Ephraim Hardcastle
PREDICTABLY – I forecast it on March 1 – Clarence House officials dismiss investigative writer Tom Bower’s startling new book about Prince Charles’ spoiled-rotten lifestyle. But even his friend, the late Duchess of Devonshire, felt it was ‘bloody rude’ of Charles to send ahead his pre-mixed dry martinis prior to visiting her home, Chatsworth. Last month Clarence House communications secretary Julian Payne tweeted: ‘Does anyone seriously believe the prince travels with a leather loo seat?’ Bower’s revelation that Charles travels with a bed and favourite paintings makes the travelling loo seat (a gift from Princess Anne) seem relatively normal.
HAVING her former boyfriend Andrew Parker Bowles and Fifty Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan in the Royal Box at Cheltenham put the aforementioned Princess Anne in a frisky mood. Presenting the Gold Cup to winning jockey Richard Johnson – previous boyfriend of her daughter, Zara, who married ex-rugby professional Mike Tindall – the Princess Royal unprecedentedly planted an affectionate (if ungainly) kiss, pictured, on the delighted equestrian.
APROPOS the Prince of Wales, shouldn’t his officials have co-operated with Catherine Mayer’s 2015 biography Charles: The Heart Of A King? This portrayed Charles in a positive light, relying on well-known Charles fans including ex-PM John Major, actress Emma Thompson and former Bishop of London Richard Chartres. Ms Mayer allowed those she quoted a right of veto over what was included in her book, making it more hagiography than biography.
THE last elderly king who came to the throne after his mother had enjoyed a long life was Edward VII, who was a mere 59. He and Queen Alexandra were very popular, assisted by a deferential Press which shielded subjects from details of Edward’s indolence, indulgence and lax morals. Contrastingly, Charles is haunted by the ghost of Diana. Next year William and Harry will unveil a new statue of their mother. Two years later it’s her 60th birthday. Then the 25th anniversary of her death. They won’t pass unnoticed.
EX-LABOUR MP for Holborn and St Pancras Frank Dobson, 77, a former health secretary, has had a new London council estate named after him – Dobson Court, in Holborn. ‘After more than 50 years campaigning for homes for local people, it is nice to feel appreciated,’ he tells his local paper. Some might think he’d already been rewarded after occupying a council flat in the area worth more than £1million while owning a substantial property in Yorkshire, as well as earning a six-figure ministerial salary.
ANTIGUA’S prime minister Gaston Browne is expected to win re-election tomorrow but there’s concern about his ‘land reform’ activities on neighbouring Barbuda. Although the island was given to its inhabitants after the abolition of slavery in 1834, Browne plans to replace their communal ownership with ‘individual freehold tenure’. A local source says: ‘This is viewed by many Barbudans as the first step in a land grab. Three years ago the government negotiated a 198-year lease with the actor Robert de Niro and the Australian property developer James Packer to revamp and extend a luxury resort there.’