Category Archives: Monarchy

Prince Andrew’s private secretary steps down after Newsnight interview

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Amanda Thirsk will run mentoring initiative, as Barclays becomes latest organisation to sever ties with the prince

Barclays has become the latest among a growing number of organisations to sever ties with Prince Andrew, as it emerged that the aide who orchestrated the beleaguered royal’s disastrous interview about his links to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is no longer his private secretary.

Amanda Thirsk, who was said to have played a key role in persuading him to agree to the BBC interview, has reportedly moved on to run his business mentoring initiative, Pitch@Palace.

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Prince Andrew: lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims hint at subpoena

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Royal pressed to turn over all relevant documents about contacts with financier

Lawyers representing the victims of the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have signalled they are willing to serve a subpoena to Prince Andrew to ensure he cooperates with their investigations.

In a statement on Wednesday announcing he was standing down from public duties, the Duke of York said he was willing to help “any appropriate law enforcement agency” with their investigations after what he accepted was his “ill-judged association” with Epstein.

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KPMG ends its backing for Prince Andrew’s mentorship scheme

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Accountancy firm not renewing sponsorship, it emerges, after much-criticised TV interview

The accountancy giant KPMG is not renewing its sponsorship of Prince Andrew’s entrepreneurial scheme Pitch@Palace, it has emerged, in the wake of his much-derided interview in which he defended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Duke of York has been heavily criticised as having shown neither contrition nor sympathy for Epstein’s child victims in the BBC Newsnight interview and his suitability as patron to scores of charities and organisations has been called into question as a result.

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Prince Andrew: Calls for royal to say sorry and speak to FBI

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Lawyers for Epstein’s victims say they were ‘almost completely ignored’ in interview

Prince Andrew is facing a transatlantic backlash over his extraordinary defence of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after lawyers who represent 10 of the billionaire predator’s victims branded the royal unrepentant and implausible and demanded that he speak to the FBI.

After the royal’s defiant Newsnight interview on Saturday triggered a disbelieving reaction from the public and the media, the prince was under growing pressure from critics in the UK and US on Sunday who demanded an apology for his conduct and said that his defence of his actions was simply not credible.

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‘He was incredibly gracious after’: Newsnight team say Andrew was pleased with interview

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Appearance was secured after six months of negotiations and royal’s team referred decision upwards

As television interviews go, it was one of the most excruciating – and most sought-after – in British history. But when Prince Andrew’s painstakingly negotiated head-to-head with Emily Maitlis in Buckingham Palace finished, the royal appeared oblivious to the damage that had been done. In fact, he was so pleased with how things had gone that he gave the Newsnight team a tour of the palace afterwards.

On Sunday, as the prince’s team picked up the pieces from an interview widely perceived to have been disastrous for his reputation, the remarkable story of how it came about emerged – from the departure of a key aide to drawn-out discussions and a last-minute message to the Queen.

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Royal experts question wisdom of Harry and Meghan documentary

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Couple’s interview about impact of press intrusion could ‘just feed media machine’

The decision by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to agree to a highly emotional TV interview about their treatment at the hands of the press could open them up to further damaging headlines, according to PR experts and royal watchers.

In the ITV documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Harry appeared to give credence to long-standing rumours of a rift with William when he admitted the brothers had “good days and bad days” and that they were following different paths.

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Meghan: I was warned the British tabloids would destroy my life

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Royal speaks of struggling to cope with her new life in interview for ITV documentary

The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she was warned before her marriage to Prince Harry that the British tabloids would “destroy” her life, as she spoke of struggling to cope with the reality of being part of the royal family.

In an interview for the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, she said the last year had been “hard” and that she had had “no idea” of what she would face.

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Prince Harry: ‘My mother’s death is wound that festers’

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Duke of Sussex reveals emotional toll of following in footsteps of Diana, Princess of Wales

The Duke of Sussex has described the emotional impact of walking in his mother’s footsteps, and how dealing with her death is a “wound that festers”, in a new ITV documentary.

In an interview with ITV News at Ten anchor Tom Bradby, Prince Harry was asked how he felt retracing the steps of Diana, Princess of Wales, during the recent southern Africa tour with the Duchess of Sussex, 22 years after his mother’s death.

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Prince of Wales settles in at Cambridge university – archive, 9 Oct 1967

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9 October 1967: The Prince, who is reading archaeology, was greeted by 1,000 sightseers who had gathered outside the Great Gate

The arrival of Prince Charles at Cambridge yesterday to start his university career had all the appearances of a welcome given to a “pop” star.

Prince Charles, who will be 19 next month, was driven in a bright red mini to the gates of Trinity, where he will be for two years, and was immediately screamed and shouted at by more than 1,000 sightseers who had gathered outside the Great Gate.

The words of greeting from Lord Butler, Master of Trinity, were drowned by the cries of well-wishers, and the Prince, together with the Master and his senior tutor shot into Trinity Great Court as the college porters heaved the Great Gate shut against the crush of people outside.

Related: From the archive: happy 21st birthday Prince Charles

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Helena Bonham Carter sought Princess Margaret’s blessing through psychic

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The actor says she discussed her part in The Crown with the deceased royal herself

Some actors avoid excessive research, but for Helena Bonham Carter to play Princess Margaret in The Crown meant reading all the biographies, talking to friends, ladies-in-waiting and relatives, and consulting an astrologer, a graphologist and a psychic.

The last meeting meant she could talk to the princess herself, the actor told Cheltenham literature festival.

