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  • FAMILY STRAINS Prince Harry ‘threw a lot of javelins at his family’ with Spare & it’s ‘commendable’ of King Charles to not respond

    FAMILY STRAINS Prince Harry ‘threw a lot of javelins at his family’ with Spare & it’s ‘commendable’ of King Charles to not respond

    PRINCE Harry “threw a lot of javelins at his family” with his bombshell Spare memoir and his relationship is “incredibly strained”, claimed royal experts.

    Writer and broadcaster Hugo Vickers claimed that it is “highly commendable” that King Charles has never publicly responded to the biography, which made a number of digs at the royal family.

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    Prince Harry threw 'javelins' at his family with his bombshell Spare memoir, claims an expert
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    Prince Harry threw ‘javelins’ at his family with his bombshell Spare memoir, claims an expertCredit: Getty

    Prince Harry's biography made a number of damning claims about the royal family
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    Prince Harry’s biography made a number of damning claims about the royal familyCredit: Getty
    Hugo appeared on The Times royal podcast – The Royals – with Roya and Kate – to speak about the Duke of Sussex’s relationship with his family, ahead of his 40th birthday in September.

    Host Roya Nikkhah, royal editor at The Sunday Times, said: “The permafrost seems pretty frozen, certainly between the brothers [Prince Harry and Prince William], and I think that relationship with his father is incredibly strained.”

    Hugo agreed, saying: “However, he threw a lot of javelins at his family in that book [Spare], and I think it’s highly commendable that the King has never responded publicly to any of these things.

    “So I take the view that the door is indeed left open.

    “Now, it’s not very easy for Prince Harry to come through the door because, first of all, he says he can’t bring his wife to England.

    “He can take her to Colombia, apparently, which is much more dangerous than England, but he can’t bring her here because he doesn’t have security.

    “Well, he probably would have a certain amount, anyway.

    “For various reasons, he doesn’t, so he pops over from time to time, and there are these brief meetings.

    “But I commend the King hugely for his restraint because to have had all those things said about you and about your second wife is pretty unattractive.”

    King Charles announced earlier this year that he was undergoing cancer treatment and would be stepping back from public-facing duty just 16 months into his reign.
    Prince Harry & Meghan Markle have tea & cake with Colombia’s scandal-hit VP as ‘faux royal tour’ kicks off
    However, it has since been announced he is now well enough to visit Australia and Samoa in October on a royal tour.

    Bombshell Spare claims

    The prince’s book came hot off the heels of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries and explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey where they made a series of damning revelations, including how two royals allegedly questioned the colour of Prince Archie’s skin tone.

    But there was more to come in Harry’s book, as he recalled an alleged altercation with his brother William which ended with him falling into a dog bowl.

    Harry’s father King Charles was also in the firing line for criticism.

    Roya Nikkhah, royal editor at The Sunday Times, claimed Harry's relationship with his father is 'strained'
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    Roya Nikkhah, royal editor at The Sunday Times, claimed Harry’s relationship with his father is ‘strained’Credit: The Times

    Royal writer Hugo Vickers said it is 'highly commendable that the King has never responded publicly' to Harry's claims in Spare
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    Royal writer Hugo Vickers said it is ‘highly commendable that the King has never responded publicly’ to Harry’s claims in SpareCredit: The Times

    Hugo claimed the 'door is indeed left open' for a reconciliation between Charles and Harry
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    Hugo claimed the ‘door is indeed left open’ for a reconciliation between Charles and HarryCredit: Getty
    Harry laid into his father for not hugging him after the death of his mother, Diana, the late Princess of Wales.

    He also revealed how William disapproved of Harry’s marriage to Meghan and once called her “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.”

    Meanwhile, Harry branded Camilla the “villain” and a “wicked stepmother” and accused her of leaking stories to the media about Prince William.

    Family bond restored?

    Despite any family tension, Prince Harry would put an end to the royal war with King Charles if his full security is restored, pals have claimed.

    The Duke of Sussex, 39, lost the right to close protection after stepping back as a working royal.

    He has since been stuck in a long-running legal battle over changing his government-funded UK security.

    But friends of Harry told The Sunday Times it would be “swords down” if his security were restored.

    Meanwhile an insider close to the King said Harry’s belief he controlled security matters was “mistaken”.

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced on January 8, 2020, they would be stepping down as “senior” members of the Royal Family.

    Despite any family tension, Prince Harry would put an end to the royal war with King Charles if his full security is restored, pals have claimed
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    Despite any family tension, Prince Harry would put an end to the royal war with King Charles if his full security is restored, pals have claimed

  • ROYALS AT WAR Diana used Harry & William as a PR tool to hurt Charles – I saw it first hand, says royal photographer

    ROYALS AT WAR Diana used Harry & William as a PR tool to hurt Charles – I saw it first hand, says royal photographer

    PRINCESS Diana used Harry and William as a PR tool to hurt the then-Prince Charles, claims a royal photographer.

    Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Jim Bennett, who has spent years snapping the Firm, told how he saw Diana first-hand “using her sons” during the breakdown of her marriage.

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    Princess Diana on the log flume at Thorpe Park with Harry and William in 1993
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    Princess Diana on the log flume at Thorpe Park with Harry and William in 1993Credit: Getty – Contributor

    Charles, pictured here in 1994, only 'ever used the boys once' for publicity pics saying royal photgrapher
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    Charles, pictured here in 1994, only ‘ever used the boys once’ for publicity pics saying royal photgrapherCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
    He said: “My personal opinion is that she used the children, the two boys, a hell of a lot during that time.

    “I know [the then-]Prince Charles only ever used the boys once to have publicity pictures, and that was at Balmoral.

    “Diana had been using the boys a little bit as a tool, I shouldn’t really say that but that’s what it appeared to me.

    “Maybe Charlie was doing the same, I really don’t know.”

    Jim captured the world-famous snap of Di at Thorpe Park with Wills and Harry on the log flume in 1993.

    He said back then, before the downfall of the royal marriage in 1996, the family were happy with photographers shooting genuine moments.

    But shortly after, Diana would try “to get as much publicity against Charlie as she could”.

    He added: “[Things were] never [over the top] in the early days but when things started going wrong with Charles, and she started going to the Chelsea Harbour Club when they first split up, it seemed to me that she was trying to get as much publicity against Charlie as she could.

    “When we went to Chelsea Harbour Club she would always park the car at one end and walk all the way down the car park so she could be photographed.”

    Recalling the moment he snapped the family at Thorpe Park, Jim told The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson how it unfolded.
    What Princess Diana was really thinking on her wedding day to Prince Charles, revealed by a body language expert Judi James
    Jim said: “I was driving to Windsor over Easter weekend just to do the usual stuff and as I was driving, I was running a bit late, I saw Diana’s car come past me with backup people.

    “I phoned immediately my mate and said ‘Look I’ve just seen the car, they’re not going to be at Windsor, they’re coming away from Windsor’.

    “So we turned the cars around and followed as best we could but we lost them.

    “We pulled up on the side of the road and between the two of us, made a decision.

    “We said ‘Let’s go to Thorpe Park, it’s a long shot I wouldn’t think for one minute she’d be taking the kids to Thorpe Park’.

    “So we drove to Thorpe Park, it was only about another three of four miles away, and as we pulled up into the car park, we saw all the royal cars parked at the entrance.

    “So we bought tickets, went in and did pictures. These were the pictures of them on smaller rides, like the teacups.

    “Because of the publicity Thorpe Park got from the pictures, they were absolutely sold out that weekend.”

    Jim said the Managing Director of Thorpe Park at the time, had then personally invited them back the following year when he knew Diana, William and Harry would be there.

    Racing to the theme park once again, Jim was in the right place at the right time and able to snap the trio of the water ride.

  • MY FRIEND DIANA Princess Diana’s bodyguard reveals how 3 security mistakes killed her – and his heartbreaking warning before her death

    MY FRIEND DIANA Princess Diana’s bodyguard reveals how 3 security mistakes killed her – and his heartbreaking warning before her death

    PRINCESS Diana would still be alive today if she still had proper security, her bodyguard of six years insists.

    Ken Wharfe told The Sun how three mistakes led to the beloved royal, 36, being killed in a horror car crash in Paris 27 years ago today.

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    Princess Diana with her bodyguard Ken Wharfe in August 1992
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    Princess Diana with her bodyguard Ken Wharfe in August 1992Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

    Diana arriving at the Headway charity launch at the Hilton Hotel in December 1992
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    Diana arriving at the Headway charity launch at the Hilton Hotel in December 1992Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

    Diana and Wharfe chat during a visit to Oxford in November 1990
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    Diana and Wharfe chat during a visit to Oxford in November 1990Credit: Tim Graham – Getty

    The wreckage of Diana's car after the fatal crash on August 31, 1997
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    The wreckage of Diana’s car after the fatal crash on August 31, 1997Credit: AFP

    Diana and Dodi Fayed (both partially visible in back seat), bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones (front, left) and driver Henri Paul in the Mercedes shortly before the crash
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    Diana and Dodi Fayed (both partially visible in back seat), bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones (front, left) and driver Henri Paul in the Mercedes shortly before the crashCredit: Getty – Contributor
    And he revealed how he had urged Diana to keep her ring of steel Scotland Yard security team before her tragic death.

    Diana, Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed, 42, and Ritz security chief Henri Paul, who was driving, were killed in the 1997 crash.

    The sole survivor of the crash was Dodi’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones.

