Ephraim Hardcastle
HEIR to the Dutch throne Princess CatharinaAmalia, 17, could still be Queen even if she entered into a same-sex marriage, confirms Prime Minister Mark Rutte. What would happen here? The prospect of heir Prince George marrying a man would cause a constitutional crisis. It would require the permission of the monarch who, as supreme governor of the Church of England, which doesn’t recognise samesex marriage, would have to decline. If George married a man anyway he could lose his status under current law. Such an unlikely possibility means younger sister Charlotte would stand to inherit.
THE Aston Martin DB5 that David Linley used to chauffeur girlfriend Susannah Constantine about Europe was a gift to his father Lord Snowdon from Peter Sellers, who was besotted with Princess Margaret. Giving away the car irked the actor’s then-wife Britt Ekland. But she resembled an erupting Krakatoa when he presented their daughter Victoria’s pony to Margaret’s daughter Sarah Armstrong-Jones.
REFLECTING on portly Star Trek veteran William Shatner being blasted into space at the age of 90, Today presenter Martha Kearney mistakenly announces on Radio 4’s airwaves that he ‘became the world’s largest astronaut’. Beam Martha up, Scotty!
ANDREW Roberts, sporting a new beard at the launch party of his George III biography, says that as wife Susan described it as ‘piratical’, he will retain it. Fellow historian David Starkey disapproves. ‘I hate your beard,’ he spouts. Andrew’s response? ‘I didn’t bring her. I’m only here for you.’
DECLUTTERING her house has obliged Tamzin Outhwaite to assure friends that she is not on her financial uppers, explaining: ‘I just realised I had a house full of clutter, and the kids and I wondered, should we do a car boot sale?’ Tamzin, who supplements her thespian income as a landlady and interior designer, adds: ‘Of course, you mention it (to a journalist) and suddenly I’ve got no money.’
WITH characteristic lack of shyness, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss flaunted her triumph over predecessor Dominic Raab in winning a share of Chevening, the Government grace-and-favour mansion in Kent, by posing for photographs walking round its picturesque lake with visiting diplomats. When Boris stayed there as foreign secretary he would regularly take a dip in the murky waters. A mischievous Tory MP observes: ‘We are running a sweepstake on whether Liz will dare to follow suit.’ Don’t bet against it.
WITH Superman’s son revealed to be bisexual, Sir Michael Caine recalls having to kiss celluloid Superman Christopher Reeve in 1982 film Deathtrap. ‘Neither of us had ever kissed another man before, so we drank a couple of brandies,’ says Caine. ‘Then when it came time for the dialogue, we couldn’t remember it. So the kiss was a bit of a disaster.’