In November 1947, a dynastic union was forged between the royal houses of Greece and Great Britain. It would be one of the last of this kind of royal marriages in history – a type of union that had knitted together the continent for 1,000 years. When Philip, prince of Greece and Denmark married Elizabeth, princess of Great Britain, they reconnected two bloodlines descended from Queen Victoria. But they also renewed a kinship tie between Britain and Denmark that had been joined together numerous times, from Canute and Aelfgifu in 1015 to Edward VII and Alexandra in 1863.
For centuries, almost every European monarchy maintained diplomatic relationships with its neighbours through dynastic marriages, in a system that persisted all the way up to the 1930s, then rapidly faded away in the post-war era.
In stark contrast, before the second world war this practice was the absolute norm – particularly seen in the dense web of intermarriages between the royal families of Sweden, Denmark and Norway in the earlier decades of the 20th century.
One of the great dreams of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert – themselves the product of close dynastic union, as first cousins – was to unite the continent of Europe through kinship relations, hoping that close cousins would be less likely to go to war with one another. This proved to be politically naive – disastrously so. The Great War that followed not long after Victoria’s death pitted the forces of “Cousin Nicky” (Tsar Nicholas of Russia) and “Cousin Georgie” (King George V of Great Britain) against those of “Cousin Willy” (Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany), close kinship notwithstanding. By 1914, Britain, Russia and Germany had evolved as nation states, with modern governments, beyond the control of princely dynasticism as a political or diplomatic force.
Prince Philip’s marriage to Princess Elizabeth in 1947 thus represented one of the last iterations of this Queen Victoria’s dream. It reunited two of her descendants: Elizabeth through her father’s line, and Philip through the line of his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, a great-grand-daughter of Victoria. Indeed, in the previous decade, three of Philip’s four sisters had married other descendants of Victoria.
But in 1947, times had changed, and post-war Britain was not so keen to see the heir to the throne married to a foreign royal. Particularly not one whose sisters had married prominent German officers and whose family had an extremely fragile position on its throne in Greece, with a dynastic history full of abdications, military coups and plebiscites. Prince Philip was therefore “rebranded” before his marriage as Philip Mountbatten, lieutenant in the Royal Navy, naturalised British subject. But where did the name Mountbatten come from? And why before he changed his name was he called “Prince of Greece and Denmark”?
Community of nations
It is an important question for understanding the identity of the Duke of Edinburgh – and by extension, the identity of the British royal family and even Britain’s position within the wider European community of nations. It is all very intertwined. Philip himself said in an interview in 2014:
If anything, I’ve thought of myself as Scandinavian. Particularly, Danish. We spoke English at home … The others learned Greek. I could understand a certain amount of it. But then the (conversation) would go into French. Then it went into German, on occasion, because we had German cousins. If you couldn’t think of a word in one language, you tended to go off in another.
His experience is a perfect expression of the extraordinary cosmopolitan environment of the royal courts of Europe a century ago, when royal princes in Prussia and Russia almost always had English nannies, and adults conversed in polished French. Queen Elizabeth II is the product of this same nursery environment and also has very good French.
But why would a Greek prince consider himself Scandinavian? In the mid-19th century, when the crumbling Ottoman Empire was giving birth to newly independent states such as Bulgaria and Greece, the Great Powers of Europe determined that it was in the best interests of stability in the region to select junior members of the major royal dynasties to found new monarchies.
Greece, independent since 1832, had first been governed by a Bavarian prince, Otto, but in 1863, he was deposed, and the 17-year-old Prince William of Denmark chosen instead. Denmark’s ruling family, the House of Oldenburg, one of the oldest in Europe, was known for its liberal views, and it was hoped that a young prince from such a family would help the Greeks establish a democratic monarchy along the lines of Denmark, or its closely related ally, England.
The reign of Prince William, as King George I of Greece, was long and fairly calm. His son, Constantine I, was another matter, and after a disastrous war with Turkey (1919-1922) he was forced to abdicate. His younger brother, Prince Andrew, had fought in the war, and was sent into exile, along with his infant son, Prince Philip.
Philip was thus raised as an exile, first in Paris, then in England, where he boarded at Cheam School in Hampshire. He began a career in the British navy in 1939, served with distinction during WWII, then retired from active service once his wife became the Queen in 1952. He had been naturalised as a British subject in the summer of 1947, a few months before his wedding, and assumed a version of his mother’s name, Battenberg – itself anglicised to Mountbatten at the height of anti-German sentiment in England in 1917.
The Battenbergs were also from an ancient ruling family, the House of Hesse, territorial princes in the heart of Germany since the 13th century. Philip wasn’t alone in representing the Greek royal family in Britain: a decade before, his cousin Princess Marina had married the youngest son of George V, the Duke of Kent, and had charmed the nation with her elegance and cosmopolitan style.
Philip was firmly tied to the UK through his uncle, Earl Mountbatten, a British naval hero during the war – but, at the same time, he remained closely linked to the old continental system. One of his aunts, Mountbatten’s sister, was Queen Louise of Sweden.
Louise Mountbatten died in 1965, and Marina of Greece in 1968 and, by the 1970s, royal marriages were seen as affairs of the heart, not affairs of state – or indeed as points of reunion and reconnection for these ancient royal dynasties.
With the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh, one of the last representatives of a system that had endured for a millennium passes into history.
The death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh marks the end of a chapter not just for the British royal family – but for European monarchy itself. Philip belonged to that cosmopolitan world of interrelated royals that had ruled Europe before the first world war that has been largely swept away by time, war or revolution.
Born on Corfu to the Greek-Danish Prince Andrew and the English-German Princess Alice of Battenberg, he might have lived as an obscure European prince had his family not been caught up in the revolutionary politics of the post-WWI era and banished from their homeland. Philip remained bitter throughout his life that his Romanov relatives had been murdered by the Bolsheviks: in 1993, his DNA was used to identify their bodies.
Moving first to Paris and then to London, Philip was educated in England, Germany and finally at Gordonstoun School, established by the German Jewish refugee Kurt Hahn. It was to the tough character-building regime at Gordonstoun that Philip always attributed his pragmatic, unsentimental approach to life, but which sometimes struck others as harsh or unfeeling.
In the second world war he served with distinction in the Royal Navy, but it was after the war that he was projected into the royal role that defined his life. Having fallen in love with his distant relative, Princess Elizabeth, he married her in 1947 in the first of a series of high-profile royal weddings that were to punctuate postwar British history.
To mark the wedding, Philip, who had given up his foreign titles when taking British nationality, was given the title Duke of Edinburgh. To his intense irritation, however, his wife retained her royal surname of Windsor for herself and their first two children rather than taking her husband’s name, Mountbatten. Eventually a constitutional compromise was reached whereby Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were given the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
Fresh air
Philip seemed an invigorating breath of fresh air, striding into Buckingham Palace in slacks and open-necked shirt, in a monarchy that was in danger of appearing stuffy and out of touch. But when Princess Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in 1952, he discovered the ambiguities and frustrations of the role of consort to the British monarch. Unlike Prince Albert, he was not given the formal title of Prince Consort, though in 1957 he was given the courtesy title Prince Philip.
Like his Victorian forebear, he threw himself into charitable, scientific, sporting and educational schemes, most notably heading the National Playing Fields Association and the Worldwide Fund for Nature. Perhaps his most lasting legacy is the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, a graded programme of outdoor adventure and endeavour for young people based on the same principles as Gordonstoun.
‘Dentopedology’ problem
Philip quickly developed a reputation for what he once defined, to the General Dental Council, as “dentopedology – the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it”. His “gaffes” were typical of the clubbish humour of the officer class – though less appreciated, sometimes even offensive, to other ears.
His remarking to the president of Nigeria, who was wearing national dress, “You look like you’re ready for bed”, or advising British students in China not to stay too long or they would end up with “slitty eyes”, is probably best written off as ill-judged humour. Telling a photographer to “just take the fucking picture” or declaring “this thing open, whatever it is”, were expressions of exasperation or weariness with which anyone might sympathise.
He was also capable of genuine if earthy wit, saying of his horse-loving daughter Princess Anne: “If it doesn’t fart or eat hay she isn’t interested.” Many people might have thought it but few dared say it. If Prince Philip’s famous gaffes provoked as much amusement as anger, it was precisely because they seem to give voice to the bewilderment and pent-up frustrations with which many people viewed the ever-changing modern world.
My husband and I
It was in his family role that Philip came in for most criticism. The Queen never failed to pay tribute to his support – for many years she would begin her public utterances with the words “My husband and I”. And their children appeared to outward appearances to be balanced and happy. Yet the string of scandals and divorces that engulfed the younger royals in the 1980s increasingly seemed to point to inadequate parenting.
In particular, Prince Charles, a more sensitive figure than his father but whom Philip had nevertheless put through the rigours of Gordonstoun and the Navy, suffered from his father’s no-nonsense approach. It was Philip who forced Charles to end public speculation and marry Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 and, when the marriage ended in divorce, much blame was attached to the exacting way in which the Duke had brought up his eldest son. The crisis provoked by Diana’s death in 1997 brought criticism of the monarchy out into the open, but the Duke played an important part in planning the funeral that went a long way towards rebuilding public trust.
Public servant
In his later years, the Duke of Edinburgh began to step down from his huge range of public roles – he held more than 800 presidencies and patronages – including the chancellorship of the universities of Cambridge, Salford, Wales and, fittingly, Edinburgh.
He received wide praise in 2012 when he stood for three hours in the rain beside the Queen at her Diamond Jubilee river pageant, and then suffered a bladder infection. However, his insistence on continuing to drive attracted criticism when, in 2019, he was in collision with another car near the Sandringham estate.
As his health deteriorated, he nevertheless kept up his schedule of public duties, only finally stepping down in 2017, at the age of 96.
Fittingly for a naval-military man, his last public duty was when he transferred his role as colonel-in-chief of The Rifles to his daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in July 2020.
The recruitment of health and care workers from Nigeria and 46 other countries has been suspended by the United Kingdom government as confirmed in its updated Code of Practice (CoP).
Africa Check had earlier reported that about 5, 250 Nigerian-trained doctors are on the UK books as at April 2018, a rise of 10 per cent on the previous year.
The Sun reported that the announcement which is contained in the CoP and released by the UK Department of Health and Social Care, would help to meet UK’s target of delivering 50,000 more nurses by 2024.
The UK said CoP provide safeguards against active recruitment from 47 countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards list, and also aligns with World Health Organisation’s (WHO) advice on ethical recruitment to promote effective, fair and sustainable international recruitment practices.
It was further learnt that UK authorities will strengthen its ethical approach to the international recruitment of health and care workers.
The affected countries include Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Congo Democratic Republic of, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti,Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, among others.
To align with the WHO, UK said the new code refers to the WHO Health Workforce Support and safeguard list 2020 of 47 countries where active recruitment can’t be undertaken. This, it said, replaces the previous UK-held list of 152 countries, and removes confusion which can arise from the UK holding a separate list of countries.
With the new rule, UK recruiters are not permitted to actively recruit from these countries unless there is a government to government agreement in place for managed recruitment. The CoP according to UK, sets out how the UK can work collaboratively with governments from around the world, forming partnerships to benefit health and social care workers, their country of origin and the UK.
It read;
“The UK has updated its code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care staff to align with the World Health Organization (WHO), widening the global market from which the UK can ethically recruit. This will provide increasing numbers of international staff with the opportunity to come and work in the UK’s health and social care sectors to deliver world-class care.”
The UK, along with large parts of northern Europe, is in the grip of an unusually cold period of weather thanks to a flow of cold easterly winds from Siberia. On the morning of February 11, the village of Braemar in the Scottish Highlands recorded -23.0°C, the UK’s coldest temperature since 1995 and coldest February temperature since the 1950s.
The cold air outbreak has been dubbed “The Beast from the East Two”, the sequel to another extremely cold spell in late February-early March 2018 (although it should be noted that outbreaks of cold easterly winds have occurred more than twice, and indeed much more severely).
These two cold spells bookend a volatile four years of winter weather. In February 2019, the UK experienced a “winter heatwave” when the temperature reached 21.2°C at Kew Gardens in London. The following year saw the country’s wettest February in a record stretching back to 1862, with winter storms Ciara and Dennis producing some of the rainiest individual days on record.
Extreme cold, a heatwave, a deluge, and another cold snap: the succession of different extremes raises questions about climate variability and climate change.
Why the UK’s weather varies so much
Western Europe is at the mercy of the Atlantic jet stream – a band of westerly winds which steer powerful weather systems, flanked by cold air to its north and warmer air to its south. The jet stream is extremely variable and fluctuations in its strength and position are the main reason why the region can have such varied weather.
In both 2021 and 2018, the jet stream was unusually weak and shifted southward, allowing cold air to flood out of the Arctic. In early 2020, the jet stream was supercharged, keeping colder air locked up and instead pushing in mild, moisture-laden air and storm systems from the Atlantic. In 2019, it buckled northwards, allowing a dome of high pressure to develop over the UK under which the temperature skyrocketed.
West-to-east winds at a pressure level of 250 hPa (around 11 km) for the first eight days of February 2020 (left) and 2021 (right), with the approximate core of the jet stream shown by a red arrow.Data from NOAA PSL via https://psl.noaa.gov/data/composites/day/
These different patterns all fall within natural climate variability. The weakened jet stream in 2018 and this year, as well as the strengthened jet stream in 2020, are all linked to variability in the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex – effectively a vast low-pressure system around 30km above the surface, which fluctuates in strength from year to year.
But we do know that climate change is likely to make winters milder and wetter in the UK, largely because warmer air can hold much more water. This is supported by recent observations: the winters of 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2019-20 all rank in the top five wettest on record. Recent research has shown that climate change has also made exceptionally warm winter days – such the 20°C heatwave in February 2019 – around 300 times more likely, although they remain rare because the specific atmospheric configuration required is so unlikely.
So there is evidence to support climate change having amplified the extreme heat of 2019 and the rain of 2020. But what about cold weather and climate change? It is important to remember that extremely cold weather can still happen in a warming climate. If climate change is like loading a die, then rolling a one is still possible. Just because you roll a one every so often does not tell you that the die is not loaded. For that, you need to look at longer periods of time, to see if you are rolling more sixes and fewer ones.
The Central England Temperature (CET) is the world’s longest-running continuous instrumental temperature record, with data from 1659. It gives a clear indication of how even the coldest winters in recent times pale in comparison with those of the past. A winter with an average temperature below 2°C used to occur about once per decade. Central England has now not had a winter that cold since 1978-79 – a never-before-observed gap of four consecutive decades and counting.
Despite plenty of cold spells in the past few decades, no one under the age of 42 has lived through what could be considered a historically cold winter season in central England.
Number of winters each decade with an average Central England Temperature below 2°C, which has occurred on average once per decade since the dataset began but has not occurred since the 1970s.Data from Met Office Hadley Centre via https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/
Thus, while weather extremes will continue to occur at both ends of the spectrum as part of a natural, jet stream-driven rollercoaster, the evidence supports the projections that warmer, wetter winter weather is winning.
To misquote Shakespeare, our Brexit negotiating revels now are ended. The tempestuous talks did not lead to a dramatic walkout, even if at times the UK government gave the impression this was a feud worthy of the Montagues against the Capulets. The negotiators ignored the background noise and succeeded in drafting a dense legal document on which the future of UK-EU relations now hangs.
How the deal came together
The UK was adamant throughout the negotiations that it be treated as a sovereign equal of the EU and have its independence respected. This was particularly important when it came to fishing rights – one of the last issues to be resolved.
There were always two problems with this argument. Firstly, as explained by the Spanish foreign minister – a veteran trade negotiator – a trade agreement is designed to establish interdependence rather than being an exercise in asserting independence.
Secondly, the EU is simply a bigger beast economically speaking than the UK. This meant Brussels was confident it could weather the disruption of a no-deal separation better than the UK. By refusing to extend the transition period despite the pandemic, prime minister Boris Johnson ensured both parties faced the same time pressure. But they did not face the same level of risk if no agreement was reached. Hence the real ringmaster of the Brexit deal was Father Time, not Johnson or Angela Merkel, as UK newspapers often reported.
Nevertheless, it looks like the UK government will claim victory by arguing that it is now able to escape the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice while getting tariff and quota-free access for goods exported to the EU. In a statement immediately following the announcement of the deal, the UK government did just that:
The deal … guarantees that we are no longer in the lunar pull of the EU, we are not bound by EU rules, there is no role for the European Court of Justice and all of our key red lines about returning sovereignty have been achieved. It means that we will have full political and economic independence on 1st January 2021.
The reality though – as with everything Brexit-related since 2016 – is far more complex.
In the deal
Johnson’s negotiator David Frost liked to argue that the UK just wanted a standard free-trade deal like that between Canada and the EU. In reality, the UK was asking for extras, such as mutual recognition of conformity assessment for goods and mutual recognition of professional qualifications. The EU does not appear to have budged on those.
Brussels was also adamant that the deal required legal guarantees to prevent the UK undercutting the single market by using its new regulatory autonomy to lower environmental standards or employment rights. Johnson agreed in principle to this level playing field idea in the political declaration that accompanied the 2019 withdrawal agreement he got through parliament. Then, later in negotiations, he tried to renege on this pledge. In the end he u-turned again. The deal states that divergence from EU standards would lead to potentially restricted access to the single market.
In a press conference on the deal, Johnson reassured “fish fanatics” there would be plenty for their dinner plates, but the deal means that for the next five and a half years EU-based vessels will continue to enjoy significant access to British waters, during the transition to a final arrangement.
It’s clear that free movement of people has ended, while goods will face customs and regulatory checks. Transport chaos around the port at Dover is therefore still a distinct possibility after January 1 if exporters fail to have the proper paperwork to cross the Channel. Given they have not done this in a generation, there are bound to be difficulties. EU-based hauliers might also opt for caution and in the short–term avoid the risk of getting their lorries stuck in the UK. The UK will also leave the Erasmus higher education exchange programme, which will come as a blow to many students – although the UK now plans to launch its own “Turing” scheme to offer placements at universities around the world.
Much less clear is the future of the UK’s key export industry: financial services. Outside the single market, the City of London relies on the EU to grant permission to service EU-based clients and sell them banking, accounting, and associated legal products. This “equivalence” arrangement is reviewed on an ongoing basis, depending on the UK approach to financial regulation and data protection. That puts the sector on a much less firm footing than, say, manufacturing.
Selling the deal
The dance is over but now comes the hard sell. Credit claiming and blame avoidance will be the twin priorities for the UK government. Johnson is bound to play up the sovereignty angle by highlighting the ability to avoid the intrusion of EU law.
The blame game is where things are likely to get more interesting. This is because the deal requires a constant dialogue with the EU over things that can affect the terms of the agreement, such as government subsidies. This is the position Switzerland constantly finds itself in. The Brexit deal requires both sides to submit to a general review after four years to make sure both sides are meeting the requirements. Hard eurosceptic Conservative backbenchers, who pushed for a no deal, may see this as a concession too far.
What can Boris Johnson do to overcome internal opposition? His parliamentary majority is sufficient to overcome anything short of a major revolt. But his strongest card might be to simply shift the blame to his predecessor, Theresa May, for triggering Brexit without a plan. Meanwhile, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted immediately after the deal was announced that “no deal that will ever make up for what Brexit takes away from us. It’s time to chart our own future as an independent, European nation.” So, while one episode in this long drama may be drawing to a close, it seems that others, relating to the very future of the UK, are far from over.
EU officials have praised the agreement, which came four years, five months and 29 days after the UK voted in a referendum to leave the EU — and a week before the December 31 deadline.
Significance
The deal now means goods can continue without tariffs or quotas after the UK breaks fully free on New Year’s Day.
“It is, I believe, what the UK needs at this time, and the right way forward,” the newspaper also quotes Mr Johnson as saying.
He said the 500-page agreement promises to be “stable and prosperous for both sides.”
“This country will remain culturally, historically, strategically, geologically attached to Europe,” he reportedly said, “vowing to remain a close ally of the 27-nation bloc after the sometimes fierce negotiations.”
For the deal to be binding, the British and European parliaments both must hold votes on the agreement.
“It was worth fighting for this deal,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted afterward.
“It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it,” she said at a press conference. “It is fair, it is a balanced deal, and it is the right and responsible thing to do for both sides,” she said.
Changes
New York Post also reports that despite the deal, “there are still unanswered questions about huge areas, including security cooperation and access to the EU market for Britain’s financial services sector.”
The nations involved “will also see huge changes when Brexit finally happens in a week”.
“Goods and people will no longer be able to move freely without border restrictions, and exporters and importers face customs declarations, goods checks and other obstacles.
“EU citizens will no longer be able to live and work in Britain without visas — though that does not apply to the more than 3 million already doing so — and Britons can no longer automatically work or retire in EU nations.”
In a bid to avoid the fast-spreading new strain of the coronavirus, many countries have banned travel from the UK.
Coronavirus
Many countries have taken strict measures to avoid the fast-spreading mutated COVID-19 reaching its borders by placing travel ban from the UK.
More than 40 countries have now suspended travel from Britain in a bid to contain the fast-spreading new strain of the coronavirus.
Among them are four African countries – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritius, with Nigeria also considering to suspend travel from the UK.
The chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, at a press briefing on Monday said, “A lot of discussions is still going on around the calls for the restriction of international travels due to the discovery of new strains of the virus in certain countries.
“The protection of Nigerians remains our primary concern and we reassure Nigerians of our resolve not to relent.”
According to reports, scientists at the Redeemer’s University, Nigeria, say they have found the United Kingdom’s ‘lineage B.1.1.7,’ a mutant variant of the COVID-19 global pandemic, in Nigeria.
Scotland had already closed its border with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Here are some of travel bans announced so far.
– France -
France has halted all travel from Britain for 48 hours, including anyone transporting goods by road, air, sea or rail.
Paris and London are in talks over testing at ports to reopen the border, British Home Secretary Priti Patel said.
– Germany -
Germany is extending a ban on all arrivals from the UK and South Africa – where the new strain has also appeared – until January 6.
– Spain and Portugal –
Spain and Portugal are suspending flights, with Madrid only allowing its nationals or residents to enter from Britain.
– India –
India has suspended all flights until December 31, with anyone arriving from Britain on transit flights to be tested.
Its financial capital Mumbai is being put under curfew over fears of the British strain.
– Poland –
Poland – which has a large ex-pat community in Britain – has banned all incoming UK flights.
– Hong Kong –
The former British colony has banned all incoming UK flights, and extended the quarantine of passengers who arrived from Britain in the last fortnight.
– Netherlands –
Passenger flights from Britain have been banned until January 1. One case of the new strain has been found in the country.
– Ireland –
Flights from Britain from Monday have been banned for at least 48 hours.
– Italy –
Italy has blocked flights from Britain and prohibited entry of people who have stayed there during the last 14 days.
The new strain has been found in one person who recently returned from the UK.
– Russia –
Moscow is suspending British flights for a week.
– Rest of Europe –
Finland is suspending flights for two weeks and Switzerland until further notice, with travellers who have arrived from Britain or South Africa ordered into quarantine.
Baltic nations Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as Belgium and Luxembourg have also halted flights, while in the Balkans, Croatia, Macedonia, and Albania followed suit with Bulgaria and suspended them until January 31.
Romania has banned all flights to and from the UK for two weeks, as has the Czech Republic.
Norway and Denmark suspended flights for 48 hours.
Denmark has detected nine cases of the new strain on its soil.
– Canada –
Canada has banned all UK flights for 72 hours, with those who had already arrived from Britain subject to screenings.
– Turkey –
Turkey has suspended flights from Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands and South Africa.
– Middle East –
Saudi Arabia and Oman said they were closing their borders entirely for at least a week.
Israel said it was barring entry to foreign citizens travelling from Britain, Denmark and South Africa, while Jordan is banning UK flights for a fortnight, as is Iran.
Kuwait has added Britain to a list of “high-risk” nations and banned flights.
– Africa –
Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia have all banned flights from Britain, with Algeria deciding to stop repatriating its nationals.
Mauritius, a former British colony, has also barred travel from the UK and South Africa.
– Latin America –
Anyone who had been in Britain or South Africa in the past 30 days will not be allowed to enter El Salvador.
Peru has gone further, banning all flights from Europe and any foreigner who had been in Britain in the last fortnight.
Chile and Argentina have banned flights from the UK, with anyone without a Chilean residence permit who had been in Britain in the past two weeks barred.
Saturday, 28 November 2020 13:24 Written by iol.co.za
LONDON - Britain's Prince Harry has joined his brother William in welcoming a new investigation into how the BBC secured a famous and controversial 1995 interview with their mother Princess Diana, with a source describing it as a "drive for truth".
A former Supreme Court justice is leading a new inquiry into how the broadcaster obtained the interview and whether executives covered up any wrongdoing after accusations that the late princess was tricked into taking part.
Prince William, the second in line to the throne, said earlier this week that the investigation was a step in the right direction and a source close to Harry said on Saturday that the prince was getting regular updates.
The person familiar with the situation also questioned some British media reports which asked why Harry, living in California with his wife Meghan and son Archie, had not joined his brother in welcoming the investigation earlier.
"Sadly, some people are not just seeing this as a drive for truth, but also trying to use this as an opportunity to try to drive a wedge between the brothers," the person said.
Diana's Panorama interview with Martin Bashir was watched by more than 20 million viewers in Britain and became one of the defining moments of her failed marriage to Prince Charles.
It included an admission of an affair and the line that there "were three of us in this marriage", referring to Charles'relationship with his now second wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles.
This month, Diana's brother Charles Spencer said the BBC had failed to apologise for what he said were forged documents and"other deceit" which led him to introduce Diana to Bashir.
The BBC has said the broadcaster is determined to get to the truth about Spencer's assertions and has appointed John Dyson,one of the country's most senior retired judges, to lead the inquiry.
Bashir has made no public comment on the situation and the corporation says the journalist, who gained global renown from the interview, is currently on sick leave, recovering from heart surgery and from contracting Covid-19.
Harry and Meghan moved to California after stepping back from royal duties in January and have signed a multi-year production deal with Netflix as part of their plans to be more financially independent.
The source added that the couple had decided to share their property in England, Frogmore Cottage, with his cousin Eugenie but would stay there when they visit the UK.
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