    Paul had been drinking before getting behind the wheel and was driving at a high speed when the car smashed into the 13th pillar of the Pont de l’Alma underpass.

    Wharfe – who was Diana’s personal protection officer from 1997 until 1993 – insisted his former boss would still be alive if Rees-Jones had driven instead of intoxicated Paul.

    He said Dodi was a “difficult person” and the decision over who drove would have been out of the security team’s hands.

    Wharfe added: “Rees-Jones was plateaued out at the bottom of the pyramid, it was very difficult for him to say to others what you should do and what you shouldn’t do.

    “The one thing that would have saved Diana’s life that night would have been if they’d kicked out the chauffeur and for Rees-Jones to have driven.

    “He couldn’t do that, because he couldn’t speak to Dodi Fayed – he told him what to do.

    “And that’s a shame, because had Rees-Jones taken that command, had he taken that decision to boot out Henri Paul, you and I would not having this discussion.”
    I was gobsmacked as Diana told me EVERYTHING about Charles’ affair, I kept her secrets for years
    Diana’s death sparked an outpouring of public grief from millions around the world who saw her as the People’s Princess.

    And images of the smashed-up car sparked shockwaves globally.

    Diana and Dodi intended to head a short distance to an apartment he owned off the Champs-Elysees from the Ritz hotel in the French capital.

    But in a desperate bid to fool press outside, they decided to use two decoy cars to cover their tracks.

    A Range Rover was posted outside the Ritz’s main entrance, with Dodi’s usual driver at the wheel.

    Meanwhile, Dodi and Diana climbed into a hired jet-black armoured Mercedes at the back entrance.

    Paul, who was four times the legal drinking limit in France, was drafted in from home to drive the couple – and is said to have earlier goaded media outside the hotel waiting to spot them.

    A probe after the crash concluded he lost control of the car while driving at high speed, under the influence of both alcohol and prescription drugs.

    But Wharfe argues the whole incident could have been avoided if Dodi and Diana’s security hadn’t excluded local police and treated the media as “the enemy”.

    He said: “The security also failed because of their inexperience to involve the local police, to have a relationship with the assembled paparazzi.

    “You cannot treat the paparazzi or the media as an enemy – that doesn’t work.

    “Yes, they can be annoying – but actually not one of them was out to kill Diana, they were there to photograph her.

    “So you needed a dialogue, you needed a relationship.

    “My relationship working with the media was at times difficult, but most of the time enjoyable.

    “I often referred to the media as my Dad’s Army, because they would always keep the princess alive, which they did.

    “And so that was the failure of the Fayed security. And that’s a tragedy.”

    Diana clutches flowers as Wharfe looks on in September 1992
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    Diana clutches flowers as Wharfe looks on in September 1992Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

    Charles and Diana pose with their sons Prince William and Prince Harry at Highgrove on July 14, 1986
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    Charles and Diana pose with their sons Prince William and Prince Harry at Highgrove on July 14, 1986Credit: Getty – Contributor

    The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a welcome ceremony in Toronto at the beginning of their Canadian tour in October 1991
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    The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a welcome ceremony in Toronto at the beginning of their Canadian tour in October 1991Credit: Getty – Contributor
    Wharfe also believes that Diana could have been saved from such an early death if the late Queen had retained her Scotland Yard security.

    Diana and Charles announced their separation in 1992, and the following year Wharfe decided to step down as her bodyguard.

    Just weeks later, Diana decided to axe her entire team – but was not urged to maintain her protection.

    Wharfe said: “Yes, Diana had run ins with the Queen occasionally, and other senior members of the royal family.

    “But had the Queen insisted that Diana retain her Scotland Yard security, Diana would have accepted it.

    “You cannot force security on somebody, they have to say ‘yes, I’ll take it’.

    “But the fact that it wasn’t offered, this was her way of saying I want a new life.”

    Dian’s decision to cut ties with her security team came just four weeks after Wharfe had implored her to keep them on.

    Three weeks after he resigned, Diana asked him to visit her at Kensington Palace.

    Wharfe added: “She said, ‘you’ve always been great with advice. If there’s one piece of advice you’d give me, what would it be?’

    “I said look, I don’t know what you’re going to do, where you’re going to go.

    “But you’re going to need us [Scotland Yard]. Even if you change your sex, you will always be Diana, Princess of Wales.

    “So I said I urge you, I urge you, not to lose the Scotland Yard security because we have given you that freedom, we’ve broken rules to allow you to have the normality that you crave for, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t continue, even with me gone.

    “Four weeks later, she abandoned the entire security.”

  • TIME HEALS Princess Diana ‘would’ve made peace with Charles & Camilla’s relationship if she was still alive’, her ex-bodyguard says

    TIME HEALS Princess Diana ‘would’ve made peace with Charles & Camilla’s relationship if she was still alive’, her ex-bodyguard says

    PRINCESS Diana would have eventually “accepted” Charles’ relationship with Camilla if she was still alive, her former bodyguard says.

