Earth Hour 2025: What's it all about?
Earth Hour is happening at 8.30pm on Saturday 22 March 2025.The global event takes place every year to encourage people to turn off their lights for 60 minutes to raise awareness about big issues affecting the environment. The night will also see some of the world's most famous buildings plunged into darkness for one hour. This year lots of big landmarks in the UK will be switching off their lights to mark the event including The London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster in London, the Liver Building in Liverpool and Stirling Castle in Stirling.
Why is Earth Hour important?
Earth Hour was started by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) back in 2007. The charity wanted to highlight the importance of tackling climate change and protecting nature, issues which many people all around the world care strongly about. On 31 March 2007, more than 2.2 million people and 2,000 businesses in Sydney, Australia switched off their lights for one hour, which marked the beginning of the movement.Today, more than 190 countries take part in switch-off events and activities to show their support for the natural world around them.
How are people taking part?
You can get involved with Earth Hour by switching off the lights in your home for one hour on the day. There are also other ways to get involved either at home or your local community. Why not spend some time outside enjoying the incredible sights and sounds of nature, switch off your devices like phones and gaming consoles for an hour, or spend some time hanging out with friends and family.
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The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Anne hosts charities at forum to mark upcoming 75th birthday
The Princess Royal has brought her charities together at a special Buckingham Palace forum after deciding it was the only way she wished to mark her forthcoming 75th birthday. Anne is not expected to carry out any major public celebrations in recognition of her milestone in August and requested to only use the occasion to focus on the work of her patronages. The princess joked about thanking her brother, the King, for use of the Palace ballroom and praised the work of the organisations. Anne said: 'I'm not here because this was my choice. You very kindly asked me to become patron of your organisations, so it's an honour for me to have all of you here. 'I would just like to make the point that we are very fortunate that His Majesty has allowed us to use Buckingham Palace for this event tonight – and I need say that – it does help.' She said in her speech to the charities: 'The responsibility and respect that you give to your own organisations and the people who work for you and your beneficiaries is perhaps the key to what makes you so important. ' Respect and responsibility. Thank you very much for doing what you do.' A Palace source said: 'This personifies what Her Royal Highness cares about. 'She didn't want to do anything for her birthday but bring her charities together to hear more about their work and how she can help them.' The princess convened the forum and a reception in the Palace on Thursday for some 200 people, drawn from more than 100 of the 300-plus charities and organisations she currently supports. The forum was arranged to discuss key topics such as challenges facing the sector, public trust in charities and the opportunities and risks presented by new technologies. Among the charities were nine organisations of which Anne has become patron of in the last year – at an age when many people have already retired – including Friends of the Elderly and Naval Children's Charity. Colonel John Boyd, private secretary to the Princess, addressing guests at the opening of the event, said: 'There has been a significant amount of interest in Her Royal Highness's 75th birthday celebrations. 'As you are aware, the princess has given decades of time and support to more than 400 charities and patronages. 'It probably won't come as a surprise given HRH's commitment to you all, that the way the princess wanted to celebrate this milestone was to replicate what she's done on previous significant birthdays and hold this charities forum to once again understand how she can help you at a time when the third sector is facing unprecedented challenges and transformations.' Professor Lynne Berry, chairwoman of the Human Tissue Authority and pro chancellor of the University of Westminster, who chaired the discussion, told guests: 'Your Royal Highness, I know you have had many great ideas over the years but this one, this charity forum, is one of the best.' Anne heard about the challenges facing organisations in terms of fundraising and also how charities have been experimenting with AI, with research showing 76% of charities used AI in 2025, up from 61% last year. The princess is a key member of the King's slimmed-down working monarchy and played an important role as she stepped up in support of Charles amid his cancer diagnosis in 2024. Anne is also known for her no-nonsense approach and her commitment to royal duty. She carried out her first public engagement in 1969 aged 18 when she opened an educational and training centre in Shropshire, and a year later began her longest association with a charity, becoming president of Save the Children and later patron.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Harry and Meghan ‘feared King delayed children's passports over HRH titles'
