Alexander Larman is an author and books editor of Spectator World, our US-based edition
If the royals weren’t going through enough problems at the moment, another one is about to be added in the form of Netflix’s Scoop. It contains a scene that will perhaps be the most-discussed of the year, in the form of Prince Andrew being naked. Granted, he is only shown from behind – and Rufus
Most years, the royal family’s attendance at the Easter Mattins service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor is nothing more than a well-received piece of pageantry, an opportunity for well-wishers to wave and cheer and for commentators to observe whatever couture the royals are wearing. Not this year. The absence of the Princess of Wales
The reaction to the Princess of Wales’s courageous and affecting video, in which she discussed her cancer diagnosis, was largely as might be imagined. Most people, including those who had previously exhibited confusion or scepticism about the various failings in the royal family’s communication strategy, found it both shocking and deeply moving, and commended Kate
The statement, when it came, was remarkably simple and delivered with enormous dignity. Dressed simply and sitting outside, the Princess of Wales began her short video by thanking those who had sent her supportive messages, before describing her ‘tough couple of months’ after having been diagnosed with a form of cancer, which has then led
At last, the matter should have been settled. After the innumerable articles, social media posts and television pundits all speculating as to what, exactly, has happened to the Princess of Wales, it was revealed over the weekend that she had been seen with her husband, looking in good health, visiting a farm shop – that
It is a known, and lamented, fact that the rivalry between the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex has led to a series of incidents of one-up(wo)manship. It is surely no coincidence that in the midst of the Harry and Meghan brouhaha on Netflix, the princess was photographed looking suitably radiant and selfless, helping out
The photograph of Kate Middleton surrounded by her family was supposed to reassure the public. ‘Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,’ the caption alongside the picture read. Seasoned royal watchers saw a code in the terse statement: you’ve had your fun
It’s safe to say that at the moment the royals are besieged by controversy and difficulty – partially through bad luck, and partially through problems of their own making. It has not, perhaps, then been the most helpful development that the Princess of Wales’s loud and self-styled ‘flamboyant’ uncle Gary Goldsmith has entered the Celebrity
Prince Harry’s failed High Court challenge against the government over his security protection heaps more embarrassment on the royals. The Duke of Sussex was told today that the decision to downgrade his security status following his departure from the royal family was legitimate. Once again, it means the Royals are in the headlines for the wrong
Tuesday’s statement about Prince William was terse to the point of being unhelpful. ‘The Prince of Wales has pulled out of attending the memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece at Windsor Castle due to a personal matter.’ Granted, William has been unusually active during the past few weeks. One minute he has
The Prince of Wales’s statement on the Israel-Gaza conflict raises more questions than answers. William has announced that he is ‘deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October’, before saying explicitly: ‘Too many have been killed.’ He then declares that ‘I, like
If I was the producer of Good Morning America, I would feel disappointed by today’s appearance of Prince Harry on my show. The Duke of Sussex came on television for his first major broadcast interview of the year, and it was inevitable that the major topic of interest was not going to be his time
In one of the many quotations spuriously attributed to Winston Churchill, the former prime minister was supposed to have said ‘success is the ability to go from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’ It is a piece of advice – regardless of its origin – that the Duchess of Sussex seems to have absorbed
In 1814, at the height of his fame, the poet, libertine and freedom fighter Lord Byron had his head examined. Not by a proto-psychiatrist but by the German phrenologist and physician Johann Spurzheim, who, after making a detailed study of the no doubt amused Byron’s cranium, pronounced the brain to be ‘very antithetical’ and said
In this most eventful of weeks for the Royal Family, the unanticipated return of Prince Harry to Britain has created new drama. Indeed, so unexpected have the tidings of the last few days been that the sudden arrival of the Duke of Sussex at his father’s side yesterday – a seismic and unprecedented event, given the current
Amidst the news of King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, there have been any number of reactions, including the sincere sorrow and compassion felt by most of his subjects. Yet, for all of his wealth and privilege – as a certain sneering part of the internet felt the need to point out, few would envy the King the sorrows and
The news, when it came, was as stark as anyone could have imagined. As a Buckingham Palace statement observed: ‘During the King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted.’ And then the line that cannot fail to produce a gulp of empathy. ‘Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a
After a catastrophic 2023, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have taken some time to regroup and rethink. Now they have decided to grace us with their decision on to how to re-enter the public sphere in glory once again. Send for Netflix! Not that they’ve put it quite like that. Instead, Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s
In the annals of those connected with the contemporary Royal Family, it is hard not to see the journalist and broadcaster Martin Bashir as occupying the position of chief pantomime villain. He was launched to fame (some would say notoriety) when he interviewed Princess Diana for Panorama in 1995, eliciting the admission from her that
What is it like to be Prince Harry? Spare gave us a peerless insight into the unhappy, loveless life of a frustrated young man who was saved from a downward spiral into depression and addiction by the intervention of a saintly actress from Suits – for which we must all surely be grateful. But it
