It is truly amazing when child actors grow up in front of the eyes of the audience. We see them become stars and celebrate their every success as though it’s our own.
I bet most of you remember the children of the Ingalls family from Little House on the Prairie. If you do, you must be wondering where they are today and what they are up to.
The second oldest daughter of the family, Laura Ingalls, was played by actress Melissa Gilbert, who captured the hearts of the fans and became an acting sensation almost overnight. Well, more or less like the rest of the cast. Melissa was featured in commercials and had some minor roles before taking the part in Little House on the Prairie. During the run of the series, she played parts in other films including The Diary of Anne Frank and The Miracle Worker.
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Born on on May 8, 1964, in Los Angeles, California, Melissa was given up for adoption by her parents who each had three children from their previous marriages and feared they couldn’t provide for another child. Melissa was lucky to be welcomed into the life of her adoptive parents, actor Paul Gilbert and actress/dancer Barbara Crane, from whom she learned all about the entertainment business.
In 2015, Melissa took a role in the short film One Smart Fellow, and played in Secret and Lies andThe Night Shift some years before. She is also a writer. Her autobiography Prairie Tale: A Memoir speaks of the period of her life during the famous series.
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As she goes back to the time of filming the series, she recalls she had a fun time with the rest of the crew.
Portraying a girl living on a farm seemed exciting back then, and it looks like Melissa got to love that way of living so she and her husband, actor-director Timothy Busfield, moved from Michigan to new home in New York a few years ago and even bought a hunting cabin and considered getting chickens and building a barn for goats and horses, she revealed during a virtual Television Critics Association panel focusing on the PBS American Masters biography “Laura Ingalls Wilder.” However, the coronavirus pandemic forced them to put their plans on hold.
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Today, however, they do live in the cabin and their days seem picture perfect. The place needed a full renovation, but despite the challenges, they were determined to turn the place into a comfortable home.
The first step was getting rid of the staff the previous owners left there. Next, they needed to get rid of the rodents and mildew and fix the plumbing.
They refurbished the cabinets, installed red vinyl chairs, and heated the house with a wood fire.
Gilbert and her husband grow their own fruits and vegetables.
The actress loves her peaceful home and the challenges that living at such a place brings. She copes with her responsibilities with a smile on her face and enjoys a cup of tea at the end of each day.
When it comes to their parenting, Kate and William do everything in their power to provide their children with a normal childhood, of course, as much as something like that is possible considering that Prince George would become a King one day.
The youngest of their children, Prince Louis, is one of the most charming little boys who never misses a chance to make the world smile with the silly faces he makes during royal occasions. Most of his photos which portray him ‘misbehaving,’ such as those from his grandfather’s public birthday celebration when he was shown either holding a sneeze, trying not to laugh openly, or simply reacting to a bad smell, entertain the public.
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His parents make sure Louis is treated gently. “William and Kate are easier on Louis because he’s the baby of the family. They don’t want to break his little spirit,” an insider told OK! Magazine.
“Louis is quite a handful,” the source added. “William and Kate do their best to teach him how to behave but understand these events are tiresome for a youngster. They are like other parents with young children in this way. It does make them more relatable to the public.
“They gently admonish him when he gets out of hand because he’s got to learn,” the source said of George and Charlotte. “William and Kate know the day will come and making faces won’t be ‘cute.’ Hopefully Louis will grow out of it.”
According to royal experts, Louis, as well as his sister Charlotte, would continue having royal roles as time goes by, but Louis will likely be just a ‘private citizen’ rather than a full-time working royal just like his father’s cousins Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Zara Tindall who have often been involved in larger royal events of recent years, though they’re not considered full-time working royals.
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“George, Charlotte, and Louis, who had starring roles at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June [last year], are being raised by their parents with an awareness of their positions and the roles they will one day carry out in support of the monarchy,” royal author and expert Katie Nicholl wrote in her book The New Royals.
“George knows that, like his papa, he will one day be king, while Charlotte will likely juggle the role of being the spare with a career. Louis could well be a private citizen undertaking occasional royal duties, like William and Harry’s cousins Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, as well as princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.”
But, it turns out that King Charles, Louis’ grandfather, has other plans for the young royal.
Mere days after Lilibet and Archie’s titles were officially added to the Buckingham Palace website, King Charles announced another significant change within the Royal Family.
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His youngest brother, Prince Edward, also titled the Earl of Wessex, was honored with a new title: the Duke of Edinburgh.
