Donald Trump paid tribute to Dolly Parton following her death at 80 and ordered American flags lowered nationwide for one week in her honor.  

‘Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away,’ the President wrote on Truth Social.

Trump called her death a profound loss for millions, and announced that flags would be lowered beginning Tuesday evening. 

‘There has never been anyone like her, and never will,’ the President added. ‘Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you.’

Parton, the legendary queen of country music, leaves behind a towering musical legacy and legions of grieving fans. 

Trump had long praised Parton and his administration twice offered her the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his first term.

She declined the first offer because her husband, Carl Dean, was ill and turned down the second because she did not want to travel during the COVID pandemic.

Parton’s true political views were never clear because she avoided discussing politics throughout her career even as America’s partisan divisions deepened.

Trump ordered flags to be lowered across the nation to honor the singer, who died aged 80 

Parton, the legendary queen of country music, leaves behind a towering musical legacy and legions of grieving fans

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Her death came after months of health woes that saw her pull out of a string of public appearances, fueling fan fears for her well-being

Parton’s home-state senators also paid tribute, with Marsha Blackburn saying there were ‘no words to adequately express the sorrow’ felt by her family and Tennesseans and declaring: ‘Dolly, we will always love you.’

Bill Hagerty said he and his wife, Chrissy, were ‘deeply saddened’ by the loss of a ‘dear friend’ and ‘entrepreneurial juggernaut’ who helped transform Tennessee while bringing joy to millions through her music and philanthropy.

The legendary country singer’s death was confirmed today in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also served as her head of security.

‘This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,’ Seaver revealed.

Her passing came after months of health woes that saw her pull out of a string of public appearances, fueling fan fears for her well-being.

Parton’s determination to remain above partisan politics continued throughout Trump’s rise despite pressure from media critics to declare where she stood.

She clarified in 2016 that she had endorsed neither Trump nor Hillary Clinton after her praise of the latter’s qualifications was mistaken for an endorsement.

Parton again refused to take sides during the 2020 election and stayed out of Trump’s race against Kamala Harris four years later.

Parton’s determination to remain above partisan politics continued throughout Trump’s rise despite pressure from media critics to declare where she stood

Parton’s last known public appearance with a sitting president came in December 2006 with George W Bush at the White House

Parton generally avoided White House events and kept her distance from sitting politicians, regardless of party.

Her last known public appearance with a sitting president came in December 2006, when George W Bush welcomed her to the White House before she was celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors. 

Parton, however, was openly enthusiastic about Barack Obama early in his presidency, telling Larry King in 2009 that he was ‘going to be a great president’ and urging Americans to ‘get behind him, pray for him, support him, and hope for the best.’ 

He also aimed a kick at a police officer’s head

A man who attacked his estranged wife and son after demanding instant noodles has been jailed. Tom Brown, 46, had separated from his wife but had not yet moved out of her home in Woodditton, near Newmarket, when an argument began on January 4.

Brown stormed out but returned about 30 minutes later and became angry at the victim for not having any instant noodles in the house. The couple’s daughter and son intervened and Brown went upstairs. However, he came down about 15 minutes later and the row continued.

Their son ushered the victim out of the kitchen and Brown followed, tackling her to the floor and pressing his weight onto her so she couldn’t breathe. The son intervened by trying to get Brown off his mum, but Brown pushed him to the floor, grabbed him around the throat, and strangled him for a few seconds.

The victim got up and fled with the children to a neighbour’s house. Brown followed and began shouting before officers arrived and arrested him. He also aimed a kick at an officer’s head as he was being taken out of a police van at Parkside Police Station.

Brown, of no fixed address, was jailed for four years and eight months on Friday (August 21), at Cambridge Crown Court. He had pleaded guilty at the start of his trial to two counts of actual bodily harm and one count of common assault of an emergency worker.

He denied two counts of intentional strangulation which will remain on file. Brown was also handed a 15-year restraining order against the victims.

DC Jack Sillince, who investigated, said: “Brown’s attack on his wife and son was abhorrent and he was incredibly hostile to police who came to intervene. We wouldn’t have managed to secure this conviction without the support of the victims, and I’d particularly like to praise the son who protected his mum. He was given a High Sheriff’s commendation and a £250 reward.

“The judge noted how little remorse Brown had shown and the level of arrogance he displayed throughout the whole process by blaming the victims.”

The BBC drama centred on a hard-nosed local news agency and featuring actors who would go on to become some of Britain’s most recognisable screen faces.

The 1990s series, led by the late Boon star Michael Elphick, brought a fictional version of Darlington to BBC One between 1993 and 1995.

Its setting may have been the North East, but its cast included future White Lotus and Pride & Prejudice actor Tom Hollander, Shetland star Julie Graham and North East actor Barbara Marten.

