If ever you needed proof how pivotal William and Catherine are to the future of the, let’s face it, embattled Royal Family, it came this week, as the pair visited Wales, ahead of St David’s Day, today.
“Walesmania” hit Llanidloes, according to The Telegraph, who reported The Prince and Princess of Wales abandoned their schedule on Thursday and stopped to greet the many well-wishers who had lined up in the rain just to see them pass by. They “played rock, paper, scissors with school children, posed for selfies with teenagers and received warm words from older people who said they wanted to show their support for the Royal Family”, the newspaper reported.
The pair were a huge hit during their visit – Catherine received a hug and a necklace from a little girl at an art gallery and they stopped their cars to walk amongst the crowds who came out to support them. The pair happily posed for photos and looked delighted at the reception they received.
It’s little wonder – William and Kate must have been thankful for the brief break in the storm clouds surrounding the Royal Family at the moment, as the fall-out over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor continues. In fact, when the couple attended the Baftas last Sunday, William admitted he was, “not in a very calm state” currently, explaining why he hasn’t yet watched award-winning Hamnet.
William has not spoken publicly about his uncle, but royal commentator Phil Dampier told Hello! he thinks the prince wants it all resolved, as well as being, “very concerned for his uncle’s mental well-being… and mindful of the effect all this is having on the King and his health.” William has a good relationship with his cousins Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, but he has never been close with his uncle, according to reports and is considered to be one of the driving forces regarding Andrew’s future.
Quite frankly, to borrow Shakespeare’s famous quote, now really does seem to be “the winter of our discontent.” It’s been a miserable time, as we battle relentless rain and bad news and while we’re not suggesting we stick any princes in the tower, like Richard III, we’re just happy for a brief blast of sunshine. And maybe, hopefully, one which is an omen of brighter days to come.
We were glad to hear Charles spent time having tea with his beloved former nanny, Mrs Mabel Anderson, last week to celebrate her 100th birthday.
Mabel or “Mipsy” as she is lovingly called by Charles, now lives in a grace and favour home on the Windsor estate, and he has previously said how she was a “haven of security” when he was a boy and “warm, loving, sympathetic and caring”. For Mabel’s 90th, Charles held a dinner party at Clarence House and, according to reports, was said to have sent a chauffeur-driven car to take her to Sandringham each Christmas.
Marvellous Mabel is a “firm favourite” with the rest of the Royal Family, not only did she go on to look after Anne, Andrew and Edward; but after 30 years of loyal service, she would often would watch TV with the late Queen and enjoy holidays at Balmoral.
Ah, this is the kind of news we are here for. Our favourite bear, Paddington, has met his second queen, as Camilla hosted the finalists of the BBC’s 500 Words story competition at Windsor Castle on Wednesday. Paddington curtsied and Camilla thanked him for travelling all the way to Windsor, then said, “And you’re going to give all your marmalade sandwiches to all these children, and perhaps I can have one too, thank you very much.” She also worried he “must be a little hot,” in his trademark duffle coat. Paddington then treated guests to a special performance from the sell-out show, Paddington The Musical. The last time our furry friend was entertaining royalty, was, of course, when he was taking tea with the late Queen for the Platinum Jubilee, in 2022.
Oh dear, could this be another bombshell book to rock Buckingham Palace? The Duke of Edinburgh’s ex-girlfriend and West End star, Ruthie Henshall, announced this week that her memoir, The Showgirl And The Prince, will be in all good bookshops and supermarkets on 16 July.
The Olivier Award winner, had an on-off relationship with Edward from 1988 to 1993, and said she was inspired to write her “Cinderella” true life story after finding her old diaries and letters to the prince.
“I was on the West End stage, my dream since I was a girl, and shared a love with a man very few people even know,” she said. “If this was someone else’s story, I would think they had made it up. So here it is, a look behind the curtain of a crazy life in musical theatre and what happens next when a showgirl falls in love with a prince.”
Given that Ruthie remained friends with the royal couple, she was a guest at their 1999 wedding, we’re crossing all fingers this isn’t a cringe-filled kiss and tell. Quite what Sophie thinks, who knows! The Duchess was too busy on her tour of Somalia and Kenya this week. Again proving Sophie is one of the family’s greatest assets, she was, among other issues, raising awareness about sexual violence against women in conflict zones.
Great to see the Duke and Duchess on their two-day tour in Jordan, ‘showing up and doing good’ as is their philanthropic mantra. They were invited by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation, after the announcement of a £370,000 donation from them last September. The couple wanted to highlight Jordan’s role in the response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and visit the initiatives and projects helping refugees that their donation supports.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source theroyallist.substack.com ’
