Royal news – live: Prince William shares touching Kate Middleton update following her cancer treatment

The Prince of Wales described Kate as “amazing” as he spoke to reporters in South Africa ahead of tonight’s Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town.

She’s doing really well thanks. Hopefully she’s watching tonight and cheering me on,” he said. “She’s been amazing this whole year and I know she’ll be really keen to see tonight be a success.”

Kate has been largely out of the public eye as she underwent preventative chemotherapy following her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

In September, she revealed she had completed her treatment and was focusing on “staying cancer free” in a heartfelt video featuring herself, William and their three children.

Queen Camilla is unwell with a chest infection and has withdrawn from her engagements this week, Buckingham Palace has announced.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest.

“With great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week but she very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal.

“She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.”

It is understood the Queen will remain at home under doctor’s supervision while she recovers.

King Charles and Prince William are facing calls to dissolve their private estates after it was revealed they are making millions from Britain’s cash-strapped NHS and public services.

The two estates earned the royals upwards of £50mn in the last financial year, with both estates being exempt from paying corporation tax or capital gains tax.

The monarch and heir to the throne have sparked uproar after it was revealed they are benefiting from rental deals with public services – including the armed forces and state schools – on their private estates, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.

“The solution is quite simple, abolish the Duchies,” spokesperson for Republic, Graham Smith, said.

He added: “The Dispatches investigation shows how the Duchies are doggedly pursuing profit at every turn, at huge expense to the public and charities.

“The Duchies are not private property, they are state assets. Parliament allowed the royals to maintain control over these estates when other land was surrendered three centuries ago. It’s time parliament abandoned that arrangement.”

King Charles has instructed the royal purse-keeper to “sever” Prince Andrew’s annual £1 million allowance, according to royal writer Robert Hardman in a new book serialised by the Daily Mail.

The keeper of the privy purse was “instructed to sever [Andrew’s] living allowance” after the Duke of York refused to move out of his 30-room mansion the Royal Lodge into the smaller, nearby Frogmore Cottage.

“’The duke is no longer a financial burden on the King,’ confirms one familiar with the situation,” Mr Hardman writes.

“’He claims to have found other sources of income related to his contacts in international trade, sufficient to cover all his costs – which would be a welcome outcome for all parties if that turns out to be the case.

“’But as to whether this funding can be relied upon in the long term is another matter.’”

A former prime ministerial aide who arranged a bring-your-own-booze garden party during coronavirus restrictions received an honour at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.

Martin Reynolds was dubbed “Party Marty” after the revelations emerged about the May 20 2020 gathering in the Number 10 garden.

Mr Reynolds, who was principal private secretary to Boris Johnson, was made a Companion of the Order of Bath for public service.

Appearing before the UK Covid-19 Inquiry last October, Mr Reynolds apologised when asked about the party.

He told the inquiry he was “deeply sorry” for “my part in those events and for the email message which went out that day”.

Prince William has confirmed speculation that the friendship bracelet he wears that made by his daughter was part of a movement by Taylor Swift fans.

He said: “Well, this is a… I think, a relic, if you like, from a Taylor Swift concert that my daughter decided that she wanted to create a bracelet for.

“She gave it to me when I came away. So I promised to wear it and try not to lose while I was out here.”

The prince has been wearing a blue and white bracelet on his right wrist with the words “Papa” printed on four of the beads.

The bracelets are tokens of love and friendship that are said to have made a comeback thanks to Taylor Swift fans who have been exchanging the handmade jewellery.

The Prince of Wales has said he hopes his children are “proud” of the work of his Earthshot Prize, which champions solutions to “repair” the planet.

In a BBC interview ahead of the Earthshot awards ceremony in Cape Town, William also revealed his family is eco-conscious and minimises their effect on the environment – just like other households.

William said they recycle, reduce their water use and turn off the lights when leaving their home, ahead of his Earthshot Prize awards ceremony being hosted by Cape Town.

The heir to the throne said he hoped his children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – and the Princess of Wales would be would watching the awards being screened online later on Wednesday.

Trump’s victory coincides with a precarious visa battle for the Sussexes, which may be complicated by their strained relationship with the president.

The Republican has previously weighed in on Prince Harry’s US visa application, which has come under scrutiny after Harry admitted in his memoir Spare to using cocaine, smoking marijuana, and experimenting with magic mushrooms as a teenager.

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Melania Trump is once again the First Lady of the US after her husband, Donald Trump, secured a second term in office.

Earlier this year, the former fashion model revealed an unlikely friendship between herself and the monarch in her memoir, Melania.

She explained that after their first meeting in New York in 2005, the pair reconnected in 2019 during a state visit to the UK, by which point Trump was in the White House.

“The evening’s state banquet was a formal and elegant affair. I was seated next to Prince Charles, and it was an absolute pleasure to reconnect with him,” Melania wrote. “Our paths had crossed many years ago in New York City. This time we engaged in an interesting conversation about his deep-rooted commitment to environmental conservation.”

She added: “Our friendship with the royal family continues and we exchange letters with King Charles to this day.”

The royal family plays a key part in the UK-US special relationship, and Donald Trump is well known for his love of the monarchy.

During his last term, Trump visited the UK on a grand state visit, hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

He boasted he had “automatic chemistry” with late Queen and said: “I really got to know her because I sat with her many times and we had automatic chemistry, you will understand that feeling.”

But author Craig Brown, in his new biography A Voyage Around The Queen, has since claimed that the monarch found Mr Trump “very rude”.

She is said to have “particularly disliked” the way he “couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting”.

In 2018, Mr Trump joined the Queen for tea at Windsor Castle. As they inspected a Guard of Honour, the president walked along before standing still in front of the Queen, meaning she had to navigate her way around him so they could walk side by side.

At the state visit a year later, he was treated to a full programme of pomp and pageantry, with a ceremonial welcome and a glittering ballroom banquet at Buckingham Palace.

Charles inspected a Guard of Honour with Mr Trump on the lawns of the royal residence, dined with him at the banquet and had tea with him, Mrs Trump and the then-Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House.

Mr Trump, who is known for his extreme hand-holding, appeared to deliver a fist bump to Elizabeth II in the Palace gardens, but it was more likely an unusual clench of her hand. He tweeted the London trip had been a success, adding: “The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic.”