OHMYGOSSIP — Prince Charles’ time as a young volunteer was “very good for him”.
The 68-year-old royal opened up about his time as a cadet and a coastguard as a young boy and quipped he spent most of the time “hoping an enormous aircraft carrier would run aground” so he could rescue everyone on board.
He said: “Interestingly, I was a cadet myself years ago, dread to think it was in the 1960s I suppose, and I did rather enjoy my time as a cadet, very good for me it was I think.
“And also, I then became a coastguard at the school I was at in Scotland. We actually had to do real-life coastguard work. We had a coastguard lookout on the coast on the cliffs, and most of the time we spent hoping that some enormous aircraft carrier would run aground so that we could rescue the entire crew with what was then a very complicated set of breeches buoys.”
The Prince of Wales – who is the heir to the throne – made the comments as he attended the Youth United Social Action Awards at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening (31.01.17).
Speaking at the event, Rob Wilson, the minister for civil society, spoke of the importance of getting young people involved in these volunteering activities.
He said: “We know that by giving young people an opportunity at an early age, they go on to become leaders of their own social change and help to build strong communities.”
Amongst the winners were Newham Cornwell VC Sea Cadets from London, who assembled shoeboxes of toiletries for the homeless.
Kim Pybus, the executive officer of the organisation, said of the project: “The shoebox project for a homeless shelter was amazing, it was the juniors’ pocket money that actually purchased all the items for the shoeboxes – socks, hats, gloves and other essential items a homeless person would need.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth once hid in a bush to avoid talking to a former Romanian president.
Royal author Robert Hardman claims the 90-year-old monarch went to great lengths to avoid speaking to Nicolae Ceausescu – who was President of Romania from 1974 to 1989 – when he made a state visit in 1978.
The Queen was reportedly walking her beloved pet pooches in the gardens of Buckingham Palace when she saw President Ceausescu and his wife Elena walking towards the part of the garden she was in and felt it best to hide then to be forced to have a polite conversation.
It comes after over one million people signed a petition to ask the UK government to withdraw an invitation for President of the United States Donald Trump to come to the UK for a state visit after he put a 90-day ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries travelling to the US.
In a letter penned to The Times newspaper, Lord Ricketts, who was once the head of the Foreign Office, wrote: “The Queen acts on the government’s advice, and the government protects the Queen from being drawn into political controversy. That convention has worked very well through the 65 years of Her Majesty’s reign. But it is being put under strain because of the ill-judged advice to the Queen to rush out an invitation to President Trump for an early state visit, to suit the timing of the prime minister’s visit to Washington …
“It would have been far wiser to wait to see what sort of president he would turn out to be before advising the Queen to invite him. Now the Queen is put in a very difficult position. The government needs to move fast to protect Her Majesty from the growing controversy, as shown by the overwhelming response to the petition.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth won’t be celebrating her Sapphire Anniversary.
The 90-year-old royal will be marking 65 years on the throne quietly as it only serves as a “reminder” of her father King George VI’s death at the age of 56.
Royal historian Robert Lacey told People magazine: “She’s naturally shy and is the opposite of showy. And, of course, the anniversaries of the accession remind her of her father’s premature death.
“There is only so many of these landmark dates that people will want to mark. I’m sure she would rather people were asking why isn’t it being celebrated rather than, ‘Oh no, not another royal anniversary.’ She always plays safe – and that is a good instinct.
“The Queen is always wary of the commercial aspects, and doesn’t want to appear ‘on the make’ – though she doesn’t mind if charities use anniversaries to raise money. She’s got a well-developed sense of not wanting to exploit these royal anniversaries.”
However, the Royal Mint will be honouring the monarch’s record-breaking reign with a series of commemorative coins.
One is a £5 coin, which has been designed by Glyn Davies, and he has made the decision to shift the crown around to make the Blue Sapphire stone visible.
Of his design, he said: “I drew inspiration from the regalia associated with the Queen’s coronation. As opposed to many traditional designs, I’ve rotated the crown to make a feature of the Stuart sapphire.
“I have also included a quotation from Her Majesty’s 21st birthday speech, which makes the design more personal. I used computer-aided design to create the inscription, but sculpted elements of the crown in clay.”
The Royal Mint has also commissioned a £10 coin, £500 coin and £1,000 coin to mark the occasion.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Ruthie Henshall thinks Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should be “left alone”.
