Ephraim Hardcastle

NOW demoted to seventh in line to the throne after the birth of Prince William and Kate’s third child, Uncle Prince Andrew, 58, no longer needs the Queen’s permission to marry. So if he re-weds Sarah Ferguson, also 58, as has been mooted, he is now free to do so – but maybe not mention it to his Fergieaverse papa. Bonny daughters Beatrice and Eugenie would approve, I am sure. BROADCASTER Vanessa Feltz, 56, pictured, discusses life with her partner, songwriter Ben Ofoedu, 45, to whom she has been engaged for 12 years, in Woman magazine: ‘The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given was from my mother, and it was, “You must preserve your mystique. So don’t shave your legs in front of your partner, don’t wear your horriblest old knickers and remain tremendously alluring always.” It’s not bad advice. Ben says I’ve stuck to it at all times.’ No doubt! SINCE resigning as BBC China editor in January over alleged pay discrimination – without actually leaving the Corporation – Carrie Gracie, 56, is making the most of her new high profile. In June she’s a guest speaker at the Centre for Policy Studies’ annual conference on China. She has signed on with a public speaking agency, her BBC row – and recent victimhood – being a selling point. MY MAIL colleague Sebastian Shakespeare reports that Tony Blair, unusually for a prime minister, still isn’t a Knight of the Garter – ‘another royal snub’. But a royal source tells me: ‘He WAS offered one but declined it’ So why not say so? ‘Because it would be seen as an insult to the Queen.’ However, Her Majesty did dislike Blair taking credit for her return to London after Diana’s death, which resulted in a fictional version of their conversation getting into the script of The Queen, starring Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen, pictured. APROPOS Garter Knights, the absence of the 9th Duke of Wellington, 72, from the list also surprises some Establishment folk. In 2015 he succeeded his father, a longstanding Garter Knight, as were four other dukes of Wellington. Might the Queen, who selects members herself, be delaying the Garter because of Arthur’s anti-Brexit activities in the Lords? ROCK star Eric Burdon, 76, of The Animals, tells Uncut magazine he once met jazz legend Louis Armstrong at Newcastle City Hall. ‘There Louis was – a towel around his neck, feet in a bucket with Epsom Salt water, his wife cooling him down. He was smoking a big fat doobie. It was the first time I’d smelled marijuana. He looked at me and said, “How you doing, kid?” I stood there speechless. That’s when I realised, this is what I want to be. This is the blues. I want to be a part of this.’ Doobies included, no doubt.