daniela at buckingham palace. today's decision is a landmark for the royal family — and the duke and duchess. our royal correpsondent sarah campbell looks back at the couple's story so far. they met just they metjust over a year earlier and these are the first pictures in september 2017 which showed the relationship was serious. meghan lived and worked in toronto canada, the host of harry's invictus games. the announcement what this might mean for your life was blue i think i can barely safely say, having gone through learning in the past year and a half, i did not have any understanding of what it would be like. even though we knew that it would be... i tried to warn you as much as, but both of us were totally surprised by the reaction after the first five or six months of what actually happened from there. four days later, the couple carried out their first engagement together in nottingham. just like harry, she was formal and confident. this seemed a different kind of royal walkabout. when meghan joined harry

they moved their staff from kensington palace to buckingham palace. injune, it was revealed the sussexes would leave the royal foundation, setting up their own instead. the split led to rumours of a rift between harry and william. towards the end of their high—profile tour of southern africa, it was clear the couple were struggling with the glare of the royal spotlight. can you deal with it? can you manage it? can you continue with it? and what happens if you can't? you know, i've said for a long time to h... that's what i call him. yeah. that it's not enough to just survive something, right? like, that's not the point of life. you've got to thrive. you've got to feel happy. the clues were there. despite outward appearances, this was a couple deeply unhappy with their royal role, and determined to make a change. after the intense discussions of recent days, this new way of working will be something quite different for harry and meghan and for the wider royalfamily. making a success of it will be a test for all those involved. daniela relph, bbc news

the second part of it is a statement from buckingham palace. it reads... and thatis that is how it ends. nicholas witchell is here, our royal correspondent. strange way of expressing the intention as we have understood it to repay the cost of refurbishing the cottage. the duke and duchess of sussex have shared their wish to repay sovereign grand expenditure. that does not say they are going to. they've said they would like to do so. one must assume that that is a wish which will actually be translated into reality, because that 2.4 million or slightly more was what was spent out of the public purse to refurbish frog more —— the cottage to become their home last year. that is one small loose and, which perhaps will deserve further scrutiny. i just picking and, which perhaps will deserve further scrutiny. ijust picking up on what duncan was saying, i think there is going to be significant more pressure now on the can —— on the cambridge, and one must feel that prince william will feel rather sad, that his brother will not share the load with him. the

our royal correspondent sarah campbell is at buckingham palace now. there may not be too many more of this type of appearance from prince harry. indeed, and no disrespect meant to be rugby football league, but i don't think lines of royal correspondence have lined up to watch that drawer before, and that is when things weren't normal, prince harry in the garden of buckingham palace, doing what he has done so many times before, as a member of the royal family, to shine a spotlight on a cause or event, this time the rugby world cup, and also an accompanying mental health charter to go along with it. but he and meghan have made clear this is not the future they see for themselves, so watching him, there are many questions to ask, which is, will this be the last time, at least for a while, that we will see him at an engagement such as this? will he wa nt to an engagement such as this? will he want to remain patron of organisations such as this? and if so, how will he do that if he is spending considerable time on another continent? as per the queen's requ

thank you, sarah campbell at buckingham palace. around 12:30pm we will speak to robert hardman, author of queen of the world and vice countess hinchcliffe, an american who has made a life for herself in britain. a&e units in england have experienced their worst month since modern targets were introduced in 2004. the target is 95% butjust 79.8% of patients were seen in four hours. it is the third month in a row performance has sunk to a new record low. our health editor hugh pym has been giving me more details about the figures. it is the lowest ever figure since records began in terms of the number of patients being treated or assessed within four hours in the a&e units in england. that is the key benchmark, for the first time, below 80%, 79.8% in december, down from 81.5% the month before. yes, it has been very busy in hospitals. yes, the argument‘s being made by nhs england, they are seeing more patients, more patients come through the doors, they do get treated, but the percentage within the four hour benchmark has fallen agai

sarah campbell at buckingham palace. the couple have said they intend to become financially indpendent and have outlined where their funding has come from until now. the sovereign grant covers just five percent of costs for the duke and duchess, 95% of the funding comes from income allocated by hrh the prince of wales, generated through the duchy of cornwall. dan wootton broke the news of harry and meghan spending more time in canada yestersay on the front page of the sun. he joins us live on the line now. a big scoop for you. congratulations, and with this statement absolutely bearing out what you are writing about yesterday, what is your take on how the couple are going to make this plan of theirs work? well, it's going to be a lot more difficult for them now, because of the fact that they did rush the statement out when we broke the story yesterday in the sun. the plan was for there to be many weeks of discussion with the queen, prince charles, senior members of the royal family. but harry and meghan like to own their

buckingham palace has announced prince harry and his wife meghan will no longer receive public funds, and will pay back taxpayers‘ money spent on renovating their home in windsor. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, has the story. it is a clean break which allows harry and meghan to seek a new life. they have been freed from royal duties and they are free to earn their own living with, it would seem, very few restrictions. the styling of his and her royal highness hasn't been taken away from them. they simply won't use it. harry remains a prince, sixth in line to the british throne and the duke and duchess of sussex. and although they will no longer formally represent the queen, they leave with her blessing. in a statement, she said: she added: here are the essential details of that new life. they will step back from royal duties. that includes harry's military appointments. they will no longer receive public funds but they will receive money from the prince of wales. and they have shared their wish to repay the public funds used to refurbish frogmore cottage in windsor. one

it was held at buckingham palace by prince harry thenit buckingham palace by prince harry then it was live streamed on these screens behind me here in manchester. but the tournament itself, next year, well, that'll make history well, for the very first time the men's, women's, and wilshere competitions will all run alongside each other at the very same time. now, the minstrel was made first and host england were in pouille. they were drawn against france, newcomers for the very first time, greece, and samoa. now that will be the first match of the tournament at st james's park. 16 teams as well in the tournament for the very first time, while champions australia, they were drawn in the same pool as fiji, semifinalist of the last three tournaments. so an interesting draw for them as well. in the finals of all three tournaments, they will be held on the very same weekend in november. prize money, interestingly, as well, is the same across all three tournaments, the men's, women's, and there will chose. and you can see there will chose. and you can see the draw in full on the bbc website

buckingham palace says there are complicated issues to work through. our royal correspondent sarah campbell joins us now from the palace. sarah. prince harry and meghan were unhappy and that was obvious, they said as much in interviews, but what was genuinely surprising is the way they have gone about making their intentions public, the fact they didn't feel the need to inform the queen, the prince of wales or prince williams before publishing their statement yesterday evening. we understand that has caused disappointment and hurt. on tuesday, harry and meghan arrived at canada house. it was their first engagement after a much—needed six—week break spent with their son archie away from the media glare. at the time it was assumed this hailed their return to work as high—profile members of the royal family. that assumption couldn't have been more wrong, as their statement, released yesterday evening, revealed. it's not yet clear what that progressive new role might mean for the couple and their position within the palace hierarchy. i see them now,

nicholas witchell, bbc news, at buckingham palace. let's speak to our correspondent sophie long, who's on vancouver island, and that's where it's assumed he is heading. yes, one can only imagine the mixed emotions that harry must be feeling as he makes hisjourney across emotions that harry must be feeling as he makes his journey across the atlantic. he has been very clear, this is not the result the couple wa nted this is not the result the couple wanted and what a huge leap of faith they are taking. meghan has been seen on vancouver they are taking. meghan has been seen on vancouver ireland and on the main lines carrying visits to women's charities, looking relaxed. but this has been a turbulent time for the couple. it does seem they will be reunited along with their young son, archie. there are many questions about how their life a lot here, how they will live and who will pay the security costs. but i think when they wake up tomorrow morning it will be a momentous day for the couple, a real sense it will be the first day of the res

we know that from buckingham palace. they came back to present their plan to the royal family of what they wanted to do which was to smut their time between canada and the uk. but they left archie, their baby in canada. they clearly had no intention of staying here more than a few days. note mother or father do that. they clearly had intention of sticking around. they've had to, some people are saying, they've had the big wedding and had this renovation of frogmore cottage across millions of pounds. how will they finance themselves, what will they still received from the british taxpayer, how will the security detail be provided? and how will the security detail be provided ? and people how will the security detail be provided? and people have very strong views one way or another on what should happen. it's all got to be worked out. and people will not be worked out. and people will not be satisfied by the answers to those questions regardless of what those answers are. that's the nature of a healthy and democratic count

