Lord Howard of Castle Rising

'Shocked' Royal Family can't trust Harry anymore

Prince Harry's 'incendiary' remarks catch the King off guard

Inside the First Fitting of a True Bespoke Masterpiece | Canons Bespoke ...

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With a continuous history spanning over 180 years, our workshop is London’s oldest bespoke shoe and bootmaker.

We proudly design and make the highest quality bespoke shoes; boots, bags, belts and luggage along with small leather goods. Every one of our items is truly bespoke, meaning our clients get to own a wholly unique piece.

 

The process of bespoke making is highly skilled and our team is both professional and discreet. Our workshop is honoured to produce bespoke shoes and leather goods for high profile clients globally and has done so for over 180 years.

 

Canons has a worldwide travel roster and our Lastmaker visits clients both old and new several times a year in countries such as the United States and Japan. You can find details of our upcoming trunk shows here.

Prince Harry says king ‘won’t speak to him’

 

Prince Harry says king ‘won’t speak to him’ and he would ‘love’ to be reconciled

 

After losing personal security challenge, Duke of Sussex says he wants to make peace as he does not know how long Charles has to live

 

Caroline Davies

Fri 2 May 2025 18.04 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/may/02/prince-harry-wants-reconciliation-royal-family

 

The Duke of Sussex has said it is “impossible” for him to bring his wife and children back to the UK after losing his legal challenge over personal security, and revealed he would “love” a reconciliation with his family.

 

In an emotional interview with the BBC, Prince Harry said his father, King Charles, will not speak to him “because of the security stuff”, but said he wanted reconciliation as life was “precious” and he did not know how long his father, who has been diagnosed with cancer, had left to live.

 

Speaking in California, where he now lives, Harry, 40, said: “For the time being, it’s impossible for me to take my family back to the UK safely.”

 

He added: “I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point, and the things that they’re going to miss, is, well, everything. I love my country. I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done.

 

“I miss the UK. I miss parts of the UK, of course I do. And it’s really quite sad I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”

 

Harry had sought to overturn changes to his security provision while in the UK, which were made after he and the Duchess of Sussex stepped away from royal duties in 2020.

 

He was offered “bespoke” security, which he felt was “inferior” and claimed the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (known as Ravec), which authorises security measures, had breached its own terms of reference by not conducting a risk management board (RMB) before making the decision.

He insisted his father could help solve the issue, though he had not asked him to intervene. “I can only come to the UK safely if I am invited, and there is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands.

 

“Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him, not by intervening, but by stepping aside and allowing the experts to do what is necessary and to carry out an RMB,” he said.

 

It is understood it would have been constitutionally improper for the king to intervene while the matter was being considered by the government and reviewed by the courts.

 

Although the royal household provides representation and input into the Ravec decision, Friday’s judgment laid out that the chair of the Ravec committee was the decision maker on the provision of security. Royal private offices and private secretaries should be consulted as to the practicalities of the protection measures agreed, the ruling said.

 

Harry also appealed to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, saying: “This all was initiated under a previous government. There is now a new government. I have had it described to me by people who know about the facts that this is a good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up. And that’s what it feels like.”

 

Asked whether the prime minister should “step in”, he replied: “Yes, I would ask the prime minister to step in.

 

“I would ask Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to look at this very, very carefully and I would ask her to review Ravec and its members, because if it is an expert body, then what is the royal household’s role there, if it is not to influence and decide what they want for the members of their household?”

 

On his family rift, he said: “There have been so many disagreements, differences between me and some of my family. This current situation, that has been ongoing now for five years with regard to human life and safety as the sticking point. It is the only thing that’s left.

 

“Of course some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book, of course they will never forgive me for lots of things, but … I would love reconciliation with my family.

 

“There’s no point in continuing to fight any more. Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile.”

 

He added: “If they want that, it’s entirely up to them.”

 

Harry said he could never leave the royal family, though he had left the “institution” because “I had to”.

 

He continued: “Whether I have an official role or not is irrelevant to the threats, risk and impact on the reputation of the UK if something was to happen.

 

“What really worries me more than anything else about today’s decision, depending on what happens next, [is that] it set a new precedent that security can be used to control members of the family, and effectively, what it does is imprison other members of the family from being able to choose a different life.”

 

He claimed that, through the court disclosure process, he had “discovered that some people want history to repeat itself, which is pretty dark”. Asked who he meant, Harry declined to answer.

 

He said he was “devastated” by the court’s decision, adding: “Not so much devastated with the loss [as] about the people behind the decision feeling as though this is OK. Is it a win for them? I’m sure there are some people out there, probably most likely the people that wish me harm, [who] consider this a huge win.”

 

He indicated that he would not be seeking a further legal challenge, saying Friday’s ruling had “proven that there was no way to win this through the courts”.

