Prince William is St Giles Trust's 50th Anniversary Patron

Tonight, staff at St Giles’ Trust are celebrating after Royal endorsement from His Royal Highness Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. He has agreed to become Patron of St Giles Trust for 2012 – the very year they will celebrating their 50th Anniversary. 
 
The Duke’s Patronage highlights his interest in affording people of all ages and stages of their lives – and especially those who feel disengaged or excluded from society – the opportunity to develop a sense of purpose and realise their true potential. 

Rob Owen, CEO of St Giles Trust, said: 

“We are honoured and delighted that the Duke of Cambridge will be our patron for our important 50th anniversary year.  By supporting us, he is leading by example in helping some of the most excluded, disadvantaged people in society who really need support.  We are very much looking forward to working with Prince William over the coming year.”
 
This will be the third generation of Royal endorsement St Giles Trust has enjoyed, with previous support from the Queen Mother who opened the original day centre in 1963 and HRH Prince Charles when he opened their premises in Camberwell in 1995.

St Giles Trust started out as a soup kitchen in the crypt of the still standing and used nearby church St Giles Church. St Giles Trust’s work has continually evolved to meet the needs of society’s most vulnerable. Their valued work includes work with the homeless, illiterate, innumerate, gang and community work and supporting people back into work.

As many as one in five of their staff are ex-offenders or ex-service users and they remain an organisation supporting people who have fallen through the gaps in the state’s safety net.

The Prince previously visited the charity in March 2009 when he met clients and staff at the charity’s head office in Camberwell, South London.

Pregnancy Rumours Dog Duke And Duchess On UNICEF Visit

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were dogged by pregnancy rumours on their visit to the UNICEF Supply Centre in Copenhagen.

The couple were there to highlight the desperate plight of children in East Africa, but the rumour mills went into overdrive suggesting Kate is pregnant after she refused to eat peanut paste on the Denmark trip.

According to eyewitnesses, Kate gave her husband Prince William ‘a knowing look’ as he tucked in. ABC news reported that Buckingham Palace ‘went out of their way to stress that she has no nut allergy whatsoever.’ The Palace denied Kate was pregnant saying that they would have announced it and ‘not some gossip magazine’.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made a special visit to the UNICEF global supply centre ito help maintain the world’s attention on the humanitarian crisis in East Africa, which has left more than 320,000 children so severely malnourished that they are at imminent risk of death unless they get urgent help.

UNICEF’s Copenhagen supply centre includes a warehouse the size of three football pitches where essential supplies for children around the globe are sourced, packed and distributed. These include food, water, special nutritional supplies for the most malnourished children, vaccines, education materials and emergency medical kits.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were accompanied on the visit by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark and were welcomed by Shanelle Hall, Director of UNICEF’s Supply Centre. The Duchess and Crown Princess were given flowers by Amanda Kofoed and Maryam Abdullah, both 10 years old, who are children of UNICEF staff.

Both couples then received a briefing on the desperate situation in the region from Peter Hailey, Chief of Nutrition for UNICEF in Somalia. He told them about the reality for many children and their parents, who often have to walk for 25 days to find food.

They met four packing staff who showed them how different medical provisions – including essential medicines and emergency surgical equipment – are packed. Both Royal couples joined the staff on the production line and helped to pack boxes of emergency health kits, each of which will provide life-saving supplies to over 1,000 people.

Both couples then toured the warehouse, seeing the huge variety of supplies that are sent to emergencies around the world, including ready-to-use therapeutic food for severely malnourished children under five years old and supplementary food to support-families, emergency health kits, vaccines and water supplies including water purification tablets.

At the end of their visit, the Duke of Cambridge said: “An incredible amount is being done. UNICEF is leading the way and doing a fantastic job, but sadly there’s lots more still to do, and that’s why we’re here today.”

The Duchess talked more about the purpose of their visit, saying: “We really hope to put the spotlight back on this crisis.” The Duke then added a heartfelt appeal: “Anyone who can do anything to help, please do.”

