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☆ Thousands evacuated as firefighters battle La Palma wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Borja Suarez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] General view of the Tijarafe fire on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain July 16, 2023 REUTERS/Borja SuarezJuly 16 (Reuters) - Firefighters were trying to contain a wildfire which burned out of control and forced the evacuation of at least 4,000 people on the Spanish island of La Palma, authorities said on Sunday. Firefighters were burning an area to ensure the blaze stopped at a road and did not spread further. “That is what we are going to do to secure all this area and try to save a house. "There has been some resistance by local people to leaving their homes, but I appeal to people to be responsible," Clavijo told reporters in La Palma. King Felipe VI of Spain telephoned Clavijo on Saturday to express his support with the people of La Palma, the Spanish royal household said.

Persons: Borja Suarez, ” Jose Fernandez, ” Manuel, Fernando Clavijo, Clavijo, King Felipe VI of Spain, Borja Suarea, Silvio Castellanos, Graham Keeley, Barbara Lewis, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Firefighters, La Palma, Reuters, ”, La, Thomson Locations: La Palma, Spain, El Pinar de Puntagorda, Puntagorda, Tijarafe, Africa, Europe, Canary, Tenerife

The military has for decades invoked its duty to defend the monarchy to justify intervention in politics, and used the lese majeste law to stifle dissent, critics say. Much depends on whether Move Forward's main ally, second-place winner Pheu Thai, sticks with it or seeks other coalition partners if Pita's bid looks doomed. King Vajiralongkorn, 70, who has no role in choosing a government, has remained silent on the lese majeste issue since the election. In the last election in 2019, no party would have dared suggest amending the lese majeste law. Pheu Thai, which has 141 seats to Move Forward's 151, could nominate its prime ministerial candidate with the eight-party alliance intact.

Persons: Maha Vajiralongkorn, Suthida, Pita Limjaroenrat, Pita, Seri Suwanpanon, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Prayuth Chan, Pheu, King Vajiralongkorn, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Thaksin Shinawatra, Titipol Phakdeewanich, Amarat Chokepamitkul, Panu, Kay Johnson, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Royal News, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, Senate, Ubon Ratchathani University, Royal Household Bureau, Thomson Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Thai, Handout, BANGKOK, Pheu

☆ King apologises for Netherlands' historic role in slavery
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Dutch King Willem-Alexander speaks at an event to commemorate the anniversary of the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, July 1, 2023. The king apologised for the royal house's role in slavery and asked for forgiveness. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERSAMSTERDAM, July 1 (Reuters) - Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Saturday apologised for the Netherlands' historic involvement in slavery and the effects that it still has today. The apology comes amid a wider reconsideration of the Netherlands' colonial past, including involvement in both the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in its former Asian colonies. Willem-Alexander apologised in Indonesia in 2020 for "excessive violence" during Dutch colonial rule.

Persons: King Willem, Alexander, Peter Dejong, Keti, Willem, Mark Rutte, Rutte, Orange, Toby Sterling, Jason Neely, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Dutch State, Royal House, Royal, Thomson Locations: Netherlands, Amsterdam, REUTERS AMSTERDAM, Caribbean, Amsterdam's, Indonesia, Dutch, East India

☆ Dutch king apologizes for Netherlands’ historic role in slavery
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Saturday apologized for the Netherlands’ historic involvement in slavery and the effects that it still has today. “On this day that we remember the Dutch history of slavery, I ask forgiveness for this crime against humanity,” he said. Spectators react after King Willem-Alexander apologized for the royal house's role in slavery at an event to commemorate the anniversary of the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands on Saturday. The apology comes amid a wider reconsideration of the Netherlands’ colonial past, including involvement in both the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in its former Asian colonies. Willem-Alexander apologized in Indonesia in 2020 for “excessive violence” during Dutch colonial rule.

Persons: King Willem, Alexander, ”, Koti, Peter Dejong, Willem, Mark Rutte, Rutte, Orange Organizations: CNN, Royal House, Royal Locations: Netherlands, Caribbean, Amsterdam’s Oosterpark, Indonesia, East India

☆ Britain’s royal finances boosted by record wind profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Susanna Twidale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - Britain’s Crown Estate, which manages King Charles' public property, posted a record profit last year boosted by income from offshore wind leases. The Crown Estate, which comprises tracts of land and most of Britain’s sea bed, is an independently-run, commercial business, whose profits go to the Treasury. Crown Estate said option fees across all six projects were approximately 1 billion pounds per year, payable to the Crown Estate for a minimum of 3 years and up to ten years. Dan Labbad chief executive of the Crown Estate said he was unable to give more detail on how the profits would be spent. It is typically based on 15% of the profits of the Crown Estate but has been temporarily increased to 25% to pay for extensive refurbishment at Buckingham Palace.

