Stars praise ‘easy going’ King Charles III as they gather for investiture ceremony
Soap star William Roache praised King Charles III after comparing their workloads whilst at Windsor Castle.
The 90-year-old Coronation Street icon, who has played Ken Barlow for a record 62 years was awarded his OBE on Wednesday morning.
Also honoured at the royal residence in Berkshire was Band of Brothers actor Damian Lewis, Countryfile presenter Matt Baker and AstraZeneca’s chief executive Sir Pascal Soriot.
After meeting the King, 74, Roache shared that they chatted about their respective challenging workloads.
Describing the monarch as “lovely” and “very friendly”, Roache shared with the PA news agency: “He said: ‘Not still working are you?’; I said: ‘Yes, just had two ex-girlfriends on the show’.
“He said: ‘Oh that must have been work’, and I said: ‘May I wish you a long and joyful reign sir?’, and he said: ‘Thank you, that will be a lot of work too’.”
A long time supporter of the monarchy, Roache said he met Queen Elizabeth II about seven times, going on to say the King is “more easy going” than his late mother.
“The Queen was even – when she came (to visit the Coronation Street set) less than a year ago – she always listened, she was attentive she was on the ball, and didn’t miss a trick. She was very bright,” he said.
“And they always love the humour, all of them, which I like. I’m very fond of the royal family.”
Awarded an MBE for his charity work with Children In Need, Baker, 44, revealed he and the monarch also had an entertaining conversation about a herd of Hebridean sheep the presenter bought off the then-Prince of Wales during the filming of Countryfile.
Presenter Matt Baker
“I told him, because I was feeding them this morning before I came – obviously with it being so frosty – and they’re still going strong so we had a bit of a natter about it,” he said.
The presenter also reminisced about mucking out the late Queen’s horse Emma, what he referred to as a highlight in his TV career.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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