Ephraim Hardcastle
PrINCE Charles is entitled to feel slighted by Penny Junor’s suggestion that Camilla began a fling with him to annoy her unfaithful husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. The Duchess of Cornwall, appearing today for an engagement at Aberdeen Airport, has kept her head down in Scotland during publicity over the Diana anniversary. Camilla is sensitive to criticism. Poignantly, she replies to supportive letters by saying they ‘make a huge difference and are greatly appreciated’.
COMEDY star Eric Idle, 74, mocks ex-Monty Python colleague Michael Palin’s ongoing self-promotion, remarking: ‘I have a very rare unsigned copy of one of Michael’s books.’ Idle was miffed when Palin, also 74, blocked plans for further money-spinning shows after the Idle-inspired 2014 reunion at the O2. ‘Comedy dies from being admired,’ a sage noted. Might the same go for feuding comics?
DAME Helen Mirren, 72, pictured, pranced the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week as part of skincare brand L’Oreal’s show in the French capital. As ‘brand ambassador’ – i.e. paid promoter – the Oscar-winning actress has clearly forgotten saying that moisturiser ‘probably does f*** all’.
PRINCE Harry and his soon-to-be fiancee Meghan Markle have courtiers fretting over their public displays of affection. My source says: ‘It’s the sort of things royals don’t do. You won’t see the Queen holding hands with Philip, or Charles getting frisky with Camilla in public. Even William and Kate confined their outward display of affection to the now obligatory kiss on the palace balcony after they wed.’
TOrY man of the moment Jacob reesMogg, 48, is profiled by the New York Times, which notes that his Jaguar has ‘a history of the Hapsburg dynasty cued up on the stereo’. Few Tories are of interest to foreigners now. How can Theresa May utilise rees-Mogg, who is by far her most interesting MP? ‘Move Boris and persuade Jacob to take his job as Foreign Secretary,’ suggests a political source.
PRINCE William is fulfilling his pledge to become a full-time working royal, carrying out 24 engagements last month. He also took his son to school for the first time, visited his grandparents at Balmoral and looked after his ailing, pregnant wife Kate. And he’s taking an interest in the Duchy of Cornwall, which will provide him with a handsome income one day. Duchy secretary Alastair Martin has been round to Kensington Palace explaining the institution’s secretive ways.
ArCHBISHOP of Canterbury Justin Welby’s claim that he would rather not preside over the Queen’s funeral is tactless. Discussing the monarch’s death is bad, saying he’d prefer not to be involved is worse. Even more lamentable, he said it to seedy, ex-Blair mouthpiece Alastair Campbell, his interviewer, who has no time for either God or the Queen. Incidentally, Welby is due to retire in 2026 – just before HMQ’s 100th birthday.