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In her new Prime documentary Molly-Mae Hague doesn’t not hold back as she says she had no choice but to end romance with Tommy Fury sobbing there was ‘no light at the end of the tunnel’

Molly-Mae Hague has laid bare her reasons for splitting with Tommy Fury – admitting their relationship ended after a string of issues including his battle with booze and vicious rumours which included he had got a girl pregnant.

The couple met on Love Island in 2019 and have a daughter together called Bambi who turns two this month, but they split last Summer without fully explaining why. Molly-Mae’s new Prime documentary series begins with the split still fresh in her mind and in the opening minute she can be heard dramatically saying: “The last couple of months has been like the worst couple of months of my life.

“The feeling of a break up, it’s like a physical pain, like your heart actually hurts. For everyone else, it’s news, a bit of like gossip. But for us, it’s real life. Your whole world just feels like it’s over. You don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m dealing with the falling apart of our relationship.”

But in a look to the future she also tells the cameras her love for Tommy “didn’t disappear overnight” after they were spotted kissing at a party on New Year’s Eve and fans will likely have to wait and see on social media what happens next with the pair.

Molly Mae and Tommy in happier times ( 
Image:
Instagram/ @tommyfury)
Turning to discuss the split in-depth for the first time, Molly-Mae said: “It’s horrible the situation, but there’s nothing you can do, like that’s just, how things have happened and we move on. All I ever wanted was for me and him to get married next year, which we’d already started planning, you know, have more children and live a really happy life together. I would never have believed what’s happened, and that’s not being together, because there was just never a world in which we weren’t going to be together.”

She is then shown speaking to her mother Debora Gordon about the split. Molly said: “Obviously, I never, ever wanted Bambi to come from a broken home because I did come from a broken home.” Debora says baby Bambi would have seen “unpleasantness” if they had tried to stay together and said there were occasions that made her “beyond worried” about her daughter.

Molly added: “There was exterior issues going on for him that was causing our relationship to have problems. It was drinking isn’t it? I never, ever wanted to be with someone that drank, because my mum had a period of time in her life where she struggled because her marriage of 25 years had just ended, and she turned to drink, probably more than she should have.

“I was only about 14,15 when that happened, and I saw my mum in some like states, going through a really, like vulnerable time. So I have never, ever, ever been around it in a positive light. He (Tommy) wanted to have a family life, but then also have the life of a 25-year-old boy with no responsibilities. And that’s not…the two don’t go hand in hand. He’s never had an alcohol problem. It’s just that alcohol caused problems for us. It got to a point where I wasn’t really looking forward to anything, because alcohol affected it so much.”

Mum Debora then added: “I could only cite a couple of examples where he had some alcohol and it’s not led to anything disastrous.” Molly replies: “I mean, I actually don’t know any. I really don’t. At my sister’s wedding, like I literally pleaded with Tommy, like I begged him to not drink. It is really sad, just so sad. It affected me, that’s why my relationship with alcohol is so damaged. When you reflect on it, it was so hard.”

But there were other allegations against Tommy. This week he admitted to Men’s Health UK that he had problems with drink in the past but said allegations he had cheated were “b*llocks”. On those other rumours Molly admits she heard them and saw them on social media.

Tommy Fury admitted this week on a podcast he had “problem with alcohol “ ( 
Image:
Men’s Health)
She said: “Even over the last like year or so, like, I have become so much more aware of a lot of things that have been going on that I was so naive to for so long. And I still don’t think I know the full picture. I think there’s like a lot I don’t know. The rumours that were coming out at the time. I mean, it’s just like, it was just a lot. People genuinely believe everything they read, because I was getting messages from people quite close to me about, ‘oh, I’m really sorry to hear that he’s gotten somebody pregnant’. or ‘I’m really sorry to hear that he’s been with this person’. And I was just like, where is this coming from?

“It was a build up. And it was a lot of times of sort of okay, like, last chance type situation. Last chance, last chance, last chance. There’s only so much that you can take. You don’t have another choice. You have to do what you have to do. I thought I am not doing it anymore.

Molly-Mae says she put a statement about them splitting up on social media to ensure she went through with it. But in the third episode Molly-Mae gives hope she and Tommy will reunite, something fans have predicted after they kissed at a New year’s eve party. She said: “The positive part of my life right now is that Tommy and I are working on things, and things are going in a more positive direction. I think, like, if things were in a really, really bad place with Tommy and I, and I have all this drama going with Maebe(her fashion brand), like, I genuinely think, like, I’d just have a breakdown.

“Co-parenting is going well. We are communicating about Bambi. It’s not that you’ve really lost that person, they’re still kind of there. Tommy and I are always gonna have that common ground in Bambi, and we’re gonna always have that special connection.” She added: “I would be lying if I said my love just disappeared overnight. He is trying to better himself, the good outweighs the bad. He wants to make it right.

“I probably haven’t been honest with anyone in this situation, because, actually, I’ve just been holding on to the hope and the idea that as soul mates, we will always come back together. I don’t want to not be together. It is just so hard because all I want is to be with him.”

Molly-Mae confides a lot in her sister Zoe in the Prime series ( 
Image:
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)However speaking to her sister Zoe in the same episode she sounds unsure what to do. She said: “Up until now, I had the mindset of we will end up back together one day, but right now, we need to be apart. He needs to work on himself. But how it’s looking this week is that maybe we are actually just done. All I want in this life is to be with him and to have another baby with him, and to grow old as a family, and to live in a nice house together and to have a nice life together.”

Zoe Rae says “unfortunately you can’t” and says she has to be strong in the situation.

Molly-Mae added: “I just feel like everything this week’s been building up, and it’s just just kind of realising that, these problems are just not going to go away, no matter how much I want things to fix themselves and just be a happy family forever. Like, it’s kind of just like realising that that is kind of not possible.

“I think I know what I need to do, it is just doing it.”

More details on their relationship are expected be revealed when parts 4-6 are released of the series later in the Spring.

Prince Harry is set to make a solo trip to the UK next month as part of his ongoing trial at the High Court – and he will use his visit to send a message to the royals, according to an expert

Prince Harry will likely reject an offer from the royal family when he returns to the UK next month as a form of “protest”, a royal author has claimed.

Harry is expected to travel to London alone in the coming weeks in order to appear before the High Court for his ongoing trial against News Group Newspapers (NGN).

It’s understood that wife Meghan Markle will remain at their Montecito home with their two children, as she has done on previous occasions.

Given Harry’s fractured relationship with the royals, it’s not known if he will reunite with any members of his family during his trip in London. Prince William is said to have completely cut ties with his younger brother, while King Charles was ‘too busy’ to see Harry during his visit in London in May 2024.

Now, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliam has predicted that Harry will turn down an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace next month, as some sort of protest.

He told GB News: “We do know that Buckingham Palace was offered for the last visit and rejected in favour of a hotel. Now, that’s never been explained. I don’t understand. It’s obviously part of a protest.”

He added: “So far as security is concerned, we know he’s appealing the Home Office’s decision not to automatically grant him security. Who would have thought he’d prefer a hotel to Buckingham Palace?”

It’s been five years since Harry and Meghan announced their decision to step down as working royals. Since then, they have become practically estranged from the royals after making a series of scathing allegations against the monarchy. And the rift is all the more painful for King Charles for one particular reason.

The monarch is said to be greatly saddened by the fact he has only seen Harry and Meghan’s children a handful of times. They are being raised in the States, thousands of miles away, and it’s believed the King has only met granddaughter Lilibet just once since she was born. Instead, he has watched them grow up in rare photographs and clips of the siblings on Harry and Meghan’s public social media.

Royal expert Jennie Bond told The Mirror: “It must remain a great sadness to the King to be so distant from his two US-based grandchildren – he hardly knows them and there’s no prospect of that changing any time soon. The early years in a child’s life are so magical – and once they’re gone, they’re gone. I hope the King doesn’t dwell on his loss too much, but it must hurt. Maybe, behind the scenes, Harry and Meghan have sent pictures to the King… we can but hope!”

The Duke has only made a handful of trips back to the UK in recent years, attending the funeral of Prince Philip and the late Queen, and briefly visiting Charles after his cancer diagnosis. Having lost his tax-payer-funded security when he quit the Royal Family, Harry has said he does not feel safe bringing his children and wife to the UK.

If Prince William broke a longstanding royal tradition when it comes to his son and heir to the throne, Prince George, one royal expert would be ‘stunned’

Prince William would leave people stunned if he ripped up the rulebook on one very old tradition, according to one expert.

In many respects, Prince William is determined to do things his own way – with the future King already setting out an agenda and path for himself that is quite different from his father King Charles, and the late Queen Elizabeth. However, there are some royal traditions that it doesn’t seem that likely the future King will break away from.

One royal expert has said that if William broke with one longstanding tradition in particular he would be absolutely “stunned” – and it has to do with the destiny of Prince George, 11, William and Kate’s eldest child and the second-in-line to the throne.

The expert, Huw Thomas – an author and BBC royal broadcaster – said on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show that while there are some ways in which the public might be able to expect William to forge his own path, when it comes to the titles that Prince George will one day inherit, William will likely be sticking to the script.

When King Charles took the throne, he rapidly bestowed the title of Prince of Wales on William and Kate accordingly became Princess of Wales – a title last held by the late Princess Diana. Charles was himself the person to hold the title Prince of Wales for the longest in British history, as heir-in-waiting for over 64 years.

The expert believes that William will pass on the title that is usually held by the heir to the throne to George when the time comes and William becomes King.

While it is custom for the heir to hold the title, the monarch has to actively choose to give it to the first-in-line to the throne, as ‘Prince of Wales’ doesn’t pass on automatically through inheritance.

Thomas said: “I’d be stunned if it disappeared, only because the monarchy is built on tradition. It may not be an inherited title, but it is the tradition that the monarch gives their son the title Prince of Wales.

“So it would be quite stunning if they didn’t. History tells us they stick to tradition. Charles barely waited 24 hours before passing it on to William.

“And you would be surprised that if in future William thought, ‘now I’m going to kind of ditch this one,’” the expert concluded.

Charles held the title of Prince of Wales from 1958, when he was aged nine, until 2022 – and he also had a lavish investiture in Wales in 1969, during which he was officially presented to the Welsh people with the pomp and pageantry the public have come to expect from the Royal Family.

The ceremony took place in Caernarfon Castle and saw Charles give a speech in Welsh, which he had spent several weeks at Abersywyth Unveristy learning beforehand to make sure he was properly prepared.

While William now holds the title of Prince of Wales, he made it clear after his father bestowed it upon him that he had no plans for a lavish investiture ceremony, with Kensington Palace saying the ceremony was “not on the table” in 2022.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are deeply in love and always protect each other, a source familiar with the couple said, but the former actress is ‘the one who makes things happen’

Meghan Markle seems to be “reparenting” Prince Harry, a source has said, after some locals in Montecito blamed the couple for changes in their neighbourhood.

A person who worked closely with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex noted the couple were deeply in love and “so hot with each other” – but they show different attitudes when they are alone and when they are in public. The source said: “You know how you meet those couples where you’re like, the way they’re looking at each other, I should probably not be here right now?”

According to the insider, Harry is “very personable” and “very at ease with people” when he is alone as, just like his mother, Princess Diana, he “has this way of, like, making people feel very comfortable.” However, the source added that when the prince is in public with his wife, “there is a circus” as he is “so protective of her because people are so nasty to her.” They added: “It’s a whole different experience.”

