EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Jacinda Ardern was so determined to receive her Damehood from Prince William

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was so determined to receive her Dame of the NZ Order of Merit from Prince William that she postponed the event for a year and avoided inaugurations with other royals and her governor general.

Jacinda, a trustee of William’s Earthshot Prize, even turned down the chance to fly to Australia for King Charles to invest her.

Last week she finally received her gong from the heir at Windsor Castle. But she almost didn’t have the honor of favorite William pinning the honor on her sash.

Princess Anne also performed inaugurations and due to an administrative mess, Arden was originally on her list.

Ardern is appointed a Dame by the Prince of Wales at a ceremony at Windsor Castle

Officials hope the king does not fall ill during the Commonwealth summit in Samoa.

The island nation is heavily in debt to China, which has provided most of its major infrastructure, including its hospital.

The risk that the royal medical files would end up in the hands of doctor Xi Jinping in Beijing caused sleepless nights.

BBC North America editor Sarah Smith dismisses Donald Trump’s accusations of Labor’s illegal interference in support of his election opponent Kamala Harris and says no money has changed hands.

But surely free housing (provided by fellow volunteers) is a ‘benefit in kind’? In common parlance, it’s a freebie, as Keir Starmer should know given the problems with his Lord Alli penthouse.

Grumpy movie star Hugh Grant, pictured cringing at the heyday of his romantic comedy, reflects: ‘My mistake was that I suddenly had this huge success with Four Weddings and I thought, ‘Oh well, if that’s what people are so into keep it, then I will do the same. be that person in real life too.”

Hugh Grant has reflected on the heyday of his romantic comedy and cringed at the persona he created

I used to do interviews where I was Mr. Stuttery Blinky, and people ended up being, rightfully, disgusted by it.”

Wasn’t Stuttery Blinky last seen after Hugh’s infamous encounter with LA hooker Divine Brown in 1995?

After repeated attempts to damage Eric Gill’s Prospero and Ariel statue at Broadcasting House, the BBC is taking radical action to protect them.

After last year’s hammer attack on Gill’s work, which abused his daughters, it was decided to surround the images from The Tempest with bulletproof glass. With the protective screen set to be unveiled soon, will the BBC incur the wrath of the anti-woke crowd?

To promote his new country album, Sir Ringo Starr admits that his songwriting efforts during the Beatles days were regularly met with ridicule from band members.

“I had a habit of making the boys laugh when I wanted to present my songs,” he recalls. ‘Because I didn’t know that I had rewritten well-known songs. I thought, “Wow, this is good.”