Category Archives: Monarchy

‘She made a pact with God’: why the Queen is not likely to abdicate

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Analysis: though she will probably find it hard without Prince Philip, the Queen is unlikely to step down

The Queen, newly widowed, will find it “difficult” without the support she has leant on over 73 years of marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh, but royal observers have dismissed any speculation that she might consider stepping down.

The former prime minister Sir John Major acknowledged that her position as monarch was “a very lonely position”. He told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “There are a limited number of people to whom she can really open her heart, to whom she can really speak with total frankness, to whom she can say things that would be reported by other people and thought to be indelicate.”

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Prince Charles remembers ‘dear papa’ as details of funeral emerge

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Service to be held at Windsor on 17 April and include Duke of Edinburgh’s request that his coffin be borne on a Land Rover

Prince Charles has paid tribute to his “dear papa” as details of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral plans emerged, including Prince Philip’s special request that his coffin be borne on a Land Rover.

Speaking at Highgrove, the Prince of Wales said: “My dear papa was a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him.”

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Prince Philip: gun salutes held across UK in tribute to Duke of Edinburgh – latest updates

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Salutes held across the UK as well as in Gibraltar after Queen’s Elizabeth’s husband died aged 99 on Friday

Prince William has withdrawn from this weekend’s Bafta awards ceremony, the organisation said in a statement.

“In light of the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing, the Duke of Cambridge will no longer be part of Bafta programming this weekend

The King of Saudi Arabia, one of the many Middle East autocrats with whom the British royal family has longstanding ties, has sent his condolences to the Queen.

King Salman’s telegram, sent late on Friday evening according to the official Saudi Press Agency, said:

We received with utmost sorrow the news of the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and as we express to Your Majesty, the Royal Family and the friendly people of the United Kingdom, the warmest condolences and sincere consolation, we supplicate that you may never see any harm or mischief.

I have received with utmost sorrow the news of the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. I express to Your Majesty, the Royal Family and the friendly people of the United Kingdom, the warmest condolences and sincere consolation, wishing you permanent good health, and that you may never see any harm.

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Scott Morrison recites from God Save the Queen after death of Prince Philip

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Australian prime minister says he hopes Queen Elizabeth will ‘find great comfort in your faith and your family’

The Australian prime minister and governor general have paid tribute to Prince Philip, who has died aged 99, saying he was “no stranger to Australia” having visited the country more than 20 times.

Scott Morrison said Australians sent their love and deepest condolences to Queen Elizabeth and the royal family. He stated Philip “embodied a generation that we will never see again”.

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Revealed: police barred from searching Queen’s estates for looted artefacts

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Exclusive: palace and government refuse to say why exemption from 2017 law was deemed necessary

Police have been barred from searching the Queen’s private estates for stolen or looted artefacts after ministers granted her a personal exemption from a law that protects the world’s cultural property, the Guardian can reveal.

Buckingham Palace and the government are refusing to say why it was deemed necessary in 2017 to give the Queen an exemption that prevents police from searching Balmoral and Sandringham.

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Prince Harry joins US initiative to tackle fake news

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Commission on Information Disorder aims to address ‘avalanche of misinformation’, says Harry

Prince Harry has added another job to the burgeoning portfolio career he has built up since relinquishing his royal duties, by joining a US initiative to tackle fake news.

The Duke of Sussex has been named as one of 15 members of the Commission on Information Disorder set up by the Aspen Institute thinktank. Announcing the move, the prince said he was keen to tackle the “avalanche of misinformation” in the digital world and argued this had become a “humanitarian issue”.

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Prince Harry joins $1bn Silicon Valley startup as senior executive

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Duke of Sussex’s first formal role since ending royal duties involves ‘meaty role’ as chief impact officer at BetterUp

Prince Harry has been given a job by a $1bn (£730m) Silicon Valley startup which provides professional coaching, mental health advice and “immersive learning” as its chief impact officer.

The Duke of Sussex said he hoped to be able to use his own experiences using the “the power of transforming pain into purpose” to help BetterUp’s clients with “proactive coaching” for personal development, as well as achieve “an all-round better life”.

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Royal family consider diversity tsar under modernisation plans

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Buckingham Palace acknowledges ‘more needs to be done’ after reviewing policies and procedures

The royal family are considering appointing a diversity tsar under new plans to modernise the monarchy.

The move comes after Buckingham Palace conducted a review of policies, procedures and programmes currently in place and found that not enough progress had been made, with an acknowledgement that “more needs to be done”.

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Sun investigator says he illegally obtained information about Meghan

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Dan Hanks claims he compiled 90-page report about actor early in her relationship with Prince Harry

A private investigator employed by the Sun has said he illegally accessed the Duchess of Sussex’s private information shortly after she met Prince Harry.

