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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Inside Roger Federer Inc – where business never stops booming
Inside the 1886 Club, a ritzy pop-up cabin on the banks of the Savannah River in Augusta, Roger Federer was holding forth for Mercedes-Benz private clients hand-picked to savour a 'once-in-a-lifetime' Masters experience. While this year marked his first visit to Georgia, he felt instantly at home, with both the man and the setting symbolising an aesthetic universally admired and yet impossibly out of reach. He sauntered on stage for an obligatory interview about his career, but what mattered most to the audience was that he had turned up in the first place. Such is life in his rarefied air: a realm where, beyond the niceties, all anybody wants to do is bask in his glory. Even two and a half years into retirement, Federer exerts the same effect wherever he goes. Crowds do not swoon over him at a Coldplay concert in Zurich because of his talents on percussion, or go giddy at the 24 Hours of Le Mans over his dexterity with the ceremonial flag. They acclaim him purely as the ultimate sophisticate. It promises to be the same at Wimbledon over the next fortnight: Federer will be there, the All England Club confirms, but for the third straight summer not to coach or to commentate, merely to grace the place with his presence. When you are a personal friend of the Princess of Wales, the club's patron, and when you can reduce Centre Court to raptures just by arriving in the royal box in a beige suit and polka-dotted tie, who needs to work for a living? It is this strange alchemy on which a suite of luxury sponsors have leapt, transforming the most stylish player of his age, indeed any age, into the embodiment of opulent allure. Just as Anna Wintour, Vogue 's departing queen bee and a self-confessed Federer groupie, demands that he sit next to her at catwalks, so Mercedes supply him with their latest supercar every six months, calculating that the very sight of him at the wheel will provide that extra assurance of quality. Except it is not just a product he is selling, but an entire way of being. His vast endorsement portfolio – spanning everything from Rolex watches to Lindt chocolate, Sunrise mobile networks to Jura coffee machines – stands as testament to his ineffable Swissness. Even the country's department of foreign affairs describes how Federer's ambassadorial virtues are rooted in an image of 'grace and refined excellence'. What makes him unassailable as a brand magnet, though, is his astounding longevity. By the time his 10-year contract with Uniqlo, the Japanese clothing giant, expires in 2028, he will have been out of the game for over half the deal's duration. This was a problem for Nike, his backers for two decades, who believed that he retained his value only for as long as he actively competed. By contrast, Tadashi Yanai, Uniqlo's founder, envisaged his seamless evolution from eight-time Wimbledon champion to middle-aged mannequin. And he was prepared to reward him as such, to the tune of £22 million a year. It is an agelessness inconceivable with any other icon. In 2019, the year Federer reached the last of his 10 Wimbledon finals, he recorded annual earnings of £68 million, with 92 per cent of that amount derived from his commercial tie-ups. Nobody else on the global sporting rich list – not Lionel Messi, not Cristiano Ronaldo – could hold a candle to this proportion. LeBron James was the closest, on 59 per cent. As a gentleman of extravagant leisure, Federer's status as king of the billboards has become only more bulletproof. In 2023, he collected £81 million despite having hung up his racket the previous year. The pattern is paradoxical: at the same time as Federer claims to feel ever further removed from his feats on court, the world's most prestigious labels can hardly wait to renew their associations with him. Central to this phenomenon is the fact that he remains untouched by scandal. While Tiger Woods, the one athlete who could once rival him for corporate pulling power, was torpedoed in 2009 by revelations of serial infidelity, Federer has endured as the safest of bets, with no lurid entanglements and no skeletons lurking in the closet. He and his wife Mirka, a Slovak-born former player briefly mentored by Martina Navratilova, have been inseparable since they shared their first kiss on the final day of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Even the symmetrical