A speech delivered by The Duke of Cambridge at the Child Bereavement UK 25th Birthday Gala Dinner

Thank you Ann, and good evening everyone.

On the eve of Child Bereavement UK’s creation in 1994, an unusually apprehensive and nervous Julia Samuel travelled here to Kensington Palace to go through her opening speech with my mother.

They both saw then the game changer this charity could be for those in the darkest depths of grief, struggling to find a route out.

25 years later, it is with great pride that I stand here as your patron to celebrate the successes you have had since that day.

Child Bereavement UK is a truly remarkable organisation.

With great sympathy and sensitivity, you have spent the last 25 years working with children, young people and families to help them navigate the difficult path of grief.

This is a path no-one chooses.

It has no map.

And no end.

But with careful support, it is a path that can become easier under foot.

The impact of this support is brought home to me every time I meet people who are helped by Child Bereavement UK.

Recently I met Eddie, Sefofo and Keli, and their mum Precious, who were supported after their baby brother and son, Raphael, died. Raphael’s death had a ripple effect on the whole family, and everyone was affected in a different way. 

It was touching to hear that - with the guidance of your wonderful staff - this family, like so many others, have been given the language and resilience to talk about their loss, and to find a way to live again.

For many, sharing their experiences and memories is a crucial part of the grieving process.

Grief that is most intense in the days and weeks that directly follow a loss. Like those affected by unimaginable heartache after the devastating mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March.

And grief that is carried with you for the rest of your life. I saw that in the eyes of D-Day veterans and families last week. Their sorrow for lost friends, sons and fathers 75 years on still moves them to tears.

It demonstrates exactly why Child Bereavement UK’s work is so important.

An ear to listen, and a shoulder to cry on, is sometimes all it takes to lighten the burden in the smallest of ways. And that is what you have provided.

You have also played a pivotal role in changing attitudes – and helping people to talk more freely about the way they are feeling and the daily challenges they face.

By providing professionals and people across the UK with the tools and guidance they need to support friends, family and colleagues who are bereaved, you are helping to create a support network aimed at providing comfort to those in the most painful situations.

And you shine a beacon of light in the darkness as families learn to live with their loss, and find hope - and laughter - again.

Child Bereavement UK’s transformational work simply wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of people like you here tonight.

So from the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for playing your part in the charity’s incredible success over the last quarter of a century.

And thank you in advance as you continue to support Child Bereavement UK’s vital work with bereaved families for many more years to come.

Thank you.

Royal Press-England

British rugby player Freddie Pring dies in Magaluf hotel fall

Pic-Freddie Pring was a keen rugby player for Minehead Barbarians/wp

Sports reporter(wp/bbc):::

A 20-year-old British man has been killed in a fall from a hotel balcony in Magaluf.

Freddie Pring, from Somerset, died after plunging from a balcony at a four-star beachfront hotel at the holiday resort in Majorca.

He was found on the ground and treated by the emergency services but died at the scene.

Spanish police have launched an investigation and the Foreign Office said it was assisting his family.

Mr Pring, a rugby player with Minehead Barbarians, was reportedly staying at the resort with friends who were asleep at the time of the fall.In a statement on its Facebook page, the rugby club said: "It is with deepest sadness that we have to inform you that one of our own, Freddie Pring, has been involved in an accident abroad and has passed away.

"There is no more information at this time so please don't ask. Please give the family space at this time.

"Our love and condolences reach out to everyone that knew Freddie."

Dozens of comments on Facebook paid tribute to Freddie, including from Laura Bagshaw who said she had "many memories of Freddie and his infectious smile as a student".

And Jake Sharland said: "A true competitor and great chap off the field. Awful news."

NASA to open International Space Station to tourists from 2020

Space reporter(wp/es):::

NASA will open the International Space Station to tourists from 2020. 

The US space agency said it would open the orbiting lab up to new commercial opportunities including space tourism from next year, it was announced today.

Up to two short-duration private astronaut missions per year to the space station will be available through privately funded, dedicated commercial spaceflights, the agency said.

