Clearly hands-on as a father, William described how his work day, which is not a typical 9-to-5, is scheduled around his family life as much as possible.
“I do try and stick to school timetables as best as possible. So, most days we’re in and out of school doing pickups and drop-offs. Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important. Because for me, the most important thing in my life is family, and everything is about the future and about if you don’t start the children off now with a happy, healthy, stable home, I feel you’re setting them up for a bit of a hard time and a fall. And so, it’s about making sure that we can look after our families, look after our children, in a way that is best for their future.”
When speaking about his family’s privacy, William noted the struggles he faced during his own childhood, when the press speculated about every element of his parents’ lives, marriage, and breakup. “If you’re not careful, you can intrude so much into someone’s life that actually you start unpicking everything. And growing up, I saw that with my parents. The media were so insatiable back then—it’s hard to think of it now, but they were much more insatiable. They wanted every bit of detail they could absorb, and they were in everything, literally everywhere. They would know things, they’d be everywhere,” he said. “And if you let that creep in, the damage it can do to your family life is something that I vowed would never happen to my family. And so, I take a very strong line about where I think that line is, and those who overstep it, you know, I’ll fight against.”
Prince Louis of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour 2025 on June 14, 2025 in London, England.
Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has cost the royal dearly. In the aftermath of Epstein’s final arrest and death, Andrew resigned his royal duties, lost his military titles, and settled a reported multimillion-dollar lawsuit over his Epstein ties. Yet Sarah Ferguson, who is still known as the Duchess of York even though she and Andrew divorced in 1996, largely managed to evade the scandal because she had publicly disavowed Epstein in 2011.
Now, though, it seems Ferguson may have been caught in the Epstein crossfire. This past weekend, The Mail on Sunday published parts of an email showing that the duchess corresponded with Epstein even after her public disavowal. “As you know, I did not, absolutely not, say the ‘P word’ [pedophile] about you,” she said in an April 2011 email, per the Mail. “I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read and I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that…. You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.”
On Monday, Ferguson’s 35-year-long affiliation with the Teenage Cancer Trust came to an end—making that organization one of seven charities to cut ties with Ferguson following the Mail’s report. Another charity, children’s hospice Julia’s House, said it would be “inappropriate” for her to remain in her role as a patron, according to the BBC. The duchess was also dropped by Prevent Breast Cancer, the British Heart Foundation, food-allergy charity the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals, and the Children’s Literacy Charity. In the wake of the Mail on Sunday piece, events meant to promote Ferguson’s recent children’s book have been canceled.
The roots of the controversy reach back to 2011, when News of the Worldpublished a photograph of Andrew and Epstein walking through Central Park, taken amid a 2010 trip during which Andrew stayed at the financier’s now notorious Upper East Side townhouse—years after Epstein’s guilty plea on prostitution charges. Subsequent reporting revealed that Andrew had also arranged for Epstein to help pay money Ferguson owed to a former assistant. (Vanity Fair reported in 2022 that Andrew had visited New York to seek Epstein’s assistance with the debt.)
Ferguson gave an interview to the Evening Standard in March 2011, after those allegations became public, in which she attempted to defend Andrew and apologized for Epstein’s involvement in the matter. “I abhor pedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf,” she told then editor Geordie Greig. “I am just so contrite I cannot say. Whenever I can, I will repay the money and will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”
In that interview with Greig, Ferguson might have been trying to take some of the pressure off Andrew over his Epstein ties. In it, she praised Andrew for being a good father to daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and also hailed the work he did as a trade ambassador. Ultimately, she expressed remorse that her own money woes were a factor in his relationship with Epstein. “I cannot state more strongly that I know a terrible, terrible error of judgment was made, my having anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein. What he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed,” she said. “Once again my errors have compounded and rebounded and also inadvertently impacted on the man I admire most in the world, the duke.”
Prince Harry was in London a few weeks ago to attend the 20th WellChild Awards, a ceremony he never misses and an organization of which he has been patron for 17 years. It was a rare opportunity to return to Harry’s native land, and, even more notably, a long-awaited reunion with his father, King Charles III, whom he had not seen for 19 months. The meeting, held at Clarence House, lasted just 50 minutes: a “private tea” between father and son, the first step to mending the relationship between the monarch and his second-born son, which has been beyond tense since Harry’s dramatic 2020 departure from the U.K. and his position as a senior working royal.
But the fact that this meeting took place does not change the Firm’s official position: “Any suggestion that the prince might return in a more formal capacity has been rejected,” The Independent reported. There is no question of a half-hearted return to the family, or an “à la carte” role. A royal source quoted by the paper confirmed that King Charles is toeing the line set by his mother, Elizabeth II: “The King has been absolutely clear in upholding his late mother’s decision that there can be no ‘half-in, half-out’ public role for members of the family.”
A decision that seems to suit the 41-year-old prince perfectly. Now settled in California with wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, Harry is cultivating a life away from the palace, a life he says is fulfilling.
This does not mean, however, that family tensions have been laid to rest. In an interview with the BBC last May, Harry expressed a desire for appeasement: “I don’t know how much time my father has left. He doesn’t want to talk to me anymore because of these security issues, but it would be nice if we could get together.”
These security issues are at the heart of a dispute between Harry and the British Home Office. Since he renounced his status as an active member of the royal family, he is no longer entitled to police protection—a decision he is contesting. After two days of hearings and an appeal earlier this summer, the verdict remains unchanged: his request for a reassessment of the security arrangements has been rejected. “I don’t want history to repeat itself,” he insisted to the BBC, referring to the fatal accident involving his mother, the late Princess Diana. “I think there’s a lot of other people out there, the majority, that also don’t want history to repeat itself. But through the disclosure process, I’ve discovered that some people do want history to repeat itself, which is pretty dark.”
