Courtiers say Charles, 73, never wanted to think of accession as it meant death of beloved mother
Prince Charles was with the Queen at Balmoral facing the sad reality the death of his beloved mother would lead to the greatest transition of his life: from heir to king.
And then, on Thursday afternoon, it happened: Buckingham Palace announced she had passed away.
Continue reading...Duchess of Sussex reveals in magazine interview how toxic tabloid culture had torn her and Harry’s families apart
The Duchess of Sussex has said her and Prince Harry’s privacy battle with the Mail on Sunday cost her husband his relationship with his father.
In an interview with the Cut magazine, Meghan discussed how toxic tabloid culture had torn her and the Duke of Sussex’s families apart.
Continue reading...Prince says he was ‘touched’ to be asked to take helm for paper’s 40th-anniversary edition
The Prince of Wales has edited an edition of British African-Caribbean newspaper The Voice, which will feature interviews with Lady Doreen Lawrence and Idris Elba, to mark its 40th anniversary.
The Voice, which was founded in 1982, is the only national black British newspaper operating in the UK. Charles described the paper as an “institution” adding that he was “so touched” to be asked to edit the special anniversary edition.
The issue, which will be available from 1 September, will explore themes including community cohesion, education, climate, the Commonwealth, faith and the arts and will feature an interview with Lawrence.
Move to examine the Barrowman Foundation comes amid mounting scrutiny of Charles’s charity
The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into one of the key donors to Prince Charles’s charity after it emerged it had been funded by unsecured loans.
The Barrowman Foundation, a platinum donor to the Prince’s Trust, has not recorded any donations in its published accounts since it was set up and is funded by borrowings from its founder, the businessman Doug Barrowman.
Continue reading...Dawoodi Bohra leader Mufaddal Saifuddin, who is in the UK to preach, is an advocate of the abusive practice whose visa should be revoked, say activists
Campaigners have criticised the UK government for granting a visa to a religious leader who has advocated for female genital mutilation (FGM).
Mufaddal Saifuddin who is the syedna, or leader, of the Dawoodi Bohra community, a sect of Shia Islam with 1.2 million followers worldwide, will give sermons in front of tens of thousands of people at Northolt mosque in London between 29 July and 7 August.
Continue reading...Call comes as Charity Commission considers investigation into allegations Prince Charles personally accepted cash donations
The Metropolitan police has been asked to consider allegations Prince Charles received €3m (£2.6m) in cash for his charities from a billionaire Qatari sheikh as part of the force’s so-called “cash-for-honours” investigation.
The call comes as the Charity Commission reviews whether it should mount its own investigation into claims Charles personally accepted three donations, reportedly stuffed in a suitcase, a holdall and a Fortnum & Mason carrier bag, between 2011 and 2015.
Continue reading...Analysis: Reports that prince accepted €3m from a former Qatari prime minister again throws spotlight on donations
• Charles given €3m by Qatari politician, according to report
Claims by the Sunday Times of alleged cash donations given to the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund by a former Qatari prime minister are the latest to throw a spotlight on fundraising for the heir to the throne’s charities.
The billionaire Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, who was Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister between 2007 and 2013, is a contentious figure.
Continue reading...Money was passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities, says Clarence House
The Prince of Wales accepted bags containing millions of euros in cash during meetings with a senior Qatari politician, according to a report.
Prince Charles was said to have been given a total of €3m (£2.6m) during meetings with Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar.
Continue reading...Prince of Wales says at summit any move by members to become a republic can be ‘without rancour’
The Prince of Wales has told Commonwealth leaders that keeping the Queen as head of state or becoming a republic is “a matter for each member country to decide”.
Charles made the comments during the opening ceremony of a summit of Commonwealth prime ministers and presidents in Rwanda. He said he believed such fundamental changes could be made “calmly and without rancour”.
Continue reading...PM had previously said deportations were ‘simply not going to happen’ but now admits in theory they could
Ukrainian refugees face being sent to Rwanda if they travel to the UK without authorisation, Boris Johnson has said in an escalation of government plans to deport those who travel across the Channel seeking sanctuary.
During a visit to the Rwandan capital, Kigali, the prime minister also urged Nato and G7 countries not to settle for a “bad peace” in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, saying it would lead to escalation by Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Politicians from 11 European countries condemned the Rwanda-UK scheme. But it emerged that Johnson did not raise human rights abuses when he met the country’s president, Paul Kagame, on Thursday, despite previous indications that he would.
