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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In life, there are few things you can count on quite like your friends. But when everyone knows who you are from the moment you’re born, how do you make real, life-long friendships? This was what woman&home’s royal contributor Emily Andrews and Reverend Richard Coles explored on the latest episode of their podcast, Catching Up with the Royals.

Pondering how growing up in the public eye affected Prince William and Prince Harry's friendships, Emily suggested they would test their loyalty.

"I remember in the past, Harry and William feeding erroneous stories out and keeping track of what they told to whom," she claimed. "So they could track what ended up in the press and they’d cut those friends out."

"Anyone who they deemed to be disloyal would be absolutely eviscerated and cut from the social circle," she added.

Delving more into what it means to be friends with one of the brothers, Emily reflected that the Princes' friendship group is largely aristocracy. The Prince of Wales's circle of friends includes Thomas van Straubenzee, who is godfather to Princess Charlotte, and James Meade, who went to Eton with William.

Emily continued, "One of Catherine’s best friends married one of William’s best friends. But I think the key for keeping your friendship with the royals is loyalty… To the extent, I’ve got friends of friends who are friends with the royals and they will not even mention their name in front of me, just in case."

The royal expert added that being royal comes with some notable obstacles when it comes to making friends. She claimed, "You’re always going to be the most important person in the room - it’s quite hard to sustain friendships on those weird, unbalanced dynamics."

While Prince William and Prince Harry might have endured trickier dynamics with their social circles, Emily believes Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis could experience very different friendships. This is all thanks to one important decision William and Catherine have made for them.

Emily suggested that, with the three children attending the same school, "They’re perhaps mingling with different kinds of families, so maybe they’ll have different kinds of friendships."

While Lambrook, an independent prep school in Berkshire for boys and girls aged 3-13 is still, by most standards, a posh school, Emily explained that it isn’t to the same level.

This means that George, Charlotte and Louis are being educated with "the kids of doctors, lawyers, business people, maybe upper middle class”. Emily’s co-host Richard Coles put forward the idea that this upbringing is "more Middleton than Windsor".

"The Middleton way has definitely been the childhood that William and Catherine want for their children," Emily responded. "I think that it’s really important for the 21st century monarchy because I do think monarchy now more than ever has to be relevant to the people."

Meeting your future in-laws can be a daunting experience for anyone, but for Prince William, it was said to be "eye opening" and "mind boggling" when he was introduced to the Middletons. The future King was apparently struck by the "informality" of his now-wife's parents Michael and Carole and their lifestyle.

Getting candid 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 suggested that "William found the informality eye-opening" and noted that this included the likes of learning to load a dishwasher or putting the finishing touches to the food before serving. However, one moment apparently left him a little red faced...

"Laying a tablecloth was a struggle and placing the cutlery embarrassing. He tried to claim it was because he’s left-handed," claimed the royal source.

It was this experience - a far shout from life in the royal palaces - 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.

Though they were no longer with the Middletons, Carole was still reported to have helped in one clear way. When the Prince of Wales had to visit the local supermarkets himself, he followed his future mother-in-law’s advice to the letter.

"His first experience of a big shop following Carole’s detailed lists was apparently mind-boggling," the source added.

For Prince William, it was supposedly all part of discovering a new way of life, far from the "stifling" formalities of the royal households. According to the source, it’s because of this that he "introduced a lot of relative informality into home life" and sometimes even the cook is "redundant" as William or Kate do it themselves.

This idea that the Prince and Princess of Wales are creating a more down-to-earth household for their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, to grow up in has been discussed often before. Royal author Katie Nicholl previously told The Mirror that all three "absolutely do menial tasks."

"They are far more ordinary than many might imagine - the kids even have to do chores in return for their pocket money. It's about them wanting to have a normal, happy, ordinary family home," she said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A previously unseen letter written by the late Princess Diana is set to go up for auction, in which she spoke of the 'importance' of communication, and her hopes that her sons would always be able to do so.

Part of Reeman Dansie's ‘Royalty, Antiques & Fine Art’ auction taking place on June 9, a letter Diana wrote to a fan after her bombshell BBC Panorama interview is set to fetch thousands.

Per the auction house’s official listing, the key contents of Diana’s letter included thanking the fan for their support after the now infamous interview aired - in which Diana uttered the immortal line about there being three people in her marriage to King Charles - as well as her hopes for her two sons to communicate on a 'deeper level'.

In the letter, Diana revealed she received the letter from the fan after her trip to Argentina. She goes on to say how touched she is by the contents and his profound words, in particular relates to his sentiments of self-knowledge and moving on in life.

Per the auction house, she continued by adding she hoped the Panorama interview would help other women in similar difficulties. Poignantly, she touched on lessons she’d have liked to have shared with her two sons, 'teaching William and Harry the importance of communication on a deeper level'.

Sadly, William and Harry’s communication has, famously, fallen to the wayside as the two brothers continue to be estranged.

Exacerbated by Harry and Meghan’s decision to quit life as working royals and move abroad, the estrangement only deepened after the Sussexes interview with Oprah Winfrey where several claims were made against the Royal Family.

The publication of Harry’s autobiography, Spare, likely didn’t help their communication issues, as Harry detailed physical confrontations with William and referring to him as 'my beloved brother, my arch nemesis' in the memoir.

William and Harry lost their mother when they were just 15 and 12 respectively, following Diana’s tragic car accident on August 31, 1997.

Had she lived, Andrew Morton, who collaborated with the late Princess of Wales for her official autobiography, Diana: Her True Story, believes she would’ve played 'peacemaker'.

'Diana always used to say she had two boys for a reason - the younger would be there to support the older in the lonely task as future king,' the journalist and author shared with People.

'There is no doubt Diana would have tried to act as a peacemaker between them. If she had been around, they would have worked things out in a different way.'

Can the feud between Prince William and Prince Harry ever be solved? Certainly, it's King Charles’s wish that peace should reign. And now, I understand that he has tasked his right-hand man with trying to broker peace between the warring brothers.

Essentially, he wants what most fathers would want - his sons to be on speaking terms. And if that means asking William to forgive Harry for what he has done, then so be it.

It has been reported that Charles’s deputy private secretary Theo Rycroft has made it his ‘number one mission’ to reunite Harry and William.

Quite how he’s going to do that remains unclear.

But it would certainly make it much easier for the King to see Harry - and, indeed, attend the Invictus Games next year in Birmingham - if his two sons were at least on texting terms. The brothers, once so close, haven’t spoken for years.

I broke the story that they had first fallen out over William's well-meant warning to Harry that he didn't need to rush things with his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle. Harry ignored the advice, and things went from bad to worse, with the result that the Sussexes walked away from royal life, with a lot of public acrimony, in January 2020.

It was just after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral in 2021 that Harry asked William and the then-Prince Charles to meet him privately in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Just a month earlier, Harry and Meghan had given their incendiary interview to Oprah Winfrey, claiming royal ‘concerns’ over their baby Archie’s skin colour, emotional abandonment and that they’d been cut off financially. Harry went on to say that his brother and father were ‘trapped’ within the royal system, unable to leave as he did.

Punchy stuff. Some may say unforgivable. The late Queen memorably responded by saying, ‘recollections may vary.’

So when Harry, William and Charles did meet, in an attempt to clear the air, Harry writes in his autobiography, Spare, that he and William ‘began sniping’ and it got so heated that ‘Pa raised his hands.’ Standing between them, pleading, Charles said, 'Please, boys - don’t make my final years a misery.'

Harry then, in my opinion, frames the whole writing of Spare as a letter to his father and ‘my beloved brother, my arch-nemesis’ on why he left the UK and the Royal Family.

After the book’s publication in 2023, William felt utterly betrayed, as it went much further than Harry and Meghan's Oprah and then Netflix bombshells.

Old scores were rehashed, and a huge amount of new detail was given about William and Catherine's falling-out with Harry and Meghan, along with accusations aplenty that the Sussexes were victims in all of this - hung out to dry by both the establishment and William.

William reportedly banned any mention of Harry and Meghan, not wanting to get involved in their drama. Then the Princess of Wales was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024, meaning both she and William concentrated on their own immediate family to literally survive its devastating effects.

I understand that Harry tried to privately reach out to his brother via text and WhatsApp, but never received any reply. He then stopped trying.

For a period, Charles too didn’t speak to Harry. But then, I understand, conversations resumed last year - and the King invited Harry to tea at Clarence House in September.

Since then, I’m told they speak on the phone every so often. The King also occasionally speaks to and video-calls his Sussex grandchildren Archie, seven, and Lili, four, whom he has only met a couple of times.

So it makes sense that while Charles’s elder son is still holding a massive grudge and has refused his father’s pleading to make up, a diplomat may hold the key.

Theo Rycroft is an Oxford-educated lawyer who joined the Foreign Office in 2005 and has held a string of senior international roles including legal adviser to the Prime Minister, head of international and EU law at the Attorney General’s Office, and deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Paris.

