Australia Post Stamp For Charlotte

Thursday 27th August, 2015

Australia Post has released stamps in honour of Princess Charlotte.

Entitled "The Birth of a Princess", the stamp features a photo of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge introducing their daughter Charlotte to the world  just 10 hours after her birth in May this year. 

The stamp is in the standard letter denomination of 70c and the series includes souvenir packs and first day covers. More specifications and how to order can be found at the following site:

https://shop.auspost.com.au/stamp-coin-collectables/stamp-issues/birth-of-a-princess

The Princess Charlotte stamps will no longer issued from 23rd September, 2015.

Harrassment Of George and Charlotte By Paparazzi

Sunday 16th August, 2015

source: kensingtonroyal

Kensington Palace has issued a strongly worded statement about the harrassment of Prince George by photographers.

Whilst thanking British, Australian and other press organisations for refusing to pay for and publish paparazzi photos of the Cambridge children, it did however lay out examples of recent stalking and harrassment which are both unnerving and potentially security issues. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also wanted members of the public to be aware of the tactics employed by paparazzi to get exclusive shots. It is hoped that if the public understands the instrusion and underhanded manner involved they are less likely to buy publications which use the resulting photographs. 

The full statement follows:

Kensington Palace has today sent the attached letter to leaders of media industry bodies and standards organisations in the UK and in other international markets.
In recent months, there have been an increasing number of incidents of paparazzi harassment of Prince George. And the tactics being used are increasingly dangerous. This letter is being published now to inform the public discussion around the unauthorised photography of children. It is hoped that those who pay paparazzi photographers for their images of children will be able to better understand the distressing activity around a two-year old boy that their money is fuelling. We also feel that the readers who enjoy the publications that fuel this market for the unauthorised photos deserve to understand the tactics deployed to obtain these photos.
The vast majority of publications around the world – and all British publications – have refused to fuel the market for such photos. This is an important and laudable stance for which The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are hugely grateful. They have enjoyed sharing an increasing number of photos of their children and look forward to continuing to take them to more public events as they get older.

From: Jason Knauf, Communications Secretary to TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and HRH Prince Henry of Wales, 14th August, 2015
 
I am writing to provide an overview of the current challenges facing Kensington Palace as we seek to protect Prince George and Princess Charlotte from harassment and surveillance by paparazzi photographers.  I hope our experience will inform the ongoing effort to uphold standards on the protection of children in a rapidly changing media landscape.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have expressed their gratitude to British media organisations for their policy of not publishing unauthorised photos of their children.  This stance, guided not just by their wishes as parents, but by the standards and codes of the industry as it relates to all children, is to be applauded.  They are pleased also that almost all reputable publications throughout the Commonwealth – in particular Australia, Canada, and New Zealand – and in other major media markets like the United States have adopted a similar position.
The Duke and Duchess are glad that leaders in the media industry share the view that every child, regardless of their future public role, deserves a safe, happy, and private childhood.  They have been delighted to share official photographs of Prince George and Princess Charlotte in recent months to thank the public for the thousands of kind messages of support they have received.  News photographers have had several recent opportunities to take photos of the family and these will be a regular occurrence as both children get older.
Despite this, paparazzi photographers are going to increasingly extreme lengths to observe and monitor Prince George's movements and covertly capture images of him to sell to the handful of international media titles still willing to pay for them.  One recent incident – just last week – was disturbing, but not at all uncommon.  A photographer rented a car and parked in a discreet location outside a children's play area.  Already concealed by darkened windows, he took the added step of hanging sheets inside the vehicle and created a hide stocked with food and drinks to get him through a full day of surveillance, waiting in hope to capture images of Prince George. Police discovered him lying down in the boot of the vehicle attempting to shoot photos with a long lens through a small gap in his hide.
It is of course upsetting that such tactics – reminiscent as they are of past surveillance by groups intent on doing more than capturing images – are being deployed to profit from  the image of a two-year old boy.  In a heightened security
environment such tactics are a risk to all involved.  The worry is that it will not always be possible to quickly distinguish between someone taking photos and someone intending to do more immediate harm.
This incident was not an isolated one. In recent months photographers have:
• on multiple occasions used long range lenses to capture images of The Duchess playing with Prince George in a number of private parks;
• monitored the movements of Prince George and his nanny around London parks and monitored the movements of other household staff;
• photographed the children of private individuals visiting The Duke and Duchess's home;
• pursued cars leaving family homes;
• used other children to draw Prince George into view around playgrounds;
• been found hiding on private property in fields and woodland locations around The Duke and Duchess's home in Norfolk;
• obscured themselves in sand dunes on a rural beach to take photos of Prince George playing with his grandmother;
• placed locations near the Middleton family home in Berkshire under steady surveillance
It is clear that while paparazzi are always keen to capture images of any senior member of The Royal Family, Prince George is currently their number one target.  We have made the decision to discuss these issues now as the incidents are becoming more frequent and the tactics more alarming.  A line has been crossed and any further escalation in tactics would represent a very real security risk.
All of this has left The Duke and Duchess concerned about their ability to provide a childhood for Prince George and Princess Charlotte that is free from harassment and surveillance.  They know that almost all parents love to share photos of their children and they themselves enjoy doing so.  But they know every parent would object to anyone – particularly strangers – taking photos of their children without their permission.  Every parent would understand their deep unease at only learning they had been followed and watched days later when photographs emerged.
The Duke and Duchess are of course very fortunate to have private homes where photographers cannot capture images of their children.  But they feel strongly that both Prince George and Princess Charlotte should not grow up exclusively behind palace gates and in walled gardens.  They want both children to be free to play in public and semi-public spaces with other children without being photographed.  In addition, the privacy of those other children and their families must also be preserved.
Rest assured that we continue to take legal steps to manage these incidents as they occur.  But we are aware that many people who read and enjoy the publications that fuel the market for unauthorised photos of children do not know about the unacceptable circumstances behind what are often lovely images.  The use of these photos is usually dressed up with fun, positive language about the 'cute', 'adorable' photos and happy write ups about the family.  We feel readers deserve to understand the tactics deployed to obtain these pictures.
We hope a public discussion of these issues will help all publishers of unauthorised photos of children to understand the power they hold to starve this disturbing activity of funding.  I would welcome constructive conversations with any publisher or editor on these topics.  And I would ask for your help as we work to encourage the highest standards on the protection of children in every corner of the media.  The Duke and Duchess are determined to keep the issues around a small number of paparazzi photographers distinct and separate from the positive work of most newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, and web publishers around the world.
The text from this letter, which has been sent to a number of people in leadership positions, will be placed in the public domain to raise awareness of the issues discussed.
Jason Knauf,
Communications Secretary, Kensington Palace

Wetherby School

Monday 10th August, 2015

William's First Day January 1987

In exploring future options for the education of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, I had written last January about Mrs Mynors Nursery School where Princes William and Harry started their schooling. 

Now we will look at Wetherby School in Notting Hill Gate, West London which William joined on 15th of January, 1987 at the age of 5. The Prince left the school on 5th July 1990. 

According to wetherbyschool.co.uk
Wetherby School will be celebrating its 60th Anniversary in 2011. Founded in 1951, by Mr and Mrs Gerald Russell, the school was originally in Wetherby Place SW7. It remained there for the first twenty years of its life before moving to Pembridge Square in 1971 when it became part of the Family Educational Group Davies, Laing and Dick. In 2002 the family sold to the Alpha Plus Group (www.alphaplusgroup.co.uk) and the school expanded to three form entry to meet the increasing demands on the waiting lists in the area.

In 1984 Miss Frederika Blair-Turner was appointed headmistress upon the retirement of Mr and Mrs Russell and was in post for the next fourteen years. In 1998 Mrs Jenny Aviss succeeded her as head and in 2008 Mr Mark Snell becomes the first headmaster in the history of Wetherby School.
 

Harry's First Day September 1989

Wetherby is a boys pre-prep school so this would not be an option for Charlotte but George may well find himself pulling on the grey and red trimmed uniform and cap in another two years. 

Boys can start in the Reception class in the September after their 4th birthday. For George that would be in 2017. This first year is very much a preschool foundation year and teachers formulate the curriculum according to the needs of that particular cohort. 

From there the children progress to the formal school curriculum where they stay until the end of years 2 or 3. The form teacher teaches the core lessons whilst specialist teachers instruct the boys in such things as music, French, art, drama, sport, ICT, etc.

At the end of their time at Wetherby School, the headmaster will advise parents on which schools will best suit their child. Approximately 10-15 percent of Wetherby School children will go onto a boarding school.

The Reception and Little Wetherby is located at 19 Pembridge Villas, whilst the main Wetherby School is at 11 Pembridge Square. Pembridge Square Gardens across the road provides a place for the boys to run and play during breaks.

Highrove House Playground For Cambridge Children

Monday 3rd August, 2015

source:princeofwales.gov.uk

A tree house that once belonged to Princes William and Harry has been restored for a new generation of royal children to enjoy.

The tree house was built in 1989 for the brothers at the Prince and Princess of Wales' country home Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. It includes a retractable rope ladder which William wanted so he could be left alone if he so desired!

The retreat has been restored for George and Charlotte and other grandchildren in the future.

An example of a shepherd's hut source:plankbridge

Prince Charles has also been given a beautiful artisan shepherd's hut
which has been placed on the edge of Highgrove's wildflower meadow. The hut which has a day bed and wood burner was a gift to Prince Charles for George's first birthday last year.

Dorset company Plankbridge donated the hut to thank The Prince of Wales whose Prince's Trust gave support to the company when it was a start up.

George and Carole Beach Photos

Photos of Prince George and his grandma Carole Middleton enjoying a trip to the beach near Anmer Hall have appeared on the internet.

Carole, George and the Cambridge's dog Lupo were snapped playing in the sand on the morning of George's second birthday.

Later that day a birthday party was held at Anmer Hall for a dozen little friends. The Queen, Prince Philip and Carole Middleton were among the guests.

As the beach photos were taken at a time when privacy was expected I have chosen not to add the snaps to this blog.