in a statement from buckingham palace, she said:. she went on:. she added:. the details of how their new life will work are comparatively sparse. it is clear many of them have still to be worked out. the details of how their new life will work are comparatively sparse. it is clear many of them have still to be worked out. but here are the essentials. under the new arrangement, they are required to step back from royal duties, including official military appointments. so harry will have to give up his role as captain general of the royal marines, a role he took over from his grandfather. they will no longer receive public funds for royal duties. they will still receive some funds from harry's father, the prince of wales, but they will be free to earn their own livings and there are no restrictions set out in the statement other than the need to continue to uphold the values of her majesty. it's as vague as that. they will keep frogmore cottage in windsor and they have shared their wish to repay sovereign grant expenditure for its refurbishment. they will pay a

sarah cambell outside buckingham palace, thank you very much. the number of people cautioned or convicted for carrying knives in england and wales has reached record levels. in the 12 months to the end of september last year, 14,135 offences of knife possession were dealt with by police at the courts. that's the highest number since the figures were first compiled in 2009. overall, the number of knife and other weapons possession offences hit 22,286. our home affairs correspondent danny shawjoins me now. tell us a little bit more about these figures and why they are so high. these figures are for england and wales and they apply to people who are caught in possession of an offensive weapon or a knife, so this does not include cases where someone is attacked with a knife for insta nce is attacked with a knife for instance or is attacked with a knife for instance 01’ cases is attacked with a knife for instance or cases of murder involving knives. so it is possession offences and these are people who are dealt with by police and the courts for th

the statement ends there but then the statement is also from buckingham palace, and it reads... let's speak to the former buckingham palace press secretary and spokesman for the queen, dickie arbiter. we are also speaking to robertjobson who is the royal editor of the evening standard newspaper. welcome to you both. dickie, first, you've had a chance to look at these statements, what is your first thought? it is all very sad. it was all very sad that they made this decision last wednesday. i suppose this is the best they could get out of it. the queen is very pragmatic and realises that harry and meghan have made a decision, they want to step back from front line royal duties, and the queen has tried to accommodate them. and as such, they have stepped back, they are not using their hrh titles, although as far as america is concerned they will probably use it, if you go back yea rs will probably use it, if you go back years ago at the time that the duke of windsor visited the us he always referred to the duchess of windsor, she didn't have the hrh, but he used to refer to her as

i don't think buckingham palace will like that very much. did think you can be a semi detached from the royalfamily? half and half out as they are seen to be proposing? i don't think you can in the present arrangement. if they want to do this if they want to step back, i think they will have to step back, i think they will have to step out totally. if they really wa nt to step out totally. if they really want to earn a private income. whether or not there is an argument in the long time, there should be a more flexible monarchy which allow somejunior girls to more flexible monarchy which allow some junior girls to earn an income, that might be the case. maybe the present system is to the agenda. which apply to george v, mary present clean, it's not applicable to the younger generation. to do it the way they are doing that, without any coordination with the palace, just enough —— announcing one day i'm going to do it my way. that's not going to work. what you think a dealer that announcements the lack of consultation, with a clean or anyo

palace that there was disappointment. and this is something they don't ever say! you might read it in theirfacial expressions. 's appointment is the equivalent of someone swearing immensely, you never hear that sort of words. i have been on many royal tours with a palace really controlled media and what they say, so controlled media and what they say, so incredibly tightly, and to allow this sort of emotion to go out there. one of the thought they had about this, obviously there are so many things to say and everybody is chatting about this intent please in various different quarters as this was the thing stopping the media is very tightly controlled by the palace and if they come out of that sort of umbrella, are they going to receive more scrutiny? will it be worse for them? people are going to continue scrutinising them and if they are regarded as not protected in some royal bubble then i think will continue. especially the intriguing things, they say they wa nt to intriguing things, they say they want to earn their ow

yes, nothing from buckingham palace, they we re nothing from buckingham palace, they were referring us to prince andrew's lawyers and nothing from them yet, even though this statement was made in new york yesterday afternoon. so, we don't know for example if there has been some misunderstanding, if prince andrew will make a statement to the fbi at some stage, or whether, as the americans seem to suggest, if they flout no, we can't help. you could say at the moment from prince andrew's lawyers, there has been zero cooperation with the british media. i think it's interesting that statement was made by the american prosecutor outside those very distinctive, big, wooden doors ofjeffrey those very distinctive, big, wooden doors of jeffrey epstein's those very distinctive, big, wooden doors ofjeffrey epstein's mansion. those same wooden doors we saw prince andrew peeking out of, saying goodbye to an unidentified woman in 2010 that was when he went to new york and he said it was a matter of honour, he had to tell his old friend their relationship was over. at that time epstein was convicted a

