Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was so determined to receive her Dame of the New Zealand Order of Merit from Prince William that she postponed the event for a year, avoiding investitures with other royals and her Governor General.
Jacinda, trustee of William’s Earthshot Prize, even turned down the opportunity to fly to Australia for King Charles’ investment.
He finally received his gong from the heir at Windsor Castle last week. But he almost had his favorite William put the honor on his sash.
Princess Anne was also doing investitures and an administrative mess originally had Arden on her list.
Dame Jacinda Ardern pictured after being appointed Dame Grand Commander of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Ardern is made a Dame by the Prince of Wales during a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Officials hope the king will not fall ill during the Commonwealth summit in Samoa.
The island nation is heavily indebted to China, which has provided most of its major infrastructure, including its hospital.
The risk of royal medical records ending up in the hands of Dr. Xi Jinping in Beijing has led to some sleepless nights.
BBC North America editor Sarah Smith rejects Donald Trump’s allegations of the Labor Party’s illegal interference in support of his election opponent Kamala Harris, saying no money has changed hands.
But free accommodation (provided by fellow volunteers) is surely a “benefit in kind”? It’s a gift, in common parlance, as Keir Starmer should know given the troubles of his Lord Alli penthouse.
Embarrassed by the heyday of his romantic comedy, grumpy movie star Hugh Grant, pictured, reflects: ‘My mistake was that I suddenly got this massive hit with Four Weddings and I thought, ‘Oh well, if that’s what people love so much, I will be that person in real life too.”
Hugh Grant reflected on the heyday of his romantic comedy and was ashamed of the persona he created.
I used to do interviews where I was Mr Stuttery Blinky and, rightly, people were repulsed by it in the end.’
Didn’t Stuttery Blinky make his last appearance after Hugh’s infamous encounter with Los Angeles prostitute Divine Brown in 1995?
After frequent attempts to deface Eric Gill’s statue of Prospero and Ariel at Broadcasting House, the BBC is taking radical action to protect them.
After the hammering that Gill’s work suffered last year, who abused his daughters, the decision was made to surround the Tempest sculptures with bulletproof glass. With the protective screen soon to be unveiled, will the BBC incur the wrath of the anti-woke mob?
Promoting his new country album, Sir Ringo Starr admits that his attempts at songwriting during the Beatles era were regularly met with ridicule from his bandmates.
“I had the habit of making the kids laugh when I wanted to present my songs,” he recalls. ‘Because I didn’t know that he had rewritten well-known songs. I thought, “Wow, this is good.”
