for UKPLC.

You know they were so keen to roll out the red carpet for the Qataris. Big trading partners for us. Huge investment in the UK, big trading partners. It means a lot to Britain's prosperity to have that long standing relationship with that country. He was going off after the departure, they left in separate cars, the Emir and the Shaker. He was going for a bilateral with Kirstama to end his state visit. So really interesting to know what they talked about. They had a phone call in November and the number 10 put out a statement saying how well it had gone

and how warm the relationship was. So it's obviously something that, this is the soft diplomacy in action. I liked the touch at the banquet where guests were allowed to have alcohol, as is normal if they usually do so, as we saw the Queen tucking into glass wine. But the Royal Mirage was a bespoke mocktail. Black lime garnish. Yeah, it was smoked pomegranate. Funny enough, the next day when I went to the departure, I was asking one of the Buckingham Palace team how did the mocktails go down? And suddenly this voice behind me went, oh, did you like the mocktails go down and suddenly this voice behind me went oh did you like the mocktails and I turned around and it was one of the foot women who she's French and she designed it she was the mixologist and I said oh yes I

didn't actually try one but anyway and I joked and said are they gonna start appearing in the Buckingham Palace shop from next year maybe watch this space watch this space she's doing a master of wine as well isn't she she's really interesting. Good for her. Multitasker. Now, we did tease earlier that we'd be talking about foot-building royalty, and that can really only mean one thing.

David and Victoria Beckham were at the do. And I have to say, when we walked around the layout, the sort of preview of the state banquet. We did all slightly clock David Beckham next to Kemi Badenok, which I just would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to listen to that, and Victoria Beckham. We did think, okay fine, Qatar, you know, the World Cup, he was an ambassador for that, slightly controversially. But we were all, we all just joked didn't we, weren't, well he's really lobbying for his nighthood now isn't he? Well exactly, I mean on the other side of him was the president of a PSG Paris Saint-Germain who's a Qatari businessman and tycoon. Obviously that's the club that Beckham went to play at when he retired.

He had a four month stint there so his connection to the Qatari's goes back to 2013 so the Palace, you know he's a great ambassador for Qatar, he's exactly right that he should be there. But of course he's been, you know, I counted up, he's done no fewer than five royal related engagements this year alone, which is more than some celebrities get in their whole lifetime. He's become a King's Foundation and Master hasn't he? He's an ambassador. Hanging around with William and the helicopters for London Air Ambulance, because he was very involved with that fundraising thing. To be fair, yeah, I mean William asked him to come in because there was a shortfall in raising the money for London Air Ambulance, because he was very involved with that fundraising thing. Yeah, I mean, William asked him to come in because there was a shortfall in raising the money

for these helicopters, and he came in and helped raise millions, actually. So well done, Beckham. But of course, he was honored. As soon as Prince William picked up the phone, Beckham, before the end of the phone call, had gotten the cab and he was on his way over to the palace. I'll check my diary.

I'm free. Yeah, he loves it. I mean, all our speculation jokingly stems back to the fact that in 2017, these leaked emails between David Beckham and members of his team came out about his frustration that he'd been overlooked for a knighthood. Nice way of putting it because they were kind of expletive-laden emails. Very expletive-laden. In which he was calling the honours committee were sort of unappreciative so-and-so's, let's say.

And it came out that perhaps the reason that he'd been overlooked was because there were at the time some issues with his tax. Yeah, he was a non-dom, he was based in Spain and he wasn't paying the tax that other people would have been here. So that was considered, as the Times reported at the time, that was considered not really the dumb thing if you want to get an honor in this country wasn't he was quite crossing that's an understatement it was jolly human as captain former captain of the England football club yeah I think he probably does I think he probably does you know there's work in his he's been associated with UNICEF he's got they've got projects out in Qatar. Lady Victoria. Lady Victoria. She might be the name of her new perfume. That would be brilliant.

I'll give him a knighthood and then he can, you know, but he's literally every time you turn around at the palace, there's Beckham is there. Yeah, he's David Lammy. Even Rod Stewart made a joke of David Lammy. David Lammy was there at Horse Guards, our friend David. Our friend David. I saw you in Samoa.

