Queen Elizabeth Gifted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle With a Historic House Inside the Walls of Windsor Castle

Reportedly, Queen Elizabeth just gifted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with the ultimate wedding present: a house. The piece of property is reported to be Adelaide Cottage—although cottage is a bit of a misnomer, given the home's sprawling nature. Located in the Home Park inside the walls of Windsor Castle, it was originally built back in 1831 as a retreat for William IV’s wife, Queen Adelaide, and has since stayed within the royal family with a whole host of inhabitants, including Group Capt. Townsend, equerry to King George VI. (His relationship with Princess Margaret would later be tabloid fodder after their love went public in 1952.) Most recently, Simon Rhodes, the son of Queen Elizabeth’s cousin and best friend Margaret Rhodes, lived on the property. The Cottage underwent major renovations in 2015, though it has notably retained much of its original charm, including a coved ceiling with gilded dolphins and rope ornament from a 19th Century Royal yacht in the master bedroom. There is also a marble Greco-Egyptian fireplace.

The property is conveniently close to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s private apartments and just a few miles away from the Guards Polo Club, where Harry frequently visits. There are seven gated entrances and exits to Windsor Castle, so privacy is not an issue. In addition to the property, Harry and Meghan have several other home options. They signed a two-year lease for WestfieldLarge, a home in the Cotswolds a few months back, and will likely make their primary residence Nottingham Cottage, a two-bedroom home that sits on the grounds of Kensington Palace. “Nott Cott,” as it’s affectionately known, has been under construction since last fall.

Houston cardiologist, one-time doctor of George H.W. Bush, killed by man with 20-year grudge, police say

Houston police believe that the suspect who allegedly killed the one-time doctor of former President George H.W. Bush held a 20-year grudge against the cardiologist because his mother died while being operated on by the doctor.

Authorities have filed an arrest warrant for Joseph James Pappas, 62, who is believed to be armed and dangerous as well as suicidal, said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo during a press conference Wednesday. The arrest warrant carries a charge of murder, Acevedo said.

Mark Hausknecht, 65,
was shot on July 20 as he rode his bicycle in broad daylight in a residential neighborhood in Houston.

Officers searched Pappas' home early Wednesday morning and received a tip from an individual who had information about the killing, Acevedo said.

"We believe this absolutely is the killer of Dr. Hausknecht," Acevedo said.

Acevedo praised members of the community for coming forward after the latest footage was released on Monday with a clearer image of the suspect.

"Good job," he said. "Thank you for all your work. You did your part."

He’s been “Under Seige” and “Above The Law,” not to mention “Hard To Kill” and “Out For A Kill.”  But now Steven Seagal has been named by  Russia's Foreign Ministry for a different purpose – he’s now a special representative for Russian-U.S. humanitarian ties, a role designed to deepen cultural, art and youth ties between the two countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented a Russian passport to the US actor in 2016, and now Seagal will expand his ties, serving as…

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has appointed action movie star Steven Seagal as a special envoy for humanitarian ties with the United States.

The Foreign Ministry announced the move Saturday on its Facebook page, saying Seagal's portfolio in the unpaid position would be to "facilitate relations between Russia and the United States in the humanitarian field, including cooperation in culture, arts, public and youth exchanges."

Seagal is an accomplished martial artist — like Russian President Vladimir Putin. The actor, who was granted Russian citizenship in 2016, has vocally defended the Russian leader's policies, including Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, and has criticized the U.S. government.

Last year, Ukraine banned Seagal from entering the country for five years, citing national security reasons.

Style
Why Meghan Markle has started hiding her hands in her pockets

At this point in time, I feel like I'm more familiar with Meghan Markle's wardrobe than I am my own.

Every time she leaves the house - in an outfit more chic than the last - I resolve to make more of an effort and channel my inner Duchess, which of course I never do. In fairness to me, I've watched my Fashion Editor dress like Meghan for a week and it was tiring enough just being on the sidelines.

