Category Archives: Prince William

Out of control media left Kate with little choice over opening up about health

Posted on by

The Princess of Wales’s video was intended to calm the fevered speculation about her but may just spark yet more incessant coverage

When she met Prince William, the heir to the British throne, more than 20 years ago at St Andrews University, Catherine, the Princess of Wales had her first taste of the appetite for news about her life and her budding romantic involvement with the young prince.

Since their marriage in 2011, the desire for news, any news, about Catherine has only grown. Her every movement has been tracked, every outfit remarked upon, every decision – around her work, her children, the way she spends her free time, the way she moves – has been endlessly analysed, assessed, lauded or judged.

Continue reading...

Harry and Meghan wish ‘health and healing’ for Catherine after cancer diagnosis – live reaction

Posted on by

Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they hope Princess of Wales can heal ‘privately’ after she says she is in early stages of preventive chemotherapy

The news of the Princess of Wales announcing she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy comes at the same time that her father-in-law King Charles III is also receiving treatment for cancer. His diagnosis was announced on 5 February. At the time a statement from Buckingham Palace said:

During the king’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer. His majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties.

Continue reading...

Where is Catherine, Princess of Wales? The internet is rife with ‘Katespiracies’

Posted on by

The royal’s absence has led to a proliferation of conspiracy theories after announcement of a mysterious abdominal surgery

It seems that everyone has recently become fixated on one question: where in the world is the Princess of Wales?

We’ve long known the world is watching the royal family, but the visible absence of Catherine has sent social media and US news outlets into a tailspin – driving even those ordinarily not interested in the royals to pay attention.

Continue reading...

First Princess of Wales photo after surgery released for Mother’s Day

Posted on by

Picture of Catherine with her three children posted on social media with message thanking well-wishers

The first official photograph of the Princess of Wales after her abdominal surgery has been released to mark Mother’s Day.

A picture of Catherine sitting on a chair surrounded by her three children was posted to the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media accounts on Sunday morning, along with a message thanking well-wishers for their support.

Continue reading...

Prince William pulls out of godfather’s memorial service over personal matter

Posted on by

Prince of Wales will not attend service for Constantine the former king of Greece at Windsor Castle

The Prince of Wales has pulled out of attending a memorial service at Windsor Castle for Constantine, the former king of Greece, due to a personal matter.

Kensington Palace would not elaborate further but said the Princess of Wales, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, continued to be doing well.

Continue reading...

Prince William’s Gaza plea raises question of Foreign Office input

Posted on by

Speculation that William’s ‘too many have been killed’ statement was encouraged to increase pressure on Israel

The timing of Prince William’s unprecedented intervention relating to the war in Gaza has raised questions about the involvement of the UK Foreign Office, and whether the royal statement was encouraged or even engineered to increase pressure on Israel.

On Tuesday, the Prince of Wales issued a statement saying “too many have been killed” in the conflict, and “I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible”.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer seeks to head off another Labour rebellion over Gaza ceasefire

Posted on by

Crucial vote on party’s new call for ‘humanitarian ceasefire’ goes before MPs on Wednesday as thousands of protesters expected in Westminster

Keir Starmer’s attempt to head off a damaging rebellion over Gaza was hanging by a thread last night, despite bowing to pressure by finally calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region.

Labour explicitly backed an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” for the first time since fighting broke out in October, in a bid to ward off another party split in what is likely to be a tense Commons vote on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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...

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

Posted on by

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...

Campaigners urge Prince William to rewild Dartmoor farmland

Posted on by

William became largest private landholder in the national park when he inherited Duchy of Cornwall

Campaigners are urging Prince William to invest in significant rewilding across swathes of Dartmoor’s predominantly farmed land.

The land became William’s after he inherited the Duchy of Cornwall, an extensive landholding including the largest privately owned area of Dartmoor national park, from his father, King Charles, when he succeeded to the throne.

Continue reading...

Prince William faces criticism for not attending Women’s World Cup final

Posted on by

Decision not to fly to Australia has been questioned by those who say Lionesses deserved top-level support

The Prince of Wales may have cheered on the Lionesses from afar, but has faced criticism from some quarters at home over his reluctance to get on a plane to support the England team in person.

William was absent from Stadium Australia on Sunday despite being president of the Football Association, and is understood to have made the decision not to go because of the long flight involved for such a short period of time.

Continue reading...

Tyrone Mings describes ‘scary’ experience as he backs Prince William homelessness project

Posted on by

England footballer recalls childhood emergency housing as royal launches five-year UK scheme

Homeless people are to be helped into permanent accommodation, regardless of their circumstances, as part of a five-year project to be run by Prince William’s foundation and supported by the England footballer Tyrone Mings.

The project, called Homewards, which emulates one run in Finland, will be launched initially in six areas around the UK and is aimed at preventing homelessness where possible and ensuring any incidence is “rare, brief and unrepeated”. The Prince of Wales’s charitable foundation is giving £3m of startup funding to the project.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

Take That, Katy Perry and more entertain 20,000 at coronation concert

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

Ivory displayed at Prince William’s palace despite his criticism of trade

Posted on by

Artwork exhibited at Kensington Palace among nearly 2,000 artefacts in royal collection

For more than a decade, Prince William has spoken out vehemently against the use of ivory, calling it “a symbol of destruction, not of luxury”. The royal patron of the anti-ivory charity Tusk has lobbied leaders in China, the US and countries across Africa.

He has even said that he wants to destroy all the ivory owned by the royals. In 2019, a spokesperson for William clarified that while destroying all the ivory in the royal collection was beyond the prince’s control, he had “ensured there is no ivory from the collection at Kensington Palace”, his place of residence.

Continue reading...

Prince Harry’s book could be ‘beginning of end’ for royals, warns Charles’s biographer

Posted on by

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...

Prince Harry dresses as Spider-Man for Christmas message to bereaved children

Posted on by

Duke of Sussex records video to comfort youngsters at Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity for military children

The Duke of Sussex dressed up as Spider-Man in a surprise video message to try to comfort bereaved military children.

He donned the superhero outfit and only lifted his mask to reveal his true identity at the end of a specially recorded message for youngsters at Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity for bereaved British forces children and young people.

Continue reading...

Earthshot fund gives £1m to UK scientists fighting climate crisis

Posted on by

Scientists who have replaced plastic packaging with seaweed among those to be given prize by Prince of Wales

Scientists who have replaced plastic packaging with seaweed are among those who have been given a £1m prize by the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot fund.

The prize is aimed at rewarding innovative solutions to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and is named after former US president John F Kennedy’s Moonshot challenge in the 1960s, which united millions of people around the goal of putting a person on the moon within a decade.

Continue reading...

William and Kate fly to US to promote prince’s environmental prize

Posted on by

Days later, Harry and Meghan will head to New York for human rights award, with no plans for brothers to meet

The Prince and Princess of Wales will fly to the US on Wednesday hoping to shine a light on the climate crisis against a media backdrop obsessed with sibling rivalry and turf war with the Sussexes.

In their first US trip in eight years, Prince William and Princess Catherine are visiting Boston to promote the prince’s environmental Earthshot prize.

Continue reading...