The Princess of Wales had already dazzled in one colour from Oman's national flag ahead of the State Banquet on 20th October, so I was fully prepared to see her step out in a gorgeous white or red gown to continue the theme. Instead, Kate took her style in a totally different direction and attended the event in a lemon yellow Elie Saab frock.

The flowing cape sleeves, fitted bodice and graceful high neckline are all classic Kate details, but this was the first time she's ever worn yellow to a State Banquet before. It was so striking and she accessorised with a glimmering gold Anya Hindmarch clutch and her favourite Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara.

The Princess's bright gown seemed to glow in the opulent surroundings of Windsor Castle and had a similar effect as when she wore her purple dress to the Digger film premiere. Both times, she sent a subtle message to the Sussexes on where things stand.

The State Banquet for Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman was held the same evening that Prince Harry's latest interview discussing the royals was released. In it, the Princess's brother-in-law told GQ that "with everything else that's going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile".

Although Kate probably wouldn't have known about the interview in advance, her choice of outfit was nonetheless very powerful. Yellow is associated with happiness, optimism and confidence and she seemed totally at ease at the banquet, exemplifying the image of a future Queen.

In a recent issue of Woman magazine, Royal Editor Emily Andrews remarked on how the Princess's purple evening gown at the premiere was equally regal - and significant.

"While at first sight it may have seemed like a standard royal engagement - William and Kate attending the Royal Film Performance, a charity fundraiser - this, alongside a significant uptick in public appearances, sends a secret message to Meghan and Harry," she claimed.

A source also alleged that the Prince and Princess of Wales are "of course" sending a message - "This is how you do real royalty, so back off with your pale imitation."

Even though Prince Harry's interview with GQ has received some attention, it's William and Kate at the Oman State Banquet that has arguably stolen the show. Her outfit is already much-talked about and stepping out in a dress that radiates happiness, a tiara that was once loved by Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth's Greville Diamond Chandelier Earrings is peak regal.

Attending State Banquets is part of the job when you're a working royal and she undertook her duties with poise. Prince Harry and Meghan have never been to one together and as they're no longer working royals they're unlikely to be invited, so this was a clear reminder once again of how much things have changed and where things stand in terms of their royal positions.

Read the latest issue of Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

As Lorraine Kelly looks back on 2026, it is clear that it has been very much a year of two halves. In January, she tragically lost her dad after he had a heart attack, thought to have happened after he slipped on ice near his East Kirkbride home. She admits that she now tries to focus on the “funny” memories they had together.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, her daughter Roise got married to her partner Steve in a glorious ceremony outside of Dunblane. “I disappeared to the loo and to protect my eye make-up, I leaned forward to let the tears fall out of my eyes. Getting control of myself was impossible,” she says.

So Christmas this year for the 66-year-old daytime TV star will be a time of reflection but also celebration - although one thing has changed slightly, those celebrations may not be as alcohol-heavy as they once might have been. “Some people deal with bereavement by not eating, but I ate for comfort. I found solace in chocolate. I was eating too much and, frankly, drinking too much at weekends,” she says.

“In April, I had a good, long look at myself, and I’ve now cut out chocolate and drinking, I swim every day and, since April, I’ve been going to an over-55s gym twice a week. The workouts are all about building muscle, confidence, balance and strength, and it’s made all the difference.”

“Judging by how my clothes fit, I think I’ve lost a stone and a half. I was a size 14, pushing a 16, and I’m now what I call a size 11! Steve’s changed too. In April, when he tried on his kilt, which he wore to our wedding, he couldn’t fasten it. Before, he had a belly with a man at the end of it and now the belly’s gone!”

“Over the years I’ve lost weight then gone down a slippery slope, thinking, ‘One wee bit of chocolate isn’t going to hurt.’ Then suddenly your head’s in the biscuit tin. I’ve worked hard to get rid of this and to get healthy, so I hope this is now me forever.”

However, she will be allowing herself a Bucks Fizz when she opens presents with husband Steve on Christmas morning, and a glass of champagne as she talks to her friend Joyce on Christmas Day evening.

This year also saw her eponymous ITV show Lorraine cut to just half an hour amid a range of changes from the channel’s daytime offering. While initially upset that she was losing staff and having her airtime cut down, she now thinks of it as a positive move.

“I have the best job in TV. I’m still there, still enjoying it, we’re still doing well and I still give it 100%, but [time off] allows me to do other things, like Lorraine Kelly’s Norwegian Odyssey on Channel 4.

“My show being cut was a blessing in disguise – if I was doing five days a week, 50 weeks a year, I wouldn’t have had those chances. It has opened up so many opportunities – travel shows, writing my third novel, a newspaper column and a podcast – which is great because I can really be unleashed, and I like being unleashed!” Long may it continue.

Lorraine’s Change + Check campaign continues this month, 9.30am weekdays on ITV.

The Island Secret is out now in hardback (£20, Orion), and in February in paperback.

If you're not ready to say goodbye to summer, or want a luxurious relaxing getaway, there's a clever way to get more for your money; swap popular hotspots for more affordable destinations that offer a surprisingly similar experience.

From stunning countryside retreats to beautiful beaches and bucket-list scenery, these holidays prove you don’t always need to spend big to travel well. Below are six destinations that deliver sunshine, scenery and all the luxury you’re looking for – without the eye-watering price tag.

Best for sleek hotels

Dreaming of Dubai? You’ll love Turkey.

We’ve all seen images of influencers basking beside rooftop pools in the UAE or aboard Dubai mega-yachts. Their job is to lure in the top 1% and it’s worked.

Hotel suites are prohibitively expensive, while cocktails can cost up to £31,000 (admittedly, this particular tequila tipple included a crystal Baccarat glass, one of only two in existence).

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Turquoise Coast - stretching from Bodrum eastwards to Belek - enjoys the same winter warmth and the same bling hotels, but at half the price.

With infinitely more real estate than tiny Dubai, and a mission to lure flash families (not just Gen Z), Turkey has curated an impressive coastline of expansive beach resorts among tropical gardens, gorgeous undulating golf courses, over-water pontoon dining and chic outdoor shopping malls that stay open until late.

Take Regnum Crown, for example, a brand-new five-star, for which J-Lo performed at the opening party, and guests since have included Jason Statham and Stacey Solomon. Guy Ritchie even shot a movie there, with stars Henry Cavill and Hugh Grant staying on-site.

It’s an ultra-all-inclusive resort, which means every extra is thrown in, from your private butler, on-tap champagne, adults-only rooftop infinity pool (the only one in Turkey), entry to water park Aqualantis, hammam spa, plus tennis, padel courts and floodlit football pitches.

If you’ve an entourage to think of, Bayou Villas are luxurious one-to-four-bed hip houses, which work on the same ultra-all-inclusive model, but come with the privacy of exclusive use.

A two-bedroom villa has its own sauna, gym, two pools and games room, while everything on the room service menu is gratis, from Turkish menemen breakfast eggs, to party-sized sushi platters.

BOOK IT: Seven nights at Regnum Crown, from £3,914pp, all-inclusive, including flights; britishairways.com. Seven nights at Bayou Villas, from £2,772pp, all-inclusive, including flights; easyjet.com.

Best for UK chic

Dreaming of the Cotswolds? You’ll love the New Forest

Thanks to the Beckhams and Soho Farmhouse, the Cotswolds are now as glitzy as the British countryside gets - with a price tag to match. Instead, spend your precious days off in the New Forest in Hampshire, a national park with room to roam, trimmed by a stunning coast of low-key beach huts and cute cafes.

Elegant country house Chewton Glen is right by the coast and has a fantastic spa, multiple dining outlets and a cookery school. Accommodation comes in the form of elegant classic-style rooms or modern family-friendly treehouses.

It’s the perfect base for exploring the New Forest, whether you get stuck into crabbing off Lymington Pier or enjoying countryside walks. The glorious New Forest National Park spans 220 square miles and includes beautiful ancient woodland. You're bound to see its famous wild ponies - though be sure to give them plenty of space. A 2023 Public Spaces Protection Order prohibits the touching or feeding of any New Forest pony, horse mule or donkey, and there's a fine for any breaches. Stick to the 140 miles of footpaths and waymarked tracks and savour nature without disturbing it.

BOOK IT: Doubles at Chewton Glen from £230

Best for exclusivity

Dreaming of a private island? You’ll love a Caribbean cruise

For those of us without Beyoncé’s budget to spend on our own island (hers is rumoured to be a cay in the Bahamas), or still awaiting an invitation to Leonardo DiCaprio’s (an exclusive islet off Belize), there is another option… a cruise.

This is down to a little-known perk of cruising: the private island. Many cruise lines buy a paradise speck in the Caribbean, adding a unique port to their ever-more exotic itineraries, while simultaneously giving guests a taste of VIP life. These islands are completely closed off to the public and only cruise passengers can visit.

It started when NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) bought Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, followed by Royal Caribbean landing CocoCay, and Disney Cruise Line opening Castaway Cay for lucky passengers.

Some wow-factor islands feature water parks, while others are much more nature-focused, such as Harvest Caye, part-owned by the Belizean government.

Our favourite is Ocean Cay, open only to MSC cruise passengers, and now a hugely successful marine reserve. In the Bahamas, the island has been turned from a disused sand-extraction site into a marine biology project, establishing more than 75,000 plants, relocating coral to safe areas, and protecting waters so effectively that loggerhead turtles have returned to lay eggs.

There’s plenty of bling along with the biology. You can eat local lobster at the clapboard restaurants or go for sunset margaritas at Ocean Cay beach bar. Then, as night falls, MSC turns the island’s timber lighthouse into a spectacle, with thousands of LED lights in formation alongside Bahamian dancers.

BOOK IT: Seven nights full board on MSC Seascape, stopping in Ocean Cay, plus islands Roatan (Honduras) and Cozumel (Mexico), and Galveston in Texas, starts from £332pp, excluding flights; msccruises.co.uk

Best for wellbeing

Now the It Crowd is all grown up, Ibiza has gone from Europe’s priciest party island to its priciest wellness escape.

Another Spanish island with a relaxed vibe and a focus on health is Lanzarote. You’ve also a better chance of catching winter sun in the Canary Islands, and self-catering accommodation - from yurts to beach villas - is affordable.

Finca de Arrieta is an eco village of glamping and stone cottages around a solar-heated pool. There’s yoga, Pilates and qigong, as well as the chance to walk with donkeys or book a massage. It also offers villas to rent around the island - perfect for bigger groups.

BOOK IT: TUI flies direct to Lanzarote from 11 UK airports; tui.co.uk. Finca Panorama villa sleeps 10, from £259 per night, while eco yurts at the main Finca de Arrieta site start at £99 per night.

Best for tropical vibes

Dreaming of the Maldives? You’ll love Sri Lanka

What if we knew of a place with the same Indian Ocean waters, ocean-view pavilions and infinity pools, within minutes of UNESCO heritage sites, at a far lower bill than you’ll pay in the exclusive Maldives?

We do, and it’s Sri Lanka’s untouched east coast. Here, turtles nibble on coral just offshore, and the food is ultra fresh, and often cooked on the beach.

The place to stay is Sun Siyam Pasikudah, which is the first hotel outside the archipelago by family-owned Maldivian group Sun Siyam.

That’s why the resort is so similar to the Maldives, with over-water swings, private plunge-pool rooms and a floating bar (with a glass floor, no less, plus traditional wooden boat transfer). Best of all, rooms start from under £100 a night.

Drive a little north, and you can snorkel at Pigeon Island marine reserve, where benign black-tip sharks swim alongside green sea turtles. Inland, you can explore the wonder that is the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, whose temples, stupas and statues are well worth a day’s visit. Also nearby is Minneriya National Park, a wildlife sanctuary that is home to Asian elephants, langur monkeys and more.

BOOK IT: Seven nights at Sun Siyam Pasikudah from £1,849pp, B&B, including private transfers and flights; trailfinders.com

Best for celeb spotting

Dreaming of the Amalfi Coast? You’ll love Sicily

The craggy Amalfi coastline looks so ravishing in every classic film and fashion campaign that people now visit in droves, clogging up its cobbled streets, filling hotels and raising prices.

So we suggest Sicily if you want a taste of retro Italian glamour, along with waterfront accommodation. The island’s appeal has been growing since The White Lotus season 2, but following Dua Lipa and Callum Turner’s wedding celebration in capital Palermo, Sicily is the new Italian hot spot.

It’s affordable too, with three different airports, all served by low-cost airlines, and a range of hotels because it’s so popular with Italians on their own vacanza.

Mix rural escapism with a couple of days in the city for the best flavour of Sicily. Verdura resort is on the green south coast, near Blue Zone Caltabellotta (officially recognised thanks to the locals’ longevity).

Low-rise cottage rooms and whitewashed cubic outbuildings are the only development in this vast expanse of cactus green and never-ending blue sky; Verdura even has its own farm from where most of its food is sourced. Of eight restaurants, Amare is a highlight, serving spaghetti alle vongole on the beach.

After a few days of relaxation, drive to Palermo, where the 19th-century palazzo Villa Igiea has been transformed into a boutique hotel with sea and city views. We say the best

place to enjoy Palermo is from Igiea’s wraparound terrace (with Campari in hand), but there are three ancient markets that still flourish, of which La Vucciria stays open after dark. Salute!

BOOK IT: Doubles at Verdura from £374 and at Villa Igiea from £439; roccofortehotels.com

Prince William and Kate Middleton have proved the old adage 'actions speak louder than words' as the bitter feud with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex enters a new phase.

The Prince and Princess of Wales carried out their first joint engagement since the summer break to mark World Suicide Prevention Day at the home of Everton Football Club in Liverpool.

The visit caught attention for a number of reasons - not least because Kate decided to join her husband at what was expected to be a solo outing for the prince.

While to many casual onlookers this may have been interpreted as just another official engagement carried out by the two most popular members of the Royal Family, in reality this was the regal equivalent of flexing their combined muscles in a show of solidarity that sent a message to the Sussexes.

William and Kate clearly want to ensure they take centre stage as they brace for Harry and Meghan to make their next move.

By joining her husband at the event, Kate was in effect throwing down the gauntlet to her brother- and sister-in-law, now that they have returned to the UK.

It is often the subtle signs that count for so much when observing the actions and behaviour of members of the Royal Family. And on this occasion there is little doubt that the couple were determined to make a statement.

Kate is rumoured to be accompanying William to Mumbai in November for The Earthshot Prize ceremony, a trip that would mark their first significant joint overseas official engagement in four years.

It's another sign of a strategy that appears to signal the next stage in the war of the Windsors.

So far William and Kate have avoided saying anything publicly about the years-long feud with the Sussexes. But they are clearly keen to meet the challenge posed by Harry and Meghan head-on.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on a collision course with the Palace after telling friends they have no intention of being 'private citizens'.

While, so far, neither Prince Harry nor Meghan Markle has done anything on a large scale (beyond Meghan's Instagram video showing the couple and their children enjoying life in the British countryside), there is growing concern that plans are underway.

There has been a lot of speculation about an Oprah-style interview in the UK, but I think it is unlikely and, instead, the Firm is more nervous about what Harry and Meghan could do to overshadow the working royals' important campaigns.

Even stepping out on the same day as, say, Kate and William at a separate event will cause a headache for those behind the scenes at the Palace, with (no doubt uncomfortable) stories suggesting they are competing for attention.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that they might decide to do a chat with their journalist friend Tom Bradby, where even five minutes on the sidelines of an event would make waves around the world.

There is also speculation that Harry could release a second autobiography, as he has previously said that his first book, Spare, was double the size initially, or that he and Meghan could even consider doing an interview with a glossy magazine.

Then there are concerns about what the King might have to do around Christmas - invite them with the rest of the family and potentially cause difficulty for William and Kate, or avoid an invitation and inevitably get a backlash from their supporters.

Either way, the Palace is in turmoil over what to do next, as the royals essentially sit and wait for the Sussexes' next move.

Since returning to the UK last month, Harry has already taken part in a public engagement in London and announced a number of other events on both sides of the Atlantic.

In one, he will appear alongside Bill and Hillary Clinton at their annual Global Initiative meeting in New York. Other commitments include the WellChild Awards - Harry is a long-time patron - and the Invictus Spirit Awards. This, perhaps, is what symbolises the Palace's worst fears.

This latest turn of events erupted after the King's unprecedented letter, which spelt out that his second son and his daughter-in-law cannot be 'half in, half out' members of the Royal Family.

The letter - which, according to reports, blindsided the Sussexes - was a deliberate move by Charles to remind all concerned that the terms of the so-called 'Sandringham Summit' of 2020 remain in place. That was when the late Queen made it clear that Harry had to choose between being a full-time working royal and being a private citizen.

But in the years since Her Majesty's decree, the Sussexes have flouted the agreement, while living in California, by positioning themselves as public figures. This has meant official visits in support of hand-picked causes, as well as high-profile overseas tours that appeared remarkably similar to the kind of work they were supposed to have turned their back on.

The Sussexes will still not be able to use the titles of His and Her Royal Highness, and they remain private citizens, says the letter sent on behalf of the King by the Lord Chamberlain, a top Palace official.

Harry's own spokesperson responded to the letter by claiming he and Meghan were not consulted in advance, and it's believed they only had an hour's notice before the letter was widely circulated. The spokesperson added that the couple 'were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance'.

One source close to them went further, telling me that the Sussexes have 'no intention' of fading into obscurity now they are back in Britain. A warning to the Firm that more brickbats may well be thrown.

The insider said, 'It is their [Harry and Meghan's] belief that they have a great deal to offer charities and good causes that could benefit from their support. If the King thought that issuing the letter would simply make them fade away, he will be deeply disappointed.

There is no way, for example, that Harry will turn his back on the WellChild charity or walk away from his Invictus Games initiative. It is no exaggeration that this is likely to put them on a collision course with the Palace'.

There is no doubt that Harry and Meghan are in demand from organisations that would welcome their support and the attention it would generate. From Harry's point of view, he has an obligation to those causes he has supported and there is every likelihood he will accept further offers should they arise.

Prince William remains angry with his brother, in a feud that has now spanned more than six years. It's not known whether he was instrumental in the decision to issue the letter but my source said that it bore the hallmarks of the Prince of Wales, who is also thought to be seriously considering stripping the Sussexes of their royal titles once he is King.

The source continued, 'The problem is that people may not see the difference between official royal engagements and any events Harry and Meghan choose to attend'.

Among those who received the letter were senior military officials, in what was clearly a sign that the Palace hoped to stop Harry should he attempt to resume work with members of the Armed Forces.

Harry was stripped of his military titles when he stepped down as a working royal, something that was a particularly bitter blow to the former soldier and Afghanistan veteran. As one of the few royals in living memory to have served on the front line, Harry felt he had a duty to maintain a close relationship with the military.

But the letter has already led to one country pulling out of the Invictus Games in a show of support for King Charles. The head of the Ugandan military, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, issued a statement that said, 'In order not to be construed as being opposed to His Majesty King Charles III... whom we deeply revere, Uganda hereby withdraws from the Invictus Games. We shall not participate in anything that does not have His Majesty's approval'.

If other countries follow suit, Harry's hopes of staging the Games in Birmingham next year could be badly affected. So what might the collision course with the Palace look like?

Clearly, the King and William will be keeping a very close eye on the moves Harry makes next. Their biggest fear would be for him to fight back publicly by agreeing to an interview citing his frustration.

Any comments from the 42-year-old duke would inevitably infuriate the Palace, given the lengths they have gone to to try and stop Harry continuing as he did across the pond, with those pseudo-royal tours. Only time will tell whether the King's efforts to draw a line in the sand will have the desired effect.

But of all the things Harry and Meghan are known for, staying quiet is not among them...

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

The Prince and Princess of Wales haven't been to a premiere together since Top Gun: Maverick in 2022 and tonight they're once again getting glammed up and walking the red carpet in honour of one of Tom Cruise's films. The couple are attending the global premiere of Digger, which highlights the dangers of an environmental disaster, to support the Film and TV Charity.

However, the event falls during yet another turbulent time for the Royal Family and it's possible there could be slightly more behind their decision to go. According to Woman's Guest Royal Editor Duncan Larcombe The Firm is reportedly "nervous" about what Prince Harry and Meghan could do to "overshadow the working royals' important campaigns".

In the latest issue the royal expert also noted, "Even stepping out on the same day as, say, Kate and William at a separate event will cause a headache for those behind the scenes at the Palace, with (no doubt uncomfortable) stories suggesting they are competing for attention."

This is a dilemma for working royals like William and Kate, who are also well aware that Harry and Meghan are fond of attending big events like premieres, galas and awards. Right now, the Prince and Princess of Wales are choosing to carry on with their engagements as normal and haven't commented on the Sussexes' return.

Additional public appearances could be a welcome reminder that they are the working royals and perhaps going forwards it's less likely that Prince Harry and Meghan will end up being invited to big events like this.

Maybe even in the back of their minds there's a concern that if they don't accept, the Sussexes could get asked? We'll never know for sure but Harry and Meghan moving back to the UK has put the Prince and Princess of Wales in an even trickier position when it comes to direct comparisons being made.

Duncan claimed the "Palace is in turmoil over what to do next" as the Royal Family "essentially sit and wait for the Sussexes' next move".

Prince William and Kate attending the Digger premiere not only makes a public statement and supports an important charity, but will give the Royal Family a positive publicity boost on the same day as Earl Spencer's new book came out.

He's said William and Harry "won't be surprised" by the allegations in Swan Song, but it's made serious allegations about their father. This includes the claim that King Charles sounded "giddily elated" when he called after Princess Diana's death in 1997.

Buckingham Palace responded swiftly to extracts, stating, "While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss."

This new wave of coverage in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan's return is putting the royals under pressure and Prince William and Kate are two of the most popular family members. Many fans will be excited to see them at the Digger premiere, reuniting with Tom Cruise.

Alongside meeting with him, the future King and Queen are also being welcomed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and senior representatives from the Film and TV Charity.

Read royal biographer Duncan Larcombe's full feature in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Susanna Reid has sat and chat with some of the biggest names across the biggest industries - from politics to sport and showbusiness, she’s done it all.

For woman&home’s centenary issue, available Thursday, September 24, the Good Morning Britain star was the one answering the questions for a change, and she discussed everything from her top five trailblazing moments for women in history to the Hollywood star she’d vote in to No.10 Downing Street.

In the issue, she also revealed what makes someone like Josh Widdicombe a really "fun" guest, why the new Strictly Come Dancing host stood out as one of her favourite interviews of the year and how she approaches an interview with him differently to the likes of a politician.

When asked about her favourite guests to interview, Susanna replied, “Josh Widdicombe.

"We’d been given a heads-up before the interview that he was going to deny [rumours about] being the third presenter of Strictly Come Dancing alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe. We were waiting for him to say, ‘It’s not true’ but he wouldn’t.

"Later that day it was announced that he was, in fact, the new presenter of Strictly Come Dancing. When people don’t answer a question, when it’s someone wonderful like Josh Widdicombe about such a great programme like Strictly, it’s not frustrating. It’s fun."

Susanna was quick to add, though, this doesn’t apply to all guests equally. She quipped, "You don’t want that too much from politicians who you want to nail to the mast!"

And Susanna would know. She has interviewed the likes of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022, when she stood firm and held him accountable for the claims that he and fellow Tory politicians flouted Covid rules during the partygate scandal.

When it was confirmed Josh was joining the show - replacing long-standing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman - reaction from the show’s fans was mixed. However, the first episode which saw the new presenting trio take over was hailed a success by many critics, and attracted over five million viewers.

Josh has since lifted the lid on just what the audition process was like, telling The Times that his first audition involved interacting with judges Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.

He then had to watch videos of famous dances from the show and react as if they’d just been performed.

At the time, Josh thought he had done “rubbish”, telling the publication, “I thought I was rubbish. Everything I said felt false. I didn’t know where to put my hands.”

It was meeting his co-hosts to be, Emma and Johannes, that made everything fall into place. He shared, “From the moment we met, everyone was on the same wavelength, everyone was laughing”.

For more than a decade, Susanna Reid has been the dependable, inquisitive and steadfast host of Good Morning Britain. Rising in the middle of the night to start work at 6am, she presents the show with a smile on her face and, of course, with absolutely perfect hair and make-up.

Alongside her have been a string of co-hosts - including the likes of Richard Madeley and Ed Balls. But perhaps her most famous double act was with Piers Morgan. He sensationally stepped away from the show in 2021 after a fallout related to comments he made about Meghan Markle. And while they are friends again now, Susanna, 55, admits it did take some time to get back to a good place.

“I’m lucky to call Piers Morgan a friend. We went through a rough patch when he left GMB – it was a turbulent time and a massive shock,” she said, speaking to woman&home for our special 100th anniversary edition.

“But we spoke very quickly afterwards because our friendship meant a lot to both of us and still does. We used to have the fiercest arguments on- and off-air, but they toughened me up, and made me a better journalist and presenter. I am grateful for that and for our ongoing friendship. Piers also throws the best Christmas parties!”

Susanna joined the show in 2014 after a long stint hosting the BBC Breakfast show. And while she has been working in news for decades, she admits nothing is guaranteed any longer, mostly due to AI, and she is simply enjoying the work as best she can.

“We’re in challenging times with the advent of AI. I’m savouring every moment in television because who knows at what point I might be replaced by an AI version? We disappear into our own algorithms – people just want their own interests and it worries me,” she said.

“When you’re in news, current affairs and journalism like I am, you are appealing to a breakfast audience with a million different interests. You are keeping people’s spirits up with entertainment, but at the same time delivering difficult, challenging news about the economy and world events. If we have an AI version of super-highly tailored news, you would lose that sense of ‘I didn’t realise I wanted to know about that’ or ‘That didn’t occur to me’.”

In addition, there have been some difficult times at ITV in the last year, with budget cuts, studio moves and the loss of many behind-the-scenes staff. It is something Susanna is conscious of.

“Moving GMB to ITN was a big, dramatic change. The team was cut down, and who’s not going to feel sad about losing a chunk of staff?

“But people have found other fulfilling work and change is an opportunity – you have to lean into change and make it work. My generation’s time of life is a constant period of flux and change. We have ageing parents and growing children. We’re not stuck. We have to adapt all the time and be flexible,” she said.

“I don’t think beyond GMB. I won’t until the moment someone says, ‘Thanks very much. You can have a lie-in tomorrow!’ It’s very important to accept that you’re not going to work forever at a particular job. For whatever reason, things change. There will always be other things.”

But what other things might that be for Susanna? A podcast, it seems!

“Maybe one day I’ll have my own podcast – I’m a massive podcast fan.

“In my 50s, my ambition has changed. When you are young and starting out, you think about how you can get on as an individual, and when you get older, your role is to encourage the team.”

Wise words from one of the most inspirational women around!

As the royals gathered in Balmoral for their annual summer trip to Scotland, there was only one thing on the discussion list - the then-imminent return of the wayward Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

With King Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton all in one place for some downtime, I'm told that the surprise (and urgent) summit led to them coming up with an interesting - and potentially explosive - idea between them: the possibility of having a face-to-face meeting with Prince Harry.

My source tells me, 'William is extremely concerned about what Harry's return to Britain will mean for working members of the family. It may well be too risky for them to just sit back and let Harry make the next move.'

‘There are suggestions that they feel they have no choice but to ask the Duke of Sussex for a face-to-face meeting to discuss the future and lay down, or at least reiterate, some of the rules.

'Whether Harry will agree to meeting them all is up for debate, but it is felt that the King and William have little option but to try.'

I'm told that William feels he has been pushed into a corner and is now in a position where he has to invite his brother to talk about what's next, similar to the meeting Queen Elizabeth II organised at Sandringham in January 2020.

Cast your mind back and you will remember that Harry was told in no uncertain terms that not only could he and Meghan no longer use their HRH titles, but they could not expect to be half-in, half-out members of the family.

Arguably, they have flouted both conditions, with their titles still used on paperwork, and the pseudo-royal tours they have often made headlines with.

Effectively, the late Queen saw the dangers of Harry quitting life as a full-time working royal, yet still cherry-picking causes he could still promote without consulting the Firm.

Now that the Sussexes are back in Blighty, it's likely that King Charles and his heir will have major concerns about what exactly they are planning going forward. The damage they inflicted on the family from thousands of miles away was bad enough, but courtiers have warned that with them on home soil the dangers are far greater.

While a meeting may well be useful in rebuilding some kind of relationship between William and Harry, it would be fraught with risks.

If it goes badly, there is a real possibility that the Duke of Sussex may turn to his trusted media to reveal secret details about what went on, something I'm told understandably really worries William. Any meeting between the royal brothers is likely to be at the very least frosty, and at worst a full-on confrontation.

William remains angry with his brother for the string of high-profile interviews and a book that betrayed the family and the very institution that sought to protect him. In an ideal world, William would be able to use the meeting as a way of airing his disappointment, and get assurances from Harry that the days of dropping bombshells on the family are over.

For his part, Harry would benefit from building bridges with William, not least because of what revenge he could and may likely take once he becomes King.

My source added, 'Harry may be many things but he is not stupid. He knows that if he remains at war with his brother, when the time comes for William to take the throne the consequences for him could be severe.'

Some royal watchers have claimed that William may well strip his brother of the title of Prince when he becomes King, in the same way his father stripped Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his title. This would be a bitter blow for Harry and would surely hamper any efforts to make money out of his association with the Royal Family.

Then there is the issue of the Sussex children. Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet could become the innocent victims of any move by William to disassociate himself from his brother.

However, the fact still remains that the Sussexes' surprise move back to the UK has blindsided the family, and I understand they have real concerns about why the pair have made this move after making it clear how they felt about leaving.

Prince Harry is still involved with charity WellChild, of which he is patron, and next year he will hold his Invictus Games, for wounded servicemen and women, in Birmingham. These are both high-profile organisations that will deflect attention from the day-to-day work of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

William and Kate simply cannot risk Harry and Meghan being loose cannons, able to pick and choose engagements with impunity as if they were working royals in all but name.

And while the move back to the UK perhaps makes sense for Harry and his children, what about Meghan? After all, if she is to be believed, she was living her best life in the city where she grew up - so why the sudden change?

Either way, there is no doubt that with this surprise return, Harry could be forcing the hand of William, who hasn't spoken to his brother for a very long time, but may now. I predict interesting times ahead.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Disgraced Sarah Ferguson has taken refuge in another secret bolthole - this time at the luxury Portuguese mansion owned by her daughter Princess Eugenie and her son-in-law Jack Brooksbank.

The 66-year-old has barely been seen in public since the release of papers earlier this year linking her to her friend Jeffrey Epstein, even after he was convicted of sex-trafficking charges in 2008.

Fergie jetted off to Switzerland in January to spend time at the £13,000-a-day Paracelsus wellness retreat, amid the fallout from the so-called Epstein Files.

She was pictured wearing sunglasses and covered up outside the resort, in what were the first shots of her to be taken for many weeks.

In the months since then, almost nothing has been known about her whereabouts.

However, my sources have confirmed that since early August, the former Duchess of York has lain low while staying at her daughter's home in Portugal, far away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi.

Eugenie, 36, welcomed her third child and first daughter, Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank, on 3 August while living near the Costa Terra Golf and Ocean Club on the Alentejo coast.

The plush pad provides excellent cover for the former Duchess of York, who is understood not to have been there in time for the birth of her grandchild.

One source told me, ‘Sarah is still very keen to keep her whereabouts a secret. She has technically been in self-imposed exile since further details came out about her friendship with Epstein at the start of this year.

‘There'd been reports that Eugenie was angry with her mother, but these seem to have been wide of the mark.

‘Blood is thicker than water, and Eugenie had few reservations about throwing her mother a much-needed lifeline.’

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Prince Harry has started taking some tentative steps towards a reconciliation with King Charles but making up with Prince William is proving trickier - and could be even more important. Writing in Woman, royal biographer Duncan Larcombe suggested that the future might not be rosy for Harry if they haven't repaired their relationship by the time his brother is the monarch.

"Harry would benefit from building bridges with William, not least because of what revenge he could and may likely take once he becomes King," he claimed, before citing a source who believes the Duke of Sussex is well aware of the potential results.

"Harry may be many things but he is not stupid," they alleged. "He knows that if he remains at war with his brother, when the time comes for William to take the throne the consequences for him could be severe."

There's already been speculation that King William might look to strip his brother's royal titles. A few years ago this would've been unprecedented, but after King Charles did just that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor it's sounding a lot less ridiculous now.

Duncan believes that if this happens it would be a "bitter blow" for Prince Harry, who is, after all, still fifth in the royal line of succession and a Counsellor of State as it stands. Meghan is only Duchess of Sussex due to her marriage to Harry, so if he loses his Dukedom and Princely title she'd lose hers too.

Then there's the matter of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who took on their titles in 2022 when they became the grandchildren of the reigning monarch. Emily Andrews, Woman's Royal Editor previously said she thinks it's "obvious" that uncle William "will, at the very least" strip their Prince/Princess titles when he's King.

Prince Harry apparently knows exactly what he and his family could face but whether he has any power to prevent it is something else. The Prince of Wales didn't see him during the Sussexes' UK visit in July and he's not spoken publicly about them moving back last month.

All the signs seem to indicate that he's not that interested in making peace with Prince Harry and is quietly getting on with his life with Kate and their children.

"A key decision for William and Catherine has been shutting Harry and Meghan out, for their own well-being, as well as for the protection and prosperity of the institution," claimed royal author Russell Myers in his book, William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story.