Persons: King Charles, Germany's RWE, Dan Labbad, Grant, Sovereign Grant, Susanna Twidale, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Treasury, Crown, Sovereign, Thomson Locations: Buckingham

☆ After Saudi Arabia, Iran may be patching up with its oldest Arab foe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The feud became the longest between Iran and an Arab country in modern times. Khamenei’s recent comments come as Saudi Arabia normalizes ties with Iran after nearly eight years of a diplomatic freeze. Apart from Saudi Arabia and Iran, Egypt has reconciled with both Turkey and Qatar, and the Arab League last month welcomed Syria back as a member after more than a decade of isolation. Weight of historical symbolismAs the years passed by, Egypt and Iran only grew apart, with little desire to reconcile from either party. Most Arab states continue to reject recognition of Israel.

Persons: Princess Fawzia, Iran’s Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Fawzia, King Farouk I –, –, Pahlavi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran “, ”, Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq, Trita Parsi, ” Parsi, “, Abdel Fattah al, Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Shah, Anwar Sadat, King Farouk, Sadat, Khaled Islambouli, Hosni Mubarak, chargé d’affaires, Mubarak, Mohamed Mursi, Parsi, “ Israel, Abraham, Israel, won’t Organizations: CNN, Iran’s Crown, Iran’s, Media, Tehran, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Arab League, Quincy Institute, Oman News Agency, Reuters Analysts, Cairo Citadel, West, Israel, Abraham Accords Locations: Egypt, Iran, Tehran, Saudi Arabia, United States, ”, London, Cairo, Turkey, Qatar, Syria, West, Washington ,, Al, Rifa’I, Israel, Republic, Ater

[1/2] Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat holds hands with coalition party leaders following a meeting with coalition partners in Bangkok, Thailand, May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaBANGKOK, May 19 (Reuters) - Thailand's progressive Move Forward party on Friday said potential coalition partners need not support its controversial stance on amending the royal insult law, as it seeks to win the backing of other parties to form a government. The lese-majeste law prescribes up to 15 years of jail for perceived offences against the monarchy, which many Thais consider sacrosanct. Third-place winner Bhumjaithai party, which commands a critical voting bloc, said it would not support any premier that would amend the lese-majeste law. "We support medical marijuana, and recreational use must be regulated," a recently elected parliamentarian for Move Forward, Parit Wacharasindhu, said.

☆ Norway's King Harald in hospital with infection, condition stable
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

OSLO, May 8 (Reuters) - Norway's King Harald has been hospitalised to receive treatment for an infection, the royal household said in a statement on Monday. The 86-year-old monarch was in a stable condition and will remain in hospital for a few days, it added. The king had been due to attend a ceremony in Oslo on Monday commemorating the end of World War Two. King Harald has been Norway's ceremonial head of state since 1991. Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Essi LehtoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

All were taken by renowned British photographer Hugo Burnand at Buckingham Palace. In this photo made available by Buckingham Palace on Monday, May 8, 2023, Britain's King Charles III poses for a photo in full regalia in the Throne Room, London. Britain's Queen Camilla poses for a photo in The Green Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, London. In this photo made available by Buckingham Palace on Monday, May 8, 2023, King Charles III and Queen Camilla are pictured in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, London. Lady Ogilvy and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, London.

☆ King Charles’s Photographer Wanted a ‘Little Piece of Theater’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As King Charles III was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Saturday, Hugo Burnand, a British photographer, waited in Buckingham Palace’s glittering Throne Room for the most important moment of his career. The royal household had commissioned Burnand, 59, to take the official portraits of the newly crowned monarch — to create images that every newspaper in the world clamor to publish, and that art historians rush to analyze. Yet given the coronation’s complex schedule, Burnand would have limited time to do it. On Monday, the royal family released the results of Burnand’s short session with the newly crowned king, queen and other members of Britain’s monarchy, giving royal watchers worldwide a chance to judge whether Burnand had lived up to the commission. In Burnand’s pictures, King Charles III is depicted sitting forward in full regalia, holding the Sovereign’s Orb, a hollow gold globe made in the 17th century and decorated with a large cross, as well as the Sovereign’s Scepter.

☆ The British Coronation: A TV Spectacle, Now for the Digital Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Alan Cowell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Some members of the British hierarchy wished to keep cameras out of the inner sanctum of Westminster Abbey, where the queen was crowned. “The world would have been a happier place if television had never been discovered,” the Most Rev. Geoffrey F. Fisher, then the archbishop of Canterbury, who presided over the queen’s coronation, was quoted as saying. Where his mother’s crowning bathed the monarchy in uncontested splendor, Charles’s challenge is to focus a much more diffuse spotlight. While Elizabeth’s coronation required only around 20 cameras, Charles’s crowning is set to be broadcast on the BBC’s hi-definition iPlayer streaming service, alongside television coverage.

