Princess of Wales reveals her children ‘enjoy drumming’ during Bradford visit

Princess of Wales reveals her children ‘enjoy drumming’ during Bradford visit

The Princess of Wales gave an intimate insight about her children’s creative streaks during a visit to Family Action’s Children’s Trauma Therapy Service in Bradford on Tuesday.

Her Royal Highness has been patron of the charity since 2019, taking over from Queen Elizabeth II.

The charity works across England, Wales, and the Isle of Man to support children aged five to 18 and their families recover from trauma, including abuse and traumatic bereavement.

Catherine met a 12-year-old boy, who used music during his therapy sessions.

He told the princess he enjoyed playing the drums, because he loved instruments he “could smack”.

We then left the room, so the princess could have a private chat to the boy and his mother.

Afterwards, Rebekah Eames, Clinical Service Manager, told us: “The Princess shared a lovely moment [with the boy] about how her children enjoy drumming too and they were talking about rock music.”

Ms Eames added it was “so important to have somebody of her [Catherine] standing shine a light on the important nature of our work”.

After meeting the boy, we followed the princess into a dimly-lit room where a therapist, a five-year-old girl and her mother were playing with objects on a table.

Catherine joined them, and it was clear from the start that she had a natural gift for interacting with young children.

It wasn’t disclosed what the little girl had experienced that brought her to the centre, but she was very at ease with the princess.

The objects on the table were the girl’s “box of wishes,” and the princess picked up a shell and put it to her ear.

Catherine said: “Sometimes if you put them to your ear, you can sometimes hear the sea, do you want to see if you can hear the sea?

“Sometimes you can hear the waves. If you listen very quietly.

“That’s what I like doing with shells. If you close your eyes, you can sometimes imagine you’re by the beach.”

The princess asked if she could hear the waves, and the girl said “yes” and showed Catherine a “potion” she had made to keep away “bad dreams”.

The therapist explained her “box of wishes” was designed to keep her busy and calm.

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Dame Judi Dench tells photographers she “can’t see” during Windsor Castle premiere

National treasure Dame Judi Dench attended the first film premiere ever to be held in a royal residence on Wednesday evening.

Queen Camilla’s close friend and actor was supporting the King, who has contributed to Amazon Prime Video’s Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision.

The film tells the story about King Charles’ half-century work towards a “philosophy of harmony” – where humans live as part of nature, not apart from nature.

You can read my take on the film here.

Before Dame Judi went inside Windsor Castle for the screening, she came to the media platform, which had been erected in the castle’s Quadrangle.

She posed for the line of photographers, who politely called out to her, one by one, to encourage the actor and her partner, David Mills, to look in their specific direction.

In a heartbreaking moment, Dame Judi told them: “I can’t see…I can’t see anything at all.”

The photographers had previously agreed not to use flash photography and Dame Judi did her best to pose to all the lenses.

One photographer asked her to “look towards this voice” before she was guided towards the castle’s State Rooms to join a reception ahead of the screening.

The 91-year-old is reportedly living with age-related macular degeneration, which has caused progressive vision loss since 2012.

It means she cannot read scripts anymore and relies on others to read them to her.

In previous interviews, she has disclosed that she struggles to watch film or television and cannot leave her home without help.

She reportedly can only make out outlines of people.

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Prince of Wales appears to defend freedom of speech

Prince William appears to have defended freedom of speech during a visit to a charity funded by BBC Children in Need.

He was meeting young people through the charity We Move FWD, a 10-year commitment to create opportunities for black children and young people across the UK.

He sat down with Thurrock African Group to chat about their community radio and podcast projects, and how their work is encouraging new skills to inspire young people to take on careers in media.

Prince William warned that “we have lost the art of debating” and spoke about the importance of remembering that “not everyone thinks like you”.

“We are only a community if we listen to everyone,” he explained.

“For me, it’s all about a message. If we’re not talking about something, there’s no message, and we need to be able to hear each other and listen to each other.”

The prince blamed modern communication methods: “Everyone just wants to send a quick message on social media or a quick text, and it’s just fired off, and usually you read it incorrectly, or it’s got different connotations in it.”

William’s wife, the Princess of Wales, has also recently warned of the dangers of too much screen time within family life, branding it an “epidemic of disconnection”.

She co-wrote an essay in October titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, writing that technology has benefits, but often causes people to be “physically present but mentally absent”.