Latest news with #royals
Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Anne mirabilis: a popular princess who deserves all the plaudits
Princess Anne intends to work until the age of 90, like her father HODA DAVAINE/GETTY IMAGES W e are often told that longer lifespans mean we must expect to work beyond the traditional retirement age. Princess Anne appears to have taken this to heart. She will celebrate her 75th birthday next month but shows little sign of slowing down. Last year she carried out 474 official engagements. That is a work ethic even republicans can admire. It is surely no coincidence that polls consistently show her to be among the most popular of the royals. She has lived through turbulent decades for the monarchy, and on more than one occasion the behaviour of others in her family has risked damaging public support for the institution. Through it all she has quietly knuckled down and got on with the job. Anne's vigour is an inspiration to those of advanced years, and her wider approach is an example to all of us. She has focused on duties, not perks; substance, not style. There are others in her family who might take note.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The bombshell document about the late Queen that 'worried' Prince William - and how it fuelled speculation over the future of the Royal Family
Eye-opening stories about the inner-workings of the royals being leaked to the press is nothing new. Indeed, just last week the surprising images of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's press secretary meeting with King Charles' communications secretary appeared on the front pages of newspapers, sparking rumours of a 'peace summit' between the Palace and the Sussexes.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Is King Charles right to hold 'peace talks' with Harry and Meghan? Have your say in the Palace poll
You've read the headlines and heard our experts' opinions - but what do YOU think? Have your say on the biggest royal story of the week by answering our poll below. You'll find the final results in our brilliant newsletter, Palace Confidential. Want more of the Mail's unrivalled royals journalism, straight from some of the world's leading experts on the monarchy? Now, you can make sure you're always in the know, by signing up to our brand new weekly newsletter: Palace Confidential. Sign up here. We'll bring together the most knowledgeable voices, gorgeous photography and exclusive insider commentary to expose the truth behind polished public appearances, and reveal the very human drama at the heart of this extraordinary institution. You'll have the chance to ask our Royal Editor, Rebecca English, and other top journalists anything you've always wanted to know about the monarchy. Sign up to Palace Confidential now, and never miss a Royals story.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kate's right hand woman hastily unfollows Meghan's friends on Instagram after making her account public
The Princess of Wales ' former personal assistant and stylist has unfollowed several Instagram accounts after royal fans noticed she was following some of Meghan Markle 's inner circle. Natasha Archer, 37, made her Instagram public after quitting her job at Kensington Palace last week. The stylist and personal assistant worked for the royals for more than 15 years - starting off in a role working for Prince Harry and Prince William before becoming Kate's righthand woman. After making her Instagram public, sleuths found that Natasha was following both Meghan's Instagram account and As Ever, the former royal's new lifestyle brand. Natasha was also following Meghan's make-up artist Daniel Martin, her close friends Abigail Spencer, Delfina Blaquier and Heather Dorak as well as various blogs and fan accounts dedicated to the Duchess of Sussex's fashion. She has since unfollowed dozens of accounts but still follows Sarah Rafferty, Meghan's co-star on Suits and Emma Grede - a recent guest on Meghan's podcast. Natasha is leaving the role to set up her own consultancy company. It is understood the Prince and Princess of Wales have wished Natasha the very best for a new chapter after their years-long association. Natasha began working for the Royal Fami ly in 2010 when she was appointed a personal assistant to both Prince William and Prince Harry. After William's wedding to Kate, Natasha also began reporting to the then-Duchess of Cambridge before becoming the future Queen's most trusted aide. Over the years, she became an integral part of the private household - with Kate seemingly rewarding her loyalty with a promotion last June. The Daily Mail exclusively revealed that Natasha stepped into the role of senior private executive assistant to William and Kate, following reports she personally collected The Princess of Wales from the London Clinic after her abdominal operation earlier this