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Post by Admin on Jan 4, 2015 22:48:49 GMT
Buckingham Palace is defending Prince Andrew after he was embroiled in claims of sexual impropriety with an underage woman. The claims surfaced late last week when papers were filed in a Florida court. Sunday’s statement was the since the claims were made. Officials “emphatically denied” allegations by an unidentified woman who said she was forced to have sex with the royal when she was under the age of 18. The woman named 54-year-old Prince Andrew, known as the Duke of York in the court filings. The filing was submitted as part of a lengthy lawsuit against American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who the woman claims forced her to have sex with prominent people, including Prince Andrew. The woman was only identified as “Jane Doe Number 3″ in the papers. She has also claims she was forced to have sex with Alan Dershowitz, a high-profile, 76-year-old lawyer who has represented clients including O.J. Simpson. “I categorically and unequivocally, without any reservations, deny that there was any sexual contract of any kind between me and any of the Jane Does connected with Jeffrey Epstein, whether underage or not,” Dershowitz told The Associated Press on Sunday. Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, said he is filing a disbarment complaint against the attorneys who filed the motion in the lawsuit as well as an affidavit denying the allegations. “I am challenging the woman to come forward and state it publicly and to file criminal charges against me.” He said he has agreed to waive the statute of limitations and to waive immunity, which he said no guilty person would do. “I have no fear. I have nothing to hide,” Dershowitz said. Royal officials on Friday denied “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors” by Andrew, and strengthened that stance Sunday after two tabloid newspapers published details of interviews with the alleged victim. The controversy has dominated British news coverage since Friday. “It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with (the woman),” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. “The allegations made are false and without any foundation.” The statements are unusual because royal spokespeople typically refrain from commenting on most media reports. The woman claims she was forced to have sex with the royal in London, in New York and on a private Caribbean island between 1999 to 2002.
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Post by Admin on Feb 1, 2015 22:31:35 GMT
E! News got an exclusive first look at the 27-year-old entrepreneur's interview with The Young Director (TYD), a new app and lifestyle digital magazine available in iPad. In it, James is asked, it it frustrating that his work is often overshadowed by his sibling's royal status? "Yes, it does get frustrating," he admits. "I work incredibly hard—just like every other person in business and work," he says, "And aside from the fact of — yes, I am the brother of someone very important—I am, at the end of the day, just James." He's extremely hands on at Boomf, a company he co-founded that allows Instagram users to have their pictures printed on marshmallows. Prior to that, he tells TYD he "used the stepping stones within the family business"— Carole and James Middleton's Party Pieces —to start his first venture, The Cake Kit Company. "I have only ever employed myself," he says proudly. Wanting to work for himself, he says, was part of why he dropped out of University of Edinburgh. Additionally, he says, he "was not confident in the pursuit of me getting my degree," largely because of his struggle with dyslexia. "I usually joke that it's like a Superpower—you only have it if you've got it!" he says. "For one, it makes you unique, and two, your brain just works differently; you will get to the answer of a solution but just in a different—maybe unconventional way." James seems a little squeamish when asked about his "guilty pleasures," but he's able to come up with one that most of us enjoy. "Ah! Family Guy," he tells TYD, acknowledging, "I know to some it may not be a guilty pleasure but I absolutely love the show!...Some people think they are just cartoons but I think they are so clever and much more than cartoons." He also has a quick response when asked who he'd want to play him in a movie. "Leonardo DiCaprio!" he answers instantly. "I would want Leonardo to play me because I believe in his acting mastery. The guy is a genius and he would make me look fantastic."
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Post by Admin on Feb 6, 2015 22:27:24 GMT
The Royal Family might be more popular than ever before but the majority of Britons think funding for some parts of the institution should be cut. Although taxpayers are happy to fund the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Cambridges and Prince Harry, a new poll has revealed that most want the rest to take a pay cut. That would mean Prince Andrew, the Princess Royal, the Wessexes and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, among others, losing any form of public subsidy The Sovereign Grant is taken from the revenues generated by the Crown Estate, a portfolio of properties and investments formerly owned by the monarch but now the Government, with the Royal Family being handed a total of £13.7m a year to cover the cost of official duties. Although taxpayers do not directly fund any royal activity, they do bear the cost of providing police protection teams for royals and politicians, which funded via the Home Office. The new poll, which was conducted by YouGov, asked voters which royals should be funded by the Sovereign Grant and the Royal Duchies. 69 per cent said the Queen and Prince Philip should continue to get funding, with 89 per cent of Conservative voters agreeing, compared to just 58 per cent of Labour voters. A similar number thought the same about Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, while another 59 per cent said the same of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George. By contrast, just 28 per cent said Prince Andrew should receive a subsidy with a similar number saying the same about Prince Edward. 39 per cent said the Princess Royal should receive public money but just nine per cent said the same of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Although neither Zara Tindall or Peter Phillips are given any form of funding, 10 per cent of Britons said that they should be - more than the number happy to see payments to the Queen's cousins continue. Royal cousins who perform official duties and are given a subsidy from the Sovereign Grant include the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. The concept of a slimmed down Royal Family, although popular, is not a new idea and features heavily in Prince Charles' plans for the future of the monarchy. His idea, featuring a 'core' Royal Family comprised of himself, Camilla, Prince Harry and the Cambridges, has already been mooted and has met with some opposition. Prince Andrew is believed to be particularly upset at 'being pushed to the margins' of royal life and was reportedly furious after his daughters were dissuaded from taking on royal duties. Charles, who has been given an enhanced role since the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, was apparently also behind the slimmed down version of the Royal Family that appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Jubilee Flypast the same year. Andrew, his daughters, and the Wessexes were also excluded from Prince George's Christening in October 2013, with the Cambridges apparently preferring a smaller ceremony with 'close' family and friends in attendance.
