Free Republic

It is inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you. A successor to the Kings and Queens of history; someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never really touches your personal lives. But now at least for a few minutes I welcome you to the peace of my own home. That it is possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us. Because of these changes I am not surprised that many people feel lost...

All or nothing at all -- three-quarters of a country never appealed to him, nor did the idea of a political entity called Northern Ireland that was created in 1920, comprising the six northeastern counties of Ireland in the province of Ulster. Gerry Adams is still adamant about the need for a united Ireland. As a political entity, the Republic of Ireland, first called the Irish Free State, was created in 1922. On November 18, 2017 the 69-year-old Adams, president since 1983 of Sinn Fein, the left-wing political party, announced that it was time for a change and that he...

Donald Trump will meet the Queen when he visits Britain next month, the US ambassador to the UK has told Sky News. The president is due in Britain for a working visit on Friday 13 July - his first to the country since being elected in 2016. It is not a state visit with all the pomp and ceremony that comes with that, so the pair would not necessarily need to meet. But ambassador Robert Wood Johnson said that while plans have not yet been finalised, they will involve the president meeting Her Majesty. "Meeting Her Majesty is the most...

White Semidouble ONE WEEK HAS ELAPSED since the day on which we beheld Clotilde arise, and from yonder land of France won over to Christ by her, make known to the whole world, what is the special role of woman beside the cradle of a nation. Until Christianity came, man altogether lowered in his own person and in the social order, by the consequences of sin, was wholly ignorant of the grandeur of the divine intention, in this respect; philosophy and history never dreamed it possible that maternity could be raised to such heights. But since the Holy Ghost...

White   AT THIS SEASON, in which the Office of the Time is leading us to consider the early developments of Holy Church, Eternal Wisdom so arranges, now as ever, that the Feasts of the Saints should complete the teachings of the movable Cycle. The Paraclete, who has but just down upon us, is to fill the whole earth; the Man-God has sent Him expressly to win over the whole earth and to secure all time, to His Church. Now, it is by subjecting kingdoms to the faith, that He is to form Christ’s Empire; it is by working...

“QUEEN ELIZABETH must claim her right to rule Muslims.” So ran a recent headline on the Arab Atheist Network, a web forum. It was only partly in jest. According to reports from Casablanca to Karachi, the British monarch is descended from the Prophet Muhammad, making her a cousin of the kings of Morocco and Jordan, not to mention of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.

Russia claims Queen 'downs cocktails all day' and Theresa May 'has a brandy habit' A Russian senator said the Queen loves wine and gin-based cocktails. Russia has slammed the Queen for downing gin, wine and champagne every day in a 'fake news' propaganda blast against the UK. Senator Aleksey Pushkov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin , said the monarch treats drinking like a "ceremony" while Prime Minster Theresa May has a brandy habit. The politician claimed tell-tale mannerisms reveal the pair as 'unpleasant' heavy drinkers. According to the Sun, Pushkov told Staterun TV: "Before dinner she [Her Majesty] drinks...

PARIS — Slovenian-born Melania Trump has been unafraid to go against her husband's "America First" agenda and stay true to her roots, if there's a message to be taken from her bold, foreign-flavored wardrobe in 2017. In her first year as first lady, Mrs. Trump has often wrapped herself in the clothes of her home continent as several American designers publicly refused to dress her in what was a fashion industry-wide backlash against her unpopular spouse. The first first lady to be born in continental Europe, Trump grew up in Sevnica in Slovenia, in the southern Balkans, just over 100...

Pop star Taylor Swift apparently struck a nerve with leftists and Internet trolls this week after she said she “couldn’t have asked for a better year” in 2017 and thanked her fans in a birthday Instagram post. “I love you guys so much,” Swift captioned a photo taken at a recent London concert. “I couldn’t have asked for a better year, all thanks to you. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Can’t wait to see what 28 will be like. See you on tour.” That simple message was apparently too much for some Twitter users — and at least a...

When we think of winter outfits, we think of sweatpants, UGGs and a big fluffy hat to match. Melania proves otherwise. After spending their Christmas and New Years at the Trump Mar-a-Logo resort in Palm Beach, Florida, the Trump family made their way back to the White House. Even the frigid, winter temperatures of Washington DC (at 20 degrees, ahem) caught up with Melania Trump, who was spotted deplaning Air Force One in a cozy -- and of course, chic -- winter outfit. The first lady took airplane travel to the next level in a tan breasted peacoat, turtleneck and...

A radiant Melania Trump visited a children’s hospital earlier this month, continuing a tradition that has been carried out for many years. After touring the hospital, the first lady sat down with Santa and answered questions from a small group of patients before reading the “Polar Express.”(snip) The day made for a myriad of touching and festive photos as can be seen while first lady Melania Trump visited Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

First Lady Melania Trump is the chicest woman in Washington, D.C. and already the most fashionable first lady Americans have ever seen. In the first year of her husband’s presidency, Melania pulled out all the stops with her fashion this year, whether that came in the form of greeting diplomats at the White House, departing Washington, D.C. or stunning audiences overseas on foreign trips. Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Dior, Hervé Pierre, Delpozo. Melania is only beginning.

First Lady Melania Trump celebrated New Year’s Eve Sunday night alongside President Trump and their son, Barron, in a glittering party dress inspired by the Reagan era of the 1980s. Melania arrived at the Trump administration’s Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party as the glitter queen of the night, wearing a full-sequined t-length pink Erdem “Emery” party dress with voluminous sleeves and a mock neckline. The dress from the British label is currently sold out at Neiman Marcus. In head-to-toe sequins, Melania shined next to her two dates, President Donald Trump and Barron Trump, who both donned classic tuxedos. From the...

A United passenger whose first-class seat on a recent flight from Houston to D.C. was given to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is firing back at the Democratic congresswoman's accusations of racism – while challenging the airline's account of the incident. Jean-Marie Simon, an attorney and private school teacher, became the latest face of airline passenger woes when she detailed on Facebook and later to the news media how she lost her seat to the Texas lawmaker. But despite a statement from United seeking to explain the switch-out, she's not giving up the fight. And the congresswoman's response – essentially claiming...

Less than 48 hours after launching, Taylor Swift's new app has become plagued with Trump-loving trolls and homophobic comments.

If there has been a single defining characteristic of Melania Trump’s public profile over the past year, it has been her relationship with sleeves. They have served as a dramatic flourish. They have been rolled up in empathy. They have been self-consciously ignored. They have reflected her personal fashion sense, the artifice inherent in the ill-defined role of first lady and the privilege of life in the White House. Her sleeves are always in service to the picture. And there is always a picture. The mere fact that sleeves are even considered part of her fashion profile has a lot...

It's not exactly a deserted island, but Melania Trump appeared more than happy to revel in some Christmas joy at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Dressed in a festive green Prada peacoat ($2,480, net-a-porter.com), fitted tan pants, and matching high-heel boots, FLOTUS played a modern Mrs. Claus, as she helped children from military families sort and box donations to the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign. The Toys for Tots program has provided toys and other Christmas gifts to families who can't afford them since the 1940s. After assisting with the sorting, Melania sat down to...

First Lady Melania Trump glowed in a vibrant pop-of-color for her visit with children of military families at a “Toys for Tots” event at the Joint Base Acostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Melania chose an emerald green, wool Prada coat for her visit with the military kids, pairing the vivid top with khaki-toned J Brand jeans and matching nearly-knee-high leather boots. The Prada coat is made in Italy and features six oversized buttons and a giant, waist-cinching belt buckle, a favorite silhouette of Melania’s.

Melania Trump wowed classic black cocktail dress while posing alongside her husband for their first official Christmas portrait as president and first lady. The Trumps' 2017 Christmas portrait was revealed on Melania's Twitter page on Thursday afternoon — and the festive photo sees the president flashing an uncharacteristically bright smile. According to the tweet, Andrea Hanks photographed President Trump and his wife on December 5 in the Cross Hall of the White House.

Bryan Singer has been fired from the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, 20th Century Fox has told The Hollywood Reporter. “Bryan Singer is no longer the director of Bohemian Rhapsody," the studio said Monday in a statement. The decision reflected an escalating clash between Singer and actor Rami Malek and was caused by the helmer being missing from the set, necessitating the Dec. 1 production shutdown of the film in which Malek stars as Freddie Mercury, frontman of the rock group Queen. The pic has been shooting in London. In announcing the shutdown last week, producers Fox, New Regency and Graham King...