It is understood that Theo has made it his ambition to reunite Princes William and Harry, with a source saying that he believes the situation has become ‘ridiculous’ and is keen to resolve it.

He’s worked with William before, on several high-profile international engagements, including the prince’s hugely scrutinised trip for the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral (when he also met Donald Trump).

Certainly, I’ve always thought that William needs, at the very least, a working relationship with his brother by the time he becomes King.

But after all the betrayal, whether Mr Rycroft is the one to achieve William’s forgiveness remains to be seen.

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

From their twinning fashion moments to shared interests in ballet and playing piano, Princess Charlotte and her mum, Catherine, Princess of Wales are two peas in a pod. Now we know that Charlotte is taking after her mother in yet another way too - and it could possibly lead to some family tension in the future.

Prince William has let slip that, despite being a lifelong Aston Villa fan himself, his only daughter has followed in her mum’s footsteps and supports Chelsea Football Club instead.

During a visit to Nansledan in Cornwall, William met with young children at a nursery, and when he was told a young girl was a Chelsea fan he reportedly replied, "My daughter loves Chelsea."

Some might think this would come as a crushing blow to William - who is such a fan of the football team Aston Villa that he’s regularly spotted cheering them on at matches. The future King even recently travelled to Istanbul to witness them winning the Europa League Trophy for the first time in over 40 years.

However, he's always insisted his children can choose their own teams. In the past he apparently said, "I'm kind of hoping they'll all find their own teams in time. 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."

He also joked that Prince Louis refused to settle for just one and supports "about five different teams". It’s not all bad news for William, though. Twelve-year-old Prince George has inherited his father’s passion for Aston Villa.

Prince George and his father have been photographed at Aston Villa games over the years, letting their guard down and getting caught up in the drama of it all. When it comes to a house divided, it was first claimed that the Princess of Wales was a Chelsea FC supporter after a charity event in 2015.

Kate met a young girl at the event who later told reporters, "We high-fived because she supports Chelsea and I support Chelsea. I love people who support Chelsea."

This isn’t the only sport that leaves different family members on different sides, either. Prince William is the patron of the Welsh Rugby Union while Kate is patron of the English rugby team after taking over the patronage from Prince Harry.

During the 2023 Six Nations tournament, the Prince and Princess of Wales both attended the Wales vs England match in Cardiff. Speaking at a reception before the game, William joked, "I'm looking forward to today. It's going to be a very tense journey home. If we win today my wife won't speak to me. It will be a tense evening."

As it turned out, England came out on top, beating Wales 20-10. A loss for his team, but a victory for a peaceful home life.

Getting ready for bed isn't always a calming experience for Prince William, as he's revealed he regularly finds himself "fighting" to get in the room. Chatting about the Princess of Wales's recent trip to Italy on Heart Breakfast, he explained that she's so committed to her early years work that she gets caught up on research in the evenings.

"She spends God knows how much time now looking through all the paperwork," he said. "She's a proper pro on early years, and so most evenings I'm fighting to get past in the bedroom all the paperwork that she's got lined up ready to read."

Her dedication might be a bit of an inconvenience for her husband as he side-steps stacks of papers to get to bed, but he's "so pleased" the trip went well. William said she "came back buzzing" and he's "very, very proud" of her, especially after all she's been through in recent years.

Her two-day visit to Reggio Emilia to learn about their world-leading approach to early years was her first overseas trip since she was diagnosed with cancer and William stayed at home with George, Charlotte and Louis. Elsewhere in the Heart Breakfast interview he said their family "couldn't cope without her", describing her as an "amazing mum" and wife.

These heartfelt remarks give an insight into what their home life is like behind closed doors and paperwork is not the only thing the couple share their bedroom with. We already know that their dog Orla gets to sleep on William and Kate's bed.

It's widely reported that the Prince of Wales revealed this during a conversation with a fellow dog-owner in Duchy College Stoke Climsland last July. At the time we didn't know they'd kept one of Orla's puppies, Otto, and now they have two dogs, perhaps they sleep in a bed of their own.

Otto turned 1 in early May and the Prince and Princess of Wales finally shared his name with the world, along with a cute picture. Puppyhood is equally as chaotic whether you're royal or not, too. Whilst he was in Cornwall, William explained that Otto had been chewing all the family's slippers - "anything left on the floor is gone".

Possibly Orla gets involved too as he did say "ours" do this to someone holding their own pooch. Recently, Kate explained that the first thing the family asks in the morning is if anyone's taken Otto out and she's believed to be more of a morning person too.

Tina Brown, author of The Palace Papers, has claimed that the Princess of Wales used to visit some of London's best-known galleries and museums around 8am.

She could therefore fit these trips into her busy schedule and avoid huge amounts of attention. This habit of getting up and out early is especially interesting given she likes reading paperwork at bedtime.

It suggests Kate might burn the candle at both ends when she's got early years research she wants to do. In contrast to his wife, Prince William told Heart Radio's Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston he's very much *not* a fan of early rising.

"I'm definitely not a morning person, no, but I'm very thrilled to be here with you both, so good morning," he told the hosts.

Behind closed doors, mornings in the Wales household can be "chaotic" and Prince William recently gave his two youngest children a stern warning over their behaviour. The future King made a special appearance on Heart Breakfast on 22nd May and during a chat about the school run he hinted that old arguments can still arise between Charlotte and Louis…

"Charlotte and Louis, if you're listening, make sure you're on time, please, make sure you're not fighting over who listens to what this morning," he said live on air.

We already knew that the Wales children liked to have their own favourite tunes playing in the morning, though Prince William previously suggested they'd found a way to prevent fall-outs.

On the 2021 Apple Fitness+ series, Time to Walk, the royal dad admitted, "Most mornings there's a massive fight between Charlotte and George as to what song is played in the morning."

Now, with Prince George sometimes boarding at Lambrook School it seems that it's his younger siblings who end up bickering over music. The solution William and Kate tried to implement was the children taking turns and they have to "basically prioritise" one child's choice each day.

However, this fair approach doesn't seem to have entirely eliminated the arguments by the sounds of it! Hopefully, Prince William's warning to Princess Charlotte and Louis might have helped smooth things over - if they were actually listening at home.

The Prince and Princess personally do school drop-offs and pick-ups as much as possible and William confessed things "can be" chaotic.

"It depends if there's a guitar lesson going on in the morning - a music lesson - you've got to get the guitar in the car," he said. "No, we're not taking the guitar; we need the bag for school. Are we boarding? No, we're not. Are we seeing friends? No, we're not. So there's all that going on in the morning."

Eight-year-old Louis also loves eating jam sandwiches on the way to school and leaves sticky fingerprints everywhere in the car - "which is really helpful", quipped William.

These confessions show how much has really changed when it comes to royal parenting. It's hard to imagine the late Queen Elizabeth driving King Charles to school as he enjoyed a snack in the back of the car, but we'd expect nothing less from the Waleses, who also pause royal engagements during school holidays.

Prince George, Charlotte and Louis are currently on their May half-term break and when they return to school, it'll be George's last few weeks at Lambrook. He turns 13 in July and will begin a new school in September, with Eton College (William's old school) and Marlborough College (Kate's) hotly tipped to be the top contenders.

Both are boarding schools and Prince George is already getting used to living partly away from home, though it will still be a big change for him.

"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," royal author Robert Jobson told Hello!. "They are such a tight family unit; George will be missed. It will be like having an empty seat at the table."

Prince William has always taken every opportunity to praise his wife and the way he talked about her during a recent radio appearance emphasised how much of a crucial role the Princess of Wales plays within their family. The future King joined Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston on Heart Breakfast on 22nd May to discuss the opening of a new wing at the Isles of Scilly Hospital.

Inevitably, William ended up chatting about his wife too, and called Kate an "amazing mum" and "an amazing wife".

"Literally our family couldn't cope without her, so she's been absolutely stunning really," William continued, revealing she was in "good form" after her recent trip to Italy.

This was the Princess's first overseas visit since before she was diagnosed with cancer and he said she "came back buzzing". When he was asked by Amanda how he felt about it, Prince William responded that he's "very, very proud" and added that "she's been through so much in the last couple of years particularly".

Touching on how Kate has been easing back into royal engagements, he explained, "Away trips like that take a lot out of you because you're on sort of permanent receive and send the whole time."

Because of this they "balance that" and make sure the Princess is ok and rested. His remark that they "couldn't cope" without her echoes the suggestion made in Russell Myers' William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story that she is William's "world".

"He worships her, truly. She's his world, and when the diagnosis came, it was as if the ground beneath him vanished," a close friend claimed. "He talked about the rug being pulled, but it was more than that, it was heartbreak, fear and helplessness all at once."

They said his "devotion to her never wavered" and this is "love in its rawest, most powerful form". Now, seeing her getting back to the overseas engagements and projects she loves, Prince William is so proud of her and the couple have forged a new way of doing things, prioritising family time more than ever before.

