EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Former royal butler Paul Burrell is angry at Disney’s plan to air a taped conversation with Princess Diana
Former ubiquitous royal butler Paul Burrell is angry at Disney’s upcoming release of Princess Diana’s taped conversations in 1991 with her friend Dr James Colthurst.
“I’m very upset,” he meows. “These tapes were originally made not to be published.” Burrell kept copies of the tapes in his Cheshire loft, which were taken during a police raid in 2001 (he was later cleared of the theft of the princess’s property).
“Diana gave them to me to keep,” he insists. “I told the queen what I had safe. They left my presence, my home, and now we see what happens when things are not secure.
As the late filmmaker Michael Winner advised, “Calm down, honey! »
Former ubiquitous royal butler Paul Burrell (pictured) is angry at Disney’s upcoming release of Princess Diana’s taped conversations in 1991 with her friend Dr James Colthurst
With over 100 schools and other buildings deemed unsafe, what about the Modernist National Theatre?
Its concrete architecture was attacked by the then Prince of Wales, now King, as resembling a nuclear power station.
If the theater had to be demolished for safety reasons, would Charles dance a private jig at Buckingham Palace?
A prized possession of the late Freddie Mercury that was not sold by Sotheby’s was his collection of rare koi carp.
The Queen singer adored the 89 fish, costing around £10,000 each, which were kept in a specially designed pond at his home in Kensington, where he died of AIDS in 1991.
Eleven years later, a gardener cleaning the pond accidentally deprived the fish of oxygen and they went to join Freddie in the great celestial arena of the sky.
One of the late Freddie Mercury’s (pictured) most prized possessions that was not sold by Sotheby’s was his collection of rare koi carp.
Michael Cockerell, presenting his BBC Four political documentary series – which begins on Monday with a profile of Ted Heath – recalls Sir Tufton Beamish, a crusty Tory MP, approaching concert pianist Dame Moura Lympany.
“Ted needs a wife,” he said. “Why don’t you marry her?” She replied, “I am honored. But I love someone else.
Clive Myrie, feverishly promoting his memoir, Everything Is Everything, pays tribute to his wife Catherine, who followed him around the world during his assignments at the BBC, notably in Washington.
While swimming in the pool of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in the American capital, she confused Barack Obama with Clive. Specsavers, Mrs. Myrie!
Evergreen Lady Antonia Fraser recalls winning a bet with the Duke of Devonshire that she could dance with then-Vice President Lyndon Johnson at a Jamaican independence party.
Johnson spoke with Antonia on the condition that she remain silent. “After a while, I gasped, ‘I think Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson looks gorgeous tonight,'” she told The Spectator.
“The vice president looked at me in disgust: ‘Yeah, yeah?’ he replied, dropping his arms and getting off the floor.
Recalling Keith Richards’ appearance on his US chat show, Jimmy Fallon – in London to help launch the Rolling Stones’ new album – said the guitarist was reprimanded by a fire marshal for smoking backstage.
“You can’t smoke,” the manager said. “I know, it’s bad for my health,” Richards replied.
