UK News

Royals go vegan for religious ‘green’ summit

For a man who loves hunting, fishing and shooting, Prince Philip may sound like an unlikely host for a vegan lunch.

But with more than 200 religious leaders representing nearly a dozen of the world’s faiths coming for lunch at Windsor Castle, the Duke of Edinburgh had to be careful what he offered his guests.

Beef, pork and indeed meat of any sort would have been unacceptable for many of those attending the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) event.

And given that his visitors were there for a conference on religion and the environment, the chefs had to be careful that the food was local and sustainable.

The menu started with a salad of roasted English pear, celeriac and cobnuts (a type of hazelnut grown in Kent).

For the main course, guests had mushrooms stuffed with artichoke, red onion and thyme, served on pearl barley and butternut squash risotto.

So farewell then Princess Diana?

**Read our special report about the Diana inquest**

Watching the Diana inquest unfold, you sometimes felt that the lunatics had taken over the asylum.

With an extraordinary cast of characters straight out of central casting, it would have been rich fodder for any scriptwriter on a surreal soap opera.

Or maybe it was more of a roustabout pantomine with a cast of starkly drawn goodies and baddies.

John Loughrey, the only member of the public to attend every day of the six-month inquest, got through seven boxes of paint writing the words “Diana” and Dodi” on his face each morning.

His appetite never waned — even when the word count from the 278 witnesses reached a staggering total of three million words over six, at times seemingly interminable months.

Diana verdict – will it put the conspiracy theories to rest?

**Read our special report about the Diana inquest**

Unlawfully killed by the negligent driving of her chauffeur and the paparazzi chasing their limousine into a Paris tunnel – that’s the verdict of the six-month inquest into Princess Diana’s death in 1997. But conspiracy theories have always suggested something far more sinister happened.

Lord Justice Scott Baker, the coroner heading the inquest, was sure about one thing….he ruled there was no evidence that Prince Philip was behind Diana’s death, something Mohamed al-Fayed, the father of her lover Dodi, who also died in the crash, has long maintained.

Fayed charged that Dodi and Diana were killed by MI6 agents on the orders of Prince Philip because the royal family did not want the mother of the future king having a child with his son. He alleges Diana’s body was embalmed to cover up evidence she was expecting a baby.

Will the verdict bring closure and put the conspiracy theories to rest?