So the Sussexes are back in Blighty for the foreseeable future, having reportedly enrolled their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, at private schools in the Cotswolds.
But as my colleague Alison Boshoff revealed in the Mail this week, Meghan and Harry will still present themselves as an ‘international couple’.
They will travel the world – although probably not always on the private jet that took them across the Atlantic this week at a cost of $120,000.
Meghan, it is said, will travel back and forth to their home California where her As Ever company is located, which sells the California lifestyle. Harry will be the main ‘at home’ parent.
That’s all very well, but how will that feel for Archie and Lilibet if they ask for Mom only to find out she works on the other side of the world?
Both Sussexes are devoted and loving parents who want the best for their children. But like all mothers and fathers today, they face the difficulty of finding the right work-life balance. And when so much of Megs’ work is more than 5,000 miles from home, that won’t be easy.
I hope she remembers that a video call from the Golden State, no matter how long, is no substitute for a mother’s loving arms
We’re told that Harry’s real motivation for coming back here is to give the children a British education.
Sources, meanwhile, told Alison Boshoff that Meghan initially did not want to return. Still, Harry is miserable in California, so she puts him first. As she would. Meghan would have no money-making influence without Harry.
So the sensible compromise seems to be her regular trips to California. After all, she’s the one with the ambition and drive compared to stupid Harry.
But I hope she remembers that a video call from the Golden State, no matter how long, is no substitute for a mother’s loving arms.
A judge rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s latest appeal to overturn her twenty-year sentence for sex trafficking girls like Jeffrey Epstein’s madam. Look on the bright side, “Spratt,” as your mean father lovingly called you: four years served, only sixteen to go.
Magic gone, Nic?
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman attend the premiere of Practical Magic 2 at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman appear at the premiere of Practical Magic 2, reprising their roles in the 1998 film as witches who are sisters. A welcome return for Sandra, who took a three-year break from Hollywood after the death of her partner Bryan Randall in 2023 to care for her family and herself.
Is it just me or did she freeze like she was being hugged by a python when workaholic Nic – who has made three films during that time – wrapped himself around her? Pure conjecture, but it seems there is almost no magic between them at all.
England fast bowler Brydon Carse has been dropped from the Test after ‘a nightclub incident’, with captain Joe Root saying he has been ‘thrown off’ by Carse’s late-night escapades. That’s nothing compared to what it was like in the 1980s, when I was a member of the Sydney Cricket Ground and witnessed legendary fast bowler Dennis Lillee and his cohorts drinking in the pavilion – during matches!
Former child star Liza Goddard reveals there wasn’t just one Skippy, but… 20 in the 1960s TV series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Fans of the 1960s TV series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo should look away as former child star Liza Goddard reveals that there wasn’t just one Skippy, but… 20. And he couldn’t actually operate a radio, open doors or play the piano. They used a bottle opener with a kangaroo paw to take close-ups of him doing this. Rest in peace Skippy, you will always be a loyal friend to us.
A warning to the King as Harry’s team believe there is new hope his family’s security could be funded by taxpayers to the tune of £5 million a year. Charles’ personal wealth is around £680 million. If he wants to keep our support, he must finance Harry himself.
Jennifer Lopez in a strapless tulle ball gown by Dolce & Gabbana after landing a £20million deal with the high-end fashion brand
With her new $20 million Dolce & Gabbana deal, friends fear J-Lo may be getting a little greedy as she demands $40,000 for each red carpet appearance, backed by her “glam squad.” It consists of three stylists, three makeup artists, two hairstylists, a nail professional and several photographers. But for us middle-aged mortals, it’s reassuring that it takes a gang the size of a football team to make her look this fantastic.
Newsnight may benefit from the Beeb’s cuts. The sad truth is that the once inquisitorial show, hosted by the brooding Victoria Derbyshire, is full of Lefty bias. The new BBC DG says that ‘success is now down to clicks’ and the only click in my house when Newsnight is on is when I switch.
Despite being one of the first Harry Potter child stars to attack JK Rowling for her trans beliefs, Rupert Grint – the aptly named Weasley redhead who has made $50 million thanks to her – will appear in JK’s Broadway show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. What a hypocrite.
A test for friends…
Richard E. Grant reveals he held a drunken and tearful memorial lunch at his home for his real friends, those who stood by him when his beloved wife Joan died in 2021.
On the other hand, he says he has removed from his life those who kept his distance after her death.
And rightly so. Just like I did with a lifelong friend who didn’t even text me when both my parents died, and then emailed me asking to support her upcoming book. She is permanently removed from my phone – and from my life.
If ex-teacher Sally-Anne Bowen is found guilty and awaiting sentencing for sexually abusing boys in the 1980s when she was in her twenties, why isn’t she described as a paedophile? Because that’s what she is.
Andy Burnham played guitar and sang The Smiths’ Rusholme Ruffians lament for Ukrainian soldiers during a recent trip to the war-torn country
We should all be concerned about the tone deafness our Andy displayed as he strummed a guitar and sang The Smiths Rusholme Ruffians lament to weary soldiers during a trip to Ukraine.
If there was ever a staged photo opp, this was it. As if a guitar and microphone miraculously appear out of nowhere! His singing along was shameful: haven’t the Ukrainian soldiers suffered enough?
Queen Camilla is celebrating the centenary of Winnie the Pooh and describes AA Milne’s little bear as an offering of ‘wisdom in a complicated world’.
When a twelve-year-old, terrified by having to read at his father’s second wedding, asked me what he could recite, I suggested Milne’s poem ‘Us Two’: ‘Wherever I am, there is always Pooh, there is always Pooh and me’. Not a dry eye in church.
Strictly speaking, Rose owes a lot to Gio
Reading Giovanni Pernice’s memoirs, I was struck by his sadness that Rose Ayling-Ellis, the deaf celeb with whom he shared one of Strictly’s most memorable moments – dancing in silence – did not support him in his battle against Amanda Abbington and the Beeb. Does Rose ever wonder if her TV career would be as brilliant without Gio?