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Post by Admin on Feb 8, 2015 22:29:40 GMT
IT’S not so much the Queen is not amused it’s more a case the palace and her British subjects are bemused with Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s awarding Prince Philip a knighthood and the howls of protests being heard from Australia. Britons accustomed to seeing their heroes and personalities with multiple titles and their cricketers and tennis stars getting gongs just for winning a game, that most spoken to by News Corp Australia saw nothing wrong with the Duke getting further recognition. But many thought it strange it was Mr Abbott awarding him the knighthood when most considered that the sole purview of the Queen. A poll run by the Daily Mirror in the UK yesterday found 73 per cent of its readers supported the knighthood awarding anyway and only 27 per cent said he should not have received it. The palace was not commenting on the controversy in Australia but insiders pointed out many countries liked to recognise the work many members of the royal household did. Still looking for any excuse to re-run the Duke’s greatest achievements, some tabloid online press in the UK have been running his greatest gaffes and one liners because the 93-year-old Prince Philip is adored for his no-nonsense straight talking style. The story however was largely confined to small reports in the world sections of the major newspapers and led with the reaction in Australia. Under the headline, “Prince of Titles”, The Mirror ran a three paragraph editorial raising the curiosity on the awarding for a man with so many titles. “It is unexpected not to say odd of Australia to add a knighthood to a list that is already longer than his arm,” it said. “At the age of 93 the gaffe-prone prince will be hoping he’s not required to kneel to collect the latest award or he may struggle to get back to his feet again.” The Times ran the controversy under the headline “Australian furious at knighthood for Prince Philip” while The Independent ran the piece on page 27 with the headline “Australia bemused by decision to knight prince”. Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK and former Liberal Cabinet minister Alexander Downer yesterday also declined to buy into the controversy. “I’m now a diplomat, I soar above the world of politics,” a cheeky Mr Downer said yesterday, after his hosting of an Australian food and wine event attended by Prince Charles’ wife Duchess of Cornwall Camilla. “Obviously nowadays having spent many a long year engaged in political controversies, I now eschew them.”
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Post by Admin on Mar 29, 2015 21:55:49 GMT
Lily Allen certainly certainly seems to have made an impact on Monaco's elite. By their request, the 29-year-old took to the stage at the Rose Ball 2015 in aid of the Princess Grace Foundation at Sporting Monte-Carlo on Saturday night. As she belted out a string of her hits, impressed royal socialites jumped out of their seats and hit the dance floor to throw a few shapes to her catchy music. Bride-to-be Beatrice Borromeo joined Monaco's royal family at the 61st Rose Ball on Saturday night, marking the last time she would attend the annual event before the family officially become her in-laws. The Italian beauty, who is engaged to Pierre Casiraghi, joined her fiancé, his mother Princess Caroline, sister Charlotte Casiraghi and uncle Prince Albert at the glittering soirée. For the event 29-year-old Beatrice sported a dazzling silver gown and wore her golden locks in lose waves, displaying a stunning diamond necklace and matching earrings. The Newsweek journalist and her future husband then hit the dancefloor, showing off their moves with 28-year-old Charlotte and singer Lily Allen, who provided the evening's musical entertainment. Charlotte, who welcomed her first son Raphäel in December 2013, looked as chic as ever in a sequinned pink and black dress. The equestrian star's comedian partner Gad Elmaleh, who is father to one-year-old Raphäel, was unable to attend. Completing the royal party were the principality's monarch Prince Albert and his elder sister Princess Caroline, who annually step out at the event to support their late mother's Princess Grace Foundation. Once again Chanel maestro Karl Lagerfeld joined the royals, choosing to wear black trousers, a black suit jacket as well as his trademark sunglasses.
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