PRINCE Harry is at risk of “running out of allies” if he continued to hurt the Royal Family with his public outbursts, an expert has said.
Royal editor Russell Meyers said: “The Prince of Wales is caught between a rock and a hard place on how to deal with his son after so many recent and often hurtful outbursts towards the rest of his family.
“For while Prince Charles, according to those close to him, still “loves and cares deeply” for Prince Harry, there is a certain unease at how frequently and with such ease he seems to wade into his family’s affairs.
“The family he upped sticks and left behind, if you recall. The latest souring of relations between father and son seems to stem from Harry attempting to claim he raised “concerns” about a Saudi tycoon at the centre of a probe into sizable donations to Charles’s charity. This is at odds with Charles, or any of his closest advisors, who appear to have no knowledge of Harry ever mentioning anything of the sort.
“The Harry that presents himself in public, or through his vastly expensive lawyers, is quite different from the one who still engages with his father. The danger is he will run out of a number of already dwindling allies in his own family if he doesn’t see the hurt he is causing to others who have maintained a dignified silence.”
Read our Meghan Markle live below for the latest news & updates….
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Charles’ pal has his say
Charles’ pal said Harry’s reference to the Mahfouz payments was “more damaging than the swipe at Charles’s parenting skills”.
“This was a challenge to the way he conducts his business which is far more damaging to the future King,” they said.
The friend added Charles and Harry have “barely spoken since the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral” eight months ago.
And they said: “These constant barbs about his father from America could be very damaging to his reign.
“Attempts have been made to clear the air but they have barely spoken since the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.”
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Multi-millionaire Prince Harry branded ‘Mr Nonsense’
PRINCE Harry was mocked for talking nonsense after telling anyone unhappy at work to quit.
The duke, who gave up royal duties to live in an £11million mansion, said walking out can be a joy.
Royal commentator Angela Levin blasted: “Harry is utterly out of touch. Not everyone has £30million tucked away in the bank.
“I wonder if he’d give the same advice to people whose mental health is made worse by their marriage. Be quiet H please.”
Paul Smith, 35, a bricklayer from London, told The Sun: “It’s all right for him to say this when he’s got his family’s millions to fall back on.
“For the rest of us who have families to support, it’s just not possible. We’re all fighting to pay bills, the mortgage and all the other stuff.
“He’s talking utter nonsense.”
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Christmas delivery
Prince William and Kate Middleton WILL send Christmas gifts to Archie and Lilibet despite their rift with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, an expert has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to spend the festive season in California while Prince William and Kate Middleton attend Christmas at Sandringham with The Queen.
When asked if they would be sending Archie and Lilibet presents, Katie said: “Yes, of course.
“They give gifts to the whole family and that includes all their nieces and nephews.”
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Harry didn’t think this one through
PRINCE Harry has said that quitting your job can bring “joy” and should be “celebrated” – nearly two years after abandoning life as a working royal.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose to step down as members of the Royal Family in January 2020 and have begun carving out a new life in the US.
But now Harry, 37, claims that the rise in job resignations during the coronavirus pandemic isn’t “all bad” and he is pleased that people are putting their mental health and happiness first.
He was speaking as chief impact officer for professional coaching and mental health firm BetterUp – one of many ventures since leaving the royals.
Talking at their event he said: “I’ve actually discovered recently, courtesy of a chat with Adam Grant, that a lot of the job resignations you mention aren’t all bad. In fact, it is a sign that with self-awareness comes the need for change.
“Many people around the world have been stuck in jobs that didn’t bring them joy, and now they’re putting their mental health and happiness first. This is something to be celebrated.
“While on the surface it looks like these last couple of years brought all these issues to the foreground, the reality is these struggles and issues have been brewing for quite some time We’re just at the beginning of the mental health awakening.”
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Joanna Lumley on meeting the Queen (continued…)
Despite having met members of the royal family multiple times, when asked if she could think of appropriate things to say when she encountered the Queen she said “never”.
She added: “I went to one of the lunches at Buckingham Palace and for some extraordinary reason I… she said ‘tell me what you’re doing nowadays’ and (I) said I’m very concerned about legalising drugs.”
“I mean what happened to me, as if she would care, she had no interest in it.
“Anyways she let me babble on for a little bit because she is very good at listening to people, she’s very good at listening.”
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Joanna Lumley was ‘terrified’ when she first met Queen
Joanna Lumley has admitted she felt “absolutely terrified” and turned “rather dim” when she first met the Queen.
The Ab Fab star, 75, confessed she babbled to Her Majesty about fears over legalising drugs. She said the Queen listened politely but “had no interest in it”.
She told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “Even when people say ‘what an honour, you’ll love it, she’s so friendly’, you’re absolutely terrified.
“It’s almost like an electric shock because somebody so familiar is suddenly in front of you.
“The Queen is suddenly a different dimension, a different size.”
Plugging her new book A Queen for All Seasons, Joanna added: “People always say ‘her eyes are so blue, so stunning’.
“And so you have that shock and you immediately start being rather dim and rather babbly.”
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Queen snubbed Christmas photo, book claims
New book “Brothers And Wives: Inside The Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan” claims the Queen had an aide move a portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Archie off camera before she recorded her 2019 Christmas broadcast.
The framed photo was initially on a desk alongside other family images, including photos of William and Kate, Prince Charles and Camilla, the Queen’s father George VI and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The monarch is claimed to have pointed at the framed image and said: “That one, I suppose we don’t need that one.”
It is suggested that the Queen snubbed Harry and Meghan because they had chosen to spend Christmas in Canada with Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland.
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Prince Harry accused of making father look foolish
PRINCE Harry was last night accused of making his father look foolish as he tried to distance himself from a cash for honours scandal.
The Duke of Sussex released a statement yesterday insisting he cut ties with a controversial Saudi billionaire at the centre of Prince Charles’ honours probe because of “concerns over his motives”.
Harry, 37, reportedly took a £50,000 charity donation in 2013 from Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz — who hinted that he would give millions more.
The relationship cleared the way for Mahfouz to meet his father, 73.
The billionaire went on to donate more than £1.5million to Charles’ charities before controversially being made a CBE in 2016.
The awarding of the honour is now the focus of a police investigation, which sparked the resignation of Charles’ top aide, Michael Fawcett.
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Harry never liked Fawcett, expert claims
Angela Levin, Prince Harry’s biographer, said: “He doesn’t mention Charles by name in his statement but it’s a clear case of one-upmanship.
“Harry looks for any occasion to whack his father and criticise him. It’s sad.”
Others have suggested Harry’s statement is instead aimed at Charles’s ex-aide.Ingrid Seward, editor-in- chief of Majesty magazine, said: “He might personally be feeling that his father is an idiot — but he would never say it. If anyone, he would lay the blame on Michael Fawcett.
“Harry never liked Fawcett. The way he fawned over their father, he found it distasteful.”
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Met Police won’t open investigation in to cash for honours claim
The Metropolitan Police said that officers will not open an investigation into the prince’s former most trusted aide, Michael Fawcett, over cash for honours claims.
Dame Cressida Dick said the Met had made “initial inquiries” after receiving a letter from Ex-Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker asking the commissioner to launch a criminal probe into Mr Fawcett.
However, after reviewing the relevant legislation, the force had decided not to open an investigation.
Mr Fawcett resigned in November amid claims he promised to help secure a knighthood and British citizenship for Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz – a donor to the Prince’s foundation.
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Charles hosts hedgelaying event at Highgrove estate
The Prince of Wales presented awards at the National Hedgelaying Society’s Patron’s Day event at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.
Around 50 hedgelayers took part in the competition at the prince’s private residence on Saturday.
Charles, who is the society’s patron, hosted the hedgelayers at a reception before handing out the awards.
The Prince spoke of his teenage “horror” at watching miles of hedgerows being dug up “in the name of agricultural progress”.
“I don’t need to tell you of the destruction that has been wrought over our hedgerows over the last 60 years,” he told the assembled hedgelayers.
“As a teenager I watched in horror as miles and miles of such a wonderful part of the British landscape was grubbed up in the name of agricultural progress.
“Hedges which had stood for hundreds of years – even thousands – disappeared in an instant and now our hedgerows are under a new threat of disease with ash dieback threatening to destroy the vast majority.”
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Royal family love spending time outside walking
The Queen still takes her beloved corgis for a stroll as Prince William revealed his “whole family” loves walking – but failed to mention to his brother Harry.
In a heartfelt tweet, the Duke of Cambridge told of his family’s fondness for walking alongside a snap of him standing outside St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.
The 39-year-old wrote of the monarch, 95, still enjoying walks, as well as about his father Prince Charles and kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – yet didn’t include Harry amid their ongoing rift.
Wills shared the message as he says he hopes to “inspire a few other people to get active and take some extra time for their own mental health” by talking about some of his “stories and favorite songs” on an episode of Apple’s Time to Walk podcast.
He tweeted: “My whole family have a passion for walking – whether it’s my Grandmother still taking her corgis out at 95; my father embarking on lengthy rambles over the summer in Scotland; or my own children making their first appearance at our annual walk to church on Christmas at Sandringham.”
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Christmas lights switch on
The Duchess of Cornwall has switched on the Christmas tree lights as she visited Royal Trinity Hospice to celebrate its 130th anniversary.
Camilla met nurses, doctors, patients and their families as she toured the hospice in Clapham, south London.
Children from nearby St Mary’s RC Primary School sang carols around the modern Christmas tree structure.
Camilla’s switching on of the lights marked the launch of the centre’s Christmas appeal, which aims to raise millions of pounds missed in fundraising due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The duchess told staff: “You are all marvellous. We owe you such gratitude for constantly going above and beyond.
“It is a very special place here and you are all wonderful.”
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“Running out of allies”
PRINCE Harry is at risk of “running out of allies” if he continued to hurt the Royal Family with his public outbursts, an expert has said.
Royal editor Russell Meyers said: “The Prince of Wales is caught between a rock and a hard place on how to deal with his son after so many recent and often hurtful outbursts towards the rest of his family.
“For while Prince Charles, according to those close to him, still “loves and cares deeply” for Prince Harry, there is a certain unease at how frequently and with such ease he seems to wade into his family’s affairs.
“The family he upped sticks and left behind, if you recall. The latest souring of relations between father and son seems to stem from Harry attempting to claim he raised “concerns” about a Saudi tycoon at the centre of a probe into sizable donations to Charles’s charity. This is at odds with Charles, or any of his closest advisors, who appear to have no knowledge of Harry ever mentioning anything of the sort.
“The Harry that presents himself in public, or through his vastly expensive lawyers, is quite different from the one who still engages with his father. The danger is he will run out of a number of already dwindling allies in his own family if he doesn’t see the hurt he is causing to others who have maintained a dignified silence.”
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Meghan snubbed by Queen
The Duchess of Cambridge hosted the Together at Christmas carol concert at Westminister Abbey on Wednesday and was seen wearing a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings that were lent to her by the Queen.
Royal expert Daniela Elser highlighted that this is the second time Kate has worn jewellery belonging to the Queen, stating that she believes the earrings have been permanently lent to her.
However, Meghan has only ever been lent the Queen’s wedding tiara, which royal fans believe means Kate is more trusted.
Speaking on News Au, Ms Elser said: “While the former actress might own pieces which had belonged personally to Diana, Princess of Wales, getting to frock up in some enormous sparklers from the royal trove was a perk she never enjoyed.”
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ITV take on royal concert
Kate’s Royal Christmas carol service has been developed and delivered in partnership with the Abbey and BBC Studios Events Productions.
But it will be broadcast on ITV after a controversial documentary about Harry and William was aired.
BBC Two’s The Princes And The Press, which was presented by Amol Rajan, was criticised by the royal households for giving credibility to “overblown and unfounded claims”, and prompted the broadcast of the service to be moved from the BBC to ITV.
The two-part documentary included suggestions that negative stories about Harry and the Duchess of Sussex were leaked by courtiers and there was a competitiveness between households.
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Prince William ‘blown away’ by youth-led charity visit
The Duke of Cambridge showcased his table tennis skills and fed goats on a charity visit which left him “blown away”.
William was visiting CATCH, a youth-led charity based in the Harehills area of Leeds, which helps young people in communities with high levels of antisocial behaviour.
He said: “”I have been blown away by the visit. It is an amazing achievement what you have all done here.
“You guys, the young people, built this together. I am blown away and quite emotional about it.
“You have worked together, don’t know each other, don’t speak English and have come together – you can’t not be proud.”
He presented the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to the organisation, and said: “You should be proud of yourselves.”
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When did the first Christmas speech air?
The BBC first aired the Christmas speech in 1932 when King George V addressed the nation via radio from Sandringham, Norfolk.
The speech was televised for the first time when it was given by the Queen in 1957.
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Queen’s Christmas speech
It will be her first since the death of her beloved Prince Philip – who died in April at the age of 99.
The speech is likely to reflect on her dear late husband, as well as the ongoing strength of the nation during the pandemic.
She’ll be surrounded by her closest family in time for Christmas Eve, according to reports.
Palace aides are also exploring options for the monarch to appear in public over the next two weeks to wish the country a happy Christmas, reports the Mail.
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Queen back to work
Her Majesty, 95, made her public first appearance in two weeks to hand Thomas Trotter, 64, the annual Queen’s Medal for Music at Windsor Castle.
The Queen, who had a chair closeby, last received Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey on November 24.
In October, she spent a night in hospital for tests and then resumed only light duties.
She resumed “light duties” shortly after.
Prince Charles stood in for her at the COP conference in Glasgow and she missed Remembrance Sunday due to a sprained back.
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Round up of the Christmas carol concert
Kate Middleton stunned in a mid-length scarlet coat and earrings borrowed from the Queen for the pre-recording of the event, set to be broadcast on ITV on Christmas Eve at 7.30pm.
The show was switched from the BBC at the last minute following a row over the BBC Two documentary which examined William and Harry’s relationship with the media.
Guests included inspiring leukaemia patient Mila Sneddon, six, who stole Kate’s heart when she took part in her lockdown photo project.
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Andrew has always denied claims
According to reports, Prince Andrew hosted Epstein’s entourage, including a model in her 20s.
Also released were pictures showing Maxwell giving Epstein a creepy foot massage.
Earlier this year the Prince was pictured at Balmoral as US lawyers were trying to serve sex abuse lawsuit papers on him.
Prince Andrew has always denied the claims.
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Queen used as example
Yesterday Labour leader Keir Starmer criticised the Prime Minister for not abiding by the rules and used the Queen as an example of someone who did – even on one of the most difficult days of her life.
“Her Majesty the Queen sat alone when she marked the passing of the man she’d been married to for 73 years,” he told the Commons.
“Leadership, sacrifice – that’s what gives leaders the moral authority to lead.
“Does the Prime Minister think he has the moral authority to lead and to ask the British people to stick to the rules?”
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Andrew spotted looking anxious
Andrew looks anxious as Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial continues.
The Duke of York, 61, was horseriding near Windsor Castle yesterday.
The US court has seen a pic of paedo Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell at the Queen’s Balmoral estate.
The snap shows the pair lounging on a bench on the deck of a log cabin on the grounds of the royal home.
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Queen may appear in public for first time since early autumn
THE Queen is set to “have her family round for a Christmas gathering” and host a pre-festive season party, it’s been reported.
Her Majesty, 95, may appear in public for the first time since early autumn as she enjoys Christmas by celebrating with her close family.
According to the Daily Mail, Her Maj has been given the go-ahead by doctors to throw her annual private pre-festive season party.
Extended family members will all be given an invite to the party – which hasn’t been held since 2019.
It’s set to be held at Windsor Castle, not Buckingham Palace – where it’s been hosted for decades by the monarch.
And after the pre-festive season party, the Queen is set to move her court to Sandringham Estate in Norfolk for Christmas.
But before she leaves, she will record her annual Christmas message to be broadcast on December 25 for the nation to watch.