Category: Royal Family

As a member of the Royal Family, Prince William must always remain neutral – except when it comes to football.

The heir to the throne is also a well-known Aston Villa supporter, having even brought his children Prince George and Princess Charlotte to cheer on the team.

And now, he’s revealed he even visits fan forums online with a secret name and has gametime superstitions involving his children.

He told The Sun: ‘If I’m home alone with the children, I probably don’t have the pre-match pint but I do have a bit of superstition about where I sit when I’m watching them.

‘If we’re not doing very well, I start moving round the house quite quickly and I put the children in different positions hoping that’s going to change our luck.’

Like many other sports fans, Wills spends ‘ages’ on forums to share his opinions and see what other fans say.

‘I get quite into it, definitely. It’s important to have that debate,’ he said.

Even though William is a Villa supporter, he said he hopes his children will find their own teams to support, as he did.

‘I’m kind of hoping they’ll all find their own teams in time. They don’t all have to be Villa fans. I’m trying not to be biased but obviously they see how passionate I am about it and they watch the matches with me,’ he said.

Some are confused by Prince William’s allegiance given he has little or no connection to that part of the country.

The Prince of Wales cleared up the matter during an interview with the BBC in 2015: ‘A long time ago at school I got into football big time.

‘All my friends were Chelsea or Manchester United fans and I didn’t really want to follow the run of the mill team.

‘I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.

‘Aston Villa’s always had a great history. I have got friends of mine who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton v Aston Villa back in 2000. Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea.

‘It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time.

‘It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.’

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Meghan Markle shared a new photo of her youngest child to mark International Women’s Day on Instagram.

The Duchess and Prince Harry normally keep their children out of the spotlight, but shared a sweet photo of Lilibet, 3, lying on her father’s chest.

Meghan wrote: ‘Happy International Women’s Day! Celebrating the strong women around us & the girls with dreams who will become women with vision. Also thanking those who uplift us every day.’

Along with the photo of red-headed Lilibet resting on Prince Harry’s chest, Meghan also shared photos of herself and her mother, and herself and Harry on the beach.

Royal fans were also treated to a rare glimpse of Princess Lilibet as she played with her ‘auntie’ Serena Williams last week.

Meghan Markle is good friends with the tennis superstar, whom she met at a Super Bowl Party in 2010.

And Serena has been enjoying some quality time with the Sussexes ahead of the launch of Meghan’s new Netflix show, which was delayed due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

Meghan shared some clips of Serena playing the board game Candy Land with her daughter to her Instagram story.

Over Christmas, Harry and Meghan released another photo showing their two children for their holiday card.

A sweet picture of Harry and Meghan showed the children running to their open arms while their three dogs keep watch nearby.

The card said: ‘On behalf of the office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Archewell Productions and Archewell Foundations. We wish you a very Happy Holiday Season and a joyful new year.’

Fans rushed to comment on the picture, with one saying how quickly Archie and Lilibet have grown.

One fan wrote: ‘Look at Archie and Lili growing up so fast. What a beautiful family!’

Social media users also noted the children’s red hair as the family picture showed Lilibet’s long locks.

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Royal fans have been treated to a rare glimpse of Princess Lilibet as she played with her ‘auntie’ Serena Williams.

Meghan Markle is good friends with the tennis superstar, whom she met at a Super Bowl Party in 2010.

And Serena has been enjoying some quality time with the Sussexes ahead of the launch of Meghan’s new Netflix show, which was delayed due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

Meghan shared some clips of Serena playing a board game called Candy Land with her daughter, three, to her Instagram story.

The video didn’t include audio, but instead was overlaid with the song Lovely Day by Bill Withers.

She took the opportunity to promote her upcoming programme in the video caption as well, saying ‘Three days until the party begins. All are invited @netflix,’ and ‘When the aunties come to celebrate… and to play! Love you @serenawilliams’.

Meghan returned to Instagram in January, sharing clips of her running on the beach and wishing viewers a happy new year.

She’s since racked up 2.1million followers.

Describing her friendship with Serena on her former blog The Tig, Meghan said: ‘Taking pictures, laughing through the flag football game we were both playing and chatting not about tennis or acting but about good old fashioned girly stuff.’

Before Meghan’s appearance at Wimbledon in 2017, Serena told reporters: ‘We have always supported each other, just been there for each other through a lot.’

Netflix has described Meghan’s new programme, called With Love, Meghan, as offering a fresh take on the lifestyle genre and focusing on ‘cooking, gardening and entertaining’.

The Duchess had been keeping a low profile since her first Netflix project about her life with Prince Harry, Harry & Meghan, was released.

The show will be an extension of her new lifestyle brand, recently renamed As Ever after its original name, American Riviera Orchard, faced copyright troubles.

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King Charles has welcomed a new dog for the first time in more than 20 years.

The monarch is reportedly ‘besotted’ with the young dog, nicknamed Snuff, a lagotta romagnolo breed from Italy.

Queen Camilla adopted two adorable pooches in 2017 from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, making them the first rescue dogs to take up residence at Buckingham Palace – but Snuff is the first new dog since Charles became King.

The King and Queen now have multiple dogs, as Queen Camilla recently said she adopted another rescue dog named Moley.

Charles’ most famous dog, Tigga, passed away in 2002 at the ripe old age of 18, and was buried in the grounds of his home, Highgrove House.

Snuff, the newest pup, was a ‘private gift’. A palace insider told The Sun: ‘Charles is besotted with his puppy. He hasn’t had one since Tigga. The breed is a truffle-hunter. Charles enjoys mushroom foraging, so they have a lot in common.’

In November, Queen Camilla was heartbroken after her ‘much-loved companion’, Beth the rescue dog, died.

The Jack Russell terrier was adopted by the queen from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London in 2011.

Before becoming royalty, Beth was handed into the animal rescue service aged just three months by a family unable to care for her.

Beth had long been at Camilla’s side – literally. When she was crowned, Beth and her other dog Bluebell were featured on her coronation gown.

But the pet was put down as she had an untreatable tumour.

‘A sad farewell to Beth, the Queen’s much-loved companion from @Battersea_ Dogs and Cats Home who brought such joy, whether on walkies, helping on official duties, or curled up by the fire,’ Buckingham Palace said on X.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home added: ‘We’re sad to hear that Beth, HM The Queen’s rescue dog, has passed away.

‘Her Majesty, our Patron, rehomed Beth from Battersea in 2011 and we have many fond memories of Beth visiting our centres over the years.

‘Our thoughts are with Their Majesties at this time.’

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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.

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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.’

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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.

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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.’

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