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.
Continue reading...The monarch held calls with Keir Starmer and senior officers and paid tribute to the emergency services
King Charles has sent his “heartfelt thanks” to the police for restoring order after speaking to Keir Starmer and senior officers following the week of unrest across the UK.
The king and the prime minister held a phone call on Friday evening, Buckingham Palace said. Gavin Stephens, a chief constable and chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and the UK gold commander Ben Harrington, chief constable of Essex police, held a separate joint call with the king.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Two new AgustaWestland AW139s will be in use this year as total annual travel bill rises from £3.9m to £4.2m
The royal family spent more than £1m on journeys by helicopter last year, and will take delivery of two new ones to replace those they have used for the past 15 years.
In total, royals made 170 helicopter journeys, costing a total of £1,096,300, official accounts reveal, with the total travel bill last year rising to £4.2m from £3.9m.
Continue reading...There were more than 35 bills in Labour’s first king’s speech. So what does it tell us about the party’s ambitions? And with world events turning darker, can the euphoria around the Labour party last? The Guardian’s John Harris is joined by political editor Pippa Crerar and political correspondent Kiran Stacey
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned about what he calls the “normalisation of extremism” in politics in the wake of the attempted assassination of former United States president Donald Trump at the weekend.
In a round of television and radio interviews this morning to spruik the tax cuts now being delivered in Australians’ tax returns, Chalmers also spoke about the Trump rally in Pennsylvania that injured the former president and left one attendee dead and two others critically injured before the alleged shooter was shot and killed.
We need to be able to disagree in a peaceful way.
We can’t let extremism and polarisation and violence be the norm in our politics. Democracies are supposed to help mend and moderate our differences, not magnify and horrify them. And unfortunately, what we’re seeing with what feels like increasing regularity, is the ugliness and the polarisation and extremism in politics.
There is a role obviously for peaceful protests and looking for consensus in our country doesn’t always mean looking for unanimity – there will always be a range of views. But I think if you look around the world and you look around the democratic world, then you can see that politics is getting uglier, more violent, more polarised in extreme ways, and these are very troubling developments.
We’ve got a big choice to make as democratic societies, we’ve got an opportunity here to step back from the normalisation of that violence, to make sure that we disagree in civil ways and not in violent ways, and that we settle our difference with votes not violence.
Continue reading...Clodagh Dunlop recognised for work with stroke survivors as others who have overcome adversity also receive MBEs
Unsung heroes who have overcome great adversity to contribute to their communities and raise awareness of important issues make up the majority of those on the king’s birthday honours list.
They include the Police Service of Northern Ireland detective Clodagh Dunlop, 45, who had a brainstem stroke 10 years ago that left her paralysed with locked-in syndrome and only able to communicate by blinking one eye. She receives an MBE for her work with stroke survivors.
Continue reading...Cameras expected to be trained on three Household Cavalry steeds that galloped through London in April
The bearskins, marching bands and palace balcony appearances that ensure trooping the colour is an annual crowd-puller will face competition when this year’s military spectacle takes place on Saturday.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will be there, though in a small concession to his cancer treatment, Charles will review the King’s Birthday Parade from an Ascot landau carriage rather than on horseback.
Continue reading...Royals, politicians and military leaders begin two days of events to mark 80th anniversary of Normandy landings
The king has paid tribute to D-day veterans at a commemorative event in Portsmouth marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
Charles said their “stories of courage, resilience and solidarity” move, inspire and “remind us of what we owe to that great wartime generation – now, tragically, dwindling to so few”.
Continue reading...Former England captain will become ambassador for foundation that was embroiled in controversy when Charles was Prince of Wales
King Charles has turned to brand Beckham to help him rebuild the reputation of his main charitable foundation after a cash-for-honours scandal.
Former England footballer David Beckham is to become an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, formerly the Prince’s Foundation, to help promote its work. Beckham met the monarch at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire last month, where he was given a personal tour. The 49-year-old said he was looking forward to exploring a newly discovered shared interest with the monarch in rural skills, nature and the British countryside. They had also swapped beekeeping tips, said Beckham.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...‘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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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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