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Prince Charles and Camilla are to meet President Barack Obama during a four-day tour of the US.
The White House said President Barack Obama will host the royal couple in the Oval Office on March 19.
Charles and Camilla will be in the US from March 17 to March 20 to “promote the UK’s partnership with the United States”, Clarence House said.
They will also mark the Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary during their trip.
Other parts of their tour will include a tour of Mount Vernon – home of America’s first president, George Washington – and a visit to Louisville, Kentucky, home city of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.
While in Washington DC, the Prince of Wales will mark the Magna Carta’s anniversary during a visit to the National Archives.
Prince Charles will view the Charters of Freedom documents and the 1297 version of the Magna Carta, which is embodied in the American Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
He will also receive an award for “exceptional leadership in conservation” from the International Conservation Caucus Foundation.
Also in Washington DC, the prince and duchess will visit the Armed Forces Retirement Home, set in the same grounds as the Lincoln Cottage, where it is believed Abraham Lincoln wrote the last draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Duchess of Cornwall, who has regularly raised awareness about rape victims, will carry out several solo engagements, including visiting the District of Columbia’s assault response team.
This is a coalition of 12 public and private community agencies which works to prevent assault and help victims of such crimes.
Camilla will visit a food literacy project for young people at a local farm while in Louisville, which will be where the couple ends their trip.
Prince Charles visited the Oval Office in 2011 to discuss energy and environmental issues with President Barack Obama.
Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowels will divorce after nine years of marriage, GLOBE Magazine claims.
Meanwhile, Celebdirty Laundry reported that Queen Elizabeth allegedly called Camilla Parker-Bowles a disgrace after trying to force the royal family into a $350 million divorce pay out to buy her silence.
“Camilla isn’t likely to go without a fight though,” GLOBE Magazine claims.
“This chick has always been in it either for the crown or for a nice payday and so expect her to dig in her heels on this one. She has also been at Charles’ side for over 3 decades so she certainly does have a lot of dirt on him.”
New reports claim Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowels will divorce after nine years of marriage (photo Getty Images)
The divorce claims intensified after Prince Charles and Camilla went on their Canadian tour after Prince William and Kate Middleton won rave reviews on their three-week tour in New Zealand and Australia. Although the couple fought against going, the Queen insisted they needed to do this to earn the public trust and after spending three and a half days on a 41 engagement with his wife, Charles packed up his bags as soon they got home.
“Upon landing in Nova Scotia on May 18th Camilla exclaimed that it would take a lot of booze to survive,” according to GLOBE‘s June 9th print edition.
“It caused constant fighting and Charles was raging every time his drunken wife threw back another gin martini.”
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were photographed recently as they paid tribute to Wales’ coal miners on the fourth day of their tour in the region. During their visit to Senghenydd, near Caerphilly, Prince Charles was spotted placing a wreath at the foot of the Welsh National Mining Memorial. Charles and Camilla also opened the Aber Valley Heritage Centre that features the history of the south Wales valleys.
“My wife and I have so enjoyed this opportunity to meet you all and if I may say so to have a chance to pay our respects at the memorial,” Prince Charles said as he paid tribute to the courage of the miners, and to those who lost their lives for digging the precious coal that helped Britain’s economy.
Mark Shand, Camilla Parker Bowles’ brother, has died as a result of a serious head injury he sustained during a fall.
Mark Shand, 62, was in New York when the incident happened on Tuesday night.
“The duchess, the Prince of Wales and all her family members are utterly devastated by this sudden and tragic loss,” Clarence House said.
He was described as a man of “extraordinary vitality, a tireless campaigner and conservationist”.
Mark Shand was chairman of the Elephant Family, a movement which exists to save the endangered Asian elephant.
In its statement, Clarence House said it was with “deep sadness” that it had to confirm Mark Shand’s death.
Mark Shand, Camilla Parker Bowles’ brother, has died as a result of a serious head injury he sustained during a fall
It said his “incredible work through the Elephant Family and beyond remained his focus right up until his death”.
