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Charles sends surprise 100th birthday message

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The King sent delivered a heartwarming message to Sir David Attenborough at an event to mark his 100th birthday at the Royal Albert Hall this evening.

One of the most memorable moments saw a clip being played to the audience, which showed the monarch writing the national treasure 100th birthday card, that included well wishes from him and the Queen.

Charles is seen in a short film sitting at his desk in the library of Balmoral Castle with the Queen’s dog Moley keeping him company as he pens the personal note.

The film – premiered during Friday night’s live tribute to Sir David at the Royal Albert Hall – takes a magical turn as a cast of clever creatures ensure the special missive makes its way to the beloved naturalist.

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A fallen tree threatens the journey of the birthday note but animals including an eagle, a fox, a red squirrel and an otter come to the rescue and traverse the nation with the royal dispatch.

In the note, the King recounts a seven-decade friendship with Sir David that began when the then nine-year-old Prince Charles visited the set of the BBC children’s programme Zoo Quest in 1958 with his sister Princess Anne.

He said: “Dear David. My wife and I are delighted to learn that you will be celebrating your 100th birthday on May 8 and wanted to send you our warmest congratulations on such a special occasion.

“It is amazing to think that you and I have known one another for more than 60 years.

“Indeed, I believe we first met in 1958, almost a decade before the age of colour television. And of course our paths have crossed many times since.

“Over those decades you have revealed the beauty and wonders of nature to audiences around the world in new and marvellous ways.

“In so doing you have shared my determination to highlight the urgent need to protect and preserve this precious planet of ours and all life on earth for future generations.

“Thank you then for all that you have done. And on behalf of the whole nation I wish you a very happy 100th birthday.”

Animals could then be seen delivering it across land, sea and air, before Sir David could be seen holding his royal birthday card aloft in the Royal Albert Hall.

Bastille frontman Dan Smith and the BBC Concert Orchestra also performed at the event which was called 100 Years On Planet Earth

He performed a version of the indie pop band’s hit song Bastille, which featured in Sir David Attenborough’s Planet Earth 3

The event began with wooden puppets of animals, including a giraffe and a gorilla, being led into the arena as the BBC Concert Orchestra scored a compilation of highlights from the 100-year-old presenter’s career.

Before its beginning, there was a standing ovation for Sir David as he took his seat in the royal box next to the Prince of Wales.

Presenter Kirsty Young then took to the stage to hail Sir David as “a very special person” and an “unparalleled communicator”.

The audience were then shown a series of clips from the 18 shows Sir David has worked on in the past decade, which noted how Blue Planet 2 had seen the broadcaster lead the battle against plastic pollution.

Before the show, children could be heard excitedly asking their parents “where is he?” in reference to Sir David.

Prince William earlier today paid tribute to Sir David in a video posted to the Earthshot Prize social media accounts, saying: “Happy 100th David. I cannot believe it’s your 100th birthday. Thank you so much for all your support with Earthshot Prize.”

“Everything you do continues to inspire me,” he added. “Have a very happy day.”

Leonardo DiCaprio, Sir David Beckham and Morgan Freeman were among the stars who have wished Sir David Attenborough a happy 100th birthday on Friday.

The beloved environmentalist has been inundated with birthday messages, and tributes poured in from the King and Queen, and stars including Dame Judi Dench, Geri Halliwell-Horner and Bill Bailey.

In the week leading up to the veteran broadcaster’s centenary there were also birthday wishes from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Duke of Sussex.

Hollywood star DiCaprio called Sir David “one of the most enduring champions of our shared planet” in a lengthy post on Instagram on Friday.

The One Battle After Another star posted an image of the broadcaster and hailed his “extraordinary legacy”, adding: “He has reshaped global awareness of conservation and reminded us, time and again, that protecting nature is not optional — it is fundamental to our future.

“His words continue to guide and challenge us.”

Don’t be fooled by Farage’s tricks, Reform is beatable

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No two ways about it and no point pretending otherwise: Reform has had a good election. By mid-afternoon on Friday the party had won nearly 900 seats. Predictions ahead of the local elections suggested they were on course for around 1,900 gains when all the results were in, and that currently seems about right.

Last year’s local elections saw them challenge the Tories by capturing traditional Tory shires. This year saw them take a shot at traditional urban Labour seats. In both cases, these are Leave-voting areas, with older, socially conservative voters who are primed for Reform support. The party demonstrated that it was able to take these seats as well.

The national equivalent vote projection (NEV), released moments ago by Sky, paints a stark picture.

If this were a general election, Reform would win 284 seats, just 42 short of a majority. The Tories would win 96, meaning that a Tory-Reform coalition could form a government and I suspect probably would. The progressive parties would all be trailing, with Labour on 110, the Lib Dems on 80, the SNP on 36 and Plaid Cymru and the Greens on 13 each.

It seems as if a populist flood has submerged everything we once knew about British politics, as if this great and terrible wave is approaching and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. But in fact, Farage’s position is not as strong as the coverage suggests.

He benefits from the narrative of a favourable baseline. In 2022, the last time these seats were contested, Reform had only just been created. It gained exactly two seats in England. The headline results throughout Friday, then, seem hugely impressive, showing Reform up by hundreds of councillors compared to the Greens or the Lib Dems. But in fact this is a product of their youthfulness as a party rather than the extent of the triumph.

