Last of the ladies

Should this column be more frugal or less frugal? As an unelected column should it be allowed to ask someone else to squeeze its toothpaste tube? Should it be required to give an account of its expenditure, its private minicabs and the cost of refurbishing itself?

If I have to read another word about Prince Charles, his money and what he does or does not do with it, I think I shall scream. I shall scream even louder if I have to read any more articles by commentators attacking him for having Michael Fawcett in the bathroom or complaining that he is a miser.

I don’t know what moron at the Palace suggested that the Prince reveal details of his income and how he spends it, but it was always bound to be a Morton’s Fork situation. Personally, I don’t care if he spends it on coloured condoms. The royal family and its money is possibly one of the most boring subjects of today. If the public doesn’t like it, abolish the monarchy. As the monarchy costs each of us the price of a Mars Bar a year, it would seem a little silly, considering that the price of maintaining a president or head of state would be considerably higher.

The other great yawn this week relates to the late Katharine Hepburn. Don’t get me wrong. I do not mean that Miss Hepburn was not unique, brilliant, beautiful as a Clichy crystal, a class act and all that. There is little I would rather do on a Sunday afternoon than watch one of her films. Indeed, I think I have seen them all, including a little-known movie called Keeper of the Flame in which she played the widow of a fascist leader.