Home ahoho PRINCE HARRY WAS CELEBRATING HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY BACK IN BRITAIN — BUT MILES AWAY, PRINCE WILLIAM’S VERY PUBLIC DAY SENT A VERY DIFFERENT MESSAGE. For once, the Atlantic was no longer between them. Harry was back on British soil for a milestone day — yet William’s own schedule unfolded elsewhere, with no public sign that the brothers’ paths had crossed. Nothing about that alone proves anything. But after years of distance, the timing was impossible to ignore.

PRINCE HARRY WAS CELEBRATING HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY BACK IN BRITAIN — BUT MILES AWAY, PRINCE WILLIAM’S VERY PUBLIC DAY SENT A VERY DIFFERENT MESSAGE. For once, the Atlantic was no longer between them. Harry was back on British soil for a milestone day — yet William’s own schedule unfolded elsewhere, with no public sign that the brothers’ paths had crossed. Nothing about that alone proves anything. But after years of distance, the timing was impossible to ignore.

ahoho · 16/09/2026 · comments off

Smiling Prince William is unruffled in Devon as he steps out on Prince Harry’s birthday – best photos

The Prince of Wales visited Princetown near Devon near Dartmoor Prison on Tuesday, as Prince Harry marked his 42nd birthday

Prince William was business as usual as he visited a village near Dartmoor prison on Tuesday – as Prince Harry marked his first birthday since returning to the UK.

The Prince of Wales, 44, stepped out in Princetown near Devon to discuss the Princetown Community Fund, which will make £250,000 available to support locally led social, economic and environmental projects in the moorland village.

The future king visited community and culture hub Gather & Moor, and met residents and community leaders in the village.

Can the brothers, Prince Harry and Prince William, build bridges in the upcoming months© Getty Images
Prince Harry turns 42 on Tuesday

The outing came as Prince Harry celebrated his 42nd birthday, with wife Meghan Markle sharing a gushing tribute on Instagram, calling him “simply the best”.

William is yet to publicly address his brother’s return to the UK, as the pair are not believed to have been in contact for several years.

See the best photos from William’s outing below…

The Prince of Wales appeared in bright spirits as he met members of the community© Alamy Stock Photo

A royal welcome

William appeared in great spirits on Harry’s birthday as he was welcomed to Princetown, beaming as he shook hands with residents on arrival.

Prince William was business as usual© Alamy Stock Photo

The Prince wore a navy suit after announcing the new community fund.

The future king is no longer personally benefiting from the controversial £1.5 million annual rent generated by the abandoned prison, in a change announced earlier this year.

William had a go at using the printing press© Alamy Stock Photo

Getting stuck in

At Gather & Moor, William met representatives from heritage business Princetown Press, and even had a go himself at using their printing press.

Prince William admired the finished result© Alamy Stock Photo

As he rolled the ink, he was told “fantastic” and “good”, before pushing down the pedal and admiring his handiwork, receiving a round of applause after a brief moment of panic when he dropped the paper.

“There we go, excellent, and it’s spelled correctly!” he joked, looking at the perfectly printed sheet, adding: “What’s so lovely is how crisp each letter is.”

A print made by the Prince of Wales, who is known as the Duke of Cornwall whilst in Cornwall© Alamy Stock Photo

The final result

The final result read: “Gather & Moor Princetown. Opened by His Royal Highness, Prince William, The Duke of Cornwall. 15th September 2026.

“This broadsheet was set by hand and printed by Prince William to mark the day, on land held by the Duchy of Cornwall, Dartmoor, Devon.”

Prince William during his visit to Dartmoor© Andy Lloyd / Kensington

A busy schedule

He also met Princetown residents, community leaders and organisations who have been helping to develop plans for the Devon village.

The Duke of Cornwall during a visit to Princetown, Dartmoor to launch the new Princetown Community Fund© Andy Lloyd / Kensington

Later on, William met residents at a youth club, which recently received money from the heir’s Duchy of Cornwall to improve their facilities.