The 49-year-old actress – who dated Prince Edward for five years on and off in the 1990s – believes the 32-year-old royal and the ‘Suits’ actress should have a chance to “explore who they are together”.
She told the Daily Express newspaper: “I think they should be left alone to explore who they are together. Relationships, some last, some don’t and I respect him for coming out and saying what he did.
“How awful it must be to care for somebody and see them run down. I hope they get the space because those boys [Princes Harry and William] have always said they want their private life. I think they have done great things. They seem to have great drive.”
It comes after Prince Harry criticised the online trolls that were attacking his girlfriend.
A statement released by Kensington Palace at the time read: “His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public … the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.
“Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms Markle should be subjected to such a storm. He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game – it is her life and his.”
And the statement also revealed the Prince has “never been comfortable” with the curiosity surrounding his love life.
The spokesperson added: “Since he was young, Prince Harry has been very aware of the warmth that has been extended to him by members of the public. He feels lucky to have so many people supporting him and knows what a fortunate and privileged life he leads.
“He is also aware that there is significant curiosity about his private life. He has never been comfortable with this, but he has tried to develop a thick skin about the level of media interest that comes with it.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince William doesn’t wear his wedding ring because it is “traditionally not the done thing for gentlemen to wear jewellery”.
Etiquette expert William Hanson says it is not unusual for male members of the royal family – including the 34-year-old royal – to not wear their wedding bands as it follows older traditions.
He said: “It is not unusual at all for men from the upper sets in Britain to shun wearing a wedding band. This is not because of any intentions that they may wish to play away from home once married, but because it was traditionally not the done thing for gentlemen to wear jewellery.
“Years ago, this even included watches, but even hardened snobs have relaxed on that front. Not wearing a wedding band is one of those quirky British silent class indicators, like the colour of your shoes on a Thursday, or the way you fold your top pocket handkerchief.”
However, things would be different for the Prince – who married Duchess Catherine, 35, in 2011 and has Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, 20 months, together – if he had a signet ring as it “shows lineage” and is “obviously more important” than a wedding band.
He added to HarpersBazaar.co.uk: “The signet ring shows lineage, which is obviously more important than any comparatively trivial romance. Signet rings should only have a family crest on – ones with your initials are treated as a bit suspect.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Kensington Palace previously revealed why the father-of-two opts not to wear his wedding ring.
They said in a statement: “It is simply down to personal preference. It was something that the couple discussed but Prince William isn’t one for jewellery.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Princess Diana got fashion advice from Prince Charles.
Anna Harvey, who styled the late Princess, has recalled how the Princess – who was married to the Prince of Wales from 1981 to 1996 – called her then-husband into the room to give his verdict on one of her outfits.
She shared: “We’d have a meeting ahead of all the major tours, then I’d take a huge pile of options over to Kensington Palace and we’d spend a morning trying things on. Once, she put on a beautiful black velvet dress with a grey taffeta skirt by Murray Arbeid. ‘Would you mind if I call in my husband to have a look?’ she said. Prince Charles came in, and stood there quite bemused, seeing her in this extraordinary dress and me on the floor pinning the skirt.
“Some of the things we chose together weren’t all that successful. I look at those pieces with big, padded shoulders and think, ‘Why on earth did I put her in that?’ or ‘Did she really wear that?’ But fashion is mercurial. We must have thought she looked good at the time. It’s the same if you look through the pages of Vogue at that time, those Dynasty shoulders look dated and rather ugly.”
And whilst she was tasked with helping style the royal, Anna admits Diana was “very much her own person” in the later years and knew what sort of outfits she wanted to wear.
Writing in her column for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, she shared: “Towards the end, Diana was very much her own person and it was only occasionally that she’d ring and say, ‘I want a red suit, have you seen one anywhere?’ (I think perhaps she did this out of loyalty, just to keep me on board for my sake.)
“This was long before the days of being able to just go on to the internet and see 300 red suits. I had to remember, or if I knew a designer well I could call them and say, ‘Remember that suit you did in navy last season, could you make it in red?'”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth is set to unveil the new Iraq Afghanistan Memorial in March.
It was confirmed on Monday (30.01.17) that the 90-year-old royal and her husband Prince Philip will attend a Service of Dedication on Horse Guards Parade before unveiling the memorial at Victoria Embankment Gardens in London.
The service will also be attended by Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, Prince William and his wife Duchess Catherine, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and her husband Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.
