Hardcastle

PRINCE William’s surprisingly candid remarks about Fifa were written with the help of Prince Charles’s press team at Clarence House. They sent the text to Downing Street for approval. To everyone’s surprise the Prime Minister, David Cameron, suggested toughening the text. Officials in Downing Street and Clarence House worked together on the finished product. I hear Buckingham Palace officials were less impressed. They were wary of William being used by the FA – alongside David Beckham – in the failed England bid for the 2018 World Cup. Perhaps for this reason they were kept out of the loop whilst the speech was being revised – so they had no opportunity to dampen it down. RE William, he had a souvenir medal in his pocket, produced after Villa’s last FA Cup win in 1957, in the hope it would bring good luck. He also has two pairs of Aston Villa boxer shorts. My source adds: ‘ The Queen has an Arsenal “onesie” in her wardrobe, sent by a keen fan.’ Might it have been a gift to granny by Gunners fan Prince Harry, pictured? JACOB Rees-Mogg welcomes the SNP’s 56 MPs, saying of their boisterous behaviour: ‘It is exciting to be a MP, a thrill to walk through Westminster Hall and to sit in the chamber. To be seen to enjoy it is thoroughly positive as it shows a reverence for the people who put them there and the history of which they are now part.’ Is Jacob trying to wind up his leader? TWENTY years on the wagon, The Who’s Pete Townshend, 70, who wrote the immortal rock lyric ‘Hope I die before I get old’, marvels at his past drinking feats, recalling: ‘At one time I was doing about three bottles of brandy a day… I didn’t drink any water, I didn’t drink any tea, I didn’t drink Coca-Cola. I don’t think I ate. I just lived on cognac.’ CROSS-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard’s reputation as a political albatross – bringing doom to politicians in whose vicinity he flies – was boosted by the General Election. It turns out that he helped arrange Ed Miliband’s disastrous meeting with Russell Brand. Labour-supporting Eddie championed the euro, electoral reform and Gordon Brown before fatally embracing Red Ed. NEVER shy about knocking fellow TV performers, The Apprentice’s Lord Sugar deplores ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent final, won by an act involving a three-legged dog called Skippy. He remarks on Twitter: ‘What a joke the dog wins BGT. Don’t anyone complain about the £145.50 BBC licence fee. When you see the rubbish that ITV turn out eg a dog winning a talent show.’ Still, Skippy – and his fellow performers – are more loveable than Sugar. PETER Mullan accuses the BBC of being a ‘political cudgel’ against the Yes campaign. But then he praises the broadcaster for broadening his mind. And there’s the small matter of the fee he’ll no doubt be accepting for a Beeb dramatisation of Iain Banks’s novel Stonemouth... Another luvvie tying himself in knots. Stick with the acting, dear!