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Prince Charles pays tribute to mining disaster victims


Britain's Prince Charles has paid tribute to victims of a Welsh mining disaster in 1913.
The Prince of Wales was joined by the Duchess of Cornwall yesterday (03.07.14) as they laid wreaths at the Welsh National Miners Memorial in Senghenydd, in the Aber Valley, south-east Wales and met relatives of the victims.
The disaster claimed the lives of 439 miners and one rescuer after an underground explosion ripped through the village's colliery over a century ago.
The 65-year-old royal - who is the heir apparent to the throne - were greeted at the site by the patron of the village's heritage committee, Roy Noble, while a choir sang the traditional welsh song 'Senghenydd'.
Prince Charles said: "My wife and I have so enjoyed this opportunity to meet you all and if I may say so to have a chance to pay our respects at the memorial.
"I think we owe such an enormous debt of gratitude, respect and appreciation to those people - so many from the same families - who went underground and were courageous and determined enough to do so.
"Both of us are enormously proud to have this opportunity to be here."

Prince William joins The Queen for Knights of the Thistle ceremony

Prince William joined the Queen at the Knights of the Thistle ceremony in Edinburgh yesterday(03.07.14). The 32-year-old royal supported his 88-year-old grandmother - Queen Elizabeth II - as she took part in the historical ceremony that honours men or...

Princes William and Harry launch initiative on behalf of The Queen


Britain's Prince William and Prince Harry will unveil a new initiative on behalf of the Queen.
The royal brothers have teamed up to launch the 'The Queen's Young Leaders Programme' - a scheme devoted to finding new commonwealth leaders - at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday (08.07.14), where they will personally deliver all the details associated with the initiative on behalf of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, reports Hello magazine.
It isn't the first time the pair have undertaken royal duties on behalf of the 88-year-old monarch.
During her diamond jubilee celebrations in 2012, the pair travelled worldwide to attend royal engagements, with Prince William, 32 and his wife Duchess Catherine visiting Malaysia, Singapore and the Solomon Islands and Prince Harry, 29, attending events in Jamaica, Belize, and The Bahamas.
The heir to the throne - the Prince of Wales - was also called on to represent the Queen at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka in November last year, following a review of the amount of long-haul travel the monarch was undertaking.
The Princes and the Duchess of Cambridge, 32, will also travel to the St Symphorien Military Cemetery - a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery near Mons, Belgium - next month, where they will take part in a commemorative event to mark the centenary of the First World War.
British ambassador to Belgium, Jonathan Brenton, said: "I am absolutely delighted that The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry are coming to Belgium for the First World War Centenary commemorations this August.
"These commemorations remind us of the important bond between our two countries and the sacrifices we shared together one hundred years ago.
"It is vital that younger generations learn the lessons of the war by visiting memorials like St Symphorien near Mons, lest we forget".

Prince Andrew teams up with Will.I.Am


Britain's Prince Andrew and Will.I.Am have joined forces to encourage young people to start up their own businesses.
The 54-year-old royal has teamed up with the 'Scream & Shout' hitmaker as part of the 'inspiring Digital Enterprise Award' which aims to equip young people with important digital skills such as coding, computing and marketing.
The project has been launched with the tech group Nominet and will target people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The pair joined Susanna Reid on ITV's 'Good Morning Britain' earlier today to discuss the scheme.
Prince Andrew explained: "If we don't give young people the skills to be able to work in this environment they are going to feel more ostracised than they may or may not be today and fundamentally I believe that this is not the preserve of the Etons, Harrows, Oxfords and Cambridges."
Grammy Award-winner Will.I.Am - who was previously invited to London's Buckingham Palace to discuss the project - admitted he was "over the moon" to have met the royal and was shocked when he took him up on the offer.
Wil.I.Am said: "I got invited to Buckingham Palace where Prince Andrew was there and I was so over the moon and full of excitement and I was telling him, 'young kids in the cities, we need to find opportunities for them'... I didn't think that conversation would follow up with 'Hey let's partner up'!"
The initiative is set to work with a number of business and educational partners in order to provide training and support to participants aged 16 to 25.
It also offers the opportunity for 20 teams of young people to pitch their digital business ideas to a panel of judges who will award a £15,000 prize to three groups of finalists so they can launch their own company.

Charles and Camilla visit mining memorial


Britain's Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla visited the Senghenydd memorial in Wales today (03.07.14).
The Prince of Wales and his wife paid tribute to the 440 people - including 439 miners and one rescuer - who lost their lives in a tragic mining explosion on 14 October 1913 by laying a wreath at the memorial.
The sombre occasion took place on the fourth day of the royal couple's summer tour of Wales.
The national memorial dedicated in Senghenydd, near Caerphilly, was unveiled last year to mark the centenary of the tragedy.
In addition to visiting the memorial, Charles, 65, and Camilla, 66, opened the Aber Valley Heritage Centre which chronicles the history of the valleys in south Wales.
Speaking during the visit, Charles is quoted by BBC News as saying: "My wife and I have so enjoyed this opportunity to meet you all and if I may say so to have a chance to pay our respects at the memorial.
"I think we owe such an enormous debt of gratitude, respect and appreciation to those people - so many from the same families - who went underground and were courageous and determined enough to do so.
"Both of us are enormously proud to have this opportunity to be here."