For viewers in Darlington, the programme’s premise still sounds familiar: a press agency chasing stories, dealing with police contacts and navigating the murkier side of local journalism.

Michael Elphick and Tom Hollander in ‘Harry’. (Image: SUBMITTED)

What was Harry about?

Harry followed Harry Salter, a former Fleet Street journalist who had set up a news agency in Darlington after leaving London.

Played by Michael Elphick, Salter was no conventional local reporter.

He was portrayed as an alcoholic, ruthless operator willing to exploit people and use underhand methods in pursuit of a saleable story.

His agency was staffed by photographer Snappy, played by Ian Bartholomew, and secretary Alice, portrayed by Julie Graham.

Tom Hollander played Jonathan, one of the younger members of the team.

The drama ran for 20 episodes across two series, beginning in September 1993 and ending in April 1995.

Although the town was integral to the story, the series was not a glossy postcard portrayal of Darlington.

It used the setting for a tougher drama about tabloid instincts, crime, corruption and the personal cost of getting a headline.

Michael Elphick’s final leading role

Elphick was already a familiar face when Harry arrived, having played the title role in ITV’s hugely popular drama Boon.

In Harry, he took on a much darker central character: a former Fleet Street man running a Darlington news agency whose desperation for a story regularly crossed ethical lines.

The actor, who died in 2002 aged 55, appeared in all 20 episodes.

His performance gave the series a weight that made it stand apart from more cosy regional dramas of the era.

Barbara Marten, now widely known for roles in Happy Valley, The Bill, Casualty and Shetland, played Harry’s wife Rita Salter in 14 episodes.

Tom Hollander’s Darlington years

Perhaps the best-known name to emerge from Harry is Tom Hollander, who played Jonathan for 19 episodes.

It was one of Hollander’s earliest sustained television roles, before later appearances in Absolutely Fabulous, Wives and Daughters, Gosford Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop and Pride & Prejudice.

More recently, Hollander has reached a new audience through acclaimed roles in The White Lotus, The Night Manager and Rev.

Biographical accounts of the actor describe Harry as an early television role and say the series was filmed mostly in Darlington.

Julie Graham, who played Alice throughout both series, had already appeared in Casualty and Taggart before joining the programme.

She later became a familiar face through At Home with the Braithwaites, William and Mary, Shetland and The Bletchley Circle.

Why Harry still matters in Darlington

More than thirty years on from its final episode, Harry is a reminder that Darlington has long been more than a backdrop for television productions.

The drama placed a fictional local news agency at the heart of its stories at a time when regional journalism was still powered by photographers, contacts, deadline pressure and the race to get an exclusive.

Its lasting appeal is also in its cast.

Before the awards, international dramas and blockbuster films, actors such as Hollander and Graham were helping tell a distinctly North East story — one built around the unpredictable business of finding tomorrow’s front-page lead.

Recently I made the journey to York to meet Bill Hill, the chair of The Friends of York Walls, along with Sarah Shields who is a historian of Irish history in York. I was given a tour and guided to associated places around the city by Mr Hill, who said it had taken the Friends over a year to put it all together.

Bill Hill, of The Friends of York Walls, by the Postern Tower (Image: Dylan Connell)

The annals of York’s connection with Ireland has not had the prominence of other cities and towns of Britain; it has largely been unknown – some would say secret.

York is well known for its Roman legacy, architecture and archaeology. One of the main features of this are the city walls. York’s walls at just over two miles (3.4 kilometres); they are also the longest town walls in the UK.

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Built in Roman times, they’ve been added to and rebuilt over time and now have parts from across the centuries.

Fishergate Postern Tower in York. (Image: Dylan Connell)

The Friends of York Walls was formed in early 2011 by a group of five of York’s residents who felt that “The Walls” needed more support and promotion. The Friends now number over 600. Walls have eyes that have seen over the centuries what history has been made.

It is these walls that gave rise to the research into the story of York’s Irish population.

The exhibition at Fishergate Postern Tower in York. (Image: Dylan Connell)

Sarah Shields, the historian of York’s Irish history, said some of the first people came in the 1830s when workers came from Ireland to help with the harvest within the agricultural areas around York. Known as the July reapers, they came to Liverpool and would walk to York gathering the harvest and go back home to Ireland afterwards.

When the potato famine began in the 1840s, the Quakers in York, the Tuke family, were already inter-married to an Irish family.

Samuel Tuke, who lived in Walmgate in York, visited Ireland and was appalled by what he saw. Samuel then sent his son James to do further investigations and it was then through the Quakers that the first famine population started coming to York.

