Prince Williams wished his father King Charles III on the occasion of Father’s Day. The Prince of Wales shared a throwback picture from his childhood album to mark the occasion.

In the frame, we can see little William playing with his dad in a garden.  Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. This year, it is marked on June 16.

The note attached to the picture, shared on X (formerly Twitter) read, “Happy Father’s Day, Pa. W.”

Happy Father’s Day, Pa. W pic.twitter.com/pjGuB2iLQ1

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 16, 2024

The post comes a day after the UK Royals celebrated King Charles’ official birthday with the ‘Trooping the Colour’ ceremony. 

Sharing pictures from the British monarch’s big day, the official account of the Prince and Princess of Wales said, “A memorable day at The King’s Birthday Parade. From the Irish Guards Trooping their colour to seeing so many faces on the Mall, thank you for making it a day to remember.”

A memorable day at The King’s Birthday Parade. From the Irish Guards Trooping their colour to seeing so many faces on the Mall, thank you for making it a day to remember. ????️ pic.twitter.com/UG74aGcKFX

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 15, 2024

In a follow-up post, the Prince and Princess of Wales expressed their gratitude and said, “Thank you to everyone involved in Trooping the Colour. Always in awe of the work that goes into putting together such an incredible afternoon.”

Thank you to everyone involved in Trooping the Colour. Always in awe of the work that goes into putting together such an incredible afternoon ????????????@RoyalFamilypic.twitter.com/9UaYRXyi81

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 15, 2024

This year’s Trooping the Colour ceremony was more special as it marked Kate Middleton’s first appearance after her cancer diagnosis. For the special day, Kate, whose Royal name is Princess Catherine,  picked a white dress. She was spotted riding a carriage to Buckingham Palace. 

All set for The King’s Birthday Parade! pic.twitter.com/jbangtZvA3

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 15, 2024

Kate Middleton announced in March she was having treatment after cancer was found following abdominal surgery she underwent at the start of the year.
Announcing her return, Kate shared a picture of herself on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “I have been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months. It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times.”

She had said, “I’m looking forward to attending The King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet.”

I have been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months. It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times.

I am making good progress, but as anyone going… pic.twitter.com/J1jTlgwRU8

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 14, 2024

Kate also thanked everyone for their “continued understanding, and to all of you who have so bravely shared your stories with me.”

Elgin, UK:

Facilities at Gordonstoun School in northeast Scotland include a climbing wall, rifle range and a five-hole golf course, while pupils can even avail themselves of bagpipe lessons.

But there is another reason why the institution in the far north of Scotland is well-known: one of its former pupils happens to be King Charles III.

It is hard to get more isolated than Gordonstoun, which lies near the city of Elgin, on the North Sea coast some 66 miles (106 kilometres) northwest of Aberdeen.

Getting there involves driving along narrow country roads.

Behind its gates are peaceful grounds stretching over 220 acres (90 hectares), with majestic trees and lush grass well watered by the Scottish rain.

Some 500 children and teenagers from about 40 countries attend the school, including Amelia Lee, 17, from Hong Kong, who has Charles’s old rooms.

“It’s just kind of surreal,” she told AFP, pointing out the desk where the future king would have worked and a chest of drawers from the time.

“To be honest, I don’t really use this,” she added. “I do store my snacks there.”

Lee was allocated the room after being elected class captain, just as Charles had been in his schooldays after initially sleeping in a dormitory.

Charles, then known as the Prince of Wales, spent his teenage years from 13 to 18 at Gordonstoun between 1962 and 1967.

His school attendance was a first at the time for a future British monarch, who until that point had been educated by a tutor.

“He was treated just as any other student,” said Gordonstoun principal Lisa Kerr.

Lara Croft

At the end of May, the king, now 75, agreed to become an honorary patron of the Gordonstoun Association of former pupils.

It was the latest public relations coup for the school, which has been working hard to dispel the idea that the monarch hated his time there.

Charles has often been quoted as describing his time at the school as like “Colditz in kilts”, likening it to the World War II prisoner of war camp.

The hit TV series based on the British royal family, “The Crown”, gave the reported comments wider currency.

But Kerr said: “We spent many, many months trying to find the origin of (“Colditz in Kilts”). We were not able to find it, so we have to accept it is a myth.”

Kerr accepted that his days would have begun with a morning jog to get the circulation moving, then a hot shower followed by a cold one.

Gordonstoun still provides a “challenging and broad” education, guided by the motto “plus est en vous” — “there is more in you” — to encourage effort.

On one wall pupils are told: “We don’t grow when things are easy. We grow when we face challenges.”

The school was founded in 1934 by a German-Jewish educator, Kurt Hahn, who fled the Nazis.

Among its first pupils was Charles’s father Prince Philip, who was married to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles’s younger brothers, Andrew and Edward, also attended it.

Other royal families also send their children to the school while Sean Connery’s son Jason and David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones both attended it.

The creators of “Tomb Raider” Lara Croft also imagined the adventurer as a former pupil after it opened its doors to girls in 1972.

Charles sent his two sons William and Harry to another elite school, Eton, near Windsor Castle, west of London.

Coastguard

Between classes, pupils wander around the Gordonstoun grounds in small groups in their sky blue and grey uniforms.

A third of the pupils are from Scotland, another third are other British with the remainder from overseas. Fees reach some £50,000 ($64,000) a year. Some pupils are on scholarships.

“It’s not just about passing exams and getting good grades,” said Kerr. “It’s about becoming a better person.”

Fees go towards a range of activities, from cricket and swimming, to tennis, hockey and sailing, while those more interested in music can have private lessons, including on the bagpipes.

One teenager sings in front of her classmates on the same stage where Charles once played Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s Scottish play, watched by his mother in the audience.

All senior pupils must join one of the school’s nine community and rescue services. Amelia Lee is part of the Coastguard Rescue Team.

The pupils train with local coastguards on the cliffs above the sea.

“When it’s pouring down with rain… when it’s really cold, it teaches you about resilience,” Lee said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

After weeks of wild speculation, British people on Saturday digested the shock news that Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, has cancer, many praising her courage.

Others criticised the conspiracies that spread over her absence.

Kate Middleton revealed the news in a highly personal video released Friday, just weeks after King Charles III said he too is battling cancer.

The candid disclosure leaves the British monarchy in crisis with two of its most senior members simultaneously fighting serious illness.

Charles — 17 months into his reign when Buckingham Palace announced in February he would be cancelling all public engagements — led tributes to his “beloved daughter-in-law”.

The ailing 75-year-old monarch spoke of his pride in “her courage in speaking as she did”.

Following other warm words from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the White House, British newspapers hailed the courage of the 42-year-old wife of Prince William, heir to the throne.

“Kate, you are not alone” read the front of The Sun. The tabloid said it was “hugely comforting” to hear Kate say she was getting stronger.

“Perhaps the world will now appreciate why so much secrecy surrounded her surgery in January,” it added.

The Daily Mail tabloid denounced the “social media trolls who have been peddling disgusting conspiracy theories to explain her absence from public life.”

‘Privacy’ demand

Outside Kensington Palace in London, Nathaniel Taylor, a 24-year-old government worker, said: “I think it’s really damning what happened to them, what the media has done, how they’ve reacted over these past couple of months.

“I think some speculation is inevitable but the lengths people were going to try and make things up it’s just (too much). Hopefully people take a look in the mirror.”

At Tower Bridge, Sofia, a 19-year-old student who did not give her family name, said she had seen “weird accusations” about the absence and that the true reason was “sad”.

“Obviously it was a much (more) serious matter”, she said.

In her statement, Kate, as the princess is widely known, admitted the diagnosis was a “huge shock” and asked for “time, space and privacy” as she completes chemotherapy.

In the video — recorded Wednesday in Windsor, west of London, where the future queen and king live with their three young children — she insisted she was “well”.

She said it had taken them time to explain the situation to Prince George, aged 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis, “and to reassure them that I am going to be OK”.

“William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” Kate added.

Commentators commended the frank nature of the video, which showed the princess speaking directly to the camera while sitting on a garden bench.

“So many people will have been so moved by the way that she conducted herself during that two minute plus broadcast,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP.

“But there’s no doubt at all that it’s a very, very difficult time for the institution of monarchy,” he added.

Royal health woes

Buckingham Palace announced on February 5 that tests had identified Charles had “a form of cancer” without giving further details.