The statement issued by the Palace read, “His Majesty the King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon the Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness’s 59th birthday. The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness’s lifetime.
“The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip’s legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.”
Prince Edward would hold the title until the rest of his life. The wish that he gets the title was of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and King Charles simply granted it following their passing.
As reported by the Mirror, the Duke of Edinburgh title isn’t inherited, which means when Edward dies, it will revert to the crown. Once that’s done, one of Kate and William’s children would likely inherit it, and as per the media, that would be Prince Louis.
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Before Edward was handed the title on his 59th birthday, King Charles announced his determination to slim down the monarchy and downsize the number of royal titles.
“Charles’s charitable portfolio is being streamlined for when he is king, and this same forensic approach is being applied to how much and what the Royal Family does in his reign,” royal expert and author Richard Kay wrote for the Daily Mail. “As it will certainly downsize, it means fewer royals carrying out engagements.”
“So it is against a background of a slimmed down monarchy that the prince has been developing ideas about working royals, their titles, and how they fit in with his vision of a modern Britain.”
Kay continued: “Someone close to Charles told me that rather than more royal titles, the prince prefers fewer… The Edinburgh title, created by King George I for his grandson, Frederick, has been revived twice (by Queen Victoria for her second son Alfred and by George VI for Prince Philip), and Charles may even wish it go to his own grandson, Prince Louis.”
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The advance of technology helps facilitate our lives a great deal, but do we pay a high price when it comes to relying on the machines way more than we should?
In order to speed up the process of running errands and shopping for groceries, Walmart introduced self-checkouts. What they didn’t expect, however, is to face backlash because of this decision that many of the customers consider controversial.
The self-service machines aren’t something new. In fact, they were first introduced in the 1980s to lower labor expenses.
But this service faced plenty of obstacles and customers complain to the added responsibilities.
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For example, certain items may have multiple barcodes, whereas the produce, including the meat, fruit, and vegetable, typically needs to be weighed and manually entered into the system using a code, which might be time consuming for the ordinary shoppers. Other times shoppers won’t hear the “beep” confirming an item has been scanned properly.
Another issue is the increase of theft. Walmart announced that thefts at its stores has reached an all-time high.
The machines not only fall short at their purpose of making shopping easier at times, but they also make it harder for the employees they were meant to help.
Christopher Andrews, a sociologist and author of The Overworked Consumer: Self-Checkouts, Supermarkets, and the Do-It-Yourself Economy, says the system “doesn’t work well for anyone.”
He continued: “Everyone feels like they have to have it. Companies are thinking: ‘If we can just get more people on this, maybe we can start reducing some overheads.’”
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What’s most, most of the customers have reported that they miss the human interaction while shopping.
Randy Parraz from Making Change at Walmart perfectly summed up customer sentiments by saying, “You can’t convince customers to do the job of a cashier just because you don’t want to pay for the work.”
Walmart decided to listen to what their customers had to say and instead of further expanding automation, the retail giant will hire additional cashiers to provide their customers with a pleasant shopping experience and service.
What Walmart and the rest of the retailers, among which Costco and Wegmans, learned is that efficiency is important but maintaining a balance with positive experiences remains crucial.
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“Penny saved is a penny earned” is a saying that people who are good at managing their finances believe to be true.
Otha Anders, a former teacher from Louisiana, had been collecting pennies for a very long time. It all started as a goal of collecting pennies he would find on the street, and it soon turned into a passion he couldn’t say no to. Over the course of 45 years, this man had managed to fill in 15 5-gallon jugs of change before he finally decided to cash the pennies in 2015 when his homeowner’s insurance stopped covering the collection.
Source: YouTube Screenshot/ watchJojo
Speaking of his achievement which left the clerks at the bank totally stunned, Anders told ABC News: “If I would see a penny when I’m gassing up, on the ground, or in a store, it would be a reminder to stop right there and say a prayer. I never failed to do that. That’s why they had so much value to me.
“I would never spend a penny,” he told USA Today. “I would break a dollar before giving up a penny.
“I wanted to fill five five-gallon water jugs. That was the goal, but I couldn’t stop. … If I hadn’t turned them in yesterday, I was not going to stop,” he said.
Source: YouTube Screenshot/ watchJojo
Everyone who knows Anders knew of his passion and his collection. Even the kids at the school where he worked. He would sometimes buy pennies from them, but he would never take, not even a single one, without paying for it.
“I never allowed anyone, not even my wife nor children, to give me pennies without being compensated,” he told USA Today. “I wanted the inner satisfaction that God and I acquired this collection.”
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When he arrived at the Ruston Origin Bank in Ruston, Louisiana, the staff welcomed him in and were more than happy to assist him. For his stunning collection of pennies, Anders got $5,136.14.
Source: YouTube Screenshot/ watchJojo
Take a look at the video below to learn more about Anders and his collection.
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A woman shared the story of how she stumbled upon a strange message about her on her husband’s phone. Eager to learn what was going on and suspecting infidelity, she decided not to confront her husband but to invite the sender over.
This is her story.
“Nancy, my husband’s mom, arrived promptly at 2 p.m., carrying the weight of the message I had sent the previous night. Bracing for the revelation, I greeted her with a polite smile, concealing the inner turmoil. She explained that she and my husband, Jake, had been planning a surprise and wanted to share the news together. Curiosity mixed with anxiety as I invited her in, uncertain about what awaited me.
In the living room, Nancy hesitated before breaking the news. “Lisa, we’ve been working on a project for months, and we wanted it to be a surprise. Jake and I have been secretly planning a home renovation to create a space for your dream art studio.”
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Silence enveloped the room as the weight of my assumptions crashed down. I had suspected infidelity, but Jake and his mom were orchestrating a thoughtful gesture to support my passion for art.
Embarrassment flushed my cheeks as I absorbed the truth. Nancy continued, sharing details of their clandestine meetings and late-night discussions about layouts, color palettes, and decor—an expression of love and support for my artistic endeavors.
Overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, gratitude and remorse surged within me. My hasty assumptions had nearly derailed the genuine efforts to create something beautiful for me.
As Nancy unveiled the plans and sketches, I realized the extent of the effort and thought. The art studio, tailored to my preferences, featured ample natural light, storage space, and a cozy corner for relaxation—a labor of love almost missed, clouded by unfounded suspicions.
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In that moment, I silently vowed to trust and communicate more openly with Jake. The experience taught me the importance of giving loved ones the benefit of the doubt and not letting insecurity overshadow the bonds that held us together.
The initially anxiety-inducing home renovation project transformed into a symbol of love, understanding, and the strength of our relationships. From that day forward, the art studio served as a reminder of life’s surprises when trust and open communication prevailed over baseless doubts.”
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A woman took to Reddit to share the story of how she ruined her son’s wedding and doesn’t regret it, but wants to know if her act was justified or she’s in the wrong.
Namely, her son Mike was married before. He and his ex-wife welcomed a son together, Tommy.
Tommy was born with Down Syndrome and shortly after his arrival into the world Mike left him and his wife. What’s most, he refused to see his son or have any contact with his now ex-wife. He never provided for the boy.
Mike’s family was angry at him for turning his back to his son, so when his mother learned that he was marrying another wife, she decided she needed to do something about it. The mom didn’t really care if Mike would start a new family, she just wanted him to take responsibility for Tommy.
So, on the day of Mike’s wedding, just as he and his wife-to-be were about to say “I do,” his mother entered the church carrying Tommy in her arms and shared the truth about Mike and how he neglected his son.
Mike’s fiancée was listening with confusion. It was obvious she was in a state of shock after learning the truth about the man she was about to marry.
Moments later, she threw her bouquet at him and she and her family left the church.
Mike’s mom left shortly after and the following day her cousin Liam told her how Mike was raged and showed a range of emotions in front of the confused guests.
“Now I’m not sure if my choice to ruin the wedding was the right one,” Mike’s mom posted. She added that it wasn’t her intention to ruin her son’s wedding in the first place, she only wanted to teach him a lesson and make him take responsibility for Tommy and his actions, but that she doesn’t regret that the wedding didn’t take place.
“It may seem like I went too far, but I think it was important to bring attention to how bad Mike’s neglect was,” the woman wrote.
“I hope this interruption wakes him up so he can change his ways and be there for Tommy as a dad,” she concluded and asked Redditors AITA.
What are your thoughts on this?
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The beloved Princess of Wales is finally home, reunited with her children. Her recovery from the planned abdominal surgery she had undergone recently would take some time, and according to the Palace she won’t return to her public duties until Easter. Instead, Kate would be working from home while resting and spending time with the kids.
Of course, she would be getting the much needed help both from her husband, who also took some time off from his royal duties while Kate was at the hospital, and from her parents and sister.
“The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress,” Kensington Palace said in a statement released Monday. “The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided.”
