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Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, kisses prince Charles on the cheek as she presents him with his Winner's Prize at polo on June 01, 1986 in Windsor, England.

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THE 'DUCHY DAY' WITH THE 25TH DUKE OF CORNWALL! [1/2]

On a sunny field on the outskirts of Bath, there is a loud pop of a sparkling-wine cork. “I thought you’d never ask,” says the Prince of Wales, grinning and accepting a glass of fizz from the vineyard stretching out in front of him, on Duchy of Cornwall farmland.

He asks local producers questions about soil type, the weather and the history of the land before taking a sip and proclaiming it “lovely” and “very discreet”, at the start of a day that will go on as pleasantly as it began.

For Prince William, this is not just an outing in the peace and quiet of the countryside. He is here in his role as Duke of Cornwall, head of the estate he inherited the moment his grandmother died in 2022.

Vast, complex, and spanning 128,494 acres of land across 20 counties, the Duchy takes in both rural and urban life, and the priorities under its 25th Duke – William – range from ending homelessness to restoring rivers. He wants to use it as another “branch of his philanthropy”, he tells me: existing for “social impact” rather than as an old-style financial resource to be drawn from.

The Prince tries to visit part of the Duchy once every four to six weeks, working his way through its farms and offices to meet families and staff, shake hands and quiz them on what he can do to help. His visits are usually private, rarely making the Court Circular and kept quiet by loyal locals who are used to royal comings and goings.

In the middle of May, Kensington Palace granted a rare exception, giving permission for The Telegraph to join the Prince on a “Duchy day” for the first time since he took it over.

It has been six years since theuly first spent on the farm with Prince William. Then, he was in the apprentice role, shadowing his father, and modestly telling farmers, “I’ll try my best.” Now, he is fully in the driving seat, lit up with ideas on how to make his mark and, in his words, change the lives of those who live in his Duchy for the better.

He is, unmistakably, a man on a mission: to reform his Duchy so it is fit for 2025 and beyond; a “positive force for good” that will actively “make people’s lives better”. “We’re not the traditional landowner,” he tells me. “We want to be more than that.”

“There is so much good we can do,” he says.

He ends the day with a longer to-do list than when he started, and takes home a bottle of home-grown Duchy apple juice. He will have to drink it, he jokes, before his children can get their hands on it.

WHAT IS THE DUCHY?

For an estate that dates back to 1337, established by Edward III to generate private income for his then seven-year-old heir, the Duchy of Cornwall is geographically huge. Officially it exists to fund the life and work of the Duke of Cornwall and his family, which also goes towards running the Kensington Palace operation and paying staff – and passes to the next generation intact: the Duke’s role is as steward of the land.

As with other landowners, tenants pay rent to the Duchy, and there are commercial leases and market-rate deals with public bodies for properties on estate land. The Prince pays voluntary income tax with annual accounts reported to Parliament and oversight from the Treasury.

As of now, it has a new strap-line: “Positive impact for people, places and planet.” The “people” part is seen as mission-critical, including a heavy focus on solving homelessness, supporting the mental health of farmers, and arranging get-togethers to combat rural loneliness.

More than 150 people work across its eight offices, under the leadership of new secretary Will Bax and, ultimately, Prince William. Its largest landholdings are in Devon. The estate spans land from Herefordshire and Wales to Kent, inner-city London, the Isles of Scilly, sections of rivers in Dartmoor, Cornish beaches up to the high-tide line, and Plymouth Harbour.

Tintagel Castle, Cornwall :

It remains most famous for the Duchy Originals organic food line established by the then Prince Charles in 1990. Though it is now owned by Waitrose (and called Duchy Organic), the estate’s annual report warns it could still be muddled in the public imagination.

Since Prince William stepped into the role of Duke of Cornwall, he has embarked on a careful but wholesale stocktake of what is working and what is not. He wants to “dig deeply” to get a “true feel for what the Duchy is doing”, he tells me now, “trying to just go through with a fine-tooth comb”.

