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  • COVID-19: The party was in full swing on the first Saturday after a long lockdown

    The party was in full swing in Soho on the first weekend after a long lockdown.

  • Royal summit to decide future of monarchy to be led by Prince Charles and Prince William

    The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge will hold a summit to decide the future of the monarchy over the next two generations following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. In consultation with the Queen, Britain’s next two kings will decide how many full-time working members the Royal family should have, who they should be, and what they should do. The death of Prince Philip has left the Royal family with the immediate question of how and whether to redistribute the hundreds of patronages he retained. Meanwhile the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back from royal duties, confirmed only last month after a one-year “review period”, has necessitated a rethink of who should support the sovereign in the most high-profile roles. Royal insiders say that the two matters cannot be decided in isolation, as the issues of patronage and personnel are inextricably linked. Because any decisions made now will have repercussions for decades to come, the Prince of Wales will take a leading role in the talks. He has made it clear that the Duke of Cambridge, his own heir, should be involved at every stage because any major decisions taken by 72-year-old Prince Charles will last into Prince William’s reign. The Earl and Countess of Wessex, who were more prominent than almost any other member of the Royal family in the days leading up to the Duke’s funeral, are expected to plug the gap left by the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by taking on more high-profile engagements. However, they already carry out a significant number of royal duties – 544 between them in the last full year before Covid struck – meaning they will not be able to absorb the full workload left by the absences of the Sussexes and the Duke of York, who remains in effective retirement as a result of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. In 2019 the Sussexes and the Duke completed 558 engagements between them. It leaves the Royal family needing to carry out a full-scale review of how their public duties are fulfilled. Not only do they have three fewer people to call on, they must also decide what to do with several hundred patronages and military titles held by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Sussexes and possibly the Duke of York, if his retirement is permanent. Royal sources said the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge would discuss over the coming weeks and months how the monarchy should evolve. The issue has been at the top of the Queen and the Prince of Wales’s respective in-trays since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s one-year review period of their royal future came to an end last month, but the ill health and subsequent death of Prince Philip forced them to put the matter on hold.

  • Britons with first dose of Covid vaccine ‘have become infected with variants’

    Dr Susan Hopkins has urged people to ‘take caution’ as India variant emerges in the UK

  • Model suggests ‘green light’ travel list could include only eight countries

    While the government works out how to categorise countries for a traffic light system, a new model predicts only eight countries will be on the ‘green’ list

  • Queen’s birthday to pass without gun salute for second time

    There will be no gun salute to mark the Queen’s 95th birthday on Wednesday as she continues to mourn the loss of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. For the second consecutive year, the traditional 41-gun and 21-gun salutes in Hyde Park and the Tower of London on April 21 have been cancelled, the Ministry of Defence said. Her Majesty will continue to observe a period of mourning until Friday and as such, is understood to be reluctant to mark this year’s anniversary. She is expected to enjoy a quiet lunch with close family members at Windsor Castle, the details of which will remain private. The Royal family’s social media channels will likely be the only commemoration of the Queen turning 95. Royal sources suggested that even before the Duke’s death on April 9, the Queen had not wanted her forthcoming birthday to be marked in any meaningful way. She was keen for the focus to be on his 100th birthday celebrations, which would have taken place on June 10, one said. Last year, the salute was cancelled in line with the Queen’s wishes that no "special measures" were taken while the pandemic continued. The monarch will no doubt spend time on Wednesday in quiet reflection, remembering last year’s birthday, spent with her husband at Windsor during the first lockdown, as they isolated together. The Queen’s birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, which was due to have taken place on June 12, was cancelled in March for the second consecutive year due to the pandemic. Before the Duke’s death, Buckingham Palace had been considering a smaller event within the quadrangle at Windsor Castle, in line with last year's ceremony. Last summer, an event described as a "mini Trooping" was held at Windsor, led by the Welsh Guards and massed Bands of the Household Division, to the clear delight of Her Majesty. The annual Garter service, also usually held in June, has also been cancelled. While the Queen is determined to continue carrying out some solo engagements, she is thought unlikely to undertake anything in public in the coming weeks. However, Buckingham Palace has confirmed that she will attend the state opening of parliament at the Palace of Westminster on May 11, one of the key events in her diary, when she is due to be accompanied by the Prince of Wales.

  • Line Of Duty: That Fleming And Pilkington Cliffhanger Might Have Actually Been Solved Already

    Are there clues hidden in the series six trailer?

  • Call the Midwife review – still shining after all these years

    Call the Midwife review – still shining after all these years. It’s been on our screens for a decade, but the BBC’s period drama remains as radical and relevant as ever

  • COVID-19: Family of Italian woman who died after Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine launches legal action

    The family of an Italian woman who died weeks after having the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine have told Sky News they are taking legal action to establish whether the jab was to blame. The case comes after 55-year-old Augusta Turiaco, from Messina, Sicily, received her COVID jab on 11 March before her condition worsened in the days following her vaccination.

