Category Entertainment News

The Princess of Wales has travelled to Suffolk to visit a silk mill, celebrating the British textiles industry, which comes as Prince Harry rounds off his trip to the UK

The Princess of Wales has stepped out for a series of visits with a special family connection – just as Prince Harry prepares to leave the UK.

Kate, who made a surprise appearance alongside the Prince of Wales on the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Monday, is taking a tour of the Sudbury Silk Mills in Suffolk before later stopping by at Marina Mill in Cuxton, Kent.

The outing comes as Kate’s estranged brother-in-law rounds off his latest trip to the UK with a visit to the Diana Award – just hours after he had a long-awaited reunion with his father the King at Clarence House last night.

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Kensington Palace said the princess’s visit would “celebrate the unique skill, creativity and craftsmanship of British textile manufacturers” and the “joy found in working in the creative industries”.

It said Kate has “long been passionate about the importance of the British textiles industry and its role as part of the UK’s cultural and creative voice”. Kate’s paternal ancestors were the owners of the woollen manufacturer and merchant William Lupton & Co, which was based in Leeds.

At Sudbury Silk Mills, a family-run jacquard weaving mill, she will see the looms, before heading to Marina Mill, also a family business, which specialises in hand-designing and screen-printing furnishing fabrics.

Kate will get the chance to take part in screen-printing a design on fabric by pushing coloured dyes through an engraved silk-screen using a squeegee.

The outings for Kate come as she is expected to play a huge role when US President Donald Trump comes to the UK next week for his unprecedented second state visit.

William and Kate have been tasked with the initial royal meeting of Mr and Mrs Trump on the morning of September 17 in the grounds of the Windsor estate, when they will accompany them to meet the King and Queen for an open-air greeting.

The Trumps, the King, Camilla, William and Kate will then take part in a carriage procession through the estate to the castle.

Kate will also carry out a joint engagement with the First Lady the next day when they head to Frogmore Gardens to meet Chief Scout Dwayne Fields and members of the Scouts’ Squirrels programme as they learn about nature to achieve their Go Wild badge.

Mr Trump appeared taken with heir to the throne William after they met in Paris in December, declaring that the prince was “very handsome” and adding “some people look better in person”.

It is likely, but not confirmed, that both the prince, along with the princess, who announced at the start of the year that she was in remission from cancer, will attend the opulent state banquet for Mr Trump on Wednesday evening in the castle’s St George’s Hall.

Amy Dowden shared a heartfelt message following the NTA’s where she congratulated winner Molly-Mae Hague and spoke about her ‘deeply personal decision to share’ her breast cancer journey

Strictly’s Amy Dowden has given a gracious tribute to Molly-Mae after the former Love Island star took home the NTA for Authored Documentary. Molly was nominated for the award for her tell-all documentary Molly-Mae: Behind It All, while Amy was nominated for Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me.

Congratulating her fellow nominee, Amy took to her Instagram to share a heartfelt message to Molly-Mae, as well as thanking everyone who voted for her. Amy wrote: “Huge congratulations to Molly Mae on your NTAS win! It’s been an honour to be nominated alongside such powerful and inspiring documentaries.”

Speaking more about her own documentary, Amy added: “I’m incredibly proud to have been nominated for my documentary, Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me. When I made the deeply personal decision to share my breast cancer journey, it was to raise awareness, promote early detection, and give hope and strength to others going through it. An NTA nomination was just the icing on the cake.”

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Expressing her gratitude for the support she has received, Amy said: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who voted and supported the documentary. Your messages, love and encouragement mean the world to me. I promise to keep using my voice to raise awareness, support others, and shine a light on the reality of breast cancer.”

After Amy’s statement following the NTA’s, she was flooded with support from fans as friends as Giovanna Fletcher commented: “You beauty!!!!! I hope you know how much you have impacted so many people’s lives and will continue to do so. Forever grateful and in awe. Love you! Xxxx”

A supportive fan added: “So sorry Amy. You or Rob or Freddie deserved this more. You’re all so brave and inspirational. And yet you still have that lovely class to say well done to the winner. You’re so b****y awesome Amy. Xxx”

Many fans were left furious after Molly won the award and felt that Amy was snubbed as they criticised Behind It All’s trivial subject matter in comparison to Amy’s cancer journey. One fan labelled the outcome as ‘disgusting’ as they wrote on X, formally known as Twitter: “Molly Mae winning that award over the inspirational people like Amy Dowden and Rob Burrow is a massive slap in the face, that’s disgusting. #NTAs”.

Another angry fan added: ““Freddie Flintoff – Nearly Died, Rob Burrow – Died, Strictly Amy – Living with cancer, Molly Mae – Split up with her boyfriend. Which one wins the NTA… absolute b******s.”

