Being a member of the royal family means sharing some private
details of your life, like it or not. And sometimes that even means allowing
cameras inside your private residence.
People love seeing how the royal family lives and that includes
catching glimpses into the rooms where they eat, sleep, and play. The Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge are raising their family inside the walls of Kensington
Palace, which isn’t a single family home but is rather a collection of sprawling
apartments where royal family members live. Prince William and Kate
Middleton’s is the grandest one of all.
Kensington Palace | Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
So what exactly does Kensington
Palace look like, and is there any way to visit? Read on to find out.
Kensington Palace has a rich history
The Cambridge family home has a storied history and is arguably the second most revered royal residence (falling just behind Buckingham Palace, which is situated about 2 miles away). It began as the birthplace of Queen Victoria and over the decades has hosted weddings, births, and a rotating cast of famous tenants. Currently, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank live there along with Prince William and family and plenty of other royals.
Kensington Palace | DeAgostini/Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also began their marriage living in
a cottage on the property, though they’ve since moved away to Frogmore Cottage
for more privacy and space.
The apartments are bigger than you think
The word “apartment” often conjures visions of cramped rooms and galley style kitchens. But in the case of Kensington Palace, that image couldn’t be further from the truth.
Apartment 1A, which the Cambridges call home, is an expansive 20 room residence with plenty of room for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s whole family. It also has a stunning view of Hyde Park.
We haven’t been granted the privilege of seeing private bedrooms,
but there were a few photos snapped in the drawing room that give major clues
about the overall aesthetic.
Prince William and Kate Middleton have traditional taste
Based on these snapshots, it’s easy to envision the Will and Kate’s
design taste. It’s no surprise that this couple favors traditional furnishings
in shades of cream with some spots of bold print in the accessories, like the
fun floral throw pillows. The whole room is inviting and cozy yet subtly
formal, with a look that achieves that balance between regality and comfort. It
perfectly suits the couple themselves.
And don’t forget the little ones! The sitting room isn’t entirely
formal as it’s home to an antique-style rocking horse just like the one young Prince
William rode when he was a small boy.
Kensington Palace | Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images
Can the public visit Kensington Palace?
Remember, Kensington Palace is more than just one
residence and as such certain portions are open to the public. You won’t be
able to rifle through Prince William’s cutlery drawer, but you can
check out the State Rooms, displays, and the impressive gardens on Palace
grounds. There are also revolving exhibitions to see throughout the year.
The royal family relies on tourism as part of
their income which is why Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace welcome visitors
with open arms.
A spokesman for the Paris prosecutor's office told CNN that an investigation has been opened into the cause of Zdar's death.
The musician was one half of the group Cassius, and died at the age of 50, reports CNN affiliate BFMTV.
"He accidentally fell through the window of a top floor of a Parisian building," Zdar's agent Sebastian Farran told the AFP news agency.
Zdar's ex-wife and mother of his daughter published a black screen on Instagram without comment.
Rapper Oxmo Puccino, a former collaborator, wrote an Instagram post with the following message: "The pain is immense. I fell knocked out while standing. All of my thoughts are with you."
Cassius, which consisted of Zdar and Hubert Blanc-Francard, who is also known as Boom Bass, was formed in 1989 and became a key name in the Paris electronic music scene known as French Touch.
The musical duo is perhaps best known for breakout single "Cassius 1999," which became a chart hit on release in January 1999.
Cassius' latest album "Dreems" is set to be released Friday, and Zdar also worked with UK group Hot Chip on their new album "A Bath Full of Ecstasy," which will be released the same day.
Zdar also produced records for French hip hop artist MC Solaar, Australian band Cut Copy and UK group Franz Ferdinand.
News of his death saw a number of fellow artists paying tribute to Zdar and his work.
"Awful news about Phillipe Zdar, what an unbelievably lovely man with an incredible legacy," tweeted DJ Calvin Harris, adding that he was "mesmerized" by the record "Cassius 1999" when he was 15.
"A true original and a unique talent who was involved in making our first album, as well as so many amazing records," tweeted Cut Copy. "Your energy and generosity will be sorely missed."
US DJ The Black Madonna also tweeted condolences, describing Zdar as "a visionary and tectonic force who shaped the geography of modern dance music."
CNN's Celia Heudebourg, Antoine Crouin and Rebecca Blanchard contributed to this report.
There’s a common theme among all of Prince William and Prince
Harry’s exes—they were all appalled by the extraordinary demands of being
thrust into the public spotlight.
The Duke of Cambridge didn’t have any serious girlfriends before meeting his future
wife Catherine in college, but he did date casually. Meanwhile, Prince Harry’s long-term girlfriend Chelsy Davy called the
media attention “…so full-on: Crazy and scary
and uncomfortable” and said she “couldn’t cope.”
But what about Kate Middleton? With cameras following
her every move and a highly controversial cheating scandal simmering, is
there a chance the Duchess of Cambridge wishes she’d chosen a more normal life
for herself?
Prince William and Kate Middleton | Chris Jackson – Pool/Getty Images
The media’s obsession with Will and Kate started
early
Prince William and Kate Middleton met in college
and though they dated for several years, they waited longer than anyone anticipated
to
get engaged.
This was the exact time that things started getting uncomfortable for Kate. When she and Prince William got back together after their 2007 split but before announcing their engagement, the press started hounding them relentlessly. They dubbed the future Duchess “Waity Katie” and began publicly mocking her for waiting so long on the Prince.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wedding | Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Kate Middleton didn’t fully realize what she was
getting into
Though Kate did see what the tabloids were capable
of, there’s no way she could
have predicted just how intense it would all get in the coming years.
Being a working royal means having a necessary
relationship with media. There’s a give and take that must happen and while British
royal family members aren’t expected to reveal everything, they do need to make
many details of their lives public.
Take for example the way Kate Middleton is
expected to give birth and then pose for professional photos just
hours later, just as her late mother-in-law Princess Diana did. While she may
have known that fact in advance, it’s not the same as actually going through
it.
Prince William and Kate Middleton | Jack Taylor/Getty Images
There is an agreement between royals and the
press
While it seems like the papers publish an article
every time Kate Middleton so much as sneezes, in reality they have a specific
agreement with the royal family that they mostly uphold. After the disastrous events
surrounding the paparazzi and Princess Diana’s death in Paris, a lot of things changed
when it came to royal family coverage.
That’s why you won’t see British newspapers covering
the story about Prince William’s alleged affair with Rose Hanbury. They
know that since there’s no proof besides hearsay, it could cost them to print
those stories which are just based on rumor.
Does Kate Middleton wish she had chosen a quieter
life?
There’s no denying that the Duchess of Cambridge is a natural in front of the camera and deals with the obsessive attention with grace and dignity. However, it would be perfectly understandable for her to dream of a quieter, more private life where she could just let her hair down and be herself.
This theory has just one problem: without her marriage to Prince William, Kate Middleton wouldn’t have her three beautiful children. And while she’d still have access to plenty of money (her parents are wealthy as well), she would not be staring down a future as Queen Consort.
In short, the tradeoff of sharing your whole life with the public can be worth it if you’re strong enough. And Kate Middleton might be just the woman for the job.
DJ and producer Philippe Zdar, known for his work as one half of French house outfit Cassius, and production work with a glittering array of big-name acts, has died following an accidental fall from a Paris building, his agent has confirmed this morning.
"He made an accidental fall, through the window of a high floor of a Parisian building," said Sebastien Farran, without giving further details.
As Cassius, Philippe Zdar and Hubert Blanc-Francard, aka Boom Bass, helped usher in a decade of Franco-funk breaks and filtered disco house to the global dance music scene. Along with outfits such as Bob Sinclar, Daft Punk and Stardust, they played a part in reinvigorating the stale script that '90s electronic music producers were reading from.