Both went on to Copenhagen Airport to see the supplies being loaded onto flights provided by British Airways and UPS, bound for Nairobi.

Since the visit of both Royal couples to UNICEF’s Supply Centre was announced on 26 October, UNICEF has already seen a huge response to the appeal for donations to the emergency.

Shanelle Hall commented: “It has been wonderful to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark to UNICEF’s Supply Centre and to show them the scale of the vital operation delivering supplies to malnourished children and their families. Their visit has already helped to draw the world’s attention back to the scale of the current crisis and we hope it will help us to raise the resources needed to continue our work in the region.”

To respond to the remaining needs of children in East Africa for 2011, UNICEF still requires US$40 million. The financial needs for 2012 are US$402.8 million, including US$300 million for UNICEF Somalia, to ensure that provision of life-saving therapeutic and supplementary feeding can continue.

To donate to the East Africa Appeal please visit www.eastafricacrisis.org or, in the UK, text ‘LIFE’ to 70800 to make a £10 donation or call 0800 037 9797

Are The Royal Family Worth It?

So are the Royal Family worth taxpayer’s money? As the recession starts to bite and unemployment rises it’s worth asking if we really need an unelected had of state that cost every person in Britain 69p. Frost wants to open up a debate on the Royal Family. Love them or hate them? Frost came across the video below that made us stop and wonder; should we rejoice that we have a Queen?

With Prince William and Catherine Middleton making royalty cool again and becoming more and more popular it seems that the royal family are having a resurgence. Posh has become cool again. Maybe we need more fantasy in our lives and the royal family gives us that.

Did the video change your mind? Are you a royalist or republican? Let us know.

The Duke Of Cambridge And Prince Harry Head-To-Head at Sentebale Polo Cup Sponsored by Royal Salute

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry demonstrated polo at its finest today, with the Duke’s team coming out on top, in front of a star-studded crowd at The Sentebale Polo Cup sponsored by Royal Salute.

Neve Campbell, Dougray Scott, Claire Forlani, Ellie Goulding and Greg James, were hosted by the luxury Scotch whisky Royal Salute, as they overlooked a spectacular game of polo at Coworth Park just outside London. The exclusive invite-only event raised funds for Sentebale, a charity co-founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who also attended the event.

Prince Harry said: “I’m delighted to be at the second Sentebale Polo Cup in the glorious setting of Coworth Park. While my team didn’t finish as champions, it’s encouraging to see the level of support here today for this great cause that gives hope and help to the children of Lesotho.”

Christian Porta, Chairman and CEO, Chivas Brothers says, “Royal Salute is honoured to be associated with polo and more importantly today, with Sentebale, a very special charity that is helping and changing the lives of many in Lesotho. It’s been such a privilege to watch this incredibly historic and skilful game in the beautiful surroundings of Coworth Park.”

The exclusive Royal Salute Dinner and After Party, attended by The Prince, the Duke of Argyll, models Karolina Kurkova and Tallulah Harlech, model and actor Douglas Booth, and actors Toby Kebbell and Sally Hawkins, further treated VIPs to a special viewing of Tribute to Honour, Royal Salute’s finest and rarest limited edition expression of only 21 bottles. Adorned with over 400 black and white diamonds, Tribute to Honour is a collaboration with Garrard, the royal jeweler and fellow supporter of Sentebale.

The Sentebale event, sponsored by Royal Salute included an auction to raise vital funds for the charity, set up five years ago by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, in support of the neediest and most vulnerable people of Lesotho.

The Sentebale Polo Cup sponsored by Royal Salute further highlights the whisky brand’s growing commitment to international polo, with sponsorships of some of the world’s most prestigious polo events currently spanning China, India, Dubai, Brazil and the UK.

Royal Salute World Polo Series continues on the 18th June 2011 at a charity event held at the Beaufort Polo Club in Tetbury, Gloucestershire and closely followed by The Foundation Polo Challenge, at Santa Barbara, California, to raise funds for the American Friends of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry on 9th July 2011.

For further information
http://www.chivasbrothers.com