And 2,500 other invited guests will also attend the service including current members of the Armed Forces as well as veterans and representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, charities, aid organisations and members of the National Health Service.
After the service, the monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh will go to the gardens to unveil the memorial in front of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families whilst the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, along with other members of the royal family, will attend a reception on Horse Guards Parade.
The memorial – which will be revealed to the public on Thursday March 9 – will honour all the UK service personnel who fought in the Gulf region, Iraq and Afghanistan between 1990 and 2015.
It will also pay tribute to the civilians who have worked to help deliver aid to the war-torn countries as well as those who have helped to improve education, healthcare and infrastructure in the country.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince William and Duchess Catherine will attend the BAFTAs.
The royal couple are set to attend the British Academy Film Awards, which take place in London on Sunday February 12, despite previous claims the Duchess was told she couldn’t attend over fears she would “totally distract” from the movie stars.
Amanda Berry, chief executive of BAFTA, told the Express.co.uk: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are fantastic supporters of BAFTA. We very much look forward to welcoming Their Royal Highnesses at the EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday 12 February.”
It comes after a source claimed the Duchess wasn’t allowed to attend the glitzy award show as senior staff were worried she would “totally distract” audiences from the film stars.
A source said: “William has faced serious criticism from the film industry for missing the BAFTAs the last two years, despite being our president. As a result of that feedback, he made it clear he wants to go this year and even bring Kate.
“It would be a real show of his commitment towards BAFTA and create headlines around the world. But it was then expressed by senior staff within BAFTA that Kate’s attendance will totally distract from all the film stars there.”
And whilst it has been suggested that Prince William – who has three-year-old Prince George and 20-month-old Princess Charlotte with his wife – would just opt to bring the Duchess with him anyway, the whole thing has caused “awkwardness” between the two parties.
Another source told The Sun newspaper: “Most people think William will end up getting his way by bringing Kate but it’s created awkwardness because her attendance shouldn’t have been in question.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince William and Duchess Catherine have had a hedge planted at their London residence to ensure their family’s privacy.
The royal couple are currently having a 820ft-long wall of conifers installed alongside the western side of Kensington Palace.
The installation is thought to have cost the taxpayers £20,000 and will stop any unwanted eyes prying on Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, 20 months, the Daily Mail reports.
Privacy has always been very important for the royal couple, who have previously issued letters to those who come too close to their Anmer Hall residence in Norfolk.
A Kensington Palace spokeswoman said at the time: “The warm-hearted and understandable interest in the Royal Family and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge needs to be balanced with their right to private family life – this is especially important for a family with very young children.
“This is a letter given by police to individuals found operating on or around the Sandringham estate, including Anmer, on behalf of the royal household. It reminds them of their responsibilities and the rights of the estate. Media are encouraged to speak to royal communications for further guidance about where they can operate on this private estate.”
Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace will now become the family’s main residence after he announced he will be leaving his job with the East Anglian Air Ambulance this summer.
He said in a statement: “It has been a huge privilege to fly with the East Anglia Air Ambulance. Following on from my time in the military, I have had experiences in this job I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and that will add a valuable perspective to my royal work for decades to come. I would like to thank the people of East Anglia for being so supportive of my role and for letting me get on with the job when they have seen me in the community or at our region’s hospitals.
“I would especially like to thank all of my collegues at EAAA, Babcock and Cambridge Airport for their friendship and support. I have loved being part of a team of professional, talented people that save lives every day. My admiration for our country’s medical and emergency services community could not be any stronger.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth looked the picture of health as she attended a church service over the weekend.
The 90-year-old royal was seen arriving at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England with her husband Prince Philip.
Their daughter Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence were seen walking down the country lane to the service.
It comes after the Queen was taken ill over the Christmas period and was forced to miss a church service on Christmas Day for the first time in 30 years.
A spokesperson said at the time: “[It was] a precautionary measure but there was no sense of undue concern.”
And in a statement a couple of weeks previous, a spokesperson added: “The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have heavy colds, and so have decided not to travel to Sandringham today.”
The Queen was recently spotted at her annual Women’s Institute meeting in Sandringham, Norfolk, which was her first official public engagement of the year.
The monarch joined members at West Newton village hall, where the group were also given a talk by historian Lucy Worsley earlier in the day.
Mary Relph, who saw the Queen enter the meeting, said: “She looked lovely, she really did after her severe cold, I felt she looked lovely.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth’s record-breaking reign is set to be marked with a new £5 coin.
