Home Australia EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: King Charles is spared some awkwardness with a low-key memorial service for the late Queen’s private secretary Robert Fellowes

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: King Charles is spared some awkwardness with a low-key memorial service for the late Queen’s private secretary Robert Fellowes

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His Majesty King Charles III was spared an awkward moment at the funeral of the late Queen's private secretary, Robert Fellowes (pictured)

The low-key memorial service for the late Queen’s private secretary, Robert Fellowes, spared the King some awkwardness.

Fellowes was Princess Diana’s brother-in-law and guided the Queen through her death and its aftermath. He earned the King’s ire when he led opposition to Camilla coming out of the shadows and being accepted as the King’s future wife.

Had his funeral and memorial services been public, event protocol dictated that the King and Queen, who were absent and unrepresented, would have had to send an emissary to formally represent them.

And Prince Harry’s appearance also thwarted Lord Fellowes’ plan for a smooth farewell.

The service, at a Norfolk church near Sandringham, might have gone largely unnoticed had nephew Harry not flown in to say goodbye.

His Majesty King Charles III was spared an awkward moment at the funeral of the late Queen’s private secretary, Robert Fellowes (pictured)

Fellowes was Princess Diana's brother-in-law and guided the Queen through her death and its aftermath (St Mary's Church in Snettisham, Norfolk)

Fellowes was Princess Diana’s brother-in-law and guided the Queen through her death and its aftermath (St Mary’s Church in Snettisham, Norfolk)

After the funeral, Harry was clearly not invited to spend the night at his brother William’s Anmer Hall, less than ten miles from the church.

Instead, she opted to make the 90-mile trip to stay with her uncle Charles in Althorp, a very different experience to Meghan’s first Christmas at Sandringham in 2017.

As we exclusively revealed at the time, H&M stayed at Anmer Hall rather than Sandringham so Meghan wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the formality.

It seems like a lifetime ago.

Prince Harry (pictured during the Invictus Games Foundation's 10th anniversary service) chose to stay 90 miles away from the church after the ceremony with his uncle Charles in Althorp.

Prince Harry (pictured during the Invictus Games Foundation’s 10th anniversary service) chose to stay 90 miles away from the church after the ceremony with his uncle Charles in Althorp.

Oldman confirms that the regular Slow Horses set will be scrapped

Gary Oldman, pictured, confirming that one of Slow Horses’ regular characters will be axed in the new series, tells the Radio Times that when he joined the cast of Harry Potter there were rumours that JK Rowling was about to kill off a major character.

‘I thought, “Well, they’re not going to kill off Harry Potter’s godfather. It’s going to be Hagrid or someone.” But then it was me!

Gary Goldman (pictured at the Golden Globes in 2024), best known for his role as Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black, has confirmed that a Slow Horses regular character will be axed from the new series.

Gary Goldman (pictured at the Golden Globes in 2024), best known for his role as Harry Potter’s godfather Sirius Black, has confirmed that a Slow Horses regular character will be axed from the new series.

Queen Elizabeth II did not want to take any risks

After French President Giscard d’Estaing warned the late Queen that Romanian President Ceausescu and his wife had stolen “lamps, vases, ashtrays and bathroom accessories” from her Paris suite, Her Majesty took no chances when they stayed in the Belgian Suite at Buckingham Palace in 1978.

“She asked staff to remove any loose valuables,” writes Craig Brown in A Voyage Around The Queen.

‘They were advised to remove the silver toothbrushes from the dressing table or the Romanians would steal them all.’

When the late Queen (pictured, during an official tour of Germany in 1978) was told by the French president that Romanian president Ceausescu and his wife had stolen from her Paris suite, she took no chances when they went to visit Buckingham Palace.

When the late Queen (pictured, during an official tour of Germany in 1978) was told by the French president that Romanian president Ceausescu and his wife had stolen from her Paris suite, she took no chances when they went to visit Buckingham Palace.

Sci-fi makeup prevented Sue Johnston from using the phone

Sue Johnston, from the Royle family, was unable to use her mobile phone to contact family and friends after spending hours a day in the make-up chair for Channel 4’s apocalyptic zombie series Generation Z.

Co-star Robert Lindsay explains: “The lovely Sue had facial recognition on her phone, so she couldn’t make phone calls every morning.”

Tom Jones once bought a rug from Humperdinck

Octogenarians Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck weren’t always clubbers, according to Record Collector, which reveals that when Tom hit it big with Green Green Grass Of Home, he bought Humpy and his wife Patricia a rug for their apartment.

Pile of hairy hairs?

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