Wind energy agreements have generated windfall that would normally go towards monarchy
The King has asked for profits from a £1bn-a-year crown estate windfarm deal to be used for the “wider public good” rather than as a funding boost for the monarchy.
Under the taxpayer-funded sovereign grant, which is currently £86.3m a year, the King receives 25% of the crown estate’s annual surplus, which includes an extra 10% for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.
Continue reading...The government wrote to the then Prince of Wales in 2019, seeking approval for legislation that had implications for his estates
The government asked King Charles for permission to pass its post-Brexit “world-leading” Environment Act because laws requiring landowners to enhance conservation could affect his business interests.
Environment minister Rebecca Pow wrote to the then Prince of Wales in 2019 to ask if he would accept section seven of the environment bill, which became law in November 2021.
Continue reading...Views range from sympathy for the Sussexes in light of treatment by royals and tabloids, to regarding them as being ‘as entitled as the others’
Prince Harry’s tell-all autobiography has become the UK’s fastest-selling nonfiction book ever. The memoir has been controversial, with Harry making claims that Prince William physically attacked him and accusing his father of putting his own interests first.
The Guardian asked readers – some of whom had already begun reading the book – for their views on the memoir and the publicity around it. Many said their views on the royal family had been changed, while others said it strengthened existing positions. Other readers also made the point that the book was more balanced than had been presented by parts of the media.
Continue reading...Harry May, 21, threw object because he believed monarch’s visit to ‘poor area’ was in ‘bad taste’, court hears
A 21-year-old man has admitted throwing an egg towards King Charles during a walkabout in Luton because he thought the monarch’s visit to a “poor area” was in “bad taste”.
Harry May pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates court in London on Friday to a public order offence relating to the incident on 6 December.
Continue reading...Catherine Mayer says anger over racism, misogyny and wealth in the royal family can undermine public consent for a monarchy
The “absolutely catastrophic” implications of attacks on the behaviour of the royal family in the new memoir from the Duke of Sussex are being ignored, according to Catherine Mayer, the royal analyst and biographer of King Charles.
Early publication of the Spanish edition of Spare has put the focus on personality clashes, some of it fed by the royal publicity machine, and this could threaten the constitutional monarchy, whether or not the British public is calling for such a change, Mayer believes.
Continue reading...Monarch pays tribute to the volunteers and charity workers helping those in financial difficulty
King Charles has highlighted the cost of living crisis and the “great anxiety and hardship” of many struggling to “pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm” in his first Christmas broadcast.
In the message, with the nation in the grip of economic woes and against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the king dedicated a major part of his broadcast to those helping to ease the plight of others.
Continue reading...Monarch reflects on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in first Christmas Day broadcast
I am standing here in this exquisite Chapel of St George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father.
I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family.
Continue reading...Monarch expected to pay tribute to late mother during festive address from St George’s chapel
King Charles has chosen to broadcast his first Christmas message from St George’s chapel at Windsor Castle, where the committal service of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, was held three months ago.
In a photograph released before the broadcast on Christmas Day, the king is seen standing in the quire for his inaugural festive address to the country and the rest of the Commonwealth.
Continue reading...Monarch’s portrait on £5, £10, £20 and £50 likely to enter circulation in 2024
Designs for bank notes featuring an image of King Charles III have been revealed by the Bank of England, with plans to enter circulation by mid-2024.
Announcing the design for the first time in the run-up to the coronation in May, the UK central bank said the king’s portrait would appear on existing designs of all four of its polymer bank notes currently in circulation – £5, £10, £20 and £50.
Continue reading...Duke and Duchess accuse press of creating false narrative that privacy was a key reason behind their step back from duties
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hit back at attacks over their sharing of personal video clips and photographs in their Netflix documentary.
A spokeswoman for Harry and Meghan said the narrative that privacy was a key reason behind the couple stepping back from royal duties and quitting the UK was a false one.