he was at buckingham palace. in the palace gardens, he'd been in his element — talking to young people about sport, rugby to be precise, and those who were with harry said he was relaxed, authentic and engaged. but you didn't need to be told that, you could see it in his face and his actions. reporter: harry, how are talks going about the future? reporters tried to ask questions about his future. unsurprisingly they were ignored. the occasion was the draw for the 2021 rugby league world cup to be staged in england. harry was being harry. wonderful! well done. the old harry as someone said. he was there as patron of the rugby league, that is one of those things that the royals do, and something harry has done is highlight mental illness in sport — it's a cause which matters to him. the perception of rugby league is that you need to be tough, you can't show your feelings and you have to grin and bear it. but something like the mental fitness charter will help us make real progress in getting rid of the stigma a

i would be interested in your insight as a former buckingham palace press officer. if they had come to you and asked you to make this statement on their behalf, what kind of advice would you have given them or what kind of conversations might have taken place? that is a very difficult one. firstly, i would taken place? that is a very difficult one. firstly, iwould have asked, are you absolutely sure, have you thought this through, how is it going to work? what back—up do you want? what back—up is required? what staff argue going to employ? are you going to have staff continue to work at buckingham palace while you are living in a different country? there are so many questions and i don't think they have got the answers to those at the moment. would you just stay on that guy? ijust those at the moment. would you just stay on that guy? i just want to refresh people's memories on what the statement contains or indeed read it to people who are just tuning in here on the bbc. it is a personal message that has been issued from the duke and duchess in which they say,"

buckingham palace orders its staff to find a way to make harry and meghan‘s go—it—alone plan work. coming up here in south—east australia people are bracing themselves for imminent evacuation orders as bushfires threaten several towns. coming up on sportsday at half past six... great britain lose in the last eight of the atp cup in sydney despite having four match points to beat australia in the deciding doubles tie. the high street may have been dreaming of a bumper christmas but sales figures today confirm that's not the way it turned out. 0verall sales were down nearly 1% in the run up to christmas compared to last year, with food sales flat. it's capped what's become the worst year for retail sales since records began, as emma simpson reports. christmas, feels like a long time ago now. the spectacle is over. it's all been a bit subdued for retail. tesco, our biggest grocer. christmas delivered sales growth of 0.1%. that cou nts delivered sales growth of 0.1%. that counts as a success delivered sales growth of 0.1%. that counts 3s a success in delivered sales growth of 0.1%. t

theyjoin us from buckingham palace. david, your reaction to this deal thatis david, your reaction to this deal that is been struck. you'll think it was inevitable stop this idea of having higher morals and one foot in the commercial can when fitting the royal campjust the commercial can when fitting the royal camp just wasn't going to work so there was no other solution that you have a green break like this. victoria, your view? i think it is clear over the discussions in the last ten days that harry and meghan have held onto the freedom and to thomas late operate their foundation in the way. they were hoping for a half in and half out option with a good still carry out some duties but it has become clear that will not work. no one else believe that is the sustainable long—term option. harry will not have military appointments and they will not have appointments and they will not have a rules and they will not do their duties for the thing that stuck is the freedom. david, iwondered duties for the thing that stuck is

sarah campbell is a buckingham palace for us this morning. a lot to digester here from that statement, in amongst it their suggestion now that other members of the royalfamily, suggestion now that other members of the royal family, including suggestion now that other members of the royalfamily, including the queen, were not consulted in advance of them making the announcement? that does appear to be the suggestion. our understanding is that the royal family were aware around a week ago of the duke and duchess of sussex plans to go it alone but that those discussions we re alone but that those discussions were at a very early stage, with details to be worked out but clearly it would appear, from the statement that was released by the duke and duchess of sussex yesterday, that they saw it differently. it is the announcement and the way it was made which appears to have caused shock waves. as you say, among senior royals, which we have to take to be the queen and prince charles, reported to be disappointed and hurt. how much of a surprise was th

