Rolls-Royce and feather crown among King Charles’s coronation gifts

Official register reveals presents included £300,000 car from king of Bahrain, as well as trees and a model ship

King Charles received coronation gifts ranging from a luxury Rolls-Royce to a feather crown and two hand-woven coconut leaf hats, according to an official register.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II, thought to be worth at least £300,000, was given by the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. As an official gift to Charles as head of state, the car will become part of the royal mews to be used on official occasions and not for private use, sources indicated. The Bahraini king also gave Charles a decorative clock.

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King Charles hails ‘strong and free’ Canada in speech to open parliament

Monarch makes no direct mention of Trump amid US president’s threats to make Canada ‘51st state’

King Charles has said Canadians can “give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away” as he gave a rare speech in the country’s parliament that served as a rebuke of the US president, Donald Trump, and his threats to annex the country.

Charles, who serves as Canada’s head of state, is the first monarch since 1957 to preside over the opening of a new Canadian parliament.

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Crown questions to fore as king visits Canada amid tensions with Trump

Charles to open parliament in show of support at a crucial time – but that has not quieted a chorus of critical voices

The decision by King Charles to formally open Canada’s parliament on Tuesday reflects his role as a “steadfast defender” of the country amid threats to its sovereignty, says prime minister Mark Carney.

But Indigenous leaders say the rare visit is also a reminder that Canada’s founding relationship between the monarchy and the country’s first peoples cannot ever be “forgotten or displaced or broken”.

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Academic with apparent ties to Beijing has forged links within UK parliament

Exclusive: Prof Yu Xiong, who has met king and queen and attended House of Lords events, apparently linked to CCP influence group

An academic with apparent connections to the Chinese Communist party has forged links inside the UK parliament and met King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Yu Xiong, a professor of business analytics at the University of Surrey and a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, has attended a dozen events in the House of Lords since 2022 and had regular contact with peers including Baroness Uddin, a cross-bencher.

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King’s visit to Canada will help counter Trump’s threats, says envoy

King Charles’s sojourn will ‘make it clear that Canada is not for sale now, is not for sale ever’

King Charles’s visit to Canada will “reinforce” the country’s sovereignty against threats from Donald Trump, the Canadian high commissioner in the UK has said.

Ralph Goodale reiterated his country’s independence as Charles and Camilla visited Canada House in central London on Tuesday ahead of their trip to Ottawa later this month.

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King calls for renewed ‘commitment to peace’ in VE Day message

Charles says sacrifice of second world war heroes must not be in vain

King Charles called for a renewal of “global commitments to restoring a just peace where there is war, to diplomacy and to the prevention of conflict”, as the UK marked the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

Westminster Abbey was the focal point for national commemorations with a service of thanksgiving weaving poignant reminders of wartime deprivation and loss with the hopes for the future that historic day had promised.

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King Charles to open Canada parliament as PM Carney reacts to Trump threats

Liberal PM will also meet with US president on Tuesday amid tensions over threatened annexation and tariffs

King Charles has accepted an invitation to open Canada’s parliament on 27 May, in “an historic honour that matches the weight of our times”, the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, said on Friday.

In his first news conference since an election dominated by Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty, the prime minister also confirmed he would meet the US president at the White House on Tuesday.

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King Charles says cancer diagnosis made him ‘one of the statistics’

Charles reveals his experience has deepened his admiration for charities supporting the 390,000 cancer cases each year

The king has reflected on his experience with cancer, saying has brought into “sharp focus the very best of humanity”, while acknowledging that each new case is “a daunting and at times frightening experience” for those receiving a diagnosis and for their loved ones.

In a personal written message, released to coincide with a Buckingham Palace reception celebrating organisations that help people with the disease, he described himself as one of the “statistics” among the 390,000 who “sadly” receive a cancer diagnosis in the UK each year.

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Prince Andrew joins Charles and Camilla for Easter Sunday service

Duke of York attends royal family’s traditional Easter service at Windsor Castle with Sarah, Duchess of York

The Duke of York has appeared at the Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle with King Charles, days after it emerged that an alleged spy helped him write birthday letters to China’s president.

Prince Andrew arrived at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, with the princess royal, as well as his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Anne’s husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.

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Donald Trump ‘expecting to make second state visit to UK in September’

US president and first lady received invitation in February from King Charles for unprecedented repeat trip

Donald Trump has said he is expecting to travel to the UK in September for his second state visit.

King Charles is preparing to host the US president and first lady as the UK government tries to bolster transatlantic ties after Trump imposed a series of tariffs on trading partners.

