Tough times call for soft power and this week the royal family served it up in spades.

From the King’s dignified appearance at the Sta…

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The question has been hanging over the Princess of Wales for many months now: when would she feel ready to return to the international stag…

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Hi Royal Clubbers,

Alex here. What a week it’s been here in the States! Just as quickly as King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit began o…

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Hi Royal Clubbers. I arrived in the US last night for this week’s high-stakes state visit before attending a briefing at…

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It has been a momentous week for the royal family, who have been commemorating the 100th birthday of Queen El…

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Hi Royal Clubbers,

It’s Eleanor, HELLO!‘s royal correspondent, and I’m standing in for our fantastic Emily Nash with this week’s newslet…

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Hello Royal Clubbers,

It’s Ainhoa here, still on a high after organising our first in-person royal event earlier this week. It was so wonderful to meet some of you Royal Clubbers in person – I hope you enjoyed the morning as much as we all did at Team HELLO!.

For those who couldn’t make it, a group of HELLO!’s most ardent royal fans gathered at Browns Covent Garden, London for an exclusive event celebrating the life and legacy of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

As more than 60 readers sat down, our hosts of A Right Royal Podcast – Andrea Caamano, Emily Nash, and Emmy Griffiths – took their seats alongside our guest, royal author Robert Hardman, for a special live recording.

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The subject of the episode was Her Late Majesty, whose centenary falls on 21 April marking 100 years since her birth. The timing was also particularly apt as Robert was celebrating the publication day of his new book, Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, which is the fifth he has written about the late Queen in two decades.

“I’ve had a wonderful morning here at Browns Covent Garden with lots of HELLO! readers and staff,” Robert said after the event. “And it’s publication day for me, so what a great way to start. I’m a very happy author.”

Anecdotes about the late Queen

Robert, who is the only biographer to have interviewed all senior members of the royal family, was able to answer the question on everyone’s lips, “What was the late Queen really like?” And more. He captivated the audience with unheard stories, such as the time the late monarch suffered from “nervous exhaustion” in 1969 and took to her bed. The palace claimed she had “summer flu” when in fact she was at breaking point.

However, her overarching sense of duty and renowned stoicism were brought up from the start of our conversation, when Robert pointed out the time that the late Queen discovered an intruder in her room at Buckingham Palace – and how she went on to carry out an investiture at 11o’clock that morning.

Robert also clarified other well-known reports, such as the notorious “Tiaragate” episode, when the Sussexes fell out with the late Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly. Our podcast host and Entertainment Editor, Emmy Griffiths, said: “It was so interesting to have an insight into what the Queen actually thought and felt about the Sussexes’ exit from the royal family. At the time, there was so much speculation, and every single news outlet was covering it and reporting different things.

“So, the fact that she still had that sense of humour during what was obviously a really challenging time in the monarchy, and her quip about how she knew they weren’t coming back because they’d ‘taken the dogs’, I think it just shows how she always maintained that sense of humour through every situation. And it was really interesting to see a little behind the curtain of what it was like for her during that time.”

Meanwhile, our Royal Editor and podcast host Emily Nash particularly enjoyed hearing about the late Queen’s earlier years on the throne: “I really loved hearing Robert talk about how the late Queen managed herself as a young woman in a man’s world. I thought that was absolutely fascinating.”

The thorny issue of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was also unpicked by Robert and our podcast hosts, including Robert’s extraordinary revelation that the ex-Prince came to blows with the Master of the Royal Household after he was unable to secure a room for a business meeting.

After the wide-ranging conversation, which can be played in full below, we opened the floor to our audience members, many of whom had come from far to attend the special event. “I really enjoyed hearing the questions from the readers and what it was that they wanted to know,” HELLO!’s Chief Content Officer, Sophie Vokes-Dudgeon, said. “And one of the questions about the Queen and the corgis was particularly brilliant and resulted in a story about how the Queen used to keep a little silver tray of corgi biscuits on her dining table. I thought that was very cute.”

Our readers also had the chance to speak to Robert as he signed books, making friends with each other as they stood in line. “My highlight was meeting some of our loyal listeners, who have been with us since the beginning of the podcast, but also hearing them laugh and just enjoy themselves,” our podcast host and Digital Content Director, Andrea Caamano, said. “I also loved meeting one of the listeners who said that she’d met wonderful people today and that she’d made lots of new friends, which I think is 100 per cent the point of all of these events.”

Audience members also went home with a luxury goodie bag including products from Clarins, Elizabeth Arden, Floris, Simple, Yardley, and Bronnley, as well as our special keepsake issue, Queen Elizabeth II: A Centenary Tribute.

I’d love to hear if you attended the event and what you thought of it. Please leave a comment below!