“The Duchy has been a positive force for good, but we can do so much more. I think the key thing is, it’s about not losing the important community and historical links of the Duchy. But it’s also about making sure we’re building on and enhancing, modernising the Duchy. We’re going to modernise it without losing its key spirit of community.”

"it’s going to take a bit of time” – likening updating the 700-year-old Duchy to “turning a tanker” – but he is determined to shift the focus away from the revenue-raising of old to put “social impact” at the centre. He chairs a quarterly meeting of The Prince’s Council, attending numerous other committees. He sends questions to staff and chases answers via WhatsApp on any given day.

THE VISIT :

On that mid-May day, the Prince arrives at Corston Fields Farm full of apologies. He is slightly late, after a train journey to Bath so delayed that the words “rail replacement service” were mentioned.

The farm, run by self-described “farmer and farmer’s husband” Emily and Eddie Addicott-Sauvao, is an exemplar of Duchy life: Emily’s parents have been tenants since 1982 (“the same year I was born”, William notes), and their two daughters now lend a hand with pruning. They have diversified into growing quinoa and a line in high-end events at the vineyard including food, wine and music pairing. Their award-winning Minerva sparkling wine, which the Prince tries, is priced at £120.

“We’ve chosen the right day for it,” he says, as the sun blazes and swallows fly in blue skies over- head. “Beautiful.”

The Prince notices everything.

“What’s this here?” he wonders, spotting wool from a scratching sheep at the bottom of a couple of the vines, and hears how the Romans used to grow similar grapes 2,000 years ago in the fields nearby. Like all farmers, he is preoccupied by the weather: it has been dry and he wants to know how it will affect their harvest.

He quizzes Rosa, 13, and Charlotte, 10, on what they like about living in the countryside (“you’ve got to get muddy haven’t you, that’s critical”), and tells them about his daughter of the same name.

He is particularly interested in the “community days” the couple host at the farm, where locals come, get their hands dirty helping out and meeting their neighbours, before being rewarded with lunch.

Asked what the Duchy can do to help their day-to-day lives as tenants, patriarch Gerald Addicott teases the Prince that he could make it “rent-free”.

“You’re not the first person to say that,” laughs William, adding – apparently semi-seriously – that he questioned whether he could do just that when he took over, and “got a lot of sweaty faces” responsible for balancing the books looking back at him.

Having spent the past few years speaking to farmers, he has concerns about how best to convince the public of the quality and benefits of locally grown, sustainably produced food.

“There is a huge problem here and I haven’t got an answer,” he says of how to recognise the work of British farmers amid cheap supermarket food and the “generalised” approach of the “mass retailers”. “We keep asking more and more of our farmers but you don’t necessarily get any benefits back on top of everything you have to do.”

Figuring out whether the Duchy can help to promote its small producers is on his to-do list. Staff, are used to receiving a follow-up call or message after each of these visits.

When Emily raises her own concerns about the lack of rural skills being taught in schools, the Prince nods. “We keep talking about the importance of being outside in nature but we don’t always give the jobs,” he says. “These jobs where you have that time in nature and think, ‘I enjoy it, I’m loving this.’ The opportunities need to be there in schools.”

By now, Matthew Morris, the rural director of the Duchy of Cornwall, who is tasked with keeping the Prince vaguely to schedule today, is trying to catch William’s attention with an eye on the ticking clock.

He has worked for the Duchy for six years, with both the now King Charles and Prince William. He notes cheerfully that staff no longer feel the need to put on a tie when the Duke of Cornwall is in town.

THE BOSS

It is a cliché to say that the Prince is in his element, but he is. After a period he has described as “probably the hardest year of my life”, he is as relaxed as I have seen him in a long time.

Without the usual press pack travelling with him, he is freer to speak and laughs easily, standing with hands in his pockets and visibly thrilled when he gets the chance to tease one of his team. He is delighted to hear that the office dog barks at Bax (“perhaps it’s the beard”).

His passion for all he can do at the Duchy is infectious. “He’s easy to follow because he’s got great conviction and personality, and he really wears his heart on his sleeve in terms of social interest and his desire to have a positive impact in the world,” says Bax.

The Prince is “pretty demanding”, he concedes – quickly clarifying “that’s great” – with a “pretty ambitious” outlook. Part of the job is amplifying others: “seeing the spark and getting the bellows out”.

Ben Murphy, estate director, describes the relationship between Duke and Duchy as its leader “laying down the challenge and it’s for us to figure out how to address it”. Prince William has a “healthy impatience, as his father did”, which “puts the wind in our sails; he really cares”, Murphy adds.

Henry Meacock, the chief executive of homelessness charity St Petrocs, is partnering with the estate on its first housing project with wraparound care to break the cycle of homelessness, with the initial phase due to be complete by the end of this year, and a policy of “blind tenure” meaning that private renters in Cornwall will live alongside social and supported housing. Prince William “is personally driving the timetable”, he says. “He would like to deliver more and quicker.”

In other words, he is putting his money where his mouth is. “He’s personally invested in the project and personally investing as well.”

The work, which is largely invisible to the public, is done alongside the day job of public engagements undertaken as Prince of Wales, passion projects such as The Earthshot Prize and Homewards, and responsibilities including investitures and overseas travel representing his father and the Government.

THE VISION

Since taking over, Prince William has incorporated much of the work he has been doing elsewhere in his royal life.

Nansledan, a new community being built as an extension to Newquay, will be the site of the aforementioned 24 homes dedicated to supporting people experiencing homelessness. The build will use low-carbon materials developed by one of his Earthshot Prize finalists.

On family holidays to the Isles of Scilly, where he, the Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis stay on Tresco, William got into the habit of quizzing residents about what would improve their lives. As a result, a new health and social care facility includes a modern maternity suite, there will be designated key-worker housing to encourage teachers and doctors to stay, and a strategy to make tourism more sustainable.

Elsewhere, there are hopes of reviving Cornish high streets and transforming Kennington communities.

On the rural side, the Duchy will create 50 hectares (or 70 football pitches’ worth) of new woodland per year, restore damaged peatland as part of a major “Dartmoor vision” project, and take tenants on the “journey” to net zero by 2032.

It has already returned water voles to the rivers in Cornwall.

“I see the Duchy as an extension of the work we do with the Royal Foundation,” says William.

While the Foundation, the main charitable vehicle of the Prince and Princess of Wales, has worked traditionally in urban areas, on topics including homelessness, mental health and child development, the Duchy can extend it to the countryside.

“I see it as a branch of my philanthropy. There’s so much good we can do in the rural world. I see it [the Duchy] as another arm to the work that I want to do, which is being a positive force for good. I think the Duchy have got way more levels and gears they can go through to be able to be a bigger force in the community.” He said.

The Prince and his staff tend to use the same language when asked about his personal ambitions: impact, vision, scale. “He’s a man on a mission,” confirms Will Bax. “He’s asking us to change and evolve in a way to deliver positive impact at scale and at pace.”

'While the Duchy has rural communities and environmental stewardship in its DNA, the new era will see some subtle differences including a focus on people, creating a really strong safety net for the vulnerable in society, and doubling down on the environmental agenda”.

To stewardship – “that idea of leaving something better than you found it” – they hope to add leader-ship: “Not being a benign presence but being a presence that is willing to lead on issues that we care about.” The Duchy will also shout more about its achievements.

“The Duchy has perhaps been a slightly discreet organisation that hasn’t really put its head above the parapet very much, that hasn’t spoken very publicly about what’s important to us and what we’re here to achieve, And we’re seeking to remove any ambiguity and ensure people understand that our objective is to deliver positive impact for people, for places and the planet.” he says

While Prince William cannot enter the political arena, with Bax confirming there is a “fine line between politics and policy”, the Duchy is nevertheless “seeking to find our voice where we think we can represent sensible, balanced views on issues that affect our communities”.

“The Duchy in the past I think has been cautious in that space,” Bax continues. “We’ll continue to be cautious but we won’t continue to be voiceless.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2025/05/30/prince-william-exclusive-duchy-cornwall-bring-real-change/

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THE 'DUCHY DAY' WITH THE 25TH DUKE OF CORNWALL! [2/2]

The continuation of Telegraph's exclusive Duchy Day with The Prince of Wales (Duke of Cornwall) :

DOWN TO BUISNESS

At its Bath office, William says with approval that the Duchy serves as a “glue” to bring charities, local authorities and government departments together, to make things happen.

