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Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge makes surprise appearance at church service


Britain's Duchess of Cambridge made a surprise appearance at a service to honour those who died in the Gallipoli campaign.
The 34-year-old royal was joined by her husband, the Duke of Cambridge, and his grandparents Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh for the moving service, which took place at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham yesterday (10.01.16).
Catherine's family - mother Carole, father Michael, sister Pippa and brother James - were also in attendance as they all stopped to remember those who had fallen whilst fighting on the Gallipoli peninsula in the First World War one hundred years ago.
The royals were later seen laying wreaths to remember the dead at a war memorial nearby.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's two children - two-year-old son Prince George and eight-month-old daughter Princess Charlotte - were noticeably absent, with the eldest of their children recently starting nursery at Westacre Montessori school in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
A source said: "He's going to be attending part time for a handful of hours per day. Both the Duke and Duchess dropped him off today and it seems all went well."

Prince Charles on his biggest labour of love


Prince Charles says restoring Dumfries House has been a "labour of love".
Back in 2007, the Prince of Wales used £20 million of his charitable organisation's funds to contribute to the purchase of the 18th Century stately home in Ayrshire, Scotland.
But while he was expected his decision to save the house would be celebrated, Charles found it was an entirely different story.
Due to the sale going through at such a late stage, the house's contents had already been listed for auction.
This meant Charles faced the wrath of hundreds of art collectors who had been hoping to get their hands on some of the priceless items stored in the house.
Speaking on new series 'Great Estates', Charles said: "I don't think it went down too well with all these people around the world. I get told by lots of people 'oh I knew so-and-so' and 'I wanted to buy this that and the other'."
Some of the most unique items in the house included several items of Chippendale furniture. After being valued in London, one chair was estimated to be worth around £1.4 million, while a bookcase was valued at £20 million.
Charles continued: "By the time the negotiations and all the horrors of putting the money together and God knows what was finally concluded, there were three huge pantechnicons already with furniture loaded, all with labels on, all going down to London.
"They literally were stopped on the motorway at 1 o'clock in the morning and turned around to come back."
"Most of these chairs and so on would have gone for two, three, four times more than the estimate probably. Each chair might have gone for half a million to a million.
"Now at least people can come and see what to all intents and purposes is an 18th century house still almost as it was. It's been a bit of a labour of love to try and restore everything."

Queen Máxima’s father hospitalised


Queen Máxima's father was hospitalised after a fall last week.
The Netherlands' monarch didn't have a good start to 2016 when her father Jorge Zorreguieta, who turns 88 this month, fell over at his son's home in Argentina.
According to reports, Jorge was rushed to the San Carlos medical centre in Bariloche following the incident. He was treated for head trauma and kept under observation for 24 hours before being discharged.
Máxima flew to Argentina to visit her father in hospital before he was released.
While Máxima is clearly worried about her father's health, she did her utmost to put on a brave face as she attended the Horticultural Entrepreneur Awards in the town of Lisse on Wednesday (06.01.16).
The town is known for its flower garden, Keukenhof.
Máxima looked stylish in a shift dress teamed with a fedora hat and leather clutch bag.
The royal has a keen interest in horticulture, and took the time to speak to the nominees for the award at the event.
Diana Duijvestijn, spokesman for the Horticultural Entrepreneur Award, said: "Queen Máxima would like to see the annual figures of the horticultural sector up front which will be presented that day."

Princess Diana was a ‘rock of stability’


Princess Diana was described as a "rock of stability" by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Over 500 pages of heavily redacted documents, including calls between Tony and ex American President Bill Clinton, were released in response to a Freedom of Information request.
Several calls between Tony and Bill made on September 1, 1997 saw the two politicians discuss the passing of Princess Diana, who tragically died in a car crash in Paris, France, on August 31, 1997.
One of the most moving conversations saw Tony tell Bill he would "personally miss" Diana, adding: "It's like a star falling. She was a star for them [her children]."
After Bill offered his condolences, Tony replied: "We saw her again just weeks ago when we hosted her lunch with Prince William, he's a great kid."
When Bill said he "worries a lot about those kids now", Tony replied: "She was such a rock of stability in the sense she connected them with the outside world.
"The eldest boy, William, is quite like her in a way, he is very 'feet on the ground', he does things kids his age do."
Bill replied: "I just feel so bad for her. She was just basically getting a hold of her life."
To which Tony responded: "The problem was the way she lived, in a press frenzy. It's impossible to contemplate how intrusive it was, into every single aspect of her life.
"The last time I spoke with her, she said that were it not for the boys, she'd be off the board. The country is stunned."
The pair then discussed the details of the crash that had caused Diana's death.

