Activists from Animal Rebellion carried placards reading "a royal blood bath" as they vandalised The Queen Victoria Memorial in front of the palace. They dyed the water red as part of their protest against animal hunting.

       Extinction Rebellion spokesman Harley McDonald-Eckersall said: "The Crown Estate is the biggest landowner in the UK and they choose to use this land for animal agriculture and hunting, which not only decimate our environment but cause the deaths of millions of lives every year.

       "It's time for a new system based on justice and compassion and the Royal Family should be leading the way."

       The targetting of the Royal Family comes just days after Prince Charles made a rallying cry for action on climate change in a Daily Mail article.

       The Met Police said they were at the scene outside the palace and arrests have been made.

       The force tweeted: "A number of activists have vandalised the Victoria Memorial water feature outside Buckingham Palace.

       "We are on scene and arrests have been made. The suspects are being taken to custody."

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       4.20pm update: Sophie and Edward among Queen's favourite Balmoral guests

       The Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward are believed to be among the favourite guests hosted every year by the Queen at Balmoral Castle.

       Sophie, Prince Edward and their two children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, are expected to visit the Queen to Scotland in the coming weeks.

       The Wessex family normally travel north of the border when the monarch takes residence at her Balmoral Castle.

       In an interview with the Telegraph Magazine, the Countess of Wessex even confessed her family has sometimes spent more time holidaying at Balmoral and Sandringham than other royal relatives.

       She said: "The poor Queen has had to put up with us staying on much longer than anybody else in Scotland and Norfolk."

       3.30pm update: Camilla stuns royal fans with adorable snap as she puts spotlight on important day

       The Duchess of Cornwall stunned royal fans with a personal picture shared to mark a day close to the royal's heart.

       Much like the Queen, Camilla is an animal lover particularly fond of dogs.

       Today, she celebrated International Dog Day by raising awareness of the animal charities she supports.

       But, to mark the day, the Duchess also shared a relaxed picture of herself walking one of her beloved Jack Russell terriers.

       Katie Harris taking over live reporting from Rachel Russell.

       2.48pm update: Princess Anne to keep prestigious role given to her by Queen - even once Charles is king

       Earlier this year, it was reported Prince Charles could be planning a major shake-up with how the Royal Family will work together for engagements in the future when he becomes king.

       But it appears Charles' younger sister Anne may still keep her Princess Royal title despite any new changes, due to a simple royal rule.

       Explaining the history of the Princess Royal title, constitutional expert Iain MacMarthanne told Express.co.uk: "King Charles I was the first monarch to create his eldest daughter, Mary, Princess Royal, in 1642.

       "This was apparently at the instance of his wife Queen Henrietta Maria, daughter of King Henry IV of France at whose court it was customary for the monarch’s eldest daughter to be known as Madame Royal.

       "Henrietta Maria sough parity for her own daughter, especially so when Mary went to the Netherlands having married William II of Orange.

       "Since Mary there have been a further six de jure creations including the present holder, Princess Anne, with one additional Jacobite creation by King James VII & II whilst in exile.

       "The title itself is not automatically given to an eldest daughter, remaining as a gift of the sovereign at their discretion."Once created the holder enjoys it for life even if there is a new succession.

       "The Queen’s aunt, The Princess Mary, was Princess Royal during the reign of her father George V; those of her brothers Edward VIII and George VI; and finally her niece Elizabeth II."

       1.43pm update: Camilla Parker Bowles was left 'very upset' by Meghan Markle's social media post

       In March last year, reports from the Daily Mirror claimed there had been a fallout between Camilla Parker Bowles and Meghan.

       1.11pm update: Prince William 'very frustrated' as Duke of Cambridge 'lost' Prince Harry with Oprah chat

       Prince William felt he had "lost" his brother after Prince Harry took part in the Sussexes explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, claimed a royal expert. The allegations made in the interview left the Duke of Cambridge "furious", particularly after private conversations amongst Royal Family members made headlines around the world.

       Royal reporter Rupert Bell told talkRadio: "The only thing we've had is William when it broke who said 'we're not a racist family' when he said off-mic, but you could clearly see his frustration and anger.

       "He knows he can't say anything in these circumstances, but I'm pretty sure he was furious.

       "I think he felt very frustrated by the way Meghan is controlling Harry's life and he feels he has lost his brother, in every sense and that must be painful."

       12.41pm update: Harry and William's Diana statue open to those wanting to mark tragic death anniversary

       Princess Diana's death anniversary will be marked in London with a special opening of Cradle Walk surrounding Sunken Garden, where the late royal's new statue was unveiled last month. The Sunken Garden is currently open to the public only from Wednesday to Sunday.

       But Historic Royal Palaces, the charity taking care of Kensington Palace and its ground, has arranged a special opening of the Walk next Tuesday, between 3pm and 5pm.

       This will allow people who want to pay tribute to Princess Diana to visit her statue on the 24th anniversary of the Paris crash.

       A spokesman for Historic Royal Palaces said: "We acknowledge that there will be interest in viewing the statue on that day.

       "So we will be providing access to the Cradle Walk which is essentially the beautiful walkway around the Sunken Garden.

       "We will be opening that up, freely available, for passers-by or anybody who wants to stop and take a moment on that Tuesday, specially for the anniversary."

       While visitors can't access the Sunken Garden, they can walk around it through Cradle Walk, which gives a 360 degrees view of the statue.

       12.04pm update: Prince Charles’ monarchy plan in tatters after losing ‘trusty lieutenant' Prince Harry

       Harry has addressed reports that he had fallen out with his father and his brother, Prince William, 38, who is second in line to the throne.

       According to royal historian, Dr Edward Owens, Harry’s exit from his royal role has disrupted Charles’ plan for the monarchy.

       Dr Owens, a former lecturer at the University of Lincoln and author of “The Family Firm”, spoke to Express.co.uk.

       He said: “The relationship isn’t a good one at the moment by the sounds of things, Charles has lost one of his trusty lieutenants in Harry.

       “The whole ‘Charles project’ was built around family and two sons supporting him as king at his side and he’s now lost one of those guys.

       “He leaves a gaping hole at the side of Charles and it has done more to destabilise Charles’ monarchy than it has William’s.”