Features

Top secret files reveal Queen Mother protocol error forced Downing Street into grovelling apology

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30th December 2025
Whitehall was left red-faced after Downing Street was compelled to issue an apology for a birthday telegram sent to the Queen Mother that breached royal protocol, according to newly released government papers. The documents, opened at the National Archives in Kew, reveal that John Major’s private office was contacted directly by the Queen Mother’s private secretary after the greeting…
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Features

The stars on the latest New Year's Honours including three hidden by little known real names

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30th December 2025
There are some big stars on the latest New Year’s Honours list including a trio whose identities escaped immediate notice as they are being recognised under their own names and they’re not the ones everyone knows them by. Meera Syal is made a Dame for services to literature, drama and charity. She’s one of Britain’s best known TV stars with leading roles in The Kumars at…
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Features

From Palace to Pulpit: The King’s deliberate move away from royal residences

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24th December 2025
For decades, the Christmas broadcast has been a ritual closely associated with the grandeur of royal residences. Buckingham Palace, Sandringham, Windsor Castle – these have served as the familiar backdrops for the sovereign’s reflections on faith, family and the nation. King Charles III, however, is quietly redrawing that map. Since ascending the throne, he has increasingly chosen sacred…
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Features

King given lesson in Christmas tradition he failed to master at start of reign

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23rd December 2025
A king has been given a masterclass in an old Christmas tradition that he failed to get the hang of in the first months of his reign. Frederik X of Denmark was shown how to get to grips with a well loved practice in his country by his mother, Queen Margrethe, who passed her throne to him at the start of 2024. The tradition is one very close to the hearts, quite literally, of people across…
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