Welsh Guards stage unique ceremony to replace trooping the colour during lockdown
The Queen’s official birthday has been marked with a brief ceremonial tribute by the military under physical distancing measures.
Soldiers from the Welsh Guards, who a few weeks ago were staffing coronavirus test centres, staged the unique event in the grounds of Windsor Castle, as the head of state made her first official public appearance since lockdown was imposed.
Continue reading...Buckingham Palace release a new photograph of the royal couple ahead of his birthday
Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband, will mark his 99th birthday on Wednesday, with the royal couple still in lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Queen, 94, and her husband of 72 years are maintaining social distancing rules at Windsor castle, west of London, because their age puts them in a high-risk category for Covid-19.
Continue reading...Watchdog publishes highly critical report after charitable trust is required to return cash
A charitable trust supporting the work of Prince Andrew has been required to return more than £350,000 in payments made to a trustee after a public watchdog intervened.
The Charity Commission has revealed the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust broke the law by handing over large sums to the prince’s household to compensate for time spent on other activities by one of his employees.
Continue reading...Duke of Cambridge reveals he is trained volunteer for UK’s Shout text platform
The Duke of Cambridge has been secretly working as a volunteer supporting people contacting a crisis helpline for mental health support, he has revealed.
Unbeknown to those who have accessed the Shout 85258 text-messaging service, Prince William is one of its 2,000 trained volunteers.
Continue reading...Historian Jenny Hocking wins landmark case after campaigning for release of secret letters between monarch and then Australian governor general Sir John Kerr
The historian Jenny Hocking has won a landmark high court case in her bid to secure sensitive correspondence between the Queen and former Australian governor general Sir John Kerr about the dismissal of Gough Whitlam.
The high court on Friday ruled that the commonwealth was wrong to withhold the so-called “palace letters”, a series of more than 200 exchanges between the Queen, her private secretary and Kerr, the then-governor general, in the lead-up to the 1975 dismissal of Whitlam, the then-Australian prime minister.
Continue reading...With coronavirus lockdown subduing VE Day, contrasts with 75 years ago were many and varied
Somehow the quiet made it louder. By rights, marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day in the midst of a pandemic that has confined us to our homes – forcing us to keep our distance from one another, denying us the right to gather in crowds – should have muffled this commemoration. A celebration in private would surely feel like no celebration at all. Katherine Jenkins singing to an empty Albert Hall, streets with no street parties and the pubs all shut: how could that add up to anything other than a damp squib?
And yet Friday’s marking of the end of the second world war struck a deeper chord than it might, had it been just another sunny bank holiday. Yes, the usual rituals had to be suspended. There could be no wreath-laying at local memorials; instead, Prince Charles and Camilla laid two small wreaths on their own, in a crowdless corner of Balmoral, watched by a lone piper. There could be no veterans’ parades, no reunions for those who had served, no grateful handshakes from the politicians: 102-year-old former staff sergeant Ernie Horsfall had to make do with a Zoom call from Boris Johnson. And there were limited opportunities for silliness: the Winston Churchill impersonators were all dressed up with nowhere to go, forced to perform their cigar-and-V-sign shtick online.
Continue reading...The Duke of York is caught in a dispute over a Swiss chalet purchased with his former wife
Prince Andrew is caught in a dispute over a Swiss ski chalet with reports legal proceedings have been launched against him over an unpaid bill.
Le Temps newspaper said Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, bought the holiday home in the Verbier ski resort for £18.3m (22 million Swiss francs) in 2014.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson urges nation to unite in tribute as celebrations are adapted owing to Covid-19
RAF jets will roar over Britain to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, as Boris Johnson urged the nation to unite in tribute to the achievement and sacrifice of the wartime generation.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will lead a two-minute silence from Scotland on a day of celebration and commemoration which also includes a “national toast”, an address by the Queen, and a nationwide sing-a-long of Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again.
Continue reading...Duchess sues publisher of British newspapers over use of letter to father Thomas Markle
A newspaper was accused of “stirring up” issues between the Duchess of Sussex and her estranged father, Thomas Markle, then using it to justify publishing a “private and confidential” letter, a court heard.
Lawyers representing Meghan said she was distressed at the realisation that Associated Newspapers had an agenda of “intrusive and offensive” stories about her, a judge was told.
Continue reading...Video comes on low-key day without usual gun salutes as Queen isolates during coronavirus lockdown
The royal family’s Twitter account has posted private behind-the-scenes footage of the Queen as a child in tribute for her 94th birthday.
It showed her as a toddler in a push-chair, and playing with sister Princess Margaret as a child. She is seen learning to ride, gardening with her mother, and dancing onboard a yacht.
Continue reading...Dame Jane Goodall also reveals Duke of Sussex is finding departure from UK ‘a bit challenging’
The British primatologist Dame Jane Goodall believes the Duke of Sussex will give up hunting because of his wife’s dislike for the sport, and thinks he has been finding life “a bit challenging” since the couple moved to North America.
Goodall, 86, a friend of the pair who has been a guest at their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor, said in an interview with the Radio Times that Harry and his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, were champions of the natural world – “except they hunt and shoot”.
Continue reading...The Queen has given an Easter message to reassure the people of the UK that this pandemic can be beaten. The monarch’s speech is said to be her contribution to those marking the occasion at home.
Continue reading...Monarch’s speech is said to be her contribution to those marking occasion at home
The Queen has sought to reassure the nation that “coronavirus will not overcome us” in her first Easter audio message.
The monarch, who is supreme governor of the Church of England, acknowledged this Easter would be different but said “by keeping apart we keep others safe”. She said “Easter is not cancelled” and the “new hope and fresh purpose” of the festival was needed more than ever.
Continue reading...Application filed in US ranges from awards to clothing to a health website
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appear to be planning a wide-ranging non-profit empire, including websites, films and their own awards, according to trademark applications lodged in the US under the name of Archewell.
The first clear indications of how Harry and Meghan intend to rebrand themselves as non-working royals are revealed in an extensive list published on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.
Continue reading...Duke and Duchess of Sussex reveal plans for foundation to replace Sussex Royal brand
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to launch a charitable organisation named Archewell, the couple have said.
Prince Harry and Meghan said they “look forward” to launching the foundation, which will replace their Sussex Royal brand, with plans reported to include their own charity as well as a website.
Continue reading...In a special broadcast, the monarch said we will overcome the coronavirus crisis if we ‘remain united and resolute’
The Queen has praised Britain’s “national spirit” in facing the challenge of coronavirus as she evoked wartime memories to reassure those “feeling a painful sense of separation from their loved ones” to take comfort in the fact: “We will meet again.”
In only the fifth special televised broadcast, other than Christmas messages, of her long reign, she said: “While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal.”
Continue reading...In a rare TV broadcast, the monarch will praise public efforts and thank the NHS and other frontline workers
The Queen will praise the nation for its “self-discipline” and “resolve” during the coronavirus pandemic in a rare televised address broadcast on Sunday night.
In what is described as a “deeply personal” message, she will reflect on her own experience in other difficult times during the broadcast at 8pm. It was filmed under strict measures to protect the monarch, who will be 94 this month.
Continue reading...The royal couple are tipped to be the toast of the celebrity circuit but they will have to work hard to maintain their A-list status
Touching down to a city in lockdown cannot have been what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had in mind when they had imagined starting a new life in Los Angeles. With a stay-at-home order in place, all activities usually associated with the city – premieres, parties, events and schmoozing – were on hold when they reportedly arrived last month, and studios had stopped production.
Following months of drama swirling around Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down as working royals, which officially came into force on Wednesday, in the face of a deadly global pandemic they have finally taken a backseat in the public consciousness.
Continue reading...Couple reveal plans as they prepare to officially cease working duties later this week
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who begin their new life as non-working royals this week, have said they intend to spend the next few months concentrating on their family and privately supporting their charities.
The couple, who have relocated to California, will cease to be working royals and can no longer officially represent the Queen from Wednesday, as they seek to become financially independent.
Continue reading...Cancellations of public events are radical departure for the monarch. Even Trooping the Colour is in doubt
The Queen has cancelled her public engagements due to a national crisis for the first time in her 68-year-reign.
Royal watchers said it was unprecedented for the Queen to call off her two public engagements later this month and to review future diary commitments. The move came as the government formally moved from the “contain” to the “delay” stage of the coronavirus “battle plan”.
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