However, other viewers have come to the influencer’s defence as it was not her decision which documentaries she was competing alongside.

Molly thanked her family and friends in her acceptance speech, with a special shoutout to her parter Tommy and toddler Bambi who were watching along at home. She said: “Thank you to my friends and family who didn’t choose this life but came on this show for me because they knew how much it meant to me. Thank you guys, you are the best support system that I could ask for”.

“And finally to Tommy and Bambi at home, I love you so much, I couldn’t do it without you guys”.

Strictly professional Amy was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer back in May 2023, and later underwent a mastectomy but was told the tumours had spread.

Amy underwent chemotherapy and has documented her entire experience and ups and downs in a touching BBC programme titled Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me.

Speaking to The Mirror, Amy previously said: “I never thought at 32 years old I would be diagnosed with breast cancer. And if it wasn’t for the Coppafeel trip, I wouldn’t have ended up checking myself.

“And if I hadn’t find the grade three, most aggressive type of cancer, then I wouldn’t be here right now. I just want people to not wait until you’re in your 50s and have mammograms. You need to be checking yourself. And if just ten people from watching this documentary check themselves, I could potentially save a life.”

Prince Harry has carried out the final visit of his current trip to the UK by meeting those involved with the Diana Award in honour of his late mother – hours after meeting his father King Charles

Prince Harry rounded off his visit to the UK with a visit in memory of his late mother – fresh from a long-awaited reunion with his father King Charles.

The Duke of Sussex carried out his final visit of his trip to his homeland by meeting those involved with the Diana Award, which was set up in the late Princess Diana’s honour.

Harry visited the Diana Award in central London on Thursday morning to hear from young people about how social action has positively impacted their mental health. The duke spent around at hour chatting to young changemakers and listening to a panel discussion with the charity founded in memory of his mother, Diana, Princess Wales, before departing at around 11.18am.

There, he heard moving stories about the emotional struggles young people must overcome in the social media age. His estranged brother Prince William also supports the Diana Award but the pair have not met on Harry’s trip back to the UK.

During the engagement this morning, Harry spoke to 40 young people after a panel with Lottie Leach, Elsa Arnold and Idorenyin Hope Akpan, which was chaired by chaired by Dan Lawes, a former winner of the the charity’s Legacy Award.

Harry then said in a statement: “Getting involved in peaceful social action takes courage and determination. Young people see the issues society faces close up – whether that’s poor mental health or the consequences of inequalities.

“But you don’t stand still; your empathy and compassion drive you to make change. Purpose combined with action can help overcome a sense of hopelessness, and that’s exactly what you’ve shown today.

“When you spoke about how taking action gave you purpose, confidence and joy, it was more powerful than any statistic. It reminded me that agency is not a luxury for young people, it is a lifeline.

“My mother believed in the power and agency of young people to positively impact the world. The Diana Award continues her legacy by putting young people at the heart of everything they do. Today is a perfect example of that. My message to everyone is don’t stand still, don’t stay silent – make them hear you because you speak for the majority.”

Harry was upbeat throughout the engagement but also struck a philosophical tone when he addressed the young people in the room.

He gave a short impromptu speech, from his seat, to the panel, saying: “Thank you all for being here. I don’t know how you were as individuals, all of you… five, ten years ago pre-Diana Award, but to see you sitting up here now with the confidence you have, speaking to a complete group of strangers is proof of the fact this whole thing works.”

He added: “You talk about the mental health piece that is woven through so much of this and it is, it’s emotional… it’s mental and emotional wellbeing.

“In every single Diana Awardee, in every single young person and middle-aged person and probably old people as well, our mental health and our emotional health through our nervous system is being tested every single day.

“And this proven model of being engaged with or finding your purpose with social action, it really does work. You guys are testament to that. Otherwise you’re sitting there feeling hopeless.

“You have the hope. My point is that if you’re a young person it can sometimes feel as though you’re lost and separated from a group and you feel isolated. But I can assure you that there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Last night, Harry had his first face-to-face meeting with his father the King in almost 20 months. The pair’s long-awaited meeting, which lasted just 55 minutes, comes after Harry publicly expressed hopes of a reconciliation with his family in May.

After the meeting Harry appeared relaxed, smiling and upbeat at an Invictus reception in the City of London on Wednesday evening, just over an hour after he left Clarence House where he and the King shared a private tea.

Asked how his father was by a reporter shortly after arriving at the Invictus reception, Harry replied: “Yes, he’s great, thank you.”

The Duke of Sussex’s spokesperson suggested the UK visit had gone well: “He’s obviously loved being back in the UK, catching up with old friends, colleagues and just generally being able to support the incredible work of the causes that mean so much to him.”