Here you are again, David Lammy. Our bezzy mate. Yeah. I think they probably should give David Beckham a light hood. Even Sir Rod Stewart made a joke about it. He did, didn't he? That was funny. At the King's Foundation event. Saying, I'm really honoured to be an ambassador of the King's Foundation

and at a night and I'm sure your night hood is coming soon, David. Maybe I'll get one in his Christmas stocking in the New Year's Honours. New Year's Honours. Has he been a good boy? We're going to find out I suppose. Let's ask Victoria. It's not the King's decision of course, but being associated with the royal family is not going to hurt your chances. Exactly. I think that's actually an interesting point. There is a widespread misconception that honours are personally given out by the king. I mean, they're not, apart from the ones that are in the gift of the king, like, you know,

LVOs, knighthoods, MBs, OBs are not given out by, they're not chosen by the monarch. It's a government thing, it's a DCMS thing. Yeah, the cabinet office, it comes through the cabinet office and they all have to be sent to nominate people. So yeah, having said that, it'll probably be services to football and the charitable world. And if he's doing all these high-profile charity events... Won't hurt his cause, will it? It's only going to help, isn't it? I expect.

Watch this space for Lady Victoria. How often can you say a gift is truly unique? When you gift a loved one an Ancestry DNA test, you're giving them the keys to unlock their own personal journey of discovery. And with our festive sale now on, you can save on a truly meaningful gift. Help them discover their heritage,

learn about their ancestors, and make new family connections this Christmas. Visit ancestry.co.uk to give them a gift that is truly unique. Terms apply. It's a phone powered by Gemini, your personal AI assistant. Gemini can help you summarize your unread emails, suggest what to make with the food in your fridge, and it helped me achieve a family photo where everyone is smiling at the camera. I didn't think it was possible, but it is with Google Pixel 9.

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Visit BetterHelp.com today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelpHELP.com. On an entirely different continent this week, Roya, another big flashy event was taking place with royalty in attendance. Yes. This was, of course, the New York Times' Dealbook Summit in New York on Wednesday where Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex made the headlines once again. The summit saw very big names from business, politics and entertainment in conversation with the journalist Andrew Sorkin.

There were names like Jeff Bezos, Serena Williams and of course Harry. So he was talking about a few different things, wasn't he? He talked quite a lot about his family and again went back to the familiar territory of media disinformation or as someone said to me earlier, I saw Harry was in New York bashing the media again. What did he have to say about his family? Well, he said that he loved living in America. He said, I very much enjoy living here and bringing my kids up here. And there's been a lot of sort of speculation about why are Meghan and Harry doing separate events and separate engagements? Is it a kind of a work

divorce? Is it a kind of conscious uncoupling, as the phrase goes? A conscious professional uncoupling. But yeah, yeah, but I think this was interesting because he first, he addressed it for the first time probably. He said apparently we've bought or moved house 10 or 12 times, we've apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it's just like, what? That was what he said. And I think it's interesting that he's addressing those rumors publicly. It seems like quite a strange thing to do. I think he's rattled by a lot of stuff that's written about him. And I think he always has been.

We've known that he reads the comments under stories. Another thing he said at this event, which I just was struck by, was he said, he was talking about, you know, media disinformation and said, once you stop reading about yourself, you take away their power. I just looked at this and thought, I've never been less convinced by anything you've said. The notion that Harry has stopped reading about himself, he reads everything about himself. I mean, he used to read the comments under articles online. I suspect he still does.

And I'm sure he still does. So it seemed to me that although he tried to brush it off, my view of it was that it had actually rattled him and he's not happy about it. Do you think addressing it like that, because remember the Royal Family to kind of comment on their marriage is quite out there. Yeah. What's the impact of him doing that? Do you think it sort of...

I suppose it'd take a PR expert to decide whether that was a good move or not. I mean, my view would be you just, if it's nonsense, then don't address it publicly because you're creating the story of your own making in that case. And then on same evening, there was Megan in California attending a separate gala with Tyler Perry, who's godfather to one of their kids. But again, it was that sort of projection of he's on the East Coast doing his own thing, she's on the West Coast doing her thing. But then he's also doing a lot of work as well. He's doing his Invictus games, celebrations and competitions next year.

He talked about America, didn't he? He said how much he's loving bringing out the kids in America. And he was asked, you're going to live there forever. And he said, yes. And he thinks there's more free freedom over there. Oh, there are certain things I can do with my kids here. I can't do in the UK. I can't quite figure out what those might be.

I can't figure out what those might be as well, given that the Prince of Wales is able to have some element of freedom here. A lot of freedom here. Much more so than before, and I expect Harry would be afforded the same freedom if he lived here. I don't know, but he seems to think that he's happier there. I mean, he does live in a gated community in Montecito surrounded by armed security, so how free he is, I'm not sure. I thought it was a very concerted thing for him to say. Basically, he was putting it out there that, no, I ain't coming back to London, or I'm not going back I thought it was a very concerted thing for him to say. Basically, he was putting it out there that,

no, I ain't coming back to London or I'm not going back to the UK anytime soon. Don't expect me back there regularly with the kids. He doesn't think it's safe. This is all part of leading, of course, into next April's appeal in which he will be continuing to sue his father, the King's government, in his father, the King's courts, making everything incredibly awkward. I think what was interesting to hear from Harry talking about how keen he is to you know keep his kids happy and stable and loving life in America and saying there are things that you know they could the kids can do there that they can't do in the UK. In the same way that we often talk about

William and Kate prioritizing their family. Clearly, Harry feels exactly the same. That's another example of what the brothers want from life, having had their childhood, the trauma of losing their mother and before that, the divorce and being so public. Both of them so want the best for their families. He's fiercely protective of that. Yeah, Harry has been. Yeah.

