Category: Royal Family

The Prince and Princess of Wales have released a new portrait of their youngest son, Prince Louis, to mark his seventh birthday.

The young prince has lost his front teeth in the time since last year’s portrait was released.

Writing on X, Kate and Wills said: ‘Wishing Prince Louis a very Happy 7th Birthday!’

The Prince and Princess of Wales traditionally release pictures of their kids to mark birthdays and special occasions.

The couple have released a new photo of Louis each year to mark his birthday, which falls on St George’s Day.

Last year, they shared an adorable photo of the young prince lying on a blanket on grass, barefoot, with a wide smile on his face in a checked shirt.

Earlier this year, Kate celebrated World Cancer Day with a photo taken by her youngest son.

In recent years, Prince Louis has become the highlight of normally stuffy Royal events such as Trooping of the Colour, the King’s Coronation and more.

During a Christmas service in 2023, the cheeky prince was filmed blowing out his sister Princess Charlotte’s candle.

During a long weekend of royal events, Prince Louis’ unbothered yawn while riding in a carriage was a welcome reprieve from the pomp and circumstance of the coronation last year.

Perhaps one of the most famous moments orchestrated by the cheeky prince, the image of him yelling while covering his ears, went viral.

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The Duke of York made a low profile entrance at the traditional royal Easter service in Windsor today.

Prince Andrew arrived alongside his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, his sister Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Tim.

While other members of the family turned to the cameras and waved, the Duke opted to open his car door away from photographers and go straight into the chapel.

The Duke has been in the headlines recently after his accuser Virginia Guiffre claimed to have days to live, in a public Instagram post she later said was mistakenly shared.

The King and Queen, Charles and Camilla, smiled and waved at members of the public who waited for their arrival at St George’s Chapel.

William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are not at the church today as they are spending the weekend with their children in Norfolk.

The Waleses, who have a country home, Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham estate, also missed the annual service last year after Kate, who is now in remission, was diagnosed with cancer.

Andrew missed the royal family’s Christmas gathering at Sandringham last year amid controversy surrounding his links to an alleged Chinese spy.

He has not been pictured at a formal royal family event since last Easter, and has largely disappeared from public life after stepping down from official duties, following a poorly received Newsnight interview about his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Virginia Giuffre, 41, claims she was trafficked for sex to the Duke by the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as a teen.

He denies the allegations. In 2022, he settled a civil case she brought against him before it went to trial, without any admission of liability.

Other members of the family present this morning included the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis also made a rare public appearance for Easter Sunday today, having recovered sufficiently after he spent time in hospital for a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia.

He did not preside over the entire open-air Mass in St Peter’s Square, but did appear for a blessing.

‘Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter,’ the Pontiff said, his voice sounding stronger than it has since his admission to hospital.

In his place, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica, celebrated the open-air Mass before thousands of people on a chilly but sunny spring morning.

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The Prince and Princess of Wales are set to skip an Easter tradition as their plans for the holiday were revealed.

William and Kate are set to spend the Easter weekend with Prince George and Louis, and daughter Princess Charlotte at their country home in Norfolk.

They will not join the King and Queen at the usual family gathering at Windsor Castle.

The plans are to ‘enjoy some extended time as a family over Easter’, according to a royal source who spoke to the Mirror, and the King is said to have agreed.

They said: ‘They are choosing to spend time together as a family before the children go back to school.’

It is the second year running that William and Kate have chosen not to attend a service at Windsor. Last year’s service came only weeks after Kate was diagnosed with cancer.

Likely to attend the service this year are Princess Anne and her husband Sir Tim Laurence, along with Prince Edward and wife Sophie.

It is not known if Prince Andrew will attend. The Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson attended the service last year, however.

It comes as flight restrictions were revealed to be in place over the King’s home of Sandringham following a security scare during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Security services requested the restrictions over the Norfolk estate on March 4, just days after King Charles III hosted Zelensky at his royal home. The order was signed off by transport secretary Heidi Alexander and was agreed with the Civil Aviathion Authority.

It restricts aircraft from descending below 2,000 feet for ‘reasons of public safety and security’ and came into effect on March 10.

The order says it was imposed because of ‘the need for security for members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries staying at or visiting Sandringham House’.

Visitors to Sandringham, as well as royal flights and the emergency services, are exempt from the order that was put in place following reports of drones flying over the estate during the weekend the Ukrainian leader was in the UK.

The King welcomed Mr Zelensky to Sandringham on March 2 following a defence summit in London.

The Sun reported that a source said it is understood a drone was traced to a man sitting in a car close to Sandringham. He was not a member of the media.

Another was traced to a photographer, but the source of one of the other drones was not clear.

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Mystery drones have been spotted in the sky above King Charles’s home Sandringham.

The flying objects were sighted just before Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky’s visited last month, the Sun reports.

Security officials reacted in panic and have now imposed a 365 day no-fly zone to protect ‘public safety and security’.

The drone scare comes six months after U.S. air bases in nearby Norfolk and Suffolk were also targeted, with British troops drafted in to help identify them.

The new sighting at Sandringham came as a major security operation was underway during Zelensky’s visit to the King’s home last month.

The Ukrainian leader was in the UK to rally European allies after his bust-up with President Trump over the war with Russia in the White House.

But on the weekend of the visit, the unidentified drones sparked a frenzy in the 60 acre estate.

One was traced to a man sitting in a nearby car, who was not a member of the media, according to the Sun.

While another drone was traced to a photographer, the source of the others has not yet been identified.

The scare prompted security services to ask for a drone ban over Sandringham on March 4, which went into force on March 10.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander approved the order that restricts aircraft from flying below 2,000 feet at Sandringham ‘for reasons of public safety and security’.

The order reads: ‘These Regulations impose restrictions on flying in the vicinity of Sandringham House, Norfolk.

‘In view of the need for security for members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries staying at or visiting Sandringham House and at the request of the security services, it has been agreed by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport that flying should be restricted in the vicinity of that location for reasons of public safety and security.’

The detailed ban, seen by Metro, stops all aircraft from being in the vicinity of Sandringham.

Exceptions are for aircraft by emergency services or the Royal Family itself, as well those flying or landing in Sandringham with the permission of the police and the Royals.

Security expert Will Geddes told Metro that if any drones were over the Royal grounds for malicious purposes, it would likely be for planning an attack.

He said: ‘Dronesare used as a platform for explosives, or having armaments attached to them.

‘But my concern with Sandringham would be for reconnaissance.

‘So, for determining the footprint of the property. If someone was going to plan an attack, that information would be needed in advance. But drones are not just used for mal intent.’

Geddes added that security experts are worried about the ease with which software, which stops drones flying in certain areas, can be overridden.

He said: ‘Drones will be set up with blind spots over prisons and sensitive sights.

‘One of the biggest concerns is that there are ways you can hack the drones and bypass the no-fly zones.

‘Online you could probably find a couple tutorial videos which will show you how to do it.’

The new drone restrictions followed a previous three month ban at Sandringham, which ended the day before Zelensky arrived.

King Charles was also meeting outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Sandringham the following day.

No-fly zones are in place across other high profile Royal Family and Defence locations.

The flying technology are banned from hovering over the King’s Balmoral estate in Scotland.

The same ban is in place at Windsor Castle following a security review in January 2022.

The King’s spokesman declined to comment on his security arrangements.

Norfolk Police said: ‘During a state visit at Sandringham on Sunday March 2, a drone was seen flying by patrolling officers.

‘The pilot was identified as a member of the media who had a conversation with officers to confirm no restrictions had been breached.

‘No further action was taken. Drone pilots should be aware that new legislation has now come into force which restricts flying in the vicinity of Sandringham House at all times.

‘Previously, restrictions were in place each year between December 1 and March 1.’

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It’s been over a year since King Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer – and though he’s recovering, Queen Camilla has said there’s a ‘problem’.

Camilla said Charles is ‘driven’ by helping others and indicated his cancer journey was one of ‘recovery’.

She said: ‘I think he loves his work and it keeps him going. And I think it’s wonderful, you know, if you’ve been ill and you are recovering, you’re getting better and now he wants to do more and more and more.

‘That’s the problem,’ she laughed.

Even Buckingham Palace have said those who work with the King have tried to adapt his busy work schedule as he continues treatment, but he is ‘determined’ to keep up with his duties.

The couple recently returned from a state visit to Italy, which featured a string of engagements over three full days.

The visit was described as ‘soft power at its best’ delivering ‘huge benefit for UK interests overseas’, according to a palace official.

The King, who is known for being a hard worker, is said to have thrived on carrying out public and state duties in recent months, seeing them as being of great benefit to his overall wellbeing.

Despite the health ‘bump’ which saw Charles spend a brief period in hospital following temporary side effects from cancer treatment, his positive response to the care he is receiving has meant doctors are content for the King to maintain a busy schedule.

Asked if there would be any adaptations to the King’s programme given suggestions he may be pushing himself too far, the palace official replied: ‘We’ve all tried!

‘But as people will have seen, the King enjoys his work, he enjoys engaging with as many people as possible.

‘He has a voracious appetite for reading – and because he reads a lot he learns a lot. And in this role, as when Prince of Wales, he knows he is fortunate to be in a position to make a difference, and is determined to do just that.