Yet the door to appeasement doesn’t seem completely closed. According to the Mail on Sunday, “tentative” discussions are taking place between Buckingham Palace and Prince Harry’s staff, with a goal of a possible rapprochement. A joint public appearance could even be in the cards, according to the newspaper. Is the familial hatchet about to be buried?
The royal family has welcomed Donald Trump to Windsor Castle for his historic second state visit, with both the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and Queen Camilla opting Wednesday to wear highly poignant brooches for the occasion.
Kate Middleton adorned her monochrome burgundy look with an heirloom brooch featuring Prince of Wales Feathers, in recognition of her title and position within the royal family. The brooch features a diamond-encrusted Prince of Wales Three Feathers emblem encircled with more diamonds, with emeralds and rubies dotted throughout, royal authority The Court Jeweller noted. The brooch has historically been worn by the woman married to the Prince of Wales. On this outing, the Princess chose not to wear the additional single emerald drop that can be added to the piece.
The Princess of Wales adorned her monochrome burgundy look with an heirloom brooch featuring the Prince of Wales Feathers.
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The Prince of Wales Feathers brooch has been worn a number of times by Queen Camilla, including to Cheltenham Ladies’ Day in 2012, despite Camilla never using the title of Princess of Wales on a formal basis. It was also sported by the late Princess Diana, although she preferred to wear it as a pendant on a necklace. It brought sparkle to her ensemble for an outing to the Royal Festival Hall in 1996, and on an outing to the Royal Opera House in 1982 that was recreated in The Crown. The late princess also wore the necklace on a state visit to Austria in 1986.
The brooch also has a fascinating royal history, notes The Royal Watcher. It was given to Queen Alexandra as a gift for her wedding to King Edward VII in March 1863.
Princess Diana on a state visit to Austria in 1986.
No U.S. president had ever gotten to see the Princess of Wales in a tiara twice—until Kate Middleton greeted Donald Trump at Wednesday’s Buckingham Palace banquet.
Six years after his first state trip to the United Kingdom, President Trump has made another visit to the royal family. This is one more state visit to the U.K. than any other American president has made—an “unprecedented” honor, in the words of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and hopefully a diplomatic relief amid the trade crisis over Trump’s tariffs. Trump calledKing Charles III “a wonderful man” in February, when Starmer handed him the king’s invitation for another state visit. Later, Trump reduced the tariffs he imposed on the U.K.
Queen Camilla, who recovered from the sinusitis that kept her away from Tuesday’s funeral for the Duchess of Kent, wore the Belgian Sapphire Tiara, one of the most spectacular from the royal collection, and an elegant blue dress. But let’s not kid ourselves. With apologies to Melania Trump—who wore a unique yellow dress with a purple sash—it was once again Kate Middleton who took the cake at a state banquet. She graced Buckingham Palace’s great dining room in the Lover’s Knot tiara, a favorite of Princess Diana, and a majestic white lace dress by British designer Phillipa Lepley with a hand-embroidered overdress.
“How beautiful,” Trump said to Princess of Wales at their first meeting this afternoon.
Speaking directly to the Prince and Princess, the President said that William had “an unbelievably successful future” ahead of him and that it was wonderful to see Princess Catherine, whom he affectionately called Kate, looking “so radiant so healthy and so beautiful.”
“It seems as though Trump has an eye on the future generation,” says Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine. “He’s obviously genuinely impressed by William and who wouldn’t be impressed by Kate. She looked incredible. It seems a lot of effort has been made for the Trumps and the Waleses to spend some time together on this trip.”
President Donald Trump speaks with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II after he inspected the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle in Windsor, west of London, on July 13, 2018.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Getty Images
Trump, an anglophile and huge fan of the late Queen Elizabeth II, was said to be looking forward to this state visit more than any other. It is the first time he has seen Charles since he was crowned king and his second meeting with Prince William, who he met with last year in Paris. The president heaped praise on William, telling reporters he was “doing a fantastic job.”
“I would expect that William and Catherine would have been quite touched and maybe a bit taken aback by so many compliments,” adds Seward. “It’s very flattering to have someone as powerful as Trump praising you and treating you like a very special friend. It’s unusual for the Head of State to be that personal, but it’s Trump’s style.
“The royals have to deal with so many dullards, Trump is actually really refreshing. He’s outspoken and quite exciting to be around because you don’t know what’s going to happen. Catherine looked quite taken aback when he praised her so personally. She looked a bit embarrassed, but that’s Trump. I think the royals are probably amused and bemused by it all.”
President Donald Trump delivers a speech as Britain’s King Charles III watches on during a State Banquet at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on September 17, 2025, during the US President’s second state visit.
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During Wednesday’s dinner in Windsor, Trump made a point about being the only US president in history to be granted the privilege of two state visits and joked about hoping he would be the only one to make King Charles laugh.
A source close to the king told Vanity Fair that Charles has said the state visit “could not be better.”
Adds the source, “I understand that His Majesty the King is thrilled about the visit and very pleased with the global optics of it all. The Royal Family really did pull out all the stops.”
Charles was equally effusive in his speech on Wednesday, pointing out that he had made 20 visits to the US and cherishes the special relationship between the two countries, calling it an “enduring bond.” He also joked about Trump’s love of British soil and golf courses.
In June 2019, King Charles III and Queen Camilla—then known as the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall—greeted President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, as they disembarked from Marine One in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. More than six years later, Trump is back in the White House, and Prince William and Kate Middleton were the ones to greet their American visitors when the Trumps touched down near Windsor Castle Wednesday.
It’s a reminder of how much has changed for the royals since the last time the Trump family traveled to the U.K. Back then, Meghan Markle was taking maternity leave from her royal role—but Prince Harry was still milling about, and keeping his distance from the president, who had called Meghan “nasty” months before the visit. These days, Harry and Meghan both have uneasy relationships with their extended family, as well as Harry’s native country. Last week, Harry traveled to the UK for a four-day stay. Yet he wasn’t able to make it onto William’s schedule, in stark contrast to the red carpet being rolled out for Trump.
Of course, Trump’s visit has been in the works for the last six months, while Harry’s trip was planned with less notice. But as a source with knowledge told Vanity Fair last week, the brothers are currently further away from reconciliation than ever before, and William “is adamant that he wants nothing to do with his brother.”
Tuesday’s walk was a part of a tradition in which the Prince of Wales, essentially the monarch’s understudy, is the first to greet an American president when they arrive for a state visit. That protocol has been broken before: Earlier this week, royal biographer Robert Hardman revealed that Barack Obama’s final visit in 2016 actually kicked off with a drive in Prince Philip’s Range Rover. But this time around, it made perfect sense for William to slip into the role.
Over the last few months, William has reportedly been tasked with launching a charm offensive at the president. It started in February, when a meeting between William and Trump unexpectedly swelled to 40 minutes and ultimately left the president declaring that William looked “really, very handsome.” It’s unclear what William, an environmental defender who has voiced support for the people of Gaza, thinks of Trump himself—but a palace source told the Telegraph that William sees political neutrality as an important part of his royal duties. “It’s important that we’re not involved in day-to-day politics,” the source said. “But when the time is right and there’s an ask for support from His Majesty’s Government, the prince is happy to play his role.”
If there is any hope for the brothers’ relationship in the future, it will come because Harry is currently working on repairing his relationship to—and his image in—the UK. Harry has returned to the UK for the WellChild Awards, which celebrate children with disabilities, multiple times since he moved to the US in 2020. This year, however, was the first time that he used the engagement as an excuse for an extended stay. In addition to a few stops in London, Harry traveled to Nottingham, where he posed for selfies with fans in an impromptu walkabout. He also made a personal $1.5 million donation to Children in Need, a group that helps struggling youth in the area. It’s not unheard of for a royal to dip into their own pockets to support a charity, but this act is rare enough that it is usually a major signal about their charitable priorities.
The other major headline of Harry’s visit was a 45 minute meeting with the king, his and Charles’s first face-to-face since days after Charles announced his cancer diagnosis in February 2024. So far, the details of what was discussed during that meeting have remained under wraps, a sign that Harry intends to honor his father’s request for privacy in exchange for a normalized relationship. Now that Harry’s major court cases against the government and British papers are resolved, he clearly wants to have deeper ties with his father and his native country—even though he didn’t get the security deal he wanted to bring his family back with him.
With their eye towards their duty to the UK and the monarch, William and Kate jumped headlong into Trump’s historic state visit. While the optics of jovially spending time with Trump might not age especially well for the future king, the decision to go all-in was probably easy for William. Having a relationship with the president of the US is a part of his job description; having one with his own brother is not.
It’s easy to imagine cutlery clinking, chandeliers sparkling and two icons staring at each other. On June 5, 1961, John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy dined with Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace. It wasn’t a state banquet, but instead a highly formal dinner in the midst of a European tour. All accounts agree on one thing: the evening was anything but carefree, with extraneous guests shunned and personal sensitivities ruffled. In his book Q: A Voyage Around the Queen, British journalist Craig Brown meticulously recounted the waltz of the evening that Camelot came to Buckingham.
According to Brown, Jackie Kennedy had requested the presence of her sister, Lee Radziwill, and her brother-in-law, Polish Prince Stanislaw Albrecht Radziwill, at the dinner. Initially considered undesirable because the former had already been divorced once and the latter twice, Elizabeth II finally relented and extended the invitations after “much hesitation.” However, the sovereign’s strong position enabled her to exact revenge in her own way. According to writer Gore Vidal, a close friend of Jackie Kennedy, the monarch deliberately withheld invitations from Princess Margaret and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, whom the American first lady had expressly asked to meet. The result, Brown wrote, was an evening of “dreary platitude” that left the first lady unimpressed. “No Margaret, no Marina, no one but every Commonwealth agriculture minister they could find,” she was quoted as saying.
Yet it was in the midst of this staid ceremony that a moment of connivance between the two women is said to have arisen. The Queen is said to have asked Jackie Kennedy about her recent tour of Canada, leading the first lady to confide how “exhausting” it was to perform for hours on end, and Elizabeth II, “looking conspiratorial,” according to Brown, replied: “With time, you become astute, you learn to take it easy.” The line alone sums up a royal philosophy of public survival: Allowing yourself a side exit, a detour, an airlock—in short, keeping your breath to last. According to Vidal, Jackie found the exchange with the sovereign “rather laborious.” When Vidal later reported the phrase to Princess Margaret, she reportedly retorted, with acid phlegm: “But that’s why she’s here.”
Queen Elizabeth II and Jacqueline Kennedy on June 5, 1961 at Buckingham Palace
Bettmann / GettyImages
This little sound bite says a lot about the era and the contrast the two iconic women embodied. On the one hand, there was Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, who had then only recently moved into the White House and was astonishingly modern. On the other, a monarch in a woolen suit, crown on her head, who had reigned over traditions for the past decade. Should this be seen as a rivalry? Not necessarily, as their relationship continued without public drama. Jackie Kennedy returned to see the Queen in 1962, and after JFK’s assassination, Elizabeth II honored the late President’s memory in the presence of Jackie and the children. But Elizabeth’s simple advice has endured through the ages, applicable to many public figures, precisely because it sheds light on the intimate mechanics of charisma. Grace isn’t just magnetism, it’s also technique. And at Buckingham, as at the White House, it’s an essential survival skill.
Because the Duchess of Kent, who died on September 5 at the age of 92, spent the last few decades of her life in private life, she was the matriarch to a wing of the royal family that doesn’t always attend public events. Her funeral mass on Tuesday included her husband, the Duke of Kent, as well as King Charles III, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Princess Anne. (Queen Camilla bowed out Tuesday morning due to sinusitis.) But those familiar working royals were also joined by members of the extended Windsor clan, including a few who have made a name for themselves as influencers.
Two of the Duchess’s granddaughters, Lady Amelia and Lady Marina Windsor, entered the church with their father, George Windsor, the Earl of St. Andrews. Amelia, a model and freelance writer with a sizable Instagram following, wore a black shift dress and a hat rimmed with ostrich feathers. Marina, who announced her engagement over the summer, arrived without her fiancé, Nico Macauley. They were joined by their older brother, Edward, Lord Downpatrick, who is the heir to the Dukedom of Kent and currently owns a travel company.
During Tuesday’s Requiem Mass, William and Kate also reunited with one of the bridesmaids at their April 2011 wedding: Margarita Armstrong-Jones, the granddaughter of Princess Margaret. She arrived with her father, the Earl of Snowdon, who currently serves as the president of the King’s Foundation, the charitable organization that Charles founded to help support young people in the early stages of their careers.
Though these wings of the family are further away from official royal work, they have all attended major royal events in the past, and their royal connections have helped them launch their careers. Margarita, Amelia, and Marina have all modeled for Tatler and share glimpses of their lives online. In her May 2023 cover story for the outlet, Margarita revealed that she is studying at Paris’s Haute École de Joaillerie, and that she has taken after her late grandfather, Antony Armstrong-Jones, as a photographer and jewelry maker. On her Instagram account, she shares photos of her handmade bracelets and necklaces.
The Earl of St. Andrews’s younger sister, Lady Helen Taylor, was joined by her husband, Timothy Taylor, and their four children, Columbus, Cassius, Eloise, and Estella. The Duke and Duchess of Kent’s youngest son Lord Nicholas Windsor, who is known for writing essays about the Catholic faith he shared with his mother, also attended the funeral with his sons, 18-year-old Albert and 16-year-old Leopold.
Because the Duke of Kent and his siblings lost their father at a young age, they were close to the late Queen Elizabeth II until the end of her life. Another one of their royal first cousins, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, attended Tuesday’s funeral along with his wife, Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, and their daughter, Lady Rose Gilman.
Perhaps befitting the Duchess’s red-carpet appearances in the 1970s, the funeral mass was also attended by celebrities from a different era, including race car driver Jackie Stewart, actresses Rula Lenska and Dame Maureen Lipman from the long-running soap opera Coronation Street, and novelist and politician Jeffrey Archer, as well as his wife, Mary.
While King Charles will remain politically neutral, there are “a number of issues” he is eager to discuss with Trump, with whom he has a good working relationship, including Ukraine.
With the visit taking place in Windsor, Trump will not have the opportunity to address parliament, as President Emmanuel Macron did during his state visit this summer, with one source in the Cabinet Office saying there was “some relief about keeping Trump away from parliament.”
Trump will spend a day with Prime Minister Starmer, where several talking points will be on the table, including Ukraine, Gaza and US-UK trade deals. Starmer is reportedly keen to extend the trade deal made with the US earlier this year and the two leaders are also expected to sign a new US-UK technology partnership.
The timing of the recent firing of US ambassador Peter Mandelson poses problems for the prime minister, who sacked Mandelson after discovering that the nature of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was “far different” from what Starmer had believed it to be, with emails revealing Mandelson’s support for Epstein following the latter’s guilty plea on solicitation-of-prostitution charges. Starmer and Trump will take part in a joint press conference on Thursday, where the matter is likely to be raised.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on September 16, 2025. Trump is heading to the UK for a state visit.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Getty Images
The Trumps are due to arrive in London on Tuesday on Air Force One. Upon landing, they will be greeted by Warren Stephens, US ambassador to the UK, and Viscount Hood, King Charles’s lord-in-waiting. They will be in the presidential motorcade in the bulletproof “Beast,” which has its own oxygen supply in case of a gas attack.
Their official engagements will begin on Wednesday morning when the Trumps are met by the Prince and Princess of Wales before being officially welcomed by King Charles and Queen Camilla. Afterward, the Trumps and the royals will travel through Windsor in a carriage procession escorted by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. However, the carriage will not pass through the crowds, as a large number of anti-Trump protesters are expected.
As he did during the last state visit, Trump will be invited to inspect the Guard of Honour followed by a march past. It was during the Guard of Honour when Trump accidentally walked in front of the late queen.
His schedule also includes lunch in the state dining room with members of the royal family. Trump will be invited to lay a wreath at Queen Elizabeth’s grave at St George’s Chapel, where he and the first lady will be given a brief tour.
The highlight of Trump’s state visit will be Wednesday night’s state banquet.
Buckingham Palace has yet to reveal the event’s guest list and menu. However, the banquet will be held in St George’s Hall, which has a table that can seat up to 160 people.
On Thursday, President Trump will leave Windsor for Chequers, the country residence of the British prime minister, where he will attend meetings with Prime Minister Starmer and join a business reception hosted by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Melania will stay at Windsor with Queen Camilla and Princess Kate for a number of engagements before joining the president on Thursday evening.
A new revelation about Queen Elizabeth has been revealed by a former royal staff member. In his new memoir, The Royal Insider , former royal butler and footman Paul Burrell made the claim that Queen Elizabeth was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer shortly before her death.
Burrell wrote that Queen Elizabeth was diagnosed “just a few months” after Prince Philip’s passing in 2021. The queen kept the diagnosis secret, and didn’t allow the news to leave her “circle of trust.”
“As far as the family was concerned, everything was fine, but the doctors’ prognosis gave her only until Christmas,” Burrell wrote. “The Queen’s response was, ‘Well, that’s a shame, because next year is my Platinum Jubilee year and I’d quite like to have seen that. Can you keep me alive for that?’”
The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana
For her treatment, Queen Elizabeth “endured blood transfusions and scrupulously followed doctors’ orders, giving up her much-loved gin and tonics, gin and Dubonnets and martini.” As a healthy substitution, she drank “apple juice (and tomato juice on a Sunday as a treat) to help extend her life.”
Burrell noted that her doctors “kept her alive to witness this landmark in her reign,” but deep inside, the monarch “knew through it all that she was dying.”
The Queen had only told members of the royal family for “the final few months,” she was alive. “She had intentionally kept them out of the loop as she didn’t want them to worry,” the footman wrote.
However, one worry did peak in her mind during her final days. “She was also concerned that her illness might open the door to a regency,” Burrell claims. “This was abhorrent to her. She wanted to rule to the end and definitely did not want to be a sick Queen with a regent ruling.”
Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022. Two years after her death, her son King Charles and her granddaughter-in-law Kate Middleton announced their cancer diagnoses. The Princess of Wales announced her remission in January 2025, while Charles is still undergoing treatment.
Royal insider Camilla Tominey previously reported that King Charles’ cancer is incurable after he allegedly refused treatment. “The talk now is that he may die ‘with’ cancer, but not ‘of’ cancer following a rigorous treatment program,” she revealed in The Telegraph. She also confirmed that King Charles’ 80th birthday plans in 2028 are “tentative” due to his ailing health.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are set to play a major role in the impending US state visit to Britain, which will see Donald Trump and Melania stay at Windsor Castle from September 17 to 18—and include a joint engagement for the first lady and the Princess of Wales with the Scouts at Frogmore Gardens.
The Trumps are slated to arrive at Windsor Castle on the morning of the 17th, where they will be officially greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The quartet will then meet King Charles and Queen Camilla, who will receive the Trumps for a Royal Salute, fired from the East Lawn of Windsor Castle at the same time as a salute from the Tower of London. Their Majesties, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the President and First Lady will then make a carriage procession through the Windsor estate towards the Castle, which was also the site for French president Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Britain this summer.
Both nations’ anthems will play as the Procession moves off. In a historical move, a Guard of Honour will be presented at the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle, featuring the State Colours of the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, and the Scots Guards. This will mark the first time that such an occasion will feature three State Colours—typically, just one would be showcased at the parade. The President and the King will then inspect the Guard of Honour, followed by a Rank and March past The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards.
The Trumps joined King Charles and Queen Camilla, then the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, for a dinner at Winfield House, the residence of the US Ambassador, where US President Trump stayed on his 2019 state visit
CHRIS JACKSON/Getty Images
Then, lunch will commence in the State Dining Room, with various members of the Royal family. The party will attend a special display of America-related items from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room. In a solemn moment, later that afternoon Trump is set to privately pay homage to the late Queen Elizabeth—whom he has previously described as a “grand and beautiful lady”—by laying a wreath on her tomb at St George’s Chapel.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Trumps will then be joined by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Lady Starmer for a Beating Retreat ceremony on Windsor’s East Lawn, featuring a flypast by UK and US F-35 military jets and the Red Arrows. The visit will culminate in a state banquet at the Castle—and if the French state visit was anything to go by, it will be a dazzling display of tiaras and royal jewels for Middleton and Queen Camilla. Both the King and President Trump will deliver speeches at the beginning of the dinner.
Princess Diana’s former butler decided to write a book, and the Crown is nervous. Those who work closest to the British royal family are also their closest confidants. Sometimes, years after their loyal service, they decide to recount staggering details about their ex-employers’ private lives. Such is the case of Paul Burrell and his book, The Royal Insider: My Life with The Queen, The King and Princess Diana, currently being serialized by the Daily Mail and due for release on September 11. The Briton worked with the former Princess of Wales for a decade, from 1987 until her tragic death in 1997.
In one section, Burrell recalls that she abhorred one of the royal family’s most ancestral traditions: hunting. “Diana was a city girl. She disliked country pursuits: horses, shooting, mud and particularly hunting, which she thought was barbaric. But she tried so hard to please her husband,” he writes. “I remember her returning from her first stalking party at Balmoral. She hated every moment of it: watching the deer’s belly being slit with the entrails coming out and the ritual blood smeared on her face.”
Horrified by the practice, Diana would have complied with protocol “for Charles.” Burrell previously discussed this episode with Marie Claire, recounting how stifled Diana felt at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she was forced to spend part of her summers with the rest of the royal family. “She lived in the real world,” Burrell said. “She lived in a world with homelessness, HIV and AIDS, and landmines. They didn’t fit into the walls of Balmoral Castle.” As for the ritual whereby a young hunter must smear his face with the blood of his first victim, she “thought that was like something from a Victorian novel”. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry himself admitted his distaste for the practice, which he remembered above all for the “infernal smell” causing his stomach to turn.
In his forthcoming book, the former butler recounts that, in private, Diana was not tender when talking about her husband. “He never wanted a lover. He wanted a mother,’ Diana told me once. “She always loved Charles, but she despised Camilla Parker Bowles, the ‘other woman.” He adds that this love was clearly not reciprocated. “Diana once told me that Charles had told her in the middle of one of their epic arguments: ‘I never loved you. I only married you to have children.’”
He describes the royal couple’s relationship as a “war zone”, the outcome of which would have been irreversible when their second son, Prince Harry, was born in 1984. “Charles came into the hospital room, looked in the cot and said: ‘Oh, red hair.’ Diana replied: ‘But Charles, you know that’s the Spencer gene, we all have red hair.’’
Is the former butler insinuating that King Charles doubted his paternity, according to the eternal rumor spread by Diana’s detractors? When Diana reminded him that red hair was prevalent in her family, he reportedly replied, “At least I have my heir and heir apparent now, and I can go back to Camilla.” The princess reportedly found support from her butler. “She told me: ‘I cried myself to sleep that night knowing that my marriage was over.’”
This isn’t the first time Paul Burrell has made startling revelations. The man whom Diana considered “her rock” is certain that she would like him to pass on crucial information to Princes William and Harry, with the hopes “to reunite the two brothers,” who have been estranged since Harry and his wife Meghan Markle became the victims of media harassment and left the royal family. Burrell also said that despite Charles’s enduring love for Camilla, it was his marriage to Diana that “defined” the king’s life.
The Duke of Sussex, who landed in London for a four-day visit on Monday, headed straight to Windsor to lay a wreath at St George’s Chapel – where his grandmother is buried. Queen Elizabeth, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died at age 96 on September 8, 2022.
Harry is said to have wanted to pay his respects to his grandmother privately. He was taken to the chapel where he married Meghan Markle, by his security team shortly after touching down in the UK Monday morning.
Despite being close in proximity to the Wales family, the prince did not visit his brother, Prince William and sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, who were in Berkshire visiting the Women’s Institute to honor the late Queen, who was president of the institution.
Prince Harry is in London for Monday’s WellChild Awards. He has supported the charity for sick children for 17 years and will present a prize. However, unlike last year when Harry was in and out of the UK for a fleeting visit, he will be in England for four days.
In addition to visiting Nottingham for a charity engagement, Harry is hoping to visit his father King Charles, whom he has not seen since last February.
Sources close to the Duke of Sussex say he has been in touch with his father’s staff in the hope of finding a time in their diaries for a face-to-face meeting. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the possibility of a meeting.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are packing up and moving, again. The Wales family’s new home will be Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, only five miles away from Adelaide Cottage, where they currently live. Built in the 1700s and last renovated in 2001, Forest Lodge is a stately Georgian mansion fit for a future king and queen. The move sparked controversy when The Mail on Sunday reported that two separate families nearby were asked to leave their homes and were given other accommodations in Windsor Great Park.
William and Kate are no strangers to revolving real estate: They have been house hopping since they were college students at St. Andrews University in Scotland. In fact, their romance blossomed after they were already roommates.
13A Hope Street
Prince William and Kate Middleton met at St. Andrews in 2001 and became fast friends. In 2002, Will and Catherine, along with friends Fergus Boyd and Olivia Bleasdale, decided to leave the campus dorms and rent a flat together.
According to Robert Jobson’s Catherine, the Princess of Wales, they chose an apartment at 13A Hope Street, an unassuming gray stone house on a street filled with student housing. Although the landlord was initially wary of renting to college boys, she decided to make an exception for the prince and was soon struck by how normal and pleasant William and his roommates seemed. The rent was normal as well, reportedly only 400 British pounds a week, split four ways.
Of course, some accommodations had to be made. According to Jobson, bulletproof windows and a bomb-proof front door were installed, and security officers were always close by. But in other ways it was a typical college apartment, with William shopping at Safeway supermarket and doing chores. “We all get on very well and start off having rotas, but, of course, it just broke down into complete chaos. Everyone helps out when they can,” William said at the time, according to Prince William by Penny Junor. “I try to help out when I can and they do the same for me, but usually you just fend for yourself.”
They say you don’t really know a person until you live with them, and Kate and William clearly liked their experience. Sparks began flying between the two, and they were soon more than just platonic housemates. According to Jobson, the couple spent quiet nights with Boyd and Bleasdale listening to R&B and jazz and cooking each other meals. But it wasn’t all studying and lazing about; 13A Hope Street also became known for its raucous parties.
Kate Middleton and Prince William during a visit to The Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, August 30, 2017.Chris Jackson/Getty Images.
According to Junor, the frequent festivities drove one of their neighbors, a part-time lecturer named Dana, crazy. “The poor girl was plagued with students partying three times a week,” a source told Junor. “She was really suffering, on the verge of tears because she couldn’t sleep. One night she got up and went and knocked on the door of one to ask them to keep the music down. The door was opened and who was in the hallway but William!”
However, living on a lively public street had its drawbacks. As their romance blossomed, Kate and William would leave the apartment at different times of day. The location was also a headache for members of William’s security team, but it fit in with his desire to live a normal life.
Balgove House
For the next two school years, the couple decided to move away from prying eyes into the countryside. Along with new roommates Oliver Baker and Alasdair Coutts-Wood, they rented an old cottage called Balgove House, owned by William’s distant cousin Henry Cheape. “Balgove House stood in its own grounds with some two acres of wild meadow surrounded by a six-foot-high stone wall,” Robert Lacey writes in Battle of Brothers. “William said it was just like a miniature Highgrove—and only a quarter of a mile from the St. Andrews campus.”
