Royal News Roundup: Harry Appears in the U.K., Charles Gets a New Title & Elizabeth Receives a Surprise from Her Grandkids

• We learned last week that the Cambridge kids have one major Christmas event to look forward to with their Grandma Middleton. To keep with their holiday tradition, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will take part in a virtual tree decorating with Kate Middleton’s side of the family, according to the Duchess of Cambridge’s mother, Carole, who revealed the plan in an Instagram post.

• Prince Charles rang in his birthday over the weekend and while he received tons of public well-wishes from his loved ones, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were noticeably mum on the subject. Though a handful of the Duke of Cornwall’s royal family members sent him public messages of love and “Happy Birthdays,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared to have opted to do so in private.

• JJ Chalmers, a former royal marine and contestant on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, received quite the surprise last week. While training with his dance partner, Amy Dowden, Chalmers's close pal, Prince Harry, called into the show to support him, marking Harry's first (virtual) U.K. appearance since he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down from their royal duties earlier in 2020.

Prince Charles rang in his birthday over the weekend and while he received tons of public well-wishes from his loved ones, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were noticeably mum on the subject. Though a handful of the Duke of Cornwall’s royal family members sent him public messages of love and “Happy Birthdays,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared to have opted to do so in private.

JJ Chalmers, a former royal marine and contestant on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, received quite the surprise last week. While training with his dance partner, Amy Dowden, Chalmers's close pal, Prince Harry, called into the show to support him, marking Harry's first (virtual) U.K. appearance since he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down from their royal duties earlier in 2020.

• On Wednesday, Prince Charles added yet another title to his already extensive resume. The 72-year-old royal has agreed to become the Patron of Barts Heritage in honor of the upcoming 900th anniversary of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. The Prince of Wales’s patronage period will cover the current $19 million fundraising appeal for restoring the historic North Wing and the Henry VIII Gatehouse on the hospital’s Smithfield site.
• We also learned this week that Princess Diana had not one, but two, infamous sheep sweaters. On a recent episode of the Royally Obsessed podcast, royal author Elizabeth Holmes elaborates on her discovery: “That black sheep sweater is such an iconic piece from her wardrobe... I was looking at the images and thought, ‘Wait a second, is that sheep facing a different way? Did Diana have a second sweater?’” Turns out, she did, due to damage to the first one.