I'm not the only sad act obsessed with Meghan's clothes, which is why the Internet quickly picked up on Meghan's latest look: Pockets.

When Meghan attended the Polo with her £44 J Crew clutch she wore a denim dress with deep pockets by Carolina Herrera and previous to that she wore a trench coat dress by Canadian label Nonie with the same hand-hiding pocket design.

OK! decided to do some investigating and spoke to author and body language analyst Judi James to see if there's more to Meghan's latest look.

“The classic reason for this very common gesture is that it signals a subliminal desire to hide, especially when the hands are shoved deep into the pockets.

“It also helps get over the common problem most of us suffer from, which is not really knowing what to do with our hands when we know people are looking at us.”

However, Judi doesn't think Meghan has suddenly come over all shy on and us, and instead puts her latest look down to her current fashion taste.

“Meghan's high levels of confidence suggest her reason is more to do with fashion than anxiety though. It is also a probable nod to her love of 50's styling."

"Her full skirts are very Audrey Hepburn and to wear them well, a hand in one pocket is almost de rigueur. She also loves slouchy coats and jackets and the same fashion rule of 'wearing' the tailoring would apply with them too.”

'Not true': Rep for Richard Gere says he has no plans to run for Congress in New York

Celebrities have long crossed over into politics — for instance, Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California more than 50 years ago — and with a former reality TV star running our country right now, it seems the trend isn’t going to stop anytime soon. We currently have Sex and the City‘s Cynthia Nixon making a play for New York governor — and perhaps another movie star, Richard Gere, interested in a congressional run in the Empire State.

There may soon be an open seat in the state’s 18th Congressional District, and there’s chatter that the star of Pretty Woman, An Officer and a Gentleman, and Chicago — who has an estate in Westchester County’s Pound Ridge, as well as a business (the Bedford Post Inn), in that district — is interested in the job. Middletown, N.Y., Mayor Joe DeStefano, whose city falls in that district, told Page Six, “Richard Gere’s name is being whispered about among Democrats. We’ll see what he’s made of.” DeStefano spoke more about it to the local Journal News, saying, “Where [the rumor] started, nobody knows.” He added, “Having high profile people in the race isn’t a bad thing on short notice.”

Richard Gere speaks at the Freedom House 2018 Annual Awards Dinner in May 2018.
(Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Freedom House)

The truth is, the open seat is just a hypothetical anyway. Democratic Rep. Sean Maloney, who’s the current representative for New York’s 18th District, is hoping to become the state’s attorney general. He’s one of four seeking the office vacated by Eric Schneiderman, who resigned in disgrace earlier this year. The primary is in September.

So has the 68-year-old Golden Globe winner, who’s played politicians on the big screen (including in 2017’s The Dinner), expressed interest in pursuing a career in politics? Not so much. In fact, not at all. “There’s not even a speck of me that goes, ‘Boy, I’d really want to be a politician,” Gere told CNN last year. “I have no interest. None. Zero.”

While he’s long been an advocate for Tibetan independence and human rights (he’s a Buddhist), he prefers pushing for change as a private citizen. Gere told the news outlet, “It’s really easy speaking from here. I don’t have to compromise with anything. The realm of politics is, every day, every moment, is compromising somehow. I don’t have the patience for it. There’s no way.”

People
How Bride-to-Be Princess Eugenie Is Taking Cues from Cousin Prince Harry's Wedding to Meghan

Princess Eugenie

The second royal wedding of the year will have fans doing a few double takes!

Princess Eugenie and fiancé Jack Brooksbank, who announced their engagement in January, are set to wed on Oct. 12 — and it will have several similarities to the wedding of Eugenie’s cousin Prince Harry to Meghan Markle back in May.

For starters, Eugenie and Jack will tie the knot at the same venue, St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. A wedding in St. George’s Chapel indicates an intimate affair — at least for royals. (Prince William wed Kate Middleton in London’s Westminster Abbey in 2011, while his parents — Princess Diana and Prince Charles — got married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1981.)

