Royal RECAP: Prince Harry's trip abroad without Meghan, Princess Anne's solo outing, and more

Good morning, royal fans! We have a whole host of royal news to bring you today.

We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for King Charles as he steps out to meet the India Cricket Team in the gardens of Clarence House. 

Princess Anne is also out today as she will attend a Council Meeting, Annual Lecture and Dinner at St George's House, Windsor Castle. 

Eagle-eyed royal fans might have noticed something a little different about Princess Charlotte at Wimbledon over the weekend as the ten-year-old was spotted wearing nail polish for the first time. 

The young royal sported a candy pink manicure, in spite of widely reported royal rules around nail polish. It is believed that it is seen as more appropriate for royal ladies to wear a nude, clear, or soft pink nail polish, if any at all, on royal outings.

While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex might be raising their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in sunny Montecito, Prince Harry is "quite keen" for the youngsters to experience British schooling, according to former royal butler to King Charles, Grant Harrold.

Read the full story here.

The Princess of Wales brought the glamour to the state banquet last week in a floor-length Givenchy gown and the dazzling Lover's Knot tiara.

Kate joined the King as he hosted President Macron at Windsor Castle, marking her first state banquet since November 2023.

Find out more about how Kate is cementing her role at the heart of "Brand Britain" here. 

It's no secret that Prince George is a big fan of sports, just like his dad, Prince William.

But when the young royal was asked about his own sporting abilities at Wimbledon, he was quietly confident. 

During a discussion with Wimbledon doubles champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, Cash asked George if he was any good at tennis, to which George replied: "I'm all right."

Read the full story here. 

Did you know that long before Prince Harry and Meghan inhabited Frogmore Cottage, the quaint property had a world-famous resident?

Henry James, the writer of The Portrait of a Lady and who is generally considered one of the greatest novelists in the English language, spent time at the property  with his family in the 1840s when he was a child.

Get all the details here. 

Hello! Francesca here, taking over the royal blog for the afternoon…

The bond between royals and sport continues.

After a fantastic fortnight of royal-spotting at Wimbledon, cricket is now receiving the royal treatment. King Charles held an audience with the India Men's Test cricket team at Clarence House on Tuesday afternoon.

Charles welcomed Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Captain Shubman Gill to the royal residence. The group were photographed in the gardens of Clarence House, and appeared to be engaging in jovial conversation!

The meeting with the monarch, who is head of the Commonwealth, came after India and England came head-to-head for five days of play.

During the meeting with India's cricket team, His Majesty revealed he found the nail-biting few days of sport "exciting", which resulted in England reigning champions over India at Lord's cricket ground.

However, the King did share his sympathy with India's team. The monarch told Captain Shubman Gill he had watched the crucial last wicket fall on the news highlights on Monday night.

He said in sympathy, about the dramatic spin on the ball that dismissed Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, "really annoying just to touch the bails". 

Shubman Gill said of their conversation: "The King did tell us that the way our last batsman got out was quite unfortunate – the ball rolling on the stumps, and he was just asking us how did we feel after that.

"And we told him it was an unfortunate match for us, but it could have gone either way and hopefully we'll have better luck in both the next games."

While the summer season is well and truly underway, with many of the royal homes ready to welcome visitors, King Charles' Norfolk property, Sandringham, will be closed for over a week in July.

A post on the property's official Instagram page read: "A friendly reminder that Sandringham House and Gardens will be closed for visits from this Sunday 20th July to Tuesday 29th July."

Full story here. 

Shortly after meeting India's cricket team, His Majesty left Clarence House to head straight to St James's Palace, where he welcomed famed actor Idris Elba, star of huge shows including Luther and The Wire, to discuss the crucial topic of knife crime in the UK.

Along with welcoming Idris, who launched an anti-knife crime campaign, Don't Stop Your Future, in 2024, King Charles welcomed recipients of the King's Trust and other campaigners to the Youth Opportunity Summit, working to tackle the serious issues relating to young people in Britain.

The monarch said he was "enormously grateful" to the attendees.

King Charles was not only joined by Hollywood star Idris, but also Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who hailed the actor's campaign against knife crime in the UK. The PM described their work as "brilliant" and "inspirational".

Idris spoke at the table discussion, explaining how they had hit certain milestones on their journey, but that more remains to be done.

"We've seen some things happen, and that's great," the 52-year-old actor said. "There's also been a small rise in knife crime at the same time. So, we can't take our foot off the pedal. We have to stay focused."

We're all about the glow in summer, and we've heard direct from Meghan Markle's makeup artist that she is too.

