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On the seat there was a sign. HRH Prince of Wales.

Prince William, not his father, is now taking that place, but in his first speech as next in line to the throne there were distinct similarities with what we saw from the former heir.

William reaffirming his dedication to an environmental cause, this time the “war” against the illegal wildlife trade, in memory of his grandmother.

It felt like he was firmly setting out that he won’t be keeping quiet about what matters to him, in fact it’s only going to step up a gear.

Those who’ve worked with them tell me you don’t get a sense of a hard relaunch for brand Prince and Princess of Wales, they have a well laid out thematic agenda for their work and they are sticking to it.

This week has really been a showcase for where they want to make a difference; engagements focusing on mental health, early years development, football and the environment.

Of course King Charles as heir was criticised for being too political, with suggestions he’d end up a “meddling monarch”.

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It is a label that William and his team are likely to wary of, but there are suggestions we may now actually hear more from him rather than less.

Lord William Hague, who’s worked with the prince for eight years and is now the chair of William and Kate’s charity, told me: “Certainly in the royal foundation, we’re not changing tone, you know, if anything, we’re going up another gear with a tone that’s well established of how to help with certain issues of some of society’s deepest problems where we need to bring people together to work on… There will be other issues to come in the future. So I think you will find for the Prince and Princess of Wales that work very much goes on and if anything, goes up another gear.”

Talking about the potential to stray into the political, he added: “We’re always careful, the royal foundation is non-political of course and it’s global. So of course we have to take great care with the issues that we work on. But there is no shortage of those issues. It’s absolutely right for a royal family that’s engaged with the world and wants to help people and serve people to get involved with.”

Lord William Hague is now the chair of William and Kate's charity. Pic: AP
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Lord William Hague is now the chair of William and Kate’s charity. Pic: AP

I’m told doing more to help the homeless is one area where we could see more work, especially now he has the network of land and businesses associated with the Duchy of Cornwall to play with as heir.

We wait to see if William’s wider popularity, and the fact he’s younger, make it more palatable for him to share his views compared to his father’s experience; the prince like others in the family will also inevitably be watching and reading to see how the change of reign and what they’re doing is being received.

The royals don’t do their own opinion rating polls but members of some households have been reading other polling since the Queen died to see how their messaging has been playing out.

A source observed that “their strength has come in continuity. The household hierarchy means Buckingham Palace leads, so there are guard rails in place to stick to”.

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Too constraining potentially for a power couple with global appeal? We know how Harry and Meghan felt about it, but William and Kate appear happy to remain important supporters for the King and Queen Consort, who will benefit from the backing and reflected popularity of his son and daughter-in-law.

Of course they want to do things differently from the past. Kate is aware of the heavy weight that comes with being a new Princess of Wales and following Diana, and as we saw this week, on her visit to a maternity ward in Guildford, she wants to make her own impact through getting more support for families with young children.

Ultimately they both see themselves as parents first, a former member of royal staff said that being good parents is their “north star”, and we know they want to try to give their children a relatively normal life. But they’re both aware that doing what they want to do can bring criticism.

Back in 2016 William was accused of being work-shy, a position taken by The Sun newspaper when he was doing fewer royal engagements and flying the air ambulance in East Anglia. The journalist who wrote it was Emily Andrews and William wanted a word.

“To be fair, he took it on the chin at least publicly with me. And he said that it was fair enough, but there were a lot of things we hadn’t seen behind the scenes. And actually fast forward to 2019/2020 and we heard a bit more about the stuff that he’d been doing with the air ambulance, the children’s lives he’d been saving,” Emily said.

“I think that’s the point about William. I think he has been on a journey with the press and his public persona. He cares very much about how he’s portrayed in the press. Make no mistake, even if he gives off the impression that he doesn’t.”

On one visit to Northern Ireland in 2020 we both spotted the editor of The Sun shadowing the prince for the day.

Around that time she wasn’t the only newspaper editor who’d been invited to spend time getting to know his work better.

I am told that both William and Kate pay a very active interest in how their events are covered, a lot of prep work goes into how it’s going to be perceived, how it looks.

As they step up it does feel like a missed opportunity that more context and background on the work going on behind the scenes hasn’t always been briefed, and often that’s been put down to it being a small and young team.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

There is a sense that approach may be changing, not just to counter potentially negative headlines, or because their roles have changed, but ultimately because what they can deliver is incredibly powerful; a global platform to get messages out to a huge audience, and an unrivalled ability to convene on issues like the illegal wildlife trade.

Lord Hague told me it’s something the Americans are very envious of.

Read more:
Prince William’s first speech as heir honours grandmother with commitments on environment
Princess of Wales challenged during royal visit to Northern Ireland

He said: “The US government said to me, no government in the world could do what you’re doing in the royal foundation, what Prince William is doing on this issue. Because you see we have Chinese airlines, departments of the Chinese government working in the same grouping as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and companies from across the Western world, with no political mistrust or suspicion about a government organising it. So what Prince William has shown with this, with the royal foundation, on wildlife is really that there’s this tremendous convening power.”

From conversations I’ve had you don’t get the sense that the couple want to dramatically shake things up with a shiny new strategy when it comes to the institution.

During the Queen’s reign change was often subtle and never sudden. From everything we’re seeing that now appears to be a tradition her family are keen to preserve, if the more questioning world they now operate in will allow it.

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School kids asking for advice on strangulation during sex – as abuse victim issues warning

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School kids asking for advice on strangulation during sex - as abuse victim issues warning

Schoolchildren are asking teachers how to strangle a partner during sex safely, a charity says, while official figures show an alarming rise in the crime related to domestic abuse cases.

Warning: This article contains references to strangulation, domestic abuse and distressing images.

It comes as a woman whose former partner almost strangled her to death in a rage has advised anyone in an abusive relationship to seek help.

Bernie Ryan, chief executive of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, has been running the charity since its inception in 2022 after non-fatal strangulation became a standalone offence.

“It’s the ultimate form of control,” she says.

She says perpetrators and victims are getting younger, while the reason is unclear, but strangulation has seeped into popular culture and social media.

“We hear lots of sex education providers, teachers saying that they’re hearing it in schools.

“We know teachers have been asked, ‘how do I teach somebody to strangle safely?’

“Our message is there is no safe way to strangle – the anatomy is the anatomy. Reduction in oxygen to the brain or blood flow will result in the same medical consequences, regardless of context.”

Bernie Ryan, the Chief Executive of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation
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Bernie Ryan, CEO of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation

A recent review by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin recommended banning “degrading, violent and misogynistic content” online.

Violent pornography showing women being choked during sex she found was “rife on mainstream platforms”.

Ms Ryan says she “wants to make sure that young people don’t have access to activities that demonstrate that this is normal behaviour”.

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Man whose body was found in suitcase ‘had raped teenager’

Strangulation is a violent act that is often committed in abusive relationships.

It is the second most common method used by men to kill women, the first is stabbing.

According to statistics shared by the Crown Prosecution Service, in 2024 there was an almost 50% rise in incidents of non-fatal strangulation and suffocation – compared to the year before.

Kerry pleads for other victims of abuse to leave before it's too late
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Kerry Allan pleads for other victims of abuse to seek help

Domestic abuse victim Kerry Allan has a message for anyone who is in an abusive relationship.

Kerry met Michael Cosgrove in September 2022. While she said “at the beginning it was really good”, within months he became physically abusive.

In August last year her friends found his profile on a dating app.

“I confronted him and he denied it. I knew we were going to get into a big argument and I couldn’t face it, so I said I was going to my mum’s for a few days and take myself away from the situation.

“I came back a few days later and stupidly I agreed we could try again and everything escalated from that.”

Injuries to Kerry's chest. Pic: CPS
Image:
Injuries to Kerry’s chest. Pic: CPS

In the early hours of 25 August the pair had come in from a night out at a concert and got into an argument.

“He was having a go at me, accusing me of flirting with other people, and I was angry. I told him he had a nerve after what he’d done to me in the week and how he humiliated me.

“I told him that I wanted to leave, that we were done and that I wanted to go to my mum’s and that’s when it got bad.

“He pinned me to the bed and that’s when he first strangled me.”

Kerry's neck injury. Pic: CPS
Image:
Kerry’s neck injury. Pic: CPS

Kerry says this was the first time she’d ever been violently assaulted. Cosgrove was eerily silent as he eventually let go and Kerry gasped for air.

“I remember trying to get my breath back, I was crying and hyperventilating… I was sick on the bedroom floor and I was asking him to go.”

Cosgrove strangled her for a second time before letting go again.

“He was saying I wasn’t getting out of this bedroom alive. I was dead tonight, he hoped that I knew that. Just kept saying how I’d ruined his life.”

Injury to Kerry's eye. Pic: CPS
Image:
Injury to Kerry’s eye. Pic: CPS

“I remember feeling a sort of shock thinking at this point, I’m not going to get out of this bedroom, he’s actually going to kill me.”

