Is Prince William’s bearded appearance a poke in the eye for Harry?
He made a fuss of ‘beard wars’ in Spare, claiming William was adamant that he should be clean-shaven for his wedding to Meghan.
‘When I informed him that his opinion didn’t really matter since I’d already gone to Granny and got the green light, he became livid,’ wrote Harry.
‘He raised his voice… at one point he actually ordered me, as the Heir speaking to the Spare, to shave.’
Comedian David Mitchell featured ‘Beardgate’ in Radio 4’s The Unbelievable Truth last week, reading Harry’s account in dramatic fashion.
Was William, a Mitchell fan, having a chuckle as he listened?
The Prince of Wales during a visit to Swiss Valley Community Primary School in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, on September 10
A bearded Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in 2018. In his book the Spare, Harry claims William told him to be clean shaven for the royal wedding
Keir, Barnier and the Queen
With Michel Barnier, the former EU Brexit chien-d’attaque, now France’s PM, how will Keir Starmer deal with him?
Courtiers reckon that when Barnier was making life difficult for Theresa May, she missed a trick.
During his frequent trips to London he was never granted the ultimate diplomatic charmer – the Queen.
Michel Barnier, the former EU Brexit chien-d’attaque, now France’s PM, appears on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg in 2023
It was well known that lunch with her could charm birds from the trees – and she could coo in fluent French.
Wouldn’t Starmer feting Barnier with a visit to the King be a grand way to start off a new chapter of the entente cordiale?
Prince Phillip refused to watch crying Queen on film, Brandreth claims
Royal gossip Gyles Brandreth claims the late Duke of Edinburgh refused to watch Dame Helen Mirren’s Oscar-winning portrayal of the Queen, telling him: ‘Apparently, they have the Queen crying in the film. The Queen doesn’t cry.’
But didn’t HM view the film more generously?
Helen Mirren played the late monarch in the 2006 film The Queen. She won an Oscar for the role
After its 2006 release, work commitments prevented Dame Helen accepting the Queen’s invitation to a private dinner party.
Mirren has since cheerfully concluded: ‘I got the sense that [the film] had been seen and that it had been appreciated.’
Norton’s pal Miriam passes wind at Wembley
Dolly Parton fan Graham Norton once invited Miriam Margolyes to a Dolly meet-and-greet after a show.
‘There was a long queue and Miriam suddenly stood… and shouted, “Pause. The fart”.
Miriam Margoyles on the Graham Norton Show in November 2023
‘There are not words to describe how loud that fart was. It rumbled and echoed down the corridor of Wembley Arena. In that queue no one found it funny. Not a titter.’
Why does he persist in having such a vulgarian on his show?
Even the Royal wax figures don’t get on
Visiting Madame Tussauds to establish how many royal waxworks remain, A Voyage Around The Queen author Craig Brown discovered Harry ‘hanging on by his fingers’ a discreet distance from William and Kate. Where was Meghan?
Craig reveals: ‘Standing alone in the Awards Party area around the corner within spitting distance of Kim Kardashian and the Beckhams.’
The Prince and Princess of Wales stand alongside King Charles while Prince Harry smiles on the corner. A set of royal wax figures unveiled at Madame Tussauds in Sydney
Su on her ill-fated marriage to Peter
Su Pollard, packing her powder puff for her 50th anniversary tour, recalls her ill-fated marriage to Aussie impresario Peter Keogh.
‘His handbag was bigger than mine,’ she says. ‘Christopher Biggins once said to me, “Su, you know your husband was gay. What was he like in bed?”
‘I used to say, “Absent”.’ Hi-de-Hi!