New York State

WILLIE MULLINS has entered a JP McManus-owned horse who ‘could be anything’ as part of his ten-strong team for a Cheltenham Festival race.

The Closutton boss is armed and ready to unload his team of girls in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

PA

JP McManus and Willie Mullins will look to land the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, possibly with an eye-catching mare who ‘could be anything’ according to punters[/caption]

Mullins has not won the Grade 2 since claiming five in a row from 2016.

Among his squad entered this year is Maughreen, who’s 5-2 favourite with some bookies for the 2m contest.

But a load of lesser-known names – one of which in particular punters think ‘could be anything’ – also made the cut yesterday.

Five-year-old Kom Tu Voudras finished third on her only racecourse start.

Trained previously by French handler Daniela Mela, Kom Tu Voudras was last off the bridle in a 1m4f Flat contest.

Full of running at the end, she finished third without ever being asked too much of a question.

Giving the impression there is way more to come, Kom Tu Voudras moved to Mullins at the start of the season.

She is yet to run for him but an entry in a Festival race suggests she could be showing plenty at home.

And bookies are taking no chances, quoting her just 20-1 despite never seeing her jump in public.

Mullins has two of the top three in the betting with his other JP-owned runner Karoline Banbou a general 8-1 chance.

The one it looks they all have to beat, though, is Gavin Cromwell’s Sixandahalf.

She was backed into favouritism for last season’s Cesarewitch at Newmarket before being pulled out on the morning of the race.

The five-year-old thrashed Mullins’ Kimi De Mai 16 lengths when last seen in a Fairyhouse maiden hurdle last month.

Willie Mullins’ Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle entries

Aurora Vega
Baby Kate
Fancy Girl
Karamoja
Karoline Banbou
Kimi De Mai
Kom Tu Voudras
Magic McColgan
Maughreen
Venusienne

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IT MAY not be a royal palace but Kate Middleton’s parents’ £4.7million countryside home is fit for a queen. 

Carole and Michael Middleton bought the grade-II listed Georgian Bucklebury Manor in 2012 – and it boasts grand features including seven bedrooms, tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool. 

Red Features

GETTY

But the sprawling 18-acre estate is worlds away from the tiny council house where Carole, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday, grew up. 

Inspired by the grit and determination of her working class parents, Carole has risen through the echelons of society to become the royal’s secret weapon. 

And, she has graduated from modest abodes to a grand mansion befitting her new status along the way. 

Here, we play Middleton Monopoly and delve into Carole’s increasingly impressive property portfolio through the years. 

Scottie dog token at the ready! 

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: EALING COUNCIL HOUSE 

Carole – nee Goldsmith – came from humble stock – beginning her life in a quaint pebble-dashed council terrace in Ealing, West London. 

The bustling, multi-cultural district boasts a variety of shops and Asian restaurants, reflecting the different waves of immigrants that have settled there. 

Famed for Victorian-style housing, the majority of properties sold in Ealing during the last year were flats. The average selling price was £471,725, according to Rightmove. 

Carole lived with her parents Ron – a builder – and Dorothy Goldsmith – whose family were miners and labourers from County Durham. 

ON THE LADDER: £5k SOUTHALL SEMI 

Google

Alamy Stock Photo

Carole’s parents were “hardworking and ambitious”, according to royal expert Sarah Hewson, which meant they could buy their own home. 

They relocated to a three bedroom house in Norwood Green, Southall in 1966, costing the family £4,950 – the equivalent of £135,000 today.

“It was a largely working class area at the time and a far cry from the life Carole has made for herself and her family now,” Sarah explains.

The West London area has been a South Asian hub since the 1950s and is often referred to as Little Punjab or Little India. 

It has the largest Sikh temple outside of India, as well as a famous high-street market abundant in spices, jewellery and antiques. 

Parts of the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham were filmed in the area. 

Carole and her brother Gary, who is a decade her junior, spent most of their childhood in Southall, where the average house price today is £435,909. 