Familiar in York as seasonal agricultural workers, Irish migrants came to the city in larger numbers to escape the Great Famine of the 1840s. They lived in squalid, unsanitary closes and yards, mainly in the Walmgate area, just off the city centre towards the walls.

A winding staircase inside the Postern Tower, Fishergate, York. (Image: Dylan Connell)

The national census of 1841 shows that, out of York’s 28,842 inhabitants, 430 had been born in Ireland and a further 351 people were either children of the Irish born or married to them. The majority of them lived in the poorer, south-eastern quarter of the city, between the Foss and Ouse rivers.

A number of migrant Irish workers used to come every year to work on the corn harvest on the Wolds’ farms east of York.

The following census shows the increase in numbers of ‘Irish born’ recorded in York in 1851. Their numbers had increased from 781 in 1841 to 2,618 in 1851 making them 7.2 per cent of the city’s population. Their numbers rose to 3,248 in 1861 and 3,380 in 1871, partly because of the reputation of the York Quakers for attempting to bring relief and to influence the British Government.

In 1847, the York authorities noted that about 45 destitute Irish were arriving every day, many of them suffering from fevers, smallpox or measles.

The Irish population settled in housing in areas alongside the walls of York in what is known as Walmgate. The research put together by the Friends of York Walls is now the subject of the exhibition that will run for the whole of 2026.

The exhibition gives details of the names of the Irish and what counties in Ireland they came from, their age on arrival and occupation.

For £20, you can sponsor a stone in your name or for someone else; you choose a stone on an external wall of the tower, then a certificate and book entries link that stone uniquely to the name you give.

The exhibition is being held in the ancient Fishergate Postern Tower (c 1505), which is on the city walls. Entry is free on the open days. For further inforamtion, contact friendsofyorkwalls@yorkwalls.org.uk

Fishergate Postern Tower Open Days in September and October include:

Saturday, August 29

Saturday, September 12 & 19 = Heritage Open Days

Saturday, September 26 = York Unlocked

Sunday, September 27 = York Unlocked

Saturday, October 31 = Halloween Saturday

Plus other possible dates – check the website for details. Free entry. Open 10am to 4pm.

Slawomir Alama is now the second man to be charged with the murder of 50-year-old Anna Kowalska in Hounslow

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A second man has been charged with murder after a woman was killed and eight others were left needing hospital treatment after a house fire in west London.

Officers were called at about 1.14am on August 19 to reports of a fire at a property on Berkeley Avenue, Hounslow.

A 50-year-old woman who died in hospital was named by the Metropolitan Police as Anna Kowalska. The force said her next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

A woman aged 40 remains in hospital in a life-threatening condition and another seven people – six men and one woman – were discharged after being treated for minor injuries.

On Tuesday evening the Met said Slawomir Alama, 41, of Bath Road, Hounslow has been charged with murder.

He has also been charged with eight counts of attempted murder, arson with intent to endanger life, possession of a class B drug and possession of a knife in a public place, and has been remanded to appear at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Huge fire breaks out near Scots caravan park causing ‘power cuts’ as crews race to scene

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The Met said Alama was arrested in Leeds on Tuesday, where officers from London were supported by West Yorkshire Police and Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Pawel Kupla, 34, of no fixed address, was charged on Monday with one count of murder, eight counts of attempted murder and one count of arson with intent to endanger life.

He appeared at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and will next appear at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

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Birmingham hopes to become England’s first 20mph city as the ‘anti-motorist’ council moves to lower the speed limit on hundreds of roads. 

The Liberal Democrat, Green and independent-led city council wants to stop cars ‘dominating’ the streets and is instead encouraging residents to walk and cycle.

However critics have said the local authority is ‘determined to make it harder’ for people to get around the city, with Reform UK arguing the proposals are ‘anti-motorist’. 

Birmingham was once known as Britain’s ‘motor city’ owing to its vast car production and pioneering road designs. 

But the city council is now pushing for all routes below A-roads to be slapped with 20mph speed limits. 

The local authority has mapped out how Birmingham’s transport system will be ‘transformed’ by 2031 to ‘meet the challenges of the next decade’. 

The Birmingham Transport Plan details how ‘walking, cycling and active travel will become the first choice for most people making short journeys in their local neighbourhoods’ as ‘cars will no longer dominate street life around homes and schools’. 

In the next five years, the city council hopes introduce a 20mph limit as ‘standard on all local roads’. 

The local authority is pushing for all routes below A-roads to be slapped with 20mph limits

The plan states: ‘Ending the dominance of cars on streets in residential neighbourhoods, around schools and in local centres will increase active travel, improve air quality and reconnect communities. 

‘It will also provide important support for the wider regeneration of local centres stimulating economic growth and employment opportunities. 

