Christmas Images

We hope all of our readers and your loved ones enjoy a wonderful Christmas season. A beautiful wintery scene of Buckingham Palace was sent out on Buckingham Palace Shop emails this weekend. 

Below is an image of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth recording the Christmas broadcast. On the desk you will see framed photos of the Queen with Prince Philip at their wedding in Westminster Abbey and another released to mark their 70th wedding anniversary. Birthday portraits of Prince George and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge are also featured.

Charlotte

Here is a close up photo of Princess Charlotte being driven to the Queen's Christmas lunch by her parents this week. 

Queen's Christmas Lunch 2017

The Queen's extended family turned out in force for Her Majesty's annual Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace. The event is an opportunity for the Queen's cousins and their children and grandchildren to gather before the Queen heads to Sandringham House for the festive period. 

The Kents and Gloucesters as well as the late Princess Margaret's children Lady Sarah Chatto and David, Lord Snowdon attend each year. 


No doubt it was an opportunity for Prince Harry to introduce this fiancee Meghan Markle to many of his family. 

In earlier years, the Queen's cousins and families could be accomodated at Sandringham or Windsor. However as the generations have grown, the families use this lunch as a chance to catch up before going their own way. 

Charlotte Off To Nursery

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is to start at The Willcocks Nursery School next term. The school is located in Kensington not far from the family home at Kensington Palace and the Royal Albert Hall. 

Charlotte will attend the structured morning classes and will be introduced to alphabet, numeracy as well as art and crafts. Singing, poetry and free play also make up the timetable. Established in 1964, Willcocks is housed in the hall of Holy Trinity Church and takes children between 2 3/4 and 5 years.

The annual fees for Charlotte will be GBP 14550-.

As well as this long awaited news, the Cambridge family has released it's 2017 Christmas photo taken by Chris Jackson. It appears that the shot was taken in the Summer as George is wearing the same clothes as his birthday portrait and the Duchess had her pre-pregnancy figure.

Enjoy the photo!

 

George's Nativity Debut

Four year old Prince George of Cambridge started at Thomas's Battersea school in September. 

Dad Prince William has revealed that George played a sheep in the school nativity play earlier this month. All William would say was that it was "funny". 

The Duke can be seen below attending his own first nativity play in 1985 aged 3 1/2. 

This time next year Charlotte will have started nursery school and the Cambridge's will have welcomed a third child into the family. Here's hoping we soon get to see a new photo of the Duke, Duchess and their children in time for Christmas.

Kensington Palace

As a visitor to a number of Historic Royal Palaces properties this year and a subscriber to their e-newsletters, I received an email this morning. 

The email contained a Kensington Palace colouring in sheet for the young and young at heart. Enjoy!

Charlotte A Tennis Ace

Two year old Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is learning to play
tennis at an exclusive London club and it appears she has displayed a talent for the sport.

Charlotte's mother the Duchess of Cambridge is a tennis lover and is Patron of the All England Tennis Club which hosts Wimbledon each year. 

Previously it was revealed Prince George was learning to play tennis when the family was based at Anmer Hall, Norfolk. When Catherine and William renovated the property, a tennis court was one of the additions. 

However, some members of the Hurlingham Club in Fulham are upset that Charlotte has access to the facilities in breach of club rules. Neither the Duke or Duchess are members. 

A history of the club can be found here:
https://www.hurlinghamclub.org.uk/about-the-club/history/

Map of the Hurlingham Club

The Fulham Facility Where Charlotte Plays

George's Letter To Santa

Prince George has written a letter to Santa and it was hand delivered by his dad Prince William!

William is in Finland for an official visit and shook the hand of none other than Santa Claus himself. Four year old George had circled that he has been "nice" as opposed to "naughty" and that he would like a police car for Christmas.

The Duke of Cambridge used the opportunity to pass the letter on to Santa in person. No doubt George will be very excited!

As for the Cambridges, they are expected to spend the Christmas season at their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, on the Queen's Sandringham Estate. 

Her Majesty and the royal family will gather at Sandringham House for the festive period. The royals invite friends for shooting parties over the New Year break. 

New Baby Bump Pics

The Duchess of Cambridge has returned to her royal duties with gusto and has made several appearances in the past couple of weeks. 

Catherine's hyperemesis gravidarum seems to be controlled well enough for to go out in public which must be a relief to her at around the half way mark in her pregnancy. 

Catherine and William's third child is due in April which could mean anywhere from early April through to early May The actual arrival of the baby depends on her due date and if she goes overdue as with George and Charlotte. 

I hope you enjoy the latest "bump" photos taken at the Royal Variety Performance last week.

Prince Harry Engaged

Prince Henry of Wales has announced his engagement to American actress Ms. Meghan Markle. The couple has known each other for sixteen months after being introduced by a mutual friend in London.

Harry, 33 and Meghan, 36 are to be married in the spring of 2018 and more details of the wedding will be released in due course.No doubt they will have to plan the wedding date around the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy due date in April. Catherine was overdue with her first two babies so this will be tricky. 

