Ephraim Hardcastle
DESCRIBED by police as a ‘person of interest’ in a fresh investigation into the 1981 drowning of his then wife Natalie Wood, actor Robert Wagner, 87, boasts an impressive list of Hollywood lovers, including a fling with a matronly Joan Crawford, who was born in 1904. He has recalled what happened after he was invited for a swim in her pool. ‘Joan, who was 25 years older than me, came out of the house with nothing on, dived gracefully off the board, swam the length of the pool underwater and came up right between my legs. It was a lovely, creative invitation and I responded accordingly’.
TODAY there’s a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London, a 41-gun one in Green Park and a 21-gun event at Edinburgh Castle to mark the 66th anniversary of The Queen’s accession. HM won’t hear any of them. She’ll spend the day relaxing at Sandringham, Norfolk, says a source, ‘in quiet contemplation of her father’s passing in 1952, as has become her custom at this time of year’.
MEANWHILE courtiers fret over the latest Ipsos MORI royal poll. Although The Queen is the third most popular member of the family (47 per cent), she is eclipsed not by her heir, Charles, but by her grandsons, William (62 per cent) and Harry (58 per cent). While Charles has a net approval rating of +30 per cent, Harry’s is +81 per cent, William’s +78 per cent and the Queen’s +80 per cent. Retired Philip (+44 per cent) and not-yetroyal Meghan (+45 per cent) fair better than Charles. Poor Camilla scores a negative net approval rating of 7 per cent.
JOHN Cleese, 78, did not attend the British Film Institute ‘world premiere’ of Hold the Sunset, his first BBC sitcom since the 1970s Fawlty Towers. He was ‘happily sunning himself in the Caribbean’, guests were told. The six-part show co-stars Alison Steadman, 71, as Edith, a widow whose boyfriend, Phil, played by Cleese – both are pictured – is desperate to marry her and move somewhere sunnier to live, but the plan is scuppered when her middleaged son returns to the nest.
DID Princess Eugenie, 27, choose October 12 to marry fiance Jack Brooksbank, 31, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, to keep Grannie sweet? The Queen will then have returned from her long summer break at Balmoral. Incidentally, the Friday marriage restores a royal tradition of weekday weddings. So why are Prince Harry and fiancee Meghan marrying on a Saturday? To guarantee a Windsor crowd – and avoid demands for a public holiday that Chancellor Philip Hammond is reluctant to grant because of its negative impact on our economy.
DONALD Trump speaks to France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, on the phone (in English) three times a week – and they’re on first name terms – reveals the latter’s favourite magazine, Le Point. Is Macron sabotaging our so-called ‘special relationship’ – as his 18th century ancestors did during America’s 1776 War of Independence?