‘Transport plays an important role in connecting new residential neighbourhoods and local centres, providing sustainable and active forms of travel.’

According to the city council’s proposals, this means ‘introducing 20mph as the default speed limit for all residential streets and local centres in Birmingham, while retaining a 30mph speed limit on strategic and distributor roads’. 

As part of the transformation, city centre access will be limited to private cars in favour of a network of pedestrian streets and cycling and public transport routes. 

The plans come despite the Department for Transport saying in June that 20mph restrictions ‘should only be used where they are appropriate and supported by evidence’.

Reform UK councillor and leader of the city council’s opposition, Jex Parkin, told The Telegraph: ‘This is another anti-motorist policy from a council that seems determined to make getting around Birmingham harder.

‘People already have enough congestion, restrictions and disruption to deal with without another blanket measure being imposed on them.’

Mr Parkin also told BirminghamLive: ‘People are fed up with being made to feel that driving around their own city is a problem.

‘Birmingham’s roads are already difficult enough to navigate without the council putting yet another obstacle in people’s way.’ 

‘This is an anti-motorist policy and Reform will oppose it. Keep 20mph where there is a genuine safety need – but scrap the idea that it should become the default across Birmingham.’ 

Birmingham was once known as Britain’s ‘motor city’ owing to its vast car production and pioneering road designs

It comes after RAC data last month revealed that the number of drivers caught speeding in 20mph zones had tripled in two years. 

In 2023, 37,219 drivers had broken 20mph speed limits across the country. But last year this figure rose to 125,133. That’s a 235 per cent increase. 

A spokesman for Birmingham City Council told the Daily Mail: ‘By introducing 20mph limits in residential neighbourhoods and local centres, we are able to put people – rather than cars – first.

‘In 2014 the council adopted a policy that on most adopted roads in Birmingham, the speed limit should be 20mph introduced through “sign only” areas. 

‘This would equate to something like 90 per cent of the city’s roads by length – with 20mph limit covering residential streets, local centres, near to school entrances, local attractions, health centres and hospitals, and public transport interchanges.

‘Pilot schemes for Birmingham city centre plus areas to the east and south were planned, eventually covering about a third of the city. 

‘However, due to the relatively high cost of area-based schemes, 20mph rollout has been done on a more targeted basis, in response to local road safety concerns or near to schools.

‘Evidence from around the world on slower speed limits is very clear: it reduces collisions, saves lives, and reduces injuries – so our message is simple, Slower is Safer. 

‘Slower speeds are less intimidating towards those who walk or cycle, activities that we need to encourage more of if we are to reduce the number of harmful emissions and traffic levels in the city.’

Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy hopes the club are “very” busy in the transfer market over the next few days as the Bluebirds look to strengthen their squad before next Tuesday’s deadline.

Barry-Murphy was speaking after Cardiff’s 2-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Norwich City on Tuesday night, with the club having only added Jack Moylan as a new senior signing so far this summer.

The Cardiff boss had previously said he expected another arrival to be in place for the Norwich game, but that did not happen.

Asked how busy he expected Cardiff to be over the coming days, Barry-Murphy, crossing his fingers, replied: “Hopefully, very.”

When asked whether he remained confident that the target he had expected to arrive before Norwich could still complete a move.

“I hope so,” he said.

Barry-Murphy was also asked whether he expected to have a signing in place by Thursday.

“I would certainly hope so,” he said, again with fingers crossed. “I was pretty sure we’d have somebody in today, so hopefully that’ll be the case by Thursday.”

Barry-Murphy, who said delays were centred around the club being very particular in who they want, was also pressed on owner Vincent Tan’s involvement in Cardiff’s transfer activity and whether there was sufficient financial headroom to make further additions.

The manager said Tan is contacted when necessary, rather than being involved in every day-to-day discussion.

“I think the club works in a way that, when we need something, we go to him, but I wouldn’t be ringing him every single day looking for things,” Barry-Murphy said.

“I think he wouldn’t be long telling me where to go.

“We’re very grateful for all the support we’ve had, but we’ve spent so little, I think we’re very confident we can bring players in.”

With the transfer deadline approaching, Barry-Murphy’s message is clear: Cardiff are expecting movement, with King potentially heading out on loan and the manager hopeful of welcoming another new face by Thursday.

The manager’s comments come with Cardiff facing significant defensive problems, while the club are also expected to continue strengthening elsewhere in the squad before the transfer window closes.

The Bluebirds’ injury list has left Barry-Murphy with limited options, with 15-year-old Noah Anyadike making his senior debut against Norwich before being forced off with cramp.

The club are also without Will Fish and Dylan Lawlor for the longer term, while Callum Chambers remains unavailable and Gabriel Osho is only expected to return to training later this week.

