William mentions Harry by name in sweet and intimate speech thanking friends for Diana statue – Daily Mail

Prince William name-check Prince Harry as he thanked friends at a private reception celebrating the unveiling of their late mother’s statue, reports say.

The 39-year-old heir is said to have spoken on behalf of himself and the Duke of Sussex, 37, at the event at Kensington Palace.

Prince Harry jetted back to Britain from his home in Santa Barbara, California, for the statue reveal in July.

But he missed the private reception at the west London palace – which was held to thank friends and donors.

A source told the Sun Prince William said the brothers were ‘both happy’ with the statue: ‘It was very intimate and sweet.

They said: ‘There was a real family feel as many of Diana’s 17 godchildren were also there.

‘William made a brilliant speech saying thank you from him and Harry and how happy they both were with the statue. He mentioned Harry by name.

‘The brothers are barely on speaking terms but it’s clear the Princess Di statue has done some good.’

Since Megxit and the Oprah Winfrey interview, tensions between the brothers have run high but their mother’s statue was an opportunity to reconnect again. 

Prince Harry flew back without his wife Meghan, 40, for the unveiling at Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden on July 1 – what would have been Diana’s 60th birthday.

The Duke of Cambridge was joined by his wife, Kate Middleton, 39, but Prince Harry missed it.

The original reception was cancelled amid Covid-19 concerns and was rearranged for last week. Kensington Palace declined to comment.

Operation Purge the Queen’s Diary: Aides are told to be ruthless as they scramble for a plan to cut the 95-year-old Monarch’s punishing list of engagements following her hospital stay 

By Mark Hookham for the Mail on Sunday

Senior aides at Buckingham Palace are scrambling to devise a strategy for managing the Queen‘s workload after being accused of misleading the public over her health.

Sir Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, last night faced calls to ‘be ruthless’ and purge the Monarch’s diary of functions not central to her role as head of state.

Officials are understood to be drawing up a ‘core’ list of key events that the Queen will prioritise in the next 12 months, including the Platinum Jubilee to celebrate her 70-year reign in June.

It comes amid reports the Queen will be accompanied by one of her children or grandchildren when she appears in public in the future to avoid having to cancel and let down the public in the event of future health scares.   

Another member of the Royal Family will be on hand to step in should she need company or assistance, the Sunday Telegraph reported. 

The Queen’s attendance at the UN climate change summit in Glasgow on November 1 remains in the diary, but a final decision will not be made until later this week.

Meanwhile, the Palace’s communications team is under pressure to be more candid should the 95-year-old Monarch require further visits to hospital. 

The Queen’s courtiers faced extensive criticism last week for failing to inform the public that she had been admitted to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London on Wednesday and stayed there overnight for tests. 

The media was told that she was resting at Windsor Castle and aides revealed the hospital stay only on Thursday night after news leaked out.

The controversy has shone a spotlight on the growing challenge faced by the Palace in balancing the Queen’s desire to be an active head of state with needing to protect her health. 

Royal sources say the easing of Covid restrictions has resulted in a logjam of public events, adding pressure on the Queen’s diary. 

According to Buckingham Palace’s Court Circular, she has held 13 separate audiences or meetings, attended seven major events and travelled almost 900 miles since leaving Balmoral on October 1.

In addition, every day she still reads Government papers, delivered to her in red boxes, and has a long list of private meetings.

‘They have to find some kind of balance,’ said Sally Bedell Smith, who has written a bestselling biography of the Queen.

‘I hope they have learnt from the pretty punishing pace she kept over the course of a month that that is maybe just too much.’

While Prince Philip retired from public life, aged 96, in 2017, the Queen has been determined to carry on working and has been on sparkling form at engagements since his death in April.

She has, however, accepted some changes in recent years. 

She stepped back from long-haul travel in 2013, and other senior royals have helped to hand out knighthoods and other honours at investiture ceremonies. 

But royal commentators say the Queen’s taxing schedule of commitments will have to be reduced further to reflect her advancing years.

‘She doesn’t want to end up constantly in hospital because she is exhausted,’ said royal biographer Ingrid Seward. 

‘She will have to do all the big events. It’s the smaller events that she can hand over.’

Ms Seward urged Prince Charles to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the Queen is not overworked, adding: ‘They can divide the duties between other members of the family but Charles has to take a stand and say to his mother, ‘Enough is enough.’

Dickie Arbiter, a former press secretary to the Queen, challenged her senior courtiers to insist that the monarch becomes more selective. 

‘The private secretaries have got to be proactive and ruthless and say, ‘Ma’am, you can do this, but you can’t do that. You can’t do everything’,’ he said.

Meanwhile, the Palace press office is being urged to be more transparent should the Queen require further hospital treatment. 

Ms Bedell Smith said: ‘When something happens like that, to preserve their credibility, they should issue bulletins in a timely way.’

‘Since when has she been answerable to Nicholas Witchell?’ Public backlash against ‘infuriating’ BBC man after he questioned whether Buckingham Palace undermined public trust by not revealing the Queen was in hospital

By Mark Hookham for the Mail on Sunday

The BBC‘s veteran Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell faced a backlash last night after questioning whether Buckingham Palace undermined public trust by failing to reveal the Queen had been admitted to hospital.

In forthright comments, Mr Witchell said that journalists and the public had not been ‘given the complete picture’.

He added: ‘The problem, it seems to me, is that rumour and misinformation always thrive in the absence of proper, accurate and trustworthy information.’ But his remarks provoked criticism online.

‘Nicholas Witchell is honestly so infuriating,’ one Royal watcher wrote on Twitter. 

‘The Queen is 95 and like most her age, she’ll be in and out of hospital for various tests because that’s what happens at that age no matter how fit you are. She doesn’t need to disclose her every move, let her have some dignity.’

Another Twitter user wrote: ‘He’s a pompous a***, full of his own self importance. Bring back Jennie Bond. She was classy.’

A third asked: ‘Since when has the Queen been answerable to Nicholas Witchell?’

A BBC stalwart, Mr Witchell, 68, famously provoked royal displeasure in 2005 when, during a press conference in the Swiss ski resort of Klosters, he asked Prince Charles about his forthcoming marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles.

Under his breath, Charles was heard to mutter to Princes William and Harry: ‘I can’t bear that man. I mean, he’s so awful, he really is.’

One Twitter user this weekend joked: ‘I don’t agree with Prince Charles on many subjects – apart from Nicholas Witchell.

‘I bet they’ll be setting a room aside in the Tower before they’ve minted a coronation coin.’