And that makes perfect sense to me. And it's nice when you hear him talking about, you know, my priority is to be the best dad I can be, because clearly for him, in the same way as his brother, that is his most important role. Indeed. Well, that brings us on to Will's week, because William and Harry were reunited together,

but apart for the Diana Awards. It's the 25th anniversary of the awards for young people that were set up in their mother's name. And yet again, we saw them do something completely separate. So William issued a written letter of congratulations to the winners. And Harry took part in a pre-recorded video with two of the winners, one of whom he met before in New York. And we saw something similar earlier this year when they had the Diana Awards ceremony in London

and we went along to that and William was there in person handing out the awards and then Harry dialed in via video conference much later, Several hours later. much later to talk to some of the winners. They just, there was no way either of them didn't want to be involved, but there was no way either of them were going to go anywhere near each other's involvement. Yeah. And this is the thing that just sort of keeps playing out.

Well, incidentally, that night in March at the London ceremony, there was some other breaking news when that was the night that Megan decided she was going to release the trailer for her new brand, American Riviera Orchard. Still no products on the shelves yet though. No but interesting time to do it just before William was about to take the stage. Just before Harry was about to do something too I thought was even more interesting. It was strange timing I think later they said that it coincided with their kind of freedom flight the year before, years before or something like that and that was a date that meant a

lot to them or something but it did seem kind of awkward timing. But look, if they can't get together for... If they can't be reunited in memory of their late mother, there's really nothing that's ever going to bring them together. No, I agree, but the fact that I think they are still both very keen to keep supporting the Diana award is a sort of sign of how committed they are to keeping her memory alive. Absolutely. And often in these cases, they're coming at things from the same angle. They want to preserve conservation, they want to look after animals,

they want to support people with mental health. And it's just a shame that they're on the same page in so many aspects, but they can't literally bring themselves to get back together. No sign of that changing anytime soon. No. But William will be busy in Notre Dame Cathedral for the opening ceremony, reopening ceremony of the cathedral that was destroyed by fire five and a half years ago. Lots of world leaders going there. And it's interesting that he, so he, William's going

to be there on behalf of the UK government, who've asked him to, you know, represent the UK there. And it sort of harks back to the conversations that we were having in South Africa with his team and the government team who are out there talking about him being very sort of high level now in terms of soft power and diplomacy and his team saying that is now the golden thread that runs through William's work is him on the international stage building that profile as a global statesman. I think what will be interesting is all the photographers will want to get a picture of him with Trump, won't they? Because what was fascinating about when we were out in South Africa on his trip, he talked about, he gave that interview, didn't he, to the print media set,

and he mentioned the day after Trump had been elected, he'd won the election. And he said, I'd really like to see more empathetic global leadership. And everyone was like, oh, that's interesting timing. You know, who are you referring to there, William? So I think there'll be a lot of photographers gunning for that picture to see, you know, whether they can get William. Well, that's what makes it interesting to me. The Don in shot. Yeah, exactly. I think that's why it's interesting. I mean, there'll be 1600 people, I think,

are going. So it's not a small guest list. But Macron's persuaded President-elect Trump to go. When I heard about it this morning, I thought that's really interesting. And I wonder what's been going on behind the scenes because it's very late in the day for Labour to decide that they want a member of the royal family there. So we broke that story shortly before Kensington Palace announced it. Do you think David Lammy's trying to make up for insulting Donald Trump?

I think normally they would have... Send someone in a crown! It's obviously such a kind of huge issue. Earlier this week, the King said that he was delighted that Notre Dame had been so lovingly restored. And obviously he had a bit of a sneak preview when he went on the state visit with Macron last year. The Queen this year met and had an engagement with Madame Macron. This week, wasn't it?

Yeah. Yeah, the Entente littéraire. Indeed. Came out of nowhere. Very nice. That's probably the wrong name for it, but it's that. That's right. She was wearing Dior and she had this nice engagement with Madame Macron, who gave her a book about Notre Dame, the cathedral itself, that's nice.

