DOMINIC LAWSON: This was meant to be bad news, and in a way it is: Storm Ciara (easier to write than to pronounce) has swept across the United Kingdom.

DOMINIC LAWSON: Every year my sister gives me the same birthday present. Sorry, that's not fair: Nigella gives me a jumper, but each year it is one of a different colour.

DOMINIC LAWSON: So that's clear: it is absolutely unacceptable for anyone with eugenicist views to have a position of the slightest influence within British politics.

DOMINIC LAWSON: The 12th Baron Lucas inaugurated a debate asking the Government to ensure that at least half of toilet facilities in public buildings are available to women only.

DOMINIC LAWSON: The coronavirus sweeping the world can be traced back to a food market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the new strain first transferred from wildlife to humans.

DOMINIC LAWSON: Johnson said in 2007 that Mayor Larry Vaughn was the true hero of the film Jaws: it was 'laudable' that he strove to help businesses in defiance of mounting hysteria.

DOMINIC LAWSON: As so often in her 68-year reign, the Queen gets it right. In her statement to the country on meeting the challenge of the coronavirus, she did not once use the word 'war'.

DOMINIC LAWSON: The founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong, invented a term for 'reactionaries' in the West who made threats against his regime. He called them 'paper tigers'.

DOMINIC LAWSON: Only a certain type engages in professional point-scoring in the midst of a pandemic. But Sir Paul Nurse, the Nobel prize-winning scientist, seems to fit that bill.

DOMINIC LAWSON: This wasn't supposed to happen. The British people have responded to a draconian lockdown with good humour and fortitude.

DOMINIC LAWSON: The decision to extend the lockdown has, unsurprisingly, intensified the complaint that 'shutting down the economy will cost more lives than the coronavirus'.

DOMINIC LAWSON: How mortifying to be complimented by a representative of the totalitarian regime now in the global dock for its conduct during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Locked-in Shirley Parsons (pictured) suffered a colossal haemorrhagic stroke from a clot on her brain in 2003. But she said she is happier than before her stroke, writes DOMINIC LAWSON.

Gemma Culverwell, 35, from Sheffield, South Yorks, is mum to daughter Marcy, five, who is often likened to Princess Charlotte by strangers. She says people regularly do a double take.

Princess Charlotte, four, enjoyed a day out at the polo with her family on Wednesday. Eagle-eyed royal watchers spotted she was carrying a little sequin unicorn Beanie Boo purse, which costs just £4.

The Duchess looked glamorous in a bespoke green D&G midi dress, estimated to have cost £2,150, previously worn in 2016 on a visit to Kelowna, during a royal tour of Canada.

Parents have praised the Duchess of Cambridge's reaction after Princess Charlotte, four, stuck her tongue out to crowds at the star-studded King's Cup regatta at Cowes, Isle of Wight, yesterday.

Princess Charlotte, accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George, will attend her first day of school at Thomas's Battersea on Thursday September 5.

Arriving at Thomas's Battersea, where her brother George is two years above, four-year-old Princess Charlotte clung to her mother's hand and was sure to keep her manners in check.

Giving Princess Charlotte a touch of sparkle on her way to school in London this morning was a pink, sequined unicorn head key ring seen dangling from her bag.

The Duchess of Cambridge, 37, was the picture of elegance on Thursday as she arrived at Thomas's Battersea with William, 37, and their son George, six, for Charlotte's first day of school.

Prince William, 37, revealed Princess Charlotte, 4, 'loves unicorns' and declared the mythical creatures were 'very cool' during a royal visit to Harcombe House in Devon yesterday

Actress Michelle Dockery, 37, heaped praise on Kate Middleton, 38, as she recalled the royal's visit to the Downton Abbey set in 2015, as she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Kate Middleton, 37, made the confession while visiting the Aga Khan centre in London yesterday, and revealed all about her family's preferences when it comes to spicy foods.