In addition, they’ll be following in Harry and Meghan’s footsteps by inviting members of the public from across the U.K. for a close-up view of their nuptials.

“Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank would like to invite members of the public to join their wedding on 12 October, 2018, to attend inside the Precincts of Windsor Castle,” Buckingham Palace announced in July. “1,200 members of the public will be able to view the arrival of the congregation and members of the royal family, listen to a live broadcast of the marriage service and watch the start of the procession as the couple depart at the end of the wedding ceremony.”

After the ceremony, the future newlyweds will have a short carriage procession, leaving Castle Hill and proceeding along part of the High Street before returning to the castle via Cambridge Gate. It is markedly shorter than Harry and Meghan’s carriage ride, which saw thousands of well-wishers lining the streets.

Despite the similarities in their weddings, a friend of Princess Eugenie previously told PEOPLE that there is “zero competition” among Eugenie and her fiancé and Harry and Meghan.

“It is complete love, and there is room for all of them,” said the friend of the cousins and their partners.

Although “it is very much Princess Eugenie and Jack’s day, and they are leading the planning,” a palace source says, they are also getting plenty of input from the mother of the bride, Sarah Ferguson. “Fergie is very involved,” a well-placed insider recently told PEOPLE.

Jack, 31, and Eugenie, 28, have been dating for seven years. Eugenie, a director at London art gallery Hauser & Wirth, “is sure and steady like her grandmother, and then there’s this genuine warmth that comes from her mother,” a friend told PEOPLE.

Jack, who works with George Clooney’s tequila business, Casamigos, “is a really lovely, very kind, down-to-earth man,” said another family friend. “He is great fun and has a great sense of humor. He is the first to laugh with you and not at you, and he is a practical joker, in a good way!”

This Is What Kate Middleton's Title Will Be When Prince William Becomes King

Plus, the circumstances under which she might become known as the Queen Mother.

Prince William likely won't become King for years. He's second in the order of succession, behind his father Prince Charles, and even at 92-years-old, Queen Elizabeth shows no signs of giving up the throne anytime soon.

But that hasn't stopped William from preparing for his future duties.

"There has always been a special closeness between William and the Queen, and she has taken a particular interest in him," Robert Lacey, royal expert and historical consultant for The Crown, told People.

"When William became a teenager, she would have him at Windsor Castle and would open the state boxes and guide him through the papers. It was William’s constitutional education," he said.

William himself has described his Granny's teaching as "more of a soft influencing, modest kind of guidance."

"I don’t think she believes too heavily in instruction," he told the BBC.

William has ostensibly been training to become King for his entire life, but what will Duchess Kate's role be once William ascends to the throne?

As the wife of a reigning monarch, she will become what's known as the Queen consort. To most of the world, Kate will hold the title of Queen Catherine, according to expert and author of the blog Royal Musings Marlene Koenig. Generally speaking, as Queen consort, Catherine will support her husband in his duties as King, attending engagements and making foreign visits, and she will also serve as patron of and campaign for causes and charitable organizations that she feels passionately about. As always, her role within the royal family will remain non-political.

The official coronation page on the royal family's website explains how Duchess Kate will likely be crowned: "Unless decided otherwise, a Queen consort is crowned with the King, in a similar but simpler ceremony."

But the site also shares a key difference between the wives of Kings and the husbands of Queens: "If the new Sovereign is a Queen, her consort is not crowned or anointed at the coronation ceremony."

Similarly, while the wives of Kings can be Queens, the husbands of Queens cannot be Kings. Chalk it up to the patriarchy (like so many royal traditions), but Kings always reign, whereas Queen can be a symbolic title, as it will be in the case of Queen Catherine. Hence why Queen Elizabeth's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh is a Prince consort, not a King consort.

