Anne Boleyn vs Katherine of Aragon. Diana vs Camilla. Kate vs Meghan. Throughout history, royal women have been pitted against each other. Pinioned in the public eye, they find themselves pressed into service to tell reductive stories about all women, prosecute culture wars and create rifts. Their misuse infects wider attitudes. They become caricatures, demonised or celebrated for impossible perfection.
Such contests can be real or confected, comparisons natural or forced. Anne Boleyn, soon after her death the subject of duelling biographies by combatants on either side of one of the greatest culture wars of all, the Reformation, is even now defined in opposition to Henry VIII’s other wives. Meanwhile Elizabeth I remains locked in combat with Mary, Queen of Scots; Diana still tangles with Camilla; and every female royal of modern times is measured against the Elizabeths or Victoria and, invariably, found wanting. Now, cartoonish versions of Meghan and Kate are slugging it out, each attached to projected value sets – Meghan progressive and liberal, Kate small-c conservative and traditional.
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The one easy habit which keeps your
brain young
From adopting a different running route to taking up a new hobby, here are seven ways in which new experiences can dramatically alter your brain health for the better.
Making friends at work can have a profound impact on happiness (Photo: Tim Robberts/Getty)
Why we need new experiences
A well-connected brain is more resilient to stress, illness and the effects of ageing.
Neurologist Dr Steve Allder says when we try unfamiliar things, our brain is forced to work in new ways.
Over time, this improves the brain’s ability to adapt to change and respond to challenges, helping us to preserve thinking skills and emotional balance.
Why we need new experiences
They strengthen memory formation
Regularly exposing yourself to new situations – even small ones – helps exercise your memory systems, which improves your ability to store and retrieve information.
A human brain made of wool with folded paper brainwaves – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Puzzles like sudoku have now been widely shown not to protect against cognitive decline (Photo: Getty Images)
They improve overall learning ability
Just as muscles adapt to new exercises, the brain adapts to new mental demands. As we age the brain then benefits from regular stimulation and maintains sharpness.
Why we need new experiences
Caption: Happy woman walking with male partner in vineyard during sunset. Elderly couple are touring in field against sky. They are enjoying during weekend.
Photographer: Morsa Images
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Digital Vision
Boosts dopamine
New experiences naturally stimulate dopamine, which encourages positive behaviour patterns.
Reduce cognitive decline
New experiences activate different brain regions, helping to keep more areas working.
Happy pregnant mother sitting close to smiling teen daughter while taking selfie on smartphone – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Caption: Portrait of elderly woman solving sudoku puzzles at home, sitting in living room. Sudoku as popular game for aging people, logical thinking, problem solving.
Photographer: Halfpoint Images
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Problem-solving
Your brain must evaluate options, test ideas and adjust its approach.
The benefits of new experiences
Each time you adapt successfully to something new, your brain learns that change can be handled. This improves emotional flexibility, making it easier to cope with stress and unexpected events.
They also often involve other people, whether through travel or social activities. This stimulate areas of the brain
responsible for communication, empathy and understanding others’ perspectives.
Running might not seem like the most appealing hobby, but if you give it a try, you might be surprised (Photo: EMS-FORSTER-PRODUCTIONS/Getty/Digital Vision/ems-forster-productions)
Your sleep has a huge impact on your heart health
How sleep and your heart
health are linked
Adults who regularly sleep fewer than seven hours are at increased risk of high blood pressure, obesity, heart attack and diabetes.
The risk of coronary artery disease is 45 per cent higher in adults with short sleep durations at night.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
The bedtime habits that reduce risk
Sleep tourism in hotel. Exhausted woman sleeps sweetly in bed in the morning – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Consistency
Keep daytime naps to less than 20 minutes and aim for seven to eight hours sleep per night.
Wind down
A reasonable 20-30 minute bedtime routine can include reading, light stretching, and meditation.
A mature man meditates in the last sun rays coming into his bedroom – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Caption: Close-up view of female jogger tying laces of her sport shoes before running exercise routine. Motivation, healthy lifestyle and fitness concept.
Photographer: Xavier Lorenzo
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Time your exercise
Vigorous exercise within three hours of bedtime can cause insomnia.
The bedroom environment
Pensive young Asian woman sitting on bed writing on journal in cozy bedroom. Copy space. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Sleeping in a bedroom with bright overhead light has been associated with a higher risk of major cardiovascular events, including heart attack (47 per cent higher risk), stroke (28 per cent) and heart failure.
Darken the room with blackout blinds or an eye mask, avoid blue light and leave your mobile phone outside your bedroom.
The bedtime habits that reduce risk
Food and drink
Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and large evening meals can all disrupt sleep quality.
One theory is that alcohol and drugs can hijack the brain’s pathways (Photo: Guillermo Spelucin/Getty Images)
Know your numbers
If your blood pressure at bedtime is consistently high, consider discussing medication with your GP.
Beware of snoring
Sleep-disordered breathing is linked with cardiovascular conditions, so it could be time for a GP evaluation.
Separate bedrooms is not the first step on the road to dissolution; it’s the route to joint survival (Photo: LordHenriVoton/E+/Miljan Lakic/Getty)
Alzheimer’s can be seen on brain scans (Photo: Tek Image/Getty)
HEALTH
Reflecting on the early signs of dementia
Three families reflect on the early signs of the illness, which affected their parents.
They include the things they missed or dismissed, what they’d do differently and what they’d want other people in the same position to know.
Robert and his mother Joyce
She fell for a scam
Robert’s mother Joyce spent her last six years in a care home
One of the first incidents that rang alarm bells for Robert was his mum falling victim to a suspected scam from someone selling mattresses door-to-door.
She also started to struggle with cooking and making her special dishes she’d been making for decades without a problem.
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
Did he tell his mother?
We [had] just sort of played along with everything. But on one particularly bad day, I blurted it out over the phone, ‘Because you’ve got dementia, mum!’ She threatened to kill herself, which was very scary. Maybe it’s something I should have explained properly to her from the get-go.
JOYCE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER’S IN HER EARLY SEVENTIES
Old man with dementia enjoys sunny weather – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Rosie became a carer
in her early thirties
I think we missed some of the really early subtle signs.
Rosie’s mother was diagnosed with Young Onset Alzheimer’s Disease at 58 but some symptoms, like brain fog, were put down to the menopause.
She had become more forgetful, and was repeating herself, but as she had always “been scatty” it was dismissed.
She became fixated
It was on strange things like going to the same buffet.
Chloe was just 14 when her mum, Sarah, was diagnosed with young onset frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of the disease.
Another time Sarah, who was diagnosed in her forties, forgot how to boil an egg.
On Saturdays, when she’d usually go shopping, she’d go out and come straight back home, almost like she was forgetting
what she was going out for.
Unused or unwanted subscriptions cost consumers £1.6bn.
Writer Sadhbh O’Sullivan looked into her own forgotten subscriptions when she became a first-time buyer, and realised how much she was wasting on things she wasn’t using.
Are you good at managing money (Photo:
Peter Dazeley/Getty/The Image Bank RF)
The hidden spends that go unnoticed
I’d long considered myself to be quite a reasonable spender.
But the hidden costs across her bank accounts, like free trials that hadn’t been cancelled and memberships for abandoned services, proved otherwise.
It was full of small amounts, £2.99 here, £4.50 there. These small amounts added up.
The ghost subscriptions
Sadhbh isn’t alone.
19%
According to a Nationwide survey almost one in five Brits don’t use every platform they pay for.
The bank suggests they could save as much as £400 a year by ditching them.
4.7 million
National Trading Standards’ 2025 research found 4.7 million people were paying for subscriptions they didn’t know they’d signed up for.
In 2024, a government report found unused and unwanted subscriptions cost consumers up to £1.6bn a year.
How to deal with the subscriptions
Hunt them down
Banking apps usually list your ‘subscriptions’ separately from direct debits and standing orders so you can easily spot what you’re shelling out on.
Pensioners have some flexibility over the timing and payment of their state pension
(juststock/Getty Images/iStockphoto/ NIPITPHON)
Edge will give customers cashback on debit card and direct debit spending
Check everything
You can be debited through credit cards, E-payment services, your mobile phone bill, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
How to deal with subscriptions
Dating apps have failed the black community, says Amber (Photo: Morsa Images/Getty)
Be honest
Don’t vow to use a subscription you’re not going to, even if you
have good intentions.
Look over 13 months
Many businesses have changed from monthly to annual payments so look further back.
Changes are due to kick in on everything from inheritance tax to filling in self-assessment forms (Photo: Getty).
Customers struggling with debts are highly likely to be in vulnerable circumstances, regulators warn
(Photo: Martin Prescott/Getty)
Future proof
Make sure to track any subscriptions you have kept so you can cancel them, if need be, in future.