The biographer also alleged that the Princess of Wales was "less interested" in trying to persuade her brother-in-law to stay as a working royal in 2020 than William had been. It looks like it would take a lot for William and Harry to have the kind of "reconciliation" the Duke of Sussex says he wants with his family.

Next year is the 30th anniversary of Princess Diana's death and now that Harry is back living in the UK, so perhaps there could be some sort of olive branch extended. By the sounds of it, it would reportedly be a lot better for the Duke of Sussex if they made peace whilst his brother is still Prince of Wales anyway…

Read royal biographer Duncan Larcombe's full feature in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

It sometimes seems as if divisions are all around us - and the fact that technology means we’re always ‘on’ has only heightened this.

With so much news and opinion coming at us from every angle, it’s not surprising that relationships - romantic, friendship or even professional - can be tested out of the blue, with strong opinions and convictions rising to the surface.

That’s the case with our reader, who has found herself struggling with her husband’s differing political views. When does debate turn into division?

When a loved one's views become intolerant and exhausting, how can you navigate it?

The reader asked: My husband and I have very different political views, and it’s coming between us.

In the past, we had healthy debates or could agree to disagree on issues like Brexit, but now he’s consumed by news and podcasts that make him intolerant.

I feel like he’s living in an echo chamber and it’s exhausting. How can I navigate this divide?

Living with a difference of opinion is one thing, but living with constant negativity is another

There’s a particular kind of sadness that comes from sitting opposite somebody you’ve been married to for years and wondering at what point they became a stranger to you. But reading your dilemma, I found myself wondering whether it’s not the politics that’s getting to you so much as your husband’s behavioural change.

He sounds irritable and inflexible, with every conversation just circling back to what’s wrong with the world. Living with a difference of opinion is one thing, but living with constant negativity is another.

The thing is, how we consume our media has fundamentally changed over the past 15 years. We used to form our opinions from newspapers or the evening news, but now we’re flooded with information 24/7.

Podcasts in the car, constant videos via social media, articles shared by mates. We’re never ‘off’ and none of us is completely immune to that.

If you think about it, the more time we spend listening to one particular version of events, it becomes more difficult to stay objective and form a viewpoint about other perspectives, especially when our algorithm is primed to feed us the same argument. That’s why I wouldn’t bother getting drawn into trying to change your husband’s opinions.

Don’t try to change someone’s opinions - try to start a conversation instead

Most of us don’t respond well to feeling corrected, particularly by the person we share a home with. My suggestion would be that you start a conversation about your relationship instead. Because what comes across most strongly in your dilemma isn’t disagreement, it’s actually loss.

You sound as though you miss the version of your relationship where you could disagree, roll your eyes at each other, then get on with your day.

It may also help you to consciously reclaim some territory. Not every car journey needs a podcast. Not every dinner-table conversation has to be about the latest political row. Relationships need room for ordinary life too - friends, family, the latest episode of The Traitors, and all the small things that remind us why we chose each other in the first place.

And, by the way, there are plenty of examples of couples who’ve managed political differences perfectly well. Alastair Campbell and Fiona Millar have spoken openly about not seeing eye to eye on every issue, despite both being highly engaged in politics.

Is there something beneath the surface?

As with all relationships, the challenge isn’t usually the disagreement itself. It’s whether respect and acceptance can survive alongside it. In other words, it’s about taking care of your marriage.

I also wonder whether there’s something else under the surface of your husband’s intolerance. Have you asked him whether he’s worried about ageing? Retirement? Change?

We’re living in a world of deep division, and that can leave people searching for certainty wherever they can find it. I sometimes find that strong opinions are a way for people to manage anxiety - it gives them a sense of safety when everything else feels so insecure.

You don’t need identical political beliefs to have a happy marriage. But what you do need is the feeling that you’re still on the same side. Once that begins to disappear, I’m afraid it stops being a political problem and starts becoming a relationship one.

If you would like help with a problem, email askanna@futurenet.com or leave a voice note at hello@itcantjustbeme.co.uk and mention you’re a woman&home reader. Note that Anna may choose your dilemma to discuss on her podcast, It Can't Just Be Me

The Princess of Wales's popularity is at an all-time high, as she almost single-handedly provides the sparkle the Royal Family so desperately needs.

Blessed with stunning good looks and the ability to be elegant, whether in a ball gown or rolling up her sleeves to play table tennis with a group of underprivileged youngsters, Kate has cemented her place at the top table.

In recent years, she has enjoyed unrivalled popularity with the public both here and overseas. But her cancer diagnosis and the cruel way she was forced to silence the conspiracy theorists and online trolls about being unwell - and therefore out of the public eye - have simply served to prove that she's in a league of her own.

Having to sit down and calmly explain that she was being treated for cancer not only silenced her critics but also made those who love her reach a new level of infatuation.

Thankfully, she is in remission, but the moment anyone is told by a doctor, 'It's cancer,' remains one of the most frightening scenarios a human can face.

She might have married into the Royal Family, with all the trappings that come with that, but her relatability is just what's needed in this turbulent time for the Firm.

I first met Kate in 2005, when little - if anything - was known about the beautiful St Andrews undergraduate who had caught the eye of our future king. At the time, she had been told that if journalists or photographers approached her, she needed to simply smile and act as though she was pleased to see them.

My conversation with Kate during a ski trip in Switzerland that year was brief, and instead I ended up speaking to Prince William as she quietly slipped away.

But in our encounter I was struck by how sincere she seemed to be, and someone who had her head well and truly on her shoulders. For some, a royal encounter is too much to contemplate, but Kate has always taken it in her stride.

The truth is that Kate has turned out to be a natural. Someone the late Queen would have been extremely proud of and recognised as a huge asset.

In his recent book, the royal expert Russell Myers reveals something that, to me, simply shows what an exceptional person Kate really is.

Myers claims that Kate had instinctive and grave concerns about inheriting the title Princess of Wales. Not only were Princess Diana's enormous shoes to fill, but Kate was also concerned about detracting from the legacy of her husband's much-loved mother.

It was, according to Myers, something that she had even spoken to her husband and her father-in-law Prince Charles (as he was then) about.

In his book, Myers writes, 'Catherine had privately expressed to William and to Charles her reservations about taking over the title, conscious of the British public's exceptional feeling for, and connection to, Princess Diana even 25 years after her death.'

How incredible that someone about to inherit one of the most iconic titles in the world would be modest enough to raise her concerns. I would say that is a sign, if not proof, of Kate's star quality.

Kate, you are more than worthy of the title of Princess of Wales and will one day make a wonderful queen at William's side.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Forget Jungian therapy, regression or ayahuasca, the best insight into a woman’s psyche is to see what’s hanging unworn in her wardrobe. Be honest. How many of your outfits are gathering dust?

And why do we buy expensive clothes, then refuse to let them see the sartorial light of day? It’s as if we’re kitting ourselves out for a parallel, more glamorous existence.

The outfits are ready, it’s just that our lives haven’t met the dress code.

My own wardrobe is a museum of alternative variations of me. It’s optimism on hangers. I have clothes for après-ski revelries, grand balls, cross-country hacking, Parisian soirées, Capri yachting, palace garden parties, elk-stalking and pole-dancing.

And what do I wear day in, day out? Saggy yoga pants and baggy tracksuits. I look poised to clean algae out of your aquarium or re-grout a shower at a moment’s notice. Clearly, I pay full price for a fantasy life... but get the reality for free.

Taking a trepidatious peek into my wardrobe, I’m chastened by the treasures I find. My first discovery: a shimmering, strapless pink chiffon dress with its price tag still attached. What did this lovely frock ever do to deserve my disdain? A cheeky leopard-print jacket is still wrapped in cellophane. Why haven’t I allowed it out to prowl the urban jungle?

It’s as if my clothes are in a witness protection programme. Why else have I kept that pinstriped pencil skirt hidden away? I bought it as a ‘statement piece’, yet I’ve never let it make a statement.

I have a ‘capsule wardrobe’ all right - a time capsule! That brocaded velvet pantsuit wasn’t even vintage when I bought it. I feel bad for that pea-green coat too. Why is it so cruelly neglected? I also seem to have ghosted a teal cashmere twinset I was keeping for ‘best’.

Well, the ‘best’ moment never came but the moths have RSVP’d, big time.

My underwear drawer offers yet more reprimands. Silk scanties, a satin teddy, a black peekaboo bra… yet what do I wear each day? Sensible granny pants and a grey, fraying bra. I purchased all that lovely lingerie for special sensual encounters. But shouldn’t every sensual encounter be special?

In truth, the ‘special occasions’ women wait for have been happening daily; we’ve just misread the dress code. Well, now is the Anna Wintour of my discontent! From now on I’m treating every day as ‘best’.

I’m swanning to the supermarket in a taffeta ball gown. I’m visiting Mum in the nursing home in leather hot pants. I’m wearing my fascinator to the bank and my tiara to the post office.

If every outfit tells a story, why not make yours a blockbuster? My new fashion statement is mischievously tongue-in-chic. My advice? Don’t wait for an invitation from destiny. Just go forth and be sartorially fabulous.

Kathy Lette writes her amusing columns on all sorts of topics, from female friendship to faking orgasms, camaraderie at divorce parties and going makeup-free – and even the importance of laughter itself. A new column is published in woman&home magazine every month.

Only a few years ago, the Sussexes and the Beckhams - two of the most famous families in the world - were believed to be very friendly with one another. However, sources now tell me that has all changed, and things between the couples are at an 'all-time low'.

One insider blamed the success of recent projects carried out by the Beckhams, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have arguably had far fewer positive headlines and, indeed, less success.

The Duke of Sussex's failed attempt to sue the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday was cited as a reason the bitterness has escalated, and it perhaps laid bare the lengths the Sussexes would go to for public victory. And, with the publisher seeking to recover some of its extensive costs, this is arguably a very low moment for the couple. Do they even have the money to pay the newspaper?

Meghan, someone who has courted the limelight for years and has been criticised for lashing out at the very institution that keeps her in the headlines, is understood to be baffled that the Beckhams receive overwhelmingly positive media coverage while she feels under constant attack.

It's not the first time relations have been reported to be fraught. Last September I spoke to Woman about how Harry and Meghan had reached out to the Beckhams' son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola over their shared family-feuding drama. This must have made Victoria understandably furious.

Like I said at the time, I think Meghan is a social climber and that this was perhaps just another example of her being prepared to play some people off against each other.

So it is perhaps hard to understand why Meghan is thought to be struggling with the Beckhams winning on the publicity front.

One source even went as far as to tell me, 'Meghan feels as though it is one rule for the Beckhams and another for her and Harry. This apparent double standard is a constant issue for Meghan, who sees herself as one of the most trolled women on the planet.'

Victoria and Meghan were once good friends, of course, in the days when the duchess was happy to wear VB-designed outfits and the Beckhams famously attended the Sussexes' wedding in May 2018.

And prior to meeting wife Meghan, Harry was close to David, with the former England football captain-turned international icon a familiar face in supporting some of the good causes promoted by the Firm.

But, ultimately, the friendship was to be short-lived, with my sources claiming that the former friends' fall-out most likely 'boils down to jealousy' and one even breaking rank by saying, 'I believe it was envy that caused the fall-out.'

My sources also suggest that Meghan was 'furious' about the success of David's Netflix documentary, as well as the announcement of Victoria's dedicated limited series.

Indeed, when the Sussexes unveiled the trailer for their high-powered and non-scripted sports show Polo in November 2024, the insider said there was 'an element of the green-eyed monster' relating to their respective upcoming releases.

Royal biographer Tom Bower wrote in his book The House of Beckham that Meghan and Victoria initially fell out over requests for free clothing from Victoria's fashion line, make-up tips, as well as a 'snubbing' during a visit to Australia – accounts that led to the Beckhams being accused of leaking stories to the press.

'In Meghan's celebrity world, ranking depended on wealth and fame,' Tom Bower claimed in his book, adding, 'As a seasoned operator, Meghan deluded herself that her status in the Royal Family placed her above Victoria in the social pecking order.'

'[Meghan] was irritated to discover that the Beckhams had considerably more wealth than herself. They owned five homes, had constant access to private jets, invitations to sail on yachts and much more money. And she was soon to be a duchess.'

Bower's biography on the Beckhams also alleged that Meghan 'put on airs' around Victoria when they first met, but that she also felt she had 'little in common' with the former pop star.

But if reports are to be believed, this didn't stop her from requesting free clothes from Victoria's label. However, according to Bower, Meghan's arguably crude request was 'vetoed by the Palace for being against their rules'.

Tom Bower even suggested that the friction between the couples heightened when the Beckhams were not requested to attend the Sussexes' wedding dinner, having only received an invite to the ceremony.

But the Sussexes hit back at the biographer following his more recent book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family, saying in a statement, '[Bower] has made a career out of constructing ever more elaborate theories about people he does not know and has never met.'

Reports of the couples' falling-out recirculated in August 2023 after stories suggested that the former England football captain was 'absolutely furious' after it was claimed that the Beckhams had shared private details with reporters. At the time, a source said that 'any making up now is so unlikely'.

Victoria had previously been nothing but glowing about Meghan, calling her a 'genuinely lovely woman' in a 2018 interview. And, according to a Vanity Fair article from the same year, Meghan had been consulting VB for fashion advice. 'Meghan really likes Victoria's style and was keen to pick her brains about pulling together a working wardrobe,' a source said.

Meghan even wore one of VB's designs for her final official outing as a working royal, at the 2020 Endeavour Fund Awards. The turquoise-blue pencil dress became something of an iconic image as the couple walked through rainy London, looking decidedly happy about the new life that lay ahead for them in California.

As a jobbing actor growing up in LA, many think Meghan would have dreamt of the day when A-list stars would fall over themselves to make her acquaintance. In reality, many of the Hollywood movers and shakers appear to have grown wary of publicly associating themselves with the Sussexes.

When former US President Barack Obama celebrated his 60th birthday in August 2021, an invite for Harry and Meghan seemed conspicuous by its absence. And even celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey – who, of course, famously interviewed Harry and Meghan in 2021 – are believed to have distanced themselves from the royal couple.

The reason stems from Harry's ongoing feud with Prince William. Relations between the two brothers are so bitter that many of the rich and powerful are reluctant to be seen as 'Team Sussex', given that William is the future King.

It feels like things aren't going to get easier for the duke and duchess any time soon.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Zara Tindall might not have a title, but the Prince and Princess of Wales once granted her a role that could have a huge impact on the monarchy's future. In 2013 the Prince and Princess of Wales made her one of Prince George's godmothers and she's the only Royal Family member to be a godparent to any of their children.

This highlights their trust in Zara and expert Robert Jobson believes her grounding influence on 13-year-old George is key. Speaking recently to the Daily Mail, he explained, "In the autumn he goes up to Eton. The apparatus that makes a king is already built around him. The school. The staff. The gaze tightening by degrees until one day he notices it, and it is too late to mind."

"All of that will make a king. None of it decides what sort," he added. "For that, look at the two people in his life who hold no rank at all, Zara and Mike Tindall."

Robert has noticed that when Zara is with George "there is no deference" towards him, despite him being second in the royal line of succession. Instead, he thinks she "teases him" and the teenager is "easy with her the way children are easy with adults who want nothing from them".

Although retired rugby star Mike isn't a godparent to George like his wife, he also behaves very normally around him and Robert believes he talks to the youngster "about losing". According to the royal author, this is "the one subject nobody else raises, because everybody else is invested in the boy winning."

"Prince George is destined to be king. Whether he arrives knowing the difference between being important and being useful is not," Robert later stated. "Two people close can undoubtedly help him. They have no titles between them... That is exactly why they can."

Zara has never been a working royal but she was raised in the public eye as Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter, so she has a unique perspective she can share with Prince George. According to woman&home's Royal Correspondent Emily Andrews, the Tindalls have "perfected" the royal "balancing act".

"They attend major state events, honour the monarchy, and maintain close bonds with the likes of William and Kate," she wrote. "All while raising thousands for charity (such as Parkinson's UK, with which Mike's father was diagnosed in 2003), paying their own way and keeping their feet on the ground."

With Prince George now a teenager and preparing to head off to boarding school, this is a formative time for him and Zara and Mike's influence might help shape him more than we ever realised. The Tindalls are also close to Charlotte and Louis and at Christmas and Easter we get to see their children all together too.

It's clear the bond has been passed down to the next generation and these close family ties could be an extra source of support for Prince George when he takes on more responsibilities in the future.

It had to happen, didn't it? It was surely a matter of when, not if... the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to their Californian home in Montecito, whereupon Meghan Markle did a huge picture dump on Instagram of her summer holiday.

And look! Isn't it so lovely, so joyous, so much family time with Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, on the beach in Portugal, Meghan shopping for just-gorgeous homeware, all to the tune of Cliff Richard classic Summer Holiday?

And I thought they'd left the Royal Family as they wanted privacy...