One player who could leave Cardiff on loan before the deadline is midfielder Eli King.

The 23-year-old featured for the under-21s on Tuesday as he continues his comeback from a serious injury, rather than being included in the first-team squad for the Carabao Cup tie.

Barry-Murphy explained that King needed minutes to continue his progress and would not have benefited from sitting on the bench.

“Just because he would have been unlikely to get the minutes he needs to progress,” Barry-Murphy said.

“He’s obviously coming back from a very serious injury, so we want to make sure he doesn’t miss out on any game time and sit on the bench for no reason.”

Asked whether King could remain with Cardiff or whether a loan move was more likely, Barry-Murphy was clear.

“No, I think the intention is for him to go on loan,” he said. “He’s just assessing his options as he tries to complete a full game since his injury.”

Prince Harry and Meghan’s exile from the UK has lasted for 77 months – a long and eventful period during which his grandmother the Queen died, his father the King was diagnosed with cancer and their daughter Lili was born.

Their return, though, is moving at a cracking pace. The family is currently packing up in Montecito and they are due to arrive in the UK imminently. ‘H arrives this weekend,’ said a friend yesterday.

That’s rapid indeed. News only broke last Wednesday night, with King Charles apparently informed only three days before that, on Sunday, that a return was planned.

Since that point, the world has been agog over the move. Where will they live? Will they be at Sandringham for Christmas? What school will the children attend? Are they really settling close to Jeremy Clarkson in the Cotswolds? And has Meghan been tempted over the pond by the offer of an acting role in Guy Ritchie‘s hit series The Gentlemen?

The answers to many of those questions are now becoming clear – and some of them are startling. They offer a compelling insight into the Sussex direction of travel, which has taken the world by surprise.

I wrote in July that Harry was contemplating a return to the UK and that there were hopes they could ‘unpick’ Megxit. There was much scepticism about my report but it has now come to pass, more quickly than anyone thought.

I’m told that the only real motivation for the relocation is Prince Harry’s fervent desire to give their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, a gold-star education, and for him that means it simply has to be in a UK school.

He and Meghan, say friends, have been kicking this idea around ‘for years’ but became very serious about it last year, to the point of obtaining prospectuses and speaking to headteachers.

‘Meghan has been aware of Harry’s views and discussing with him how they will bring the children up for years. It is not sudden,’ says a friend.

The friend adds that the King was told ‘long before the weekend’ that sending the children to school in the UK was what they hoped to do, and the King also understood that Harry felt Archie was far too young to start boarding, so it would mean a family return to the UK.

His school will indeed be in, or close to, the Cotswolds, and the Sussexes are looking for a country house nearby with a budget of around £8million.

The intention, according to Harry, is to be here for at least the next decade.

A friend says: ‘The way he sees it is that he will be here for the next 12 to 15 years, minimum. He sees himself as a full-time father and he will be here for them spending every Saturday watching Archie play rugby. That is the agenda.

‘He and Meghan are the best and most committed parents. They are the people who tell their kids: ‘no tablets [screens] at the dining table’.

‘There is no hankering after a royal status or royal engagements, it is not about that. He specifically doesn’t want to do that. This is about Harry wanting what is best for them and he wants them to be raised British, in Britain, and go to a public school. That is what the move is about.’

Archie will start as a day boarder – a pupil who stays longer than the normal school day but goes home to sleep – in year three at a leading private prep school in September and his sister Lilibet will join the pre prep, or infants’ school, of the same establishment.

Archie will start as a day boarder – a pupil who stays longer than the normal school day but goes home to sleep – in year one at a leading private prep school in September

Harry’s friend says: ‘The King has been well aware of what Harry wanted for some time and on their visit in July he knows that they were looking around schools. William has also been aware for about six months. There is no question of anyone being ‘blindsided”.

When he appeared on former rugby player and Traitors star Joe Marler’s podcast last month, Harry did indeed describe himself – partly joking – as a ‘full-time dad’.

The plan now is that he will indeed be the key at-home parent, while Meghan travels back and forth to their home in Montecito, California.

Her As Ever business is based in California, and sells the Californian lifestyle – rosé wine, flower sprinkles and jams. Their production company, Archewell, has offices in Los Angeles and staff there who are developing a number of film and TV dramas.

Former actress Meghan is noted for her drive and ambition for both ventures, while Harry has often appeared at sea in his post-royal life. It has been reported that one of his ideas for a podcast involved tasting hot chocolate in different countries.

In 2023, Bloomberg said he pitched a podcast concept to Spotify centred on childhood trauma, in which he wanted to interview controversial public figures such as Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Meta supremo Mark Zuckerberg to explore how their early formative experiences shaped them into what he described as ‘sociopaths’.