The most recent British Queen consort was Elizabeth II's mother, Queen Elizabeth. Following the death of her husband King George VI, she opted to assume the title of the Queen Mother, so that she would not be confused with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

According to Marlene Koenig, the Duchess of Cambridge's title could become the Queen Mother later in life, should she outlive her husband.

"When [Prince] George is King (if Catherine is still alive), she can choose to be styled as HM Queen Catherine, the Queen Mother," Koenig says.

The last time England had a Queen Catherine was under the reign of Charles II. A Portuguese princess before she married Charles, Catherine of Braganza was Queen consort from 1662 to 1685.

World

Royal Family In Trouble: Spanish Monarchy Mired In New Scandal
Aug 12, 2018, 09:05am

Spain's King Felipe, Queen Letizia and daughters, Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia at the Royal Palace La Almudaina during their summer vacation on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca.
Photo: Clara Margais/DPA/Getty Images

The Spanish Royal Family has been plagued by scandals and divisions since long before the 2014 abdication of its once-patriarch and very popular King Juan Carlos - now facing serious accusations of money laundering -  to his son, King Felipe VI.

The latest bombshell shaking the royal house involves secret audio recordings of princess Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a German aristocrat living in Monte Carlo who for years has been romantically linked to the 80-year-old former king and now accuses him of using her name to buy property in Morocco, of accumulating a secrete fortune hidden in several Swiss bank accounts under the name of one of his cousins, Alvaro d'Orleans Bourbon, of using fake cut-outs to commit tax fraud and of taking millions in commissions on state contracts.

King Felipe VI of Spain and King Juan Carlos at Palacio Real De El Prado in June in Madrid .     
Photo: Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images

The German aristocrat claims that Juan Carlos pocketed over €80 million from a contract with Saudi Arabia for a high-speed train running between Riyadh and Medina, planned to start operating in September after years of delays and a cost overrun of 210 million euros, according to TheNewArab.

Sayn-Wittgenstein would have explained that Juan Carlos had repatriated a portion of those funds thanks to a 2012 government tax amnesty because he wanted money to divorce his wife, Sofia, and marry her.

As if that wasn’t enough to embarrass the already-distressed Spanish monarchy and feed the summer-lull rumor mill, the recordings, originally published by Spanish investigative journalism websites Okdiario and El Español,  reportedly feature conversations between the former king's  53-year-old alleged mistress, Corinna Larsen, better known as zu Sayn-Wittgenstein from her marriage to a wealthy nobleman, with retired police commissioner Jose Manuel Villarejo, jailed since last November and under investigation for money laundering.

German aristocrat Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein     
Photo: Mikhail MetzelTASS via Getty Images

That’s not all: According to shattering revelations by the Spanish press, the audio recordings were made in 2015 in London through a lapel microphone worn by Villarejo, who had, in fact, allegedly spied on and recorded dozens of influential people, which he turned into a lucrative business of extortion.

The euphemism he reportedly used for his activities was "crisis management projects," through which he made a fortune starting in 1992 - extorting €30 million between 2013 and 2017 alone.

Investigators suspect that he revealed the recordings implicating the former king as a way to negotiate a release or a lower sentence with prosecutors.

Queen Letizia and  King Felipe with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his wife, Maria Begona Gomez Fernandez, at the Marivent Palace this month in Palma de Mallorca    Photo: Handout/Getty Images

Since his abdication, the former king has kept a low profile as his 50-year-old son and head of state, Felipe, struggles to contain the onslaught of secessionism  threatening the unity of the country and the anti-royalist forces asking for an end to the monarchy.

While those movements have been exacerbated by other recent scandals, observers classify this one as still more explosive, and a nightmare not only for the Royal Family but for the new leader of the Socialist government, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

“It was thought that the turpitude of Casa Real had been buried for good,” writes Le Point. “It's the opposite: The worst seems to be ahead.”