The death comes as the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince Charles, currently understood to be in Scotland, prepare for a high-profile tour of Canada next month.
Mark Shand, the duchess’s only brother, reportedly slipped while lighting a cigarette and hit his head on the pavement outside an after-party for a charity event.
According to the New York Police Department, the emergency services picked him up where he fell outside the Rose Bar and took him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Wednesday.
Mark Shand married French actress Clio Goldsmith – the niece of billionaire entrepreneur James Goldsmith and the cousin of Jemima Khan and Zac Goldsmith – in 1990. They have a daughter together called Ayesha, aged 19.
Jemima Khan tweeted her condolences: “RIP Mark Shand: Best man, godfather to my son & my cousin’s ex.”
Her ex-husband, former Pakistan international cricketer and politician Imran Khan also took to the social media site to pay his respects.
Imran Khan tweeted: “Shocked & saddened to learn of the death of one of my closest English friends, Mark Shand, in New York where he was raising funds 4 charity.”
Mark Shand had been in New York for a charity auction at Sotheby’s, which was in aid of unprivileged children and the Elephant Family.
The event was the finale of the month-long Big Egg Hunt NYC by Faberge, where egg sculptures were sold to the highest bidder.
It raised $1.6 million for charity and was reportedly also attended by Princess Eugenie.
In a statement, the Elephant Family described Mark Shand as the head of its family and “a true force for conservation”.
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Queen Elizabeth has invited Kate Middleton’s parents Carole and Michael to spend time with the royals at Sandringham for Christmas, The Sun reported.
And Camilla Parker-Bowles is reportedly furious at the amount of time she is forced to spent with the Middletons.
Camilla Parker-Bowles is reportedly hating to spend time with the Middletons, and she believes it’s below her station to associate with them
This is not the first time that the Queen has chosen the Middletons over Camilla, and it’s making her spitting mad. Camilla was never a priority when it came to Prince George’s first few days, which was also spent at Bucklebury.
Camilla Parker-Bowles is reportedly hating to spend time with the “commoner” Middletons, and she believes it’s below her station to associate with them.
Kate Middleton’s due date was widely reported as being last Saturday, July 13, but it has now been suggested that the official due date is actually today, July 19.
The world’s press has been camped outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London for a fortnight to ensure they don’t miss her arriving.
And social media is continually awash with rumors that she has gone into labor.
However, the only confirmation from Kate Middleton has been that she was due in “mid-July”, and last night a source claimed she was actually given today’s date.
Kate Middleton’s due date was widely reported as being July 13, but it has now been suggested that the official due date is actually July 19
This means the baby could arrive as far away as August 2, because expectant mothers are only usually induced if the baby is two weeks late.
The Royal source said: “A small number of staff at St Mary’s who might be called upon when the Duchess gives birth were told they had to remain teetotal for a month before the due date.”
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, they added: “They were told the due date was July 19.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s private office at Kensington Palace has refused to confirm the Duchess’s exact due date, although Kate herself let slip during a public walkabout earlier this year that it is “mid-July”.
William was said to have had a few days off from his job as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot in Wales this week, which he was thought to have spent with his wife at their Kensington Palace residence.
Kate Middleton, 31, stayed at the home of her parents Carole and Michael Middleton in Berkshire last weekend, while Prince William played in two long-standing charity polo matches.
The Duchess of Cornwall dropped a tantalizing hint on Monday that the wait could soon be over, telling well-wishers she expects the little boy or girl to arrive imminently.
Camilla revealed during a visit to a children’s hospice near St Austell, Cornwall: “We are all just waiting by the telephone. We are hopeful that by the end of the week he or she will be here.”
However, on Wednesday the Queen appeared to suggest that the baby was already late.
The Queen told a 10-year-old schoolgirl on a trip to Cumbria: “I would very much like it to arrive because I’m going on holiday soon… I wish it would hurry up.”
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The Duchess of Cornwall has revealed the royal family hopes Kate Middleton and Prince William’s baby will be born “by the end of the week”.