The statement continued, “The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”
“Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
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According to Hello Magazine’s royal editor, Emily Nash, the Princess of Wales has used her phone to call her children via FaceTime while at the hospital. It had been reported that the children didn’t visit her there.
“Kate loves FaceTiming the children when she is working away overseas, so I’m sure they will be in regular contact while she’s in hospital, and the kids will be keen to see her as soon as she’s well enough,” Hello Royal Editor, Emily Nash said, as per Express.
“Both William and Kate are very hands-on parents – they take the kids to school, attend sports matches and concerts and try to be home for bedtime as much as they can. While Kate is in hospital, William will be at home keeping things as normal as possible.”
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William and Kate would get help from their long-time nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.
Borrallo has been with the family since Prince George was just 8 months old.
“She is not married and doesn’t have a boyfriend, as her life is totally dedicated to the family she is working with. She is known for being totally professional – married to the job,” an insider told Hello Magazine.
When the couple are away from home, the nanny makes all the decisions regarding the children.
Borallo was trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath. “Maria is firm, but she never acts unilaterally with the children on discipline. Kate and William, along with Maria, are strict with the children but have this magic ability to appear not to be,” a royal insider said.
A royal insider previously said, “Maria is firm, but she never acts unilaterally with the children on discipline. Kate and William, along with Maria, are strict with the children but have this magic ability to appear not to be.”
When she was hired, Kensington Palace released a statement: “Maria is a full-time nanny who started work with us recently and will be accompanying the Duke and Duchess and Prince George to New Zealand and Australia. We will not be giving further details on Maria or her employment, except to say that the Duke and Duchess are, of course, delighted she has chosen to join them.”
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Speaking with Hello Magazine, parenting expert Jo Frost explained that Maria is a very important person for William, Kate, and their children.
“The blessing of her nurturing ways and wonderful service to the family leave the children in good steady hands, affording William the flexibility to be present as a father, attend to his royal duties where he can at home and be the emotional support he will want to be for his wife,” she said.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams spoke to the Daily Mail and said, “There is going to be very considerable speculation as to when William is able to resume royal duties. Obviously, especially given the temporary incapacity of King Charles, the sooner the better. This makes Maria’s contribution at this difficult time all the more invaluable,” Fitzwilliams said.
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As everyone hopes that Kate’s recovery would be a speedy one, there would be a long “convalescence,” as per Fitzwilliams.
“William will be with her and forgoing royal duties for as long as he feels it is necessary. He has always put his family first. Kate has been as hands-on a mother as her role permits, but she has said that having a nanny is indispensable.”
He once again highlighted the importance of having the help of the nanny.
“Maria Teresa is, according to reports, extremely popular with the children but her training at Norland has meant she is ideal for whatever this role requires. She is of course a background figure, who is seen at some important royal occasions and who is indispensable at a time like this. Her training at the prestigious Norland College in Bath where she learnt a huge variety of skills and to work long hours if needed, will be particularly useful during the pivotal weeks of Catherine’s recovery,” Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail.
“The coming weeks may be difficult and will be a test of this redoubtable figure, who is so trusted by the future King and Queen.”
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As per royal editor Rebecca English, the media “have agreed not to have photographers [outside the hospital], not to have camera crews, not to have journalists, to allow [Kate] to recuperate from her operation in privacy and also to respect the privacy of the other patients.”
Expert Daniela Elser argued about the decision the children not to visit their mother at the hospital.
“One possible explanation for the young Waleses staying away came via the Sun, which reported that ‘William and Kate want her absence to feel as normal as possible for the youngsters’. And Monday to Friday, that’s entirely buyable and reasonable. But – and here we have a double, treble underlined ‘but’ in bold – what about the weekend just past?” Elser wrote for News.com.au.
“Still, they did not go, instead doing some (I’m assuming) bucolic gambolling about their “doting” Middleton grandparents’ $7 million place in Bucklebury, according to the Sun.”
“Which is sweet and all, and Carole and Michael can ‘dote’ all they want, proffering forth as many sticky buns, sweet treats, and gloriously gloopy ice creams as they can find, but is that better than getting a hug from their mother?” she continued.
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Further, Elser argued that although no child wants to see their mother in a hospital, the children were robbed of the chance to spend time with her and be by her side.
“As a royal aide told the Sunday Times’ Roya Nikkhah last week, William and Kate’s new motto as they face her health situation is, ‘100 percent family first, day job second.’ Does that gel with the kids not be taken to see Kate?” Elser concluded.
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For the past couple of weeks, The Princess of Wales spent her time at the Private London Clinic following a planned abdominal surgery.