Oh - is that the swimming pool at Althorp House, where Prince Harry is adoringly flipping Lili out of the water? Is that Archie wandering barefoot through Earl Spencer's estate? Is that Harry and Archie carrying armfuls of white flowers to lay on Princess Diana's grave in the middle of Oval Lake, with Lili bringing up the rear?

Because, if you thought these pictures genuinely were just some candid holiday snaps, perhaps think again.

To me, all look artfully contrived then posted to remind us all that Meghan is very definitely royal, that Harry is very much Princess Diana's son, and that the Sussexes are the true heirs of Diana.

To be fair, she resisted posting anything from the 'Highgrove High Tea' (as I'm calling it), when King Charles and Queen Camilla invited all the Sussexes for a family reunion. She's far too canny for that. But then, she didn't need to.

That holiday dump reminded us all that they came to the UK, they did the royal stuff, and it was all happy happy happy! Which is even more extraordinary, if you think about what actually happened before and during their stay here.

This was a fraught period for the Sussexes. They were deep in life-defining security negotiations with the British state, a back-and-forth that threatened to make it impossible for them to travel to the UK for the rest of their lives.

I was told that Harry was close to tears about it all, while Meghan's side told People magazine she was 'saddened' and 'humiliated' by how it all unfolded.

Meghan and the kids didn't come for a large part of the trip. The family was separated, and they were the ones who were telling us how awful and scary and upsetting it all was, at great length and in excruciating detail.

But no! According to this social media photo carousel, everything was sun-kissed, wonderful and uplifting.

And this is the problem for Meghan and Harry. Things rarely feel authentic. Things often seem like they're there for the social media construct. It's just another form of advertising.

As someone said to me, 'It just looks utterly shameless, trying to capitalise on everything. And she and Harry wonder why most of the family won't see her? They just don't trust them, and worry they will be used to advertise the Sussex brand!'

The issue for Meghan is that it just looks fake. They can't tell us one week how horrendous and awful everything is, then the next it's all breezy summer holidays without a care in the world!

Public relations people are paid a fortune precisely to help their clients avoid this kind of confused messaging.

Meghan needs consumers (us) to buy into her lifestyle so we'll buy her wares. I don't think it's working.

Harry, too, had some bizarre mixed messaging. After hitting out at the British courts and the government, he then went on retired rugby player (and Celebrity Traitors hero) Joe Marler's podcast, boasting about farts and being called 'carrot top' at school.

Then, back in the USA, he went on James Corden's chat show to talk about the World Cup and the England football team with a pint! (I know from talking to Harry myself that he's more of a rugby man.)

It all feels like, to me, that the Sussexes' great American dream is crashing down.

Next month, Harry will be back in the UK to attend the WellChild Awards. Watch this space...

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Everyone who knows Mel Giedroyc knows she is one funny woman. Whether through her hilarious work with comedy partner Sue Perkins, her star turn presenting The Great British Bake Off or her most-recent appearance on Amazon Prime's Last One Laughing, she doesn’t stop making people giggle.

However, even the funniest of people have their down times, and following the death of her mother Rosemary in 2024 Mel, 58, had to try something new to get her out of her sadness. And for her, it was walking with her husband Ben which she credits with helping her grieve.

Speaking in the October issue of woman&home, Mel said, “Walking was brilliant for the grieving process. After Mum died, my husband and I did a seven-day-er between Bologna and Florence.

“He walked patiently alongside me, nodding, occasionally laughing, occasionally saying something, and I just cried and chatted away. If anyone reading this is going through a loss, there’s something about walking. I’m obsessed. I’ve even got walking sticks. When I opened them at Christmas, I thought, ‘Hang on, are you suggesting I’m somehow middle-aged?’ I’ve not used them yet!”

But not every walking trip for Mel is one that is to deal with sadness - and there have been some hilarious moments.

One in particular involves a certainly Holy man - who she ended up treating like he was "one of The Beatles".

“I bumped into the Pope during a four-day walking trip with a friend in Italy. We were south of Rome and came across him on the first night purely by chance,” she said.

“Apparently he goes into the countryside to ride his horse. He’d already got into his car but he rolled down the window and gave us a blessing. I was blubbering like a fool. I was actually screaming, running down the road after the car like he was one of The Beatles, but I now understand why people do that. I felt a powerful energy around him. He just looked really cool, really Zen, and exuded something very, very special.”

This year marks a fresh start for Bake Off, the show which Mel left in 2016 after it moved from the BBC to Channel 4. Following the departure of Prue Leith, the iconic Nigella Lawson is taking over as a judge alongside Paul Hollywood.

However, for Mel, she admits she won’t be watching - as she actually never has, even when she was taking part.

“I don’t watch Bake Off and didn’t when I was in it either. That’s not out of any sense of annoyance that I’m not in it, or pique. I just find it quite hard to view shows that I’m in,” she said.

“It’s part of my life that’s gone, and sometimes it’s good just to enjoy it for what it was, close the door and say, ‘That was then and this is now.’ Paul [Hollywood] and I were texting the other day and I still see Mary [Berry] regularly.

“She’s a proper friend. Bake Off is a great format and they have kept it going absolutely brilliantly. I am so excited about Nigella [Lawson] joining. It’s a genius booking. Maybe I’ll start watching it just to see her and Paul together. Together, they’ll take it to another level.”

Mel’s second novel, The Comeback, is out now.

Prince Harry and Meghan's imminent return to the UK has sparked a frenzy of speculation and interest - notably about where things stand with the Prince and Princess of Wales. Prince William and Kate weren't at Highgrove House for the Sussexes' big reunion with King Charles in July and didn't see them at any other point during their trip.

However, a detail shared alongside the recent news could suggest that Harry has reached out to his older brother. According to the BBC, His Majesty was told about the move on 16th August and they added that the "Prince and Princess of Wales have also been informed of their plans".

It's possible that they found out via the King, but the phrasing sounds more like they were specifically told in their own right.

That doesn't necessarily mean they were told personally by Harry and Meghan, however even if the Sussex team shared the news this would be a big step. The last time the Duke of Sussex and Prince of Wales saw each other face-to-face was reportedly August 2024.

When Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet went to Highgrove to see King Charles and Queen Camilla, some suggested that William wasn't thrilled.

Emily Andrews, woman's Royal Editor, wrote that she was told he "made it clear that Harry and Meghan were not to be offered Windsor Castle, or indeed any royal accommodation in Windsor" for their UK visit. She added, "He did not want to run the risk of seeing his younger brother - or Meghan - on his home turf".

Whilst I can only speculate where Prince Harry and Meghan might live after moving back right now, we know it won't be a royal residence and I'd be surprised if they settled in Windsor. Even so, the idea that they wanted to keep Prince William and Kate in the loop is intriguing.

Their respective children haven't had a lot of time to get to know each other and it's thought none of the Waleses have even met Lilibet at all. Surely, Harry would love them to spend time together and informing his brother and sister-in-law could also be a sign of respect.

Prince William is first in the royal line of succession and no matter what their personal relationship is like, Harry knows that the proper thing to do is not to exclude the future King from such a big life update. Given that part of the reason William is supposedly unhappy with his brother is the claims he's made about the institution, including that the Prince is "trapped" in it, this is a good move.

The relationships between Royal Family members are personal, but there'll always be that public, formal element there too. Telling the Prince and Princess of Wales they're moving back to the UK is a small step in the right direction ahead of a big year for the royals, including several moments where you'd expect the brothers to both be there.

In July 2027 the Invictus Games will be held in Birmingham and 31st August will be the 30th anniversary of Princess Diana's death. One of the last times we saw William and Harry side-by-side in public was when they unveiled a statue of their mother on what would've been her 60th birthday.

I imagine they'll want to mark this poignant anniversary in some way and it would speak volumes if they did this together too.

Jo Whiley has revealed that a visit to Dame Judi Dench's beautiful home for her gardening podcast, RHS Roots, transformed the way she thinks about her own house, inspiring her to create a space that's filled with family memories, rather than scaling things back and keeping it pristine, as she'd planned.

Speaking in our exclusive interview, the Radio 2 host admitted she'd coincidentally been on a major decluttering mission before visiting the Oscar-winning actress.

However, she noticed that rather than looking cluttered, Judi’s house felt warm and welcoming. "I'd been getting rid of things and trying to make everything look a bit more streamlined now the kids have left home. Coco’s the last one still living with us full-time, and she’s off to uni soon."

Everything changed when she stepped inside Judi's home and noticed how full of life it felt. "It was packed with family photographs, children's drawings and memories everywhere. It made me realise that's what a home should feel like.

"Seeing Judi’s reminded me that lived-in spaces are often the most beautiful because they reflect a lifetime of love, family and shared experiences.”

The presenter says seeing the beloved actress surround herself with sentimental keepsakes made her rethink her decision to have a further purge.

"I suddenly thought, 'Why am I putting all these things away?' As soon as I got home, I immediately put all the family photographs back out."

She revealed that the experience reminded her that our spaces are meant to tell the story of the people who live in them, rather than looking like a show home.

Jo now believes family pictures, her kids’ old artwork and much-loved mementoes deserve to be on display, saying they bring far more joy than perfectly styled shelves ever could.

"It's those little things that make a house feel like home. It's the memories that matter."

Is Prince Harry happy? That's what I get asked the most - and of course, it's the million-dollar question.

He may live in a palatial Californian mansion, be free of the shackles (as he sees it) of royal duty and have a gorgeous wife, Meghan Markle, and children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. But is Harry really happy?

Certainly, for much of the past six years since Megxit, he's looked angry, stressed and emotional. Last month was a case in point.

As soon as he arrived in the UK, he learned he'd comprehensively lost his privacy case against the Daily Mail. Appearing onstage for what should have been a celebratory Invictus event, he looked nervous and slightly stunned.

Given Associated Newspapers Limited, the Mail's publishers, are seeking costs against him (and others including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley) in the region of £35 million - which could potentially bankrupt him - you can understand his anxiety.

There was all that drama about was he coming/was he not coming (when he didn't get the security and gun cops he wanted), his family weren't coming (due to the security), then his family DID come (except we never saw them - proving conclusively that it IS possible for them to come safely to the UK, despite Harry's many and varied protestations that it's not safe enough here).

Even at Birmingham's NEC, when he was about to go to Highgrove for that much longed-for tea with his kids and the King, he looked (and sounded) somewhat flat.

For me, Harry looks as if he's a man without a purpose.

I wrote last week about the shock bombshell that the Sussexes are considering moving back to the UK - and at the very least spending more time over here.

Harry misses his family and his pals. Yet he's waged continual war on the British establishment - the government, the press, the judiciary and the monarchy itself.

I thought it was instrumental that when he was visiting last month, he appeared on Joe Marler's podcast and gave his occupation as 'Full-time dad. British Army veteran. Prince of England. Duke'.

We'll leave aside the historical inaccuracy (there's been no Prince or indeed King of England since the United Kingdom union in 1707), but it's the apparent yearning that gets me. He doesn't seem to know who or what he is.

So is he happy? I don't think he truly is - but the sadness for Harry is that he's searching for something he's not going to find. So I'm not sure he ever will be.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Jo Whiley has admitted she's already dreading becoming an empty nester as the youngest of her four children, daughter Coco, prepares to leave for university this autumn.

But she insists she would never stand in the way of her dreams, telling woman&home, with her usual candour, "I'm already feeling redundant!"

Despite her fears, Jo says she's excited for Coco to embrace the next chapter, even if it means she'll have to get used to Coco not being around the house as much. "I'd never stop her because I know she's going to absolutely love university. She’ll have the best time.”

The Radio 2 presenter and podcaster admits she's found herself thinking about how quickly family life changes, but has made peace with the fact that becoming an empty nester is a part of being a parent.

"It's a small price to pay for your children being happy. That is what you want for them first and foremost.”

Jo says she's taken comfort from the fact she's far from alone, revealing many of her closest friends are experiencing exactly the same emotions as their children prepare to leave home. "All my friends are going through exactly the same thing, so we can talk to each other about it, and that really helps."

Although she's wobbly about the transition, she believes watching her children spread their wings and grow into independent adults is what every parent hopes for. "You bring your children up to fly the nest. That's what you've worked towards all along."

While Jo knows she'll miss having Coco hanging out at home as much, she's looking forward to hearing about her daughter's new adventures and seeing her flourish. “It's the right time for her. It's going to be emotional, of course it is, but it's also something to celebrate. And she’ll be back to visit. I love it when all the kids come back and we’re all together."

There’s a distinctly end-of-term feel about the Royal Family this month. And the King and Queen have now retired to the Scottish Highlands after a jam-packed summer season.

They love this part of the world and their Birkhall home there - so much so, that this is where they spent their honeymoon 21 years ago.

Later this month and next, they will host the wider Royal Family at Balmoral Castle, a short Land Rover ride away.

Kate Middleton, Prince William and the children usually come at the end of August, along with Mike and Zara Tindall with their kids, plus Peter Phillips and his daughters. It’s at the end of the school summer holidays, and all the kids have a great time, I’m told.

Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, love spending time with Mia, 12, Lena, eight, and Lucas Tindall, five, plus Savannah, 15, and Isla Phillips, 14.

Charles and Camilla finished their official duties by hosting a reception for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - and arriving to open the games in the Doctor Who TARDIS, no less!

Prior to that, they’d been on great form at the RHS Sandringham Flower Show. Camilla got the giggles when she was given a toy radish, while the King was busy dispensing cookery tips - telling a group of schoolchildren to try spinach as it was the ‘best thing in the world!’

The King has been on really good form this year - I’m told his engagements are pretty much back to his pre-cancer levels. Courtiers had saved Fridays for him to rest, ever since his cancer treatment started in February 2024.

But although he’s still receiving treatment (thought to be immunotherapy), doctors are very pleased with his progress.

Besides having a proper holiday in the Highlands (he loves to fish and paint), he will continue with state business. He will host a number of people at Balmoral, including the obligatory weekend with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Heel.

I’m sure he’ll also fit in a visit to the Castle of Mey, nestled in Caithness at the tip of Scotland - home of his beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother - and perhaps attend the Mey Highland Games. And, certainly, he and Camilla will be at the Braemar Gathering at the Cairngorms National Park, a firm favourite of the late Queen.

Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence will be visiting lighthouses on her annual British cruise, while the Wales family have enjoyed a Mediterranean cruise and time at Anmer Hall, Norfolk.

But for all the Royal Family, it’s the Highlands that have their holiday hearts.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

It slightly beggars belief after all they have said and done, but… apparently Harry and Meghan are over the American dream and want to return to the UK. Friends are calling it a 'plan to reverse Megxit'.

Whether a crackpot delusion or merely the wish for a fresh start, the Sussexes want to turn around their negative image in the UK. It seems that a return to Britain is being contemplated in some form and that the couple's holiday home in Portugal will be used as a staging post.

I’m told that both Harry and Meghan have started to feel a bit unwelcome in the USA and trying to reconnect with Harry’s English side - for them as well as their two children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five - is now a priority.

It would perhaps take Harry standing up to Meghan and pleading, ‘I want to go home,’ but I do think it is something he really wants and something Meghan might be coming round to.

The family meeting at Highgrove House (Harry’s childhood home) with the King and Queen last month was a major step.

But what was at stake wasn't just Charles spending time with his grandchildren - for the first time in four years - or even healing the wounds caused by the Oprah Winfrey interview, Harry's memoir Spare, the series Harry & Meghan on Netflix, the court actions against the Home Office and all the rest of it - the Sussexes are thought to be seeking to reverse Megxit.

The end of their deals with Spotify and Netflix must surely play a part, as must Meghan’s reported fading popularity among her supporters, like Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

A friend says, ‘England is where Harry’s heart has always lain. It is no secret that they went to the States to try and seek their fortune, to try to capitalise on his fame and his royalty to some degree.

‘They have had successes. A $100 million Netflix deal is not nothing… But that American dream is cooling and she perhaps feels an outcast status as well.’

That’s not a permanent or imminent return to our shores, but to hear it being suggested and so deeply wanted by Harry still feels like a bombshell.

Another source, who is less sympathetic to the Sussexes, says they suspect a different kind of change may lie behind the manoeuvres.

The source said, ‘I don’t think Harry has ever wanted to be estranged from his family. I think in the early days he could be blind enough to choose life in the States with Meghan. Now things are different, and the veil is lifting.’

This is not to say they’re splitting up. More that, previously Harry is thought to have done everything she’s wanted to do. Now… not so much.

Yet that meeting with Charles is a major test for the Sussexes.

When they previously introduced Lili to the late Queen in 2022, during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, I understand that they asked if they could bring a trusted photographer.

A request that was denied.

There has been no briefing from either Team Sussex or Buckingham Palace on what took place at Highgrove over tea – and certainly no photographs.

That will have been the King’s express request - that it should happen completely privately, and stay that way. If anything leaks out, the fragile trust will be rocked once again.

Harry will be back next month for another charity event (and we can expect another father-son meeting then), plus all eyes will be on the Invictus Games in Birmingham next summer.

The Sussexes would like their children to take part in some of the public engagements, plus the King will also be invited.

Meghan’s team let it be known to a friendly US newspaper that she had felt ‘sadness’ at not attending any of the Invictus events last month and the fact that the chaos over their security arrangements was hashed out in public left her feeling ‘humiliated’.

But her visit, with the children, did disprove Harry’s much-repeated complaint that it was too dangerous to bring his family to the UK without the gun-carrying Met officers he so desperately wants.

He is not a working royal - but does he actually want to be one, after all?

Personally, I think he wants the best bits of being royal (popularity, adoration, being able to help) without the onerous duty.

What happens next will be fascinating.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's summer reunion with King Charles might've surprised some people - particularly because we've seen no photos of the joyful occasion. Instead, all Buckingham Palace did was confirm the Sussexes had met the King and Queen at Highgrove.

However, according to expert and Woman's Royal Editor Emily Andrews, this approach wasn't Harry and Meghan's choice, but Charles's. Writing in the latest issue, she suggested that His Majesty would've wanted everything else to be kept private.

"There has been no briefing from either Team Sussex or Buckingham Palace on what took place at Highgrove over tea - and certainly no photographs," Emily wrote. "That will have been the King's express request - that it should happen completely privately, and stay that way."

She believes that if any details or pictures are leaked the "fragile trust" between King Charles and his son and daughter-in-law "will be rocked once again". Although Meghan shared snapshots from the family's time in Europe on Instagram, she respected the monarch's reported "request" and no pictures of Archie and Lili with the King were included.

This is particularly interesting given what allegedly happened the last time the Sussexes visited the UK as a family in 2022.

The late Queen Elizabeth met Lili for the first time over the Platinum Jubilee weekend and Emily understands that Harry and Meghan asked if they could bring a "trusted photographer" to capture the moment.

Their own request was apparently "denied" and no pictures of the special family meet-up were shared then either.

This time it seems like the Sussexes were totally happy to honour the King's wishes and just enjoy the moment, as there's been no rumours of them asking again. Keeping it private maintains that "fragile trust" and also ensures the reunion remains a private, family matter. Even so, Emily believes Prince William wasn't delighted…

"I understand that William believes the couple should not have been rewarded with a family meeting, however private, with the King," she claimed recently. "His father has gone ahead, while William is the one carrying an ever-growing share of the actual work and popularity of the monarchy."

Balancing his relationships with both sons might prove tricky for King Charles as long as Harry and William's rift continues. In The Windsor Legacy, author Robert Jobson claimed that something the Duke of Sussex said in 2021 "shattered" brotherly trust.

Harry suggested that his older brother was "trapped" in the royal institution and Jobson alleged that the Prince of Wales "was furious" about this.

"William knew and embraced his path, both the burden and the honour. Harry's words cut deep," he wrote, adding that the "brotherly bond was shattered, and trust gone".

Despite this, Harry and Meghan seem to be making every effort to build trust back up with King Charles by keeping the details of the Highgrove meet-up between them. Perhaps, in time, they could have a reunion with the Waleses too, though privacy will be even more crucial there.

Read Emily Andrews' full feature in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

The drama with Prince Harry shows no sign of abating or calming down.

His hoped-for family reunion unravelled into an unseemly row over who said what, when, where could people stay and why exactly he feels unsafe in the UK.

Last week I explored all the behind-the-scenes drama and this week I report why William feels betrayed and possibly even humiliated. But amid all the fire, fury and counter-briefing, I also wanted to convey some of the sadness.

Family breakdown is always hard. Here is a grandfather who desperately wants a relationship with his two grandchildren. A son who wants to see his father. And, indeed, his older brother.

In the end, Harry did manage for his wife and two children to spend a couple of hours with the King at Highgrove. But the one question all my friends have been texting me to ask is why? Why is it so difficult?

To a certain extent it all goes back to the untimely death of Princess Diana. It left both William and Harry understandably deeply traumatised. They actually dealt with it, to some extent, in quite similar ways.

Both hated the press, both blamed them for her death, both were understandably devastated.

But the lasting trauma perhaps explains why Prince Harry is so paranoid about security, and protecting his own family.

He genuinely believes his wife and children aren't safe in the UK without guards armed with guns. Even the offer of accommodation at Buckingham Palace and 'safe passage' in and out wasn't good enough.

I'm no security expert (and surely writing about his 'kill count' of 25 Taliban in his autobiography did not discourage any potential threats or terrorist plots against him), but this seems like an overreaction.

Yet his dithering, paranoia and indecision all served to turn his UK trip into a circus. He tried to bounce the Home Office into giving him Metropolitan Police guards (who can carry guns) and seemed to think that bringing his children would sway it. It didn't work.

I can't understand why he didn't instruct his staff to remain silent, pop his wife and kids in a private jet and hop over to the UK from their month-long European jaunt in total secrecy. See his dad (and crucially be protected when he was with him), spend some family time and then send them back to where they were holidaying.

He could then have done his UK engagements, promoted Invictus and his charities alone.

For me, it was trying to combine the two things - his family and his work - that has proved so difficult.

He is no longer a working royal. And so can't act like one.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Being monarch grants you a lot of privileges, but also puts you in a position where you have to make some difficult choices between duty and family. The late Queen Elizabeth knew this better than anyone and according to Woman’s royal editor, Emily Andrews, she committed to what many would view as a harsh reality.

Emily recently reflected on Prince Harry and Meghan's recent reunion with the King and revealed what she believes the monarch's main priority should always be.

"Charles' first duty is not to the spare. It is to the heir and his wife," she claimed in the magazine. "That is the deal Queen Elizabeth II understood and honoured for 70 years. The institution comes first, sentiment a distant second."

Since stepping back as working royals, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven't shied away from sharing their thoughts about The Firm. From their Harry & Meghan Netflix series to the Oprah Winfrey interview and Harry's memoir, their revelations and allegations have often put the monarchy in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

According to Emily, the things that have been said "must still be painful" for the Prince and Princess of Wales. She wrote, "I understand that William believes the couple should not have been rewarded with a family meeting, however private, with the King."

King Charles and Queen Camilla met with Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet at Highgrove and although it was a family occasion, he's monarch 24/7 and his decisions will inevitably influence how the Royal Family is viewed by the public. The late Queen was firm about trying to separate love for her family from what made sense for the monarchy.

Despite Harry apparently hoping for a half-in, half-out role, Her Majesty didn’t sign off on this. She made it clear publicly that the Sussexes would no longer carry out engagements on her behalf, though still treasured them as "much loved members of [her] family".

Queen Elizabeth later also stepped in after the Oprah Winfrey interview aired, releasing her "recollections may vary" statement. Her Majesty had to be able to separate the personal from the professional as much as possible and we also saw her do this with King Charles himself.

When he was a child she went on a tour that lasted almost six months and for most of it, he and Princess Anne didn't see their parents. Although it was likely hard for her as a mother to be away so long, duty called and she answered.

Years later when King Charles got married to Queen Camilla, she didn't attend the wedding ceremony, only the service after. Reports have claimed that as she was Supreme Governor of the Church of England, she didn't feel it was right to attend the civil ceremony of two divorcees.

Behind closed doors at the reception she showed her support for Charles' marriage. As per royal biographer Robert Jobson in Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen "could be the proud mother" at their reception and "showed it by breaking convention" and making a speech.

Putting the institution ahead of "sentiment" might sound impossibly hard, but this was something monarchs like Queen Elizabeth - and now King Charles - must seemingly face.

Betrayed and possibly even humiliated. That, I understand, was the reaction of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales following King Charles's olive branch meeting with the Sussexes.

Of course, why wouldn't they be? They have been humiliated on more than one occasion by both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and seeing them swan back to the UK must, I’m sure, sting. And let’s not talk about betrayal - the pair who have repeatedly bemoaned the Royal Family and made awful accusations.

Sure, the family reunion at Highgrove House (Harry's childhood home) may only have lasted for a short time. A couple of hours I was told - perhaps just long enough for Archie, seven, and Lili, five, to play in the garden tree house that Charles had built for William as a boy.

It was confirmed by Buckingham Palace within hours of the visit (although they didn’t give any more details or release a photo) and it appeared to announce a policy of appeasement to the Sussexes.

Despite what they may say or do, despite the vitriol levelled against the British judiciary, British government or even the monarchy itself, they will not be cast out.

It must feel like a humiliation for William and Kate, who are believed to want nothing to do with the Sussexes, and are thought to have urged the King to do the same.

They have been hurt and betrayed by Harry’s departure from the monarchy, and his subsequent outbursts - across Oprah, Netflix and memoir Spare - must still be painful. I understand that William believes the couple should not have been rewarded with a family meeting, however private, with the King.

His father has gone ahead, while William is the one carrying an ever-growing share of the actual work and popularity of the monarchy.

Charles' first duty is not to the spare. It is to the heir and his wife. That is the deal Queen Elizabeth II understood and honoured for 70 years: the institution comes first, sentiment a distant second.

Because this meeting looks like a triumph for Harry and Meghan.

Giving all the appearance of working towards this for the past 18 months, their intentions have seemed clear: re-establish themselves in Britain and back inside the family, which could only boost their brand.

Only time will tell whether this marks the start of more regular visits to the UK.

And if it does, then it will be the undoing of Megxit. As surely this would be the half-in/half-out that the late Queen explicitly forbade.

And what can William and Kate do? Not much, if we’re honest, until William is King.

He rarely speaks of Harry in royal circles nowadays, I’m told, but this capitulation by his father is sure to sting.

After all, just three weeks before the visit, the Palace was calling Harry’s refusal to bring his children to the UK until he got the security he wanted ‘emotional blackmail’.

Following the Highgrove reunion, the tone completely changed.

Charles ‘will never shut the door on the possibility of spending time with his family because, despite all the trouble, blood is blood’ said a close source.

There is still huge mistrust between the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace.

It was meant to have been a joyful week for Harry - where he combined his work with repairing relations with his family.

And it’s clear he wants to spend much more time here in the UK.

But it’s also clear that Kate and William will not forgive him for Spare. It is little wonder, then, that my Palace sources tell me our future King and his wife held crisis talks about the latest movements.

They are united on all fronts, but their relationship with Harry and Meghan seems to be broken forever.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

It's a big month for Prince George. He's just waved goodbye to his prep school, celebrated his 13th birthday this week and his thoughts turn to starting Eton College in September. A huge transition - and one that is allied to his further preparation as future King.

I'm told he hasn't fully faced up to the enormity of his future (how can you when you're just becoming a teenager?) but takes his responsibilities very seriously.

However, this birthday marks a real watershed from child to adult.

Of course, like most teens and tweens he's likely massively self-conscious, right-on and prone to moodiness.

But he loves music, takes guitar lessons and follows in the tradition of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather in taking a keen interest in conservation.

And thanks to the hands-on nature of the Prince and Princess of Wales' parenting, he has been able to live a remarkably 'normal' life.

He's enjoyed watching the football World Cup, supports Aston Villa like his dad (who takes him to matches, pictured above) and participates in national sporting competitions.

Yet he's also heir to the throne and, as such, has slowly been introduced to a life of duty. It must be so strange to know that your future is preordained.

Sure, he will make GCSE then A-level choices at Eton College, which has educated future leaders for centuries. He may go on to study a university degree and, as future Head of the Armed Forces, in all likelihood do some form of military service (he's taking flying lessons and is apparently already a keen pilot).

Yet he knows what the future holds - or at least some of it. His parents have introduced him slowly to 'the Firm'.

George joined his parents at a Buckingham Palace tea party last year honouring World War Two veterans for VE Day (pictured left), and last December went with his father to The Passage homeless shelter to help cook and serve a special Christmas lunch for residents.

Last month, he went on his first official visit with just his mother, to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, to mark Armed Forces Day and inspect the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

But for now, it's a special summer.

A holiday of outdoor pursuits, such as sailing, swimming and picnics at Anmer Hall - the family's country retreat in Norfolk - beckons. It's sure to be a summer to remember, as he prepares to step into the more grown-up world of senior school.

I hope he enjoys every second. Happy birthday, George!

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

In the end, was this really what Prince Harry wanted?

All the drama, the will-he/won't-he come, the will-the-kids-come/will-they-not confusion and chaos? Perhaps with hindsight, the Duke of Sussex may look back on his two-week visit to the UK and realise how catastrophically he got it wrong.

Then again, maybe not. It never quite ceases to amaze me how Harry's victim mentality ensures that it is ALWAYS someone else's fault.

It's the monarchy's fault, the men in grey suits' fault, his brother's fault, his stepmother's fault and even the British government's fault.

The blame is never his.

Eventually, he did manage to arrange that longed-for meeting between his father and his two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five.

The audience - finally convened with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove, their private Gloucestershire residence - was, after all, supposed to be the whole point of his trip to the UK. The King had not seen his Sussex grandchildren for four years – and had only met Lili once.

But I always thought it was a little dangerous - and actually a bit disrespectful to military veterans - that Harry combined his working engagements with family ones.

He had arranged to visit Birmingham to fire the starter pistol on the one-year-to-go mark for the Invictus Games and to attend a summer party for the charity Scotty's Little Soldiers (which provides support for bereaved military children).

So far, so good. But the wheels started to come off even before Harry had set foot in the country.

The Sussexes briefed the press in June that they would come to the UK and bring their children to meet the King.

Prince William was said to be unhappy - and I'm told made it clear that Harry and Meghan were not to be offered Windsor Castle, or indeed any royal accommodation in Windsor.

He did not want to run any risk of seeing his younger brother - or Meghan Markle - on his home turf. A brutal showdown (which is what it would surely be) between the warring brothers is something that William would want to avoid at all costs.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that he'd snub Harry if he came anywhere near. My sources tell me that their relationship is far from thawing.

The King offered Harry somewhere at Buckingham Palace but the duke did not initially respond either way. What followed next suggested perhaps why he'd announced he was bringing his wife and children so publicly.

Harry had hoped to force the government (via the Home Office decision-making body RAVEC) to approve full royal-level protection for his family as he believes it's not safe for them to visit the UK without it.

Yet although the Sussexes would enjoy full royal protection when inside the palace, and they had already sent their itinerary to select journalists like me in the full knowledge that they did not have Metropolitan Police protection, when they were told they weren't going to get the security they wanted, all hell broke loose.

It was briefed that Prince Harry was 'devastated' and 'close to tears'.

Then he told his father he wouldn't stay at Buckingham Palace, only a couple of hours later to say, actually he did want to stay there - just 48 hours before he was due to arrive.

But by then it was too late.

The King put his foot down (and I was getting whiplash with all the about turns) and said no, he couldn't stay. Staff had to be given adequate notice to get rooms ready at the palace and there wasn't enough time.

Part of the problem was that Harry was about to get his judgement in his long court battle for unlawful information gathering against the Daily Mail.

The King no doubt wanted to avoid being dragged into Harry's railing against both the judge and the press once it was announced that he had lost on all counts.

His son has waged war against the pillars of our national life - the press, judiciary and government - not to mention his pot shots against the monarchy itself, from which he has to stand above the fray.

No wonder the King didn't want him to stay at 'Monarchy HQ' - after all, Buckingham Palace is not lastminute.com!

In the event, Harry did strike out of the capital, visiting Birmingham Children's Hospital on behalf of the WellChild charity. He and his family also squeezed in a visit to Althorp, where Princess Diana is buried.

Back in London that same day, William and Kate were presenting their own picture-perfect family image at Wimbledon with children George and Charlotte.

But this visit to our shores and Harry's reaction to the judgement in the court case seems to reconfirm that he lives in a bubble where it is his way or the highway. And when opposition is encountered, it's like a toddler tantrum - toys thrown out of the pram.

Harry's apparent entitlement, lack of good judgement and eternal lashing out have perhaps destroyed his chances of fully rebuilding bridges with his family. Yes, he and Meghan were able to bring their children to meet their grandfather (who is still receiving cancer treatment, don't forget).

But as a future blueprint for calm, measured - and treasured - family time, Harry blew it.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Jo Whiley is known for her upbeat and positive attitude, be it on her Radio 2 show or chatting with pal Zoe Ball on their Dig It podcast.

But, speaking in the September issue of woman&home, Jo - who recently turned 61 - has admitted she has had some low points of late, having to deal with parental illness, meaning she had to put her usual routine and life to the side.

She said, “Things have been hard on a personal level lately, but they are better now than they were. My mum had a back operation over Christmas, and for a long time, all I was doing was going to the hospital and sitting with Mum and Dad.

“That became my whole world. Dad has Parkinson’s, and it was just about getting through each day and being there for them. Talking about the practical level of having a sibling with learning disabilities is really important too.

“My parents listened to my podcast when I talked about what a nightmare Christmas was, so I got a warning from them about sharing too much, and I have to respect that. I also got told off by my mum for swearing, and that was a learning curve!

