All posts tagged: HELLO! VIP

The royal family’s real advantage? Making people feel seen and heard

The royal family’s real advantage? Making people feel seen and heard

Published by Daniella Wilson

Tough times call for soft power and this week the royal family served it up in spades. From the King’s dignified appearance at the State Opening of Parliament and his symbolic visit to the Jewish community in Golders Green, to the Princess of Wales’s visit to Italy to champion children, this week was all about connection, reassurance and making people feel seen. On paper, the engagements could not have looked more different. The King and Queen, dressed in their robes of state and wearing crown and diadem, processing through the grandeur of the House of Lords, appeared worlds away from the excitable crowds reaching out for handshakes and hugs in north London and Northern Italy. And yet all three moments were connected by the monarchy’s ability to project stability and optimism in an increasingly unpredictable world. At a time when British politics feels increasingly volatile, the steadying sight of the monarch making the regular journey through the Lords Chamber to give his speech served as a welcome reminder that political drama eventually passes (before too …

Kate Middleton’s new chapter in Italy is reviving memories of Princess Diana

Kate Middleton’s new chapter in Italy is reviving memories of Princess Diana

Published by Daniella Wilson

Pre-schoolers, police snipers, nuns, journalists, photographers and one very smiley baby held aloft for the VIP visitor: all the ingredients for a very Italian royal walkabout were in place in Reggio Emilia today. The 3,000-strong crowd had come to see the Princess of Wales – some from as far as 200km away – and she did not disappoint, spending around 15 minutes after her planned meeting with the mayor, speaking to and greeting as many of them as she could. I spoke to the five and six-year-olds who she met, along with their teacher Roberta Marzi, who described the meeting as “thrilling” and said Kate’s Italian had been perfect. The Princess learned some of the language during her three-month stay in Florence back in 2000 and still sounded good all these years later. © Samir Hussein/WireImageThe Princess has completed the first day of her ground-breaking trip to Italy And the “Katemania” was catching. Cries of “Kate, Kate, Kate!” echoed around the beautiful, medieval Piazza Prampolini in Reggio Emilia as she embraced the so-called “bagno di …

Why Princess Eugenie’s baby news could help end ‘very grim’ chapter for York family

Why Princess Eugenie’s baby news could help end ‘very grim’ chapter for York family

Published by Daniella Wilson

It was happy family news that could signal a positive new beginning for the royal family and help to mend fractured relationships.  When Princess Eugenie announced last week that she and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, are expecting their third child, it brought hope of happier times ahead after the turbulence of recent months.  The news is certainly a welcome distraction for the royal family in a year that has seen Eugenie’s father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and her mother, Sarah Ferguson, going into hiding over her and her former husband’s links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. © GettyPrincess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank are expecting baby number three Buckingham Palace announced the happy news in a statement, confirming that the baby is due in the summer and that the couple’s sons, August, five, and Ernest, two, are “very excited to have another sibling join the family”. The palace added: “His Majesty the King has been informed and is delighted with the news.” Meanwhile, Eugenie, 36, shared an adorable photo …

Why Kate Middleton is choosing to return to world stage now – and why it matters for the monarchy’s future

Why Kate Middleton is choosing to return to world stage now – and why it matters for the monarchy’s future

Published by Daniella Wilson

After a three and a half year absence from royal tours, Kate is about to embark on a rare solo overseas trip. It’s a significant milestone, not just in her recovery post cancer, but also in the future direction of her public role, and aides tell me she is “excited” about it. While all eyes have been on a rumoured visit to the United States with Prince William this summer – rumours that have yet to materialise into a formal invitation or fully-fledged plan – her team have been quietly building a two-day programme of engagements in Italy. WATCH: Princess Kate reveals artistic activity she ‘loves’ to do with her children The northern city of Reggio Emilia is the perfect choice for her return, with its global reputation for pioneering early years education – something the Princess is utterly passionate about. Kate has rightly taken her time, after the huge challenge of navigating a cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy and remission and then a carefully paced return to public life. There has been a clear determination, both …

Royal Editor opinion: Prince William proves he’s doing things his own way

Royal Editor opinion: Prince William proves he’s doing things his own way

Published by Daniella Wilson

It’s been a telling week for the Prince of Wales. Over the course of a couple of days, he gave a clear sense of how he will approach his next role. And crucially, how he intends to do it in his own way. First came a serious step on the path towards the throne. William and Catherine attended the installation of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, at Canterbury Cathedral (hat tip, by the way to the Princess’s incredible hat). It was hugely significant, not just because Archbishop Sarah was making history as the first woman ever to hold the role, but also because she may eventually also become the first ever woman to crown a monarch at William’s coronation. William will, in time, become Supreme Governor of the Church of England, so this is a relationship that really matters. WATCH: Windswept Catherine arrives at installation of new Archbishop of Canterbury It helps that he has already struck up a warm rapport with Archbishop Sarah – aided by their shared love of Aston …

King Charles’s goddaughter India Hicks reveals why being a royal bridesmaid to him and Princess Diana was a ‘tough moment’

King Charles’s goddaughter India Hicks reveals why being a royal bridesmaid to him and Princess Diana was a ‘tough moment’

Published by Daniella Wilson

It’s been just over 44 years since the wedding of the then-Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer, but the occasion still holds a special significance for many.  Around 750 million people worldwide tuned in to watch the magnificent ceremony, which was broadcast live from St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Royal fans across the globe were enraptured by the grandeur, the spectacle, what Diana wore.  But for India Hicks, Charles’s second cousin and goddaughter, there were other details that stood out. As a bridesmaid, the 13-year-old India got a different view of the momentous occasion. She gave HELLO! an insight into her memories during a Mother’s Day photoshoot, as she and her daughter Domino looked back at some of India’s most iconic looks over the years.  A ‘tough moment’ for India  India’s reaction to seeing Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding photo suggests it’s a photo she sees often, something which Domino confirms, revealing that the picture hangs upstairs in their family home in Oxfordshire.  “The thing about this is that it was a 1980s moment,” …