Tag: Queen Camilla

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King Charles & Camilla will spend two days in Vatican City & meet Pope Bob

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This past April, King Charles and Queen Camilla visited Italy. The backstory on the royal tour is fascinating – at the end of 2023, Kensington Palace teased a potential royal tour of Italy for the Prince and Princess of Wales. Then Kate’s medical situation and disappearance happened, and the Italian trip was no longer on the table. Suddenly, Charles and Camilla were the ones planning a visit to Rome. They ended up scheduling it around their wedding anniversary, so it felt less like a royal tour and more like an Italian vacation with some public events. The original plan also involved a stop in Vatican City to meet with Pope Francis. Franny got very ill, so the Vatican canceled on C&C. But C&C wouldn’t take no for an answer – they ended up visiting Francis anyway and getting a brief photo-op. They also got the Vatican to issue a statement about how Franny wished them well on their anniversary. The whole thing was actually pretty tacky, especially given that Francis died soon after.

Well, Charles and Camilla are bizarrely undeterred. They’ve apparently rescheduled a visit to the Vatican and they have plans to meet the new pope in person. Pope Leo (aka Pope Bob) has apparently agreed to all of this? Hm.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to meet with Pope Leo during an official state visit to Vatican City next month. The Sun reported over the weekend that the King and Queen will spend around two days in the holy city in October, an abbreviated trip following their official state visit to Italy earlier this year.

King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 78, were originally set to make an official visit to the Vatican in April as part of the Italy trip. However, it was postponed due to Pope Francis’ ill health at the time. Instead, the royal couple met privately with the Catholic leader on April 9.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, at the age of 88, following months of health struggles — which included a 38-day hospitalization, where he was treated for double pneumonia. Following Pope Francis’ death, the cardinals of the Catholic Church gathered for the papal conclave, where they selected Pope Leo XIV — previously known as Cardinal Robert Prevost — as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

While the King and Queen have yet to officially meet Pope Leo, 70, in person, the Catholic leader recently extended a meaningful gesture to the royal family. Earlier this month, the Pope sent a surprise tribute to the late Katharine, Duchess of Kent, who died on Sept. 4 at age 92. The Duchess’s funeral mass on Sept. 16, conducted by the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, was historic as the first Catholic funeral for a member of the British royal family in modern history.

[From People]

Charles does have a commitment to embracing all people of faith, not just Anglicans. But his obsession with popes is weird, right? He’s all about popes. Why is it so important for him to get facetime with Pope Bob? Most of Europe’s Catholic royals have already met with Pope Bob, or they made a point of attending one of his first Masses. I guess Charles didn’t want to be left out. (Incidentally, I still haven’t completely absorbed the fact that the new pope is a guy named Bob from Chicago.)

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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Kate Middleton Melania Trump politics Prince William Queen Camilla royals

Queen Camilla shooed Princess Kate away when Kate spoke to Melania Trump

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Donald and Melania Trump’s state visit to the UK has been a disaster, but credit where it’s due: I’ve been laughing my ass off for 24 hours over all of the photos and videos. Yes, the Trumps are a global embarrassment and laughingstock. But the Windsors are like Britain’s version of the Clampetts – no grace, no manners, just backstabbing and eye-rolling and doll wigs. It’s funny when terrible people meet up and do a joint flop.

Speaking of, during the big welcome ceremony at Windsor Castle, there were dozens of hilarious moments, all coming one after the other. First off, King Charles and Camilla wouldn’t allow the Prince and Princess of Wales onto the main dais for the photos and musical interlude. William and Kate were shoved off to the side. Probably because of “Call Me Statesman” Peg ran around, trying to convince people that he has a major role in the state visit (he does not). Alongside of the hysterical staging, Will and Kate then tried to “circulate” with the Trumps. Kate sauntered over to Melania and Camilla, and after Kate and Melania shared a few words, Cam literally shooed Kate away. Even People Mag had a big story about it!! Drama at the trailer park!

