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Queen Elizabeth is the ’embodiment of the national spirit’


Britain's Queen Elizabeth has been hailed as the "embodiment of the national spirit".
Sir Simon McDonald, the British Ambassador to Berlin, has underlined Germany's respect for the 89-year-old monarch, who's currently on a state visit to the country.
He said: "She stands for reliability, continuity, stability, she is the focus of national attention and if there is a national event or a national crisis she is the embodiment of the national spirit.
"That is something that the Germans appreciate, it's almost a kind of nostalgia for them - if things had worked out differently they would have had something similar, but they don't."
Meanwhile, it's been suggested the Queen may have to be temporarily moved from Buckingham Palace to allow refurbishment work to take place.
The royal residence has not been decorated since 1952 and needs new plumbing and wiring.
A source said: "One option is for the palace to be vacated. The initial estimate for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace looks like £150 million.
"That depends on how you go about refurbishment, whether you do it in parts or the whole thing (at once)."

Duchess of Cornwall ‘keen to help Prince Harry’


Britain's Duchess of Cornwall is reportedly keen to help Prince Harry find love.
The 67-year-old royal, who's married to Prince Charles, is apparently eager to ensure Harry finds a suitable woman and is willing to help in any way she can.
A source told the Daily Mail newspaper: "She is doing her best to point Harry in the right direction with the aid of her children by her first marriage, Tom and Laura, and their address books.
"Whoever he eventually alights on will be welcomed to tea at Clarence House so that Camilla can give them the once-over."
This comes shortly after it was reported Prince Harry had started dating Cressida Bonas once again.
The 30-year-old prince has apparently been secretly seeing his on/off girlfriend over recent weeks, and they are making a concerted effort to keep things under wraps for the moment.
Indeed, t's been claimed the duo will keep things secret until they are forced to reveal their relationship.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has also been linked to 'Doctor Who' star Jenna-Louise Coleman, who he was seen chatting with at a recent charity polo match in London's Coworth Park.

Prince Charles helps raise money for Clutha Trust


Britain's Prince Charles has lent his support to a charity in memory of 10 people who died in the Clutha helicopter crash.
The 66-year-old royal and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the Glasgow pub where the police helicopter crashed and they signed a ukulele, which will subsequently be auctioned to raise much-needed funds for the Clutha Trust.
Meanwhile, Charles also visited the fire-damaged Glasgow School of Art (GSA), with GSA director Professor Tom Inns saying: "He's always been a great supporter of the school. He's very passionate about traditional crafts and art and design - all things that are important to us as a school and as part of the work to bring this building back.
"He had seen pictures of the damage but he was genuinely shocked to see it up close.
"He was explaining how the Royal Family dealt with the Windsor Castle fire so I think he really understands how complex it is to deal with something like this."
The Grade-A listed building was badly damaged last year as students were getting read for their degree shows.

Queen Elizabeth warns against European divisions


Britain's Queen Elizabeth has warned that "division in Europe is dangerous".
The 89-year-old monarch delivered a rallying call to the continent during a speech at a state banquet held at the Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the German president, Joachim Gauck.
She said: "The United Kingdom has always been closely involved in its continent. Even when our main focus was elsewhere in the world, our people played a key part in Europe.
"In our lives, we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. We have witnessed how quickly things can change for the better. But we know that we must work hard to maintain the benefits of the post-war world.
"We know that division in Europe is dangerous and that we must guard against it in the West as well as in the East of our continent. That remains a common endeavour."
The event in Berlin - which was also attended by Prime Minister David Cameron and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor - saw the Queen praise Britain's "irreversible" friendship with Germany since the Second World War.
What's more, she said Britain has a "key part" to play in shaping Europe.

Prince Harry ‘was an excellent leader of men’


Britain's Prince Harry has been hailed as an excellent leader of men.
The 30-year-old royal recently walked away from his career with the British military but one of his former colleagues, James Wharton, has hailed his leadership skills.
He recalled: "During that decade he served on the front line in Afghanistan twice, qualified as an Apache pilot, was a forward air controller and even found the time to organise the inaugural Invictus games in London.
"Alongside all of this, he managed to do the core job he was employed to do originally - command men - which he did excellently. I know this because I was one of those men, once."
James said that despite the tough conditions they found themselves in, Prince Harry always helped keep moral high.
Writing for the Huffington Post, he explained: "I spent some weeks sat next to him in a tank in the summer of 2008, on the Prairies of Alberta in Canada.
"During that period, we conducted hard war training, often working in very tough conditions and going days without sleep, but, with the company of our driver, our small crew of three enjoyed many moments of hilarity and morale was, mostly, sky high throughout our training."