You get the sense that him stepping away will not be a loss.

So Meghan will be left to try to earn money and keep their media dreams alive in America (they still have a ‘first look’ deal for their projects with Netflix) while Harry returns to Britain, living probably not far from Highgrove where he was raised, and continues with the British-based patronages and charity work which he has undertaken throughout the Megxit period.

Lilibet will join the pre prep, or infants’ school, of the same establishment that Archie attends

It seems likely that he will add in some new charities, in the areas of veterans and mental health.

Meghan will ‘come and go’ and is apparently already plotting out which weeks she will need to be here, and when she will be in California.

The plan is for Christmas to be in Montecito – so no awkwardness for the Royal Family gathering at Sandringham – and for lots of time during the school holidays to be spent as a family in California where Meghan’s mother Doria lives.

Harry and Meghan also have a number of ‘Cali friends’, notably the Argentine polo player Nacho Figueras and his wife Delfina, plus the make-up mogul Victoria Jackson.

There will also be breaks as a family at the holiday house they bought in Portugal a couple of years ago, close to Harry’s cousin Eugenie’s home.

‘Meghan will need to spend quite a bit of time in the US,’ says a friend. ‘She can’t just dial in, she will need to be there.’

Perhaps this explains the confusing briefings by the Sussex communications teams over the past week. At first it was briefed to People magazine that they were going to spend an ‘extended period’ in the UK so that the children could go to school here.

Then the Sunday Times was told: ‘It’ll be an extended period of time. It could be six months, it could be a year, it could be more. I don’t think even they know yet. They might suddenly go, “Why don’t we try Canada for a while? Why don’t we try Australia?”

A friend said the King was told ‘long before the weekend’ that sending their children to school in the UK was what Harry and Meghan hoped to do

But that made no sense – not in the context of relocating with young children to put them in a new school. Clearly someone on the team was keen to play up the idea of the Sussexes as an ‘international couple’, rather than paint them into a corner by suggesting they were moving lock, stock and barrel to the UK and staying here.

The reality seems to be that the move is long term, but that it will involve school terms in the UK and holidays in the US for Harry and the children, and more time than that in the US for Meghan.

Naturally, the prospect of geographical separation between the couple, who were married in 2018, is not a narrative which Team Sussex want to promote. Indeed, the idea of it has set a hare racing about the state of their marriage.

Celebrity journalist and gossip columnist Rob Shuter reported on Friday that their marriage is in serious trouble – and moving back to the UK is their ‘last attempt to save it’.

Shuter wrote: ‘I’m told Meghan did not want to return and remains deeply uncomfortable with the idea. Harry, however, is miserable in California and increasingly unhappy with the life they have built in Montecito. That unhappiness is now putting enormous strain on their marriage.

‘They are not in a good place. Harry is deeply unhappy, and Meghan knows she cannot keep asking him to live a life that is making him miserable.’

My source agrees. ‘Meghan is not doing this because she wants to,’ they say. ‘She is doing it because she believes she has to. She does not want to lose Harry, and she knows something has to change.’

Journalist Tom Sykes at the Daily Beast has been telling a similar story. He said in his Substack: ‘The Times’ source describes them as an “international couple”. I suspect it may turn out to be more of an international person, and that the international person is Meghan.

The plan now is that Harry will be the key at-home parent, while Meghan travels back and forth to their home in Montecito, California

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‘We know Harry wants to come home. He has made it very clear how much he misses England, right down to that telling “currently I may live in the United States” in his Remembrance Day essay [a heartfelt tribute to the military and “the things that make us British” published in November last year]. He has no old friends in California to speak of apart from David Langdown, who is his head of security.

‘It is no surprise he is miserable. It is no surprise he is excited about coming home.’

A friend of the couple tells me it’s wrong to think these plans point to strains in the union, however. He says: ‘The marriage is not in bad shape, far from it, and this plan has been agreed by them both. They both feel it’s the best thing for the children and they both want to do this. You will see how happy they look when they are here. It’s very possible to have the kids at school in the UK and Meghan still working on her business in California.’

Harry for his part has previously described marrying Meghan as one of the best decisions of his life and has dismissed rumours about the state of their marriage, expressing pity for the ‘trolls’ who spread such stories.

In the short term they will stay with friends or family in the area where they are house-hunting. Harry is apparently being supported by his late mother’s family, the Spencers.

He’s happy to embrace the ‘Spencer side’ and feels this comes across as less alarming to those enemies he has made in the UK, who well remember the accusations of racism towards his own family and the nation, and his sour insistence that he was owed an apology for the way he and Meghan had been treated.