Don’t be afraid of phone calls
If companies don’t let you cancel online, don’t fear the customer service line.
With TV and broadband, call the new customer number as it’s often answered more quickly.
If you’re happy with the service, but not the price, speak to a real person that may offer a better deal.
Look for a phone number and press the ‘thinking of leaving us’ option. It’s usually a fast track to a team with authority to offer bigger discounts.
Donations to charity have increased dramatically
But staff say many people treat their shops like a tip.
Here they share the most useful donations they get, and the
ones that drive them mad.
A rail of clothes in a second hand vintage charity shop – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
People won’t buy the current donations
The quality of donations over the last year has diminished.
Claire Stockman, head of retail for St
Luke’s Hospice [pictured], says many donations include used items from fast fashion like Boohoo and Primark, which they cannot sell for more than £2, if at all.
What the workers see
60%
of what comes into St Luke’s Hospice is unsellable, Stockman says.
She adds its soiled, damaged beyond
repair or smelly.
Vinted
Harriet, a volunteer at Crisis in Dalston,
says people bring in clothes that are dirty and stained – things that they cannot sell
on Vinted.
She also sees dirty kitchenware and technology that no longer works.
It’s not all bad
Two young women shopping in a vintage charity shop – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Harriet says they still get their
fair share of designer items.
She’s seen a pair of Louboutins
sell for around £400.
People will buy high-end items
even if they’re a little worn.
First Person
5 min read
The best donations
There was a box donated after someone’s family had passed and in it were all these medals. I researched them and the whole collection ended up going for £2,340…
JANE THURNELL-READ, VOLUNTEER AT
THE OXFAM GENERAL SHOP IN EXETER
What is a good donation?
A young woman chooses clothes in a fashion store and reads the labels on things while shopping at the mall. A millennial shopaholic woman tries on clothes in a fashion boutique – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
A good donation is anything new with tags on, anything that hasn’t been opened, or higher quality items.
Items that have been well looked after are more likely to sell and generate a better price for charity too.
Harriet adds that knick-knacks and wine glasses are surprise hits in her branch.
The feeling of dread that the weekend is over is all too familiar.
Here, psychologists, career consultants and sleep experts give their best advice on how
to beat the gloom that the
work week is looming…
(Photo: Getty).
How to beat the Sunday scaries
Pave the way on Friday
Psychologist Maria-Teresa Daher-Cusack says to wrap up tasks and not to leave big or difficult things for Monday. And write a to-do list for the next week so you know what to expect when you return after the weekend.
Young man practicing meditation in nature at sunrise – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Working from home is being blamed by some councils for the rise in fraudulent ‘polygamous’ working (Photo: Moment RF/Getty)
Get outside early
Doctor Naheed Ali says getting out on a Sunday morning – not sleeping late – helps regulate the circadian rhythm that can become skewed over the weekend.
How to avoid Sunday scaries
On Sunday spend time away from technology to allow yourself a personal reset away from doom scrolling.
Relaxing with dog on sofa – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Rebrand your Sunday evenings from a daunting time to relaxing. Career consultant Victoria McLean goes out for dinner or reads something unrelated to work.
She also doesn’t check her inbox on a Sunday night as it can begin the dread.
How to beat the Sunday scaries
Sleep tourism in hotel. Exhausted woman sleeps sweetly in bed in the morning – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Sleep well
Put yourself in the best position to rest by avoiding large meals, screens and caffeine.
Structure your week
If possible don’t stack your Mondays with high-pressure tasks.
Caucasian mid adult patient writing a diary while recovering in the hospital ward – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Cheerful aged woman, senior intern waving, saying goodbye to her young colleagues while leaving office after first day at work – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Find the fun daily
Don’t just save joyful things for the weekend. On lunch breaks, try to do something you enjoy.
(Photo: Getty).
Sometimes, you
need to listen.
If the Sunday scaries are constant, listen to them. If every Sunday fills you with dread and nothing seems to quell it it’s worth asking if it’s the job, the culture or the career itself. No one should spend half their weekend bracing for impact… ” says Victoria McLean
The UK has one of the most stable electricity grids in the world.
But no country’s energy system is 100 per cent secure and large-scale blackouts, although rare, are possible.
Here’s how to prepare, and what could happen, if we do have a blackout.
The immediate effects
If the UK’s power went down tomorrow, these are the ways it is likely to impact you first.
You’d get stuck in lifts, wherever you are in the lift shaft.
