For the first time since her cancer diagnosis, the Princess of Wales is going on a solo trip outside of the U.K.
On Wednesday and Thursday, she’ll be in Reggio Emilia on behalf of her Centre for Early Childhood. In particular, she’s looking at international strategies for helping kids in those formative years and wants to see the acclaimed approaches in that Italian city. This is a working trip for her charity, not an official one on behalf of the government
The last times she was abroad was in 2023. That is when she and William went to the wedding of the Crown Prince of Jordan as well as her two day trips to France to see rugby matches. Before that, her last multi-day trip was in 2022 to Denmark to see the Scandinavian approach to early childhood care.
For more on the princess’s work this year, see “By the Numbers: Going for broke in 2026.”
On Friday, William and Kate hosted one of the season’s garden parties at Buckingham Palace. They were joined by William’s cousin, Zara Phillips, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. (Two days earlier, the King and Queen headlined another garden party.)
In previous years, Princess Beatrice and/or Eugenie would have also helped along with their cousin, Zara, though none of them are working royals. In 2024, they were all there to help William while Kate was undergoing cancer treatment. Now, the York sisters are no longer doing adjunct royal duties because of the continuing fallout of the Epstein scandal.
The garden parties are often a font of new information as royals share snippets of information from their lives to the guests. At this event, Kate revealed that she’d taken up padel and plays with her parents. As well, she said she allowed the kids to stay up late to watch the Aston Villa match (see the next item.)
Aston Villa’s most famous fan was ecstatic as he watched from the stands as the soccer team made the final of the Europa League, which will be held later this month in Istanbul. He even sang along to a victorious rendition of “Sweet Caroline” along with other celebrating Aston Villa fans. The team hasn’t reached any European soccer final since 1982, the year of William’s birth.
And yup, I expect William will be in Istanbul , if his schedule allows.
We’ve all gotten to know Sir David Attenborough through his nature documentaries and environmental work. For the royals, that relationship is much deeper as he’s been a presence in society and their lives for decades. King Charles says he’s known Sir David for more than six decades. In October 2020, George, Charlotte and Louis were featured in a pandemic video with Sir David asking him questions about the environment
So Sir David’s 100th birthday on May 8 was a big deal! And a celebration worthy of the attention of the monarch and his heir, who both share Sir David’s love of nature.
The King wrote a personal message in Sir David’s 100th birthday card, which was then “sent” via a special delivery chain of animals to Attenborough, who was at his birthday bash at Royal Albert Hall, where Prince William delivered the speech and was seated beside the birthday boy.
The video is a delight and showcases two men who have devoted their lives to duty and service.
As historian Simon Sebag Montefiore noted: “HM the King and Sir David Attenborough represent service, duty, decency, wit, who more than ever have something to teach our society, and whom we are so lucky to have as our luminaries.”
Robert Irwin announced in a video that the royal children have named Australia Zoo’s newest joey. The name is “Cwtch” (pronounced “Kutch”), a Welsh word meaning “cuddle.”
Do we need any more hints that Australia really wants the Wales family to visit?
Louis Arbour will be sworn in as our 31st Governor General on Monday, June 8 when she will take the oath of office and swear allegiance to the King of Canada.
The job of being the monarch’s representative in Canada is intended to be the capstone on a long career of public service, and such is the case for Arbour. Her resume is truly distinguished, including stints as a justice on the Supreme Court of Canada and an international war crimes prosecutor.
The one obvious concern with her appointment is her age. At 79, she will be the oldest Governor General. And it certainly looks like her time in office — usually around five years — will be busy as Prime Minister Mark Carney ramps up his diplomatic efforts to broaden the country’s trade relationships.
If precedent holds, she will visit the King before her installation. Given he turns 78 this year and has a very busy calendar, perhaps he’ll pass on some tips.
I recorded a podcast with Dale Smith on the day of the announcement that Louise Arbour would be the next Governor General.
Dale’s expert commentary on all things related to Parliament Hill, the Canadian Crown, and the monarchy is always worth a listen!
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and her husband, Pieter, came to Ottawa to open the Tulip Festival and celebrate Canada’s part in liberating her country during the Second World War.
She was born in Ottawa during the war — the delivery room was officially declared to be Dutch soil so she didn’t lose her succession rights to the throne.
Even today, the Dutch give Ottawa 10,000 tulip bulbs each year to help replenish the flower beds that can be seen throughout the city.
Here is news story of her visit:
In a rather humour moment that illustrates how not everything goes according to plan, PM Mark Carney had to hastily explain what was happening to Princess Margriet when the nation’s emergency alert blared from someone’s phone during the photo op (it was a test; at the 30-second mark of this CPAC video).
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source writeroyalty.substack.com ’
