The Times & The Sunday Times Homepage
Rishi Sunak expresses disappointment after Tory losses in last week’s local elections
Britain is heading for a hung parliament, Rishi Sunak has claimed as he urged Tory MPs to end their divisions and “come together” to take on Labour. In his first comments since the full extent of the party’s local election losses became clear, the prime minister admitted that the results had been...Britain is heading for a hung parliament, Rishi Sunak has claimed as he urged Tory MPs to end their divisions and “come together” to take on Labour. In his first comments since the full extent of the party’s local election losses became clear, the prime minister admitted that the results had been...Britain is heading for a hung parliament, Rishi Sunak has claimed as he urged Tory MPs to end their divisions and “come...
The Green Party faces a showdown with Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, over the conduct of councillors newly elected under its banner. One who shouted Allahu akbar (God is greatest) and described getting a seat on Leeds city council as a “win for the people of Gaza” had previously been involved in the...The Green Party faces a showdown with Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, over the conduct of councillors newly elected under its banner. One who shouted Allahu akbar (God is greatest) and described getting a seat on Leeds city council as a “win for the people of Gaza” had previously been involved in the...The Green Party faces a showdown with Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, over the conduct of...
Binyamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of blocking a Gaza ceasefire deal with “extreme” demands as negotiations unravelled on Sunday. Appearing to heed warnings from his hardline coalition members against any deal that could end the war before Israel launches a controversial operation in the Gazan city of Rafah, the...Binyamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of blocking a Gaza ceasefire deal with “extreme” demands as...Binyamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of blocking a Gaza ceasefire deal with “extreme” demands as...
INTERVIEW
When they finally specialise, junior doctors get sent to do all kinds of fancy courses. But prevention and management...When they finally specialise, junior doctors get sent to do all kinds of fancy courses. But...When they finally specialise, junior doctors get sent to do all kinds of fancy courses. But...
obituary
Yosser Hughes, a headbutting, unemployed tarmac-layer from Liverpool, may have seemed an unlikely folk hero. But as...Yosser Hughes, a headbutting, unemployed tarmac-layer from Liverpool, may have seemed an unlikely...Yosser Hughes, a headbutting, unemployed tarmac-layer from Liverpool, may have seemed an unlikely...
A cancer patient who endured a multiple-organ transplant will have to go through the process again to beat the...A cancer patient who endured a multiple-organ transplant will have to go through the process...A cancer patient who endured a multiple-organ transplant will have to go through the process...
More than 300 people gathered at a vigil on Sunday to pay tribute to Daniel Anjorin, a teenage boy who was killed in...More than 300 people gathered at a vigil on Sunday to pay tribute to Daniel Anjorin, a teenage...More than 300 people gathered at a vigil on Sunday to pay tribute to Daniel Anjorin, a teenage...
A girls’ under-tens football team which lost every game in their first season has made a remarkable comeback and won a cup in a local league of all-boys squads. Woodlanders FC, from Bradley in West Yorkshire, is the first girls’ side to win the...A girls’ under-tens football team which lost every game in their first season has made a...A girls’ under-tens football team which lost every game in their first season has made a...
Millions of pounds a year are spent on British military ration packs for troops posted overseas, but one American soldier has been less than impressed with some of the products. Sergeant First Class Tyler Butterworth, a soldier with the Army...Millions of pounds a year are spent on British military ration packs for troops posted overseas...Millions of pounds a year are spent on British military ration packs for troops posted overseas...
A majority of Britons believe that the King is doing a good job and only a quarter want a republic, a poll has revealed.A majority of Britons believe that the King is doing a good job and only a quarter want a...A majority of Britons believe that the King is doing a good job and only a quarter want a...
The former boss of a hospital trust where police are investigating patient deaths has been advising the NHS through...The former boss of a hospital trust where police are investigating patient deaths has been...The former boss of a hospital trust where police are investigating patient deaths has been...
