Thursday, April 18, 2024

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Mike Tindall’s soccer gift for baby


Mike Tindall plans to buy Britain's Prince William's new baby a Leeds United shirt.
The former rugby player - who is married to William's cousin Zara Phillips - played for Gloucester when the prince and his wife Duchess Catherine's son Prince George was born 21 months ago so gifted him a team jersey, and plans to follow on the sporting theme when the couple welcome their second child into the world by presenting him or her with a replica shirt from his favourite soccer side.
He told talkSPORT host Colin Murray: "I got [George] a Gloucester shirt - I think this time it's going to have to be a Leeds United shirt," he told Colin Murray on talkSPORT.
However, the gift might not go down well with the baby's father as William is a devoted Aston Villa fan.
In a message to mark the Football Association's 150th anniversary in 2013, William joked: "When Villa thrash Man U at Villa Park, my son will be there."
Just one month after those comments William attended a game at Villa Park between the home side and Sunderland but unfortunately he didn't witness any goals and the tie ended in a 0-0 draw.
However, William shouldn't be so sure his kids will inherit his passion for the Midlands side as his own father, Prince Charles, is a Burnley supporter.

Duchess Catherine takes George swimming


Britain's Duchess Catherine went swimming with Prince George yesterday (28.04.15).
The 33-year-old royal - who is believed to be five days overdue with her second child - and her 21-month-old son drove to Buckingham Palace for a dip around lunchtime and appeared relaxed behind the wheel of her Range Rover, before returning to Kensington Palace later in the day.
Swimming is recommended by some baby experts as a way of bringing on labour naturally, though it is unclear whether the duchess joined her young son in the water.
Meanwhile, the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in London - where the duchess and her husband Prince William will welcome their second child into the world - is being kept under 24-hour armed guard, with their presence at the facility sparking speculation Catherine is in labour, though they have been stationed there for several days.
Former head of royal protection Dai Davies told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "The Duchess is overdue so it's not surprising that they are there.
"It is similar to a royal visit, when the police will be at the venue ahead of the royal family's arrival, only in this instance they don't know when that arrival is going to be.
"They have to make sure the area is secure, they will have carried out sweeps inside and they will be making sure they are familiar with the geography, the entrances and exits, and what options they have if an incident arises.
"They will be armed. In this day and age it would be nonsensical for them not to be armed, even inside a hospital."

Prince William and Duchess Catherine to boost security


Britain's Prince William and Duchess Catherine are expected to increase security when their baby is born.
The couple - who already have 21-month-old son Prince George - will welcome their second child into the world in the coming days and Ken Wharfe, a former head of security for Kensington Palace, says it is standard practice for a new addition to mean extra protection is required.
Ken - who was part of William's security detail when the prince was just five years old - said: "Currently, William and Kate have a protection team, I would imagine, of somewhere in the region of about six and eight between them, with the resources calling upon additional security should they need it.
"In amongst that team, you have an additional two people that will be solely responsible for the protection of George.
"[When the new baby arrives,] that security will be increased again by probably another one.
"Not that George goes out on public duties, but there has to be extra security for obvious reasons. Because they will go out with nannies. That is what the royal family wants. They don't want [the kids] to be completely nursery-bound up until adulthood."
Security has also been increased at St. Mary's Hospital's Lindo Wing, where Catherine will give birth, and Ken admits there are always "exhaustive" checks whenever members of the royals are at a publicly-known location.
He added of the hospital: "It's like a fortress there when a royal is inside."
And Georgie McGrath, who has given birth twice at the Lindo Wing, added: "Even if you got into the ground floor, you couldn't effectively get upstairs unless you were passed in and signed in. It's very safe, very safe indeed."

Princess Beatrice visits dyslexia school


Britain's Princess Beatrice opened a new classroom at a specialist school yesterday (27.04.15).
The 26-year-old royal travelled to Litchfield, Staffordshire, West Midlands, to visit the Maple Hayes Dyslexia School, where her arrival was greeted by a group of flag-waving children.
Beatrice - who suffers from learning disorder dyslexia - toured the school to learn more about their approach to helping the pupils, before unveiling a plaque to commemorate her visit.
A posting on the school's Facebook page read: "What a fantastic day we've had with HRH Princess Beatrice! Such a honour to have her here."
Beatrice - the daughter of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson - was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was seven years old and previously admitted she used to "struggle".
She has said: "I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was seven and it was a bit of a struggle to begin with. It was a challenge as I began my school career - spelling and reading was something I couldn't really get my head around."
And it took J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books for the princess to enjoy reading for the first time.
She said: The second the story came out, I couldn't put it down. Now I read so much quicker, so much better and I studied history at university which involved a lot of reading."

King Willem-Alexander celebrates birthday

Holland's King Willem-Alexander celebrated his 48th birthday in Dordrecht yesterday (27.04.15). The monarch was joined on the royal barge by wife Queen Maxima, their children Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, 11, Princess Alexia, nine, and Princes...

Duchess Catherine’s zoo visit


Britain's Duchess Catherine made a surprise visit to a petting zoo last week.
The 33-year-old royal - who is believed to be five days overdue with her second child - surprised families at Bucklebury Farm Park when she took her 21-month-old son Prince George to visit the facility, which is located close to her parents' home, just 10 days ago.
And a few days later, the duchess paid a visit to a branch of Zara Home, just a short walk away from her Kensington Palace apartment, where she is currently residing so as to be close to London's St. Mary's Hospital, where she is booked in to give birth on their private Lindo wing.
A shop assistant told People magazine: "She looked so calm. You couldn't really tell that she was pregnant because she looked so great. I mean, she was wearing heels. She was so nice and polite, I was really impressed."
While in the shop, Catherine - who was known as Kate Middleton before her wedding to Prince William - bought a doormat, towels, padded blue and white gingham clothes hangers, and picnic cutlery but the sales assistant insisted her apparent preference for blue items wasn't an indication of the gender of her new baby.
The source added: "Everything she seemed to look at was blue, but not for babies. She must just like the colour."

Queen Elizabeth shocked by earthquake tragedy


Britain's Queen Elizabeth is "shocked" at the "appalling" devastation caused by the Nepal earthquake.
The 89-year-old monarch and her husband Prince Philip have sent their "deepest sympathy" to Nepali president Ram Baran Yadav and those affected by the natural disaster, which is estimated to have killed around 4,000 people when it struck on Saturday (25.04.15) morning.
In a message to the president, she said: "I was shocked to hear of the appalling loss of life and injuries caused by the earthquake.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this disaster and with those bereaved and affected.
"Prince Philip joins me in extending our deepest sympathy to you and the Nepali people. The thoughts of everyone in the United Kingdom are with the families of all those caught up in this terrible event."
The queen's message came as a number of stars have appealed for support for relief efforts.
Pink tweeted: "Children & families affected by the #NepalEarthquake need your help. Text 864233 to donate $10 to UNICEF's relief efforts; via @UNICEFUSA.(sic)"
Actor Ewan McGregor, an ambassador for UNICEF also gave details on how to make donations to the charity by retweeting their posts, while pop star Katy Perry wrote: "My heart breaks w/the rising death toll from the #NepalEarthquake PLEASE help @UNICEF help children+families affected http://www.supportunicef.org/Nepal (sic)"


Queen Elizabeth not among richest


Britain's Queen Elizabeth has dropped out of the Sunday Times rich list for the first time since its inception.
The 89-year-old monarch - who topped the very first list compiled by the publication in 1989 - is no longer recognised as one of the UK's top wealthiest people and only ranked 302nd this year, a fall of 17 places from the 2014 figures.
However, the queen's annual income has grown by £10 million in the last year, largely due to the Sovereign Grant, which sees the monarch receive 15 per cent of the profits from the Crown Estate.
The newspaper also confirmed the list didn't take into account the Royal Collection, a priceless set of over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours, tapestries, furniture, ceramics and other artworks.
The collection is spread across a number of royal residences including Windsor Castle, Sandringham, Hampton Court Palace, and Holyrood Palace, with some of the pieces on display at the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace.
The 2015 Rich List was topped by Warner Music owner Len Blavatnik, a Ukrainian-American businessman who started his empire in the oil industry and has seen it grow to a staggering £13.16 billion.
This year's figures included 117 billionaires - 80 of whom live in London - a rise from 104 in 2014.
A personal fortune of £100 million is now required to become one of the 1,000 richest people in the country, up £15 million compared with last year's starting point of £85 million.
In 1997 it took a relatively small fortune of just £15m to join the list of Britain's richest 1,000 people.

Prince Harry congratulates marathon runners


Britain's Prince Harry congratulated runners who completed the London Marathon yesterday (26.04.15).
The 30-year-old prince - who is patron of the London Marathon Charitable Trust - met those who had completed the gruelling 26-mile run through the city and presented trophies to elite winners Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award to Paula Radcliffe.
Paula - who has won the London marathon three times before and completed this year's course, her final attempt at the race, in two hours 36 minutes 55 seconds - told the BBC afterwards: "It was just amazing the whole way round. I went off way too fast but from then on it got more and more emotional.
"Down the last mile I thought 'I don't care about the time', I just wanted to thank as many people as I could.
"There was a big sign at Embankment saying 'We will miss you' but it won't be as much as I will miss [my supporters]."
Harry also met with St. John's Ambulance volunteers and winners of the IPC Athletics World Championships.
The appointment came a few days after the prince travelled to Turkey with his father Prince Charles to join other dignitaries at a ceremony to mark the Centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign.
And though his brother Prince William and wife Duchess Catherine - who already have 21-month-old son Prince George together - are due to welcome their second child into the world in the coming days, Harry won't be around to meet his new niece or nephew as he will fly back to Australia today (27.04.15), where he is currently undertaking a month-long military secondment.

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