Tanya Reynolds

Faye Marsay

Abbie Hern

Jude Mack

Rex Hayes

Aisling Sharkey

Grant Feely

By DAILY MAIL COMMENT

Published: 00:55 BST, 9 August 2026 | Updated: 02:08 BST, 9 August 2026

Every family has to think, from time to time, about funerals. It may not be welcome, but it is usually wise. 

It is certainly not the taboo it used to be – some TV stations nowadays are full of advertisements for funeral plans.

For the Royal Family, the problem is rather bigger. The death of any senior royal raises delicate and intricate questions of protocol and precedence.

Where will the service be held? Where will the interment be?

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We must all die, even if the current Royal Family has developed a reputation for longevity. 

The well-oiled machine of the British monarchy does not wish to be unprepared for any eventuality, and quite right too.

So inevitably the awkward question of the funeral of the former Duke of York, now Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, has come up. 

And currently there are plans for him to have a funeral thought to be similar to that accorded to the late Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret. 

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Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Queen Elizabeth II attend the funeral of Patricia Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma in 2017

Let us not be vindictive here, but the former Prince, by his behaviour and attitude in the Epstein affair, has surely forfeited any entitlement to such ceremonies.

Plainly, in common decency, he should be buried with his forebears, and his unquestioned bravery in the Falklands will not be forgotten by the Navy.

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But the British public will be dismayed if his obsequies take place in royal surroundings or with the trappings of monarchy. 

He is now a private citizen and his funeral should be private too.

A fine choice of school, minister. A shame others can’t follow suit 

Has Labour under Andy Burnham quietly become the party of the super-rich?

Roughly 21 per cent of Mr Burnham’s Cabinet went to private schools, which are now increasingly beyond the reach of the aspiring middle classes.

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This is thanks to tax changes – VAT, National Insurance increases and business rates – imposed on them by Labour Party chairman and former Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

Even those ministers who went to state schools seem to have been fortunate in their education.

An impressive 54 per cent of the Burnham Cabinet attended either Oxford or Cambridge, as 99 per cent of British children do not do.

And now we learn that the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Miatta Fahnbulleh, is educating her own three children privately. We do not know how much she and her husband – who is said to be ‘in finance’ – pay. 

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Miatta  Fahnbulleh (pictured with Andy Burnham) championed Labour’s decision to slap VAT on public school fees – despite sending all three of her own children to private school

But Ms Fahnbulleh’s own former school, Beechwood in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, currently charges boarders almost £45,000 a year and day pupils up to £24,597.

There is nothing wrong with that. The Mail on Sunday supports aspiration and ambition. We only wish more children could go to independent schools.

The problem is that Labour’s own actions are currently devastating much of private education across the country. We must assume they know what they are doing, when they make private schools too expensive for the middle class while continuing to use such schools themselves.

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Even if they do not make the same choice as Ms Fahnbulleh, they must surely grasp that Ms Phillipson’s fierce taxes have reinforced the privilege of wealth, not weakened it.

One MLA spent £300 on a computer keyboard, while others claimed for everything from a £500 coffee machine, an Alexa speaker, to drinking water.

AI subscriptions, social media blue ticks, coffee machines and cameras are among the more unusual items claimed by Stormont MLAs on expenses over the past year.

An analysis of the latest Assembly expenses returns by Belfast Live shows that politicians are increasingly using public money to pay for AI tools such as ChatGPT, as well as software designed to create social media videos and subscriptions to verify their online accounts.

The records, covering April 2025 to March 2026, also include claims for coffee machines, vlogging equipment, water coolers, smart speakers and hundreds of pounds worth of camera equipment.

Perhaps the biggest trend to emerge is the growing use of ChatGPT.

SDLP MLA Cara Hunter claimed £19.99 for ChatGPT on eleven separate occasions throughout the year.

Independent MLA Claire Sugden also regularly claimed £19.99 each month for ChatGPT Plus, while Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong submitted recurring claims of £20 for the premium AI service.

The SDLP’s Sinéad McLaughlin also claimed monthly ChatGPT subscriptions, with payments ranging between £17.85 and £18.84, while party colleague Daniel McCrossan opted to expense a single £189.90 payment covering ChatGPT Plus between May 2025 and February 2026.

The latest returns also show MLAs using public money to bolster their social media presence.