“When life got busy, exercise and seeing my friends were the first things to go.”

And, after a period of not hitting her regular fitness goals, Jo - who has four children with husband Steve Morton, who she married in 1991 - undertook a half marathon, and it spurred her on to get back into self-care.

“Self-care is so important. Friends say that exercise keeps them sane, and I agree,” she said, adding, “For me, it isn’t about how you look, it’s about feeling like yourself again, those endorphins flowing, and having a little bit of time that’s just for you.

“I did a half-marathon recently, which was stupid when I hadn’t trained, but it made me realise how much I hate not exercising and what an unhappy person it makes me. Now I’m back doing weights and swimming, and it helps my head so much.”

However, it isn’t all hitting the gym, Jo still has plenty of time for fun - even though her ability to stay up as late has diminished over the years.

“I prefer hosting parties at home over going to them. We have a ‘club’ called Miniscule of Sound in a shed in the garden, which has a disco ball, dry ice and a DJ booth,” she said. “The last party was still banging at 5.20am. I’d had a pillow over my head since 3.30am, and eventually I had to go down there in my pants and a sweatshirt, shut off the dry ice and ask them to stop. They were very good about it and went to another party!”

As well as her radio and podcast with Zoe, Jo also hosts one called Roots for the Royal Horticultural Society, which has meant she has got to meet and interview with likes of Monty Don and Dame Mary Berry. However, the person that really got to her - and forced her to change her mind on something - was Dame Judi Dench.

“Those are genuinely pinch-yourself moments because they’re people I’ve admired for years. The second Judi starts speaking, you listen.

“We sat in her garden drinking champagne and chatting, and I came away thinking that I should always have champagne on the go. I want to be as rock ‘n’ roll as Judi.

“Judi inspired me to stop decluttering. I’d been going through a phase of clearing things out at home.

"When I walked into Judi’s house, every room was filled with memories – family photos, drawings, little keepsakes – the whole place felt full of love. I came away thinking home isn’t about having everything neat and perfect, so I put all of my family photographs back up.”

Piers Morgan has never been backwards in coming forwards in terms of how he feels about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Having walked out of his six-year job on Good Morning Britain in 2021 following remarks he made about the former Meghan Markle - which gained a huge 41,000 complaints to television standards regulator Ofcom - he has not stood down on his forthright opinions about the controversial quasi-royal couple.

Now, he’s hit out at the pair again, accusing them of hypocrisy for discussing the importance of privacy online and then choosing to post pictures of their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, on their social media - albeit with their faces obscured.

He told Woman, 'My old friends the Duke and Duchess of Sussex keep preaching to us about privacy and about the need to be careful online, and how dangerous it is for kids – and then what did they do? They upload photographs of their five-year-old child on social media [for her birthday] to billions of people, immediately recognisable.

'And I’m like, “What are you doing? What is this about? Why would you preach about privacy? Why would you lecture the world to be very careful with children online and then put your own child out there to millions of people?” It makes no sense to me.

'Maybe it makes sense to their fans, I don’t know, but to me, that is a classic example of the kind of double standard that I think is ridiculous. If you are going to start preaching about stuff, at least try and live up to it. Don’t immediately do something which is the complete opposite of what you’ve been preaching about.'

Speaking again on 5’s The Royals Uncensored show, Piers discussed the fact that the pair would likely be coming to the UK with their children for the first time in years, as part of the Invictus Games countdown. As Woman went to press, Buckingham Palace had reportedly withdrawn an invitation for Harry to stay at the royal residence while in London.

Piers said, 'How do you trust these two? And they’re going to bring the kids [to the UK] that they keep preaching to the world about privacy, and how to protect kids online. Meantime, she’s out there, pumping week after week, more and more pictures of their kids... so there’s an absolute hypocrisy there which I find, honestly, frankly, quite sickening.'

It’s not the first time that Piers, 61, has hit out at Harry and Meghan and called them hypocrites. He did so in 2019 - prior to the couple leaving royal life in 2020 - when it was noted that they had been taking private jets while ‘preaching’ about environmental issues. ‘They are making themselves look like rank hypocrites and you can’t, as a royal, do that,’ he said at the time on GMB.

And despite Piers making a career out of giving his opinions - which he now does on YouTube channel Piers Morgan Uncensored, which has 4.4 million subscribers - he believes those in the public eye should stop moaning.

‘I think the celebrity public-figure side shouldn’t whine too much,’ he said. ‘Mick Jagger has it right - never complain, never explain - and the Queen Mother said the same. You rarely heard her speaking in public.

'Let what you do, do its own talking. I think it’s really good advice. People talk too much. I know that sounds pretty rich coming from me, but then I’m supposed to talk too much!’

Additionally, Piers hit out at his former show, GMB - which has found itself at the centre of budget cuts at ITV Daytime - claiming it cannot keep up with the kind of programming he is now doing.

‘Our audience [of the Piers Morgan Uncensored show] is growing exponentially around the world, at exactly the same rate as most mainstream TV shows. I don’t want to mention Good Morning Britain, because, obviously, they don’t have me any more, so understandable that the audience halved, so you get my point.

'Yes, dramatically. I think YouTube is how most young people watch anything. I know because I’ve got four kids, from the age of 32 right down to 14, and it’s all they watch. They don’t watch television unless it’s a major live event.

‘I’ll often do my show from a little cupboard somewhere. Literally, sometimes I will be in the Middle East somewhere, and I’ve got to do a show. I’ll get in the cupboard and put a camera on and get my laptop going. Nobody cares as long as the content is good, and I’m still doing my job.’

With Piers’ Uncensored show seeming to grow and grow, it looks unlikely he’ll be giving up his often controversial opinions any time soon!

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

As Prince Harry carries out engagements in the UK the question that we're all still asking ourselves is: will Meghan, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet be flying over to join him? The rest of the Sussex family has stayed in California so far but there has been speculation that they might meet up with the Duke once he leaves London.

It would be a huge moment for Archie and Lilibet and Woman's Royal Editor Emily Andrews assumes that the children will see King Charles if they come to the UK. Writing in the latest issue, she also suggests that it will "be interesting to see whether Meghan posts any pictures of that."

Emily adds, "She knows those images could boost the diminishing popularity of the Sussexes stateside and remind everyone of their royal pedigree and reacceptance into the family."

Since the Duchess of Sussex re-joined Instagram we've seen a lot more of seven-year-old Archie and five-year-old Lilibet. They regularly appear in pictures and videos taken either in the garden of the Sussexes' Montecito home, or inside helping Meghan cook.

Their faces are always kept away from the camera to give them more privacy. Even so, photos of a possible reunion with Charles would naturally be met with immense excitement online. He's understood to have only met Lilibet once in person and there were no pictures shared of that.

A snap with both his Sussex grandchildren would be the first of its kind to be shared. Emily believes that Meghan is well aware of the positive response she'd get to sharing a picture like this, but that doesn't necessarily mean she'd ever do it.

Balancing privacy and PR is a tricky thing and royal author Tom Quinn has claimed that Meghan and Harry have argued about this before. In Betrayal, he alleged, "Insiders spoke about tensions between them and arguments about their children. Harry was reportedly irritated that Meghan used their children to promote herself."

The author goes on to suggest that Harry wants Archie and Lilibet to be "shielded from the media" and reportedly "insisted" that they shouldn't be photographed. Tom added, "Meghan argued the opposite. The children, she believed, were important for her brand. She spoke of them living as normal Californian children."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's spokesperson has responded to Betrayal, expressing their view that "those interested in facts will look elsewhere; those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find [Bower]."

Personally, I believe that if Meghan, Archie and Lilibet do visit the UK and see King Charles, we won't see a picture posted on social media. However, Harry and Meghan might at least confirm the meeting took place to quell the public's curiosity.

This would also remind people of their "royal pedigree and reacceptance into the family". King Charles's schedule is always very busy, but a source has claimed to The Mirror that he "would not pass up the opportunity to spend time with his grandchildren."

"If there is a way of making it possible, he will do it," they stated.

Read Emily Andrews' feature in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Prince Harry is desperate for a royal reunion, I understand. Sources tell me he would love nothing better than an invitation from his father, so Charles can see his Sussex grandchildren for the first time in four years.

This July would prove the perfect opportunity as Harry, possibly with Meghan, Archie, seven, and Lili, five, is visiting the UK for the ‘one year to go’ until the Invictus Games in Birmingham.

But there’s one problem: Queen Camilla. It’s thought that she has never really forgiven Harry, 41, for effectively throwing her under the bus in his autobiography Spare and in the TV interviews he gave to publicise it.

Harry described Camilla as ‘the villain’ and the ‘third person’ in his parents’ marriage. He accused her of being ‘dangerous’ and of launching a campaign at his expense to rehabilitate her image in the British tabloids, after Princess Diana appeared to expose her affair with the then Prince Charles.

Harry revealed that he and Prince William pleaded with their father not to marry Camilla, fearing it would cause ‘more harm than good’.

He described, in excruciating detail, the horror he felt in seeing ‘the other woman’ on his own, likening their initial meeting to having an ‘injection’ and writing, ‘Close your eyes, over before you know it.’

Moreover, he accused Camilla of leaking stories about him to the press to smooth her path to becoming queen consort. He claimed she ‘sacrificed me on her personal PR altar’ and ‘left bodies in the street’ by trading stories to secure positive headlines. Ouch! No wonder she doesn’t want to see him.

Indeed, I’m told Camilla joked ‘over my dead body’ to inviting Harry and Meghan to stay with her and the King at Sandringham or Balmoral. It may be a joke (and we now know the King has offered an olive branch in the form of a royal residence for them to stay in) but the sentiment is thought to be real!

Camilla may not, understandably, be keen. If she was to push back, which she won’t because she wants harmony for her husband, it would be yet another new fall-out that no one needs.

When Harry flew to London in February 2024, after the King announced that he was being treated for cancer, I gather he hoped to accompany his father to Sandringham, but it was made very clear that the King and Queen were taking the helicopter to Norfolk without him.

Of course, Charles could decide to see Harry (and Meghan plus the kids if they come) on his own. After Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, they both stayed with Charles at the Castle of Mey (Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s favourite home in the far north of Scotland), where Harry later wrote that, in hope of conceiving their first child, he sang to the Scottish mermaids, in the form of seals, on the Caithness coast. (I’m not joking - he did actually write that and, thinking it was a ‘good omen’, he jumped in the sea to swim with them!)

I understand that Camilla, by that point, had tried to befriend Meghan but had been rebuffed (like Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh) so she chose to stay in Gloucestershire.

Harry and Camilla’s relationship had always been slightly uneasy but by the time of his wedding to Meghan it had much improved. So she was staggered when Harry hurled so many hurtful barbs her way - which also angered the King.

A friend told me, ‘The Queen has always appreciated how hard it has been for William and Harry after the death of their mother. She never sought to take her place, and has always tried to remain sensitive. But she has kept her counsel, despite the many slings and arrows of public acrimony, to protect the monarchy. So she found Meghan and Harry’s public rejection and criticism, which caused so much damage, unforgivable.’

I am told Harry is now particularly keen for his children to spend time with King Charles during his July visit. Since Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties and relocated to California in spring 2020, the monarch has had only limited opportunities to see his Sussex grandchildren.

Charles has met Lilibet only once, during the Sussexes’ visit to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. That same trip also marked the last time that he saw Archie, who was then three years old.

Having the King meet the children would not only allow them to spend time with their grandfather but could also serve as a strategic move for Harry, who has previously raised concerns about not receiving the level of security he feels is necessary.

But the Queen is very protective of her husband and does not want to see him hurt – or used. So despite the reports that Harry and his family have been offered a private residence by the King, I highly doubt Camilla will be anywhere near.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

It's not just the Duke of Sussex's relationship with his father and brother that's suffered since he and Meghan moved to California. According to royal expert Duncan Larcombe, rumours are that Harry has "barely spoken" with Zara Tindall in recent years.

Writing in Woman magazine, Duncan revealed that "sources say the Duke of Sussex has all but lost touch with his one-time playmate Zara". The pair used to be incredibly close and it was partly thanks to Harry that Zara met her husband Mike during the Rugby World Cup in 2003.

"I understand they have barely spoken in the years since the prince, 41, met and married Meghan," the expert said. "Not only are they said to have drifted apart, but the old close friendship they once enjoyed has, I understand, almost entirely evaporated."

Prince Harry and Zara haven't been seen in public together since King Charles's coronation and then only briefly. Meanwhile Mike spoke about how his cousin-in-law had changed at the 2026 Hay Festival during a talk with his The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast co-hosts.

As they joked about people embarrassing themselves at the Tindalls' wedding he quipped, "A lot of other people managed that way better than you – [like] Harry, when he was fun".

It doesn't just seem to be Zara who Harry has drifted apart from. He was the only cousin not at Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling's wedding on 6th June apart from Lady Louise Windsor, who's studying in her final year at university. We don't know whether Prince Harry and Meghan were invited or if they didn't make the guest list.

In an episode of her and Reverend Richard Coles' podcast Keeping Up With The Royals, woman&home royal correspondent Emily Andrews speculated that Peter thought it would be tricky if he asked them.

"The Sussex's team wouldn't be drawn on whether Harry and Meghan were invited or not," she said. "I suspect that Peter probably didn't invite Harry and Meghan because it's too problematic."

Reports have also alleged that they hadn't spoken for a while either, though he also used to be close with Harry. He was with him and William at Balmoral when they were told Princess Diana had died and royal biographer Hugo Vickers has said Peter Phillips was a "huge help".

It was interesting to see that whilst Harry and Meghan weren't at his wedding, possibly because it would be "problematic", Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice were.

This was their first public appearance since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest in February. They've not been personally accused of anything and their father continues to deny all allegations of wrongdoing, but there's been a lot of scrutiny of them by association.

Clearly, they are still quite close to Peter and he wanted them there regardless. It's sad to see how Prince Harry's relationship with his cousins appears to have also been affected by everything in recent years.

"I think it's not just William who is upset by what Harry's done," Emily Andrews said, adding. "Let's not forget that [Harry's] talked a lot about how he has felt let down in the royal machinery… I think there are many other members of the family who felt that Harry has behaved badly".

There was an intriguing story about Frogmore Cottage - which is the former home of the Sussexes - recently.

I remember breaking the exclusive story that the late Queen Elizabeth had given the use of the house to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as a wedding present.

Everyone had expected the Sussexes to move into Kensington Palace (a huge building which is split into apartments) as a married couple, upgrading from Harry’s bachelor pad, the two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage in the grounds.

But, as I discovered, things had got so bad between Prince William and Harry, neither brother wanted to live next door to each other.

So Frogmore Cottage, which had previously been split into five staff apartments, had £2.4 million spent on it to convert it back to a single home in 2019.

Now, it’s been reported that three years after the Sussexes vacated the property, any trace of them is to be wiped!

The Crown Estate, who own the property on behalf of the monarch, are looking at plans to reverse the revamp and subdivide the house to let it to royal staff.

Harry and Meghan wanted to keep it as their UK home, but were evicted by the King in 2023, just weeks after the publication of Harry’s vitriolic, tell-all book Spare.

King Charles had wanted his brother Andrew to move there, but he opted instead for Sandringham.

I thought it was very strange that having spent all that money renovating Frogmore (which Harry pointedly paid back after he quit as a working royal) the Crown Estate would potentially rip it all out.

I can understand that it’s a bit tricky (and expensive) to let as one property as it’s within the Windsor security cordon, but surely that’s the purpose of advanced security vetting.

What’s even more bizarre is that I’m told Harry and Meghan are really annoyed about it! They have a lovely home in California - why do they care what happens with Frogmore?

But it’s the symbolism, isn't it?

The fact that not just them but even the very memory of them, and their marital home, is being removed.

First of all they were evicted (and Harry really wanted to keep it as his UK base). Now they are being erased.

Sure, it can be dressed up as ‘repurposing’ for staff accommodation. But it’s a virtual expunging from royal history. As if the ‘Harry and Meghan era’ never existed.

And that’s got to hurt.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Of all the late Queen’s grandchildren, Prince Harry once seemed to have a particular bond with Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Phillips (now Tindall).

The cousins shared a fun-loving and at times rebellious streak that seemed to set them apart from the more stuffy and formal members of the family.

Never was this more evident than when Zara and Harry celebrated watching the England team win the final of the Rugby World Cup in Sydney back in November 2003.

Then third in line to the throne, Harry was on a gap year in the host country Australia, while Zara was letting her hair down with pals.

They were kindred spirits who seemed to have so much in common. And, of course, it was during that trip that Zara would meet her future hubby, hunky World Cup hero Mike Tindall.

Harry had already started to earn the tag of the partying, carefree prince, while his cousin had grabbed the headlines for having her tongue pierced - something seen as an un-royal act of rebellion at the time.

Paradoxically, the cousins enjoyed a particular bond with the late Queen Elizabeth, who seemed to have an unlikely soft spot for them both.

For Harry, Zara was someone who he could be himself with, a family member who shared the same down-to-earth personality, which made her fun to be with.

And for Zara, Harry was someone who she always seemed to gravitate towards as they endured official family gatherings.

How things have changed. Six years after he fled to America, sources say the Duke of Sussex has all but lost touch with his one-time playmate Zara.

In fact, I understand they have barely spoken in the years since the prince, 41, met and married Meghan.

Not only are they said to have drifted apart, but the old close friendship they once enjoyed has, I understand, almost entirely evaporated.

One of the clearest indications of how hard things have become was served up recently by Zara’s husband. Speaking at an event at Hay Festival with his co-hosts from his rugby podcast, Mike hit the headlines for a throwaway comment he made that seemed to sum up Zara’s revised view of Harry in this post-Megxit era.

The former England centre quipped that he knew Harry ‘when he was fun’ – a remark that brought laughter from his fellow broadcaster James Haskell.

On the surface, it may have seemed a fairly harmless remark from someone who was once a drinking buddy of the spare to the heir. But in reality, it could well have hit a sore spot for Harry – after all, Mike, 47, has first-hand experience of what Harry’s cousins really think of him in recent times.

In my opinion, there is no way Mike would have risked incurring the wrath of his wife by making such a comment in public unless it truly reflected how she herself feels.

It suggested something that royal watchers have suspected for several years – that Harry’s cousins feel he has changed a huge amount, and certainly since moving away.

The fun-loving, beer-swilling royal who always managed to ease the tedium of set-piece occasions with his uniquely devil-may-care attitude towards stuffy family gatherings appears to be a thing of the past.

Instead, Harry has, it seems, become an outcast in his own family, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Once the life and soul of the party, he is arguably a shadow of his former self.

Zara is probably far too savvy to risk making such a comment in public. But the fact her husband made it perhaps proves how Harry is viewed by the wider family who once adored him.

There is no doubt that Harry will have been made aware of the comment and it is almost impossible to imagine that it wouldn’t have stung.

Until Mike’s remark, the royals have followed a strict policy of not being drawn into tit-for-tat comments about how Harry is viewed these days. A senior royal source told me, ‘It may have been a throwaway remark, but what Mike said would have really upset Harry.'

'He has been at great pains to convince people he is living the dream since quitting life as a full-time working royal. But it perhaps reveals a lot about how Harry is now perceived by his cousin Zara in the years since he and Meghan cut ties with the family.’

Clearly, and maybe unsurprisingly, Zara seems to have lost touch with the cousin who she once shared so much with. What we don’t know is whether her view comes out of loyalty to William and Kate.

Harry will visit the UK next month, but there are currently no plans for him to see any members of his family, including Zara.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Sleep and hot weather are not a match made in heaven in the UK, but there are ways to sleep better in the heat if you're struggling to drift off this week.

Everyone has their own 'hack' for cooling a bedroom down, whether it's putting ice in front of a fan or changing the bedding, but sometimes it's even simpler changes to your bedtime routine that can make a difference.

Sleep expert Alison Jones says: “Trying to sleep when it’s warm can take some of the joy out of this time of year. Humid nights can cause people to wake more frequently, reducing sleep quality and quantity. Warm temperatures reduce the time spent in slow-wave sleep and REM sleep - the stages when the body does critical work to rejuvenate and restore.”

One way to improve airflow during the night is to change your sleeping position. It can be tempting to lie flat on your back and starfish (with your arms and legs splayed). This may not be the most effective option. Alison recommends sleeping on your side. She says this “exposes more of your body to the air” and "heat from the body can escape more easily, which regulates body temperature,” she explains.

Keeping your hands and feet outside of the sheet or duvet will also help you regulate your body temperature.

Known as the 'pole' sleeping position, this alignment is also recommended for better digestion and circulation, which are especially appreciated in the summer months.

Placing a pillow between your knees can help align your hips and make the position more comfortable to sleep in, especially if you're not used to it, as it will prevent your top leg from pulling your spine out of neutral.

Tips for sleeping in the heat

• Keep light and air out of your bedroom: One of the best ways to keep your house and its bedrooms cool is by keeping blinds, curtains and windows all closed. This will stop the hot air and sunlight from coming in during the day. Once it’s cooler in the early morning or evening, you can open them again and enjoy sleeping in cooler temperatures.
• Have a lukewarm shower before bed: If you’ve been hot and sweaty all day, there’s nothing better than a shower before bed to cool you down. Aim for one with lukewarm water, which will bring your body temperature down before you get into bed.
• Put your pillowcase in the freezer: Obviously this trick won’t last the night, but it might help keep you cool as you drift off. Put your pillowcase inside a bag in the freezer an hour or two before bed.
• Go for cotton: Cotton bedding and loose cotton or linen pyjamas are a great option for sleeping under or in during hot weather because they release heat and moisture most effectively. Synthetic fibres will make you sweat more and keep the moisture close to your skin, which is uncomfortable.
• Avoid using a fan all through the night: While cooling fans can be effective, they can also be quite disruptive to sleep. They can be noisy and also lead to drops in body temperature in the early hours. This might cause you to wake up. They can also make your hay fever symptoms worse at night because they blow pollen or dust around. Set a timer to turn the fan off after a few hours and point fans at the ceiling or a wall.
• Move to another room: If you sleep on the top floor of a house and it’s unbearable at night, move to a ground-floor room for a few days for respite from the heat.

Alex Jones has been part of the BBC’s The One Show for more than 15 years, becoming known for her girl-next-door vibe and empathetic - and sometimes hilarious - interview style. Guests over the years have ranged from Robert De Niro and Elizabeth Hurley to members of the public who have made huge differences in their communities - amongst many others.

Now, the show is celebrating 20 years on our TV screens, and it’s still as successful as ever, with Alex, 49, still at the helm and clearly still enjoying every minute.

When woman&home sat down to chat with Alex, she is clear she is not slowing down, and is keen to drive forward as she approaches her sixth decade.

“It’s important to push yourself sometimes, because we can all live in our comfort zone. Whenever you get the opportunity to try something different, take it. When you get to your mid 30s, late 30s, early 40s, whatever age, people can get stuck in a rut in all ways, whether that’s with clothes, make-up or even the way we style our house. We can’t step outside and see that for ourselves. People are like onions – you can peel different layers off,” she said.

She lives in the countryside with her husband, insurance broker Charlie Thomson and their three children – Teddy, nine, Kit, seven, and Annie, four – and she admits she has had to make sacrifices, like many women, between her career and home life.

“Every woman is making some sort of sacrifice. Something always has to give. There’s got to be compromise. You can’t do everything, it’s impossible. I still find it hard that I’m not home every evening to see the kids and ask how their day was. It gives you comfort that everyone is in the same position and life isn’t perfect.

"I’ll be on The One Show, and they’ll be doing the live countdown and Charlie will be texting, saying, ‘Does Kit need a packed lunch tomorrow?’ and I’ll reply, ‘Yes! I’ll get some ham on the way home, and don’t forget to take the bread out of the freezer. I’ve got to go, the title music is on.’

"People say, ‘You’ll look back on this and hanker for these days.’ I already know how lucky I am to have kids at this age, and it’s amazing. All of the mundane stuff, the WhatsApp groups, the running around, and the 50 million water bottles you can never find lids for. I think, ‘Imagine if it was quiet in the house?’ The noise and the pace and the rhythm of it is what makes you feel vital and alive. I appreciate it so much.”

Turning 50 next year, Alex admits she is ‘aiming for at least 100’, and thinks laughter is the key to a good life. “It’s so important to have fun in life, because without fun, what’s the point? We laugh a lot as a family, and I would choose a big old barbecue in the garden with family, or drinks in the kitchen that accidentally go on until 3am, over going to a party, any time. I love being at home more than anything.

“I’ll celebrate my 50th with my family and school friends. My school friends are still my best friends, so we’ve got a couple of 50th trips planned. We are all lucky to be alive and live the lives we do, and that’s to be celebrated.”

If, like me, you've been touched by cancer, the recent engagements by Catherine, Princess of Wales will have brought a tear to your eye.

One in two of us will be diagnosed with it in our lifetimes, and most of us have family or friends who have undergone this arduous journey.

Catherine, of course, is in remission from her cancer (she's never said what kind she had), which was caught in January 2024. She underwent chemotherapy, then took a period of time of rest and recovery over the past couple of years.

Now I'd say Kate is very much back!

And she has really used her personal experience to connect with people in a totally authentic and genuine way.

On a visit to The Christie hospital in Manchester she was almost overcome as she hugged Claire Lorente, 30, who had recently finished her breast cancer treatment. As Claire prepared for the symbolic action of ringing the bell to mark the moment, both women were emotional.

Her voice slightly breaking, Kate told her, 'Well done, well done you. What a journey. Well done, you've been amazing. It's tough.'

Claire was crying. She was not the only one.

Kate turned to Claire's partner Pablo, 30, and added, 'Well done. I know it's just as hard for family and loved ones.'

The princess certainly does know that. She talked about how hard it had been for her children - Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight - as well as her parents.

But, as ever with Kate, it was not about her. She stepped back and made sure the moment was all about Claire, Pablo and Enzo, their eight-month-old baby.

Later, she wrote on social media, 'Healing is about so much more than treatment alone. A cancer diagnosis affects every part of life, in mind, body and the deeper part of ourselves. Thank you for sharing your stories with me. C'

At a Cancer Research UK reception two days earlier - in a heart-print red dress - it wasn't just the celebrities she chatted to.

Yes, the pictures of her meeting Davina McCall and Ronan Keating made the front pages, but Kate sought out the clinicians, researchers and scientists who are finding new ways to fight this disease.

She was there to support the King, who is still receiving treatment for his cancer, although at a much more reduced rate than last year.

In her own quiet way, Kate brings so much comfort to so many people - a true princess of hearts.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Is there anything more summery than a barbecue? Even the Royal Family like firing up the grill this time of year and according to Mike Tindall, Zara is a bit of an expert. Speaking exclusively to woman&home's royal correspondent Emily Andrews in the July issue, the rugby star confessed his wife is better at barbecuing than he is.

"Zara is competitive in everything!" he said. "I think that's the individual mindset. And she's an amazing cook, better than me 100% and better on the barbecue."

She might be the BBQ pro but Mike still likes to be involved, adding, "I enjoy standing around a barbecue because what man doesn't? It makes you feel even manlier cooking meat! But washing up and clearing up, that's my space."

It seems like Zara Tindall has inherited her love - and skill - at cooking on the barbecue from her late grandfather Prince Philip who was famous for his at-home grills. He might've been the husband of a reigning Queen, but Philip liked a challenge and once he decided to learn how to BBQ he put everything into it.

His BBQs are remembered fondly by his grandchildren and Prince William once explained that when the royals go on barbecues "there's no chef, there's [no-one] else".

"Every barbecue that I've ever been on, the Duke of Edinburgh has been there cooking," he told the BBC documentary, Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, in 2021, which was filmed both before and after the Duke's death.

William added, "He'd be the first person to say when he started off he hadn't got a clue what he was doing. But such is the way that he is that he tackles a new challenge, and, you know, grapples it and learns as he does it. And he's mastered it."

When Prince Philip passed away Prince Harry even called his grandfather "master of the barbecue" - as well as "legend of banter". Cooking for his family was probably a nice change for Philip and gave them a slice of normal life outside the palace with its chefs.

Duchess Sophie has said before that Prince Edward is also "very good at barbecues" which his own children Louise and James love so those memories of Philip grilling have clearly inspired several generations of his family. I'd love to know if it's Zara or Edward that the royals turn to most now, as they've both nailed this summer skill.

At least Zara Tindall has Mike to clear things up! She might take after Philip with the cooking, but Mike is following in Queen Elizabeth's footsteps with the washing up.

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron said in 2022 that it was an "extraordinary treat" to go to Balmoral each year and recalled what it was like eating a meal with the Queen and Prince Philip out on the moor.

"And there at a sort of converted bothy, an old cottage on the hill, would be the Duke of Edinburgh with a barbeque he'd built himself, barbequing grouse for your dinner," he said. "I'm not making this up, you sat down and Prince Philip and Her Majesty the Queen served your dinner and cleared it away and washed it up while you sat talking with the other guests."

If the rumours are to be believed, it would be bigger than Spare. The ultimate first-hand account, not merely a publishing phenomenon but an extended multi-platform event including interviews, streaming components and global rights deals.

Meghan Markle's autobiography. For years it has been talked about as a potential project, never fully confirmed.

Indeed, buried right at the end of a Vanity Fair piece on the Sussexes last year was a reported rumour that Meghan's team had quietly floated the concept of a post-Harry divorce book to publishers.

The conversations (and, yes, supposedly, there were conversations!) were intended to gauge publisher interest in a hypothetical tell-all in the event of a future split.

Vanity Fair was quick to say that it was all purely exploratory (no manuscript, written proposals or offers) and any discussion was just to assess the appetite for such a memoir.

The appetite would surely be huge, and - given that Prince Harry received a reported £16 million in advance for his autobiography - so would the financial offers!

After all, neither she nor Harry has ever really gone into detail about some of their most damaging claims against the Royal Family, or who or what made Meghan feel suicidal and how she feels about it all now.

But it's widely believed Meghan keeps a diary and detailed records.

According to one publishing insider, 'Voice notes on her phone at 1am. Written journals. Structured reflections. She has been documenting everything since before Megxit.'

Its release would surely be bigger than Harry's Spare, which became the fastest selling non-fiction book of all-time, shifting more than 1.4 million copies on its first day of release in January 2023. By the following year, sales were in excess of six million. Publishing experts say Meghan's book could surpass even those numbers.

Although presumably a Meghan memoir would explore her life prior to joining the Firm - growing up as a child of divorce, struggling to make it in Hollywood before winning the part of Rachel Zane in Suits - it would of course be the past 10 years, since her relationship with Harry became public, that would generate the most headlines.

We already know from the couple's Netflix documentary how deeply hurt Meghan felt by the way she claims she was treated by Harry's family, by the press and by her own father.

Meghan also has a network of powerful Californian friends upon whom to call.

Neighbour Oprah Winfrey was the first to help Meghan and Harry tell their 'truth' on primetime TV - prompting that genius line from the late Queen Elizabeth that 'recollections may vary'.

Watched by 17 million Americans, 11 million Brits and millions more worldwide, the CBS interview in March 2021 was a global cultural event.

Meghan also counts Mellody Hobson as a mentor. Co-chief executive of Ariel Investments and former chair of Starbucks, the 57-year-old is married to Star Wars film-maker George Lucas and is a stellar networker in the world of finance and media. Such is her influence, she can open just about any door in Hollywood.

Another influential pal is Nicole Avant, a former diplomat who is married to the Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

Although the Netflix relationship has cooled - the Sussexes' five-year £74 million deal was only extended in a non-exclusive arrangement and the streamer pulled out of Meghan's As Ever lifestyle business - the personal relationships are still good.

Nicole, 58, has reportedly long been an advocate for Meghan - particularly behind the scenes in the notoriously tricky la-la land of Hollywood.

It's she who is thought to have fostered conversations about how a potential Meghan memoir could be developed in partnership with Netflix.

Meghan reportedly sees the book as an opportunity for a reset, and she would like to highlight what she sees as her success in America, as well as tell her version of events.

But the timing is risky.

Harry is desperately trying to mend his relationship with his father King Charles, and a new Meghan memoir could derail that. Thus, any publication is not believed to be imminent.

Harry wants to stabilise and improve relations with the Royal Family and is said to be pleased that Archie, seven, and Lili, five, have occasional chats and video calls with their grandfather.

So Meghan knows a book is a risk - but it's also leverage.

You can bet your bottom dollar that much of her memoir is already written. It's really just a question of when she'll decide to publish...

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

We all know the Royal Family enjoys a bit of friendly rivalry, but who is the most competitive of all? If you said the Princess of Wales you might just be surprised by Mike Tindall's verdict.

The retired rugby star admits that "sport is rife" throughout the family and he thinks his wife Zara edges out her fellow royals with her competitiveness. Speaking exclusively to Royal Correspondent Emily Andrews in the July issue of woman&home, Mike explains that "individual athletes are more competitive" and adds that "Zara is competitive in everything!"

He suggests that this is because of the "individual mindset" and it makes sense that Olympic Silver Medal-winning Zara would love a competition. It's her livelihood after all and from the sounds of it, Mike was very confident in his answer.

During a segment on the 11th June episode of her Catching Up With The Royals podcast with co-host Reverend Richard Coles, Emily talked more about interviewing Mike and asking him the all-important question.

"I said, 'Who's more competitive? Who's the most competitive?' and he said, 'Zara'," Emily shared. "Zara in *everything*…without any hesitation."

According to Mike, his wife of almost 15 years is also an "amazing cook, better than [him] 100% and better on the barbecue" too. He also opened up to Emily about the couple's drinking games with the Princess of Wales and clarified something key.

