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    Many years ago, I spent some time following Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall around, including on a tour of Pakistan. It was a weird experience, not least for the dynamic between us journalists and the royals. There are two types of royal press coverage: the official type, governed by rules set down in more deferential times, compels reporters to cover the royal family while abiding by a strict set of protocols; the unofficial type, often written by the same people in the same publications, serves as a kind of release mechanism for resentment generated by the former. The country’s entire push-me-pull-you relationship with the royals is contained within these modes of discourse, co-dependent and neither acknowledging the other. I thought about this last we...

    Deliberations in Brussels over a Brexit delay have continued into the weekend, as a leaked document indicates the UK could deviate away from EU employee and environmental rights after exit day. After a meeting of European Union ambassadors on Friday, a Brussels source said there was full agreement on the need for an extension and that work will continue over the weekend. A final decision on whether they will opt for an extension until January or a shorter November delay thought to be favoured by French President Emmanuel Macron is not expected until Monday or Tuesday. The weekend talks among the EU27’s teams are likely to be coloured by a leaked document, seen by the Financial Times, that indicates the Government could look to diverge away from the bloc’s rules on ...

    British ISIS bride Shamima Begum has told how she is terrified she is going to die while she remains in a refugee camp on the war-torn border between Turkey and Syria. The now 20-year-old is living in the al-Roj camp nine miles from the border in Turkey's 'safe zone' which they began attacking with artillery earlier this month. Begum, who is from Bethnal Green in east London, said she had a bag packed at all times and was ready to move fast if things change "like the earlier days in time of Isis". The teen is reported to no longer be wearing the black hijab she was pictured in when news of her still being alive emerged in the press but now wears an open-faced maroon cloak, nose stud and trainers. “I am scared, really scared,” she told The Times. "I am afraid I cou...

    EU leaders have postponed deciding on the length of a possible Brexit delay as Boris Johnson struggled to gain opposition support for a pre-Christmas election. The decision came after the 27 EU ambassadors met on Friday to discuss granting the UK an extension past the current October 31 deadline. They have agreed that a Brexit extension is needed, with a diplomat saying they will decide on its length next week, which will follow Monday's vote in the Commons on holding a snap election on December 12. It comes as Boris Johnson admitted on Thursday that he would not meet his do or die Halloween deadline and demanded a pre-Christmas poll to end the nightmare Brexit crisis. But Labour - crucially holding the votes needed if he is to get the two-thirds majority in the C...

    Boris Johnson on Thursday called for another general election, but in truth he knows he won't get one yet. Still it was a clever device to distract from the admission he'd rather bury. That he will break his "do or die" promise to leave the EU on 31 October. Writing to Jeremy Corbyn asking him to agree to a poll on 12 December, the prime minister finally wrote down what he perhaps cannot bear to say out loud: "My view has never changed that we should leave on 31 October." However, it is clear from public and private comments of Donald Tusk that it is likely that the EU will offer a delay until 31 January, though it is possible that a shorter delay will be offered. Mr Johnson said only last month he'd rather "die in a ditch" than ask for this delay. And yet he has ...

    Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (AKA Meghan Markle) stepped out in one of her most affordable looks to date at the One Young World summit at Royal Albert Hall last night. As Vice-President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, this was The Duchess’ first time attending the event as a member of the royal family; she previously attended the summit in Dublin in 2014 and Ottawa in 2016 with mega babe Justin Trudeau. Looking radiant with natural makeup and long tousled waves, Meghan was all smiles in a violet midi dress, paired with her favourite navy Manolo Blahnik pumps. This was Meghan's first public engagement since revealing that she has been struggling to cope with the pressures of royal life in ITV’s emotional AF documentary on Meghan and Harry’s tour of Africa. The cand...

    Boris Johnson’s government and party are deeply split on whether to push for a general election or attempt again to deliver a Brexit deal, after the prime minister failed to secure a rapid timetable for passing the withdrawal legislation. Downing Street is awaiting the EU’s decision on whether to grant a Brexit delay until January 31, 2020, as outlined in Mr Johnson’s letter to EU leaders last weekend. A decision is expected on Friday, after which Mr Johnson will have to decide whether to attempt to get his deal approved by parliament, or to try and force an election. The latest impasse comes after MPs endorsed the prime minister’s Brexit deal in a vote on Tuesday night before rejecting his timetable for passing the legislation, which turns the agreement into UK law...