Cara Hunter claimed £11 each month for an X subscription, as well as £11.99 a month for Meta Verification, giving her verified accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

By JOE ROSSITER, REPORTER

Published: 23:37 BST, 8 August 2026 | Updated: 05:14 BST, 9 August 2026

Meghan Markle quipped that her husband Prince Harry ‘loves bagpipes’ as the couple arrived at a gala to celebrate music mogul David Foster on Friday night.

In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could be seen walking through a corridor lined with bagpipers at the 40th anniversary celebration of The David Foster Foundation in Canada.

At the start of the video the Duchess told the musicians: ‘My husband loves bagpipes!’ 

As they continued to walk past the pipers, Meghan added: ‘Oh my god, this is amazing!’ 

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Harry then joked with the musicians, asking: ‘Where are mine?’ He then protested he could play both ‘pipes and drums’.

Meghan’s video then cut to a plate featuring what appeared to be an edible piano and musical notes before panning to the programme for the evening’s gala and concert.

Foster, 76, founded the organisation in 1986 to provide financial support for Canadian families with children who need life-saving organ transplants and raise awareness of organ donation in Canada and the US.

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Meghan Markle joked with bagpipers as she attended an event to celebrate David Foster, the music mogul and close friend of the Sussexes

Dressed in a gown by Canadian designer Greta Constantine she quipped to the musicians: ‘My husband loves bagpipes!’

At the event on Friday night, held in Foster’s home city of Victoria, British Columbia, Meghan was pictured wearing Princess Diana‘s diamond and sapphire earrings.

She also owns the late Princess of Wales‘s butterfly earrings and matching cuff bracelet as well as a diamond tennis bracelet, a Cartier Tank Louis and Diana’s ‘divorce ring’, an emerald-cut aquamarine surrounded by diamonds gifted to her by close friend Lucia Flecha de Lima in 1996.

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Meghan, 45, has previously worn Diana’s earrings at public events and chose to sweep her hair into an updo to show off the stones on Friday night.

Harry, 41, wore a black tuxedo and bow tie while his wife was dressed in a black maxi one-shouldered gown by Canadian designer Greta Constantine.

The Sussexes posed for pictures with 16-time Grammy winner Foster and his wife, actress and singer Katharine McPhee, 42.

Meghan and Harry have long been friends with the couple and were previously pictured on a double date with them.

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In 2019 Foster arranged for the Duke and Duchess to stay at a close friend’s mansion on Vancouver Island, telling the Daily Mail at the time: ‘I felt honoured that I was able to help Meghan there because I’m a Canadian, and we’re a Commonwealth country – we’re the Crown’s.

‘It’s important to us, so I grew up with that kind of sentiment. I was really happy to be able to help them to find a respite just to take a little time off.’

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the gala, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Foster’s organ donation foundation, in Canada on Friday night

The Duke and Duchess are close friends of Foster and his wife, actress and singer Katharine McPhee 

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Meghan wore diamond and sapphire earrings belonging to her late mother-in-law for the gala

The mansion, a secluded waterfront estate in North Saanich, British Columbia, was owned by Mr Foster’s close friend, whose identity he refused to give away.

McPhee went to school with the Duchess and told Access Hollywood in 2020 that her husband and the Duke had a ‘really, really beautiful relationship’.

‘They’re so cute. They’re like father and son.

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‘We just stay in touch with them [the Sussexes]. But mostly, Meghan and I knew each other from childhood, but really Harry and my husband are friends. It’s really nice.’

Paddy McGuinness is reported to be dating a ‘stunning Radio 2 publicist’ following his split from wife Christine McGuinness.

In new pictures, the comedian, 52, could be seen enjoying a stroll with Emma Carey down a London street after having dinner together on Thursday.

The pair had enjoyed a meal at the swanky five-star Rosewood Hotel, with the publication reporting that they later headed to another nearby hotel. 

Paddy, who hosts a weekly show on BBC Radio 2 where Emma works, was staying in London last week as he acted as a stand-in host on ITV‘s This Morning.   

In the images, Paddy – who earlier this year revealed his incredible body transformation following a gruelling fitness regime – donned a tight black T-shirt which clung to his muscular frame.

Meanwhile, Emma was dressed to impress in a plunging black halter neck top, accessorising her look with a selection of chic gold jewellery.

In new pictures, Paddy could be seen enjoying a stroll with Emma Carey down a London street after having dinner together on Thursday (Paddy pictured in 2023)

The brunette beauty was clearly relaxed in the Take Me Out star’s company, placing an arm around his back as they walked together.

An onlooker told The Sun: ‘Paddy looked so at ease with her. It was obvious they are incredibly comfortable together, and they laughed a lot.

‘Fans will be thrilled to see him so happy after the anguish of his marriage split with Christine.

‘It’s easy to see why he’s so smitten with Emma by his side. Paddy looked like the cat that got the cream.’

As well as her publicity job on BBC Radio 2, it is said that Emma is a yoga and wellness enthusiast, sharing yoga sessions and Thailand wellness retreats on Instagram.

The Daily Mail has contacted Paddy’s representatives for comment. 

TV star Paddy split from wife Christine in 2022 after 11 years of marriage but have remained living together in their family home while co-parenting their three children.

The pair had enjoyed a meal at the swanky five-star Rosewood Hotel, with the publication reporting that they later headed to another nearby hotel (Emma pictured on LinkedIn)

TV star Paddy split from wife Christine in 2022 after 11 years of marriage but have remained living together in their family home while co-parenting their three children (pictured in 2021)

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The pair maintain a good relationship for the sake of their children, with it said that the pair tell each other when they are going on dates. 

Christine recently opened up about her split from husband Paddy, admitting their divorce was a ‘difficult and challenging’ time. 

While the pair are still close friends, with Christine describing their amicable set-up as a ‘blessing,’ she confessed that she struggled amid the breakdown of their marriage. 

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Christine shared: ‘Divorce is scary and it was scary for me – obviously, I’ve never done a divorce before! It’s an awful time. 

‘But as much as it was challenging and difficult, a lot of the thoughts and feelings were really from listening to other people’s stories. 

‘Obviously, you hear about divorce, you instantly think negativity, heartbreak and a broken family or whatever, you don’t hear about other families that [continue to] share their home.’

Paddy and Christine’s children, twins Penelope and Leo, 13, and Felicity, ten, all have autism, with the couple choosing to continue to live together so as not to disrupt their routines. 

‘A lot of families that have got children with special educational needs choose to do it this way,’ Christine explained. ‘Maybe they don’t talk about it so much, but they’re the ones who really get it and understand it.’ 

Christine continued: ‘I actually do think it is a blessing, the way we work co-parenting. 

‘It was always a decision from the beginning that no matter what, between me and Patrick, our priority is always the children, and that’s how we’ve kept it, fortunately…

‘We’re lucky that we genuinely get on so well. We’re not in a rush to sell the house. We don’t want to be putting the kids in mummy’s house and then in daddy’s house – and our work’s not in a routine and our children thrive on routine. 

‘They love the home, and in my head it’s the children’s home for them to grow up in.  I’m not in a rush for that to change, to be honest. 

‘I’d love my own little flat somewhere, but this is my home.’ 

Following the breakdown of her marriage, Christine has been open about dating women, but said she’d never bring a date back to the house she shares with Paddy.   

‘I would never do that,’ Christine insisted. ‘Like I said, this is the family home, and then Paddy and I have our lives outside. 

‘But we never did have many visitors to the house, even when we were married. We don’t introduce the children to just anybody. 

‘So certainly when it comes to dating, anything like that is going to take a very, very long time, like years, years and years.’

EPIDAURUS, Greece (AP) — As Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” renews global fascination with Homer, a cast of disabled and non-disabled performers in Greece is staging the war’s other story.

It’s not about the triumph of returning heroes, but the suffering they left behind.

“The Trojan Women,” with a cast of 22, was staged at Epidaurus, the ancient open-air stone arena in southern Greece. It marked what organizers called the first fully accessible performance in the ancient theater’s 2,300-year history.

While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city’s ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.

The ancient theater offered a full range of accessibility services for the Aug. 2 performance. Blind audience members received Braille programs, tactile models and live audio description, while deaf spectators followed overhead titles. Physical adaptations also improved access throughout the site.

“It’s the first time a performance at Ancient Epidaurus has been made accessible to everyone,” said Greg Polychronidis, a Paralympic gold medalist who attended the event. “Today was a celebration of equality and it should serve as an example for everyone, forever.”

For many of the performers, standing on the ancient stage was itself part of the message: a voice for those often overlooked. Eirini Kourouvani, a 58-year-old cast member who uses a wheelchair, had never set foot inside the theater before.

“It is just grand,” she said. “I feel my heart opening up as wide as this theater is.”

Ioanna-Maria Gertsou, a blind psychologist, attended with Babu, her guide dog.

