BBC defends coverage of Kate as Meghan ‘left frustrated’ over relaunch – live

Royal author Tom Quinn told the Mirror Meghan will be “frustrated” after she launched her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard close to Kate’s sombre announcement.

The Duchess of Sussex made a surprise return to Instagram on 14 March days before Kate went public with her diagnosis.

He told the paper: “Meghan will be kicking herself that the announcement of her new brand came so close to the announcement of Kate’s illness – she can’t complain about it, but once again she is in her sister-in-law’s shadow.”

Earl Spencer shared the touching photo dating back to September 1968 on Instagram with the release of his new memoir A Very Private School.

The siblings are pictured in matching red blazers emblazoned with the school’s logo and knee-high grey socks.

He revealed that he and Diana attended Silfield, in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, which he looks back on fondly as a “really lovely primary school.”

He wrote: “My first day of school, in September 1968: my father took this photograph of me and my sister, Diana, just before he drove us to Silfield, a really lovely primary school in King’s Lynn, Norfolk.

The actor talks to Jessie Thompson about the ‘Newsnight’ interview drama ‘Scoop’, intimacy coordinators, tabloid behaviour and her time on ‘Doctor Who’

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These days, TV series based on true stories are seemingly announced before the story itself has finished, says Katie Rosseinsky, but a new film exploring the making of Newsnight’s notorious Prince Andrew interview proves that this genre can still be worthwhile

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The Duke of York was seen waving as he rode around Windsor on Friday as Netflix drama Scoop, which reenacts the story of how the BBC secured the now infamous interview, went live.

Prince Andrew was named in the legal deposition of Virginia Roberts, who claimed she was trafficked to him by Epstein for sex at the age of 17.

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The broadcaster, which had aired the full video, said it was “mindful” of its reporting approach and did not speculate on details that had not been made public.

Documents are the lifeblood of historians, the tools with which we build our picture of the past. For most historians and biographers there is a surfeit of sources to draw from, ranging from documents in public archives and private collections to accounts in books and interviews.

For the royal historian, however, there is very little beyond often inaccurate press cuttings, and briefings by “sources” in royal circles. Even Netflix reenactments of infamous interviews only allow an interpreation of what the royals themselves chose to put in the public domain.

This is because there remains a deference and culture of secrecy with regard to the royal family. They are largely exempt from the Freedom of Information Act; the Royal Archives have no public inventory – rather like a restaurant with no menu; what papers are deposited in the National Archives are subject to a series of exemptions; and those who have worked with them are almost inevitably subject to confidentiality contracts.

The British actor, 58, recently addressed the speculation during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. During the 3 April episode, Hurley insisted she wasn’t the unnamed “older woman” who the Duke of Sussex wrote about losing his virginity to in his 2023 memoir, Spare.

“That was ludicrous!” Hurley said, in response to the speculation. “He said: ‘She was English. She was older than me. It was in Gloucestershire.’ And they were like: ‘Ah, it’s Elizabeth.’ It was absurd. It was ridiculous.”

The Duke of York was seen waving as he rode around Windsor on Friday as Netflix drama Scoop, which reenacts the story of how the BBC secured the now infamous interview, went live.

Alexander Butler reports: