• King Charles heir warned him over Princess Beatrice’s promotion
• Prince William now controls next move for royal titles and monarchy future
• Royal Ascot snub ‘only the beginning’ of Prince William’s reign

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie reportedly were not expecting a shocking notice from the Palace, uninviting them from the annual Royal Ascot, especially after they had received the support from the royals last Christmas.

Moreover, while their father is stripped off of his royal titles and honours, they retain all of those and have even received new patronages in the past few months. With the new revelations in the Epstein files, the sisters have been facing criticism for supporting their parents when they were young but not underage.

King Charles had the longest waiting period in the British royal history to ascend to the throne, but it still seemed that he lacked the foresight and gave into his emotional decisions.

On the other hand, Prince William has already envisioned what path he will be taking for the monarchy and had made several pleas to his father to avoid the crisis the royals have been facing today, per Tom Sykes.

The York family, especially Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has turned out to be a bane for their royal engagements and the work they have been doing. The ongoing investigation also has brought humiliation to the royals.

Friends of William have revealed to Daily Beast that the heir to the throne had urged his father to cut the York family completely out of royal life and has despaired at his father’s half-measures on the matter.

Sykes shared that the Royal Ascot ban had been a “highly visible marker of who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’.”

William had had good terms with his cousins but that hasn’t changed his plans for a “bonfire of titles”. It could cause a rift between them but the future king is determined in his stance.

“The aim is a much tighter, more controlled monarchy in which only a small inner circle carries the burden—and the risk—of representing the crown,” Tom claims. “Against that backdrop, barring Beatrice and Eugenie from the Royal Ascot carriage procession looks less like a one-off snub and more like an early skirmish in a larger campaign.”

• Official data shows rising strain on external account balance.
• Imports climb 8.1% to $45.5bn in July-February FY26 period.
• Economists warn deficit may pressure rupee and reserves.
  

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit surged by 25% year-on-year to reach $25 billion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, as imports remained more than twice the value of exports.

The latest official figures released on Monday underscored mounting pressure on the country’s external account, signalling renewed stress on its balance of payments position, The News reported.

Figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed imports during July-February FY26 rose 8.1% to $45.5 billion, while exports dropped 7.3% to $20.46bn, leaving the import bill more than double the country’s goods sales abroad.

The gap continued to widen in February 2026, with the monthly trade deficit expanding 4.6% year-on-year to $2.98bn. Exports fell 8.76% from a year earlier to $2.27bn, while imports reduced 1.6% to $5.25bn.

On a month-on-month basis, the slowdown was sharper. February exports plunged 25.6% from January’s $3.05bn, while imports declined 9.5% from $5.8bn.

The services sector offered limited relief. The services trade deficit widened 14% to $2.07bn in July-January FY26, compared with $1.82bn a year earlier, even as exports rose 18.78% to $5.66bn. Services imports climbed 17.5% to $7.7bn over the same period.

In January alone, the services deficit grew 5.1% year-on-year to $304.8 million. Services exports jumped 31% to $885m, but imports outpaced at $1.189bn, up 23.3%.

In the last fiscal year (FY25), the services trade deficit had narrowed 15.8% to $2.62bn, driven by a 9.2% rise in services exports to $8.4bn, compared with a modest 2% increase in imports to $11bn.

Economists say the expanding goods deficit, driven by subdued export momentum and resilient import demand, could strain foreign exchange reserves and keep pressure on the rupee unless export competitiveness improves or import compression deepens.

The Duke of Edinburgh was back to championing the Commonwealth sporting family on Monday afternoon, hosting a key meeting in his role as Vice Patron of Commonwealth Sport.

Prince Edward welcomed Donald Rukare, President of Commonwealth Sport, for discussions covering a packed calendar of upcoming events, including the highly anticipated Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The talks also addressed the Malta 2027 Commonwealth Youth Games and the historic Ahmedabad 2030 Commonwealth Games, marking the Centenary Games.

Rukare later shared on X that he had briefed His Royal Highness on the organisation’s ongoing work, thanking the Duke for his steady guidance and continued encouragement. 

The meeting also showed Edward’s longstanding commitment to the Commonwealth network, which spans 56 nations and uses sport as a vehicle for unity, development and opportunity.

The Duke had sparked concern when he missed the key event, where senior royals gathered in a powerful show of unity around King Charles. 

Just days later, Edward returned to the spotlight on February 28. 

He attended an emotional performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem at the breathtaking St George’s Chapel, set within the historic walls of Windsor Castle.