There are a few small tasks to do: signing the certificate for the Prince of Wales Award at the upcoming Devon County Show, and taking a new team photo. “Let’s whizz round and say hello,” he decides, nipping into each of the offices to catch up with the staff he already knows and welcome the new starters.

In each one, he asks for feedback – a quick-fire fact-finding mission from the people who get out and about directly with local farmers.

He tells them it is “crucial” they feel they can always ask him questions too. “In kind of modernising and reforming a bit, there’s always going to be some changes,” he says, in relation to an upcoming office move. “We need to make sure it’s gentle and considerate.”

Of an upcoming Dartmoor meeting, which he will attend, he asks Morris to “please give [everyone] proper authority to say what’s really going on. Not being polite because I’m in the room.”

A cork board in the staff room has the orders of service for several recent Duchy tenant funerals; testament to the local relationships that see land stewards greet farmers with a hug as often as a handshake.

“It’s a family feeling,” says Sarah Bird, a land steward who has worked at the Duchy for 18 years. “The tenants care as much about us as we do about them.”

That mantra is at the centre of William’s approach. “The core part of the Duchy works on its people... what it stands for,” he explains. “The key point of the Duchy for me is about social impact. People, places and planet, those are the key things we’re working on.”

PIES AND PINTS

The Prince of Wales has inherited an estate with a solid track record of helping its farmers in practical ways. In-house experts assist them with paperwork, navigating the ever-changing legislation and reduced funding in the sector. The Duchy puts on free masterclasses from agricultural experts, and supports farms to branch out (“diversify”) into new ways to remain viable – shepherd’s huts for tourists to stay in, say.

“It’s friendly faces coming up the driveway from the Duchy,” says Heather Webb, the head of future farming.

But Prince William is painfully aware, having spent years talking about mental health and hearing some hard truths from farmers, of how isolating, worrying and pressured the lifestyle can be. “In the past, the farmers have been supported in farming ways, but where’s the holistic approach to their life?” he says now. “That’s what we’re trying to patch in. It’s not just, ‘How are your sheep, how is your cattle going?’ It’s not just that. It’s also, ‘How do we look after you as a community?’”

Tenants rhapsodise over “pie and pint” evenings, regular walks and small parties to get neighbours talking.

William recently became patron of the charity We Are Farming Minds, co-founded by Sam Stables, a 45-year-old farmer who once came close to ending his own life and, with his wife, has applied himself to saving others from a similar rock bottom. It now runs a 24/7 support line, and offers funding for counselling, mental health training, social meet-ups and a minibus to get people there.

The Prince “wanted to make sure that his tenants had the support through a service. He’s a family man and loves the country. They [the Duchy] are incredibly caring, they’ve been incredibly kind to us as a family.”

Stuart Rogers, a fifth-generation farmer whose family became Duchy tenants in 2000, called the focus on well-being “pretty unique, it ’s pretty progressive”.

“Farming has been hit by a lot of different things recently. Funding cuts, regulations... There’s a lot of pressure and lone working. Farmers, we carry a lot of weight. It’s funny how it takes the Duchy to get together and meet up.”

Prince William has appointed a new “family farming ambassador”, Sue Padfield, to be a roving “listening ear”.

“An excuse to drag people off the farm and have a pie and a pint together with no agenda,” as Heather Webb puts it. “As a large landowner, we have convening power.”

The Duchy is hosting more events for young farmers, with advice on facilitating tricky questions about succession and taking over the family firm, a topic with which the Prince is presumably familiar.

It is surprising, even to a royal editor, to learn how much William manages to do without the wider world noticing. He films and sends regular video messages for Duchy-related events – a river conservation meeting this month, a charity boxing night. When a tenant suggested he might be interested in the agricultural festival Groundswell, he duly popped up there.

