Andrew breathes sigh of relief over film
Friends of Prince Andrew have said he is relieved that the new Amazon film about his disastrous interview with the BBC has “sunk without trace,” while friends of King Charles said the new three-part mini-series is “water off a duck’s back to him.”
The series, entitled A Very Royal Scandal, portrays Andrew as a foul-mouthed, entitled and arrogant man, a portrayal which some former staff have told media outlets (including this one) is accurate.
However, the series has failed to generate anything like the buzz that a previous rendering of the interview and Andrew’s downfall did, with a review in The Telegraph acerbically noting that a second film about the interview “definitely feels like one too many.” The first, called Scoop!, was based on a memoir written by the producer of the interview.
Predictions that the new show would revive interest in Andrew’s humiliating exit from public life have proved wide of the mark, much to the relief of Andrew, whose friends told the Daily Beast he was feeling “depressed” before the series aired while his family were said to be anxious.
A friend of Andrew’s told the Daily Beast: “It’s a great relief that this new show appears to have sunk without trace. He felt he came out of the first film rather well. It seemed hard to believe there would be any appetite for another go-round and that looks to be the case.”
The friend, who said Andrew had not watched the new series, said Andrew is now focused on “getting on with his own life and hopes these endless attacks on him will stop.”
The source added that he has no intention of moving out of Royal Lodge, the palatial home he signed a 75-year lease for with the Crown Estate 20 years ago, despite the king’s efforts to evict him.
A friend of the king said of the new Andrew film: “People writing films and books about His Majesty and his family is something he is well used to. He won’t have watched it. It’s water off a duck’s back to him.”
Prince Andrew no longer has formal press representation but a solicitor and a media advisor known to maintain contact with him did not return a request for comment.
The king’s office did not comment.
Picture this
Here’s a conundrum: why would the National Gallery in London buy a portrait of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and then lock it away in storage? Could it be in any way related to the fact that Kate Middleton Middleton is the gallery’s patron and she is known not to be on the best of terms with her absent in-laws?
The Mail on Sunday hints that could be the case, adding: “There were rumours last year that the Princess was secretly pleased when a controversial portrait of her, painted by artist Paul Emsley, was removed from public view.”
James Middleton: How my dog saved my life
The sight of his dog staring at him through a skylight gave James Middleton life-saving pause the night he contemplated suicide in 2017.
Middleton, brother of Kate, describes the moment in a Sunday Times interview today conducted to promote his book Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life. He had climbed a ladder to the roof above his parents’ flat in Chelsea, London, having decided he had nothing left to live for; then he saw his beloved cocker spaniel Ella, and thought about who would be around to take care of her if he was dead. That thought stopped him from taking his own life.
“I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t sleep, I was constantly agitated,” Middleton tells the paper of that time. “If I sat down I had to stand up again immediately. I couldn’t eat because I felt constantly as if I were about to throw up. What was most challenging was that I couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. It wasn’t living, it was just existing in this awful state of anxiety.”
Ella died aged 15, last year, and Middleton is now the proud owner of her pups, Luna and Inka.
“I was never alone in a time when I felt very lonely,” he said. “I’m surprised there weren’t marks on the carpet from the laps I was doing, but she (Ella) would sort of get in the way. It was a silent interruption, but for a fraction of a second it would stop the spiralling. “Something was taking over my mind, but not knowing what it was made it very difficult to talk about. And I didn’t feel as though I had a right to be depressed because I’ve had everything, because I am privileged.”
Middleton is much happier now; he is married to French financier Alizée Thevenet since 2021 with an 11-month-old child, and he is very close to his family still, who he lives near to in Bucklebury, Berkshire. In the interview he talks through the pressures of failing at so many subjects at school.
Ella “was my shield,” he says. “Through her I could enjoy things. I could take her for a walk and see what she was seeing. I process a lot of things in my mind and that can be overwhelming, but she helped me open my eyes and realize everything was OK.”
“William was a fantastic support for us as a family,” Middleton says of Prince William’s behavior after he began dating his future wife. “He did everything he could to protect us from the intense interest, not just in Catherine, but also her immediate family. But at that time I was already in a vulnerable state of mind and it was an added pressure.”
James’ parents struggled when his depression was diagnosed, but his family eventually joined his therapy sessions. “I felt guilty because I knew they were worried,” he says. “They felt guilty because it’s really hard if you’re not able to help the people you love the most. I was finally understanding how I felt but I got nervous trying to translate that to my family without the help of an interpreter. When they came into the sessions they had the opportunity to ask questions that I couldn’t necessarily answer.”
Harry takes New York
Prince Harry will be in New York City this coming week, participating in several high-profile events tied to his philanthropic work, and, specifically, his mother’s legacy.
Timings have been kept deliberately hazy for security reasons, but Harry is expected at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting on either Monday or Tuesday, where the focus will be on climate change and equality. He will also attend an unspecified event in support of the Diana Award “driven by young people and their insights on the biggest issues facing their generation today.”
There will also be a meeting with the HALO Trust, the anti-landmine charity his mother championed, and a sit-down with leaders of African Parks. The latter organisation has been rocked by allegations of sexual and physical abuse, so there will be pressure on Harry to address these issues, which he has not done so far.
Princess Anne stands in for Charles
Princess Anne gave an address on behalf of the king Saturday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem, a disastrous attempt by the Allies to end the Second World War in 1944.
The battle, which aimed to capture a bridge over the Rhine, became known as “a bridge too far.” Over 1,500 British soldiers were killed, and more than 6,000 were captured. However, the battle is widely commemorated in memory of the bravery and heroism of the British and American forces involved.
Anne, speaking at the Airborne Museum Hartenstein in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands said, according to a report in the Telegraph: “The friendships made during those difficult days of September 1944 between the Dutch and their liberators continued after the war.”
The Princess met Geoff Roberts, 99, who flew a glider into Arnhem but was captured as the Allies retreated.
The king, who has cancer, is understood to gathering his strength for a long haul trip to Australia later this month.
This week in royal history
“God Save the King” was first sung on Sept 28, 1745 at the Drury Lane Theatre, London. It’s proved to be catchy!
Unanswered questions
Will King Charles and Prince William relent, and see Prince Harry on his forthcoming U.K. trip? Have Harry and Meghan’s Hollywood careers really tanked, or can they still break Tinseltown?
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