Royal news live: Friend says Harry and Meghan are in ‘extraordinary situation’ as duke prepares to return to UK
Prince Harry is returning to the UK alone at the end of September
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Prince Harry’s friend and fellow mental health advocate Bryony Gordon has said that he and Meghan Markle are an “ordinary couple” in an “extraordinary” situation.
The writer opened up about her almost decade-long friendship with the Duke of Sussex for his 40th birthday, telling the Daily Mail that people are often “disappointed” by the truth when they ask about the couple.
She said: “There are no airs or graces with them, no desire to do anything other than protect their children from an increasingly digital world that likes nothing more than seeing the worst in people.
“A world that forgets that no matter how high profile a person is, they’re just doing their best, like everyone else.”
This comes as Harry is set to return to the UK at the end of September for the WellChild Awards without Meghan Markle.
The Times reports the Duke of Sussex is believed to be making the brief visit to his home country without his wife and children.
He recently told ITV that he will not bring Meghan to the UK because he fears “a knife or acid attack”.
Harry will attend the London-based event in his capacity as patron for the charity, which provides support to seriously ill British children and young people.
King Charles has ‘ambition’ to reconcile with Prince Harry
King Charles is said to have an “ambition” to welcome Prince Harry back into the royal fold and reconcile.
The monarch last saw his youngest son for a reported 45 minutes in February following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis.
A family friend told The Daily Beast: “The King has made it very clear that he loves Harry and wants to be part of his and his family’s life.
“Publicly wishing him a happy 40th birthday is completely of a piece with that ambition.”
🎂 Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today! pic.twitter.com/sAlSiV9EaZ
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 15, 2024
Kate and William’s birthday message to Harry ‘not sent personally'
An insider has claimed that the Prince and Princess of Wales’s birthday message to Prince Harry was not sent personally by the couple.
They told The Daily Beast that if the message had been sent by the future king and queen, it would have been signed “W & C” as many of their other posts are.
“It was just a company thing,” the insider said. “Happy birthday blah blah blah.”
The source added: “It makes sense for Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace to align themselves on a little bit of essentially routine messaging around Harry.
“It shows William is willing to respect his father’s seniority and do what is asked of him.”
Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex! https://t.co/ZKJbYDmV6L
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 15, 2024
Prince William has ‘no interest’ in reaching out to Harry
Prince William is said to have “no interest” in reconnecting with Prince Harry, despite wishing him a happy 40th birthday on the official Kensington Palace channel.
A friend told The Daily Beast: “The honest truth is that William has no interest right now in reaching out to Harry and Meghan.
“He regards what Harry said in his book [Spare] as unforgivable and, understandably given Catherine’s cancer diagnosis, just wants to focus on his wife and family first and his job second. There isn’t space for a complicated reconciliation process with Harry. It’s not a priority.”
Harry and William ‘weren’t close’ before Diana’s death
A royal expert has claimed that Prince Harry and Prince William were not close prior to their mother Princess Diana’s untimely death in 1997.
Biographer Ingrid Seward told The Sun: “I remember after William went on his gap year, way back on operation Raleigh, Harry said ‘he’s much nicer now’, so this myth that Harry and William were very close, is a myth.
“They were only really close after their mother died. Of course, they unified and they were the only two people that knew what it felt like. But they weren’t very close as youngsters.”
But while the brothers are said to have once been close, their relationship now appears to be worse than ever and they are reported to have kept their distance when they recently attended their uncle Lord Robert Fellowes’s funeral.
Harry and Meghan’s California neighbours ‘fed up’ with couple
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s neighbours in Montecito have said that they are “fed up” with the couple and “can’t wait” for them to leave.
An anonymous neighbour said they “cannot wait for her [Meghan Markle] to go”, in particular, The Express reports.
Meanwhile, Frank McGinity, a veteran, said that he was “turned away” from the gates of their mansion when he tried to help the couple settle into the area by sharing some local history films.
He told the Montecito Journal: “We don’t see them very much around here.”
King Charles ‘ordered’ Kate and William to make appearance with Prince Andrew
King Charles is said to have ordered the Prince and Princess of Wales to make a public appearance with Prince Andrew.
The couple appeared with the disgraced Duke of York while attending a church service in Scotland during the royal family’s summer holiday to Balmoral in Aberdeenshire.
This came following Andrew’s almost complete banishment from public life after he was forced to step down as a working royal because of his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
A source told The Mirror: “The King feels he has an awful lot on his in-tray and this is one issue he wants to draw a line under.”
Prince William reportedly had “absolutely no desire” to be seen with his uncle according to an insider, but “[it] appears he may have had his wings clipped somewhat.”
William and Kate ‘quietly’ help troubled London foodbank
The Princess and Princess of Wales have made a generous donation to a London foodbank that was recently the victim of a robbery.
News of the gesture was shared by the charity Pecan on Twitter/X, who explained that thousands of pounds worth of goods and a laptop had been stolen from Southwark Food Bank’s warehouse on 8 September.
“A huge thank you to @Kensingtonroyal who have donated to the recovery effort following the theft of £3k of food supplies from @southwarkfoodbk,” the Christian charity wrote.
“All at @Pecan121a have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from across society. Food stocks are being replenished now.”
A huge thank you to @Kensingtonroyal who have donated to the recovery effort following the theft of £3k of food supplies from @southwarkfoodbk. All at @Pecan121a have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from across society. Food stocks are being replenished now ❤️
— Pecan (@Pecan121a) September 13, 2024
Prince Philip could have met ‘an alien called Janus in a Chelsea flat'
The maker of a new documentary that explores the royal family’s alleged interest in extraterrestrial life has claimed that Prince Philip could have met “an alien called Janusy in a Chelsea flat”.
Ahead of the release of The King of UFOs, which is set to air on Amazon on 20 September, director Mark Christopher Lee said the late Duke of Edinburgh was invited to the meeting because he was “a man of great vision”.
The 1954 meeting is reported to have been organised by the late royal’s aide Sir Peter Horsley.
Mr Lee told the Metro: “Horsley wanted Phillip to meet with this Janus as Janus had a message to give him that the world needed saving as Philip was a man of great vision.
“Philip didn’t go to the meeting – and it’s most likely that Janus could have been a Russian spy – but Horsley stuck to his belief that Janus was not of this world.’
The director admitted in the documentary: “It could have happened. It’s a very, very strange encounter.”
James Middleton reveals when he knew William was ‘just right’ for Kate
The Princess of Wales’s brother James Middleton has revealed the moment he knew Prince William was “just right” for his sister.
Writing in his upcoming memoir Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, the 37-year-old reflected on discovering that the pair were engaged a day before the news was publicly announced in 2010.
“William has been in our lives for so long, and we’ve grown very fond of him. He feels like our older brother, and he and Catherine are so clearly a good fit, just right for each other,” Mr Middleton wrote.
“As we digest the news, I know I haven’t yet experienced the love they feel for each other myself. But I’m hoping one day I will.”
He praised the Prince of Wales for several qualities in the book, including his willingness to lose at games of cards to the “fiercely competitive” Middleton family.
Prince Harry ‘driven and committed’ to making the world 'a better place’
Prince Harry has stressed his commitment to philanthropic causes in a statement released ahead of his 40th birthday.
The Duke of Sussex, who celebrated the milestone yesterday (15 September), is said to have privately marked the occasion with his family in California.
Harry said in a statement to the BBC: “Whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world.”
He added: “Becoming a father of two incredibly kind and funny kids has given me a fresh perspective on life, as well as sharpening my focus in all my work.
“Being a dad is one of life’s greatest joys and has only made me more driven and more committed to making this world a better place.”
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