Princes William and Harry’s Kurt Russell escape


Princes William and Harry once stayed at Kurt Russell's house.
The actor struck up a friendship with the siblings' mother Princess Diana when they met at the premiere for his 1991 movie 'Backdraft'.
When the topic of paparazzi came up, Kurt offered Diana the chance to stay at his ranch - which she took him up on later in life.
Kurt said: "There was a royal premiere and I sat between Lady Diana and Prince Charles, which was an interesting experience at the time. Things weren't going the best [between them] at the time, but during the course of the evening we got to talking about this and that and the paparazzi that she had to deal with.
"So I mentioned that we lived on a ranch in Colorado that might be a nice getaway and she said, 'Maybe some time I could do that'."
Kurt added to chat show host James Corden: "Years later Fergie [Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York], who Goldie knows, she worked it out and I guess Diana wanted to come and stay with the boys and they were welcomed and came and stayed at the ranch and they had a great time. It was great because our housekeeper, Bonnie, became very close with her and every Christmas she would get a nice card from Diana."

Prince Andrew saddened by flood damage


Prince Andrew was "saddened" to see the flood damage during a visit to North Yorkshire.
An 18th Century stone bridge in Tadcaster was left with just remnants remaining after it partially collapsed into the River Wharfe following some of the worst floods the UK has ever seen on December 29.
Local homes have been destroyed and many residents evacuated as local communities battle to rebuild following the floods.
The Duke said: "Saddened to see such a wonderful old bridge in a damaged state.
"But what encourages me is that there is a plan - first of all for a footbridge, then to support the structure and then to get on and recover the stonework that's underneath and get back to building it.
"But it's going to take some time."
The local council have estimated the repair work will take around a year and will cost in the region of £3 million.
While the repair work is carried out, locals will have to drive for half an hour to cross the town due to the lack of bridge.
He added: "It's been a very difficult time but I get a sense, talking to people both here and in Leeds, that the community has pulled together in a way that is really encouraging."

Prince Harry backed rowing team battle against 18ft waves


A rowing team backed by Prince Harry are battling against 18ft waves to break a world record for rowing the Atlantic.
The Row2Recovery team is comprised of four wounded servicemen, who have three legs between them, who are hoping to become the first ever all-amputee team to cross the ocean.
However, their journey has been anything but easy.
Lee Spencer, Paddy Gallagher, Nigel Rogoff and Cayle Royce began their trip from San Sebastian in the Canary islands on December 20, and are competing against 25 able-bodied teams to reach the finish line in Antigua first.
The journey is being funded by Prince Harry's Endeavour fund for injured servicemen and women, but has been anything but easy.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Lee said: "We've had fifteen to eighteen foot swells. We got hit last night and the boat flipped about 90 degrees on its side but it went back down again.
"My heart was in my mouth thinking we were going to go over but it came back round. I was a bit nervous.
"It was nerve-wracking but things like that give you more confidence in the boat."
The team take it in turns to row, with two hours on and two hours off.
So far, the Row2Recovery team have raised over £12,000 for service charities, and are over 1,000 miles into the 3,000 mile journey.

Princess Mary continues fashion parade in navy satin gown

Princess Mary continued her fashion parade on Wednesday night (06.01.16) in a stunning midnight blue gown. The Danish royal looked incredible in a satin gown, teamed with an ornate necklace and matching bracelet and ring. Mary completed her look wit...

Queen Elizabeth to present David Attenborough with highest honour


Queen Elizabeth is expected to honour Sir David Attenborough with the Order of the Garter.
The wildlife presenter already has an Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour, The Royal Victorian Order and Order of the British Empire.
But the Order of the Garter is the highest order of chivalry that can be presented to an individual.
The order, which currently has 24 members, has three vacancies and it is expected that David could be initiated into the order following his 90th birthday in May.
David has a close relationship with the Queen, and doesn't have to wear a name badge at royal receptions - a royal privilege in itself.
Back in 1986, David produced the Queen's Christmas message, which is televised annually.
Recalling how he met the Queen's private secretary Bill Heseltine prior to the recording of the message, David explained he was tasked with choosing an outfit for the monarch to wear for the occasion.
Speaking at the Radio Times Festival last September, David explained: "It was a room with green wallpaper so I dismissed all the green stuff. I picked out one that was mushroom."
The Queen, in this dress, came out and she said 'well I hope you approve of my costume. What about what I normally wear?'
"I said well ... it was green your Majesty and the wallpaper of the room was green so it would have clashed.
"Bill Heseltine, trying to be helpful, said well of course we could have had the room decorated.
"She said 'do you realise what that would have cost?'"

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