Ephraim Hardcastle
WILL opponents of slaveconnected statues protest at the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace in July? Diana’s 18thcentury ancestor the first Earl Spencer supported slavery. John Spencer was fond of his African slave Caesar Shaw, who was baptised in Northamptonshire and features, wearing finery, in two portraits in Diana’s ancestral home Althorp House. Her much-delayed statue is expected to be unveiled on what would have been her 60th birthday by her sons William and Harry, fuelling hopes of a reconciliation between the warring brothers. Fingers crossed that BLM supporter Meghan Markle lets Harry attend.
HAS the mystery of the missing 1919-22 diaries of Chips Channon been solved by historian Piers Brendon? Reviewing the first volume in the Literary Review, Brendon suggests bisexual Channon had a homosexual affair with French novelist Marcel Proust during the period covered. He writes: ‘Channon’s son Paul once told me that he thought his father had destroyed these diaries because they disclosed an intimate relationship with Proust and might have fallen into the wrong hands.’ Someone give editor Simon Heffer a consoling hug.
A BBC spoof of Harry Hill dressed as the Queen embarking on a camping holiday has been pulled from the Festival of Funny schedule. Says a spokesman: ‘We took the decision to postpone transmission while Prince Philip remains in hospital.’ HM was replaced by Harry pretending to be Napoleon Bonaparte.
OSCAR nominated Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Borat, pictured, was originally rejected by the BBC, prompting the Cambridge graduate to audition for Channel 4’s The Eleven O’Clock Show. ‘They wanted me to host so I went away and changed the character a little,’ he recalls. ‘I showed them Ali G and then he was born.’ Not dissimilar to the BBC turning down the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at the same time?
HARRY’S favourite actor Damian Lewis and Queen doppelganger Helen Mirren are clearing their throats to record Kings and Queens, an album celebrating the monarch’s 95th birthday. Hollywood star Alec Baldwin doesn’t rate Helen’s wwarbling skills, saying: ‘She can act. She speaks French. She has a tattoo. But there’s one thing she cannot do. Helen Mirren cannot sing.’
WHEN squeaky-voiced entertainer Joe Pasquale apologised to the Queen for smelling pungently after he was sprayed on stage with raw eggs, HM asked: ‘Minging? What’s minging?’ Sniffing his hand, she exclaimed: ‘Oh yes, you are a bit whiffy!’ Joe concludes: ‘Whenever I write my autobiography I’m going to call it Sniffed By The Queen.’
WATCHING Harry and Meghan’s 2017 engagement TV interview, Tory diarist Sasha Swire observes: ‘She’s eating the redhead for breakfast, almost elbowing him out of shot,’ adding: ‘I came away humming “there’ll be trouble ahead”.’ Mystic Sasha?