Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i Woman's Weekly Living Series

It’s hard to believe our King and Queen celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this year. How time flies! It’s been a rollercoaster love story fraught with controversy since the couple met 54 years ago (see our anniversary special on p25). I’m sure they have regrets regarding those they hurt along the way, particularly the late Princess Diana. Still, Charles and Camilla have also endured heartache among the scandal, and if the last difficult year has proved anything, it’s that it only made them stronger. As we went to press, the Palace announced Princess Beatrice had given birth to a little girl, Athena Elizabeth Rose. We were delighted to hear mum and baby were both healthy and well, and what a touching tribute to her late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.…

He might be the monarch, but he is also a doting grandfather, and King Charles loves spending time with the littlest Windsors. Over Christmas, he was pictured at Sandringham with George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and Louis, six. Yet his joy must have been tinged with sadness as two of his grandchildren – Archie, five, and Lilibet, three – were once again missing from the family celebrations. Harry recently said becoming a dad had changed his outlook. ‘Becoming a father of two incredibly kind and funny kids has given me a fresh perspective on life,’ he told the BBC. ‘Being a dad is one of life’s greatest joys, and has only made me more driven and more committed to making this world a better place.’ However, it doesn’t seem to have…

When she married Prince Edward, the youngest child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, back in 1999, few people knew who Sophie Rhys-Jones was – and nobody guessed how integral she would become within the Royal Family. Sophie and Edward share a daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, 21, and son, James, Earl of Wessex, 17, and have become treasured members of The Firm, particularly in recent years. And with Sophie, who celebrated her 60th birthday back in January, now being described by royal insiders as ‘one of the new stars of the show’, it’s clear to see how she’s risen through the ranks… When she started dating Prince Edward back in 1993, Sophie was working in PR after training to become a secretary at a college in Kent,…

Keralan-style prawn curry Mild and aromatic, and less than 250 cals per serving! SERVES 6 PREP 5 minsCOOK 25 mins ✱ 1tbsp vegetable oil✱ 1 onion, finely chopped✱ 6-8 fresh or dried curry leaves✱ 3-4tbsp Keralan curry paste✱ 400ml tin coconut milk✱ 100ml vegetable stock✱ 250g green beans, halved✱ 400g fresh or frozen prawns✱ 2tbsp coriander, chopped✱ Rice, to serve 1 Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 mins to soften. Add the curry leaves, fry for 1 min, then add the curry paste. 2 Stir in the coconut milk, stock and beans. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins until the beans are tender. 3 Add the prawns and cook for 2 mins. If using frozen prawns, heat for 2…

Perhaps it’s the spectacle, the tradition or the skilled precision of the pilots – or maybe it’s a blend of all three. Either way, the RAF flypast is a beloved part of British ceremonial tradition, involving a wide range of aircraft, past and present, and usually culminating in a vibrant display of red, white and blue from the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, better known as the Red Arrows, which were formed in 1964. The first flypast was in 1913, just before the outbreak of World War One, when the Royal Flying Corps Military Wing displayed for King George V on Laffan’s Plain, near Aldershot in Hampshire. Initially a form of salute to senior military and state officials, aerial displays have evolved into a public spectacle that occurs at the…

A princess with a new purpose It’s the news we’ve all been waiting for – the Princess of Wales has confirmed she is currently in remission from cancer. She looked happy to be greeting crowds at Sandringham this Christmas, but it was her first solo engagement in more than a year that really illuminated how she will operate differently in her ‘new normal’. The Princess visited London’s Royal Marsden, the specialist cancer hospital of which she’s now joint patron with Prince William, to thank staff who had cared for her and meet patients. Yet she also used what, on the face of it, seemed like a standard royal visit, to announce she was in remission and give personal details of her treatment. ‘Catherine has always been private’ Catherine, 43, has…

AN HISTORIC AND EMOTIONAL VISIT King Charles made history when he became the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz in Poland, this January. He made the pilgrimage to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp. Charles joined world leaders – including Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia, and King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands – to hear harrowing tales from the survivors, who returned to mourn around 1.1 million people, most of whom were Jewish, who perished. On arrival, King Charles paused under the iron gates, which bear the motto ‘Arbeit macht frei’ – work sets you free – that has come to symbolise the terror of the Nazi regime. He then appeared to hold back tears while laying a personally signed…

GOING GREEN IN RED The Princess of Wales is well known for re-wearing some of her favourite wardrobe staples. She first wore this red Luisa Spagnoli skirt suit in February 2011 while visiting the University of St Andrews during her engagement to Prince William. Green-conscious Catherine’s been snapped in it several times since, including during a 2014 tour of New Zealand and again in 2017 during a visit to Mitchell Brook Primary School in the UK, where she added a black top, gloves and tights. QUEEN OF THE RE-WEAR When the Princess Royal stepped out in this teal coat dress and matching hat for her brother’s wedding to Camilla in 2005, it looked familiar. Princess Anne had first worn it to Royal Ascot in 1991. The younger royals often get…

Her jewels often sparkled as much as her captivating personality, and before she tragically passed away in August 1997, Princess Diana made it clear that she wanted her collection of jewellery to be passed onto William and Harry’s future wives. ‘I would like you to allocate all my jewellery to the share to be held by my sons, so that their wives may, in due course, have it or use it. I leave the exact division of the jewellery to your discretion,’ Diana wrote in a ‘letter of wishes’ before her untimely death. Over the years, we’ve seen both Kate and Meghan wearing their late mother-in-law’s coveted jewels, but now it looks as though both Princess Charlotte, nine, and Princess Lilibet, three, could be set to inherit some of Diana’s…

