Ephraim Hardcastle
SOME of Meghan Markle’s inner circle advise a series of sympathetic interviews and strategic invitations to Frogmore to stem the haemorrhage in public affection. Males marrying into the Royal Family find it easier. Mike Tindall is happy to chat, Jack Brooksbank gets on with his day job and Sir Tim Laurence talks of marrying into the family. Men marrying royals remain commoners. Meghan isn’t. Back to the drawing board.
FEVERISHLY bouncing about Europe, Boris Johnson has yet to have his inaugural weekly audience with the Queen. Her Balmoral soujourn has postponed the regular tete-a-tete. Their first formal encounter will be when Boris visits the Highlands next month. A word in your shell-like, Boris. Don’t mention Prince Andrew.
ABOUT to depart Today, John Humphrys joins the gong queue behind Jeremy Paxman and David and Jonathan Dimbleby. None has been honoured so far. BBC women fare better: Sue MacGregor left Today in 2002, getting a CBE. Libby Purves (Today 1978-81) has an OBE and Jenni Murray (1985-87) is a dame. The last male Today presenter honoured was Des Lynam (1974-76), although his 2008 OBE was for services to sport.
ALAN Cumming’s New York nightclub has a mural by husband Grant Shaffer, including a tribute to pal Liza Minnelli, pictured. He explains: ‘I was chatting to her about the spirit of the place before it opened. And she said, “I’m the same spirit, so tell Grant if he doesn’t put me on the mural I’ll kill him”.’
EMMA Thompson’s attack on Boris – calling him a fat pig – has triggered a French Twitter backlash. One lawyer says she is ‘without any moral or political legitimacy’, and would be first to call out anyone who described a woman as ‘a fat cow’. Another posted a picture of her grinning at Harvey Weinstein, reminding the Twitterati that Emma wasn’t so hard on fat sexist pigs when it suited her.
JEWISH peer Lord Carlile’s appointment as independent reviewer of the anti-terrorism Prevent strategy prompts Muslim peer Baroness Warsi to complain that he hasn’t got the trust of the communities affected. Former royal butler Paul Burrell would demur. Carlile’s meticulous 2002 defence of Burrell, accused of stealing Princess Diana’s possessions, prompted the Queen to remember he had been safekeeping the loot. He got off.
BAKE Off’s Prue Leith can’t escape Paul Hollywood. Signing at book festivals, she sighs: ‘They ask are Paul’s eyes really blue? Or are they contact lenses? The next one is: Is the suntan fake? I spend half the time defending Paul’s perfectly real eyes and suntan!’
BRIAN Blessed remembers Agatha Christie talking to him about her archaeologist husband Max Mallowan: ‘I sometimes wonder, Brian, about the wisdom of marrying a younger man,’ adding: ‘I can’t keep up with him on digs. So I’ve designed my own knickers. Big bloomers, less restricting than the tight ones I usually wear.’