EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: King retains much of his mother’s team
Queen Consort Camilla’s abandonment of centuries of tradition by replacing ladies-in-waiting with pals stands in stark contrast to her husband. King Charles retains his mother’s team – with the exception of Susan Hussey who has resigned – as ladies of the house to help him organize official events. Formerly called chambermaids, they date back to Catherine of Aragon.
It is not yet known if Camilla will appoint a mistress of the robes, the dean of the house. The Queen had only two throughout her reign: Mary, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, then Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton. As Camilla breaks with tradition, so does Charles. Ladies-in-waiting generally retire upon the death of the monarch.
King Charles retains his mother’s team – with the exception of Susan Hussey who has resigned – as ladies of the house to help him organize official events. Formerly called chambermaids, they go back to Catherine of Aragon
Prince William, who praised Gareth Bale and his team in Welsh on Twitter after their World Cup exit, admitted on a trip to Swansea that he still hasn’t fully mastered the language, practicing the words for ‘a cup’ (paned) and ‘Welsh tea bread’ (bara brith). Hopefully, in his consolation tweet, he had the correct Welsh for “sick as a parrot”.
Amateur painter Anneka Rice, pictured, had some explaining to do when her builders let themselves in and found her in the kitchen with a naked man Describing him as her ‘handsome Roy’ still life painting subject, she explained: ‘He’s completely naked, I’m wearing an apron, which looked weird, and we hadn’t set up the paintings at this point – so there was no context. To paraphrase Peter Cook, the jury will now retire and consider his guilty verdict.
Amateur painter Anneka Rice, pictured, had some explaining to do when her builders let themselves in and found her in the kitchen with a naked man
Louis Theroux credits his wife Nancy with persuading him to quit BBC staff and earn more money as a freelancer. “I was at the BBC for almost 25 years,” he says. “I was quite happy as a wage slave.” But the last straw was flying economy class to a filming location and spotting a BBC executive in business class. “It was a weird moment. I thought, ‘I do the programs and I fly economy class, and you sell the programs and you sip champagne.’ Eureka!
Identifying Meg Ryan as her ‘difficult’ guest during 33 years hosting Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Dame Jenni Murray recalls the Hollywood actress only offering monosyllabic answers when promoting her 1998 film You’ ve Got Mail. “It was the only time I stopped an interview because the person was difficult,” she says. “Actually, she was stupid and horrible.”
Dame Jenni Murray remembers the Hollywood actress offering only monosyllabic answers while promoting her 1998 film You’ve Got Mail. “It was the only time I stopped an interview because the person was difficult,” she says
Compare this to his YGM co-star Tom Hanks soaking in the pouring rain for hours filming the Road to Perdition scene where he shoots his surrogate father. “I felt really guilty,” director Sam Mendes told Empire magazine. “I went up to him and said, ‘Are you okay?’ And he looked at me and said, ‘Am I okay? Well, I’m on the Warner Bros backlot dressed as a gangster and I’m shooting Paul f****** Newman. Of course. I’m fine !’
