The Princess of Wales’s uncle, who is currently appearing on ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother, has said she is getting the “best care in the world”.
But Gary Goldsmith declined to talk further about Kate‘s health due to a “code of etiquette”.
There has been huge speculation on social media about the princess’s health after she underwent abdominal surgery earlier this year and has been absent from royal duties.
Love Island winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu asked Goldsmith in footage shown on Wednesday’s edition of the show: “Where’s Kate?”
He replied: “Because she doesn’t want to talk about… The last thing I’m going to do is… there’s a kind of code of etiquette. If it’s announced, I’ll give you an opinion.”
The younger brother of Carole Middleton added: “I spoke to her mum, my sister, she’s getting the best care in the world.
“And all the family’s done is put the wagons round and look after family first before anything else. They put a statement out and just said ‘she’s taking some time to recoup and will see you in Easter’.”
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Asked during the ITV reality show if he wants to see Kate return to public engagements, the 58-year-old businessman said: “She’ll be back, of course she will.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence has deleted a claim on its website that she would be attending Trooping the Colour this summer.
His comments come as Women’s Aid criticised the decision to include Goldsmith on Celebrity Big Brother.
In 2017, Goldsmith was fined and given a 12-month community order after admitting he had assaulted his wife in a drunken argument in which she accused him of taking drugs.
The national charity, which works to end domestic abuse against women and children, said the inclusion of men who have been convicted of abuse in an entertainment setting is a sign to survivors that such crimes “are not taken seriously”.
“The decision to include a man who has been charged, and pleaded guilty to, assaulting his wife, in the Celebrity Big Brother house demonstrates the lack of awareness that the production team has when it comes to survivors of domestic abuse,” a spokesperson for the charity said.
Image: Gary Goldsmith. Pic: Ray Burmiston/ITV/PA
“The producers should consider how Gary Goldsmith’s appearance will impact women who have survived domestic abuse and how they will feel watching him on TV every night.
“We would urge the producers to consider how they approach this, as for many survivors of abuse, the inclusion of men convicted of abuse in entertainment programmes will already be a sign that these crimes are not taken seriously – the entertainment industry has to consider the impact on women of who they give a platform to and derive entertainment value from.”
A Big Brother spokesperson said: “All housemates undertake training in language and behaviour before entering the Big Brother house.
“All behaviour in the house is strictly monitored at all times.”
Meanwhile, former This Morning presenter Fern Britton said she does not feel she can comment on recent events at the ITV show but said the new presenting line-up of Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley is a “new era”.
Image: Fern Britton. Pic: Ray Burmiston/ITV/PA
Celebrity Big Brother contestant Britton presented This Morning with Phillip Schofield for eight years before leaving in 2009.
Schofield left the show after more than two decades last year, before admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger colleague.
Noel Clarke has been ordered to pay at least £3m of The Guardian publisher’s legal costs after losing his “far-fetched” libel case over allegations of sexual misconduct reported by the newspaper.
The first article, published in April 2021, said some 20 women who knew the actor and filmmakerin a professional capacity had come forward with allegations including harassment and sexually inappropriate behaviour.
Clarke, best known for his 2006 film Kidulthood and for starring in Doctor Who, sued Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles in total, as well as a podcast, and vehemently denied “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing”.
At a hearing to determine costs on Tuesday, Clarke represented himself – saying in written submissions to the court that his legal team had resigned as he was unable to provide funding for the hearing.
Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that he must pay £3m ahead of a detailed assessment into the total costs to be recovered, which lawyers for the publisher estimated to be more than £6m.
“The claimant maintained a far-fetched and indeed a false case that the articles were not substantially true, by pursuing allegations of dishonesty and bad faith against almost all of the defendant’s truth witnesses,” the judge said.
The sum of £3m sought by GNM was “appropriate and no more than what ought to be reasonably ordered in this case”, she added, and “substantially lower than the defendant’s likely level of recovery”.
Clarke, 49, told the court he used ChatGPT to prepare his response to GNM’s barrister Gavin Millar KC, who asked the judge to order £3m as an interim payment – which he said was “significantly less” than the “norm” of asking for 75%-80%.
The actor described the proposed costs order as “excessive”, “inflated” and “caused by their own choices”, and asked the court to “consider both the law and the human reality of these proceedings”.
He also requested for the order on costs be held, pending an appeal.
“I have not been vexatious and I have not tried to play games with the court,” Clarke said. “I have lost my work, my savings, my legal team, my ability to support my family and much of my health.
“My wife and children live every day under the shadow of uncertainty. We remortgaged our home just to survive.
“Any costs or interim payments must be proportionate to my means as a single household, not the unlimited resources of a major media conglomerate.
“A crushing order would not just punish me, it would punish my children and wife, and they do not deserve that.”
Detailing GNM’s spend, Mr Millar said about 40,000 documents, including audio recordings and transcripts, had to be reviewed as a result of Clarke bringing the case against then. He highlighted a number of “misconceived applications” made by the actor which “required much work from the defendant’s lawyers in response”.
During the trial, the actor accused GNM – as well as a number of women who made accusations against him – of being part of a conspiracy aiming to destroy his career.
This conspiracy allegation “massively increased the scale and costs of the litigation by giving rise to a whole new unpleaded line of attack against witnesses and third parties,” Mr Millar said in written submissions to the court.
Clarke originally asked for damages of £10m, increasing to £40m and then £70m as the case progressed, the barrister said.