A deeper look at the NEV numbers is encouraging. Of course, the Reform performance is miles above its non-existent 2022 showing. But what happens if we compare its vote share with 2025, the last time we held local elections, when the party was an established force in British politics? It is actually slipping. Last year, it secured a vote share of 32 per cent. This year it is down five points to 27 per cent.

This confirms a recent trend in the polls. Reform was enjoying regular polling over 30 per cent in 2025, but this year has seen the party decline. The coverage from the press has been marginally less breathless. Farage made a severe misjudgement when he pushed for Britain to join the foolhardy American adventure in Iran. Questions are being raised over the £5 million gift he received from a mysterious businessman based in Thailand. The party’s performance in local councils is predictably dire.

YouGov saw the party decline to 24 per cent, prompting the thin-skinned Farage to accuse the pollster of trying to “suppress the true figures”. But in fact other pollsters also saw the party’s support fall. Last month even More in Common, which had previously kept Reform on 30 per cent, saw a five-point drop for the party.

That fall in the party’s polling has now effectively been confirmed by the new NEV. Farage is still in the lead. He is still the one to beat. But now we can see that he is vulnerable and performing worse than he was this time last year. The party has a ceiling of around 30 per cent support and is currently in mild decline. It is beatable.

Local elections benefit Reform. They allow voters to go out and express their dissatisfaction without having to worry about who is going to end up in Downing Street. But that is not the case in a general election. In a general election, the prospect of Farage sitting down to his desk in No 10 will sharpen minds. He remains a deeply unpopular individual in this country, with approval ratings of -39, second only to Keir Starmer himself.

Even where voters have wanted to back a progressive candidate against Reform, as they did last year in the Caerphilly by-election, they have been unable to. It’s just not possible to work out who that candidate is.

Labour is hemorrhaging voters. The Greens have only recently begun to improve their performance and even then were derailed in a series of unforced errors over antisemitism.

But in the years ahead, the picture is likely to become clearer. Partly, that will be as a result of this election. Parties which come second in these races will use that to prove to voters that they are the best placed to take on Reform. These results are themselves the first step towards a future “stop Farage” strategy.

The polls are extremely volatile at the moment. People are desperate for change. This is the reason that Reform can skyrocket from their non-existent position four years ago to their leading one today. But that cuts both ways. It also means that progressive voters can coalesce quickly behind candidates who can halt the Reform wave.

One of Farage’s most effective tricks is to make his victory feel inevitable. It discourages his opponents and galvanises his allies. But Reform is eminently beatable. It is more vulnerable than it appears today. The electoral test the party faces in 2029 will be far harder than the one it faced this week.

How migration and potholes helped Farage win a Labour stronghold

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Ten years after the city was the first to declare for Brexit, Sunderland has sent another message to the establishment parties in Westminster.

Labour has been virtually wiped out, having held control of the council for more than 50 years, it now has just five seats compared to its previous 54. Reform UK gained 58 seats, while the Conservatives, who had previously served as the main opposition, failed to win a single seat.

Reform has a huge majority and new councillor, Chris Eynon, says he has a clear idea of what he has been elected to do.

“Put Sunderland first,” he told The i Paper.

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What does that mean in practice?

Labour would argue Sunderland has enjoyed a period of successful regeneration in recent years, with more than £600m invested to date in new housing and infrastructure on the banks of the River Wear.

But Eynon, who won his seat in the Redhouse ward, home to one of the largest council housing schemes in England, says not everyone is feeling the improvement.

Asked why he felt voters turned to Reform he said: “Antisocial behaviour is a big one. People feel like the council is not really responsive enough.

“A lot of it is people thinking the votes are being taken for granted.

“Around here we’ve noticed that a lot of what Labour are getting flak for is a lot of the regeneration, which is great, it’s very city centre focused.

“It’s not really going out into the housing estates or in the coalfields or Washington [a town in the wider Sunderland borough].

“A lot of people are just feeling like that, yes, Sunderland’s on the up as Labour say, but you know, is it on the up everywhere or just in the city centre?

“Locally, that’s what people are saying and just essentially people are realising the council is not being run very well, it’s in half a billion pounds of debt.

“It’s been Labour for over 50 years, so I think people are just really ready for a change.”

Modern architecture City View Phoenix House apartments building, city center of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, UK. (Photo by: Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Some have claimed regeneration in the centre of Sunderland has not been felt in the city’s outskirts (Photo: Getty)

Eynon says other priorities for his party will be “a war on potholes” and housing.

All parties in Sunderland conceded immigration was a concern for voters, although the statistics suggest the city has not experienced dramatic change in recent decades.

In contrast to the North East, and the country as a whole, the population of the city has actually declined slightly since 2011 and the proportion of people born in England remains much higher than average at 94 per cent.

The average for England as a whole is 80 per cent.

There has been a surge in the number of non-UK employees in Sunderland which has increased from 4,100 or 4 per cent of the total in 2014, to 15,400 or 12 per cent in 2024.

As of last March, there were 830 asylum seekers housed by the government in Sunderland, which is home to about 275,000 people.

