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⁠9 JULY 2026 | The Prince of Wales has released a personal statement offering his condolences on the passing of Welsh Singer & Songwriter Bonnie Tyler.

In a statement released via Kensington Palace socials, he said :

Sad news today is that Ann Widdecombe as Died

Ann Noreen Widdecombe was a British politician and television personality who was Reform UK's Immigration and Justice spokesperson from 2023 to 2026. Originally a member of the Conservative Party, she was Member of Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald, and the former Maidstone constituency, from 1987 to 2010.She was a member of the Brexit Party from 2019 and served as the Member of the European Parliament for South West England from 2019 to 2020; she later joined Reform UK in 2023.

ROYAL NAVY'S WORST ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSION, HMS VANGUARD Today, 9 July in 1917, the worst accidental explosion in Royal Naval history, the destruction of HMS Vanguard.

Launched at the Vickers yard in Barrow-in-Furness on 22 February 1909, the dreadnaught battleship saw action in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, and against the German Fleet on 19 August that year.

She was anchored in Scapa Flow when a raised temperature in one of the magazines (a storage area for ammunition) caused spontaneous ignition of cordite (the propellant material for the shells).

A massive explosion wrecked the vessel, and Vanguard sunk almost immediately with the loss of 843 of her 845 man crew. Initially there were 3 survivors but Lieutenant Commander ACH Duke, later died of his injuries.

HMS Vanguard's bell was recovered last year by a team of divers after 108 years on the seabed. It will be loaned to the Scapa Flow Museum in Orkney by the National Museum of the Royal Navy, after conservation work has taken place.

London Wall near Tower Hill.

Here are three facts about the London Wall near Tower Hill:The impressive surviving section of the Roman London Wall stands just outside Tower Hill Underground station and rises to over 10 metres in height, with the lower part (around 4 metres) dating from the original Roman construction around AD 200.

english-heritage.org.uk

The Roman base is identifiable by distinctive horizontal bands of red tiles, while the upper sections are medieval additions from between the 12th and 17th centuries that raised the wall’s height.

london-walking-tours.co.uk