Ephraim Hardcastle

THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan) visit the Southbank Centre, where they are met by ‘Lord Peter Hain, Chair of The Nelson Mandela Centenary Committee’, says a Kensington Palace handout. South African agitator Hain, 68, established himself here by disrupting tours by his country’s rugby and cricket teams in 1969 and 1970, but Kensington Palace nitwits are wrong to refer to him as ‘Lord Peter Hain,’ as if he were the younger son of a duke or marquess. A former Welsh secretary, he’s in the Lords thanks to his politicking on behalf of the Labour Party. CHIEF Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss addresses the Freer think-tank, quoting Beyonce’s ditty Independent Women: ‘The watch I’m wearin’, I’ve bought it. The house I live in, I’ve bought it. The car I’m driving, I’ve bought it. I depend on me, I depend on me. All the women, who are independent. Throw your hands up at me. All the honeys, who making money. Throw your hands up at me.’ My word! A source explains: ‘Ms Truss is on Tory leadership manoeuvres.’ STARRING as a grandmother in the movie sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, artfully-preserved entertainer Cher, 72, remarks on BBC Breakfast: ‘I didn’t think I’d be doing anything after 50. I shouldn’t be working. I should be knitting or something.’ Nonsense, there’s plenty of life still in the old Cherokee, pictured. THE christening photos of Prince Louis suggest that his uncle, James Middleton, 31, is ready for his sister, Kate, becoming queen. His beard and moustache resemble that of the young George V (1865-1936), whom the Queen as a child called ‘Grandpa England’. A royal source says: ‘James looked the part among the assembled royals. He’ll get the courtesy rank of viscount if his father Michael gets the expected earldom when Kate is crowned.’ VETERAN Radio 2 disc jockey Tony Blackburn, 75, reminiscing about being at the public school Millfield, remarked that he got a scholarship ‘on the spot’ after the keen-on-cricket headmaster admired his bowling. Previously, he said in an autobiography: ‘When I was the most famous radio personality in the country, I went back to Millfield. As a showbiz celebrity, I had the accessories to match – an E-Type Jag and a gorgeous Bunny Girl in the shortest mini-skirt ever invented. The boys all stared at my girlfriend’s legs. But my eyes were drawn to a photograph on the wall in the main hall. Above it was the message, “Before you leave this school consult your careers master. This boy didn’t.” Underneath was a picture of me!’ THE Royal Academy announced this season: ‘Reynolds, Turner, Hockney, Emin, they’ve all exhibited in the Summer Exhibition since it began in 1768. Now, you can see works by these great artists and more, in The Great Spectacle: 250 Years of the Summer Exhibition.’ Can gimmicky Tracey Emin really be bracketed with David Hockney, far less Joshua Reynolds and J MW Turner?