Prince Harry presented Ms Markle with an engagement ring made of two diamonds from his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales plus a diamond from Botswana where the couple has holidayed.

Meghan and Harry were photographed by the media in the sunken garden at Kensington Palace. This is the same garden that was transformed this last summer with a beautiful collection of Diana's favourite flowers to mark the 20th anniversary of her death.

The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace which was once the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge before they renovated Apartment 1A. It is expected that an apartment at the Palace will be made available to Prince Harry and then modified to suit his needs.

As this blog chronicles the lives of the children of both Princes William and Harry, no doubt we will be covering a few more royal babies in the coming years.

Baby Due In April

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have announced today that their third child is due in April. 

Following the announcement in early September of the Duchess' pregnancy, the due date has not been publicly known. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to confirm they are expecting a baby in April 2018. pic.twitter.com/jOzB1TJMof

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 17, 2017

However, Catherine has been several days overdue for the births of George and Charlotte so the baby could be born any time in April or even early May. 

William and Catherine's wedding anniversary is on April 28th and Charlotte's birthday May 2nd. 

The Duchess has been suffering again from hyperemesis gravidarum and thus absent from public view since the pregnancy announcement was made. However, in the past week Catherine has returned to engagements.

William, Catherine and Prince Harry hosted an evening for World Mental Health Day at Buckingham Palace on October 10th. Despite not being expected, Catherine joined the royal brothers at Paddington Station on Monday.

A very special train journey began at the famous station where cast and crew of the Paddington 2 movie joined specially chosen guests for a trip into the English countryside. 

The guests where from charities who make up The Charities Forum which has the royal trio as patrons. 

Catherine's small baby bump was evident and her surprise appearance delighted the crowds. Kensington Palace explained the Duchess continues to suffer from severe morning sickness so she may be well be taking things on an engagement by engagement basis.

Also in a busy week of Cambridge news, Kensington Palace confirmed that Catherine and William will be visiting Sweden and Norway in early 2018. No dates where given. The trip had been postponed due to the Duchess being so unwell. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will undertake an official visit to Norway and Sweden at the request of the FCO in early 2018. pic.twitter.com/Kl7rlZW5nO

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 17, 2017

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Prince William Talks About His Children

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge has been busy these past few
weeks. As well as undertaking his own public engagements, William has filled in for his wife Catherine who is suffering extreme morning sickness- hyperemesis gravidarum.

In the same week the royal couple announced that they were expecting their third child, Prince George started school at Thomas's Battersea. Due to her debilitating condition, the Duchess was forced to miss dropping off her son for his first day at school. 

William took George alone and commented that "it went well". He did say later "We are all seeing how long that lasts before he doesn't want to go".

During a visit to Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool a week later, William mentioned that Princess Charlotte "will be trouble when she is older". He added "George rules the roost and Charlotte isn't far behind". 

Less than three week after starting school life, the Duke announced that the honeymoon period for George had ended as predicted! During a visit to Milton Keynes, William said "I just dropped George off and he didn't want to go."

With George starting school, Charlotte due to start nursery school in the coming months and a new baby on the way life is very busy in the Cambridge household. 

The Duchess is due to return to royal engagements on October 10th at a reception alongside Princes William and Harry at Buckingham Palace.

George And William

The Duke and Duchess are very pleased to share a photograph of The Duke and Prince George at Kensington Palace this morning. pic.twitter.com/MxcU0RqGvi

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) September 7, 2017

Duchess Misses George's Big Day

Prince George of Cambridge has started school at Thomas's Battersea today. 

The Duchess of Cambridge was too sick with extreme morning sickness to drop George at school, but Prince William escorted his son to meet Head of the Lower School, Helen Haslem.


George will be known simply as George Cambridge and will be in a Reception class of 22 pupils.

As more photos surface, I will update this page.

George's First Day At School

Prince George begins formal schooling today when he joins the Reception class at Thomas's Battersea. 

Four year old George had attended Westacre Montessori preschool in Norfolk near his family's home Anmer Hall since January 2016. 

It is hoped that both parents will drop George off at school on his first day, but due to extreme morning sickness Catherine may not be able to. 

Headmaster Simon O'Malley includes the following passage in his welcome page on the school website:

"Whilst we are proud of our record of senior school entrance and scholarship successes, we place a greater emphasis on a set of core values, which include kindness, courtesy, confidence, humility and learning to be givers, not takers. We hope that our pupils will leave this school with a strong sense of social responsibility, set on a path to become net contributors to society and to flourish as conscientious and caring citizens of the world."

Term fees for the first stage of three years are 5868 pounds. Like the other 560 students, George will be dressed in the school uniform of navy and red which is available at John Lewis. 

We look forward to seeing a few photos of this very important event in anyone's life -royal or not.

New Cambridge Baby On The Way!

Kensington Palace has announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their third child.

The Duchess is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum which is an extreme form of morning sickness. Catherine suffered with this condition in her first two pregnancies and was hospitalised during the early stages of Prince George's pregnancy.

The Duchess has had a to cancel a planned engagement this week. Catherine and William are due to take Prince George to his first day of school on Thursday but it is unclear whether the Duchess will be well enough to attend.

Congratulations to the Cambridge family!

Read the press release in full ↓ pic.twitter.com/vDTgGD2aGF

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) September 4, 2017

George's Big Week

Prince George of Cambridge will start "big school" this week when he starts at Thomas's Battersea.

George will begin in the Reception year with about 60 other children. Thomas's is a school for boys and girls aged between 4 and 13 and one of several London day schools in this family owned chain. 

There is a big focus on music, art, drama and sport but all areas of the curriculum are covered. 

Kindness is considered just as important as academic success at Thomas's and this is a lovely reflection of the attitude of Duke and Duchess. 

Kensington Palace has said that William and Catherine will walk George through the school gates on Thursday. 

William's 1st day Wetherby January 1987

Charlotte Loves To Dance

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge loves dancing her parents revealed on Wednesday. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were visiting the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace.

The garden has been specially planted with the favourite flowers of the princes' late mother Diana, Princess of Wales. It was 20 years on Thursday since the Princess was killed in a car accident in Paris at the age of 36. Her sons were 15 and 12 at the time.

Representatives of charities close to the heart of the late Princess were present. Director of the English National Ballet, Tamara Rojo was speaking with Catherine about dance when the Duchess revealed that Princess Charlotte is an avid dancer, "She absolutely loves it."

Charlotte who is also an keen horse rider seems to be a very busy and active two year old. Growing up at the family's country home Amner Hall has no doubt been a wonderful thing for Charlotte and big brother George. 

The Cambridges will now be based primarily at their Kensington Palace apartment. Prince George will be starting school this coming Thursday in Battersea, London and William and Catherine are stepping up their royal roles as the Queen and Prince Philip age. Charlotte too is thought to be starting nursery school later this year.

New Poignant Photo

Kensington Palace posted this photo on their twitter account today. A new shot and very sweet. The boys along with the Duchess visited the Sunken Garden at the Palace today.

Today The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry will pay tribute to their mother Diana, Princess of Wales. pic.twitter.com/zkfhfPxcsY

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) August 30, 2017

Diana's Dresses

There is so much comment surrounding the 20th anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales's death on 31st August. 

Although this blog is a chronicle of Diana's grandchildren of today and possibly of the future, I was a fan from the age of 10. So I recently travelled to London and saw the Diana exhibition at Kensington Palace and the gorgeous sunken garden planted in white to honour her. 

Here are a few of the iconic dresses I saw on display. The one that I found most moving was the Bill Pashley designed brown tweed outfit that the new princess wore to a photocall at Balmoral during her honeymoon. 

For me, it brought back all the memories of the early marriage, babies, walkabouts, Shy Di and adoring crowds. Waiting every morning for the daily papers to see if "Di" had been on an engagement the day before. 

I saw the princess in Australia many times and a few times in London. I was lucky enough to shake her hand and have a quick chat in Melbourne. I felt her death like that of a friend although of course she wasn't. But that is the connection she made with the everyday person. Which is why she was so loved and mourned with such sadness.

Of course, there were stunning evening gowns ( Elvis dress and the Travolta dress!) and later dresses that the princess wore in those Mario Testino photos. 

By then the glow of the early years had gone but a new, confident woman was emerging to take on politically fraught causes such as landmine eradication. Prince Harry has picked up that cause. 

Here are some photos from the exhibition. Also shots of the sunken garden that William, Catherine and Harry will visit on the 30th August.

Buckingham Palace Tribute To Diana

The Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace State Rooms features a wonderful display of Diana, Princess of Wales's study and belongings. I visited on the first day of opening and can thoroughly recommend.

There will be a special display at the Summer Opening of #BuckinghamPalace as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales: pic.twitter.com/5PRi9Hamuk

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) July 21, 2017

Summer In Balmoral

William at Balmoral 1983

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and children have been spending some of their summer holiday at Balmoral. 

 The Queen's beloved Scottish highland retreat is where the royal family gather each year. The Duke and Duchess attended a church service at Crathie Kirk with other members of the family last Sunday.

William, Catherine and Prince Harry will be back at Kensington Palace in time for a special visit to the Palace's Sunken Garden. The garden has been transformed this year in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. The 20th anniversary of Diana's death falls on 31st August.

copyright: blog author

William and Harry had organised for the princess's favourite flowers to be planted in white with pink accents. The warm spring meant the flowers bloomed early. I visited the Palace and garden only a few weeks ago and it was still stunning.

Diana used to walk through the garden during her many years living at Kensington Palace and came to know the gardeners. Some of these staff members will be present on the 30th when Diana's sons and daughter-in-law Catherine will visit. 

I also visited the Diana Her Fashion Story exhibition at the palace and will write a separate post about this wonderfully exciting event for Diana fans.

copyright: blog author

Happy Birthday George

Kensington Palace has released a gorgeous photo of Prince George to mark his 4th birthday today. The portrait was taken at the end of June by Getty's Chris Jackson at the Cambridge apartment at the palace.

The little prince will start formal school in September at Thomas's Battersea. 

A birthday party will be held on Sunday.

Happy Birthday!