Although their famous house parties continued, their two years spent at Balgove House also offered more intimate delights. “With open countryside to walk in without fear of being spotted, and open fires to come home to in the dark evenings,” Junor writes, “it was little short of idyllic and provided the perfect sanctuary for William and Kate to explore their relationship further.”
Bodorgan Hall
After Kate and William graduated in 2005, they officially lived apart for several years. But in 2010, the couple was engaged, and William took a job as a search-and-rescue pilot based in Anglesey, a bucolic rural island in Wales. Kate soon joined him, according to Hello Magazine.
Whenever a camera is pointed at her, Kate Middleton thinks of Prince Philip. Before his death, the husband of the late Queen Elizabeth II gave the royal several pieces of advice on how best to cope with the media frenzy surrounding the royal family. He knew better than anyone: marrying a future king or queen is no mean feat.
Princess Kate’s every move is scrutinized by the public and immortalized by a camera, wielded by a palace photographer, a journalist, or a commoner, a smartphone held at arm’s length. According to biographer Gyles Brandreth’s 2021 book, Philip: The Final Portrait, the Duke of Edinburgh gave Kate a piece of advice that shaped her approach to the public.
“If you think the attention is on you personally, you’ll end up in trouble,” Philip told her, per Hello!. “The focus is on your role, what you do, what you support. It’s not focused on you as an individual. You’re not a celebrity. You represent the royal family. That’s all.”
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh watch a carnival parade as they attend The Patron’s Lunch celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday on The Mall on June 12, 2016 in London, England.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
This lesson in humility has paid off, as Prince William’s wife is now the most popular member of the royal family, hailed for her discretion, elegance, and devotion to the causes she holds dear. Philip himself was full of praise for Kate Middleton, commending her sensible and level-headed character, according to Brandreth.
The advice he gave her also enabled her to adjust her behavior with the media. The key? Never look at the lens, and stay focused on the person you’re talking to, no matter how many recorders are nearby. While Prince Philip was always known for his attentiveness to the youngest members of the family, it seems that Kate was particularly touched by their exchanges. So much so that royal experts see similarities in their very different backgrounds: “Kate shines in her own light, but she knows her place in the royal family. She never tries to overshadow her husband,” Penny Junor, a royal family biographer, told the Daily Mail. “I think Kate is a bit like Prince Philip, who has always supported Queen Elizabeth II.”
There are also whispers that Kate and William are inspired by the longevity of Elizabeth and Philip’s marriage as they look toward the future. Their elders enjoyed 73 years of marriage, until the Duke of Edinburgh’s death on April 9, 2021 at the age of 99. The Queen passed away on September 8 of the following year, aged 96.
In the 21st century, opening public buildings is one of modern royals’ most important tasks. That means passing the buck to one of their relatives is one of the few royal privileges they still retain. Lord Ivar Mountbatten, a distant cousin of the British royal family and descendant of Queen Victoria, has recalled how on one occasion the late Queen Elizabeth II refused to inaugurate an airport terminal as revenge for an unpleasant thing she understood had been done to her relative there.
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Known for having been the first Windsor relative to marry another man, the aristocrat said on a podcast Tuesday that he was on his way to Balmoral for a weekend of hunting with his royal cousins when, upon arriving at Bristol airport, he was prevented from boarding with his shotguns. After turning up without his guns at the Scottish castle, he told Queen Elizabeth II what had happened and how stubborn they had been with him at the check-in desk.
“We got on the flight and we turn up at Balmoral, ushered into the drawing room and immediately go into tea,” Mountbatten recounted Tuesday on Gyles Brandreth’s podcast, Rosebud. “I’m sitting on the right hand side of the Queen and I’m kind of irritated by this story. So I repeat it to Her Majesty. And I could see that she was getting rather irritated as well. So she turns to her equerry [Simon Brailsford]… She said, Simon, I would like Lord Ivar’s guns to be up here tomorrow morning. Please see to it.”
“Whereupon she turns back to me and she looks at me, over glasses, with a glint in her eye and she says, ‘They want me to open their new terminal.’ She says, ‘I don’t think I will now.’”
In the end, it was not she but her daughter, Princess Anne, who inaugurated the airport’s new terminal. “Every time I go back to Bristol Airport now… I have a quiet laugh to myself,” Mountbatten told Brandreth.
On August 15, Prince Harry honored the memory of his grandfather, Prince Philip, on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in the Pacific during World War II. The Duke of Sussex asked a friend to lay a wreath at the foot of the National Memorial Arboretum once the official ceremony was over and King Charles III and QueenCamilla had left, so as not to disrupt the course of the day. The royal couple had been present at the commemorations, and were seen to be very moved when a veteran stepped away from his speech to say a few comforting words to the sovereign, who was suffering from cancer.
The wreath was accompanied by a typed letter, topped by Prince Harry’s seal. In it, he saluted the “courage” and “resilience” of the “’Forgotten Army,” dedicating an entire paragraph to his grandfather, who died at the age of 99 in 2021.
“For me, this anniversary carries an added layer of meaning. My late grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, served in the Pacific campaign,” he wrote in his letter, as shared by GB News. “He spoke with quiet humility about those years, but I know how deeply he respected all who stood beside him in that theatre of war.”
Queen Elizabeth II’s husband joined the Royal Navy in 1939. After missions in the Mediterranean, he went to the Pacific. Second in command, he was on board a destroyer on a mission in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945.
“Today, as I think of him, I think also of each of you, of the shared hardships, the bonds forged, and the legacy you leave,” confided the former soldier. He concluded: “I am humbled by your example, proud of your service and dedication, and profoundly grateful for what you endured. Your story is part of our shared heritage, and it must never be forgotten.” The note was signed “Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.”