According to the magazine, the Spanish government and the public generally thought that they “knew well the path of the ex-king, appreciated his qualities and tolerated his faults: good living, friendly, hedonistic sportsman (sailing and skiing), womanizer, friend of the great figures of the world - recommendable or not - unscrupulous hunter (in the 2000s, he shot Siberian bears point blank while drunk on vodka!). But being involved in financial crime and tax evasion to the detriment of his country seriously undermines the reputation of the former king and destroys a myth.”

Queen Letizia and Queen Sofia with Princesses Leonor and Sofia visiting King Juan Carlos at La Moraleja Hospital in Madrid     
Photo: Europa Press via Getty Images

The fresh revelations have fueled various political and media figures demanding an end to the "pact of silence," a tacit agreement not to criticize the monarchy. As many as six parliamentary commissions, including Podemos and Basque and Catalan nationalists, have asked for an official investigation. "In a democracy, there can be no room for impunity," said a Podemos spokesman. “Nobody can be above the law, whatever his name.”

Under current law, only the Supreme Court could hear a case against Juan Carlos and only for events that happened since his abdication.

The relations within the Spanish royal family have also been deteriorating with the scandals. “Felipe’s bid to distance himself from the scandal-ridden reign of his father has eroded the appearance of family unity,” according to the country's main daily newspaper, El Pais.

Queen Sofia, Queen Letizia, Princesses Leonor and Sofia with their cousins Irene Urdangarin and Victoria Federica de Marichalar     
Photo: Europa Press via Getty Images

In 2016, King Juan Carlos outraged his countrymen after being "discovered" in Botswana hunting elephants during a "secret" trip organized by Sayn-Wittgenstein at the peak of the country's severe recession. The escapade became public only when he broke his hip during the hunt and had to be transported to a hospital.

The monarchy's reputation was further tarnished in 2016 when his youngest daughter, the Infanta Cristina, and her husband were accused in a corruption probe that triggered a flood of protests against the monarchy.

Latest revelations have also raised suspicions that Juan Carlos himself was involved in that scandal, known as the Noos affair.

Princess Cristina and her husband, former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin, after a hearing in Palma de Mallorca       
Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP/Getty Images

The Noos Foundation, chaired by the former king's son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarin, siphoned at least six million euro of public money into tax havens. Urdangarin subsequently was found guilty and is serving a six-year prison sentence that began in June this year.

Although she was acquitted in the case, the Infanta Cristina has been ostracized by her family and lives in Geneva with their four children.

Meanwhile, a rift between Queen Letizia and her mother in law, former Queen Sofia, has been food for media gossip for months.

"The monarchy has received a fatal blow," Jaime de Peñafiel, a royal observer, said of the latest scandal. “The king may still have illusions, but the institution does not have much time left."

Celebrity
Meghan Markle Just Caught a Flight to Toronto without Prince Harry Amid Family Drama

Ahead of her first royal tour with husband Prince Harry, which will see the couple visit Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and the Kingdom of Tonga, Meghan Markle has hopped on a flight back to Toronto. Prior to moving to the United Kingdom to be with her husband, Meghan was, of course, based in Toronto, where she filmed all seven seasons of Suits.

The Mirror is reporting that Meghan flew via Air Canada to Toronto, and that the airline was asked to protect the Duchess' privacy during her flight. The publication cites royal news hub, Royal Central, as their source for the information regarding Meghan's flight, with it being alleged that Kensington Palace gave Air Canada strict instructions in a letter about her itinerary, apparently "requesting that no one takes Meghan’s picture or approaches her on the flight."

This is Meghan's first solo trip abroad since she became the Duchess of Sussex. It's likely that the royal is savoring some time with the close friends she made in the city when she lived there, prior to a busy few months of official engagements alongside Prince Harry.

Meghan's trip to Canada comes just as her father, Thomas Markle, continues his tirade against his daughter and the royal family. According to The Telegraph, his latest interview with The Sun saw him make a whole host of accusations against Meghan and her husband's relatives. Thomas described them as "either like Scientologists or the Stepford family," as well as branding them "cult-like" and "secretive."