During a visit to a children’s hospice yesterday, Camilla remarked: “We don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re all waiting at the end of a telephone.
“I hope by the end of the week he or she will be there.”
Prince Charles and Camilla started their annual summer tour of Devon and Cornwall yesterday in the popular tourist town of Bude.
Many mothers brought their babies to meet them – giving them ample opportunity to greet newborns before Kate gives birth.
Trudi Lindsay, from Bude, said she was “delighted” her three-week-old daughter Ellie-Mae could see the royals.
The Duchess of Cornwall has revealed the royal family hopes Kate Middleton and Prince William’s baby will be born by the end of the week
“I said <<You have got one of these coming soon>> and Charles replied <<Hopefully>>, then he laughed.
“He was very good with Ellie-Mae, he touched her cheek. I still can’t believe Prince Charles touched my baby’s cheek.
“It is really exciting to have them here in Bude, especially as the weather is so nice.”
Jenny Dawe, 62, who works in a local shop, showed the royals her selection of cards.
“I said <<You will need a new baby card soon>> and they laughed,” Jenny Dawe said.
New parents Poppy and Paul Steen brought their five-day-old son Lowen to meet Prince Charles and Camilla.
Paul Steen, 33, said: “We’ve had quite a busy few days. Lowen wasn’t supposed to be born today but he came on Wednesday and I had to deliver him at home.
“The midwife did joke that he might arrive on the same day as Kate’s and we might get a commemorative coin but Lowen wasn’t waiting for that.”
Senior royals will be the first to know when Kate Middleton is admitted to the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington in the early stages of labor.
Kate Middleton was said to have cancelled all engagements this month so she could rest and recover from the bout of severe morning sickness that left her hospitalized.
But there are some events that not even a convalescing Duchess of Cambridge can get out of – Firm (a nickname for the British Royal Family) commitments.
Kate Middleton, who is less than 12 weeks pregnant, was seen today arriving at Buckingham Palace today to enjoy a pre-Christmas lunch with other members of the Royal family.
Fortunately Kate Middleton seems to have put the worst of her illness behind her and looked in good health for the annual event hosted by the Queen to ensure those family members she doesn’t have enough room for at Sandringham still get a chance to celebrate in style.
Christmas itself is spent at the private Norfolk estate where her immediate family celebrates the festive season each year.
Unusually, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived for today’s gathering separately, Prince William hitching a ride with his cousin Lord Linley.
Sources said it was more than likely because they had come from different venues that morning – perhaps Prince William was picking up some last minute Christmas presents at Linley’s eponymous Pimlico shop.
The couple were later seen being driven away together.
Kate Middleton, who is less than 12 weeks pregnant, was seen today arriving at Buckingham Palace today to enjoy a pre-Christmas lunch with other members of the Royal family
Yesterday the couple made a surprise appearance at their office Christmas party at a restaurant in London’s Notting Hill, showing that the pregnant Kate Middleton is clearly on the mend after being hospitalized for three days with hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition which causes severe sickness in pregnant women, earlier this month.
Prince William, like the other male members of the Royal Family, was suited and booted to within an inch of his life.
Prince Charles arrived with his beaming wife, the Duchess of Cornwall. Only his younger son, Prince Harry, was absent as he will spend Christmas fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan as an Apache attack helicopter pilot.
Princess Beatrice, wearing a floral dress, drove herself in without fanfare – although she still, contrary to reports, had a police protection officer in tow – as did her sister, Princess Eugenie.
Their father the Duke of York was also present but not, unsurprisingly, their mother Sarah, Duchess of York, who has been barred from family events for several years following a series of scandals.
Princess Michael of Kent, who celebrates her 68th birthday in January, looked astonishingly youthful as she smiled for the camera.
The royal, who is married to the Queen’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, has admitted using botox in the past and once joked that “toyboys keep me young”.
Also present were the Earl and Countess and Wessex and their elder daughter, Lady Louise, a particular favorite of the Queen who even watches the children’s television channel CBeebies with her.
Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto was there with her brood, as was the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.
The reclusive Duchess of Kent did not appear to have accepted an invitation but her glamorous daughter, Lady Helen Taylor, was there with her art dealer husband Timothy.
The lunch lasted two hours with Prince William and Kate Middleton leaving together this time. Eugenie was the first to head off with Charles and Camilla following shortly afterwards.
The Queen is expected to leave for Sandringham, one of her favorite residences, after the lunch for an extended Christmas break with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Hopefully this year will be happier than the last, when elderly Philip was rushed to hospital for heart surgery shortly before his family was due to arrive.
In line with their German roots – and the fact that the Queen regards Christmas Day as a religious festival – the royals swap presents on Christmas Eve.
Everyone gathers in the White Drawing room at around 4pm where the Queen and the younger members of the family put the finishing touches to a Norfolk spruce cut from the 1,000-acre estate before exchanging gifts.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have been given a glimpse of village life in Papua New Guinea.
A choir of women in floral shirts and grass skirts welcomed the couple, who are on a tour to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, to Boera.
The Prince of Wales and the duchess of Cornwall were shown crafts, canoe building and an aid project before a state dinner in capital Port Moresby.
Prince Charles, colonel-in-chief of the local Royal Pacific Islands Regiment, earlier inspected a military parade.
Dressed in the forest green uniform of the regiment, he presented infantrymen with new colors at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby.
In a speech, he introduced himself in the local Tok Pisin language as the “first child of Mrs. Queen”, which brought cheers and applause from the crowd of about 5,000 people.
His words translated as: “I bring you greetings from Her Majesty the Queen of Papua New Guinea and from all my family members during this celebration of the Diamond Jubilee.”
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have been given a glimpse of village life in Papua New Guinea
The event also included an open-air church service, in which prayers were said for the Queen, while the local culture was showcased in dance and music.
Tribes from across Papua New Guinea were present, including Huli men with their yellow painted faces and Asaro mudmen, with large false heads and bodies covered in grey clay.
The royal couple arrived on the island on Saturday on the first leg of a two-week tour of Commonwealth countries, which will also see them visit Australia and New Zealand.
It is the fourth time Prince Charles has visited Papua New Guinea but the first time for Camilla.
During a visit to the National Bird of Paradise and Orchid Garden, the Duchess of Cornwall was presented with a rare hybrid orchid named in her honor, the Dendrobium Camilla.
At Boera village, hundreds of residents turned out to greet Prince Charles and the duchess.
Jenny Lohia, 24, topless and dressed traditionally in a leaf skirt and body paintings, gave Camilla a peck on the cheek as she placed a necklace of shells around her neck as a welcoming present.
They royal couple were shown local painting, weaving and pottery and toured the aid project concerned with the replanting of coastal mangroves.
The couple were guests of honor at the state dinner later, which was hosted by governor general Sir Michael Ogio and his wife.
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According to newly-updated “protocols” approved by Queen Elizabeth II, Duchess of Cambridge has been placed firmly down the royal pecking order.
A document is said to have been circulated privately in the Royal Household, clarifying Kate’s status.
Despite being the future Queen herself, as a former commoner, the once Kate Middleton must apparently show reverence to the “blood princesses”.
This means Kate is expected to curtsey to those born royal, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – both in public and in private.
The rule only applies when her husband, Prince William, is not present.
Royal observers suspect Kate will not mind the new rules as she is keen to please everybody, but Prince William may be less happy.
In his absence, Kate must also curtsey to other blue-blooded women in the Royal Household including Princess Anne and Princess Alexandra, the Queen’s cousin.
In the case of the Countess of Wessex, it is she who will have to curtsey to Kate – even though she is a generation older and is married to the Queen’s son, Edward.
According to new protocols, Kate Middleton is expected to curtsey to those born royal, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, both in public and in private
The Earl of Wessex’s wife was once the second-highest ranking woman in the Royal Family because neither of the Queen’s other sons, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew, were married.
