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Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Awkward' Fab Four moment that sparked Harry and William split
Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince Harry and Meghan all once worked together as a team, but one 'awkward' public moment tipped the now strained dynamic into turmoil Once upon a time, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared to be a dream team, representing a younger, more modern vision of the Royal Family. Then it all came crashing down, in a now widely forgotten moment that spelt the beginning of the end for the then-affectionately nicknamed The Fab Four. In February 2018, long before Prince Harry and Meghan upped sticks to Montecito, the two royal couples made their first official appearance together at the first Royal Foundation forum summit. This should have marked the beginning of an exciting journey together. Harry and Meghan were at that point excitedly planning for their May wedding, while William and Kate were expecting their third child, Prince Louis. Unfortunately, things went so badly that it was then decided that, aside from larger group royal engagements, such as Trooping the Colour, the quartet would never again appear on stage together again. It was a signifier of things to come. It was undoubtedly a very different time for the House of Windsor. Back then, before the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the subsequent coronation of King Charles, William and Kate were still known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Meanwhile, Meghan, now 43, was still establishing herself as a newly minted member of 'The Firm', with royal watchers dazzled by the Hollywood glamour the former actress brought to palace life. Unfortunately, Meghan's star power appeared to backfire during this fateful summit, in a way that apparently didn't go down well at all with future Queen Kate. At the central London-based summit, themed around the notion of 'Making a Difference Together', mum-of-two Meghan spoke passionately about movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp, encouraging women to "use their voices". She said: "I hear a lot of people speaking about girls' empowerment and women's' empowerment you will hear people saying they are helping women find their voices. "I fundamentally disagree with that because women don't need to find their voices, they need to be empowered to use it and people need to be urged to listen. Right now with so many campaigns like #MeToo and #TimesUp there's no better time to continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people supporting them." In her 2022 book The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth and the Turmoil, writer Tina Brown offered her analysis of the Windsor feud, by then in full swing. The former Vanity Fair editor, who previously penned the 2007 bestseller The Diana Chronicles, cast her eye over this now-famous summit, which offered a telling glimpse into the dynamics between these four very different individuals. Ms Brown noted that Kate, 43, appeared "strikingly less articulate" when compared with Suits star Meghan, who was able to speak "fluently" on the then-hot topic of women's empowerment. The astute author wrote: 'With blithe proprietorship, she deployed an issue that was not even on the foundation's docket - women's empowerment, then at its fervid height with the acceleration of the #MeToo movement. "'Women don't need to find a voice. They have a voice. They need to feel empowered to use it', Meghan quotably exhorted as Harry looked on with awe and his brother and Kate stood by with expressionless irritation. When it was Kate's moment to speak, she was strikingly less articulate, as well as brief." Reflecting on the "awkward dynamic", she continued: 'Few knew that it was she, after years of providing emotional support to her younger brother, James, as he struggled with clinical depression, who had been the prime mover of the foundation's mental health campaign. "It was crafted after careful consultation with mental health professionals, policy experts, and Palace advisers. Now here was Meghan championing a fashionable cause, anointed by Hollywood, sure to make headlines. It was an awkward dynamic. It was later decided that the Fab Four would not play together on stage as a band again." The event was intended to announce Meghan's appointment as the fourth patron of the Royal Foundation, and there was warm applause from sister-in-law Kate, as William declared he was "delighted" to have her aboard. However, there were already a few signs of brewing tensions as the group joked about having "healthy disagreements", which Harry said "come so thick and fast". William bantered: "Is it resolved? We don't know!" Reflecting on how their varying opinions actually came in useful, Harry continued: "I think it's really good we have got four different personalities and we all have that same passion to make a difference. "We have different opinions and they work really well [together]. Working as a family does have its challenges; of course, it does. [I think] the fact that everybody is laughing shows they know exactly what it's like. But we are stuck together for the rest of our lives."
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
Princess Kate Returns to Royal Duties After Intruder Arrested at Windsor Castle
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Security breaches have become shockingly common at royal residences in recent years, and on Sunday, June 1, Windsor Castle was targeted by an intruder for the second time in recent months. No one was injured in the incident, and on Wednesday, June 3, Princess Kate returned to royal duties for the first time after the breach. Per the Court Circular, the Princess of Wales—who launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood—held a meeting at Windsor Castle for her work in the childhood development sector. The private meeting marks the first duty the princess has carried out since May 22, when she attended a naming ceremony in Scotland for the warship HMS Glasgow. According to the BBC, a man in his thirties was arrested on Sunday for breaking into the castle grounds. A spokesperson for the Thames Valley Police said: "At just after 1pm on Sunday, a man entered restricted grounds at Windsor Castle. He was quickly challenged by Met police officers and arrested. He did not enter the inner grounds of Windsor Castle." The police continued that the man "was arrested on suspicion of trespass on a secure site and possession of class A drugs. He has been bailed and an investigation is ongoing by Thames Valley Police." In October, masked intruders broke into a farm property on the castle grounds that's alarmingly close to Adelaide Cottage, the home of the Prince and Princess of Wales. And in February 2024, an unarmed man was found wandering in the gardens outside King Charles's Windsor Castle apartments. "Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike," a police statement read following the October incident. The intruders escaped by driving through the very same gate the Wales family uses to access their property. While Princess Kate has been staying out of the spotlight since her May 22 trip to Scotland, next Saturday marks one of the biggest events on the royal calendar. On June 14, the Royal Family will gather to celebrate The King's annual birthday parade, Trooping the Colour—and fans should expect to see Princess Kate, Prince William and their three children in attendance.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Prince William visits Sheffield school with homeless charity
The Prince of Wales has attended an event at a school in Sheffield to celebrate the second anniversary of his charity aimed at ending Homewards charity, launched by Prince William and the Royal Foundation, works in six locations across the UK, including Sheffield. It supports those who are, or at risk of becoming, William met staff and pupils at Meadowhead School, which recently joined a new programme by the charity called Upstream, hoping to identify young people who are at greater risk and intervene headteacher Geoff Dearman said: "It's been really exciting, there's been a really good buzz around school." Marissa, 14, was one of the students who met the heir to the throne and presented him with a gift - a sculpture of a phoenix crafted by the school's art department."It's very thrilling, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity for most people - it's something I'll tell my grandchildren."When I first met him, he felt like a normal father, someone you could see in the street who could rule a country, but also be a present dad." Upstream was modelled on the Australian Geelong Project, which the charity said had led to a 40% decrease in youth homelessness and a 20% reduction in the number of young people leaving school initiative, which is being led by South Yorkshire homelessness charity Roundabout, is being piloted in Meadowhead School with the aim of implementing it in Year 9 students at the school completed a survey designed to highlight areas of their education or personal life they're struggling with, and some students are now being given individually-tailored support by the Upstream Dearman said the school community was "really diverse" and it was important to "remove the stereotypes and stigma attached with homelessness"."We've already seen some great breakthroughs with young people that weren't previously on our radar at all."Already, after only three or four meetings, they've felt comfortable enough to discuss how they're feeling, and we've been able to swoop in with other professional agencies to help support that young person." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
It's Princess Diana's Birthday, And Prince William Has Major Plans To Honour It
Prince William has a deeply meaningful plan to honour what would've been his mother Princess Diana's 64th birthday today. Prince William intends to travel to Sheffield to mark the second anniversary of his Homewards initiative, which aims to make homelessness 'rare, brief and unrepeated.' The initiative was largely inspired by the advocacy of his late mother. Prince William launched the Homewards initiative in 2023 as part of a five-year plan to tackle homelessness. Per the Royal Foundation, 'Homewards will support local partners to form locally led coalitions of committed individuals, organisations, and businesses who will work together to create and deliver a tailored plan to prevent homelessness in their areas – based on local needs and local expertise.' Upon the launch of the initiative, Prince William featured in an ITV documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, in which he commented on how much of an inspiration Princess Diana had been in his establishing the scheme. 'My mother took me to The Passage [a homeless shelter]. She took Harry and I both there. I must have been about 11, I think, probably, at the time. Maybe 10. I'd never been to anything like that before. And I was a bit anxious as to what to expect,' Prince William said in the documentary, per the BBC. 'My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed, and having a laugh and joking with everyone. I remember at the time, kind of thinking, well, if everyone's not got a home, they're all going to be really sad.' Prince William's interview in the 2024 ITV documentary also marked his first time in six years publicly referencing his brother Prince Harry. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today Might Also Like Pyjamas You Can Wear All Day 10 Hand Soaps To Make Your Bathroom Feel Like A Fancy Hotel 8 Of The Best Natural Deodorants
Leader Live
27-06-2025
- Health
- Leader Live
Kate meets Melinda French Gates a week after missing Royal Ascot
Kate and husband William invited Ms Gates to Windsor Castle on Wednesday where the trio are understood to have discussed their philanthropic work. The royal couple have made it onto Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential philanthropists. William and Kate were named in the Innovators category where they were hailed by the US publication for modernising royal philanthropy. Their Royal Foundation supports a number of their projects, including Kate's early years work and William's fight against the illegal wildlife trade. Ms Gates, also named as a leading philanthropist by the magazine, is the former wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and established Pivotal in 2015 to accelerate social progress through investments. The meeting was featured in the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements, which stated: 'The Prince and Princess of Wales, Joint Patrons, the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this afternoon received Ms Melinda French Gates (Founder, Pivotal) at Windsor Castle.' In a surprise move last Wednesday, Kate missed Royal Ascot for the second successive year as she seeks the right balance following her treatment for cancer. Since announcing in January she is in remission, the princess has been gradually returning to public duties and her appearances had increased in recent weeks. She was last seen in public on June 16 attending the annual Order of the Garter service with senior royals.