Asked how Reform will deliver on its tough stance on immigration at a local level, Eynon said: “I think anything’s possible if you have the political will.

“Can we, can Sunderland council directly stop the boats? No, that’s not what Sunderland council’s there for, it has to be a national strategy.

“If people realise how well ran Sunderland council is compared to a Labour council down the road, I think that’ll start to plant the seed.”

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - MAY 08: Labour party council candidates and supporters listen to declarations in the Sunderland Council local elections at Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre on May 08, 2026 in Sunderland, England. The council has been Labour since its formation in the 1970s. Boundary changes mean that this is the first all out election in 20 years with more than 350 candidates standing for the 75 city council seats. It is a target for Reform UK, who swept to power in neighbouring Durham County Council last year. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
Labour suffered heavy losses which saw it left with just five councillors after its previous strength of 54 (Photo: Ian Forsyth/Getty)

Paul Donaghy, another Reform councillor, told The i Paper his party would look at whether it is possible to give priority to people who are British-born and on the waiting list for social housing.

This kind of rhetoric is a worry for Lewis Atkinson, the Labour MP for Sunderland Central.

The city was one of many places in the North of England to experience anti-migrant rioting in the summer of 2024 which led to police being attacked.

“Sunderland saw significant demographic change under the Boris Johnson government,” Atkinson said.

“We’ve got a university that undertook an amount of international recruitment. People came to study, people came to work in our hospital and in our health service.

“I have to say there is maybe not full public appreciation that a lot of the demographic change that they can see in the streets is not about asylum and boats.

“It was about visas that were given out under the Tory party – there is nothing that a council will do about [it].

“We had a riot in the centre of Sunderland within a month of me being elected, the start of August 2024, where divisive rhetoric, where misinformation led to, marches on a mosque, buildings being, vandalised and set on fire in town.

“We all have a responsibility to have a city that rejects division and hatred, and that comes together and that will be, you know, a challenge that certainly I will be holding a new Reform council to.”

Labour’s 100-year reign in Wales is over

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Labour has lost control of the Welsh government after 27-years in power and more than a century of election success in the country.

Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat before Plaid Cymru became the largest party in the Senedd, piling immediate further pressure on Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.

Starmer entered office in 2024 promising a “reset” of UK-devolved relations. Today’s result makes that promise significantly harder to keep.

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With Sinn Féin leading the Executive in Northern Ireland and the SNP’s John Swinney expected to hold on in Scotland, Starmer now faces the prospect of nationalist first ministers in each of the three devolved nations simultaneously – a scenario with no modern precedent.

No party won an outright majority of 49 of the 96 Senedd seats but Plaid Cymru became the largest party. Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth will need support from other parties to form a government.

The party won 43 seats under Wales’ new proportional voting system, ahead of Reform UK on 34 seats. Labour was reduced to 9 seats – its worst result in a devolved election since the Senedd was established in 1999, and the end of a dominance in Welsh politics stretching back more than a century.

Morgan said she would step down as Welsh Labour leader after losing her seat in Ceredigion Penfro but did not lay the blame at Starmer’s door, saying he was “not on the ballot”.

“I am taking responsibility and I am resigning,” she said.

As to what all this means for the future of the United Kingdom, Professor John Tonge, head of Politics and Communication Studies at the University of Liverpool, told BBC Breakfast on Friday that “the long-term future of the UK may be in some jeopardy”. However, he was quick to add that was “a lot further down the track.”

The critical caveat is that a Plaid-led Wales is constitutionally a very different proposition to an SNP-majority Scotland.

The SNP has pledged to bring forward a vote on its first sitting day to approve a section 30 order – the mechanism required to hold a legally binding independence referendum. Plaid has made no such commitment.

Unlike in 2021, the party did not propose holding a referendum in the first term of a Plaid-led government, pledging instead to undertake preparatory work and lay “the foundations for a future white paper on Welsh independence.”

The power to legislate for such a referendum, in any case, sits solely with Westminster – as confirmed by a 2022 UK Supreme Court ruling.

What is less ambiguous is the likely temperature of the relationship between Cardiff Bay and Downing Street.

Ap Iorwerth has been characteristically direct about what his election means for that dynamic. In an interview with The i Paper in March, he said: “I’m sure I’ll be seen as something of a nuisance in a way the current First Minister isn’t.”

The arithmetic of government may also complicate matters. Plaid is expected to need Labour’s support to command a majority in the Senedd, which would give Welsh Labour a degree of leverage over ap Iorwerth’s programme – and could constrain the pace at which he moves on constitutional questions.

A party that has just suffered the worst result in its history is unlikely to be in a hurry to accelerate the independence debate.

But ap Iorwerth has made clear he intends to use the platform regardless. “Independence comes as part of a journey,” he told The i Paper in March. “A journey on which I’m eager to show leadership and bring people with me.”

YouGov polling from January put support for Welsh independence at just 26 per cent, with 54 per cent opposed. The destination remains distant, but the direction of travel, after today, is rather clearer.

Despite their strong showing elsewhere in Britain, the Greens only won two seats, with 6.8 per cent of the vote. The Lib Dems won just one seat, with 4.4 per cent.

