Category Archives: Monarchy

Keir Starmer praises Charles after king was heckled in Australia

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UK PM says monarch is doing ‘a fantastic job’ after protest by senator in Australian parliament

King Charles is doing a “fantastic job”, particularly in the context of his “health challenges”, the prime minister has said after the royal was heckled by the Indigenous Australian senator Lidia Thorpe.

Charles had just finished addressing MPs and senators at Parliament House in Canberra, as part of his five-day tour of Australia with Camilla, when he was approached by Thorpe, who yelled: “This is not your country.”

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Indigenous elder scolds Lidia Thorpe for yelling ‘disrespectful’ comments at King Charles

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Aunty Violet Sheridan says the Victorian senator ‘does not speak for me and my people’ and called Thorpe’s yelling of ‘fuck the colony’ inappropriate

A Ngunnawal elder has rebuked Lidia Thorpe over her confrontation with King Charles, saying the Victorian senator doesn’t speak for her people and that her comments of “fuck the colony” were “disrespectful”.

Aunty Violet Sheridan, 69, met the royals as part of an official greeting party on Monday and was sitting near the king in Parliament House when Thorpe “jumped out”, marched forward and started shouting at the royals. Thorpe yelled at the king to “give us our land back”, and shouted “fuck the colony” and “you are not my king”.

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Australia news live: king meets Hephner the alpaca en route to war memorial; Sussan Ley declares purchase of Cessna plane

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla have greeted the crowd at the Australian War Memorial, shaking hands and high-fiving kids. Follow the day’s news live

Independent Kooyong MP responds to Victorian government rezoning plan

Monique Ryan, the federal member for Kooyong, was up on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss the Victorian government’s rezoning plan:

The announcement this weekend from the premier was for nine massive new developments just in the electorate of Kooyong. That’s huge. These could be up to 20 storeys high. Of course that will cause some concern from people who live in the area, who have chosen to live there, because it’s a beautiful part of the world.

We’re not saying we don’t want it, I think people in my part of the world are welcoming it. We’d also like some assurances from the government they will include social and affordable housing in these developments. We really don’t have any detail as of yet and that’s the stuff that’s missing at this point.

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King Charles makes relaxed start to Australian tour but spends less than 10 minutes at lunch in his honour

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After a day of rest, monarch appears at Sydney lunch in his honour and gives hosts an hourglass while joking about swift passage of time

King Charles III did not linger long at the luncheon put on in his honour, at the second scheduled event of his short Australian visit. And his gift to the gathering was a reminder of the fleeting passage of time.

There was a menu fit for a king, and very Sydney: chargrilled asparagus and olive dust; marinated octopus and squid ink wafer; barramundi and duck confit.

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King Charles’s visit puts the monarchy’s Australian future back in focus

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Hopeful Republicans are calling it the ‘farewell tour’, as the king toes the tried and tested constitutional line

As the king arrives in Australia for the first time as head of state, republican rumblings are once more on the media radar.

Will it be, as the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) optimistically opines, the monarchy’s “farewell tour”?

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In the rain of King Charles: royal couple touch down in Australia

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Amid a downpour at Sydney airport, the monarch arrives with Queen Camilla for a five-day visit

Minutes after a drenching downpour came to an end at Sydney airport, King Charles and Queen Camilla stepped on to Australian soil for their first visit as reigning monarchs.

The five-day trip is the couple’s first Australian visit since the King ascended to the throne in 2022 and the first by a reigning monarch since his mother Queen Elizabeth toured the country in 2011.

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King Charles has arrived in Australia for his first visit as monarch. Here’s where to see the royals

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Sydney and Canberra are on the royal couple’s itinerary, with opportunities for the public to see them between official functions

King Charles and Queen Camilla have touched down in Australia for the couple’s first visit to the country since Charles became its reigning monarch.

They were last in Australia in 2018, when then Prince Charles opened the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. This shorter, more compact tour will take in just Canberra and Sydney, with dozens of engagements packed into the pair’s four days on the ground.

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Republican debate flares ahead of King Charles’ first visit to Australia as head of state

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Republic movement hopes to reignite conversation, but monarchist league says current constitution ‘best protects our democracy’

Debates around Australia’s continued future under the British monarchy have flared ahead of King Charles’ first visit to the country since he ascended the throne.

Charles and Queen Camilla will arrive in Australia on 18 October, with stops in Sydney and Canberra during their six-day visit.

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King Charles and royals fail to reveal official gifts for past four years – despite promise to do so

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Royal family had pledged to declare all presents received in an annual list, after several controversies

King Charles and his family have failed to reveal their official gifts for the past four years, despite previously promising to publish an annual list.

Palace officials have blamed the pandemic, the change of reign, and then planning for last year’s coronation for their inability to publish details of the gifts received by members of the royal family.

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King Charles won’t stand in the way if ‘Australia wants to become a republic’

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Charles said to be adopting ‘anti-confrontational approach’ to republican campaigners before visit

King Charles has said he will not stand in the way if Australia wishes to replace him as the country’s head of state, it has been reported.

Ahead of his visit later this month, the king is said to be adopting an “anti-confrontational approach” to Australian republican campaigners, the Daily Mail reported.