The 90-year-old royal will be honoured by the Royal Mint to mark the 65th anniversary of her accession to the throne and the designer Glyn Davies has opted to shift the crown around on his design so the Blue Sapphire stone is made visible.
He said: “I drew inspiration from the regalia associated with the Queen’s coronation. As opposed to many traditional designs, I’ve rotated the crown to make a feature of the Stuart sapphire.
“I have also included a quotation from Her Majesty’s 21st birthday speech, which makes the design more personal. I used computer-aided design to create the inscription, but sculpted elements of the crown in clay.”
The £5 coin has a picture of the monarch on one side whilst on the other side, there is an image of the crown and the words “My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service” taken from the famous speech the Queen made when she became the monarch.
The Royal Mint has also commissioned a £10 coin, £500 coin and £1,000 coin, which were designed by Gregory Cameron, to mark the occassion.
He said: “The arms in my design are shown in an oval cartouche, surrounded by flourishes that reflect the celebratory mood of the coin.
“The shield is supported by two branches. On the left, as we look at the shield, is the olive branch, a symbol of faithfulness and reconciliation, and on the right, a branch of oak, representing stability and loyalty in service. These are all qualities that we can associate with Her Majesty.”
The commemorative £5 coin will be sold for £13 whilst the £1,000 UK gold proof kilo coin has a recommended retail price of £49,995.

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OHMYGOSSIP — A statue of Princess Diana will be erected at Kensington Palace.
20 years after her death in a car crash in Paris, Diana’s sons, Princes William and Harry, have commissioned a statue which will take pride of place in the grounds of the palace in West London where she lived.
Both William and Harry currently live in apartments in the palace, while some parts of the building are open to the public.
A message on the official Kensington Palace Twitter feed stated: “At the request of The Duke of Cambridge & Prince Harry a statue of Diana, Princess of Wales is to be erected at Kensington Palace.”
And the princes said in a statement: “It has been 20 years since our mother’s death and the time is right to recognise her positive impact in the UK and around the world with a permanent statue.
“Our mother touched so many lives. We hope the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on her life and her legacy.”
The statement added: “The princes have convened a committee to commission and privately raise funds for the creation of the statue. The committee will advise on the selection of the sculptor and will work with Historic Royal Palaces on the statue’s installation in the public gardens at Kensington Palace.”
Their grandmother Queen Elizabeth added that she “supports” her grandchildren commemorating their mother.
The Guardian reported that the committee will be chaired by Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the princes’ former principal private secretary and will include Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Julia Samuel, who is a godparent of William’s son Prince George.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Princess Anne has opened a new Citizen’s Advice Bureau in Epping Forest.
The 66-year-old royal is a patron of the National Association of the Citizen’s Advice Bureaux – who provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities – and was in attendance to cut the ribbon on a new building in Epping on Thursday (26.01.17) with MP Eleanor Laing.
Eleanor told the East London and West Sussex Guardian newspaper: “The Citizens Advice Bureau provides a valuable service to the local community not just in Epping but throughout Epping Forest and it is great that they have been able to move into such a marvellous new base.”
“I have watched our local CABs developing over the years and I was very pleased to have the opportunity to speak to some of the staff and volunteers who put so much time and effort into helping other people. They do a brilliant job.
“The Princess’s visit is a good way of saying thank you to them from the whole community.”
Whilst in Epping Forest, the Princess Royal also toured the new glasshouse in Nazeing where the Lea Valley Growers’ Association produce over 200 million cucumbers, sweet peppers, and other salad crops each year.
Princess Anne also took the time to unveil a commemorative plaque, and signed the same visitor’s book that her grandmother, The Queen Mother, signed in 1959.
Lea Valley Growers Association secretary Lee Stiles said: “This new glasshouse represents an exciting development for the Lea Valley and we were delighted to have the opportunity to tell Her Royal Highness all about it today.
“Much has changed since the Queen Mother’s visit almost 60 years ago, but one thing that has remained constant is the enthusiasm and commitment of our growers to produce the best quality fresh food for the British public.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince Philip could be banned from saying the word “ghastly” after high society magazine Tatler brands it as a “mean little word”.
The 95-year-old royal holds the adjective in high regard as one of his favourite words – having previously used it to describe a trip to Beijing as well as the English city of Stoke-on-Trent – but society bible Tatler have branded the word as “unattractive” and “unfashionable”, and wish to ban its use in polite company.