Latest developments in Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall

A Dispatches and Sunday Times investigation in 2024 discovered the Duchy of Cornwall signed a £37 million deal in 2022, before Charles became King and William the Prince of Wales, to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice, paying £1.5 million a year over 25 years, and a deal with the Ministry of Defence to allow the armed forces to train on Dartmoor land.

But the category C prison has been empty since July 2024 after high levels of radon, a toxic gas that occurs naturally in soil and rocks and can cause lung cancer, were recorded in prisoners’ accommodation.

A portrait of The Duchy of Cornwall during a visit to Corsten Fields Farm Vineyard near Bath© Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace
Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall is undergoing several changes

The new regeneration fund will be delivered by Devon Communities Together, and grants ranging from £500 to £40,000 will be available, alongside support for organisations applying for funding.

It forms part of the Prince’s plan for the Duchy to deploy more than £500 million over the next decade to invest in local communities, homes, local economies, renewable energy, farming resilience and environmental recovery.

The fund will build on work by the Princetown Place Strategy and the Encounters Shop initiative.

 

Related Posts

KING CHARLES STEPPED OUT OF MONARCH MODE FOR ONE QUIET BACK-TO-SCHOOL GESTURE — AND PRINCESS CHARLOTTE WAS AT THE HEART OF IT. As the Wales children returned to school, attention briefly shifted away from uniforms, timetables and royal routine to something far more personal. Despite the weight of his public duties, Charles is said to have made a touching gesture especially for his granddaughter — a small act that showed a very different side of the King behind palace walls. There was no grand ceremony and no formal royal protocol surrounding the moment. Instead, it was the kind of deeply personal gesture that belonged less to a monarch and more to a grandfather determined to make Charlotte feel supported as a new school chapter began. And it is the meaning behind that private act — rather than its scale — that has made the story resonate so strongly. 👇 THE FULL STORY BEHIND CHARLES’S SPECIAL GESTURE FOR CHARLOTTE IS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

MEGHAN’S BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO HARRY LOOKED LIKE A SWEET COLLECTION OF PRIVATE FAMILY MOMENTS — BUT ONE PHOTO MAY HIDE A FAR MORE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO DIANA. Among the snapshots of Harry with Archie and Lilibet, one seemingly ordinary outdoor scene has caught particular attention. At first glance, it is simply a father enjoying time with his children, far from royal engagements and cameras. But the location believed to be behind that image carries a much deeper significance for Harry — one connected not to the Windsors, but to his mother’s side of the family. And if the speculation about where it was taken is correct, Meghan may have quietly included one of the most personal Diana links in the entire birthday montage without mentioning it at all. 👇 THE POSSIBLE LOCATION — AND WHY IT MEANS SO MUCH TO HARRY — IS IN THE FIRST COMMENT.

PRINCESS LILIBET HAS AN AMERICAN MOTHER, A BRITISH FATHER — SO WHY IS MEGHAN TEACHING HER A TRADITIONAL CHINESE GAME AT JUST FIVE YEARS OLD? It’s an unexpected choice for a little girl growing up between two very different family backgrounds. Yet one new detail about Lilibet’s life has revealed that Meghan is already introducing her daughter to something neither traditionally American nor British — but deeply associated with Chinese culture. At five, Lilibet is now learning a game many adults spend years mastering. And the reason this particular pastime has found its way into the Sussex household may be more personal than it first appears.

ARCHIE AND LILIBET’S NEW SCHOOL ROUTINE HAS COME WITH SOME SURPRISING BOUNDARIES — AND ONE REPORTED RULE AT THE GATES IS RAISING EYEBROWS. 👀 As Harry and Meghan’s children settle into their first days, fellow parents are said to have been given guidance on how to handle encounters with them. The reported expectations apparently go well beyond cameras and social media. Even the most ordinary moments at drop-off and pick-up are said to come with instructions — including something as simple as acknowledging Archie or Lilibet when paths cross.

quynh trang