Executive assistant manager Ann-Kathrin Reichel, 31, from Cloppenburg, Germany, now owns 60 'repli-Kate' outfits, spending between £20 and £90 on each over the past year.

TALK OF THE TOWN: The Duchess of Cambridge, pictured, used the special entrance - originally installed by Prince Harry, to access the Hollywood Arms in Chelsea.

Kensington Palace suddenly cancelled Kate Middleton's attendance this afternoon, citing an undisclosed matter relating to Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, one.

Princess Charlotte has asked for a pony for Christmas, according to new reports.

The Duchess of Cambridge, 37, is allegedly working on her tennis game at the Hurlingham Club in Fulham, west London and is often joined by her husband and children.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's 2019 Christmas card featuring their children Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince Louis has been shared online.

The Duchess of Cambridge, 37, looked festive in tartan as she arrived with Charlotte and Louis for the Queen's Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace today.

LIBBY PURVES: Princess Charlotte certainly stole the show on her first walk about at Sandringham this week: in her smart little double-breasted coat, she wowed the crowd with aplomb.

It is understood Prince William took Charlotte and brother George to St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham before Christmas to familiarise them with its layout and explain about wellwishers.

A source told US Weekly that Kate and Prince William's three youngster's 'adore' seven-month-old son, Archie, and that Kate is hoping for more family time with their cousin in the year ahead.

Louise Heren, from the UK, spent time researching at Norland College - where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's nanny, Maria Borrallo, trained. She revealed the skills she learned to Mirror Online.

From the floral smock dresses to the tailored wool coats, Gucci's latest collection, which debuted in Milan earlier this week, appears to pay homage to Princess Charlotte's, 4, style.

Princess Charlotte, four, was given a £1.50 pink plastic flamingo by royal fan Gemma Clark, 39, as she left St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate.

London-based Charlie van Straubenzee, who was one of Prince Harry's ushers, welcomed daughter Clover on Wednesday last week, reports The Sunday Times.

Royal fans are going wild online over the 'uncanny' resemblance between Princess Charlotte, 5, in her new birthday portraits and the Queen's niece Lady Sarah Chatto's, 55.

JACK DOYLE: While the Tories realise that if they fail to deliver Brexit, they will be electorally dead, Labour is convinced that it must champion Remain voters to survive.

After securing the backing of MPs Boris Johnson is odds-on to become Britain's next Prime Minister. But he will have to juggle high expectations from all sides if he gets the keys to No. 10.

JACK DOYLE: The Cabinet Room in No 10 has two clocks. The more prominent one sits on a mantelpiece behind the Prime Minister's chair. The other was installed on the table opposite.

JACK DOYLE: To stop No Deal, Dominic Grieve is prepared to risk putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street. That is the only logical conclusion from the threat he made on the Today programme.

JACK DOYLE: IN a burst of optimism characteristic of his leadership campaign, Boris Johnson insists he would break the Brexit deadlock and honour the result of the referendum.

The senior minister told the Daily Mail the Prime Minister would fight in court to try to find a way around the law forcing him to extend the October 31 Brexit deadline.

JACK DOYLE: With his bombastic battle-cry of 'Get Brexit Done', Boris Johnson left the conference stage to ecstatic applause. His first speech as PM was everything they hoped for.

JACK DOYLE: Rain's predicted for Thursday, and there's the chance of snow in Scotland. This could mean older, less mobile, Tory voters stay at home.

JACK DOYLE: In the red corner stands Jeremy Corbyn, a friend to Britain's enemies, whose hard-Left prospectus would lay waste to Britain's economy.

Throughout the campaign, Tory staff out on the road with Mr Johnson were always more optimistic than those based in London, because they saw at first hand the reception he got from the public.

The Turner winning ceramicist Grayson Perry delivered an acute and sharp-eyed diagnosis of Labour's failings after he was invited to guest-edit BBC Radio Four's Today programme.