Latest news with #Wills
The Sun
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Princess Kate dazzles in sailor blue as she launches Royal Navy anti-sub frigate HMS Glasgow
KATE is the Princess of Sails as she launches her first naval ship - by smashing a bottle of whiskey against its hull. The Princess of Wales is joined by Wills at the naming ceremony for HMS Glasgow at BAE Systems' shipyard in Scotstoun, Glasgow. 2 The state-of-the-art Type 26 anti-submarine frigate, is designed to provide protection to the UK's nuclear deterrent and aircraft carriers. Kate was named the sponsor of the vessel in 2021. Just a year later, Kate met Royal Navy sailors from HMS Glasgow at Windsor Castle to hear about the ship's progress and their experiences in the Royal Navy. During the ceremony today, she smashed a bottle of whiskey against the ship's hull as part of a tradition dating back to the 1800s. Queen Victoria is believed to have been one of the first people to take part in the custom, when she broke a bottle of champagne on the hull of HMS Royal Arthur. After the ceremony, which officially launches the ship, the royal couple will board the vessel and meet with representatives from UK defence manufacturer BAE Systems. The Prince and Princess will also visit the BAE Systems' shipbuilding academy to meet apprentices and graduates and hear about the shipbuilding and maritime training the students received. The students are taught an incredible range of skills, which were used to build the boat, including craft trades like fabrication, sheet metal work, welding, and pipe fitting. The event will end with the future King and Queen meeting a employees from BAE Systems, who have a wide variety of skills, trades and backgrounds before meeting the ship's company and their families. William and Kate made headlines just days ago when they hosted a lavish garden party in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. The Princess met with the family of a 17-year-old photographer named Liz Hatton, who had sadly passed away after a battle with cancer. Kate had met Liz whilst being treated for cancer herself and shared a warm hug with the photographer. Liz's parents have created a charity called Capture to support those with Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour, in their daughter's honour. Speaking about Liz, the princess said: "She really made the most of everything. I loved her creativity all the way through. "If you need any help fundraising, maybe I can help. Please stay in touch, really." Kate has opened up about how her own battle with cancer left her struggling to navigate "stormy waters and roads unknown". Meanwhile, Will was struggling with his own grief surrounding his mother's death while working to support their children. He revealed it was the "hardest year" of his life. A close friend told The Sun: 'Last spring and early summer, things were really very tough. Catherine was very ill and William genuinely had to confront the possibility that he could lose his wife and his father [who has also been battling cancer]. 'Keeping things as normal as possible for the 'kiddies', as Catherine calls them, was paramount. Her mum in particular was a tower of strength and support.' Inside Kate Middleton's inseparable bond with 'pa' King Charles By Richard Palmer THERE was a time when King Charles complained he rarely saw Prince William and his family, but these days he has a special bond with Kate. Back in early 2015, some friends of the royals were saying that the then Prince Charles was unhappy because his elder son and wife never brought their toddler son Prince George to see him. The couple, it was alleged, were much closer to Michael and Carole Middleton. But there is no doubt that the monarch and Queen Camilla are closer to the Prince and Princess of Wales these days. The family's rift with Harry and Meghan has helped to bring them closer, according to some insiders, and the King and Kate's dual cancer diagnosis and treatment at the same time has deepened their bond. Kate has always been the steely one, holding the family together but has had to find strength during her chemotherapy treatment from the love and support that her husband, children, and other relatives, including notably her father-in-law, have provided. In January 2024 when they both found themselves in the same hospital, the London Clinic, for operations the King went to see his daughter-in law. He was in for an enlarged prostate and she was there for planned abdominal surgery. It was a small gesture, one perhaps not so surprising, but it demonstrated their closeness in a world of royalty where family members worry that visiting sick relatives can be disruptive for the medical staff because everything tends to stop if the monarch comes calling. When they both discovered they had cancer in the aftermath of surgery, Charles and Kate supported each other, according to well-placed sources. As The Sun revealed shortly afterwards, when the right time finally came in March, the King went to see her for a heart-to-heart conversation over an 'emotional' lunch at Windsor Castle the day before she released a video announcing her cancer diagnosis to the world. In public, the affection in which Charles holds his daughter-in-law was plain to see when he installed her beside him on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the traditional flypast after Trooping the Colour in June 2024, her first public appearance since her diagnosis. It is all a world away from the impression that is sometimes given of a cold, austere family hidebound by hierarchy and tradition. In the warm embrace of their family, both the King and the Princess have found a bond that has sustained them through what has been a dark period in their lives.
Scottish Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Prince William tucks away penalty as he launches football charity partnership
Plus, the Prince reveals how he fell in love with his boyhood footie team Aston Villa PENALTY KING Prince William tucks away penalty as he launches football charity partnership PRINCE William strokes in a penalty at the second attempt as he launches a football partnership yesterday. The future king, 42, saw his first spot kick saved by the goalie but wheeled away in triumph after his next go. 6 Prince William scored a penalty as he launched a football partnership Credit: Getty 6 One royal fan presented Aston Villa fan William with a pennant artwork Credit: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace He chatted to players at Street Soccer Scotland in Leith, Edinburgh. One royal fan presented Aston Villa fan William with a pennant artwork from a royal fan. The Prince of Wales told them how son Louis, seven, has divided football loyalties, laughing: 'At the moment he says he supports five different teams.' The Wales's Royal Foundation aims to strengthen social connections through the sport. A Palace spokesman said: 'The Prince and Princess want to leave a lasting impact and legacy.' Today Princess Kate will christen HMS Glasgow at a Clyde dockyard by releasing a bottle of whisky against the hull. Earlier in the month, William spoke of falling in love with Aston Villa after being taken to a match by friends as a boy. The heir said he was gripped by the 'sense of belonging' and the passion of his fellow football fans. Wills also revealed he visits fan forums anonymously online — and moves his kids around when watching at home to bring the team luck. But how did he become a Villa fan, seeing as he had no obvious connection with the Midlands? William, concedes it was relatively late when he got the bug but he was gripped by the camaraderie, and his interest intensified when Villa got relegated in 2016. Prince William on fatherhood & football | Royal Exclusive Special 6 The Prince chatted to players at Street Soccer Scotland in Leith, Edinburgh Credit: Getty 6 Wills is a huge Aston Villa fan Credit: Getty 6 The future king saw his first spot kick saved by the goalie Credit: Getty
The Irish Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Prince William tucks away penalty as he launches football charity partnership
PRINCE William strokes in a penalty at the second attempt as he launches a football partnership yesterday. The future king, 42, saw his first spot kick saved by the goalie but wheeled away in triumph after his next go. Advertisement 6 Prince William scored a penalty as he launched a football partnership Credit: Getty 6 One royal fan presented Aston Villa fan William with a pennant artwork Credit: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace He chatted to players at Street Soccer Scotland in Leith, Edinburgh. One royal fan presented The Prince of Wales told them how son The Wales's Royal Foundation aims to strengthen social connections through the sport. Advertisement READ MORE ON PRINCE WILLIAM A Palace spokesman said: 'The Prince and Princess want to leave a lasting impact and legacy.' Today Princess Kate will christen HMS Glasgow at a Clyde dockyard by releasing a bottle of whisky against the hull. The heir said he was gripped by the 'sense of belonging' and the passion of his fellow football fans. Advertisement Most read in Royals Wills also revealed he visits fan forums anonymously online — and moves his kids around when watching at home to bring the team luck. William, concedes it was relatively late when he got the bug but he was gripped by the camaraderie, and his interest intensified when Villa got Prince William on fatherhood & football | Royal Exclusive Special 6 The Prince chatted to players at Street Soccer Scotland in Leith, Edinburgh Credit: Getty Advertisement 6 Wills is a huge Aston Villa fan Credit: Getty 6 The future king saw his first spot kick saved by the goalie Credit: Getty 6 The Wales's Royal Foundation aims to strengthen social connections through the sport Credit: Getty
ABC News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Adam Bandt has lost his seat of Melbourne. What happened to the Greens in Victoria?