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Prince Harry launches phone-hacking case against Sun and Mirror owners

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Royal continues fight with UK newspapers after attacking treatment of his wife, Meghan

Prince Harry has issued legal proceedings against the owners of the Sun and the Daily Mirror over alleged phone hacking, in an escalation of his all-out war with the British newspaper industry.

The decision follows Harry’s strongly worded attack on the British media’s treatment of his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

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Prince Harry’s Instagram takeover barks up the right tree

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While his captions weren’t up to much, the prince’s takeover of the National Geographic’s Instagram on his tour in Africa had a larger purpose

When celebrities become guest editors of corporate social media accounts, it usually results in dozens of pouting selfies. For this reason, Prince Harry’s takeover of the National Geographic Instagram account to encourage people to “look up” and get lost in the beauty of trees is a weirdly enticing concept.

On Monday, the Duke of Sussex curated a set of images of forest canopies each taken by National Geographic photographers, which went out to the publication’s 123 million followers. The idea was to highlight the importance of conservation while spotlighting the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy campaign, which will result in two national parks being created in South Africa, where Harry is touring. As part of the campaign, 50 countries have either dedicated indigenous forest for conservation or committed to planting millions of new trees to combat climate change.

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Jeffrey Epstein accuser denies claims photo with Prince Andrew was faked

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Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s attorney says picture said to have been taken at Ghislaine Maxwell’s home is authentic and unaltered

A woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein of forcing her to have sex with his powerful friends has denied a claim by allies of Prince Andrew that a notorious photograph of them together was faked.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s attorneys rejected the claim as a “troubling assertion” and reiterated a request to interview Andrew about the late wealthy financier Epstein, who killed himself last month while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

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‘Boorish and self-centred’: little love for Prince Andrew over Epstein links

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Duke denies any wrongdoing but revelations continue to make uncomfortable reading

Randy Andy, Air Miles Andy, and now the Duke of Hazard: headline writers have always found evocative ways to shorthand the Queen’s second son at different stages in his royal career.

As the Duke of York, 59, is spotted teeing off at the Real Club Valderrama, the exclusive golf club in Sotogrande, southern Spain, coverage of his controversial former friendship with the disgraced billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein continues to make uncomfortable reading for Buckingham Palace.

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Elton John defends Harry and Meghan over use of private jets

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Singer reveals he paid for a flight for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son Archie

Sir Elton John has defended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over their use of private jets, revealing that he had paid for a flight for them and their son Archie to “maintain a high level of much-needed protection”.

The singer hit back at what he called “these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character”, after Prince Harry and Meghan faced mounting criticism for reportedly taking four private jet journeys in 11 days, rather than opting for commercial flights, despite speaking out on environmental issues. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

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Republicanism and the royal family | Letters

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Readers respond to Larry Elliott’s stance on the republican cause in Britain and debate the possibility of radical change

I was a little surprised by Larry Elliott’s suggestion that the republican movement has rarely been weaker (How the House of Windsor saw off British republicanism, 13 June). In his analysis he ignores opinion polling, which shows no growth in support for the monarchy, and he ignores the perilous and imminent succession of King Charles.

A YouGov poll commissioned by Republic at the time of Prince Harry’s wedding last year showed widespread indifference to the royals. As expected, a clear majority (60%) said they liked the Queen, but only a third said they liked her “a great deal”. Meanwhile, only 37% wanted Charles to succeed the Queen; 46% said they would prefer “someone else”.

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Trump visit avoids major pitfalls despite usual blunders

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US president’s behaviour seemed tame in comparison with disastrous visit last year

He insulted London’s mayor, abused an American actor on Twitter at 1.20am, turned Brexit into a threat to the National Health Service, described Meghan Markle as nasty, and behaved as if he was a kingmaker offering audiences to aspirants from the 51st state, and yet to Whitehall’s diplomats Donald Trump’s state visit was by no means the worst in living memory.

It may be that the bar had been set vertiginously low, or that Trump, as a repeat visitor, has lost some of his capacity for shock and awe. Somehow, it seemed tame and normalised in comparison with his previous disastrous visit a year ago. Even the protests felt familiar, and like Trump’s insults aimed at Sadiq Khan, heartfelt but formulaic.

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Donald Trump, the one person more of a political basket case than Britain

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Over three endless days, the US president was welcomed as grist to our dark satanic content mills

It is finally over, then, the state visit during which US President Donald Trump treated Britain like a Moscow hotel mattress. God, we deserved it. The event served most tellingly as a vicious satire on British public life, with every fevered reaction to it recalling Sybil Fawlty’s assessment of her husband Basil’s way with guests: “You never get it right, do you? You’re either crawling all over the them, licking their boots, or spitting poison at them like some Benzedrined puff adder.”

And so with the entire political class, who spent three days either fawning over this Nascar royal wedding, or shriekingly defining themselves against it to boost their personal brands. Much better to have treated Trump with the exquisitely polite disinterest of a competent hotelier – perhaps the only language he understands.

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41-gun salutes and a Twitter tirade: Donald Trump arrives in UK

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US president attends Buckingham Palace banquet after starting state visit with angry tweets

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Donald Trump breezed into Britain by launching an attack on London’s mayor and berating so-called fake news before being honoured with a glittering banquet hosted by the Queen.

Buckingham Palace provided the sumptuous backdrop for the US president, who had long desired the endorsement of an official state visit, and took the opportunity to bring four of his five children with him.

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