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Prince Harry dines with Manny Pacquiao


Britain's Prince Harry had dinner with Emmanuel 'Manny' Pacquiao last night (22.01.15).
The 30-year-old royal dined with the Filipino boxing champion - who is also a congressman in the Philippines - and his wife Jinkee after inviting him to London discuss charitable interests.
Alongside an image of himself, his wife and the Prince, Manny wrote on his Instagram account: "Dinner with Prince Harry its so nice thank you Lord. (sic)"
The eight-division titleholder also posted a snap of him and the flame-haired royal holding a pair of boxing gloves he'd autographed for him.
He captioned the photograph: "He is so nice and humble person. May God Bless you more Prince Harry it was a great experience thank you Lord. (sic)"
Manny and his wife are also set to be given a tour of Buckingham Palace today (23.01.15) after flying into the UK on Wednesday (21.01.15).
The fighting champion is said to be a big fan of the British royal family and has even named one of his daughters Queenie, after Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Andrew publicly denies claims


Britain's Prince Andrew has publicly denied allegations he had underage sex with a teenager.
The 54-year-old royal addressed claims by Virginia Roberts, which Buckingham Palace previously insisted were "categorically untrue", while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He said: "Firstly I think I must, and want, for the record, to refer to the events that have taken place in the last few weeks, and I just wish to reiterate and to reaffirm the statements which have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace."
Miss Roberts alleges in court documents that she was forced by Prince Andrew's former friend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with the royal on three separate occasions when she was just 17-years-old.
However, speaking at the business conference, Andrew maintained his innocence and insisted his "focus" is on his work.
He added: "My focus is on my work and this evening's reception allows me to tell you about just a couple of initiatives that I have founded and am passionate about."
The claims were reiterated in new documents filed in a Florida court after Miss Roberts' lawyers revealed they'd sent Prince Andrew a letter asking him to respond under oath to the allegations only to have it sent back to them after being refused by the recipient.
Prince Andrew is being called on to provide evidence in a case against Epstein and is not facing any legal proceedings over the claims.
A statement made by Miss Roberts in the documents prior to the Prince's public denial reads: "I have seen Buckingham Palace's recent 'emphatic' denial that Prince Andrew had sexual contact with me.
"That denial is false and hurtful to me. I did have sexual contact with him as I have described here - under oath.
"Given what he knows and has seen, I was hoping that he would simply voluntarily tell the truth about everything.
"I hope my attorneys can interview Prince Andrew under oath about the contacts and that he will tell the truth."

Prince Andrew had orgy, suggest new claims


Britain's Prince Andrew had an "orgy" with nine underage girls, Virginia Roberts claims.
In new court papers, the woman said one of the sexual encounters she had with him was an orgy with eight other females, along with disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Recalling the event - which she says took place on Jeffrey's private island - she said: "Epstein, Andy, approximately eight other young girls, and I had sex together.
"The other girls all seemed and appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn't really speak English."
The allegations add to previous claims she had sexual contact with the prince on three separate occasions while under the age of 18, and said she was recruited by the daughter of former newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine Maxwell, at the age of 15.
In a sworn statement made under oath, Virginia, now aged 31, also claimed Jeffrey and Ghislaine frequently made inappropriate jokes about the Duke of York's sexual activity, giving him the nickname "Randy Andy".
In the affidavit, she went on to say she was disappointed he has not admitted the activity took place between them, as she had hoped he would confess when confronted about the incidents.
She said: "I did have sexual contact with him [Prince Andrew] as I have described here - under oath.
"Given what he knows and has seen, I was hoping that he would simply voluntarily tell the truth about everything. I hope my attorneys can interview Prince Andrew under oath about the contacts and that he will tell the truth."
The prince is expected to address the claims at the World Economic Forum in Davos this evening (22.01.15) although Buckingham Palace has previously branded the claims "categorically untrue", while Ghislaine has also denied the accusations.

Duchess Camilla wants to encourage Prince George to read


Britain's Duchess Camilla wants to encourage Prince George to read.
The Duchess - who is married to the 17-month-old royal's grandfather Prince Charles - told school children how she regularly reads bedtime stories to her other grandchildren and hopes to inspire a passion for books in Prince William and Duchess Catherine's son.
Speaking to pupils at the Weston Park Primary School in North London to launch the '500 Words' short story contest, she said: "If you can read and tell stories you can sit in an empty room and take yourself into all sorts of exciting worlds.
"It's something my father taught me and then I went on to read to my children and now grandchildren.
"Sadly I am at least 100 and far too old to enter, but I hope everyone who can will.
"I have a step-grandson called George and while he is too little to enter now, I hope one day he will."
Camilla - who toured classrooms and happily sank to her knees to talk to pupils - was joined at the launch of the competition, which is open to under 13s, by 'Horrid Henry' author Francesca Simon and was fascinated by her work.
She asked: "When I was at school about 100 years ago, I was taught to write a beginning, middle and end. Where do you start?"
The 67-year-old duchess was asked by the writer to come up with a story idea involving two random props - a shell and a kaleidoscope - and suggested a story about the shell washing up on a treasure island, prompting the children to join in with their own suggestions.
She said: "I just want to see as many children as possible get involved."
BBC Radio 2 host Chris Evans - who is running the competition - was also in attendance and had the duchess in fits of laughter after blaming their meeting the day before on him oversleeping and missing the beginning of his radio show.
Camilla is a long-time supporter of literacy initiatives and has agreed to allow the final of the competition to be held at St. James' Palace, where 'The Chris Evans Breakfast Show' will broadcast live.
Those selected as the 50 best entrants in the contest will be invited to the grounds of the palace, where a final six will be chosen and have their work read out by a famous actor.

Princess Anne’s fire education


Britain's Princess Anne learned about fire prevention on Tuesday (20.01.15).
The 64-year-old princess was invited to officially open Parkside Fire Station in Cambridge, East England, by Cambridge's chief fire officer Graham Stagg and Sir Peter Brown, chairman of the county fire authority, and met with station staff and children from St Matthews Primary School and Parkside Federation Academy, who created artwork for the station.
Mr. Stagg said: "We hope by meeting firefighters, community safety workers and our support staff based at the fire station the Princess Royal has had a good insight into not just the operational service we provide for Cambridge, but also how preventing fires in the community is just as important in this modern fire and rescue service."
Sir Peter added: "It was an absolute pleasure to welcome HRH Princess Anne to our state-of-the-art fire station and to mark the official opening of a project we are all incredibly proud of.
"It has been a real team effort with our partners to create this development and that theme has continued on today as it pleased us to see so many organisations join in what has been a momentous celebration."
After touring the facility - which is situated on the site of the city's former fire station - Anne also got the chance to look around some new flats located above.
The Parkside Place residential development provided 100 new homes, including 39 affordable flats.
Though Anne only officially opened the station this week, it has been in operation since 2013, while the housing development was completed last year.

Earl Spencer warns monarchy won’t last


The brother of Britain's Princess Diana has warned the monarchy could be lost in 100 years.
Earl Charles Spencer - who famously gave an inflammatory eulogy at his late sister's funeral in 1997 - believes the current generation of royalty is safe thanks to the popularity of his nephew, second-in-line to the throne Prince William, but doesn't know how safe the royal family are in the long term.
Speaking an America - and notably not mentioning Diana's ex-husband, and current heir, Prince Charles - he said: "Maybe in 100 years things will change. "William's popular, so the throne is secure for the next generation."
Charles was speaking as he promoted his historical book 'Killers Of The King: The Men Who Dared To Execute Charles I' and claimed the fate of the monarch in the tome is a warning about what could happen in the near future.
He said: "Charles I's murder brought a reduced monarchy plus the idea you could actually stand against the king.
"His penniless son, who couldn't even pay his hotel bill, went into exile. We went 10 years without a king."
And the earl claimed Brad Pitt is keen to turn the tale into a Hollywood blockbuster.
According to the Daily Mail newspaper, he said: "Lionsgate and Brad Pitt's company are interested in filming the story."

