Starmer visits Balmoral as Harry and William ‘don’t speak’ at funeral – latest news

An animal rights protestor who was found guilty of damaging a Buckingham Palace water fountain has called on King Charles to ask the public to adopt a plant-based diet.

Citing the monarch’s passion for the environment, Louis McKechnie, 23, who was yesterday charged with criminal damage for dying the Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain red in 2021, said: “We did this because we think the royal family still has a responsibility to this day to step up and show true leadership.

“If Charles claims to be, you know, a climate-conscious King, he’s got to show it, surely.

“He barks the right stuff, but where is his bite? I’m not seeing it. It starts with calling for a plant-based food system.

“King Charles, that’s our message to him – call for a plant-based food system if you really care about any of the things you claim to.”

The King arrived to the sound of the pipes at a flower show in Aberdeen yesterday.

Charles wore a kilt on his visit to the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen Flower Show in the city’s Duthie Park.

He became patron of the society earlier this year and it is marking its 200th anniversary, with the late Queen and King George previous patrons.

On arrival, he was received by Lord Lieutenant of Aberdeen David Cameron.

A schoolboy donned his prize-winning cardboard crown in front of the King as the monarch visited a flower show.

The King laughed as Oliver Keith tried on the homemade creation of silver cardboard, purple tissue paper and golden tinsel at the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen’s 200th anniversary show in the city’s Duthie Park.

He questioned the eight-year-old on the fit and how long it took him to make the third-prize winning entry before asking him if he would like to try it on.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in no rush to tell their children about their royal heritage, a family friend has claimed.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly wish for Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, to be loved for who they are rather than for their relation to the British monarchy.

The source told US Weekly: “They’ll have those conversations in due time.”

In an update on the two young royals, they added: “They’re so well-mannered.

“Archie is sweet and curious and playful, and Lili is vibrant and happy.”

The King is hosting Sir Keir Starmer at Balmoral for his first official weekend at the royal retreat as Prime Minister.

Sir Keir and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer are following convention and spending a few days at the Scottish home of Charles and Camilla.

Last summer, former prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife spent the weekend at the monarch’s Aberdeenshire home and went to church with the royal couple.

Prime ministers are traditionally invited to stay with the head of state at Balmoral during the summer, and in the past decades Harold Wilson, who is said to have “got on like a house on fire” with Queen Elizabeth II, would join members of the royal family for riverside picnics on the Balmoral estate.

But things were very different with Margaret Thatcher, who reportedly found the traditional September weekend at Balmoral painful.

One observer wrote: “A weekend in the country with aristocrats who enjoy riding, shooting, sports and games is Thatcher’s idea of torture.”

Mrs Thatcher could not abide the charades that she was expected to play after dinner at Balmoral.

During a gathering of six of her premiers, the late Queen once joked about “the party games which some of you have so nobly endured at Balmoral”.

When Parliament is sitting, the King and Prime Minister meet for a weekly audience and the two men sat down for a meeting at Balmoral.

The discussions are likely to have taken place in the castle’s library, which was once Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s breakfast and lunch room and today is used by the King as his working study where he welcomes dignitaries.

The Princess of Wales does not want any drama within the royal family following her cancer treatment, a royal author has claimed.

Robert Jobson – author of the new biography Catherine, the Princess of Wales – explained how the princess is keen to leave any drama in the past.

“She is someone who solves problems and rises above the drama,” Jobson said in an interview with Good Morning America on Wednesday (31 July).

Jobson explained how Kate had sorted previous “moments of friction” between King Charles and Prince William.

The royal author added: “After going through treatment like this you don’t want to do drama anymore and I think that is something she has experienced.”

Princes Harry and William have both attended their uncle’s funeral – but sat apart and did not speak to each other, according to reports.

The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex both attended the memorialit has been reported.

The Duke of Sussex flew from the US to join the Prince of Wales at the service for their mother’s brother-in-law, Lord Robert Fellowes, at St Mary’s Church in Snettisham, Norfolk, on Thursday, The Sun reported.

The brothers made a discreet appearance and sat apart at the back of the church, a local resident told the newspaper, keeping their distance and not speaking to each other.

Lord Fellowes, 82, passed away on 29 July. He was married to Princess Diana’s older sister and served as Queen Elizabeth II’s private secretary for several years.

It is believed to be the first time that the two brothers have seen each other in public since King Charles’s coronation last May.

On Wednesday August 7 the Lord of the Rings star appeared onWatch Watch Happens Live with Andy Cohen when she explained what happened when eating at Buckingham Palace. After being asked why she was invited, the actress and producer admitted she had no idea.

“I do not know. The head of the fire brigade was there and Helen Fielding – not the novelist – the scientist, was there,” she told Cohen.