
Kate's summer holiday plans - and they're major change for William
With the summer in full swing, the royals can finally look forward to their annual break. And the holidays have started even sooner for the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales, who have officially come to the end of another school year.
Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and seven-year-old Prince Louis are now on their summer break from Lambrook School before heading back to class in September. Their parents William and Kate will likely have some fun plans in store for their children - but before that, they both have a huge royal duty to carry out.
Next week will see them officially welcome French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte to the UK and take part in their glittering state visit. But once that huge duty is over, they can start to look towards their holidays - and royal expert Jennie Bond believes the break will be very different to the ones William used to enjoy when he was younger.
The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror: "The truth is that school holidays are ringfenced as private time for the Prince and Princess of Wales and their young family. And, these days, that means that their plans remain confidential and they are pretty much left alone.
"It's a massive change from the days when William was a boy. Back then, the paparazzi regarded Diana, William and Harry as public property, no matter where they were. Thankfully, after the death of the Princess, things changed. And that must be a huge relief to the Waleses.
"That's not to say William will disappear from public duties – there's the incoming State Visit from President Macron, for example, and I'm sure there will be a handful of other engagements which he will take on. Catherine will devote herself largely to looking after the children, but we may see her at events like Wimbledon and the State Visit."
It's likely the Wales family will be keen to get away from their Windsor home, Adelaide Cottage and decamp to Norfolk, where they can immerse themselves in nature.
Just this week Kate, who spoke about her 'rollercoaster' recovery from cancer treatment and its life-changing impact, visited a wellbeing garden at a hospital to highlight the environment's healing powers.
And Jennie believes the whole family loves the great outdoors. She explained: "The family is likely to be based at their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, for most of the long summer break. They love the wide open spaces there, the freedom they have to explore the Sandringham estate and also to play, pretty unhindered, on the beaches.
"The Sandringham farm offers an opportunity for all sorts of fun for the children: tractors to watch, animals to feed and fruit to pick. The family is also very fond of the Scilly Isles and I wouldn't be surprised if they spent a week or two there."
But while any location for a holiday would remain private, Jennie says there is definitely one destination they will be paying a visit to this summer - Balmoral.
Each year, the royals head up to the Scottish Highlands estate to enjoy quality family time together with the King and Queen, enjoying picnics, barbecues and long walks.
And Jennie added: "They will almost certainly head north of the border for a week sometime in August when the King and Queen will be in residence at Balmoral.
"It's a long-standing tradition that the family gather in Scotland to catch their breath, enjoy the peace of the countryside and just have fun being together."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Woman who livestreamed Kneecap Glastonbury set targeted by online abuse
A woman who livestreamed Kneecap's Glastonbury festival set to 2 million people on TikTok has described the 'obscene' abuse she says has received in the aftermath, including people calling her a Nazi. Helen Wilson, a Swansea-based yoga teacher who also runs the Ground Plant Based Coffee cafe, said she had been sent a lot of personal insults, but that she had received 'hundreds and hundreds times more support than negativity'. It came after she held up her phone in the crowd to stream the set by the Irish rap trio last Saturday, which the BBC refused to show live, over what it said were efforts to ensure it 'meets our editorial guidelines'. The BBC later made an edited version available on iPlayer, though the broadcaster did not respond to the Guardian when asked what had been cut out. Wilson said: 'I just thought, I'm just going to livestream it because the BBC aren't showing it. And I really disagreed with that. I did not think for a moment that over 2 million people would see it.' It was only her second TikTok live stream on her handle HelenWilsonWales – her first, about her weight loss, had no viewers at all – and initially she had not realised how many people were watching because the sun was shining on her phone screen. 'But I could see that when you're doing a live stream, loads of messages pop up and people can talk to you. So the screen was going mental. People were just like ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping. 'And I was like: 'Oh, my god, something's happening here,' and so I just knew I had to carry on. People were saying to me: 'Please keep going, do what you can, please keep going.' And then that was it,' said Wilson, who grew up in Somerset and was working at the festival. The stream was spreading through word of mouth, as viewers sent it to their friends and family, and Wilson found out later that at one point it was playing on a big screen in a pub in the band's home town. She told the Guardian: 'I have had a lot of trolling. When you rang, I was just in the middle of deleting some obscene comments off my business Facebook page.' 'There was somebody on Instagram just saying he sent me a message saying: 'You're just a wrinkled old woman looking for attention.'' '[In a tabloid newspaper] I've been referred to as a middle-aged woman. Like, what has that got to do with anything?' said the 44-year-old. She said: 'This is about the genocide in Palestine, and this is about the failure of our government to act, to do anything about it.' Wilson added: 'More people need to know what is going on in Palestine. And we shouldn't be censoring bands under freedom of speech, full stop. We shouldn't be censoring anybody who is trying to raise awareness of the atrocities that are taking place.' Afterwards, Kneecap called her a 'legend' and offered her free tickets to any of their shows. On Saturday, while supporting Fontaines DC in Finsbury Park, the band once again led 45,000 people in chants of 'fuck Keir Starmer'. The band were far from alone in their sentiments at Glastonbury – dozens of acts and figures at the festival spoke out in support of Palestine, including CMAT, the Libertines, Gary Lineker, Joy Crookes, TV on the Radio, Sorry and Paloma Faith. Kneecap were also backed by Emily and Michael Eavis, the festival's organisers, with Emily telling the BBC that 'everyone is welcome', before their set.


Daily Record
36 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Andy Murray teases with Wimbledon request after getting one over on Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz will hope to lift the Wimbledon title for the third year in a row this summer, a feat which would see him go ahead of Andy Murray in terms of wins at the Grand Slam Andy Murray has suggested he's had the upper hand against Carlos Alcaraz – not on the tennis court, but on the golf course. Young Spaniard Alcaraz, who is set to face Andrey Rublev in a fourth-round clash on the courts of SW19 come Sunday, has been indulging in his love for golf alongside his Wimbledon three-peat attempt. Having already dispatched Italy's Fabio Fognini, Britain's Oliver Tarvet and Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, the 22-year-old is now preparing for a showdown with Russia's Rublev. However, it's not just tennis that's been keeping Alcaraz busy; the sensation who shares a passion for golf with Murray, has been hitting the greens as well. Since hanging up his tennis racket last summer, Murray has developed an obsession with golf, and it seems he's been sharing some rounds with Alcaraz. The pair hit the links before Wimbledon kicked off, and after his victory over Struff, Alcaraz let slip the results of their golfing duel during an on-court interview with Annabel Croft. With a grin, Alcaraz responded to Croft's probing about the friendly rivalry, saying: "He said to you to ask this question, right? I know, I know, because he beat me that day. But then, a few days later, we played again and I beat him, so it's 1-1. We're tied." Asked about scheduling another game, Alcaraz added: "Let's see. I love playing golf on my days off. I know he has a busy schedule so I guess I will try to set it up a round again of nine holes. We have to see who wins because we're tied 1-1, so I have to play again, absolutely." It appears the rubber match happened last Saturday, as hinted by Murray's cheeky update on social media. He wrote on X: "We played the deciding match this afternoon... maybe ask him what happened after the next match," alongside a wink emoji. Meanwhile, on Instagram, he added: "I'll let him tell you the outcome after the next match." Despite potentially feeling the sting from the golf course loss, Alcaraz is in fine form on the tennis court, extending his winning run to 21 matches. Asked if he was playing the best tennis of his career, the ATP No. 2 said (via the Mirror): "Yeah, I think so. "It wasn't the best tennis the whole 21 matches that I've won. But I think I maintain myself really, really calm in the tough moments in those 21 matches that I won in a row. "But yeah, I think I play a really good tennis lately. Really high confidence right now. "But yeah, as I say many, many times, I think when you approaching the matches, I doing in a really great way, that I'm really happy about. And during those matches I've saved really difficult moments. So I'm going to say that, yeah."


Wales Online
43 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Wimbledon star teases she expects 'ban' over claim that fans won't be happy with
Wimbledon star teases she expects 'ban' over claim that fans won't be happy with Iga Swiatek has revealed the bizarre meal that she eats to recover from matches at Wimbledon – and it's safe to say her revelation after beating Danielle Collins won't be to everyone's taste Iga Swiatek is aiming to win her first Wimbledon title (Image: AP ) Iga Swiatek has admitted her preferred dish won't sit well with the Wimbledon crowd. The Polish tennis ace advanced to the next stage of the Grand Slam after overcoming Danielle Collins on Saturday – yet it was her culinary preferences that turned heads. Swiatek, who boasts five Grand Slam titles inclusive of four French Open trophies and the US Open accolade, bested Collins in just an hour and a quarter, concluding the match with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-3. Her upcoming contest is against Clara Tauson at the All England Lawn Tennis Club following her convincing win. In her post-match conversation with Annabel Croft on Centre Court, she divulged a rather unusual energising meal. When asked about her post-game nourishment plans, Swiatek quipped: "I don't know yet. For sure, not fish and chips, because it's too heavy." She went on to explain the eating habits of her entourage, expressing mild disapproval: "But my team has been eating every day like a cheat meal, you know? And I'm just looking at them like, 'Guys, that's not helpful.'" However, the Mirror reports how she then shared her peculiar childhood favourite, saying: "But I have my favourite actually. I ate it as a kid. It is pasta with strawberries." Article continues below Amidst an audible sense of scepticism from the various reporters, she encouraged them to sample the dish. "You should try it guys. Pasta with strawberries and a little bit of yoghurt. It is just great." Swiatek showed off her favoured meal on Instagram after her match (Image: Instagram/ ) Her unorthodox pairing of pasta and strawberries at the tournament, renowned for its traditional strawberries and cream, stirred quite the commotion, and she laughingly mentioned it might just result in her getting barred from SW19. During her post-match press conference, she brushed off the surprise over her unique eating habits saying: "Why is it such a big thing? Everybody should eat that. I think (it's a Polish dish). I think in summer kids are eating it a lot. I don't know. It's just a perfect mix of tastes, so... we have great strawberries in Poland, as well." When quizzed on which nation boasted superior strawberries, Swiatek showed her patriotism, stating: "Honestly, I think Poland. Because we have [a] better climate for strawberries, right?" She then teased: "Now Wimbledon is probably going to ban me from answering these questions." Article continues below The Pole defeated Danielle Collins in straight sets to move into the fourth round of Wimbledon (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images ) Swiatek then hurriedly added: "No, the strawberries are great here, as well. They are different. But they are great, as well. My dad adds cream. He adds that and some sugar. I try to eat with yogurt to at least pretend that it's a good meal. Pasta fits everything. But strawberries are the best one, I would say." Standing firm on her stance, Swiatek then shared an image of the debated dish: conchiglie pasta mingled with sliced strawberries and yoghurt. She captioned it: "Come on guyssss, this is a Polish speciality." A poll was even set up to gauge her followers' willingness to sample the concoction.