‘As we are seeing, since this reign began two-and-a-half years ago, he’s achieving that in very many different ways.’

The King and Queen celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in Rome at a glamorous state banquet, hosted by Italy’s president, while on the state visit.

On the evening of their anniversary, the royals were guests of honour at the banquet, hosted by President Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinale, a former Italian palace.

The visit came just weeks after the King, 76, experienced side effects from his cancer treatment and was taken to hospital for ‘a short period of observation’.

The King and Queen were also set to visit Pope Francis in the Vatican, but had to postpone the trip as he is still recovering from a battle with pneumonia.

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The Duke of Sussex has said his ‘worst fears’ about the withdrawal of his police protection have been confirmed.

Prince Harry is challenging the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office, over the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) decision that he won’t receive the same level of protection while in the UK.

The royal lost his Ravec protection in early 2020 after he and wife Meghan Markle quit as senior working royals.

That full-time police protection is currently granted to King Charles and Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and their three children.

Instead, Ravec decided the Sussexes would get a ‘bespoke’ security service, where they would have to give 30 days notice of any plans to travel to the UK.

Each trip would then be assessed for threat levels and the level of protection needed.

Shaheed Fatima KC, who represents Harry, told the appeal hearing that the duke had been ‘singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment’, adding that Harry ‘does not accept that “bespoke” means ‘better”‘.

Last year, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled last year that Ravec’s decision was lawful – but Harry is challenging the dismissal of his claim.

A two-day hearing this week sat partly in private to hear confidential evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice – and Harry said ‘people would be shocked by what’s being held back’.

He added that his ‘worst fears have been confirmed by the whole legal disclosure in this case and that’s really sad’.

Harry suggested the Ravec decision was made to try and stop him from his wife from quitting as working royals and moving to the US. Buckingham Palace sources strongly deny this.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Harry admitted he was ‘exhausted’ and ‘overwhelmed’ by the legal battle, saying: ‘We were trying to create this happy house.’

The Home Office, which has legal responsibility for the committee’s decisions, is opposing the appeal, with its lawyers previously telling the High Court that decisions were taken on a ‘case-by-case’ basis.

At the end of the hearing on Wednesday, judge Sir Geoffrey Vos said the Court of Appeal’s decision would be given in writing at a later date, which was ‘most unlikely’ to be before Easter.

Sir Geoffrey, sitting with Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edis, said: ‘Plainly we will take our time to consider our judgments.’

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The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she dealt with serious health complications after childbirth on her new podcast.

During Meghan Markle’s new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, she revealed she had been diagnosed with post-partum pre-eclampsia after the birth of one of her children.

Describing the condition as ‘so rare and so scary’, Meghan realised she and her podcast guest, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, had both suffered with the condition.

The condition is similar to pre-eclampsia, which affects women during pregnancy – and involves high blood pressure.

And Meghan described trying to juggle the rest of her life while coping with the rest of the world not knowing about her medical issues.

‘It’s so rare. And its so scary,’ she said.

‘You’re still trying to juggle all these things and the world doesn’t know what is happening, quietly and in the quiet you are still trying to show up for people.

‘You’re still trying to show up, mostly for your children. But those things are huge medical scares.’

Meghan and Whitney didn’t know each other at the time, but they were

Whitney replied: ‘They’re life or death, truly.

‘I remember after you delivered Archie and the whole world was waiting for his debut.

‘I was just becoming a new mum and I was like, oh my god, how is this woman doing this.

‘How is this woman putting on heels and going and debuting a child in this beautiful outfit in front of the entire world?

‘I could barely face a doorbell delivery for takeout food. I was like, please don’t look at me.’

Confessions of a Female Founder is the latest of Meghan’s business ventures following her Netflix series With Love, Meghan and her new brand As Ever.

‘As Meghan, Duchess of Sussex builds out a business of her own, she’s getting advice and insights from a handful of amazing women who have scaled small ideas into successful companies,’ the podcast’s blurb reads.

‘These fly-on-the-wall conversations will no doubt inspire anyone who’s interested in turning their own entrepreneurial dreams into a reality and anyone else who just wants to hear what really happens behind the scenes.’

Her previous podcast, Archetypes, was dropped by Spotify after just one season.

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Prince Harry flashed a peace sign to photographers as he entered the High Court for a highly anticipated legal hearing this morning.

The Prince landed in the UK just hours before his father jetted off to Italy for a state visit.

King Charles and his youngest son have had a strained relationship since Harry left royal life to live in America with his wife and two children.

The King’s youngest son will attend an appeal against a High Court decision about his armed bodyguards.

In 2024, a High Court judge dismissed Harry’s claim against the Home Office over security arrangements for himself and his family when they are in the UK.