The insider said Meghan is ‘the one who makes things happen’ ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
In a 2019 statement Harry wrote about Meghan’s treatment by the press, he revealed his “deepest fear” of “history repeating itself” as he drew parallels between his wife and his late mother. He said: “I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

The person familiar with the couple said that while Harry is always vigilant about Meghan’s safety, the former Suits actress is the caregiver and facilitator in the family – and is “the one who makes things happen.” Speaking to Vanity Fair, the insider said: “Pre-Meghan, Harry would just pop in [to the palace press office], ask a few questions, and leave, like he was a little bored but also very keen.”

But now Harry would not engage with the media in such a way, the source revealed, as he always has his wife’s support, and in a way she seems to be “reparenting” him. The source continued: “I can picture him meeting Meghan and being just a deep breath of, like, ‘I’ve been so exhausted, and you make everything so easy.’… I don’t want to be like, oh, it’s an Oedipus thing or whatever, but it kind of feels like she’s reparenting him in a way.”

The Sussexes’ home in Montecito, California ( 
Image:
Sotheby’s International Realty)

Harry and Meghan bought their mansion in Montecito in Santa Barbara County back in 2020, after announcing they would step down from official royal duties. They purchased the mansion for $14.65million (£12million) at the time and since then, the property’s value has increased astronomically in the nearly five years.

The property is now reportedly valued at $29million (£23.5 million) – around double what they are said to have paid for it. Several celebrities including Oprah, Leonardo DiCaprio and Gwyneth Paltrow live in Montecito, which according to a local was once a quiet area whose main characteristic was its neighbourliness.

But since Harry and Meghan moved to the area, things changed, according to local people who see the Sussexes as the local villains, Vanity Fair reported. Some of the most common complaints are the increase in housing prices and people visiting from out of town, driving too fast and taking up all the street parking located near local trails, such as the one Meghan was photographed hiking on while Harry travelled to the UK for his father’s Coronation in May 2023. According to a Montecitan who spoke to VF, since the pair moved to the area, locals can no longer just walk into restaurants for dinner as the area has become more popular.

According to an acclaimed biography of King Charles, in the days after the late Queen’s death, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had to come together with the Prince and Princess of Wales for an emotional night at Buckingham Palace

The bitter rift between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with the Prince and Princess of Wales is still as icy as ever.

The Sussexes have taken aim at William and Kate numerous since they dramatically quit as working royals, with relations between the two couples said to be almost non-existent now. But despite their feud, one royal book has claimed the Waleses offered Harry and Meghan a ‘small gesture’ of an olive branch after an emotional night at Buckingham Palace – and the late Queen would have approved.

It reportedly came in the days after the death of Elizabeth II when all members of the Royal Family converged on the palace after the former monarch’s coffin was taken there before being processed to Westminster Hall the following day for the lying in state.

The two couples during a service for the late Queen at Westminster Hall ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
The Firm awaited the arrival of the coffin before an informal supper, throwing together the two warring couples. However according to the biography Charles II. New King. New Court. The Inside Story by author Robert Hardman, William and Kate offered a small olive branch.

He explains: “Inside the palace, all members of the Royal Family were there to welcome the Queen back to royal headquarters for the last time, followed by an informal supper. Afterwards, the Prince and Princess of Wales suggested that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should attach their car to their police escort for the journey back to Windsor since they were all going the same way.

“It was only a small gesture (they would not be sharing a car) and nowhere near any sort of reconciliation. However, the late Queen would have approved.”

The death of the late Queen came just months before Harry and Meghan released their controversial Netflix docuseries where they dropped a series of bombshells about life in the Firm. Both William and King Charles came under fire in the series, with William accused of “screaming and shouting” and King Charles of ‘lying’ at a high-profile summit.

But a pal tells the book that Harry’s apparent pointed snipe at Kate in his Netflix series was the “lowest of the low” for Prince William. Speaking in the first episode of the Netflix documentary, he said: “I think for so many people in the family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mould as opposed to somebody who you perhaps are destined to be with.”