“We too have the right to attend performances on an equal footing,” she said, relieved that her dog remained quiet during the play.

The National Theater of Greece produced the performance, and accessibility services were designed by the nonprofit Liminal with financial support from Greece’s Alpha Bank.

Argyro Chioti, the National Theater’s artistic director, said the production should become the norm rather than the exception.

“This was complex, not simple. It required months of planning. It cost money. And it required very specific organizational expertise,” she said. “But that’s the standard and venues we need to reach — the major stages and the major theaters.”

—— Gatopoulos reported from Athens

As someone who spent much of her adolescence devoted to a Lemur named Ron who lived at Howletts Zoo, I can empathise with those who want to protect vulnerable species.

That’s why I knew I was going to enjoy my conversation with Sam Smith – a Brighton-based activist who’s spent the last decade rescuing, caring, and mending abandoned clothes horses.

As I waited for the 33-year-old to join me on Zoom, I had a million questions: Why did you start collecting clothes horses left by strangers on the street? Why open a sanctuary dedicated to a household item? And what’s the real message behind it all?

Never once breaking character, which included regularly referring to the clothes horses as ‘animals’, our chat was both enlightening and entertaining.

And while some might call his passion project ‘absurd’, it’s connected with thousands of people online.

‘Clothes horses are the quiet heroes in pretty much everyone’s house,’ he tells Metro.

‘Everyone’s had one, whether it’s at your childhood home or in a uni room. And most of us also have a memory attached to a clothes horse – it breaking or getting your fingers caught.’

I saw a herd of three abandoned just a few weeks ago

The smile that spreads across Sam’s face as he talks about the clothes horses reflects the deep affection that first prompted him to rescue one back in 2016.

After seeing so many dumped next to bins, often with broken hinges, the social care worker and father-of-two decided to take them home.

‘I started giving them all their own little stories. You know, “where have they been?”, “who was looking after them?”, “How did they end up here?”, “was it a drop-off in the middle of the night?”‘

Pretty soon, he shares, he had nine abandoned clothes horses taking up space in his small Brighton flat – all of whom he’d named (personal favourites include Rita and Ruth) and created extensive backstories for.

Describing how it quickly became apparent that he’d need a bigger space to keep the ‘herd’, Sam explains: ‘Clothes horses have a mind of their own, so although I’d put them to one side, I’d just step around the corner, knock one over, and it would jump back into life.’

Luckily, Sam had a friend who graciously offered to let him use some of his land to keep the ‘animals’ – a strip of gorgeous countryside where they graze still to this day.

Once a clothes horse is in his possession, Sam’s ultimate goal is to get it adopted – a process that involves him spending hours on local forums advertising the clothes horses and scanning for anyone new to the area in search of handy household items.

Outside of that, he also spends a lot of time fixing and nurturing them – emphasising that no clothes horse is a lost cause.

‘There’s always a way to fix up a clothes horse. Some of the bigger medical procedures – like a snapped leg – are tricky but then it’s time to improvise. Some of our clothes horses have been repaired with old discarded fans or bits of an old hoover, whatever we can get our hands on really.’

Day to day, life at the sanctuary is simple.

‘By the time I get to sanctuary in the morning the clothes horses are all ready and have had their breakfast. Firstly, I’ll check on the ones who’ve just arrived because, if they’ve got a broken leg, you don’t want to leave them around with that injury, because the hinges will start to rust.

‘After that we’d probably all go out, down near the river and in the countryside for some recreational activities. I also take them into town sometimes.

‘Then in the evening everyone gets together for some team building exercises. Once that’s done they’ll usually go straight into their paddocks.’

People have asked if they can sponsor a clothes horse

Although Sam has been rescuing clothes horses for a decade, it wasn’t until recently that he started documenting the journey and sharing it on social media.

With thousands of followers and over 111,000 likes, it’s safe to say that people have become incredibly invested in the sanctuary, and in Sam.

Comments range from ‘a clothes horse is not just for Christmas,’ to ‘Thank you for doing this important work’.

One particularly honest user, @rainbow, shared: ‘I’m ashamed to say I’ve previously overworked and abused one of mine with a heavy blanket. Poor thing buckled under the weight but managed to make it. I’ll do better now.’

A number of users have also expressed interest in sponsoring some of the animals. At £3 per month, donations like these help Sam keep the operation afloat.

However, he does have exciting plans to hopefully start including Christmas cards and horse clothes plushies in future sponsorship packages.

BEIJING (AP) — Shanghai’s two airports canceled more than 1,300 flights and authorities relocated some 300,000 people in surrounding regions as China prepared for Typhoon Dolphin, after the storm brought heavy rains to northern Taiwan.

The outer bands of the storm on Saturday hit northern Taiwan, including the capital Taipei, bringing rain. Some Taiwanese airlines also canceled their flights to China Sunday.

Iranian leadership has a dramatic new list of eight demands that the United States must follow to reach Donald Trump‘s goal of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. 

The key waterway has been closed for much of the time since the war on Iran began in late February. 

Iran’s politburo-like body known as the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said the Strait of Hormuz will not open until the United States ‘corrects its behavior,’ issuing new demands that could shake up talks on a deal to manage the waterway and traffic on it. 

The head of Iran’s SNSC, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, has given the list that includes some previously unheard of requests. 

Many have been previously brought up, including ending the war permanently, stopping the US Naval blockade, withdrawing military forces. 

From there, Zolghadr wants the US end sanctions on Tehran, unfreeze Iranian assets and even pay reparations to the Iranians to reopen the strait. 

The US would also have to stop threatening and insulting Iran and end all military action against Iranian allies in the region, state news agency Islamic Republic News Agency reports. 

Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard, reports directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who is currently mulling over a deal with Oman to manage the strait. 

The key waterway has been closed for much of the time since the war on Iran began in late February

A 60-day period to negotiate a final deal will end in just over a week but could be extended. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the State Department for comment.

Iran’s demands come on the same day the United Arab Emirates said one of its ships was targeted by an Iranian missile in the strait.

The requests also arrive as Donald Trump has attempted to quash reports that he and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth have clashed over reports the United States has hidden missile shortages.

Confronted over why the President was kept in the dark, the secretary of war reportedly turned on his own deputy, according to the Washington Post. 

The showdown reportedly unfolded at Camp David last Friday, where Hegseth insisted he was blameless and accused his number two, Stephen Feinberg, of presiding over the shortfall and failing to keep the President fully briefed. 

The astonishing scene laid bare Trump’s mounting frustration with Hegseth, one of the loudest early cheerleaders for striking Iran, who had assured him the operation would be a swift and relatively painless win. 

Shortages of long-range guided missiles and air defense interceptors are among the reasons Trump has held back from launching further large-scale strikes against Iran in recent days. 

The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr (pictured), has given the list that includes some previously unheard of requests

The requests arrive as Donald Trump has attempted to quash reports that he and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth have clashed over reports the United States has hidden missile shortages 

Trump hit back at the report, denying any shortage of US munitions and insisting that interceptors are reaching American bases as needed.

‘The “leakers” of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The White House has denied the clash ever took place, however, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying: ‘This is 100% fake news. Literally never happened. And President Trump has the utmost confidence in Secretary Hegseth.’

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell joined the pushback, insisting Hegseth ‘did not mislead anyone’ about weapons stocks and never pointed the finger at Feinberg

Despite the denials, NBC News reported that Feinberg received a furious phone call from Trump himself on Friday evening, during which the President is said to have threatened to fire him.

The rattled deputy then hastily summoned top Pentagon brass to a late-night crisis meeting just hours after hanging up.

Feinberg, 66, is a billionaire who chaired Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board in his first term before being handed the Pentagon’s number two job.

The interceptor crunch is reportedly now so severe that it is changing how the military decides which incoming threats to shoot down. 

Commanders are forced to weigh where a missile is headed before committing precious defenses. 

Donald Trump is demanding jail for the ‘leakers’ who exposed his furious clash with Pete Hegseth over hidden munitions shortages

Far from the quick victory Trump was promised, the Iran conflict has ground into a near six-month stalemate, with 18 American troops dead. 

Tehran has responded to these attacks by raining missiles on American bases and allies across the region and strangling shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

A fragile truce brokered by Pakistan collapsed last month after Iranian attacks on tankers.

Trump declared US forces ‘locked and loaded’ for fresh strikes at the weekend, only to back down after appeals from Gulf allies, and he now claims talks with Tehran are restarting, something Iran denies.

The oversight meant Levy’s bail was extended until April 2025, allowing him to carry out a harrowing rape in a Tottenham car park in January 2025. He went on to murder Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, in March and Sheryl Wilkins, 39, in August, suffocating both women, who were described as vulnerable sex workers.