Shola Ameobi out as Newcastle begin recruitment overhaul

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Shola Ameobi is to leave his role as loans manager at Newcastle United as the club ponder changes to a department regarded as central to their plan for attracting top talent from across the world.

Ameobi, who played more than 300 first team games for Newcastle, has held the job since 2019 but The i Paper can reveal he is moving into a new ambassadorial role.

It is viewed as a “natural evolution” of the former striker’s position at Newcastle and he remains highly-rated by the club, who want to deploy his leadership qualities across the business.

Ameobi’s new job will be an expanded ambassadorial and corporate role that will combine his current duties with more involvement with the club’s increasing number of commercial and civic partners. The club are to launch the search for a new loans manager shortly.

Why is Ameobi leaving?

The decision for Ameobi to move out of the football department is a mutual one but it is understood that sporting director Ross Wilson will use the changing of the guard at the top of the loans department to hold a “review” about what happens next.

Loans are absolutely critical to Newcastle’s vision for bringing in young talent and developing them – either to play a part in the first team or to sell on as part of a trading strategy that will be critical to coping with financial rules.

Yankuba Minteh’s successful stint at Feyenoord – in which Ameobi played a crucial role – ensured they were able to command a £30m fee for a player they signed from Danish club OB for just £5m.

What else are Newcastle up to?

The Magpies are in the process of expanding their recruitment operation, appointing scouts to cover new markets such as the Balkans as well as increasing their reach across the UK.

The i Paper revealed on Monday that they are bringing in Oxford’s head of recruitment Scott Mitchell to oversee recruitment up to 18 – a move viewed as a coup by those in scouting circles.

But Newcastle need to ensure the talent signed has a pathway – and overseas loans for rising stars Antonio Cordero and Trevan Sanusi have proved difficult this year.

Why so many changes?

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - JUNE 05: Antonio Cordero poses for photographs prior to signing for the club at the Newcastle United Training Centre prior to signing for the club on June 05, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Summer signing Antonio Cordero
is on loan at Cadiz (Photo: Getty)

Sources have told The i Paper that an initial review of loans back in January didn’t lay the blame for those moves at the door of Ameobi or the department, though.

As well as data analysis and regular meetings – both online and in person – there is continuous monitoring of players from sports scientists, coaches and analysts and Wilson’s review asked searching questions of the processes. He also met with Cordero personally to debrief on the loan, which led to him joining Cadiz for the second part of the season.

Newcastle’s six-man loans team is well-resourced and viewed as behind only Chelsea in terms of finance invested. Ameobi has been assisted by fellow former player Peter Ramage – who will remain in his role as assistant loans manager – and a physio, psychologist, sport scientist and data analyst.

The club acknowledge that finding the “right” loan is a huge part of the challenge they face and have worked over the last few years to build relationships with clubs in markets like the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium.

Are Newcastle exploring a multi-club model?

The i Paper understands that the club’s majority owners, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, still retain ambitions of launching a multi-club model, having tasked former director of football Paul Mitchell with identifying possible clubs for purchase.

While those plans have been on the back burner, chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan remains a big fan of the structure and it would not be a surprise if the club stepped up work on that in the next few months.

In the short-term, though, there will be a new figure at the top of the department.

Thought Villa defeat was bad? Forest’s summer is only going to get worse

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It is only a short drive back to the East Midlands, but it would have felt like an age for Nottingham Forest as they stewed on the ramifications of Thursday night’s 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

Morgan Gibbs-White was probably fed up of the thinking time already, Forest’s No 10 having cut a powerless figure on the sidelines at Villa Park.

One of the more enduring images of this Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa was the sight of a stitched-up Gibbs-White on the Forest bench, sporting a Harry Potter scar and bruises around both eyes.

He was named among the substitutes, but clearly he was not fit to play, making Monday’s clash of heads with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez as crucial as any other moment of this tie, which Villa turned around emphatically.

For those fans in red, it was a tough watch. Forest never looked like troubling Villa, recording just two shots on target, making the what-could-have-beens with Gibbs-White fit a futile but inevitable reflection.

Gibbs-White has played his way into World Cup contention of late, thriving at Forest after being convinced to stay last summer by owner Evangelos Marinakis – turning down Tottenham Hotspur’s advances and extending his contract to 2028.

It was a “statement of intent” in Forest’s own words, with Marinakis regarding a move to Tottenham a backwards’ step for the attacking midfielder.

The Greek knew what was possible with Gibbs-White in the squad, and even through this madcap season – copy and paste for Forest fans these days – featuring four permanent managers and a relegation battle, the Champions League still drew closer thanks to the Europa League’s offering.

Last week’s 1-0 win over Villa in the first leg took them within touching distance – 180 minutes away – but Thursday reverse set them back at least another year, and was a chastening reminder of where Forest truly stand against a club they would love to emulate, never mind Brentford, Bournemouth and Brentford, one of whom could yet reach the Champions League as well.

Read more

Daniel Storey: Morgan Gibbs-White is stung by England exile – and Forest have reaped the rewards

Michael Hincks: Aston Villa’s John McGinn is the Premier League signing of the decade

It is worth remembering Forest were without a host of other regular starters beyond solely Gibbs-White, with Murillo, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ibrahim Sangare and Ola Aina also absent due to injury.

