And now for our first look at the Sunday papers. Pictures of a beaming Princess of Wales dominate nearly all of the front pages.
“Our Fair Lady lifts the nation’s spirits,” says the Sunday Telegraph, after Catherine’s return to royal duties for the King’s official birthday.
“On a cold, grey day, the princess proves a tonic at Trooping the Colour,” says the paper. Its columnist, Allison Pearson, thanks her for attending, saying “lesser mortals” with her illness “would have stayed home, tucked up in their jim-jams”.
For the Sun on Sunday, the princess is a “Super Trooper”. It says she made a “triumphant” first public appearance since revealing she has cancer, as she stood on the balcony at Buckingham Palace alongside His Majesty, who is also being treated for the disease.
The Mail on Sunday calls it the “day that lifted the nation’s hearts”.
Trooping the Colour is a “dazzling, dashing reminder of the skill, discipline and loyalty of our Armed Forces”, says the paper’s columnist, Sarah Vine. But she adds that: “not even Seamus the Irish wolf hound, nor Apollo and Juno, the two magnificent drum horses, could compete with the most dazzling trouper of them all: the Princess of Wales.”
“Kate to have you back,” says the Sunday Mirror. It says a “radiant” Princess of Wales brought sunshine to a rainy parade, adding that thousands “braved wet weather to cheer the mum of three” at her first public appearance since her diagnosis.
The Sunday Express is similar in its praise for what it calls her “spectacular” return. The paper goes on to say that the King, who also has cancer, and his daughter-in-law stood side-by-side on the balcony “as a striking symbol of unity and defiance against the disease”.
The Observer leads with what it calls a “bleak” verdict by the health think tank, the Nuffield Trust, of the Labour and Conservative manifesto commitments on NHS funding.
The paper says the analysis – that both the parties would leave the health service worse off than in the “austerity” years – will add to a growing sense that neither is “coming clean with voters about the true implications of their tax and spending policies”.
The Sunday Times carries what it describes as a “highly personal interview” with Rishi Sunak. He reveals how he draws strength from his Hindu faith to cope with the pressures of the “bruising general election campaign”.
The paper says he rejects accusations that Liz Truss is to blame for the Conservative party’s performance in opinion polls. Mr Sunak tells the Sunday Times: “I’m ultimately responsible for what I’m doing and no one else is. It rests on my shoulders.”
And finally, the papers look ahead to England’s Euro 2024 campaign, which kicks off tonight against Serbia.
The Sunday Express says Gareth Southgate has vowed to “go one better this time”, after what it calls the “heartbreak” of their Euro 2020 final loss on penalties to Italy.
The Daily Star Sunday says the Three Lions’ boss is on “a mission to mend the nation’s broken hearts”, by returning home from Germany as European champions. “Come on England,” is the clarion call from the Sunday Mirror.