The plans to commercialise the ISS were revealed on Friday in part to offset the costs of running the station.Private astronauts will be permitted to travel to the ISS for up to 30 days, the agency said.Such missions will use a US spacecraft developed under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. 

The move comes as NASA focuses on achieving its goal of landing the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. 

Humans have lived and worked aboard the ISS for more than 18 years, conducting thousands of experiments in areas including human research, biology and physical science.

Honours for street cleaner and judge

Pic-Judge John Hayman is the oldest recipient of an honour in the latest list/wp

Royal correspondent(wp/bbc):::

A 100-year-old judge and a street cleaner are among those recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Also among the 1,073 names are a police officer who worked in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack and a doctor working to stop another Harold Shipman-type scandal.

Fifteen foster carers who have looked after more than 1,000 children are being appointed MBEs.

The chief executive of the Stephen Lawrence Trust is being appointed OBE.

Dr Rajesh Patel, 58, who is appointed MBE, has been a GP in Hyde, Greater Manchester, for 25 years.

He identified flaws in the system which, had they been solved previously, may have uncovered Shipman's wrong-doing much earlier.

Now they have been resolved they should prevent future such scandals, his citation said.

Shipman, who died in 2004, killed at least 215 patients.At 100 years old, Judge John Hayman is the oldest recipient of an award and is getting the British Empire Medal (BME) for his work in Binsted and Alton, Hampshire, where he "continues to work with dedication and imagination to enhance village sports facilities".

Sonia Watson, the chief executive of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, is appointed OBE for her work helping disadvantaged people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds to pursue a career in architecture - the chosen career of the murdered teenager.

Simon Rowe, an officer at Wiltshire Council, is to become MBE for his "tireless working" to return Salisbury to normality after the Novichok poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in March 2018.Kathryn and Peter Shippey, from Sunderland, are also to become MBEs after they launched a campaign for the inclusion of autism-friendly rooms at sports stadiums which has been supported by Sunderland, Celtic and Chelsea as well as other clubs around the world.

Cornwall couple David and Elizabeth Carney-Haworth are appointed OBEs for their work with children affected by domestic abuse through their organisation Operation Encompass.

Golfer Georgia Hall, from Bournemouth has been appointed MBE following her win in the 2018 Women's British Open.BEMs are also being awarded to Thomas McArdle, a 61-year-old street cleaner from Liverpool, and PC Alison Suffield of Lancashire Police for her response to the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017.

Mr McArdle, who has been cleaning the streets since 2006, is getting his honour for services to Liverpool, where he is known for his "great sense of humour and positive outlook which brightens other people's day".

His citation said he was known in the Kensington and Old Swan areas for being "polite, courteous and hard-working" and regularly going above his duties, often picking up litter and cleaning graffiti in his spare time.PC Suffield, 45, is a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear tactical advisor and police search advisor with a "deep knowledge" of identifying victims of a disaster.

She went to the Manchester arena on 22 May after Salman Abedi detonated a bomb targeting those attending an Ariana Grande concert.The officer became the first manager at the scene responsible for gathering evidence, identifying victims and ensuring "the dignity of the deceased was protected" at a "distressing" and "structurally unsafe" scene.

She stayed for almost 24 hours to recover victims, so their bodies could be returned to families "in the shortest time possible".Also being awarded a BEM is Naseem Akthar, 51, from Birmingham, for her work in running culturally sensitive exercise groups for women in the city since 1998.

Events have included "Ramadan special" bike rides and classes aimed at women for whom mixed lessons are frowned upon.

Mrs Akthar said being awarded a BEM was "honourable and wonderful all at once".

Two women injured in UK homophobic attack "for refusing to kiss"

Pic-Melania Geymonat (right) and her date Chris were assaulted and robbed on a route N31 bus in Camden/wp

Crime reporter,London(wp/reuters):::

Two women were punched and robbed in what police on Friday called a disgusting homophobic assault on a London bus, after one of the victims said their attackers tried to force them to kiss each other.

