The Queen has given Prince William a new title amid the shockwaves caused by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's extraordinary Oprah Winfrey interview.
- The Queen has handed Prince William a new title amid the shockwaves from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell Oprah interview.
- Her Majesty has put grandson Prince William down for a new role and new responsibilities.
- In other royal news, Could Kate Middleton become Queen before Camilla Parker Bowles and will Camilla be Queen at all?
The Queen has appointed Prince William as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2021, Downing Street has confirmed.
The Duke of Cambridge, who is currently second in line to the throne in the list of royal succession, was previously given the role in 2020 but the cancellation of the General Assembly due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic meant he could not take it on.
The Duke, known as the Earl of Strathearn in Scotland, will make the opening and closing addresses at the Assembly and will report to the Queen on the proceedings. He will also attend the General Assembly in Edinburgh this May on behalf of his grandmother.
This latest role will see Prince William become the Sovereign's personal representative to the Annual General Assembly after it was approved by the Queen. Previous royals to have held the role included Princess Anne, in 2017, Prince Edward in 2014, and the Queen herself in 2002.
And Prince William's role was announced just two weeks after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's controversial interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey was aired.
The televised interview highlighted some serious allegations towards the royal family including 'racism' - after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed a member of the royal family had made a racist comment about their son Archie. Oprah later confirmed it was not the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh who had made the remark.
The Queen, who has just revealed the names of her two new puppies, is said to have been in 'constant crisis meetings' ever since and Buckingham Palace is set to consider appointing a diversity chief as it's claimed "more needs to be done" to address the issue, a royal source has said.
The proposals, which are said to have the "full support" of the royal family, aim to seek independent views to help assess and improve representation across the royal household.
Prince William personally addressed the claims when he confirmed his family are "very much NOT racist" and revealed that he had not yet spoken to Harry but intended to.
And reports last week claimed Gayle King, a friend of the Sussexes, told CBS how the talks between William and Harry had been "unproductive".