Kate will likely be looking forward to spending half-term with Prince William and their children and who knows if they could be back to the Isles of Scilly together. The Prince of Wales spoke about how he used to visit the Isles a lot with his parents when he was younger and "the children can go where they want, it's completely safe".

He said there's "so much to do" down there for a family too. Prince William, Kate and the children spend so much of their lives being scrutinised and photographed in public, so a peaceful place like this where they can relax and just be themselves sounds much-needed.

The radio interview came ahead of Prince William's visit to the Isles of Scilly Hospital. The new wing increases medical capacity and the hospital now has maternity services (previously you had to travel to the mainland to give birth) and more social care.

The Prince also visited the construction site for ten new, sustainable homes which are being delivered by the Duchy of Cornwall (Prince William succeeded King Charles as Duke of Cornwall in 2022).

Prince Harry and Meghan's 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview sent shockwaves across the globe and their revelations and claims about the Royal Family are still often talked about to this day. Now a new royal biography of the Princess of Wales has delved into how she and Prince William reacted to the tell-all exclusive.

In Kate! The Courage, Grace and Power of the Woman who will be Queen, Christopher Andersen claims that Prince William was perhaps hardest hit by his brother’s unprecedented move. So much so he was reportedly left "literally sick with worry" and "too distracted to think of food".

Andersen also suggests that the Princess of Wales "could hear her husband retching in the bathroom" for the week leading up to the interview.

Over 85 minutes Harry and Meghan shared their version of events, including their suggestion that a member of the Royal Family questioned what their first baby's skin colour might be, and the Prince called his older brother "trapped" in the institution.

At the time, the late Queen Elizabeth II issued a rare public statement in response instead of sticking by her age-old "never complain, never explain" ethos.

She declared, "The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."

As well as witnessing the toll her brother-in-law’s comments had on her family, Andersen’s new book alleges that there was a specific moment years later where Kate - who had previously been quietly trying to act as peacemaker - reached her limits.

In a May last year, the Duke of Sussex told the BBC about his wish to reconcile with his family, saying “life is precious" and he didn’t "know how much longer [his] father has".

King Charles made his cancer diagnosis public in 2024 and his younger son's comments were met with outrage by some at the time. There were suggestions he had somewhat sensationalised the King’s illness and caused alarm for his health.

In an excerpt from the book, Andersen writes, "The damage was done: seeds of doubt concerning the King’s chances for a full recovery had been sown."

He also suggested that Prince Harry’s remarks left Kate "more disappointed than angry", whilst her husband was supposedly enraged.

"William, who had already slammed the door shut on his brother over what Harry wrote in Spare, was, in the words of a courtier, 'apoplectic' with rage," Andersen alleged. "Now it was time to nail the door shut once and for all, and for the first time Kate, who had worked harder than anyone to mend the rift between the brothers, willingly handed her husband a hammer."

A Sandringham staffer also told the author "Princess Catherine is 'the sweetest, most loving person you could ever know... but like everyone else, she has her limits".

The Prince and Princess of Wales's wedding anniversary falls in between Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte's birthdays, giving us three new royal pictures to look forward to in a very short period of time. This year's photographs felt like part of a unique set and this isn't surprising as they were all taken on their holiday to Cornwall over Easter.

We've seen some overlap in the past, but this is the first time so many of William and Kate's official snaps were obviously shot over the same, private trip. The couple also posted follow-up videos giving even more personal glimpses of their children enjoying themselves on the beach.

Looked at separately, these are adorable snapshots of the Waleses at their most relaxed. Viewed together you can see the distinct approach Prince William and Kate are taking nowadays.

These three pictures and the clips show them as a family like any other, taking us behind the scenes on a holiday we'd never have known about otherwise. Instead of focusing on giving each a separate feel with their own background landscape like they've done before, the Prince and Princess totally leaned into the connection.

Their choice made these posts seem like part of a holiday album and emphasised the down-to-earth quality. Although the backgrounds were slightly different in each one and they're all beautifully shot by Matt Porteous, the focus was more on presenting them as the family they truly are, rather than as picture-perfect royals.

The videos were the epitome of this and we got to see Charlotte stroking their dogs Orla and Otto on board a boat and bowling a cricket ball on the beach - likely to Louis who also played cricket in his video.

To an extent the Wales kids have always been seen in this modern, playful way in their parents' posts, though I think that the future King and Queen are forging ahead with this even more. They've got their own way of doing things and in recent years this has been clearer than ever.

Tradition is still important, but William and Kate's first priority is their children and they prefer being more low-key as senior royals. Messages are often signed off with their initials and they're happy to appear in selfies with fans and even offer occasional hugs.

Every royal generation has their own style and King Charles is doing things differently to Queen Elizabeth too. In a recent episode of her and Reverend Richard Coles' Catching Up With The Royals podcast, expert and woman&home correspondent Emily Andrews said that the late Queen was happy to be seen in a more relaxed way after the Queen Mother passed away.

"People have said that Queen Elizabeth's sense of humour was always there but it was after the death of her mother that she felt she could be a little bit more relaxed in her public persona. She felt she could be more funny, more jovial," she declared.

Prince William and Kate are seemingly keen for their public personas to be very approachable and the Prince of Wales once said that his grandmother was supportive of things evolving.

"She likes that we have our own style. It's a new generation, and there's no point in everyone doing it the same way. It's the modernisation of the Royal Family that keeps it interesting and relevant," he said.

Astonishing as it sounds, the Prince and Princess of Wales are celebrating 15 years of marriage today. The couple have been together for so long and yet in many ways their spectacular wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey seems like a recent event. Over the years Prince William and Kate have marked the occasion with a new picture and we were treated to a particularly special 15th anniversary photo.

It showed the entire Wales family - including their adorable spaniels - lying barefoot on the grass in Cornwall and it broke with tradition in the best way. Their love story is going strong as ever and you can test your knowledge of the couple's romance with our quick quiz. How much do you really know? Will you get 10/10?

Want more brain teasers? Catch up with all our previous quizzes here.

The Prince and Princess of Wales's 15th wedding anniversary was never going to slip by quietly with no acknowledgement from the couple, even whilst royal focus is elsewhere for the King and Queen's State Visit. Slightly later than usual, perhaps, they've released their highly-anticipated new picture to mark the occasion and it's a step away from tradition.

In the past Prince William and Kate's anniversary pictures have generally just been of the two of them but this year they're honouring the milestone surrounded by loved ones and looking more relaxed than we've ever seen them. The snapshot by Matt Porteous shows the entire Wales family lying barefoot in the countryside of Cornwall, with their beloved spaniel Orla and their 10-month-old puppy beside them.

It's a blissful photo and what better way to celebrate 15 years of marriage than to include the whole family they've built together in their Instagram post. Other than Prince William's 40th birthday shot taken at the beach in Norfolk I can't think of any other occasion where we're seen the Waleses shoeless in an official picture like this.

Prince William and Kate's anniversary photo is also the first glimpse we've got of their puppy - name still so far unknown - since the Princess confirmed in February they had him. It's been reported that the photo was from their recent Easter holiday to Cornwall which is also when Prince Louis's adorable 8th birthday portrait was taken.

Family holidays are strictly private for the Prince and Princess of Wales and their decision to start sharing a few more photographs like these is interesting.

As senior royals they're the ones who have been forging a more personal, modern path and the 15th anniversary picture presents them as a loving, down-to-earth family. Whilst William and Kate are committed to their royal roles and duties, family life is their first priority and we can see that come across strongly here.

Last year the couple marked their 14th wedding anniversary on the Isle of Mull, where they took their first overnight visit since the future Queen's cancer diagnosis in 2024.

They didn't reference the occasion specifically in their Instagram post, but it was romantic all the same and showed them arm-in-arm looking out at an atmospheric landscape of coastline and hills. The Prince and Princess are said to have stayed in a self-catering holiday cottage that night.

This time they'll likely spend their 15th anniversary at home in Windsor with Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Orla and the puppy. Speaking to The Telegraph, a source who knows them has described Prince William and Kate as an "unshakeable" couple who have all the qualities you’d expect from the Royal Family.

"If continuity and stability is what the monarchy is supposed to give you," they alleged. "You only need to look at this marriage. Whatever has happened in his life, in her life, the continuity and stability of their relationship has seen them through it. They are exactly the same as they have always been. They're unshakeable, the two of them."

The Prince and Princess of Wales's first priority is undoubtedly their children but even hands-on parents like them need some time away from their roles as "Mum" and "Dad" occasionally. This is something Prince William and Kate have been focusing on recently and they've apparently enjoyed some childfree breaks as a couple.

"They have a very honest and open relationship, and communication is clearly key in that. They have made the time over the years to invest in their relationship, separate from their roles as parents and as working royals," royal expert Katie Nicholl claimed.

"Of course, their children always come first for William and Kate," she told The Mirror. "But in recent years they have also prioritised together-time, and spent long weekends together without the children."

We don't know if these long weekends were spent at home or away on a mini-break, but with the Princess's family all living close by, Prince George, Charlotte and Louis have plenty of relatives to stay with either way. Making time for each other and their relationship is clearly important to Kate and William, who are celebrating their 15 year wedding anniversary today.