buckingham palace has announced the new arrangements for prince harry and his wife meghan, saying they'll no longer be working members of the royalfamily — and will no longer use their titles of ‘royal highness‘. harry and meghan will step back from royal duties, but will continue to be patrons of charities they've chosen to support. this report from nicholas witchell contains some flashing images. the deal has been done. they are walking away from the british monarchy. they will earn their own living and they will spend most of their time in north america. a man who was born to be royal will no longer style himself as his royal highness. she will not call herself her royal highness. that hrh styling applies to full—time, working members of the british royal family which, come the spring, harry and meghan will no longer be. they are going with the best wishes of the queen. in a statement from buckingham palace, she said: she went on: she added: the details of how their new life will work are comparatively sparse. it's clear many of them have still to be worked out. but here are th

daniela relph, bbc news, buckingham palace. our royal correspondent, jonny dymond, says the couple's move to north america is a loss to the royal family's appeal. when we're talking about clean breaks and all of that, harry and meghan were and remain stars and they managed to reach the bits of the population here in the uk and around the world that other royals didn't. in particular, they got through to younger people, they got through to a social media generation, they got through to people from ethnic minorities. it is a loss to the royal family, as well as perhaps a sense that, 0k, we've dealt with this now and we can move on. it is a real loss to their star power and their brand and their ability to reinvent and refresh themselves. let's speak now to the royal historian, anna whitelock, who joins us from cambridge. really good to be with us, so what looked initially like it was going to bea looked initially like it was going to be a stepping back in is to have become much more are taking a break? yes, absolutely. people hav

our royal correspondent, daniella relph, is at buckingham palace. it has to be noted that the tone of this is very personal. yes, the message from the queen, the statement from the queen following her statement on monday that the family's meeting, the tone, the wording, the moon of it —— mood. she really spoke, i think, as a worried grandmother trying to fix a family problem rather than as a monarch. as she talked about harry, megan and archie being very well loved in the way they are fitted into the royal family, hoping that these changes in the plan going forward will allow them now to lead a happy and peaceful life. it gained a sense of regret from the queen, they are going to be stepping back. then not going to be stepping back. then not going the working royals any more, but she is a pragmatist and she knows there's a solution to be found here and that they can both be happy. a transitional period where they will live here and north america, what about reviewing how well it is working? we are told they're going to be spending most of their

we know the draw took place at buckingham palace this afternoon and the men's draw went first. let's concentrate on group a. hosts england, who were beaten finalists last time out, were drawn in group a with newboys greece, france and then samoa who they'll face in the first game in newcastle at st james‘s park. now winger tommy makinson should be part of that squad and he told me that a day like todayjust shows how far the sport has come... a far the sport has come... day and a whole it's beer surreal. a day and a whole it's been a bit surreal. if he asked me if years ago will we will be watching a live broadcast from the buckingham palace, it is been a mental. really enjoyed it and i think the draw is really good. a great group for england. so many tough teams in there but that is what we need. hopefully we can win this one. so that was group a, now for a look at the men's draw infull... reigning champions australia were drawn with scotland, fiji and italy. while the world number one side new zealand were with lebanon, newboys jamaica and ireland. and then a really interest

we know the draw took place at buckingham palace this afternoon and the men's draw went first. let's concentrate on group

iam not sure buckingham palace. iam not sure buckingham palace. iam not sure buckingham palace could stop that. she says, prince harry, adored by the world, just as his mother was, quitting because of the media. daryl says, they need stripping off their titles if they are going to america. after all, us citizens do not use such titles are no uk taxpayers' money should be paid to them if they are living there. another says, i don't blame them, clear he adores her and doesn't want to see her unhappy, easy for us to think she has no right to be unhappy given how wealthy status, but that is not a lwa ys wealthy status, but that is not always enough. it is their life and they must live it in their own way. we watched the clip from the interview with my colleague, mishal husain, when they had got engaged, harry was talking about how brilliant meghan would be in this role. hugo, why did it not work out like harry expected it to?” role. hugo, why did it not work out like harry expected it to? i don't think we know the answer to that question. i think it

we have had a terrific day here at buckingham palace. we are staging the biggest rugby world cup ever. today has just amplified everything that we are doing. amplified obviously by the story surrounding prince harry, but that has the door of a senior member of the royal family, that has the door of a senior member of the royalfamily, isn't it? that is why you enjoy the patronage, if you like. absolutely. prince harry last year presented the challenge cup trophy at wembley stadium. he has a deep passion across both rugby league and rugby union and has a passion for sport and the transformational impact it can have on peoples lives. are you going to miss him? digit has been very clear in his media statement that he would like to continue his patronage and we will see the —— the duke. he was very clear that he would like to continue with ourjourney towards the tournament. just looking at pictures of him earlier with some of the youngsters involved in this and he isa the youngsters involved in this and he is a natural, isn't he? absolute