An interior designer in West Palm Beach, near Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Todd Schlanger, admits he felt a little nervous after investing more than $20,000 in the former president’s social media empire, Truth Social. The fluctuating fortunes of the company may have propelled Trump to his...An interior designer in West Palm Beach, near Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Todd Schlanger, admits he felt a little nervous after investing more than $20,000 in the former president’s social media empire, Truth Social. The fluctuating fortunes of the company may have propelled Trump to his...An interior designer in West Palm Beach, near Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Todd Schlanger, admits he felt a little nervous...
The head of Rome’s Bambino Gesu children’s hospital sums up his approach to the toughest, apparently most hopeless cases with one phrase. “We cannot say no,” said Tiziano Onesti after his hospital again offered treatment to a chronically ill infant from Britain. The latest case involved a one-month-old Italian boy with a serious heart...The head of Rome’s Bambino Gesu children’s hospital sums up his approach to the toughest, apparently most hopeless cases with one phrase. “We cannot say no,” said Tiziano Onesti after his hospital again offered treatment to a chronically ill infant from Britain. The latest case involved a one-month-old Italian boy with a serious heart...The head of Rome’s Bambino Gesu children’s hospital sums up his approach to the toughest, apparently most hopeless cases with...
A Russian academic who urged President Putin to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike against Europe has been hired by the Kremlin to study ways to “deter the West”. Sergei Karaganov, 71, is a favoured foreign policy adviser of Putin and head of an influential Russian think tank. He owns a two-storey apartment...A Russian academic who urged President Putin to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike against...A Russian academic who urged President Putin to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike against...
From our correspondent
In the golden age of duelling in France in the 16th and 17th centuries, hundreds of people died defending their honour every year. An overwhelming majority of duellists were noblemen, although there were some women too and, in the 18th century, a...In the golden age of duelling in France in the 16th and 17th centuries, hundreds of people died...In the golden age of duelling in France in the 16th and 17th centuries, hundreds of people died...
The end of France’s longest-running game show, which tests numeracy and literacy skills, has prompted traditionalists...The end of France’s longest-running game show, which tests numeracy and literacy skills, has...The end of France’s longest-running game show, which tests numeracy and literacy skills, has...
INTERVIEW
On a winding mountain lane the favourite to become Mexico’s next president sits in the front passenger seat of a...On a winding mountain lane the favourite to become Mexico’s next president sits in the front...On a winding mountain lane the favourite to become Mexico’s next president sits in the front...
gerard baker
There’s a joke doing the rounds among Joe Biden’s critics as the US president’s campaign team plot an increasingly...There’s a joke doing the rounds among Joe Biden’s critics as the US president’s campaign team...There’s a joke doing the rounds among Joe Biden’s critics as the US president’s campaign team...
video
President Biden said “order must prevail” as he insisted that the student protests at campuses across the US had not...President Biden said “order must prevail” as he insisted that the student protests at campuses...President Biden said “order must prevail” as he insisted that the student protests at campuses...
Political donations resumed after Capitol riot
Political committees affiliated with some of Britain’s biggest companies with operations in the United States have donated more than $1.1 million since the Capitol riot to Republican “election deniers”, The Times has found. The political action committee (PAC) of BAE Systems, which briefly...Political committees affiliated with some of Britain’s biggest companies with operations in the United States have donated more than $1.1 million since the Capitol riot to Republican “election deniers”, The Times has found. The political action committee (PAC) of BAE Systems, which briefly...Political committees affiliated with some of Britain’s biggest companies with operations in the United States have donated more...
Referrals of chief executives for mental health problems triple around the time of deadlines for filing financial results, according to a clinic for wealthy individuals. Paracelsus Recovery, an addiction and psychological treatment centre based in Zurich and London, treats senior executives, royals and celebrities. It reported an average...Referrals of chief executives for mental health problems triple around the time of deadlines for filing financial results, according to a clinic for wealthy individuals. Paracelsus Recovery, an addiction and psychological treatment centre based in Zurich and London, treats senior executives, royals and celebrities. It reported an average...Referrals of chief executives for mental health problems triple around the time of deadlines for filing financial results...