This is effectively Sophie’s second “demotion”, having been pushed down the list in 2005 after Prince Charles married Camilla, and finding she was expected to curtsey to the Duchess of Cornwall.
The complex new rules come in a little-known edict entitled the Order Of Precedence Of The Royal Family To Be Observed At Court, which the Queen has updated to take into account Prince William’s wife.
When Prince William is with her, Kate does not need to bend the knee to either Beatrice or Eugenie.
But she must always curtsey to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, whether Prince William is present or not.
The thorny question of how Kate would fit into the UK’s first family has long been a subject of speculation among royal observers.
The Princess Royal, for example, is said to have refused to ever curtsey to Princess Diana or to Camilla, on the basis they were outsiders whereas she had given her whole adult life to royal service.
In an effort to avoid an epic battle of royal egos, the Queen drew up the first Order of Precedence in 2005, after Prince Charles married Camilla.
Its effect was to change the order along “blood lines” so that Princesses Anne, Beatrice, Eugenie and Alexandra – the granddaughter of George V – were all ahead of Camilla.
The etiquette, though arcane to some, is taken very seriously by the royals, who bow and curtsey to each other in public and behind closed doors.
The Order of Precedence affects other aspects of royal protocol too, such as who arrives first at an event. For example, Camilla was forced to wait in the drizzle outside the Guards Chapel, Windsor, for the arrival of Princess Anne at a memorial service in 2006, because Prince Charles had not accompanied her.
Royal historian Brian Hoey, an expert on court protocol, predicted when Prince William married Kate that: “Kate will take the rank of her husband, which means that when she’s at court, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie should curtsey to her. But I don’t think there’s a chance they will.”
While Prince William feels warmly towards his cousins, Beatrice and Eugenie, he’s conscious of the fact that they are lesser royals.
“As future King, he will wish to see them behaving correctly towards their future Queen – but their attitude is likely to be: <<Why should I? I was born royal – Kate wasn’t>>.”
Duchess of Cornwall gave Kate Middleton her first pot of Heaven Bee Venom face mask soon after her engagement.
Then Camilla encouraged Kate to have her first £165 ($260) bee venom facial with Deborah Mitchell herself.
Deborah Mitchell, 46, is known for developing her own organic, locally sourced beauty treatments and – most importantly – for her discretion. Her celebrity clients include Kylie and Dannii Minogue, Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The beautician works from a small salon, called Heaven, in the Shropshire market town of Shifnal, and from a room at London’s Hale Clinic, and usually refuses point-blank to talk about her work.
Speaking for the first time about her Royal and celebrity clients, Deborah Mitchell says: “It was extraordinary watching the wedding on television, knowing I had been chatting to Kate a few days beforehand. What I still find amazing was the lack of tension at Clarence House in the run-up to the ceremony.
“It just shows how perfect the couple are for each other and how happy the Duchess of Cornwall was to be gaining a new daughter-in-law.
“Everybody was just so excited. It was like looking forward to Christmas.”
Deborah Mitchell will be at Charles and Camilla’s Scottish home, Birkhall, this weekend and has been a regular visitor to Clarence House and Highgrove since she first started working with Camilla in 2005.
She says her introduction to Camilla and her enduring relationship with the Duchess came as a huge personal boost at a time when she was struggling with low self-esteem after the death of her father, from whom she had been estranged since he walked out on the family when Deborah Mitchell was six.
Her mother, Sheila, later remarried and Deborah Mitchell adored her stepfather Peter Brown, but says that she spent years trying to please her absent father.
Deborah Mitchell, who has two children Ella, 14, and Christopher, 13, is in the throes of a divorce herself – from her second husband Chris Cox, who owns a meat processing firm.
She says she started right at the bottom of her profession after studying at Telford College of Arts and Technology, travelling from house to house in the Midlands as a mobile beauty therapist, before opening her first salon in 1998.
“I started off with one £10 pack of nail extensions and my first customer gave me a £1 tip,” Deborah Mitchell recalls.
