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LONDON (AFP) - Britain's royal family forced the late Princess Diana to blood test her younger son, Prince Harry, to prove he was not the offspring of an affair with an army officer, according to a newspaper report. Diana, who died in 1997, did not tell Harry why his blood was being taken, the Sun newspaper said in extracts from a book by Simone Simmons, an "energy healer" billed as a former close friend and confidante of the princess. Senior royals, notably Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip, feared that their son, Prince Charles, who was married to Diana, might not...

The Duke of Edinburgh's will is to remain secret for at least 90 years to protect the "dignity and standing" of the Queen, the High Court has ruled. It has been convention for over a century that, after the death of a senior member of the Royal Family, the courts are asked to seal their wills. It means that, unlike most wills granted probate, it will not be open to public inspection. There will be a private process in 90 years to decide if it can be unsealed. The hearing into the application to seal the will was also held...

Washington -- I could not reach my colleague Wlady Pleszczynski for most of the day on Saturday. He was mysteriously missing. On Saturdays, we talk for at least an hour on the telephone about the past week's events, but not this Saturday. His telephone rang and rang, all for naught. The same was true for two more of my weekend confidants. I had important news to convey to them, but no one was answering the telephone. At the end of the day, I finally roused Wlady. Where had he been? He had been engrossed in the British Broadcasting Corporation's coverage...

I confess to having followed the life of Prince Philip with some interest. After all, we both started life as Greeks, were born on islands, brought up in the Orthodox Church and ended up as very British Anglicans. In fact, trying to add anything meaningful to the mountain of material generated by the passing of Prince Philip is a daunting task. Nevertheless, I think one aspect that has not been considered adequately is his extraordinary role as a servant. In Christian circles we frequently pay lip service to the idea of being a servant. Although it’s a concept that is...

The Queen wiped away tears and was forced to mourn alone away from her family in St George's Chapel during Prince Philip's Covid-hit Windsor Castle funeral today as she said an emotional final goodbye to her 'strength and stay' after their extraordinary 73-year life together. Her Majesty looked grief-stricken and bowed her head in reverence as she accompanied her beloved husband's coffin on its final journey while their eldest son Prince Charles cried as he walked behind the casket into church followed by other devastated royals. The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin was covered in his personal standard and carried his...

As Shakespeare said, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em. Prince Philip was in a sense all three, a man born into the Greek royal family yet denied his birthright; someone who had to work hard to carve out his status in life; and a man who ended up, over the course of seven decades by the Queen’s side, earning a unique place in history as the longest-serving consort of any monarch. The Duke of Edinburgh was not a man who demanded recognition by right; he went out there and damn well earned...

As the royal family gathered this morning for the funeral of Prince Philip, there was one major figure who was not present: Meghan Markle. The Duchess of Sussex wasn't able to travel with Prince Harry, due to orders from doctors that she should stay home in the late stage of her pregnancy with her second child. However, while Markle wasn't able to join her husband for the Duke of Edinburgh's service, she made sure to send her love to the royal family with a special gift. According to a report by People, the couple had a wreath sent early this...

Images of a modified Land Rover designed by the Duke of Edinburgh to carry his coffin The Duke of Edinburgh began creating his own hearse in collaboration with Land Rover in 2003, the year he turned 82. The duke, who served in the Royal Navy in World War Two, requested that the original Belize Green bodywork be switched to Dark Bronze Green, a colour used for many military Land Rovers. The Defender was made at Land Rover's factory in Solihull and the duke oversaw the modifications for several years, making the final adjustments in 2019, the year he turned 98....

Welcome to the weekend. Back in the 1970's there were radio stations like KIIS in Los Angeles and WMGK in Philadelphia playing softer sounds called "soft rock" or "adult contemporary". Here are some songs in that take us back to that kind of sound... Are You An 'Abolitionist'? The Latest Vandalism From Portland "Direct Action" in downtown Portland last night... The United Kingdom is a dying nation. Peter Hitchens has urged young people to leave the country because it has no future but Mr. Hitchens does draw on his own father and his military service in the Royal Navy to...

BBC coverage of Prince Philip's funeral services.