    Ken Wharfe has opened up about his working life with Diana 27 years after she died in Paris.

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    Diana and Charles got married on July 29, 1981
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    Diana and Charles got married on July 29, 1981Credit: Getty – Contributor

    The then Prince and Princess of Wales in Korea, November 1992 - their last official trip together
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    The then Prince and Princess of Wales in Korea, November 1992 – their last official trip togetherCredit: Tim Graham – Getty

    Ken Wharfe, pictured with Diana in 1988, was the royal's bodyguard for six years
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    Ken Wharfe, pictured with Diana in 1988, was the royal’s bodyguard for six yearsCredit: Tim Graham – Getty

    Diana Spencer and Camilla Parker-Bowles at Ludlow Races where Prince Charles was competing in 1980
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    Diana Spencer and Camilla Parker-Bowles at Ludlow Races where Prince Charles was competing in 1980Credit: Hulton Archive – Getty
    The then-Prince and Princess of Wales split in 1992 and finalised their divorce in 1996.

    Two years after Diana was killed in a horror car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, Camilla and Charles publicly revealed their relationship.

    But Wharfe, who was Diana’s personal protection officer from 1987 to 1993, said Camilla was on the scene from day one.

    Diana famously outed their affair to Martin Bashir in an interview that sent shockwaves across the world.

    “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” she said.

    Wharfe told The Sun: “Part of Diana’s problem was that she naively believed that the relationship with Camilla would fade away.

    “But let’s be honest, Camilla was there from day one.

    “Camilla from my time, I went there in the mids 80s, was very much the discussion at the time.

    “And Diana’s openness, she felt it necessary to give me the complete low down of the relationship.

    “I questioned that at the time, but actually having listened to her, it made me understand Diana a lot better.

    I was gobsmacked as Diana told me EVERYTHING about Charles’ affair, I kept her secrets for years
    “And she naively believed that it would end.

    “There is no doubt in my mind that Diana did love Charles. I mean she said that to me repeatedly.”

    A year after divorcing Charles, Diana was tragically killed at the age of 36 in a shocking car crash in Paris.

    Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed, 42, and Ritz security chief Henri Paul, who was driving, were also killed in the 1997 crash.

    The sole survivor of the crash was Dodi’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones.

    Paul had been drinking before getting behind the wheel and was driving at a high speed when the car smashed into the 13th pillar of the Pont de l’Alma underpass.

    Wharfe believes that had Diana not been killed, she and Charles wouldn’t have restarted their relationship at any point.

    He says, however, that Diana would’ve eventually accepted Charles and Camilla being together.

    He said: “From my own experience in life, you move on and you change, you mellow slightly, and you deal with situations in a much calmer way.

    “And I’m sure Diana would have done that. She was very good at that.”

    The wreckage of the car Diana was travelling in before it crashed in 1997
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    The wreckage of the car Diana was travelling in before it crashed in 1997Credit: AFP

    Camilla and Charles were pictured as a couple at her sister's party at the Ritz in 1999
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    Camilla and Charles were pictured as a couple at her sister’s party at the Ritz in 1999Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

    The couple got engaged in 2005
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    The couple got engaged in 2005Credit: Reuters

    Charles and Camilla got married in 2005
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    Charles and Camilla got married in 2005Credit: PA
    He added: “Time, as everyone says, is a great healer.

    “Diana was angry with the Prince of Wales, angry with her circumstances, angry with Camilla, angry with everybody.

    “But you know you know, things heal. And as time progressed, she would have been in her 60s now, she would have accepted.”

    Charles and Camilla’s relationship began back in 1971 when the pair were introduced by mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz.

    Aged 23 they quickly became close friends talking for hours on the phone and spending as much time together as possible.

    But their relationship never progressed after Charles’ great-uncle Lord Mountbatten warned she was not sufficiently aristocratic.

    The pair went their separate ways – and after Charles returned from serving in the Royal Navy, he discovered she was engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles.

    Diana was angry with the Prince of Wales, angry with her circumstances, angry with Camilla, angry with everybody.

    Ken Wharfe

    Camilla and Andrew tied the knot in 1973, while Charles married Diana eight years later on July 29, 1981.

    But Camilla and Charles kept up contact, and Diana recounted her “tricky” relationship to Andrew Morton for the 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story – In Her Own Words.

    She claimed that before her wedding, she found out Charles had a bracelet made with the initials “G” and “F” for Gladys and Fred – pet names Camilla and Charles had for each other.

    Diana also found photos of Camilla in Charles’ diary on their honeymoon, as well as cufflinks with the initials “C” and “C” intertwined.

    In 1994, Charles admitted to Jonathan Dimbleby in a TV documentary that while he had been faithful to Diana initially, he had only been so until his marriage had “irretrievably broken down”.

    In 1989, Diana confronted Camilla about their affair at a party.

    But it wasn’t until two years after Diana’s death that the couple stepped out publicly at a party for Camilla’s sister at The Ritz in London.

    But following public outrage, the couple kept their romance on the lowdown with Camilla describing the backlash as “hell” and something she “wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy.”

    Camilla even waited until 2000 to meet the late Queen and she and Charles didn’t share their first kiss in public until 2001.

    In 2003 the couple moved into their current home of Clarence House and two years later the couple announced their engagement.

    The pair tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, on April 9, 2005.

  • DIANA TRIBUTE King Charles beams at flower show as mourners pay tribute to Princess Diana on 27th anniversary of her death

    DIANA TRIBUTE King Charles beams at flower show as mourners pay tribute to Princess Diana on 27th anniversary of her death

    THE King smiled seeing a boy’s paper crown at a flower show yesterday — as mourners paid tribute to Princess Diana on the 27th anniversary of her death.

    Charles, 75, took note of eight-year-old Oliver Keith’s creation at the annual Summer Flower Show of the Royal Horticultural Society Aberdeen.

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    King Charles smiles as he spots Oliver Keith's paper crown
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    King Charles smiles as he spots Oliver Keith’s paper crownCredit: PA

    The King sported a tartan kilt and sporran at the annual Summer Flower Show of the Royal Horticultural Society
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    The King sported a tartan kilt and sporran at the annual Summer Flower Show of the Royal Horticultural SocietyCredit: PA

    Mourners paid tribute to Princess Diana on the 27th anniversary of her death
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    Mourners paid tribute to Princess Diana on the 27th anniversary of her deathCredit: Alamy
    Sporting a tartan kilt and sporran, the monarch — who took over as RHSA patron after his mother’s death — admired the flowers and veg with Chairman Brian Grant.

    Charles is currently taking his end-of-summer holiday at the ­Balmoral Castle estate in Aberdeenshire with Queen Camilla.

    But he has broken tradition by choosing to stay at Birkhall, the more intimate 18th-century house on the grounds that he used while still heir to the throne.

    Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria are understood to be staying in the main castle at the King’s invitation before Parliament returns tomorrow.

    Meanwhile, well-wishers gathered at Kensington Palace to pay their respects to the “people’s princess”, placing flowers, flags, and photographs outside the gates.

    According to royal sources, every year since Diana’s passing, sons William and Harry have made a pilgrimage to her resting place at Althorp House in Northants.

    It is understood they used to make the journey together, but have done so separately after the Duke of Sussex quit royal life.

    It comes days after the feuding brothers refused to speak to one another at the memorial service of their uncle Baron Robert Fellowes.

    It is understood their attendance was orchestrated by Diana’s sister Lady Jane, widow of Lord Fellowes, who has tirelessly pushed for Harry to reconcile with his royal relatives.

    Timing of Harry’s solo trip to New York will trigger MORE stress for ‘hurt and offended’ William, warns expert

  • ROYAL SNUB The Queen called me a ‘horrible little man’ when I snapped ‘unstable’ Diana riding a horse, reveals photographer

    ROYAL SNUB The Queen called me a ‘horrible little man’ when I snapped ‘unstable’ Diana riding a horse, reveals photographer

    THE late Queen called a royal photographer a “horrible little man” after he took a snap of an “unstable” Princess Diana riding a horse, he has claimed.

    Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Jim Bennett, who has spent years snapping the Firm, recalled being present when Diana was having a riding lesson.

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    Royal photographer Jim Bennett claims the late Queen told him off after he snapped this photo of Princess Diana riding
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    Royal photographer Jim Bennett claims the late Queen told him off after he snapped this photo of Princess Diana ridingCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

    The Queen took Diana for a horse ride on the main roads near Anmer Hall in Norfolk
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    The Queen took Diana for a horse ride on the main roads near Anmer Hall in NorfolkCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
    Jim told The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson: “Many years ago, back in the 80s, the Queen was trying to teach Diana how to ride along with some grooms.

    “They were at Sandringham, and the Queen had taken her out, and for some unknown reason, she decided to take her on the main road across towards Anmer Hall, which is where William and Kate now live.

    “But she was coming down that road, and they were riding along together.

    “They saw us, and I expected them to sort of veer off, but obviously, Diana was very unstable on the horse.

    “I mean, she was gripping like, ‘please, you know, let me get on with it. And let me get off.’”

    Jim said as the Queen got close to him, he looked for somewhere to move back to, so he wouldn’t be in her way.

    He added: “But they kept on coming, and we did the pictures.

    “And literally, as they got level with us, she looked down at me, and she said, ‘You are one horrible little man.’”