The Waleses started out as friends before romance blossomed at university and Katie believes that the "success of the relationship" is all down to their sense of partnership and the "idea that they're 'in this together'". This foundation is solid and loving - and it has also stood the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh in good stead as a couple.

They’re the only first marriage in that generation of the Royal Family and Prince Edward has said the fact they’re "best friends" is their secret.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Prince and Princess of Wales felt this way about their own relationship and they’ve been through a lot in recent years following Kate’s cancer diagnosis, emerging strong as ever.

In Russell Myers’ William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story a close friend stated that William "worships" his wife and she’s his "world". When she was diagnosed, "He talked about the rug being pulled, but it was more than that, it was heartbreak, fear and helplessness all at once."

They remarked that the future King was "by her side every step" of the way, adding, "The depth of his devotion is something that stays with you. It’s love in its rawest, most powerful form."

The Princess of Wales announced she was in remission last January and after this unimaginably tough time, it makes sense that she and William might have reassessed how their priorities stand. Their family is still number one, though it’s heart-warming to hear that William and Kate seem to have been enjoying more "together-time" too.

The past two years the Waleses have marked Valentine’s Day publicly and this is something they haven’t always done. We were treated to romantic snaps of them together and their 15th wedding anniversary will surely be honoured in a similar way.

When they celebrated 10 years of marriage in 2021, William and Kate shared official pictures taken by Chris Floyd and a video of them and their children exploring a blustery beach in Norfolk.

Prince Harry and Meghan's children Archie and Lilibet only took on their Prince and Princess titles in 2022 and now it's been suggested that they might not have them forever. Prince William has a different way of doing things to his father and Woman's Royal Editor Emily Andrews believes he'll take steps to remove his nephew and niece's honours when he's King.

Writing in the latest issue, she said, "To me, it's obvious that King William will, at the very least, strip Archie and Lili of their prince/princess titles."

Although this would be a shocking move, we know it's something the monarch can - and will - do if they believe it's necessary. Last year King Charles set a precedent when he initiated proceedings to strip Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his princely title.

He vehemently denies all allegations of wrongdoing against him, though His Majesty felt that "notwithstanding" this, he had to take the steps he did. Of course, this scandal-marred situation is very different to the prospect of William removing Archie and Lilibet's titles one day.

They became Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet when Charles ascended the throne because they were then the grandchildren of the monarch via a son. Prince Harry and Meghan aren't working royals any longer and their children won't be.

Perhaps this could be a consideration for Prince William, who's said to be very keen on the idea of a slimmed-down monarchy. Emily Andrews claimed that he could potentially go on to strip his brother and sister-in-law's titles too "under the guise" of a more modern Royal Family.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's outspoken comments about The Firm and their experience of royal life, not to mention public appearances like their recent trip to Australia might not help matters for them or their children. In his biography, Betrayal, Tom Bower also put forward the idea of King William taking these steps.

"William would undoubtedly rail against [Meghan's] disloyalty. He might even strip Archie and Lilibet of their titles," he alleged.

Harry and Meghan have disputed the book's claims, stating via a spokesperson, "Those interested in facts will look elsewhere; those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find [Bower]". Nevertheless, it's interesting that there's yet more speculation regarding Archie and Lili's titles in their uncle's reign.

We can't know for sure, but it's widely thought that Prince William hasn't met his niece Lilibet in person yet. The only time she's been to the UK was in 2022 and it's been claimed that the Waleses and the Sussexes didn't meet privately during the visit.

Prince Harry has been open about wanting a "reconciliation" with his family, though his older brother hasn't reunited with him publicly for two years.

Prince William has been focused on his royal role and his family. Prince George, Charlotte and Louis follow him in the royal line of succession and if they are the future of the streamlined monarchy, perhaps their cousins' titles won't be seen as necessary in the future.

Late last year the Prince and Princess of Wales said goodbye to Adelaide Cottage and moved into Forest Lodge, closing one chapter and beginning another after an intensely difficult time. Settling into a new home is always a big change and yet there's another one looming that will arguably affect the family's dynamic a lot more.

Prince William and Kate's children went back to Lambrook School for the summer term on 22nd April, but only two will be returning in the autumn. Prince George turns 13 in July and he'll move to a new school in September, most likely as a boarder.

Royal author Robert Jobson thinks it will be an "emotional time" as the family adjusts to the change. He explained, "It's a chance for him to spread his wings and take part in things in the afternoons and evenings instead of going home to Mum and Dad."

Speaking to Hello!, Robert referenced how both Prince William and Kate both went to boarding schools and "know how it works". However, it's one thing being aware and another experiencing how different things will feel without their eldest son at home.

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

King Charles and Prince William both boarded and it's hard to imagine Prince George, who is second in the royal line of succession, not following in their footsteps despite rumours over the years.

He's allegedly already been boarding at Lambrook with the blessing of his mum and dad, according to Robert's book, The Windsor Legacy: A Dynasty of Secrets, Scandal and Survival.

"Once [the Princess of Wales] was given the all-clear [with her cancer treatment], William and Catherine made a big call for Prince George's future. At twelve, he is growing up fast and, at his own request, became a weekly boarder at Lambrook School," Robert claimed.

However, if he becomes a full boarder at his next school George won't be able to come home as often. Instead, he'll probably have to wait for designated weekends or breaks to see his parents and siblings. This might take some getting used to - for everyone.

Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have been going to the same school as their big brother for four years as well as seeing him at home. The household routine will have to shift and, as Robert noted, they are a "tight family unit" so it could be sad at first.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are focused on giving George, Charlotte and Louis a stable, loving home and William has been clear about how his family is the "most important thing".

"If you don't start the children off now with a happy, healthy, stable home, I feel you're setting them up for a bit of a hard time and a fall," he said in Apple TV+'s The Reluctant Traveler. So it's about making sure we feel we can look after our family and our children in a way we feel is best for their future."

Princess Anne is a royal who doesn't mince her words and amongst all her legendary quips is the exceptionally *her* response to Prince William's birth in June 1982. The Princess Royal was undertaking an engagement in New Mexico and was seemingly unaware that she'd just become an aunt for the first time.

Asked for her reaction to Princess Diana having a son, Princess Anne replied, "I didn't know she had one". Another journalist then quizzed her on if she felt everyone was making "too much fuss" of the royal baby, to which the Princess said simply, "Yes".

Royal tours are no doubt exhausting and at the time it was suggested that Princess Anne was also feeling the pressure of stepping up her workload whilst King Charles and Diana focused on their family. If this was the first she'd heard of her nephew's birth that's also quite a way to find out, though she's famously no-nonsense anyway.

Whilst the Princess Royal was likely excited to meet baby Prince William, work was still there to be done and a flurry of questions about personal matters instead of her engagements were probably not what she'd hoped for. Her father Prince Philip was similarly convinced that working royals were there to represent The Firm and not to be viewed as celebrities.

In Philip: The Final Portrait Gyles Brandreth wrote that Philip thought, "If you believe the attention is for you personally, you're going to end up in trouble. The attention is for your role, what you do, what you're supporting. It isn't for you as an individual. You are not a celebrity. You are representing the Royal Family."

Princess Anne takes her work very seriously, though behind the scenes she enjoyed fun, sporty moments with her nephew as he grew up.

Prince William revealed this in a special episode of Mike Tindall's The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast that they used to race around at Balmoral and she was "quite quick". They are understood to have a close bond and the Princess Royal's focus on getting on with her job has been described as one of her "successes".

"One of her biggest successes is that she's never tried to overshadow Charles," royal expert Katie Nicholl said earlier this year. "She has always just been there by his side as a pillar of strength, and she's like a hybrid of Elizabeth and Prince Philip in being no-fuss, not overly emotional and just getting on with the job."

It's not just the questions surrounding Prince William's birth that prompted a "no-fuss" response, as there have been plenty more over the years.

This includes her reply to her would-be kidnapper's request to get out of her car in 1974 - "Not b***** likely!" - as well as her response to a line of questioning in her and her first husband Mark Phillips' engagement interview. Surprising as it sounds to us nowadays, the then-22-year-old was actually quizzed on whether she'd "make a good housewife" and if she could sew or put on a button.

"Yes, I'm not totally useless. I was quite well educated, one way or another," she replied curtly.

Pity the poor Prince and Princess of Wales.

There they are, gamely hugging children in the Welsh rain, pulling pints in south London, Kate dancing at a Hindu temple in Leicester and William selling pasties in Cornwall.

All to shore up the monarchy's popularity after the twin barrels of betrayal that Prince Harry and the former Prince Andrew have heaped on the Firm.

William was, I'm told, pretty furious that his headline tour to forge diplomatic links in Saudi Arabia earlier in the year was nearly derailed due to the allegations about Andrew's links with Epstein (the former prince denies any wrongdoing).

And, I'm told, he was equally annoyed by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gallivanting round the world on pseudo-royal trips to Jordan and then Australia later this month (which had this royal correspondent wondering if the Crown needs them back in the spotlight, after all).

But, I believe, his real ire is reserved for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and her money-making schemes involving the late Queen's pet corgis.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to be 'appalled' at Sarah Ferguson's claim that Queen Elizabeth II 'spoke' to her from beyond the grave through her corgis.

Sarah Ferguson and her ex-husband Andrew ‘inherited' Muick and Sandy, after the Queen's death in 2022.

Not only did she tell friends and family that her mother-in-law was communicating with her through the dogs but that she could also feel her presence when she walked them to some of the late Queen's favourite spots in Windsor Great Park.

Prince William was then apparently 'furious' that she used this anecdote at a conference last year.

Speaking at the Creative Women Platform Forum she said, "I have her [the late Queen's] dogs… so every morning they come in and go 'woof woof' and I'm sure it's her talking to me."

She had also previously said what an "honour" it was to have the pets in her home.

William and Kate, along with other members of the family, thought it a crass and bizarre way in which to boast of her closeness to the late Queen.

They also apparently found it distasteful that Sarah told friends that she had been 'left' the dogs in the late monarch's will, when, in fact, they had been bought by Andrew (without consulting other family members) in 2021, and thus simply returned to the Yorks after the Queen's death.

To make matters even worse, it had recently been suggested that Fergie, 66, intended to clone the corgis for a reality TV programme.

Described by Hollywood producers as a 'bold and controversial business venture', the tasteless idea would have involved a fly-on-the-wall show following the former Duchess of York trying to make money by selling the genetically replicated corgis 'to other dog lovers around the world'.

Pet cloning is highly contentious, with experts warning it can produce horrible abnormalities. But it can be lucrative, with cloned dogs typically selling for up to £75,000 in the US, where the process is legal.

In a write-up of the idea, TV producers said the show would see Sarah navigate 'the complex world of genetics and royal protocol'.

It continued, 'Fergie finds herself like so many other people facing a dramatic change in economic outlook later in life - needing to make money.'

The idea never took off - and Fergie has since denied the reports - but one can only imagine William and Kate's reaction if it had.

Last month, the Pembrokeshire Welsh corgis were spotted being walked on the Sandringham estate where Andrew has been exiled over his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

He was stripped of his titles by his brother King Charles last autumn, and has since been arrested and questioned by police on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but denies any wrongdoing.

Prince William had pushed for something ‘more' to be done about his uncle and was said to be ‘unamused' that he was readmitted to royal life after the Queen's death.

He was particularly annoyed, I'm told, at being asked to drive Andrew to church at Balmoral in the summer of 2023, in the wake of Virginia Giuffre's sex claims against him (Andrew denied any wrongdoing).

Fergie's current whereabouts are unknown but she is believed to have fled the UK. She is now facing increasing pressure to give evidence in the US over her own links to Epstein.

Yet Fergie is said to be desperate to salvage her reputation - and has even been tipped to appear on the US version of The Traitors. Her money troubles have repeatedly made headlines.

In 2010 she was caught in a newspaper sting offering access to Andrew for £500,000. She later apologised, blaming a 'serious lapse in judgment'.

And if there's one thing for sure, William is livid and I'd imagine likely to want to fight back. Will he break rank?

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

Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice have never been working royals and as the scandal engulfing their parents Andrew Mountbatten-Winsor and Sarah Ferguson continues to make headlines this is highly unlikely to ever change. Even so, Woman’s royal editor Emily Andrews believes that the sisters will be needed by Prince William to "help out" when he’s King.

At the moment this seems hard to imagine too, but in her latest Royal Insider column Emily suggested that Eugenie and Beatrice could assist with pomp and ceremony.

"Personally, I think Prince William will need both girls - whom I’ve met and think are decent sorts - when he becomes monarch," she said. "Not as working royals but to help out with the pageantry."

Princess Eugenie and Beatrice used to often step in to support their cousin and uncle King Charles at royal garden parties and other occasions. They’ve got plenty of experience Prince William could rely on when he’s King, especially with reports that he’s keen on keeping the number of working royals as minimal as possible.

Right now there are only eleven working royals and out of these eleven, only the Prince and Princess of Wales and Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are under the age of 70.

Princess Anne told CBC in 2023 that she thought the idea of a slimmed down monarchy was "said in a day when there were a few more people around".

"It doesn't sound like a good idea from where I'm standing, I would say. I'm not quite sure what else we can do," she elaborated.

Unless new working royals are created, Prince William will have a lot of duties resting on just a handful of shoulders. Emily’s remark that he’ll "need" Beatrice and Eugenie makes a lot of sense and she previously said in Woman&Home that she can see Zara Tindall being "handed the patronage of the royal stud in Sandringham" and royal racing at Cheltenham and Ascot.

Whilst Prince William is a keen polo player and has ridden horses all his life, Zara’s career as a professional equestrian and love of attending the races perfectly places her to support him. It might feel like a lot more pressure if she’s the only one helping him out as King, making Eugenie and Beatrice still good people to turn to.

The sisters have been keeping a low profile in recent months and didn’t attend the traditional Easter service at St George’s Chapel.

This was the first big gathering of the Royal Family since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. The King’s brother was also stripped of his Princely title last year and he’s consistently and vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

The York sisters have kept their Princess titles and Charles is said to be the "one royal" fighting their corner. The idea of Eugenie or Beatrice taking on official roles in his reign might be out of the question for Prince William but, in time, perhaps his cousins could all be called upon for support on rare occasions and alongside the senior royals.

Emily Andrews’ Royal Insider column appears in each issue of Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

A royal reunion looks to be on the cards for Prince William and Prince Harry this June as there are some family occasions you just don’t miss - and a wedding is surely one of them. Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips and his NHS nurse fiancée Harriet Sperling have finally confirmed the date for their nuptials as Saturday 6th June 2026.

Unlike both William and Kate and Harry and Meghan’s weddings, this will be a "private ceremony", taking place at All Saints Church in Cirencester. A spokesperson confirmed that "both families" have been informed jointly of the wedding date by invitation.

This is a second marriage for both Peter and Harriet and will be a more low-key wedding. Even so, I’d expect both the Waleses and Sussexes to make the guest-list.

Peter is close to his cousins and walked between William and Harry at Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021, just days after Harry and Meghan’s Oprah Winfrey interview sent scrutiny of the brothers’ bond sky-high. As children William and Peter got up to mischief together - leading to their "almighty telling off" by Queen Elizabeth - and Harry has openly talked of wanting a "reconciliation" with his family.

What better opportunity is there than a private family wedding? Although there will inevitably be a lot of press attention on Peter and Harriet’s big day, the royals will largely be celebrating and spending time together away from the public eye.

Meghan could perhaps choose to stay with Archie and Lilibet in California whilst Harry flies over, but I do think if he’s invited, he will come.

He attended Peter’s wedding to his ex-wife Autumn in 2008 and his cousin was a "huge" source of support after the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

"Peter Phillips was good with William and Harry," said royal biographer Hugo Vickers back in 2021. "He was up at Balmoral and he was a huge help to them."

He was there for them at this dark time and so they’ll no doubt want to be there for him at one of his happiest moments this summer. Whether or not William and Harry’s face-to-face meeting ends up with them properly chatting is another matter entirely.

The King’s sons were last together in person for an altogether sadder family occasion in August 2024. They attended a memorial for their uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, and reports claimed that Prince William and Prince Harry kept their distance and weren’t seen speaking to each other.

Even if Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s June ceremony has a small guest list there’ll probably be enough people there that the brothers can stay out of each other’s way if they wanted to. This would be a sad state of affairs for the first royal wedding since Princess Beatrice’s 2020 nuptials where everything was scaled-back due to the pandemic.

Peter and Prince William both just attended the royals’ Easter Sunday service with King Charles and Queen Camilla. Harriet came for the first time, as did her daughter Georgina, who walked side by side with their soon-to-be stepsisters Savannah and Isla Phillips.

The Princess of Wales apparently felt it was her "duty" to help keep Prince William and Prince Harry "on the same team" - at least in the early days. Her approach towards the "competitive" brothers is said to have been inspired by her own tight-knit family upbringing, according to royal author and expert Russell Myers.

He claims in his biography, William & Catherine, that although the "true disintegration" of William and Harry’s bond "would not occur until many years later", Kate took a key role and "often acted as a peacemaker". She’s said to have "witnessed their competitive nature" and tried to help.

"Her upbringing in a close-knit, loving family environment, where supporting each other was almost an unofficial family motto, spurred her actions," the author alleges. "Whether counselling William or having a quiet word in Harry's ear, she saw it as her duty to keep the two brothers on the same team, as did their senior aides."

By the time Prince Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step back as senior royals in early 2020, things had changed significantly. Despite all her peace-making efforts, sources alleged to Myers that Kate got to a point where she "had less interest" than her husband in persuading Harry to remain in his role.