Ahead of a meeting with Prince Charles on Friday, Johnson was bullish in saying he would defend the policy after the heir to the throne reportedly called it “appalling” – but Downing Street and Clarence House sources suggested the subject would not be raised.
The Rwandan government confirmed it has already received £120m from the UK government to house asylum seekers who have yet to arrive, and has spent a proportion of the money.
The prime minister pledged £372m in aid to provide help for countries grappling with soaring food prices.
Continue reading...Pair are visiting for Commonwealth meeting, after Charles criticised government’s asylum policy
Boris Johnson will have a potentially awkward meeting with the Prince of Wales in Rwanda after the heir to the throne criticised the government’s policy of sending asylum seekers to the east African state.
The talks will take place at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in Kigali this week. Prince Charles reportedly described the government’s plan to fly people 4,000 miles on a one-way ticket as “appalling”.
Continue reading...Court of appeal judges have rejected a last-ditch legal bid to block a flight due to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda on Tuesday
Q: Your Northern Ireland protocol plan is holed below the water line because it has so much opposition in your party, isn’t it?
Johnson says the government needs to resolve the problems with the protocol.
Continue reading...Source says Prince of Wales was ‘more than disappointed’ with deportation plans
Prince Charles has privately criticised the government’s policy of deporting migrants to Rwanda, calling the practice “appalling”.
The heir to the throne has been heard opposing the policy behind closed doors, a source has told the Times and the Daily Mail.
Continue reading...‘While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all,’ Queen’s statement says
Grant Shapps has said people are “over-interpreting” the boos directed at Boris Johnson when the prime minister attended a service on Friday for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
People are gathering for a Big Jubilee Lunch on Windsor’s Long Walk as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations.
Continue reading...Analysis: The Queen’s age means a reduction in duties, and succession planning is well under way
As the bunting comes down after the long weekend of platinum jubilee celebrations, many in Buckingham Palace will breathe a sigh of relief that the increasingly frail 96-year-old Queen made it to the extra bank holiday declared in her honour.
But behind the scenes, succession planning is well under way. It was ever thus. There are few other jobs in public life where the incumbent knows who will replace them before they even start, but that has been the Queen’s reality since she gave birth to Prince Charles in 1948.
Continue reading...Prince of Wales praises his mother’s ability to ‘bring us together’ at Platinum Jubilee Party at the Palace
The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge paid tribute to the Queen – and environmental activists across the world – in speeches at a concert at Buckingham Palace.
Speaking on the third day of a four-day celebration to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee at the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace, Prince Charles began his address “Your Majesty, Mummy”.
Continue reading...Charles stands in for his mother at St Paul’s Cathedral in ceremony that pays tribute to her seven-decade reign
The symbolism of a great state service of thanksgiving for an absent Queen was not lost beneath the imposing dome of St Paul’s Cathedral. All the more so as the country was paying tribute to her seven decades of public service as Britain’s now longest-reigning monarch.
The Prince of Wales was in her stead for the formal procession through a 2,000-strong congregation of prime ministers past and present, parliamentarians, diplomats, a full squad of other royals and 400 members of the public honoured for their community work.
Continue reading...Analysis: But while Charles stood in at Queen’s speech, sources say she has no plans to relinquish head of state duties
The Queen is likely to perform more virtual engagements and any future official physical engagements will continue to be jointly diaried with other members of the royal family as part of ongoing adjustments due to her “episodic mobility problems”.
While she will continue to perform her constitutional role as head of state, her role as head of nation, which is not part of her formal constitutional duties, is increasingly being shared amongst other senior royals.
Continue reading...Despite 38 new bills, opposition accuses government of failing to act to protect people amid soaring inflation
Boris Johnson was accused of being “bereft of ideas or purpose,” after a Queen’s speech that included 38 new bills but offered no specific measures to tackle the immediate cost of living crisis.
Instead, the speech, delivered by the Prince of Wales amid the pomp of the state opening of parliament, included plans to tear up the Human Rights Act, make it harder for councils to rename streets and privatise Channel 4.
Continue reading...Monarch to be represented by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall
The Queen has pulled out of the Royal Maundy church service and will be represented by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, at the annual event for the first time.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will fulfil the ancient tradition of handing out Maundy money to community figures on Thursday at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
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