In the progressive stronghold city of Melbourne, the Greens were hopeful that by now, they might finally be celebrating winning a second Victorian seat in the federal lower house. Instead, 15-year local member and party leader Adam Bandt is out of a job In the northern-suburbs electorate of Wills, the Greens were competitive, but the seat was also retained by Labor despite a distribution favourable to the Greens and speculation about the The Greens are expected to maintain their presence in the senate, but in the lower house they have been decimated, losing On Thursday afternoon, He said he believed a number of Greens votes in Melbourne had "leaked" to Labor because the electorate was determined to keep Peter Dutton out of government. "People saw Labor as the best option to stop Dutton ... it did make a difference." he said. He said redistribution of the Melbourne electorate worked against him but he still led on first preference votes, with Labor's candidate Sarah Witty elected on preferences. The latest Melbourne count shows a 4.6 per cent swing away from the Greens on first preferences too. It's true Mr Bandt experienced an unfavourable re-distribution — losing high Green-vote areas of East Brunswick and Fitzroy North — in favour of shakier territory south of the Yarra River. That lost Greens territory was expected to be the gain of his colleague over the boundary in Wills, which swept in those areas as part of its own redistribution. But those changes in Wills, which also takes in Coburg and Fawkner, were not enough to get Greens candidate Samantha Ratman over the line, despite a swing in her favour. Greens losing seats despite increase in young, progressive voters On election night the Greens put out a press release celebrating the party's "highest-ever vote in history," and their continued expectation that Mr Bandt would retain his seat. The vote for the Greens has not been finalised, but by Thursday morning — with about 80 per cent of the vote counted in the lower house — the party was trailing nationally on its 2022 election result. The ABC is projecting that Greens leader and former Melbourne MP Adam Bandt will lose his seat after 15 years. ( ABC News: Kate Ashton ) While ballots are still being counted, election analyst John Black said no matter how you looked at it, it was hard to characterise the result as a victory for the Greens. "To dress this up as a win is a flight of fantasy," said Mr Black, a former Labor senator who runs an election modelling company. The Greens currently have a swing against them in the senate and the lower house of about half a per cent, with a slightly larger swing against them in Victoria, often viewed as the country's most-progressive state, at 0.7 per cent. In comparison, Labor has seen a 2 per cent positive swing in the lower house. That's despite this year's election being the first Despite the general upwards trend in the Green vote in recent decades, their leader is toppled and the party's representation in the lower house has been slashed. "They're in the same position as the Liberals at the moment, aren't they?" Mr Black said. Greens losing votes from their base, analyst says Before voters went to the polls, Mr Black, who writes for the Australian Financial Review, warned the Greens were campaigning on a strategy that was failing to win votes and losing support from their own base in the seats that mattered. Greens leader Adam Bandt has been defeated in the seat of Melbourne. ( ABC News: Nick Haggarty ) The environmental party "I think that they were way too negative and didn't focus on their strengths, which was to concentrate on the environment," Mr Black said. Former Labor strategist turned Redbridge pollster Kos Samaras said there was a surge of support for the Greens amongst 20-something year olds, but the increased "activism" in the party's politics also cost them votes in the seats that mattered most. Some Melbourne voters found Greens campaign divisive, too idealistic Since election night, hundreds of Victorian voters have written into the ABC about what decided their vote as part of the ABC's Your Say project, with more than 50 voters telling the ABC why they