The incident took place in the early hours of May 30 after the women, in their 20s, boarded a night bus in West Hampstead.

“As they sat on the top deck, they were approached by a group of four males who began to make lewd and homophobic comments to them,” a police statement said.

“The women were then attacked and punched several times before the males ran off the bus. A phone and bag were stolen during the assault.”

Both women were treated in hospital for facial injuries.

Four men aged 15 to 18 have been arrested, police said later, and they were looking for other suspects.Melania Geymonat, 28, told BBC radio the men began harassing them when they discovered she and her girlfriend Chris were a couple.

“They surrounded us and started saying really aggressive stuff, things about sexual positions, lesbians and claiming we could kiss so they could watch us,” she said.

“To ease the situation I tried to make some jokes, like Chris wasn’t understanding because she didn’t speak English. She even acted as if she was sick... but they started throwing coins. The next thing I know Chris is in the middle of the bus and they are punching her.

“So I immediately went there by impulse and tried to pull her out of there and they started punching me. I was really bleeding.”

Detective Superintendent Andy Cox said: “This was a disgusting attack on two women who appear to have been picked out and targeted by a group of youths.

“The suspects have made a number of homophobic comments towards the couple before throwing coins at them,” he added in a statement. “When the women tried to reason with the group, the attack escalated to an assault.”

Queen's Birthday Honours list 2019: Olivia Colman 'thrilled and humbled' to be made a CBE

Royal correspondent,London(wp/es):::Olivia Colman has said she is "totally thrilled" to be made a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, while stage actor Simon Russell Beale has been knighted. 

Archibald Boyd Tunnock, 86, who created the Tunnock's Teacake in 1956, said he is "deeply honoured" to be knighted, adding: "When you get to my age, very few things surprise you but this certainly did and I am deeply honoured and grateful to Her Majesty the Queen."

Colman, 45, who won the best actress Oscar for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite earlier this year and will play Queen Elizabeth II in the third series of The Crown, is honoured for services to drama under her real name Sarah Sinclair.

She said: “I'm totally thrilled, delighted and humbled to be in the company of these incredible people, most of whom have been nowhere near as visible as I have, but should be – and hopefully now will be.Beale, one of the most acclaimed stars of British theatre, is knighted for services to drama after a career spanning four decades.

He said: "It is a very great honour and I think my mother, were she alive, would be very proud."

The pair are among a group of more than 1,000 people to have been named on the honours list.Blue Planet and Planet Earth producer Alistair Fothergill and Andrew Harries, chief executive and co-founder of Left Bank Pictures - the production firm behind The Crown - both receive OBEs.

Richard Williams, boss of Northern Ireland Screen, which is best known for its involvement in the making of Game Of Thrones, is also made an OBE for services to the country's screen industries.

He said: "I am delighted to accept this award, which I see as a celebration of the tremendous value to Northern Ireland from the growth of the screen industries here and also recognition of the part that all my colleagues at Northern Ireland Screen have played in that success story."

There are CBEs for author Joanna Trollope and Jack Reacher novelist Lee Child, who said: "Someone read my books and enjoyed them enough to put my name forward for this great honour, which in itself is all a writer could ask for."Journalist and broadcaster Dan Snow, 40, becomes an MBE, while adventurer and television star Bear Grylls, 44, is made an OBE.

The chief Scout, who is recognised for services to young people, the media and charity, said: "This really is a huge honour and it's something, if I'm honest, that I never expected to happen.

"But I really do feel it's a team effort, this award is for every one of those incredible Scout volunteers."

Griff Rhys Jones, who became a household name in the 1980s with Not The Nine O'Clock News, receives an OBE for services to the National Civic Society Movement, charity and entertainment.Along with the famous names, the list also celebrates the efforts of those working to improve people's lives.

Nimco Ali and Dr Leyla Hussein, who have both dedicated their time to campaigning against female genital mutilation (FGM) after being subjected to the practice as children, are made OBEs.

