Reports add to speculation that Duke and Duchess do not plan to spend much time in UK
Frogmore Cottage, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, is in the process of being shuttered, according to reports, fuelling speculation the couple do not intend to spend any meaningful time in the UK in the near future.
Related: It’s not just Meghan and Harry. I’d like us all to escape this dire royal circus | Suzanne Moore
Continue reading...Duke conducts Rugby League World Cup draw while Meghan visits women’s organisations in Vancouver
The Duke of Sussex has appeared in public for the first time since announcing he and his wife are to step back as frontline royals.
Prince Harry returned to Buckingham Palace, the heart of the institution rocked by the bombshell announcement last week that he and Meghan would leave their senior roles as full-time royals and move part-time to Canada.
Continue reading...Newspaper faces legal action from Duchess of Sussex for publishing excerpts from a letter to her father
Thomas Markle could be called to give evidence at the high court against his estranged daughter Meghan, as part of her ongoing legal action against the Mail on Sunday, after it emerged that the paper’s defence appears to rely on his account.
The Duchess of Sussex is suing the newspaper for breach of copyright, invasion of privacy, and misuse of personal data after it published excerpts from a letter she sent her father complaining about how he was treating her.
Continue reading...As royals including Harry return to engagements, aides counter reports Meghan barred from talks
The Duchess of Sussex did not take part in the Queen’s Sandringham summit to decide future roles for herself and Prince Harry, it has emerged, as the remaining full-time working royals returned to their round of official engagements.
Before Monday’s crisis family meeting, sources had indicated Meghan was likely to be personally involved in the urgent discussions precipitated by the couple’s shock announcement that they intended to “step back” from frontline royal duties.
Continue reading...Following the shock statement by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last Wednesday that they want to 'step back' as senior royals and divide their time between Canada and the UK, questions were raised over whether Canadian taxpayers would have to pay for the couple's security during their time in the country. Speaking to Canadian broadcaster Global News on Monday, the country's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said: 'There will be many discussions to come on how that works'
Continue reading...She agreed to a ‘period of transition’ and stressed the Sussexes remain ‘a valued part of my family’
The Queen has given her reluctant blessing to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to split their time between the UK and Canada, making it clear that though she had wanted the couple to remain as full-time working royals, she supported their decision.
After a historic summit of senior royals at Sandringham, details over exactly how Harry and Meghan will carve out the new “progressive” roles they seek remained unclear. The Queen has, however, agreed to a “period of transition” and stressed the couple remain “a valued part of my family”.
Continue reading...Monarch says she ‘would have preferred’ couple to remain full-time working royals as day of Sandringham talks concludes
Buckingham Palace has just released the following statement from the Queen:
Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family.
My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.
Reports are coming in from correspondents at Sandringham that the royals have left the estate.
The meeting is over. The senior Royals have been seen leaving Sandringham.
We await news ...#HarryandMeghan
Charles, Harry and William have all been photographed leaving Sandringham separately #SandringhamSummit
Continue reading...‘I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can’t do that any more,’ prince says
The Duke of Cambridge has expressed his sadness over tensions with his brother before Monday’s crisis summit at Sandringham called by the Queen to decide the future of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The brothers are now “separate entities” but Prince William hopes matters can be resolved so the royal family can once more play as “a team”, according to reports.
Continue reading...The Queen, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex to meet at Sandringham on Monday
The Queen has summoned senior royals to an emergency summit at her Sandringham estate in Norfolk on Monday to discuss the future of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The meeting, to be attended by the Queen, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, will be the first time the four have met since the Sussex crisis exploded on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Pair may have to file objection after EU trademark application is apparently made from Italy
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex face having to potentially make an objection to protect their would-be brand “Sussex Royal” after an application was lodged with EU authorities to trademark a range of goods including beer and jewellery.
In what may be the latest attempt to either squat on or protect the couple’s brand, it was lodged on Thursday by an applicant who appears to be based in Italy and filed it in German, with English listed as a second language. Database searches suggest it was made in the name of Ui Phoenix Kerbl, possibly after the Guardian reported on Thursday that the Sussexes had yet to register their brand outside of the UK.