There have been rumors surrounding her hospital stay, with many believing that the fact the Palace didn’t provide any details regarding the surgery may suggest that something more serious than a simple procedure was in question.
While Prince William visited his beloved wife every day, her children didn’t have the chance to see their mom for two weeks. They only talked to her on the phone and via FaceTime.
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William was the one who took the greater part in taking care for the children with the help of the family’s long time nanny.
And while Kate is expected to take her time in order to fully recover, William is said he would be getting back to his royal duties, although he would do his best to spend as much time at home.
“The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress,” Kensington Palace said in a statement Monday.
“The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided,” the palace said in a statement shared with HuffPost. “The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”
WINDSOR, ENGLAND – APRIL 09: (L-R) Prince George of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales and Catharine, Princess of Wales attend the Easter Mattins Service at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2023 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Except for William and the employees, Kate’s family would also be there to help her with her recovery, including her parents, her sister Pippa Matthews (née Middleton) and James.
Kate’s parents don’t live far away, and that’s a plus. On top of that, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis often have sleepovers at their grandparents’ place in Berkshire.
According to royal expert Sarah Hewson, Carole and Michael Midleton were also spending time at the hospital with their daughter.
“We haven’t seen them, but we saw William on the first day and then we didn’t see him again,” she said, as per Express. “Now, there are multiple entrances where they are able to slip in and out but we do know Carole and Michael Middleton were on hand particularly to help out with the children where William is, perhaps, visiting his wife.”
“They’d be doing a drop-off or pick-up [at school],” she added.
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The royal expert continued, describing the Mdidletons as a “tight-knit family.”
“..and they and close friends have been rallying round and will continue to do so because it’s going to be a long time before Kate is really back up on her feet. [It’s] major surgery that she’s been through and, you know, we’re not going to see her out on royal duties until April – so, more than two months,” she concluded.
After leaving the hospital, Kate returned home at Adelaide Cottage at the Windsor grounds, the home the Prince and Princess of Wales moved in recently.
The place, which was built in 1831 for Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV, has a long royal history.
Many royals resided there over the years, and the Adelaide Cottage went under complete renovation in 2015.
It is said that before ended up living at Frogmore Cottage while residing in Britain, Harry and Meghan also considered choosing Adelaide Cottage as their home.
According to royal reporter Victoria Murphy, William and Kate preferred a move to Adelaide Cottage because it “allows William and Kate the opportunity to offer their children a more rural upbringing away from central London and the hustle and bustle of Kensington Palace, which is a popular tourist attraction.”
Another reason was that the place had already been renovated. Kate and William decided not to have staff live there.
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“Kate and William were very keen for a modest home to start their new lives in Windsor,” a source told The Sun. “Adelaide Cottage fits the bill because it is a four-bedroom home and they do not need any more as they have no live-in staff. They were adamant they didn’t want anything too showy or anything that needed renovating or extra security so as not to be a burden on the taxpayer.
The source continued, “The added bonus is they can send George, Charlotte, and Louis to school together locally. The three children will enjoy running around and playing in the gardens, which is the kind of life they enjoy so much when at Anmer Hall.”
As Kate is expected to recover, her home is of course the perfect place for that. But some believe that spending her time at Adelaide Cottage right after being discharged from the hospital isn’t the best idea. The reason why is that the place is said to be rather cold.
“It’s not an absolutely ideal place. A former tenant of Adelaide Cottage was Mrs. Rosemary Townsend, the wife of Group Captain Peter Townsend, who famously had an affair with Princess Margaret,” royal correspondent Michael Cole told GB News just a day after Kate’s surgery was announced.
“And [Mrs. Rosemary Townsend] wrote in her memoirs that it was the coldest place she’d ever encountered in the whole of her life. So maybe not the best place to start feeling better, particularly in this quite cold winter that we’re enjoying at the moment.”
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Further, Cole warns Kate Middleton to avoid recovering at Adelaide Cottage.
“It was interesting there was no departure photo call and she’s gone off straight to Adelaide Cottage in the middle of Windsor Great Park to recuperate,” he told GB News.
“That, of course, is where her children are, they go to school locally and she’ll want to be there, but it’s not an ideal place for recuperatios. It’s not terribly big. In fact, there’s no room inside the house for the nanny; she has to live in an outbuilding.”
Michael Cole concluded, “Catherine’s parents have a larger house not far away in Berkshire, but she’s on the way to recovery.”
We wish Kate a speedy recovery.
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