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex feared the King delayed the issuing of their children's passports over the use of their HRH titles, it has been claimed. The couple are said to have waited almost six months for Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's passports to be issued and believe the application was 'blocked' due to the use of their royal titles. The applications used the surname Sussex, which the family had started using publicly but marked a change from the children's previous surname, Mountbatten-Windsor. A source close to the Sussexes told The Guardian: 'There was clear reluctance to issue passports for the kids.' The source claimed that 'the King hadn't wanted Archie and Lili to carry the titles, most of all the HRH, and the British passports, once created, would be the first and perhaps the only legal proof of their names'. Out of 'sheer exasperation', Prince Harry approached his uncle, Earl Spencer, to discuss the possibility of using the Spencer nam e, rather than Sussex, if the application was blocked. Prince Harry and Meghan agreed not to use their HRH titles when they stepped back from public duties. As grandchildren of the monarch, Archie and Lilibet would otherwise have been styled His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness but it is thought they may be prevented from using the honorific while their father's title is in abeyance. However, Buckingham Palace strongly denied that the King or palace aides had anything to do with the delays in issuing their passports. Asked if the palace had made any suggestion or objection to the documents being issued with the HRH titles, a spokesman said: 'No.' The standard wait time for a passport is three weeks. But following a three-month delay attributed to 'technical issues', the Duke and Duchess are said to have reapplied using the 24-hour passport service. Their meeting was then cancelled at the last minute due to a 'systems failure'. The two passports were eventually issued days after lawyers for the Sussexes sent a letter threatening to pursue a data subject access request. It is claimed that such documents could have revealed details of the delays and the nature of any behind-the-scenes discussions between British officials. The source said: 'Harry was at a point where British passports for his children with their updated Sussex surnames (since the death of Elizabeth II) were being blocked with a string of excuses over the course of five months. 'Out of sheer exasperation he went to his uncle to effectively say: 'My family are supposed to have the same name and they're stopping that from happening because the kids are legally HRH, so if push comes to shove, if this blows up and they won't let the kids be called Sussex, then can we use Spencer as a surname?'' It is claimed that Prince Harry wants his children to retain their HRH titles so they can decide for themselves whether they want to become working royals or stay out of public life. The subject of the Sussexes' titles has proved controversial ever since they moved abroad in 2020. As part of their exit deal, the couple assured Elizabeth II that they would no longer use their HRH titles. However, it recently emerged that the Duchess has been using her title privately for years. Meghan sparked debate in April when an image of a gift basket she had sent to a friend in Los Angeles, adorned with a printed message from 'HRH The Duchess of Sussex', was shown in a podcast. Palace courtiers believed the couple had agreed not to use their titles in any form, and would not use them in the future, 'out of respect'. However, the Duke and Duchess appear to have interpreted the agreement differently, believing that they simply agreed not to use the titles for commercial purposes. Sources close to them have indicated that their titles remain and they are free to use them in private. As such, the Duchess has referred to herself as HRH ever since they relocated to the US, on private letters, gifts and invitations, it is understood. When they travel abroad, the couple are also said to request that their HRH titles be used. A spokesman for the Sussexes said: 'We do not comment on private issues pertaining to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children.'
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Queen to star in crime thriller about killer inside the Palace
The Queen is to star in a new crime novel alongside her favourite fictional detective. Peter James 's latest Detective Superintendent Roy Grace thriller centres on a race to stop a killer at Buckingham Palace. Camilla is depicted travelling aboard the royal train when it derails and a trusted aide is shot by a sniper, leading to Grace heading to the palace to investigate. The Queen, 77, is understood to have been aware of the book which draws on James's extensive research inside the palace. In the publicity for the novel, publisher Pan Macmillan describes James as the 'creator of Her Majesty Queen Camilla's favourite fictional detective'. Outlining the plot, it says: 'A tragic accident or a planned attack?... Despite all the evidence, Roy Grace is not convinced the Queen was the intended target ... Failure at this level is not an option. But time is running out before a killer in the palace will strike again.' A publishing source told the Daily Mail: 'Opening with a cinematic derailment of the royal train, The Hawk Is Dead takes Roy Grace deep into the heart of Buckingham Palace, where he is called upon to solve a murder and what looks to be a royal assassination attempt. 'Queen Camilla, a well-known book-lover and reading champion through her charity, The Queen's Reading Room, has always been one of the first people to receive each Grace novel and is excited to have a starring role, alongside His Majesty King Charles, in Peter's latest thriller.' The King also features in The Hawk Is Dead: A Killer In The Palace, which is due out in October. The Queen, a voracious reader and passionate supporter of a number of literary charities, previously recommended James's blockbusters as part her Reading Room book club. In 2021, she visited the set of Grace – ITV's adaptation of James's books starring John Simm as the troubled but methodical detective – and joked about asking for a cameo role. She told James: 'I love your books. I've read them all, cover to cover.' James said: 'The Queen asked me when I might set a Roy Grace novel in London … and the seed was sown. Where better in London than Buckingham Palace?'