Sonia Watson, the chief executive of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, is made an OBE for her work helping disadvantaged people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds to pursue a career in architecture - the chosen career of the murdered teenager.

Some 15 foster carers who have looked after more than 1,000 children between them are made MBEs, while seven Holocaust survivors receive British Empire Medals (BEMs).

Of the 1,073 people honoured across the UK in this year's list, 47 per cent are women - slightly down on some previous lists - while 10.4 per cent come from a BAME background - the highest ever, by a small margin, in the Queen's Birthday Honours, although the figure was 12 per cent in this year's New Year Honours list.The oldest recipient is John Haymen, 100, who receives a BEM for services to the community in Binsted and Alton, Hampshire.

The youngest person honoured is 17-year-old Richard Collins, who is also given a BEM for services to the community in Cookstown, County Tyrone.

Rachel Whiteread, the first woman to win the Turner Prize in 1993 with her life-sized concrete cast of a condemned terraced house, becomes a dame.

Opera director David Pountney said he is "delighted" to be knighted, and he thanked singers, musicians, composers, librettists and backstage staff.

The fields of science and medicine are well represented on the list, with Professor Mark Caulfield knighted for services to the 100,000 genomes project.

Laura Lee, chief executive of charity Maggie's, is made a dame for services to cancer patients, while Professor Kevin Fong, a television presenter and consultant anaesthetist at University College Hospital, is made an OBE.

Former Network Rail programme director Simon Blanchflower is made a CBE despite last year's controversy surrounding the same honour being awarded to the outgoing head of the organisation, Mark Carne, in the midst of rail disruption.

Andrew Parker, the head of MI5, is knighted for public service, and MI6 chief Alex Younger receives a knighthood for services to national security.

Sara Thornton, former chair of the National Police Chief's Council, said she was "delighted and humbled" to be made a dame, as she led the way in honours for services to policing.

Women's British Open winner Georgia Hall is made an MBE for services to golf, while former QPR manager Chris Ramsay is recognised with the same honour for services to football and diversity in sport.

May steps down as party chief, igniting leadership race

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::
British Prime Minister Theresa May stepped down as leader of the governing Conservatives on Friday, officially triggering a contest to replace her that could see her party embrace a tougher stance on Brexit.May announced she would step down last month after failing to deliver Britain’s departure from the European Union on time, deepening a political crisis in a divided country struggling to move on from a 2016 referendum on Brexit.

She will continue to work as prime minister until her party elects a new leader, a crowded race that will be defined by Brexit and competing approaches on how to deliver Britain’s biggest foreign policy shift in more than 40 years.

“For the remainder of her time in office, she will be building on the domestic agenda that she has put at the heart of her premiership,” her spokeswoman told reporters.

May exchanged letters with the leaders of the influential 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers, according to a statement from the committee.

May, once a reluctant supporter of EU membership who emerged from the chaos after the 2016 referendum as prime minister, steps down with her central pledge - to lead Britain out of the bloc and heal the country’s divisions - unfulfilled.Her team has been keen to shape her legacy beyond the Brexit failure, but she bequeaths to her successor a nation where traditional political divides are being eroded by strong beliefs on whether Britain should leave the EU, and how it should do so.

The contest to replace her has been heating up for weeks, with candidates arguing over the rights and wrongs of a so-called no-deal Brexit, or leaving the EU without a deal.

Official nominations will be received on Monday. The selection process should be completed by the end of July.

Former foreign minister Boris Johnson is the favourite to win. He champions a tougher stance on Brexit, saying Britain should leave with or without a deal by the new deadline of Oct. 31. He is seeking to persuade Conservatives that he is the only candidate who could win a new national election for the Conservative Party.

Other leading contenders include the current foreign minister, Jeremy Hunt, and environment minister Michael Gove, who take a less hardline stance on Brexit.

But Michel Barnier, the EU’s Brexit negotiator, said on Friday any new prime minister will still face the problem of what to do with the Irish border, in order to secure frictionless trade, after Britain leaves the bloc.