When she, Prince William and Princess Anne appeared in a special episode of Mike's The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast in 2023 we heard about Kate's surprising love of beer pong. But the rugby star reveals that it's actually prosecco pong she plays.

He says, "I knew that the Princess of Wales was uber competitive because I'd seen her play a drinking game called beer pong, but normally we play prosecco pong! She still plays it with us."

If Zara truly is competitive about "everything" presumably she's keen to win these games with Kate and Mike too. Because they're working royals we get to see Prince William and Kate compete with each other more often when they undertake sports-based engagements.

On Mike's podcast, the Princess of Wales also confessed that behind-the-scenes she's not sure they've ever managed to finish a game of tennis. Instead it apparently becomes a "mental challenge" between them. However, in his book, Meet Ella, Kate's brother James claimed that William is happy to lose at card games.

"Ella [James's late spaniel] gives him a good excuse to escape the fiercely competitive nature of the Middleton family, which emerges every time we play our favourite fast-paced card game, racing demon," James alleged.

"I think he'd prefer to absent himself from the game entirely," he added. "My sisters and I exchange a knowing glance: William, for all the competitive rigour of his military training, is happy to be a loser at cards."

When Prince Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping back as working royals in 2020 the world reacted with dismay and there was speculation over how the Royal Family truly felt about it. Days later Queen Elizabeth declared in a personal message that Harry, Meghan and their son Archie "will always be much loved members of [her] family".

Nevertheless, it's now been suggested that she was slightly "worried" about what the Sussexes would do after their high-profile royal exit. Writing in the latest issue of Woman, royal correspondent Duncan Larcombe alleges that there was a condition set out by the monarch.

"Her Majesty made it clear to Harry that he and Meghan would leave with her blessing as long as they understood leaving royal life meant exactly that," he writes.

Duncan understands that "she was worried the Sussexes would continue with public engagements" but without coordinating their work to "prevent them overshadowing the actual work of the family". This half-in, half-out approach to royal life was something that Prince Harry and Meghan had reportedly hoped for.

However, Queen Elizabeth didn't share this vision for the Sussexes' future and left them in no doubt about her feelings. Writing in The Windsor Legacy, royal author Robert Jobson described a summit held at Sandringham House in January 2020.

"The answer from the top was clear: no halfway role was possible. They were either in or out," he claimed, adding, "Her Majesty's ruling deepened the existing tensions in the family, particularly between Harry and William."

Although the Duke and Duchess of Sussex followed the rules set out for them at first, in recent years the thing Queen Elizabeth was "worried" about is seemingly coming true. The couple's Australia trip in April garnered both praise and criticism, particularly when it came to the elements that were similar to a traditional royal tour.

The visit came just before King Charles and Queen Camilla's US State Visit. Then in May, Meghan visited Switzerland for the inauguration of The Lost Screen Memorial which is dedicated to children who lost their lives as a result of the harm they suffered on social media.

A few days before, the Princess of Wales undertook her first overseas visit since her cancer diagnosis in neighbouring Italy. The working royals coordinate their engagements carefully but since Harry and Meghan stepped back who knows if there's any sort of communication like this between them all.

There's inevitably a lot of direct comparison when Sussex visits and royal engagements occur around the same time. So it's understandable that Queen Elizabeth might have been concerned about the institution's work being "overshadowed" by headlines concerning Harry and Meghan.

Her dedication to the monarchy and the Commonwealth was one of her strongest character traits and her grandson praised it in a statement following her death in 2022.

"In celebrating the life of my grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen - and in mourning her loss - we are all reminded of the guiding compass she was to so many in her commitment to service and duty," he declared.

Read Duncan Larcombe's feature in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

The time is fast approaching for George to start ‘big’ school.

And dad Prince William has revealed he’s been preparing for the transition by boarding on occasions at his prep school Lambrook.

It’s to the credit of Catherine, Princess of Wales and William that they’ve managed to keep their children out of the public eye to such an extent that they enjoy a huge amount of privacy.

After George’s birth, they thought a great deal about how to manage the public interest in their children.

They have used lawyers to clamp down on any unauthorised pictures and enjoyed the support of the mainstream media to ensure you will never see a ‘candid’ shot.

In return, the Waleses release occasional official photos of George, Charlotte and Louis to ensure their privacy is protected, and thank the public for their support.

It’s meant that George, 12, Charlotte, 11, and Louis, eight, have experienced a relatively normal childhood.

They participate in their school sports teams (George is apparently a talented swimmer, football player and completes triathlons), perform in the end-of-term drama shows and are generally treated the same as any other pupil.

Of course, there will always be public interest in the lives of the young Waleses, but in the main, their Berkshire prep school has succeeded in giving them an anonymous and extremely privileged education.

In a rare insight into the management of their childhood, Prince William has confirmed that George has started ‘flexi-boarding’ - which enables pupils to stay for anything from one to four nights a week of boarding - in advance of his progression to senior school in September.

Speaking to Heart Breakfast hosts Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden during a broadcast from the Isles of Scilly (to highlight the work of the Duchy of Cornwall), William gave a sweet shout-out to his children.

'Charlotte and Louis - because George was boarding last night - so, Charlotte and Louis, if you’re listening, make sure you’re on time, please. Make sure you’re not fighting over who’s listening to what this morning,’ said the Duke of Cornwall, who turns 44 on 21 June.

The Prince and Princess of Wales (and George!) have apparently decided where he’s going next, but it has not yet been officially announced.

Eton College (William’s old school) is understood to be the front runner, but other options include Kate’s alma mater Marlborough College, Oundle school in Northamptonshire and Wellington College in Berkshire.

Watch this space!

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

The warring Windsor brothers are heading for another stand-off after Prince William was angered by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s half-in, half-out behaviour.

Sources close to the future king have revealed to me his ‘deep concerns’ that the Sussexes are ignoring the rules set down by the late Queen Elizabeth when they quit royal life for a fresh start in America.

Her Majesty made it clear to Harry that he and Meghan would leave with her blessing as long as they understood leaving royal life meant exactly that. I understand that she was worried the Sussexes would continue with public engagements without their efforts being coordinated to prevent them overshadowing the actual work of the family.

Yet six years after ‘Megxit’ and the couple are increasingly breaking the agreement that was drawn up during crisis talks following Harry’s bombshell decision to spend much of his life abroad.

I believe that William is particularly angered by his brother’s recent foreign visits to Jordan, Australia and Ukraine, which bore all the hallmarks of official royal engagements in all but name.

Meghan’s visit to Switzerland to highlight the dangers of social media is also understood to have upset William as it had the potential to overshadow Kate’s first foreign visit since her cancer diagnosis, as both happened in mid-May.

Kate went to Italy to highlight her interest in early years development, making it her first overseas visit in more than three years.

My royal source told me, ‘William and Kate take a great deal of care and personal interest in the planning of their official engagements. Events including overseas visits are planned months in advance.

'The couple will not want anything to overshadow the roles they play as full-time working royals.

‘There is an increasing view that the King and his heir may well have to try and draw a line in the sand when it comes to Harry and Meghan. They are acting as though the discussions with the late Queen never took place.’

It was reported that William intends to ‘take a much harder line’ with his brother and sister-in-law when he becomes king, meaning the prospect of a bust-up is almost inevitable.

News of the heightening tension between Kensington Palace and the Sussexes comes after William was photographed in Istanbul celebrating Aston Villa’s Europa League victory with pals. These included Thomas van Straubenzee and Edward van Cutsem, who were close to both William and Harry as they were growing up.

It was seen as a sign of how the loyalties of the inner circle have been tested by Harry’s ongoing feud with his brother. In happier times Harry was often photographed at social occasions with the friends who now appear to have sided with William.

If the heir to the throne does confront his brother it would be a high risk strategy. He would be concerned that any private conversations with Harry would be publicised by the couple, who have become outspoken critics of the royal ‘institution’, as Meghan calls it.

So far William and Kate have shown restraint when it comes to the Sussex clan. Bar William’s comment that ‘We are very much not a racist family,’ they have deliberately avoided giving Harry the oxygen of publicity by responding to the Oprah interview, the Netflix documentary and Harry’s bombshell book Spare.

They have maintained a dignified silence and refused to be drawn into tit-for-tat public exchanges with the estranged couple.

William knows that confronting his brother over his behaviour would risk breaking this strategy of never complain, never explain.

Opinion polls provide proof that William and Kate have handled the whole Sussex drama with a dignity that is not wasted on the British public.

William and Kate have continued to ride high in popularity polls in sharp contrast to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have seen their approval ratings plummet.

My source added, ‘It is obvious that William’s strategy of maintaining a silence has gone down well with the public. But there are increasing signs that Harry and his wife are continually crossing red lines laid down when they departed from royal life.

'It is not clear how much longer William and Kate can continue to ignore the elephant in the room.'

Changing the look or feel of a space doesn't always need to be so complicated. It can be as simple as adding a wall print - the easiest and cheapest way to perk up a plain wall or bring a certain aesthetic together with a final, finishing touch.

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Could King Charles's new garden achieve the impossible and reunite Princes William and Harry?

I only ask because I spotted a fascinating detail, which harks back to happier times between the now warring brothers.

The King has collaborated with Sir David Beckham, Alan Titchmarsh and horticulturist Frances Tophill to create the RHS and King's Foundation Curious Garden for the 2026 Chelsea Flower Show, held in London last month.

I was lucky enough to have a guided tour and absolutely loved it (particularly the colourful planting and the delphiniums, which are the King’s favourite).

But inside the oak-framed potting shed at its centre - described as a ‘museum of curiosities’ - was one very famous photograph. In a framed newspaper cutting was the then-Prince of Wales’s Christmas card from 1995.

Taken in his beloved Highgrove garden earlier that summer, it shows a smiling Prince Charles sitting on a bench.

Either side of him are two large terracotta urns - with a teenage William and Harry inside each one. The boys are grinning from ear to ear, and their dad seems to be laughing at their cheeky antics.

Nothing in the Curious Garden (so-called as it aims to spark curiosity in younger people for gardening) is there by accident. A duplicate of the Highgrove terracotta urns stands outside, while a lot of the curios inside speak to the creators’ families.

There’s some homemade Golden Beez honey by Becks and son Cruz, some Posh Pommes apple juice made by Victoria, a handwritten ode by Frances’ young nephew to RHS Chelsea dropping its long-standing gnome ban, a lovely watercolour by another of her nephews, and four gnomes - each one labelled after the collaborative garden family of King Charles III, Sir David, Alan and Frances.

So that happy Wales family picture - of William and Harry as brothers-in-arms before the death of their mum Princess Diana - is there for a reason. It’s a tribute to an earlier time.

I’d like to think it’s a silent wish - a plea, even - from a dad who wants his boys back together.

Wouldn’t it be great if William and Harry could bury the hatchet for the sake of their dad? After all, if the King can forgive and forget, shouldn’t they? Shouldn’t we?

Outside in the garden was a rose named after Sir David, and another after the King. Life is not always coming up roses. But maybe the princes could take a look at the joy in their father’s garden and turn over a new leaf.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

Donning a sombre and razor-sharp designer black suit, Meghan Markle looked dressed for business. Her speech on the devastating effect of social media on kids was emotional and entirely fair.

Behind her in Geneva’s Place des Nations was the Lost Screen Memorial - an installation of 50 illuminated light boxes, each showing the home-screen photograph of a child who lost their life to online harm.

No one could fault the sentiment.

"Children today are being shaped by systems designed to capture attention at any cost: relentless algorithms, exploitative engagement and endless exposure to harmful content that they are not seeking out."

Few parents would dispute that.

And yet… this was not just a message about the evils of the internet. This was the Duchess of Sussex trying to step back into serious public life.

After trying (and some would say failing) to be a lifestyle hostess on the Netflix show With Love, Meghan, selling us jam with her As Ever range and attempting to be a producer, Meghan was asking the world to take her seriously again.

Not as a duchess, not as a fashion horse, but as an advocate.

As someone close to her told me, "Of course she cares about these issues, as all parents do, particularly when she’s personally suffered so much trolling at the hands of social media and the internet.

"She has always held strong opinions and wants to use her platform to drive change."

Indeed, it wasn't so much her stepping back into the political space as much as the timing that surprised me.

For it came in the same week as the Princess of Wales had enjoyed a stunning return to international tours since her cancer diagnosis and treatment two years ago.

As one royal source sniped to me, "It’s almost as if the duchess can’t help herself. Catherine goes to Italy for her work in children’s early years, is greeted by adoring crowds wherever she goes and is feted to the rooftops.

"So then Meghan appears to try and do the same or go one better. I understand that she always saw the princess as a rival, but regardless, she always seems to have to make a point.

"Catherine is learning about best practice in children’s education, whereas Meghan is trying to take on the big tech companies."

The contrast couldn’t be more marked.

The princess drew genuine crowds - thousands filling the town square in Reggio Emilia, people craning out of windows shouting her name, the streets of a small Italian city brought to a complete halt.

She drew the crowds because of what she represents - the Royal Family.

Meghan, of course, left and for the past six years has been repeatedly telling us that she was silenced. She had so much to say, but according to her, the institution wouldn’t allow her to say it.

Now she wants to make a difference.

Yet it’s harder to take this repositioning seriously due to Meghan’s own use of her children on social media.

The day before she gave her speech, alongside Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, she posted a picture of her daughter Lili, who’s about to turn five, to her 4.5 million followers.

Yes, the adorable redhead had her back to the camera and was sitting on the floor of Meghan’s walk-in wardrobe, surrounded by what looked like thousands of pounds worth of designer clothing (thought to be a Giorgio Armani blazer on the rail, dozens of high-end garments behind her, plus a pair of Dior heels and Manolo Blahniks on the floor).

The caption credited Lilibet as ‘Mama’s little helper’.

But this is something we’ve seen from Meghan time and time again.

A tease of her children’s faces - a side glimpse, a video of backs of heads in the pumpkin patch, emojis to conceal their faces at Disneyland, a family photo in the garden.

Normally in an apparent bid to drive business for her brand and lifestyle business (the candles are even numbered to mark her children’s dates of birth).

It seemed bizarre to me that Meghan would use her own four-year-old child to encourage interest on her huge social media platform, just as she was about to tell the world that big tech is preying on kids.

Driving engagement was key - and on the very social media platforms that Harry has described as being run by people who are ‘evil’ and ‘wicked’ and who ‘farm children’s minds’ for profit.

Harry has complained for years about his life being ‘commercialised’ since he was a teenager. Yet it seems Meghan is doing similar, I’d argue, to boost her brand.

Her kids have royal titles, have royal names and a monarch as a grandfather. The very thing she claims to hate is the thing she is using to promote herself.

No wonder she wanted to remind the world of her agenda for change.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

If you feel like you're falling out of love with your home, pick a room to makeover and give yourself a fresh new feeling.

Starting with the bathroom is a great idea - you'll hop in there first thing in the morning to get ready for the day ahead, and a perfectly balanced space will greet you.

What's more, with just a few clever touches and additions, it can feel like new without having to spend too much or work too hard.

3 on-trends buys to refresh your bathroom on a budget

You don't need to go and change everything to refresh your bathroom and create a space that feels relaxing, functional and still stylish. From changing the towels to adding a statement mirror, these transformative buys can elevate your bathroom decor in no time – and on a budget.

1. Pretty Pastels

Instil a sense of calm with a palette of soft pastels. Floral prints create a heritage feel, but brushed brass accents and scalloped details bring the look up to date.

Complete the feeling of curated comfort with sumptuous textiles and soothing scents. "Pastels are the perfect accent colour for bathrooms, because they feel like watered-down versions of bolder hues," says Tamara Kelly, w&H lifestyle editor.

"Soft sage greens and chalky pinks add a hint of colour to an otherwise neutral bathroom, without overwhelming the space."

2. Rustic Rodeo

Capture the spirit of ranch life with this Wild West-inspired trend.

Embrace a palette of chocolate browns, earthy greens and sandy tones and lasso your way to style success with whimsical patterns, from cow prints to cowboy motifs.

"Earthy tones are everywhere right now," says Tamara. "These grounded tones are ideal for bathrooms to make the space feel calm and serene," says Tamara.

"The cow print is a playful way to introduce pattern into the scheme. The monochrome element complements the muted colour palette of this trend."

3. Luxe Marble

Create a spa-like sanctuary at home by combining luxurious materials such as marble and metallic finishes. You don't need to splash the cash, either. Opt for gold-effect or brushed-brass accents and marble-patterned accessories.

"Marble continues to be a hugely popular choice for home accessories that feel luxe," Tamara explains. "Introducing touches of marble is an easy way to make a bathroom feel more expensive."

Take time out to unwind in a space that's both practical and stylish

Making small tweaks can go a long way to reinvigorate a bathroom, giving it a whole new look. No painting or decorating required, just a few affordable accessories to add a pop of seasonal colour.