As the Duke of Sussex’s relationships with his father, his brother and, indeed, his country have remorselessly deteriorated, he’s had the consolation that the charities he established here continue to flourish.
But today, during a fleeting visit to London, when he’ll give a reading at St Paul’s Cathedral celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games, might he give a concerned backwards glance at California?
I ask because his other great charitable venture, Sentebale, founded in 2006 to help vulnerable African children, has, I can disclose, fallen into trademark difficulties in the U.S. — thwarting, for now, plans to expand its operations in America.
Harry had hoped to secure a trademark for Sentebale in numerous categories, including ‘mental healthcare services’ and ‘psychological and mental health counselling services’, not to mention ‘provision of immunisations’, ‘campaigning’ and ‘organising of conferences, seminars, courses, workshops and other events’, and ‘production of audio and/or video recordings’.
But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, while acknowledging that it has unearthed ‘no conflicting [trade]marks’, has given the application the thumbs-down.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex onstage during the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games at the Merkur Spiel-Arena on September 9, 2023
Prince Harry and Meghan depart after a visit to Dusseldorf town hall on September 6, 2022
In a detailed ruling, it points out that many, if not quite all, the categories are inadequately defined.
Littering its letter of refusal with the phrase ‘considered too vague’ — inserted alongside category after category — it also rejects the use of ‘and/or’ as a term ‘generally not accepted’.
It says pointedly: ‘An application must specify, in an explicit manner, the particular goods and services on or in connection with which the applicant uses, or has a bona fide intention to use, the [trade]mark in commerce.’
That, alas, is not all. Accounts filed here last week with the Charity Commission show that donations to the charity from the American Friends of Sentebale Foundation halved in a year — down from more than £1.2 million to £610,000.
Is it time for Harry to go tin-rattling in Montecito, the enclave for California’s fabulously rich where he lives?
Anya’s full metal junket in Mexico
As a star of the BBC’s gangster drama Peaky Blinders, Anya Taylor-Joy knows a thing or two about violence.
And the actress appeared to be taking no chances with her personal security on a visit to Mexico, wearing what seemed to be armour. On closer inspection, it was a silver, sleeveless mini-dress by Balmain. ‘My first time visiting Mexico,’ she tells fans online, writing in Spanish: ‘Thanks for the love.’
Anya, 28, who attended the £25,300-per-year Queen’s Gate School in London, was in Mexico City to promote Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Anya Taylor-Joy appeared to be taking no chances with her personal security on a visit to Mexico
Winchester Cathedral Close’s residents are aghast at a rumour that the cathedral is planning to ditch its historic choir for a greater focus on ‘diversity and inclusion’. It follows the unexpected exit of director of music, Andrew Lumsden, 61.
The choral foundation has been given a new _’Strategic Plan and Future Direction’. Its first priority is to ‘increase diversity of contribution’, i.e. replace Grammy-winning choristers with a variety of singers from other parts of the regional demographic. According to the plan, leaked to classical music website Slipped Disc, the cathedral’s two main ‘areas of focus’ are ‘reach and access’ and ‘diversity and inclusion’. Holy woke!
Gym bunny Hammond’ s dig at May and Clarkson
Richard ‘The Hamster’ Hammond survived a near-fatal car crash while filming Top Gear and another while making The Grand Tour.
And he credits his recovery to being far fitter than Jeremy Clarkson and James May.
‘We’d travel the world working,’ explains Hammond, 54. ‘If call time was 7am, I’d get up at 5.30; if we were in a hotel, I’d use the gym; if we weren’t, I’d go for a run. My theory is it makes your body use the business of repair.’
Clarkson, 64, and James May, 61, were unconvinced: ‘They’d joke in the bar that exercise makes you stupid.’
Hammond adds: ‘I fell off a horse in Vietnam and broke my wrist, James fell off a horse in Patagonia, but it took longer [for him] to get better.’
Richard Hammond pictured on an episode of ITV’s This Morning in June 2023
Dotcom entrepreneur Hugo Burge, who spent years restoring a huge mansion on the Scottish Borders before his sudden death last year at the age of 51, left a fortune of more than £36 million. Newly released probate documents reveal that Burge, who turned Marchmont House into a retreat for artists, left an estate of £36 million after debts and bills were paid.
He bequeathed £5,000 to the person who agreed to look after his dog, legacies of £50,000 to two cousins and £10,000 to a third, with the rest going to the Marchmont Makers Foundation.
Tragic bond that still unites Annabel and Strictly co-star
Their Strictly Come Dancing stint came to an end but, several months later, former tennis star Annabel Croft remains so close to her professional partner, Johannes Radebe, that they speak daily.
‘I’ve done jobs where I did not want it to end, but this one felt particularly special,’ says the tennis commentator, 57.
‘I became close to Johannes, and so did my children. He’s been over to my house for supper many times and, after the final, neither of us could bear not to speak every day.’
Annabel, whose husband, Mel Coleman, died of cancer last year aged 60, says: ‘Johannes and I connected through more than just dancing. He was a huge support as I navigated Strictly without my husband. Johannes’s dad died when he was young, then in 2021 he lost his aunt — the person who got him dancing and paid for his lessons — so we understood each other.
‘Strictly was a distraction from grief and I laughed a lot in rehearsals. Did I ever feel guilty for that? No, because Mel had a brilliant sense of humour and would have wanted that laughter.’
Former tennis star Annabel Croft (left) remains so close to her professional partner, Johannes Radebe (right), that they speak daily
The memorial service for Chryssie, Lady Cobbold —who helped turn her husband’s ancestral home, Knebworth, into a venue for some of rock’s biggest concerts — was packed to the rafters yesterday.
Hundreds of family and friends, including Harry Potter star Helena Bonham Carter, filled St Martin’s Church in Knebworth, Hertfordshire.
Chryssie died last month aged 83. All six of the children she raised — her and the late Lord Cobbold’s four offspring plus two Ugandan brothers whom they informally adopted after the boys’ parents suffered political problems under Idi Amin — gave moving tributes, as did most of her 16 grandchildren.