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King Charles and Queen Camilla pay recovering Pope Francis surprise visit

British royals wish pontiff well in recovery from pneumonia during their state visit to Italy

King Charles and Queen Camilla paid a surprise private visit to a convalescing Pope Francis on Wednesday afternoon during their four-day state visit to Italy.

The royal couple visited Francis, 88, at his home in Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City, where he is recovering from a serious bout of pneumonia in both lungs. An official audience had previously been removed from the royals’ schedule due to the pontiff’s ill health.

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King Charles will have to tone down support for net zero after Badenoch says 2050 is ‘impossible’

Constitutional expert says Tory leader’s break from political consensus over target for greenhouse gasses will require monarch to choose his words carefully

King Charles will have to temper his public support for net zero after Kemi Badenoch broke the political consensus over the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Senior royal sources have conceded that the 76-year-old monarch, who has spent more than half a century highlighting environmental challenges, will have to choose his words more carefully now that the Conservatives under Badenoch have said it will be impossible for the UK to hit net zero by 2050.

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Police admit arrest of anti-monarchy heckler in Oxford was unlawful

Symon Hill paid £2,500 by Thames Valley police over his arrest at proclamation of Charles III’s accession in 2022

Police have admitted acting unlawfully in arresting a trainee Baptist minister who called out “Who elected him?” at a local proclamation of the accession of King Charles III.

After a two-and-a-half-year battle, Symon Hill, 47, has been paid £2,500 in compensation from Thames Valley police over his arrest in September 2022.

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King Charles ‘determined to play part’ in diplomacy as he welcomes Trudeau

Monarch keen to put his soft power to use amid Trump’s incendiary rhetoric on Canada and tension over Ukraine

King Charles is “very conscious” of his global responsibility and unique diplomatic role, and is determined to put that to use, a royal source said, after his meeting with the Canadian prime minister on Monday.

Charles met Justin Trudeau at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk, a day after he received the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Musk accused of ‘politicising’ rape of young girls in UK to attack Starmer

Ex-health worker who exposed paedophile ring says billionaire’s triggering of row ignores plight of survivors

Elon Musk has “politicised” the rape of young girls in the UK in an attempt to attack Keir Starmer, a former health worker who exposed a major paedophile ring has told the Guardian.

Sara Rowbotham, who gathered evidence that led to the imprisonment of nine men in Rochdale, said the tech billionaire had launched a “political swipe” at the prime minister that overlooked the plight of abuse survivors.

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Lidia Thorpe defiant after Senate censures her protest against King Charles: ‘I’ll do it again’

Senator rips up paper copy of motion against her and says she was ‘denied my right’ to be present during vote

Lidia Thorpe has ripped up a paper copy of the Senate motion censuring her protest against King Charles, promising “I’ll do it again” and saying she is not concerned about the parliamentary rebuke.

The independent senator was censured by the Labor and Coalition on Monday, as was the United Australia party senator Ralph Babet after he posted a tweet containing several offensive slurs.

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Exiles ask King Charles to rescind honour awarded to king of Bahrain

Buckingham Palace accused of ‘burying’ news of GCVO bestowed on King Hamad, whose regime is accused of torturing opponents

King Charles has been asked by exiles from Bahrain to rescind an honour he bestowed this week on the ruler of the Gulf kingdom.

Charles was told in a letter by the exiles: “It is personally difficult for us to view this honour as anything other than a betrayal of victims who have suffered at the hands of King Hamad and his brutal regime.”

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King Charles to lay wreath and lead nation in Remembrance Sunday silence

Prince and Princess of Wales will join the king and senior politicians to remember those who have died in conflict

King Charles will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph and lead the nation in a two-minute silence at 11am to remember the dead who gave their lives in two world wars as well as those who have died in other conflicts involving British and Commonwealth forces.

The Prince and Princess of Wales will join the king and senior politicians for the national service of remembrance at the Cenotaph to honour all those killed.

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Prince William says he wants to carry out duties with a smaller ‘r’ in the ‘royal’

Prince of Wales says he wants to approach engagements differently and to focus on helping people

Prince William has said he wants the monarchy to evolve and for him to carry out his duties with a “smaller r in the royal”.

Speaking at end of a major visit to South Africa where he mixed the informal with traditional elements of the monarchy, the Prince of Wales said he was trying to do things differently.

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Fortnum & Mason apologises for party snub to UK Paralympians

Olympians and Paralympians attended a Buckingham Palace reception, but only the former were asked to a following event hosted by the luxury food retailer

Fortnum & Mason has apologised for a “failure of communication” to Paralympians who were not invited to a party which Olympians attended, after the Paris medallists met the king at Buckingham Palace.

Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes were hosted at a reception at the royal residence on Thursday 7 November to celebrate Britain’s success this summer.

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