Retail investors could receive a “bonus” share in NatWest if they hold on to the stock for at least a year, in plans being drawn up by ministers for a populist Tell Sid-style privatisation of some of the government’s remaining shares in the bank. It plans a mass-market sale of NatWest shares, which Jeremy Hunt, the...Retail investors could receive a “bonus” share in NatWest if they hold on to the stock for at...Retail investors could receive a “bonus” share in NatWest if they hold on to the stock for at...
comment
We need to talk about risk. Economies thrive on the individual pursuit of personal profit and purpose in return for...We need to talk about risk. Economies thrive on the individual pursuit of personal profit and...We need to talk about risk. Economies thrive on the individual pursuit of personal profit and...
comment
Waiting in the California sunshine for “Pastries with Papa” at my daughter’s nursery, I tense. The father I’ve been...Waiting in the California sunshine for “Pastries with Papa” at my daughter’s nursery, I tense.Waiting in the California sunshine for “Pastries with Papa” at my daughter’s nursery, I tense.
On the day The Times visits Port Talbot, a 40mph gale is blowing, whipping up white horses in the bay. If this were the North Sea, offshore wind turbines would be spinning furiously. Here, however, because the nearby waters of the Celtic Sea are...On the day The Times visits Port Talbot, a 40mph gale is blowing, whipping up white horses in the...On the day The Times visits Port Talbot, a 40mph gale is blowing, whipping up white horses in the...
Need to know
Warren Buffett has heaped praise on Apple, despite dumping billions of dollars of stock in the iPhone maker. The investor lauded the iPhone as “one of the greatest products”, and potentially “the greatest product, of all time”. The technology...Warren Buffett has heaped praise on Apple, despite dumping billions of dollars of stock in the...Warren Buffett has heaped praise on Apple, despite dumping billions of dollars of stock in the...
times enterprise network | Manufacturing
times enterprise network | Comment
International Trade
recruitment
Offering a 92 per cent success rate and economic savings of more than £6 billion a year, mediation is the “quiet revolution” aiding British business and the family courts. Succinctly summed up by those in the sector as “mediation avoids litigation”, the confidential process involves an independent mediator appointed to help parties to talk through their problems...Offering a 92 per cent success rate and economic savings of more than £6 billion a year...Offering a 92 per cent success rate and economic savings of more than £6 billion a year...
RECRUITMENT | six from the best
Best known for her appearances on the BBC television show Dragons’ Den, the serial entrepreneur and investor...Best known for her appearances on the BBC television show Dragons’ Den, the serial entrepreneur and investor Sarah Willingham is now founder and chief executive of the UK’s leading premium cocktail bar group Nightcap. Willingham, is renowned for her eclectic career combining savvy start-ups with hands-on...Best known for her appearances on the BBC television show Dragons’ Den, the serial entrepreneur and investor Sarah...
miami grand prix
Lando Norris sat in the McLaren hospitality suite on Thursday, nibbling carrot sticks and hummus, admitting that this Miami circuit was not one of his favourites. This race may just have changed his mind. A perfectly timed safety car after a collision between Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen gave Norris a crucial track position at the front of the race before the...Lando Norris sat in the McLaren hospitality suite on Thursday, nibbling carrot sticks and hummus...Lando Norris sat in the McLaren hospitality suite on Thursday, nibbling carrot sticks and hummus...
Premier League
Perhaps this is why Ange Postecoglou is not overly bothered by problems at corners. By the time the excellent Harvey...Perhaps this is why Ange Postecoglou is not overly bothered by problems at corners. By the time the excellent Harvey Elliott curled a howitzer into the top corner for Liverpool’s fourth goal just before the hour mark, the immediate response from the Tottenham Hotspur manager was to stuff his hands deeper into his...Perhaps this is why Ange Postecoglou is not overly bothered by problems at corners. By the time the excellent Harvey Elliott...
Champions Cup semi-final
Gregor Robertson
To fully appreciate the scale of Kieran McKenna’s impact upon Ipswich Town, it is first important to understand the...To fully appreciate the scale of Kieran McKenna’s impact upon Ipswich Town, it is first important...To fully appreciate the scale of Kieran McKenna’s impact upon Ipswich Town, it is first important...
Stuart Barnes
Gloucester have got me thinking of a line from the Bob Dylan song Love Minus Zero. Dylan’s lyrical love...Gloucester have got me thinking of a line from the Bob Dylan song Love Minus Zero.Gloucester have got me thinking of a line from the Bob Dylan song Love Minus Zero.
ATHLETICS
One of the most impressive interviewees I have been lucky enough to meet is Sir Roger Bannister. It was not merely because breaking the four-minute mile barrier, 70 years ago today, was one of sport’s great staging posts. It was more the humility...One of the most impressive interviewees I have been lucky enough to meet is Sir Roger Bannister.One of the most impressive interviewees I have been lucky enough to meet is Sir Roger Bannister.
gregor robertson
‘Declan Rice, we got him half price,” the Arsenal fans chant with glee these days but, increasingly, it feels more...‘Declan Rice, we got him half price,” the Arsenal fans chant with glee these days but...‘Declan Rice, we got him half price,” the Arsenal fans chant with glee these days but...
mike atherton
Many moons ago, on a bank holiday weekend of Roses action, Neville Cardus wrote that the crowd did not turn up in the...Many moons ago, on a bank holiday weekend of Roses action, Neville Cardus wrote that the crowd...Many moons ago, on a bank holiday weekend of Roses action, Neville Cardus wrote that the crowd...
ian hawkey
It takes something to upstage Jude Bellingham in his gilded debut season in Spain. But on the day Bellingham’s 22nd Real Madrid goal, two minutes after coming on against Cádiz, all but sealed the title, someone else trumped him. Take a bow...It takes something to upstage Jude Bellingham in his gilded debut season in Spain. But on the day...It takes something to upstage Jude Bellingham in his gilded debut season in Spain. But on the day...
World Snooker Championship
INTERVIEW
The doctor’s stories of working as an emergency care psychiatrist in the NHS might frighten you — if he wasn’t so funny
The author speaks about the liberation of writing under a pseudonym and the future of her hit series
interview
As a beauty industry insider Ellen Atlanta nudged women to look more like Instagram stars. Now she wants to expose the harm
KEVIN MAHER
The prince is in the UK this week, and has hinted that he’d like to see his father
interview
The actress on France’s #MeToo moment, hecklers and playing Mary Queen of Scots
FIRST PERSON
ASK PROFESSOR TANYA BYRON
Q. I grew up in India, the daughter of educated, middle-class parents and had an arranged marriage to a medic...Q. I grew up in India, the daughter of educated, middle-class parents and had an arranged...Q. I grew up in India, the daughter of educated, middle-class parents and had an arranged...
ask the experts
Q. When my son was born, his grandfather took out some Premium Bonds in his name. It was a thoughtful gift and...Q. When my son was born, his grandfather took out some Premium Bonds in his name. It was...Q. When my son was born, his grandfather took out some Premium Bonds in his name. It was...
first person
For over 35 years I’ve worked as a designer, mainly in the luxury hotel industry [says Martin Farrow, 60]. I love this area of work because I’m hugely passionate about interior spaces and I am fortunate that it’s taken me all over the world.For over 35 years I’ve worked as a designer, mainly in the luxury hotel industry [says...For over 35 years I’ve worked as a designer, mainly in the luxury hotel industry [says...
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW
There they sit, killing time. Sabrina Ali’s irreverent, sometimes poignant playlet takes us inside a school detention class, a place some of us will have encountered. The setting, however, is less familiar: a dugsi, or Islamic school for...There they sit, killing time. Sabrina Ali’s irreverent, sometimes poignant playlet takes us...There they sit, killing time. Sabrina Ali’s irreverent, sometimes poignant playlet takes us...
