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Muhammad Ali wants to meet the Queen


Muhammad Ali wants to meet Queen Elizabeth.
The retired boxer is reportedly desperate to see the 89-year-old royal on what he believes will be his last trip to the United Kingdom later this year.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "He wants to meet the Queen. He knows it will be the last time he comes to the UK and his number one wish is to meet Her Majesty."
Meanwhile, Muhammad previously dubbed Prince Charles as "the greatest".
During a tour of the United States, the Prince of Wales and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, were welcomed to the Kentucky Centre for African American Heritage with a letter from the former sportsman.
He wrote: "[My wife] Lonnie and I welcome you to our hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
"We are honoured that you have come to explore, share and learn about new sustainable initiatives that are so close to your heart.
"As you travel back to your homeland, we hope you know how much this city respects and admires the many contributions you have made in the world. We think you are the greatest."

Britain’s Duke of Edinburgh to attend Shakespeare service


Britain's Duke of Edinburgh will attend a service to mark 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare.
The 94-year-old royal will attend the event at Southwark Cathedral to mark the event on April 23, which is thought to be the birth and death date of the late playwright.
The Dean of Southwark Cathedral, the Very Reverend
Andrew Nunn, said: "Amongst the many famous and notorious former residents of the parish of what is now Southwark Cathedral, William Shakespeare stands premier amongst them. We are delighted, therefore, to be hosting the service which will commemorate his death 400 years ago.
"Anything said of the Bard does not do justice to what he has given to our nation and to the English language and arts but we hope that in word, drama and music the service in the cathedral will express something of our delight in our association with the world's greatest playwright."
Whilst Neil Constable, who is the chief executive of Shakespeare's Globe, added: "We are thrilled to be joining our neighbours at Southwark Cathedral in celebrating this momentous occasion.
"The 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death will be a busy weekend for Shakespeare's Globe, with the return of the Globe to Globe Hamlet company after their unprecedented round-the-world tour, and brand new short films of all 37 of Shakespeare's plays being screened along the riverbank for The Complete Walk."

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth given science lesson


Britain's Queen Elizabeth was given a science lesson as she toured Lister Community School.
The 89-year-old royal popped into the school in Plaistow, east London and watched as students neutralised an alkaline with an acid during one of the lessons before being treated to a performance by the National Youth Orchestra, an organisation helped by the Queen's Trust.
Sir Trevor McDonald, who is a trustee of the fund, said: "This trust had some money to give to causes and I had a view on some of the causes.
"This school is an example of that benefit, grants are not directly given to the school but a number of organisations associated with the school."
Meanwhile, during her visit, the Queen unveiled a plaque and also signed the visitors' book.
One student said: "I was excited and nervous when she came in. We talked about the opportunities at IntoUniversity and what we are studying."
However, before the Queen's visit, most of the children were sceptical about her arrival.
The school's assistant headteacher Simon Beck added to the Newham Recorder newspaper: "Some of the students said, 'We'll believe you when we see her'. I think they believe us now."

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth to attend Commonwealth service


Britain's Queen Elizabeth will attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey later this month.
The 89-year-old royal will be joined by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the afternoon service at Westminster Abbey in London, England on March 14.
A post on the Abbey's official website reads: "The Service this year takes the theme of 'An Inclusive Commonwealth,' emphasising the Commonwealth's strength in working together to achieve progress.
"The Commonwealth Service is Britain's largest annual inter-faith gathering, held on the second Monday in March and organised with the Royal Commonwealth Society. Among the 2,000-strong congregation will be more than 1,000 children from schools and youth groups."
During last year's service, the Queen's speech highlighted the importance of "common goals".
She said: "One simple lesson from history is that when people come together to talk, to exchange ideas and to develop common goals, wonderful things can happen. So many of the world's greatest technological and industrial achievements have begun as partnerships between families, countries, and even continents.
"But, as we are often reminded, the opposite can also be true. When common goals fall apart, so does the exchange of ideas. And if people no longer trust or understand each other, the talking will soon stop too."

Britain’s Princess Anne to visit midwifes


Britain's Princess Anne will celebrate the successes of midwifes today (04.03.16).
The 65-year-old royal will tour the Cossham Birth Centre in Bristol, England, which has four en-suite rooms as well as labour aids including TENS and aromatherapy treatments.
The Royal College of Midwifes' Chief Executive Cathy Warwick said of the visit: "The RCM is really happy that The Princess Royal is vising the Cossham Birth Centre. It is a great opportunity to display the wonderful work that midwives and maternity staff do here day in day out to personalise care for women and for her to meet those women who have benefited from midwife led care here at this unit.
"There will also be a chance to show Her Royal Highness the different choices available to women and their partners at Cossham Birth Centre and she will have a chance to hear first-hand from mothers, midwives and other maternity staff about the birth centre and how it is delivering a first class service for women, babies and their families."
Whilst Lisa Marshall, who is Head of Midwifery at the North Bristol NHS Trust, added: "We are very excited to have HRH to visit and to show her our state-of-the-art, successful stand-alone birth centre that has welcomed many families through our doors ...
"We are very proud of the commitment of our midwives and the multi-professional team that support women to give birth in our stand-alone birth centre and look forward to showcasing their efforts during Her Royal Highness' visit."

