When HELLO!'s hosts of A Right Royal Podcast jetted off to New York City last month to record their first live episode on American soil, it was only natural that they stop by the Crown Jewel of the city – Central Park.
One of the most famous tourist spots Stateside, Central Park has had countless royals visit, from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Jordan's Queen Rania.
Prince William was one of the more recent visitors, who managed to go incognito as he enjoyed an early morning jog through the park during his 2023 trip for the Earthshot Prize Summit. William took the opportunity to "enjoy the sunshine" and "get a beautiful breath of fresh air".
"No one clocked him," our Royal Editor Emily Nash said as she and fellow podcast host Emmy Griffiths retraced the royals' steps in the park in our video below. "It was just him, his personal protection officers, and I think another member of staff, who took a run through New York among hordes of other locals doing the same thing."
© Mike McGregorAlso in the video, which you can watch below, Emily and Emmy discussed one of the more controversial incidents to take place in Central Park: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's 2010 meeting with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who had just been released from prison for sex offences. The pair were photographed walking and talking on a cold December morning and it was these photos that sealed Andrew's fate.
"This really marked the start of Andrew's long downfall," Emily said. "Had it not been for those photographs, who knows where we'd be now? But that was the moment the world understood they had this special friendship.
"And the extraordinary thing about that now, with hindsight, is that Andrew later defended it, saying he was doing this because he wanted to honourably end their friendship, which is extraordinary because we now know that this was far from true because they did stay in contact for some time afterwards."
You can watch the video from Central Park below.
A Right Royal Podcast takes New York
Our hosts of A Right Royal Podcast recorded a very special episode during their time in New York City. Speaking in front of a live audience at the Moxy NYC Chelsea hotel, our hosts Emily Nash, Andrea Caamano, and Emmy Griffiths explored the royal family's love affair with New York City.
They were also joined by JFK Jr.'s former chief of staff, RoseMarie Terenzio, author of Fairy Tale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love and Loss and JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography. RoseMarie revealed details about JFK Jr.'s top secret meeting with Diana, Princess of Wales at The Carlyle hotel.
RoseMarie remembered John describing Diana as "shy" and having "great legs." The meeting is said to have been "warm," with the Princess having a "sort of motherly tendency toward" John, who by that point had lost both of his parents. "She felt for him and she felt empathy for his life," RoseMarie said. "And I think she also had a lot of respect for the way he carried himself and the way he lived his life."
To watch the full episode, and to hear more untold royal anecdotes, sign up to HELLO! VIP. Here's a teaser of what to expect:
