The Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to celebrate Christmas in Norfolk as usual this year and that could bring them face-to-face with the Sussexes. Prince Harry and Meghan might spend the holidays in the US but after everything he's said about wanting to "work it out" with the royals, Christmas at Sandringham isn't off the table.

Even if they aren't there on Christmas Day, a visit would be a big step in the direction of a reconciliation and a chance for King Charles to see more of Archie and Lilibet. It would also put William and Kate in a tricky position, though woman&home magazine's Royal Editor, Emily Andrews, thinks one thing might help.

The future King and Queen uphold all the big royal traditions around Christmas but also have some of their own - and one is not actually staying at Sandringham House.

"Certainly, an invitation to spend a couple of days at Sandringham with the rest of the Royal Family - some of whom Harry is still close to - would force the issue of a fraternal reconciliation," Emily writes in our December issue. "It would be helped by the fact that the Prince and Princess of Wales do not stay at Sandringham House."

After all, why would they need to? The couple have owned Anmer Hall since 2011 and it's only a five minute drive away. Reports have claimed Sandringham House can fit 16-18 people sleeping there, so it makes sense for William, Kate and the children to go back to Anmer instead of taking up rooms that could be used by other relatives.

The tradition of staying at the hall is something William and Kate are unlikely to change at this point and they wake up there on Christmas morning.

The BBC's former royal correspondent Jennie Bond has previously suggested they, George, Charlotte and Louis "do stockings and presents and then go over to the big house for the more formal celebrations."

This separation means they can enjoy the best of both worlds - private time together as a family of five and the excitement of the full Royal Family Christmas. If Harry and Meghan did come to visit at any point, the reunion might be easier, as Emily suggests, since William and Kate could see them for a certain amount of time and then go home to Anmer.

It could help take pressure off and according to the royal expert they often have Kate's parents Michael and Carole, siblings James and Pippa and their families, to visit at Christmas too. The Middletons would be an extra source of support and having guests to stay is a reason for the Prince and Princess not to spend much time with the Sussexes if they don't want to.

It'll be up to King Charles whether or not to invite Harry and Meghan and it would spark a lot of discussion if William and Kate completely missed Christmas at Sandringham just because the Sussexes might go. Emily says His Majesty "knows that Christmas is a time for family, forgiveness and harmony", so perhaps his sons could find a way to come together this festive season, if only for a short while.

Read Emily Andrews' full feature in the December issue of woman&home, out now.

It's hard to think of Queen Elizabeth shouting at anyone but she didn't turn a blind eye when her grandchildren were up to no good. Prince William has spoken before about being given an "almighty b*********" as a child for knocking down a lamppost in a go-cart and almost squashing Zara but he saw his granny's formidable side on other occasions too.

During another stay at Balmoral Castle in 1990, the Prince sparked panic when he seemingly went missing on his pony. Lady Anne Glenconner, lady-in-waiting to his great-aunt Princess Margaret, overheard the Queen's reaction when William finally turned up and she wasn't happy…

"I peered out of the window and saw the Queen tearing a strip off Prince William who was on his pony on the drive. He must have been around eight," she claims in her memoir, Trunks & Tiaras.

At the time, Anne had no idea what had happened but Margaret spoke to the Queen and reported back that, "Prince William had been out riding with the groom and his cousins and had wheeled back from the group and returned to the castle on his own without letting anyone know."

When they'd realised the little Prince was gone, the grooms "had been frantic looking for him". As Lady Glenconner vividly put it, "You can imagine how terrified they were in case he had fallen and hit his head with no one knowing where he was."

Queen Elizabeth must've been relieved to see William was safe but like many worried grandparents and parents, wanted to make it clear that it must never happen again. As the family matriarch, her word was final and she still occasionally corrected his behaviour as an adult.

Many of us will remember her firmly telling him, "Stand up, William", during Trooping the Colour in 2016 when the Prince of Wales was bending down on the balcony to talk to George during the RAF flypast. We rarely saw the Queen scolding her family like this in public and even behind the scenes her grandkids could still enjoy getting up to *some* mischief.

The Prince of Wales gave Eugene Levy a tour of Windsor Castle when he appeared on the Canadian actor's show, The Reluctant Traveler, last year and revealed that they used to play games and chase each other in the historic St George's Hall.

"My cousins and I and the family, would chase each other up and down here and play silly games. And I remember these carpets weren't here, and there are a couple of spots where you used to have to watch out because you'd get massive splinters because the floor is old wood," he said.

The Prince of Wales didn't mention how Queen Elizabeth felt about him and his cousins running about the castle, though we know Prince Philip used to get into "trouble" with her for *his* way of keeping their grandchildren entertained.

In BBC's 2021 documentary, Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, William described a childhood game involving a tube of mustard which Philip would put in their hands - "and then he'd squish your hands together to fire the mustard onto the ceiling". No wonder the Queen wasn't a fan!

The ongoing speculation over whether Prince William and Prince Harry will ever mend their relationship is exhausting at this point - and it's hard to think what can be done or *who* could be the one to help. Some people might look to the Princess of Wales to encourage peace between her husband and brother-in-law.

In the past, Princess Eugenie was also seen as someone who could bridge the gap between her cousins, but it's now been suggested that someone more surprising stepped in too. Writing in woman&home's December issue, magazine Royal Editor Emily Andrews describes how Harry has "always been close to Zara and Mike Tindall".

She's been told "Mike repeatedly tried to broker reconciliation between the brothers by inviting both of them to dinner or drinks - or just to knock heads over a beer."

"It came to naught," Emily continues. "And Mike recently made a quip about a time long ago 'when Harry was fun', perhaps implying how he feels about the Duke now."

The retired rugby star's comment was made at the 2026 Hay Festival during a talk with his The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast co-hosts. While joking about people embarrassing themselves at his wedding he apparently quipped, "A lot of other people managed that way better than you - [like] Harry, when he was fun".

As Emily notes, this might suggest that the once-tight relationship between Mike and Harry has also grown more distant in recent years. However, it's interesting to hear that he allegedly tried to help bring Harry and William back together behind-the-scenes.

Seeing each other in an informal setting, with another person there as a buffer sounds like a gentler option for the brothers. It could also have helped that it was Mike extending the invites rather than Zara, as he's married into the Royal Family and so has a different perspective on things and is separate from their historic dynamics.

I can certainly see why Mike Tindall might have "repeatedly" hoped it would work. Sadly, it doesn't seem to have happened and Emily expresses her belief that "in reality, it's likely to be up to the King to knock [his sons'] heads" together.

Mike and Zara Tindall are expected to spend the festive period with King Charles at Sandringham House again this year and everyone is waiting to see if the Sussexes will make an appearance at any point.

If they're there on Christmas Day it would be the first time Harry and Meghan have reunited publicly with the wider family since Queen Elizabeth's funeral. The couple didn't attend Zara's brother Peter Phillips' wedding in June, which was the last time we saw the Royal Family all come together.

The Sussexes didn't confirm whether they'd been invited or not, though reports claimed Peter hadn't spoken with his cousin in "years". Zara is also said to have a very different relationship with Prince Harry now then she used to when they were growing up. Royal expert Duncan Larcombe claimed in Woman earlier this year that he understands "they have barely spoken" since Harry 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," he continued.

Prince William's appearance on Friday's Earthshot edition of The Graham Norton Show might've been focused on environmentalism but he still found time to slip in a few personal anecdotes. This included his childhood dream to become a policeman and the "phase" when he wanted to become a DJ "which didn't go very well".

The future King even came up with a name - DJ Xara - but specified it was "with an X". Even with this tiny change of spelling, it's still essentially his cousin Zara Tindall's first name and there are endless other options William could've picked instead. This suggests that it could've been an intentional tribute to Zara and her grounding influence continues to shape the Prince of Wales to this day.

Princess Anne's daughter has never been a working royal and woman&home magazine's Royal Editor Emily Andrews believes she's mastered the "royal balancing act". In our March issue, she described how Zara and Mike Tindall's "glamour, modernity and, crucially, loyalty to their royal relations bestow a positive glow back" on the Royal Family.

Meanwhile, royal expert Robert Jobson recently claimed to the Daily Mail that Zara "can tell the heir to the throne he is being pompous" and "he takes it" - because she knew him "before he was a headline".

Her perspective on things as a royal with a career outside The Firm is invaluable to him and from the sounds of it, she is one person who will tell Prince William how it is and be truly honest with him. When he ascends the throne it will likely be even more important for him to have someone in his family like this.

Even though Zara is low down in the royal line of succession herself she's very much in the Prince and Princess of Wales's inner circle and this surely makes her very influential on the monarchy and its future. Zara Tindall is the only royal to have been made a godparent to any of the Wales children (she is George's godmother) which reinforces this idea that she is hugely respected by her cousin.

She might play the same down-to-earth role in his life and it's already clear when the Wales and Tindall families are out together that they are all very relaxed around each other. As well as being a source of support and grounding honesty, Zara and Mike are known for their sense of fun.

According to Mike Tindall, who spoke with Emily Andrews earlier this year, they and Kate play prosecco pong together. Possibly William joins in too, though he didn't name him - "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."

Neither of the Tindalls take themselves too seriously and I can imagine Zara finding Prince William's back-in-the-day DJ name hilarious and giving her very candid verdict on his skills on the decks. His career as Prince of Wales couldn't be more different and yet his cousin is still there playing her unique part in royal life.

The Prince and Princess of Wales often like taking a range of photos to mark special moments and holding some back to share later. This is what they did when Kate completed the National Three Peaks Challenge in the summer and we've now been treated to another family portrait in honour of Mountain Rescue Awareness Day.

The royal couple and their children got to meet local mountain rescue teams and thank them in person for all the work they do to help keep walkers and climbers safe all year round. They all posed for the picture which was shared alongside a heartfelt message from Kate and William.

This is the first photo of George since he started at Eton and although it looks relatively candid, there are clues that suggest otherwise. The Prince and Princess of Wales's way of presenting their children to the world is thought-out - and for a good reason.

Even if you only quickly glance at the picture you'll notice how coordinated Prince George, Charlotte and Louis are. The Princess and her younger brother are dressed in navy jumpers and Adidas trainers, though there are tie-ins with George's outfit too.

His Gola trainers have a similar rubber sole and although his knit is grey, it's got a button-up style like Louis's does. All three Wales kids are also wearing straight leg jeans in the same mid-blue wash, creating a sense of cohesion between them that photographs beautifully.

Perhaps George, Charlotte and Louis did naturally gravitate towards these pieces and the coordination was a happy coincidence. However, since plenty of photos were taken I think it's more likely that thought went into how the family would look together.

Writing in her new book, Catherine & Diana, royal expert Ingrid Seward suggests the future Queen is particularly focused on shielding her kids from the media attention William once faced.

"In return for photographers allowing the children a measure of privacy, the Waleses have ensured that images of George, Charlotte and Louis are released on a regular, predictable basis, but always on their terms, and always when and how Catherine chooses to showcase them," she says, adding, "The difference now is that Catherine controls the lens herself, or whatever professional she might allow."

Ingrid went on to remark, "The resultant photographs are her way of presenting the children as she wants them to be seen, unthreatened by the circus that once engulfed their father."

She also reflected upon how traditionally the children were dressed when they were younger, claiming that this choice served as a "reminder that these are small children, not public property". Perhaps there is still something they consider when George, Charlotte and Louis are dressing for occasions when William and Kate know they're going to be photographed.

Each picture of the family we see is carefully thought-out, even if it is more low-key, and this makes sense if the Prince and Princess of Wales are wanting to protect their kids from public scrutiny and not reveal too much. That's not to say that snaps like the new one don't come across as relaxed, just a bit more measured.

After all, it is technically an official photo posted as part of Kate and William's work, as they thanked everyone in the mountain rescue community for their "unwavering commitment, courage and service".

From the moment he was born Prince William's royal destiny was set out for him but that didn't stop him dreaming of other career paths anyway. In a new appearance on BBC's The Graham Norton Show airing 23rd October the Prince of Wales was asked if he had ever wanted to be something other than King. His response?

"I did want to be a policeman when I was younger, I thought I could make a good one," William admits. "And then I went through a phase of wanting to be a DJ - I wasn't very good."

His ambitions never became reality (though it sounds like he attempted DJ-ing at least once), though they say a lot about who Prince William is at his core. The wish to work as a policeman in particular looks like it could've been inspired by his remarkable grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

If there's one thing many people agree on when it comes to the late monarch it was that her sense of duty was what drove her. In the Queen Elizabeth, Her Story, Our Centenary documentary earlier this year, Queen Camilla said she doesn't think she's "seen anybody have a sense of duty like" her mother-in-law had.

Although being a police officer is different to being a working royal in so many ways, it also requires immense dedication and living your life to help others. Police officers also serve the nation and Prince William's early dream of being a "good" policeman could show that even from a young age he was being inspired by the Queen's approach.

His "phase" of wanting to be a DJ might have been a brief moment of wanting to be free from the traditions of royal life and do something radical, but ultimately the sense of duty ran deep. The Prince of Wales pursued a military career and then worked as a helicopter pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance until 2017.

It was only then that he stepped back to become a full-time working royal and each of these jobs reflects the same desire to serve and help people that Queen Elizabeth had. We've already seen the signs that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have inherited it too.

Back in 2018 the Prince of Wales attended a reception in honour of Scotland Yard and reportedly told then-Police Commissioner Jayne Richardson, "[George] is obsessed, actually, by the police… cars, toys, everything." Meanwhile, in the past it's been claimed that Charlotte expressed an interest in nursing and Louis in working as a fighter pilot.

There's definitely a similar theme there, though Prince William would surely also be immensely proud if they championed conservation causes like him and King Charles.

The dad-of-three joins Graham Norton on the iconic red sofa alongside Cate Blanchett, Hannah Waddingham and Robert Irwin for a special Earthshot Prize edition of the show ahead of the 2026 awards ceremony in November.

"I thought we could do something more powerful and more optimistic and the idea of an awards' ceremony came about and we could talk about urgency and optimism together. It's all about getting excited," William declares. "There are some amazing people out there doing things to protect the world. We could really highlight what is being done and scale them to the next level to have more impact around the world."

The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 23rd October 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.

King Charles and Princess Diana's marriage was heavily scrutinised from the very beginning and the interest went into overdrive following his admission of adultery in 1994 and her controversial Panorama interview in 1995. These painted a certain picture of their relationship and many people came to a conclusion that Diana found "hurtful".

Over the years reports have claimed that King Charles in particular was never truly in love with his former wife, but in Catherine & Diana Ingrid Seward describes a conversion she had with the Princess just a few weeks before her death.

"When I sat with her for the last time in 1997 on that sultry summer day in the drawing room of apartments 8 and 9 Kensington Palace, she was adamant I should know how much she and Charles had once loved each other," the royal expert claims.

According to Ingrid, the late Princess told her, "It is so important the boys know that. It's very hurtful to our children when people say we didn't love each other."

"As the loving mother she was, Diana said she always considered her sons' feelings," the royal author adds.

King Charles and Princess Diana were married for 11 years before they separated and Ingrid Seward describes a particularly romantic gift he got her when they were engaged. He bought a charm bracelet, which he apparently "started off" with a koala.

The expert reflects that he added to it for "each birthday or special moment in their first years together" and "even commissioned a solid gold powder compact, an item of great beauty". Other charms reportedly included their sons' initials and St Paul's Cathedral where they tied the knot.

Details like this probably aren't the first thing that springs to people's minds when they think of Charles and Diana and yet they are no doubt treasured by their sons.

The Princess's wish for William and Harry to "know" how much she and their father once loved each other is heart-wrenching and whilst they rarely discuss their parents' relationship publicly, William has spoken about their happy times as a family.

"I think it's really important that that atmosphere is created at home, you have to have that feeling of warmth, security, love that all has to be there," he said on The Reluctant Traveler last year. "And that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced [when he was] 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it."

He even tries to recreate certain experiences he had with Princess Diana and King Charles for Prince George, Charlotte and Louis, like the trips they took to the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall.

"I used to come here a lot when I was younger. My parents brought us down here and it is a place like no other," William said on Heart Breakfast in May. "The children can go where they want, it's completely safe. It's beautiful. The water is crystal clear. There's so much to do down here for a family. It's fantastic."

The Prince and Princess of Wales started a new tradition of taking a pre-State Banquet photo together last year and they didn't disappoint this time around as the royals welcomed the Sultan of Oman to Britain. This time, the future King and Queen's portrait was taken by photographer Greg Williams and it showed them standing in the centre of a magnificent staircase.

For a moment I wondered whether this could've been our first tantalising glimpse of Forest Lodge, but it was actually snapped at Frogmore House. Since the banquet was at Windsor Castle this would've meant going to Frogmore first and it's interesting that they chose to take this extra step rather than be photographed at home.

All these residences are on the Windsor estate so it wouldn't have taken loads of time, though it shows that Prince William and Kate aren't messing around when it comes to privacy. Outside of a few videos filmed in specific rooms during the pandemic, they've never shared pictures of their home and they're standing firm on this.

It makes sense, as they spend so much of their time being photographed and scrutinised and Forest Lodge is a safe haven away from all that. The Prince and Princess have drawn a clear line between their public roles and their private family life and although State Banquets are undeniably glamorous, they are part of their work.

Taking a pre-banquet picture at home would blur those lines. Prince Harry and Meghan have been vehement about wanting privacy for their own family, but also share quite a bit of their home life on her Instagram page, sparking a lot of discussion about this balance already.

There's another subtle link to the Sussexes in this new picture, as Frogmore House was where they had their wedding reception. Earlier this year, the Duchess posted snaps from their big day taken by Chris Allerton and now William and Kate have taken an official portrait there.

It couldn't have looked more regal too, as the Princess was wearing the Lover's Knot Tiara and she and William had on their respective honours and sashes. This is a powerful image that screams royalty, duty and tradition.

They could've chosen to take their photo at Windsor Castle if they didn't want to show their home, so going for Frogmore House instead feels significant. It could remind people how much has changed since Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding and that William and Kate are still here as working royals.

Even though it takes us behind-the-scenes before a State Banquet, it doesn't reveal too much and is low-key yet still poised. This epitomes the Waleses' approach, as they respect long-standing customs whilst taking steps to modernise the monarchy.

Emily Andrews, woman&home's royal correspondent, described the future Queen's skill at not oversharing during an episode of her Catching Up With The Royals podcast earlier this year.

"The public Catherine is quite reserved and quite formal and very warm with the kiddies…but she's not going to give you too much," she told co-host Revd Richard Coles. "The private Kate is quite different. Very warm, very friendly, and got a great sense of humour."

In the lead-up to one of the biggest moments in their relationship, the Princess of Wales was blissfully unaware of what Prince William was planning - and risking. The couple marked their 15th wedding anniversary this year and several reports have claimed it was on 20th October that he actually popped the question in 2010.

William and Kate publicly announced their engagement a few weeks later and before proposing on a private holiday to Kenya, the future King made two bold choices. For a start, he didn't do the traditional thing and ask for her father Michael Middleton's permission beforehand.

When he was questioned about his approach in the couple's engagement interview, William explained that he was "torn" but then the "realisation that he might actually say 'no' dawned upon [him]."

The Prince continued, "So I thought if I ask Kate first then he can't really say no. So I did it that way round. I managed to speak to Mike soon after it happened really."

The Royal Family and the Middletons are both quite keen on tradition so it's interesting that William switched things up and got Kate's "yes" before reaching out to his father-in-law-to-be. Michael clearly didn't mind at all and seemingly kept the news a secret from Carole, who only found out later.

However, the Prince of Wales's way of doing things led to an "awkward" moment with his mother-in-law. The Princess admitted, "We had quite an awkward situation because I knew and I knew that William had asked my father but I didn't know if my mother knew."

Apparently she didn't, because Kate went on, "But it was amazing to tell and obviously she was very happy for us."

It wasn't just the way he proposed that Prince William took a risk with, but the ring too. He decided to propose with Princess Diana's iconic sapphire and diamond ring and he'd been taking it everywhere with him for weeks until the right time.

"I had been carrying it around with me in my rucksack for about three weeks before that and I literally would not let it go," he said. "Everywhere I went I was keeping hold of it because I knew this thing, if it disappeared I would be in a lot of trouble".

This piece is world famous and incredibly expensive, though it's also sentimental so the possibility of losing it would've been terrible on so many levels for the future King. Thankfully, Prince William managed to keep it safe until he popped the question and the risk was worth it as he said the proposal went "really, really well".

According to royal expert Russell Myers in William & Catherine, the couple "agreed to savour the moment" and decided to "keep the news out of the public domain until they returned home". Almost a month later the news was announced and Queen Elizabeth was said to be "delighted".

Privately, the late monarch seems to have been hoping for this happy news for quite a while. At a reception held at Windsor Castle the same afternoon, the Queen was congratulated by a guest and allegedly responded, "It is brilliant news. It has taken them a very long time".

Prince Harry was just 12 years old when he lost his mother and for years after Princess Diana's tragic death he felt "guilty" about the thought of finding joy without her. Now 42, the Duke of Sussex is reflecting upon his experience of grief in a new Masterclass online discussion with Dr Mary-Frances O'Connor, neuroscientist and grief expert.

In the trailer for Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss, Harry confessed that he "felt like [he] had to be sad in order to prove to her that [he] missed her". The idea of being happy again was something he didn't consider for a long time, viewing it as a kind of "betrayal".

"I'd spent so long being emotionally numb, to a large extent because nobody told me joy was still allowed. That it wasn't betrayal," he continued.

As reported by the BBC, King's younger son also said he felt "disloyal and guilty" about the idea of being joyful now his mother was gone. Harry hopes the Masterclass will give those watching it "permission and the tools" to access happiness beyond grief.

The realisation he eventually came to himself - that it "wasn't betrayal" - is something that Prince William seems to have reached ahead of him. The Duke of Sussex said he went to war, in part to try and "outrun" his feelings, but by the time he first deployed, his big brother had found love with the Princess of Wales at university.

During Harry's second deployment, William and Kate were married and expecting their first baby together. The Princes were at different stages of life and perhaps in their stages of grief too, as the Prince of Wales had so much to be happy about and was able to let himself enjoy that.

That's not to say that it was smooth-sailing for Prince William and there were likely many times during those big life moments where he inevitably felt the loss of Princess Diana deeply. However, it looks like he maybe didn't view joy as a "betrayal" of his mother like Harry.

He was 15 when Diana died and he met Kate earlier than Harry met Meghan. The Princess of Wales has been a huge source of support for William and he's spoken about this particularly after they had children, which he said made "emotions come back".

"Having children is the biggest life changing moment, it really is… I think when you've been through something traumatic in life, and that is like you say, your Dad not being around, my mother dying when I was younger, the emotions come back, in leaps and bounds," he said to Marvin Sordell on the Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health documentary.

After acknowledging he "definitely found it very, at times, overwhelming," William continued, "Me and Catherine particularly, we support each other and we go through those moments together and we kind of evolve and learn together."

The Prince and Princess of Wales keep Princess Diana's memory alive for their kids and Prince Harry and Meghan do this for Archie and Lilibet too. Next year is the 30th anniversary of her death and just a few months before the release of the Masterclass discussion, Harry revealed that the Sussexes have a tradition of marking 31st August - and Diana's birthday on 1st July - by baking lemon drizzle cake.

The Princess of Wales's cancer diagnosis sent shockwaves around the world but it's hard to truly imagine how devastating it was for those closest to her. Prince William has described 2024 as "brutal" and now it's been suggested that the news of his wife's illness brought back the "sudden, sickening" fear he'd felt as a teenager when his mother died.

"When Catherine fell ill, it wasn't just a medical crisis. It was the reopening of an old wound he had spent decades learning to live around," claims royal expert Ingrid Seward in Catherine & Diana. "The shock of the diagnosis announced by Catherine in an emotional video filmed at Windsor carried with it the unmistakable scent of déjà vu."

She believes that Prince William experienced the same "sense of being thrust into a story he had never chosen, one that had already taken too much from him".

According to Ingrid, the future King did "everything in his power to shield" his wife from the world and although he resumed public-facing duties a month after she made her diagnosis public, his schedule was significantly scaled-back. He wanted to be there for her and their children and ensured that work was fitted around his family.

"The thought that he might lose her was intolerable to William, so he made sure he wouldn't - by being there at every turn," the expert alleges.

This was an incredibly tough time for the Wales family and the idea that the Princess's diagnosis might have also brought back the helplessness he felt as a 15-year-old losing his mother is heartwrenching.

William has said 2024 was the "hardest" year of his life and he's been equally open about how the family wouldn't function without Kate. After describing his wife as an "amazing" spouse and mother on Heart Breakfast in May, he added, "Literally our family couldn't cope without her, so she's been absolutely stunning really."

Her illness and what Princess Diana went through are incredibly different, though for William it makes sense that he'd be especially protective of his wife after losing someone else so integral to his life at such a young age. Prince Harry has also expressed fear about "history repeating itself", comparing the media's treatment of Meghan to what his mother faced.

The Princess of Wales announced she was in remission in January 2025 and she and William have re-focused more than ever on each other, their children and causes very close to their hearts.

Kate has eased back into royal duties, undertaking her first solo overseas trip since her diagnosis shortly before William's radio appearance. The future King has also been open about how "the most important thing in [his life] is family" and he and Kate continue to be hands-on parents arranging work around George, Charlotte and Louis.

All of them were also there to congratulate the Princess when she completed the National Three Peaks Challenge in June to raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The Prince and Princess of Wales have always faced everything together and even though her illness might've opened "old wounds" they're stronger than ever.

Fifteen years after the magical scenes from their royal wedding gripped the world, Princess Diana and King Charles finalised their divorce in August 1996. At the time Prince William was 14 years old and Prince Harry only 11 and Diana's oldest son was determined to comfort her after she lost a prestigious royal honour.

Even though she and Charles were no longer married, she was known as Diana, Princess of Wales but she didn't keep her HRH style. After seeing his mother's "distress" over this, William apparently stepped in.

Referencing this moment in Catherine & Diana, royal expert Ingrid Seward writes, "She didn't have her HRH style, but former royal butler Paul Burrell recalled the moment when William, seeing his mother's distress, offered the only reassurance he could: 'Don't worry, Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am king."

The author suggests that the "innocence" of the teenager's words "undid" Princess Diana in that moment. She allegedly "wept, knowing the gesture was both loving and futile". It's a promise that Prince William has tragically never been able to keep, as his mother died just over a year later.

His thoughtfulness clearly meant a lot to Diana in the aftermath of her divorce and losing her HRH style, though it's also something William could actually have done for her. The monarch can remove or bestow HRH style, like King Charles did by signing Letters Patent to strip Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's last year.

So Prince William could have given his mother's HRH style back to her when he ascended the throne and fulfilled his teenage promise. Whether the Princess would've wanted this at that point, we'll never know, but her brother Earl Spencer alleges he turned down Queen Elizabeth's offer to restore it after her death.

In his controversial memoir, Swan Song, Charles Spencer describes the moment he was informed about this and writes, "She had been dreadfully hurt by the removal of that title as she exited her marriage. It had seemed so petty and vindictive. While she was no longer to be married to one future king, she would always be mother to another."

After thinking about it, he says he "knew in [his] bones" how his sister would see "this posthumous award" and turned it down. The Earl later claims he "had no doubt that the consolation prize was hollow, however well-meaning the Queen's gesture". In his view, it should never have been removed so shouldn't have needed to be offered.

Prince William hasn't publicly commented on his uncle's book, though Buckingham Palace released a statement ahead of its release, declaring, "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."

There are, of course, many royals who either don't have or use an HRH title, including Prince Harry and Meghan who gave up using theirs in 2020. Prince William could also still technically restore his mother's HRH style in the future, though after so many years since his promise, he might find other ways to honour her instead when he's King.

Prince William and Princess Catherine have reportedly let go of any anger and hurt towards Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the myriad claims made against them in interviews and memoirs.

Instead, royal sources have reportedly shared that the pair are taking a “very old-school royal approach” and will simply focus on getting the job done, perhaps an indication of their leadership style when it comes time for them to be King and Queen.

Per the Express, a royal writer for People has been told by Palace insiders that the couple have decided to "take a very old-school royal approach to Harry and Meghan's return: ‘Keep calm, carry on, do the job’".

The source continues that, as of right now, Harry and Meghan are "not a priority" and the Prince and Princess of Wales are "very much looking to the future".

In support of this claim, Omid Scobie, a royal author who has written books including Finding Freedom about the Sussexes and the Royal Family, has suggested that Kate in particular has taken a step back when it comes to handling the feud between the princes.

"There’s always this talk of Kate potentially being the peacekeeper, the one that could bring the two brothers together," he said in a new interview for the IMPACT x Nightline documentary, Harry & Meghan: The Return of the Prince.

He added, "If I’ve learned anything over the years from covering them, it’s that Kate has very little to do with that relationship between the brothers".

Previously, in a piece published by The Sunday Times, sources close to William have added that he has indeed decided to focus on bigger priorities, with Harry occupying less space in his mind.

A friend of William's reportedly told the outlet, "What has struck me the most recently is that he just doesn’t mention it at all. It used to be that the family stuff was taking up a lot of space in his head; it was a very close relationship, and he was very upset.

"But he’s not letting it get to him at all anymore. It is a change. It’s sad, but it’s a much healthier space for him to be at".

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a former private secretary to William, Kate and Harry hailed this as a sign of William’s leadership ability, also telling the outlet, "I think it has demonstrated William’s character and his courage - he’s had to take the whole thing in his stride and shown that he won’t be pushed around."

William and Kate’s stance is aligned with lessons they no doubt observed from the late Queen Elizabeth’s historic 70-year reign. Famous for her commitment to duty above all, the late monarch would rarely respond to rumours and headlines.

In the book My Mother and I, there are even suggestions the ability to compartmentalise personal emotions was something she had "trained" herself to do.

Former politician Douglas Hurd told Ingrid Seward, the author of the book, "The Queen trained feelings out of herself in order to avoid any confrontation."

Ingrid also wrote in the book, "The Queen's former press secretary, the late, enigmatic Martin Charteris, who started working for her when she was Princess Elizabeth, agreed" with his suggestion.

Martin told her, "The Queen is not good at showing affection. She'd always be doing her duty."

Prince William and Harry's royal upbringing couldn't have been more different to their father's experience, despite being high up in the line of succession too. King Charles was raised in an era where royal nannies were relied upon and traditions dominated, but Princess Diana took steps to change things when they became parents.

Her modern approach involved giving their sons treats like trips to theme parks or McDonald's, but it sometimes sparked disagreements with Charles. According to royal author Ingrid Seward, the monarch "did not like" William and Harry to watch TV whenever they liked.

"Being exposed to their parents' marital disharmony, even if they didn't witness the actual disagreements, affected both boys," she claims in Catherine & Diana. "Charles, for instance, did not like his sons watching television during the day."

Princess Diana seemingly didn't share her husband's view and Ingrid goes on to allege she "would let them sneak up the back stairs to watch in her bedroom" instead. Whilst young William and Harry might've enjoyed sneakily watching their favourite programmes, Diana's actions supposedly "only added to the arguments" between their mother and father.

The expert describes the quarrels concerning "such trivial things as what to eat and where" too. Perhaps the King wanted his sons to be playing or exploring outdoors more during the day, but it was surely inevitable that William and Harry would want to watch TV like other children their age.

Princess Diana's reaction helped encourage this down-to-earth approach and even though the Prince and Princess of Wales are strict about their kids' screen time, we know they watch things together. The sporty family tunes into football and rugby matches from home and at the BAFTAs this year Kate said films can provide a way into discussing certain topics.

"The children are starting to get interested in films and it's a really great way to have some of the hard conversations with them," she explained.

This is something they can all do as a family and the couple have admitted they're "strict" about their children's screentime and about them not having mobiles. Now George is at boarding school, he reportedly doesn't have unlimited access to screens there either.

As reported by The Telegraph, research by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed that Eton College has provided new guidance to parents of first-year students. This apparently states the boys can only use a "specially designed safe browser" on iPads to access approved sites.

Even so, George, Charlotte and Louis are clearly allowed to watch some TV in the daytime and there are other parenting traditions Princess Diana has inspired.

William and Kate are also hands-on with school drop-offs and pick-ups, and he has spoken about how his early childhood and his parents' divorce later on has shaped his approach as a dad.

"I think it's really important that that atmosphere is created at home, you have to have that feeling of warmth, security, love that all has to be there," he said on The Reluctant Traveler. "And that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it, and you try not to do the same mistakes as your parents. I think we all try to do that."

From the moment Princess Diana became a mother for the first time in June 1981 she was determined to do things differently to other royal parents - particularly Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. According to biographer Ingrid Seward in Catherine & Diana, the late Princess felt that her husband had been negatively affected by how he was raised in the royal household.

"Charles was not short of love, which came from his two nannies, Helen Lightbody and Mabel Anderson, but Diana believed his lack of parental tenderness had rendered him incapable of being emotionally open and honest," she claimed. "He had been deprived of crucial early nurturing by the one parent who really mattered: his mother."

Ingrid went on to defend the late Queen's approach, remarking that it's "not fair to lay the blame at her feet". Charles was only four when his mother became monarch and entered a "man's world where women and women's opinions mattered little".

"Her duties prevented her from being the kind of mother she had so wanted to be," the author adds. Shortly after ascending the throne, the Queen set off on an almost six-month Commonwealth Tour, leaving Charles and Anne at home for most of it.

On top of the couple's busy schedule, the Royal Family also traditionally relied on nannies and had a less hands-on style of parenting. In contrast, Princess Diana wanted Prince William to grow up with the "tenderness" she allegedly felt her husband missed out on and "didn't care how many people she upset or how many toes she trod on".

Ingrid continued, "She was not going to surrender her child to the antiquated royal system her husband had been subjected to."

Prince William and Prince Harry received a totally new type of royal upbringing, complete with trips to theme parks and McDonald's meals. Diana was regularly photographed hugging her sons or holding their hands and taking them to school.

Both of the Princes have followed in their mum's footsteps with their own parenting and are incredibly open with the world about their struggles, more so than any royal generation before. Instead of shying away from the question, William directly addressed how awful 2024 was after his wife and father were diagnosed with cancer.

"It's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult," he explained. "I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it's been brutal."

Princess Diana would surely be proud of her son's emotional honesty and the Prince and Princess of Wales are focused on giving George, Charlotte and Louis a happy, calm childhood. William has said he knows "drama and stress" when you're young affects you in adulthood and tries to work his duties around family life.

"Most days we're in and out of school doing drop offs and pick ups," he said on The Reluctant Traveler. "Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important, because for me, the most important thing in my life is family."

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.

Prince William's frosty relationship with Prince Harry is currently showing no signs of thawing and the distance between them has affected his bonds with his nephew Prince Archie and niece Princess Lilibet too. It's believed the Prince of Wales hasn't actually met five-year-old Lili yet and he hasn't seen seven-year-old Archie since 2019.

They might reunite now the Sussexes are living in the UK again but however things play out, Prince William will still have final say over one of the Sussex children's biggest life milestones. Everyone loves a royal wedding but if Archie and Lilibet want to get married during William's reign - which is more likely given how young they are now - they'll have to get their uncle's permission first.

When the Prince of Wales becomes King everyone will move up one place in the royal line of succession, making Prince Archie fifth and Princess Lilibet sixth. Since the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, the top six royals in line to the British throne have to receive the monarch's formal consent to get married.

Prince Harry explained this in Spare and described how he approached Queen Elizabeth in 2017 to get her permission to marry Meghan. In his view, it "didn't make any sense" that a grown man had to do this, but he followed the rules.

"I've been told that I have to ask your permission before I can propose," he began, to which she replied, "You have to?", then added, "Well then, I suppose I have to say yes."

Harry was confused at first, writing, "I didn't get it. Was she being sarcastic? Ironic? Deliberately cryptic? Was she indulging in a bit of wordplay? I'd never known Granny to do any wordplay and this would be a surpassingly bizarre moment (not to mention widely inconvenient) for her to start, but maybe she just saw the chance to play off my unfortunate use of the word 'have'."

The Duke of Sussex then realised the Queen had said "yes" and he later went on to propose to Meghan. One day his children will probably have to ask William for consent to marry and if Harry thought it made no sense to ask his grandmother, just imagine how he might feel about Archie and Lili approaching his brother for permission.

Although it's unlikely that Prince William would say no to them, he'll still technically have the power to make that call. If a royal marries without the monarch's consent then they and their descendants are removed from the succession altogether.

This would be quite a shake-up and it's also been suggested that Prince William could be willing to strip Archie and Lili's titles when he's King. They're the children of non-working royals and are unlikely to ever work for The Firm themselves, so their titles aren't exactly crucial to their roles and some have even suggested Harry and Meghan's titles might be at risk too.

Royal biographer Duncan Larcombe previously claimed in Woman that losing his title would be a "bitter blow" for Harry and suggested Archie and Lilibet "could become the innocent victims of any move by William to disassociate himself from his brother".

Whatever happens, their titles will likely be, like the children's future marriages, left in William's hands.

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.

Queen Elizabeth was no ordinary granny and one decision she made about Prince William could've changed the course of history. The Prince and Princess of Wales were friends first at university before romance blossomed and according to royal expert Ingrid Seward, the monarch soon found herself facing a "dilemma".

Writing in the Daily Mail, Ingrid suggested the Queen's "own beliefs were firmly anchored in the 'no sex before marriage' ethic", claiming that it "ridiculously, applied only to women". When William and Kate's relationship "deepened" he naturally wanted to live with her and it looked possible she could become his future wife.

"Could [Queen Elizabeth], as head of the Church of England, be seen to be permitting her ultimate heir to break the rules that had existed for centuries?" Ingrid pondered. "There could be no future Queen Catherine without her say-so."

As we know, William and Kate did go on to live together before getting married, first whilst they were at St Andrews University and then later in Anglesey which was their first official home as a couple. The royal expert believes that the Queen gave her grandson her blessing for this.

"In the end, after fighting a battle with herself, the Queen came to a view that altered everything: she sanctioned her grandson to go ahead and 'live in sin', thus allowing him to develop a profound and lasting relationship at his own pace," Ingrid alleged.

This was a very different experience to the one his parents had, as King Charles and Princess Diana had only met around 13 times in person before they tied the knot. This marriage was sadly not a royal success story like William's and Kate's has been and the modern way it began might have played a major part in this.

Unlike Princess Diana, Kate had the chance to really see what life within the Royal Family was like before becoming part of it. The Prince of Wales spoke in their engagement interview about wanting to give her that opportunity.

"Her and her family, I really want to make sure that they have the best, sort of, guidance and chance to see what life has been like - or what life is like - in the family," he said. "That's kind of almost why I've been waiting this long is that I wanted to give her a chance to see and to back out if she needed to before it all got too much."

As well as reportedly sanctioning them living together, Queen Elizabeth also gave her official consent to their marriage. To this day the top six royals in the line of succession must receive the monarch's permission to marry - and this included Prince Harry.

In Spare, he recalled his grandmother's memorable response when he asked for her approval to marry Meghan, "Well then, I suppose I have to say yes."

We don't know what she said to Prince William, though she and Kate forged a close bond and the Queen apparently gave her guidance at their first solo meeting in 2010.

Royal author Russell Myers claims in William & Catherine that Queen Elizabeth "looked to comfort the young woman she hoped would successfully shape the institution for the next generation" and "offered words of encouragement to Catherine regarding her future role as a senior member of the family".

The Prince and Princess of Wales are one of the most popular power couples in the Royal Family and whilst William is the future King, it's Kate who often gets the most attention when they're out together. This could easily trigger some envy, but former BBC Royal Correspondent Jennie Bond has noticed how this couldn't be further from the truth.

"William and Catherine definitely have the wow factor that Diana had - and which spawned Di-mania," she explained recently to The Mirror, adding "People today are equally mesmerised by the new Princess of Wales, so tall, so elegant and so chatty, but William just seems to purr with pride that his wife is such a star."

Jennie noted that he "is also pretty dashing and gets his fair share of crowd worship", though she's still struck by how different William's reaction is compared to King Charles. During the monarch's marriage to Princess Diana, photographs would clamour to get pictures of her and this apparently didn't go down well with him.

The late Princess commented on this in her 1995 Panorama interview with controversial journalist Martin Bashir. Diana recalled a royal visit to Australia in 1983, explaining, "We'd be going round Australia, for instance, and all you could hear was, 'Oh, she's on the other side.'"

"Now, if you're a man like my husband, a proud man, you mind about that if you hear it every day for four weeks," she claimed. "And you feel low about it, instead of feeling happy and sharing it."

Princess Diana suggested it caused "a lot of jealousy" and "complicated situations arose because of that". However, Prince William has got a very different stance on things, with Jennie commenting, "Luckily, William doesn't seem to suffer the same jealousy that his father did when Diana was the darling of the crowds."

Whenever the Prince and Princess are seen out together or if Kate launches a new project or initiative, he's always the first to praise her or be pictured beaming at her. Earlier this year when he was on Heart Breakfast he dedicated time to talking about the Princess of Wales's recent solo trip to Italy and how he was "very, very proud" of her.

The public sees them as an equal partnership and woman&home Editor Hannah Fernando believes that the future King is thrilled to see his wife excelling at royal life.

"These two seem very much a team. Catherine has no wish to eclipse him. She is coming into her own because she is actually brilliant," she said on True Royalty TV's The Royal Beat in 2023.

Hannah added, "She has taken on this life, opened her arms to it, and learned along the way what she needs to do. I think he is delighted by that, and I don't think he is worried about her eclipsing him."

Part of the reason William waited before proposing all those years ago was to give Kate time to see what royal life was really like and decide if it was for her. So it's no surprise really that he's happy to see the Princess excelling at her role even if the attention is sometimes more on her.

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.

It's rare that a royal's outfit surpasses their wedding dress as their most memorable look but Princess Diana's so-called "revenge dress" certainly did that. The late Princess wore the Christina Stambolian design in June 1994 and now, almost 30 years after the royal sold it for £39,098 to raise money for charity, it's going up for auction again.

But first it's being taken on a world exhibition tour worthy of such a historic royal look. Diana's "revenge dress" will start at Sotheby's London during London Fashion Week from 18th-24th September, then go to Hong Kong, Geneva and New York City throughout the autumn and will be sold in December by Sotheby's.

The auction house estimates it's now worth between £110,000 and £220,000 and for fans, it's a precious slice of history and a beautiful frock. For Prince William and Prince Harry, though, the interest around the dress could bring back painful memories.

Princess Diana stepped out in the black strapless dress at the Serpentine Gallery and it got its famous "revenge" nickname from the media because of the timing. That same evening King Charles gave a televised interview in which he confessed his infidelity with now-Queen Camilla.

Asked by Jonathan Dimbleby if he was "faithful and honourable" to his wife, Charles replied, "yes, absolutely" and was pressed on this by the journalist, "And you were?"

It was then that the monarch responded, "Yes. Until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried."

Referencing the dual roles of the white and black swans in the ballet Swan Lake, the designer of the "revenge dress" has discussed the meaning behind Diana's choice to wear it that night.

"She chose not to play the scene like Odette, innocent in white," Christina Stambolian claimed to Harper's Bazaar in 2022. "She was clearly angry. She played it like Odile in black. She wore bright red nail enamel, which we had never seen her do before. She was saying: 'Let's be wicked tonight.'"

When King Charles gave his interview and Diana wore this dress, Prince William was almost 12 and Prince Harry 9. This would've been an incredibly difficult time for the couple's sons and new personal revelations like Charles's brought extra scrutiny.

Although they were probably too young to watch their father's interview or appreciate the significance of their mother's dress, they'll now be very aware of the narrative surrounding both.

The dress might represent power and strength for Diana but it also points back to a moment that doesn't have the happiest associations for William and Harry. Now the Princes will inevitably be reminded of all of this again.

Last year on The Reluctant Traveler, Prince William spoke about the importance of a happy home atmosphere during childhood and briefly noted how Charles and Diana's divorce affected things.

"I think it's really important that that atmosphere is created at home, you have to have that feeling of warmth, security, love that all has to be there," he said. "And that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it."

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.

The Prince of Wales was once photographed heading to swanky London nightclubs but nowadays the dad-of-three's evenings look very different. We know very little about his and Kate's lives behind closed doors, but according to royal biographer Robert Hardman, there's a TV show that the couple can't get enough of.

"The King is the one who still enjoys sitting up writing letters into the night, whereas Prince William's idea of a fun evening, says one of his team, is to 'sit down with the Princess in front of The Traitors'," the author claims in Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story.

Since it first started the Claudia Winkleman-fronted BBC series has become a cultural phenomenon and now it's got the royal seal of approval. It's hard to imagine the future King and Queen watching a reality show, but as the BBC notes - The Traitors is an "ultimate reality game of trust and treachery."

The show wouldn't be the same without the mind games and competition and if there's one thing William and Kate love it's being competitive. Watching other people taking on the challenges and outmanoeuvring each other isn't quite the same as doing it yourself, but it still probably appeals to their personalities.

Now I'm secretly hoping for two rather special guests on a future Celebrity Traitors series and if the rumours are true we could be just a few weeks away from the next instalment of the spin-off. Perhaps the Prince and Princess are already looking forward to incorporating it into their "fun evening" plans for autumn.

Having an unmissable TV show to watch together might also help take their minds off things as they adjust to everyday life without Prince George. The 13-year-old started at Eton on 8th September and Forest Lodge might feel very different for William, Kate, Charlotte and Louis now.

The Traitors isn't the only BBC programme that's a big hit in the Wales household though. Strictly Come Dancing will be kicking off soon (minus Claudia following her and Tess Daly's exit as hosts) and Kate once took Charlotte and Louis to the studio as a special treat, where they got to meet head judge Shirley Ballas.

Prince William has also seen Strictly before and told Claudia at a charity gala in 2019, "I have watched the show a couple of times. Catherine is a huge fan and my mother-in-law loves it."

Before long the Prince and Princess of Wales will also have a lot of films to add to their to-watch list too. William has been President of BAFTA since 2010 and he and Kate try to watch as many of the short-listed movies as possible before the awards every February.

At the 2026 BAFTAs, the mum-of-three also revealed that watching films with George, Charlotte and Louis can help to spark challenging but important discussions as a family.

"The children are starting to get interested in films and it's a really great way to have some of the hard conversations with them," she explained, adding that sometimes the movies are a tough watch for her too.

Although she found Hamnet "very powerful", as a mum Kate admitted it maybe wasn't the best choice of film for her (the plot includes the death of Shakespeare's son), saying she "ended up with very puffy eyes" from crying watching it.

Prince William tries his hardest to arrange his royal diary around family life but this month his duty to King Charles might make this impossible. The Prince of Wales is heading overseas for an important occasion that falls on the same day as Prince George starting at Eton College.

The 2026 Michaelmas Term starts on 9th September and William would no doubt love to be there to wish his son luck and potentially drop him off that morning. However, he's set to represent His Majesty at the State Funeral of King Harald V of Norway at Oslo Cathedral later that day.

The service begins at 1pm local time and Princess Anne will also be paying her respects to the late monarch as the godmother of new King Haakon VIII. According to royal sources, Prince William's attendance representing King Charles upholds a tradition that the monarch doesn't usually go to the funeral of another Head of State.

Depending on flight times it's possible that the Prince of Wales could still get to Norway in time after taking his eldest son to Eton. He won't want to rush or risk being late to such a poignant State occasion, though, so I suspect William will miss out on George's big day.

Notably, Buckingham Palace has confirmed only that William will be there and not that the Princess of Wales will be going too. This makes sense, as if the Prince of Wales is unable to be there for the 13-year-old's first day at Eton, he'll still have his mother supporting him.