But Harry’s lawyers said he was ‘singled out’ and treated ‘less favourably’ in the 2020 decision about his armed security guards – prompting the appeal, which will last for two days, beginning today.

Last year, it was revealed his legal fight against the Home Office’s decision had cost the UK government more than £600,000.

Harry has argued that he, his wife Meghan and their children Archie, five, and three-year-old Lilibet, are at risk on trips to his home country, including from ‘racism and extremism’. 

One of the examples used by the military veteran’s legal team is a security incident in July 2021, when his car was chased by photographers as he left a charity event at Kew Gardens.

According to data released to Metro.co.uk under the Freedom of Information Act, the Home Office costs amount to £569,559 for an ongoing judicial review bid and £27,257 for a second, which has concluded.  

This includes £359,075 for the government’s legal department, £225,941 for counsel and £170.28 in courier fees across the two cases.  

Court fees amount to £2,310 and E-disclosure to £11,319 to date in the ongoing case. 

The legal battles followed the duke and duchess stepping back from royal duties at the start of 2020 when they relocated to Montecito in California.  

The Sussexes have privately funded security but the prince has argued during his challenge that the ‘case by case’ protection offered in the UK is ‘unreasonable’ because it creates ‘excessive uncertainty’ for his protection team. He is obliged to give 28 days’ notice before a visit.

In May last year, the prince was reported by The Daily Telegraph to have turned down an invitation from his father to stay at Buckingham Palace because of security concerns. 

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A former body guard to Princes William and Harry, who was with them when Princess Diana was killed, has died at 77.

Graham Craker also accompanied the brothers as they walked behind their mother’s hearse as it made its way from St James’s Palace to Westminster Abbey for her funeral.

Afterwards, he sat in the front of the hearse as Diana was taken to her final resting place at Althorp House.

He was also seen clearing flowers from the windscreen that had been thrown onto the vehicle by the public.

Harry said in his memoir Spare he was very fond of Mr Craker, who was a guest at William and Kate’s wedding in 2011.

He wrote: ‘The driver had to keep pulling over so the bodyguard could get out and clear the flowers off the windscreen.

‘The bodyguard was Graham. Willy and I liked him a lot. We always called him Crackers. We thought that was hysterical.’

Mr Craker served 35 years in the Met Police, with 15 of those spent as bodyguard for the royal family. He retired in 2001.

In later years he volunteered for charities in Ware, Hertfordshire.

He gave an interview after retiring, where he spoke of the day Diana died in 1997.

He said: ‘I crept down the stairs to the house phone and dialled the duty office at Buckingham Palace.

‘They said there were reports there’d been an accident and Dodi Fayed had been killed and the Princess had a broken arm.’

On learning Diana had died, he recalled: ‘It was disbelief, really, and obviously a great deal of sorrow.

‘You try and deal with it as best you can but you do get quite emotional about it.

‘Perhaps the most emotional was seeing William the morning after.

‘I saw William walking his dog outside, and I walked up to him and said, ‘I’m very, very sorry to hear your bad news’. William very sadly said, ‘Thank you’.’

‘William was comforted I was with his mum on her final journey.’

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The King and Queen will be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary in Rome at a glamorous state banquet, hosted by Italy’s president.

Charles and Camilla will be kicking off their four-day state visit to Italy on Monday ahead of their wedding anniversary on Wednesday.

On the evening of their anniversary, the royals will be guests of honour at the banquet, hosted by president Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinale, a former Italian palace.

The visit comes just weeks after the King, 76, experienced side effects from his cancer treatment and was taken to hospital for ‘a short period of observation’.

The incident meant Charles had to cancel an away day to Birmingham.

A royal source later described the hospital visit as the ‘most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction’.

The King and Queen were also set to visit Pope Francis in the Vatican, but had to postpone the trip as he is still recovering from a battle with pneumonia.

The Pope received medical advice saying he would ‘benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation’, a statement from Buckingham Palace said.

‘Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered,’ the statement added.

King Charles and Queen Camilla’s love story

When Charles was the Prince of Wales, he married Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005.

Camilla was 23 when she met 22-year-old Charles during a polo match at the Windsor Great Park in 1970.

However, the two became distanced after Charles served in the Royal Navyfor eight months.

When he returned, Camilla was already engaged to British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles.

They were married in 1973 and had two children together, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, before getting divorced in 1995.

Meanwhile, Charles married Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1981.

They separated in 1992 before divorcing officially in 1996 – a year before Diana passed away in 1997.

Charles and Camilla made their relationship public and got married in 2005.

At their wedding reception, Queen Elizabeth II said: ‘They have overcome Becher’s Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles.

‘They have come through and I’m very proud and wish them well.

‘My son is home and dry with the woman he loves.’

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