And the sobering reality is that this could be a mere glimpse of the times that lie ahead.

The Champions League would have given Forest a foundation to thrive, to build around Gibbs-White and ensure he is not merely the talisman but one of many.

Instead, it will now be harder to convince some players to stay. Gibbs-White may well be glad he did not leave for Tottenham after all, but with an England place uncertain, the 26-year-old could get itchy feet if he misses out on Thomas Tuchel’s squad for North America.

The widely-coveted Elliot Anderson meanwhile looks destined to leave, The i Paper reporting Manchester City are in pole position ahead of Manchester United to sign the midfielder.

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MAY 07: Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest looks dejected after the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Semi-Final Second Leg match between Aston Villa FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Villa Park on May 07, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Elliot Anderson is set to leave Nottingham Forest in the summer (Photo: Getty)

Murillo also has admirers, including United, Liverpool and Real Madrid, and the loss of those two players in Forest’s spine, even while retaining others, would have a major impact: Anderson and Murillo could fetch north of £150m combined, but their departures would set a far different tone for the summer than the one Marinakis would have wanted. There would have to be more conversations with players within the squad, and tougher talks when it comes to enticing players without the lure of the Champions League.

And who ever knows what is around the corner with Forest. Vitor Pereira has steadied the ship, a 10-game unbeaten run pulling them six points clear of the drop zone with three games to go, and taking them to a European semi-final.

However, Pereira also enjoyed a bright start at Wolverhampton Wanderers before it went south at the start of this season.

The Portuguese is not one for longevity. His previous five roles have all lasted less than a year, his stint with Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai SIPG from 2017 to 2020 the longest he has ever managed.

But then again, Marinakis is not one for managers hanging around either, an approach that very nearly paid off until it very much didn’t, meaning this season now reads as a once-in-a-generation opportunity squandered.

We will never know how this European campaign would have played had Nuno Espirito Santo remained in charge, or reigning Europa League winner Ange Postecoglou, or Sean Dyche for that matter.

What does matter is the direction in which they’ve gone, and the fear they could retreat further still once the transfer window opens.

Fergie swore never to write a tell all. But £1M might be too hard to resist

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Sarah Ferguson has complained of feeling abandoned by the Royal Family, but the prospect of her writing a memoir touching on her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein is set to strain relations further.

Those close to her say she would never betray royal confidences – but she needs money. To secure the £1 million-plus deal that industry insiders believe is feasible, she will have to deliver something compelling.

For the past seven months, Ferguson has been holed up abroad following a furious public reaction to revelations that she retained a friendship with the paedophile financier long after his conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Despite an initial period of low mood, the former Duchess of York is now said to be “remarkably stoic”.

There are reports she wants to meet the King to discuss her situation, though nobody close to her can confirm this. The King, fresh from his diplomatic triumph in America, has already refused to meet his brother and is unlikely to welcome a Fergie audience at this stage. Prince William, meanwhile, has stayed silent in the face of reports that he wants to distance the monarchy from all of the Yorks.

It is not entirely true that Ferguson has been abandoned. When the King forced her and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to vacate Royal Lodge – the 30-room Windsor Great Park mansion they had shared for years – he suggested they could live together at Marsh Farm, a five-bedroom house on the Sandringham estate where the former Duke now lives in effective internal exile.

SANDRINGHAM, NORFOLK - APRIL 5: A general view of Marsh Farm showing trees in full blossom and the new wooden gates where Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is due to relocate from Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate on Easter Sunday on April 5, 2026 in Sandringham, Norfolk. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)
The former Prince Andrew now lives alone at Marsh Farm on the Sandringham estate. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)

But Fergie, 66, rejected the offer, insisting she was looking for somewhere in the Windsor area, before decamping to various boltholes – most recently a £2,000-a-night Austrian ski chalet. She remains lying low while her ex-husband faces police investigations into alleged misconduct in public office and potentially having sex with young women trafficked to him by Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

But Fergie also needs cash. Despite two previous autobiographies, she is said to be planning a memoir that could include her family’s involvement with Epstein – one that would embarrass the monarchy and her ex-husband alike. One close friend previously denied she would ever write a “tell-all”.

‘A good story to tell’

This week, the same friend offered a slightly different formulation: “She never wrote a tell-all memoir about Princess Diana and would never write a tell-all memoir about the Royal Family but that doesn’t mean she might not write a memoir. She’s got a good story to tell.”

The prospect is likely to test the loyalty of her daughters and the patience of the King, who is currently funding Marsh Farm and the protection officers guarding Andrew – one of whom was called into action this week when a man was arrested after a balaclava-wearing individual allegedly threatened the former Duke while he was walking his dog on the Sandringham estate.

The fault lines inside the Royal Family were exposed this week when Fergie and Andrew were publicly snubbed by their own daughter. The announcement of Princess Eugenie’s third pregnancy on Monday followed palace convention in almost every respect – except one. The customary expression of delight from the parents or wider family was absent. “August (aged 5) and Ernest (aged 2) are also very excited to have another sibling join the family,” the statement read. “His Majesty the King has been informed and is delighted with the news.”