 

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

Prince Andrew should never be allowed to return to public life

Prince Andrew should never be allowed to return to public life

Polly Hudson

The death of Virginia Giuffre - who accused the Duke of York of sexual assault - surely makes his desire to resume royal duties out of the question

 

Thu 1 May 2025 11.00 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/01/prince-andrew-should-never-be-allowed-to-return-to-public-life

 

Everyone talks about Prince Andrew’s “fall from grace” but that raises an awkward question. When exactly was his grace period? Admittedly, even the most cynical among us aren’t immune to royal wedding fever, and when he married Fergie the nation was still high on the fumes from Charles and Diana’s nuptials, so perhaps he was briefly popular in 1986. But other than that? Pretty confident recollections wouldn’t vary here. Nada.

 

So technically we can’t call the events that have transpired since that brief moment in the sun a fall from grace. It’s more accurate to classify them as many falls from “meh”.

 

With that in mind, it is genuinely baffling that there are still any conversations at all about Andrew returning to royal life, especially when many think Harry should be locked in a tower just for daring to pursue an alternative future. Yet the discussion has somehow rumbled on. Now, with the death of Virginia Giuffre, it must stop for good.

 

When Giuffre alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by Andrew on three occasions when she was 17, he promised to fight to clear his name in court. His lawyer described her accusation as “baseless” and claimed she was seeking a “payday”.

 

Andrew went on to settle out of court in the US civil case for an estimated $12m, while making no admission of guilt. His lawyer declined to comment. David Boies, representing Giuffre, said of the settlement: “I believe the event speaks for itself.”

 

The teenager had been recruited to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000 while working as a locker-room attendant at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. Giuffre told the Miami Herald: “Before you know it, I’m being lent out to politicians and academics and royalty.” In a later interview with the BBC, she chillingly described being “passed around like a platter of fruit”.

 

Last weekend, her family announced that she had “lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. In the end, the toll of the abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”

 

With a few jaw-dropping exceptions, when it comes to royal scandals we don’t usually hear from the royal at the centre of the storm: never complain, never explain, and all that. But, unfortunately, thanks to his infamous Newsnight interview, we’re under no illusions about the precise level of remorse Andrew feels for his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, which continued after Epstein was convicted and sentenced to eighteen months in prison in 2008, for procuring a minor for prostitution. Remember, as Andrew said in that interview, the only thing he’s guilty of is a “tendency to be too honourable”.

 

The mea non culpa also showcased Andrew’s superpowers: a staggering degree of tone-deafness and complete illiteracy when it comes to reading rooms. As producer Sam McAlister revealed in the aftermath: “As the interview ended, and I looked at the floor, unable to comprehend what we’d just witnessed, it became clear that Prince Andrew actually thought it had gone well. Very well … Those historic photos of him and Emily [Maitlis] walking in the palace corridors that you saw? Taken after that terrible interview took place … You can see how well he thought it had gone.”

 

It’s the same story every time he pops back up, cold sore-style and just as welcome. From when he bowled down the aisle with the late Queen, unselfconsciously centre stage, at Prince Philip’s memorial in 2022, to most recently at a public appearance at an Easter church service in Windsor. (His first since the furore over his links with businessman Yang Tengbo, accused of being a Chinese spy.)

 

Whenever we see Andrew, his expression is that of a dog who’s not bothering to beg for a treat because he’s so certain it’s coming his way. “Ugh, haven’t I waited long enough?” drips from every pore. Sorry, would drip from every pore, if only that were medically possible.

 

Never being allowed back to royal duties, into the spotlight he so clearly relishes, means he will spend the rest of his days languishing in the lap of luxury. As punishments go, it’s hardly harsh. But there is a sting in the tail. It’s highly likely Andrew will be for ever denied the public approval he still seems to feel he is entitled to and deserves. It’s not a life sentence as most of us understand it, and it’s certainly nowhere close to the one Virginia Giuffre endured, but at least it’s not nothing.

 

 Polly Hudson is a freelance writer

MOON - Woven With Northern Soul

https://www.abrahammoon.co.uk/

 

We are currently only able to ship within the UK for online orders of both samples & fabrics.

For international trade enquiries, please email customerservice@moons.co.uk.

 

ABOUT US

Founded in 1837 and with our roots in apparel, we are one of the last remaining vertical woollen mills in Great Britain, with a reputation for consistent quality and innovative design. Here you can discover more about the Abraham Moon mill, our illustrious company history, and the many natural benefits of wool fabrics.

 

COMPANY HISTORY

Our company's fine history is just one of many features that come together to make Abraham Moon products extra special, and is something we're rightfully proud of. From supplying fabric for a growing Leeds market throughout the 1800's to supplying the major fashion houses of modern times, this rich tapestry all comes together to create quite a story over the past 180 years.

 

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO INTERNATIONAL RENOWN

1837 - A memorable year in at least 2 respects. It was the year in which Queen Victoria succeeded to the British throne and it was also the year in which Abraham Moon & Sons was founded.

 

Abraham Moon, a considerable standing in the community of Guiseley, on the Northern fringes of Leeds and the Southern fringes of the Yorkshire Dales, supplied many local families with yarn to weave cloth on hand looms in their homes. When the cloth was woven he would collect the pieces, paying the weavers for their work. The cloth was then scoured (washed) locally and hung out to dry in the surrounding fields. Abraham would then transport the pieces by horse and cart to Leeds for sale in the market.