Madame Tussauds give the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a ‘glamorous makeover’


Madame Tussauds have given their models of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a "glamorous makeover".
The world renowned waxwork museum has updated its figures of Prince William and Duchess Catherine after they were installed in the London attraction to mark the couple's first wedding anniversary two years ago.
The waxwork pair - who are worth around £150,000 - were previously immortalised wearing the outfits in which they announced their engagement but have now been restyled with elegant evening wear.
Museum artists have dressed Duchess Catherine in a turquoise Issa London gown teamed with shoes and a clutch bag by LK Bennett, while the Duke of Cambridge is dressed in a stylish Gieves and Hawkes black dinner suit.
Madame Tussauds' marketing manager Matthew Clarkson said of the change: "The Royal Family have always been the highlight of a visit for many guests to Madame Tussauds London, and the young royal couple have been particularly popular since their launch two years ago.
"After two years in the attraction, it seemed the perfect time to give them a glamorous makeover."
The figures stand in the designated royal zone of the museum along with The Queen, Prince Harry and the Prince of Wales.

The Queen gets security pass for Commonwealth Games


The Queen has been given a security pass for Glasgow's Commonwealth Games.
Her Majesty and Prince Philip were presented with the passes as they arrived at the uniform and accreditation centre at the city's Kelvin Hall yesterday, before being shown around by operations manager Ed Saayeng and head of accreditation Adrian Wood.
A spokeswoman for this year's games said: "Obviously she won't be subject to quite the same security checks as everyone else."
The 88-year-old monarch - who wore a Karl Ludwig coat and floral silk dress - looked bemused by the pass which she received as a memento of her visit, reports The Express.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II and her spouse caused a stir as they made their way around the venue.
Volunteer Louise Martin from Ayrshire said: "It was really exciting."
While Mr Saayeng was pleased to see how interested the royal was in the upcoming international games.
He said: "It was a brilliant experience. The Queen was very interested in what we are doing here."
During their visit Her Majesty and Prince Philip, 93, were also presented with a tartan tie and shawl before making their way to the City's Emirates Arena.

Princess Cristina appeals against embezzlement charges


Spain's Princess Cristina is appealing against her embezzlement charges.
The 49-year-old royal - who appeared in court in March this year over alleged tax evasion and money laundering offences linked with her husband, Inaki Urdangarin and the firm Aizoon, which she co-owns - has decided to appeal against the charges that were formalised by a judge last week.
Princess Cristina - the sister of Spain's King Felipe VI, who was sworn in last month following the abdication of their father Juan Carlos - was originally supposed to give evidence in the case until the investigating judge, Jose Castro, decided she should be tried alongside her husband and other suspects.
Inaki Urdangarin is accused of embezzling millions in public funds with a former business partner and Cristina is believed to have knowingly benefitted from the scheme, reports the BBC.
The court announced via text message yesterday (02.07.14): "Princess Cristina's defence has lodged an appeal with the Court of Palma."
Her lawyer Miquel Roca explained: "It is not a problem of optimism or pessimism, it is a question of absolute conviction of the innocence of our client."
If convicted by the provincial court in Palma de Mallorca, the mother of four could face up to 11 years in jail.

The Duchess of Cambridge cheered on Andy Murray at Wimbledon


Britain's Duchess of Cambridge watched Andy Murray get knocked out of Wimbledon.
The 32-year-old royal looked visibly upset yesterday (02.07.14) as the 27-year-old tennis star failed to defend his title against Grigor Dimitrov, 23, after beating Novak Djokovic in last year's final.
Duchess Catherine - who was joined by her husband the Duke of Cambridge, 32 - could be seen grimacing in the royal box each time the tennis player - who is seeded fifth in the world - dropped points in straight-sets throughout the quarter-final match, reports The Mirror.
The Duke of Cambridge was also spotted holding his head in his hands at the end of the match as Britain's hopes were dashed for a repeat of last year's win - the first for a men's singles champion in 77-years.
In keeping with tradition, Andy bowed to the royal couple as he made his way off court after insisting that his Bulgarian opponent do the same.
He said: "It used to be a tradition. Now it's changed unless there's royalty in there. I made sure to remind him when we were walking off."
He added about his performance: "I just didn't play well today and he played much better than me from the beginning to the end. That's not going to add up to a good day at the office."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were joined in the royal box by Princess Eugenie, comedian Michael McIntyre and England rugby union coach Stuart Lancaster.

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