Journalist Anabel Rivkin writes about the term: “Be assured that, should this word pass your lips, it will say so much more about you than about the party or person to whom you refer.”
Anabel goes on to state that whilst the word was previously used frequently when people felt the need to “pass judgement”, it has now become “rather gauche” and should be avoided at all costs.
She concluded in the magazine: “‘Ghastly’ was the social word of the decade. We devoured it. We dropped it like a little bomb whenever we felt the need to pass judgement.
“But guess what? That ghastly ship has sailed. The ghastly horse has bolted. The ghastly milk is spilt. It is most definitely time for a ghastly moratorium.
“‘Ghastly’ is a kind of external manifestation of an internal mean-spiritedness. Unfashionable. Unattractive. Rather gauche in the end. Don’t do it.”
Prince Philip – the husband of Queen Elizabeth – will likely not listen to the high end magazine, however, as it seems “ghastly” has become part of his every day vocabulary.
During a conversation with the Aircraft Research Association in 2002, the Duke of Edinburgh said: “If you travel as much as we do, you appreciate the improvements in aircraft design of less noise and more comfort, provided you don’t travel in something called economy class, which sounds ghastly.”
And asked during a trip to Australia in 1992 if he would like to stroke a koala, he replied: “Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — A velvet hat signed by Princess Diana and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is set to go up for auction.
The red velvet hat will go under the hammer in March at a celebrity collection auction set up by Guernsey’s Auction House in New York City, and although it is unknown what the starting bid will be for the collectable, it will likely be a hefty sum.
The accessory – which features a delicate red silk ribbon tied in a bow at the front – has been signed by both the late Princess Diana, who was fatally injured in a car crash in 1997, and Duchess Catherine, who is married to Diana’s son Prince William.
Princess Diana wrote on the hat’s brim in silver pen: “Much love, Diana”
Duchess Catherine, 35, appears to have simply written her name in black beside the late royal’s inking.
According to Vanity Fair magazine, Guernsey’s Auction House describes the piece as: “A simple hat [signed by] two of the world’s most elegant and beloved women, beautifully displayed in a House of Windsor glass case measuring 25 x 25 x 9 in.”
It is unknown as yet whether or not either of the beautiful royals ever wore the hat, or if it belonged to a fan of the famous family who managed to get both Princess Diana and Duchess Catherine to sign it.
It isn’t the first time items related to Princess Diana have been auctioned either, as six of her handwritten letters sold for a combined price of over £15,000 when they went under the hammer earlier this month.
One letter – which sold for £2,000 – detailed her youngest son Prince Harry’s mischievous ways at school.
The letter read: “[Harry and William] are well and enjoying boarding school a lot, although Harry is constantly in trouble.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has become an Honorary Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers.
The 69-year-old royal was bestowed the honour during a ceremony held in Skinners’ Hall in London on Thursday (26.01.17) where she was presented with a vellum certificate and an engraved ladle – which was a tool formerly used by plumbers when casting objects from molten lead.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Duchess said of her gift: “I am delighted to accept and promise you I won’t be using it any time soon.”
The ceremony was performed by the Master of the historic organisation – which has been in existence for around 650 years – and friend of the Duchess, Brian Wadsworth, who described the event as a “proud moment”.
He wrote in a report published on the Company’s website: Today was a proud moment for our Company, when Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall was admitted as an Honorary Liveryman at our Court meeting at Skinners’ Hall.
“Following her clothing she joined the Master to sign our Admissions Book and was presented with an illuminated certificate on vellum, a copy of which is retained by our Company.
“After a formal Court photograph, the Master introduced each member of our Court before escorting Her Royal Highness down the main staircase to the lower landing, where he presented the Company’s gift – an engraved, silver gilt ladle bearing the Company’s arms, the dedication and date and on the handle the words ‘I was wrought by command of the Livery’.”
Brian also states that Duchess Camilla stayed at the event long after her scheduled departure time, and spoke “individually” to around 150 Liverymen.
He continued: “In a remarkable gesture of goodwill towards our Company, Her Royal Highness stayed on past her scheduled departure time and managed to meet and speak individually to very nearly 150 Liverymen, partners and guests at the reception before departing.
“She was very complimentary about the warmth and goodwill shown by all present and hopes to be able to join us again on another occasion.”

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