Complex sentence: The king commented privately that he was being forced to "Swim to the crocodile", this reinforced the fact that the king was still incapable of asserting his will over the nobility, and needed the help of others to rule.
Split into simpler sentences: The king commented privately that he was being forced to "Swim to the crocodile". This demonstrated that the king was still incapable of asserting his will over the nobility, and needed the help of others to rule.