Prince William says past year ‘probably the hardest in my life’ after King and Kate diagnosed with cancer
Prince William has described the past year as “brutal” and probably “the hardest year in my life” following his father and wife being diagnosed with cancer.
In a wide-ranging and surprisingly personal interview at the end of his week-long tour of Cape Town, the Prince of Wales was asked how hard the last year has been, answering: “Honestly? It’s been dreadful.
“It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”
Speaking about how the King and the Princess of Wales have coped, he added: “I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.
“But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”
It’s the first time he has spoken so openly about the personal impact on him of his father and wife’s illness and treatment.
His answer emphasises just how difficult it has been for him, but in many ways will be seen as an extraordinary statement when you consider the years of upset he endured around the traumatic death of his mother Princess Diana.
Prince William and Prince Harry during their mother’s funeral
Yesterday he praised Kate for being “amazing” and today when asked how she was doing said: “She’s doing well. Doing well.”
Prince says it is ‘very important’ he is ‘helping people’s lives’
During the year, both the King and the princess have taken some time away from public duties, at times putting more pressure on William to step up and go solo on engagements, especially in his new role as heir to the throne.
Asked about how he now feels about the responsibility and also potential freedom that comes with being Prince of Wales, he said: “It’s a tricky one.
“Do I like more responsibility? No. Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot then yes.”
Read more:
Prince of Wales praises ‘amazing’ Kate
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Princess of Wales: ‘Staying cancer free is now my focus’
Prince William’s Earthshot Awards celebrate and reward innovators working to combat some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues and have been described as the Oscars of the environmental world.
Elaborating on what that means for his future royal work, he said: “That’s the future for me. It’s very important with my role and my platform, that I’m doing something for good. That I’m helping people’s lives and I’m doing something that is genuinely meaningful.
“So, the Earthshot is a culmination, if you like, of all that put together. But it takes a lot of work, and there’s a lot of unseen stuff that goes on, a lot of meetings, a lot of people coming in, a lot of chatting and phone calls, letters, all trying to sort of make the Earthshot get to being the best possible entity it can be.”
Pic: PA
Princess Charlotte in ‘floods of tears’ over prince’s beard
William travelled to Cape Town on Monday for the fourth annual Earthshot Awards.
On his visit it was quickly noticed he was wearing a beaded bracelet saying “Papa” that he was given by Princess Charlotte.
But William admitted she is less keen on another new addition to his appearance, his beard.
Asked about his new facial hair he said: “Well Charlotte didn’t like it the first time. I got floods of tears, the first one, I got a few tears, so I had to shave it off. And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second and I convinced her it was going to be okay.”
William frustrated over slow response to his call to action
The prince has seemed in his element throughout the week.
Excited about the “Earthshot movement”, he said he felt “quite emotional” as he sat in the audience for the fourth annual awards ceremony, but he clearly has frustrations some aren’t responding to his call to action quickly enough.
He said: “When you go and approach people and say, like business or whoever, or even government when you approach them, and say, ‘listen, we’re building this incredible thing, please come on board’. Some people are extremely fast and keen to do it.
“Others take a little bit longer and it’s those people who take a little bit longer, I’m like, ‘guys, we just don’t have the time’.
“So, yes, I get a bit frustrated that it takes a long time to convince people that this is worthy of their attention.”
Speaking directly to big corporations, he added: “My message to business really is: hurry up and be courageous. Invest faster because we just don’t have that time.”
‘I couldn’t be less relaxed this year’
Already Earthshot has attracted the likes of Uber and British Airways to commit to supporting some of the start-ups discovered by the annual awards. An investment platform called “Launchpad” also links up innovators with potential investors.
Many of us who follow the prince regularly would say he’s seemed more relaxed throughout the week, clearly buoyed up by the enthusiasm for Earthshot, but he also said it’s partly down to family time.
“It’s interesting you say that, cause I couldn’t be less relaxed this year,” he said. “So it’s very interesting you’re all seeing that. But it’s more a case of just crack on and you’ve got to keep going… I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family too.”
UK
Sara Sharif: Father tells court ‘evil and psycho’ wife tied up daughter with tape – and made him slap girl
Sara Sharif’s father has told a court his “evil and psycho” wife made him slap the 10-year-old girl, and claimed she tied up his daughter with tape.
Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, his wife Beinash Batool and brother Faisal Malik are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of Sara’s murder in August last year.
Sara was found dead in bed at the family’s home in Woking, Surrey, after Sharif called police from Pakistan and said he had beaten her “too much”.
A post-mortem found dozens of injuries, including burns and human bite marks.
Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing
Speaking in court on Thursday, Sharif claimed he once came home to find Sara with her arms bound behind her back with packaging tape in the television room.
He said Batool appeared “shocked” to see him, and told the court: “I screamed. I was angry, I was annoyed.
“She, Sara, was terrified. She was scared. She didn’t say much. I hugged her, I kissed her, then me and Beinash went into the kitchen.
“She apologised to me and she promised that she wouldn’t do it again.”
(L-R) Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik deny murder. Pics: Surrey Police
Sharif then told the court he had cut his daughter free with a knife from the kitchen and said he was “an idiot” for not calling the police.
The taxi driver then denied Batool’s repeated claims to her sister that he was “beating the crap” out of Sara.
He did however admit to slapping his daughter “multiple times” when his wife told him she was “playing up”.
Sharif claimed “I was made to” slap Sara as Batool “was blaming my daughter”, and added: “I should not have believed her. I never knew I was living with evil and psycho.”
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Sharif then denied hitting Sara with a white pole, biting her or putting a homemade hood over her head.
He said about the bite marks on Sara: “I didn’t do it, Faisal didn’t do it… Who else was at home?”
Defence barrister Naeem Mian KC noted to jurors evidence that only Batool had refused to give her dental impressions to compare with the marks on Sara’s body.
Sharif also said he found out his daughter was wearing a diaper last July from Batool, who said the girl “could not control her bladder” and that it was “normal”.
He denied branding Sara on her bottom with an iron, and told the court he did not see bruises on her body as she wore a hijab, long sleeves and leggings at home. He also claimed he never saw her in pain or unable to move.
On the day of Sara’s death, Sharif said he received a call from Batool telling him to “come home,” to which he said he was “driving not flying” and would be back in 15 to 20 minutes.
He said he was not “burning with anger to get home” and said he had stopped to buy cigarettes or a vape from a Co-op on the way.
Sharif, 42, Batool, 30, and Malik, 29, deny murder and causing or allowing the death of a child between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023.
The trial continues.
UK
Liam Payne: Three charged in connection with death of One Direction star, prosecutor’s office says
A man who died after being hit by a bus in Edinburgh has been named.
Michael Leneghen, 74, died after being struck at around 7.25pm on Saturday 2 November in the Cowgate area of the city.
On the day of the incident, police issued a warning for members of the public not to share distressing images and videos circulating online.
In a statement, Mr Leneghen’s family thanked members of the public and emergency services who were involved and asked for privacy.
A single-decker bus collided with Mr Leneghen, who was on foot, Police Scotland say.
Sergeant Paul Ewing of Edinburgh‘s road policing unit said the force’s thoughts were with Mr Leneghen’s family and friends “as well as everyone affected by this tragic incident”.
“Our enquiries remain ongoing. We have already spoken to a number of people who were in the area at the time and work is ongoing to check public and private CCTV footage,” he added.
“We are still keen to hear from anyone who has not yet spoken to police.”
Chief Inspector Trisha Clark, the local area commander, previously said police were “aware of videos and images circulating on social media which are causing distress to the deceased’s family”.
“We would ask members of the public not to share them out of respect for his family, and to report them to the relevant social media platform to prevent further circulation,” she added.
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Ms Clark added that while there had been a lot of speculation, it was an “isolated incident” and there was “no risk to the wider public”.
Officers have asked anyone with information which could help the police investigation to get in touch.
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