The duke, who is celebrating his 41st birthday on Monday, will not be expected to appear at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in London’s Westminster Cathedral on Tuesday. The funeral is being attended by the King, Queen and other senior members of the royal family.

Speculation of a meeting between father and son had been swirling all day yesterday when it emerged that Harry and the King would both be in London at the same time.

Charles flew back to the capital from Balmoral, where he had spent the summer, and was seen arriving in a car at Clarence House around 4pm after catching a flight from Aberdeen to RAF Northolt.

Harry arrived over an hour later at 5.20pm after telling wellwishers who wanted selfies as he left Imperial College London around 3pm that he was running late.

The Duke of Sussex left Clarence House just before 6.15pm and ducked down inside his car as he was driven away to the Gherkin a short-distance away, where he announced the new CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation and gave a speech to supporters .

The King skips lunch each day, but takes a break for afternoon tea at about 5pm, with sandwiches and cakes, and his favoured Darjeeling with honey and milk.

Harry last saw the King in February last year when he made a transatlantic dash from his Californian home to the UK to see Charles following his cancer diagnosis. The pair’s previous meeting was less than 24 hours after the announcement about the King’s health and was without Meghan and their children.

The face-to-face encounter in February 2024 appeared to last for just over 30 minutes – with the latest meeting also lasting less than an hour ahead of the duke’s evening engagement.

The duke, who stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020, has levelled a barrage of accusations at the King, stepmother the Queen, brother Prince of Wales and sister-in-law the Princess of Wales in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography, Spare, since moving to the US.

Harry remains estranged from his brother, William, who has been busying himself with a flurry of engagements this week and was away in Cardiff on Wednesday visiting a new mental health hub on World Suicide Prevention Day.

The MET Office warns that the first storm of the season could hit parts of the UK as soon as this weekend, meaning now’s the time to implement this hack to stop your bins being blown away

We’ve all experienced finding our wheely bins damaged or halfway down the road the morning after a storm. With replacements not always easy to find, this storm season is the perfect time to consider a simple and cheap DIY hack to keep your bins safe on bin day, even through bad weather.

Charts from WXCharts indicate the initial signs of the storm will emerge in 10 days, before a wall of rain batters in from the west on Thursday morning.

So how can you keep your bins safe in powerful winds? With this simple £14 Amazon purchase, you can ensure your bins are exactly where you left them after a night of rough weather.

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As seen on social media, sharp tenants have discovered a neat trick for keeping bins safe and secure no matter the weather. Introducing these Bungee Cords With Hooks, which can easily be secured around large objects and attached to a nearby wall, fence, or gate, to prevent the wind from carrying them away.

Made from robust D-cross sewing, these elastic ropes come equipped on both sides with galvanised, strong metal hooks, which are durable enough not to break or rust after a night of bad weather.

A metal buckle adjusts the length of the bungee cord from 19.7″(50cm) to 31.5″ (80cm), enabling a wide range of uses. The super stretch ranges up to 78.7″, so you can easily latch around your wheeley bin and attach it to a nearby structure to keep it safe.

These wider flat straps make it easy to slot over large objects. They are made from durable latex material that stays elastic for a long time. The Bungee straps are made of high-quality, durable interwoven rubber and Oxford fibre, wrapped with nylon yarn for external use.

The adjustable bungee cord set is an ideal tool for many different uses. It is widely used for moving boxes, fastening luggage to your bicycle, motorcycle, cars, or truck, and also for outdoor use to secure camps, tents, tarps, Roof Racks, Trailers, Canoeing, Kayaking, gardening, hanging clothes, and securing your bins to your property fence or wall.

One buyer who picked up a set for different reasons bestowed 5 stars, raving: “I bought these to hold the covers in place for my garden furniture. These do the job brilliantly even during the strong winds and storms we have had. They are easily adjustable to fit the furniture, and they have held up for the winter. I’m really pleased.”

Amazon has a wide range of other products that are sure to be handy in protecting your bins in bad weather. For instance, check out this 10-pack of CUALITYX Bungee Cords with Hooks for £10.49. Or, to ensure your lids to open or spill during strong gusts, these Wheelie Bin Lid Lock Straps could come in clutch.

Downton Abbey stars Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith) and Michael C. Fox (Andrew Parker) revealed they are married and how important the show has been in their lives

Downton Abbey has treated fans to the romantic twists and turns of the Crawley family and their staff for years. Now, it has been revealed that, behind the scenes, a real-life love story was brewing.

Co-stars Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith) and Michael C. Fox (Andrew Parker) have shared that they are married. The news was revealed as part of the press run for the third and final film in the franchise, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, as Michael reminisced about the show that changed his life.

On the Downton Abbey Celebrates The Grand Finale special on NBC yesterday (10 September), the actor said: “I owe a lot to this show. I think so much of my life has been shaped around this show.”