No mention of Andrew. No mention of Fergie.

MANDATORY CREDIT REQUIRED: Princess Eugenie/Buckingham Palace NOTE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE: Copyright of the photograph is vested in HRH Princess Eugenie. Publications and broadcasters are asked to credit HRH PrincesEugenie/Buckingham Palace. All terms of release must be adhered to. The photograph is being made available by way of license on condition that: The photograph shall be solely used for news editorial purposes only. It shall not be approved for souvenirs, or memorabilia; or anything colourably similar. No charge should be made for the supply, release, publication or broadcast of the photograph. There shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photograph (including by way of example only) any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-news editorial use.The photograph must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form. The photograph shall not be used after 31st May 2026, without prior permission from Buckingham Palace. Any questions relating to the use of the photograph should be first referred to Buckingham Palace before publication or broadcast. Undated handout photo issued by Princess Eugenie/Buckingham Palace of August, 5, and Ernest, 2, Brooksbank looking at baby scan. Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank have announced that they are expecting their third child together, due this summer. Issue date: Monday May 4, 2026. PA Photo. Mandatory credit must read: Princess Eugenie/Buckingham Palace/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
One of the images that Princess Eugenie used to announce her pregnancy on Instagram which shows her children holding her pregnancy scan. Princess Eugenie/Buckingham Palace

Palace announcements follow a strict formula, and the omission seemed a significant break with tradition. In public at least, Eugenie appears to have chosen to prioritise her association with the King over any remaining loyalty to her parents.

Royal sources declined to say exactly when Andrew learned he was to become a grandfather again. But Fergie is understood to have been told before the announcement – “she is very close to both of her daughters,” a source close to her confirmed but that same source, who only months ago spoke confidently of the York family’s resilience, had no idea how Andrew’s relationships with his ex-wife and daughters were now faring.

‘Still loyal to Andrew’

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward believes the family is still in contact. “I’m sure they’re all still in touch but they clearly want to distance Andrew from it all,” she said. She also believes that the former Duke and Duchess will never totally desert each other. “He’s stayed loyal to her down the years so you’d expect her to stay loyal to him,” she said.

Ferguson, Beatrice and Eugenie could all be called to give evidence to police or parliamentary investigators, having each had dealings with Epstein and done favours for him in exchange for his financial generosity towards the family.

Beatrice and Eugenie are similarly keeping their heads down. After initially indicating the princesses had done nothing wrong and would be welcome at family events, the King and his aides appeared to row back after emails revealed the sisters had met Epstein with their mother just five days after his jail release, had been asked to show his clients around Buckingham Palace, and were at one point lined up as potential shareholders in a business venture he brokered for Fergie.

The message since has been that they may attend some family occasions – but the timing remains unresolved. Both were absent from this year’s Buckingham Palace garden party, which William has in recent years invited non-working royals including the York sisters to help host. Speculation is already growing that they will also skip Royal Ascot in June.“ The King is riding high after his diplomatic triumph in the United States,” one royal insider said. “I can’t imagine why he would want to ruin that by having them turn up at any of those events.” Seward was characteristically direct: “If they are invited to palace garden parties or Ascot, I should think they’ll have the common sense to decline. Eugenie’s pregnancy at least gives her an excuse.”

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor denies wrongdoing. Princess Eugenie did not respond to a request for comment; Sarah Ferguson declined to comment.

Burnham allies ‘offer MPs peerages to stand aside’ so he can run for PM

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Andy Burnham’s allies have been offering peerages to MPs willing to stand aside so he can return to Westminster, The i Paper has been told.

Multiple sources claim the Mayor of Manchester’s allies have been making moves to position him for any leadership challenge which may come after the local elections.

The results are likely to pile further pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who has long known that these elections could be make or break for his premiership.

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In January, Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) blocked Burnham from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election in an attempt to protect a weakened Starmer from a leadership challenge from the so-called “King of the North”.

But that’s not stopped fevered speculation about him making a fresh bid, with multiple sources telling The i Paper that his allies are offering peerages to MPs willing to stand aside and allow him a route back to Westminster.

There is no suggestion that any MP has accepted an offer to vacate their seat, but it does demonstrate the lengths the competing factions in Westminster are going to in support of their favoured candidates.

Sources close to Burnham have insisted that he had neither offered, nor suggested such a reward to any MP offering to stand aside for him, nor is he in a position to do so.

While true that Burnham himself cannot currently hand out peerages, if he eventually became Prime Minister, he would have this power as part of the established Westminster Honours system.

Speculation has been building that Burnham will soon mount a new bid to enter Westminster and has identified a new seat. One ally confidently predicted that he would not be blocked again by the NEC and will be Prime Minister by September. This would require the writ being moved for a by-election as soon as Parliament returns on Wednesday for the King’s Speech. However, such claims have been dismissed by other MPs as “complete bollocks” and “wishful thinking.”

MPs thought to be under pressure to give up their seats include Peter Dowd, the MP for Bootle in Merseyside, Charlotte Nichols, the Warrington North MP, and Marie Rimmer, the MP for St Helens South – although all deny being approached.

