Category Archives: King Charles III

Martin Amis, Ian McEwan and Anna Wintour honoured in king’s birthday list

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Knighthood for late novelist Amis is dated 18 May as honours cannot be given posthumously

Two giants of the literary world, the novelists Ian McEwan and the late Martin Amis, are recognised in the king’s first official birthday honours along with the fashion colossus Dame Anna Wintour.

The Booker prize-winning McEwan, whose acclaimed titles include Amsterdam, On Chesil Beach and Atonement, becomes a companion of honour, the highest award for outstanding achievement, of which there are only 65 at any time.

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King Charles to give up home in Wales on edge of Brecon Beacons

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Sources say newly crowned King is letting property go as it is ‘unlikely’ he will be able to use it as before

King Charles is giving up his home in Wales on the edge of the Brecon Beacons with the lease due to expire later this summer.

Llwynywermod was bought for £1.2m by the Duchy of Cornwall estate on behalf of the then prince in 2007 after he spent 40 years searching for the right property.

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Number of ‘coronation meadows’ marking queen’s reign tops 100

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Scheme that began to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee in 2012 has thrived, project audit finds

Wildflower meadows planted a decade ago to celebrate 60 years of the late queen’s reign have thrived, with 101 new fields of flowers created since the scheme was launched.

King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, worked with Plantlife and the Wildlife Trusts to launch ”coronation meadows”, identifying 60 species-rich meadows from which to take donor seeds – one meadow for each year of the queen’s reign at the time.

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King Charles and Prince William face fight over taxpayer funds on Dartmoor

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More than £13m of subsidies mainly paid to tenants of Duchy of Cornwall have done little to restore nature in national park

King Charles and Prince William could be dragged into a bitter fight over £13m of taxpayer funds paid over the past decade for nature restoration on Dartmoor national park.

The funds have partly been paid to tenants farming land in the national park that is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, a land and property estate controlled by the heir to the throne.

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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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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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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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Tasmania pushing to fast-track new AFL stadium; Chalmers slip hints at budget surplus – as it happened

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‘It’s tough’: Taylor on whether LNP can hold Fadden after Stuart Robert retirement

Taylor is asked whether the LNP can hold Fadden at the upcoming byelection to fill the spot left by Stuart Robert after he suddenly announced his retirement and says “it’s tough”.

That’s the nature of modern politics.

But the point I would make is the real test right now is this inflation test.

The more the treasurer talks about restraint, the more we know he’s planning to spend. That is the double speak we are getting from Labor right now.

I think it is a test of whether inflation is being dealt with. The truth of the matter is we know there is no bigger conversation around the kitchen table right now than this inflation that’s hitting. It is a tax on everyone and everything. We want to see a budget that deals with that.

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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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Julian Assange writes letter to King Charles and urges him to visit Belmarsh prison

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The WikiLeaks founder writes that he has been captive in the prison for more than four years ‘on behalf of an embarrassed foreign sovereign’

Julian Assange has written a letter to King Charles ahead of his coronation inviting him to visit the UK prison where the WikiLeaks founder has been captive for more than four years “on behalf of an embarrassed foreign sovereign”.

The letter is the first document the Australian journalist and WikiLeaks founder has written and published since his time in Belmarsh prison in London and accounts the horrors of his life there.

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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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