Bored with a straight-up four-to-the-floor approach to beatmaking, they dug deep into their collective influences of hip-hop, Detroit techno, Minneapolis funk, NY electro and disco, and stuffed the lot into their restless samplers.
But it's easy to forget that, prior to Cassius's seminal album, 1999, Zdar also worked with Etienne de Crécy in the project Motorbass, as well as producing hip-hop as La Funk Mob with Cassius cohort, Boom Bass.
Zdar went on to build a brilliant career as a solo producer, working with acts as diverse as Beastie Boys, Phoenix and Cat Power.
The shocking news is all the more tragic given that Zdar was genuinely at the peak of his powers; Cassius’s latest album, Dreems, is set for release this Friday. Zdar also produced Hot Chip’s latest album, A Bath Full of Ecstasy, also out Friday.
Stars from the world of electronic music have reacted with shock and sadness to news of Zdar's death. You can read a selection of their tributes below.
He mixed Needy Girl & Rage for the Euro release of our 1st album. Then he mixed the entire Fancy Footwork album. Then Business Casual. He played a huge role in developing our sound. We’re devastated. RIP Philippe Zdar of Cassius, Motorbass & La Funk Mob, a true musical genius. pic.twitter.com/Y7pNmzREytJune 20, 2019
Woke up to the sad news, that Philippe Zdar has passed away. He has always been such a big inspiration to me, as part of Cassius but also as a mixing engineer. The world lost one of the most talented, humble and kind musicians last night. My thoughts go out to his loved ones. 💜 pic.twitter.com/9eNqShvDKqJune 20, 2019
RIP Philippe Zdar. Thank you for touching us and many many other people with your amazing music. 🙏🏼June 20, 2019
I just spoke 2u bro, u was so kind to agree to have convo with me for FOFRADIO sigh I’m really gonna miss you.. love you brotha Rest in Power Philippe Zdar ❤️🙏🏾⚡️June 20, 2019
Can’t comprehend the news about Philippe Zdar. An absolute musical genius and one of the nicest chaps you could meet. Such a sad day.June 20, 2019
@CASSIUSOFFICIAL God damned... rest in peace Philippe this is so sick.We met twice, first time at Daft Traxx back in the glorious days, i do remember your great sense of humour ... https://t.co/I9A20ETG3DJune 20, 2019
So sad to hear of the passing of the legendary #philippezdar of @CASSIUSOFFICIAL. A true original and a unique talent who was involved in making our first album, as well as so many amazing records. Your energy and generosity will be sorely missed. RIP brozeur xxx ❤️❤️❤️June 20, 2019
In October 1985, mere months after Queen’s iconic performance at Live Aid, Freddie Mercury was recruited by his dear friend, British Invasion pioneer Dave Clark, to record the track “In My Defence” for a star-studded concept album based on Clark's sci-fi/rock musical Time. The session at London’s Abbey Road Studios went so swimmingly that, Clark tells Yahoo Entertainment, Mercury asked him, “‘Have you got any other songs?’ I said, ‘Well, I have got the title track.’ And that was called ‘Time.’ I played it to him. He was totally committed, which is where this all came from. He was amazing.”
So, three months later, Mercury returned to Abbey Road to record that second song (which Clark co-wrote with John Christie), and Clark describes the day as absolutely magical. “Before any musicians came in, it was just Freddie and [session musician Mike Moran playing] piano. He sang, and it gave me goosebumps. Nobody was there. It was just amazing. I can't even explain it. Then of course, when everybody came in, we ended up with 48 tracks of backing vocals. … And the end result, with all the musicians and production, ended up at 96 tracks.”
But now, for the first time ever, Mercury’s original, pared-down “Time” — captured that day in January 1986 when Mercury was, as Clark puts it, still “buzzing” from his Live Aid triumph — is being released under the song’s full title, “Time Waits for No One,” stripping back those 96 tracks to a version with just one: Freddie Mercury.
Clark never forgot that moment, and he spent a decade trying to unearth Mercury’s lost vocal track. “I thought, ‘I'd love to hear the original performance,’ but I couldn't find it. It's because we did so many tracks. I sent my engineer down, and we went through [the vaults]. Couldn't find it. So I let it go. A few years later, I said, ‘Go on. Go through all the banks again.’”
Clark finally retrieved the audio from his tape archive last year and restored it at Moran’s studio in Buckinghamshire, England — though he sat on it for while longer, because he though it would be “wrong” to release it while the publicity campaign for the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was still in overdrive. Eventually, when the time was right, he surprised Queen manager Jim Beach with the track. “He came over to my house, and before we started talking, I said, ‘I've got something I'd like to show you that might make you smile.’ I didn't say what it was. He loved it.”
Clark also commissioned a brand-new video for the recording, cut from original negatives and unused, unprocessed 35mm film footage from the 1986 “Time” video shoot. Listening back to the recording and watching the new clip, Clark still gets goosebumps. “Even more so now,” he stresses. “Yeah, I think ‘time waits for no one,’ it applies to all of us, on whatever level. You could go and win the lottery tomorrow, or we don't know what's around the corner. It's not heavy in any way, it's just that we've all got to enjoy ourselves. The world's not in a great state. It's sad. You’ve just got to enjoy every moment.”
Clark first met Mercury about a decade before the Time sessions, and enjoyed every moment of the friendship that ensued. “I went to [Queen’s] first major concert in Hyde Park, in London [in 1976], which was huge. I stood in the wings. He came on in a leotard with black nail varnish and I thought, ‘What's this? Liza Minnelli?’ Then he opened his mouth and sang, and I went, ‘Wow.’ He was unbelievable, just unbelievable,” Clark recalls. “An incredible performer. Then, after the show, we all went with Elton [John] to Mr. Chow's, which was a big restaurant in London. We were just mates. And that was it.”
Their friendship truly blossomed later at Abbey Road, after Mercury eventually agreed to travel from Germany, where he was living at the time, to London to work on “In My Defence” and, later, “Time Waits for No One” — despite music-biz naysayers claiming that this would never happen.“The record company said, ‘No, you'll never get him.’ His management said, ‘You won't get him.’ But I'm a firm believer of going to the source,” Clark chuckles. “I knew Freddie's girlfriend, Mary Austin. She gave me his number in Munich. I phoned him up and said, ‘Look, Freddie, I've got a track I'd love you to hear.’ He said, ‘Well, I've read all about Time.’ We [already] had Stevie Wonder, Laurence Olivier, you name it; everybody was on the album. He said, ‘You've come a bit late!’ — which was typical Freddie. He said, ‘I'm quite happy to listen to it.’ I said, ‘Well, I'll fly over [to Munich]. If you don't like it, don't feel embarrassed. I wouldn't want you to do it. It's got to be something you're really passionate to do. I'll fly over, and we can have a drink or a bite to eat, and I'll fly back.’ That was it. He bit the bullet, as they say.
“It was amazing, because everybody said he would be a nightmare to work with. I'm very focused on what I want to do, and it's got to be right; Freddie is the same. The amazing thing was, I didn't agree with certain things, and he gave into it. He came up with things that I wasn't sure of, but we were working to make the best possible record. There was never any arguments or anything like that. He was amazing. It worked. …The friendship really developed then.”
Two years later, in April 1988, Clark staged a benefit concert, Give Time for AIDS, at London’s Dominion Theatre — the same West End stage where the “Time Waits for No One” video was shot — and Mercury participated. (“It was in the days when people didn't understand [AIDS]. They knocked it. It was like a leprosy, in a way,” Clark recalls.) It turned out to be one of Mercury’s last live performances. Three and a half years later, in November 1991, Mercury himself succumbed to AIDS. And Clark was at the bedside vigil. “I did see him right at the end,” Clark says softly, though he doesn’t “really want to get into that,” explaining, “I've done this [“Time Waits for No One”] for a tribute to Freddie. I don't want to get into [talking about] the end, because I think we're talking about Freddie when he's alive and the amazing contribution he made.”