Sources close to Burnham deny any of these seats were ever in contention. Another seat being closely watched is Rusholme, currently held by Afzal Khan, one of Burnham’s closest political allies and former Lord Mayor of Manchester.

‘Dire’ election results in North West ‘don’t help Burnham’

A Starmer supporting MP said Labour losses to Reform in the North West show why Burnham in his current left-leaning guise can’t be leader. “The detail of results doesn’t really help him,” they said. “He’s supposed to be so popular in Manchester, but the results from there are pretty dire, so where is this seat that he is going to fight? And the likelihood that we lose the mayoral by-election he might cause seems very, very high. The whole thing doesn’t really vindicate his stance.”

The MP said Burnham might have a poll bounce “in the immediate aftermath” if he were to become leader but that “a week into being prime minister he’d be confronted with the same set of decisions that Keir has got to make, and those are not decisions that are going to make you wildly popular in the short-term.”

But Compass, a think-tank supportive of Andy Burnham, rejected the analysis that Reform gains mean Labour should not tack left.

The think-tank, which backs the Mainstream Labour group closely associated with Burnham, said the party’s losses on Friday morning were mirrored by Green gains and that this was eating into the party’s vote, handing seats to Zack Polanski’s party.

It claimed there is a “progressive majority” in the UK for the party that can unite voters on the centre-left, highlighting comments from elections expert Professor Sir John Curtice on Friday saying: “It should be remembered that Labour may often lose seats to Reform because it is losing votes to the Greens, while the Conservatives are losing votes to Reform. The net effect can be that Labour end up losing a seat to Reform [as the party comes through the middle].”

Labour is forecast to lose up to 2,000 council seats across England, alongside difficult results in the Scottish and Welsh elections.

Nigel Farage’s Reform Party is on track to be the biggest winner, while Polanski’s Greens are also on course to make significant gains.

Even in deepest Norfolk, Andrew is a danger to the Royal Family

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The Royal Family must be breathing a collective sigh of relief this week – if indeed royals do anything so vulgar as noisy exhaling.

After much debate about the trip’s merits, King Charles’s state visit to the United States was an undisputed triumph. He somehow managed to flatter Donald Trump while at the same time reminding Americans of their constitutional norms; he scattered royal stardust and yet came across as relatively down to earth. It helps, of course, that Trump, as a point of comparison, lives in cloud cuckoo land.

Hot on the heels of that success, we now learn that the Princess of Wales is to undertake her first overseas trip since 2022 next week, to Reggio Emilia in northern Italy. Her well-documented health challenges of recent times have made it impossible for her to take on the share of royal duties that might otherwise have been expected of her. As the most bankable asset of “The Firm”, Kate Middleton’s enforced absence from major trips and events has been a problem.

That is particularly so when the Windsors have faced so much terrible publicity in the last few years, thanks largely to the unending saga of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein. It had always seemed a forlorn hope that the late Queen’s steps in 2022 to remove her favourite son’s HRH title would create sufficient distance between Mountbatten-Windsor’s alleged wrongdoing and the rest of the family. The release of the Epstein files renewed scrutiny of the links between the royal playboy and the paedophile financier – seemingly dragging the entire question of the monarchy’s 21st-century existence with it into the spotlight.

The King may have belatedly done the right thing by forcing his brother into semi-exile in Norfolk and by removing his remaining princely status, but it is unlikely that there won’t be more damage to come.

Victims of Epstein want to know more about his trips to the UK, some of which apparently involved trips to royal residences. Some of the victims want a public acknowledgement from the King of the role his brother played in Epstein’s network.

An alleged confrontation with a balaclava-clad man on Wednesday has led Mountbatten-Windsor’s friends to claim that he should have his taxpayer-funded security detail reinstated. Even from deepest East Anglia, he can seemingly set off new rows about his entitlement to the trappings of royalty. Of course, Mountbatten-Windsor continues to maintain his innocence in all things, but there can be no doubt that his friendship with Epstein – and all that stems from it – remains the biggest thorn in the King’s side.

So much so, in fact, that the ongoing estrangement of Prince Harry from the rest of the family feels increasingly minor by comparison. The feud between the spare and the heir (and their wives) may not be close to repair, but it no longer feels existential for the House of Windsor. If anything, an ongoing familial battle has made the royals seem practically normal.

That said, Harry’s recent trips to Australia and Ukraine have highlighted the paucity of the family’s working personnel. With Charles and Kate both having spent time on the sidelines dealing with health problems, that issue has been magnified. A smaller, tighter-knit group of working royals should have been a partial answer to the question of how the monarchy would evolve to survive, but bad luck has shown its downsides.

A solo trip to Italy will, therefore, be cheered by royal fans and closely watched by commentators. Ever since she and Prince William got together at St Andrews, Kate has been the focal point of the Windsors’ future security: she combined non-aristo vibes with grace and charm; she gelled with the late Queen and with her father-in-law; and she has appeared entirely at ease combining motherhood with state dinners. She and William offered a glimpse of a more modern monarchy: one still with a bit of pomp but a tad less ceremony and one that would have fewer hangers-on providing fodder for critics.

