The author, who will interview members of royal family for book, says being chosen for role is a ‘profound honour’
Anna Keay, a historian whose most celebrated book is about Britain’s republican period, has been confirmed as Queen Elizabeth II’s official biographer.
Keay will interview members of the royal family and the late queen’s friends and servants. She will also have access to the monarch’s personal and official papers held in the royal archives.
Continue reading...Ex-footballer to decorate gnome for annual event after organisers lift ban on the ornaments dating back to 1927
Rare roses and stunning irises are usually among the most coveted items at the Chelsea flower show. But this year, the star attraction might be pink, sequined – and decorated by David Beckham.
The former England football captain is co-designing a garden at the May event with King Charles and as part of that effort he has been given a garden gnome to paint. It will be auctioned off for charity.
Continue reading...Legal action follows war of words with Sentebale chair after Duke of Sussex’s resignation as patron
The Duke of Sussex is being sued by Sentebale in the latest twist in the bitter fallout over the African charity he co-founded.
The charity has lodged papers in London’s high court over defamation claims naming Prince Harry and the former Sentebale trustee Mark Dyer as defendants.
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Starmer says he understands why people are concerned about the cost of living.
He says he has already set out a five-point plan to deal with the crisis.
Just look at what’s happening today. Today your energy bills will be cut because of the action that we took at the budget. And whatever happens in Iran, that price is now fixed until July.
The most effective way we can support the cost of living in Britain is to push for de-escalation in the Middle East, and a reopening of the strait of Hormuz, which is such a vital route for energy.
To that end, we’re exploring each and every diplomatic avenue that is available to us.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer previously reassured that the war in Iran would not distract the UK from supporting Ukraine
Nigel Farage is speaking now at the Reform UK event.
The website promoting the lottery is up. It is called nigelcutmybills.com.
Continue reading...Advisers say to ‘assume the cameras are always rolling’ as exchanges can be decoded in seconds and posted online
Royals and celebrities are being warned by their representatives and advisers to watch what they say when they are out of the house – or palace – as a lip-reading phenomenon means videos can be posted online and translated in seconds.
Prince William was recently embroiled after a video of him speaking to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was translated by an expert lip-reader who was working as part of a forthcoming Channel 5 documentary, Lip-Reading the Royals.
Continue reading...Royal couple criticise Tom Bower’s ‘fixation’ on them and describe released extracts as ‘conspiracy and melodrama’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have launched a scathing attack on a “deranged” author whose new book claims Queen Camilla once told a friend: “Meghan’s brainwashed Harry.”
The royal couple hit out at Tom Bower, the author of Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family, criticising his “fixation” on the pair.
Continue reading...Forward Trust patron says ‘compassion and love’ is needed to end fear and shame felt by those affected
The Princess of Wales has called for an end to the “stigma” surrounding addictions, saying the experiences of those dependent on drugs, alcohol or gambling are “shaped by fear, shame and judgment”.
Catherine, who is a patron of the charity Forward Trust supporting recovering addicts, said more open conversations were needed to bring the issue “out of the shadows” and for society to show “compassion and love” to those affected.
Continue reading...Messages sent months after former prince said he ended relations and also appear to confirm Virginia Giuffre photo
Newly released Jeffrey Epstein emails have cast further doubt on Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s account of when he cut ties with the child sex offender and his denials about meeting his accuser Virginia Giuffre.
In March 2011, four months after he later claimed to have ended his relationship with Epstein, the former prince told him and the convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell “I can’t take any more of this” in response to allegations put forward by the Mail on Sunday.
Continue reading...Women’s rights groups say announcement sends important message to survivors of abuse
The historic statement from Buckingham Palace stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of his title is an “acknowledgment” that something happened to the late Virginia Giuffre, her family has told the Guardian.
In its announcement on Thursday, the palace said Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – as he is now known – will also leave his mansion in Windsor, Royal Lodge, as his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continue to cause controversy.
Continue reading...YouGov poll say only 26% of people say immigration is an issue locally but more than half believe it to be a national issue
There were six council byelections yesterday. Here are the results, from Election Maps UK.
Reform gained two seats, from Labour and from an independent group.
Continue reading...King’s brother will become known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Buckingham Palace says, in latest fallout from Epstein scandal
Prince Andrew is to be stripped of his royal titles and will move out of his home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, Buckingham Palace has announced.
King Charles has initiated a “formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew”, who will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the palace said.
Continue reading...Jettisoning of ex-prince became unavoidable when king’s loyalty to his brother collided with task of keeping public on side
To strip his brother of his titles and to evict him from his home is the most consequential action King Charles has taken since he ascended the throne in 2022.
The defenestration of Prince Andrew, now to be known only as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, and the removal of his cherished privilege of royal status is an act of utmost ruthlessness by a king. Ascending the throne at 73, Charles always knew he would play a caretaker role for the monarchy and so could not allow rot to set into an institution that lives and dies by public consent.
Continue reading...French magazine publishes judicial notice after using paparazzi images of family holiday in Alps
The Prince and Princess of Wales have won a privacy case against a French magazine after it published paparazzi photographs of them and their children on a private family ski holiday, Kensington Palace said.
William and Catherine launched legal action after their break was featured in Paris Match magazine in April, with a series of images documenting their activities with their children at a French resort in the Alps.
Continue reading...Buckingham Palace trying to increase pressure on prince to give up home for which he pays ‘peppercorn’ rent
Prince Andrew is reportedly in advanced talks with King Charles’s senior aides about moving out of his Royal Lodge home after a week in which his “peppercorn” rent tenancy has come under scrutiny.
Pressure has mounted on the royal family for Andrew to vacate the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park amid the continuing controversy over his links to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and the posthumous publication of the memoirs of the prince’s sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Continue reading...Ministers face growing pressure to act amid fresh allegations over prince’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
MPs have moved to lodge a parliamentary motion to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom, in a rarely permitted move in the Commons.
The government is facing mounting pressure over the prince’s residence in the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor, where it was revealed that he has not paid rent for more than two decades.
Continue reading...Andrew hid behind Balmoral’s ‘guarded gates’ to escape court papers, accuser says in memoir Nobody’s Girl
Prince Andrew’s team tried to hire “internet trolls to hassle” his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, while he hid behind the “well-guarded gates” of Balmoral Castle to avoid being served court papers, according to allegations in her posthumous memoir.
Giuffre wrote of the 2022 confidential settlement of her sexual abuse civil claim against the royal, widely rumoured to be $12m (£9m), that her lawyers “were going to ask for the moon” and her team had agreed it “had to be more than mere money”.
Continue reading...Prince of Wales’s decision welcomed as a means of drawing attention to the event and galvanising talks
The Prince of Wales will attend the crunch Cop30 UN climate summit in Brazil next month, the Guardian has learned, but whether the prime minister will go is still to be decided.
Prince William will present the Earthshot prize, a global environmental award and attend the meeting of representatives of more than 190 governments in Belém.
Continue reading...The Trump administration ultimately gave the King a replica sword on the president’s recent state visit
The Eisenhower Presidential Library’s director has exited his position after advocating against giving a sword from the collection to King Charles as a gift during Donald Trump’s recent state visit, according to US media reports on Thursday.
Todd Arrington left his post on Monday after being told to “resign or be fired”, he told CBS News, which did not specify who had relayed the message to the historian.
Continue reading...Response from leaders and key climate figures comes after PM’s aides advised non-attendance over concerns Reform may attack him
Leading climate figures and Labour MPs have urged Keir Starmer to attend the crucial Cop30 climate summit this November, after aides advised him not to attend for fear of attracting the ire of the Reform party.
Simon Stiell, the UN’s climate chief, said: “Cop30 is where leaders are expected to come and roll up their sleeves, make deals to help their nation’s economy transition faster, creating more jobs, and guide the world on what next steps we take together.”
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