Category Archives: King Charles III

Britain’s slimmed-down monarchy has been left vulnerable in wake of cancer diagnoses

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Fewer engagements are being conducted, and possible role of Harry as regent could raise constitutional issues

A decade ago, the royal family notched up more than 4,000 engagements in a year, travelling across the UK and criss-crossing the globe.

The then Prince of Wales travelled to Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Colombia; Prince Harry went to Brazil and Chile and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh carried out more than 660 engagements between them, including trips to France and Italy.

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False King Charles death story spread by Russian media outlets

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One site tweeted of monarch’s purported demise only to later concede: ‘Most likely, the information is fake’

The news broke in the Russian media on Monday afternoon. King Charles III was dead. He was not, but no one really had time to check the details. The saga of the royal family finally had its latest twist: a viral Russian disinformation angle.

The rumour went into overdrive when it was shared on a Telegram channel used by Vedomosti, once Russia’s most respected business newspaper. There was a photo of Charles in ceremonial military uniform and the curt caption: “British King Charles III has died.” It made it through Russian internet channels, including Readovka, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel with more than 2.35 million subscribers.

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Army to remove claim Princess of Wales will attend event in June

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Catherine’s reported appearance at trooping the colour published without Kensington Palace’s approval

The army is to remove a claim made on its website that the Princess of Wales will attend an event in June, it has been reported, after apparently publishing the information without approval from Kensington Palace.

Tickets were being sold for the trooping the colour, which will take place on 8 June, advertising an appearance by Catherine, as of 8.30pm on Tuesday.

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Australia news live: NSW government to look ‘really closely’ at GPS rules for police-issued weapons after killing of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird

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‘Change needs to be made’ on NSW police policies and procedures, premier says. Follow the day’s news live

‘Context has changed’ since NSW lit up Opera House to support Israel, Minns says

ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland:

You ordered the lighting up of the Sydney Opera House sails in support of Israel after 1,200 Israelis were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Since then, 30,000 Palestinians have died. Will you consider lighting up the Sydney Opera House in support of Palestine?

This is an international conflict now and I don’t want to further exacerbate or pull apart Sydney’s already quite volatile mix. I would make the point that much of what will be said in New South Wales will [not] affect the peace situation in the Middle East, but a lot of what could be said can affect peace right here in this state. So we need to be careful with our commentary, we need to focus on not exacerbating community tensions or divisions, and that’s going to be the NSW government’s approach over the coming months.

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A soft regency? The House of Windsor reckons with shortage of working royals

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Cover for an incapacitated King Charles is looking rather thin, especially with William facing his own problems

One principle of hereditary monarchy is that it is the institution, not the individual, that prevails; the “Firm” over the figure on the throne.

Following King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, Buckingham Palace and the government can point to laws as evidence the well-oiled machinery of monarchy will continue to whirr efficiently in the background as the king retreats for treatment.

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No 10 confirms details of PM’s meeting with King Charles in unusual step

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Palace and Downing Street keen to show king is still carrying out core constitutional duties after cancer diagnosis

Buckingham Palace and Downing Street were keen to demonstrate that King Charles remains in close contact with the government on Wednesday, even as he recovers from his first session of cancer treatment.

No 10 took the unusual step of confirming that Rishi Sunak would be telephoning the king in the evening after an agreement with the palace to disclose the information.

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Prince Harry returns to UK after King Charles’s cancer diagnosis

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Duke of Sussex makes journey alone, with wife and children remaining at home in California

The Duke of Sussex has enjoyed a brief reunion with the king after taking an overnight flight from California to visit his father following Buckingham Palace’s announcement of the monarch’s cancer diagnosis.

Prince Harry landed at Heathrow shortly after midday following an 11-hour flight from Los Angeles. Travelling alone, the Duchess of Sussex having stayed in the US with the couple’s two children, Harry was pictured being driven from the airport in a black Range Rover with a police escort.

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King Charles: Prince Harry to travel to UK to see father after cancer diagnosis – as it happened

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King Charles ‘wholly positive about treatment’ but will postpone public-facing duties

Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf said he wished the king a “speedy recovery” following his cancer diagnosis.

He said: “My thoughts and prayers are with His Majesty The King and I hope for a speedy recovery and return to public life.

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Charles’s cancer diagnosis will cast doubt on his future role

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The king’s illness comes just as he was making a mark and as his popularity was growing, and means postponing public duties

Last Monday, King Charles emerged from a private clinic alongside Queen Camilla to smile and wave to a small crowd.

The message that Buckingham Palace wished to convey was obvious – the monarch is strong and will carry on his duties, despite the health setback.

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Portrait of King Charles for public buildings unveiled in £8m scheme

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Move to offer the monarch’s photograph to UK bodies has been described as a ‘shameful waste of money’ by critics

A new official portrait of the king has been unveiled, created to hang in public buildings across the UK under an £8m government-funded scheme that an anti-monarchy campaign group has described as a “shameful waste of money”.

