Category Archives: Monarchy

Buckingham Palace declines to return remains of ‘stolen’ Ethiopian prince, say reports

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Prince Alemayehu, who was taken to England after his father’s citadel was looted, was buried at Windsor Castle in 19th century

Buckingham Palace has reportedly declined a request to return the remains of an Ethiopian prince who came to be buried at Windsor Castle in the 19th century.

Prince Alemayehu, a claimed descendant of the biblical King Solomon, was taken to England – some say “stolen” – after British soldiers looted his father’s imperial citadel after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868.

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Red faces in Ireland over coronation quips by Leo Varadkar’s partner

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Matt Barrett’s Instagram posts from Westminster Abbey cause embarrassment after Irish delegation sets precedent by attending

When Ireland’s leaders attended the coronation of King Charles III, it was hailed as a milestone in relations between Dublin and London.

The Irish president, Michael D Higgins, the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill, set the precedent – their predecessors had shunned previous coronations – to show respect to their neighbour.

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Prince Harry has no evidence he was hacked by the Mirror, court told

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Mirror Group’s lawyers suggest newspaper’s stories about prince were instead leaked by royal press officers

Prince Harry has no evidence he was the victim of phone hacking by Mirror journalists, the high court has heard, with stories about his private life instead secretly leaked by royal press officers.

The Duke of Sussex alleges that dozens of news stories published in the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and People were obtained through phone hacking or other illegal behaviour. The articles – published between 1995 and 2011 – detail his relationship with his family, his relationship with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, his military service and allegations of drug use.

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Penny Mordaunt says she took painkillers before sword-carrying role

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Lord president of privy council says coronation was ‘humbling day’ and democracy ‘is about dissent’

Penny Mordaunt has revealed how she took painkillers before her role of carrying the ceremonial sword during King Charles’s coronation.

Mordaunt, wearing a custom-made teal outfit with a matching cape and headband with gold feather embroidery, was the first woman to perform the role as lord president of the council. She was responsible for bearing the sword of the state and presenting the jewelled sword of offering to the king. They were two of four swords used during the ceremony, and it is a practice that dates back to the coronation of Richard the Lionheart in 1189.

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Prince Harry’s ghostwriter, JR Moehringer, says pair bonded over media intrusion

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Author says paparazzi and reporters began to follow him in his car and snoop around his home

Prince Harry’s ghostwriter has said he bonded with his subject over the “callousness” of paparazzi and media after the “frenzied mob” around the book Spare led to photographers and journalists invading his own privacy.

In a first-person piece for the New Yorker, JR Moehringer, the celebrated ghostwriter behind Spare said he agreed to write Harry’s memoir because he “just liked the dude” and had recently lost his own mother.

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Coronation volunteers set to work making royal parks bloom

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A wildflower planting operation is under way in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace, as part of The Big Help Out

After two days of playing host to thousands of flag-waving royal supporters, visitors were invited back to Green Park on Monday – this time to do some gardening.

As the machinery moved in and the clean-up effort got under way around Buckingham Palace, a few metres away, along a meandering line marked out in white through the park, volunteers got down on their hands and knees to plant wildflowers.

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Take That, Katy Perry and more entertain 20,000 at coronation concert

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Prince of Wales also appears on stage, saying to King Charles III: ‘Pa, we are all so proud of you’

Thousands danced and waved their flags underneath Windsor Castle in the first concert ever held in the grounds to celebrate King Charles’s coronation.

Stars including Katy Perry, who sang Roar and Firework, and Lionel Richie, who played Easy and All Night Long, entertained the 20,000-strong audience, including the royal family, and millions at home on Sunday. Take That provided a rousing finale, drawing the night to a close with Never Forget, featuring an intro from the choristers of Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

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King Charles complained ‘we can never be on time’ at coronation, lip reader claims

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Monarch reportedly said ‘there’s always something’ during the build-up to the ceremony

King Charles grumbled “we can never be on time” and “there’s always something” at the start of his coronation, a lip reader has claimed.

The monarch and Camilla arrived at Westminster Abbey early and were forced to wait outside, sat in their diamond jubilee state coach.

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Coronation aimed for diversity but real challenges still lie ahead

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Bid to reflect an inclusive modern Britain countered by ‘terribly white’ Buckingham Palace balcony

For many, King Charles III achieved his ambition for a diverse and inclusive coronation, though not everyone agreed.

There were far more black and brown faces in Westminster Abbey than 70 years ago, as would be expected given societal change over Elizabeth II’s reign.

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‘Everyone’s welcome’: community unites at Coronation Big Lunch in Leeds

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‘Pay as you feel’ celebration in Armley, one of city’s most deprived wards, is one of more than 67,000 across bank holiday weekend

Parishioners had put out enough chairs in the grounds of Christ Church in Armley, Leeds, to seat about 80 people for their Coronation Big Lunch – but it was starting to become clear they may have underestimated.

