King Charles faces unusual ‘snub’ as Zara Tindall’s husband lays bare life in royal family
King Charles and Queen Camilla are facing an embarrassing snub by leading Australian politicians ahead of their tour of the country.
As the couple prepares to kick off their nine-day visit Down Under on Friday, every single state premier has turned down invitations to attend their royal reception in Canberra on October 21, reports suggest.
The King is set to deliver a speech at the event to recognise Australians for their achievements in the arts, culture, sports and health.
Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan is the latest representative to snub the invitation, whilst other politicians have given excuses such as “schedule clashes” and “election campaign duties”.
Meanwhile, the reality of marrying into the royal family has been revealed by Zara Tindall’s husband, who described the experience as “pretty easy”.
Mike Tindall, 45, made the revelation in his new book, The Good, the Bad & the Rugby, following Meghan Markle’s claims that marrying into the firm was far from plain sailing.
“Believe it or not, marrying into the Royal Family was pretty easy for me,” he wrote. “They were always nice to me.”
Meghan, 43, cited several issues that came with royal life, including press intrusion, when she and Prince Harry chose to give up their positions as working royals in 2020.
Key Points
In pictures: Princess of Wales’ surprise appearance to meet Southport victim’s with Prince William
The Princess of Wales has ramped up her return to public duties by making a surprise joint appearance with Prince William to meet the bereaved families of the Southport attacks.
Marking their first joint engagement since Kate’s cancer treatment, the couple privately met the families in Merseyside last week.
The Princess, 42, is said to have attended because she wanted to show her “support, empathy and compassion to the local community”.
“Meeting the community today has been a powerful reminder of the importance of supporting one another in the wake of unimaginable tragedy,” the couple later said in a joint statement.
Meghan Markle a ‘warm and considerate’ person to work with
Steve Davies, who worked for the duchess in Toronto during the early part of her relationship with Prince Harry, told InTouch magazine: “My wife and I got invited to the wedding, that’s how close we became,” he said. “I would work with her again, not a problem at all. She was a good person to work for, and she still is a good person.”
“[Meghan] gets a bad rap for being a not very good person to work with, that she was this evil person in the Royal Family.
“The staff at Buckingham Palace [said they] couldn’t stand working for her,” he said before adding: “[But] nobody had a bad word to say about her [in Toronto].
“Even with the pressure that she was under, she was warm and considerate all the time.”
Earl Spencer reveals new relationship after marriage breakdown
Earl Spencer has revealed that he is in a new relationship with a “brilliant” archaeologist months after announcing his third marriage had come to an end.
Announcing the news, he explained that they had met when Cat Jarman came to dig up a lost Roman villa on the Earl’s land.
The pair subsequently began a popular history podcast with Reverend Richard Coles called The Rabbit Hole Detectives.
The late Princess Diana’s brother told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Cat Jarman, who is my partner now actually. She’s a brilliant archaeologist.
“It sounds like an Alan Partridge title, but she is Nordic Person of 2024, which is usually handed out to someone like Sven-Goran Eriksson or a composer to be Nordic Person of the Year.”
Earl Spencer was most recently married to Karen Gordon between 2011 and September of this year.
Prince William reveals how Diana inspired new homelessness documentary
Explaining his motivations for making the show, which follows the launch and first year of his Homewards project, the heir to the throne, 42, said: “I have taken some inspiration and guidance from what my mother did, particularly with homelessness.”
The documentary is set to explain how homelessness can potentially be ended in modern Britain.
The release date for Prince William: We Can End Homelessness has yet to be announced.
The Prince’s Trust formally changes its name
The charity’s chair, Alison Brittain, described the change as heralding a new, “exciting” chapter for the charity, which was established almost 50 years ago in 1976 when Charles was still the Prince of Wales.
She added: “As the King’s Trust continues to work for young people in the UK and around the world, we are as committed to supporting young people to build the skills and confidence they need for work and ultimately a brighter future.”
The change was marked by a new logo featuring a white crown in front of a red background. The charity’s name was also changed on official channels.
Kate and William’s crucial parenting motto revealed during community football visit
He made the revelation while on a visit to a football event held by the NFL Foundation in London this morning, where he was gifted a football for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
William said: “That’s very kind. Never go home empty-handed, that’s a crucial motto of being a parent.
“We’re going to do some practice together, let’s see how many windows I can smash.”
Prince William raises awareness of UK’s NFL Foundation
William, 42, did so by attending an event held by the NFL Foundation, which provides inclusive access to the sport to young people aged 12 to 20.
He even had a go at being a quarterback himself and was praised for his impressive throw in a non-contact version of the sport.
The official Kensington Palace Twitter/X account wrote: “@NFLFLAG is fast-paced, inclusive, and designed to inspire and engage young people, developing their confidence and supporting them to reach their full potential.”
@NFLFLAG is fast-paced, inclusive, and designed to inspire and engage young people, developing their confidence and supporting them to reach their full potential pic.twitter.com/Km6TSMVqZH
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) October 15, 2024
Prince William attends NFL event and shows off ‘unbelievable arm’
Prince William has today shown off his “unbelievable arm” as he tried his hand at American football at an NFL event supporting deprived young people in the UK.
Youngsters shouted “what a throw” when the heir to the throne, 42, showed off his skills at the event at Kennington Park hockey pitch, south London, this morning.
Reacting to William’s role as a quarterback in the non-contact version of American football, Phoebe Schecter, GB women’s flag football captain, said: “Honestly, Prince William was great – his arm strength is unbelievable, when he let that first ball rip I couldn’t believe it.
“Honestly I think if we had better receivers around we would have had multiple touchdowns happening, but his ability to take control of the offence, going into a completely unfamiliar territory really, calling the cadence, receiving the ball, doing a hand-off at one point, making those tactical decisions – it was phenomenal.”
The event was hosted by the NFL Foundation UK, which gives young people aged 12 to 20 opportunities to try out the sport.
King Charles reveals key life skills everyone should have
The monarch, 75, has a longstanding passion for environmental protection and said that being able to sew and hem can help to dramatically reduce an individual’s clothing waste.
His comments came while celebrating the 10th anniversary of the King’s Foundation’s textile programme.
Director of education, Jacqueline Farrell, said the monarch is “passionate” about sustainable approaches in the clothing and fashion industries and this underpins every programme they offer.
Ms Farrell told The Telegraph: “At the heart of our teaching, His Majesty is keen that participants are equipped with fundamental skills that preserve the life of our clothes, such as simply being able to sew on a button, or being able to alter and hem garments.”
King Charles to ‘pause’ cancer treatment at the end of this week
The monarch, 75, has been battling an undisclosed form of the disease since earlier this year and is said to be bringing two doctors with him on the trip as a precautionary measure.
According to reports, he will resume treatment after the 11-day trip.
The monarch is said to be having a rest day on the visit to give him a break from his packed schedule too. There will also be no evening engagements.