Prince Andrew asked to testify


Britain's Prince Andrew has been asked to testify under oath about allegations he "sexually abused" a teenager.
Lawyers acting for Virginia Roberts - a 31-year-old woman who claims she was a "sex slave" to the prince's former friend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein when she was just 17 - wrote to Buckingham Palace through an intermediary law firm last week to ask the 54-year-old royal to tell his side of the story after their client claimed she was forced to have sex with him three times.
The letter, addressed to 'Your Royal Highness', was accompanied by a picture of Andrew with his arm around Virginia's waist in 2001 when she was 17.
It said: "This letter is a formal request ... to interview you, under oath, regarding interactions that you had with Jane Doe No 3 beginning in approximately early 2001. Jane Doe No 3 was then 17 years old.
"The interview could be conducted at a time and place of your choosing, and with your co-operation, I believe the interview could be completed in two hours or less."
It is signed by Jack Scarola, an attorney acting on behalf of Ms Roberts' two main lawyers, Bradley Edwards and Paul Cassell.
The letter asked for a response by January 19 but Buckingham Palace wouldn't say if there had been a reply or whether the prince had consented to be interviewed.
The note was submitted with court papers in Florida by Virginia, and the woman also gave a sworn affidavit in which she said Buckingham Palace's previous denials of her accusations were "false and hurtful".
She also revealed she referred to the prince as "Andy" and again insisted they had had sex.
She said: "I did have sexual contact with him [Prince Andrew] as I have described here - under oath.
"Given what he knows and has seen, I was hoping that he would simply voluntarily tell the truth about everything. I hope my attorneys can interview Prince Andrew under oath about the contacts and that he will tell the truth."


Chris Evans’ royal appointment with Duchess Camilla


Chris Evans had a royal appointment with the Duchess of Cornwall yesterday (20.01.15).
The BBC Radio 2 presenter visited Duchess Camilla at Clarence House to discuss her support for his children's short story contest '500 Words'.
The Duchess - who is married to the heir to the throne, Prince Charles - is a long-time supporter of literacy initiatives and has agreed to allow the final of the competition to be held at St. James' Palace, where 'The Chris Evans Breakfast Show' will broadcast live.
Those selected as the 50 best entrants in the contest will be invited to the grounds of the palace, where a final six will be chosen and have their work read out by a famous actor.
Camilla, 67, is also set to attend a special "story laboratory" to mark the launch of the competition - which is open to children under the age of 13 - at West Park Primary School in London.
Budding authors can enter their works of fiction, which must be no longer than 500 words, through the Radio 2 website.
The judging panel includes 'Top Gear' presenter Richard Hammond and writers Francesca Simon, Charlie Higson, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman.

Prince Charles’ name reinstated on ski lift


Britain's Prince Charles has had his name reinstated on the side of a cable car.
The 66-year-old royal's name was removed from the ski lift at the resort of Klosters in Switzerland and replaced with the name of its sponsor M&G.
However, after much campaigning from locals and British tourists - who were proud of the royal connection - the Prince of Wales' name has now been reinstated on the side of the vehicle, HELLO! magazine reports.
The heir to the throne's moniker is now etched on to two of the resort's bright red cable cars in a bid to make up for the upset.
A source shared: "His name has been elevated to the upper cable car, which is altogether rather fitting. I am not sure if His Royal Highness is aware yet but I know he will be delighted."
Prince Charles has been skiing at the resort for a number of years but was last seen there in March 2013 and is thought to have given up the sport because his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, is less skilled on the slopes and reportedly suffers from vertigo.

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