Shortly after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the King hosted a previously unreported private gathering at St James’s Palace for tenants, appearing tearful as he told them how some of his happiest times had been sitting at their kitchen tables. Prince William, by his side, paid tribute to his father and promised guests he was excited about his future with them.

THE DISPATCHES

It has not always been smooth sailing. At the end of last year, after this day out was first agreed, the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster (now the King’s estate) were made the focus of a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary.

There is some defensiveness about it from tenants. “Load of twaddle,” snorts one farmer I ask about it. The suggestion that the Duke or the Duchy don’t care about tenants is “really frustrating, it couldn’t be further from the truth”, says Stuart Rogers. “It’s one of the best things that could have happened to us. Would we still be dairy farming if we hadn’t been bought by the Duchy? Probably not. There’s no better landlord.”

Within the Duchy of Cornwall team, though, there is a willingness to confront it head on. Bax points out some technicalities: the financial status of the Duchy is enshrined in an Act of Parliament; it is obliged to let property at a full and fair annual rent; there are legal safeguards including that the Duke is not about to sell off the capital assets.

That said, there has been some reflection. “The Duchy needs to use that moment as an opportunity to step back and reflect on how we communicate. I don’t think we’ve communicated our mission and particularly all the brilliant work we do very well, to be honest. And as a result I think we are largely misunderstood – or have been by the public at large – in terms of why we exist and our purpose.

“And as a result there’s this extraordinary disconnect between the Dispatches view of the world and the view of the world of people who do work with the Duchy, who almost uniformly see us as a force for good in the world.”

He concludes, “What do we learn from it? The biggest thing we learn is to talk about the brilliant work we do.”

THE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

Lunch, on Duchy days, is taken on the go – a selection of neat sandwiches and wraps for the team, with a chocolate brownie for the road. As we walk along the quiet winding road through the picturesque Newton St Loe – in the middle of the road, because there is no traffic – Matthew Morris’s wife and mother-in-law pop out of a cottage to say hello to William, who stops to pass the time of day.

The final visit is to Grow for Life, a therapeutic gardening charity that aims to help anyone with low confidence, anxiety, depression or feelings of isolation by getting their hands dirty and developing their green fingers.

Among the catmint, alliums, phacelia and forget-me-nots, as bees buzz around them, volunteers are beavering away and doing a good job of pretending they aren’t sneaking a glance at their royal visitor. “Hard at work!” William calls over, keen – with four decades of royal visits under his belt – not to miss anyone out. “I hope you get a cup of tea too.”

The agenda includes digging a bed for runner beans, planting out sweet peas and admiring the first nectarines of the year. Eleanor Carr, horticultural therapy lead, describes how the site was just brambles not long ago, and tells the Prince about the charity’s sessions bringing secondary school boys in to learn by doing. “Do you see a change in them, a difference?” William wants to know. “Is it confidence and calmness?”

The project’s work, he says, is “very professional”: “Chelsea Flower Show, here we come!”

In the orchard, where he is given a bottle of apple juice to take home, one of the gardeners shows the Prince a picture his young daughter has drawn of him on a postcard. “She’s given me more hair, so I love her for that,” says William. He tends to make at least one self-deprecating joke about his hairline with every public appearance.

As he leaves, he asks Duchy staff whether he can arrange to donate damson trees to add to the orchard. By coincidence, volunteers had been talking about getting some just that morning.

There are thank yous and handshakes all round, a wave out of the Land Rover Defender window, and the Duchy day is over.

The Prince will take the train home with his private secretary and small security detail, ready to catch up with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis after school.

George will one day inherit the Duchy, with his father acting as guardian if he is under 18, and will have ideas of his own.

For now, the Prince’s message is quite simple really.

“I’m trying to make sure I’m prioritising stuff that’s going to make people’s lives, living in those areas, better. This is what we’re going to do to make people’s lives in Cornwall better. That, I feel as Duke of Cornwall, is something I should be doing. It’s about responsibility, it’s about leadership, and doing what’s right on the social issues of our time.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2025/05/30/prince-william-exclusive-duchy-cornwall-bring-real-change/

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A new portrait of the princess of Wales. 📷 by Josh Shinner. Apparently taken on the 30th of April 2025 during their visit to Scotland.

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The Princess of Wales with baby Violet Taylor's family who tragically passed away after her battle with TBCK syndrome during a visit to her new patronage Tŷ Hafan, a children’s hospice based in Sully, near Cardiff | 30 JANUARY 2025

What a truly, unbelievably special, incredible day we have had. Tŷ Hafan invited us, and our beautiful friends, to the hospice to be part of the first official visit of their new patron -The Princess of Wales. We had the chance to sit and talk to her about Violet, her story and all of the ways that Tŷ Hafan have been there for our family. We were so, so nervous! Not only to be meeting her but to make sure we were able to truly convey what the hospice means to families like ours. But our nerves were settled within moments when she showed such a genuine warmth towards us and we really felt like she cared and wanted to hear what we had to say. I don't think there is quite a word to say what it felt like to hear The Princess of Wales say my little girls name. And Violet and Winnie definitely brought the sunshine for us today as well. We are so grateful to have had the day that we have had, a day we will remember forever and one that will be spoken about by our family for generations to come - and when those future generations talk about how we met the future Queen, they will also talk about Violet and that is a very special thing indeed. Thank you isn't enough, Tŷ Hafan. We are sure this new patronage will bring so much to the charity that we love so much.

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Wishing a very happy Birthday to the one and only King Felipe VI of Spain, who turns 57 today 🍾🥂 still the most attractive monarch in Europe.

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Five years ago these children were lucky to have a breakfast served by the future queen of England. A story to tell when they’re older.

29 January 2020.

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LAURA WARSHAUER SHARED SNIPPETS FROM HER TIME AT ST ANDREW'S WATCHING WILL & CAT FALL IN LOVE ♡

Laura Warshauer had a front row seat as a result of her close friendship with the pair. Whether it was William helping to carry her luggage, Kate comforting her on a night out, or just having a quiet drink in a cosy corner of a pub together, those memories live on.

Her interactions with them are something few can share – teaching Kate how to play the guitar, William buying her first ever Jack Daniel’s and Coke, eating takeaway food together or laughing and joking during road trips.

Speaking about her time at uni she said :

‘I graduated from school a year early and then spent what would have been my senior year at high school in St Andrews. It was a beautiful moment in time.

I wound up getting a front row seat to the very beginning of what would become one of the greatest and most iconic love stories of our time. It’s great to see Will and Kate, the same people they were then, on the world stage.’

Talking about their form life, she recalls that she'd her mother’s lasagne recipe and her aunt’s toffee – for William and some of his friends as well as chatting with him during meal times in the ‘Harry Potter-style’ dining hall.

William & Laura sitting together for the art history 02 class photo (fun fact william changed his course like 2 weeks later to geography)

She said:

‘Will lived down the hall with two of his friends from Eton. Kate lived on the floor below.

‘I met them the same week they met each other. I was struck by how normal Will was. You could talk about anything – the most mundane things.

'Coming back from a trip home to New Jersey with my big luggage, Will would grab my bag and take it inside the dorm.

‘We were all just trying to find our way. Even if you’d been at a boarding school like Eton, people were still in a new environment.’

‘I remember I made dinner for everyone on my birthday in December and Will brought me a gift – a stuffed animal from Tesco.

It’s a seal with a blue backpack with stars on it. It’s in a place where I can see it every day and I’m like, “How cool”. It’s adorable.’

Laura said Kate and William had instant chemistry and fell for each other months before the 2002 fashion show where Will saw Kate modelling and described her as ‘hot’ :

‘We went to a party at a castle. It was a Harry Potter theme and they did an auction for charity where people were bidding to win a date. Will bid £200 to win a date with Kate.’

This is the Glamis Castle Birthday party from 01 where Catherine was pictured with Olivia Bleasdale

While Ms Warshauer doesn’t know what they eventually did for their date, she remembered Kate’s reaction was effortlessly cool – showing she was unfazed by titles and comfortable around him.

She spoke about Kate extricating William from an uncomfortable encounter:

‘It was early on when Will and Kate were getting to know each other. This girl was talking to Will, and he was being polite, but it was obvious he needed a way out .

