Duty calls

The Duke of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge joined forces yesterday at the Anzac Day service of commemoration at Westminster Abbey, with the Duchess of Sussex absent as she prepares to give birth to her first child and the Duke of Cambridge visiting New Zealand, where he also attended a ceremony in memory of Anzac servicemen

The Queen attends the funeral of her close friend Jeanie, Countess of Carnarvon, at St Michael’s and All Angels Church, Highclere, yesterday, left.

The 83-year-old countess was the widow of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon and former custodian of Highclere Castle, the setting for Downton Abbey.

To the Queen’s right stands Jake Warren, son of the Queen’s horse racing manager and a close friend of the Duke of Sussex, whose brother, the Duke of Cambridge, was yesterday in New Zealand. The Duke met five-year-old Alen Alsati, above, who this week came out of a coma after surviving the Christchurch terror attack on March 15. Prince William earlier got a traditional Maori welcome by Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister.

Visiting the country on behalf of the Queen, he sat by Alen, who was badly hurt in the shootings alongside her father Wasseim. The Duke began his two-day visit by laying a wreath at an Anzac Day service before travelling to Christchurch to meet victims and first responders. Ms Ardern said his visit would bring comfort to the people of New Zealand. Later, he had a private meeting with Muslim leaders.