Placeholder Content Image

Jacinda Ardern receives Damehood at Windsor Castle

<p>Jacinda Ardern has been officially made a dame in a special ceremony at Windsor Castle in London. </p> <p>The former New Zealand prime minister received one of the country's highest honours on Wednesday, The New Zealand Order of Merit, for her services to the state. </p> <p>She was appointed a Dame Grand Companion a few months after her shock resignation as prime minister in 2023, but only just formally received her damehood from Prince William at the investiture ceremony in London. </p> <p>Prince William and Princess Catherine posted a clip of the moment Ardern received her damehood in a social media post, where they called her a friend and extraordinary advocate. </p> <p>"It was a privilege to present you with this deserved award at Windsor today!" he wrote. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBMNQx0tPjp/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBMNQx0tPjp/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales (@princeandprincessofwales)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Jacinda said she was honoured and humbled by her damehood. </p> <p>"I feel really humbled by the chance to be here with my family, and really I see it as an acknowledgement of them and of every person I worked with, and of every person who's supported me, and that includes a very large number of New Zealanders."</p> <p>The former New Zealand prime minister was in the UK for a meeting of the prince's Earthshot Prize, which she is a trustee first. </p> <p>She advocated for the movement behind the prize, saying: "About telling every single person out there that we don't have to wait, for this catastrophe to happen to us, that there are things we can do and that are being done."</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p> <p> </p>

International Travel

Placeholder Content Image

The awkward moment between Prince William and Emma Thompson

<p>Academy Award winning actress Emma Thompson was recently on <em>The Ellen DeGeneres Show</em> and shared some details about what happened whilst she was being awarded her damehood from Prince William.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Becoming a Dame was nothing compared to the honor I awarded Emma Thompson. <a href="https://t.co/DtMTMRNEh8">pic.twitter.com/DtMTMRNEh8</a></p> — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/1116814002401660928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>As it turns out, Prince William had pinned the dame pins in a bit of an awkward position.</p> <p>Thompson re-enacted the moment with DeGeneres to explain just how awkward it was.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Congratulations to Dame Emma Thompson! Today at Buckingham Palace, the actor received her Damehood from The Duke for services to Drama. <a href="https://t.co/1gSfaawBii">pic.twitter.com/1gSfaawBii</a></p> — Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) <a href="https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1060200145969733632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>"He placed it right there,” Thompson explained through laughter.</p> <p>"And it's a little bit of a nipple moment and you go, 'Gosh, I wasn't expecting that.'"</p> <p>Thompson, 59, also joked about how she was “pretty low slung these days”, so when Prince William placed the two pins on her, it hurt “both times”.</p> <p>Naturally, being hurt generates a reaction to the pain. However, Thompson revealed that she made an “inappropriate” noise in the palace.</p> <p>"I made a very loud and inappropriate noise in Buckingham Palace," she admitted.</p> <p>The joy of receiving a damehood couldn’t be overlooked though, as Thompson was thrilled to receive it.</p> <p>It’s not the first time Thompson has had an awkward run-in with Prince William.</p> <p>When she received her honorary title last November, she shared a joke with the Prince. She told the Associated Press:</p> <p>“I love Prince William. I’ve known him since he was little, and we just sniggered at each other,” she explained.</p> <p>“I said, ‘I can’t kiss you, can I?’ And he said, ‘No, don’t!'"</p>

Movies

Placeholder Content Image

The moment Emma Thompson tried to sneak a kiss from Prince William

<p>Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson has received one of Britain’s highest awards and used the opportunity to playfully joke with the second-in-line to the throne, Prince William.</p> <p>On Wednesday, the <em style="font-weight: inherit;">Love Actually </em>star was invited to Buckingham Palace to be appointed a Dame Commander of the Oder of the British Empire.</p> <p>The honour, which is the female equivalent of a knighthood, was made even more special as it was given to her by her long-time friend.</p> <p>Recalling the ceremony to reporters, Thompson said: “I love Prince William. I’ve known him since he was little, and we just sniggered at each other. I said, ‘I can’t kiss you, can I?’ And he said, ‘No, don’t!'”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Congratulations to Dame Emma Thompson! Today at Buckingham Palace, the actor received her Damehood from The Duke for services to Drama. <a href="https://t.co/1gSfaawBii">pic.twitter.com/1gSfaawBii</a></p> — Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) <a href="https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1060200145969733632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>Although Thompson didn’t receive a kiss from the prince, she praised the royal father-of-three for all his accomplishments.</p> <p>“He’s looking wonderful and doing so well,” the actress, who wore sneakers and a suit to the ceremony, commented.</p> <p>“He said, ‘This day isn’t about me, it’s about you.'”</p> <p>“It’s really lovely because I’ve always loved the boys, and I’ve always been a long-term correspondent with their dad,” Thompson added. </p> <p>“It’s a very lovely feeling.”</p> <p>After Prince Charles went through his divorce with Princess Diana in 1996, Thompson wrote him several letters to lift his spirits.</p> <p>“I would get periodical messages from the boys that look after him at Highgrove saying: ‘[Could you] drop him a note because he’s a bit low in the water,’ so I’d pick up my pen and write as funny a letter as I could think of,” Thompson revealed in the book <em style="font-weight: inherit;">Charles: The Heart of a King.</em></p>

News

Our Partners