EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Has Sarah Ferguson taken her foot off the pedal in supporting Andrew to avoid damaging her TV work?
Has Fergie taken her foot off the pedal on her ‘best man in the world’ support for Andrew?
That’s what she called her ex-husband eight years ago when Virginia Giuffre’s claims first became public.
She regularly returned to the theme, calling him a “giant of a principled man” on Instagram. But when she returned to the royal fold at Christmas, she tweeted her gratitude with a photo of herself and her daughters without Andrew.
My mole whispers that vigorously defending him could prevent her from getting the TV work she desperately wants. Sarah has been asked more than once by producers not to mention the Epstein-shaped elephant in the room.
Has Fergie taken her foot off the pedal on her ‘best man in the world’ support for Andrew?
My mole whispers that vigorously defending him could prevent her from getting the TV job she desperately wants
The couple arrived for the royal family’s traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church last month
Is the King angry that he has not been able to visit any of Britain’s flood-affected areas?
Since he succeeded his mother, he can no longer interfere as he did when he was Prince of Wales.
In 2014, when floods devastated the Somerset Levels, Charles was annoyed that neither the government nor the Environment Agency seemed bothered.
He went to Somerset, donated £50,000 to support the recovery work and described the delay in tackling the problem as a ‘tragedy’.
Almost immediately afterwards, Prime Minister David Cameron and the agency’s chairman, Chris Smith, put on rubber boots to see for themselves.
King Charles (pictured) has not yet been able to visit areas of Britain affected by recent floods
But the king was once outsmarted by Tony Blair. After floods brought misery to Worcestershire in 2000, he contacted No10 about a royal visit.
He was told this could hamper relief operations. But the next day he must have spluttered over his organic breakfast oatmeal when he saw the Prime Minister visiting the flood zones.
A courtier at the time noted, “Surprisingly, he wore boots and got his feet wet instead of just walking on water.”
Anthea Turner, celebrating former teen bible Jackie’s 60th birthday, remembers learning ‘how to kiss a boy’ on the magazine’s Cathy and Claire issue page.
“The suggestion was to practice on the back of your hand,” says Anthea: “To make the hand kiss more realistic, create a mouth shape by bringing your index finger and thumb together, so that you get a perfect mouth.”
That’s all well and good, but why didn’t Anthea wait to practice for her GMTV heartthrob co-host Eamonn Holmes?
Anthea Turner (pictured) gave advice on how to practice one-handed kissing
Paying tribute to JPR Williams, who has died aged 74, Wales rugby patron Prince William said: ‘There was no one like him on the rugby field. A real Welsh rugby club, fantastic.’
JPR proved loyal when there were grumblings about British-born William getting the role.
He stressed: “It is good for Welsh rugby to have him involved. If we have Princes of Wales, they should keep an eye on Wales.’ Payback time, William?
JPR Williams (photo) died on January 8 at the age of 74
We may not have seen the last of German football genius Franz Beckenbauer. He believed in reincarnation and boasted that he was a Scottish warrior in a past life.
Perhaps he will return as a VAR camera and revisit Geoff Hurst’s hotly contested extra-time goal that secured England victory at the 1966 World Cup.