He must now pay GNM the £3m within 28 days, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’s lawyers have called for the music mogul to be given no more than 14 months in prison when he is sentenced next month – meaning he would walk free almost immediately.
In a new written legal submission, the defence team also detailed “inhumane” conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York – saying food sometimes contains maggots, that the rapper is routinely subjected to violence, and that he has “not breathed fresh air in nearly 13 months”.
He has already served a year in custody in New York following his arrest in September 2024, and is due to be sentenced on 3 October.
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How the Diddy trial unfolded
His defence lawyers have now made their arguments for sentencing in a written submission to Judge Arun Subramanian, who heard the trial.
“In the past two years, Mr Combs’s career and reputation have been destroyed,” his lawyers said in the document. “He has served over a year in one of the most notorious jails in America – yet has made the most of that punishment.”
They said Combs has been “adequately punished” already, having been jailed in “terrible conditions”. He has also become sober “for the first time in 25 years” and had an “incident-free record”, they added, and helped other inmates by creating an educational programme on business management and entrepreneurship.
It is now time for the rapper “to go home to his family, so he can continue his treatment and try to make the most of the next chapter of his extraordinary life”, the defence team said.
Image: Combs fell to his knees when the jury’s verdicts were delivered. Pic: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
‘Maggots and limited clean water’
The defence’s submission provides new information about what life behind bars has been like for Combs, a Grammy-winning artist and Bad Boy Records founder who was one of the most influential hip-hop producers of the 1990s and 2000s, and for his family and previous associates.
The rapper had to let more than 100 employees go from his businesses following his arrest, it said, and many have been unable to find work due to their previous association with him.
Combs’s seven children have also faced “devastating consequences”, according to the legal filing, including lost business opportunities in acting, television, fashion and music.
Image: The rapper’s mother Janice Combs supported him during the trial. Pic: Reuters
The rapper and his family were also set to star in a Hulu show about their lives, but the show was cancelled once the allegations against him became public.
Combs was removed from the boards at three charter schools he created in Harlem, the Bronx and Connecticut and was also stripped of an honorary doctorate degree from Howard University, which plans to return his prior donations, it said.
The defence’s document also goes into detail about the alleged conditions at the detention centre where Combs is being held.
Image: Judge Arun Subramanian heard the trial and will sentence Combs. Pic: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
“Mr Combs is routinely subject to violence – both directed at him and at others,” they said. On 12 September, they said members of the defence counsel were in the middle of a call with the rapper that had to be ended suddenly “because of a stabbing that locked the facility down for the next several days”.
Living conditions are “inhumane”, they argued, and Combs has been “under constant suicide watch”, meaning every two hours he “must present his identification card to the guards to show he is alive and well. While he is sleeping, he is awoken by an officer to ensure he is well and subjected to bright lights illuminated 24 hours per day”.
He also has limited access to clean water, they said, and often “heats his water to have clean water to drink without getting sick”.
Describing the dorm-style room he sleeps in, they said he is within “two feet from other inmates with the bathroom in the same room, with no door”.
The rapper “has not breathed fresh air in nearly 13 months, or felt sunlight on his skin”, the document added, while food “on any given day can contain maggots”.
The judge has already rejected a proposed $50m bail package for Combs.
Prosecutors, who will also submit their recommendations for sentencing ahead of the hearing, have already said they will call for him to remain in prison for a substantial period.
Combs was found guilty of two counts of transportation for engagement in prostitution – for flying girlfriends and male sex workers around the US and abroad for sexual encounters referred to as “freak offs”. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Late night TV show presenter Jimmy Kimmel, who was taken off the air following a row over comments about Charlie Kirk, will return on Tuesday.
Kimmel, who was accused of being “offensive and insensitive” because of what he said on his show last Monday, will go back on air in his regular slot.
Disney said in a statement: “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.
“It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.
“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Image: Jimmy Kimmel had criticised President Donald Trump for his response to the murder of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Earlier today, hundreds of Hollywood stars signed an open letter to defend free speech following Kimmel’s suspension.
More than 430 of the stars, including comedians, directors and writers, urged Americans to “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights”.
The letter is addressed to the American Civil Liberties Union, and argues the decision was a “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation”.
The letter adds: “Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country.
Image: Robert De Niro was among those to sign an open letter in protest to Kimmel’s ban. (Pic: Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier)
“We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power – because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.”
The list of signatures also includes Emmy-winner Noah Wyle, Oscar-nominated Florence Pugh, comedian David Cross, Tony-winner Kelli O’Hara and Molly Ringwald. Pedro Pascal, Billy Crystal, Nathan Lane, Kerry Washington and Kevin Bacon have also signed the letter.
The letter concludes: “This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation. We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.”
He said:“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Speaking about Trump, he added: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
Image: President Donald Trump had celebrated Kimmel’s suspension.(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“Many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk,” he continued.
The Disney-owned ABC pulled the show following criticism from Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Mr Carr had threatened to “take action” against Disney and ABC.
In an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, he said: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way”.
Mr Carr then praised the move, saying “it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values”.
But the decision sparked a global, furious backlash from the public and high-profile figures around the world.
Among them was former US President Barack Obama, who said on X: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.”
He added: “This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent – and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”
The decision came at a time Disney and Nexstar, the network operator, had FCC business ahead of them, with the former seeking regulatory approval for ESPN’s acquisition of the NFL Network and the latter need the Trump administrations approval to complete a $6.2billion purchase of broadcast rival, Tegna.