The Prince and Princess of Wales were not initially headed to a happily ever after.

Prince William, 42, and Kate Middleton, 43, split twice in the early 2000s before tying the knot in a 2011 royal wedding watched by the world. And when he turned to his father and grandfather for advice around their 2007 breakup, the twenty-something heir got conflicting messages.

Prince Phillip told William to "make up his mind about marriage," while Charles, who had "endured the pain of a very public divorce" from Princess Diana, suggested that he should not hurry into it, according to Katie Nicholl, a royal biographer.

When Will and Kate broke up that March, they famously lived it up, partying separately at London nightclubs.

Later the two reconciled, and William and Kate were engaged by the end of 2010.

Out with the old, and in with the new.

Prince William has instructed his late mother Princess Diana’s divorce lawyers to act on behalf of him and his family in a break with tradition.

The Prince of Wales, 42, has sensationally carved out his own path as heir to the British throne by ditching the royal family’s longtime legal team, the Daily Mail reports.

William’s unprecedented move puts an official end to his working relationship with the legal team at Harbottle & Lewis, who have acted on behalf of the royal family for decades.

Instead, William has hired the team at Mishcon de Reya — one of the UK’s top legal firms.

The prince has enlisted the expertise of the firm’s deputy chairman, Anthony Julius, who served as Diana’s legal representative in her 1996 divorce from Charles.

Diana died in a car crash in Paris alongside her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul, just one year later. She was 36.

The heir’s move reportedly stung the law firm’s partner, Gerrard Tyrrell, given that he had looked after William and his family for years and is one of the king’s most trusted advisers.

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King Charles and Queen Camilla are gearing up to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary next week.

And the secret to the longevity of their marriage? Separate living arrangements.

According to a former palace staffer, the monarch, 76, and his wife, 77, maintain separate residences, with Camilla having her beloved home in Wiltshire, while Charles owns countless royal residences peppered across the country.

According to Jack Stooks, who worked as a senior gardener at Highgrove for Charles for over two decades, the couple had agreed on a separate living arrangement before tying the knot in 2005.

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Prince Andrew is “completely unsurprised” at his longtime accuser and Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre’s recent claim of having just “days to live” after her car was hit by a bus, the royal’s friend has said.

Giuffre, 41, who was allegedly trafficked by Epstein to have sex with the Duke of York when she was a teenager, posted a harrowing picture of herself in a hospital bed covered in bruises on Tuesday, claiming she had only “four days to live.”

However, police have since said there were no injuries in the ordeal and bus driver Ross Munns insisted that Giuffre’s posts on social media had “blown [it] out of proportion.”

Now, a friend of Andrew’s said there’s no “sense of satisfaction on the duke’s part at Giuffre’s disgrace.”

“If anything, it has brought back the sadness the entire family feel that this woman, who he always maintained was a fantasist, was allowed to ruin his life,” they told the Daily Beast.

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Prince Harry’s African charity is being officially investigated over “concerns raised” about potential racism and bullying, a UK government watchdog announced Thursday.

Sentebale, a foundation set up by the Duke of Sussex in 2006, is being investigated by the Charity Commission over alarming allegations raised by Sentebale chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka.

“The regulator for charities in England and Wales has opened a regulatory compliance case to examine concerns raised about the charity Sentebale,” the Charity Commission said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Charity Commission is now in direct contact with parties who have raised concerns to gather evidence and assess the compliance of the charity and trustees past and present with their legal duties.”

It comes after the charity — which was set up to help AIDs patients in Africa — was embroiled in a vicious dispute between Prince Harry and other leading trustees, and Chandauka, who became leader of the organization in 2023.

Last week, the Duke along with all of the other trustees on the charity board, resigned in what was seen as a statement on Chandauka’s leadership.

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The King got "carrot"ed away with the London Vegetable Orchestra on Thursday.

King Charles, 76, cheerfully played a carrot flute at a reception to recognize community music across the UK, held at Windsor Castle.

His gleeful appearance comes just over a week after he was hospitalized for a reaction to his cancer treatments.

Royal experts have called for Charles to take a step back from his royal duties, something Queen Camilla has said her husband simply refuses to do.

Thursday's reception at Windsor welcomed 350 guests, including leaders of community music groups and music-related projects, many of whom are volunteers. 

Wheels up! King Charles celebrated the 80th anniversary of humanitarian air operator Mission Aviation Fellowship in Ruislip, England, on Thursday.

The royal unveiled the charity's new Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft that will deliver aid to remote regions in Papua New Guinea.

The humanitarian air operator flies to 14,000 remote destinations to assist isolated communities.

His Majesty also met members of the Papua New Guinea community in celebration of their 50th Anniversary of Independence.

The excursion follows the urging of royal commentators for Charles to scale back his royal duties and take it easy after being hospitalized for a day last week because of complications from his weekly cancer treatment.

King Charles has been urged to step back from royal duties after the cancer-stricken monarch was hospitalized for temporary side effects from his weekly treatment session.

While Buckingham Palace called the health scare a mere "bump in the road," the ordeal still prompted Charles, 76, to cancel all of his royal engagements slated for the following day.

Now, royal authors and commentators are encouraging the ailing monarch to hit the brakes on his duties — something Queen Camilla previously admitted her husband simply refuses to do.

"The trouble is, he's been so conditioned to work that I don't think he functions unless he's working," royal author Ingrid Seward told Newsweek.

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Meghan Markle finally broke her silence on her divisive cookware on her Netflix show, "With Love, Meghan."

The Duchess of Sussex was criticized over her use of Le Creuset, a luxury French cookware company, with some viewers saying her lifestyle show wasn't realistic due to the company's high prices.

When asked about the controversy in a New York Times interview published Wednesday, Markle was perplexed: “This is a thing, in 2025?”

"Everyone is coming in hot these days," her mother, Doria Ragland, who was with her during the interview, replied.

A Le Creuset dutch oven like the one the former "Suits" actress appears to be using starts at $260 on the company's website.

Viewers said that ritzy ceramic-lined pots — which can also be found at a steep discount at bargain stores like TJ Maxx and Home Goods — were too expensive for black women to afford. They argued that Markle should have used traditional cast-iron or a cheaper alternative.

In response, many black women came to Markle's defense, sharing their collections of Le Creuset and calling the negative response racist.

MSNBC journalist Michele Norris shared her confusion toward the situation on Threads: “Why is anyone surprised or disturbed that she would have beautiful color coordinated cookware? Does anyone drag Ina or Martha for their cookware? Sure it would be nice to see a big heavy well-seasoned black skillet up in there. But did anyone expect that? So Yes, Le Creuset is beautiful but it is not merely performative cookware."

Markle also hit back at claims she's out of touch, telling the Times, “Don’t they know my life hasn’t always been like this?”

Prince Harry’s African charity is being officially investigated over “concerns raised” about potential racism and bullying, a UK government watchdog announced Thursday.

Sentebale, a foundation set up by the Duke of Sussex in 2006, is being investigated by the Charity Commission over alarming allegations raised by Sentebale chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka.

“The regulator for charities in England and Wales has opened a regulatory compliance case to examine concerns raised about the charity Sentebale,” the Charity Commission said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Charity Commission is now in direct contact with parties who have raised concerns to gather evidence and assess the compliance of the charity and trustees past and present with their legal duties.”

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