The question now is not whether Kate retains her star power – there seems little doubt about that. Rather, it is whether that power is sufficient to undo the damage that lingers from Harry and Meghan’s departure from the family’s bosom, and more pertinently, whether it can compensate for the significant and ongoing harm caused to the monarchy by Mountbatten-Windsor. In short, can Kate and William get on with their efforts on modernising the House of Windsor, or will Mountbatten-Windsor keep pulling the focus back to the past?

If anyone can restore the royals’ reputation, it is the Princess of Wales. But for as long as questions about Mountbatten-Windsor’s association with Epstein remain, even she may struggle.

Putin’s shrinking Victory Day parade reveals his increased paranoia

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Russia’s Victory Day parade on Saturday – an annual event to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany – is expected to be a rainy affair. But while Moscow authorities can resort to cloud seeding to ensure clear skies, there will be no disguising the darkening mood across the country, as Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine grinds on.

For the past 18 months – and indeed much longer – Putin has indicated that his advancing forces are on the cusp of defeating Ukraine’s army. This has clearly not happened.

Despite a winter of devastating attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, Russia’s strategy to defeat Ukraine by sapping the will of its population has not worked.

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Meanwhile, a key milestone in the long conflict has now passed: On 13 January, 2026, the war against Ukraine officially outlasted the fighting between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

This makes this year’s celebrations particularly uncomfortable for Putin and his allies, who have tapped into the memory of the defeat of Nazism to build public support for the war. The goal of Ukraine’s “de-Nazification” has been central to the propaganda effort to convince Russians that they are fighting the same war as their forebears.

There is no denying the propaganda has worked. According to the latest data from Levada Centre, a respected polling organisation still operating in Russia, 72 per cent of Russians still support the war (40 per cent are strongly supportive). This is down from a peak of 80 per cent in 2022.

Yet authorities are nervous. The Kremlin has admitted that its decision to scale back this year’s parade and not feature the usual columns of military equipment is due to the “terrorist threat” posed by the “Kyiv regime”.

Ukraine has had considerable success in recent weeks in striking deep into Russian territory. It has hit oil terminals, refineries and Russia’s main missile plant at Votkinsk, 750 miles east of Moscow.

Even in central Moscow, authorities are not confident they can deter a Ukrainian air attack. As a result, mobile internet will be completely disabled inside Moscow’s ring road on the day of the parade.

Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers roll on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2024. Russia celebrates the 79th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)
The Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers at the Victory Day parade in Moscow in 2024. This year’s march will see a curtailed show-and-tell of such weapons due to the threat of Ukrainian attack (Photo: Alexander Nemenov/AFP)

Authorities clearly fear that Ukraine can use mobile signals to guide weapons to their targets, as it showed in June last year when it destroyed a large part of Putin’s strategic bomber fleet located far inside Russia.

Patriotic Russian bloggers, an increasingly important constituency closely watched by the Kremlin, is split on the issue. Some have expressed understanding for the need to protect the Victory Day parade and that military equipment is more useful on the front than on Red Square.

But others have used the opportunity to criticise military leadership over the war and call for change. Some have even thanked Putin “for an empty parade and the opportunity to listen to Soviet war songs on the radio”.

Putin has also shown himself to be fearful of allowing “Immortal Regiment” marches to take place.

These events became an important part of Victory Day celebrations after 2015. Participants walked in procession holding portraits of military relatives who died during the Second World War. But in 2022, the marches provided an outlet for quiet messages of opposition to the current war, and since then Immortal Regiment participants have only been able to gather online.

Heavy losses incurred in the fighting have only increased the possibility that marches could take on a character that Russian authorities can’t control.

For Ukraine, these signs of vulnerability are encouraging, and its goal of undermining trust in Putin’s leadership by forcing Russians to question the war might be starting to work.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MAY 07: A tourist walks in front of the Triumphal Arch of Moscow on May 7, 2026 in Moscow, Russia. May 9, 2026 marks the 81st anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. (Photo by Tian Bing/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
Preparations for the Victory Day parade at Moscow’s Triumphal Arch. Public reaction to this year’s scaled-down activities has been mixed (Photo: Tian Bing/Getty)

Putin’s overall approval rating has fallen from 87 per cent in August 2025 to 79 per cent in April, as more Russians sense there is no quick end to the war and amid increasing signs of economic deterioration. The sharp rise in the price of oil, linked to the US-Israeli war with Iran, will bring only temporary relief.

At the same time, an unfolding environmental disaster on the Black Sea coast after Ukraine’s repeated strikes on the refinery at Tuapse is causing outrage at local level and has highlighted once again that Putin often disappears at critical moments.

The Ukraine conflict is taking place in an ever-changing international context. Donald Trump is now distracted by the Middle East and has anyway shown himself unable to force Ukraine into a peace settlement skewed in Russia’s favour, as Putin had hoped.

Europeans are waking up to the fact that to deter future Russian aggression they must urgently integrate Ukraine into their defence planning. This would fatally undermine Putin’s goal of demilitarising Ukraine and making it a vassal state.

As a reduced number of soldiers, tanks and missiles take to the streets of Moscow this weekend, it will be increasingly clear that these are hardly times for victory celebration in Putin’s Russia.

John Lough is head of foreign policy at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre and was the first Nato official to be based in Moscow