☆ Opinion: We want a choice instead of Charles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Opinion Graham Smith | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —When King Charles rumbles up the road from Buckingham Palace in his horse drawn carriage on May 6, off to his coronation, I will be nearby, protesting for the abolition of the British monarchy. According to a recent Savanta poll, support for abolition – that is, Britain having an elected head of state – is close to a third. Protesters hold signs reading "Not My King" behind well wishers gathered for the arrival of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at the Liverpool Central Library on April 26, 2023. So, when we shout “Not My King!” at Charles, it is a proud statement of democratic principle – that we recognise no person’s claim to be above us because of birth. On May 6 it’s about saying very clearly, we want an election instead of a coronation, and a choice instead of Charles.

☆ Charles' coronation seized on by republicans as chance to ditch monarchy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

They believe Charles' accession to the throne presents their best chance of ending the monarchy, which traces its history back more than 1,000 years. Anti-monarchy protests are relatively small, and polls show the majority of Britons still want a royal family. Charles wants a slimmed-down monarchy which would be less expensive to run and his mother said the royal family only existed with the support of the people. Demonstrations against the monarchy are also planned in the capitals of Scotland and Wales on the day of the coronation. "Younger people are moving away from the royal family in their droves," he said.

☆ Buckingham Palace releases pre-coronation photos of Charles and Camilla
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Handout photo dated March 2023 issued by Buckingham Palace of King Charles III taken by Hugo Burnand in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain released on April 28, 2023. Behind the King is the State Portrait of King George V, painted by Luke Fildes shortly after his coronation. Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2023/Handout via REUTERSLONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - Buckingham Palace published three new photographs of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla on Friday ahead of the monarch's coronation on May 6. The images were taken in the palace in March by society photographer Hugo Burnand who was official photographer for the weddings of Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005 and of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. Charles and Camilla appear in the photographs sitting in front of a state portrait of King George V, who reigned from 1910 until 1936 and was the great-grandfather of Charles.

☆ Royal fans slam Ticketmaster for a confusing ballot system that has left them without tickets to King Charles III's coronation concert
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fans were told they had won tickets for King Charles' coronation concert in the final ballot. This was the third and final ballot for a total of 10,000 concert tickets. It was made up of those tickets left unclaimed from the previous two ballots, a Ticketmaster spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Insider. The Ticketmaster spokesperson said that Tuesday's tickets were "released on a first-come, first-served basis to those who had previously applied to the ballot (and were unsuccessful). The BBC, which is organizing the Coronation concert, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Palace email says queen knew Murdoch's UK group spied on her family
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Clive Goodman, the News of the World's then royal reporter, was jailed in 2007 for illegally intercepting royal household phone messages. Harry, estranged from his father King Charles, says he did not bring a lawsuit earlier because of a "secret agreement" between Buckingham Palace and Murdoch's executives to protect the royal family from embarrassment. News Group denies any such agreement, while the palace has not commented. Osman told Brooks in a separate 2018 email that there was an "institutional appetite" within the royal family to resolve Harry’s phone-hacking case. Harry, who now lives in California with his family, was not in court, but is following the proceedings by video link.

☆ King Charles backs research into monarchy's slave links
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Britain's King Charles III arrives on a boat for a trip at the port in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, March 31, 2023. Matthias Schrader/Pool via REUTERSLONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - King Charles has given his support to research that will examine the British monarchy's links to slavery, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday, after a newspaper report said a document showed a historical connection with a transatlantic slave trader. The issue of the British Empire's slavery links and calls for possible reparations from the monarchy has been growing in the Caribbean where Charles remains head of state of a number of countries including Jamaica and the Bahamas. That process had continued with "vigour and determination" since Charles succeeded his mother on the throne last September, it said. "Given the complexities of the issues it is important to explore them as thoroughly as possible," the Palace statement said.

☆ Spain's Princess Leonor to do military training for three years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Spain's Princess Leonor speaks during the ceremony of the 2021 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities at Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo, Spain October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Vincent West/MADRID, March 14 (Reuters) - Princess Leonor, 17 and the heir presumptive to the Spanish throne, will undergo three years of military training starting in August, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Tuesday. "As in all parliamentary monarchies (the heir) has to have a military background and a military career," Robles said after a cabinet meeting. The princess will receive her first year of training at the Army Military Academy in Zaragoza, then go to a naval school, which includes sailing the Juan Sebastian Elcano training tall ship, and finish her studies at the General Air Academy. The government and the Royal House have agreed her "very intense" military training will precede university studies, following in the footsteps of her father in the 1980s.

☆ King Charles to give back profit from $1 bln-a-year wind farm deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Britain's King Charles speaks during a visit at the Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed in Aboyne, Scotland, Britain, January 12, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - King Charles told the British government he would like an expected surge in profit from a 900 million pound ($1.1 billion)-a-year wind farm deal for his Crown Estate to go to the "wider public good" rather than to the royal family. Under agreements announced on Thursday, the Crown Estate will lease sites for six new offshore wind projects that are capable of generating enough green electricity to power more than seven million homes by 2030. It is based on 15% of surplus revenue from the Crown Estate - a property portfolio belonging to the monarchy. Sharing the wind farm windfall would happen through "an appropriate reduction" in the proportion of the Crown Estate surplus that funds the Sovereign Grant.

☆ Factbox: Highlights from Prince Harry's memoir 'Spare'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

MADRID, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A Spanish-language version of "Spare", the much-awaited memoir of Britain's Prince Harry, went on sale in book stores in Spain on Thursday, days ahead of its official launch date. The book reveals details about Harry's relationship with his father, King Charles, his elder brother, Prince William, and other members of the British royal family that have never previously been published. As is usual for the royal family, spokespeople for Charles and William have declined to comment. William called Meghan "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive", Harry writes. CAMILLAHarry says that he and Prince William had asked their father not to marry Camilla Parker-Bowles, who is now Britain's queen consort.

☆ King Charles offers sympathy to those struggling with 'hardship' in first Christmas broadcast
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Britain’s King Charles III offered sympathy to those struggling with “great anxiety and hardship” in his first Christmas broadcast as the U.K.’s monarch Sunday, amid a spiraling cost-of-living crisis. First broadcast in 1932, the message from the monarch has aired on television and radio in Britain and Commonwealth countries for the last 90 years. There has also been a series of walkouts by public workers over wages amid historic inflation. Ambulance and paramedic workers went on a strike earlier in the week and have another planned for Dec. 28. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted his government has acted “fairly and reasonably” in public sector pay negotiations.

☆ What we learned from the final part of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The last three episodes of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary series were released Thursday. Harry said Meghan’s popularity in particular caused problems at the palace, recalling similarities with his mother Diana, who married into the royal family and was beloved by the public. The couple recalled how media coverage started to turn negative, with Meghan increasingly associated with racist tropes such as drugs, criminality or terrorism. More controversy around Archie’s birthThe couple recalled how their desire to keep some privacy around the birth of their first child caused a significant backlash. “The amount of abuse we got … for not wanting to serve our child up on a silver platter was incredible,” said Harry.

☆ Harry and Meghan's Netflix series wraps up - but what is the effect on the royals?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"It's like living through a soap opera where everybody else views you as entertainment," Harry said in one of the final episodes released on Thursday. "It looked cold, but it also felt cold," Harry said of his family's feelings towards him at their last official engagement. "The departure of Meghan and Harry from royal ranks has been far more damaging to the monarchy than the coverage that vilifies them understands or accepts," she told Reuters. But it bounced back to become more popular than ever, with Harry and his brother William to the fore. "Personally, I don't think that it will do lasting damage to the monarchy," royal biographer Claudia Joseph said of the Netflix (NFLX.O) documentary.

☆ Harry and Meghan part 2: Buckingham Palace prepares for gaslighting claims in Netflix docuseries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The final three episodes of the eagerly awaited Netflix docuseries from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are releasing on Thursday. Netflix split the six-part series into two volumes, with the first installment uploaded to its online platform last week at 3 a.m ET. However, there were few real bombshells or direct revelations about individual family members. Signaling what lies ahead, trailers released this week will undoubtedly have raised some red flags within the royal household. pic.twitter.com/ZfCcsieTHx — Netflix (@netflix) December 14, 2022A friend of the couple then claims unfavorable stories about the pair were leaked to the press, in an effort to bury stories about other members of the royal family.

☆ Prince Harry implies royals lied to protect his brother in latest Netflix trailer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Prince Harry appeared to say Britain's royal household was prepared to lie to protect his elder brother Prince William, in a new trailer released on Monday for the remaining episodes of a Netflix documentary series about him and his wife Meghan. While the initial episodes contained no new bombshells for the royal family, in the latest trailer, shared on Twitter by Netflix ahead of the release of the remaining three episodes on Thursday, Harry refers to "institutional gaslighting". "They were happy to lie to protect my brother, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us," Harry later says. At one point, Meghan also says: "I wasn't being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves." Netflix said that members of the royal family had declined to comment within the series, but a royal source said neither the palace nor representatives of Prince William or other royals had been approached.

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