VIEWING GUIDE
interview
Sheridan Smith is putting on a brave face. We’re meeting days after it was announced that Opening Night, the West End musical she is starring in, will close early following some stinging reviews, sluggish ticket sales and reports of...Sheridan Smith is putting on a brave face. We’re meeting days after it was announced that Opening...Sheridan Smith is putting on a brave face. We’re meeting days after it was announced that Opening...
MINDGAMES
Are you a pre-prandial plate warmer or nonchalant about the temperature of your tableware? Once considered a “nan...Are you a pre-prandial plate warmer or nonchalant about the temperature of your tableware? Once...Are you a pre-prandial plate warmer or nonchalant about the temperature of your tableware? Once...
olympics
With its long tradition of jewellery savoir-faire, the house of Chaumet brings historical sparkle to the medals at this year’s games
Do not attend a baby shower before consulting this list of nice things for newborns
updated
video
Hannah Evans gets trained at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester
In the rapidly modernising Middle Eastern city, laid-back luxury reigns supreme
video
So you’ve tried farm-to-fork dining and you’ve eaten garden-to-table, but have you ever dined wall-to-plate? Pioneered by some of Britain’s finest restaurants, it’s the latest dining trend: a menu made using ingredients grown within the restaurant...So you’ve tried farm-to-fork dining and you’ve eaten garden-to-table, but have you ever dined...So you’ve tried farm-to-fork dining and you’ve eaten garden-to-table, but have you ever dined...
video
Line dancing, high-tech theatres and magic tricks are all part of the formula for retro fun in a thoroughly modern and spoiling setting on this new launch
interview
‘The Fonz’ on exploring his German roots and an emotional moment in Thailand
A relaxed beachside boutique hotel awaits on the Tyrrhenian island of Ischia, where you can hike to the summit of volcanoes and bathe in natural hot springs
In 2020 the British hellraiser Pete Doherty and Katia de Vidas, his now wife, retreated to Étretat from Margate
Mariella Frostrup
Mariella Frostrup and family visited the little Ionian island of Paxos a decade ago. Now an A-list favourite, would it still have all of its simple barefoot appeal?
Kathy Lette | Travel Troubleshooter
Q. I’m happily married and planning a fun short break to Las Vegas with a very close friend to celebrate our...Q. I’m happily married and planning a fun short break to Las Vegas with a very close friend...Q. I’m happily married and planning a fun short break to Las Vegas with a very close friend...
WHERE WAS I? COMPETITION
“What’s keeping you?” hisses my friend, hovering by the exit. “I was just admiring the general splendour,” I tell him...“What’s keeping you?” hisses my friend, hovering by the exit. “I was just admiring the general...“What’s keeping you?” hisses my friend, hovering by the exit. “I was just admiring the general...
video
Our writer hikes to the top of Morocco’s extraordinary Mount Toubkal a century after a group of French climbers made the first ascent. He’s not ashamed to say that the mountain almost broke him. This is his story. Become a subscriber and,...Our writer hikes to the top of Morocco’s extraordinary Mount Toubkal a century after a group of...Our writer hikes to the top of Morocco’s extraordinary Mount Toubkal a century after a group of...
from the archive
St James’s Palace
4th May, 2024
The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, today carried...St James’s Palace
4th May, 2024
The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim...St James’s Palace
4th May, 2024
The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim...
law report
Supreme Court
Published on May 6, 2024
Bertino v Public Prosecutor’s Office, Italy
Before Lord Hodge, Lord Sales...Supreme Court
Published on May 6, 2024
Bertino v Public Prosecutor’s Office, Italy
Before Lord...Supreme Court
Published on May 6, 2024
Bertino v Public Prosecutor’s Office, Italy
Before Lord...
MindGames and Brain Boost puzzles to print and solve at your leisure
Graeme McCormick decides not to stand after a ‘fruitful discussion’ with first-minister-in-waiting
The SNP has avoided the prospect of a damaging and costly leadership election after a party veteran and long-time leadership critic dropped plans to stand against John Swinney.
Graeme McCormick, a retired conveyancing solicitor from Loch Lomond, had gathered enough signatures for a leadership...The SNP has avoided the prospect of a damaging and costly leadership election after a party veteran and long-time leadership critic dropped plans to stand against John Swinney.
Graeme McCormick, a retired conveyancing solicitor from Loch Lomond, had gathered enough signatures for a leadership...The SNP has avoided the prospect of a damaging and costly leadership election after a party veteran and long-time leadership...
John Swinney has said he will consider a new approach to gender recognition reform if he is appointed as Scotland’s new first minister. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill is one of the contentious pieces of legislation believed to be behind a decline in SNP electoral fortunes over the past year. The legislation proposes to make...John Swinney has said he will consider a new approach to gender recognition reform if he is appointed as Scotland’s new first minister. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill is one of the contentious pieces of legislation believed to be behind a decline in SNP electoral fortunes over the past year. The legislation proposes to make...John Swinney has said he will consider a new approach to gender recognition reform if he is appointed as Scotland’s new first...
Iain Macwhirter | comment
John Swinney, the SNP leader-in-waiting, has had a pretty good press on the whole, despite being so obviously yesterday’s man. Solid. Safe pair of hands. A doughty chiel. Honest John is portrayed as a kind of Caledonian centrist dad who’ll restore a bit of common sense to Scottish governance. Should the opposition...John Swinney, the SNP leader-in-waiting, has had a pretty good press on the whole, despite being...John Swinney, the SNP leader-in-waiting, has had a pretty good press on the whole, despite being...
An MSP has asked for reassurances over the care of a young patient who barricaded themself into the bathroom of a...An MSP has asked for reassurances over the care of a young patient who barricaded themself into...An MSP has asked for reassurances over the care of a young patient who barricaded themself into...
Teachers face being stopped from calling pupils girls or boys under new gender rules drawn up by Scottish council...Teachers face being stopped from calling pupils girls or boys under new gender rules drawn up by...Teachers face being stopped from calling pupils girls or boys under new gender rules drawn up by...
review | concert
If one national orchestra wasn’t enough for you, this concert had two. The Usher Hall regularly hosts the classical musicians of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, but this weekend they shared the stage alongside the 15 virtuosi of the...If one national orchestra wasn’t enough for you, this concert had two. The Usher Hall regularly...If one national orchestra wasn’t enough for you, this concert had two. The Usher Hall regularly...
scottish PREMIERSHIP
There was a long spell when this was a million miles away from being fun for Rangers. Ibrox was in ferment, their team having gone a goal behind and missed a penalty. They laboured to break down ten-man opponents and the prevailing mood was a rage...There was a long spell when this was a million miles away from being fun for Rangers. Ibrox was...There was a long spell when this was a million miles away from being fun for Rangers. Ibrox was...
Comment
Mayors are the political disrupters we need
Trevor Phillips
Even Labour-run fiefdoms will pose awkward questions for Starmer as power shifts from the centre to the regions
libby Purves
Angry protests didn’t work in ’68 and they don’t now
edward lucas
It’s high time Britain did more for Taiwan
helen rumbelow | notebook
Meeting a monster in a grim garage off the M25
Tony Lodge
UK can’t keep track of emissions with imported electricity
Leading Articles
Starmer’s Challenge
After a successful performance in local elections last week, Labour needs to show definitively that it has abandoned fantasy economics and pressure-group politics
Shadow Fleet
Russia’s decrepit oil tankers pose an enduring threat to British waters
Songs of Praise
The tradition of hymnody deserves rediscovery in a secular age
letters to the editor
Sending in police to break up campus protests
Sir, American universities are facing vigorous outside intervention to end student protests about the war in Gaza. Protests at UK universities are beginning to prompt calls for a similar response, though external intervention in a university in...Sir, American universities are facing vigorous outside intervention to end student protests about...Sir, American universities are facing vigorous outside intervention to end student protests about...