Ok you can go now, the grown ups need to talk ???? Cammy is no joke ???????????? pic.twitter.com/g9jaMqrdvx

— SK ???????????? (@Rimmesfk) September 17, 2025

I won’t pretend to understand exactly what happened here, but you can tell several things all at once. There’s no love lost between Camilla and Kate, that’s for sure. It feels like Kate was trying to get her moment with Melania, possibly to create a “Stateswoman Keen” photo-op for the papers. And Camilla just lacks social graces, she lacks the finesse needed to maneuver through chit-chat and a doll wig trying to steal attention. Incidentally, alongside this awkward moment, Kensington Palace briefed the press that William and Kate had a “private meeting” with the Trumps after the welcome ceremony. That was the keen consolation prize for being snubbed by daddy on the international stage.

I’m here for Camilla’s side eye???????? pic.twitter.com/jwg2W2cFkT

— SK ???????????? (@Rimmesfk) September 17, 2025

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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Princess Kate wore Phillipa Lepley to the Trumps’ state banquet in Windsor

Here are some photos from the state banquet at Windsor Castle last night. The staging looked (to my eyes) almost identical to the Macrons’ state visit and banquet several months ago. The biggest difference might have been the Prince and Princess of Wales, both of whom seemed extra-keen to show off their statesmanship. Like the Macron visit, Will and Kate posed for their own stand-alone portrait in their finery too. They did that because King Charles and Queen Camilla didn’t include the Waleses in the formal portraits with the Trumps, taken before the banquet.

Kate got to buy a new dress for the occasion: a cream-and-gold gown by Phillipa Lepley. I’m pretty sure this is only the second time Kate has worn this British designer, after Kate famously wore a Lepley gown during the Caribbean Flop Tour of 2022. I actually like the idea of this dress – a cream or white gown with a lace “coat” overlay. Valentino famously did a great version of this with delicate black lace. The Lepley design would have looked better without the lace turtleneck, and it really should have been more like a “coat.” Kate also wore the Lovers Knot Tiara, one of the tiaras she consistently gets to borrow.

Interestingly, William changed up his look for the state banquet. At the Macron banquet, William apparently threw a hissy fit about wearing the “Windsor uniform” for white-tie banquets, the special tailcoat with a red collar and cuffs. Previously, William just wore a normal black jacket. For this banquet, he actually wore the Windsor coat. Harry’s visit really put the fear of god into poor pitiful Peg.

As for Melania Trump, she wore an off-the-shoulder Carolina Herrera dress in canary yellow. A strange choice for a state dinner, where most first ladies or important women would do more “diplomatic-dressing.” Like, Mel could have showcased a young American designer or a British designer or worn something flaggy, with stars or stripes. Instead, she just went for “LOOK AT ME!” Camilla wore a blue Fiona Clare gown which I swear I’ve seen like a dozen times before. Recycling! She paired it with the Belgian Sapphire Tiara. She’s been doing a sapphire theme for this state visit and I have no idea why.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Matt Porteous for Kensington Palace.









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donald trump Kate Middleton King Charles III Melania Trump politics Prince William Queen Camilla royals

Princess Kate wore Emilia Wickstead to greet Donald & Melania Trump in Windsor

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Donald and Melania Trump arrived in Windsor around noon GMT, and they arrived via Marine One. They were greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales. This is Prince William’s big moment, his “major role” in the Trump state visit to the UK – greeting the Trumps and bringing them to Windsor Castle. Other than that, William wasn’t tasked with much of anything else. Sure, he and Kate will attend the state banquet at the castle, and the Waleses are part of the formal greeting with a carriage ride. But none of that is heavy-duty statesman work. Sad!

For this part of the state visit, Kate wore a maroon Emilia Wickstead coatdress and a Jane Taylor hat. Queen Camilla confirmed her appearance at the last minute, having skipped the Duchess of Kent’s funeral yesterday. Cam wore a coat by Fiona Clare and a Philip Treacy hat. Donald Trump apparently greeted Kate with a compliment: “You’re beautiful.”

As for Melania, she wore a dark Dior suit and a dramatic hat. Hello Mag hilariously notes, “The First Lady broke royal protocol as failed to curtsey to both Princess Kate and Queen Camilla.” There’s zero protocol about a First Lady curtsying to anyone. I can’t stand Melania, but she wasn’t wrong to not show any deference to these people.

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Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Getty.