MEETING MICHAEL: SLOUGH FLAT 

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BBC

The Middletons met in the 1970s while they were both working at British Airways – Carole as a flight attendant and Michael as a flight dispatcher. 

Before long they were living together in a leasehold flat in a cul-de-sac in Slough, conveniently located close to Heathrow Airport.  

House prices in the street have averaged at £205,000 over the last year. 

Sarah explains, “Their backgrounds were very different – where Carole’s ancestors were working class miners, Michael came from a family of wealthy Yorkshire wool merchants with links to the aristocracy.”

The Berkshire town, 20 miles west of Central London, has faced an abundance of criticism. 

Ricky Gervais set The Office in Slough because of the town’s reputation for being a miserable place to live. 

And, in 2025, a Rightmove survey ranked Slough as the unhappiest place to live in the UK.

The year before, it was judged the UK’s ugliest town by The Telegraph, receiving a score of just two points out of a possible 50.

But it’s not all bad – Slough brought the world the TV show Thunderbirds, the iconic Ford GT40 racing car, wheelie bins and the Mars bar. 

Carole and Michael married in 1980 and welcomed daughter Kate in 1982, closely followed by her sister Pippa a year later. 

LIFE OVERSEAS: JORDAN 

GETTY

The Middleton Family

In 1984, with two young children, Carole and Michael embarked on an international adventure, relocating to Jordan.

There, the family led a seemingly comfortable life, with Princess Kate attending nursery school.

Whilst little is known about the almost three years they spent in Amman, Kate has previously said she “remembers very fondly” their time there. 

The pair made their way back to the UK while expecting their third child, James. 

BACK TO BERKSHIRE: £158K ‘SWEET COTTAGE’

PA

Facebook

Carole and Michael bought West View, a two-bedroom cottage in Bradfield Southend, a small rural village in Berkshire, for £34,700. 

Carole has described the house as “a very sweet semi-detached cottage”.

She added, “We stayed there until Catherine was 13, so the children spent a lot of their youth there.” 

It is here, from her kitchen table, where she started the party supplies business Party Pieces in 1987. 

“It proved so successful,” Sarah says. “Michael left his job to join the firm and at the time of their daughter’s marriage to Prince William it was said to be worth around £30 million.” 

Located opposite the village green, the Victorian house boasted a huge garden and was eventually converted into two semi-detached homes.

The pair sold it in 1995 for £158,000. 

OAK ACRE: £250K TUDOR PAD 

Alpha Photo Press Agency

The Middleton’s fortune meant they could buy Oak Acre, an 18 acre Tudor-style manor house in Bucklebury in 1995.

Sarah says, “They had a large garden to play in, instilling a love of the outdoors which is now at the heart of the Princess of Wales’ work on early years and also mental health.” 

The £250,000 red brick house had five bedrooms and is where Kate went home to during her years at St Andrews University.  

In 2008, Prince William is reported to have landed a Chinook helicopter next door to Oak Acre. 

Bucklebury has a population of just 2,116, according to the 2011 census, with famous residents Kate Bush and George Clooney reportedly owning houses down the road. 

The Old Boot Inn is a local favourite, plus there’s a butcher and annual duck race in the village. 

Marlborough College, the co-ed independent boarding school that boasts Kate as a former pupil and charges £20k a term isn’t far, over the border in Wiltshire. 

MIDDLETON MANOR: £4.7 MILLION 18-ACRE HOME

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Kensington Palace

Kate’s parents Carole and Michael are incredibly hands on with their grandkids[/caption]

Kensington Palace

Carole has been a pillar of strength and support for Kate and her three children[/caption]

In 2012, a year after Kate married Prince William, the Middletons moved into a more private home called Bucklebury Manor. 

It features five reception rooms including a drawing room, a library and an open-plan kitchen – Carole’s favourite room and the “heart” of the home. 

The £4.7million property served as the venue for Pippa’s wedding reception in 2017, and James has also spent time living there during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Throughout the past year, as Princess Kate faced the trials of chemotherapy, Carole’s abode reportedly became a sanctuary for the future Queen, offering her moments of pampering and solace.