From the Queen Mother to the late Queen, Diana to Kate, and with countless princesses in-between, every week is London Fashion Week for the Windsors. And it’s not a new phenomenon – throughout history, the royals have not only been trendsetters but champions of British fashion. Palace support is the highest possible endorsement for a label. ‘Getting clothes worn by a royal is the Holy Grail for brands,’ says personal stylist Chantelle Znideric. ‘It’s the ultimate kudos, as their status and lifestyle is rarely attainable, much more so than a celebrity. When their clothes are worn by a royal, it can not only raise their profile, but almost always guarantees the item will sell out.’ Courting drama In Georgian times, the catwalk was more ‘courtwalk’, as trends were set by…

Resplendent in a vintage satin gown that’s been in her wardrobe for more than three decades, Princess Anne made a truly regal entrance at a state banquet hosted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace in honour of the Emir of Qatar's UK visit in December 2024. Completing her classic look with the diamond-encrusted Aquamarine Pineflower tiara gifted to her by her late grandmother, the Queen Mother, Anne was once again the royal role model we have come to expect. The King’s sister was given a prominent seat next to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the top table in the ballroom. Her Royal Highness is often seen wearing one of her ceremonial uniforms, riding on horseback at annual events, such as Trooping the Colour, the King’s Birthday Parade, with…

It has been, as Prince William said, ’a brutal year’, but 12 months on from a shock cancer diagnosis, Catherine is ‘in remission’ and stronger than ever. This January, the Princess celebrated her 43rd birthday, with her besotted husband turning to social media to post an intimate tribute ‘to the most incredible wife’. Several days later Catherine made an emotional return to the Royal Marsden hospital, to thank staff for looking after her ‘so well during the past year’, and now, according to royal watchers, 2025 will be a year of love for the couple. Just 12 months earlier, the world reeled from the double news that the King and Catherine were in hospital. While Charles revealed he was undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate – later revealed to be…

After decades suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous headlines, Charles and Camilla’s love finally triumphed when they married on 9 April 2005. But this only came long after both their first marriages ended in divorce, and it took a lot longer after the tragic death of Diana for them to even dare to come out publicly as a couple at all. Now, since the Coronation, it’s been an equally emotional rollercoaster couple of years. From ongoing treatment for Charles’ unspecified cancer to Camilla’s bout of pneumonia in late 2024, they have given each other constant support, solace, love and laughter. Something living through their scandal-laden love story – stretching back six decades – instinctively taught them to do. The now happily married monarchs have travelled far since the…

BEE BEAUTIFUL Skincare expert Deborah Mitchell is known for her signature bee-sting facials. Queen Camilla has been a client for many years, and is reported to use her bee venom-based products at home. Powered by toxins found in the venom of worker bees, the Heaven by Deborah Mitchell Silver Bee Venom Mask, £93, heavenskincare.com, is hailed as a natural alternative to Botox, limiting muscle movement so skin looks smoother and fresher. LIP SERVICE If winter has left your lips dry, flaky and chapped, treat them to Meghan’s rumoured lip saviour – Tatcha Kissu Lip Mask, £27, tatcha.co.uk. Her friend and former make-up artist Daniel Martin revealed on Instagram that the Duchess often treats her pout to a mask session. The silky, skin-quenching formula restores soft, supple lips. DREAM CREAM According…

She’s experienced a few pinch-me moments in her life, but when Emma Henderson, 52, landed her dream job as an airline pilot in 2009 it topped her list. She’d had her first flying lesson aged 18 and juggled flight training with life as a military wife, raising three children, to get to that point. ‘I became a captain in November 2015,’ says Emma. ‘Every time I flew a multimillion-pound passenger jet across Europe as one of fewer than 500 female airline captains in the world, I felt a huge sense of pride.’ She flew celebrities and royalty as well as the most precious passengers, her own children, who watched sunrises and sunsets from the best seat on the plane. But it came to an abrupt halt when Covid-19 grounded flights…

1 PRINCESS ELIZABETH’S FATHER WAS PRINCE ALBERT, LATER KING GEORGE VI. WHO PRECEDED HIM AS KING? a) Edward VIIb) George Vc) Edward VIII 2 WHAT WAS THE FAMILY’S AFFECTIONATE NICKNAME FOR THE YOUNG PRINCESS ELIZABETH? a) Lilibetb) Bethc) Lizzie 3 ELIZABETH WAS ONE OF TWO DAUGHTERS. WHAT WAS HER YOUNGER SISTER’S NAME? a) Princess Victoria Maryb) Princess Caroline Annec) Princess Margaret Rose 4 WHEN DID PRINCESS ELIZABETH BECOME FIRST IN LINE TO THE THRONE? a) The moment she was bornb) When her father became King in December 1936c) Turning 21 in April 1947 5 AT JUST 18, PRINCESS ELIZABETH SERVED IN THE MILITARY DURING WORLD WAR TWO. WHICH ORGANISATION DID SHE JOIN? a) b) c) 6 AGED 19, SHE AND HER SISTER, WHO WAS THEN 14, WERE FAMOUSLY ALLOWED TO…