School drop-offs and pick-ups are something William and Kate prioritise doing personally and it might help Prince George feel a bit more at ease if his mum takes him to Eton for the start of the new term. Although we know he's been boarding at Lambrook School, this will be the first time he's permanently lived away from home.

It'll take some getting used to - for him and the rest of the Wales family. Returning home after King Harald's funeral and not having George there could be very strange for Prince William. Royal expert Robert Jobson previously predicted this period will be very "emotional" for all of them.

"They are such a tight family unit; George will be missed," Robert declared. "It will be like having an empty seat at the table."

He added, "William used to go to visit the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor while he was at Eton College, but that has to be organised. You can't just pop home when you want to."

Both the Prince and Princess of Wales went to boarding schools themselves (Eton and Marlborough College respectively), so they'll know what George will be going through. His new, more structured daily life will prepare him for the royal duties that await him one day too.

In future Prince George will probably have to miss out on some personal moments to represent his father at major occasions. King Charles actually delayed his wedding to Queen Camilla by a day out of respect, so that he could attend Pope John Paul II's funeral in Queen Elizabeth's place.

It comes with the territory if you're a senior royal and Prince George will understand this. If the future King has to head to Norway before school drop-off, William could perhaps have a special phone call or FaceTime with his son later to see how he's getting on instead.

Prince William has been described as a real "big boy" and a "modern day dinosaur" - but, fear not, we aren’t talking about the Prince of Wales.

As it turns out, there’s a new Prince William who lives in one of the Commonwealth countries, and he’s a 12 foot 6 inch saltwater crocodile named in honour of the future King. The, let’s say, unique honour was bestowed upon Prince William by one of his new friends, famous conservationist Robert Irwin.

Robert has formed an unexpected friendship with William, and in honour of the prince’s work with his Earthshot Prize, and the son of the late Steve Irwin has celebrated this friendship and their shared love of environmentalism by naming a huge crocodile at the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Australia after him.

Introducing the regally named crocodile on his social media page, Robert said, "This is all for the conservation of crocodiles and over the years we have caught 300 crocs in this ground-breaking study.

"I’m very proud to say that this big boy right here is the 300th crocodile that we have caught. This is a really exciting milestone, and in gratitude and recognition for the incredible conservation work from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, we wanted to name this extremely special modern-day dinosaur, this amazing animal, after His Royal Highness.

"So meet Prince William. Here he is."

As part of the reserve’s work, William the crocodile will be tracked for the next decade, providing data about what he eats, how long he can dive and how climate change affects his body temperature.

The future king and the 22-year-old conservationist have struck up the unlikeliest of friendships ever since Robert became an ambassador for William’s Earthshot Prize, which was launched in 2020 and awards five winners a £1 million grant each to scale their work towards goals of environmental and conservation importance.

Earlier in the year, after joining William riding London’s 3000th electric bus as part of London Climate Action Week, Robert appeared on ITV's This Morning where he spoke about the "privilege" of befriending the prince.

Describing him as one of the “greatest environmentalists that we have on the planet”, Robert revealed more about how William checks in.

"This is a perfect example of what he's like, right?" Robert responded, "I was doing Dancing with the Stars in America, bringing the conservation mission to a very different audience. He FaceTimed me in rehearsals with my dance partner just to wish me well on all the dancing."

He added, "He is just a down to Earth human being and someone who knows the importance of conservation reaching different audiences."

When they became parents, it was inevitable that Prince William and Kate would find themselves learning new things, but the Princess of Wales might not have thought she’d have to teach her husband quite a common childhood game.

Exploring the royal couple’s personal lives and just how they continued to learn new things about one another years into their relationship, royal author Tom Quinn claimed that Kate had to show Prince William what a piggyback was - something he rather sadly revealed he’d never experienced himself as a youngster.

In his book, Yes Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, Tom suggests a maid told him, "[Kate] had to show him how to give the children a piggyback, for example. William said very quietly, 'My father never gave me a piggyback.'"

He added, “Kate had to explain many of the things that parents outside the royal family do with their children as a matter of course.”

The insider went on to suggest, “I don't know where William would be without Kate - she hasn't had everything done for her throughout her life, so she calms him down when he gets a bit fractious.

"She said he sometimes has to be treated as her fourth child."

This isn’t the first time it’s been suggested that William experienced a whole other way of being thanks to Kate, and his in-laws. In fact, one royal source has previously suggested William was actually influenced by this less formal way of life he picked up from the Middletons.

Previously reported in the Daily Mail, a royal source claimed, "That the Middletons had to nip to the shop for food, ensure there was enough bread in the house, empty their own bins and put out the recycling on the right day were all refreshing".

They suggest that "William found the informality eye-opening" and something as trivial as “laying a tablecloth was a struggle” at first for the future King. But it was thanks to this that allegedly helped William and Catherine as they lived together for the first time in Anglesey. The couple were there during William’s time working as an RAF Search and Rescue Pilot.

When William was first sent to the supermarket “his first experience of a big shop following Carole’s detailed lists was apparently mind-boggling”.

Now, as a result, it could be why the pair have "introduced a lot of relative informality into home life” at their Windsor Great Park home, Forest Lodge. The couple are thought to make their three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - do their own chores like any other children, and they enjoy a level of informality that’s closer to Kate’s upbringing than William’s.

Indeed, one rule that they are reportedly adamant on is no live-in staff at their home. Royal biographer Ingrid Seward has previously shared, "William and Kate have never wanted live-in staff; I think that’s the modern way.

“Since William was a little boy, he’s seen all the staff at the late Queen’s homes, and he never wanted that. It’s not something Kate grew up with either."

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have officially moved back to the UK now, and are ready to enrol Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in schools ahead of terms starting next week.

The Sussexes return follows suggestions that things were improving between Harry and his father, King Charles, who met at Highgrove earlier in the summer. However, it’s suggested that not every royal is as optimistic about their return, with a source claiming it’s come as a "massive shock" to the Princess of Wales.

The source revealed she is prioritising "the stability of the family and the monarchy" over her personal feelings, but the fact that Meghan has "freedoms" to say what she wants in the press might be "bringing unresolved issues back to the surface."

Unnamed insiders revealed to Heat World, "Kate fears seeing the family dragged back into another cycle of accusations, briefings and public fallout. She can’t see how it’s all going to work, and it has left her reeling".

The unverified insider allegedly added that one of the biggest obstacles potentially preventing the Waleses and the Sussexes moving forward is the lack of trust.

They suggest, "So much has happened, and trust has been lost. How do you rebuild a relationship when you’re no longer confident that what happens privately will remain private?"

They continued, "Meghan also has freedoms that Kate doesn’t. Kate has protocol and a royal diary, whereas Meghan can give interviews, use social media and choose her own public appearances.

"Meghan can also speak out in a way Kate and William simply cannot respond to. There have already been serious allegations, which caused enormous damage and scrutiny, and Kate knows just how quickly another revelation could reopen all of that."

Since quitting life as working royals in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan have made several allegations against the Royal Family and their staff - with many stories involving Prince William and Kate.

In his memoir, Spare, Harry wrote about "an awkward moment" between the pair when Meghan asked to borrow Kate’s lip gloss and she "grimaced"... an experience which "left a little mark."

In the book, Harry also pins the blame on William and Kate for his decision to wear a Nazi costume in 2005, when he was 20-years-old.

He recounted, "I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought [about his costume choices]. ‘Nazi uniform’, they said. I rented it, plus a silly moustache, and went back to the house. I tried it all on. They both howled."

Other allegations have included Harry claiming William physically attacked him and Meghan suggesting Kate made her cry in a disagreement over bridesmaid dresses.

True to form for the royals, they’ve rarely responded. The only riposte came in March 2021, following the Sussexes explosive Oprah Winfrey interview. In a rare move, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II issued a public statement on accusations made against the family which declared, "Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."

Princess Anne might have finally had enough of the ongoing rift between Prince William and Prince Harry and she isn't afraid to make her feelings known. The King's sister is famous for her no-nonsense approach and according to reports, she seems to think that her nephews need to reassess their own priorities and consider their father.

A source is reported to have said: 'Anne says everybody in this situation shares some of the blame, not just the Sussexes and not just the Waleses, and in her view they all need to be brought into line and told that this nonsense has gone on far too long.'

They continued, "In her view, for two grown men to be fighting, sulking and getting bent out of shape over every little thing when they should be treasuring every moment they have left with their father, and showing him proper respect is appalling."

The Princess Royal is fiercely loyal to King Charles, who has been undergoing cancer treatment since his diagnosis in 2024, all whilst still maintaining a busy schedule of engagements. Unlike William, the King has started to see more of his younger son.

In July, Charles even reunited with Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet at Highgrove House and is said to welcome the opportunity to spend time with the Sussexes now they're moving back to the UK this month. It looks like His Majesty is open to the "reconciliation" Harry is hoping for - but big brother William is another story.

In Prince Harry's memoir, Spare, he vividly recalls a plea his father apparently made after Prince Philip's funeral in 2021 - "Please, boys. Don't make my final years a misery". Now the inside source claims their aunt Anne has been "chipping away" at William and "trying to get him to see how bad this is for his father's legacy" too.

If the Princess truly has decided the rift has been "too long" and has been speaking to her nephew, then maybe there is a flicker of hope for a brotherly reunion. She is hugely respected within the Royal Family and just focuses on what needs to be done.

Anne will also be aware of how the ongoing issues between William and Harry have affected the monarchy's reputation. Like the rest of the family, she might not have been thrilled by the remarks the Sussexes have made about The Firm over the years, but if she could put this aside for King Charles's sake then perhaps she could convince the Prince of Wales to do the same.

Of course, we'll probably never know, as Princess Anne sticks by the royals' old unofficial motto of "never complain, never explain" and keeps her views on such matters private. She never gets involved in drama and has said she sees her job as "serving" the nation, following her parents' "way of working and where they saw their role being".

Princess Anne has also been described by royal author Robert Jobson as being "determined to serve her brother as he steadies the throne". If she can manage to bring about peace between her two nephews that will surely be a huge source of comfort to King Charles personally too.

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.

What’s in a name? Well, when it came to the spelling of the Princess of Wales’s name, it was enough to leave Prince William "fuming".

In his biography, Kate! The Courage, Grace, and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen, author Christopher Andersen details an alleged disagreement between the King and Queen after they requested Kate change the spelling of her name.

The reported furore over having too many royal cyphers beginning with the letter C - Charles, Camilla and Catherine - led to the request that the Princess change her spelling to Katherine. A request that William was quick to fire back about.

In his book, Christopher alleges, "Charles and Camilla each had a royal monogram that consisted of interlocking C’s beneath a crown, and they expressed concern that a third royal cypher with a C was overkill".

This led to a strange request. He wrote their majesties asked, "Would Kate mind if she changed the spelling of her full name from ‘Catherine’ to ‘Katherine.'"

He continued, "Offended by yet another command from on high essentially aimed at placating Camilla, a fuming William replied on his wife’s behalf." The Prince of Wales is reported to have called the request "insulting, not only to Kate but to her entire family".

It’s important to note that this is all alleged and the palaces rarely, if ever, comment on claims made in royal books.

The author spoke about the alleged incident in more detail when he appeared on Fox News Digital, where he shared the dispute speaks volumes about how the monarchy treats branding and can often think like a business.

He said, "The entire nature of Charles and Camilla’s request - that Catherine was adding too many C’s to the royal crests - shows just how much image and branding means to members of the royal family. The monarchy really is a giant game of one-upmanship".

He added that this was just one more example where "William has gone to war for Kate", with the royal biographer referencing times the future king has made protecting his wife a priority ever since she joined the Royal Family.

Bringing up the invasion of privacy that saw topless photos of the Princess taken during a holiday in 2012, Christopher said, "He angrily ordered Palace lawyers to sue and even wanted to see those involved prosecuted criminally under French privacy laws.

"When they started a family, it was William who made sure that Kate was not forced to take on too heavy a royal workload if it meant that she would have to spend too much time away from their children.”

As for the family dispute over royal cyphers, things didn’t escalate for the family, who still remain deeply “fond” of one another. Christopher said to Fox, "Besides, it wasn’t long before they were having to deal with their simultaneous cancer diagnoses, which put everything else in stark perspective."

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.

The Prince of Wales is first in the line of succession and outranks all but the King, but that doesn't stop one of his close family members from giving him a gentle reality check. According to royal author Robert Jobson, Zara Tindall "can tell the heir to the throne he is being pompous" and she apparently does! Not only that, but the expert claimed to the Daily Mail that "he takes it".

Zara and William were born thirteen months apart and grew up together, with Robert noting that they enjoyed the "same Scottish summers, same Norfolk Christmases, same wet afternoons when the adults were elsewhere and the cousins were left to it".

"She knew him before he was a headline," the expert added, before stating that she "has no angle" when she tells the future King how it is.

Their closeness and her straight-forward approach seems to be why Prince William is happy to take her comments on the chin. Robert claims that Zara "did the same for Catherine, who married in from outside the tent and found waiting there a woman who had spent her whole life declining to be impressed by the tent.'

Unlike the Prince and Princess of Wales, Zara Tindall has never had a title. She's grown up in the Royal Family, but with a different perspective on things to William and can maybe see the pomp and circumstance of it all with more of an outsider's eye.

Robert reflects, "she was there in 1997, watching a boy she had grown up with become public property inside a week. Very few people alive can say that."

Zara and William are still close as adults and are often seen embracing and joking together at events like Ascot. As well as being someone who can tell the Prince off for being "pompous", she's also the only royal to be made godparent to any of his children.

She's Prince George's godmother and her children have formed an adorable bond with the Wales kids over the years, echoing their parents' relationship. They used to get up to mischief as children and the professional equestrian was the reason Prince William once got told off by Queen Elizabeth.

"We were chasing Zara around who was on a go-cart, and Peter and I managed to herd Zara into a lamppost. And the lamppost came down and nearly squashed her, and I remember my grandmother being the first person out at Balmoral running across the lawn in her kilt," he explained in the Our Queen at Ninety documentary.

The Prince said the Queen "came charging over" and gave him and Peter Phillips "the most almighty b*********, and that sort of stuck in [his] mind from that moment on".

Meanwhile, royal expert and author Ingrid Seward previously shared her belief that Zara is the "sister William never had". She claimed to Hello! that the duo have "always had terrific fun together" and have always supported each other.

"She has the best of both worlds. She understands what royal life is like, but she can live her life as she chooses, without the pressure faced by more senior royals," Ingrid added.

The Prince and Princess of Wales's marriage has often been compared to those of other royals but the way their relationship began sets them apart. In his book, The Four Wives of Windsor, royal correspondent Simon Vigar focuses on Queen Camilla, Princess Diana, Kate and Meghan and, according to him, the only one who "had anything close to a normal romance" was the future Queen.

"As undergraduates at St Andrews University, the friendship between Catherine and William was able to develop slowly and ­naturally - or at least as normally as possible given the fact that Scotland Yard's elite Royalty Protection Department were ever-present," he explains.

In contrast, he claims that both Princess Diana and Meghan "with varying degrees of failure" were "fast-tracked into the Royal Family". Prince William and Kate were friends for years before they got together and weren't rushed by speculation over when he was going to pop the question.

The future King admitted in their engagement interview in 2010 that one of the reasons he waited to propose was to give Kate time to "back out".

"Her and her family, I really want to make sure that they have the best, sort of, guidance and chance to see what life has been like - or what life is like - in the family," he said. "That's kind of almost why I've been waiting this long is that I wanted to give her a chance to see and to back out if she needed to before it all got too much."

The Princess of Wales did no such thing and earlier this year the couple marked their 15th wedding anniversary. Her brother-in-law Prince Harry and Meghan's journey from meeting to marrying spanned two years and she was well-known for her work on hit drama Suits, so their romance attracted plenty of attention from the start.

The Duchess herself has said that she "didn't fully understand what the job was" when she started dating Harry. In some ways, perhaps Princess Diana didn't either, as she was just 19 when she accepted King Charles's proposal and they married months later.

Vigar notes that Queen Camilla's journey was "slower" and went from "initially being The Other Woman" to "facing an interval of more than thirty years between first fling and engagement". Once again, all of this played out in the public eye and it was once unthinkable that she would ever become Queen because of backlash.

The reactions to each of these romances was very different, but William and Kate's relationship evolved more slowly and privately than the others. They have adapted to royal life and forged their own paths, with Kate knowing exactly what she was in for.

In this way, it could indeed be considered more "normal" and they've strived to raise their kids with a sense of normality too. The couple do school pick-ups and drop-offs themselves and William explained on The Reluctant Traveler how he wants to take elements of his childhood and make it even better for them.

"I think it's really important that that atmosphere is created at home, you have to have that feeling of warmth, security, love that all has to be there. And that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it," he declared.

The King might be ready to extend an olive branch to the Sussexes, but his elder son doesn't seem to be on the same page just yet. The Prince of Wales is said to have been "unhappy" when Prince Harry and Meghan briefed the press that they would be coming to the UK with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in July.

Rumours soon flew that the family could potentially stay at one of the royal residences and according to Woman's Royal Editor, Emily Andrews, Prince William was firm about Windsor being completely off-limits to his brother and sister-in-law.

"I'm told [Prince William] made it clear that Harry and Meghan were not to be offered Windsor Castle, or indeed any royal accommodation in Windsor," she wrote in a recent issue. "He did not want to run the risk of seeing his younger brother - or Meghan - on his home turf."

The Prince and Princess of Wales live at Forest Lodge on the Windsor estate and it's a ten minute drive from the castle and a short walk from Harry and Meghan's former home, Frogmore Cottage. It's very possible that they could've crossed paths at some point and Emily believes that William was determined to avoid in-person conflict.

She claimed, "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. I'd go as far as to say that he'd snub Harry if he came anywhere near."

The last time they were in the same room together was the funeral of their uncle in August 2024 and reports have alleged that the brothers kept their distance there too. Whether or not Prince William's feelings were the deciding factor for the King, the only royal accommodation we know Harry was offered was at Buckingham Palace.

Things got confusing fast, with conflicting reports from each side over whether the Duke of Sussex would actually be staying there. In the end, he didn't, and he wasn't seen anywhere near Windsor either, so William did manage to avoid a "showdown".

He and Kate weren't at Highgrove House when Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet met with King Charles and Queen Camilla. Instead they were miles away at the DMMI Royal Charity Polo Cup. The complicated relationship between the brothers doesn't look anywhere close to being resolved, even if the King seems more willing to build bridges.

Royal biographer and editor Russell Myers thinks "shutting Harry and Meghan out" has been a key decision Kate and William made, with their wellbeing and the "protection and prosperity" of the monarchy in mind.

In his book, William & Catherine, he suggested "As an 'outsider', Catherine had witnessed the deterioration of William and Harry's relationship.".

He claimed she'd tried to act as a "peacemaker" but by the time her brother-in-law revealed he wanted to step back as a senior royal, Kate had a different view.

"Sources suggest Catherine had less interest than her husband in trying to persuade Harry to stay in his current role," he alleged, before adding, "She believed William and Harry's fundamental differences as 'heir and the spare' had created the inevitability of Harry wanting more from his role than being a bit-part player."

Emily Andrews' feature 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.

The Prince and Princess of Wales used to only share new pictures to mark their children's birthdays but this year they've started a new tradition of releasing short videos as well. All of the clips were filmed during their family holiday to Cornwall at Easter and when Prince George turned 13 on 22nd July we got another glimpse at what a private trip looks like for them.

The video shows the teenager climbing up rocks and exploring on the coast, but there was also a sweet moment of George on the beach. He can be seen bending down on the sand and gently stroking the head of their chocolate brown spaniel puppy, Otto.

It seems the Waleses didn't want to go away on a trip without their canine companions and it's an interesting choice.

Holidaying with three children is busy enough without adding two energetic dogs into the mix, but Otto and Orla were fully included in their activities. When Princess Charlotte turned 11 in May, her birthday video included footage of her on a boat and both pets were lying down calmly on the deck beside her.

So the spaniels enjoyed a beach visit and sailing, all while Otto wasn't a year old yet. This suggests that they're both well trained and it shows William and Kate really wanted the whole family to go on holiday together, as I'm sure the Middleton family would've been more than happy to dog-sit for them otherwise.

After all, Kate's parents and siblings all have their own dogs and live nearby in Berkshire. The future King and Queen probably drove or took the train down to Cornwall with George, Charlotte, Louis and the dogs which is sure to divide the crowd. Not everyone could face the idea of travelling with pets and sorting out all the logistics that come with it.

It was clearly worth it for the family and perhaps this is something they do whenever they're on holiday within the UK. In their birthday videos Prince George and Princess Charlotte certainly looked thrilled to have Otto and Orla there with them.

Since Otto was born in 2025 the family's morning routine has changed and everyone chips in to stop him chewing. During a conversation with a guest at a Garden Party earlier this year the Princess of Wales explained, "You have to keep them busy. The first thing we do in the morning is check, 'Has anyone taken Otto out?'

Despite their best efforts to keep him "busy", Prince William said in May that Otto still has the bad habit of chewing the family's possessions. The Prince of Wales revealed this when he was touring Nansledan and came across another dog, saying, "Ours chew slippers. Anything left on the floor is gone."

Otto and Orla might not get to go on all the Wales family's holidays but there is likely another one coming up for them this summer.

During the school summer break Prince William, Kate and their children often spend time at Balmoral in Scotland with the King and Queen (who have dogs of their own). In the Our Queen at Ninety documentary in 2016, Princess Eugenie previously described how pets were always part of the royals' holidays there.

"Walks, picnics, dogs – a lot of dogs, there's always dogs – and people coming in and out all the time. It's a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa, for us to come and see them up there," she said.

The Prince and Princess of Wales knew before Prince George was born in July 2013 that their experience of parenthood was going to be different to most. They introduced their baby son to the world on the steps outside St Mary's Hospital and Kate has admitted that she and William had "tried to practice" a difficult moment.

The Prince of Wales took charge of strapping little George into his car seat and securing him safety in the family's vehicle. Doing this with the eyes of the world's media upon him wasn't easy and on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, Kate described using a doll to prepare for it.

"We were like 'What do we do?... in a swaddle?'. 'How's this supposed to work?!'" she told host Giovanna Fletcher in 2020. "We even tried to practice with a little baby, like a little doll, at home".

She admitted "it just never works out the way you planned it so it was quite hard to do that on the world's stage" but added that her husband "did a very good job". By that point the new mum was "keen to get home" with George and William, so she was likely relieved it went so well.

The Princess talked openly about how she had "all the memories of being in hospital because of being sick" when she suffered with Hyperemesis Gravidarum during her pregnancy. She didn't want to "hang around" there and "was really desperate to get home and get back to normality."

Even so, she knew that being at home could be a challenge too. Kate explained she's heard stories from mothers who "took their child out of the car seat and put it on the sofa and didn't want to touch it" because they were so worried about accidentally doing the "wrong thing".

After returning home with her husband and son, the Princess of Wales didn't make a public appearance for another month whilst they spent time as a family and adjusting to parenthood. Unusually for a future Queen, Kate didn't have a full-time nanny at first.

The way she and William confirmed Prince George's birth was also very different too. He was born third in the royal line of succession and the new mum apparently "insisted, with her husband's backing, that the Palace wait four hours" before making the announcement.

According to royal author Christopher Andersen in his book, Kate! The Courage, Grace, and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen, this was "so that they could savour the moment in private 'as any young family would.'"

A royal press release was shared that evening and a formal notice of George's birth was also displayed in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. The first official pictures of Prince George were taken in the garden of the Middleton family home in Berkshire by the Princess of Wales's father Michael.

This could be seen as another way that the Waleses were doing things differently and trying to have more privacy in this special time. A family friend previously claimed to the Daily Mail that Michael proposed the idea and wanted to "organize a stress-free photoshoot" and "save them the bother of getting in a photographer".

"It meant the nervous new parents could stop any time they wanted," they alleged.

The Prince of Wales's holiday plans with the family are always kept private but there could be a much more high-profile trip on the horizon this summer. Prince William has revealed that he'll be jetting off if the England Football Team is in the World Cup Final.