Helped by sunny weather on Sunday, numbers were nearly twice as high, and it was not long before pews were being brought outside to seat the diverse gathering, one of more than 67,000 Big Lunches being held across the bank holiday weekend as part of the official coronation celebrations.

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Colonialism and controversial guests inform Africa’s reaction to Charles’s coronation

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While some paid tribute to the British monarch, the presence in London of certain guests proved less than welcome

In South Africa, as across the African Commonwealth countries, Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III prompted mixed reactions.

There was much interest in Pretty Yende, the South African soprano who sang at the beginning of the ceremony, and some high-profile public figures sent their best wishes to the monarch.

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Anti-coronation protest leader hits out at police over arrests

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Graham Smith said Met officers should hang their heads in shame after 52 detained in central London

Police who arrested anti-monarchy protesters before King Charles III’s coronation have “destroyed whatever trust might have existed between peaceful protesters and the Metropolitan police,” the chief executive of the campaign group Republic has said.

After six members of the group were arrested at about 7.30am on Saturday – before their protest had begun – and had their placards seized, Graham Smith said officers “should hang their heads in shame” and that police had shown “no judgment, no common sense and no basic decency”.

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French left attacks ‘nauseating’ coronation but right gives praise

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Jean-Luc Mélenchon also criticises French TV coverage while National Rally MP hails ‘magnificent’ ceremony

Almost 9 million people watched King Charles’s coronation live on TV in France, where the pomp and ceremony sickened the radical left while impressing the far right.

As the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who is close to Charles, attended the service at Westminster Abbey, congratulating the monarchy who he said were “friends to France”, the French media’s massive focus on the event – with souvenir front pages and lengthy TV specials across different channels – caused high emotions across the polarised political landscape.

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Liverpool fans boo during national anthem before match at Anfield

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Football club says how spectators choose to react to God Save the King is a ‘personal choice’

The British national anthem has been met with resounding boos at Anfield, with Liverpool fans drowning out the music with heckles before their fixture against Brentford hours after King Charles’s coronation.

Liverpool supporters could also be heard chanting “Liverpool, Liverpool” in what has become somewhat of a tradition whenever the national anthem is played at the ground.

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King Charles and Queen Camilla crowned at Westminster Abbey – as it happened

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Coronation comes after anti-monarchy protesters arrested in central London. This blog is now closed

My colleague Alexandra Topping is out and about with the crowds in central London early this morning:

Crazy scenes around the streets of the coronation route London this morning, which have been heaving since the very early hours as people hope to secure a good spot.

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Global heads gather in London for lavish coronation of Charles and Camilla

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Crowning of new king and queen will include UK’s biggest military spectacle in 70 years

Foreign royalty, heads of state and other dignitaries from around the globe have descended on London for the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, which will include a military spectacle unmatched in Britain in 70 years.

Seven thousand troops will be on parade with 19 military bands in a coronation procession stretching one mile from front to rear, the most at any state occasion since the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

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Coronation build-up live: King Charles and Camilla at Westminster Abbey for final rehearsal

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Dignitaries arriving in London ahead of tomorrow’s ceremony as people already gather to line procession route

A children’s biography of King Charles III has topped the UK book chart before the coronation on 6 May.

Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s King Charles is part of the Little People, Big Dreams series, which includes illustrated biographies of notable figures such as Stephen Hawking and Michelle Obama.

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King’s coronation weather likely to be a washout, says Met Office

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Rain forecast for UK over bank holiday weekend, including in London as Charles III is crowned

A coronation washout is forecast for many this weekend with rain and drizzle likely to provide a quintessentially British backdrop to the royal pomp and pageantry.

Saturday, the day of the formal ceremony, is forecast by the Met Office to be a cloudy and wet day for many, including in the capital around midday, just as King Charles III is being crowned.

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Belize likely to become republic, says PM, as he criticises Rishi Sunak

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Exclusive: Johnny Briceño attacks his UK counterpart’s refusal to apologise for atrocities of slavery

The prime minister of Belize, Johnny Briceño, has sharply criticised Rishi Sunak’s refusal to apologise for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, and said it was “quite likely” Belize would be the next member of the Commonwealth realm to become a republic.

Speaking to the Guardian in the country’s capital, Belmopan, Briceño argued the British government had a moral responsibility to apologise for the atrocities of slavery and added to the calls throughout the English-speaking Caribbean for financial reparations from the UK.

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What coronation? Many Australians don’t know when it’s on and few seem inclined to recite the oath

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Guardian Australia encounters a mix of apathy, indignation and enthusiasm on the streets of Melbourne and Sydney

King Charles III is just days away from his coronation but you wouldn’t know it from the mood on Australia’s streets.

Many people Guardian Australia spoke to in the lead-up to Saturday’s coronation didn’t know it was coming up – and certainly had no intention of pledging allegiance to the king from their couch, as the public will be invited to do.

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