Queen Camilla withdraws from engagements due to chest infection – latest

In exciting news for royal fans, Buckingham Palace has announced it is set to open up its East Wing outside the traditional summer tourist season.

The expanded programme follows the success of this year’s annual summer opening, when it welcomed a record-breaking number of visitors and allowed access to the wing – which includes the famous central balcony – for the first time since it was built 175 years ago.

The 90-minute guided tours, from January to May and costing £90, will offer a more in-depth look at the history of the rooms in the East Wing at a time when the palace is not usually open to the public.

Early in the King’s reign, it was reported Charles planned to give people greater access to the palace all year round.

For the first time, visitors will be able to enter through the palace’s front gates and proceed across the forecourt, just as guests do for official royal events.

King Charles is facing calls to dissolve his lucrative private estates and refund the cash-strapped NHS after it emerged he is making millions from renting out ambulance parking spaces and sub-standard properties.

Charles has been asked to reconsider an £11.4m deal struck by the Duchy of Lancaster last year to store a fleet of electric ambulances, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, in one of the estate’s warehouses for 15 years.

Campaigners described the deal as “disgraceful” and a “money-grabbing activity” which ought to be reconsidered by the King.

“I think it is disgraceful actually, given the NHS is under so much pressure, for the Royal Family to charge for ambulance parking and other NHS uses,” Dennis Reed from Silver Voices, a campaign group for elderly people, told The Daily Mail. “[It] sounds rather like a money-grabbing activity. And I would hope because of the publicity there will be a rethink in the Royal Household.”

In her new documentary, Camilla is seen visiting a refuge and speaking candidly with domestic abuse survivors about their deeply personal experiences.

Earlier this year, Camilla backed The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign to build two new refuges for women fleeing abuse. Thanks to generous donations from readers the initial £300,000 target has recently been reached, with more than £500,000 of donations pouring in so far and plans are already underway for the building of a second home.

Speaking about the importance of refuges in the documentary Camilla says: “You flee and you arrive at this haven. Room of their own, a door they can lock. And as time goes by, they start having their confidence restored and start their life anew.

“These refuges are literally life savers. Without these refuges, where would they go?”

The King and the Prince of Wales’ private estates have struck rental deals worth millions of pounds with the armed forces, the NHS and state schools, it has been reported.

An investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times examined the land and properties the two leading royals own through the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.

The investigation reported that last year the Duchy of Lancaster agreed a deal to store a new fleet of electric ambulances, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, in one of the estate’s warehouses at a cost of £11.4 million over 15 years.

It also said the Duchy of Cornwall had charged the navy more than £1 million since 2004 to build and use jetties and moor warships on the Cornish coastline.

The duchy will also earn around £600,000 over the lifetime of six different leases agreed with local state schools, the investigation found.

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.’”

However in both cases the colonial-era titles could be retained for those who wanted them.

William responded to those questioning whether he is the right person to tackle the issue, given his privileged upbringing, in the first part of his new ITV documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness.

William said: “I think everyone having a right to a safe home benefits us all.

“I come with no other agenda than desperately trying to help people who are in need and I see that as part of my role, why else would I be here if I am not using this role properly to influence and help people while I can.”

The Prince of Wales has been spotted wearning a Taylor Swift-style friendship bracelet made by his daughter while on his trip to South Africa.

William was seen sporting the accessory as he he attended Earthshot+ in Cape Town.

He was wearing a blue and white bracelet made by Princess Charlotte on his right wrist, with the word “Papa” spelled out by four of the beads.

Such tokens of love and friendship have made a comeback thanks to fans of US singer Taylor Swift who have been exchanging the hand-made jewellery.

The royal family’s health blows have led to one of the most personally challenging years for the Windsors.

News of the King’s cancer – undisclosed in its form – came in February, after it was discovered while he was treated in hospital for an enlarged prostate in January.

Online conspiracy theories began to escalate about Kate’s health, with the princess in the end delivering a bombshell video message to the nation in March revealing she was undergoing chemotherapy after post-operative tests showed she also had cancer.

There was a further health blow for the royal family in late June when the Princess Royal, now 74, was rushed to hospital after being struck by a horse while out walking on her Gatcombe Park estate.

Sarah, Duchess of York meanwhile was diagnosed with malignant melanoma skin cancer, just months after facing breast cancer. She later said her treatment had been successful.

Charles, who made an appearance at church on Easter Sunday, returned to public-facing duties in April by visiting a cancer centre in London, while Kate announced she had finished her chemotherapy course in a heartfelt video in September. Kate is hoping to join the royal family at the annual Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in honour of the war dead on Sunday – an important fixture in the royal family’s calendar – but her attendance is yet to be confirmed.

Camilla too has pledged to be there after pulling out of the annual Field of Remembrance opening at Westminster Abbey on Thursday due to her chest infection.