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Pippa Middleton is obsessed with military fitness


Pippa Middleton is a "military-fitness obsessive".
The 30-year-old beauty, who is the sister of Britain's Duchess Catherine, admits she's a fan of the gruelling classes in her latest column for Waitrose Magazine.
The February edition features the stunning brunette cooking French puddings for Valentine's Day with Michelin-starred chef Eric Chavot.
She writes: "Early morning - a tad too early, even for a military-fitness obsessive like me - and I'm in an underground kitchen in London's Mayfair sitting next to a gregarious Frenchman in shorts."
Pippa is known to keep herself toned and healthy and often attends classes with pilates guru Margot Campbell.
She has also competed in sporting events and finished the 90km Vasaloppet cross-country ski race in 2013.
Military fitness classes are known for being tough and not for the faint-hearted, with participants often having to get up before sunrise to train in local parks.
The British Military Fitness website reads: "With the encouragement of your fitness instructor you'll train in pairs, in groups and teams, climbing over, crawling under and running around each other from the first to the last minute."
Meanwhile, Pippa has sparked rumours she's split from her boyfriend, Nico Jackson, who she has been dating for over a year, after she attended a wedding without him this month.
She arrived at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge, London, on February 8 for the nuptials of Arrabella Musgrave and George Galliers-Pratt.
Arrabella - who is the daughter of Major Nicholas Musgrave - dated Prince William in 1999 before he went on to meet Catherine at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

Prince William’s plea to save animals


Britain's Prince William made an impassioned plea to save endangered species from poachers last night (12.02.14).
The 31-year-old royal, who is campaigning with his father, Prince Charles, addressed more than 400 delegates at a reception at London's Natural History Museum and spoke about his strategies to rid the world of the illegal trade.
According to the Daily Express newspaper, he said: "Tonight we are here with a single, shared purpose - to use our collective influence to put a stop to the illegal killing and trafficking of some of our world's most iconic and endangered species.
"Never before has a group like this come together - in these numbers - to stop the illegal trade in wildlife. All of us in this room have a duty to make sure that tomorrow, February 13, is a date that marks the beginning of the end of this despicable trade."
He paid tribute to his father and grandfather, Prince Philip, who have both campaigned on the issue for years, despite Philip shooting a tiger and posing for a photograph with Queen Elizabeth in 1961, before it was made illegal.
He also failed to mention a hunting trip he went on with his brother, Prince Harry, in Spain this month, which has been described by critics as being "ill-timed."
William said: "We are, as a family, so honoured to be part of this movement. We will stay the course with you until you succeed.
"Let's turn tonight's goodwill into action, and, please, let's be part of the movement that can tell our children and grandchildren that we saved these extraordinary species for them."
The prince also attended a conference with his father and brother at Lancaster House in London this morning to discuss the illegal wildlife trade.


Prince William joins David Beckham for appeal


Britain's Prince William appears in a video with David Beckham urging people not to support the trade in rhino horn.
The 31-year-old royal and the retired soccer star are seen alongside former NBA basketball player, Yao Ming, in the WildAid message to protect rhinos, sharks and elephants for future generations.
The trio filmed the video in London in September 2013, which has been posted on YouTube today (13.02.14), and shows them dressed in suits walking out onto a pitch in a football stadium full of rhinos.
David says: "Imagine if all the people in the world could fit into one stadium", with William adding, "Sadly, all the wild rhinos in the world can, with room to spare. For some species, it's almost too late."
Appealing to viewers, Yao then says: "But we can fill this stadium and many more, if we can stop the illegal trade."
David adds: "Ask your friends and family never to buy rhino horn."
The film is part of WildAid's demand reduction campaign and the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife Collaboration.
William also teamed up with David and Yao to appeal to Chinese parents to save wild animals in a video message in December.
In a separate video, actor Jackie Chan warns viewers that buying rhino horn supports the dark side of the trade.
He says: "You're paying for guns, bullets, poisoned arrows, chainsaws, axes, and machetes to hack off the face of the rhino. And you are paying for the life of a beautiful creature."
This month, William is campaigning with his father, Prince Charles, against the illegal wildlife trade and has spoken at a number of events in London.

Prince Harry and Cressida at Cirque du Soleil


Britain's Prince Harry and girlfriend Cressida Bonas enjoyed a night at the London's Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday (12.02.14).
According to Royal Central, the 29-year-old prince and his on/off girlfriend of 20 months were in a private box watching a performance of Cirque du Soleil.
Witnesses reported the pair appeared in good spirits and looked "loved-up" as they left the prestigious venue.
Harry and Cressida have been together since May 2012 and have been on a number of romantic dates around the city.
They were last photographed grabbing a burger London restaurant Byron in Kensington High Street, close to Kensington Palace, in January, after spending time apart over New Year.
The pair spent more than an hour in the restaurant with two security men before getting into the prince's car outside.
The flame-haired royal is said to be "smitten" and friends say Cressida, 24, is very like his mother, the late Princess Diana.
A source previously said: "She's such an honest, sweet girl and in many ways is like Diana. Harry is just smitten."
The couple also enjoyed a romantic break at Cressida's family farm in Norfolk, East England, last month.
The estate - where the prince met his girlfriend's father for the first time last summer - is just a short drive away from the royal residence of Sandringham.

Prince William urges stop to illegal wildlife trafficking


Britain's Prince William has urged the world to come together and put a stop to illegal wildlife trafficking.
The 31-year-old royal arrived at London's Zoological Society this morning (12.02.14) and appealed from everyone to help save endangered species such as rhinos, tigers and elephants.
He said: "The forces destroying some of the world's endangered species are sophisticated and powerful.
"But this week we are seeing the creation of an equally powerful alliance coming together to help fight them.
"The commitments set out today will begin to address the challenges of protection, enforcement and demand reduction. We will use our combined resources to ensure they succeed.
"But ours is not an exclusive partnership. It is my hope that you will all become part of United for Wildlife and the global alliance to stop illegal wildlife trafficking."
The prince will also deliver a more in-depth speech tonight at the Natural History Museum in London to the heads of government, ministers and experts on the subject from around the world.
However, a few days before the start of the anti-poaching campaign, William and his brother Prince Harry reportedly went hunting for a wild boar in Spain.

Prince Charles hasn’t heard of Christina Aguilera


Britain's Prince Charles has 'no idea' who Christina Aguilera is.
The 65-year-old royal has never heard of the 'Candyman' hitmaker but insists he's a great fan of classical music and "gently persuaded" his daughter-in-law, Duchess Catherine, on her wedding songs when she married his son Prince William.
The prince spoke about his musical tastes during a tour of Global Radio in London yesterday (11.01.14), which owns stations such as Heart, Capital and Classic FM, with his wife, Duchess Camilla.
During a chat with Heart FM's Toby Anstis, he asked what music was playing to the listeners, to which he was told they had chosen a track by US superstar Christina, but he looked blank and appeared not to know who she was.
Although he proved he knew his pop history later in the day when he met with Heart presenter Emma Bunton and asked the former Spice Girl about the band - which also featured Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Mel B and Mel C.
Emma said: "He is always such a lovely man and it was so nice to see him again. He was asking me about when the Spice Girls were going to reunite.
"That puts a bit of pressure on you! He always asked after the rest of the girls and how they are doing."
Emma's colleague, Jamie Theakston, added: "I think they were both quite fascinated to see how it all worked behind the scenes. They are clearly great radio listeners."

Queen Elizabeth’s servants forced to evacuate


Britain's Queen Elizabeth's most trusted servants have been forced out of their homes.
Paul Whybrew, the Queen's footman and Sergeant-at-Arms, and her head housekeeper, Rachel Gordon, live in Windsor Home Park in Berkshire and have had to evacuate their homes due to rising flood waters from the River Thames.
The 87-year-old monarch returned home after an eight-week break in Sandringham in Norfolk yesterday (11.02.14) to find her estate workers putting down sandbags.
A royal insider told the Daily Express newspaper: "Paul has been with Her Majesty at Sandringham and came back to see this terrible situation. He is horrified but at least has somewhere to go. Rachel was advised to leave her home at the weekend."
The Queen regards Paul, 56, as her personal assistant and he also featured in her James Bond spoof video made for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Rachel, 40, has served the Queen for a number of years and recently took over the job at Windsor Castle.
A spokesman for the Royal Household confirmed: "Areas in Home Park have flooded, including a number of homes.

Prince Charles as king in new play

A new play looking ahead to when Britain's Prince Charles becomes King of England will open in London this year. The production - called 'King Charles III' - is written by Oxford playwright Mike Bartlett and will be staged at the Almeida Theatre, in ...

Duchess Catherine attends charity gala


Britain's Duchess Catherine attended the Portrait Gala 2014 held at the London's National Portrait Gallery last night (11.02.14).
The 31-year-old royal looked stunning in a full length dark blue Jenny Packham gown with a dazzling silver Nizam of Hyderabad necklace, which was on loan from Queen Elizabeth, as she stepped out of a black car to greet fans.
The dress code for charity fundraiser was "black tie with a hint of sparkle" and Catherine didn't disappoint on her first official royal engagement of 2014.
The pretty brunette, who is married to Prince William, met a number of big names at the event, including celebrated photographer David Bailey, artists Jonathan Yeo, actor Alan Rickman and Olympic Gold medallist Katherine Grainger.
She told guests: "The Gallery's achievements are exceptional. They hold the most extensive collection of portraits in the world, and their unique and brilliant exhibitions never fail to inspire us all."
Catherine also chatted to transvestite potter Grayson Perry, who recently picked up his CBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, becoming the first man dressed as a woman to do so.
The pair shared a joke after Grayson told the Duchess of Cambridge he was "channelling his inner peeress."
Actress Elizabeth Hurley also attended the event and wore a beautiful gold evening gown.
Catherine, who has recently been busy caring for her seven-month-old son Prince George, was later escorted by Sandy Nairne, the director of the gallery, to view a display of 200 postcards created anonymously for the fundraiser by a selection of famous artists.

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