Daily Universal Register
Briefing
UK: Early May bank holiday; nominations close in the Scottish National Party leadership election; the King’s Awards for Enterprise winners are announced for “outstanding achievement by UK businesses”.
US: Pulitzer prizewinners announced for journalism, drama, letters and music at Columbia University in New York; annual Met Gala takes place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
On this day
In 1966 Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were sentenced at Chester Assizes to life imprisonment for the murders of Edward Evans, 17, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and John Kilbride, 12; in 1994 the 31.5 mile-long Channel Tunnel was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and France’s President François Mitterrand. Eurostar services started in November that year; in 1997 Gordon Brown, the chancellor, granted the Bank of England independence to set interest rates, freeing it from political influence; in 1999 elections were held in Scotland and Wales to their respective devolved legislatures; in 2023 the coronation service of King Charles III and Queen Camilla took place at Westminster Abbey, with 90 heads of state among 2,300 in attendance inside the abbey. A total of 4,000 armed forces personnel and 19 military bands took part on the day, making it the biggest state occasion since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953.
Nature notes
The circular pond was ringed with ash and oak trees, the ground beneath them clothed in dog’s mercury, herb robert, bluebells and red dead-nettle. But here and there, tiny pinkish-white clusters of petals were held up above the undergrowth on long stems. They were the shy, fragile flowers of sanicle, a perennial umbellifer once renowned for its healing properties: the name comes from the Latin sanus, meaning healthy, whole or sound. Tracing the stem down to ground level it was possible to discover which leaves belonged to it: they looked a little like those of a buttercup, each with three to five toothed lobes, and occasionally seven. Its seeds are bristly and are distributed on animals’ fur — or humans’ clothing. Melissa Harrison
Melissa Harrison
Birthdays today
Prof Dawn Adès, art historian, 81; Sir Tony Blair, prime minister (1997-2007), 71; Sir Damon Buffini, chairman, National Theatre, deputy chairman, BBC, chairman, Permira private equity company (1997-2010), 62; George Clooney, actor, Gravity (2013), and producer, The Monuments Men (2014), 63; Jeffery Deaver, author, The Bone Collector (1997), The Cutting Edge (2018), 74; Ariel Dorfman, novelist and playwright, Death and the Maiden (1990), The Compensation Bureau (2021), and human rights activist, 82; Ron Fawcett, rock climber, one of the first professional climbers in the UK, 69; Alessandra Ferri, prima ballerina assoluta, 61; Lord (Malcolm) Forbes, premier lord of Scotland, 78; Rt Rev Jonathan Gibbs, Bishop of Rochester, 63; Sir Tom Hunter, entrepreneur, West Coast Capital, and philanthropist, 63; Lord (John) Hutton of Furness, Labour MP (1992-2010), defence secretary (2008-09), 69; Catherine Mackintosh, violinist, 77; Kit Martin, architect who specialises in country house restoration, 77; John Pawson, architectural designer, Sackler Crossing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2006), 75; Sir Craig Reedie, sports administrator, vice-president, International Olympic Committee (2012-16), 83; Duncan Scott, swimmer, Olympic gold medallist (2020), four-time world championship gold-medallist (2015, 2017, 2019, 2023), 27; Bob Seger, musician, Night Moves (1976), 79; Gabourey Sidibe, actress, Precious (2009), Antebellum (2020), 41; Graeme Souness, footballer, Liverpool (1978-84), manager, Rangers (1986-91) and sports pundit, 71; Prince Archie, son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, 5; Jason Tarry, chairman-designate, John Lewis (John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets), chief executive, Tesco UK and Republic of Ireland (2018-Mar 2024), 57.