Royal news - live: Kate Middleton to make poignant return to duty as Prince William opens up on ‘brutal’ 2024

The Duchess of Edinburgh has been praised for her “funny” reaction after being hit on the head by a golf ball.

The incident last Tuesday happened when Sophie was playing mini golf as part of a visit to Legoland as patron of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

Photographer Tim Rooke, who captured the moment, said the Duchess “laughed” and “found it funny.”

He told Hello: “The Duchess was playing adventure golf, going around with the kids. She hit the ball, and it bounced straight up in the air. You could see her watching it, and it just sort of whacked her.

“She laughed; she found it funny – she’s a good sport. You can see the guy behind her in the picture was in hysterics.

“She doesn’t mind a photo like this going around – what she cares about is raising awareness of the charity. She is really good at these events; she always makes everyone feel quite special.”

The King is cutting financial ties to the disgraced Duke of York after he refused to move out of his home, a royal writer has claimed.

In what is a new low in the brothers’ relationship, Prince Andrew’s annual £1 million “living allowance” has been withdrawn by Charles, according to a new book by Robert Hardman.

The move will be seen as another step the monarch has taken to publicly distance himself from his younger brother following his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

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The royal family have been accused in Parliament of levying charges on land that “doesn’t really belong to them”.

The criticism came after a Sunday Times and Channel 4 expose was published on the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which fund the King and the Prince of Wales.

The report revealed that the royals are making millions of pounds a year by charging government departments, councils, businesses, mining companies and the general public via a series of commercial rents and feudal levies on land seized by medieval monarchs.

Lord Berkeley, who questioned the legitimacy of this ownership, said he has seen the effects of this where he lives on the Isles of Scilly, where most the land and nearly a third of the residential buildings are owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.

He said: “We’ve got one example of farmers on the Isles of Scilly, [who] want to see an abattoir built so they don’t have to transport animals to the mainland, which I think is a very good idea.

“The Duchy said, ‘well you can have the land’ – well, many of us think that they don’t own the land anyway, but leaving that to one side – they allocate land to an abattoir, they are then going to charge the farmer for using it.

“Is that right when the land probably doesn’t really belong to them and they’re not contributing to the cost?”

The Prince of Wales has revealed his children regularly quiz him about his love of African wildlife as he visited one of the continent’s most picturesque spots.

He was questioned by Robert Irwin, the son of the late wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin, about his favourite African animal as they walked up the hill and a short video of the chat was posted on social media.

When William was asked about his favourite African animal during a trek to the top of Cape Town’s Signal Hill, he replied the cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal.

The prince said: “It’s a really tough question. My children ask me this regularly. I think I’m going to have to say the cheetah…Yeah, I love cheetahs. Fantastic animals.”

Irvin, an ambassador of the Prince of Wales’ Earthshot Prize replied: “Cheetahs ok. Very cool, very cool…It’s chameleons for me. The unsung hero. I love them.”

Prince William has issued a touching health update on his wife, Kate, after the princess finished her cancer treatment.

The Prince of Wales described Kate as “amazing” as he spoke to reporters in South Africa ahead of tonight’s Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town.

She’s doing really well thanks. Hopefully she’s watching tonight and cheering me on,” he said. “She’s been amazing this whole year and I know she’ll be really keen to see tonight be a success.”

Kate has been largely out of the public eye as she underwent preventative chemotherapy following her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

In September, she revealed she had completed her treatment and was focusing on “staying cancer free” in a heartfelt video featuring herself, William and their three children.

The Prince of Wales has announced a potentially game-changing new life insurance cover for rangers who safeguard Africa’s wildlife.

William described the workers as “guardians of our planet’s most precious resources” as he outlined the five-year Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative, providing 10,000 rangers working across Africa access to the financial scheme.

The death toll among rangers was significant during the period from June 2023 to May 2024, with 140 losing their lives to a range of factors from animal attacks and occupational accidents to targeting by poachers.

Giving the keynote speech at the start of a two-day summit for his United for Wildlife organisation, which combats the illegal trafficking of animals, the prince said: “Rangers are fundamental if we are to meet our global conservation targets for 2030 and prevent the dangerous tipping points that threaten our planet.

“These people do far more than protect wildlife. They are educators. They are community supporters. And they help regulate the sustainable use of natural resources.”

In exciting news for royal fans, Buckingham Palace has announced it is set to open up its East Wing outside the traditional summer tourist season.

The expanded programme follows the success of this year’s annual summer opening, when it welcomed a record-breaking number of visitors and allowed access to the wing - which includes the famous central balcony - for the first time since it was built 175 years ago.

The 90-minute guided tours, from January to May and costing £90, will offer a more in-depth look at the history of the rooms in the East Wing at a time when the palace is not usually open to the public.

Early in the King’s reign, it was reported Charles planned to give people greater access to the palace all year round.

For the first time, visitors will be able to enter through the palace’s front gates and proceed across the forecourt, just as guests do for official royal events.

A slice of cake from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s wedding has sold at auction for £2,200.

The fruit cake was found under a bed in a suitcase in the original box, along with a presentation card postmarked April 21 1948, auctioneers Reeman Dansie said.

The fully packaged cake in its original state is “very rare” and was expected to gather £500, but was sold over the phone on Tuesday to a Chinese buyer for £2,200.

“It’s incredibly rare because normally, of course, people would have eaten it,” said Jonathan Benson, auctioneer at Reeman Dansie.

It was put up for sale by the family of Marion Polson, an ex-member of the Royal Household who worked at Holyroodhouse from 1931 to 1969 and who later died in the 1980s.

Slices of the cake were gifted to royal staff to mark the wedding of then-Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Prince Philip of Greece R.N. on November 20 1947.

The word “empire” may be dropped British honours as part of reforms reportedly being considered by royal officials.

Under the plans, those with an OBE -Order of the British Empire – may choose to recieve an Order of British Excellence, according to a new biography of the King by author Robert Hardman, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail.

A parallel Order of Elizabeth has also been proposed in remembrance of the late Queen.

However in both cases the colonial-era titles could be retained for those who wanted them.

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