    Jim was taken off guard by her words, and added: “At that very moment, I felt, I wish there was a big hole I could disappear into, because just by her saying it and looking at you, she, just, there was something about her.
    I was there when the Queen made her infamous ‘think carefully’ remark – she wanted the world to know
    “She had an aura about her.”

    Jim recalled how he next came face to face with the Queen again during one of the royal tours, and shared how he handled the moment.

    He continued: “I forget where the tour was.

    “Got a funny feeling it might have been in Jordan, and they used to travel on the royal yacht.

    The royal photographer claims the Queen called him a 'horrible little man'
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    The royal photographer claims the Queen called him a ‘horrible little man’Credit: Getty

    Jim claimed Diana was 'very unstable on the horse'
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    Jim claimed Diana was ‘very unstable on the horse’Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

    Watch our video above to see royal photographer Jim Bennett on The Sun's Royal Exclusive show
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    Watch our video above to see royal photographer Jim Bennett on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive showCredit: THE SUN

    Jim Bennett has been snapping the royal family for decades
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    Jim Bennett has been snapping the royal family for decadesCredit: Supplied
    At the beginning of the tour, they used to always invite the press to come and have a few bevvies with them on the royal yacht, in the ballroom.

    “And this tour happened about three weeks after I took that picture, and I had to go on because you had no choice.

    “And I got introduced to the Queen and the Duke, and the only thing I could do was look at my feet.

    Inside the relationship of Princess Diana and the Queen

    ANDREW Morton, author of 1992 biography, Diana: Her True Story: In Her Own Words, shed light on the bond between the two women.

    He claimed the the relationship between Princess Diana and the late Queen was a polite but formal one, “governed by the fact that she was married to her older son and a future Monarch.”

    He added: “In the early days, Diana was quite simply terrified of her mother-in-law.

    “She kept the formal obsequies—dropping a deep curtsy each time they met—but otherwise kept her distance.”

    However, Andrew wrote that Diana was supported by the monarch and suggested “perhaps a rather unlikely ally at the palace in the Queen whose understanding and helpful attitude did much to encourage Diana to soldier on.”

    Royal biographer Ingrid Seward wrote in 2001 while the monarch “never directly addressed the question of his marriage, but by nod and nuance, she made it clear she ap­proved of Diana.”

    “I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eye, and nor did she.

    “When that piece had been done, you all had to join a group, and she would come around and chat to the various groups of photographers.

    “But I just made sure I moved from group to group, and never, ever got involved.

    “I was that frightened.”

    The royal photographer also claimed he was there when the Queen made her infamous “think carefully” comment ahead of the 2014 Scottish referendum.

    Jim was there when the Queen said she hoped people would 'think very carefully' ahead of the Scottish referendum in 2014
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    Jim was there when the Queen said she hoped people would ‘think very carefully’ ahead of the Scottish referendum in 2014

  • Ex-Archewell boss opens up after Meghan branded ‘Duchess Difficult’

    Ex-Archewell boss opens up after Meghan branded ‘Duchess Difficult’

    One of Meghan Markle’s senior employees hits out at the recent “Duchess Difficult” claims and speaks of a “profound injustice”.

    Meghan Markle

    Meghan Markle was praised for her ‘kindness’ by a former employee (Image: Getty)

    Meghan Markle has been highly praised by one of her former senior employees as the duchess is embroiled in the latest row of allegations against her regarding her attitude and behaviour towards staff first published by a US outlet.

    The Hollywood Reporter, one of America’s prestigious entertainment news sources, recently published a scathing report labelling the Duchess of Sussex “Duchess Difficult” and claiming that her staff are allegedly “terrified” of her and her “belittling” behaviour towards them.

    But now Mandana Dayani, former Archwell COO has spoken out about the “profound injustice” and described the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as “kind, decent, caring people”.

    She told Us Weekly: “Part of the profound injustice of having to speak publicly on this in light of these endless and damaging narratives is that so much of the kindness, mentorship, and support that Prince Harry and Meghan share with others happens quietly behind closed doors.”

    Ms Dayani added: “Throughout every global crisis, their first question was always: ‘How can we help?’ Whether they were veterans, women, refugees, animals in harm, they both showed up. Never asking for anything in return. […] Just last week, as Meghan and I were planning our next lunch, I told her how excited I was to pick her brain on my latest ventures. These are kind, decent, caring people who I am very proud to call my friends.”

  • HAZ ABOUT THAT ‘There’s no blueprint for Harry’s return to Britain’, insiders say – after duke ‘moaned about being overshadowed by Meg’

    HAZ ABOUT THAT ‘There’s no blueprint for Harry’s return to Britain’, insiders say – after duke ‘moaned about being overshadowed by Meg’

    INSIDERS have claimed there is no “blueprint” for Prince Harry’s UK return after he reportedly moaned about being overshadowed by Meghan Markle.