 

 1868 - Abraham had a three storey mill built on Netherfield Road in Guiseley, less than 300 yards from his house at the top of Oxford Avenue. The mill had an abundant source of local water which was soft and ideal for scouring (washing) and other processes necessary in woollen manufacture. Today we still use the pure water springs underneath the mill for scouring; as manufacturing technology progresses with time it's these simple historic details that make our fabrics special.

 

The newly built railway to Leeds ran directly behind the mill which had its own sidings. This proved an invaluable form of transport both inward (wool for processing, coal for power) and outward (distribution of cloth to the expanding consumer network). The company’s records show exports to both Western Europe and Japan as early as the 1890’s.

 

 1877 - In August 1877 Abraham Moon lost his life in an accident. A report from the local newspaper at the time sets the scene:

 

“Mr Moon was attending the annual Yeadon feast in his horse-drawn carriage. When a band struck up the startled horse bolted down Henshaw Lane. Two passengers managed to jump clear and were unharmed but Mr Moon stayed in his carriage trying to calm his horse. In its panic it tried to turn into a familiar lane where there was no room for the carriage. The vehicle demolished part of a wall into which Abraham Moon was thrown. He died soon afterwards from a head injury”. The article goes on to report that the horse survived the accident!

 

After his death, Abraham’s son Isaac succeeded him in the business, which continued to flourish throughout the remainder of the Victorian era.

 

 1902 - The original multi-storey mill burned to the ground. Undeterred Isaac Moon built a much larger single storey mill. By this time the mill had become fully vertical, meaning all manufacturing processes took place on one site – from raw wool through dyeing, blending, carding, spinning, warping weaving, and finally finishing the fabrics. We are one of the very few remaining vertical woollen mills left in Great Britain today. Isaac Moon took the business forward until his death in 1909.

 

Design and pattern books which date back to the early part of the Twentieth Century tell a story in themselves. Fashion fabrics from 1900 to 1913 gradually give way to army shirting, trouserings and greatcoat cloths from 1914 which in turn are replaced by the emerging fashions of the 20s. Today designers use the old pattern books for inspiration with new designs and the re-creation of retro looks.

 

 1920 - The Moon family sold their shares in the company in order to pursue other interests. The shares were purchased by Charles H Walsh who was both designer and mill manager at the time with the borrowed sum of £33,000, the equivalent of £1.25m today. Charles' death in 1924 saw the company passed onto his son Frank, who was already in the business.

 

1954 - Frank’s nephew Arthur took control, only retiring as chairman in 2010. The current managing director is John Walsh, the fourth generation of the family which succeeded the Moon dynasty. 1952 also marked a further extension of the mill, still located at the original site on Netherfield Road, making more room for the warping and weaving of the fabrics.

 

 1990 - Throughout the 1990's, wool faced increased competition from man-made fabric. While many mills tried (and failed) to compete on price, Moon focused on quality and concentrated on the luxury market, taking advantage of the manufacturing control and consistency that only a vertical mill can offer. Our customer list includes major international brands such as Burberry, Paul Smith, and Ralph Lauren.

 

2009 – Bronte Tweeds was purchased by Abraham Moon & Sons. Already a well-known producer of throws and tartans, the combination of Bronte's extensive market knowledge and our dedicated in-house design team and manufacturing versatility has seen our accessories division grow exponentially in the years since. Bronte Tweeds was rebranded as Bronte by Moon in 2013.

 

The showroom space was renovated from our old finishing department, where for decades our fabrics went to be steam pressed and rolled before the final quality control checks and despatch.

 

We have archive pictures of the space from even further back, 1912 in fact, when the area was used for burling and mending. You can clearly see the Victorian-era building archways and brickwork behind our new Sales & Marketing office.

 

This original building work was then extended in the 1950s, adding approximately 10m to the width of the mill on what was previously a courtyard. This is where our mill stands to this day, in close proximity to Netherfield Road.

 

Now it has been completely transformed into what you see here and below; an opportunity for us to not only give our ever-expanding product range a permanent display, but to tell the story of our unique heritage and historic craftsmanship.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

We love to hear from you on our customer service, product range, website, or any other topics you wish to share with us. Your comments and suggestions will always be appreciated; please complete our ‘Get in Touch’ form with your feedback.

 

Our customer service team aim to respond to all messages within 24 hours; during our busier periods this may not be possible so please allow up to three working days for a reply.

 

For the address, contact number and opening hours of the Abraham Moon shops in York and Guiseley please see below:

 

YORK

33 Stonegate, York, YO1 8AW

Mon-Sat: 9am-5:30pm   Sun: 11am-5pm

 

GUISELEY

Netherfield Road, Guiseley, LS20 9HQ

 

Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm   Sun: 10am-4pm

 

 

THE FABRIC SHOP

 

Our stock supported fashion fabrics are now available online. Pick from classic best-selling tweeds in a wide range of colours from the Abraham Moon range.

 

We're pleased to provide this special cut-length service, through which our fabrics are used for all manner of projects including tailored jackets, trousers, skirts, hats, and even footwear. All Moon tweed fabrics are British made at our unique woollen mill in Guiseley, Yorkshire, where we have been crafting fine cloths with love & precision for 180 years.