did — or didn't — vote for the Greens. It included a number of former or swinging Greens voters who said they did not vote for the Greens this time because they did not like the outsized focus on the Israel-Gaza war, which was seen as divisive. There was a frustration with the Greens' tendency to prioritise the "idealistic" over the practical, while a number said they were concerned about Mr Bandt's leadership. Angela, who lives the electorate of Melbourne, heard an anti-Greens sentiment from some of her neighbours. ( ABC News: Kate Ashton ) Angela, a childcare worker in the Melbourne electorate said while the Greens campaign was highly visible, she knew many of her neighbours did not support Mr Bandt. "A lot of them were not in favour of the Greens policies … [because] are they actually feasible? What's the price to pay for all of that? That was a lot of the sentiment that I've been hearing from my community," she said. 19-year-old Carlton resident Scarlett said she was "very disappointed and very surprised" with the Greens loss. Carlton voter Scarlett was surprised Greens leader Adam Bandt was expected to lose his seat. ( ABC News: Kate Ashton ) She voted for Mr Bandt, but noticed the environment was not at the front of the Greens campaign. "The environment's a very important issue for me, but … you know, no one was really talking about it at all this year," she said. A Carlton resident and university professor said she was relieved at the result — she said she used to find Mr Bandt charming, but no longer liked the direction of the Greens, describing their campaign as "very undergraduate". Pro-Palestinian message splits Greens voters in Wills There was speculation that the Greens' pro-Palestinian messaging could pay dividends in seats with higher migrant populations like Wills by attracting new voters, but it appears to have cut both ways in Victoria. Some voters told the ABC the party's staunch stance on Palestine and Gaza won their vote. "There are tens of thousands of people this election who voted Greens for the first time, in areas where the party hasn't been able to reach … more diverse areas … suburbs with migrants and multicultural populations," said Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi. Election fallout and analysis: Want even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on While the Greens recorded a positive swing in Wills (after a favourable redistribution), some voters, including those who voted for the party before in areas with a typically strong Greens vote, told the ABC they felt alienated by the party's messaging on the Israel-Gaza war. A 40-year-old lifelong Greens voter from Carlton North (formerly Melbourne, now Wills) said she found the pro-Palestinian messaging divisive and negative. "Both my parents were migrants, so I really dislike watching the rise of hate and bigotry on all sides," she said. She said she was a Chinese-Australian and voted Labor in the end. At the local high school in Fitzroy North the Greens recorded 54 per cent of the two-party preferred vote in 2025, compared to 62 per cent 2022. ( ABC News: Kate Ashton ) At Edinburgh gardens in Fitzroy North, the ABC spoke to multiple people who had formerly voted Greens — including a young mother and an environmental consultant — who did not vote for them at this election, referencing the "outsized" and "divisive" pro-Palestinian messaging. Another Wills voter —a lawyer who voted Labor — told the ABC the Greens' campaign focus on international issues did not resonate with the local community, who realised that real change would come from the political centre. These "better-educated professionals" were the natural base of the Greens who were leaving the party, analyst Mr Black said. The Greens had hoped its pro-Palestinan stance could help it pick up votes in Wills. ( ABC News: Darryl Torpy ) While they may have won some new votes in migrant communities, they were mostly in seats the Greens would not win, he said. "The strategy that they were running was demonstrably not working," he said. "As the ALP has demonstrated, clearly, it's the middle ground that is now occupied by the majority of Australian voters."