Freddie Mercury, Dave Clark, and John Christie. (Photo: Dave Clark International)
However, Clark is willing to discuss the “horrific” way the tabloid press hounded Mercury in his final days. “All the nasty press, writing terrible things, they weren’t thinking about his loved ones and his family. They couldn't care less,” he grumbles. “But the thing about the press is, with all that bad press, he still had multimillion-selling records, because people loved him. That's what it's all about. … And I've got an opinion: It doesn't matter who you love or how you love, it's that you love. Freddie loved life. I think that was wonderful.
“There's one little thing when he passed away that really moved me,” Clark continues. “What really blew me away was, when Freddie died, all the taxis that went past his house turned their lights off. Now, these were really working-class, Cockney-type people, you know? I found that very moving. Also, when they were doing all the press and the television cameras were outside his house, I always remember there was this Cockney couple, a young guy and his girlfriend. And he said, ‘What do you think about him? He's gay.’ She said, ‘We love him!’ And so did the guy. He said, ‘We couldn't care less. He made us feel good. He made us happy.’ I think that's the important thing. … Music is as an emotion to move you. Either makes you feel happy, or sad, or whatever. With Freddie's music, it was always to make you feel good.”
Reflecting on the recent resurgence of love for Queen since the massive box-office success of BohemianRhapsody — perhaps the best revenge against all those vicious paparazzi and trolling reporters — Clark laughs, “When they got the Oscar and the BAFTA and everything else, I thought, ‘Freddie will be up there, smiling.’ I know what he'd say. … He would say, ‘F*** 'em all!’ That's what he would say.”
Clark has no doubt that if Mercury had lived, he and the Queen legend would have worked on more music together. In fact, they even recorded a demo of another Time tune, “Born to Rock'n'Roll,” but the album spot had already been promised to Time star Cliff Richard. Sadly, Clark can’t find the Mercury demo now, although rough audio of a live duet version of the song between Mercury and Richard, from the above-mentioned Give Time for AIDS charity gala, exists online.
“Cliff wanted to do [“Born to Rock'n'Roll”]; I didn't tell him that Freddie wanted to do it, so I couldn't renege on it. Freddie said to me, ‘Leave it for a year or so, Dave. I'll come in and rerecord it,’ because we did a demo for it, and it was amazing,” Clark reveals. “We would have done it. Yeah, we would have done a lot more things if the time had been on our side. … There was all the time in the world to do it, at that stage. But that was it. That's life.”
Freddie Mercury’s “Time Waits for No One” can be streamed and downloaded here.
Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are the envy of women all around the world. They’re both married to real-life princes. They both reside in castles: Kate in Kensington Palace and Meghan will be splitting her time between Buckingham Palace and Frogmore Cottage. They both have beautiful children: Kate, a mother to three and Meghan, a new mother to one.
Both duchesses, without a doubt, have beautiful lives. Lives filled to the brim with love and royal work to occupy their time. Even so, both women also had to give up quite a bit to be where they are today. So, who do you think gave up more: the Duchess of Sussex or the Duchess of Cambridge?
What did Kate Middleton leave behind for Prince William?
Kate Middleton | Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage
Kate and Prince William tied the knot in April 2011 — eight years ago. Since getting married, they’ve been through quite a lot! Kate made the move from British commoner to a beloved duchess. William went from single guy to doting husband. The pair grew beautifully together, ending up with three beautiful children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. It’s really been a fairytale brought to life.
But to get to where she is today, Kate did have to leave some things behind. For one, being a British commoner, Kate lived a very peaceful life, one she had to give up to walk by William’s side. While they were dating, she got a taste of the royal life. It overwhelmed her, leading to two brief breaks in their relationship.
It wasn’t just her privacy she gave up either. She also sacrificed her independence. During the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s brief separation in 2007, Kate was seen living it up. She was photographed at many events, and her friends got to enjoy watching her bloom and achieve comfort in her own skin.
She even signed up for a women’s only boat race. One she trained very hard to win. Once their relationship got back on track, she pulled out…confirming her friends worst fears. Kate was losing herself for the sake of true love.
“There was, however, one casualty of this romantic reunion: Kate herself.” – Andrew Morton (William and Catherine)
What did Meghan Markle sacrifice to become a duchess?
Meghan was a successful Hollywood starlet when she retired. She withdrew from a show she had become a fan favorite in and left her acting dreams behind. The controversial duchess worked extremely hard to make it in Hollywood, to walk away from her hard-earned dream must have been difficult. But with love on the line, who could blame her?
Without a doubt, it’s Meghan’s career that was of the hardest hits, but it wasn’t the only one. Unlike Kate, Meghan hailed from a completely different world. Sure, they’re both commoners, but turning an American celebrity into a British Royal is no easy feat. While it’s clear Meghan gets some leeway, in some sense, she also had to leave the lax rules and regulations attached to her nationality behind as well.
Then there are the more “material items.” When Meghan moved across the world to stand beside her prince, she sold her condo — her own personal space. What’s even worse is that she couldn’t take her beloved pup with her! Not to mention all of her friends.
Which duchess gave up more for the royal family?
Both the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge had to give up a lot of independence, to claim their royal titles. Kate lived a simple but thriving life out of the spotlight; one the traded in to stand in the limelight with her hubby. Meghan exchanged her celebrity status for royal status. While she was accustomed to the fame and attention, being a royal comes with a set of rules that pretty much turned her life on its head!
Katen was already a British resident so the move, while overwhelming, didn’t necessarily mean leaving her friends and family behind. Meghan, on the other hand, has to cross the seas to be with her besties. It really is hard to decide who lost more, especially when you take into consideration Kate’s friend’s commentary. At least both women seem unbelievably happy and it’s unlikely that either regrets their life-altering decision.
More details have been emerging about the crash involving Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s convoy that seriously injured an elderly woman and her family has a strong message for the royals.
The accident occurred as the couple was traveling from London to Windsor on Monday afternoon. It is believed that a royal protection officer on a motorcycle hit the woman, identified as 83-year-old Irene Mayor. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have contacted the woman but now her family is lashing out. Here’s more on what they had to say about the crash as well as an update on Mayor’s condition.
Prince William Kate Middleton | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
“We are investigating the circumstances surrounding a collision involving a marked police motorcycle attached to the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command and a woman pedestrian on Upper Richmond Road, Richmond, southwest London at 12:50 p.m. on Monday 17 June.”
Scotland Yard added that Mayor was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Mayor’s daughter, Fiona, spoke to the MailOnline and revealed that her mother suffered several injuries including a broken pelvis and is currently in serious but stable condition.
“She’s got lots of injuries,” Fiona said. “They are just keeping her stable at the moment.”
Her family blasts royals’ convoy
Mayor’s siblings spoke out about the crash as well and slammed the royal convoy.
Prince William Kate Middleton | Anwar Hussein/WireImage
“The police outriders have to slow down. My sister is lying in a hospital bed and she could have been killed. She could so easily have been killed,” her sister, Joyce Shore, said. “I do like the royals, but the way my sister’s life has been endangered is completely unacceptable. These outriders need to slow down. But it will still go on. I doubt anything will change just because a lady speaks out over concern for her sister.”
The 86-year-old Shore was overcome with emotion at the thought that her sister might not pull through this.
“She is just an ordinary lady who minds her own business and then this happens,” Shore said as she wiped away tears. “She had been shopping and she was on her way home. She had been on a bus. She had been crossing the road. Those police motorbikes don’t have to go so close to the curb.”
Mayor’s brother added that his family has already hired lawyers to “look after” his sibling.
Prince Wiliam and Middleton did not see the collision but were later notified about what happened.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were deeply concerned to hear about the accident. Their Royal Highnesses have sent their best wishes to Irene and her family and will stay in touch throughout every stage of her recovery,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson said.
The royals have sent flowers to the hospital and hope to visit Mayor when she is ready.
