OHMYGOSSIP — Duchess Catherine’s necklace is a subtle nod to Princess Diana.
The 35-year-old royal was given a piece of jewellery designed London boutique Merci Maman by her sister Pippa Middleton to mark the birth of her first child, Prince George, now four, and is a poignant mark of respect to her late mother in law.
Writing in their blog on the Merci Maman page, they shared: “Alongside the iconic fashion of Princess Diana’s wardrobe went her wonderful collection of jewellery. Family was one of the closest things to Diana’s heart so it’s no surprise that this shone through in her jewellery, featuring personalised pieces and meaningful charms.
“The young Lady Spencer owned a simple gold chain bearing her initial ‘D’, keeping her early jewellery minimal and personal. Upon the birth of Prince William in 1982, Prince Charles gave Diana the gift of a gold pendant engraved their new son’s name, which she always wore close to her heart.
“In 2013, Pippa Middleton continued this family tradition by giving her sister Kate, The Duchess of Cambridge, our Personalised Duchess Necklace to celebrate the birth of Prince George. Featuring a hand-engraved disc with the Prince’s full name, a small boy charm and a heart engraved with a ‘W’ to represent Prince William.”
It is not the first time Catherine – who also has Princess Charlotte, two, with her husband Prince William – has used jewellery as a royal tribute to Princess Diana.
To finish her tour of Berlin recent, Duchess Kate opted for a beautiful pearl bracelet belonging to Princess Diana.
The bracelet was designed by Nigel Milne in 1988 and London-based jeweller Milne wrote on his website: “I am delighted to see in the national press that the Duchess of Cambridge chose to wear one of her late mother-in-law’s favourite pearl and diamond bracelets on the Royal Tour in Germany last week. This is of particular interest to me in that it was designed by me and featured in our 1988/1989 jewellery catalogue …
“This is the bracelet that Princess Diana wore on several occasions including at the Birthright Ball in 1989 and with her iconic Catherine Walker ‘Elvis’ dress in Hong Kong and has now been seen adorning the Duchess of Cambridge!”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth’s horses were chased into traffic by a group of hooligans.
Around 21 of the Queen’s Life Guard horses were chased out of their RAVC Defence Animal Training Regiment base in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and into oncoming traffic.
Writing on the Melton Police Facebook page, a woman who witnessed the carnage shared: “Very lucky to be here to tell the tale as I honestly thought me and my mum would be killed. After avoiding a head on with another vehicle to emergency stopping on the verge to then have 21 horses charging at you smashing the car as it passed with glass landing all over me while screaming at my mum to stay down trying to cover her while whipping her seat back.
“Such a horrific incident. I hope when the mindless people are caught they get the book thrown at them as this could have resulted in numerous fatalities. Luckily for us were just shook up and aching from the collision although I have to add this has really upset my mum who is a very strong woman.”
The horses – which were on resting duties after guarding The Queen at Buckingham Palace, her London home – headed towards a dual carriageway but were stopped before they reached there, avoiding an even more dire situation.
An spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “We can confirm that a number of military horses were released from the Defence Animal Training Regiment fields late on August 4. All horses were subsequently returned to the stables and are making a good recovery.
“The Ministry of Defence is particularly grateful to members of the local community, the police and veterinary staff from Nottingham University, who helped to get the situation under control and the horses home so quickly.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince Harry saved a soldier from homophobic abuse.
Former Army man James Wharton has recalled how Harry told those who were bullying him to “f**k off” and praised the royal for being the “most forward-moving, modern officer” he had ever worked with.
He shared: “[He had said,] ‘Right, I’m going to sort this s**t out once and for all … It’s sorted. We cleared everything up. I told those other lads to back the f**k off, too.’
“I didn’t even think of it as a special circumstance. He was my superior, he was Sir, he was Mr Wales, we were very normalised to the prince. Now, obviously, I hugely appreciate it. He was the most forward-moving, modern officer I had worked with.”
And James is “filled with admiration” for the flame-haired royal for raising awareness of mental health and reducing the stigma surrounding HIV.
He told The Sun newspaper: “I’m filled with admiration when I see him talk about mental health, and when he took that HIV test on World Aids Day. He is a decent human being. I don’t think it’s a PR thing, or that it’s coached, he’s just a good person.
“Every now and again, we see the Royal Family step into a new era. You had Prince William, the future king, having a meeting about homophobia in schools, then Prince Harry having an HIV test – that’s huge.”
Meanwhile, Sir Elton John previously revealed he thinks the late Princess Diana would have been “so proud” of her son Harry for raising awareness of HIV.
He wrote on Instagram last year: “In 1991, Princess Diana moved a mountain by addressing the stigma surrounding people living with HIV/AIDS. She showed the world we could safely wrap our arms around AIDS patients, by shaking hands with a patient without gloves. We’ve made huge strides since then in the treatment of the disease.
“People now live long, happy lives with HIV, when the virus is effectively managed with anti-retrovirals. Despite this amazing progress, most people today are still frightened and stigmatised at the notion of taking an HIV test. Today in London, Prince Harry gave that stigma a knock on the head by showing the world how easy and simple it is to take an HIV test. Bravo Prince Harry! Your mother would be so proud of you.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Charles Spencer has always felt “intensely protective” of his late sister Princess Diana.
The Earl of Spencer was “furious” when he found out his sibling had passed away in a car crash in August 1997 as he wished he could have been there to keep her safe.
He said: “I was furious, I wasn’t just angry. [I thought] what could I have done. But you always think, God, I wish I could’ve protected her. It was just … it was devastating. I always felt intensely protective towards her.”
With it now being 20 years since her untimely passing, the Earl of Spencer feels it is the right time to open up about his sister’s life to help cement her place in history.
Speaking in an interview shown in the two-part television event ‘The Story of Diana’, he added: “One of the reasons I wanted to talk now is because I think after 20 years, someone shifts from being a contemporary person to a person of history actually. And Diana deserves a place in history.
“I think that it’s important for people who are under 35, who probably won’t remember her at all, to remember that this is a special person. Not just a beautiful one.”
Meanwhile, Charles previously revealed he chose to bury his sibling in the grounds of the Althorp estate, their childhood home, because he “wanted to keep her safe”.
He said: “It seemed natural [to bury her at home] as I wanted to keep her safe … There was such a whipped up feeling of emotion everywhere that I was very worried about where we could safely bury her.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince William and Prince Harry feel they let their mother Princess Diana down when they were younger.
The Princes are devastated that they weren’t able to “protect” their late mother – who died in August 1997 in a car crash – and want to honour her memory in every way they can.
Prince William said in a statement: “Part of the reason why Harry and I want to do this is because we feel we owe it to her … I think an element of it is feeling like we let her down when we were younger. We couldn’t protect her.
“We feel we at least owe her 20 years on to stand up for her name and remind everybody of the character and person that she was. Do our duties as sons in protecting her.”
And Prince Harry admits it is “never going to be easy” to talk about his mother’s death but he wants to “remind people” of the difference Diana made to the world.
The flame-haired royal added: “When she died there was such an outpour of emotion and love which was quite shocking. It was beautiful at the same time, and it was amazing now looking back at it. It was amazing that our mother had such a huge effect on so many people.
“When you’re that young and something like that happens to you, I think it’s lodged in here, there, wherever – in your heart, in your head and it stays there for a very, very long time. I think it’s never going to be easy for the two of us to talk about our mother, but 20 years on seems like a good time to remind people of the difference that she made, not just to the Royal Family but also to the world.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth was reunited with a pony who tried to bite her this week.
The 91-year-old monarch is currently on holiday at her Scottish residence of Balmoral, and she came into contact with a mischievous Shetland pony, Cruachan IV, but managed to see the funny side of the meeting.
According to Aberdeen’s Evening Express newspaper, the equine made a noise and the queen said: “Oh, we know where you are.”
Several people chuckled during the exchange, and the queen had a wide grin on her face.
Elizabeth came face-to-face with Cruachan IV again while meeting 2nd Battalion Royal Highland Fusiliers, who count the pony as their mascot.
In 2014, the horse tried to bite the queen but she managed to avoid any injury, and Cruachan IV seems to have calmed down now.
Elizabeth and Cruachan’s reunification comes just a month after she had to tell another naughty pony off when he tried to eat her flowers.
The queen was forced to tell the horse to “go away” when he attempted to whip the heads off her flowers while she was talking to fans during her visit to Stirling Castle in Scotland.
She then told the pony’s minder: “They always try to eat the flowers.”
The queen is known to be a big fan of race horses and owns many.
She also attends the Royal Ascot race meeting every year, and in 2013 she was named Owner of the Year at the Racehorse Owners Association Awards.
It came after her horse Estimate won the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, the first time a reigning sovereign had won the prize in the race’s 207-year history.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Princess Diana’s former driver wishes he was at the wheel on the day she died in a car crash.
