Prince Harry reaches out to brother after being ‘blindsided’ by cancer announcement
Prince Harry has put the acrimonious rift with his brother behind him to “reach out” privately after being told the Princess of Wales was undergoing treatment for cancer…
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Queen ‘proud’ to shoulder royal duties in absence of King and Princess of Wales
The Queen is “proud” to shoulder a greater burden of official duties in the absence of the King and the Princess of Wales as she prepares for a packed schedule of royal events this week…
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Britain warns Putin not to use Moscow attack to intensify war on Ukraine
Britain has warned Vladimir Putin not to use a deadly terror attack in Moscow as an “excuse” to intensify its war on Ukraine…
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Celebrities who mocked Princess of Wales called on to apologise
Blake Lively is among celebrities who have been upbraided for mocking the Princess of Wales in the weeks before she announced she had been diagnosed with cancer.
The American actress, 36, made a “Photoshop” jibe, alluding to the Princess’s absence from public life, when she launched her new drinks range earlier this month.
Lively posted an intentionally edited picture of herself to her 44.7 million Instagram followers, writing in the caption: “I’m so excited to share this new photo I just took today to announce our four new Betty Buzz and Betty Booze products! Now you know why I’ve been MIA.”
The Gossip Girl actress has since deleted the post and apologised for the “silly” joke, saying: “I’m sure no one cares today but I feel like I have to acknowledge this.
“I made a silly post around the ‘Photoshop fails’ frenzy, and oh man, that post has me mortified today. I’m sorry. Sending love and well wishes to all, always.”
The social media furore around the Princess’s whereabouts, well-being and domestic life reached a fever pitch following her release of a Mothering Sunday picture of herself and her three children – and her subsequent apology for editing it.
A few US celebrities weighed in with jokes amid the surge in online speculation, including by the social media star Kim Kardashian, who published a series of photos to her 364 million followers on Instagram with the caption: “On my way to find Kate.”
The post, which at the time of writing is still on her page, received an immediate backlash after the Princess announced in a personal video message on Friday that she has been undergoing preventative chemotherapy since late February.
“How do you feel now it’s been announced she has cancer?” one follower asked on Kardashian’s post, with another weighing in writing: “This didn’t age well. You never know what someone is battling.”
Owen Jones was among more high-profile people to apologise on Saturday following the Princess’s health revelation.
The Left-wing activist and journalist wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “As someone who speculated on this without considering it could be a serious health condition, I’m very ashamed to be honest, and all the very best to her.”
He had previously publicly said that he was “fully on board the Kate Middleton truther train,” which is a reference to the online sleuths who started conspiracies about her whereabouts and condition.
The Princess’s revelation sparked an outpouring of support and well wishes from around the world and has prompted a fierce outcry at some of the nasty conspiracy theories propagated during her absence from public life.
On Saturday, Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis called for people to stop peddling conspiracy theories about the Princess, saying: “Can we please just STOP with this bull—t conspiracy theory? This is a human being with young children, and clearly some sort of health issue.
“That is a private matter. Do we not have better things to do and more important things to think about and be concerned about than this? It’s a really low point in our society when there are SO MANY crucial issues that need our attention.”
On Friday, Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, said the Princess had been subjected to “intense scrutiny and unfairly treated by certain sections of the media around the world and on social media” as he called for her privacy to be respected.
Some TV hosts in the US have also come under fire for their involvement in spreading conspiracy theories on their shows, including John Oliver and Andy Cohen.
Meanwhile, TV presenters Davina McCall and Piers Morgan are among the British media figures who have called for the mother-of-three to be left alone amid her cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment.
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‘I fell to the floor and played dead as Moscow gunmen killed the girl next to me’
Moscow’s Crocus City Hall was packed to the rafters on Friday night as fans of Picnic eagerly awaited the Soviet-era rock band’s arrival on stage…
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Nigel Farage joins anti-Ulez protesters in show of support
Nigel Farage has described the Ulez charge as “the most unjust, unfair tax” after joining a group of protestors to show his support for them…
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‘We’ll climb this mountain with you’: Princess of Wales’s brother shares message of support
The warm public message of support released by the Princess of Wales’s brother, James Middleton, spoke more than a thousand words…
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