Royal news – live: King trades bee tips with David Beckham as Prince Andrew ‘refuses’ to leave Royal Lodge

Prince Andrew “ain’t going anywhere” in his battle with the King over his royal residence, a source has claimed, as the royal row between the siblings deepens.

Amid the controversy over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Duke of York, 64, stepped down from public duties in May 2020 and was subsequently stripped of his royal titles. However, the prince has continued to live at the royal residence Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion he has called home for two decades.

Tara Cobham reports:

David Beckham and the King compared “beekeeping tips” when they met ahead of the ex-England football captain being named a King’s Foundation ambassador.

The former sporting star was confirmed as an official supporter of Charles’s charitable organisation a few weeks after he reportedly met the monarch privately to learn more about its work.

In photographs released to mark the announcement, Beckham is pictured with the King on the doorstep of Highgrove, Charles’s Gloucestershire retreat, and shown trying out his carpentry skills with foundation students taking part in woodworking courses at the Snowdon School of Furniture.

Beckham said: “Having developed a love for the countryside I’m also on a personal mission to learn more about rural skills which is so central to the foundation’s work.

“It was inspiring to hear from the King about the work of His Majesty’s foundation during my recent visit to Highgrove Gardens – and compare beekeeping tips!”

Since reportedly buying a converted barn in the Cotswolds, Beckham has posted on social media about his bee keeping.

He uploaded an Instagram video on World Bee Day last year showing him working on a beehive and in another post he is pictured next to a hive with the words “Be kind & they will be calm”.

In photographs released to mark the announcement of becoming a King’s Foundation ambassador, David Beckham is shown trying out his carpentry skills with foundation students taking part in woodworking courses at the Snowdon School of Furniture.

The foundation is the custodian of the Highgrove gardens and offers workshops, programmes and short courses focused on heritage and craft skills at its Barley Court education centre on the estate.

Alongside its education programmes to protect traditional skills, the foundation, based at Dumfries House in East Ayrshire, aims to revitalise communities through urban regeneration and planning, and support sustainable food production and teach rural skills.

Beckham, who is the first ambassador to be named by the charity since Charles was crowned, said: “I’m excited to be working with the King’s Foundation and to have the opportunity to help raise awareness of the charity’s work. I’ve always been keen to help young people to expand their horizons and I’m particularly looking forward to supporting the foundation’s education programmes and its efforts to ensure young people have greater access to nature.”

The former footballer joins other foundation ambassadors like The Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades, who represents building crafts, Alan Titchmarsh, horticulture, and Sarah Beeny, buildings and heritage.

Royal historian Kelly Swaby says the Royal Family stands at a defining moment with an increased reliance on fewer, older members.

She told Metro: “The Queen’s Coronation was indicative of a time when deference to the monarchy was high; people doffed their caps and curtsied and bowed to royalty.”

“But last year’s Coronation faced a lot more questions and resistance than the Queen’s did, which is a sign of how much the UK has changed.

“King Charles has wanted for many years to slim down the monarchy, but in effect he has been left with no choice because it has happened naturally.

“Many of the senior royals, such as Princess Anne and the Duke of Kent, are getting older and are not able to do as much.

“The late Queen understood that she couldn’t do everything herself and while she was the main attraction she remained incredibly humble and had lots of other members of the royal family deputising for her.

“I fear that the slimmed-down monarchy will backfire quite significantly in years to come as the older members step back from public life.”

David Beckham had swapped tips with King Charles about the pair’s hobby - beekeeping.

In a post uploaded an Instagram video on World Bee Day last year shows the former England Captain working on a beehive and in another post he is pictured next to a hive with the words “Be kind & they will be calm”.

Beckham said: “Having developed a love for the countryside I’m also on a personal mission to learn more about rural skills which is so central to the foundation’s work.”

The former footballer joins other foundation ambassadors like The Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades, who represents building crafts, Alan Titchmarsh, horticulture, and Sarah Beeny, buildings and heritage.

Married to former Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham since 1999, the ex-midfield player has gone on to co-own the US team Inter Miami, which signed Lionel Messi last summer.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s popularity stretches across age groups and regions, at a time when the public has grown sceptical about the monarchy in general, a new poll has revealed.

“The next few years will see him thinking through what kind of monarch he wants to be and what kind of monarch the country will need to have in the mid-21st Century,” historian Sir Anthony Seldon told the BBC.

“He has been defining his own agenda, much of it overlapping with his father’s interests and passions.”

A revealing survey from YouGov showed Prince William and Catherine as having approval ratings of over 70%, while support for the monarchy as an institution was at 56%.

Gareth Russell, a royal author, told GB News that it is good to see King Charles back meeting the public after his shock cancer diagnosis.

“Broadly speaking, all the opinion polls that we have, indicated there’s a huge amount of goodwill and support for him and for his candour with his battle with cancer.

“We’ve heard him talking to some people during the meet and greets about shared experiences of battling cancer.

“I think it’s been very well received and certainly the King has said he feels as if he’s come out of his cage and he’s very keen to get back to his public-facing duties.”

A royal expert has suggested that the late Queen was so worried about ending up on a documentary that she shunned Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Phil Dampier, who spoke to The Sun, explained: “The big fear that the late Queen had and that the King now has is that when [Harry and Meghan] turn up, they do tend to turn up with a sort of Netflix film crew or a photographer in tow.

“You always get the feeling that whatever happens, whatever the discussions are, that it’s going to sooner or later end up on a programme or in some sort of podcast. And that’s unfortunately where the trust has gone and they just don’t trust [Harry].”

Meghan Markle is alleged to have been taken to one side by the late Queen after she became unhappy while taste-testing for her wedding in 2018.

It’s reported the now Duchess of Sussex got “very upset” after saying she “felt that she could taste egg” in one of the dishes that had been prepared.

A royal author claims Meghan was told there was no egg in the dish, Meghan allegedly hit back: “No, I can taste it.”

Royal author Katie Nicholl claimed to Yahoo’s Royal Box that Queen Elizabeth II then intervened.

She claims the late monarch, who died in 2022, walked into the room at Windsor Castle and “quietly took Meghan to the side”.

She allegedly told Meghan “the Royal Family does not speak to people like that”.

Royal author Charles Rae, has weighed in on the effect of David Beckham being given an ambassador role at The King’s Foundation.

A rift between the Beckhams and the Sussexes appeared to have heightened when the Sussexes allegedly accused David and Victoria of leaking stories about them to the press - while royal biographers claimed Meghan “didn’t like the footballer’s friendship with Prince William.”

Charles Rae told GB News: “Let’s not forget Harry and particularly Meghan accused Victoria of doing something she shouldn’t have done.

“Obviously Beckham came to the defence of his wife, so that relationship has gone out of the window.”

“But Beckham has got a fabulous relationship with the King, certainly has a brilliant relationship with William and Catherine, so losing one royal is not going to be a problem for the Beckhams.”

He added people have been naming the pair Chaz and Dave, and the former England captain expects to be knighted soon.