King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden led tributes at the funeral of his beloved sister, Princess Désirée of Sweden, on Thursday. The royal family gathered for the service at the Palace Church at the Royal Palace.
Crown Princess Victoria accompanied her husband, Prince Daniel, and her daughter, Princess Estelle, at the ceremony, where they were joined by Queen Sonja, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill. Princess Désirée’s sister, Princess Margaretha, was also in attendance, wearing a delicate string of pearls around her neck.
Desirée was known to the public as one of the “Haga Princesses.” who grew up in the Haga Palace outside Stockholm with Carl XVI Gustaf and their sisters, Princess Margaretha, Princess Birgitta, and Princess Christina. Officially titled Baroness Silfverschiöld, Princess Désirée passed away on January 21 at the age of 87.
Born on June2, 1938 to Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess Desirée’s paternal grandparents were Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and Queen Victoria‘s granddaughter, Princess Margaret of Connaught. She was named after her ancestor, Queen Desideria, and was, at one point, number 306 in line to the British throne.
Desirée, Birgitta and Cristina in 1944
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Princess Désirée was also a first cousin of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Margrethe’s mother, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, and the Princess’ father, Prince Gustaf Adolf, were siblings.
Despite war in Europe looming large, the Haga Princesses and their brother, the future king, enjoyed a bucolic childhood in the Swedish countryside, growing up alongside the ducks and goats of the Haga Palace—and the family pony, Eva, a gift from the King.
Fifteen years ago this year came arguably the greatest royal wedding in recent memory: that of Prince William to Kate Middleton, now the Prince and Princess of Wales. The couple sent the nation—and the world—into a love-filled fantasy, complete with an heirloom tiara, lace bridal gown and royal carriage procession. Now, those bright-eyed newlyweds are proud parents of three beautiful children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven.
In Europe, the 2000s brought a golden era of royal weddings, including Prince Felipe of Spain and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (now King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia). The loved-up couple looked impossibly chic on their wedding day, setting the sartorial tone for their enviably stylish reign.
Of course, royal weddings are also prime territory for forging bridal fashion trends: Queen Rania of Jordan’s custom Bruce Oldfield gown—a gold-embellished confection with a bold collar and belted waist—helped consolidate her status as a global style star; while Princess Angela of Liechtenstein’s striking bateau-neck dress (her own design) was a precursor to the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding gown, created by Givenchy’s Clare Waight Keller for her wedding to Prince Harry some 18 years later.
So, as the world celebrates love this weekend, there is surely no greater time to celebrate the 11 most iconic and romantic royal weddings of all time.
Gradually, color returned to Princess Caroline’s style, but moderation would be the general tone that would prevail in her closet. In the late 1990s, she adapted to the minimalist trend that ruled fashion at the time, making it her own.
It was at this stage that she also began her idyll with the exquisitely tailored suits and skirts that still form the backbone of her style today. And in 1997, she surprised the world with a short, chic haircut—a fresh look for a new chapter in life.
Princess Caroline in the late 1990s.
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Getty Images
Princess Caroline
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She reserved her most striking accessories—without ever reaching the maximalism of the 80s—for gala evenings and invested in vintage hats and shoes, fur gloves and stoles for important institutional events such as the National Day of Monaco. She also found her own style by combining different fabrics or choosing seemingly simple designs, but with unexpected details such as a plunging back neckline or a semi-transparent tulle skirt.
Princess Caroline Of Monaco during the celebrations for King Carl Gustav Of Sweden’S 50th birthday.
Prince Harry will return to his hometown of London next week, but his chances of an awkward run-in with estranged family membersKate Middleton, Prince William, and King Charles III are slim. As the royal scion travels from his California home to the UK for a January 21 court date in his lawsuit against tabloid conglomerate Associated Newspapers, his father, brother, and sister-in-law will be headed out of town, dashing hopes that this visit could spark a reconciliation.
The latest phase of the joint lawsuit pits the Duke of Sussex, Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and others against the publishers of the Daily Mail. The plaintiffs accuse the publisher of engaging in illegal intelligence gathering practices, including the alleged use of private investigators who placed listening devices in the plaintiffs’ proximity. (Associated Newspapers denies any wrongdoing.)
This visit to the UK for a righteous cause might have been a good opportunity for Harry and Charles to build on the brief meeting the father and son had last September. But it is not to be, as Charles—who recently deposed his sister, Princess Anne, as the UK’s hardest-working royal—has an official engagement in Scotland at that time.
Kate Middleton and Prince William will also be hundreds of miles away from the British capital, as the couple has two joint appearances scheduled in Scotland that day: First they will visit the National Curling Academy in Stirling to meet with Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic curling teams ahead of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Then they’ll visit hand-weaving studio Radical Weavers, which serves as an educational charity that teaches the Scottish tartan tradition and therapeutic qualities of weaving, while creating blankets and textiles to donate to those in need.
While Harry and his father interacted last fall, it’s been far longer for the royal brothers. The pair have reportedly failed to speak for more than three years, with the last conversation seemingly held at Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022.
The family will have another chance to speak this summer, when the Invictus Games—which Harry founded—scheduled to take place in Birmingham on July 10. Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, is also expected to join him for the sporting event, the first time she’ll join Harry in the UK in four years.
The princess first wore the piece in January 2025, for a Holocaust memorial service at the Guildhall—a particularly poignant choice for the label. “Today marks 80 years since the Holocaust, and as a Jewish owned brand we are honoured that the Princess of Wales chose to wear our necklace for today’s memorial to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day,” the brand wrote on Instagram.
She has worn the necklace on several occasions since then—including for the VE Day 80th anniversary concert at Horse Guards Parade in May, when she teamed it with matching pearl earrings, also from Susan Caplan, and a white bouclé and chiffon midi dress by high street brand Self-Portrait. Clearly, it was an outfit that resonated with her: She wore the exact same look for the Order of the Garter celebrations a month later, this time adding a new, wide-brimmed hat by milliner Sean Barrett. Most recently, she donned the classic necklace for the first day of the German state visit to Britain, which saw her view a special exhibition at Windsor Castle with the president and first lady.
Cartier Trinity collection
The Princess of Wales tends to favor styles that never go out of fashion, making it little surprise that she has a fondness for Cartier’s iconic Trinity collection, in which pieces feature three intertwined bands in 18-karat white, yellow, and rose gold. Kate owns several items from the range, including a pair of hoop earrings she debuted during an engagement at the Royal Marsden Hospital in January 2025—and wore for the Wales family’s recent Christmas card—as well as two other, diamond-accented pairs that she has sported for various royal engagements since 2016.
Kate wore a necklace and a pair of earrings from Cartier’s Trinity collection in Paris in March 2017.
Pool
The princess also has two necklaces from the same collection: one small, pendant style that she first wore in Paris in 2017, and another, more lavish station necklace, which has been in her jewelry box since around 2012. The truly timeless Trinity collection by the French label celebrated its 100th anniversary last year and has had a legion of famous fans: Grace Kelly loved her classic ring, as did Romy Schneider; actor Jacqueline Bisset, meanwhile, was often seen in a chunky bracelet from the range.
Most poignantly, perhaps, Princess Diana was fond of the Trinity collection and owned a classic ring from the range, which she wore on her little finger. Stories abound about the origins of the design. Some point to its ancient Celtic roots, while others claim that the interlocking bands are descended from Russian wedding rings. Whatever the truth behind the fables, the legends persist —and the marriage of the three metals, combining different entities into one, has picked up its own symbolism. Indeed, those three hoops have come to represent endless meanings: past, present, and future, for instance, as well as love, loyalty, and friendship. Fitting indeed for a princess who has made jewelry with a hidden meaning something of her trademark.
Prince William‘s finances are in good shape, it appears. According to the annual Integrated Impact Report for the prince’s Duchy of Cornwall, the estate has generated a distributable surplus of £22.9 million, which is equivalent to about $30.9 million US. That’s a slight decrease from last year, when the estate reported a distributable surplus of 23.6 million British pounds.
This year marks William’s second as head of the Duchy of Cornwall, which is typically passed on to the heir to the throne. King Charles III was the previous head of the estate, which, per People, includes houses, farms, land and other assets across 130,000 acres spanning 23 counties in England and Wales. The Duchy, which was established by King Edward III in 1337, is worth over $1 billion today, and was passed on to Prince William after Queen Elizabeth died in 2022 and Charles assumed the throne.
William doesn’t earn a traditional salary for his royal duties, so it’s up to the Duchy to cover the private, official, and charitable expenses for the prince, wife Kate Middleton, and children Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Prince George, the latter of whom is expected to inherit the Duchy when his father eventually becomes king.
According to its annual report, the past year was “one of both change and evolution for the Duchy, particularly in its organisational strategy to focus on positive impact for people, places and planet.”
Prince William, Prince of Wales at The Duchy Of Cornwall Nursery on July 10, 2023.
Though King Charles III introduced a number of new traditions for this year’s royal Christmas celebration, one thing remained the same: The family’s morning walk to Norfolk’s St. Mary Magdalene Church continued as it has for years, with Charles and Queen Camilla leading the charge.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend the Christmas Morning Service at St Mary Magdalene Church on December 25, 2025 in Sandringham, Norfolk.
Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images
Kate Middleton, Prince William, and children Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, and Prince George also enjoyed the walk, which was observed on both sides by ardent fans, many bearing gifts. One such offering, a giant Lindor chocolate egg, thrilled the 7-year-old Louis, who snatched it from his father’s hands.
But this year, Princess Anne has dropped to second place, Teble writes, though she was out and about even more in 2025. But though the 75-year-old had 478 engagements, she was outpaced by her brother, 77-year-old King Charles. He carried out 535 official acts, netting him this crown in addition to that other one.
That uptick in activity can be viewed as a sign that his health is indeed improving, a theory blostered by an announcement the king made earlier this month. “Thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention, and adherence to doctors’ orders, my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year,” the king said in a prerecorded message that aired as part of Stand Up to Cancer’s 2025 broadcast on the UK network Channel 4. “This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years.”
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh attend The Coral Gold Cup at Newbury Racecourse on November 29, 2025.
Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images
Taking third place is Charles and Anne’s 61-year-old younger brother, Prince Edward, with 313 acts. His wife, 60-year-old Duchess Sophie, is ranked fourth with 235 events in 2025. At age 78, Queen Camilla is the oldest royal on the list—but is also one of its busiest, with a fifth-place ranking for 228 official acts.
But when the couple made their formal entrance as husband and wife at their reception that evening, Princess Charlene had swapped her wedding dress for a slinkier gown (also Armani) and added a glittering diamond tiara which features a “spray” of diamonds like a “wave breaking over her head”—in a nod to the Princess’s preroyal career as an Olympic swimmer.
The piece, featuring pear-shaped diamonds, was commissioned as a gift by Prince Albert II and dubbed the “Diamond Foam Tiara” by its maker. On the evening of her nuptials, Princess Charlene wore the tiara towards the back of her head, as an elegant addition to her swirling chignon. Last night, it was worn in a more 1920s style at the front of her head—a signal, perhaps, that she didn’t want this major tiara moment to be missed.
Princess Charlene originally wore the tiara swept to the back of her head for her wedding reception
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Any references made by Princess Charlene to her wedding day are always significant as she and Albert have faced near constant public scrutiny of their relationship. Reports swirled in the days leading up to the wedding that Charlene had gotten cold feet, but the rumors were denied and their big day went ahead as planned. The three-day proceedings began on June 30 with a concert by The Eagles. This was followed by a civil ceremony on July 1 in the Throne Room of the Prince’s Palace, for which Charlene wore a custom-made aquamarine Chanel suit. Then finally there was a religious ceremony on July 2, when Charlene wore an off-the-shoulder Armani Privé gown with 40,000 Swarovski crystals, and which was attended by supermodels, sports personalities, and world leaders. As photos from the wedding began to circulate, there was commentary on how visibly upset Charlene appeared (the newly titled princess was photographed with tears in her eyes)—but she brushed these rumors off, insisting all brides are emotional on their wedding day.
Prince William has added a supermodel to his delegation of eco-friendly spokespeople. None other than Brazilian fashion mogul Gisele Bündchen has joined the board of the Earthshot Prize, the initiative of King Charles III’s son supporting inventions for the environment and sustainability. “Guided by her love for her family, community and nature, Gisele has long inspired millions with her vision and commitment to positive change,” a statement on the official initiative Instagram read, emphasizing the value of Bündchen’s “leadership,” as well as her “dedication” that will be “invaluable” to “Brazil and beyond.”
“Honored” to join the movement, Bündchen renewed her pledge to be a spokesperson for the protection of nature, a cause that has long been close to her heart. “I’ve seen the power of global communities coming together and supporting innovation to create real change,” she said in a statement shared with People. “The Earthshot Award highlights solutions that inspire hope and transformation, and I’m proud to represent Brazil by sharing these stories with the world.”
The model joins a host of other celebrities who have advocated for the cause, including two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, Queen Rania of Jordan, and British journalist Sir David Attenborough. By accepting this role, the fourteen members of the Council commit themselves to promoting positive action in favor of the environment. Their votes also count in determining the five winners of the Earthshot Prize, awarded each autumn under the chairmanship of Christiana Figueres.
Bündchen’s nomination comes just a month and a half before the Earthshot Prize ceremony, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro on November 5. The red carpet is already shaping up to be glamorous. The Prince of Wales has announced that he will be attending, but the presence of his wife, Kate Middleton, has not yet been announced.
This wasn’t the first time William and Swift met. On November 26, 2013, they duetted at the Winter White Gala at Kensington Palace, belting out the Jon Bon Jovi hit “Livin’ On a Prayer” to benefit charity. “He was very nice. I was really glad to have met him,” Swift said at the time. Years later, in a 2021 interview, William remembered his impromptu rock star moment. “I went to a charity fundraising gala for Centrepoint,” he said, where “Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift are at the event, which nearly knocked me off my feet.”
“I’m sat next to Taylor Swift. She’s on my left. And after Jon does his first song, there’s a pause, and she turns to me. She puts her hand on my arm, looks me in the eye, and says, ‘Come on, William. Let’s go and sing,’” he remembered. “To this day, I still do not know what came over me. Honestly, even now I’m cringing at what happened next, and I don’t understand why I gave in. But, frankly, if Taylor Swift looks you in the eye, touches your arm, and says, ‘Come with me…’ I got up like a puppy and went, ‘Yeah, okay, that seems like a great idea. I’ll follow you.’”
William was “a little scared,” Taylor had recounted. The prince was even clearer: “Beneath my black tie, there was a lot of sweating going on. I felt like a swan, where I was trying to keep myself composed on the outside, but inside, the little legs are paddling fast. When I do speeches and things like that, I’ve done so many now, they’re not a problem. But I’ve not done singing. At times, when you’re taken out of your comfort zone, you’ve got to roll with it.”
Given her years of history with William, beginning with encouraging him to step out of that royal comfort zone, then, it’s no surprise that Swift has received that royal blessing for her and Kelce’s happy news.
Three years after Kate Middleton and Prince William swapped their Kensington Palace residence for a main home on the Windsor Home Park estate, the family is moving again. Along with children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, the Prince and Princess of Wales will soon leave their current abode of Adelaide Cottage for the nearby Forest Lodge, located in the Windsor Great Park.
The couple moved to Adelaide Cottage in 2022, motivated by a desire to escape the spotlight of Kensington Palace and to be closer to Queen Elizabeth’s Windsor Castle home.
“William and Kate have been talking to their close friends about leaving Kensington Palace, where they feel very overlooked,” a source told Vanity Fair nearly a year before the couple’s move. “It will remain their official London base, but they prefer being in the countryside and the commute to London would be very easy.”
While the four-bedroom cottage the couple settled on reportedly wasn’t their dream home, it appeared to be the best option at the time. “Finding a way to make Adelaide Cottage work seems to be the best and only option,” a source said at the time of their move. “There are issues with all the other houses, so Adelaide will be the favorite.”
But soon after the family started to unpack, things changed again. Queen Elizabeth died, just as Kate Middleton and Prince William landed in the dwelling. “It was not exactly the settling-in period they had hoped for,” a source said of that period in the Waleses’ lives.
Middleton announced that she was officially in remission earlier this year, while the king’s treatments are reportedly ongoing, both factors that likely impacted the Walses’ latest decision to move. (Less of a factor, it seems, is a recent security breach near their current home, nor a similar incursion the year before.)
Their home-to-be, the 328-year-old Forest Lodge, is currently undergoing minor renovations, the Independent reports, noting that “the royal couple are understood to be paying for the move and renovations themselves, avoiding any extra cost to the taxpayer.” According to planning applications filed in June with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, changes to the eight-bedroom structure include “new doors and windows, stripping out internal walls, renovated ceilings and new floors.”
The residence, which the king owns as part of the Crown Estate, was last renovated in 2001, records show, after which it was available to rent for £15,000 per month. The family plans to move into their new home in the near future, a Kensington Palace spokesperson confirms, saying “The Wales family will move house later this year.”
Did Kate Middleton just weigh in on the debate on when summer actually ends? The royal, who went on “summer break” after her show-stopping appearance at Wimbledon in July, stepped back into view Sunday. Along with husband Prince William, eldest son Prince George, and father-in-law King Charles III, Princess Kate attended a church service in Scotland today, her first day out with the family since her Trooping the Colour turn in June.
King Charles and Queen Camilla traditionally spend their summers in the Scottish Highlands, the Telegraph notes, as Balmoral Castle was one of Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite homes. This year, the Waleses made plans to join them, marking Kate Middleton’s longest trip away from the family’s Adelaide Cottage home since a planned surgery in January led to the diagnosis of an undisclosed cancer. She’s been in treatment for the disease since.
The Princess was spotted this morning as she headed to Crathie Kirk, the Balmoral-adjacent parish church known as the royal family’s place of worship when they’re in town. Clad in a camel coat and feathered hat, she was seated in a Land Rover passenger seat, with William at the wheel. Their son, George, sat in back. According to photos taken at the scene, Camilla and a kilt-clad Charles—who was also treated for cancer this year—arrived at church in a second vehicle, both stepping out of the back seat.
They were joined by the king’s brother, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, also attended church with the family today.
The church outing wasn’t a choreographed public event along the lines of Wimbledon or Trooping the Colour, free of posed photos or a receiving line. But that’s what might make Middleton’s presence the most notable. “I am making good progress,” she announced in June, “but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days.”
“On those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well.” That she is doing well enough to expend some of her energy on a quiet, family event like a Sunday trip to church suggests that her progress is continuing, and the things are indeed looking up.
The jaw-droppingly funded market has since collapsed, with many companies booted from the stock market, bankrupt, or worse. These days, you can still find the devices for rent in tourist-heavy cities and holiday destinations in the U.S. and elsewhere, and occasionally you’ll pass a privately owned one on the road—that is, if you’re in a city that hasn’t banned them from the streets.
In London, for example, the only electric scooters allowed on city streets are owned by rental companies participating in a tightly regulated trial. “It is still illegal to use privately-owned e-scooters or other powered transporters on public roads,” officials say.
All bets are off when the roads you’re scooting on are ones that you and your family own, however. So when Prince William was spotted by a social media user as he zoomed around the grounds of Windsor Castle, you needn’t worry that he was breaking the law: according to regional transit officials, the scooters—which as of late 2023 had “seriously injured” 22 people, per the BBC—are use at your own risk if ridden with a landowner’s permission, as William presumably has.
According to a report in the Sun from last year, William purchased the scooter in 2023 in an effort to make the 10-minute trip from Adelaide Cottage (where William lives with wife Kate Middleton and children Prince Louis, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte) to Windsor Castle less of a trek. The scooter, which reportedly can hit 10 miles per hour, “just makes sense,” an unnamed source told the Sun. “He whizzes up to the castle” when he needs to see his father, King Charles III.
“It’s a two or three-mile round trip from his family home at Adelaide Cottage to Windsor Castle, so it’s easier by scooter than car or walking,” the source reportedly said.
It’s unclear when the William on a scooter video was taken, and it’s equally unknown what make and model of scooter the prince has. What we do know is that Middleton likely prefers a scooter over his previous mode of solo travel, a high-powered motorcycle.
In 2015, the princess told well-wishers that “it always fills me with horror when” William would hop on his beloved bike. “I’m terrified,” she said of his easy-riding habit. Given Middleton’s challenging year, trading a hog for a scooter seems like a kind concession, regardless of the device’s brand or its past role as a hot-button issue.
Though Princess Kate and Prince William no longer count Anmer Hall, their Norfolk country home on the royal family’s Sandringham Estate, as their primary residence, they have apparently still been making visits to the rural area where they count a handful of close friends among their neighbors. According to the Daily Mail, Kate was in Norfolk over the weekend for a dinner party with her friends, the David and Rose, the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley, at their nearby Houghton Hall estate. Following the dinner, a source told the tabloid, Kate made a trip to a music festival that was being hosted on the estate at the time.
“After dinner, one of the guests suggested that Catherine go to the festival,” a source told the Mail. “Catherine was nervous about the idea, but, after much discussion with her protection officers, she went with lots of security. William wasn’t there.” (Kensington Palace declined to comment on the report when reached by Vanity Fair.)
The Houghton Festival, which ran from August 10–13 this year, is a 24-hour-a-day dance music festival where artists perform on 16 stages tucked into the Norfolk countryside next to campgrounds. Founded in 2017 by Craig Richards, a DJ who performed as a resident at the famous London club Fabric for nearly two decades, the bill mainly featured artists who make electronic music but also included art installations, a yoga session, and a set from Late Late Show comedian Reggie Watts.
There’s no word if Kate enjoyed the more experimental music she was exposed to during her visit to the festival with a seemingly rave-like atmosphere, as her taste traditionally tends towards pop. But she and William were both fixtures in the London club scene back in the mid-2000s, so it probably wasn’t the first time that Kate has gotten down to some EDM. Her presence at the dinner party with the Cholmondeleys is a sign that she remains friends with the couple despite a report in 2019, which suggested that they had a falling out.
In hindsight, it looks like the loving glance between King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the coronation was the beginning of a summer full of public displays of affection from the royals. Not to be outdone, this Prince and Princess of Wales took a few opportunities to show off the strength of their 12-year marriage during a week full of engagements.
On Tuesday, the couple shared a lighthearted moment of affection while they were taking their seats at the Edinburgh Service of Thanksgiving honoring the coronation: cameras caught Princess Kate whispering something into Prince William’s ear before giving him a light tap on the behind. It echoed a similar moment at the BAFTA Awards back in February, when Kate gave her husband a small tap.
William and Kate made headlines for PDA again on Thursday when they shared a kiss on the fields at Guards Polo Club in Windsor. William was competing in a tournament to raise money for charity, while Kate cheered on the sidelines, wearing sunglasses and nonchalantly enjoying a glass of champagne.
Between the Scottish ceremony to honor the coronation, the 75th anniversary of the NHS, and the first week of Wimbledon, there were plenty of opportunities for the royals to show off some togetherness. Charles and Camilla spent Thursday and Friday carrying out joint appearances in Scotland where they were spotted laughing at a craft fair while the king wore a kilt. On Tuesday, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Prince Edward made a joint appearance representing the royal family at a Westminster Abbey service marking the anniversary of Britain’s beloved health service.
Across the pond, even Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got involved. Last Friday, they were photographed holding hands as they took a walk in Santa Barbara, surrounded by bodyguards. On Tuesday, they took a family trip to a Fourth of July parade, where Harry was photographed holding daughter Lilibet, who celebrated her second birthday last month.
During the coronation service for King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Saturday, one moment served to remind viewers of the family at the center of the ceremony: Near the service’s end, Prince William dropped to his knees and pledged an oath similar to the one his grandfather Prince Philip uttered at the 1953 coronation of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. “I, William, Prince of Wales, pledge my loyalty to you and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb,” he said. “So help me, God.”
In the audience three rows back sat Prince Harry, who had traveled from Los Angeles. He had kept the details of his trip so tightly under wraps, as cohosts Katie Nicholl and Erin Vanderhoof explain, that his family had to remove a place setting for him at their informal coronation luncheon when they realized that the spare was already long gone, having flown immediately back to California.
Despite the melancholy lingering over such tangled dynamics, the event went off without a hitch—not counting the rain.
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Are Prince Andrew and Fergie back together? Since the Duke and Duchess of York’s divorce in 1996, royal watchers have been asking if the exes will tie the knot for a second time. The Yorks have given the public many reasons to speculate. The controversial, scandal-prone couple still live together at the Royal Lodge, and even adopted Queen Elizabeth’s corgis, Muick and Sandy, after the monarch’s death in September 2022. For the world’s “happiest divorced couple,” it’s their own version of happily ever after. “We enjoy each other’s company; we allow each other to blossom,” Fergie once said. “I know it sounds like a fairytale but that’s the way we are.”
1985: Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Start to Date
According to reports, Princess Diana believes her friend Fergie, the fun-loving, outgoing daughter of Prince Charles’s polo manager, will get along famously with Prince Andrew, the queen’s favorite son whose raunchy ways have earned him the nickname “Randy Andy.” And she’s right. On June 18, 1985, Prince Andrew and Fergie are seated next to each other for a luncheon at Windsor Castle, during the week of the Royal Ascot. They get on like a house on fire. “He fed her profiteroles and she punched him in the arm, saying they were much too fattening,” Kitty Kelleywrites in The Royals. “He tried to stuff them into her mouth, and she laughingly threatened a food fight.”