Colin Tebbutt has opened up about the Princess of Wales’ tragic death in a Paris collision in 1997, admitting he still feels responsible for not being her driver that day and it is something which he “always” thinks about.
When asked if he felt a “strange sense of responsibility” and “wished [he] was driving that day”, he replied: “Yes, you always do that, you always do that. That is not good to have in the mind.”
Colin – who worked for Diana for two years until she passed away aged 36 – also constantly thinks of one instance when he arrived at a Paris hospital and saw Diana’s eyelashes and hair move, before noticing it was because of a nearby fan.
In his first live TV interview since her death, he told ‘Good Morning Britain’: “I was taken to help, I went to the hospital and arrived and there was lots of people about. There was a lot of people
“It was very difficult and emotional to see someone laying on a bed, not a mortuary. I could see people standing on a roof, that worried me because there were no curtains, so I got some blankets along the windows which made it hotter in the room.
“I went and got some fans to cool the room down. That was the one moment in my life when my professionalism was lacking a little bit, because as I turned around, the eyelashes and the hair of the princess were moving, caused by the fan. That just stuck with me.
“I had to turn away, think about it and get on with what I was doing.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Queen Elizabeth’s favourite carriage horse has retired.
The 91-year-old monarch’s equine has hung up his reins after 14 years of service, which has seen him involved in state visits, the queen’s birthday parade and the opening of parliament.
Daniel will now see out his days at The Horse Trust charity in Buckinghamshire, south east England, and chief executive Jeanette Allen admitted it was a “privilege” to house the four-legged animal for his “twilight years”.
She told Horse and Hound magazine: “For everyone at the Horse Trust, it is a privilege to provide a tranquil retirement for horses and ponies that have served the country or our communities.
“[We provide] space, grass underfoot and the opportunity to live out their twilight years enjoying the natural ways of just being a horse.
“Horses working at the Royal Mews belong to the nation and not, as many believe, to the Royal Family.
“We will certainly give Daniel a very happy and loving retirement.”
Daniel was so well-loved by the queen that a life-size statue of him and stable mate Storm can be found on a roundabout in Windsor, south east England, after residents commissioned the work to celebrate the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
The equine started off work at the Metropolitan Police before joining The Royal Mews, a Royal Family site located at Buckingham Palace comprising of stables and a carriage house.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Princess Diana’s brother has been slammed by two of her former employees.
The late Princess of Wales’ ex-chef Darren McGrady has hit out at Earl Charles Spencer insisting he wasn’t “there for her” before she died in 1997 aged 36, after her sibling revealed this week he wished he could have “protected her”.
Darren retweeted an article about Charles’ comments on Twitter and added: “This makes me want to throw up! Where were you when she needed you ? #PrincessDiana #dianainherownwords
“NO! Not going to sit her and be quiet while little brother tries to rewrite history. You WEREN’T THERE FOR HER ! (sic)”
Dickie Arbiter, Queen Elizabeth’s former press secretary, who also worked closely with Diana, responded to Darren’s tweet, insisting Charles was being a “hypocrite”.
He tweeted: “Such hypocrisy from Charles Spencer. He forgets some of us were there when he turned his back on Diana (sic)”
The pair are believed to be referring to an incident in April 1996 when Diana wanted a home on the Althorp estate, Earl Spencer’s home, to use at the weekends aside from her Kensington Palace apartment following her divorce from Prince Charles.
Her former butler Paul Burrell previously revealed a note sent to Diana by Earl Spencer refusing her permission to live at Althorp, Northamptonshire, and the ex-footman said it left her in tears.
The note read: “I’m sorry, but I’ve decided that the Garden House isn’t a possible move now. There are many reasons, most of which include the police and press interference which would inevitably follow.
“I know you will be disappointed but I know I am doing the right thing for my wife and children. I am just sorry I cannot help my sister!
“I fear for you. I know how manipulation and deceit are parts of the illness … I pray that you are getting appropriate and sympathetic treatment for your mental problems.
“After years of neglect on both sides our relationship is the weakest I have with any of my sisters … perhaps you have more time to notice that we seldom speak.”
But he did offer her some other alternatives.
He wrote: “In theory it would be lovely to help you out and I am sorry I can’t do that … If you are really interested in renting a farmhouse, either here or in Warwickshire or Norfolk, that would be wonderful.”
Charles insisted this week he always felt “intensely protective” of his sibling.
