Royal family news: Harry to miss Duke of Westminster’s wedding while William set to be usher

A charity established by the Queen has announced a second series of its podcast featuring guests including Neil Gaiman and Richard E Grant.

The Queen’s Reading Room was formed from a book club set up by Camilla in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic to celebrate the power and benefits of reading.

Across nine episodes, guests will speak to charity CEO and host Vicki Perrin about their relationship with reading. Other guests will include comedian Mel Giedroyc and novelist Kate Mosse.

The weekly series will begin on Monday, May 20.

The first series of The Queen’s Reading Room Podcast featured Rebus author Sir Ian Rankin, actress Dame Joanna Lumley, and comedian David Baddiel and was listened to in 158 countries.

Ms Perrin said: “We were astounded by the response to the first season of The Queen’s Reading Room Podcast.

“It is clear that the podcast reached and resonated with listeners globally, enabling them to connect and fall in love with books.

“I hope that this second season of the podcast will continue to inspire listeners to go on new literary adventures and help those wishing they loved books a little more, to discover the true joy of reading.”

The King, Queen and Prince of Wales will attend commemorative events in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D- Day, Buckingham Palace has said.

Charles and Camilla will be at the Ministry of Defence and Royal British Legion’s (RBL) event at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer on June 6, and William will attend the Canadian commemorative ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer, on the same date.

The prince will then attend the international commemorative ceremony at Omaha Beach, Saint Laurent sur Mer, later that day alongside 25 heads of state and veterans from around the world.

The Princess of Wales is not expected to travel to France.

The Prince of Wales is to be an usher at the wedding of his close friend Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, next month, reports suggest.

The 33-year-old aristocrat and businessman will marry Olivia Henson, 31, at Chester Cathedral on June 7.

William will be among the groom’s party at the 400-person ceremony but his younger brother the Duke of Sussex will not attend, the Sunday Times reported.

The Princess of Wales, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, is not expected to attend.

The Duke of Westminster is a godson of the King and godfather to William’s son, Prince George.

He is also godfather to Harry’s five-year-old son Prince Archie, but reports emerged in December suggesting Harry and his wife Meghan were not on the guest list for their wedding.

King Charles has granted a portrait photographer with a Royal Warrant for the first time.

Hugo Burnand told The Independent that he aims to give the public a true sense of who the royals really are through his official portraits.

Palace insiders said he is grateful to have been “trusted and supported” enough to take official photographs of the family at their milestone occasions and now to be granted this official seal of approval.

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The King, Queen and Prince of Wales will attend commemorative events in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D- Day, Buckingham Palace has said.

Charles and Camilla will be at the Ministry of Defence and Royal British Legion’s (RBL) event at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer on June 6, and William will attend the Canadian commemorative ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer, on the same date.

The prince will then attend the international commemorative ceremony at Omaha Beach, Saint Laurent sur Mer, later that day alongside 25 heads of state and veterans from around the world.

The Princess of Wales is not expected to travel to France.

Prince Harry may hold a rare United States visa reserved for heads of state and royal family members, a lawyer has suggested – amid questions over how the Duke of Sussex’s past admission of drug use sits in relation to America’s tight immigration rules.

The royal – who lives in California with wife Meghan Markle and their two children – is currently the subject of a legal battle brought by the right-wing Heritage Group to demand that the US Department of Homeland Security release his immigration file.

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According to the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List, Hugh Grosvenor, 33, has a net worth of £10.127 billion – a substantial increase from the £9.878 billion he had in 2023.

However, he is soon set to lose his bachelor status when he ties the knot in the society wedding of the year next month.

Prince William on the other hand is to be an usher.

TV presenter Anne Robinson has confirmed that she is in a relationship with the Queen’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.

Unconfirmed reports at the end of last year suggested that the host, 79, who is best known for her former stint on the quiz showWeakest Link, and the retired cavalry officer, 84, were dating.

Robinson confirmed those rumours in an interview with Saga magazine, saying: “Yes. Full stop. Mind your own business.”

The artist who painted the King’s latest portrait has revealed why the artwork is so red.

The painting by Jonathan Yeo, which was unveiled by the monarch at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, depicts the King wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards against a red backdrop.

The unusual portrait has divided opinion amongst royal fans and social media users, with some saying the large swathes of red made them “uncomfortable” and that it looked like the monarch was “in hell”.

As for why he chose to use so much red in the portrait, the 53-year-old said he wanted it to tone and distract from the King’s brightly coloured uniform.

“I thought the red will really distract,” he told the paper, adding that his solution was to instead cover the whole painting in crimson.

“That may also have had psychological backing, because I had a heart attack [in March 2023] when I was painting this,” he says. “But certainly none of that I was conscious of – it was just: I like this colour.”

Hugh Grosvenor, 33, will marry 31-year-old Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral on 7 June.

Considered one of Britain’s richest men, Grosvenor will welcome the Prince of Wales as part of the groom’s party.

However, according to recent reports, Prince Harry will not be attending the ceremony in a bid to avoid royal tensions overshadowing the day.

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