Thus begins a whirlwind romance. “In Andrew I found my perfect man and soul mate. He was relaxed and endlessly charming, a prankster like me, yet solid and kind,” Fergie writes in Finding Sarah: A Duchess’s Journey to Find Herself. “In me, I suppose Andrew saw a wildflower — a bubbly and forthright woman without pretense or motives. Together we were like well-matched bookends, pleasant to look at and equally supportive of one another.”
1986: The Engagement
On February 19, 1986, Prince Andrew proposes to Fergie at Floors Castle in Scotland. According to The Royals, the proposal goes off in the couple’s signature cheeky fashion:
During a game of hide-and-seek, Andrew hid under a table, and Sarah, who was blindfolded, crawled around the floor looking for him. When she found him, she pinched his behind — hard. “Steady on!” he shouted. “You’re not allowed to squeeze the royal bottom yet!” That evening he proposed. Sarah replied, “When you wake up tomorrow morning, you can tell me it’s all a huge joke.” The next morning Andrew proposed again and gave her a $37,000 ruby ring.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson photographed at Buckingham Palace after the announcement of their engagement, 1986. Tom Stoddart Archive/Getty Images.
The engagement of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson is announced publicly on March 19, 1986. “I know that the decision I made to marry Sarah was, and always will be, the best decision I have made, or ever will make in my life,” Prince Andrew says.
1986: Prince Andrew and Fergie Wed
On July 23, 1986, Prince Andrew and Fergie’s wedding is held at Westminster Abbey in London. The ceremony is viewed by an estimated 500 million people worldwide. Despite the enormous public interest, the newly styled Duchess of York calls it “the happiest day of my life.”
“With nearly a million people lining the one-mile route, Dad looked desperately flustered. But I was just cruising. This was fun,” Fergie recalled. “On my wedding day all I knew or cared about was that Fergie was in glorious vogue.”
Waving from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on their wedding day. Derek Hudson/Getty Images.
In Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, he singles out his stepmother, Queen Camilla, for particular criticism, implying that she plotted to become queen. In a recent podcast appearance, Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles has disagreed with Harry’s characterization and emphasized that she married King Charles III for love.
“I don’t care what anyone says—this wasn’t any sort of end game,” Parker Bowles said on The News Agents, a podcast hosted by journalists Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel. “She married the person she loved and this is what happened.”
In Spare, Harry calls Camilla a “villain” and describes the aftermath of his and Prince William’s earliest meetings with her, the details of which eventually wound up in the press. “Shortly after our private summits with her, she began to play the long game,” Harry writes. “A campaign aimed at marriage, and eventually the crown, with Pa’s blessing we presumed.” In January, an insider told Vanity Fair that Camilla was “astounded” by Harry’s allegations.
Sopel and Maitlis also asked if it was strange to think of his mother as a queen. “Not really because she’s still our mother,” Parker Bowles said. “I say ‘our’ but not the royal ‘we’, speaking for my sister and me. She’s our mother.” Camilla had Tom and his sister, Laura Lopes, when she was married to her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles.
Parker Bowles also spoke about the upcoming coronation, which will include his son Freddy Parker Bowles as a page alongside Prince George. “I don’t think he knows quite how big it’s going to be, I don’t think he has a sense of the occasion,” he said of his son. “He’s a 13-year-old boy who loves football.”
He noted that his mother might be anxious but hasn’t complained about the task of the coronation. “I think anyone would be anxious on an occasion of this sort of importance in terms of the historical. And yes, I think I’d be terrified if I had to sort of walk out wearing ancient robes…” he said. “She’s 75, but you know, it’s tough to do it. But she’s never complained. You just do it. Get on with it.”
Parker Bowles is a food writer and cookbook author, so naturally he had a few opinions about the coronation menu, which will feature a spinach “coronation quiche” invented for the occasion by royal chef Mark Flanagan. “He’s a really, really good chef,” he said. “So, I wouldn’t dare start telling him what to do.”
On the other hand, he is not fond of coronation chicken, the dish that was designed for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. “What happened over the years is it became this awful, turgid, sad, sort of gloopy mess, yellow, horrid. I mean coronation chicken done badly is appalling,” he said. “And I think what started off as something quite nice and probably quite exotic for the ’50s has now become something really horrible.”