‘He feels that it sends the message that he’s not a threat,’ says the friend. ‘He doesn’t want to threaten anyone. He hopes to carry on reconciling with his family. It may take time, but he was very buoyed up by the time he spent with the King and Camilla over the summer, and the whole family are really excited about coming to live here.’

As for his security and who pays for it – those questions are still to be answered. It might even end up saving Harry money as he does complain that simply living in California costs him $2million (£1.47million) a year in security. But, cautions the friend: ‘Setting up a new household in the UK will definitely take lots of money. You couldn’t do it if you were on your uppers.’

As to Meghan and her role in The Gentlemen – which was apparently being discussed but was then withdrawn – the friend says: ‘It would be nice if it happened but that’s not the motivation for the move. The move is not about Meghan returning to acting, and makes no sense if that’s what it was. You wouldn’t relocate a family for an acting job which wasn’t yet contractual and was only going to last for a few weeks in any case. This is about settling the kids in a British school, and raising them here in Harry’s native culture.’

Celebrity tributes have poured in for country music icon Dolly Parton following her death age 80.

The legendary country singer’s passing was confirmed Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, prompting an outpouring of love from America’s A-list. 

Jamie Lee Curtis, Oprah, Sarah Jessica Parker and Pedro Pascal were among the first big names to post. 

Khloe Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Reba McEntire, Zoe Saldana and Hugh Jackman also took to social media to express their shock and sadness over Parton’s death. 

The music icon also counted admirers outside of Hollywood, with politicians and media heavyweights also sharing their condolences. 

Curtis shared a photo to Instagram that showed herself cuddled up with Parton. She captioned: ‘They say don’t meet your heroes. Her bravery to know that she was more than they thought she was and that she needed to break away and move on into new work and new possibilities led her to write I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, as her way of thanking and loving, but moving on. She is a great example for us all.’

Paris Hilton paid tribute to Parton, describing her as an ‘icon’ and ‘inspiration’

The Jolene singer had many A-list admirers, some of whom she had gone on to forge close friendships with

Oprah shared a snap of she and Parton together on set of the country legend’s variety show Dolly which aired in an 197.

The media mogul posted a sweet caption which read: ‘One of my fondest memories with @dollyparton: Having a hoot and a holler while wearing Bob Mackie gowns on her show Dolly.

‘This girl from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee dreamed a life and then lived a life bigger than she could have ever imagined, giving so generously to others in ways we saw and ways we didn’t.

‘No one like her. She brought the light, and we are all better because she was here.

‘God bless you, Dolly—you earned your wings [wings emoji]’

Hilton also shared a snap of herself alongside Parton with a sweet caption which read: ‘Heartbroken to hear about Queen @dollyparton’s passing [crying and heartbroken emojis] She was a true icon and such an inspiration to me.

‘Her talent, heart and kindess touched so many lives, and she truly felt left this world better than she found it [tears welling up in eyes while smiling and sparkle emojis] Sending all my love to her family, friends, and everyone who loved her. Rest in peace, Dolly [white heart and dove emojis]’

Lauren Sanchez, who is the wife of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, also took to Instagram to share a snap of herself posing up with the music legend.

Oprah shared a sweet tribute as they posed up in Bob Mackie gowns

Fellow country star Reba McEntire shared this sweet tribute

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Lauren Sanchez, who is the wife of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, also took to Instagram to share a snap of herself posing up with the music legend

Iconic fashion designer Bob Mackie shared a sweet post of Parton in one of his creations 

Reese Witherspoon shared an extremely heartfelt tribute 

Kelly Clarkson posted a poignant message

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Heidi Klum shared a clip of she and Dolly on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno back in 2001

Eminem shared a sweet personal letter sent to him from Parton

Sarah Jessica Parker posted a poignant message shortly after Parton’s passing was made public by her family

Fellow legend Barbra Streisand also shared a tribute 

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Sally Field shared a snap of the cast of Steel Magnolias including Parton, Julia Roberts, and Shirley MacLaine

She captioned the image on Instagram: ‘Dolly is gone and my heart is so broken. I grew up on her music. I knew every song by heart. I still do. She was there for the best days of my life and the worst ones, and she never even knew it. That’s what she did for millions of us.

Then I got to know her, and somehow she was more than the legend. She gave our Courage and Civility award its meaning, not the other way around. She said she’d always tried to put her money where her heart is.

The Fight Club actress continued: ‘Her heart was with kids. It always was. Free books in the mail to children who had none, month after month, for thirty years, because her dad never learned to read. The songs will keep playing. We all know the words. Thank you, Dolly. I will always love you.’

Parker, meanwhile, revealed she had never met Parton but had always admired her from afar.

The Sex and the City actress took to social media writing: ‘I never met @dollyparton but my gosh, did I love her. I don’t think any of us had to know her to love her. One of the greatest this country ever produced. Legend. For real. Forever.’