Continue reading...Fallout continues over royal couple’s decision to ‘step back’ from monarchy
The Duchess of Sussex was back in Canada on Friday as royal officials tasked with hammering out new roles for her and Prince Harry were said to be “progressing well”.
As Meghan turned to her friends for support, the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge were said to be adopting a pragmatic approach to the couple’s bid to become hybrid royals.
Continue reading...Announcement by pair that they are stepping back from public life brings hysterical response
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back from public life has provoked vitriolic attacks on the couple and hyperbolic predictions on what it could mean for the monarchy.
The announcement came after Prince Harry and Meghan criticised media intrusion and launched legal action against the Mail on Sunday. This, along with reports that the couple’s decision has upset the Queen, appears to have fuelled the ferocity of the reaction.
Continue reading...Edward VIII’s love for an American divorcee plunged the country into constitutional chaos. These latest goings on are hardly in the same league, despite what some might say
There is a school of thought that believes Edward VIII chose Mrs Simpson precisely because of his aversion to doing the top job. Subconsciously, some think, the king chose a partner who could not be reconciled with the monarchy, in order that he might create a way out of it for himself. Perhaps in time people will be imposing that remote diagnosis on the Duke of Sussex. At some level, was Harry drawn to a woman whose nature would ultimately necessitate their joint escape from the institution?
Either way, a mere 83 years after the experiment was first tried, it is clearly much too soon to say whether marrying American divorcees generally works out well for the House of Windsor. I’m joking, of course. You need at least three instances of anything for it to officially become a trend.
Continue reading...Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they intend to ‘work to become financially independent’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to step back from public life and work towards financial self-sufficiency after a period marked by open warfare with the media over claimed intrusion and bullying.
The couple plan to split their time between the UK and North America, the continent of Meghan’s birth, as they raise their son.
Continue reading...Move is hailed by Sir David Attenborough as ‘the most prestigious environment prize in history’
Prince William has announced what was described as “the most prestigious environment prize in history” to encourage new solutions to tackling the climate crisis.
The “Earthshot prize” will be awarded to five people every year over the next decade, the Prince said on Tuesday, and aims to provide at least 50 answers to some of the greatest problems facing the planet by 2030.
Continue reading...Prince Andrew attends celebrations but not main service, while Queen acknowledges young people’s action on climate crisis
The royal family was out in force in a public show of Christmas unity as the Queen dwelt on the themes of friendship and reconciliation in her annual message and acknowledged a “quite bumpy” path during a turbulent year for both the monarchy and the nation.
The beleaguered Duke of York joined other members of the family for the traditional celebrations at Sandringham in Norfolk in his first appearance since he was forced to step down from official royal duties over his friendship with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
Continue reading...Duke of Edinburgh expected to join Queen in Sandringham for Christmas
The Duke of Edinburgh has left hospital, where he was receiving treatment for a pre-existing condition.
Related: Queen's Christmas message: '2019 has been quite bumpy'
Continue reading...The Duke of Edinburgh is expected to stay in hospital for a few more days while receiving treatment relating to a “pre-existing condition”.
His planned admission on Friday to King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London, which has treated members of the royal family for decades, was described as precautionary by Buckingham Palace.
Continue reading...Ninety-eight-year-old moved from Norfolk to the King Edward VII hospital in London
The Duke of Edinburgh has been admitted to hospital for observation and treatment in relation to a pre-existing condition, Buckingham Palace said.
In a statement, the palace said: “The Duke of Edinburgh travelled from Norfolk this morning to the King Edward VII hospital in London for observation and treatment in relation to a pre-existing condition. The admission is a precautionary measure, on the advice of his royal highness’s doctor.”
Continue reading...American tells BBC she was told to have sex with royal by Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Ghislaine Maxwell
A beleaguered Prince Andrew faced fresh embarrassment after his accuser Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked as a teenager to have sex with him, appeared on television to implore the British public to “not accept this as being OK”.
In her first UK broadcast interview, Giuffre repeated allegations she had sex with the prince when she was aged 17 on the instructions of Ghislaine Maxwell, a socialite and close friend of the US financier and sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in August.
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