Dan Hanks, who lives in Los Angeles, told the website Byline Investigates that he compiled a 90-page report on the future member of the royal family in October 2016, shortly after the tabloid newspaper first became aware of her relationship with the prince.

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Royal watchers say Harry and Meghan crisis must jolt ‘the firm’ towards change

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Spotlight is on the power behind the royals as much as on the Queen, Charles and William

Four days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex eviscerated the “the firm” with the sharp blade of “their truth”, Prince William had still not spoken to his brother. “But they just do not communicate in the way other families do,” said one veteran royal watcher. “You wonder if anyone has rung Harry.”

According to one report, the Queen plans to personally offer an olive branch to the couple. She said in a statement this week that the extraordinarily damaging allegations from the Sussexes – of racism and of emotional neglect that Meghan said had left her feeling suicidal – would be dealt with privately.

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Royal family is ‘very much not’ racist, says Prince William

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Duke of Cambridge defends monarchy after accusations from Harry and Meghan

The Duke of Cambridge has defended the monarchy against accusations of racism made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, saying: “We’re very much not a racist family.”

Prince William said he had not yet spoken to his brother since Harry and Meghan launched their attack on the family and institution in an interview with Oprah Winfrey broadcast in the US on Sunday.

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Queen missed chance to condemn racism, say equality campaigners

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Monarch criticised for treating claims by Meghan and Harry as private family matter

The Queen missed a crucial opportunity to publicly acknowledge and condemn racism in her response to the allegations made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, equality campaigners have said.

Casting the issue as a “private” family matter meant there was “no public accountability” from a public institution and the head of state and Commonwealth, they said.

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Meghan and Harry racism row ‘may deepen schisms in Commonwealth’

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Analysis: revelations may be used in member state debates about becoming republics, say experts

In the 1980s, it was the question of apartheid-era South Africa that threatened to drive a wedge through the Commonwealth.

But while some credit the Queen then with a heroic role behind the scenes – dramatised with more than a dollop of artistic licence in season four of The Crown – in 2021 the threat comes from a row over alleged racism within the royal family itself.

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‘Recollections may vary’: how the papers covered Queen’s response to Meghan interview

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Some papers focus on the mild challenge to the Sussexes in palace statement, while others look at the privacy line, or claim support to strip couple of titles

The newspaper front pages have feasted on the royal crisis for a second day with several splashes focusing on the Queen’s “recollections may vary” reaction to the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ suggestions of palace racism.

The Telegraph goes with “Issue of race concerning, but recollections may vary, says Queen”, while the Times splash handles the crisis carefully, with a headline reading: “Queen says racism claim will be handled in private”.

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Buckingham Palace breaks silence on Meghan and Harry Oprah claims

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Queen says ‘issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning’ but adds they will be dealt with privately

The Queen has sought to draw a line under damaging racism claims made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, saying that issues will be dealt with “privately” by the royal family.

The monarch expressed her “concern” over allegations of racism and her sadness on learning exactly how challenging the couple had found life as working royals, though she said some recollections of events differed.

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No 10 stays silent after Zac Goldsmith says Prince Harry is ‘blowing up’ royal family

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Downing Street refuses to be drawn into judgment on Meghan’s claims of racism or state of mental health

Downing Street has refused to distance itself from a minister’s claim that Prince Harry is “blowing up his family” – but declined to comment after confirming the prime minister had watched the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Boris Johnson’s spokesman said he had watched the two-hour interview but said he had no further comment to make.

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Harry and Meghan Oprah interview live: Duke of Sussex describes ‘toxic environment’ of royal life in UK

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Live coverage of the fallout from revelations by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as ITV prepares to air interview in UK

Novelist Nadifa Mohamed gives her view on the treatment of the Duchess of Sussex by the royal family.

Related: As Meghan has learned, the monarchy is still built on breeding, ancestry and caste | Nadifa Mohamed

The photographer Misan Harriman has released a new picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as he congratulated them on their news that they are expecting a baby girl.

“What wonderful news to celebrate on International Women’s Day! Congratulations my friends, and welcome to the girldad club H” he tweeted, alongside a black and white photo of the couple with their son, Archie.

What wonderful news to celebrate on International Women’s Day! Congratulations my friends, and welcome to the #girldad club H ❤️#internationalwomensday #womenshistorymonth #remoteshoot #shotonipad #shotbymisan #itsagirl pic.twitter.com/OONzZrBBYK

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Queen and Prince Philip not behind Archie skin colour remarks, Oprah says

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Oprah Winfrey said on Monday Harry stressed ‘it was not his grandmother or grandfather who were part of those conversations’

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were not behind comments about the colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s child, according to Oprah Winfrey, who conducted the interview in which the startling revelation was made.

Related: 'I didn't want to be alive any more': Harry and Meghan describe racism and royal animosity in Oprah interview

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