Daily Mail

Ephraim Hardcastle

- Email: john.mcentee@dailymail.co.uk

VLADIMIR Putin’s cronies need to do some homework – after their latest disinforma­tion claiming that King Charles has sold his beloved Highgrove to Ukraine’s President Zelensky for £20million. Prince William actually owns Highgrove. The house was bought by the Duchy of Cornwall in 1980, after the King declined the gift of Chevening House in Kent, and cannily installed himself as ‘tenant for life’. Now that William has taken over the Duchy, the King has to pay him rent. He may have conducted a recent review, but Dad had been paying £700,000 a year before his Coronation.

DID the Duke of York’s lawyers gulp nervously as Rufus Sewell, pictured, playing Andrew in Netflix’s Scoop, tells Emily Maitlis: ‘I don’t know why everyone’s so upset about my friendship with Epstein – I knew Jimmy Savile so much better.’ Not true. Andrew did, in his Navy days, help out in one episode of Jim’ll Fix It, but Savile was very much the preserve of the King, Prince Philip and, before them, Lord Louis Mountbatte­n. Did disgraced Jim ever fix anything for out-of-favour Andy?

REFLECTING on her ill-fated editorship of The Lady magazine, Rachel Johnson tells Radio 4’s World At One that she was told never to put daft artist Tracey Emin on the cover. ‘Of course, as soon as I found myself in The Lady’s boudoir and began editing, I ignored all that advice and indeed Tracey Emin did make the cover. She did an interview in which she described needlework as a substitute for masturbati­on.’ Adios Rachel. She adds ruefully: ‘Maybe if I’d listened to that advice, I’d still be editing The Lady magazine.’

HANNAH Waddingham, who is clearing her throat to host the Olivier Awards this weekend, admits to an enthusiasm for stealing items from hotels. ‘I’m pretty much an “if it ain’t screwed down” kind of gal. But even if it is screwed down, if I really like it, I’ll try to undo the screws,’ says Hannah, pictured. ‘I’ve had to rename it “lovingly rehoming”, because I’m spectacula­rly light-fingered.’

HAS Mick Jagger, three months shy of his 81st birthday, finally acknowledg­ed his antiquity? He’s the secret backer of the relaunched Sixties clothing store Granny Takes A Trip. Welcoming new subscriber­s online, he anonymousl­y tweets: ‘Satisfacti­on Always. Granny.’

WHIMSICAL football manager Joe Kinnear, who has died aged 77, had a way with words until he tried to pronounce the names of some of his Newcastle players. Charles N’Zogbia emerged as ‘Charles Insomnia’, while Yohan Cabaye was ‘Yohan Kebab’. Rest easy Joe.

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