  • If Boris Johnson has his way, a woman’s work will truly never be done

    If Boris Johnson has his way, a woman’s work will truly never be doneOnce finally retired, female carers are the PM’s choice when it comes to looking after aged parents ‘Is Matt Hancock familiar with the works of Anita Brookner?’ Anna Massey in the 1986 BBC TV version of Hotel du Lac. Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

  • Rise in students asking to repeat year after campus shutdowns

    Rise in students asking to repeat year after campus shutdowns. Final exam worries grow with in-person teaching still banned at universities in England

  • Royal family continue to grieve Philip’s death as national mourning ends

    The royal family will continue to grieve this week following the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, although the period of national mourning has ended. After almost 70 years as head of state, the Queen will reign without her husband by her side. She sat on her own during the funeral service that bore Philip’s touch and celebrated his life and legacy.

  • ‘I’m a real fighter’: Jake Paul talks up boxing career after knocking out Ben Askren

    Paul ended his fight with Askren inside one round after a left jab

  • U.S. says Chad rebels heading towards capital from north

    N'DJAMENA (Reuters) -The United States said rebel fighters in Chad appeared to be moving towards the capital N'Djamena and ordered non-essential staff to leave, warning of possible violence. A spokesman for the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said its fighters had "liberated" the province of Kanem, some 220 km (136 miles) from the capital N'Djamena, but the government denied this. "The authors of these false statements are not even on the ground, but somewhere in Europe," the government said in a message posted to Facebook.

  • GPs to prescribe financial advice to patients with long-term conditions

    GPs to prescribe financial advice to patients with long-term conditions. Under London pilot scheme support workers will help people claim benefits and deal with debts

  • Rapid Covid tests used by schoolchildren investigated for containing wrong instructions

    Chinese-made lateral flow tests handed to millions of schoolchildren are being investigated by the regulator after being sent out with the wrong instructions, The Telegraph can reveal. Devices have been handed out accompanied by out-of-date guidance that states they can be used if a person has symptoms. The boxes also contained a “confusing” notice from their Chinese manufacturer erroneously saying that the tests were for use by people “suspected of Covid-19 by their healthcare provider”. This contradicts the Government’s stated purpose for its mass rollout of the 30-minute turnaround tests, which is to catch infections in asymptomatic individuals, believed to comprise one in three Covid carriers. People with symptoms are supposed to get a PCR laboratory test, the results of which are reported automatically, triggering the contact tracing process. Experts warned on Sunday that if people with symptoms think it is permissible to use only a lateral flow test then they may not report their positive result, self-isolate, or give contact tracers the chance to reach others they may have infected. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed it is investigating the issue. It comes after leaked emails revealed that health officials fear the devices could pick up “on an optimistic assumption” only 10 per cent of infections when self-administered, and suggested they are considering scaling back the programme. Tens of millions of the devices are being used in schools, where children are required to be tested twice weekly.

  • Victoria Beckham Celebrates Birthday With Kim Kardashian And Husband David In Miami

    The former Spice Girl’s 47th was a star-studded affair.

  • Sinn Fein leader apologises for the death of Lord Mountbatten following Prince Philip's funeral

    The leader of Sinn Fein has said she is sorry for the murder of the Lord Mountbatten by the IRA following the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh. Mary Lou McDonald, the President of the republican party, said the death of the Duke’s uncle in 1979 was “heartbreaking” and that it was her responsibility to “lead from the front.” Her comments represent a significant shift from her predecessor Gerry Adams, who has refused to apologise for his previous claims that Lord Mountbatten “knew the danger” and could not “have objected to dying in what was clearly a war situation.” Lord Mountbatten was assassinated in August 1979 while holidaying at his summer home Classiebawn Castle. His boat was blown up by the IRA using a bomb that had been placed on the vessel. The explosion also killed his 14-year-old grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, Lady Brabourne, the boy's grandmother, and 14-year-old Paul Maxwell a local boat boy.

  • Greensill: Boris Johnson told to give up power to decide on investigating ministers

    Boris Johnson should relinquish his right to decide when possible breaches of the ministerial code warrant investigation, according to the chair of the Committee for Standards in Public Life. In a letter to the prime minister, Lord Evans argued the power to launch a probe into the behaviour of members of the government should instead be held by the next independent adviser on ministerial interests. It comes as questions continue to mount over contacts serving ministers had with former prime minister David Cameron in relation to his lobbying on behalf of the now-bankrupt finance firm, Greensill Capital.

  • Supermarket and care staff in London could get key worker access to housing

    Supermarket and care staff in London could get key worker access to housing. Sadiq Khan will consult on move to ‘recognise sacrifice’ of workers in pandemic, if re-elected

  • Williams vs Andrade LIVE result: WBO champion retains belt by unanimous decision

    Follow all the action live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino