Royal news – live: Prince William and Harry’s childhood home could have surprising future as royal funeral plans upgraded
Prince William and Harry’s childhood Highgrove House could have a surprising future, a royal author has revealed.
The 18th century countryside estate near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, serves as the private home of Charles and his wife Camilla, representing a sanctuary for the King.
With William and Harry “not showing great interest” in their childhood home, a royal source suggested that the countryside estate could be turned into a “Museum of King Charles III” in future years.
In his biography book ‘New King, New Court, Charles III, The Inside Story’ royal author Rupert Bell has also uncovered the Palace’s new funeral plans for the King.
According to the royal commentator, the King’s valedictory arrangements have been upgraded to Operation London Bridge, similar to those of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Prince of Wales’ funeral plans, previously called ‘Operation Clare Bridge’, have also been granted a new codename: ‘Operation Menai Bridge’, reference to a structure linking Anglesey to North Wales.
Key Points
William: I miss working in search and rescue
The Prince of Wales has admitted he misses his former “life” working in search and rescue as he took to the seas with a lifeboat crew in Cape Town.
William kicked off his final day in South Africa with a visit to Simon’s Town Harbour, home to the country’s largest naval base.
He met volunteers working for the National Seas Rescue Institute (NSRI) to hear about their lifesaving work and asked what inspired them to get involved.
Before donning a life jacket and heading out with the crew, he asked how choppy the water was and joked that he should possibly be wearing more kit so he did not get wet.
William also revealed that he was trying to teach his three children about rip tides and admitted he wished his family had been with him for the four-day trip.
He was asked by a member of the crew if he had ever done search and rescue work, he replied: “I miss this life. Any chance to get back, I’ll take.”
The future King was a search and rescue helicopter pilot based at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales before working as a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Prince William heckled by anti-monarchy protesters in South Africa
A group of anti-monarchy protesters have heckled Prince William on his last day in Cape Town, South Africa.
The future King was visiting Kalk Bay Harbour this morning when a group of people shouted “go home now” at him while holding placards that read “William, you have no sovereignty in our country”.
Kate ‘back training at the gym’ and set to resume royal duties
The Princess of Wales is reportedly preparing to return to royal duties and has been “back at the gym” following her cancer diagnosis.
Robert Jobson, author of Catherine: The Princess of Wales, claimed Kate could return to the public life.
He told Hello: “From what I understand, Catherine is doing very well. She is back training at the gym and doing all the things she wanted to do.
“I do think that we will start to see a lot more of her, and that she will carry out engagements as well as continuing to work behind the scenes.”
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In pictures: Sarah Ferguson attends book signing event in Sydney
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York poses for a photograph with a supporter during a book signing event at Dymocks bookstore in Sydney, Australia (EPA)(EPA)Sarah Ferguson signs books for supporters (EPA)
Royal funeral plan codenames upgraded
The King’s funeral plans have been officially upgraded to Operation London Bridge, to copy those of the late Queen Elizabeth, a royal expert has revealed.
In his new book, royal commentator Rupert Bell claimed that the Palace has also come up with new codenames for the Prince of Wales’s future death.
Mr Bell said: “As Prince of Wales, the King’s funeral plan had been codenamed Operation Menai Bridge, from the great structure linking Anglesey to North Wales. That is now the code for the new Prince of Wales, with the ‘Menai’ designation for all his immediate family in numerical order.
“Prince William’s plans had previously been codenamed Operation Clare Bridge, after the famous crossing over the Cam, during his days as Duke of Cambridge. ‘You need a plan for everything.
“Sadly, we all remember the death of a member of the family who died in Paris without a plan,’ explains one Royal Household veteran, alluding to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. ‘We are so accustomed, in this country, to these things, solemn and tragic though they are, going really well with no one putting a foot wrong.
“If we suddenly couldn’t do that, there would be a big question about the way this country looks at itself.’”
Charles could turn Highgrove into ‘Museum of King Charles III’
King Charles’s Highgrove House could have surprising future, a royal expert has revealed.
The 18th century countryside home near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, serves as the private home of Charles and his wife Camilla, and is something of a sanctuary for the King.
With William and Harry “not showing great interest” in their childhood home, the estate is still a “work in progress” as the Palace decides on its future.
Writing on his biography book ‘New King, New Court, Charles III the inside story’ royal author Rupert Bell has shed light onto the potential future of the monarch’s favourite retreat.
He said: “Neither of his sons has shown a great interest in taking on their childhood home. As a Duchy of Cornwall property (on a long lease to the King), Highgrove’s future will need to be decided by the current or future Duke of Cornwall. One close ally of the King has made an interesting suggestion.
“Given the King’s personal devotion to the place, and the way in which it encapsulates so much about the man, would it not make an ideal ‘Museum of King Charles III’ in years to come?”
Prince of Wales to join fishing community in Cape Town
The Prince of Wales will be the special guest at a Cape Town braai, or barbecue, as his tour of South Africa draws to a close.
William will join members of a local fishing community working in and around Kalk Bay Harbour as they have a fish lunch.
The future king’s visit will highlight the contributions of 2023 Earthshot Prize finalist Abalobi, founded in South Africa to protect small-scale fishing communities and nurture their ocean stewardship, while educating their customers about the origins of their seafood.
William staged his Earthshot Prize ceremony in Cape Town on Wednesday night and dubbed his environmental awards as a “movement for change” and called on the world to join.
‘Stubborn’ Andrew determined to stay in Windsor, says expert
Prince Andrew’s “stubbornness” and “arrogance” has added fuel to the fire in his feud with King Charles over his residence Royal Lodge in Windsor, a royal expert claims.
A row sparked between the brothers after King Charles cut the Duke of York’s from an annual £1 million “living allowance”, according to a new biography book by Robert Hartman.
Commenting on the rift, royal commentator Rupert Bell told Times Radio: “One of the problems that Prince Andrew has is that he is occasionally convinced of his rightness, and he gets himself into hot water with his stubbornness and sometimes his own arrogance has caused him to create these problems.
“He feels like he lost everything and if he loses his house, well then he probably feels that even more has been taken away from him.”
