EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Prince Harry’s Living Legends of Aviation award would have Prince Philip rotating in his grave
Harry’s Living Legends of Aviation awards on Friday would have his grandfather Philip rotating in his grave. He gained his RAF wings in 1953, flew for 44 years and clocked up nearly 6,000 hours in more than 60 types of plane.
On a two-month tour of South Africa in 1962, he piloted many of the internal flights alongside First Officer Peter Middleton, Kate’s grandpa.
The Duke would surely enjoy a celestial chuckle at Kensington councillor Emma Dent Coad’s observation: ‘Harry can’t actually fly a helicopter – he just sits there going, ‘Vroom vroom’.’
With the team of working royals down from 15 to 11, isn’t Princess Anne‘s husband Timothy Laurence a shoo-in for the inner circle?
Last year, he accompanied or represented his wife on 86 occasions, including visits to Gibraltar, Australia, New Zealand and Estonia. But did he mar his chances by carrying her luggage in Sri Lanka? When Jimmy Carter was elected US president and carried his bags, Rolling Stone said: ‘If we’d wanted a bellhop for president we would have elected one.’
Harry’s Living Legends of Aviation awards on Friday would have his grandfather Philip rotating in his grave. He gained his RAF wings in 1953, flew for 44 years and clocked up nearly 6,000 hours in more than 60 types of plane
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh raises his hat in his role as Captain General, Royal Marines
Gyles Brandreth, reflecting on the King’s gift for mimicry, told ITV’s This Morning the late Queen also had a talent for voices, adding: ‘I recently heard the Queen could do all the characters from Grange Hill! She once did a whole ten-minute routine on all the characters.’
Was HM having a giraffe? More likely, Gyles!
Gyles Brandreth, reflecting on the King’s gift for mimicry, told ITV’s This Morning the late Queen also had a talent for voices
King Charles has a low opinion of Royal Variety Performance audiences, according to comedian Seann Walsh, who met him in a receiving line after a ‘dreadful’ stage routine. ‘I just completely f***ing died,’ he recalls.
‘And I’m thinking, ‘Oh God, Charles is going to go, ‘Well done’, and I’m going to have to go, ‘Thank you’. But actually what happened is he got to me, and he lent in, and he went, ‘Don’t worry about that lot – bunch of toffs’.’
Memo to Karren Brady: Tickle the chin of colleague Alan Sugar, telly’s grumpiest man. He needs cheering after the BBC delayed the return of The Apprentice from early January so it can air The Traitors three nights a week.
At least the stubbled curmudgeon, who hopes to see his show through to a 20th series before calling it a day, didn’t endure a gnarled BBC finger raised to declare: ‘You’re fired!’
Memo to Karren Brady: Tickle the chin of colleague Alan Sugar, telly’s grumpiest man
Is former BBC North America editor Jon Sopel addicted to appearing on lightweight TV shows?
In 2009 he was on Ready, Steady, Cook. In 2012 he answered questions about Tony Blair on Celebrity Mastermind and in 2014 he joined Kelvin MacKenzie on Pointless. Ridiculous? No, he hasn’t been on that one yet.
Half-litre-sized Sandi Toksvig threatened to quit the BBC’s QI unless previous host Stephen Fry’s chair was replaced. ‘I was too short for it,’ she tells Radio Times. ‘I literally had to be lifted into it. After two years I said, ‘I’m not doing another year unless I get my own chair’.’ All together: Three chairs for Sandi!
