Ephraim Hardcastle
HARRY’S assault on the Commonwealth will have disturbed his father Charles, who expects to succeed his mother as leader of the body. He was appointed the Queen’s designated successor at the 2018 Heads of Government meeting but they could, technically, backtrack on the pledge. A vote among the 54 members to change course is all that’s required. Before Charles’s ratification, there had been private debate about breaking the link with the monarchy and electing a new head every seven years. Harry’s stirring up the past might well give fresh impetus to those who want the Queen to be the last royal leader of her beloved Commonwealth.
OFFICIAL figures for tourism earnings show a drop of £1.7billion to £22.9billion between 2017 and 2018. If Meghan’s claim that her nuptials contributed £1billion is accurate, doesn’t she deserve an award from the British Tourist Board?
CELEBRATInG his 80th birthday this week, Ringo Starr recalls being mistaken for a footballer by Princess Anne at a reception. ‘Do you still play?’ she asked. ‘What do you do to keep in training?’ Ringo replied: ‘Being a Beatle helps.’
THE Queen, a stickler for tradition, may not be best pleased with the latest news from New Zealand, where they’ve given her Highland cows a whole new look. A farmer, who first imported animals from the royal herd at Balmoral in the 1970s, has now bred them without their distinctive horns. Breeder Tim Gow said: ‘At first it was quite sad seeing them, but they’re still little cuties.’ They’ve also been given a much cuter name – they’re now known as Tufties, apparently.
AnOTHER small step for transgender political correctness, with Palace of Westminster press officers now adding their personal pronoun preferences to their emails. Alongside their names they’re adding ‘he/him’ or ‘she/her’. First names once sufficed to identify Clive as a bloke or Deirdre a lass. no more!
PRINCE Charles had a meeting on Tuesday with the new head of MI5, Ken McCallum. Most of the royals’ engagements at present are virtual but this was in the flesh. Maybe MI5 was worried a Zoom call might be hacked by cyber-warriors.
Ex-BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole, a close neighbour of Ghislaine Maxwell in posh Stanhope Mews, never spotted Prince Andrew. ‘But I did see one of the other residents, Benazir Bhutto,’ he says. ‘Ms Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan in 2007 so it may fairly be said that it was not a lucky lane for ladies.’
WILL Ennio Morricone’s tribute band the Spaghetti Western Orchestra perform a funeral march to bid farewell to the Hollywood composer? Musical instruments include finger cymbals, cornflakes and an asthma inhaler.