Ephraim Hardcastle
DRAGONS’ Den’s Steven Bartlett was impressed when the Belgian owners of artificial diamond maker Kimai boasted that the Duchess of Sussex had worn their jewellery. ‘How did you manage that?’ he asked. ‘Just cold emails,’ they answered, giving hope to anyone who can locate her email address. It was Harry who outed Meghan in his memoir Spare for liking freebies, disclosing that she usually kept unsolicited gifts which she occasionally shared with staff. But how unstylish is it for Meghan to accept diamonds from an enterprising duo trying to get a cash injection on Dragons’ Den?
MEANWHILE, it appears Prince Harry’s royal hauteur is something he’s nurtured since childhood. Hosting ITV’s game show Jeopardy!, Stephen Fry invited contestant Archi Campbell to recall his juvenile encounter with Harry and William in a west London playground near their Kensington Palace home. ‘I was playing on a climbing frame and was told to get off by a young ginger boy because he wanted to play on it with his friends,’ explained Archi, 35, now a lawyer. ‘But then a different boy, who turned out to be his brother, told me that I was allowed to stay on it.’ He adds, ‘[Harry was] clearly showing signs of his regal demeanour from an early age.’
AS WELL as fasting for 36 hours at the start of each week, the Prime Minister also famously denies himself anything stronger. However, Rishi’s teetotal life grates behind closed doors. ‘I really tried [to drink alcohol],’ he’s claimed. ‘My family all drink, my wife definitely drinks. It massively irritates her that I don’t.’
INTERVIEWING Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland, Rachel Johnson, pictured, notes she’s long ‘amicably separated’ from the
Duke, before cheekily enthusing: ‘ You’ve had this wonderfully Lady Chatterley’s Lover relationship with the gamekeeper!’ Emma, romantically entwined with estate manager Phil Burt, snaps: ‘But he’s not really a gamekeeper.’ Rachel giddily insists: ‘Please! Can’t we call him Mellors!’
UNIMPRESSED by Sky News attempting to link a Highlands wildfire to ‘January’s hottest ever temperature’, Sky’s founding chairman Andrew Neil tweets: ‘This is quite ridiculous. The temperature reaches an abnormal (for January) 19.6 degrees and the Highlands spontaneously combust!? Sky News’ reporting of climate change has been hysterical for years but this takes it to a new level. No doubt by June all of Scotland will be ablaze.’ It was later clarified the fire had been caused by a damaged power line. D’oh!
RECALLING a five-hour, six-bottle drinking session in Belfast with Liam Neeson, fellow actor James Nesbitt admits that a comprehensively refreshed Liam went to the toilet all over his light blue Armani suit and was photographed by fans. ‘A couple of days later there it is in the paper,’ wails James. ‘With the headline “Schindler’s P****d”.’