Speaking on US documentary ‘The Story of Diana’ on ABC, which will be broadcast this week, he said: “What could I have done? But you always think, ‘God, I wish I could have protected her.’ It was devastating. I always felt … intensely protective towards her.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Princess Diana would have been the “best grandmother ever”, her brother believes.
Earl Charles Spencer has opened up about his late sister – who tragically died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 aged 36 – admitting she was “quite naughty” as a kid but would’ve made the ideal role model for her son Prince William’s children, George, four, and Charlotte, two.
Speaking on US documentary ‘The Story of Diana’ on ABC, on which he shared previously unseen videos of the royal as a youngster, he said: “You’d be wrong to think of Diana was a saintly child. She was quite naughty. Never with malice, you know, just sort of pushing the boundaries.
“One of the great tragedies of course is that Diana would have been the best grandmother ever.”
The Princess of Wales’ brother also admitted he is delighted to hear she is still well respected.
He said: “I love the fact that there’s still such veneration inside her immediate family for what she was and what she meant and I think that’s fantastic.”
Charles recently admitted he felt as though he was “almost out of oxygen” when he delivered the eulogy at his sister’s funeral.
He said: “She’d left me as guardian. I was looking directly at William and Harry across her coffin. In the final paragraph I had run out of energy, almost out of oxygen. I had to punch each syllable out of the base of my stomach.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Cressida Bonas finds it “incredibly frustrating” to simply be known as Prince Harry’s ex.
The 28-year-old actress dated the flame-haired prince from 2012 to 2014 and despite forging a successful acting career for herself, appearing in forthcoming film ‘Tulip Fever’ alongside huge stars Alicia Vikander and Dame Judi Dench, she is still regarded as Harry’s former girlfriend.
She said: “It’s incredibly frustrating, especially in the industry that I’m in.
“But, you know, it is the way it is.
“It’s about making a stand. Saying no, this is who I am and this is what I want to do.”
The ‘The Bye Bye Man’ star insists some people in the UK are “very quick” to put others in certain categories based on their past experiences.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Woman’s Hour’ show, she added: “I think it’s that thing of being pigeonholed.
“Especially in this country, I find people are very quick to put you in a box or put you in a corner and think, ‘Oh well you’re that so you must be that.’ ”
As well as her acting career, which has also seen Cressida portray Daisy Buchannan in the West End production of ‘The Great Gatsby’, she is keen to design her own fashion range.
She recently said: “I’m hoping to design a range but I’m still working out what I want it to look like.”
Harry is now dating another actress, ‘Suits’ star Meghan Markle, and the pair are currently in Africa on holiday together.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Bees living at Clarence House produce 40lbs of honey a year.
The residence of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, is open for summer visits this month, and the couple are encouraging guests to take in their impressive collection of 90,000 of the flying insects.
A series of posts on the official Clarence House Twitter account read: “If you visit Clarence House during the summer opening this month, you may spot these beehives in the Royal residence’s garden!
“The Clarence House garden contains two beehives, which are home to over 90,000 bees. They produce around 40 pounds of honey a year. (sic)”
Charles is known to be a fan of bees as he also has some on his Duchy Home Farm estate, an organic farm which is part of the gardens at his Highgrove House country home in Tetbury, south west England.
Some of the honey those insects produce is sold in jars of Highgrove Home Farm Runny Honey on the shop’s official website for £6.50 each.
The sales pitch reads: “Made in small quantities to traditional methods, this honey is presented in a rustic-style jar, finished with a Highgrove label.
“With an exquisite floral flavour, this honey is made by bees that forage pollen from around the estate hedgerows and orchards, and the surrounding countryside and gardens.”
However, Charles, 68, hasn’t always got on well with the yellow and black insects as he yelped in fright during an encounter with a bumble bee on his tour of New Zealand with Camilla in 2005.
Fortunately, he wasn’t stung and after a few uncomfortable seconds the bee flew off.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Princess Beatrice turned 29 yesterday (08.08.17).
The royal was wished a happy birthday in a very formal way by her father, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, from his official Twitter account, on which he shared a picture of the brunette.
He wrote: “Happy 29th Birthday to Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice!”
Queen Elizabeth effectively did the same when the Royal Family Twitter account retweeted the message, echoing Andrew’s wishes.
Beatrice remained quiet on her own social media account but one fan did reply to her last message on the site from July 2nd with some special birthday wishes.
