BO & JOHN SAY ‘I DO’ AT LAST!
The monarch enlists her most helpful and calm family member to help iron out the ‘Sussex problem’ for good
After two decades together, Hollywood sweethearts Bo Derek and John Corbett tied the knot in secret! The Sex And The City star shared the couple’s big news during a chat on US talk show The Talk last week.
“Around Christmas time we got married,” gushed John, 60, while showing off his new wedding ring. “We’re pretty private people, we didn’t make an announcement. All our friends and family knew.”
John says COVID played a part in his and 64-year-old Bo’s decision to finally make it official. “After 20 years we decided to get married. We didn’t want 2020 to be that thing that everybody looks back at and hated,” he says. “We thought, ‘Well, let’s get one nice thing out of it.it.’”
The Queen is wasting no time picking up the pieces after Prince Harry’s defection and, in true matriarchal style, has recruited her most trusted peacekeeper Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge with the most difficult task of all – saving the royal family.
Woman’s Day understands the Queen, 95, has been leaning heavily on Prince William’s 39-year-old wife these past few weeks after she decamped from Buckingham Palace to Balmoral Castle to be alone, mourn her husband and wrap her head around the monarchy-threatening mess created by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“Kate’s become one of Her Majesty’s most trusted allies and confidantes,” says an insider. “They talk often and Kate has become rather a sounding-board for the Queen, who admires her dedication and dignified grace that has benefitted the Firm. The Queen took notice of the way Kate willingly played mediator between Harry and William at Prince Philip’s funeral – even getting them to talk cordially to each other despite months of rowing. It was remarkable.”
NEW RESPONSIBILITIES
In what royal watchers say is a public vote of confidence from the sovereign, last week it emerged she has bestowed two patronages once cherished by Prince Harry onto her granddaughter-in-law – the Rugby Union Football and Rugby Football League.
“They were, without exception, Harry’s favourite gigs and he desperately wanted to hold onto them despite moving his family to America,” says a source.
“The Queen giving them to Kate is her way of showing Harry he can’t bully her, and also showing the world that Kate is her right-hand woman.”
Sources say that despite the new hard line she’s taking with her wayward grandson, the Queen still has hopes to heal the family rift – and insiders say she wants Kate’s help.
“Kate was one of the first people the Queen called to discuss Harry’s shock memoir plans for next year, and while they’re both upset by it, they’re sticking to the plan to say nothing and keep to business as usual,” says a source. “Kate’s advice is not to push Harry any further.
She was once very close to him and knows better than most how tempestuous he can be.
“Kate’s told the Queen she wants to keep things cordial with the Sussexes no matter what, because she wants Harry to know that at the end of the day, the door will always be open for him if he needs to come back. The Queen hugely respects Kate’s restraint and thinks she might be key to bringing Harry back into the family fold in future.”