Month: February 2025

A former aide to the Prince of Wales said William was at his ‘lowest point’ after the Princess of Wales was diagnosed with cancer almost a year ago.

Jason Knauf was formerly chief executive of William and Kate’s Royal Foundation, stepping down at the end of 2021, but had worked with the couple for years.

Both the King and the Princess of Wales were given shock cancer diagnoses last year. Kate is now in remission and Charles is having ongoing treatment.

In an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Mr Knauf said: ‘Within a couple of weeks, if you’re Prince William, you find out that both your wife and your father have cancer. I couldn’t believe it.’

Mr Knauf called William about Kate’s diagnosis and said it was ‘awful’, adding: ‘It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen him.

‘But the problem was that all this crazy conspiracy theory stuff kicked off in the background, online. ‘Was she really ill?’. But they didn’t want to say yet that she had cancer because they hadn’t told the children and they were still working through how to tell the children.’

The Royal family have kept in good spirits even after both Kate and King Charles were given cancer diagnoses.

In December, the King even joked he was ‘still alive’ as he prepared to continue his treatment in the New Year.

Mr Knauf said he and William chatted often about ‘how he and the princess were going to prepare their children for life in the public eye’, as Prince William often worried for his children after having grown up in the media.

Discussing William’s relationship with Harry, Mr Knauf said: ‘It’s very difficult to have this stuff play out in the public eye, but he’s chosen to keep his thoughts on it private, and I think all of us who know him really have to respect that we should do the same.

‘But I will say, of course, it’s been hard and sad, especially for all of us who know both of them.’

Mr Knauf was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) in the 2023 New Year Honours List.

He also helped to launch the Foundation’s Earthshot Prize – William’s £50 million environmental prize, now an independent charity.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Less than a year after launching her lifestyle brand ‘American Riviera Orchard’, Meghan Markle has renamed it.

In a new video shared to Instagram, the Duchess of Sussex said she was ‘thrilled’ to pivot the company and rename it ‘As Ever’.

She didn’t explain why she suddenly changed the name of her company but did allude to how it ‘limited’ her to selling items from her hometown, which is often nicknamed ‘American Riviera Orchard’.

But good news – she’s still selling her jams, which went viral when she sent them to celebrities last spring.

‘I’m thrilled to introduce you to As Ever — a brand that I created and have poured my heart into,’ she said

‘‘As ever’ means ‘as it’s always been’ or some even say ‘in the same way as always’. If you’ve followed along since my days of creating The Tig, you’ll know this couldn’t be truer for me.

‘This new chapter is an extension of what has always been my love language, beautifully weaving together everything I cherish — food, gardening, entertaining, thoughtful living, and finding joy in the every day,’ she added.

‘I will keep sharing behind-the-scenes tidbits with you here as we ramp up to launch, and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on everything we’ve been creating. Sending lots of love…’

The name change comes after an application filed last March for American Riviera Orchard was rejected, leaving her with three months to change it.

The previous trademark filing included cookbooks, cutlery, linens, table cloths, jams, jellies and nut butter.

A second international filing was even more extensive, covering stationery, garden tools, lights, tote bags and pet collars as well as a vast other variety of homeware.

It’s not Meghan’s first brush with lifestyle brands. Before she married Prince Harry in 2018, she ran her blog ‘The Tig’ for years.

When Meghan shut down that company, she wrote: ‘After close to three beautiful years on this adventure with you, it’s time to say goodbye to The Tig.

‘What began as a passion project (my little engine that could) evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity. You’ve made my days brighter and filled this experience with so much joy.

Keep finding those Tig moments of discovery, keep laughing and taking risks, and keep being “the change you wish to see in the world”.’

‘Above all, don’t ever forget your worth – as I’ve told you time and time again: you, my sweet friend, you are enough.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

The Princess of Wales and her children have released portrait sketches they drew of each other during a bonding activity.

Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis made the artwork in a ‘moment of connection’, the princess said.

The exercise is tied to Kate’s Shaping Us Framework initiative, which seeks to raise awareness of social and emotional skills.

The four drawings were made using a range of mediums, including charcoal and ink, and were posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s official X account.

Alongside the artwork, the post says: ‘Drawing portraits with children can provide a moment of connection as you spend time looking at and focusing on one another, as well as being creative and – most importantly – having lots of fun together!’

Promoting the Shaping Us Framework, the post adds that social and emotional skills start to develop in early childhood.

‘These skills are key throughout our lives, shaping who we are, how we manage our thoughts and emotions, how we communicate with and relate to others, and how we explore the world around us.’

The Prince and Princess of Wales are reported to be on holiday with their children during the school half-term break.

Last week, Kate visited HMP Styal, a women’s prison in Cheshire, to meet inmates and ex-offenders who have been helped by a mother and baby unit run by the charity Action for Children, which the princess represents as royal patron.

The event was Kate’s fifth public engagement in just over two weeks as she continues with her gradual return to official duties since completing her cancer treatment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

A man said he ‘had to fix these c****’ as he was swarmed by armed police after crashing his car intoBuckingham Palace and causing nearly £25,000 worth of damage.

Johnny Scott, 26, drove his VW Polo into the south centre gate of the palace in March last year, causing £24,493 in damage.

Armed officers surrounded Scott who appeared ‘fidgety and dazed’.

He told the officers: ‘I have to fix this and these c****.’

No members of the royal family were inside the palace at the time of the incident.

Aamina Khalid, defending, said Scott had a ‘psychotic episode’ and suffered a relapse of bipolar disorder when the incident occurred, and was ‘not able to understand what his actions were’ as a result.

Scott had not been under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the incident, Ms Khalid said.

His family had called local mental health services ‘multiple times’ before the incident and had even reached out to their local MP, she said.

She told the court Scott expressed ‘a deep remorse’ for what happened and that it had been ‘completely out of character’.

District judge Neeta Minhas told Scott: ‘You have caused a very high level of damage to a structure that is of huge cultural importance in the United Kingdom.

‘You are very lucky that you didn’t get yourself shot that day.’

She handed Scott a 12-month community order and imposed an exclusion on entering the SW1 1AA postcode.

He was also ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work within the next year, and to pay £5,000 in compensation over a period of two years.

No victim surcharge was included.

Scott pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage over £5,000 on January 16.

A witness told of a ‘loud bang’ as the vehicle rammed the gates of the famous royal residence in central London.

He said: ‘I heard a loud bang, and I looked over and the car had crashed into Buckingham Palace.

‘Police were on the scene pretty quickly – and they got the man out and arrested him.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.