My apologies for not getting this out on Monday. It’s been … quite a week. As the royal schedule slows for the holidays, I’ll use the time to ramp up my year-end series, The Year in Royal Work.
The senior members of the royal family issued statements after gunmen opened fire on the thousand people who had gathered on the famous beach in Sydney, Australia for a Hanukkah celebration. The attackers killed 15 people, including a Holocaust survivor and a child.
The horror of that act of antisemitic terror is reflected in the message from the King of Australia, who ended it with a reference to the lights of Hanukkah (using the British spelling): “I know that the spirit of community and love that shines so brightly in Australia — and the light at the heart of the Chanukah Festival — will always triumph over the darkness of such evil.”
The Royal Family@RoyalFamily
A message from The King to the people of Australia following the antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach.
2:49 PM · Dec 14, 2025 · 1.27M Views
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The Prince and Princess of Wales issued a similar message a few minutes later.
The Prince and Princess of Wales@KensingtonRoyal
Our thoughts are with every Australian today following the terrible attack at Bondi Beach. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives and stand with the Jewish community in grief. We are also thinking about the bravery of the
2:54 PM · Dec 14, 2025 · 282K Views
259 Replies · 922 Reposts · 12.5K Likes
In a program promoting early detection measures, King Charles III revealed that his cancer treatments are going so well that his current regimen of treatment is being scaled back. He credits early detection, effective treatment and following medical advice. A palace spokesperson said the treatment has shifted to being “precautionary.”
The simple message from the King: Early detection saves lives. The monarch encouraged everyone to take an online screening tool — and more than 100,000 took it in the first day after his announcement — and get those early proactive tests, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, which can find early cancers.
As for the King, there’s an expectation that he will be able to ramp up his duties though he’s already the hardest working royal, doing more engagements in 2025 than he’s done in years. His entire speech is here, with the news of his treatment at around 2:25, starting with “Today, I am able to share…”).
A day after her father-in-law told the world his good news, the Princess of Wales visited the Ever After Garden in the heart of London. During the holidays, it is filled with more than 30,000 illuminated white roses. Every year, people go to the tranquil garden to dedicate a rose in memory of a loved one in a fundraising effort for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
In January, Kate and William became joint patrons of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust because it was at that huge cancer hospital that Kate received her chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.
Following the release of the King and Queen’s Christmas card, the Prince and Princess of Wales released their card image — showing the family amid a field of daffodils. It was taken in April by the photographer Josh Shinner. The family has been releasing images from that session for big events throughout the year, including Prince Louis’s birthday.
Good for Andrew: The London police had been looking into allegations that Andrew asked a police bodyguard investigate Virginia Guiffre about a decade ago. They issued a statement that they won’t pursue it further. While Guiffre’s family was not happy with the decision, sometimes there’s a difference between truly appalling behaviour and what can be proven in court.
Neutral for Andrew: He and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, attended the christening of their granddaughter, Athena, at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, but were not photographed arriving or departing.
Bad for Andrew: He’s been stripped of his last honorary position, the Royal Navy title of vice-admiral. That reduces him to the rank of commander, his last rank when a serving full-time officer.
After scientists in Antarctica wrote to the King asking for a replacement to their hand-painted mail box, Buckingham Palace arranged for a new one to be sent to one of the most remote scientific stations on earth. It is the smallest of mailbox designs and like all new ones, bears the King’s cypher.
Bonus: Penguins!
Her father is still recovering in a hospital in the Philippines from a partial amputation of his left leg but it looks like there will be no holiday reunion between daughter and father.
After trying to contact him via an email address that Thomas Markle no longer used, the Duchess of Sussex finally got a letter delivered to him but it looks like that will be all she’s going to do in terms of a rapprochement. They haven’t seen each other in more than seven years.
So why did Meghan send a letter at all? The entire situation seems decidedly odd, especially as the Sussexes have pushed so hard for a reunion between Harry and his father after he published intimate details of their relationship as well as criticisms of the royals and royal life.
Then, we got an account of the letter handover itself, which was very odd.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source writeroyalty.substack.com ’