“I invested that and eventually I bought my own couch and rented the beauty salon at the Holiday Inn in Telford.”
Duchess of Cornwall gave Kate Middleton her first pot of Heaven Bee Venom face mask soon after her engagement
Her first celebrity client was Tracey Taylor, the wife of Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, who introduced her to the other band members and their wives.
She was a regular visitor at Taylor’s home, the Grade II listed mansion Beckbury Hall in Shropshire.
“Duran Duran had a recording studio there and I would often encounter musicians such as George Michael and Rod Stewart jamming in the hall,” Deborah Mitchell said.
Later, she met Kylie and Dannii Minogue.
“Kylie first came to me at the Hale Clinic about ten years ago,” she says.
“She was very inconspicuous. She arrived in a taxi, wearing no make-up, glasses and with her hair scraped back underneath a hat. Dannii came to me just before she was made a judge on The X Factor.
“I remember telling her that I thought Simon fancied her, and she just smiled.”
But Deborah Mitchell’s big breakthrough came when she was summoned to treat Camilla Parker Bowles.
“I remember the first time I went to Clarence House,” Deborah Mitchell recalls. “I was wearing a shift dress – I don’t wear a uniform – and I arrived in a taxi. The Duchess’s lady-in-waiting Jackie Meakin met me at the police barrier and walked me inside. I was taken to a private reception room where I was offered tea or coffee and Duchy biscuits, which I love.
“Then I was shown to Her Royal Highness’s bedroom, which is a beautiful cream room full of amazing antiques with the Royal crests on them, and wonderful paintings. I felt so honored to be somewhere that the public never gets to see.
“I had taken my own treatment couch from the Hale Clinic. I set it up while I worked out how to curtsey and put her on the treatment couch at the same time. I wasn’t nervous – I never get nervous with celebrities because I’m confident of my treatments – but I was stunned how relaxed and comfortable it was working for her.”
Camilla loved the effect of the treatment and the favorable press comments about her appearance that followed. Deborah Mitchell was soon a key member of her wider entourage. That Christmas, Camilla gave Deborah Mitchell a signed photograph in a leather frame.
Since then, Deborah Mitchell has regularly treated Camilla. She looked after her when she broke a leg while hill-walking at Birkhall and it was one of Deborah’s Heaven Scent candles that helped revive Camilla after she was caught up in last year’s riots.
Unlike some of Deborah Mitchell’s demanding celebrity clients, Camilla is very thoughtful and considerate.
“Once I shifted around some of my other clients to fit her in, but she was most upset anybody would be put out on her behalf,” says Deborah Mitchell.
“She said to me, <<Please don’t do that again>>.
“She is very different from clients such as Simon Cowell and Victoria Beckham. The first time he came into the Hale Clinic, he tried to persuade one of my clients to swap her treatment for X Factor tickets so that he could have her appointment. And once I got a phone call from Posh Spice wanting to know why she hadn’t got my Bee Venom mask.
“Her close friend, the make-up artist, Maria Louise Featherstone, had a pot and she was a bit put out that she hadn’t had it first. So she asked me to send her six jars.”
Deborah Mitchell has met most of the other members of the Royal Family and has treated both Camilla’s daughter, Laura, and her daughter-in-law, Sarah Buys, and, of course, Kate.
It was only after her engagement that Deborah began treating Kate.
“I feel very proud to have been one of the first people to know the name of her cocker spaniel. He ran up to me when I was doing a treatment for her one day so I began stroking him and she said, <<Come on Lupo>>.”
The success of her Heaven beauty products, developed using organic ingredients, have seen her named International Businesswoman of the Year.
Deborah Mitchell now has salons in China, Taiwan and Japan, and is launching in New York this autumn.
But until she met the Duchess of Cornwall in 2005, Deborah Mitchell was not a household name. A year after the wedding that brought her work in front of an incalculably huge global audience, Deborah still values the Royal connections that she sees as the crowning glory of her career.
Kate and Camilla, meanwhile, still draw on her expertise to help them face the world as two of the most photographed women on the planet.