    The Duke of Sussex, 39, is toying with the idea of making a Royal Family comeback after losing his way in the States, it is said.

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    Prince Harry has reportedly reached out to pals to complain about being overshadowed by Meghan
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    Prince Harry has reportedly reached out to pals to complain about being overshadowed by Meghan
    The prince quit Britain in 2020 and jetted to California with wife Meg where they now live with their two children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.

    But close pals recently claimed he’s reached out to complain about his new life and being overshadowed by Meghan in public.

    Harry has also reportedly consulted his trusted former aides here after growing sick of the Hollywood reps he and wife Meghan employ.

    A source close to them told The Sun: “Harry is feeling more and more isolated in California, which is why he has been reconnecting with old friends back home.

    “The Colombia trip also really highlighted how Meghan is comfortable stepping into the spotlight, while Harry cuts a very sulky, unhappy figure in the background.

    “He wants to carve out a way back into royal life back in the UK and is seeking counsel from old friends and associates.”

    But insiders have since said there is no “blueprint” for his return as he continues to work on projects close to his heart in America, reports The Telegraph.

    The couple have recently launched their new project The Parents Network to help support families who have lost their children to online harm and abuse.

    Meghan is still continuing with the roll out of her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard – although she is struggling to appoint a CEO.

    Those in Harry’s inner circle however, have noted that he seems to enjoy regular solo trips back to the UK, with Meghan refusing to set foot in the country.

    It comes after Harry and Prince William both attended the funeral service for their uncle Lord Robert Fellowes on Wednesday last week.

    The pair are understood to have maintained radio silence between each other for the best part of two years.

    They were last in the same place together at King Charles’ coronation – where they sat separately and Harry made a quick exit.

    Sources at the funeral also claimed the estrangers brothers “kept their distance” at the sombre occasion last week.

    Their bitter rift has unfolded ever since Megxit in 2020, which was followed by an explosive Oprah interview in 2021, the Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries in 2022, bombshell memoir Spare in 2023, and subsequent snubs.

    Spare is now set to be re-released in paperback, potentially reaching a much wider audience, in October across the same days King Charles will attend a major royal event.

  • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle staffers reveal what it’s really like working for them

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle staffers reveal what it’s really like working for them

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s current and former employees reveal what it’s really like to work for them after the latest claims.

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s current and former employees have come out in full force to support the couple after the recent allegations about the Duchess published by a US publication.

    Earlier this month, The Hollywood Reporter published a damning report labelling the Duchess of Sussex “Duchess Difficult” and claiming that her staff are allegedly “terrified” of her and her “belittling” behaviour towards them.

    The outlet cited sources saying that Meghan “marches around like a dictator in high heels, fuming and barking orders”, with one source adding: “I’ve watched her reduce grown men to tears”.

    Also included in the report were allegations regarding the Duchess’s “noisy tantrums” and “angry 5am emails” that earned her the nickname “Duchess Difficult”.

    But since then various current and former employees have come forward to the Duchess’s defence and said the claims were “fabrications”.

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s employees rush to their defence (Image: Getty)

    One of them, the couple’s ex-chief of staff Josh Kettler labelled the Sussexes “dedicated and hardworking” and spoke of how he was “warmly welcomed” upon joining their team.

    Meanwhile, the publication insisted on its sources, with Editor-In-Chief Maer Roshan saying: “Our reporter talked to I think a dozen people, most of them are people who work very closely with the couple in various capacities now and previously.”

    He added: “Our reporter talked to a very high-up source who works for the couple who said: ‘Everyone is terrified of Meghan Markle’.”

    However, even more current and former Archewell staffers have come forward and spoke of what it’s really like to work for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

    Ben Browning, Archewell’s former head of content, told Us Weekly that his experience working with Harry and Meghan has been “positive and supportive”, adding: “The narratives we’ve seen suggesting the contrary are untrue.”

    Ashley Hansen, global press secretary to the Duke and Duchess and the head of communications for Archewell, spoke about her own experience with the couple when she had to take time off for a health issue: “When I told them, I was met with the kind of concern and care a parent would express if it were their own child. I was asked what I needed, how and if they could help, and told to take as much time as I needed.”

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    Meghan Markle was described as ‘compassionate’ by one of her former employees (Image: Getty)

    Ms Hansen claimed that Harry and Meghan sent flowers and care packages, “but most profoundly to me, Meghan would personally reach out to my husband daily to make sure that we both were OK and had support.

    “It meant so much to him and even more to me. You don’t realise how much that kind of kindness and thought means until you need it.”

    A current staffer who wished to stay anonymous described how colleagues were “dumbfounded by the claims”, adding: “It’s clear where this type of commentary is coming from. It’s likely made up from someone who’s disgruntled.”