He has cancelled all public engagements except audiences with the prime minister and ambassadors, and worked on official papers while receiving treatment.

He has been photographed several times since then, and seen attending church.

Kate was last seen at a public engagement on December 25.

Kensington Palace announced on January 17 that she faced up to two weeks in hospital and several months’ recuperation following abdominal surgery.

She was not expected to be ready to return to public duties until after Easter on March 31, a statement at the time said.

‘Doing their best’

But Kate disclosed tests after the operation “found cancer had been present” and that she was now undergoing “preventative chemotherapy”.

Kensington Palace said she would return to official duties “when she is cleared to do so by her medical team”.

“Preventive chemotherapy after surgery is given to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back in the future,” Andrew Beggs, a senior clinical fellow and consultant colorectal surgeon at the University of Birmingham, said.

He added it was “a bit like mopping a floor with bleach when you’ve spilt something on it,” noting chemotherapy “kills any spilt cells”.

In the meantime, the royal family is facing a staffing crisis with two members facing serious health duties and others stepping back from frontline duties.

William’s younger brother Harry and wife Meghan quit the royal frontline in 2020 and now live in the US, largely estranged from the family following the acrimonious split.

The king’s remaining brother Andrew is also out of commission, stepping down from royal duties in 2019 after a disastrous television interview in which he defended his friendship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

Barbie may not have won at the Oscars, but she made a new friend Tuesday: Queen Camilla, who was immortalised as one of the iconic dolls.

“You’ve taken about 50 years off (me)… we should all have a Barbie,” the queen joked as she was presented with the doll modelled closely on her own image.

Camilla, 76, whose cancer-stricken husband King Charles III has currently stepped back from royal duties, was presented with the gift in recognition of her work as president of the Women of the World (WOW) Foundation.

She was joined by Mathilde, Queen of Belgium and actor Helen Mirren, the narrator of last year’s blockbuster “Barbie” starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

The film, released last year, has been a box office success but missed out on all but one of the nine Oscars it was nominated for at last week’s Academy Awards.

Mirren, 78, won her own best actress Oscar in 2007 for “The Queen” in which she played the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Last week she also received her own Barbie doll, dressed just like her and complete with a tiny Oscar statuette.

Camilla’s doll was dressed in a scaled down version of the her outfit — a blue Fiona Clare dress, black cape by Amanda Wakeley and Eliot Zed black boots.

It was presented to her on board the WOW Girls Festival Bus which has toured the country promoting gender equality and made a final stop at the royal family’s Buckingham Palace residence in central London.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

King Charles III said on Monday that he would continue to serve “to the best of my ability” after his cancer diagnosis, saying he had been “deeply touched” by people’s wishes for his health.

The 75-year-old monarch, who became king in September 2022 after the death of his mother Elizabeth II, was admitted for surgery for a benign prostate condition in January but was subsequently diagnosed with an unrelated cancer.

He has postponed all public-facing duties while he undergoes treatment, but is continuing with behind-the-scenes work and has been holding some in-person meetings.

“In recent weeks, I have been most deeply touched by your wonderfully kind and thoughtful good wishes for my health,” he said in a pre-recorded speech to mark the 75th anniversary of the Commonwealth.

“In return, can only continue to serve you, to the best of my ability, throughout the Commonwealth.”

King Charles’s wife, Queen Camilla, 76, and son Prince William, 41, have taken on most of the royal family’s duties in his absence.

Prince William’s wife, Princess Kate, 42, has also been absent from public life since undergoing abdominal surgery in January.

In his speech, King Charles praised the diversity of Commonwealth and urged member nations to work together to overcome climate and economic challenges facing the world.

“Whilst we may not all have a shared history, we have common ambitions for a better future — working together to build resilience and respond to global challenges,” the monarch said in a speech recorded at Windsor Castle in February.

“Our diversity means that these challenges affect us all differently and that we experience their impacts in different ways,” he said.

The Commonwealth, established in 1949, is home to one-third of the world’s population, with the majority of the 56 member states being former British colonies in Africa, the Americas and Asia.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former member of the UK royal family Meghan Markle on Friday spoke out against the “seemingly endless toxicity” prevalent on social media platforms. The keynote speaker for a high-profile panel commemorating International Women’s Day, Ms Markle shared her personal experiences of facing “bullying and abuse” during her pregnancies with Archie and Lilibet.

Ms Markle expressed her concern about the dehumanising nature of online interactions. She remarked that people have “forgotten our humanity” in certain sections of the media and the digital sphere.

“The bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili,” she said. “You just think about that and really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful – it is not catty, it is cruel.”

The 42-year-old former actress revealed that she now consciously distances herself from such negative comments for the sake of her wellbeing. 

Prince Harry and Ms Markle have faced heightened scrutiny since stepping back from the Royal Family, with public appearances becoming less frequent as they focus on their philanthropic endeavors through the Archewell Foundation in California.

“If you’re reading something terrible about a woman, why are you sharing it with your friends?” she asked. “If it was your friend, or your mum or your daughter, you wouldn’t do it. I think that is the piece that is so lost right now (with) what is happening in the digital space and in certain sections of the media – we have forgotten about our humanity and that has got to change.”

During the panel discussion, Ms Markle also revisited a formative experience from her childhood, where a letter she wrote at the age of 11 led to a change in a sexist advertisement for dishwashing liquid by Procter & Gamble. Encouraging advocacy and speaking up, she reminded the audience that “your voice is not small, it just needs to be heard.”

 

London:

Confusion reigned on Tuesday over the announcement by the British Army of Catherine, Princess of Wales’s first official duty since undergoing surgery at her father-in-law King Charles III’s birthday celebrations in June.

The British Army initially said that Catherine, who is married to heir to the throne Prince William, would review soldiers on June 8 as part of the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Kate and William’s Kensington Palace office did not formally confirm her appearance and the Army later removed a reference to it from its website.

That came just 24 hours after Kate was spotted in public for the first time since she underwent abdominal surgery in January, according to photos published by US outlet TMZ.

The army’s website listed the king, who is being treated for cancer, as attending the main military parade on June 15, which marks his official birthday.

Charles, 75, on Tuesday held an in-person audience with finance minister Jeremy Hunt, who delivers the government’s budget on Wednesday.

The British head of state, dressed in a blue suit and a light tie, was photographed shaking hands with Hunt as he welcomed him at Buckingham Palace in London.

Charles, who became king in September 2022 following the death of his mother Elizabeth II, was diagnosed with an unspecified cancer last month.

The 42-year-old princess has been recovering mainly at the home she shares with William and their three young children in Windsor, west of London, since leaving hospital on January 29.

The photos published by TMZ showed Kate wearing sunglasses while being driven by her mother in a car. The celebrity news site said the images were taken on Monday near Windsor Castle.

Social media has been alight with conspiracy theories over the princess’s prolonged absence from the spotlight. Rather than suppressing rumours, Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said the photograph had “generated more speculation”.

“It’s a tricky situation because we’re all entitled to our privacy when we are unwell,” he told AFP.

“But when you are a member of the royal family that is quite complicated and difficult to maintain, there is naturally a huge amount of public interest.”

Royal shortage

The illnesses of Charles and Catherine have given rise to a sense of uncertainty around the royal family.

William himself missed events to look after his family. He also pulled out of a recent memorial service for his late godfather King Constantine II of Greece over an unspecified “personal matter”.

Charles’s wife Queen Camilla, 76, has been the most visible senior royal, stepping in to cover many of her husband’s public duties during his treatment.

She is now on a break until March 11, when she is expected to join William and other senior royals at the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

She is reported to be on holiday this week, effectively meaning all four of the most senior royals are out of action.

William, 41, was last seen in public on Thursday during a visit to a London synagogue, where he condemned the rise of anti-Semitism in Britain.

He also attended last month’s BAFTA film awards ceremony in London.

Kate’s last public appearance was on December 25 when the royals attended a Christmas Day church service — around three weeks before she was admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery.

Royal officials refused to say what she was being treated for but said the condition was non-cancerous.

She spent almost two weeks in hospital and Kensington Palace said she was unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter on March 31.

The princess, widely known as Kate, is one of the most popular members of the royal family.

She and William have taken on more royal duties since his younger brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan left for the United States in 2020, and the king’s brother Prince Andrew stepped back because of his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)