As President of the Football Association and a huge fan of the sport he wouldn't want to miss it, and he said as much on Travis and Jason Kelce's New Heights podcast. Recorded before England's remarkable win against Mexico to reach the final 16, the hosts asked William if he would travel over if the squad makes the finals.

He responded, "Definitely. If we're in the finals", but there's one royal who won't be heading to North America with him. King Charles and Prince William have a lot in common but father and son agree to disagree when it comes to football.

Although the Royal Family is famously sporty, the King doesn't share William's passion for football and had no involvement in his son supporting Aston Villa in the Premier League. The Prince was asked directly about this, as it's common for younger generations to support the same team as their dads.

"Absolutely not," William replied, laughing. "My father hates football. My family [hasn't] got a particularly long history with football. There are a few of us who support teams."

He might not have grown up attending matches with King Charles, but William has introduced Prince George to the wonderful game. The 12-year-old is every bit as into football as the Prince of Wales and also proudly supports Aston Villa.

Prince William has been open about not wanting to influence his children's choice of teams and is actually happy for them to support opposing sides.

"I'm kind of hoping they'll all find their own teams in time," he said in the past. "They don't all have to be Villa fans. I'm trying not to be biased but obviously they see how passionate I am about it and they watch the matches with me."

Regardless of what Premier League team Prince George, Charlotte and Louis support, they can all join their father in getting behind England in the World Cup. They're now on summer break from school which also means they're free to travel too.

It's unlikely he'd bring all three with him if England makes it to the final as he would be there as FA President, but Prince George has been to two Euros finals with the Prince of Wales and I can imagine him going to the World Cup.

At the Euros in 2021 he matched William in a suit and royal expert Duncan Larcombe claimed to OK! that he wanted to emulate his "absolute hero".

"William would never have normally taken him to the football because it was an official outing in his role as president of the FA, but George absolutely begged to be allowed to come along," he added.

He's old enough to entertain himself whilst William is chatting to others and as he's set to be King one day, he's used to meeting officials too. Of course, Prince William's remark on the podcast suggests a trip will only happen if England is in the final and there's still a long way to go.

The Royal Family learn from a young age how to be diplomatic - dealing with world leaders and titans of business - but they also develop a knack for putting everyone they meet at ease.

For many people, meeting people like Prince William or Catherine, Princess of Wales, can be an overwhelming experience. And that’s why they often pick up skills to help make it easier for people - and William displayed how he uses humour to do so. Something he likely learnt from his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

During a recent outing as part of his Homewards Initiative, the good-spirited Prince reportedly wasted no time in poking fun at himself and his hair loss, quipping, "Some of us don’t need hairdryers" after being handed one by one of the housing association staff.

In clips posted to social media, William's unexpected joke at his own expense was followed by a good-hearted grin. Those around him can be heard laughing too, with the Prince immediately helping put the room in a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

While this might not seem anything out of the ordinary for many of us, the fact that William - the future King - is shrewd enough to know how to level the playing field, as it were, and create a relaxed atmosphere where even he is the butt of the joke shows great empathy.

It is also something the late Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated for doing - perhaps aware that, having been such a prominent figure for the majority of her life, people would find it hard to relax around her.

Celebrated for her dry wit behind the stoic public persona, one of her former guards revealed all.

Keith Hanson, a former Yeoman of the Guard, previously told the BBC how he saw first hand the Queen’s "wonderful" ability to put people at ease.

He said, "People would freeze or be unable to speak. They'd be quivering wrecks. But the Queen was always very good at recognising that. She would very quickly make people feel welcome.

"She realised the effect she could have on people and made a real effort to reassure them".

Prince William’s latest example proving he had picked up the trait came as he was on hand to help staff at Langstane Housing Association arrange welcome packs for new tenants.

This was part of his Homewards Initiative, which aims ‘to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated’.

While he was there, William was seen chatting with the resident before carrying chairs upstairs and also delivering a welcome package. This was packed with household essentials such as cleaning products.

Prince William has made tackling homelessness one of his key issues, something that connects him to his late mother, Princess Diana.

For the 2024 ITV documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, he said, “My mother took me to The Passage. She took Harry and I both there. I must have been about 11. I’d never been to anything like that before. And I was a bit anxious as to what to expect.”

He also added, “When I was very small, my mother started talking about homelessness, much like I do now with my children on the school run.”

Prince William has shared rare recollections of spending time with his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, away from the public eye, when she was "completely at ease" and "off duty".

The Prince’s personal recollections come as part of a new digital memorial honouring the monarch, which is available online now, featuring tributes from both the public and those who knew her best.

As well as revealing more details about "a side of Granny the world didn’t often see", William shared that she fostered in him a love of tea time, something he still appreciates "to this day".

In his moving message, the future King recalls "many a quiet afternoon" with the Queen and the late Prince Philip at Windsor Castle. He said, "Whilst I had the privilege to know the late Queen better than most, some of my fondest memories of my grandmother are from here in Windsor.

"I remember many a quiet afternoon having tea with her and my grandfather at the castle, chatting, sharing stories, and seeing how completely at ease she was here, surrounded by family and her much-loved dogs and horses.

"To this day, she’s given me a love of teatime that I never knew I needed.

"Watching her ride her horses in the Great Park, even well into her later years, showed a side of Granny the world didn’t often see - off duty, relaxed and utterly at home. These moments with my grandmother are ones I’ll always hold dear."

The late Queen’s love for afternoon tea has been discussed before, with former Royal chef Darren McGrady revealing all about the traditions she would always follow and just exactly what was on the menu.

Speaking to Coffee Friend in the past, Darren revealed, "The Queen loved afternoon tea, I would say it’s probably one of her favourite meals."

He added that there always had to be two sandwiches on the menu and the scones had to alternate flavours each day. "It was really important the way they alternated. So much so, that the chefs at Buckingham Palace would ring Windsor Castle on a Monday morning and ask what flavour scones the Queen had the day before, just to be sure we didn’t serve the same.

"I’m not sure what would have happened if we did, but we always checked."

Touchingly, and perhaps why William continues to love teatime to this day, the Queen always made sure to have her grandson’s favourite on the menu.

Darren explained, “If she had Prince William coming for afternoon tea, she knew her grandson loved chocolate biscuit cake, so she’d write that in and put a number two. That told us there were two for tea”.

Prince William moves in royal circles and many of his closest friends come from his time at Eton College and St Andrews University. However, during the course of his work he's made a fair few celebrity connections too, including a surprising friendship with 22-year-old Robert Irwin.

Robert, whose late father was the famous conservationist Steve Irwin, recently appeared on ITV's This Morning where he spoke about the "privilege" of striking up an unlikely friendship with Prince William.

Hailing the future King as one of the “greatest environmentalists that we have on the planet”, Robert was also prompted by Ben to reveal more about the fact that he’s “become best mates with our future King”.

"This is a perfect example of what he's like, right?" Robert responded, "I was doing Dancing with the Stars in America, bringing the conservation mission to a very different audience. He FaceTimed me in rehearsals with my dance partner just to wish me well on all the dancing."

The 22-year-old went on, "They sit me down, and they go, 'Apparently, there's a really important call coming through.' And there he is on the laptop.

"There's Prince William. And I'm just like, 'Oh, hey, mate. Thank you so much. This is awesome.' So he is just a down to Earth human being and someone who knows the importance of conservation reaching different audiences."

Robert was the first to admit that the friendship had taken him by surprise, telling Ben that it "was not on [his] bingo card, but honestly, it’s such a privilege". The pair also share a dedicated approach to conservation and Robert was quick to share his admiration for the Prince of Wales's personal efforts.

"He is a passionate individual. When I am around other people who share that passion for conservation, it gets me so excited. And he truly is, I think, one of the greatest environmentalists that we have on the planet. He's amazing," he said.

Reflecting on their joint work, Robert continued, "His Royal Highness Prince William has become someone that I work with quite a lot through the Earthshot Prize, which is, of course, his amazing global initiative to award the biggest and brightest solutions in environmental issues."

Australian-born Robert Irwin was in the UK as part of London Climate Action Week 2026, where he joined William riding London’s 3000th electric bus. The dynamic duo “spent the day talking about climate change, and all sorts".

It won't be long before school's out for the summer in the UK and that means that the Prince and Princess of Wales will be taking a break from royal duties to enjoy quality time with George, Charlotte and Louis. Although they'll probably go and see King Charles at Balmoral during the holidays, I'd imagine the Waleses will also have a sunnier trip planned.

Prince William has spoken about loving the Isles of Scilly and they've been to Mustique and Jordan as a family before too. Wherever they go, they'll stay under the radar and travelling will change in a surprising way for Prince William and George in the future.

These two will be able to avoid the passport line completely one day thanks to a royal privilege King Charles currently has. Unlike everyone else, he doesn't ever have to worry about forgetting his passport - because he doesn't need one.

British passports are issued in the name of the Sovereign and the first page declares, "His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of His Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely".

When Prince William and Prince George each become King, British passports will be issued in their names and they'll no longer need a passport either. Travelling might get even quicker and easier for them as a result, though Kate, Charlotte and Louis would still have to always carry a passport when they're going abroad.

Since the Waleses are so high in the royal line of succession I'd expect travelling to be quicker for them than the average person anyway. Even so, not having a passport means there's one less thing to potentially forget or panic about renewing.

It can surely only make the process smoother for work trips and personal holidays alike when there's already a lot of things to remember. For a start, members of the Royal Family are believed to always pack a black outfit with them in case tragedy strikes.

Queen Elizabeth didn't have one ready during her visit to Kenya when her father King George VI passed away suddenly in 1952. By the time she left the plane in the UK she was dressed respectfully in black, as an outfit was reportedly brought on board for her.

The Prince and Princess of Wales likely also pack appropriate clothes for the activities they all love doing as a family. The children are just as sporty as their parents and on Heart Breakfast in May, William explained what they get up to when they go to the Isles of Scilly.

Calling it a "place like no other" the dad-of-three explained, "I used to come here a lot when I was younger. My parents brought us down here and it is a place like no other. The children can go where they want, it's completely safe. It's beautiful."

Hinting that George, Charlotte and Louis might love going for a swim he added, "The water is crystal clear. There's so much to do down here for a family. It's fantastic."

With so many fond memories of the Isles already, it wouldn't be a shock if William and Kate paid them another visit with the kids this summer.

It’s a question many have been asking for some time, and one that’s more pressing than ever now it’s been reported Prince Harry could return to the UK for a trip soon - can he and Prince William ever truly reconcile?

One of the few people perhaps qualified to speak out on the relationship between the brothers is Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton. He gave decades of service to the royals, as a former secretary to the two princes, and a former equerry to the Queen Mother.

In a revealing new interview with The Times, Jamie shared that he’d "better steer clear of that Harry issue", but he added, "What I would say is that I was, and am, very fond of him. He has huge redeeming features and I’m a perennial optimist."

Jamie has been there for many of the ups and downs of Prince Harry's royal life and referred to both him and his older brother as "brave guys".

"When they were soldiers, it was important that they did it right and properly," he explained. "Harry went on operations in Afghanistan twice and [for William] you can look anybody in the eye if you’re flying a Sea King on a fixed bearing through a force 8, force 9, out in the middle of the Irish Sea or the north Atlantic to pick up a sick crewman or fly up against the cliff face of Snowdonia in gusts."

He always saw Prince William "as the Lion King" - a natural born leader - while he is said to have described Harry as more of a mischievous cub. But the former royal secretary made sure to reiterate, "I loved them both".

For his efforts, the former aide - who served as a full-time principal private secretary to both princes between 2005 and 2013 - earned the respect of the Duke of Sussex. While Harry's memoir Spare was highly critical of courtiers and palace staff described as "men in grey suits", the royal had plenty of praise for Jamie, who he referred to as JLP.

Harry wrote, "Despite his spit and polish, however, his enamelled exterior, JLP was a force, the product of Britain’s finest military training, which meant, among other things, that he didn’t deal in b*******."

"He didn’t give it, didn’t take it and everyone, far and wide, seemed to know," the Prince continued.