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Next royal event

If you missed out on this event, fear not as we will be hosting another live podcast recording about the late Diana, Princess of Wales. We'll be able to share more details soon, but the event will take place at the end of June in central London.

Catch up on the Robert Hardman episode

To watch the full recording of the podcast episode, and to see what it was like to attend our event, become a paid subscriber below.

Watch the episode below:

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Hi Royal Clubbers, it’s HELLO!’s royal correspondent Tracy, standing in as best I can for the inimitable Emily Nash…

With Prince Harr…

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It’s been a telling week for the Prince of Wales. Over the course of a couple of days, he gave a clear sense of how he will approach his next role. And crucially, how he intends to do it in his own w…

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It’s been a long while since I’ve written about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The royal news agenda has been dominated by other matters, from the fall…

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They were at the King’s side at Sandringham over Christmas and are usually regular fixtures at the Easter Sunday service at Windsor each year.

But it looks increasingly unlikely that we will see Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie joining the rest of the royal family at a public engagement anytime soon.

The daughters of disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson have, until recently, remained close to the King and his family, in spite of the various scandals surrounding their parents.

But with questions now being asked about their own interaction with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and renewed focus on their business and charity dealings in the UK and overseas, the royal sisters find themselves in the eye of the storm.

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What a difference a week makes.

The monarchy may have been rocked to its foundations by the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the ongoing police investigations, but the rest of the royal family was out in force, keeping calm and carrying on as they are famous for doing.

While both the Queen and Duchess of Edinburgh signalled their support for survivors of sexual violence, the King awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Awards to higher education institutions, including London Metropolitan University, which was recognised for its world-leading research unit dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. It’s important to point out that these were all long-planned engagements, rather than photo opportunities hastily planned in response to the Epstein scandal

The Queen hosted Gisèle Pelicot at Clarence House, having first written to the courageous abuse survivor last year. Sophie, meanwhile, was in Somalia and Kenya at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in her role with its Preventing Sexual Violence in Conlict Intiative. But the royal outings that garnered the most coverage were those made by the Prince and Princess of Wales. And I think the public’s reaction to them spoke volumes about how they will emerge from this huge crisis for the monarchy intact.

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Just hours after King Charles released a statement sharing his “deepest concern” over the arrest of his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, it appeared to be business as usual for the monarch as he made a public appearance in central London, opening London Fashion Week

Given the unfolding drama, all eyes were on his appearance and I was there to cover it and so watched as he stepped up for duty, showing no visible signs of strain. His relaxed and warm demeanour belied the impact of an enormously difficult day for his family.

But he was clearly determined not to shy away from the public eye, understanding that his leadership is now more important to the monarchy than ever.

His appearance reminded me of a similarly breathtaking display of professionalism from the late Queen Elizabeth II.

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Hi everyone,

I’m back at my desk after a whirlwind trip to Saudi Arabia with Prince William this week. I’ve also had a lengthy break from Royal Club – but the beat is as busy as ever, it seems.

The Prince may have pulled off a diplomatic masterclass in the Middle East, over three days, but there is only one story in town right now and that is the growing onslaught of revelations from the Epstein files about his uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Although both William and Catherine and the King and Queen have expressed their profound concern about the situation – and crucially, their sympathy for the victims – Their Majesties have been heckled while out on engagements.

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The late Queen’s long-serving private secretary, Lord Charteris, never minced words.

Asked about Sarah Ferguson back in a 1995 Spectator interview, he delivered his verdict, branding the former Duchess of York “vulgar”. When Sarah was told about it, she shrugged. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.”

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Hello Royal Clubbers,

It’s Tracy here, and I am looking back on an exciting week which took me to Windsor Castle, where I joined the King and Queen and an array of A-Listers at the first ever film premiere to be hosted in a royal residence.

Before I dive into my evening at the palace, I wanted to mention that my colleague and HELLO!’s Chief Content Officer, Sophie Vokes-Dudgeon, was invited to the premiere and filmed a special behind-the-scenes video that you can watch below.

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With the deadline to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s end of the month eviction from Royal Lodge fast approaching, critics want the King to take even tougher action against his disgraced brother.

Already stripped of his military titles, royal patronages, HRH status, and princely title itself after years of Epstein scandal fallout, some argue it is absurd that Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne.

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So why won’t Charles finish the job?

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The Duke of Sussex is imminently expected to travel to the UK for his trial against Associated Newspapers Limited – but every time he returns to the UK he faces uncertainty over whether he will receive paid security. In this week’s The Royal Editor, author Robert Jobson makes a compelling case for granting Harry automatic paid protection on these occasions, no questions asked. Read Robert’s arguments below and then let us know your thoughts in the comments. We’d love to know if your stance changes after reading the article, so we are including a poll now to get a barometer of where you are on the issue, and then another one at the end of the post to see if Robert has won you over…

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