Royal aid
WITH her warm embrace for a fellow cancer survivor, the Princess of Wales yesterday showed why the Royal Family is so dear to us.
After her own battle with the disease, Kate’s kindness towards 73-year-old Karen MacLean spoke volumes about her selflessness and compassion.
AFPPensioner Karen MacLean was given a hug by the Princess of Wales[/caption]
PAThe Royal Family arriving at church for the Christmas Day service[/caption]
The King, too, after his year of cancer treatment, used his Christmas address to give the nation a virtual hug, praising people for helping others in need.
“All of us go through some form of suffering at some stage in our life, be it mental or physical,” he said, having endured his fair share recently.
But his thoughts were for the remarkable D-Day generation, for humanitarian organisations responding to conflict and for those throughout the Commonwealth who care for others.
Charles thanked the doctors and nurses who have supported him and his family, and praised communities who came together to heal their towns after the summer riots. He is continually impressed, he said, by those who dedicate their lives to helping others.
And there are few better examples of that than himself, Princess Kate and their close family.
Island retreat
MAURITIUS’S claim to sovereignty of the Chagos Islands was always feeble, as was the United Nations’ ruling in their favour in 2019 — voted for by China, Russia, North Korea and Belarus, of course.
So Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to give them away as one of his first big foreign policy priorities never made sense, particularly with the security threat posed by Mauritius’s friend China to the strategically vital US airbase on Diego Garcia.
Predictably, new Mauritian leader Navinchandra Ramgoolam is stalling on the deal, demanding more millions from British taxpayers for the lease of Diego Garcia — even though we are already gifting the island to them.
He perhaps senses Starmer’s rush to complete the surrender deal before Donald Trump becomes US President again and can veto it.
What an unnecessary mess, not to mention a gift to China and a slap in the face for our closest ally.
Vlad tidings
RUSSIA’S Christmas Day missile blitz on Ukraine is a savage reminder that evil does not take time off for a day of peace.
It should also focus attention on Britain’s own defence which, for a decade, has seen under-investment while Russia, Iran and China have all hugely increased rearmament.
The Government must spell out urgently how defence spending will be raised above 2.5 per cent of GDP, and how the current rapid decline in Armed Forces numbers will be reversed.
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