Even so, the biography suggests that Kate was "left so personally affected" by the death of Prince Philip a year later that it encouraged her "to encourage William to talk to his brother" after the funeral.

In Spare, Harry recalled the meeting at Windsor Castle and his and William’s "flushed faces" as they argued. The once-close Princes ended up taking very different paths and they haven’t seen each other in person since 2024.

This rift might have initially been difficult for Kate to understand, as her own family has always stayed incredibly close. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond previously declared, "When you come from a happy, united family - as Catherine does - it’s incredibly hard to understand how people can become estranged. I think she believed the rift could be fixed and, after Prince Philip’s funeral, we saw her talking with Harry and obviously encouraging William to do the same."

"But we now know that it didn’t work. In fact, William and Harry had a blazing row right after the funeral. There comes a point when you just have to accept that happy families are not a game that everyone can play," she said.

Instead of brooding over what could have been, the Prince and Princess of Wales have been focusing on their own roles and family. Myers thinks that "shutting Harry and Meghan out" has been a key decision the couple has made with their well-being and the "protection and prosperity" of the Royal Family in mind.

Prince William and Kate have gone through unimaginably difficult times in recent years and there’s been a notable shift since the Princess resumed royal duties following her cancer diagnosis. Family comes first more than ever and they seem determined to give their children a strong foundation in life, reminiscent of the one Kate had.

Easter is the only other time of year besides Christmas when we get to see a mass gathering of the Royal Family. Working and non-working royals alike come together at Windsor Castle and walk to St George’s Chapel for the Sunday service. It’s a private family occasion rather than an official appearance, meaning it’s relatively relaxed.

However, there are still certain protocols in place and William and Kate’s awkward faux pas in 2018 famously broke one of these. The couple were pictured arriving at the chapel and happily greeting the Dean of Windsor before going inside - but Queen Elizabeth was already there. It’s understood that the royals traditionally arrive at events in reverse order of rank with the most senior - the monarch - arriving last.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were reportedly held up on the journey to Windsor from Kate’s parents’ house due to roadworks, meaning that Queen Elizabeth was already inside when they got there in 2018. This is a pretty relatable reason for their Easter faux pas and it’s possible they managed to get a message to the Queen.

She looked completely unfazed when they left the chapel afterwards and at least it was a small occasion, compared to the coronation where the Wales family were widely speculated to have been late. King Charles and Queen Camilla ended up waiting in their golden coach outside Westminster Abbey for William, Kate and their children.

“Unbeknown to them, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their two younger children are running a minute and a half late,” writes royal author Robert Hardman in Charles III: The Inside Story. “The Waleses are supposed to be there eight minutes ahead of the King and Queen. Yet they will now arrive after them.”

Many theories have been put forward as explanations, from the children delaying Prince William and Kate, to their coach getting caught behind Charles and Camilla’s early one. Whatever the reason, it meant that the original plan had to be adjusted and William, Kate, Charlotte and Louis walked behind the King instead of being seated ahead.

In the grand scheme of things, two late arrivals is actually not at all bad given how many events, ceremonies and engagements the Prince and Princess of Wales attend every year. They’re also unlikely to be delayed by traffic again at Easter, at least if they’re coming from home - as they live at Forest Lodge on the Windsor estate.

Prince William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis have celebrated the past two Easters privately, rather than with the rest of the Royal Family. I can’t help feeling that they will all be at Windsor this year following a difficult start to 2026 for The Firm. Their presence alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla and the others would project a sense of family unity amid the ongoing scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

It’s also a great chance to catch up with the other royals and Prince George, Charlotte and Louis get on particularly well with Zara Tindall’s children who are often there too.

Not a year goes by without something sparking renewed scrutiny over the relationship between once-close Prince William and Harry. Despite the Duke of Sussex stating adamantly last year that he’d love a "reconciliation" with the Royal Family, he hasn’t met with William personally for years.

According to Tom Bower’s new biography, Betrayal, Harry is set to be excluded from one of his brother’s most important life milestones. This intriguing revelation was made by a "guest" who attended King Charles’s coronation reception, who claims, "William had decided that afternoon not to invite Harry to his coronation".

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s spokesperson has already responded to the book and author, stating that those "interested in facts will look elsewhere" whilst "those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find him". They described Bower as someone who has "long crossed the line from criticism to fixation".

It’s undeniable, though, that William and Harry haven't been seen publicly together since August 2024. Elsewhere in Betrayal, Bower suggests the "unprecedented sanctions" against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor "must have shocked Harry".

Andrew was stripped of his Princely title in October and was later arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office in February 2026, though he’s always vehemently denied allegations of wrongdoing. Prince Harry didn’t respond publicly, but Bower alleges that privately "he realised that his own royal status was no longer invincible".

"Clearly, William was taking no prisoners. Once he was crowned as king, his brother might well show no mercy to him and Meghan," the royal biographer continues. "Insulted by all the criticism targeted from Montecito, Harry could anticipate that the Prince and Princess of Wales’s anger about Meghan’s misuse of her royal title for profit would tip the balance."

Although it was King Charles who announced he was stripping his brother’s title, it was widely reported that William was involved in the discussions. At the time, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond expressed her opinion that "this line had to be drawn and William was probably pushing for the King to do so".

In Bowers’ view, the Prince of Wales might not shy away from considering who has what title when he’s King. The author claims, "William would undoubtedly rail against [Meghan’s] disloyalty. He might even strip Archie and Lilibet of their titles."

When they were born, both of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children were given the royals’ surname Mountbatten-Windsor and didn’t have Prince and Princess titles. This changed when King Charles ascended the throne, as the grandchildren of a monarch - via a son - are automatically entitled to be referred to like this.

They now appear officially in the royal line of succession as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex. In theory, Prince William could take steps to remove his nephew, niece, brother or sister-in-law’s titles once he’s King if he really wanted to. This would make serious waves, though, and I would think that something relatively major would have to happen involving the Sussexes to prompt such a move.

Out of all the thousands of pictures taken of the Prince and Princess of Wales, certain snaps that stand out. The most memorable photos often mark milestones like their wedding day or the births of their children. However, others are candid shots and photographer Chris Jackson believes one from 2021 is hugely "symbolic".

He took it after the first ever Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony and it shows Kate and William looking at each other, with her arm resting lightly on his back. They were in a room filled with people and yet this image is undeniably all about the royal couple.

"As she put a comforting hand on his back, no one could have predicted the global reach that the awards have today and the number of lives they've touched around the world," Chris recently told Hello!

"It's an intimate moment that is symbolic of the support the Princess has given her husband throughout," the author of Modern Monarchy: The British Royal Family In A New Era added.

With the Royal Family, small gestures and details speak a thousand words and the inaugural Earthshot Prize ceremony was a huge deal for Prince William, who launched the environmental awards in 2020. It would be understandable if the future King had been nervous and having Kate there, offering support and a "comforting hand on his back", would have meant so much.

According to some, it was Kate who helped persuade her husband not to abandon his dream of setting up the Earthshot Prize. In his book, William & Catherine, author Robert Jobson described the project as being "unprecedented for a member of the Royal Family" and claims the Prince was "anxious on several levels" about it.

"He did not believe he would achieve the funding needed to stage the awards over a decade, let alone the vast sums for the prizes," he adds, before quoting a former senior aide, who alleges, "Catherine was the one who convinced him to pursue it."

"Catherine persuaded him not to give up, to keep on going, because when the world did open up [after the pandemic] and look very different then the whole project and the awards were exactly what was going to be needed, because at its core it was all about optimism and hope," they state.

The staunchly supportive approach goes both ways, too. The Princess of Wales was nervous about her deeply personal interview on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast. It was Prince William whose advice guided her through it.

Giovanna recalled, "She was nervous because she knew that she was about to speak in a way that she’d never spoken before. Prince William came into the room and he said, ‘Just talk’," reasoning that they could always cut bits out later on because it wasn’t live.

The Prince of Wales has also been incredibly supportive of his wife’s Early Childhood work and he was pictured with his hand on her back as they arrived to attend a launch event hosted by her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in 2023. We don’t tend to see public displays of affection from the future King and Queen, though they definitely make an exception for supportive gestures like this.

The Princess of Wales has reportedly introduced some "new routines" at home to help Prince William. From being first in the royal line of succession to dealing with being a father of three - not to mention on-going pressure from royal scandals like the arrest of his uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor - William is handling a lot right now and shared at the 2026 BAFTAs that he wasn’t "in a calm state".

According to unnamed sources, Kate has been praised as being her husband’s "sounding board", giving the Prince of Wales a place to discuss his feelings and frustrations. She's also apparently decided to establish some practices to best support her husband and their family.

As per Star magazine, the couple have supposedly made it "a rule to eat dinner every night as a family now".

The source added that "when William is with the kids, the phones go away and royal business gets parked for the evening, so they can actually relax together".

"He really takes what she says to heart, so when she suggested it was time to put some new routines in place to help him cope with the pressure he’s under, he got on board," they continued.

The idea that the Wales family like to be device free at home is something they’ve discussed before. During his appearance on the Apple TV series The Reluctant Traveller last year, Prince William told host Eugene Levy about how important it is for them to have distraction-free family time.

He said, "We sit and chat, it’s really important. None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about."

A month later, during his time in Brazil as part of the COP30 climate summit, the Prince of Wales touched on the topic again during a chat with TV host, Luciano Huck. He explained that one of the reasons Prince George, Charlotte and Louis don't have their own mobiles yet is because "children end up seeing things on the internet that they shouldn’t."

Another of Kate’s routines to help William’s mood reportedly includes making sure the two are working on their health from the inside out.

According to reports, the Princess of Wales recently revealed she's cut back on alcohol since her cancer diagnosis and now she's said to be trying to get William to do the same.

The source claimed that "[William] loves his wine and beer, but he’s agreed to follow her lead". The couple are also understood to be dedicated when it comes to getting their exercise in.

"There are no days off when it comes to getting in some sort of workout and she wants William to be just as committed. It’s all very sensible and simple stuff but by all accounts it’s really helping William’s mood", they claimed.

Everyone's still talking about the Princess of Wales's stunning green gown for the State Banquet and although President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria's visit is now over, we've been treated to a behind-the-scenes glimpse. Taking to Instagram the day after the banquet, Prince William and Kate shared a photo taken by the brilliant Christianah Ebenezer.

It shows the two of them standing beside a blossoming climbing plant, beaming in their finery. They've shared pre-banquet pictures before and they give an insight into the people behind the tiaras and titles. Christianah's portrait is actually quite a relaxed snapshot, with Kate leaning into husband very closely.

In formal pictures the royals tend to be side-by-side, more face-on, and keeping physical contact minimal. The new picture of William and Kate is reminiscent of the classic portraits but seems slightly more personal and modern, giving a sense of them as a couple.

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It also reminds me of another important royal portrait, suggesting that this is how they want to be viewed by the world. In June 2022, the first official joint portrait of the Prince and Princess of Wales was unveiled. Coincidentally, Kate also wore a green dress in this and she was even in the exact same Manolo Blahnik satin heels that she brought back for the State Banquet.

I believe that the Princess's green Andrew Gn gown was a tribute to Nigeria as this colour features prominently on the country's flag. The shoes matched perfectly so it's perhaps only natural she'd choose them, however, it's still interesting to see them re-worn when they have such a special connection to this milestone portrait.

It was the first official portrait of them as a couple, the future King and Queen, and they were even standing in a very similar way. The new portrait suggests that this is still how Prince William and Kate feel most comfortable posing.

We'll never see them completely abandon the formal style of pictures at big occasions like this, but when they can, Kate and William clearly like bringing their own approach into portraits too.

As a couple they've already taken steps down a path Queen Elizabeth never trod. She always signed off her messages formally, whilst they're happy enough - at least for now - to just use 'W' and 'C'. They take selfies with fans, even hug some of them, and the Princess is famous for getting down to eye-level to chat with young fans.

It makes sense that they'd want their own personal style to come through in portraits where they can choose the setting, photographer and feel they're going for.

This is what they go for with the pictures taken for their children’s birthdays too and Kate is often the one behind the camera for these. In a statement released by Kensington Palace, Christianah, who was born in Lagos and moved to London as a child, declared it was a "true honour" to collaborate on the new photo.

"Blending our shared creativity with elements of classic portraiture and nature, the team worked seamlessly to capture this moment ahead of the Nigerian state banquet - something I'm deeply humbled to have seen come together so beautifully," she said.

Prince Philip’s funeral during the pandemic was like no other in recent royal history as his grieving family - sitting distanced from each other - paid tribute to Britain’s longest-serving royal consort. In line with guidelines at the time, only 30 people were there and this of course included the Prince and Princess of Wales and Prince Harry.

Kate’s relationship with her late grandfather-in-law isn’t something we often hear about, but in Russell Myers’ biography William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, a source suggests that his death hit her hard and prompted a big decision. Myers writes, "Another source told how Catherine was left so personally affected by the Duke of Edinburgh’s death that it spurred her decision to encourage William to talk to his brother following the funeral at Windsor."

The funeral was the first time Prince Harry had returned to the UK since his and Meghan’s Oprah Winfrey interview aired. This sent reports of a rift between the Sussexes and the Waleses, and particularly between the brothers, into overdrive.

All eyes were on Prince William and Harry as they walked in the royal procession to St George’s Chapel and after the service they went back to Windsor Castle together. The Princess of Wales chatted with both and then stepped away to walk with Duchess Sophie, seemingly giving her husband and brother-in-law some time together.

The loss of the Royal Family’s patriarch seemingly put family squarely back as the main priority in Kate’s mind, with the source claiming, "Catherine believed the family should come first". Secondly, it was alleged that if there was an "opportunity" to find out what was motivating Harry’s approach to the royals, it "should be taken".

According to the Duke of Sussex himself, a meeting did take place back at the castle between himself, William and King Charles. Unfortunately, it didn’t go quite as Kate might have hoped when she supposedly "encouraged" talks.

The Duke of Sussex wrote in his memoir, Spare, that the King stood between his sons "looking up at [their] flushed faces" and declared, "Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery."

Regardless of this, it’s certainly interesting that the Princess of Wales seemingly did what she could to bring the family closer together in the wake of Prince Philip’s passing. The Duke was said to have been "incredibly fond" of her and they "enjoyed a close relationship".

Myers notes that they wrote letters to one another for years. Philip sympathised with her "plight as an outsider coming into a family dynamic like no other". Although he was born a royal, unlike Kate, he gave up his Greek and Danish titles and became a British citizen and life as the husband of Queen Elizabeth was still very different to what he was used to.

He is understood to have acted as a mentor figure to the younger generations of his family and Prince William has spoken of how kind he was to the Princess. Three days after Prince Philip passed away at Windsor Castle, his grandson posted a private photograph of him and Prince George riding in a carriage, taken by Kate.

"I will always be grateful that my wife had so many years to get to know my grandfather and for the kindness he showed her," Prince William stated.

When passing through the British countryside, one can always expect to see something noteworthy. Glorious fields. Untouched nature. The future King on the backseat of a tandem bike. OK, so one of those might seem like the odd one out, but it was a reality yesterday, when Prince William surprised BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James with a leg on his charity bike ride.

Prince William hopped on the backseat of Greg’s tandem bike and pedalled away for around 30 minutes, with the two cycling through the South Yorkshire countryside, starting just outside Doncaster. The radio host was joined by Prince William on day five of his eight-day mission.

This involves him cycling 1000km through England, Wales and Scotland to reach his final destination of Edinburgh.

True to form, as well as walking the walk when it comes to giving back, Prince William also found time to showcase his sense of humour, telling confused passers-by that Greg James was actually "hallucinating". After getting used to the surprise himself, Greg was trying to alert people that his cycling mate was none other than the future King. Surprisingly, many found that hard to believe...

Realising onlookers weren't quite sure if Greg was telling the truth, Prince William joked, "It's a lookalike! He's hallucinating! They just think you've lost it".

After the surprise, Greg spoke to fellow Radio 1 hosts Sam MacGregor and Danni Diston, telling them, "I've got so many flies in my mouth because I've been cycling with my mouth wide open. All our jaws are on the floor from how mad that all was."

Commenting on his relief that he didn’t accidentally "kill the future King", Greg added, "That's the tightest I've grabbed the handlebars for the whole week".

He also praised William for going the extra mile to help with the charity and raising awareness of the challenge. Greg shared, "When he left, I just sat down quietly and thought, 'Fair play, he did not need to do that.' I'd joked when I recorded a recent radio show with him that he was very welcome to turn up and do a stint on the tandem but I didn't think he'd actually call my bluff."

"Completely bizarre but so kind of him to spend some time amplifying our message of making sure we look after the most vulnerable people in society," he continued.

Between their cardio and cracking jokes with one another, the Prince of Wales also found time to share words of encouragement and gratitude to Greg.

He told him, "What you’ve done is set an example about helping out. That’s the thing. It’s volunteering some of your time, putting yourself through a bit of pain at the same time, and supporting others.

"It’s something we do very well in this country, but we don’t really shout about it enough. This challenge helps everyone see that. And it’s an amazing team effort. Huge well done, Greg."

The Prince of Wales also revealed that Greg had already exceeded raising £1million for the charity and fans have absolutely gone mad for the unlikeliest bike ride.

One said on social media, "He’s up for everything! I can’t wait for William to be our King", whilst another wrote, "Honestly get that man on the throne!! How proud the whole of the UK will be to have him as our King!"

Prince William marked UK Mother’s Day this year by sharing a previously unseen photograph of himself as a two-year-old alongside Princess Diana in the picturesque gardens of Highgrove House. Surrounded by wildflowers, including poppies which are traditionally a symbol of remembrance, this was a deeply personal snap.

In his message, the Prince of Wales said he was "remembering [his] mother, today and every day" and thinking of those who are remembering someone they love on Mother’s Day. It was a poignant and sensitive caption, acknowledging that this day can be difficult for many people.

This was also the Waleses’ only post and whilst it was special for William’s tribute to Princess Diana to have the moment it deserves, it could be seen as bittersweet in another way too. It seems that the Prince and Princess of Wales have started a new tradition of honouring mothers without involving Kate directly in pictures or videos.

Back in 2024 when she was undergoing cancer treatment but before she’d made her diagnosis public, her Mother’s Day photo with George, Charlotte and Louis was heavily scrutinised. Kate later issued an apology saying, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day."

Given how much she was going through behind the scenes at the time, this attention was likely especially hard. The next year in 2025 her Mother’s Day post celebrated Mother Nature and now Prince William has shared one for his own mum.

Up until 2024 the Mother’s Day posts had generally either been tributes to Princess Diana and Carole and Kate or just the Princess of Wales herself. Now perhaps the future Queen just prefers to stay out of the spotlight entirely on this day.

It was such a huge and internationally-discussed moment two years ago that it might have taken the shine off the idea of posting with her children for the occasion. Instead, she’s free to enjoy the day privately with her kids and she and Prince William can still post on Mother’s Day, but in recognition of their own mums or Mother Nature without this level of scrutiny.

The last time Princess Diana appeared in the family’s Mother’s Day pictures was back in 2020 when they shared a selection of snaps of each of their mothers and Kate herself. A year later their caption revealed that Prince George, Charlotte and Louis write Mother’s Day cards addressed to their late grandmother for their dad.

"Each year on Mother’s Day, George, Charlotte and Louis make cards remembering their Granny, Diana, for William," they stated. "Whatever your circumstances, we are thinking of you this Mother’s Day."

This is such a sweet tradition and a lovely way to ensure she remains part of the children’s lives. Whilst some fans might be a little sad not to see Kate represented in some way in this year’s post, it was a beautiful tribute to Diana. The picture is understood to have been from the family’s private collection and was taken back in 1984.

Prince Philip’s guidance in matters of the heart was apparently taken seriously by the Royal Family - and this includes his grandson Prince William. The Prince and Princess of Wales were dating for seven years before he popped the question and it’s been suggested that Philip fully "backed" William taking some time over it.

Writing in William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, royal expert and editor Russell Myers claims that Prince Philip cautioned his grandson after seeing how King Charles and Princess Anne’s first marriages and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s marriage had ended unhappily.

"Philip had warned his grandson against succumbing to the same curse that saw the marriages of his own children, Charles, Anne and Andrew ending in separation and divorce, which had marked both their lives and those of his grandchildren," Myers suggested.

According to the author, the late Duke of Edinburgh "had been a huge supporter" of Prince William’s decision to "delay taking on full-time royal duties". He had also reportedly "backed him in taking his time while he considered whether he had absolute confidence in his relationship with Catherine before making the biggest decision of his life."

In 2010 William and Kate announced their engagement and in April they’ll celebrate their 15th anniversary, showing that this was not only the biggest decision but the best too. Myers remarks upon how Philip and Catherine "enjoyed a close relationship" and wrote letters to each other, and stated that the Duke’s acceptance or rejection of royal spouses was seen as a "moral compass".

He clearly very much approved of and admired the Princess of Wales and his warning to William makes complete sense given how much of a pressure cooker environment royal life can be.

In the couple’s engagement interview the Prince of Wales, who is first in the line of succession, even candidly revealed he’d wanted to give Kate time to "back out" if she’d wanted to.

"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," Prince William 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."

Turning to look at his now-wife, the Prince added, "I just wanted to give her the best chance to settle in and see what happens the other side."

Kate explained that she was "so glad" to have had the time to grow and understand herself more too and together they’ve laid the foundations for an aspirational royal marriage with echoes of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth. The late Duke and monarch were married for over 73 years and it wasn’t only Philip handing out relationship advice…

Elsewhere in William & Catherine, Myers suggests that Queen Elizabeth gave Kate "guidance" about husbands in their first ever solo meeting. A former courtier is quoted as revealing Her Majesty "offered words of encouragement to Catherine regarding her future role as a senior member of the family, as well as guidance in how to deal with ‘headstrong’ husbands".

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh go about their royal duties without a lot of fanfare and play a vital part in keeping the wheels of the Royal Family turning day-to-day. Their children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex are 22 and 18, giving their parents more time to dedicate to royal duties whilst Prince William and Kate raise their much younger family.

According to woman&home magazine’s Royal Correspondent Emily Andrews, all of the Edinburghs’ could be even more important when William is King. Writing in the April edition, which is on sale now, she declared that Sophie and Edward have "proved a safe pair of hands" upon which "Prince William has indicated that he will rely" on.

"Their down-to-earth and dutiful children could also reinvigorate the brand, while Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, are given time to grow up," Emily adds.

Whilst we might have expected Prince William to continue to "rely" on his aunt and uncle, it’s interesting to consider how Lady Louise and James might get involved in their cousin’s reign. The Royal Correspondence notes that whether they "wish to serve as first rank royals is a different matter", though she adds that Louise "has indicated she wants to serve in the Armed Forces".

The slimmed-down monarchy has become even more evident in recent years and there’s been no move to appoint any more working royals to help lighten the load for the others. However, Lady Louise and James wouldn’t necessarily have to take on official roles to help Prince William, either with engagements or in terms of boosting the Royal Family’s popularity.

The King’s other nieces and nephew are often seen at events like Ascot, Wimbledon and Garden Parties despite none of them being working royals. Their presence still supports the monarch and raises the profile of The Firm, so perhaps Louise and James could do this more one day.

Their parents Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie have raised them with the expectation that they’ll have to work elsewhere anyway and accompanying them to visits or events is a more low-key option. The Edinburghs and Waleses are close and royal author Katie Nicholl alleged in The New Royals that Kate is "said to admire" Edward and Sophie’s parenting.

Lady Louise Windsor taught Princess Charlotte how to draw landscapes and animals at Balmoral when she was younger. She also reportedly looked after George, Charlotte and Louis whilst the families were up there.

It sounds like Lady Louise in particular could be seen as something of a role model for the Wales kids and that’s surely exactly the kind of person Prince William would wish to have at the heart of the Royal Family when he ascends the throne, even on an as-and-when basis.

Regardless of what happens with Louise and James, Emily believes that the Prince of Wales can "rely" on Sophie and Edward like King Charles does now.

The couple have stepped up more than ever in recent years and last year former BBC Royal Correspondent Jennie Bond claimed that Sophie "is now one of the most trusted women in the King’s circle and is viewed as a senior and highly respected member of the Royal Family."

"Charles always seems completely at ease with her. She is a sister-in-law he can trust and depend on," she declared.

Read Emily Andrews’ full feature in woman&home’s April issue, on sale now.

The Prince of Wales speaks nothing but praise about King Charles and it’s been suggested that after having a "complex" bond in William’s early years, the royal father and son reached a "turning point" in their relationship over a decade ago. In William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, royal expert Russell Myers reveals that sources close to the Prince believe the moment he "began to grow his own family" as a huge influence.

"While William’s bond with his father throughout his childhood and adolescence may be described as complex, those close to him will relay that as both men have matured it has evolved into one founded on mutual respect and understanding," Russell claims.

According to him, "William has developed a sincere appreciation and understanding of the demands that Charles felt as a parent in a troubled marriage, and as a single parent under intense circumstances."

It seems that becoming a parent himself gave the Prince of Wales a different, more sympathetic perspective on what King Charles faced as someone who was a father and first in the royal line of succession. Throughout his marriage and divorce from Princess Diana, he was under a lot of scrutiny and pressure.

Whilst His Majesty might not have had the space and time to be the kind of parent Prince William is, he ensured his son could focus on his family before embracing full-time royal life. Russell writes, "William also recognises how his father allowed him, with the late Queen’s blessing, to seek a life outside of the institution for longer than he had been permitted himself."

The Prince of Wales apparently has a "growing appreciation" of the issues King Charles has "had to deal with in his life" and values his "love and guidance throughout his darkest times".

Becoming a dad has seemingly changed William and Charles’s bond for the better, as it’s shown the Prince exactly how tough parenting as the heir to the throne can be. Seeing things from the other side can be enlightening and Prince William has been very open about how he and Kate focus on balancing royal duties and family life.

Asked by Eugene Levy on Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveler if his job is 9-5, he replied, "It doesn’t quite work like that. But I do try to stick to school timetables as much as possible, so most days we’re in and out of school doing drop offs and pick ups. Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important."

Intriguingly, the future King also touched upon his own childhood in a very measured way, acknowledging both the "warmth" of it, and the impact of his parents’ divorce.

"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 explained. "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."

Thanks to King Charles and Queen Elizabeth, the Prince and Princess of Wales have more time to devote to Prince George, Charlotte and Louis and can prioritise creating that "relatively normal" home life for them. It could be said that the "turning point" has helped not only King Charles and William, but the next generation too.