The 40-year-old Briton served ten years in the armed forces, including two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Inspired by his military background, in 2014 he created the Invictus Games, a sporting event for veterans and those wounded in war. His honorary military patronages were withdrawn and returned to his grandmother the Queen in in February 2021, one year after he and wife Meghan Markle relinquished their royal duties.
La reine Elizabeth II, le prince Philip et leurs petits-fils, le prince William et le prince Harry, à Londres, en novembre 2004.
Tim Graham/Getty Images
Prince Harry had already spoken of his admiration for his grandfather, “a seriously sharp wit,” who “could hold the attention of any room due to his charm,” as he wrote in a statement shared on the Archewell website after the announcement of his death. He was a “consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke,” and above all a beloved grandfather, “master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ‘til the end,” he recalled.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are looking forward to starting “a new chapter” when they move out of Adelaide Cottage and into Forest Lodge. Sources close to the couple say they want to leave the difficult memories of the past three years behind and “start afresh” when they move into the stunning eight-bedroom, six-bathroom home with a “ballroom” and tennis court, in Windsor Great Park later this year.
It is the family’s third move in as many years. In 2022, William, Kate and their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, left London for Windsor, trading Kensington Palace for Adelaide Cottage. The four-bedroom house is too small for the family, and friends say the couple wants a change after a turbulent three years.
Sources close to the family say William and Catherine, who is in remission, are mapping out a long-term plan to stay in Windsor, where their three children are enrolled in school. Although the palace has not confirmed where Prince George will attend secondary school, William’s alma mater Eton College is on their short list and an easy commute from Forest Lodge.
Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will stay at nearby prep school Lambrook School until they are eleven.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, accompanied by their parents the Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrive for a settling in afternoon at Lambrook School, near Ascot on September 7, 2022 in Bracknell, England.
Pool/Getty Images
Sources have told Vanity Fair that there will be no other changes to the couple’s living arrangements and that they will keep their Kensington Palace apartment as their official London residence as well as Anmer Hall in Norfolk, which was gifted to them by the late Queen as a wedding present.
William and Kate are said to be “future planning” for when they are King and Queen and will divide their lives between Windsor, Norfolk and London.
Accidental style icon. That describes Princess Anne, the indefatigable royal who turns 75 Friday, who has no intention of retiring to private life despite her age. At an official event attended by other royals such as Kate Middleton and Duchess Sophie of Edinburgh, it’s unlikely that the second-born daughter of Queen Elizabeth will make headlines for her look, but hers may be the most interesting of all. There is no special process around what she wears other than the directions prescribed by protocol, there are no stylists to select her outfits, and she has not created any association with luxury brands. Yet Princess Anne is undoubtedly a style icon, even if by accident. The reason? She is one of the few royals who dress with personality. And you either have that or you don’t, there is no image consultant or brand who can make it for you.
Princess Anne in 2019.
Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images
“The Queen and I had a discussion the other day about the difference between fashion and style and I think maybe that’s relevant in the sense that she didn’t do fashion but she certainly does style, and style tends to last longer. You have an individual style and it’s a quality which has a long-term value,” she said in 2022. On the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee, the Australian magazine Women’s Day was granted not just an interview but the opportunity to eavesdrop on a conversation between mother and daughter.
The two women, for whatever reason, slipped into a conversation that led them to talk about clothes, illustrating their philosophy. Although Queen Elizabeth’s style and Princess Anne’s are very different, we can see a common matrix that prioritizes service over fashion trends.
Comfort comes first for the workaholic of the Royal Family. Every year the princess royal wins the title of the hardest-working royal, with hundreds and hundreds of events attended. In 2024 alone, the year a horseback riding accident forced her out of work for several weeks, she nevertheless reached 474. So she needs clothes that are both practical and appropriate for the context in which she will have to operate.
Between a helicopter or car transfer, a plane to catch and dozens of people to meet, Anne needs to be sure that her clothes will not betray her. So wearing tried-and-true, field-tested outfits provides her with the crystal ball: she knows how they will react to spills, how they will look in photographs, and whether the sleeves are appropriate for shaking the hands of those she meets.
Princess Anne in 1971.
Harry Dempster/Getty Images
Though rewears are a well-established practice among the royals who try to please detractors who do not want their tax dollars going into clothes, in Princess Anne we seem to detect a certain ill-concealed complacency in making headlines with looks several years old. With each outing, recent ones included, it is as if the royal confronts us with a riddle to be solved that sends royal fashion enthusiasts into jubilation.
Princess Anne at Trooping The Colour in 1980.
Tim Graham/Getty Images
Princess Anne at Royal Ascot in 2015.
Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images
There was her 2025 Commonwealth Day outfit, the same one she wore in 2023. There was the outfit she broke out on the second day of Royal Ascot 2025, originally spotted on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 1987. At the Royal Ascot in 2015, Princess Anne dusted off a yellow coat that had debuted a full 35 years earlier at Trooping the Colour. There is a white coat with blue inserts on the shoulders that has cyclically reappeared since 1980.
Princess Anne at Royal Ascot in 1980.
Tim Graham/Getty Images
Princess Anne at the Commonwealth Day service in 2018.
Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images
In the portrait dedicated to her by the Daily Mail on the occasion of her birthday, some of her friends said that it is highly unlikely that Anne will buy a new dress for the wedding of her son Peter Phillips, who announced his engagement to Harriet Sperling on August 1.
“Princess Anne is a true style icon and was all about sustainable fashion before the rest of us really knew what that meant,” said Edward Enninful, former editor of British Vogue, in a Vanity Fair article from 2020. “She is timeless in her style, and she wears a tailored suit better than anyone else I can think of.”