‘All of a sudden Kate walks up from across the room, puts her arms around him and enables him to turn to this other girl and be like “I’m sorry, I have a girlfriend”.

‘And then he turned to Kate and silently mouthed the words “Thank you”. I remember thinking at that moment that no one but Kate could have done that.

‘They had just met each other but it was clear they had a connection.’

Speaking about her friendship with The Princess of Wales she said :

‘Kate saw that I was upset one night while we were out. I was walking ahead so people couldn’t see that I was upset and she came up and put her arm around me and said “I hate seeing people I care about upset”. You remember these moments.’

A photograph of Kate and Laura taken in the town’s camera shop in 2001 shows their friendship. A trip taken to find equipment for Laura's CBS audition tape filming:

‘As you know, Kate loves photography, she loved it then. Even in her dorm room I remember the beautiful photos.

‘She and I went to the camera shop together to get everything we needed and then she filmed the audition for me.’

Laura had shared a photo on social media of herself and Kate – taken at a 19th birthday party during their time in St Andrews – in a show of support for the Princess following her treatment for cancer.

This party seems to be Oliver Baker's birthday. He's one of W&C's close friends and one of George's godparents.

Speaking about it she said:

‘The interest is even greater now than it was the first time.’

Reminiscing about the party where the photo was taken, she remembers that she had just been to Paris to visit her sister who was studying there. The outfit she has on in the snap is one she bought during that French adventure.

Even that trip to Paris had started with another cherished moment with WillCat. She said:

‘Kate and I were supposed to ride a taxi to the airport together but then Will gave her a ride so I got in on it. I love how he offered her a ride and that’s how I got to go.

‘It was so cool to arrive in Paris and be like, “So guess who gave me a ride to the airport?”

‘The radio was on and Will was like, “Laura, you can sing with the radio”. It was just like popular music. It was sweet that he made that reference to me as a singer.’

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Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, during a service in the High Street of Wootton Basset on January 29, 2010 in Wootton Bassett, England.

15 years ago.

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The proper way to leave a car and handle your skirt.

28 January 2020

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Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, joins a workshop run by the National Portrait Gallery's Hospital Programme at Evelina Children's Hospital on January 28, 2020 in London, England.

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Princess Catherine plays with a paper toy as she visits a Scout Group on September 29, 2020 in London, England.

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Prince William attends a reception and presentation event at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre on September 27, 2016 in Whitehorse, Canada.

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Archived Link

Meghan must’ve forgotten to pay Tom Sykes this week.

Another person who worked with Meghan in the run-up to her wedding told The Daily Beast: “I always thought she was a classic narcissist and getting her staff to tell a magazine how amazing she is only confirms that in my mind. She is lovely when it is all going her way but a demon when the worm turns.”

Another source told The Daily Beast a story of a florist who was “screamed at down the phone” for half an hour after they posted an insignificant detail online about a bouquet they were working on for Meghan (without identifying that Meghan was the client). “They vowed never to work with her again, despite the prestige of having her as a client. If you were working for her, you were often treated like a tradesman who could be treated like s--t.”

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Catherine, then the duchess of Cambridge and Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada during their visit to the Immigrant Services Society during the Royal Tour of Canada on September 25, 2016 in Vancouver, Canada.

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NEW: The Princess of Wales will host her Together At Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey this year. The event will be broadcast on @ITV on Xmas Eve at 7.30pm. It's the first official engagement in the her diary since last Dec, as she continues her recovery from cancer

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A self-described “geek”, he adored the research – chancing upon 100-year-old biscuit recipes kept at Windsor – and was granted access to the kitchens and libraries of some of the royal archives (go figure). It’s a family affair at this point. “Yeah, I know full well: nepotism, blah, blah, blah. Fair game,” he says, meaning it. “But I thought, ‘You know what? In my defence, I can say that I’ve had 25 years of keeping away from it. If I’d come in and said, ‘Hey, guys. This is going to be the exclusive royal family cookbook’, I think that would be a bit of a sellout. But I approached it as I approach every other book.”