Ephraim Hardcastle

THERESA May’s deep curtsey to Prince William at the Passchendaele ceremony tickles royal flunkeys. They wonder if it is a homage to Margaret Thatcher, whose curtseys to the Queen bordered on prostration. The most ostentatious curtsey to William was from an unlikely source – Left-wing actress Vanessa Redgrave, at the 2010 Bafta awards. Warned that the revolutionary socialist might not even shake his hand, he had to help Miss Redgrave to her feet afterwards. Incidentally, I hear William has let it be known that he doesn’t want members of the Royal Family junior in rank to himself to curtsey to him. POSSIBLY capitalising on a run of good publicity, Elizabeth Hurley, 52, points out that she’s a fan of London police, reminding us: ‘It was actually down to me that they can now eat in public places in their uniforms. I suggested it and, having initially been blasted for stupidity by [then Home Secretary] David Blunkett, he then publicly apologised to me. Tee-hee.’ Indeed he did, in 2002. Miss Hurley’s interaction with police was more successful than that of her kerb-crawling friend, actor Hugh Grant, with the Los Angeles Police Department. RECALLING his 1980s cross-dressing activities, comic Eddie Izzard, 55, announces: ‘I reclaimed the transvestite word because then it was a very negative thing.’ Labour-supporting Izzard hopes to become the first openly transvestite MP. He campaigned for the UK to stay in the EU wearing lipstick, mascara and a pink beret, pictured. Surely he merits a perch in the Commons for that alone. PRINCE Charles’s security officials might be asked to explain why he and Camilla were photographed on the £49million yacht of Greek tycoon Theodore Angelopoulos when they were supposedly at draughty Birkhall on the Balmoral estate. Maybe the 68-year-old heir to the throne deserves a little gin palace indulgence. On September 9 he becomes the longestserving Prince of Wales in history. LITTLE Britain star Matt Lucas, 43, will discuss his autobiography, Little Me, at London’s How To Academy club on October 3. Lucas will talk about his early experiences with ‘alopecia, asthma, and an attraction to boys’. One for the diary! DAME Barbara Windsor, 80 this weekend, canoodled with her co-star, the late Sid James. Referring to her famous assets, the rascal told her: ‘They’re not as big as they look on screen.’ Miss Windsor replied: ‘It’s called acting, darling.’ DOESN’T Irish writer Kevin Myers’s apology for suggesting that broadcasters Vanessa Feltz and Claudia Winkleman secured big BBC salaries because they’re Jewish set a new standard in public contrition? Apologising ‘unconditionally’, Myers, 70, says: ‘I retract. I apologise for it. There was no justification. I have no career left. My reputation is in tatters.’ Would that political leaders who betray our trust apologised so winningly. Email: peter.mckay@dailymail.co.uk