    They added: “They want to take care of us. Meghan will do things like, ‘You mentioned on the call your skin is bothering you, I put together a kit for you. ’Whenever staff goes to their house, they leave with a basket with fresh flowers, fresh fruit, fresh eggs.”

    Meanwhile, a former employee praised the positive work environment and let slip how Harry casually chats to his employees during weekly Zoom calls.

  • HEADS UP Why Kate Middleton & Meghan Markle have never worn Princess Diana’s £400k Spencer Tiara – and probably never will

    HEADS UP Why Kate Middleton & Meghan Markle have never worn Princess Diana’s £400k Spencer Tiara – and probably never will

    ROYAL fans will know that we often see Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton paying tribute to Princess Diana by wearing her iconic jewellery.

    However, neither of the two stylish royal women have ever worn their late mother-in-law’s Spencer Tiara – which she wore on her wedding day – and there is a poignant reason why.

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    Diana wore the Spencer Tiara on her wedding day to Prince Charles
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    Diana wore the Spencer Tiara on her wedding day to Prince CharlesCredit: Getty

    The iconic headpiece is part of the Spencer family's private collection
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    The iconic headpiece is part of the Spencer family’s private collectionCredit: Getty – Contributor
    Before her death, Diana wrote a “letter of wishes”, which explained what she would like to happen to her glittering jewellery collection in the future.

    It stated: “I would like you to allocate all my jewellery to the share to be held by my sons, so that their wives may, in due course, have it or use it.

    “I leave the exact division of the jewellery to your discretion.”

    However, the glittery Spencer Tiara – estimated to be worth around £400,000 – remains in the Spencer family.

    Lauren Kiehna of The Court Jeweller previously told Marie Claire: “While she was Princess of Wales, Diana often borrowed the tiara from her father and her brother [Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer], who still owns it now.

    “Eventually, it will be passed along with the rest of the family estate to Earl Spencer’s son, Viscount Althorp.”

    Although the 9th Earl Spencer could loan it to Princess Kate or Meghan, it would be at his discretion.

    Both Meghan and Kate wore royal tiaras for their wedding days.

    According to the jewellery professional, the Spencer Tiara – which has been in the Spencer family for nearly a century – was not considered as it’s not a royal tiara.

    It was, however, worn by both of Diana’s sisters, Jane and Sarah, at their weddings, and was also worn by Celia McCorquodale, Princess Diana‘s niece, at her 2018 wedding.
    I know what Kate is really like behind closed doors and what King Charles thinks of her – she’s had a massive realisation
    Meghan and Kate borrowed headpieces from Queen Elizabeth’s collection for their big days.

    The Duchess of Sussex wore the Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau, made in 1932, but had initially wanted a tiara that featured emeralds, according to royal sources.

    Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales opted for the Cartier Halo Tiara for her 2011 wedding.

    The Cartier Halo tiara was first commissioned by George VI in 1936, three weeks before he ascended the throne, who gave it to the Queen Mary.

    The Princess of Wales opted for the Cartier Halo Tiara for her 2011 wedding
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    The Princess of Wales opted for the Cartier Halo Tiara for her 2011 weddingCredit: AFP

    The Duchess of Sussex wore the Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau, made in 1932
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    The Duchess of Sussex wore the Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau, made in 1932Credit: AFP
    It was then gifted to Queen Elizabeth II on her 18th birthday and inherited by Princess Anne, who has worn it several times in its history.

    The elaborate headpiece features over 1000 diamonds – 739 brilliant-cut diamonds and 149 baguette.

    Meghan has only worn a tiara on her wedding day, but we have seen Kate wear at least four different tiaras, including the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara.

    While Kate and Meghan are unlikely to wear the Spencer Tiara, they do honour Princess Diana in a number of ways. 

    Everyone looked straight for the ring when Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles announced their engagement back in February 1981, and her 12-carat oval sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds from British jeweller Garrard – thought to be bought for £28,500 – didn’t disappoint.

    Prince Charles & Princess Diana stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral
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    Prince Charles & Princess Diana stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony at St. Paul’s CathedralCredit: Getty – Contributor
    The rock made another appearance in 2010, when Prince William showed his love for both his mum and new fiancée, Kate, by popping the question with the very same ring during a romantic trip to Kenya that October.

    Meanwhile in 2017, Prince Harry popped the question to Meghan Markle and sealed the deal with a breathtaking engagement ring that included two of Princess Diana’s diamonds.

    The Duke of Sussex had designed the breathtaking sparkler himself.

    Kate is known as being one of the most fashionable women in Britain, but often takes style inspiration from her late mother-in-law.

    Last year, Kate wowed onlookers at Royal Ascot as she arrived in a stunning polka dot dress that was remarkably similar to one worn by Diana.