But he will be, you know, William will be out there representing the King, that's why he's going, you know, so more jobs for, in that respect, I suppose. Job share. Job share again, there you go, come back round to that. There's so few of them to go round and if they're poorly, they've got to you know share the share the share the load. That's not bad is it? A trip to Paris, a day trip to Paris? No. Some heritage, some world leaders. You're gonna be on the Eurostar, get yourself over there. Busy tomorrow. Now well finally by the time you hear this depending on when you were

listening we may be in Westminster Abbey attending Kate's Christmas carol service yeah because we're going strictly Abbey now. You Christmas carol service. Yeah, which is- Because we're going straight to the Abbey now. Yeah. You looking forward to it, Roya? Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's always a really jolly event. And I think this year is going to be especially moving just because of the year Catherine has had,

the year the Royal Family have had, the year a lot of some of the invited guests have had. The theme is, you know, kindness and empathy and supporting each other. We know that, you know, there are some really interesting guests. Chris Hawley is gonna light a candle, of course he revealed in the Sunday Times recently he's suffering from terminal cancer.

Kate's invited the families who lost children in the Southport killings, other people who've done extraordinary things in their communities. And of course, when we see William and Kate, we think we're going to see all three kids again, because they came last year, George, Charlotte and Louis. I think that'll be a very big moment.

It'll be the first time we've seen them since Trooping in June. Since Trooping, absolutely. And I think, you know... Six months is quite a long time not to see... They'll look changed, they'll look different. I think it'll be a really kind of a message of solidarity from the Wails' ears. And we know that other members of the Royal Family are going to be there to support them. Not the King and Queen. different, I think it will be a really kind of a message of sort of solidarity from the Waleses. And we know that other members of the royal family are going to be there to support them.

Not the King and Queen. Not the King and Queen. Other members of the royal family and the Middletons as well usually attend. They're always there aren't they? Yeah. But what was interesting was last weekend and we wrote about this in the Sunday Times, Catherine has sent this letter. So the letter's in the order of service but she also sent it to all the guests who are attending all these community carol services up and down the country. There are 15 of them. And it was a very emotional letter.

And it talked about, it mentioned, you know, love 11 times. But it talked about, I was very struck by the line. 11 times. 11 times. That's a lot of love. A lot of love. I was very struck by the line, with this line, where she said, it's when we stop and take ourselves away from the pressures of daily life

that we find the space to live our lives with an open heart, with love, kindness and forgiveness. And I just, that jumped off the page to me of the whole letter, because she has had to take herself away from the pressures of daily life this year. And this is probably one of the most scrutinized women in the world who in the run up to announcing she had cancer was under intense and at times unbearable for her scrutiny. Yeah and quite unkind speculation from all around the world. And has taken herself away to have much needed treatment and chemotherapy and has now come through that.

And there's just seemed to me a real reassessment of, I think her life and how she's going to live it going forward. Yeah, I think we're going to see, you know, they've always put the children at the heart of what they do. I think we're going to see that even more because all her statements thus far

from announcing that cancer had been found to announcing that she had finished her chemotherapy but she wasn't, you know, she was still recovering and wasn't ready to come back to full-time duties, all leads towards the point of, you know, I've seen another side to life and I know what matters, and you know, it's the people around you who love you and sorry, but they're going to come first. Yeah, I agree with that. I think people will respect that. Absolutely, and I think people do have a lot of empathy for her. I think it's going to be a real tearjerker this year.

I think it will be and there are great guests. We've got Lindsay Burrow, the widow of Rob Burrow. Of course, you know, William and Kate supported him so much before he passed away from motor neurone disease and some great music. And everyone can watch it on ITV on Christmas eve but we're gonna watch it this afternoon. We get a sneak preview yes. I love the illustration for the order of service as well the carol service and it said the words how did I help

oh the Charlie Mackenzie illustration it was lovely it said because you were by my side which was everything. Okay, Kate. Bye, Roya. How often can you say a gift is truly unique? When you gift a loved one an Ancestry DNA test, you're giving them the keys to unlock their own personal journey of discovery. And with our festive sale now on, you can save on a truly meaningful gift. You're giving them the keys to unlock their own personal journey of discovery. And with our festive sale now on, you can save on a truly meaningful gift. Help them discover their heritage, learn about their ancestors, and make new family connections

this Christmas. Visit ancestry.co.uk to give them a gift that is truly unique. Terms apply. Hey, it's Mitch from Side Note Podcast, and I'm here to tell you about the new Google Pixel 9 powered by Gemini. Terms apply. I use Gemini to give me summaries of my inbox, which is a lifesaver. And if I'm feeling stuck creatively, I just ask Gemini for help and BAM, instant inspiration. You can learn more about Google Pixel 9 at store.google.com.