Meanwhile, the Middleton matriarch has long been a strong mother figure for Prince William bringing him the grounding, nurturing and stability his own late mother, Princess Diana, did. 

She also ensures her grandchildren Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine and six year old Prince Louis, have as normal upbringing as they possibly can, making their childhood as carefree and fun as possible. 

Sarah explains, “It’s not easy being the mother of a future Queen and Carole must surely have been concerned that she would lose her daughter to the institution. 

“But the Middletons have been central to William and Kate’s life – providing them with an escape from the formalities of royal life, a sense of balance and normality. 

“For William, the taste of ordinary family life is a revelation and it has been particularly important to them that their own children, George, Charlotte and Louis get to be a part of that too.”

Carole is so adored that rumours have swirled that her son-in-law The Prince of Wales may bequeath her and Michael an official royal title when he eventually takes the throne. 

While the Middletons are currently the first grandparents of a future sovereign without a title since the 11th Century, Sarah Hewson says, “It is clear they will play a crucial role in shaping our future monarchy.”

CHELSEA GIRLS: £780K LONDON FLAT 

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In 2002, Carole and Michael bought a three-bedroom apartment in London’s exclusive Chelsea district for £780,000.

Kate and Pippa lived there while pursuing careers in their 20s, with Kate moving out once she married William in April 2011. 

The property was put up for sale for £1.95million in 2018, but it sold for under the guide price at £1.88million in September 2019. 

Set across three floors, snaps from the listing show neutral interiors, traditional furniture and oriental rugs. 

Rex Features

A SERIAL sperm donor who “fathered more than 180 children” has been unmasked by a judge in a bid to protect women.

Robert Albon, who goes by the name Joe Donor, boasts of being a “top sperm donor” who can produce babies “anywhere in the UK”.

WNS

Robert Albon went under the name Joe Donor to ‘father 180 children worldwide’[/caption]

WNS

He advertised his services to vulnerable women on social media[/caption]

The US national has also bragged about fathering children all over the world – including Argentina, Australia, China and the USA.

He has now been named by a judge as a warning to potential mums-to-be against using unauthorised donors and Albon.

Usually, it is extremely rare for a parent in a family court case to be identified but Jonathan Furness KC said it was in the public interest.

The 54-year-old had taken a couple to Cardiff Family Court as he wanted parental rights over their child.

The baby in the case was conceived by a same-sex couple using a syringe.

Albon had tried to claim he fathered the child by having sex with its biological mum in a car but this was dismissed by the judge.

He applied for parental responsibility – meaning he would be named on the birth certificate – and to change the child’s name.

Albon also wanted the child’s non-biological mother to be called “auntie” rather than mum.

He claimed wanted to “protect the welfare” of the child but was actually being “wholly self-centred”, the ruling said.

Judge Furness said in reality, used the case to support his immigration position to stay in the UK.

He added: “In reality he is a man who seeks to control.

“Women and children appear to be almost a commodity to him as he sets about increasing the number of his children around the globe – China, USA, Argentina, Australia and UK to name just some of the countries where he has fathered children.”

Both mothers told the court the case has been a “horror story” and caused their relationship to break down.

The biological mum also said she suffered from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Albon advertises his services on social media and donates through various methods including artificial insemination and more natural methods, such as sexual intercourse.

He described his services as his “special hobby” and said he is “always on call and willing to help”.

Albon told The Sun last year: “I’ve had about 180 live births and I’ve met about 60 of them.

“I might never see a lot of them, this has to do with the child’s mothers relationship… it’s my preference to have some sort of relationship.”

Judge Furness said Albon has misled women on his Facebook by claiming he would leave it up to the mum to decide if he sees a child he fathers.

He added: “The public, and vulnerable women seeking to get pregnant, should know that is the case and they risk a similar ‘horror story’.

“He is a man who intends to continue donating sperm and vulnerable women who are interested in such services should fully understand the risks of becoming involved with him.”

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said it was “always safer to have treatment with donor sperm” at licensed clinics.

WNS

Albon has been named by a judge to protect women[/caption]

WNS

The donor had attempted to claim custody of a child[/caption]

EIGHT questions have been left unanswered after the deaths of a British couple living in France.

Andrew Searle, 62, and his wife Dawn, 56, were found dead last Thursday with cops now probing murder as a possible cause.

Facebook

The cause of Andrew and Dawn’s deaths remain a myster[/caption]

The pair were tragically found at their holiday home in the idyllic hamlet of Les Pesquiès, near Villefranche-de-Rouergue.

The couple was well-liked in the local area, with a neighbour telling a French newspaper: “We knew them, we walked our dogs together. They were very much appreciated locally.”

Speaking from the room in which he married Andrew and Dawn in September 2023, Mayor Jean-Sébastien Orcibal added: “I knew them as well because we were neighbours as I live in Pesquies as well.

“We got to socialize. They were very well integrated in the area.”

Their deaths were first thought to be a burglary – but prosecutors now think something more sinister could be at play.

Mystery over the timeline of their deaths

It remains unclear when exactly the pair died.

They were found by neighbours around 12.30pm on Thursday – with Andrew’s body discovered hanging and Dawn lying outside the front door.

A post-mortem found Dawn died from a significant head wound but it is not yet clear how long she received that before the grisly discovery.

CCTV footage from Wednesday is the last sighting of Andrew, who was seen buying two lottery tickets and a chocolate bar shortly before 6pm.

Missing murder weapon

Tragically, Andrew was found hanged from a radiator while Dawn suffered “multiple blows to the head with a blunt and sharp-edged object”.

Dawn was found with a “severe head wound” and “no visible defensive wounds”.

No weapons were found at the scene and no bullet or knife wounds were found in an initial examination of the bodies, a source close to the investigation told La Depeche du Midi.

But prosecutors in Rodez haven’t revealed the causes of death – which could be key in explaining why they died.

Can’t rule out murder

Prosecutors have an open murder investigation into the deaths and have not ruled out they were killed for “financial motives”.

Detectives are even reportedly looking into whether gangsters “with a score” to settle could carry out the deaths.

Nicolas Rigot-Muller, the Rodez prosecutor, said: “Both died violent deaths, but I cannot yet firmly establish homicide.”

Friends dispute murder-suicide

Pals of the couple have rejected the theory that Andrew killed Dawn and then himself in a murder-suicide.

They say the couple’s relationship was harmonious.

A couple, in their 60s, said: “Us Brits, who knew Dawn and Andy very well, are certain this is not a murder-suicide because of financial difficulties or anything like that.

“They weren’t flashy by any means, but they were definitely comfortable and had it good out here.

Another Brit who knew the pair said: “Life was good, why would they want to kill themselves?

“There was never any suggestion whatsoever of financial or material difficulties – as local business people they always paid us on time.”

Money woes

Andrew took an early retirement in 2015 and is believed to have run into money troubles.

His 21-year career at British banks Standard Life and Barclays included spotting accounting irregularities linked to organised crime groups.

But he started his own business before it was put into liquidation in 2023.

But one pal said they had recently been travelling.

The friend said: “They were always travelling. They recently went to a family wedding in Goa, they went to South America for their honeymoon.”

Past job-hunting criminals

Fears have been raised of the deaths being a targeted assassination carried out by a “hitman” after Andrew’s sensitive financial work.

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Callum Kerr with his mother Dawn who was found dead in her home in France[/caption]

Instagram

Callum walked his mother down the aisle in 2023 when she married Andrew[/caption]

His LinkedIn profile revealed the fluent English, French and German speaker was responsible for “sanctions screening” to stop money flowing to states like Russia.

His sensitive work also involved “Intelligence and anti-bribery and Corruption” plus responsibility for all Anti-Financial Crime matters in the UK & Europe.”

This would have brought Andrew to the notice of criminal networks working across the globe.