think of the millions of visitors to buckingham palace each year. every single day, in the rain, changing of the guard. and madame tussauds, which is where a lot of people go to get their pictures taken with the waxworks... is no there they are. that was before. well, was it? were not sure, we are not sure whether they are taking a big step forward or back there. the queen is smiling so i reckon this is before. megan mag doesn't look too happy, does she? madame tussauds not taken long to get on the bandwagon and say they will not be part of the royal set any more. there are some big questions from a marketing strategic point of view with regards to the financial independence. could this royal couple step back and still be great ambassadors for great britain? enhance the role monarchy brand, but also create a brand of their own, because the likes of harry and megan are registered trademarks already. part of that was a defensive move to prevent other people from copyright problems and that sort of thing. but now that they are looking at an independent

he was at buckingham palace. in the palace gardens, he'd been in his element — talking to young people about sport, rugby to be precise, and those who were with harry said he was relaxed, authentic and engaged. but you didn't need to be told that, you could see it in his face and his actions. reporter: harry, how are talks going about the future? reporters tried to ask questions about his future. unsurprisingly they were ignored. the occasion was the draw for the 2021 rugby league world cup to be staged in england. harry was being harry. wonderful! well done. the old harry as someone said. he was there as patron of the rugby league, that is one of those things that the royals do, and something harry has done is highlight mental illness in sport — it's a cause which matters to him. the perception of rugby league is that you need to be tough, you can't show your feelings and you have to grin and bear it. but something like the mental fitness charter will help us make real progress in getting rid of the stigma a

this is bbc news, the headlines: buckingham palace announces details of prince harry and meghan's new status, as they step back from being senior royals. the couple will stop using their royal highness titles and will receive no public funds for royal duties. lawyers for president trump issue their first formal response to his impeachment saying it is an attack on the american people. a six page letter describes the charges as unconstitutional and a brazen attempt by his rivals to interfere in the upcoming presidential election. the lebanese capital beirut has seen its worst violence since anti—government protests began three months ago. the red cross says more than 200 people have been injured. rain and thunderstorms have hit parts of australia's east coast, putting out some long—burning bushfires, but bringing a new threat of flooding to some areas. there have been heavy downpours in queensland, victoria and new south wales. businesses are warning of price rises, after the chancellor sajid javid said the uk would not align with eu regulations after brexit. in an interview with t

palace isn‘t issuing state m e nts that buckingham palace isn‘t issuing statements on his behalf. prince andrew of course denies sleeping with virginia roberts to frey. she said she was trafficked to him in london in 2001. prince andrew also said he didn‘t see anything suspicious when he was staying at the home of jeffrey suspicious when he was staying at the home ofjeffrey epstein, and according to this source, he is very happy to talk to the fbi despite what the prosecutor says in new york —— giufre. the foreign office has updated its travel advice for mainland china, saying people should not travel there unless absolutely necessary because of the coronavirus. hundreds of foreign nationals have been evacuated from the city at the heart of the outbreak. the total number of cases has jumped to almost to 6,000. rich preston reports. as the first japanese nationals returned home to tokyo from wuhan, the foreign office in london said it was working urgently on similar evacuation plans. there are believed to be about 300 uk nationals in hubei province with about 200 wanting to r

he was at buckingham palace. in the palace gardens he had been in his element, talking to young people about sport, rugby to be precise, and those who were with harry said he was relaxed, authentic and engaged. but you didn't need to be told that, you could see it in his face his actions. face and his actions. harry, how are talks going about the future? reporters tried to ask questions about his future. unsurprisingly they were ignored. the occasion was the draw for the 2021 rugby league world cup to be staged in england. harry was being harry. well done. the old harry as someone said. he was there as patron of the rugby league, that is one of those things that the royals do. and something harry has done is highlight mental illness in sport. it's a cause which matters to him. the perception of rugby league is that you need to be tough, you can't show your feelings and you have to grin and bear it. but something like the mental fitness charter will help us make real progress in getting rid of the stigma associate

the bbc understands buckingham palace is disappointed — that's unusual. in their statements, the sussexes said, after many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role quite what a progressive new role means is unclear, though the statement says they plan to balance their time between the united kingdom and north america. the signs that the couple were unhappy with their royal life have been apparent for some months, notably during and since their tour of southern africa, when both of them gave interviews. harry conceded that he and his brother, william, were not as close as before. inevitably, you know, stuff happens, but we're brothers, we'll always be brothers, and we're certainly on different paths at the moment, but i will always be there for him, as i know he will always be there for me. underpinning so much of it is what the couple see as the unfair treatment of them by the tabloid media. my british friend said to me, "i'm sure he's great, but you should

the bbc understands buckingham palace is disappointed — that's unusual. in their statements, the sussexes said, quite what a progressive new role means is unclear, though the statement says they plan to balance their time between the united kingdom and north america. the signs that the couple were unhappy with their royal life have been apparent for some months, notably, during and since their tour of southern africa, when both of them gave interviews. harry conceded that he and his brother, william, were not as close as before. inevitably, you know, stuff happens, but we're brothers, we'll always be brothers, and we're in different paths at the moment, but i will always be there for him, and as i know he will always be there for me. underpinning so much of it is what the couple see as the unfair treatment of them by the tabloid media. my british friend said to me, i'm sure he's great, but you shouldn't do it, because the british tabloids will destroy your life, and i very naively, i'm american, we don't have that there, what are you talking about? just 2

before we go, let's take a look at a new photograph just sent out by buckingham palace. this is only the second ever official portrait of the queen alongside the next three heirs to the throne — the prince of wales, the duke of cambridge and prince george. it's been released to mark the start of a new decade and was taken in the week before christmas in the throne room at buckingham palace. that is just about all we have time forfor that is just about all we have time for for now. do stay tuned right here on bbc news. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @sipusey. thank you for watching. do stay tuned. hello there. despite some early morning rain on friday in the south—east and gale—force gusts of winds in the northern isles, for many, it was a better day. more sunshine around than we've seen so far this year. and we can see this from the weather watch picture sent in from cambridgeshire. a beautiful afternoon with not a cloud in the sky. so let's take a look at friday's weather in a little more detailfirst. there was the early morning cloud that eased away. clear s

he was at buckingham palace. in the palace gardens, he has been in his element, talking to young people about sport, by, talking to young people about sport, rugby, to be precise. and those who we re rugby, to be precise. and those who were with harry said he was relaxed, authentic and engaged. but you didn't need to be told that, you could see it in his face and actions. reporters tried to ask questions about his future. unsurprisingly, they were ignored. the occasion was the draw for the 2021 rugby league world cup, to be staged in england. harry was being harry. well done! the old harry, someone said. he was there as patron of the rugby league. that's one of those things that the royals do. and something harry has done is highlight mental illness in sport. it's a cause which matters to him. the perception of rugby league is that you need to be tough. you can't show your feelings. you have to grin and bear it. but something like the mental fitness charter will help us make real progress in getting rid of the st

the bbc understands buckingham palace is disappointed — that's unusual. in their statement, the sussexes said: cheering quite what a progressive new role means is unclear, though the statement says they plan to balance their time between the united kingdom and north america. cheering the signs that the couple were unhappy with their royal life have been apparent for some months, notably during and since their tour of southern africa, when both of them gave interviews. harry conceded that he and his brother, william, were not as close as before. just 20 months ago at their wedding in windsor, it had all seemed to offer such promise. a young prince and his american bride, harry and megan were a couple who, it was said, and as they demonstrated, could bring something fresh to the british royal family and reach sections of the population, which were otherwise largely indifferent to the royals. but, now, some at least of those hopes have been dashed. i think this is the most extraordinary news, but it's also very sad. i mean, harry and meghan are very much lov

the bbc understands buckingham palace is disappointed — that's unusual. in their statement, the sussexes said: cheering quite what a progressive new role means is unclear, though the statement says they plan to balance their time between the united kingdom and north america. cheering the signs that the couple were unhappy with their royal life have been apparent for some months, notably during and since their tour of southern africa, when both of them gave interviews. harry conceded that he and his brother, william, were not as close as before. just 20 months ago at their wedding in windsor, it had all seemed to offer such promise. a young prince and his american bride, harry and megan were a couple who, it was said, and as they demonstrated, could bring something fresh to the british royal family and reach sections of the population, which were otherwise largely indifferent to the royals. but now, some at least of those hopes have been dashed. i think this is the most extraordinary news, but it's also very sad. i mean, harry and meghan are very much love