And according to the book friends of the Royal Family believed it was clear he was talking about William and Kate. One tells the author in the book: “On top of all the other breaches of trust, here was Harry making a blatant attack on Catherine. For William, this was the lowest of the low.”

Several weeks later, when Harry’s memoir Spare was published, he also didn’t hold back when dishing about Kate and revealed private details about a falling out between her and Meghan in his memoir Spare. He also described how Kate allegedly ‘grimaced’ when Meghan borrowed her lipgloss and how the women had a disagreement after the Duchess of Sussex said William’s wife had “baby brain” after Prince Louis was born.

Meghan smiled and waved to fans who had gathered to celebrate her fairy-tale wedding to Prince Harry – but the Duchess struggled with her 16ft-long veil at a crucial moment

A royal expert revealed the reason Meghan Markle struggled with her wedding veil when she married husband Prince Harry.

The Duchess’ minimalist silk £200,000 Givenchy wedding gown stunned the world as she tied the knot with the prince on Saturday May 19, 2018. Their wedding ceremony appeared to be stripped of stuffy formality as millions of people tuned in to watch their fairy-tale wedding unfold.

Meghan smiled and waved to fans who had gathered to celebrate her wedding to the prince – then 33 – before going up the steps to the church. Her extensive veil, decorated with flowers representing all 53 countries of the Commonwealth, was carried by two of her page boys.

But the dress’ 16ft-long veil became a problem, as it got caught when she stepped out of the Rolls-Royce as she arrived at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. Footage from the day shows Meghan’s veil had become twisted in the vehicle – and another aide along with dress designer Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy rushed to assist her.

Meghan’s veil caused a huge problem when she arrived at St George’s Chapel ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

However, a military man who was tasked with opening the car door for Meghan did not offer his help. And according to Tom Bower, the author of Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, he didn’t want to assist due to what had happened the previous day.

During an episode of the Mirror’s Pod Save the Queen podcast in August 2022, Mr Bower claimed: “A military man told me an extraordinary story about Meghan when she arrived at the wedding at Windsor Castle on that glorious day in 2018. You see her get out of the car unaccompanied and she has problems with the train of her dress and the army officer doesn’t step forward to help her.

“And the reason is, is the day before in the rehearsal, she had been very rude to him so he thought ‘well I’m not going to help you today’. I didn’t get the story from him but a fellow officer of his, who explained what had happened.”

Royal author Tom Bower explained why Meghan struggled with her 16ft veil ( 
Image:
AFP/Getty Images)

Millions of people tuned in to watch the fairy-tale wedding unfold ( 
Image:
PA)
Eventually Meghan managed to sort out the veil herself and stepped out of the car, but she refused to take the arm of a different escorting officer.

“Ms Waight Keller designed a veil representing the distinctive flora of each Commonwealth country united in one spectacular floral composition,” Kensington Palace said of the show-stopping piece. The Commonwealth family of nations – of which Her Majesty The Queen is Head – will be a central part of Prince Harry’s and Ms Markle’s official work following His Royal Highness’s appointment as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.

“Ms Markle wanted to express her gratitude for the opportunity to support the work of the Commonwealth by incorporating references to its members into the design of her wedding dress. Significant time was spent researching the flora of each Commonwealth country and much care was taken by Ms Waight Keller to ensure that every flower is unique.”

Meghan and Harry tied the knot in August 2018 ( 
Image:
Getty Images)One of the biggest guests at the wedding by far was Harry’s late grandmother the Queen – and many have wondered what she thought of the nuptials. And according to the book My Mother and I by royal biographer Ingrid Seward, the only remark the late monarch made about Harry and Meghan’s wedding was regarding the bride’s white, flowing Givenchy wedding gown.

The expert writes: “Lady Elizabeth [Anson] told me that the Queen had made only one remark to her about Meghan and Harry’s wedding, which was that the bride’s Givenchy wedding gown was ‘too white’. In the monarch’s view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal.”

When the Royal Family takes part in public engagements they are often seen coordinating their outfits – and a fashion expert has revealed the sweet reason behind the fashion choice

The Royal Family are known to never have a hair out of place when they appear in public, officially representing the crown.

No detail is too small for the House of Windsor, especially when they are all attending a major, high-profile event. The royals often are spotted in outfits that match – or are cleverly coordinated – and a fashion expert has revealed that this isn’t just because they want to look picture-perfect, there is also a sweet reason behind their decision to do so.

Royal fans often spot that Prince William, Princess Kate and their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, are the royals that take part in this trend most often. The Wales family rarely appears altogether without at least one throughline to be seen in the outfits they have all chosen to wear: whether this be a colour that they have all donned, or a style of clothing.

Kate and William also make sure their family is coordinated ( 
Image:
BBC Children in Need/Comic Relief via Getty Images)
Speaking to Fabulous magazine, fashion expert Amber Graafland explained, “When Kate, Prince William and their children wear coordinated outfits it’s about more than just looking good.

“By complementing each other, and sticking to a colour theme, they are showcasing a united front. It’s a technique Prince William and Princess Kate use to show [how] in tune they are when they attend official engagements together, and they also deploy it with their children.

“Adept at using their clothing to convey coded message, the Waleses know that by presenting a refined and harmonious image they convey a close-knit family with a strong bond. It also makes them instantly recognisable on the world stage.

The royals present a ‘united front’ with matching looks ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
There are almost too many occasions when the royals have coordinated their outfits to count. At King Charles’s coronation, for instance, Charlotte was her mother’s mini-me. The pair both wore white dresses designed by Alexander McQueen, and shoes to match. Charlotte’s cape-style coat dress reflected the shape and silhouette of of the Royal Victorian Order mantle that Kate donned for the historic occasion, which was cut from a rich blue fabric with a scarlet trim. The pair also wore their hair in matching up-dos and floral silver headpieces, designed by Alexander McQueen and Jess Collet.

Charlotte was Kate’s mini-me at the coronation ( 
Image:
PA)But the coordination didn’t end there. Both Kate and Charlotte’s custom dresses featured symbolic floral embroidery that relates to the UK. And these themes were also seen in Queen Camilla’s coronation attire, something that the two senior royals collaborated on with the designers, the embroider Chloe Savage told People magazine, noting that “Kate and Camilla together were involved”.

And when the Royal Family attended church on Christmas Day at Sandringham, they coordinated in shades of dark green and navy blue. Camilla and Kate both opted for the same shade of forest green coats, and Kate added a tartan blue and green scarf that matched Charlotte’s coat and her son’s ties. Only Charles stood out, as monarch, in a timeless camel-coloured coat and a pale tie with lavender grey hues.

The Wales family also coordinated their looks at the annual carol service Kate hosts at Westminster Abbey – all seen wearing outfits with a matching shade of red, for William, George, and Louis this came in the form of a red tie, with Kate and Charlotte both wearing red coats.

Antiques Road Trip expert Paul Laidlaw was left in shock when an item he bought for £60 made a staggering £20,000 profit at auction

In a thrilling episode of Antiques Road Trip in 2021, Paul Laidlaw, the BBC’s treasure-hunting expert, hit the jackpot when he bagged a camera for £60 from a Margate antique shop, which fetched an astonishing £20,000 at auction.

The Margate store was like Aladdin’s cave, and the eager owner enticed Paul with a tour: “Three floors, the upstairs is mainly furniture but there’s stuff everywhere. And on this floor, there are four rooms through and in the middle, there’s a staircase which goes down to a room full of chairs and another room full below.”

Paul humorously retorted, “Don’t send the cavalry, okay?” After delving among the myriad items, he surfaced with the camera and bartered over its price, initially offering £50.

The shopkeeper stood firm until he proposed: “Give me £60, and I’ll shake your hand, but I’m not doing any better than that, I’m afraid.”

Victorious with the handshake, Paul secured the camera, speculating: “I think this is a very early camera. If I’m right, that could be quite exciting. The photographic market is very much in the ascent, it’s a hot market, I think that’s a good thing,” reports the Express.

Paul covered his mouth in shock ( 
Image:
(Image: BBC))
Excitement peaked at the auction house in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, where auctioneer Edward Crichton found himself fascinated by the rare find, confessing he’d “never seen one” like it before.

Overflowing with excitement, he revealed: “The sub-miniature camera – I have never seen one, in fact, we have carried out some research and cannot find any other example which has sold at auction, we were very excited to see this and it has certain potential to make a significant profit.”

“You couldn’t fit many more in, could you?” remarked Kate as she took in the crowded view of the auction room.

As eager bidders jumped into action, five people swiftly indicated their keen interest. The bidding started at a cool £1,000, quickly ratcheting up into the thousands.

The camera was bought for £60 ( 
Image:
(Image: BBC))
Watching the energetic scene unfold, Kate couldn’t help but note, “They’re not messing around,” as the figures climbed higher and higher. Edward was all agility, calling out, “£3,000, £4,000..”

Paul caught the moment’s intensity and exclaimed in astonishment, “He’s now taking £1,000 increments,” This excited Kate to chime in, “It is not slowing down.”

Shocked beyond belief, Paul clutched his face and gasped, “Oh my god,” just as the bid soared to £20,000.

Paul couldn’t believe his luck ( 
Image:
(Image: BBC))The hammer finally sealed the deal at £20,000, prompting Paul to laugh while his co-star beamed and joined the applause.

Ecstatic, Kate squealed a hearty “Well done” as she congratulated Paul.

Reveling in the victory of the auction battle, a glowing Paul couldn’t hide his happiness, declaring, “I’m over the moon.”

With her own joy unmistakable, Kate gushed, “What an incredible result! I am so chuffed for Paul.”

Understated but capturing the day’s sentiments, Edward summed up the extraordinary event, musing, “Most items in this sale make between £50 and £500, so £20,000 is staggering, wonderful.”

Prince William is on his way to becoming ‘the toughest ruler’ the royal family has ever seen – and it’s not good news for Harry and Andrew, a royal expert has said

Prince Harry and Prince Andrew both have very strained relationships with the rest of the royal family. And as a result, they are said to be “wary” of the future king Prince William, who is under “huge generational pressure” to maintain the monarchy, according to an expert.

William is said to have completely ‘cut ties’ with his younger brother Harry as a result of his numerous public attacks on the monarchy.

Similarly, he reportedly feels his uncle Andrew has jeopardised the Royal Family by being embroiled in a number of scandals over the years – most notably his links with Jeffrey Epstein.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, royal commentator Hilary Fordwich explained: “Prince William is dedicated to duty, as imbued in him by Queen Elizabeth II, who tutored him every Sunday regarding his royal duties. He’s also under huge generational pressure since the increasing public popularity of the monarchy ranks highest for both him and Princess Catherine.”

However, she also claims that despite the challenges he may face with the responsibility of his impending royal role, William “as a millennial… won’t and can’t risk public association with disastrous members of the family who merely serve as distractions from public duty”.

According to Fordwich, William believes this includes both Prince Andrew and Prince Harry, whose autobiography Spare acted as the ‘final straw’ for his older brother. And speaking of his decision to keep both at a distance, she further noted that the two are now likely “wary” of the future monarch.

A source recently told In Touch that William is not scared to assert himself, and that this will be evident when he eventually takes the throne. The insider claimed: “It’s no secret that anyone who pushes back against him will be swiftly shown the door. He’s not willing to take any nonsense, and the word is he’s already on his way to being the toughest ruler the family has ever seen.”

But while Harry and Andrew are out, other family members are likely to step up into more prominent roles once William becomes king – including Zara and Mike Tindall.

Royal reporter Jennie Bond told the Mirror that while the Tindalls “don’t have titles”, “they obviously have the cachet of being so much part of the extended Royal Family”. Not having titles isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the royal couple “have managed to use that commercially without getting into too much bother”.

