Andy Burnham’s christening as PM forces King Charles to change his sum | Royal | News

The King should be looking forward to winding down for the summer and heading north for his annual pilgrimage to Scotland for some well-deserved R&R. Last year, the King and Queen spent the end of July at Sandringham before travelling up to their beloved home, Birkhall, on the Balmoral Estate.

But for the time being, the King needs to stay near London, as on Monday he will need to fulfil his important constitutional role amid the change in Labour leadership. Sir Keir Starmer will need to formally tender his resignation during an audience with the Monarch.

Charles will then welcome Andy Burnham as his replacement and ask him to form a government in his name. The official process is known as ‘kissing hands’ and will be recorded in the court circular as such. It will mark the fourth time the King has had to preside over the ceremony, after Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir.

He’ll still have more work to do, as he will need to lead a Privy Council meeting to allow the new prime minister to swear or affirm an oath as First Lord of the Treasury and to welcome new ministers.

Charles had been looking forward to a few days of peace and quiet, especially after the recent Sussex show, before visiting the Sandringham Flower Show on Wednesday and then flying to Scotland for the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

In the packed OVO Hydro arena, the King will read the message he placed inside one of the batons when he launched the King’s baton relay at Buckingham Palace in March.

For the first time this year, the King’s baton relay is marked by 74 individual batons, representing each of the 74 participating Commonwealth nations and territories, rather than just one. All of the batons will reunite in Glasgow during the ceremony, which the chair of Glasgow 2026 has promised to be “something bold, unmistakably Glasgow and unlike anything the Commonwealth Games has produced before”.

Hugely popular legal drama Suits didn’t receive a single Emmy nomination during its eight-year run, which saw Meghan Markle star as paralegal Rachel Zane – so it’s perhaps a little baffling that her axed lifestyle series is in receipt of one.

She gushed on Instagram: “A huge congratulations to the amazing crew, producers, and team who worked on ‘With Love, Meghan’ on Netflix. We are nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Series!”

She is one of five nominees, alongside reality TV series The Motherhood and A Different Breed, a look inside the world of competitive canine sports. Now we’ve got to look forward to her returning to New York – the scene of the ‘near-catastrophic’ car chase by paparazzi photographers in May 2023 – for the awards night at the end of November.

I wonder if she’ll be supported by her husband, or whether she’ll be keen to ensure the spotlight is all about her. He rarely appeared in With Love, Meghan, after all.

If it were a normal couple, Harry would be there to share in her glory. But the Sussexes are far from normal.

England’s hopes of winning the World Cup 60 years after Sir Alf Ramsey guided the team to victory came to a disappointing end on Wednesday after Argentina scored two late goals to book themselves a place in Sunday’s final.

As with every football tournament, the nation rallied behind the Three Lions with endless chants of “It’s Coming Home” and several late nights staying up in the heatwave to cheer them on from afar.

But once again, we’re left feeling bitterly disappointed. And as the King neatly summed up on Thursday: “It’s a good day to drown a few sorrows.” (As for me, I’ll be quietly cheering on Spain this evening, after bagging them in the office sweepstake).

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be hoping to savour every minute of the school holidays this year, as come September, change will be coming to the Wales household. With young Prince George entering his teenage years on Wednesday, he is preparing to navigate a whole new chapter. He’s already nearly as tall as his mother, and appearing maturer every time he steps out with his parents in public.

But come September, he’ll be growing up even more, as he packs up his bags for Eton. It will make a huge shift for the family, as for the first time, the three siblings will not be attending the same school. William and Catherine have helped prepare all three of them for the change, with George already boarding at Lambrook several nights a week.

However, turning 13 is a huge milestone for anyone. And their baby boy won’t seem quite as small anymore. I’m sure George will be looking forward to this new chapter with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, but his parents will always be on hand to guide him through it – especially as they’re just a few miles down the road.

Talking of milestone birthdays… next Saturday I’ll be turning 30 so I’m understandably taking a bit of time off. However, I’m not heading to Disney (as I had initially planned) or jetting off to a beach, but to Glasgow for a working holiday.

I’ll be spending the next few weeks inside the Scottish Event Campus, covering the bowls and para bowls events.

It’s a gig I did for the Birmingham 2022 Games and it was an honour to be a part of, so I’m looking forward to getting involved in the action once again. Rebecca Russell will be holding the fort for me.