The Queen will make her annual visit to the Sandringham and West Newton branch of the Women's Institute (WI) this afternoon (Thursday, January 24) and her special guest is not so 'Pointless'.TV star Alexander Armstrong, who hosts the quiz show on BBC One, arrived at West Newton Village Hall this afternoon and will join the monarch for the branch's meeting.The Queen, who is Sandringham and West Newton branch's president, spends time with members of the group each year, having joined the organisation in 1943, when she was still Princess Elizabeth. … [Read more...] about TV star’s not so ‘Pointless’ visit to Sandringham Women’s Institute alongside the Queen
The queen
Sketch: Take back control now means Jacob Rees-Mogg telling the Queen to shut down parliament
Britain has been enjoying another day bang on the Tory, a word which now only makes sense not as a political ideology but as a synthetic drug that may yet achieve Class A status – but not before it’s ruined everyone’s lives. The Lib Dems thought they could handle it, took one hit and never recovered. By 2015, the country itself hadn’t had a go on the pure stuff for almost two decades. Now we walk jagged and dazed about the world like a spice addict in a 24 hour bus garage. And no one is pushing the stuff harder than Jacob Rees-Mogg, who on Wednesday afternoon addressed a large meeting of the “Bruges Group”, which describes itself as a “Eurosceptic think tank” but is in fact a care in the community project for people who last paid to use the bus in the pre-decimalisation era. Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Start your free trial Get … [Read more...] about Sketch: Take back control now means Jacob Rees-Mogg telling the Queen to shut down parliament
MP claims the Queen could be forced to shut Parliament to ensure Brexit happens
The Queen could be forced to intervene to ensure Brexit happens, Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested today. The hard-right Tory made the over-the-top claim at a packed meeting in Westminster - adding it'd be a "constitutional crisis". Mr Rees-Mogg spoke over reports the Queen could be dragged in to the current Parliamentary battle over Brexit. MPs are planning to tear up precedent and put forward their own laws to delay the 29 March date of Brexit. So experts have claimed Theresa May could use a "constitutional veto" - by asking the Queen not to give those Bills Royal Assent. Today Mr Rees-Mogg had another suggestion: that the Queen might be asked to break up Parliament early. 'Proroguing' the Commons would mean MPs were physically unable to pass any more laws and No Deal would happen by default. Speaking to the hard-right Conservative Bruges Group The Tory Leaver said: "I hope it will not be necessary for Her Majesty's stay at Sandringham to be interrupted for her in person to prorogue … [Read more...] about MP claims the Queen could be forced to shut Parliament to ensure Brexit happens
The Queen should tell Prince Philip to belt up and avoid PR disaster after Diana’s death
IF Princess Diana had been wearing a seatbelt, she would probably be alive today. That’s the verdict of forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, who says in his compelling new book Unnatural Causes: “Had she been restrained, she would probably have appeared in public two days later with a black eye, perhaps a bit breathless from the fractured ribs and with a broken arm in a sling.” Which, 21 years later, makes the decision of the Queen and Prince Philip to drive without a seatbelt all the more wilfully reckless. In life, Diana taught her in-laws a lot about public relations, and in death, her influence continued when public anger forced The Queen to break protocol and fly the Union flag at half-mast above Buckingham Palace. Since then, it’s fair to say that the “PR machine” that supposedly drives coverage of the senior royals has once again ground to a juddering halt, if the aftermath of Prince Philip’s recent crash is anything to go by. … [Read more...] about The Queen should tell Prince Philip to belt up and avoid PR disaster after Diana’s death
MP plants tree in Outwood Park for the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy
MP Andrea Jenkyns has planted a tree in Outwood Park as part of the Queens Commonwealth Canopy project. The initiative, which brings together a network of forest conservation projects, was launched in 2015 to mark Her Majesty’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth and to preserve green spaces and indigenous forests. The tree was donated by the Woodland Trust in support of ITV’s landmark documentary, The Queen’s Green Planet. The documentary followed Her Majesty the Queen and the canopy project which brings together her commitment to the Commonwealth and her little-known love of trees. At the heart of the film, which was screened in April, was a conversation between the Queen and Sir David Attenborough filmed in the gardens of Buckingham Palace last summer. The trees were provided to more than 500 MPs, including Ms Jenkyns. Two trees have already been planted in the Morley and Outwood constituency - one in Gildersome and one in Drighlington.Ms Jenkyns donated the … [Read more...] about MP plants tree in Outwood Park for the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy