Ephraim Hardcastle
STANDING in for Theresa May at PMQs, First Secretary Damian Green, 61, mischievously highlights the fact that the Lib Dems are preparing to ‘skip a generation’ by appointing Sir Vince Cable, 74, as their next leader: ‘I’m delighted the Liberal Democrats have taken so seriously the Government’s fuller working life strategy, which is about providing more jobs for older workers,’ he says. This was much appreciated by guffawing outgoing leader Tim Farron, 47, who was present. Can Sir Vince’s talk about gym visits protect him from the ageist jibes that finished off a predecessor, Sir Menzies Campbell?
WHILE Sir Cliff Richard, 76, is still in embroiled in a legal battle with the BBC, his former Shadows bandmate Bruce Welch, 75, says of a recent meeting: ‘He’s very thin and gaunt, I got a bit of a shock. He said to me, “That publicity and everything, you can’t erase it from people’s psyche”.’ Shouldn’t BBC director-general Tony Hall call time on this legal wrangle and apologise to Sir Cliff for the egregious way in which the Corporation publicised false allegations against him?
MY note about Mario Testino taking 70th birthday snaps of Camilla reminds a royal source that the Peruvian-born photographer, who made his name snapping Diana, was awarded an OBE in 2014. Testino says of his approach: ‘I ask how I can make them look their best.’ Might this earn him a knighthood after showcasing Camilla at 70? That would delight Testino and Brazilian partner Jan Olesen, 20 years his junior.
KING Felipe of Spain visits the tomb of Eleanor of Castile, the first Spanish Queen of England, in Westminster Abbey today, accompanied by Prince Harry. Eleanor was 13 when, after protracted negotiations, she married the future Edward I, who was 14. King Felipe’s eldest daughter, Princess Leonor (the Spanish form of Eleanor) is 12 in October. In another age she and Harry, 32, might have been paired up, despite their ages. After all, Leonor, pictured, is destined to become Queen of Spain one day.
TORY MP Sir Nicholas Soames, 69, offers a frank assessment of Donald Trump Jr after allegations about his Russian links, commenting: ‘He’s clearly a little s*** weasel and an obviously full-on shyster. Bred to it, mind you.’ Bang goes Soames’s invitation to the Trump state banquet, if it ever happens.
BROADCASTER Andrew Neil rebukes Labour shadow minister Jack Dromey, 68, for swearing on air about abuse suffered by MPs: ‘I personally don’t get that much s*** – you’ll excuse the language – but the s*** I do get comes from the Right.’ Neil tells him: ‘Don’t do it again.’
THE 11 royal residents of Kensington Palace have an interest in Saturday’s AGM in Newcastle of the anti-monarchy group Republic. It’s due to be addressed by the area’s new MP, Labour’s Emma Dent Coad, 62, who’ll discuss: ‘What relationship do the royals have with the local community in Kensington – and can that relationship show a link between monarchy and inequality in Britain?’ Is that the creak of tumbril wheels I hear?