The Cabinet Office announced last year that it had set aside funds to offer every public body – local councils, courts, schools, police forces, and fire and rescue services – a free portrait of King Charles.

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King Charles’s Christmas message rules TV ratings, with 5.9m viewers

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BBC showed nine out of 10 most popular shows, according to overnight data, with Strictly coming second and Doctor Who third

King Charles’s Christmas broadcast came top of the TV ratings on Christmas Day, with the BBC showing nine out of the 10 most watched shows.

The king’s message, which reflected on the “increasingly tragic conflict around the world”, attracted an average of 5.9 million viewers, according to overnight ratings.

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King Charles praises ‘selfless’ people who form ‘backbone of society’ in Christmas speech

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Monarch says in his second Christmas Day message that his coronation was ‘a call to us all to serve and care’

King Charles has praised the work of volunteers, calling them a “selfless army of people” who form an “essential backbone of our society”.

In his second Christmas speech, the king said he was delighted that hundreds of volunteers and their representatives attended his coronation in May, saying their presence “emphasised the meaning of coronation itself, above all, a call to us all to serve one another, to love and care for all”.

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Barbados PM says country owed $4.9tn as she makes fresh call for reparations

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Mia Mottley tells London audience that King Charles’s comments about slavery’s impact were welcome

King Charles’s comment that the “time has come” to acknowledge the enduring impact of slavery has been welcomed by the prime minister of Barbados as she spoke in London about the need for reparations.

Mia Mottley said Barbados was owed $4.9tn (£3.9tn) by slave-owning nations, noting that conversations over how this debt should be repaid would “be difficult and will take time”, she said on Wednesday evening.

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‘Charles’ or ‘skin rash’? Māori MPs’ oath of allegiance to king sparks translation debate

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At the opening of parliament, lawmakers for New Zealand’s Māori party used a word for Charles that can also be used to describe skin conditions

Māori party MPs have departed from the traditional oath of allegiance to King Charles III at the opening of New Zealand’s 54th parliament, sparking a debate about whether the Māori word they used to describe him meant “Charles” or “skin rash”.

As part of the formalities to open parliament, MPs must swear allegiance to New Zealand’s head of state, something Te Pāti Māori, a Māori political party, has long protested against. MPs can say the oath in either English or Te reo Māori.

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What is the royal race row and why is it back in the news?

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A book has named Charles and Catherine as royals alleged to have discussed skin colour of Harry and Meghan’s unborn son

The royal race row that erupted more than two years ago, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey that a member of the royal family had remarked on Prince Archie’s skin colour before he was born, has simmered ever since. Now it has exploded once more as the Dutch version of a new book appears to have named King Charles and the Princess of Wales as family members alleged to have made such remarks.

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Demand soars for Dutch first editions of book naming UK royals in race row

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Copies of book about British monarchy changing hands on resale websites for up to €175

Dutch first editions of the book Endgame, which names two members of the British royal family alleged to have discussed the skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s unborn baby, are selling online for many times above the original retail price of €22.99.

As parts of the British press reached fever pitch trying to find out whether the Dutch version had contained a mistranslation, or had failed to adopt final excisions or was running a strange publicity stunt, bids for a Dutch version on Marktplaats on Thursday reached €175 (£150).

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Sunak accused of retreating from global climate leadership at Cop28

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PM attracts cross-party criticism with claim that ‘climate politics is at breaking point’ during combative summit visit

Rishi Sunak has been accused of “shrinking and retreating” from global leadership as he used the Cop28 summit to claim that “climate politics is at breaking point” because of the costs of net zero.

While many other world leaders, including King Charles, spoke of the urgency of action on the climate, the prime minister used his brief appearance at the summit in Dubai to promote his approach to slowing the pace of net zero policies and reducing pressures on family finances.

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King Charles to give ‘call to arms’ Cop28 opening statement, says PM

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Rishi Sunak’s attendance comes after he scaled back pledges to help the UK reach net zero by 2050

King Charles will give a “call to arms” in his Cop28 climate summit opening statement, Rishi Sunak has said, expressing delight over the monarch’s record championing the issue.

Sunak said it was a “proud moment” for him to witness Charles deliver his speech on Friday, which “speaks volumes about our type of leadership as a country”.

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Keir Starmer dismisses king’s speech as ‘exercise in economic miserabilism’ – politics live

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Labour party leader criticises speech as ‘admission that government has no faith in Britain’s ability to avert decline’

Here is Ben Quinn’s guide to what will be in the king’s speech.

In a statement about the king’s speech issued overnight, Keir Starmer said:

Britain is crying out for the long-term change that harnesses the ambition of our young people, the innovative drive of our businesses, and the ordinary hope and optimism that exists around every kitchen table.

A government acting in the national interest would deliver a big build programme to kickstart growth in every region and begin to turn around 13 years of decline with a plan for a decade of national renewal.

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