Royal news - live: Queen Camilla withdraws from engagements after becoming unwell

A private letter from 1998 has revealed that King Charles believed the Orthodox Church was the only Christian denomination untainted by what he described as “loathsome political correctness.”

The correspondence, sent while he was still the Prince of Wales, shows his criticisms of the Church of England, of which he is the supreme governor.

The letter, marked “private and confidential,” was addressed to Dudley Popak, an interior designer who had worked closely with the royal family.

Following Mr Popak’s death in 2005, the letter became part of a collection of royal correspondence that was auctioned by Lay’s Auctioneers in Cornwall for over £1,700.

In the letter, Charles, then 49, wrote: “Personally, the older I get, the more I am drawn to the great, timeless traditions of the Orthodox Church. They are the only ones that have not been corrupted by loathsome political correctness.”

Queen Elizabeth II’s death had a profound impact on national sentiment towards the monarchy, a study has claimed.

Academics from The Open University focused on individuals who participated in mourning events in Edinburgh and London following the monarch’s passing on 8 September, 2022.

During the ten-day mourning period that followed the longest-reigning monarch’s death, over 250,000 people queued to pay their respects in Westminster Hall.

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As Prince William arrives in Cape Town for the fourth Earthshot Prize Awards, Princess Kate will remain in Windsor with their three children.

After being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and completing chemotherapy just two months ago, the 42-year-old Princess has chosen to prioritise her health and family during this time.

This marks the second consecutive year she has opted out of the event.

Prince William founded the Earthshot Prize is environmental awards back in 2020 to champion for green solutions for the world’s climate problems.

Last year, Kate missed the ceremony in Singapore while Prince George was taking his exams.

At the time, a senior Palace source said: “The Princess will not be attending. Prince George has exams that week and the Princess wants to be at home to support him.”

The Prince of Wales told young environmentalists you are “going to change the world”, as he arrived in Cape Town for his Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.

William’s words of encouragement came as he met 120 teenage activists at the start of a four-day visit to South Africa to promote his environmental project.

He told the young people: “The Earthshot Prize believes in you and the reason we set the prize up is for moments like this,” after speaking to them about their ideas to tackle climate issues, which included a business making handbags out of old tyres.

“All of you in this room are future change-makers, you’re the leaders, you’re the people going to make the difference going forwards,” he said.

Shocking pictures have shown Prince Andrew’s £30m Royal Lodge in a state of disrepair amid reports King Charles withdrew his generous £1m annual “living allowance” after he refused to move out.

As Andrew’s financial woes continue to worsen, images have concerning large cracks in exterior walls of his 31-bedroom Windsor mansion.

Crumbling paintwork and black-mould covered roofing has sparked concern about the upkeep of the property, once lived in by the late Queen mother and King George VI.

The Charles’ disgraced brother has lived in the Royal Lodge for over 20 years, but has reportedly faced calls from the monarch to move out after his friendship with convicted paedophile Jefferey Epstein came to light.

The King and the Prince of Wales’ private estates have struck rental deals worth millions of pounds with the armed forces, the NHS and state schools, it has been reported.

An investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times examined the land and properties the two leading royals own through the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.

The investigation reported that last year the Duchy of Lancaster agreed a deal to store a new fleet of electric ambulances, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, in one of the estate’s warehouses at a cost of £11.4 million over 15 years.

It also said the Duchy of Cornwall had charged the navy more than £1 million since 2004 to build and use jetties and moor warships on the Cornish coastline.

The duchy will also earn around £600,000 over the lifetime of six different leases agreed with local state schools, the investigation found.

In her new documentary, Camilla is seen visiting a refuge and speaking candidly with domestic abuse survivors about their deeply personal experiences.

Earlier this year, Camilla backed The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign to build two new refuges for women fleeing abuse. Thanks to generous donations from readers the initial £300,000 target has recently been reached, with more than £500,000 of donations pouring in so far and plans are already underway for the building of a second home.

Speaking about the importance of refuges in the documentary Camilla says: “You flee and you arrive at this haven. Room of their own, a door they can lock. And as time goes by, they start having their confidence restored and start their life anew.

“These refuges are literally life savers. Without these refuges, where would they go?”

In her first documentary feature since ascending the throne, Queen Camilla has given survivors of domestic abuse a powerful voice during a rare glimpse of her work as a senior royal.

The 90-minute film follows Camilla over the last year as she attends official engagements and never-before-seen private meetings with survivors and campaigners of domestic abuse.

She is seen visiting a refuge and speaking candidly with survivors about their deeply personal experiences, as well as revealing what drove her to spend the last decade raising awareness.

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The Prince of Wales is to join young environmentalists taking part in the inaugural Earthshot Prize climate leaders’ youth programme in Cape Town.

William will start a four-day visit to South Africa by meeting some of the 120 future leaders who will be supported during Earthshot Week in developing skills in leadership, storytelling and networking.

The future king is travelling to South Africa for the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony on Wednesday, and other related events during the week, when five category winners will each receive £1 million to scale up their plans to “repair” the planet.

William will meet members of the youth programme as they discuss their experiences of working on environmental issues on the first official day of the youth programme.

Before his visit to South Africa, he said: “Africa has always held a special place in my heart – as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife and most recently as the founding inspiration behind the Earthshot Prize.”