Duchess of Cambridge is a ‘normal’ woman


Designer Amaia Arrieta thinks Britain's Duchess of Cambridge is a "normal and natural" woman.
The retailer - who runs a classic and traditional childrenswear store in London, where the Duchess is known to shop - has recalled how humble she found the royal during their first meeting, which took place shortly after she gave birth to 23-month-old Prince George.
She told HOLA.com: "The first time she came into the shop she was with her mother [Carole Middleton] ...
"It was quite funny because she said, 'I've just had a baby and I'm a little lost. Would you be able to help me?'
"Of course we knew who she was! It surprised us to see how normal and natural she was. We helped her like any new mum and I think she liked that because she's been coming back ever since.
"She usually comes alone and although we show her everything we have in the size she needs, she usually knows what she wants. She's very decisive but she does let us make suggestions, and sometimes she buys things she wouldn't have picked up. She's very charming, very normal and very sweet.
"Her sister [Pippa Middleton] and her mum have also been back a few times to buy things for their nephew and niece and grandson, but at separate times."

Queen Elizabeth to be moved from Buckingham Palace?


Britain's Queen Elizabeth may have to be moved out of Buckingham Palace to allow maintenance work to take place.
The royal residence, which has not been decorated since 1952, needs new plumbing and wiring and one option to resolve the situation is for the Queen to temporarily move elsewhere.
A source told the BBC: "One option is for the palace to be vacated. The initial estimate for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace looks like £150 million.
"That depends on how you go about refurbishment, whether you do it in parts or the whole thing (at once)."
This comes shortly after it was revealed two teenagers were plotting to blow up Buckingham Palace, as well as the Houses of Parliament, "a random shopping centre" and a public school.
The 16-year-olds from the North East have been locked up for a year after admitting to the plot, which was foiled by one of their mothers.
John Dilworth, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North East, said: "It is alarming to note that, at the point when their scheme was discovered, these two young men had already secured all of the materials required to construct a viable explosive device.
"Thankfully, the potentially tragic consequences of their plans were never realised.
"We are grateful to the actions of the defendants' relatives, whose suspicions alerted police to the serious risk posed, not only to the public at large but also to the young defendants themselves."

Royal funding ‘needs to be revamped’


The British Monarchy ought to be "put on a proper budgetary fitting", according to a campaign group leader.
Graham Smith, from the group Republic, has called for a fundamental change in approach to how the royal family is funded.
Reflecting on reports that Buckingham Palace needs to undergo refurbishment work worth £150 million, Graham told the BBC: "It is time that the whole funding system is scrapped, re-written, that the monarchy is put on a proper budgetary fitting - and that maintenance of the palace is taken out of their hands and given over to the same people that look after the Tower of London very well."
Meanwhile, a Scottish Government spokeswoman has confirmed that a devolution of power in Scotland will have no impact on the amount the country pays to the monarchy.
The spokeswoman explained: "Scotland will continue to make the same financial contribution to the monarchy as at present - there will be no reduction in the sovereign grant as a result of devolution of the Crown Estate."
The comments came after reports suggested there could be a reduction if profits from the Crown Estate in Scotland are retained by the Scottish Parliament and not the UK Parliament in a year's time.

Figures lift lid on Prince Charles’ finances


Britain's Prince Charles pays for his official life by drawing an income from the Duchy of Cornwall.
The 66-year-old royal uses the income generated by the estate given to him to fund his official and private livelihoods, with a new report showing its income in the year to March 31 was £19.7 million, representing a rise of 1.7 percent.
Clarence House has confirmed that the budget Prince Charles sets aside for his sons, Princes William and Harry, to run their Kensington Palace office increased by £38,000.
This is largely the result of increased travel costs, which have been rising more broadly.
Earlier this week, Republic - a campaign group opposed to the monarchy in the UK - claimed the royal family costs the taxpayer nearly £334 million a year.
The group's estimate is as much as eight times the official figure and is attributed to the cost of security and councils' expenses for royal visits, as well as lost income to the Treasury from the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.
Graham Smith, the Chief Executive of the campaign group, admitted it represents "a challenge to spell out the full costs" of having a royal family.

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