Royal news live: Inside historic £369m Buckingham Palace refurbishment as Prince Harry’s court battle resumes
The palace’s grandest rooms will undergo ‘phased closures’ for refurbishment
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Your support makes all the difference.Buckingham Palace will be undergoing huge upheavals in the coming months as the £369m refurbishment closes some of its grandest rooms.
Next month’s visit by the Emir of Qatar will be the last state visit to take place at the famous royal residence for three years, as work continues on its historic renovations.
The palace’s grandest rooms will undergo “phased closures” for refurbishment, beginning with the White Drawing Room, the Music Room, the Blue Drawing Room and the State Dining Room.
The King and Queen will instead host royal receptions at St James’s Palace or Windsor Castle until the palace re-opens fully in 2027.
The latest hearing in the Duke of Sussex’s High Court claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail is set to begin on Tuesday.
Harry is among a group of high-profile individuals, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John, bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars.
ANL firmly denies the allegations and is defending the legal action, claiming the allegations are “lurid” and “simply preposterous”.
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King returns to Royal Marines base where he completed his helicopter pilot training 50 years ago
King Charles arrived at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Lympstone, near Exeter, Devon, on Friday to meet successful recruits and present special honours.
He attended the training centre 50 years ago, completing three days commando training there as part of his pilot training in 1974.
He was presented with a picture of himself tackling the high ropes at the training centre, while he watched recruits perform the same manoeuvre.
The King, who is Captain General of the Royal Marines, met his troops and presented the King’s Badge and a Green Beret to two trainees, Osian Stephens from Colwyn, North Wales and Joseph Ryan from Merseyside.
Addressing the recruits, he said: “As your Captain General, I can only express my pride in each and every one of you, together with my admiration for passing such a demanding course.
“We are fortunate indeed to be able to rely on you, as well as on those families here today who so loyally support you.”
Denzel Washington unsure how to greet King at Gladiator II premiere
Even Denzel Washington looked a little star-stuck as he tried to work out the Royal handshake etiquette with King Charles at the Gladiator II premiere last night.
As His Majesty reached the Oscar winner after greeting director Ridley Scott and Paul Mescal, Washington could be heard asking: “I didn’t know if I was supposed to grab you or not. But it’s my pleasure.”
King Charles, also a fan of the Training Day star, asked him about his role as the dastardly Emporer Macrinus.
Washington sarcastically grinned and told the King: “I’m just an awful… I’m a lovely man, you’ll see... I’m a lovely chap.”
The King replied, “You’ve been in so many films, it’s fantastic”.
Prince William gives perfect excuse to student for being late to her lecture
Prince William’s security team caused quite a stir at Ulster University yesterday.
The Prince Of Wales was visiting students entering the arts at Belfast City Campus Centre.
He even popped his head in to help explain to one lecturer why her student would be late on a viral TikTok.
Samantha Johnson asked the future king to appear in her post, saying: “Just tell her why we’re late! Just say sorry.”
William, taking the request in his stride, said: “To Lesley? Are you recording?”
“Lesley, I’m very sorry we’re late but they seem to be caught up and they wouldn’t believe that you were here, so just say hi.”
She claimed on another video that she “missed half her lecture” due to Prince William’s security guards.
Prince Harry and Tom Watson only people continuing case against The Sun publisher
The Duke of Sussex “is one of two claimants whose claims are still live” against the publisher of The Sun over allegations of unlawful information gathering, his barrister has told the High Court.
A hearing on Friday was told that Harry, 40, and former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson are now the only people continuing their claims against News Group Newspapers (NGN) after several others settled their cases.
The court was told 39 cases have been settled since a previous hearing in July.
The two remaining cases are expected to go to trial in January 2025, with Harry alleging he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for NGN, which also published the now-defunct News Of The World.
The publisher has previously denied unlawful activity took place at The Sun.
Many others have settled their claims in recent years including actor Hugh Grant, actress Sienna Miller, ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne, comic Catherine Tate and Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm.
William charmed by Northern Ireland’s own prince of the silver screen
The heir to the throne was charmed by Northern Ireland’s very own prince of the silver screen during a visit to the region.
The Prince of Wales admired Oscar-winner James Martin’s MBE medal as the pair were introduced, remarking “I recognise that”.
Martin, who became the first actor with Downs Syndrome to win an Academy award when he was recognised for his role in the short film An Irish Goodbye, smiled and said it had been a great opportunity and said it had been a “big step for small actors”.
He commended the Studio Ulster virtual production training suite where they met at the Ulster University, saying there had not been a facility like that for him when he was younger, and spoke with pride of Northern Ireland productions including the popular Derry Girls to a smiling William.
William also took a rare turn behind the camera as he was shown around the state-of-the-art facility, practising moving a video camera along rails while talking to the students.
Horses misbehaving at King Charles’ 76th birthday gun salute
Horses misbehaving at King Charles’ 76th birthday gun salute
The King’s Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41-gun salute next to Buckingham Palace at noon on Thursday 14 November to mark King Charles’ 76th birthday. Some of the artillery horses refused to behave themselves for the big occasion with at least one ditching its rider for a solo canter around Green Park. With the horses under control the King’s Artillery proceeded to fire off 41 blank rounds at 10-second intervals, while the Irish Guards provided musical accompaniment. Twenty-one is the most common number of gun salutes, with 20 rounds added if the salute is fired from a Royal Park, adding up to a total of 41.
Prince of Wales arrives at the Ulster University campus in Belfast
The Prince of Wales has arrived at the Ulster University campus in Belfast for his second engagement of the day in Northern Ireland.
He will meet students and hear about the work by the university to solidify Northern Ireland’s reputation in the creative fields, including the work of the Ulster Screen Academy training the next generation of film, animation and gaming creators and production workers.
William is expected to meet Oscar-winning actor James Martin.
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