Category Archives: Monarchy
Doe-eyed Kristen Stewart might just take the crown as Princess Diana
In a highly competitive field, the American actor has perfected the put-upon princess look for Spencer, the latest royal biopic
Some films have to work harder than others to get bums on seats. Some can charm audiences with big stars, or the lure of a continuing franchise, or the promise of a scene where King Kong takes a swing at Godzilla like he’s half-cut in a Wetherspoons car park. And then, right at the other end of the scale, is Spencer.
Make no mistake, Spencer will have to be brilliant to make people go and see it. Better than brilliant, even. It will have to be the perfect movie; entertaining and fun and moving and so technically accomplished that film historians will come to view it as the moment that cinema entered a new epoch. Anything less than that and Spencer is done for.
Continue reading...‘Palace Four’ drawn into Meghan’s dispute with Associated Newspapers
Ex-employees of royal couple could shed light on drafting of letter to Thomas Markle, high court hears
Four former employees of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could have evidence shedding light on the circumstances of Meghan’s letter to her estranged father, the high court has heard.
Any role of the so-called “Palace Four” required further investigation, and was one of the reasons the duchess’s privacy action against the Mail on Sunday should proceed to a full trial, the newspaper’s publishers argued.
Continue reading...Harry and Meghan put son Archie centre stage in first podcast
Surprise at end of episode featuring Sir Elton John, comedian James Corden and tennis star Naomi Osaka
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they would put guest speakers at centre stage in their new podcast, few would have expected to hear from their toddler Archie.
But Prince Harry and Meghan’s 19-month-old son made a surprise cameo appearance at the end of the first episode, released on Tuesday, revealing a slight American accent as he wished listeners a happy new year.
Continue reading...Michael Sheen returned OBE to air views on royal family
The Welsh actor has revealed he gave back his OBE so he could call for the scrapping of the title Prince of Wales
Michael Sheen handed back his OBE, he has revealed, as he called on the royal family to end the centuries-old practice of handing the title of Prince of Wales to the heir apparent to the English throne.
The actor said he relinquished the honour so as to be able to explore the “tortured history” his native Wales shares with the English and British states in his 2017 Raymond Williams lecture without being a hypocrite.
Continue reading...Queen praises nation for ‘rising magnificently’ to challenges of 2020
Christmas message singles out young people for special praise, and speaks of ‘hope in the new dawn’
The Queen has spoken of her great pride in the “quiet, indomitable” spirit of those who have “risen magnificently” to the challenges of 2020 in a Christmas address that stressed: “We need life to go on.”
In a message capturing the vicissitudes visited on the nation and the world through the “difficult and unpredictable” times of pandemic, she noted: “Remarkably, a year that has necessarily kept people apart has, in many ways, brought us closer.”
Continue reading...William v Harry: are princes in a charity work battle royal?
Conservation charity videos prompt speculation the brothers are engaged in publicity tug of war
It was a roster of “wonderful talent”, Prince William said earlier this week. And so it gave him great pleasure to honour the winners of the Tusk awards, organised by a conservation charity working in Africa of which he is patron, at an online ceremony.
“I hope their stories go far and wide,” the Duke of Cambridge continued, in a video call from one of his several drawing rooms. His hope, he said, was that “young people look to these role models and say: ‘I can do the same.’”
Continue reading...The Crown has slipped: how the Netflix epic captures our relationship with the royals
While the fourth series has come under fire for factual inaccuracy, it is just one of many series to reflect the royals long history of mythmaking
‘Let’s get it over with,” sighs Prince Philip as he reluctantly prepares to venture towards a crowd of adoring subjects. On the one hand, this moment in The Crown has the ring of truth: realistically, why would members of the royal family be enthusiastic about meeting yet another mob of curtsying, awestruck plebs? It must be tremendously boring. And yet, on the other hand, how dare they? Who pays their wages?
A few things have become clear during the fourth season of Peter Morgan’s Netflix epic. Firstly, it’s just as well The Crown isn’t on the BBC. Because if it was, the nation’s enraged rightwing culture warriors would have descended upon Broadcasting House and stormed it. Secondly, this is a portrait of managed decline. And finally, The Crown means The Queen. But Olivia Colman’s Elizabeth II is more Canute than Britannia – not ruling the waves but nobly, if eventually absurdly, trying to hold them back.
Continue reading...Helena Bonham Carter says The Crown should stress to viewers it’s a drama
Actor who plays Princess Margaret adds her voice to calls for Netflix to add a disclaimer
Helena Bonham Carter has said The Crown has a “moral responsibility” to tell viewers that it is a drama, rather than historical fact, in the wake of calls for a “health warning” for people watching the series.
The actor, who played Princess Margaret in series three and four of the Netflix hit drama, told an official podcast for the show that there was an important distinction between “our version”, and the “real version”.
Continue reading...Meghan reveals she had a miscarriage
Duchess of Sussex writes about her grief and pain in losing a baby, and addresses the stigma of miscarriage
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed her grief after suffering a miscarriage, in an article that speaks to loss and the importance of asking about others’ welfare in times of pandemic and polarisation.
Meghan shared the devastation that she and Prince Harry felt after she lost a baby in July and was admitted to hospital.
Continue reading...Widow criticises The Crown over avalanche episode
The wife of Hugh Lindsay, who was killed while skiing with Prince Charles, had asked show not to feature the disaster
The widow of a British army major who died in an avalanche while skiing with Prince Charles has criticised the producers of The Crown as “unkind” for dramatising the disaster against her wishes.
Major Hugh Lindsay, a former Queen’s equerry, was skiing off-piste at the Swiss resort of Klosters in 1988 with a group including senior royals when disaster struck, with his friend the Prince of Wales and others reported to have dug snow with their hands in a vain attempt to save his life.
Continue reading...Prep talk: ‘yindies’ revive 80s Wall Street look for generation Z
Ironic take on corporate attire reboots yuppie look in age of The Crown and new Gossip Girl
In the ultimate moment of fashion revival, the 80s yuppie look is back – but with a difference. The “yindies” (young ironic nostalgic dresser), is bringing back the suited, Wall Street look but with a touch of knowing self-reference and elements of preppy style too.
The first cast photograph of the new Gossip Girl reboot, the current season of The Crown, which features Diana Spencer’s 1980s Sloane Ranger chic and the navy suit jacket of Donald Trump impersonator Sarah Cooper, have all riffed on the classic powersuit silhouette.
Continue reading...Earl Spencer seeks wider inquiry into BBC interview with Diana
Princess’s brother says investigation should be free to examine every aspect of 1995 Martin Bashir interview
Earl Spencer has said he is “not at all satisfied” with the scope of the BBC’s investigation into the 1995 Panorama interview with his sister Princess Diana.
The news came as a source close to Prince Harry said he is “getting regular updates” about the inquiry into journalist Martin Bashir’s conduct in arranging the landmark show.
Continue reading...The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate 73rd wedding anniversary
Royal couple release image showing them reading a card made by great-grandchildren
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary on Friday, and have marked the occasion by releasing a photograph of them reading a card made by their great-grandchildren, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The couple are pictured on a sofa in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle, where they are spending lockdown.
Continue reading...BBC finds Princess Diana’s lost note that it says clears Martin Bashir
Broadcaster claimed document proved royal was not coerced into doing 1995 interview
The BBC says it has found the handwritten note from Princess Diana that it claimed clears Martin Bashir of wrongdoing in relation to his landmark 1995 interview with the royal.
The broadcaster had previously said it had lost the crucial piece of paper, which it used to explain away Bashir’s use of fake bank statements to gain an introduction to Diana.
Continue reading...The Crown season four, first look review – enter Diana, Thatcher, bombast and bomb blasts
The best series so far of the royal drama, with the family sliding into dysfunction and new characters providing 80s shoulder-padded spectacle
The Crown (Netflix) has finally reached the blockbuster era, thanks to the pincer-like introduction of Diana (soon to be Princess) and Margaret (Thatcher), at long last, who both elevate the season to its best form yet. It begins in 1979, with the election of Britain’s first female prime minister, and ends in 1990, amid the furious flames that were beginning to consume the marriage of the heir to the throne. It is grand, gorgeous and as soapy as ever, perfect for a wintery period of hunkering down.
I have not always been convinced by The Crown. In the past, it has been prone to sentimentality, and never knowingly using one word to hint at a situation when several thousand will do. The sumptuous look of it all and the delicious performances have frequently been called upon to come to the rescue of the writing, which is sometimes clumsy, over-explaining subtext, not trusting its own subtlety, eventually spelling any emotional conclusions out all in bold capital letters.
Continue reading...BBC to hold investigation into how Martin Bashir obtained Diana interview
Diana’s brother Earl Spencer claims journalist produced fake documents to win trust of family
The BBC has pledged to hold a full independent investigation into how Martin Bashir obtained his career-defining interview with Princess Diana in 1995, following fresh claims that he produced fake documents and used other deceitful tactics to win the trust of her family.
Tim Davie, the corporation’s director general, confirmed that the terms of the investigation would be announced in the coming days: “The BBC is taking this very seriously and we want to get to the truth. We are in the process of commissioning a robust and independent investigation.”
Continue reading...Princess Diana, her brother and the questions about the Martin Bashir interview that won’t go away
Diana’s revelations to Panorama 25 years ago rocked the royal family. Now the BBC is being accused of setting her up
Confidence is crucial. It has to be established to entice a big name to give a candid TV interview. It is also, of course, the basis of many a scam. Pulling off a confidence trick commonly involves first offering your “mark”, or target, something useful, in an open-handed way, to build up trust, before going in for the kill.
The BBC and its journalist Martin Bashir now both stand accused, once again, of perpetrating this kind of con on Diana, Princess of Wales and her brother, Charles Spencer, to set up Bashir’s sensational Panorama interview in 1995: the programme that fully exposed the discord at the heart of the most famous marriage in the world.
Continue reading...Explosive interview with Diana leaves one big question: how was it secured?
Story of BBC journalist Martin Bashir’s dealings with Princess of Wales is of searing public interest
It was just six days before transmission that Buckingham Palace learned that the BBC’s Panorama programme was to broadcast Martin Bashir’s compelling, explosive – and now highly controversial – interview with Diana, Princess of Wales.
In the palace press office, there was dismay and resignation. “Then everybody looked at each other and said: ‘Martin who?’” recalled Dickie Arbiter, then an assistant palace press secretary.
Continue reading...Princess Diana’s brother calls for BBC inquiry into faked bank statements
Charles Spencer says BBC used ‘sheer dishonesty’ to secure interview with princess
Princess Diana’s brother has accused the BBC of a “whitewash” over faked bank statements that allegedly helped to secure a historic Panorama interview with his sister, and called on the corporation to carry out a formal inquiry.
Charles Spencer said the BBC had used “sheer dishonesty” to win the trust of Diana, Princess of Wales, for the interview with Martin Bashir.
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