Continue reading...‘It is a relic from the past’: strong opposition to oath from three political parties of French-speaking province
Quebec’s premier, François Legault, said that his government would introduce legislation next week to end elected officials’ required oath to Britain’s King Charles, as pressure mounts in the Canadian province to cut such ties with the monarchy.
Fresh legislation from the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) follows a separate bill introduced on Thursday by the left-leaning Québec Solidaire party that would allow elected officials to just take an oath to the people of Quebec.
Continue reading...Artist’s choice of footwear for Order of Merit luncheon highlights shoe brand’s enduring popularity
It is a question that must have plagued those attending King Charles’s first luncheon for the Order of Merit on Thursday – what to wear while eating partridge pie with the new monarch.
For the 85-year-old artist David Hockney it was simple – his signature checked Savile Row suit, a knitted checkerboard tie … and a pair of yellow garden Crocs. As a fan of the great outdoors, the king was delighted. “Your yellow galoshes!” he remarked. “Beautifully chosen.”
Continue reading...Tory government eager to focus on trade rather than Cyril Ramaphosa’s refusal to put sanctions on Russia
The South African president has started a two-day state visit to the UK, the first since King Charles took the throne, with the Conservative government eager to focus on trade rather than challenge South Africa’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s trip has been much delayed due to Covid and only by chance became the first state visit of the king’s reign.
Continue reading...Michael Fawcett resigned after revelations he offered to help Saudi donor obtain knighthood and British citizenship
A former aide to the King received a £60,000 payoff when he stepped down from the Prince’s Foundation amid a cash-for-honours scandal, it has emerged.
Michael Fawcett received the money after revelations that he offered to help a Saudi donor obtain a knighthood and British citizenship.
Continue reading...Extra bank holiday will follow king’s coronation two days earlier on Saturday 6 May
The government has announced an additional bank holiday to mark the coronation of King Charles III next year.
Downing Street said the UK-wide holiday will fall on Monday 8 May after the coronation at Westminster Abbey two days earlier.
Continue reading...RBA governor Philip Lowe says ‘monarch has been on at least one banknote since 1923’ but decision won’t be made until talks with Labor are complete
He’s on the throne but should he be on the fiver?
The Reserve Bank of Australia has begun consultations with the federal government to answer one of the burning questions following the death of Queen Elizabeth II – should King Charles III take her place on the $5 note?
Continue reading...Outspoken comments about schools policy were made before he became king in one-off episode of BBC show
King Charles has criticised the lack of vocational education in schools during his appearance in a special edition of the BBC television show The Repair Shop.
In the one-off episode, to be broadcast by the BBC on Wednesday, he praises the value of technical skills and apprenticeships, and describes the lack of vocational education as a “great tragedy”.
Continue reading...Former PM angered by fictitious storyline in which Charles seeks his help in getting the Queen to abdicate
As Netflix prepares to release its fifth season of big budget royal drama The Crown it has rejected criticism of the latest season after former prime minster Sir John Major described it as a “barrel load of nonsense”.
Major’s comments were made after concerns arose that a storyline in the hit programme could damage King Charles’s reputation.
Continue reading...Unusual diplomatic intervention prompted by fears over Liz Truss’s commitment to net zero
The Egyptian government, host of the next UN climate summit, has warned the UK against “backtracking from the global climate agenda”, in a significant intervention prompted by fears over Liz Truss’s commitment to net zero.
The warning before the Cop27 conference, which will take place in just over a month in Sharm el-Sheikh, to the host of Cop26, which took place in Glasgow last November, is highly unusual in diplomatic terms. The hosts of successive Cops are responsible for a smooth handover of the talks.
Continue reading...Ceremonial splendour in London gave way to a quiet burial in Windsor as Britain said goodbye to its longest-reigning monarch
After the majestical funeral pomp and military spectacle, unsurpassed in the nation’s living memory and watched across the world, the final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II would belong only to her family.
Night had fallen as she was laid to rest next to the Duke of Edinburgh in the George VI Memorial Chapel, Windsor, in private and away from cameras.
Continue reading...