Trains would be stopped as the signals depend on electricity.
Traffic lights would stop working on the roads – leading to congestion or crashes.
Contactless payments are likely to fail.
Your Wi-Fi at home would stop working and communication becomes difficult.
Fridges and freezers will turn off – unless you have a standalone generator – and food will spoil over time.
Hospitals and water treatment works have their own backup generators so will keep going until their supply runs out.
How transport would be affected
Caption: This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows people charging their electric vehicles at a charging station in Kathmandu. As global fuel markets reel from the Middle East war, motorists in Nepal are increasingly turning to electric vehicles, with high demand putting a strain on dealerships. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH ‘Nepal-Transport-Automobile-Energy’ FOCUS
Photographer: PRAKASH MATHEMA
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
For EV owners that are already on the road, Professor Keith Bell, who works in electricity planning, recommends that those with an EV with reasonable charge use it as a generator, like your own store of electricity.
In the case of the power system going down, petrol isn’t a totally safe option as queues at petrol stations could be huge and places are likely to run out of fuel.
The longer term effects
The longer the power takes to return the worse things are likely to get. In 2021 Storm Arwen physically damaged power lines across the UK.
Without nuclear to take the strain, that exposure to gas is costing us dear (Photo: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty)
Caption: FILE PHOTO: A row of electricity pylons is seen near the Frodsham on shore wind farm in Frodsham, Britain, September 5, 2023. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
Photographer: Phil Noble
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS
During the 1977 New York blackout, which lasted 25 hours, there was civil unrest, resulting in widespread looting and arson, although intense heatwaves are thought to have exacerbated the situation.
Things to buy now to prepare
The Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the BBC’s radio frequency in Lebanon (Photo: Getty)
Battery radio
To get updates during a power cut – a car radio can be used, but in severe weather it might be safer to stay inside.
Bottled water
A minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended.
Caption: Plastic bottle with clean water on a blue background.
Photographer: SimpleImages
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
A Cuban rides his bike during a nation wide blackout in Havana on 21 March (Photo: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty)
Wind-up torch
The Government recommends opting for torches over candles, for safety reasons.
How to prepare
A blackout is unlikely but we should make small changes.
If possible, don’t let your petrol tank run down to almost empty. Keep it over half full so you’re never caught short.
Always have a portable power bank, and spare batteries, to charge your phone and other essentials.
As card machines could fail, keep some cash at home.
To keep yourself distracted and entertained, keep board games and a pack of cards handy to play.
Eight easy ways to stop
your child spending summer glued to their devices
Not all screen time is bad
Using screens in a way that benefits your child’s development is key and balancing educational content and entertainment with offline activities ensures a well-rounded routine.
DR GUMMER
How to keep your kids off screens
Outdoor activities
For younger children, try scavenger hunts, garden games and nature walks. For older ones, hikes
and biking trips.
Create a schedule
Designated screen-free times helps children develop a routine that balances screen use with other activities.
Caption: Mid adult man with eyeglasses sitting on a comfortable sofa at home, thoughtfully writing notes in a small notebook while natural sunlight illuminates the room
Photographer: Milan Markovic
Provider: Getty Images
Source: E+
Family game nights
It’s an excellent way
to bond and develop critical thinking skills.
How to keep your kids off screens
Creative hobbies
Getting creative, through drawing, painting or model construction, enhances cognitive skills and offers an alternative to screens.
Social interaction
Arrange playdates or group activities with friends, or for older kids try an overnight camping trip in the garden.
How to keep your kids off screens
Lead by example
Showing that you value offline time encourages your children to do the same.
Have a reward
Implement a reward system where screen time is earned through positive behaviour.
Open conversations
Discuss the importance of balancing screen time with your children so they understand the reasons behind the rules.
History, of course, is in eternal flux, revised when new information comes to light and according to the preoccupations of each era. I wrote my new book, Divide and Rule, because despite these revisions, there is a startling constant: women are routinely marginalised, except for those unlucky enough to be born royal or marry into royalty, who acquire disproportionate influence. My book looks behind the distorted images of these royals in search of the more nuanced, and compelling, truth.
Harry arrives in the UK this week. Meghan and their children will not accompany him because of the Sussexes’ ongoing fears over their security. It is possible that they may slip into the country later in the week, perhaps even see the King, but such a visit would be fleeting if it happens at all. Critics charge the couple with exaggerating the risks but Neil Basu, the former head of Counter-Terrorism Policing in England, has said that Meghan faced “disgusting and very real” threats, some from the far right, during her time as a working royal. A copy of a report prepared by a private security firm in February said that Harry is the focus of six terrorist plots alone. So-called lone wolf attackers represent the highest priority threat to the whole family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Australia in April. A former counter-terrorism police chief has said Meghan faced ‘disgusting and very real’ threats as a working royal (Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
An economy of hate has grown up around the Sussexes and especially Meghan. To her detractors, anything short of a full-blooded assault on her character represents an attack on all they claim to hold dear. Opponents of the Sussexes have for months muttered darkly of “Project Thaw”, depending on different tellings a dastardly plot to restore the errant Duke and Duchess to frontline royalty (pass the smelling salts) or to open the possibility of a limited rapprochement and maybe salve some of the very real pain of the family fracture.
Denigrating Meghan hurts her and the wider family—but the damage does not stop there. Though brickbats are often launched against her in the name of the monarchy, these missiles also gouge holes in its crenelated ramparts. A core role of the sovereign, supported by his family, is to represent and unite the peoples of the 15 realms he serves as head of state. In the UK, support for the monarchy has dropped sharply, especially among the young. A recent poll shows only a third of 18- to 34-year-olds backing the current system, compared to 74 per cent in 2013. A separate survey indicates that a majority of young Britons from minority ethnic backgrounds favour moving to a republic. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s misadventures are responsible for much of the current disaffection, but so too is the loss of Harry and Meghan.
Unlike other organisations, the monarchy can only add to its balcony line-up via marriage or reproduction. How should the institution woo back the demographics who saw themselves reflected in the Sussexes and suspect that the very characteristics they identify with, including Meghan’s biracial heritage, underpin the failure to retain them as working royals?
The job of royalling is nebulous. A good deal of it consists of meeting the public, and here too the paucity of Windsors is taking a toll. Andrew has finally been banished. Health problems and advancing age threaten some of the family’s most dedicated performers. This is a serious problem. “I have to be seen to be believed,” Elizabeth II supposedly quipped. Like many “facts” about royal women, this may be myth; the late Queen herself attributed the quote to Victoria. The sentiment, however, is accurate.
The Royal Family watch a flypast during Trooping the Colour in June. Unlike other organisations, the monarchy can only add to its balcony line-up via marriage or reproduction (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty)
Last year, the royals deployed across the UK and overseas to carry out 2,459 official engagements. Charles, now 77 and under treatment for cancer, tops the list for hardest-working royal, followed by his sister Anne (75), the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (respectively 62 and 61), Camilla (78) and the Duke of Gloucester (81 and little known even in Britain).
Popularity is a numbers game too. How can King Charles hope to unify his subjects amid the battle royale between fans of the Sussexes and the Waleses? The conflict heightens feelings towards each camp, creating passionate fan bases but also stripping them and the wider monarchy of the kind of passive support critical to sustaining it. At various times Whitehall sources have linked China and Russia to disinformation about Kate while Bot Sentinel detected a co-ordinated campaign against Meghan. My own research found evidence of deliberate attempts to inflame online debates and disseminate untruths, aided by troll farms and deep fakery.
I interviewed Gina Neff, professor of responsible AI at St Mary’s University and executive director of Cambridge University’s Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, for my book. The originators of such material “often don’t care about the underlying issues”, she told me. “Their whole playbook is to sow the seeds of doubt and mistrust.”
Sallies against the Sussexes do not help to uphold the monarchy – instead they undermine it. An increasingly urgent question is to what extent populism has the institution in its sights. For all that the English far right festoons itself with Union flags, it instinctively perceives the King as dangerously liberal and the monarchy as a roadblock. Divide and Rule explores the extent to which the latter idea – for example that George VI and his daughter Elizabeth II served as bulwarks against fascism – holds up to scrutiny.
It is certainly true that by tolerating the virtual tarring and feathering of royal women – Meghan today, who knows which Windsor tomorrow – we normalise hate-filled language and the dehumanising of public figures. Online violence promotes the analogue kind, while sexist and racist discourse is helping sow acceptance for the rolling back of rights and protections that once seemed secure. I hope that by revisiting the stories of royal women, we can understand the gulfs between who they really were or are and their misogynistic portrayals – and show how these distortions affect all of us.
Here’s a thought: Anne Boleyn or Katherine of Aragon? Kate or Meghan? You can choose not to choose.