Daniel Martin, Meghan's longtime makeup artist and BFF, revealed on the Gloss Angeles podcast that he recently used the Live Tinted Hueglow, £48 / $38 on his famous client. 

"It does this beautiful glass skin," he told the podcast. "I used it on Meghan's body, Meghan's face... 'cause it just adds this radiance to the skin that doesn't look like makeup." Gorgeous.

Prince Harry has flown overseas for a surprise trip to Angola.

The Duke of Sussex is heading to central Africa to follow in his late mother's footsteps with a walk across a field of landmines, highlighting the work of The Halo Trust.

However, Harry has flown solo for the engagement, leaving wife Meghan Markle at home in Montecito, California, where they live with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Prince Harry's work with The Halo Trust sees the Duke follow in his late mother's footsteps. Twenty-eight years ago, Diana, Princess of Wales, walked across landmines in Angola while working with the same charity.

The Halo Trust is working to fulfil the promise of the 1997 Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty and clear the world of landmines by 2025. To date, the organisation has cleared over 123,000 mines.

Harry has carried out several visits to Angola in recent years. In 2019, he retraced the exact steps his mother took near Huambo.

According to the MailOnline, Prince Harry is said to have deemed his trip to Angola "too dangerous" for wife, Meghan, to join him.

The source said: "The Duke won't let his wife go to England over security concerns, so there was no chance he'd allow her to go to Angola to walk across landmines."

Last week, the Princess of Wales paid a poignant visit to the RHS's Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital.

Kate even planted some 'Catherine Roses', which were named after her, in the flower beds and was more than keen to get stuck into some gardening.

The future Queen was asked whether she wanted to wear a pair of gloves, but refused, instead stating that she wanted to "feel the earth".

Fans were impressed with the royal's choice, as one penned: "Not afraid to get dirty, she's more daring and willing to try exotic foods, loves sports, she is like the coolest woman ever!!" We concur.

We are obsessed with Queen Letizia's latest fashion ensemble.

The Spanish royal just schooled us all on how to make high street look high-end in a seriously chic stone-coloured sleeveless gown, bespoke from Mango.

The Queen of Spain was pictured in Madrid as she received a representation of the newspaper 'Articulo 14' at Zarzuela Palace. 

Letizia paired her understated and effortlessly stylish look with neutral-toned espadrilles. Gorgeous!

Queen Camilla has been recognised for her work promoting literacy. The monarch, an avid reader herself, was made an honorary member of a prestigious livery company at a ceremony in London.

Camilla, who is patron of a number of literacy charities including the National Literacy Trust, BookTrust, Beanstalk and First Story, was installed as an honorary freeman and liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers.

The queen has also been applauded for launching her Reading Room book club.

Her recognition follows in the footsteps of leading figures like writer and poet Rudyard Kipling and Scottish novelist J.M. Barrie.

Attending the ceremony at Stationers' Hall, the queen was dressed in robes by two supporters and swore an oath before signing documents to mark the occasion. 

That's all from me, but fear not as I am leaving you in the very capable hands of our writer, Beatriz Colon, who will be bringing you the rest of the day's royal highlights... 

Princess Catharina-Amalia passed a major milestone as her family joined her for a special celebration on Monday.

The Dutch royal, 21, attended her graduation ceremony at the University of Amsterdam, where she has been studying for a three-year degree in Politics, Psychology, Law, and Economics.

Catharina-Amalia looked elegant in a plum-coloured off-the-shoulder dress for the occasion, which you can see here.

The Duke of Sussex has taken a solo trip to Angola in central Africa to follow in his late mother's footsteps.

According to MailOnline, Prince Harry, 40, plans to walk across a field of landmines to highlight the work of The Halo Trust – just like Princess Diana did 28 years ago for the same charity.

More on his poignant trip here.

The Princess of Wales is known for her immaculate fashion style, but did you know that exquisite taste continues into her stunning homes? We've had a few glimpses into her country property, Anmer Hall, over the years and now the beautiful interiors designed by Ben Pentreath, have been branded so on trend by property expert Terry Fisher.

Terry of We Buy Any Home has analysed Kate's country aesthetic, and it's hitting the mark. See here is what he had to say.

King Frederik and Queen Mary have extended their break from royal duties.

The Danish royal couple have been abroad since 6 July, with Frederik making appearances at Wimbledon last week. Now, according to BILLED-BLADET, Frederik and Mary's return to Denmark was scheduled for 13 July, but the royal couple chose to extend their stay abroad by a few days. Read more here. 

That's all the royal content we have for you today, folks! Check back in tomorrow and the rest of the week for more live blogs on all things royals.

Cheers!