Earlier in his career, he worked as a Group Financial Crime Manager following 14 years as an investigations manager “responsible for the Investigation of internal and external fraud.”

The motive behind their death is unclear with the cause yet not confirmed.

Cash was found in the couple’s bedroom and their home appeared to have been “roughly searched” despite no jewellery being stolen.

Dawn was found only dressed but had not been the victim of a sexual assault.

Mystery tearful phone call

Andrew was seen crying in the nearby town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue in December after he had settled a bill, local sources told The Telegraph.

AFP

A French Gendarmerie’s van parked at the entrance of the couple’s home[/caption]

AFP

A cop standing at the entrance of the house[/caption]

It had reportedly taken him over a year to pay a bill of several thousand Euros after he had problems with his UK pension.

In another phone call just days before he died, Andrew appeared “very agitated” and had been “violently arguing in English” while walking through the town.

Antoine Da Silva, 63, a retired council worker, told the news site: “Then last Tuesday, I saw him on the phone. He looked very worried.

“He said: ‘I can’t speak with you, I’m on the phone’ and looked very worried and walked on immediately. I knew him very well.

“He was someone calm and quiet and nice. But the last two times I saw him, he was very different.”

Phones being probed

Detectives have been searching mobile phones belonging to the couple and uncovering “vital clues” about the couple’s final hours.

Andrew’s mobile device is proving “particularly helpful”, according to one detective, after he was spotted making animated calls in previous days.

An investigating source said: “There is a mine of information and recent calls made by Mr Searle which are providing vital clues.”

LOYAL Love Island and Towie stars have jumped to Elma Pazar’s defense and warned fans to “be kind”, after their friend has found herself cruelly trolled.

It come after fans branded Elma, 32, a “bully” following her ongoing feud with former friend, Ekin-Su, 30.

Eroteme

ITV2

It came after clashed with Ekin-Su and Curtis again last night[/caption]

Eroteme

It’s been a tense time in the villa for Elma, ever since Ekin-Su gave her partner Sammy Root a peck on the lips during the heart rate challenge.

Last night it all kicked off in the villa again between them, with the Towie star being accused of being a “bully” by fans.

It all started when the couples had the chance to ask the public two questions each – one about their own relationship and one about another couple.

Elma and Sammy’s question about Curtis and Ekin-Su was: “Do you think Curtis and Ekin-Su are the weakest couple?”

Curtis immediately responded by saying: “I feel there’s a slight spite behind the whole thing.”

Elma then snapped back: “Oh please Curtis, have a day off, babe.”

However fans then vented on social media, and started calling her a “bully”, and saying “get her out of the villa!”

Now fellow Love Island star Francesca Allen has jumped to her defence.

Posting a picture of Elma and Sammy from last night, she wrote: “Please everyone be a little kinder to our girl Elma.

“She’s the kindest, loyalist person I know and the label she is being given is not who she is.

“The people closest to her will understand and know this.

“Just please be a little kinder online (as the) level of hate has gone to far.”

Reposting this message, Elma’s Towie co-star Harry Derbidge added: “Well said Francesca!

“Please give Elma a lot of love.”

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Love Island star Francesca Allen stuck up for Elma[/caption]

Instagram

Elma’s Towie co-star Harry echoed Francesca’s words[/caption]

Rex

Elma has a tense time in the villa lately[/caption]

Eroteme

Along with Francesca, Elma shot to fame on Love Island in 2019.

She made her entrance into the villa as a bombshell alongside Maura Higgins.

After proving popular with fans she was then snapped up in 2022 to join the cast of Towie.

Meanwhile, this isn’t first time that Elma has come under fire for her behaviour in the villa.

Following another clash with Ekin, when she repeatedly told her she was “muggy”, Elma was accused of being a “mean girl” by fans.

Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2.

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The vitriol she is receiving after Payne's sudden death has been horrific.

The developer behind Alan Wake and Control has shared updates on all of its upcoming games, including the Max Payne remake.