Ephraim Hardcastle

HAVE Michael and Carole Middleton been marginalised by the royals? Once an indispensable part of the scene, the couple have gradually faded from view. Although still very much in evidence as grandparents, their visibility on the national stage is diminished. When they appeared alongside William and Kate at Royal Ascot a few weeks after the royal wedding it seemed they would not, like other royal in-laws, fade away. But there was no place for them in St Paul’s last Friday and William and Kate coped at Ascot without them this week. However, they are expected to be out in force at Wimbledon as guests of the All England Club, where Kate has succeeded the Queen as patron. THE Queen’s officials have been quizzed about her whereabouts on June 24, the day after the referendum, in case David Cameron decides to resign. Who might replace the Prime Minister? I suspect Home Secretary Theresa May fancies her chances as a unity candidate. She has had a new hairdo, if that is any guide. FINALLY cleared of sex assault claims, Sir Cliff Richard, 75, pictured, was prevented by the allegations from performing at the Queen’s 90th birthday tribute at Windsor Castle last month. Singers Kylie Minogue, Katherine Jenkins and Gary Barlow were booked for the event, but proud royalist Sir Cliff was notably absent. He memorably performed a rendition of the popular hit Congratulations at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. GEORGE Osborne’s Tory leadership hopes appear to be in ruins, whatever the outcome of the referendum. Did the lean and hungry look he adopted under the tutelage of his £98,000 chief of staff Thea Rogers, 32 – including a Caesar haircut, a slimmer figure after a 5:2 diet and a Mockney accent – end up souring his previous friendly character, making him seem shrill and hysterical? A rich man thanks to his family’s interior decorating business, he’ll never be short of money. Ex-occupants of the Treasury have little difficulty finding lucrative board jobs. NINE out of ten poets intend to back Remain in next week’s referendum, a survey by the BookBrunch website finds. Surely these poets will sway the vote with their immense clout! All we need is for Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy to compose her Remain ditty. BREXIT supporter and French resident Lord Lawson says leaving the EU won’t affect his status there, arguing: ‘There won’t be uncertainty because the Vienna Convention ensures (expats) will be all right.’ However, a French paper contradicts him, pointing out: ‘France was not a signatory to the convention.’ APROPOS the Queen’s rarely seen gold brooch in the shape of the EU stars, I learn it was a gift from the late Tory prime minister and Europhile Sir Edward Heath. He’d offered it to his hated rival Margaret Thatcher as a peace token but she declined. Says my source: ‘Ted said the Queen had been more gracious.’ Perhaps so, but I can find no evidence that she’s ever worn it.