Pascal similarly took to Instagram sharing an old black and white photo of the Jolene singer, writing: ‘One of one. We must make more.’

Elsewhere, an emotional Kardashian posted a tribute to her Instagram Stories, writing: ‘My sweet Dolly. You are with your hubby who I know you missed immensely. ‘

The reality star was referring to Parton’s longtime husband Carl Thomas Dean, to whom she was married for almost 59 years. Dean died in March 2025. 

Kardashian added: ‘I know that you are with your creator. God has you wrapped in His Arms. God bless you forever and always. Thank you for everything’. 

Hilton also weighed in on Instagram Stories, saying she was heartbroken by the death of her ‘idol’ and ‘inspiration’.  

Goldiw Hawn shared this wonderful post

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Fellow country star Kacey Musgraves expressed her sadness on X

Carrie Underwood gushed over the fallen legend

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger also honored the fellow music legend

Pedro Pascal similarly shared an old black and white image of the country icon

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Elsewhere, an emotional Kardashian posted a tribute to her Instagram Stories, writing: ‘My sweet Dolly. You are with your hubby who I know you missed immensely’

Brooke Shields shared this sweet post

Maren Morris shared a video that showed her with Parton backstage at a concert

The Instagram account of the late Leslie Jordan shared this post 

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Zoe Saldana, Jack White, and Rachel Zegler were all among those who also paid tribute to the legend

Parton pictured on stage at the Blockchain Creative Labs’ Dollyverse Event at SXSW in Austin, Texas in March 2022 

Meanwhile, Maren Morris – who has been inspired by Parton’s long career in country music – also took to social media sharing a video of her with the star. 

‘There will never be another. @dollyparton was who we could all agree on and she was such a light,’ the My Church singer stated.  

The legendary country singer’s death was confirmed Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also acted as her head of security.

She died Tuesday morning after being admitted Friday to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems, according to TMZ.

Parton’s loved ones began racing to Nashville upon hearing news of her hospitalization, but not all were able to reach her while she was alive.

‘This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,’ Seaver said.

He hailed his aunt for having ‘lived in the light’ and said she was now ‘in the arms of Jesus’ and the company of her late husband Carl Dean, as well as her parents and ‘countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.’ 

Parton, who is often referred to as the Queen of Country, enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades and was arguably best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5. 

Legendary country music star Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80

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Her passing came after months of health woes that saw her pull out of a string of public appearances, fueling fan fears for her wellbeing. 

Seaver fondly recalled joining Parton on tour when he was a child in the 1980s, sharing that she ‘opened doors not just for me but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible.’ 

He characterized her as ‘a farmer, just like her daddy. He farmed the soil. She farmed songs and happiness. Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.’

Family insiders indicated that a private service for close friends and relations will be held in Nashville within the next few days.

One Great British Sewing Bee contestant was eliminated during music week on the BBC show.

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It looks as though fans of The Great British Sewing Bee are less than impressed with the outcome this week.

During Tuesday’s instalment of the BBC show, the remaining contestants were fighting for a place in the upcoming quarter-final.

However, before they inch closer at a chance of becoming this year’s winner, they had to take part in music week as they were given three tasks to complete by Patrick Grant and Esme Young.

One of them saw the sewers recreate Madonna’s legendary cone bra while another saw the group split into two teams of three, collaborating to fashion outfits suitable for pop stars using bedroom furniture.

Finally, their made-to-measure challenge demanded they craft an ensemble inspired by the disco pop music movement of the 1970s.

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Contestant Anna seemed to impress the judges most with her look, a silver number with unique trousers which Esme confessed she wanted, reports the Mirror.

Sadly, it meant one person had to leave and host Sophie Willian shared it was Adele who would be making an exit from the programme.

As the group rushed to hug her, she could be seen dabbing her eyes while saying her goodbyes.

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Speaking to the camera, the contestant confessed she had had ‘so much fun’ and praised the people she had met on the programme.

She heartwarmingly admitted she’d ‘remember it for the rest of my life’.

Adele called it a ‘dream’ to meet the judges as Patrick explained to viewers the contestant could go out feeling ‘proud’ of herself.

However, he highlighted that she had a ‘mountain to climb’, following her performances in the previous challenges. He told viewers that it was an ‘impossible task’ for her to turn around.

It wasn’t long before people commented on the exit as many were unimpressed that Adele’s time in the competition had come to an end.

One person said: “Shame Adele had to leave! I liked her.” Another wrote: “I’m sorry but it feels so anti music week to send her home this week with that name….”

Someone else said they were ‘sad’ to see Adele leave as another shared it was ‘very unlucky’ her time had come to an end.

The Great British Sewing Bee is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.