Mr Lowther-Pinkerton also earned the respect and trust of Prince William - so much so that he was tasked with overseeing his 2011 wedding to Catherine. He recalls, "The wedding was great. I was petrified because [William] had said to me early on, 'You’re running it.'"

Now trusted with another generation of royals, albeit in a different capacity, Jamie is looking forward to being "a better godfather" to Prince George now he’s almost a teen.

"I’m a better godfather when it comes time to have a bit of fun. I’ve got other godchildren and I have huge fun with them when they reach a certain point, so hopefully that’ll be the time when JLP comes out of the chrysalis," he said.

Some swear by a cup of herbal tea. Others might nod off to the radio. For Prince William, it's the thought of making a difference that helps him sleep at night. Speaking candidly at a business forum for The Royal Foundation's United For Wildlife on 22nd June, he spoke about how his work to protect the environment goes some way towards keeping anxiety "at bay".

The event was held as part of London Climate Action Week and the Prince of Wales reflected on the impact of his Earthshot Prize.

"For me, it keeps my environmental anxiety at bay, because I can actually see some of the things we are doing are bringing change," he explained. "We can do this. There are actually tangible benefits, and it helps me sleep at night."

During his talk, he spoke passionately of the environmental award which he launched in 2020 alongside Sir David Attenborough. When the pair first unveiled the initiative, they laid out their mission plan, revealing they would give out £50M across 10 years to inventors and pioneers working to solve environmental issues across the planet.

Now in its sixth year, William touched on the "sweaty nights" that he’ll be having as that first Earthshot decade is nearly up - and what the plan is next. Speaking to former Vice President of the United States (and long time climate campaigner) Al Gore, William also said, "We have some debating to do. It is going to keep us on our toes."

The future King urged business leaders to do more, proving that leadership starts with oneself.

He told a group made up of some of the world’s largest businesses, including Meta and Amazon, "Many of you can be more ambitious and courageous in what you do for the planet and for the environment."

"Be the leader you wanted to be when you were growing up, not the one you are in the business right now. Touch into what you were when you were a child and what you wanted to see in the world, and you know, bring those values to light as a CEO," William continued.

This appeal is something that is incredibly personal to the Prince of Wales, who has previously revealed that he shares messages of hope about changing the planet with Prince George, Charlotte and Louis.

During a conversation with Christiane Amanpour at The Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly in late 2025, William spoke about the importance of positivity. He said, "You have to provide leadership and a vision that there’s good things to come and that it’s not all negative."

"For my children, particularly, knowing the planet’s going to be in a healthier, better state because of the brilliant people in this room is something that I love to tell them when they go to bed," he added.

Prince William's father King Charles has been advocating for the environment for decades - even before it became such a mainstream topic. And it clearly rubbed off on his son, and now, it seems that the future of conservation and environmentalism might just pass down to William’s children, too.

The Prince of Wales’s birthday falls on Father’s Day and gives his family the opportunity to share a new photo in celebration of both occasions. Last year they broke tradition and shared a snap of William with their spaniel Orla and her puppies. For 2026 they also did things a little differently and posted a picture of the proud dad with just Princess Charlotte.

Taken by Matt Porteous after Trooping the Colour, it showed them in the Kensington Palace gardens with their arms around each other. The caption was signed with Catherine and all the children’s initials, though the fact that Charlotte was the only one actually in the picture with William is intriguing.

Before becoming a dad he did a lot to change things for a future daughter - and apparently confessed he wanted his first baby to be a little girl.

Writing in William & Catherine, royal author and editor Russell Myers claimed, "William had privately voiced his preference for having a girl, and was keen to incorporate a tribute to his late mother, most likely in the form of a middle name."

He suggested the Princess of Wales "had her heart set on" Alexander for a son and Alexandra for a daughter. The couple hadn't found out the gender of their firstborn in advance and when they welcomed a little boy in 2013, they ended up giving Prince George the middle name Alexander.

When Charlotte was born two years later Prince William finally got his wish and she was given Diana as one of her middle names. Their close father-daughter bond was unmissable in the new picture and former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond believes that William might have a particularly special relationship with his daughter.

"I think daughters and dads tend to have a very special relationship - especially when there's only one little girl in the family," she claimed to The Sun in 2024. "And this seems to be true for William. I'm sure he's immensely proud of all three of his children, but there is perhaps a particular place in his heart for his sporty little Charlotte."

He was spotted wearing a friendship bracelet made and given to him by Charlotte during his visit to South Africa for the Earthshot Prize in November. The Prince of Wales also admitted that the first time he'd grown his beard she hadn't liked it…

"Well Charlotte didn't like it the first time. I got floods of tears, so I had to shave it off," he reportedly explained. "And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second, and I convinced her it was going to be OK."

Her opinion clearly means a lot to him and before he became a dad William pushed for change to ensure a daughter would stay ahead of a younger brother in the royal line of succession. Russell Myers claimed the Prince "raised the issue" with Queen Elizabeth "in the lead-up" to his and Catherine's wedding.

The law was changed, so Princess Charlotte will always be above Prince Louis in the succession. This was a big moment and William's closeness with his daughter in the new picture shows their incredible relationship and how he's blossomed as a girl dad, championing her within the Royal Family.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have finally confirmed which school Prince George will be attending from September and despite speculation for months that the couple would break with tradition, he's following in his dad's footsteps.

On 16th June, just under a month before George bids a bittersweet farewell to Lambrook School, Kensington Palace announced that the future King will be starting at Eton College in the autumn.

Both Prince William and Prince Harry attended the prestigious Windsor boarding school and it exclusively admits boys aged 13-18. It's only around a twenty minute drive from William and Kate's family home, Forest Lodge, which might have been a significant factor in their decision.

I can't say I was surprised to hear that Eton would have the honour of educating Prince George, even though there have been countless reports of the Waleses visiting other schools. For many people, Marlborough College was a strong contender as it was both Kate's former school and a co-educational option.

So far, the Prince and Princess of Wales have forged their own path with their children and George, Charlotte and Louis have all been educated together which was rather rare for members of the Royal Family.

Now for the first time Prince George will break away and although Prince Louis will likely join him when he's older, William and Kate will have to choose a separate school for Charlotte when she's 13. In my mind it was always inevitable that George would tread a similar path to his dad.

Eton College has already educated one future King and has shown it can provide a safe, secure learning environment for someone so high up in the royal line of succession. When trips home are permitted, George can get home very easily to see the rest of the family and this might make the transition from his small prep school to Eton a bit less daunting.

Although he's been boarding a bit already at Lambrook - something Prince William recently confirmed during a visit to Cornwall - living completely away from home at a young age is a lot to get to grips with. The move to his new school won't just affect George, but his whole family too.

Royal author Robert Jobson previously told Hello! it will be an "emotional time" when the young royal "spread[s] his wings".

He went on, "William used to go to visit the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor while he was at Eton College, but that has to be organised. You can't just pop home when you want to."

"They are such a tight family unit; George will be missed," Robert declared. "It will be like having an empty seat at the table."

However, he's in good hands and Prince William reportedly said around his 18th birthday that he "really enjoyed being able to go about Eton as just another student". He also expressed gratitude for how the media generally left him alone whilst he was a pupil. Hopefully Prince George will have a similar outlook after his five years there.

No couple is going to enjoy all of the same hobbies and whilst Prince William thinks his wife's love of cold water swimming is "crazy", she isn't a big fan of one of his pastimes. The future King passed his motorbike test when he was 19 and he recently admitted that he still goes out for a ride, but does his best to go under the radar.

On 11th June William visited Norfolk Blood Bikes which transports blood, plasma, platelets and other urgent medical supplies to hospitals in Norfolk. They also transport blood to the East Anglian Air Ambulance, which Prince used to work for as a pilot.

After seeing all of the bikes lined up he apparently remarked, "I love bikes", adding "I do still ride now and again, quietly". William nodded knowingly and quipped, "Disguise".

As much as I wish he meant this literally and enjoys hurtling down the country lanes near Forest Lodge or Anmer Hall in a full on disguise, I suspect it's more that his protective clothing and helmet obscures his identity. For someone who's spent his entire life in the public eye, this probably makes a refreshing change.

However, whilst the Prince of Wales loves bikes, the Princess of Wales does not… Perhaps this is why he only rides "now and again", as Kate's said in the past that she's "terrified" of the hobby.

The couple visited Dundee in 2015 and, as per Vanity Fair, the future Queen was asked if Prince William was still riding his motorcycle. She reportedly answered, "He's still riding it. It always fills me with horror when he goes out on it. I'm terrified. Hopefully, I'm going to keep George off it."

At the time Prince George was 2 years old and maybe she's got her wish as Prince William didn't share any anecdotes about going out on bikes with his children or about any of them riding. In 2018 when he went to the Isle of Man for the TT races he also explained that after becoming a father of three he might have to "tone it down now".

Getting to enjoy his hobby occasionally and "quietly" is something at least and he was full of praise for volunteer-led Norfolk Blood Bikes and unveiled the latest rapid response vehicle which has been named the "Prince William".

Talking to the bikers he declared, "It's a crucial part of the community, not many people understand the network. You guys provide such a crucial link to what goes on. You guys are amazing."

Thankfully for the future King, even if Kate doesn't share his love for riding bikes there are so many interests that they have in common. Both are passionate about rugby - although they are patrons to opposing teams - and tennis, which they play at home with mixed success.

Although they clearly relish the rivalry of a husband and wife tennis match, the Princess of Wales doesn't believe they've ever actually finished one. Instead, she told Mike Tindall on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast in 2023 that it becomes a "mental challenge" between them instead.

The Princess of Wales's wardrobe is packed full of elegant options for formal occasions so we know when she picks a particular piece that a lot of thought has gone into her look. At this year's Trooping the Colour, the future Queen stepped out in a pale blue Catherine Walker coat dress with white piping along the crisp collar, pockets and cuffs.

Her sculptural hat matched the two tones of her frock perfectly and the rest of her accessories were plain white for a timeless feel. Prince William wore his scarlet Welsh Guards dress uniform for the occasion like we expected, but Kate's Trooping the Colour outfit subtly honoured her husband in a surprising way, as well as more obviously reminding us of Princess Diana.

It's surely no coincidence that Kate's Trooping the Colour outfit for 2026 is unbelievably similar to the blue and white coat worn by Diana in 1987 for the Royal Family's Easter Sunday service. She was pictured walking out of St George's Chapel, holding hands with four-year-old Prince William who matched his mother.

His coat was the same delicate shade of blue and had white detailing too, as well as military-style buttons. Both of these coats were crafted by British clothing brand, Catherine Walker, who also made the Princess of Wales's Trooping the Colour dress.

Clearly, they were a reference point for Kate's new look and because the two women are often compared for their sense of style and royal positions, it's easy to see the new dress as purely a tribute to Diana.

Shop Earrings like Kate's

I think this is definitely a nod to the late Princess and Kate regularly incorporates meaningful links to her mother-in-law into her outfits. However, the original coat was part of that iconic matching mother/son moment and so the Princess of Wales was simultaneously honouring Prince William and his close bond with Diana.

Kate could've chosen to echo one of Princess Diana's other outfits if she'd wanted to, yet she picked this one from that day with him. As soon as he saw his wife's frock for Trooping the Colour, I'd be surprised if the Prince of Wales didn't think back fondly to that Easter Sunday with Diana. This would've been very special and was likely as much for him as it was his mother.

Princess Diana's memory is kept alive by her sons and their families, and we've seen pictures of the Mother's Day cards Prince George, Charlotte and Louis write to "Granny Diana". Meanwhile, in the Waleses' engagement interview Kate described her as "an inspirational woman to look up to".

She reportedly had some "reservations" about taking on the Princess of Wales title, according to royal author Russell Myers in William & Catherine. He writes, "Catherine had also 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."

Kate supposedly took a "bit of convincing" to take on her late mother-in-law's title but then she decided on her approach.

"She felt that while there would be inevitable comparisons with Diana, she could manage it in her own way while having full respect for the way Diana carved out a very different role for herself within the Royal Family," they declared.

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.