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23 May 2018

Millions around the world watch UK wedding

Did you watch the Royal Wedding at the weekend? Around 18m people watched it on TV in the UK, and hundreds of millions watched around the world.

The Queen gave the couple a new title just before the wedding. This means that they are not officially known as Prince Harry and Princess Meghan, but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Sussex is the area of the UK between London and Brighton.

When Harry's older brother William married Catherine Middleton, the Queen gave them the title of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Most UK royal weddings are big occasions but this one was a bit different. In the UK, lots of people have pop music played at their weddings, but this was the first time this has happened at a Royal wedding, when a choir sang Stand By Me and later This Little Light Of Mine. There was an American preacher spending 15 minutes talking about the power of love so enthusiastically that some of the guests looked very surprised.


UK government tries to get money out of ancient bank account

After the First World War, a mystery group of people put money into an account which was designed to pay off all of the country's debts. Almost a hundred years later, the account has GBP 400m in it and the government would like to spend the money.

There is nowhere near enough money in the account to pay off the national debt, which is currently GBP1.7 trillion, but the government thinks the money could be used to benefit people. However, it must get a court to agree that the money can be released, as the account says it must only be used to pay off the national debt in full.


Are children getting sick because their homes are too clean?

The commonest type of cancer in children is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. This is a blood cancer affecting 600 children a year in the UK, and it is becoming commoner around the world.

Now a UK cancer expert, Professor Mel Greaves, says this disease could be preventable.

He believes some children are more likely to get the disease, but this can be prevented if they catch ordinary childhood diseases like colds in their first year. He has suggested that children living in very clean homes, who do not mix with other children, could be more at risk of developing the disease.


UK actor says he won't do more romantic comedies

One of the UK's best-known actors is Hugh Grant. He has spent most of his career playing the lead in funny, romantic films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually. He has been famous for playing roles where he was charming and shy.

Now Grant is 57, he is changing his roles a bit. He was the bad guy in Paddington 2, and is now playing a gay politician on UK TV.

He said this week that he is "older and uglier" and that has made the parts he is offered more varied. When he was asked if he would do any more romantic comedies, he said "That bird has flown."

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