Kerry began screaming and shouting for help as loud as she could.

Her neighbours heard the commotion and called the police. While they were en route, Kerry was once again being assaulted.

Bleeding in Kerry's eye
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Bleeding in Kerry’s eye

“I ran over to the bedroom window and tried to jump out, he grabbed me as I went to open the window, and we struggled. And then I was back in the same position, he was on top of me on the bed, and his hands were round the throat again. But this time it didn’t stop.

“I remember trying to struggle and trying to kick out and hit him and I just kept thinking that I definitely was going to die, because at this point, it wasn’t stopping.”

The next memory Kerry has is opening her eyes to see police and paramedics in the bedroom.

Michael Cosgrove. Pic: CPS
Image:
Michael Cosgrove. Pic: CPS

Cosgrove had heard the sirens, jumped out of the bedroom window and went to hide in Kerry’s car.

Kerry remembers opening her eyes to paramedics caring for her: “I remember thinking, I’m alive. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that I was alive and I wasn’t dead. My last memory is him being on top of me with his hands on my throat.”

Kerry met Michael Cosgrove in September 2022
Image:
Kerry met Michael Cosgrove in September 2022

She gives this advice to anyone who is in an abusive relationship: “Please speak to somebody, whether it’s friends, family, a work colleague, whether it’s somebody online, whether it’s a charity that you’re directed to, any sort of abuse is not okay.

“Whether it starts off emotional, they often start off that way, and they escalate, and they can escalate badly.

“Take what happened to me as a huge warning sign, because I wouldn’t want anyone else to be in the position I’ve been in the last eight months.”

Cosgrove was found guilty of attempting to murder Kerry and intentional strangulation.

He will be sentenced in July.

If you suspect you are being abused and need to speak to someone, there are people who can help you.

The National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247

Women’s Aid

Respect, the helpline for male domestic abuse victims: 0808 8010327

Galop, the LGBT+ anti-violence charity: 0800 999 5428

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Two men found guilty of cutting down famous Sycamore Gap tree

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Two men found guilty of cutting down famous Sycamore Gap tree

Two men have been found guilty of cutting down the famous Sycamore Gap tree that stood for more than 150 years.

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were convicted of causing more than £620,000 worth of damage to the tree and more than £1,000 worth of damage to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland.

On 27 September 2023, the pair drove 30 miles through a storm to Northumberland from Cumbria, where they both lived, before felling the tree overnight in a matter of minutes.

An image of the Sycamore Gap standing, which was shown in evidence. This image was taken at approx. 5.20pm on Wednesday 27 September 2023.
Pic: CPS
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The Sycamore Gap tree before it was cut down. Pic: CPS

The pair each denied two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to Hadrian’s Wall, which was damaged when the tree fell on it, but were convicted by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday.

The Sycamore Gap tree sat in a dip in the landscape and held a place in pop culture, featuring in the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

It also formed part of people’s personal lives, as the scene of wedding proposals, ashes being scattered and countless photographs.

Footage of the moment the tree was felled was played during the trial.

Undated handout photo issued by Northumbria Police of Daniel Graham. Daniel Graham, 39, has been found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court alongside mechanic Adam Carruthers, 32, of criminal damage after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree - valued at £622,000 and £1,114 damage to Hadrian's Wall. Both defendants will be sentenced on July 15. Issue date: Friday May 9, 2025.
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Daniel Graham. Pic: Northumbria Police/PA

Undated handout photo issued by Northumbria Police of Adam Carruthers. Adam Carruthers, 32, has been found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court alongside groundworker Daniel Graham, 39, of criminal damage after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree - valued at £622,000 and £1,114 damage to Hadrian's Wall. Both defendants will be sentenced on July 15. Issue date: Friday May 9, 2025.
Image:
Adam Carruthers. Pic: Northumbria Police/PA

In the clip, the sound of a chainsaw can be heard, and the silhouette of a person can be seen, before the trunk eventually tumbled.

The footage was shot on Graham’s iPhone 13, with the metadata providing the coordinates of the tree.

Part of tree kept as ‘trophy’

Over the course of the trial, the pair blamed one another, but the prosecution argued they were both responsible for what the court heard was a “mindless act of vandalism”.

As well as the video footage of the felling, an image of a piece of wood and a chainsaw was found on Graham’s phone.

Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham. Pic: CPS/PA
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Adam Carruthers (R) and Daniel Graham (L) worked together felling trees. Pic: CPS/PA

Chainsaw and chunk of wood never found. Pic: PA
Image:
An image of a piece of wood and a chainsaw was found on Graham’s phone. Pic: PA

Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told the court: “This was perhaps a trophy taken from the scene to remind them of their actions, actions that they appear to have been revelling in.”

Voice notes played in court

The jury was also played voice notes the pair had sent one another, commenting on the media coverage the incident was receiving.

In one of them, Graham, 39, said to 32-year-old Carruthers: “Someone there has tagged like ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, like News News News”, before adding: “I think it’s going to go wild.”

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Sycamore Gap seeds saved

Another piece of evidence was a photo of the defendants felling a different tree, about a month before the Sycamore Gap was cut down.

The prosecution said Graham, who owned a groundworks company and Carruthers, who worked in property management and mechanics, were “friends with knowledge and experience in chainsaws and tree felling”.

From the beginning, much of the trial focused on the significance of the tree, with Judge Mrs Justice Lambert telling the jury to put their “emotion to one side” before proceedings began.

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Voicenotes from Sycamore Gap tree trial

‘Mindless acts of violence’

Northumberland Superintendent Kevin Waring, of Northumbria Police, said: “We often hear references made to mindless acts of vandalism – but that term has never been more relevant than today in describing the actions of those individuals”.

Graham and Carruthers gave no explanation for why they targeted the tree, he said, “and there never could be a justifiable one”.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth, called the felling of the tree “unfathomable” and said, although “there was no remorse [from the defendants], there was compelling evidence, and now there will be justice”.

Gale Gilchrist, chief crown prosecutor for CPS North East, said Graham and Carruthers took “under three minutes” to bring down the “iconic landmark” in a “deliberate and mindless act of destruction”.

She said she hoped the community “can take some measure of comfort in seeing those responsible convicted”.

‘Enormity of the loss’

Reflecting on the verdict and the actions of the pair, Tony Gates, chief executive of Northumberland National Parks Authority, said: “It just took a few days to sink in – I think because of the enormity of the loss.

“We knew how important that location was for many people at an emotional level, almost at a spiritual level in terms of people’s connection to this case.”

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Moment Sycamore Gap tree cut down

Read more from the trial:
Two men went on ‘moronic mission’ to fell Sycamore Gap tree

Man told police he was being ‘framed’ over tree felling
Defendant says friend wanted to cut down world’s ‘most famous tree’
Jurors played voicenotes in Sycamore Gap tree trial

The tree’s stump still sits by Hadrian’s Wall, where new shoots have been emerging.

Its largest remaining section will go on display at the National Landscape Discovery Centre in the Northumberland National Park later this year.

The effort to preserve the tree’s legacy also goes beyond the region where it stood.

Forty-nine saplings taken from the tree have been conserved by the National Trust. They will be planted in accessible public spaces across the country as “trees of hope”, which will allow parts of the Sycamore Gap to live on.

The defendants, who didn’t react when the verdicts were delivered, will be sentenced in July.

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt art expert pleads guilty following police investigation into terrorist financing

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt art expert pleads guilty following police investigation into terrorist financing

An art dealer who featured on the television show Bargain Hunt has pleaded guilty following a police investigation into terrorist financing.

Oghenochuko “Ochuko” Ojiri, 53, admitted eight counts of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector, contrary to section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard he sold art to a known Hezbollah financier to a value of about £140,000.

Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri sold art to Nazem Ahmad, a suspected financier of Hezbollah.

“At the time of the transactions, Mr Ojiri knew Mr Ahmad had been sanctioned in the US,” Mr Harris told the court.

“Mr Ojiri accessed news reports about Mr Ahmad’s designation and engaged in discussions with others about his designation.”

“There is one discussion where Mr Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about his terrorism links.”

Ojiri “dealt with Mr Ahmed directly, negotiated the sales of artwork and congratulated him on those sales,” according to Mr Harris.

Each count Ojiri faced related to an individual sale of artworks, which were sent to Dubai, UAE and Beirut.

Read more from Sky News:
Two men found guilty of cutting down famous Sycamore Gap tree
Suspect accused of Derby bank murder appears in court
Man whose body was found in suitcase ‘had raped teenager’

Ojiri, from west London, who has also appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, was bailed ahead of his sentencing at the Old Bailey on 6 June.

He was ordered to surrender his passport and not apply for international travel documents.

“He is not a flight risk,” Gavin Irwin, mitigating, told the court.

“The fact that he is here – he has left the UK and has always returned knowing he may be charged with offences – he will be here on the next occasion.”

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