HardcastleEphraim

THE Prince of Wales wants as King to be financially independent of the state, I hear. Court talk is that the heir to the throne would prefer to end the custom whereby monarchs sign over Crown Estate earnings to the Government in exchange for a Sovereign Grant representing 15 per cent of the income. With net Crown Estate revenues £285million this year, plus £16million from the Duchy of Lancaster, Charles thinks this could independently cover most royal costs, even security, especially if he succeeds in slimming down the monarchy. ‘William wants to slim it even more,’ says my source. APROPOS William, the Queen is unlikely to approve of him ducking out of the VJ anniversary. He chose to visit Devon for the wedding of an estate agent and socialite, namely Bear Maclaine and Daisy Dixon. HM flew 500 miles from Aberdeen (and back the same day) for the service at St Martinin-the-Fields, off Trafalgar Square. RETIRED broadcaster Richard Whitmore recalls in a new memoir a 1979 visit to Television Centre by Prince Charles. The heir to the throne asked the startled newsman if they’d managed to secure footage from the previous day at Wimbledon of shapely tennis star Linda Siegel, pictured, unintentionally revealing a breast. Whitmore says the prince’s affable detective remarked to him consolingly: ‘Sorry about that. He’s into t**s at the moment.’ TORY MP Sir William Cash will lecture on ‘the Foundations of Power’ at Speaker’s House on September 15. ‘Seats are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis,’ we’re warned. In other words, hurry! My Parliamentary source says Sir William is not a great orator, adding unkindly: ‘They’ll need strong black coffee to keep listeners awake through this humdinger.’ NEW Tricks star Amanda Redman, 58, complains in Yours magazine that BBC broadcaster David Dimbleby, 76, is rude to members of the Question Time audience. She says: ‘He calls out “the woman in the red jumper.” It should be “the lady in the red jumper.”’ But isn’t a brusque Dimbleby preferable to smarmy so-called rivals who ingratiate themselves with audiences? ITN newscaster Tom Bradby’s story about diving into a Greek harbour in a vain bid to rescue an elderly motorist in Rafina is dismissed by some local officials. Tom, 48, is on a high at the moment. He’s just been promoted as sole anchor of the News at Ten. But wouldn’t it have been better if someone other than himself had broken the news of his rescue attempt? LABOUR leadership candidate Yvette Cooper ostentatiously thanks prominent party members for supporting her. She even includes David Miliband, whose preferred candidate is Yvette’s rival, Liz Kendall. Yet Yvette chirrups on Twitter: ‘Thank you David for your second preference!’ Dear me, it’s almost as undignified as Big Brother, or I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, isn’t it?