King Charles III attended his first service for the Order of the Garter, the oldest order of chivalry in Britain, marking the official installation of two new members
Former Labour minister Catherine Ashton was made Lady Companion while Chris Patten, the final governor of Hong Kong, became a Knight Companion.
The king and Queen Camilla waved to crowds as they attended the service at Windsor Castle.
Thousands of members of the public gathered inside the castle grounds to see the procession arrive at St George’s Chapel.
Members of the Order in attendance included former prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Sir John Major, as well as the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Princess of Wales also attended and shared a smile with Prince William as the procession moved past.
Meanwhile, Queen Camilla arrived with King Charles and could be seen clinging to her hat as the wind whipped up around her.
The Duke of York, who is a member of the Order, did not attend.
King Charles attends first Order of the Garter service of his reign - in pictures
Meanwhile, two other members of the Order, Lord Shuttleworth and Lord Luce, were named in the order of service but were unable to attend.
After the service, a procession of four Ascot Landau coaches ferried away members of the royal family who waved to the crowds as they went past.
The ceremony was attended by 800 guests inside the chapel and 2,900 members of the public who had won ballot tickets to watch from outside.
“It’s the first time we’ve been here since the queen passed away, and I did feel quite sad this morning,” said Samantha Toomes, 53, from Ripon, North Yorkshire.
“Last year we came hoping to see her.
“We do pomp really well in this country.
“It’s just amazing to watch the ceremony take place – it’s part of our great tradition.
“To be part of that is very special.”
The appointment of the Baroness Ashton of Upholland and the Lord Patten of Barnes was announced on April 23, St George’s Day, named for the patron saint of the Order.
Baroness Ashton served as parliamentary undersecretary of state in the Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice between 1999 and 2007.
She also served as leader of the House of Lords and lord president of the Council as well as diplomatic roles including British European commissioner.
She was appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to international diplomacy and is currently Chancellor of the Order.
A former Conservative MP, Lord Patten of Barnes served as governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to the handover to China in 1997.
He also served as environment secretary and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as well as Conservative Party chairman.
The Order of the Garter is the most senior order of chivalry in Britain, established by King Edward III nearly 700 years ago.
The Order comprises 24 members, including the king and queen, several members of the royal family and 18 knights or ladies.
The royal website states: “Knights of the Garter are chosen personally by the sovereign to honour those who have held public office, who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the sovereign personally.”
In addition to the 24 knights or ladies, overseas monarchs, known as supernumerary, or stranger knights, have also been appointed to the Order.
The King of Spain and the King of the Netherlands were both installed as members of the Order at the Garter Day Service in 2019.
Other members of the Order have included Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Lord Stirrup, and former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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NOVAK DJOKOVIC
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ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
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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.”
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