The supporter wrote: “Happy Birthday Princess Beatrice. I lived in England when you were born & cant ever forget such a special date. (sic)”
It’s not known if she saw her parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, or her sister Princess Eugenie on her birthday, but they were spotted boarding a private jet to the queen’s Scottish residence, Balmoral.
Beatrice was a birthday party guest last month for Harper Beckham – the six-year-old daughter of former footballer David Beckham and fashion designer Victoria Beckham – as she celebrated the milestone at Buckingham Palace.
David, 42, shared a picture of his daughter standing outside the royal residence and admitted she was “lucky” to have met Beatrice.
He wrote on Instagram: “Lucky Harper meeting a real life princess at the Palace x (sic)”
Beatrice was among several members of the Royal Family who attended the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting in June.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have flown to Scotland to holiday with Queen Elizabeth.
The former couple – who split in 1996 after 10 years of marriage – and their daughter Princess Eugenie jumped on a private jet north of the border yesterday (08.08.17) alongside one of Andrew’s Norfolk terrier dogs.
After landing in Scotland, Andrew drove his ex and daughter away from the airport in a black Range Rover.
Prince Philip, 96, will also join his 91-year-old wife at her Scottish residence, Balmoral, in a few weeks.
But first he is enjoying the beginning of his retirement from royal duties at the couple’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, east Anglia.
The Duchess of York recently admitted she wished she had bulimia when she was younger so that she could be as “beautiful and thin” as her former sister-in-law Princess Diana, who tragically died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 aged 36.
She said: “I was a binge-eater. I never could get bulimia because I just didn’t have that mental state to go that far, but I always wished I could.
“But that just shows you how dangerous and what place I got to. To wish you could have a mental illness to that level is a very serious place to get to.”
The duchess now hopes to serve as a “human bridge” for people with eating disorders, encouraging them to seek out the help they need to tackle their issues.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Paul Burrell insists Duchess Catherine will never measure up to Princess Diana because she doesn’t have the same “magic quality”.
The former butler of the late Princess of Wales – who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 aged 36 – insists Prince William’s wife simply doesn’t have as much “charisma” as Diana, but admitted she is “devoted” to the Duke of Cambridge.
He said: “She’s a lovely, lovely girl and if you get to meet Kate you will know she totally adores her husband and they’re devoted to each other, but that extra something which you call the X factor, the magic quality, charisma … it’s not there.”
The 59-year-old former footman also admitted Queen Elizabeth and Mother Teresa had something about them which stood out in contrast to Catherine, who was known as Kate Middleton before she married the prince.
Speaking on Australian news network 9News, he added: “I met Mother Teresa, she had it, Pope John Paul II had it, the queen has it, Diana certainly had it, Kate doesn’t.”
However, Paul was later slammed by ‘Today’ host Karl Stefanovic over his comments, and then appeared to backtrack, saying his words were taken “out of kilter”.
Speaking on the Australian show, he said: “What I was trying to say was Diana was unique and irreplaceable and she had that something, which is charisma or magic. I’m not quite sure what it is.
“Kate is a beautiful young lady. She is gorgeous, she has never put a foot wrong. She has the love and support of her husband and they are the future of the royal family.
“I think we should support them and maybe my comment was out of kilter. I didn’t mean it that way. What I meant was she is a safe pair of hands.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Prince Charles was reportedly angered as he watched Channel 4’s Princess Diana documentary.
The 68-year-old royal – who was married to Diana from 1981 until 1996 – is said to have watched the much-discussed ‘Diana: In Her Own Words, in which she spoke candidly about her sex life with the Prince, and Charles was left feeling frustrated by what he saw.
A source said: “The Prince did watch it while doing other things.
“He was fuming because it brought all of this back up.”
The Queen is also said to feel frustrated that the issue of Prince Charles’ relationship with Diana has been thrust back into the spotlight.
The insider told the Daily Star newspaper: “Her Majesty also watched some of it.
“She is wanting to move on and she knows Diana was not looked after by the palace properly but she had always said we must learn from the past on how to move on.
“She certainly doesn’t want all this brought back up again but she knows the interview was always out there.”
Despite the criticism surrounding the documentary, it attracted an audience of 3.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched documentary on Channel 4 in three years.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster said: “The documentary attracted an average audience of 3.5 million viewers and a 16.4 percent share of audience, making it Channel 4’s highest rating overnight audience since ‘Gogglebox’ in April last year and biggest overnight for a doc since ‘Benefits Street’ in Feb 2014.”
Meanwhile, a Royal spokesperson has denied the claims of the insider, saying: “The story is entirely false.”

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