As far as their relationship with the Prince, the Tindalls “are both very close to William, and if he calls on them again (as he did at a garden party last year), they will definitely agree,” Bond continued. They won’t step into “an official working role, nor do I think the public would want to fund any more working royals,” the royal expert added.

Meanwhile, the Times has reported that “palace insiders believe that under the next reign, William V will be eager for his aunt and uncle, Sophie and Edward, to play a more prominent role in public life.”

Sophie and Edward reportedly “get on very well” with William and Kate, a palace source explained. “She’s tough, she knows her own mind and will argue her corner. There was always a danger people underestimated her but she stood up for herself, for Edward, for them as a couple,” a former palace aide told the publication.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been on the receiving end of brutal criticism in recent days after being spotted visiting a Los Angeles wildfires relief hub as well as speaking out about huge changes to Facebook

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been on the receiving end of blistering criticism after their latest decison.

The Sussexes were brutally branded “disaster tourists” after being pictured hugging victims of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. The blazes have seen people close to Harry and Meghan’s home lose their homes and possessions as fires have ripped through their neighbourhoods.

But despite meeting victims and joining volunteers distributing food at the Pasadena Community Centre, actress Justine Bateman slammed the couple for a “repulsive photo op” labelling them “disaster tourists”. The fires have also led to Meghan postponing the premiere of her Netflix series With Love, Meghan – which has also seen her cruelly branded attention seeking.

Meghan hugs a volunteer while visiting Pasadena Community Centre ( 
Image:
BBC)
Meanwhile, days later the couple also faced criticism after issuing a stern statement on their official website accusing Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram of “allowing more abuse and normalising hate speech” after its decision to scrap third-party fact-checking and loosen its content moderation.

And royal expert Jennie Bond has said it is ‘disturbing’ the amount of criticism the couple receive – especially now they seem to have put their days of criticising their royal relatives behind them. The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror: “Harry and Meghan must have expected much of the criticism they received after their accusations about the rest of the Royal Family.

“But I find it disturbing that almost everything and anything they now do is still criticised, in my view quite unfairly. They could have stayed holed up in their Montecito haven while so much of California burned.

Harry and Meghan chat to a volunteer
“Instead they went out and offered what help and support they could. Meghan could have let her new show go to air as planned, but she either instigated or fully supported the Netflix announcement that it would be postponed. Whatever they do is dismissed as cynical by someone or another, which must be dispiriting.”

Jennie believes that Harry and Meghan have recently been using their global reach for good, getting involved in causes exploring the dangers of social media – and it’s now time for their critics to “move on”.

She added: “They have a platform, and they are using it. Their criticism of the removal of safeguards by Facebook strikes me as a perfect use of the influence they have.

Harry and Meghan talk abou the dangers of social media at an event in New York ( 
Image:
AP)“The danger posed by the internet is something they have been actively campaigning on for some time, and their criticism of Mark Zuckerberg is totally consistent with the stand they have taken. Good for them, someone needs to speak out about the potential dangers of the internet. So, I say give Harry and Meghan a break. They haven’t attacked the royal family for some time. What’s done is done. Time to move on.”

It comes after a source told Page Six that Harry and Meghan feel the Justine Bateman’s comments about them visiting the relief hub in Pasadena were ‘offensive’ They explained: “It’s offensive to Meghan and Harry that anybody would think this is merely a photo opportunity.”

The source added: “Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles, so this is, and always will be, home to her.” They also added that the duchess was ‘not a tourist’ and that “her heart is completely broken for all the lives that have been lost and for those whose homes have been destroyed in these fires.”

Mayor of Pasadena Victor Gordo also praised the pair, saying they were keen to provide any support they could. The mayor said they were “great people” with “great personalities.” He added, “They really buoyed the spirits of the first responders. We visited the command post at the Rose Bowl, and people were very happy to see them.”