Buckingham Palace will be braced for further criticism when Meghan Markle’s second major TV interview of the year is broadcast.
The Duchess of Sussex is making a surprise appearance on The Ellen Show on Thursday.
The appearance comes eight months after the former Suits star’s controversial sit-down with Oprah Winfrey which left the royal family in crisis.
In it she accused the institution of racism and criticised the family for the way it behaved towards the couple, particularly regarding their mental health troubles.
In a preview clip released before The Ellen Show airs, the Duchess said she and the Duke of Sussex were “happy” in California.
She also spoke about her and Prince Harry’s daughter Lilibet, and the teething troubles she has suffered.
DeGeneres is a friend of the couple and lives near them in the celebrity enclave of Montecito.
Despite the light-hearted clip, those within royal circles will be concerned that she may launch fresh criticism of them.
It emerged last week that she wrote in a text to a former aide that Harry faced “constant berating” from the royal family over her strained relationship with her estranged father.
In the clip, she was asked what Harry loves about California.
The duchess replied: “We’re just happy.”
DeGeneres reveals that the couple's five-month-old daughter Lilibet is now teething, and Meghan put her hands to her mouth, saying “Anything to relieve that”.
She also describes the host as Lilibet’s “Auntie Ellen”.
The show’s Ellentube.com website said: “The activist and co-founder of Archewell will chat with Ellen about growing up and returning to California, as well as her New York Times bestselling children’s book The Bench.”
The interview comes a week after Meghan apologised to the UK Court of Appeal for forgetting she had authorised an aide to brief the authors of the controversial Finding Freedom biography about her and Harry.
The appeal by the publisher of The Mail On Sunday, Associated Newspapers Limited, over the privacy case surrounding a letter the duchess wrote to her estranged father, also heard how in text messages Meghan chose to address Thomas Markle as “Daddy” because it “would pull at the heart strings” if the letter was leaked.
DeGeneres first met Meghan by chance at an animal shelter some years ago and encouraged her to adopt her first dog, Bogart.
She has previously described Harry and Meghan as “the cutest couple, so down to earth” and defended them when they faced criticism for taking a series of flights on a private plane.
After meeting their son in 2019, DeGeneres said: “I mean I can’t tell you how sweet they are. But the most important thing is I got to hold Archie. I fed Archie. I held Archie.”
The couple have so far not released public pictures of Lilibet, who was born in the US in June and is eighth in line to the throne.
She was named after the family nickname used for Queen Elizabeth II, but has yet to meet her great-grandmother, her grandfather the Prince of Wales, or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in person.
Meghan and Harry accused an unnamed member of the royal family of racism during their bombshell chat with Winfrey eight months ago.
They also said the institution of the monarchy had failed to support Meghan when she had suicidal thoughts, and spoke of Harry’s strained relationships with his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William.
In the trailer for The Ellen Show, the duchess, in a white blouse with cutaway detail on the sleeves, chatted about how she used to drive to the same Warner Brothers site for auditions.
Meghan said: “To drive in today was very different.”
She said she would drive her “very, very old” Ford Explorer Sport and the key stopped working in the driver’s side door.
“I would open the trunk and climb in and then pull it shut behind me and crawl over all my seats to get out, that’s how I would come to and fro,” the duchess said
Asked by DeGeneres if anyone saw her, Meghan replied: “No, I would play it off. I go like, ‘Oh, I’m just looking for my resume and my highlighters or my script’.”
DeGeneres wrote on Twitter: “A lot has changed since the last time Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, was on the Warner Brothers lot. Don’t miss the rest of our interview tomorrow.”
Comedian and actress DeGeneres announced in May that she was stepping down from her eponymous TV show after the 19th series.
She said the decision to end her show, which finishes in spring 2022, was not the result of allegations of a toxic workplace environment.
She apologised to staff in 2020 after an internal review by Warner Bros found “deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management”.
Meghan was accused of bullying in March, with The Times reporting that the duchess allegedly drove out two personal assistants and “humiliated” staff on several occasions, which she denies.
Buckingham Palace has appointed an external legal team to help its human resources department investigate the claims.
The%20Killer
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Joe Root's Test record
Tests: 53; Innings: 98; Not outs: 11; Runs: 4,594; Best score: 254; Average: 52.80; 100s: 11; 50s: 27
RESULTS
5pm Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Munfared, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dergham Athbah, Pat Dobbs, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Rajee, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
7pm Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Kerless Del Roc, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Pharoah King, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8pm Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Sauternes Al Maury, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
FIXTURES
UAE’s remaining fixtures in World Cup qualification R2
Oct 8: Malaysia (h)
Oct 13: Indonesia (a)
Nov 12: Thailand (h)
Nov 17: Vietnam (h)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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