Harry’s court battle resumes with a historic £369m refurbishment of Buckingham Palace

The Emir of Qatar’s visit next month will be his last official visit to Buckingham Palace for three years, as work continues on its historic renovation.

The palace’s grandest rooms will undergo a “phased closure” for refurbishment, starting with the White Drawing Room, the Music Room, the Blue Drawing Room and the State Dining Room.

The King and Queen will instead host royal receptions at St James’s Palace or Windsor Castle until the palace fully reopens in 2027.

The Princess of Wales is set to play a role in the Emir of Qatar’s state visit to the UK next week.

Kate, who has recovered from cancer, will join her husband, the Prince of Wales, at Kensington Palace on December 3 to congratulate Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the first of his three wives, Sheikha Jawahar bint Hamad bin Suhaim al-Thani.

William and Kate will then accompany the pair to Horse Guards Parade, where they will receive a ceremonial welcome before meeting the King and Queen. There will be presentations, a royal salute and the playing of the Qatari national anthem.

Amir and Sheikha will join Charles and Camilla and William and Kate in a carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where they will receive a second guard of honour.

However, Kate will not attend the monarch’s grand state banquet at Buckingham Palace that evening, Kensington Palace said.

The 42-year-old princess has made only a handful of public appearances so far in 2024, after undergoing major abdominal surgery in January and then being diagnosed with cancer.

The latest hearing in the Duke of Sussex’s High Court claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail is set to begin on Tuesday.

Harry is among a group of high-profile figures, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John, her husband David Furnish, actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, and politician Sir Simon Hughes, who are suing Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL). Taking action.

They accuse the publisher of allegedly engaging in or initiating illegal activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records. “doing, stealing to order and accessing and recording private phone conversations.

ANL vehemently denies the allegations and is defending the legal action, claiming the allegations are “substantial” and “simply ridiculous”.

The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklan is expected to begin on Tuesday and last for two days. It is expected to address a number of preliminary issues in the claims, with no outcome yet in respect of the allegations.

The palace’s grandest rooms will undergo a “phased closure” for renovations, starting with the White Drawing Room, the Music Room, the Blue Drawing Room and the State Dining Room.

This is followed by the Ballroom, where state banquets are held, and the State Rooms, including the Throne Room and the Green Drawing Room.

Work will be suspended during the summer months as the State Rooms are open to the public as usual.

Camilla stepped out in the Queen’s final outfit as she and the King welcomed diplomats to Buckingham Palace.

The Queen was dressed in a blue velvet evening dress by Fiona Clare, and chose Elizabeth II’s petite aquamarine and diamond tiara after gathering with around 900 guests at the Diplomatic Corps reception.

The delicate headwear — sometimes known as an aquamarine ribbon tiara — features five large aquamarines set in intricate ribbons of diamonds.

This is believed to be the first time Camilla has worn the jewellery.

The piece has been favored in the past by the Duchess of Edinburgh who wore it as the then Countess of Wessex to a celebratory gala dinner at the wedding of Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 2012 and Princess Madeleine of Sweden in 2013. was .

The King and Queen hosted a lavish diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace, with Camilla stepping out in the late Queen’s aqua marine and diamond tiara.

The Prince of Wales joined the monarch and the concert on Tuesday night for a grand white-tie affair, but William was without the Princess of Wales, who often attends such events regularly on his behalf.

Kate, who completed her chemotherapy treatment over the summer and is slowly returning to public duties after recovering from cancer, will host her annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey in just two weeks’ time. Focusing.

Irish star Paul Mescale has said that meeting the king at the world premiere of Gladiator II was not on his “priority list”.

The 28-year-old actor, who portrays an adult Lucious in Sir Ridley Scott’s new historical epic, was introduced to Charles at a star-studded ceremony in central London last week.

Speaking to US outlet Variety on the red carpet of the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday, Mescale reflected on her experience meeting the king.

He said: “How wild is that? It’s definitely not something I thought was in the bingo cards.

“I’m Irish, so it’s not on the priority list. But it’s a wonderful thing for Ridley because I know how important it is to him.

“So to have his film celebrated in this context was very special.”

The Duke of Sussex has taken part in a sketch in which he has been given a tattoo by American music star Jelly Roll as part of the build-up to the Invictus Games in Canada.

In the sketch, filmed at New York tattoo parlor East Side Ink, the country singer and rapper joked that Harry had agreed to get his first tattoo.

Jelly Roll – who has been announced as the first headline act at the event’s closing ceremony next year – told Harry: “You know, when they called me and said Prince Harry wanted a tattoo today I couldn’t believe it and he wanted me to give him my first tattoo?

However, Duke seems to have heard nothing of the deal.

“No, no, no, why are you wearing gloves?” Harry asks.

Jelly Roll replied: “We’re giving you a tattoo about the Invictus Games.”

Duke says he wanted to ask Jelly Roll to “do” the games, not tattoo him. Jelly Roll says he’ll only play games if Harry lets him get his first tattoo.

The Duke agrees and asks the music star – known for his collection of body art – to tattoo his “lower back” or “ass”. Jelly Roll suggests that they tattoo Harry’s neck instead.

“Trust me, man, you wouldn’t want anyone else to do this,” he tells Duke.

He then tattoos “I’m Jelly Roll” on Harry’s neck, and tells him: “I’ll see you in Vancouver!”

Senior royals are hosting an annual event for diplomats at Buckingham Palace this evening, with Camilla wearing the late Queen’s aquamarine and diamond tiara for the first time.

Prince William also attended the white-tie ceremony, but the Princess of Wales was absent as she continues a gradual return to public duties following chemotherapy treatment.