Last week, the news was filled with how President Donald Trump’s “Greenland tariffs” on the U.K. and European nations threatened to derail the widely-expected state visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the U.S. this spring. (My pieces are here and here.)
Those economic threats were rolled back.
Then, on Thursday, Trump trashed NATO allies, falsely saying they can’t be trusted as they “stayed a little back, a little off the front line” in Afghanistan.
That spawned outrage throughout NATO for the Afghan campaign was the result of the US invoking Article 5 of the NATO charter, which says that an attack on one is an attack on all, after the 9/11 attacks.
In Afghanistan, more than 850 allied forces were killed, including:
Afghan campaign veterans reacted with fury at Trump’s denigration of the service of troops from NATO and other allied countries, including Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, who stated:
Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost,” he said. “Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace.”
Such was the fury in the U.K. that PM Keir Starmer talked with Trump on the weekend. Then, suddenly, Trump posted a message that referenced only the bravery of British troops in Afghanistan. It turns out that King Charles had sent a message to the White House through back channels, relaying “his concerns over the hurt [that] had caused through the comments, whether inadvertent or not,” according to the Sun.
I think the damage could be significant as there appears to be a lot of rethinking in the United Kingdom about how to deal with a mercurial American president. Before the Greenland tariff threat, I’d have pegged the possibility of the state visit at 100 percent. Now, I put it at a soft 75 percent.
After a tough week for the couple — Harry testifying in his civil trial, Meghan getting terrible ratings for her Netflix show — the couple went to Utah for a happy work event and a red carpet!
On Saturday, the Sussexes hit the red carpet at the Sundance Film Festival for the premiere of Cookie Queens, a documentary about Girl Scouts (the American version of the Girl Guides in Canada) who are navigating the cookie-selling season. On Sunday morning, they attended the first screening of the documentary. (Video here)
The locale in Utah means the dress code favours jeans and sweaters, rather than gowns or tuxedos. The couple are two of 16 executive producers on the documentary; they signed onto the project in December.
Meghan had been a Girl Scout as a child, and even published an image last year of her selling a box of cookies. She clearly liked the experience.
(Aside: Is it just me, or do the red carpet photos make it look like Harry’s balding hair is redder and thicker than it appeared in London?)
Last Tuesday, the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay (how the Prince and Princess of Wales are known in Scotland) spent the day in Falkirk and Stirling.
They did a bit of curling with the British Olympic teams and sure enough, it got a bit competitive as they both practised throwing the heavy stones (which is far more difficult than it appears) and then tried to outdo each other.
Kate’s team did better, and I’m seriously impressed as Kate heaved her stone down the ice while wearing a long skirt!
ROYAL FASHION ALERT:
Kate wore a lovely blue plaid coat that she helped design as a way to celebrate British textiles. On their Scottish trip, they visited a tartan-weaving studio, which was the latest in a series of engagements she’s done that promotes the use of British textiles. The cloth was specially woven by Johnstons of Elgin (a famous wool firm) and made into a coat by London-based designer Chris Kerr.
Princess Amalia, the future monarch of the Netherlands, completed her General Military Training, as part of a program she’s doing at the nation’s Defence College.
She is part of the first generation of princesses to undergo such military training on a regular basis as part of their preparation to be monarchs. Before now, the military was almost exclusively the field of princes. (Queen Elizabeth was in the military during the war).
Now, the future queens of Spain, Belgium, Norway, and now the Netherlands are in the midst of training, which is often customized given their royal status.
In fact, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, 49, did basic training in 2003, then refreshed her military knowledge in 2024 after Sweden joined NATO.
And Edward and Sophie’s daughter, Lady Louise, is in the University Officers Training Corps at St Andrews. There’s speculation that she’ll join the military after her degree.
Sooooo, Toronto was subjected to a massive snowfall on Sunday. We broke every record that had stood since they started keeping them: The most snow to fall in one day, the snowiest January on record, the snowiest …. you get the drift. The downtown core was absolutely wallopped with an average of more than 60 cm (two feet) of very fluffy snow. Some areas got much, much more. A friend who lives nearby reported more than 70-cm of snow in her back yard.
The snow shovelling ordeal of The Morning Show co-host Carolyn MacKenzie was replicated across this city of three million.
I knew that getting to the Global TV studios on the Toronto waterfront was going to be a challenge since my trip would start around seven hours after the snow stopped. But I’m a Canadian who has lived in many snowy parts of this country, including Montreal and New Brunswick.
Preparation is key.
I had to be at the studio by 8:45 a.m. at the very, very latest to be on air at roughly 9:10. If I couldn’t manage the trip, then we’d do the segment over Zoom.
I got up at 5:30 a.m and immediately called the taxi firm I usually book. An agent said that it wasn’t taking timed bookings and to expect a 30-45 minute wait after placing a booking. I did my hair and was ready to leave by 6:30, only to discover that the taxi firm (and all other firms) had no available taxis or drivers in the city. Uh oh.
So I checked the TTC trip planner and discovered that a bus that will get me very close to the studio would arrive at a nearby subway station in 11 minutes. Deciding it was better to get to the studio early than deal with any more disruptions, I pulled on my winter gear, including snow pants (the windchill was -22 C) and headed out.
My luck turned. Not only was the road to the station plowed, but the sidewalk had also been cleared by the city. The bus arrived exactly on time and kept to its schedule as it navigated snow-covered roads. Twenty-five minutes later, I was at the studio.
Sure, I was there two hours before air, but there was a fresh pot of coffee made, so I could finally relax. Bliss.
And yes, I got home by TTC bus, as well. In fact, I had the same driver. “Is your day already over?” he asked. Not quite.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source writeroyalty.substack.com ’