Fellow Downton star Lesley Nicol (Mrs Patmore) asked Michael what he would have said if someone had told him just how “life-changing” the show would be for him. “What if someone said ‘You’re actually going to find your wife and have a child’?,” she asked. “Life-changing stuff.” “I know,” Michael responded. “It’s incredible.”

Michael, 36, and Laura, 39, welcomed their son in 2021. They have been in a relationship since 2014, which was when Michael joined the hit period drama, but only revealed their relationship to the public in 2016. They have not shared when they got married or any other details about the wedding.

On the show, Laura’s character Edith has been unlucky in love. Her first romance came to a sudden end when she was jilted at the altar and her second when her partner was killed abroad, leaving her unmarried and pregnant. But by the end of the series and in the subsequent films, Edith finally found happiness with Bertie Pelham, a land agent turned Marquess played by Harry Hadden-Paton.

Meanwhile, Michael’s character Andrew started as a footman and ended the last film being trained by Mr Carson to become a butler. He also married fellow servant Daisy, played by Sophie McShera.

Laura and Michael are not the only Downton couple, as Jim Carter, who plays Mr Carson, is married to Imelda Staunton, who appeared in the first two Downton films as Maude Bagshaw.

Charlie Sheen’s new Netflix documentary has revealed touching details about the star’s relationships with friends, family and addiction after some very public battles

Charlie Sheen has revealed Clint Eastwood convinced him go to rehab after his drug abuse had driven him completely off the rails.

The Hollywood star has made no secret of his chaotic lifestyle and addiction struggles over the years. But he has laid them bare in a Netflix series, aka Charlie Sheen, detailing how he flew a plane drunk and smuggled cocaine on to a flight while high with Nicolas Cage.

But it was the 1990 phone call from Clint, with whom he had just starred in The Rookie, that had made him finally seek help. Worried about his binges, his family decided to stage an intervention. On the pretence of organising a birthday celebration for his father Martin, Charlie arrived and was asked by his mother Janet if he was armed.

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“I thought she was joking,” he recalls. “But maybe there’s something in the trunk…”

His friends and family were also at the intervention, including his brother Emilio Estevez.

“There’s my yoga instructor, and Rob Lowe… And then there’s Emilio… my parents.”

Martin had also asked Clint to speak to him on the phone. Charlie says: “I said, ‘Hello’ and it’s that very recognisable, globally famous voice, ‘It’s Clint’.

“He said something to the effect of ‘You gotta get the train back on the tracks, kid. You’re worth saving’.

“It was really powerful. I thanked him, gave the phone back to my dad and said, ‘All right, let’s go’.”

But the battle against his addictions was not plain sailing.

During his stint in rehab, Charlie reveals how he was desperate to leave so he could judge a bikini contest in California with pal Cage.

In order to be allowed out of the facility, he promised the night nurse he would come back by 8am or he would pay her $1million. He made it back with 20 minutes to spare.

“The nurse was happy for me, but disappointed for herself.”

However, it was during filming for 1997 action comedy Money Talks with Chris Tucker that Charlie’s drug use became really out of control.

“I got an 18-hour nosebleed from doing too much cocaine,” he says, “I just kept kind of blotting it. There was one night where it actually dripped on to my shirt during a scene. I got the director, Brett Ratner, to make that shot go away forever.”

Charlie also reveals he was wasted while in charge of a plane. He was on honeymoon with his third wife, Brooke Mueller, when the starstruck flight crew invited him into the cockpit to take the controls.

“I’m there drunk, with close to 300 people asleep behind me, an angry bride 20 feet behind me, and I start guiding this plane.”

And in another incident, Charlie says he and Cage gave another meaning to the “Mile-High Club” on a flight, with the Leaving Las Vegas star grabbing the intercom.

Charlie says: “He launched into, ‘This is your captain speaking. I’m not feeling well. I’m losing control’. He had taken it to a place where his intentions were just wildly inappropriate. You could hear screaming.”

The plane was met by armed police as it landed in San Francisco.

“Nic didn’t know I had over an ounce of cocaine taped to the inside of my leg,” he explains. “I’m sweating and really concerned about what’s going to happen next.”

Charlie claims that initially he did not want to be involved with the documentary and that he had “made a sacred vow to only reveal to a therapist”. But he changed his mind, instead insisting nothing is “off limits”.

So much so, Charlie, now 60, recalls how he struggled to keep awake filming 1998 dark comedy Free Money so he took drastic measures. “There was a little bathroom, and I went in there, and I took an ice cube and I shoved it up my butt. Never done that before. And, man, I was wide awake just enough to get back on the mark and finish the scene.”

aka Charlie Sheen is available to stream on Netflix.