ABC News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Muslim voters say election delivered strong message despite Labor landslide
Muslim Australian Hawraa put Labor last on her ballot paper for the first time at this year's federal election. Hawraa, who only wants to be identified by her first name, said she wanted to send Labor a message: "Do not take us for granted." A voter in the Victorian electorate of Wills, Hawraa was "disappointed" at news Despite the result, Hawraa said the close race and first preference vote swing towards Ms Ratnam gave her hope, and showed the Muslim community was energised . "We've learned a lot from this time, and it is only the start of the mobilisation of the community and of the Muslim community," Hawraa said. " More and more people are wanting a more dynamic crossbench … a progressive crossbench that will push Labor to do better and do more. " Samantha Ratnam spent the final days before the election speaking with voters at early-polling stations. ( ABC News: Nicholas White ) Many Australian Muslims have told the ABC they feel "betrayed" by the government's Wills was Labor heartland, but now the seat that belonged to Bob Hawke is squarely in the marginal column. Advocacy group Muslim Votes Matter targeted federal seats across Australia during the campaign and despite Labor's landslide win, a closer inspection of the results told a more nuanced story, said the group's spokesperson Ghaith Krayem. "When we look at those electorates, those seats where we targeted our effort, a different picture emerges," said Mr Krayem. He pointed to the Wills and Calwell electorates in Victoria that recorded swings in primary votes away from Labor candidates. "There's no doubt in our mind what was different [in those two seats] was the mobilisation of our community." NSW results 'mind-blowing' A Muslim Vote convener campaigns for Ahmed Ouf, who stood as an independent in the seat of Blaxland. ( ABC News: Marcus Stimson ) In the two electorates with the largest Muslim population nationally, Watson and Blaxland in New South Wales, Muslim Votes Matter and a second, unaffiliated lobby group, The Muslim Vote, endorsed two independent candidates. In Watson, the groups backed Muslim candidate Ziad Bassyouny to run against Labor's Tony Burke. In Blaxland, Ahmed Ouf ran against another Labor incumbent, Jason Clare. While neither independent won, and Labor retained both seats, the pair did secure a lot of first preference votes, said Mr Krayem. Photo shows Sheikh Wesam Charkawi Muslim Vote convener The Muslim Vote campaign has taken aim at the Labor Party's "failure to stand for justice on Gaza and Palestine" as it looks to unseat Parramatta MP Andrew Charlton. "For Ahmed to get 19 per cent primary, and for Ziad to get almost 17 per cent on primary, that is a significant achievement," he said. "They've set themselves up really well for the next election." Zakariaa Wahid, Islamic Council of Victoria chief executive, said the primary vote results were "mind-blowing". "They [the candidates] did not exist until this election; we're not talking about independents [who] have been around for years and years," said Mr Wahid. Zakaria Wahid from the Islamic Council of Victoria said there was growing political awareness in the Muslim community. ( Supplied ) Those results showed the Muslim community mobilised for this federal election like never before, he added. "We've seen political literacy and political awareness in the Muslim community in a way that has never happened, not even close to it. "There's a growing push and a growing number of people that are becoming part of this voting bloc". Gaza at the heart of voters The AEC continues to count votes in some tightly contested seats. ( ABC News: Mackenzie Heard ) Among them is Shiraz, a second-generation migrant , who lives in the Victorian seat of Scullin and has traditionally voted Labor. For the first time at a federal election, Shiraz voted differently. Shiraz, who also only wants to be known by his first name, said he preferenced Greens first, followed by independent candidates. "We want the government to hear our voices and concerns, not take our votes and support for granted," he said. " It sends a strong message that we do have a voice that can't be ignored. " He added he also wanted to break down the long-standing dominance of two major parties. Shiraz believed the major parties had not done enough to support Palestinian people and were too complacent in relation to Gaza. Hawraa, who is from southern Lebanon, said her community also felt "completely neglected and ignored". She said the community was disappointed that Australia continued to have an arms trade deal with Israel, Photo shows A young man gestures while speaking and sitting on the couch Dissatisfaction with the Albanese government's stance on Israel-Palestine among many Arab and Muslim voters threatens to unseat Labor MPs, in some places for the first time. However, many Muslim community members who spoke to the ABC said the "swing against Labor" had been taking place over a long time. They said they felt the federal government had responded more strongly to a spate of antisemitic attacks last year compared with the increased number of Islamophobia attacks. The community members had also been calling for "[But] Gaza was the largest example of how Labor has consistently become disconnected with this Muslim voter base, and especially how people feel taken advantage of," he said. "Labor's lack of effort and lack of effective response to a genocide that's going on coupled with various other elements such as the rising Islamophobia … that will definitely be a factor in the minds of Muslims." Rita Jabri Markwell, from the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network, said even though the impact of the Muslim vote was not "as strong as it could have been", Labor candidates were still left fighting to retain their seats. "It really is a warning to those members of parliament that if they continue to ignore those voters they may be paying an even greater price at the next election," the lawyer said.