year. After that, the mother-of-two was brought into the innermost circle of trusted friends and family members supporting Kate through her cancer journey. The Princess announced she is in remission from an undisclosed form of cancer last September. Despite her high-profile job, the stylist, 36, has managed to stay mostly out of the spotlight - but still appears to be unwavering in her support of the Princess. Natasha has been such a trusted member of staff that she was one of a select few number of people who visited the Princess of Wales after she gave birth to her three children at the Lindo Wing in London. In July 2013, the stylist was seen entering the hospital to give Kate the blue polka dot Jenny Peckham dress they had chosen for the public appearance after the birth of Prince George, now 11. A source told The Telegraph: 'She was seen arriving at the Lindo Wing following the birth of Prince George with a hanger bag, presumably containing the blue and white polka dot Jenny Packham dress which Kate then wore to give the world its first glimpse of the future King a few hours later.' What's more, the two women both welcomed sons in 2018 - with Kate giving birth to Prince Louis in May and Natasha announcing the arrival of Theo in December. In 2014, she was promoted to the position of Kate's personal stylist and was said to be the mastermind behind the Duchess' wardrobe for the Cambridges' successful tour of Australia. According to Grazia, Natasha was brought in to make Kate's wardrobe look more 'regal' as per the late Queen's request. A source told the fashion magazine: 'Natasha's main role is as a PA, but over the last few months she has assisted Kate as a style adviser. 'Natasha and Kate get on very well. She has always supported and advised Kate - and the Duchess loves Natasha's style, so it seemed like an obvious appointment. Natasha has been helping Kate pick outfits for the [New Zealand and Australia] tour.' At the time, it was reported that Natasha often shopped online for Kate's wardrobe - particularly from ASOS and Topshop. Following the success of the Australia tour, it has been reported that Natasha started encouraging Kate to experiment more with her wardrobe. In 2016, Natasha also joined Kate on her tour of Canada - and was responsible for some of her most glamorous looks from the trip, including a bright red Preen cocktail gown. In 2019, the mother-of-three was highly praised for her style during her historic royal tour to Pakistan along with her husband Prince William, but her 'secret weapon' stylist Natasha Archer had a large part to play. It was Natasha who introduced Kate to much-loved Pakistani designer Maheen Khan after finding her designs at O'Nitaa, in London's Chelsea Green, and getting in touch with the 74-year-old to create some custom-made pieces for the royal. In 2017, Natasha married Chris Jackson - who is the royal photographer for Getty. As part of his role, Natasha's husband regularly accompanies the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales on official royal engagements. The happy couple chose photographer Matt Porteous - who has ties to the Prince and Princess of Wales - to capture their special day. The photographer has also captured several key occasions for the Prince and Princess of Wales over the years - including their Mother's Day post last year and Prince George's third birthday. As well as curating Kate's wardrobe and helping with her diary, it was reported that Archer, a Jenny Packham devotee, was ordered to spruce up Prince William's 'estate agent' style. For the tour of Canada, the then 29-year-old stylist – known to friends as Tash – added linen jackets, and sweaters from J Crew, Jaeger and Reiss, her favourite high street label. Natasha reportedly assured the Prince, then 34, that she was merely helping him to 'edit' and 'freshen' his wardrobe. In 2018, Natasha was invited to become a member of the Royal Victorian Order in recognition of her services to the Royal Family.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside the bombshell memoir about Queen Elizabeth's childhood which led to the ostracisation of a Royal Family friend
Before Prince Harry released his bombshell memoir, there was another book which ruffled feathers among the royals. It is 1948 and having married Prince Philip the year before, media interest in the heir apparent to the throne - Princess Elizabeth - was at an all-time high. To satisfy this hunger for stories, the R oyal Family agreed to a series of articles on the then princess by American magazine the Ladies' Home Journal. This access was given on the condition that the author would be hand picked, with Dermot Morrah of The Times being chosen. Morrah went about talking to a long list of courtiers, all of whom were keen to be interviewed. And there was one he was desperate to speak to - Marion Crawford. Marion, or 'Crawfie' as she was known by the royals, was the recently retired governess. The Scottish-born teacher was poached by the Queen Mother, who convinced her to travel to Windsor for a trial shift - which she passed with flying colours. Crawford worked for the family between 1933 and 1949, and has been credited with giving Elizabeth valuable everyday experiences. These included taking trips on the Tube, to Woolworths and even going to a public swimming pool. By 1949, she was living in a grace-and-favour residence at Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace's grounds. Despite having the most intimate view of Elizabeth's everyday life, Crawford proved very hard for Morrah to find. This evasion was because she had her own desires of writing a tell-all book. She was egged on by her husband who 'sniffed the chance that his wife might make a lot of money', according to royal author Hugo Vickers in his biography of the Queen Mother titled 'Elizabeth'. Crawford had only married George Buthlay in 1947 but he certainly left his mark. 'There is now question that Buthlay was a bad influence on Crawfie. We can but speculate how this 38-year-old spinster adapted to married life with such a man. 'He was a philanderer, both before and after he married, he manipulated her and fueled her anger,' Vickers wrote. He added that Buthlay made Crawford believe her pay and pension were inadequate, and she was unhappy with their wedding gifts from the royals. Word soon reached the editors of the Ladies' Home Journal, Bruce and Beatrice Blackmar Gould, that Crawford was interested in writing about her experience and they reached out to her. The Queen Mother caught wind about the offer and wrote to Crawford, saying: 'I do feel, most definitely, that you should not write and sign articles about the children, as people in positions of confidence with us must be utterly oyster. 'If you, the moment you finished teaching Margaret, started writing about her and Lilibet, well, we should never feel confidence in anyone again.' She did give the former governess tacit approval for her to provide some anonymous assistance, while warning her: 'I do feel most strongly that you must resist the allure of American money and persistent editors and say No, No, No to offers of dollars for articles about something as private and as precious as our family.' Yet the governess signed a contract with the Goulds, which stated: 'You will further consider publication of the articles without Her Majesty's consent (possibly with only the consent of Princess Elizabeth, or no consent) and under your own name, on terms to be arranged.' A copy of the articles arrived on the Queen Mother's desk by October 1949 and, upon reading them, she was left 'nothing short of horrified'. She asked if the Goulds would consider taking out 'inaccuracies and dangerous bits'. This included a claim that the King, Queen and Princess Elizabeth stood on Brunswick Tower, at Windsor Castle, watching London being bombed during an air raid. Despite being reassured by her husband and the Goulds that the book would not be published without royal approval, the articles were released alongside the infamous book 'The Little Princesses'. The release led to a monumental fall-out between Crawford and her former bosses. A series of 'misunderstandings' ultimately led to her ostracisation from the royals, as revealed by Vickers. He said: 'Queen Elizabeth believed that Crawfie had promised not to publish under her own name. Crawfie believed that she had only promised to submit her text for approval. 'It was a misinterpretation that would never be solved.' Crawford and Buthlay continued to live in the palace but soon found themselves being alienated - such as when they failed to receive a gift from Queen Mary at Christmas. The ex-governess also believed the Goulds sensationalised her stories by inserting incidents that never happened and putting words in people's mouths. As the articles were released throughout the Fifites, 15million readers lapped up the opportunity to lift the curtain on the royals' private lives - at a massive cost for Crawford. The couple bought a home in Aberdeenshire close to Balmoral in November 1950 after they were 'shunned by colleagues from top to bottom'. Crawford produced more tell-all articles and books about the Royal Family throughout this period, including a text on the lives of Queen Mary and Princess Margaret. She became a figure of mockery during these years and withdrew from public life in her later years. But Crawford always remained loyal to her husband and even attempted suicide following his death in 1977. When she died in 1988, aged 78, neither Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother or Princess Margaret attended the funeral or sent a wreath. Despite this, her Royal Household pension was paid until her death - in a clear sign of the family's gratification for her services before it all came to a sour end.