make-up of their family, with two sets of twins – the girls, Myla and Charlene, were born in 2009, with boys Leo and Lenny arriving five years later – resembles a work of precision engineering. There is such a premium on putting Federer's face to anything that he has amassed £29 million simply for promoting Barilla pasta. His apparent absence of any culinary credentials was no impediment to him signing on the dotted line, earnestly announcing in 2017: 'Pasta has been a part of my daily life for so many years that this partnership was a natural.' The most eye-catching expression of this alliance came when, after Italy's lifting of its most severe lockdown restrictions in 2020, he travelled to a small Ligurian town to engage two girls in a socially-distanced game of rooftop tennis. Although it made for a sweet advert, it still seemed miraculous he was banking an eight-figure sum for this. As Andy Roddick told Federer's biographer, Christopher Clarey: 'The thing I'm most jealous of is not the skill and not the titles – it's the ease of operation with which Roger exists.' Federer's smooth adaptation to alien environments was on full display last year at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, the smallest of America's Ivy League universities, as he gave the graduation speech. The appearance was not without design: Isabella Godsick, the daughter of his long-time agent Tony, was among the graduates. In his address, delivered in a priestly robe befitting his investiture as a 'doctor of humane letters', he sought to dismantle the popular notion that everything he did was effortless. 'I spent years whining, swearing, throwing my racket,' he explained, 'before I learnt to keep my cool.' When eventually he mastered this art, making it seem as if the most outrageous shots could be conjured without a bead of sweat, his cachet in the eyes of the wealthiest suitors increased exponentially. The young firebrand who, in 2002, was offered a relatively meagre £440,000 annual retainer by Nike had morphed by 2010 into the calm connoisseur, a human advertising hoarding for the highest-end companies on the planet. Today, the vast industry of Roger Federer Inc. continues to thrive, peddling the seductive myth that you too can be like Roger, eating the same exquisite confectionery and sipping the same Moët champagne. Just as he did with his single-handed backhand, an art exhibit in itself, he is curating a style built on an elusive ideal. To study him up close is to see how assiduously he maintains his own mystique, treating his thousandth sponsor meet-and-greet as if it is his first. In Augusta, he patiently made each of Mercedes' top-tier clients feel like the most important person in the room. You wonder, however, if this life of schmoozing the high-rollers can sustain him indefinitely. Is it making him, dare one say it, a little listless? There was a suspicion of this at the Masters when, tiring of being asked about the verdant fairways, he said: 'Enough already with the golf. Seriously, I would love to start playing tennis again two or three times a week, getting myself back on an exhibition court, maybe filling up a few nice stadiums around the world. The training, I miss it a bit, to be honest.' When Federer announced he was retiring with his usual immaculate choreography, a script with the 'RF' logo on his desk and replicas of Wimbledon's golden Challenge Cup in the trophy cabinet behind him, he made an emotional promise to his fans, declaring: 'I will never leave you.' In a sense, this pledge has yet to be fulfilled. Yes, he has had various valedictions at Grand Slam tournaments, but none with a racket in his hand. The only exception he made was for the Princess of Wales in 2023, as the two exchanged groundstrokes in a video acknowledging the Wimbledon ball boys and girls. Federer's caution has been due largely to the fragile condition of his left knee, which deteriorated to such an extent in his later years that his swansong, in doubles with Rafael Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup in London, looked precarious until the last minute. According to Roddick, he was suffering so much at the 2021 event in Boston that his crutches were being hidden from public view. The pathos of that ending has kindled an intense public appetite for him to return, even in the hit-and-giggle exhibition format. As Roddick puts it: 'Everyone wants a chance to see him one last time. He was hurt, we got him for a doubles match, and then that was it. It