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s joint engagement


Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are set for a joint official engagement in London later this month.
The royal couple - who have children George, two, and Charlotte, 10 months - will stop by the urban youth charity XLP on March 11 to see first-hand the work carried out by their mentoring scheme XL Mentoring.
A spokesperson from Kensington Palace confirmed the news on its official Twitter account yesterday (01.03.16), writing: "On Friday 11 March The Duke and Duchess will visit @XLMentoring, part of @xlplondon, which supports young people facing emotional challenges (sic)."
The scheme, which was set up in 1996 by Patrick Regan following a vicious stabbing in a playground, operates in over 60 schools and deals with a wide variety of issues including drug awareness, anger management and racism.
And this isn't the first time the Duke and Duchess have seen the charity as they also visited one of XLP's community outreach projects in Sydenham, London, last year.
Meanwhile, this year looks set to be a busy one for the couple, who got married in 2011, as they are set to embark on an official tour of India and Bhutan in April as well as celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday later that month.

Prince Edward launches Duke of Edinburgh Diamond Challenge


Britain's Prince Edward launched the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Diamond Challenge at Heathrow airport yesterday (01.03.16).
The 51-year-old royal - who is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip - rocked up at the busy airport in London to celebrate the launch as 100 workers abseiled down the inside of Terminal 5 from departures to arrivals.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: "It was an honour to host HRH The Earl of Wessex at Terminal 5 to launch our DofE Diamond Challenge activities. We are proud to support The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, because it helps young people to fulfil their potential. This year we are encouraging people of all ages from across the Heathrow community to do the same by taking part in a Diamond Challenge."
The Diamond Challenge marks the charity's 60th anniversary of the gold, silver and bronze youth achievement award, which was founded by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1956.
But the royal's duties didn't just stop at watching daring workers abseil down a building as he also met with 20 youngster from Heathrow who have completed the Gold DofE award scheme, which has been offered to airport employees under the age of 25 since 2012.
The Prince was also given his own FITBIT - a fitness tracker - and was challenged to cover the distance to Manchester, where the next leg of his Royal Diamond Tour will take him.

Prince Andrew pulls out of school trip due to bad weather


Britain's Prince Andrew was forced to pull out of his trip to Sevenoaks School in Kent yesterday morning (01.03.16).
The 56-year-old royal - the second eldest son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip - was due to fly by helicopter to the school for its Science Week, which attracts visits from around 9,000 school children in the area, but had no choice but to cancel his visit due to "adverse weather conditions."
According to the Sevenoaks Chronicle, the Prince was set to appear with iDEA, an initiative to support young digital entrepreneurs, but was told he couldn't fly due to heavy rain.
The royal was no doubt devastated he couldn't get to the school as he had tweeted just the day before saying he couldn't wait to jump in on the science action.
He wrote on his official Twitter account: "Looking forward to attending @SevenoaksSchool @WeekofScience #InnovationWeek2016 with @idea_award tomorrow! (sic)."
Meanwhile, although he wasn't able to make it to Sevenoaks, it's believed Andrew will still manage to make his other engagements in the south-east region - Medway and Brighton - today (02.03.16) as the weather has cleared.

Prince Charles to meet actor portraying him in new play


The actor portraying Prince Charles in 'King Charles III' is looking forward to chatting to him about it.
Robert Powell, who is an ambassador of the Prince's Trust and has met Charles a number of times, has not yet had a chance to speak to him about the production, but will see him soon at an upcoming garden party.
He said: "Funnily enough, two weeks after we finish touring I'm at Buckingham Palace at a garden party for the 40th anniversary of the Prince's Trust.
"It will be the first time our paths will cross since I've been playing him and he will certainly be aware of it, so I'm quite looking forward to that."
The fictional events of the play take place in the future when Charles becomes monarch but Robert explained his character is "slightly reluctant" about the whole thing.
He told the Gloucestershire Echo: "Charles is slightly reluctant to become king because he's been hanging around for some time and not wholly confident it's something he wants to do
"This script landed on my desk a year ago and as soon as I read it, I knew I wasn't going to be able to say no, because it was just very difficult.
"I constantly choose the tough stuff; the harder it is, the more I become engaged. I'm not saying I get bored if it's too easy but there's nothing to occupy me and keep me bubbling.
"It's a drama alongside King Lear, Hamlet and Macbeth, as it contains elements of all those plays. As Charles I have soliloquies, so I have to talk to the audience throughout.
"Sometimes you laugh with Charles and sometimes you laugh at him. By the end of the play it is extraordinarily poignant and disastrous for Charles."

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