This is a week that has in many ways reminded us of the very best of Prince Harry.
Nearly a decade after he created the Invictus Games, his new Netflix docuseries followed several seriously injured armed forces veterans as they prepare for the event.
It was as extraordinary as it was moving. We had stories of tremendous courage from vets who had overcome adversity and found a reason to live – all thanks to Invictus.
What an incredible achievement the Games are. One that showcases the Harry we fondly remember: compassionate, driven and determined to honor the brave troops he served with in Afghanistan.
A side of Harry that is reminiscent of his mother Diana, who was so empathetic to the vulnerable – whether they were AIDS patients or landmine victims.
Nearly a decade after he created the Invictus Games, Prince Harry’s new Netflix docuseries followed several seriously injured armed forces veterans as they prepared for the event
But sadly, the series has also given us a glimpse of the other Harry: the self-indulgent, petulant, assaulted victim, full of vengeance and hatred for those he believes brought him down.
Harry couldn’t just make a documentary about those brave men and women.
He had to shine the spotlight on his story and criticize the hated media for supposedly ignoring the wounded British soldiers and failing to provide support.
It doesn’t matter that it isn’t true, as the soldiers themselves pointed out. “I have no idea what he’s talking about,” said Ben Parkinson, the British soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan, broke his back and suffered permanent brain damage.
“The media in general has been great to me and has also been incredibly supportive of my family.”
Double amputee Ben McBean, who met Harry at an awards ceremony hosted by The Sun and was one of the inspirations behind the Games, agreed.
“I had his (Harry’s) fifteen years back. He’s wrong on this point.’
He added that “one of the few positives after the injury was the way the media supported the troops.”
Harry denounced the media for supposedly ignoring and not supporting the wounded British soldiers
Lord Dannatt, Chief of General Staff when Harry served, was equally dismissive, saying, “If I’m being kind, I’d say Prince Harry’s memories aren’t as clear as they could be.”
The truth is that the media not only supports our wounded heroes, but also fully supports the Invictus Games.
How tragic that the bitter, self-pitying Harry cannot recognize this and use it to his advantage.
If he fails to do so, he casts an unnecessary shadow over his greatest triumph.
Ahead of Strictly, news presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy shows off his ‘hip wiggle’.
Reminds me of when he worked for LBC and was told by bosses to loosen up a bit.
He told listeners that his girlfriend had given him verrucas on his feet – so brace yourself for a strict backstory, warts and all.
Hold on to power
A new poll shows that Michelle Obama is the most inspiring woman of all time.
The message to young women is: become a submissive wife and use your husband’s fame to write excruciating books about women’s empowerment.
If a clingy plus-one from a famous man is all it takes to beat two-time Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie, Meghan Markle should be there too.
Bring back female Attenboroughs
The news that David Attenborough, 97, will present the new series of BBC’s Planet Earth makes one wonder why so many talented older women are being tossed off television.
Leaving Countdown, Anne Robinson joked that at age 76, she was the oldest woman on TV not to judge pies — a sour reference to Bake Off’s Mary Berry, 88, and Prue Leith, 83.
Sir David Attenborough, 97, will present the BBC’s new Planet Earth series
With 3.7 million over-75s paying the BBC’s licensing fees, most of them women, it’s time to bring back some great old chicks.
Cowell’s big BGT blunder
Simon Cowell has spoken frankly about his mental health struggles.
The crushing pressure of fame that sent his depression into a spiral… the lying awake at night worrying about ratings… how he lost all joy in life. But now he reveals that his nine-year-old son Eric will star in the next series of Britain’s Got Talent and that father will judge son.
He admits it will be difficult. “Of all the things I’ve done, this will probably be the hardest.”
Not the hardest, Simon, just the dumbest.
The naked truth
Inspired by the photos of 50-year-old Gwyneth Paltrow without makeup, I took the plunge to meet a friend for drinks.
No foundation, eyebrow pencil, eye shadow or lipstick. He walked right past me. When I called him, he replied, ‘I didn’t recognize you. Are you ill?’
Proof that only natural beauty can be achieved au naturel
Gwyneth Paltrow, 50, was pictured bareheaded and without make-up
Claudia Winkleman says her TV success is due to hard work, good luck and advice from her mother Eve Pollard, the first modern female editor of a national newspaper.
Eve warned her not to become a journalist because it was “too hard for a woman.”
My mother gave me the same advice: If I followed in my father’s footsteps and became a journo, I would eventually start smoking, drinking, and getting a divorce.
As always, she was right.
Head of the Met Mark Rowley says most people at the Notting Hill Carnival had a ‘fantastic time’.
Very good. But what about those on the sharp end of the zombie knife and machete attacks: two men hospitalized, six others stabbed, 275 arrests for offenses including possession of offensive weapons and drugs, plus sexual violence and attacks on the police.
Notting Hill Carnival resulted in two men hospitalized, six others stabbed, 275 arrests for offenses including possession of assault weapons and drugs, plus sexual assault and assault on police
If that’s a fantastic time, the Met has clearly lost the plot.
Westminster Wars
Mid-career politician Grant Shapps replaces highly respected former Army officer Ben Wallace as Secretary of Defense
Very disappointing that Rishi loyalist and mediocre career politician Grant Shapps replaces highly respected former Army officer Ben Wallace as Defense Secretary, especially as Shapps’ closest approach is in danger by opening an Ikea flatpack with a Stanley -knife.
Still demanding a 35 per cent pay rise, trainee doctors join consultants (£88,000 starting salary and average wage of £130,000, excluding lucrative private work) in an unprecedented strike to coincide with the Conservative Party conference. Proof that doctors’ strikes are not about pay, but about overthrowing the Tory government.
Keep Gucci out of the classroom
The average cost of a uniform plus sports equipment for a high school student is around £100, but posh parents buy Gucci uniforms for £890, for a girl’s coat and backpacks for £970.
It’s one thing to treat your daughter like a princess at home, another thing to dress her like a princess at school and encourage a generation of privileged, entitled children who believe the world owes them a living.
May I be the only one who thinks that the photo of the Loch Ness Monster taken five years ago by Chie Kelly, and now hailed as proof of the creature, is just a scam?
It looks like two large abandoned black garbage bags full of rubbish on the swirling surface.
Good news for pot-bellied men all over the world as Chinese scientists conclude that drinking beer is good for a person’s health, boosts the immune system and improves gut health.
The bad news is that the survey was mainly conducted by men from a country that gave the world Covid. Cheers!
Good news for pot-bellied men all over the world as Chinese scientists conclude that drinking beer is good for a person’s health
EastEnders actress Lucy Benjamin, divorced from her husband of 17, says ‘their children (Bessie, 16, and Rosie, 12) will be their number one priority’.
It’s sad when a marriage ends, but can we please stop pretending it’s good for the kids when research shows it’s almost always devastating for them. Maybe it should stick together for their sake the ‘No. be 1 priority.
On the first anniversary of the beloved BBC presenter’s death from prostate cancer, experts praised the ‘Bill Turnbull effect’ as more than a quarter of a million men had their mouths checked, a 17 per cent increase, saving many lives.
What a beautiful legacy for a truly lovely man.