Harry ‘asks ex-aides about a return’ as King hosts Starmer at Balmoral – latest news

King Charles has released a statement offering his condolences to the people of Aotearoa after the passing of Kiingi Tuheitia.

Buckingham Palace released the following statement: ”My wife and I were profoundly saddened to learn of the death of Kiingi Tuheitia.

“I had the greatest pleasure of knowing Kiingi Tuheitia for decades. He was deeply committed to forging a strong future for Māori and Aotearoa New Zealand founded upon culture, traditions and healing, which he carried out with wisdom and compassion.

“I remember with immense fondness meeting Kiingi Tuheitia many times, including when Her Majesty and I were hosted so warmly and graciously at the Tuurangawaewae Marae in 2015, and then again during our meeting at Buckingham Palace last year. His death is a particular shock in view of the fact that I had only very recently spoken to Kiingi on the telephone at the beginning of August.

“Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui a Tāne. (A mighty Totora tree has fallen.)

“My wife and I extend our deepest condolences to Kiingi Tuheitia’s whaanau and friends and all those who will mourn his loss. Our special thoughts and prayers will be with you at this most difficult and heartbreaking of times.”

It was signed ‘Charles R’.

Kiingi Tuheitia was elected to the Māori throne on 21 August 2006 and held several important roles, including patron of Te Matatini, the largest Māori cultural festival. He also represented the Māori people at King Charles III’s May 2023 coronation.

Following tradition, the next Māori monarch will be chosen with an election.

One of the Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists who have set up a camp in Windsor has said she thought the King would “probably be here” and “up for doing some camping” if he was not the head of state.

Tents, stages and speakers were set up in Windsor Home Park on Friday morning ahead of an “action-packed” weekend of activities.

Activist Marijn van de Geer, 41, said of Charles: “I reckon if he wasn’t the King he’d probably be here. I think he’d probably be quite good at giving some talks and trainings. He’s quite an outdoorsy person, he’d probably be up for doing some camping, it’s a shame he’s the King because he obviously can’t be here.

“As an individual he has spoken out a lot about the environment. He was well ahead of his days at the time when he was talking about it and everyone was laughing at him.

“This is 100 per cent not an attack at the King. Extinction Rebellion UK does not have any plans to storm Windsor Castle, any hotels, nor cause public disruption.”

A schoolboy donned his prize-winning cardboard crown in front of the King as the monarch visited a flower show.

The King laughed as Oliver Keith tried on the homemade creation of silver cardboard, purple tissue paper and golden tinsel at the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen’s 200th anniversary show in the city’s Duthie Park.

He questioned the eight-year-old on the fit and how long it took him to make the third-prize winning entry before asking him if he would like to try it on.

The now heir to the throne, 42, met his future wife while studying at St Andrew’s University in Scotland and the pair started out as friends.

My colleague Emma Guinness reports:

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly “keen” to do more unofficial tours after successfully visiting Nigeria and Colombia this year.

Though carried out in their capacity as private citizens, the visits have many of the hallmarks of official royal tours and have been used to promote several charitable causes.

A source told OK! magazine: “Both Meghan and Harry are keen to do more of these tours as that’s what they love doing and what they enjoyed most about royal life.”

A royal expert has speculated that Prince Harry’s decision not to add any new material to Spare is not “an olive branch”.

The book is being released in paperback for the first time on 22 October.

Royal historian Tessa Dunlop told the Mirror: “Those who suggest that this paperback release, with no additional material, is an olive branch, are sadly mistaken.

“New material can be conciliatory; Harry might have taken the lead and opened with a different prologue, fore-fronting his regret about how things turned out, and reiterating his good wishes for Kate and the King.”

The memoir was first released in January 2023, notably before King Charles’s coronation and the royal family’s recent health troubles.

The future direction of the monarchy is on a knife-edge, amid the passing of the late Queen, tense relationships, and a shrinking inner circle bolstered by an unprecedented health crisis.

The number of working royals has been steadily shrinking since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back in 2020, and Prince Andrew was stripped of his titles and patronages due to US civil action over sexual assault allegations.

In this exclusive event for The Independent, Assistant Editor Vicki Harper and a panel of royal experts will analyse the current state of the shrinking Royal Family, look back at how we got here, and explore the potential next moves for “the firm” to stay relevant.

The Queen was followed over the course of a year for a documentary looking at her work raising awareness of domestic violence.

ITV announced it has commissioned Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors, which will air later in 2024.

Film crews were given exclusive access to Camilla, who has worked for many years to highlight the problem of domestic abuse, and she will be shown in never-before-seen private meetings with survivors.