During the service, a choir of four singers (three of whom are Lay Clerks of St. George's Chapel Choir) will be conducted by James Vivian and the organ will be played by Luke Bond. Music before the service Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele BWV 654 -- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685--1750 Adagio espressivo (Sonata in A minor) -- Sir William Harris (1883--1973) Salix (The Plymouth Suite) -- Percy Whitlock (1903--1946) Berceuse (Op 31 No. 19) -- Louis Vierne (1870--1937) Rhosymedre -- Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872--1958) (Three Preludes founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes) The service is led by the Right Reverend David...

WINDSOR, England (AP) — Prince Philip will be remembered as a man of “courage, fortitude and faith” on Saturday, at a funeral that salutes both his service in the Royal Navy and his support for Queen Elizabeth II over three quarters of a century. Philip, who died April 9 at the age of 99 after 73 years of marriage, will be laid to rest in the Royal Vault at Windsor Castle after a funeral service steeped in military and royal tradition — but also pared down and infused with his own personality. Coronavirus restrictions mean that instead of the 800...

Influential royal commentator Angela Levin sent the Duchess of Sussex the blunt message shortly after she announced she wouldn’t be attending the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral. Friends close to the actress-turned-royal told the Daily Mail that Meghan is "ready to forgive" the Royal Family over allegations of racism she and Prince Harry levelled against them during their explosive Oprah Winfrey interview last month. They added that since the duke - who she allegedly “adored” - died last Friday the 39-year-old "wants to put their differences aside" and move forward. It later emerged that the heavily pregnant Duchess will not return...

Prince Philip Probably Did Keg StandsAdmittedly, I am not much of a huge fan of the British royals. I don’t watch The Crown, and I just wish that Harry and Meghan would go away. I do, however, spend a lot of time on social media for work so I’m aware of the various goings-on surrounding the family.It’s not even that I’m one of those “we fought a war to get rid of them” Americans or that I dislike England. My sister lived in the Cotswolds for a couple of years and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting her there. I was rather...

25. To a woman solicitor, 1987: “I thought it was against the law for a woman to solicit.” 26. To a civil servant, 1970: “You’re just a silly little Whitehall twit: you don’t trust me and I don’t trust you.” 31. On stress counselling for servicemen in 1995: “We didn’t have counsellors rushing around every time somebody let off a gun. You just got on with it!” 65. “People think there’s a rigid class system here, but dukes have even been known to marry chorus girls. Some have even married Americans.” 2000. 78. On marriage in 1997: “You can take...

The late royal consort, who died Friday at 99, came of a family of Greek aristocrats who led dramatic and colorful lives in the 20th century — including three sisters who were married to Nazis and a mom who was honored for saving Jews during the Holocaust. Philip was the fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and his wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg. His older sisters were Princesses Margarita, Theodora, Cécilie and Sophie. The prince would stay close to his mom, who came to live at Buckingham Palace in her final years, while he...

Pfizer is asking the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization to administer its COVID-19 vaccine to 12 to 15 year olds... Tonight its estimated that 34.66 percent of the US population has been partially vaccinated and 20.66 fully vaccinated. Australia ordering 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine as it moves away from original plans to use the AstraZeneca vaccine... The 24-hour garrisoning of the fenced off Grace Life Church near Edmonton, Alberta continuing today. It appears that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reinforced their presence ahead of possible Sunday worship outside the fences... The US is sending...

that HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, the longest-serving Royal consort in history, died in the early hours of the morning, just a few weeks before his hundredth birthday. There will be many of the Queen's subjects who will believe that he did not make his century because of the vile conduct of his wretched grandson and the in-law from hell - and I would not disagree with that, God rot both of them.Here's what I wrote four years ago upon the occasion of his retirement from official Royal engagements around the Commonwealth in the autumn of 2017. He was ninety-six,...

Speaking to a 13-year-old named Andrew Adams who wanted to go into space: “You could do with losing a little bit of weight.” While chatting to a young fashion designer at Buckingham Palace, 2009: “Well, you didn’t design your beard too well, did you? You really must try better with your beard.” To businessman Atul Patel at a Palace reception for British Indians, 2009: “There’s a lot of your family in tonight.” After being told that then-President Barack Obama had just met with the British, Chinese and Russian leaders: “Can you tell the difference between them?” Reflecting on his role...

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has died at age 99, the royal family announced Friday. Philip and the queen were married for more than 70 years, making him the longest-serving spouse of a reigning British monarch. He was the oldest-ever male member of the British royal family. Philip was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg.