Britain's Prince William has revealed his favourite Christmas film and song in an interview with a radio station at the Royal Marsden Hospital.
The Duke of Cambridge was asked about his top traditions by children receiving cancer treatment at the London hospital, of which he has been president since 2007.
“Food is quite important to me at Christmas," William said. "I do tend to eat a lot at Christmas. There’s always a tiny little bit of space left in my stomach somewhere for a bit more turkey or sausage or, you know, a bit of wine."
He said that “bringing the family together at Christmas time is always lovely” and that having children made it “a whole different ball game of noise and excitement”.
William said his favourite festive film was the comedy Elf, starring Will Ferrell.
“It’s very funny and I keep watching it every Christmas. It still makes me laugh,” he said.
One young patient wanted to know what William would do if he were in charge of Christmas for a day, to which he replied that he would “bring everyone together to have a big party”.
“There would definitely be no Covid and there certainly wouldn’t be any cancer in the world,” William said.
Asked by Rupert if he liked Brussels sprouts, William said he “loved” the vegetables with his turkey, roast potatoes and sausages.
The duke also shared that his favourite Christmas song was Feliz Navidad.
“I could say Mariah Carey … as well, it’s a good one, and obviously there are many others but I think I’ll probably go for Feliz Navidad – it’s a bit more jolly.”
Asked what he wanted for Christmas, William said he wanted Aston Villa to win their match against Chelsea on Boxing Day.
Another child wanted to know if the duke had a Lamborghini, to which he replied: “I would love to have a Lamborghini – a big, bright yellow Lamborghini.
“But no, unfortunately, I don’t have a Lamborghini. I’m going to have to save up for one of those when I get older.”
William said he enjoyed playing Monopoly and Risk with his children, and that he liked ice-skating but was not very good at it and looked like a “deer on ice”.
He also paid tribute to the patients and staff at the hospital, saying: “I’ve always been amazed by the positivity, the energy and the hope and the love that goes with the Royal Marsden.”
William said staff would ensure the festive period would be “jolly” despite it being “a different Christmas for those in the hospital this year”.
Meanwhile, the Queen has cancelled her traditional pre-Christmas family party next week amid concerns over a surge in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant.
Plans were reportedly fully in place at Windsor Castle for next Tuesday’s Christmas lunch, which the 95-year-old monarch hosts each year for her extended family.
Last year’s gathering was also scrapped because of the Covid-19 crisis.
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Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
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.”
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