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Queen Camilla will skip the Duchess of Kent’s funeral today, citing ‘acute sinusitis’

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Last November and December, following King Charles and Queen Camilla’s “royal tour” in Australia and Samoa, Camilla was very sick. At first, the palace just claimed that Camilla had a cold or she was feeling under the weather, and that’s why she had to cancel so many events. Then they said it was actually pneumonia. I still believe that it was Covid, and I still believe that Camilla has had Covid three or four times in the past five years. Well, today is the Duchess of Kent’s funeral. And Camilla pulled out at the last minute, citing “acute sinusitis.”

Britain’s Queen Camilla has pulled out of attending Tuesday’s funeral service for the Duchess of Kent as she recovers from acute sinusitis, Buckingham Palace said. The queen, King Charles’ wife, is hoping to have recovered sufficiently to attend all the planned engagements for the state visit by U.S. President Donald Trump which begins on Wednesday, a royal source said.

Camilla, who travelled down from Scotland and is resting at Windsor Castle where the state visit will be held, had been scheduled to join the king and family members at the funeral service at London’s Westminster Cathedral for the duchess who died on September 4.

“Her thoughts and prayers will be with the Duke of Kent and all the family,” a Palace spokesperson said.

[From Reuters]

Per Becky English at the Mail, Camilla informed the Duke of Kent and he “fully understands The Queen’s decision.” Hm. Is something happening? Or is this just another case where Camilla is just catching everything going around? I used to be like that too, if there was a respiratory cold going around, I would catch it. Then again, I’ve believed that Camilla has had more significant health issues in recent years than the palace wants to admit. She’s a 78 year old woman and she travels frequently and out-works the heir and his wife.

Speaking of the heir and his wife, the Prince and Princess of Wales are attending the Duchess of Kent’s funeral today. They only confirmed their appearance at the last minute as well.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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King Charles III Prince Harry Prince William Queen Camilla royals

Times: Queen Camilla is also displeased with Charles & Harry’s meeting

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Something which has been glossed over in the past week’s royal coverage is that Queen Camilla was not around for any of the royal maneuvers. Camilla has been hiding out in Balmoral (or Birkhall, more specifically) for the past month. She’s barely been seen after she went on a luxury vacation on a yacht with her family. Camilla did not join her husband in London last week for his day-trip, and she was not around when King Charles met Prince Harry at Clarence House. I think Charles set it up that way on purpose. Despite Camilla’s cozy relationship with the tabloids and the tabloids’ insistence that Charles would do anything to “protect” Camilla from Harry, Charles doesn’t consult with Camilla about every single thing and they spend a great deal of time apart. Which brings me to Roya Nikkhah’s exclusive in the Sunday Times. The piece is called: “Why Prince William can’t forgive Harry.” Roya was told the same thing that every other royal reporter was told, that William is absolutely furious about Harry (but too lazy to do much about anything). Check out the curious mention of Camilla in this piece though.

What will William make of his brother’s return? A royal source said William “has been very jolly all week” but publicly he has made no comment, preferring to focus on his own engagements. He will have kept a close eye on Harry’s coverage and the public’s reaction, though. While his younger brother bounced through balloon fights with children at the WellChild awards and splashy announcements of a £1.1m donation to Children in Need and more than £360,000 for the injured children of Gaza and Ukraine, William dutifully trudged from Berkshire to Lambeth to Cardiff for engagements which also championed young people and mental health awareness.

As much as Harry insists he remains committed to “a life of public service”, the reality is he walked away from the daily grind five years ago, with profound consequences for William and his family. Those wounds run deep.

For all Harry’s assaults on the royal family during Queen Elizabeth’s final years, the missiles fired in his memoir, Spare, the bombshells of the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary and all the interviews in between, friends say it is the fact there is no longer a wingman, a brother to share the present and future heavy load, that has always stung William most. He may never forgive him for the impact that has on Catherine, who is in remission from cancer, and Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, whose future responsibilities may have differed slightly if the Sussexes had stuck around.

As a close friend told me after Harry and Meghan left these shores, William “definitely feels the pressure now it’s all on him. His future looks different because of his brother’s choices. It’s not easy.”

Now the King has taken the first tentative step on the path towards reconciliation, the spotlight will turn to William, along with questions of whether he will, or should, do the same. There will be public commentary, expectation and hope that if a father considers forgiveness, why not a brother? But as another of William’s closest friends once told me, when it comes to relationships with the future king, “it is all about trust and loyalty”. William feels he has lost both with Harry and that may prove too difficult a roadblock to pass.

The King is now back at Balmoral for a few days before returning to London for the Duchess of Kent’s funeral on Tuesday, then hosting the Trumps at Windsor Castle from Wednesday on their state visit.

Charles will have briefed the Queen on his meeting with Harry, who has described her as “dangerous” and “a villain” who “left bodies in the street” in her quest to improve her public image. Camilla could be forgiven for not being jubilant about her husband’s reunion with Harry. As a royal source said: “He has been extremely unkind to her in print and in word and she doesn’t forgive easily.” And as a close friend of the King said: “The royal family make elephants look like they have short memories.” Some members of the family may, in time, forgive Harry for the damage and hurt they feel he has caused, but none of them will forget.

[From The Times]

It’s interesting to consider that Charles might have blown off Camilla and William’s “concerns” by meeting Harry. It’s also striking that this is yet another instance where Camilla and William are on the same side, the side of racism, jealousy, pettiness, hatred and press-briefings. As for the main thrust of this piece, William and his inability to forgive Harry, I actually love how the stories keep changing. There’s never been any consistency with William’s side – he’s been absolutely furious with Harry for years. Years before Netflix, years before the Oprah interview, years before Harry & Meghan dipped. It’s almost like William’s original grievance, the real breaking point between brothers, was the fact that Harry fell in love with Meghan, an accomplished, beautiful, multilingual, kind, gracious American woman. William has not been able to keep his sh-t together for a f–king decade because his brother married a bad bitch. Incidentally, Camilla also couldn’t stand it – it was like Diana all over again.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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Support for the British monarchy has dramatically crumbled in recent years

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Many have joked this week that the left-behind Windsors will need to commission at least a dozen emotional-support polls in the wake of Prince Harry’s wildly successful UK visit. Harry made them all look like what they are: prissy, dull, lacking in charisma, petty, jealous, unimaginative and lazy. Well, funny story. New polling numbers landed in the middle of Harry’s visit, and the numbers are really bad. Hilariously bad, one might say.

Support for the monarchy has dropped to its lowest level since records began, with backing for abolition growing five-fold, according to new research. When the National Centre for Social Research first asked in 1983 how important it was to have a monarchy, more than four in five people – 86 per cent – considered it “very important” or “quite important”. Its latest survey found that only half, 51 per cent, now take that view.

Meanwhile, the proportion who said the monarchy was “not very important” or “not at all important” has risen from one in 10 in 1983 to around three in 10. Support for outright abolition of the monarchy has also grown, from just 3 per cent in 1983 to 15 per cent.

Alex Scholes, NatCen’s research director, said the latest data showed how public opinion had shifted over four decades.

“Support for the monarchy is now at its lowest level since our records began, with more people than ever questioning its future,” he said. “At the same time, when asked to choose directly, a majority of the public still prefer to keep the monarchy over moving to an elected head of state. This tension, between declining importance and continued preference, will be crucial in shaping debates about the monarchy’s role in the years ahead.”

For the first time, NatCen’s British Social Attitudes Survey also asked the public to choose between keeping the monarchy or replacing it with an elected head of state. A majority, 58 per cent, said they favoured retaining the monarchy, while 38 per cent would prefer an elected head of state. But the research shows a sharp divide across age and political groups. While 59 per cent of those aged 16-34 preferred an elected head of state, three quarters – 76 per cent – aged 55 and over said they would support the continuation of the monarchy.

[From The Telegraph]

It’s worth noting that this seems to be above-board data gathered by the National Centre for Social Research, as opposed to a manipulated YouGov poll of twenty Tory seniors. While they aren’t discussing methodology or the time frame in which the data was collected, feel certain that the poll was probably happening as people learned that Prince William plans to NOT live in Buckingham Palace when he’s king, and instead plans to hide out in Forest Lodge and perhaps Zoom into his meetings with prime ministers. It could be that the British public feels like “hey, if the future king doesn’t give a sh-t, why should we?” Plus, people have a general awareness of the sorry state of the royal family these days. While Charles gets a lot of well-deserved sh-t, he’s pretty much the only person holding this enterprise together.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.