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Necklace worn at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation could fetch £2m at auction

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Some jewellery historians believe it features diamonds from infamous piece at centre of Marie Antoinette scandal

An antique diamond necklace worn at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and may be linked to a French scandal involving Marie Antoinette could fetch as much as £2m at auction.

The necklace, made of 300 carats, was also worn to King George VI’s coronation by members of the Marquess of Anglesey family, who owned the diamonds until the 1960s when they sold them.

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Prince William wishes Harry happy 40th birthday on social media

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Prince and Princess of Wales echo birthday wishes sent from royal family’s X account despite strained relations

The Prince and Princess of Wales have delivered a small peace offering in their rift with the Duke of Sussex by wishing Prince Harry happy birthday for the first time in three years.

In a post on X, the royal family shared a photograph of a smiling Harry to mark his 40th birthday, complete with a cake emoji. The message said: “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!”

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Prince Harry at 40: the difference a decade has made to the duke’s life

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Living among film stars and estranged from his father and brother, Harry’s milestone birthday may bring moment of reflection

Ten years ago, Prince Harry was given the run of Clarence House for his 30th birthday. Guests headed by Prince William and including long-standing childhood friends enjoyed a black-tie dinner where they were reportedly serenaded by Ellie Goulding while Charles and Camilla discreetly decamped to their Scottish hideaway.

Such a family celebration now seems unthinkable as Harry prepares to mark his 40th on Sunday.

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‘Written in the stars’: Norwegian princess and California shaman tie the knot, with Netflix in waiting

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Unconventional marriage of Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Vellet celebrated with three-day schedule of events and a documentary to follow

She is the clairvoyant daughter of one of Europe’s longest-serving monarchs; he is a self-styled sixth-generation shaman from California. The wedding of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway to Durek Verrett on Saturday on Saturday afternoon wasn’t your conventional royal affair, but that didn’t stop spectators lining the overcast streets of Geiranger in the hope of catching a glimpse of the bride.

The eldest daughter of Crown Prince Harald and Queen Sonja, 52-year-old Märtha Louise is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne. She married Verrett, 49, in a traditional church of Norway ceremony attended by royals and celebrities at the four-star Hotel Union in a small village beneath the Geiranger fjord.

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First £1 coin featuring King Charles III enters circulation

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Design with bees on reverse, part of collection inspired by plants and animals, was voted people’s favourite

The first £1 coin bearing the official portrait of King Charles III has entered general circulation as part of a collection inspired by plants and animals found across the four nations of the United Kingdom.

The latest design, featuring two bees, has been issued to Post Offices and banks, with nearly 3m coins making their way into tills and pockets.

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Prince Harry hits out at spread of disinformation via AI and social media

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Duke speaks at summit on digital responsibility while on visit with Duchess of Sussex to Colombia

The Duke of Sussex has hit out at online disinformation during a four-day visit to Colombia, warning: “What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets.”

Speaking in Bogotá at a summit on digital responsibility, Harry said of the spread of false information via artificial intelligence and social media: “People are acting on information that isn’t true.”

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The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki says she struggled to leave Diana’s mannerisms behind

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Emmy-nominated actor says she would catch herself ‘doing a lot of head tilting’ after finishing Netflix series

The Crown actor Elizabeth Debicki took a long time to shake off the mannerisms of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, whom she portrayed in the award-winning Netflix series.

The 33-year-old Australian found herself imitating Diana “for a long while” after the filming of the series’ sixth and final season, she said.

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French audit cautions Élysée over €475k cost of King Charles dinner

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Versailles banquet among lavish spending in 2023 that has plunged president’s office €8m into red

The French president’s office spent nearly €475,000 (£400,100) on a dinner for King Charles last year, the country’s top audit court said in a report cautioning about high spending.

In September 2023, King Charles attended a lavish state banquet at the Palace of Versailles attended by more than 150 people, part of a “soft power” visit aimed at improving ties between London and Paris.

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Royal stinker: how Henry VIII changed from heroic to hideous on our screens

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As Jude Law’s ripe and revolting portrayal of the Tudor monarch opens in cinemas, we look at the film and TV stars who have played him – as comedian, tyrant or heart-throb

Greasy, hairy, large and smelly are not words that instantly summon up the image of Jude Law. Until now. Because the actor’s latest role, Henry VIII in the film Firebrand, will show him in an almost entirely unflattering light. And the effect will be topped off in later scenes by the pustulant ulcers shown on his legs.

Law is, perhaps unfairly, still best known for his line in clean-shaven leading men, from the inconstant Alfie to the suave Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley. He has clearly relished the chance to look so unappealing on the big screen.

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King to receive extra £45m of public money as crown estate income soars

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Royal accounts show estate made £1.1bn profit, meaning sovereign grant will rise to £132m for 2025-26

King Charles is set for a huge £45m pay rise with an increase of more than 50% in his official annual income, official accounts reveal.

Profits of £1.1bn from the crown estate – a percentage of which funds the monarchy – mean the sovereign grant, which supports the official duties of the royal family, will rise from £86m in 2024-25 to £132m in 2025-26.

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