Newspaper headlines: 'Queen bids farewell', and Helen McCrory tributes

  • Published
1px transparent line
Image source, The Countess of Wessex
Image caption,
The Queen released one her favourite photos ahead of the funeral

"The Queen bids farewell" is the headline on the front of the Times, above a photograph of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh relaxing on a hillside on the Balmoral estate, which has been released by Buckingham Palace ahead of Prince Philip's funeral.

The Daily Mirror says the "touching" image shows the royal couple "smiling in the sunshine".

"One last moment with her prince" is the headline on the front of the Daily Mail, which reports that the Queen will say a private goodbye to her husband before his coffin leaves a private chapel at Windsor Castle for St George's Chapel.

"We are all thinking of you, Ma'am" says the Sun, as it reports that she prepared herself for today by going for a quiet drive, and by taking her corgi puppies for a walk in the gardens of Frogmore House in Windsor.

The Guardian raises concerns from anti-corruption campaigners about the independence of the lawyer appointed by Boris Johnson to lead a review covering David Cameron's efforts to lobby ministers on behalf of the collapsed financing group, Greensill Capital.

The paper says that Nigel Boardman is on the board of a private bank that has close ties with the Conservative party and has a number of former civil servants in its ranks.

The Cabinet Office said it would be wrong to suggest there was a conflict of interest.

The FT Weekend claims Mr Cameron pitched the services of Greensill Capital to a senior German government official just as an investigation into its German banking arm deepened.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron told the paper he had no role in organising a meeting.

The Times has spoken to friends of the former prime minister who say he is "pretty depressed" following seven weeks of revelations about his lobbying - and that he is "focused on defending himself".

The Mirror believes President Joe Biden "is right" to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan and describes the prospect of the UK following suit as a "welcome move".

But a comment piece on the Daily Express website questions what has been achieved by the war in Afghanistan, under a headline which accuses the US president of "running away".

Image caption,
Helen McCrory has died at the age of 52, her husband Damian Lewis announced on Friday

Most of the papers look back at the life and career of the actor Helen McCrory, who has died from cancer at the age of 52.

The Daily Telegraph explains that McCrory and her actor husband, Damian Lewis, had kept her diagnosis private - and that she continued to raise awareness for charities until six weeks before her death.

The Daily Mail columnist, Baz Bamigboye, fondly remembers what he calls her "trademark laughter" - saying we have lost a "great and luminous star".

In the Guardian, Mark Lawson concludes that audiences have had stolen from them the great shows she would have gone on to do.

And the Times carries research by the University of Birmingham which suggests that, if you need a favour, older generations are more likely to be more willing to "muck in and help" than young people, who tend to only go the extra mile when it benefits them.

The paper quotes the study's lead author, Doctor Patricia Lockwood, who says understanding how behaviours change as people get older will be critical in order to predict the impact of an ageing society.