LONDON: Senior British royals including Prince William and his wife Kate have attended an Easter Sunday church service at Windsor Castle.
Queen Elizabeth II, who has been experiencing mobility problems, did not attend the service at St. George’s Chapel on the castle grounds, a fixture in the royals’ calendar.
William and Kate, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were accompanied by two of their three children: Prince George, 8, and 6-year-old Princess Charlotte.
Also in attendance were the queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, with his wife Sophie and their children, and Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Prince Andrew.
The queen, who turns 96 on Thursday, is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this year, marking 70 years on the throne.
She cut back on public duties on her doctors’ orders since spending a night in hospital in October, and also had a bout of COVID-19 in February. She attended a memorial service last month for her late husband Prince Philip, and has continued to meet virtually with diplomats and politicians.
On Thursday she had a visit from her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan — the first time the couple has visited the UK together since they stepped down as working royals in 2020 and moved to California.
Harry and Meghan visited the queen at Windsor, 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of London, on their way to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games. Harry is founder and patron of the international sports competition for wounded or ill military personnel and veterans.
William and Kate lead royals at Easter service; queen absent
https://arab.news/n3jt5
William and Kate lead royals at Easter service; queen absent
- Queen Elizabeth II did not attend the service at St. George’s Chapel on the castle grounds
- On Thursday the queen had a visit from her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