doesn't feel like enough.' A persuasive argument, of course, is that Federer owes his disciples nothing, having elevated his craft to such an unheard-of standard that his footwork was likened to Nureyev's and his artistic vision to that of Picasso. How much more breathless adulation does anyone need? The issue is that the demand to see him don his tennis whites again, even at almost 44, is off the charts. When he embarked on an express circuit of Latin America in 2019, he banked £7.7 million in six days, packing out stadiums from Santiago to Quito, Mexico City to Buenos Aires, with the fervour around his Argentina date compelling Diego Maradona to tell him: 'You were, you are, and will always be the greatest. There is no other like you.' All this was accomplished without Nadal, his perfect foil, across the net. As soon as they joined forces in Cape Town in 2020, in aid of Federer's foundation, the occasion drew over 51,000 people, the largest attendance ever recorded for a tennis match. You can imagine the rock-star reception they would attract if they decide, as men of independent means, to head out on the road for a reunion tour. This is why the idea holds such appeal for Federer, who, for all his sincere efforts at humility, has an acute appreciation of his worth. The grandeur of his entrances at Wimbledon in 2009, when he would peel off a multi-pocketed military jacket to reveal a diamond-white waistcoat with a golden Nike swoosh, still constitutes perhaps the most ostentatious flex in sport. The Laver Cup, which he conceived both as a tribute to past legends and as tennis's answer to the Ryder Cup with its 'Europe versus World' dynamic, could hardly be called an exercise in understatement either. The lavish spectacle, with non-playing team members watching courtside on leather banquettes, smacks of a giant 'RF' trade fair, with fan zones dedicated exclusively to approved sponsors hawking Federer's cars, Federer's clothes, Federer's sunglasses. Even the deckchairs were emblazoned with Swiss marketing. Federer has been desperate to imbue the event with passion and sporting significance, to the point of once instructing Alexander Zverev, in full view of the cameras: 'I want a fist pump or a 'let's go', every f------ point you win. And every point you lose, you f------ take it.' The irony was that he had never acted this way in team sport before, even when flying the flag for Switzerland at the Davis Cup. It illustrated the hollowness of the enterprise, with Federer trying to make a spectacle that essentially meant nothing look as if it meant everything. It is the fundamental problem with the Laver Cup, as it rolls on to San Francisco in September: that for its pretensions to be sport of substance, it serves little purpose beyond burnishing Federer's cult of personality. The pity is that he still resists any shift into television commentary, where he could offer a degree of technical expertise unparalleled in the booth. He has admitted that he did consider it, only shelving the plan when he realised how critical he would have to be of the players. Perhaps his most impulsive move was to decide, six years ago, to invest in a then little-known Swiss footwear company called On, whose creators first experimented by crafting shoes from lengths of garden hose. Federer called them to arrange dinner, clarifying that this time he was seeking not sponsorship but a personal investment. Having negotiated three per cent equity, he used his international profile to turn a Zurich start-up into an £8.2 billion behemoth, with its own limited-edition range christened 'The Roger'. When On was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, 31.1 million shares were sold at £17.47 each, giving Federer a stake worth £262 million – nearly three times the total he amassed in 24 years as a tennis professional. It is at this point that you wonder if Federer's life is celestially ordained, with even his rare gambles somehow striking gold. The reality is more that he understands, better than just about any sports star in history, what his strengths are and exactly how he can monetise them. Even in elder statesman mode, he is tennis's version of an omniscient being, hovering above all he surveys. Whether it is using shoes to catapult himself towards billionaire status, or enlisting singer Ellie Goulding to sing at his last match over a video montage of his greatest hits, Federer is the man who orchestrates his own drama, who writes the scripts of which nobody else could dream.
The Guardian
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: Forget Kate Moss at Glastonbury, the 2025 waistcoat is for everyone
What with being neither a page boy nor a snooker player, I had not given much thought to waistcoats until recently. I guess I thought of them as belonging to a wardrobe that didn't concern me: a world of braces, cravats and flat caps. Of Guy Ritchie films, wedding rentals and carnation buttonholes. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Well, I guess the joke's on me now, because waistcoats aren't novelty or naff any more. They are happening, and I need to get up to speed on how to wear them. The waistcoat has entered the fashion chat in the slipstream of the trouser suit. Women have been wearing them for decades, but until the last decade it remained a slightly niche move – not weird or eccentric, just a bit of a statement. It is only in the past few years that suits on women have become unremarkable. These days, women of all stripes wear them: the Princess of Wales, as well as politicians, film stars on the red carpet, brides and moguls and mums. Ahead of the women's Euros, which kicks off next week, M&S has released a collection for the Lionesses that gives a playful nod to Gareth Southgate's famous waistcoat. This time around it comes buttoned asymmetrically. The waistcoat is either the third part in the suit look or an alternative to the jacket. This waistcoat moment is very different from the last one, when Kate Moss wore them in the 00s. That was an entirely different iteration: a spry, shrunken scrap of a thing, worn with skinny jeans and a ribbed vest. It was very informal, worn either tight and buttoned (no bra) or hanging loose from the shoulders over other layers, almost like a scarf. It was rakish, romantic and a bit Fleetwood Mac. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion The waistcoat hits differently now. Sometimes it is worn as a top, when it works as a kind of froth-free corset, buttoned tight to cinch the waist. This is good when you want the silhouette of a vest top but with more structure. Another plus is that it is one of the few summer outfits that looks just as good when you layer a jacket on top. Any kind of tailored blazer will work well, so long as the necklines of the jacket and waistcoat run parallel, or close (a high-necked waistcoat under a cutaway jacket will get a bit messy, visually). A cardigan definitely can't go on top, though, or you will look as if you put your clothes on in the wrong order. Cardigan stans might, however, do well to lean into the waistcoat-cardigan hybrid, in the form of a simple front-buttoned knitted tank. I have one I wore between a shirt and a jacket for most of the spring – and which is now working as a summer top on its own, buttoned up with a midi skirt; I'm also planning to take it on holiday as an evening throw-on over spaghetti strap dresses. Zara has a Knitted Top with gold starburst buttons (£29.99) that's very pretty. But the waistcoat shape that's most useful right now is one that can be worn as either a top or a jacket. The key details you are looking for are as follows. First, it needs to have a simple, round neckline, one that will map neatly on to the neck of a T-shirt, not a V-neck. Second, you want one that's not too skimpy at the shoulder. It should extend to where the shoulder seam of a shirt sits, because that way you can layer it over something with sleeves, if you want to. Third – and I know I'm being a fusspot now but bear with – look for a silhouette that buttons from neck to waist and then opens to a shape that flares at the hip. This will look great worn open as a casual sleeveless jacket, and smart worn buttoned with the belt of your trousers just seen at the waist. Me+Em have a Seam Detail Tailored Waistcoat (£250) that will be a hard-working piece of your everyday wardrobe but, worn fastened with smart white trousers, would be polished enough for Wimbledon or a city wedding. I am also a big fan of Albaray's Soft Yellow Tailored Waistcoat (£75), which has a chic notched neckline and an adjustable closure at the back of the waist so that you can shape it to suit you. Am I overthinking this? Possibly. Making up for lost time.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Kate Middleton quietly holds meeting with A-lister after pulling out of Royal Ascot
The Princess of Wales has quietly returned to work after she pulled out of Royal Ascot last week. Kate, 43, had been expected to attend the Berkshire racing festival with her husband Prince William - and was even announced in the official carriage procession - before Kensington Palace confirmed she would not be attending after all. MailOnline understands that the Princess was 'disappointed' not to be in attendance 'but she has to find the right balance as she fully returns to public facing engagements'. On Wednesday this week, the Princess privately received Melinda Gates - the former wife of Microsoft Founder Bill - at Windsor Castle, marking her return to official duties. Kate was joined by her husband for her first engagement back in their role as patrons of the Royal Foundation, according to the Court Circular - which officially lists the royal family 's engagements. The Royal Foundation is Kate and William's primary philanthropic and charitable vehicle, and focuses on areas such as the early years and mental health. American philanthropist Melinda is also the founder of Pivotal Ventures, which aims to advance equality among women in the US - though the purpose of their meeting is as of yet unclear. It's not known whether the Princess and Melinda have previously joined forces in the past - but she crossed paths with William in 2014 when he presented her with the Chatham House prize. Earlier on Wednesday, Prince William also held an investiture at the castle and granted former England manager Gareth Southgate a knighthood. Last week, the Princess of Wales pulled out of attending Royal Ascot at the last minute as she continues to 'find the right balance' following her battle with cancer. Racegoers had been hoping to see the Princess after the Prince of Wales was named as one of the figures awarding race prizes during the second day of the meet. Ascot officials had confirmed at 12pm that the Princess was due to be in the second carriage in the royal procession with William, in a published carriage list. But less than half an hour later, Kensington Palace confirmed just before 12.30pm that Kate would not be attending - and a revised carriage list was published by Ascot. Royal aides insisted the original list had issued in 'error', according to the Daily Mail's Rebecca English. 'On some levels I actually think this is a good reminder that she was really seriously ill last year and underwent a significant period of chemo. As anyone who has been through that experience will tell you, you can feel very unwell for a long time afterwards. It can take years [to recover],' one source said. 'She wants to find the right balance and work with a greater degree of flexibility than before. 'This is a woman who plays a very important role in the monarchy [as Princess of Wales and future Queen], but in order for her to do it, both now and in the future, she needs to get this right,' they said. The Royal Ascot carriage list was published at 12pm with Kate included (left), then a revised version was issued just after 12.30pm (right) when it was announced she would not attend However, it is 'very likely' that Kate will be seen at Wimbledon, which starts Monday 30 June, in her role as royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. She is also expected to play a 'significant' part in next month's French State Visit at Windsor Castle. Despite her daughter's absence, Kate's mother Carole Middleton did attend Ascot, wearing a dress from luxury women's designer ME+EM - alongside her daughter-in-law Alizee Thevenet, the wife of Kate's brother James Middleton. Last Friday, Kate broke her silence after her absence as she released a personal message about a cause close to her heart - for Children's Hospice Week. The highly emotional note, which was signed by the princess, was shared on social media by Tŷ Hafan and children's hospice charity Together for Short Lives, the charity for children's palliative care. Kate said: 'No parent expects to hear that their child has a serious health condition that could shorten their life. 'Sadly, this is the reality faced by thousands of families across the country, leaving them heart-broken, fearful of the future and often desperately isolated. 'Being able to access the support of one of the UK's 54 children's hospices means they don't have to face that future alone.' Last Friday, the Princess released a personal message to mark Children's Hospice Week The Princess on a tour of the V&A East Storehouse in Hackney Wick, London, on June 11, led by the director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Tristram Hunt The mother-of-three had visited Tŷ Hafan hospice in January - marking her first royal 'away day' since 2023 as part of her slow and steady return to royal duties following her treatment for cancer. The 43-year-old Princess has been making a gradual return to public duties since it was announced in January that she was in remission from cancer. Prior to Ascot, she had attended three high-profile event in just a week - Trooping the Colour, the annual Order of the Garter service and a visit to a V&A storage facility in London. The Princess revealed in January she was in remission from cancer after making an emotional return to the specialist cancer institution, the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, London, where she was treated to comfort fellow patients. She had been receiving chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer since late February last year with the King beginning his cancer care earlier that month following his diagnosis after treatment for an enlarged prostate. Announcing in September her treatment had ended, Kate described in an emotional video message how the previous nine months had been 'incredibly tough for us as a family' and 'doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus'. William later said in a separate interview how 2024 had been 'brutal'. Last weekend, Kate shared a sweet birthday tribute to her husband Prince William for his 43rd birthday. The adorable image showed the heir sitting in a field, while playing with a group of small puppies, whose mother is believed to be Orla, the Wales' family dog. In the image, the father-of-three is dressed casually, wearing jeans paired with a long-sleeved green button down shirt, as the puppies crawl over him sweetly. The photograph is accompanied by a caption from the Princess of Wales and other members of their family. It says: 'Happy birthday! Love C, G, C, L, Orla and the puppies!' In the somewhat casual photograph, the Prince of Wales is seen looking pensive as he sits outside in a rural setting. He is dressed in a button down pale blue shirt, as well as navy slacks - and in what may be a controversial move for some, he wears a very light beard. The image was accompanied by a simple caption which read: 'Happy Birthday to The Prince of Wales!'. Earlier in the day, a tribute to William was shared by his father King Charles, in which the monarch shared an unseen image of the heir as well as a sweet message via the Royal Family 's official X (formerly Twitter) account. But just days later, the royals were targeted by animal rights activists People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who branded them 'staggeringly out of touch' for breeding their cocker spaniels during a so-called 'animal homelessness crisis'. They said nobody should be 'churning out a litter' when animal shelters were full of dogs needing homes. Elisa Allen, vice president of programmes for US organisation Peta, said: 'The Prince and Princess of Wales should know that shelters here and worldwide are overflowing with puppies desperate for a second chance at a loving home.' She told MailOnline that 'churning out a litter in the midst of this animal homelessness crisis is staggeringly out of touch'. Ms Allen - who once sent Meghan Markle a vegan leather handbag as a birthday gift in 2018 - added: 'If William is going to lead, he might well take a lesson from King Charles and Queen Camilla, who have chosen to adopt from a shelter rather than contribute to the problem.' The Prince and Princess have had Orla since 2020, after their first dog together Lupo, also a cocker spaniel – which they were given as a wedding present from Kate's brother James Middleton – died unexpectedly. James is an experienced breeder and has owned three generations of cocker spaniels. Orla gave birth to four puppies last month and the photograph was taken in Windsor on a sunny day earlier in June. The royal couple are understood to be planning to keep one of the new puppies. In February, Camilla told how she had adopted a rescue puppy after she was left heartbroken by the death of her beloved dog Beth. The Queen revealed the addition to her canine family called Moley – because, in her words, the dog 'looks just like a mole' - when she met a fellow dog lover at an event in Canterbury, Kent.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: Forget Kate Moss at Glastonbury, the 2025 waistcoat is for everyone
What with being neither a page boy nor a snooker player, I had not given much thought to waistcoats until recently. I guess I thought of them as belonging to a wardrobe that didn't concern me: a world of braces, cravats and flat caps. Of Guy Ritchie films, wedding rentals and carnation buttonholes. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Well, I guess the joke's on me now, because waistcoats aren't novelty or naff any more. They are happening, and I need to get up to speed on how to wear them. The waistcoat has entered the fashion chat in the slipstream of the trouser suit. Women have been wearing them for decades, but until the last decade it remained a slightly niche move – not weird or eccentric, just a bit of a statement. It is only in the past few years that suits on women have become unremarkable. These days, women of all stripes wear them: the Princess of Wales, as well as politicians, film stars on the red carpet, brides and moguls and mums. Ahead of the women's Euros, which kicks off next week, M&S has released a collection for the Lionesses that gives a playful nod to Gareth Southgate's famous waistcoat. This time around it comes buttoned asymmetrically. The waistcoat is either the third part in the suit look or an alternative to the jacket. This waistcoat moment is very different from the last one, when Kate Moss wore them in the 00s. That was an entirely different iteration: a spry, shrunken scrap of a thing, worn with skinny jeans and a ribbed vest. It was very informal, worn either tight and buttoned (no bra) or hanging loose from the shoulders over other layers, almost like a scarf. It was rakish, romantic and a bit Fleetwood Mac. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion The waistcoat hits differently now. Sometimes it is worn as a top, when it works as a kind of froth-free corset, buttoned tight to cinch the waist. This is good when you want the silhouette of a vest top but with more structure. Another plus is that it is one of the few summer outfits that looks just as good when you layer a jacket on top. Any kind of tailored blazer will work well, so long as the necklines of the jacket and waistcoat run parallel, or close (a high-necked waistcoat under a cutaway jacket will get a bit messy, visually). A cardigan definitely can't go on top, though, or you will look as if you put your clothes on in the wrong order. Cardigan stans might, however, do well to lean into the waistcoat-cardigan hybrid, in the form of a simple front-buttoned knitted tank. I have one I wore between a shirt and a jacket for most of the spring – and which is now working as a summer top on its own, buttoned up with a midi skirt; I'm also planning to take it on holiday as an evening throw-on over spaghetti strap dresses. Zara has a Knitted Top with gold starburst buttons (£29.99) that's very pretty. But the waistcoat shape that's most useful right now is one that can be worn as either a top or a jacket. The key details you are looking for are as follows. First, it needs to have a simple, round neckline, one that will map neatly on to the neck of a T-shirt, not a V-neck. Second, you want one that's not too skimpy at the shoulder. It should extend to where the shoulder seam of a shirt sits, because that way you can layer it over something with sleeves, if you want to. Third – and I know I'm being a fusspot now but bear with – look for a silhouette that buttons from neck to waist and then opens to a shape that flares at the hip. This will look great worn open as a casual sleeveless jacket, and smart worn buttoned with the belt of your trousers just seen at the waist. Me+Em have a Seam Detail Tailored Waistcoat (£250) that will be a hard-working piece of your everyday wardrobe but, worn fastened with smart white trousers, would be polished enough for Wimbledon or a city wedding. I am also a big fan of Albaray's Soft Yellow Tailored Waistcoat (£75), which has a chic notched neckline and an adjustable closure at the back of the waist so that you can shape it to suit you. Am I overthinking this? Possibly. Making up for lost time.
News24
2 days ago
- Health
- News24
Princess of Wales was ‘fortunate' to survive cancer, according to shocking new claims
A veteran royal reporter in the UK has shed light on the severity of the Princess of Wales' illness. It comes in the wake of the 43-year-old's unexpected absence this week from Royal Ascot, which raised concerns yet again about the state of her health. According to Rebecca English it's a firm reminder that the 43-year-old is still in recovery and she was likely far sicker than she let on last year when she underwent abdominal surgery in January before announcing in March that she had cancer, the nature of which she has not publicly revealed. 'As I have previously revealed the princess was seriously unwell in the run-up to her surgery in the first place,' English, a long-standing royal correspondent in the UK with impeccable palace sources, wrote in the Daily Mail. 'And while that is a story only for her to tell – if she ever chooses to do so – I can say that, from what I understand, she is fortunate to even be speaking of recovery. 'So, while she may be glowing on the outside the drama over her last-minute non-attendance at Royal Ascot last week is, perhaps, a timely reminder that the princess was really very poorly not so long ago. 'And it's why, to quote the princess herself, this year remains one of 'balance'.' In January Kate revealed she was in remission during a visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. She spent much of 2024 secretly visiting the hospital for her chemo treatment, where she was fitted with a semi-permanent 'port' in her chest. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales (@princeandprincessofwales) Her non-attendance at Ascot is part of her 'slow and steady' return to royal life, where her health remains a priority over royal duties. It also comes after her back-to-back appearances at two major royal events – Trooping the Colour and the Order of the Garter. 'On some levels I actually think this is a good reminder that she was really seriously ill last year,' another source says. 'She underwent a significant period of chemo. As anyone who has been through that experience will tell you, you can feel very unwell for a long time afterwards. It can take years [to recover].' It's believed Kate will not be making any more public appearances for the remainder of June. It's thought she is 'highly likely' to make an appearance at Wimbledon, which starts on 30 June, in her role as royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. She is also set to play a 'significant' part in next month's visit by French President Emmanuel Macron at Windsor Castle. After that she and Prince William along with their children – Prince George (11), Princess Charlotte (10) and Prince Louis (7) will decamp to Anmer Hall, their country home on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk for the start of the school's two-month summer break. After that they are set to join King Charles and other senior royals at Balmoral Castle in August.
