Royal family

Prince Charles: a ticking constitutional time-bomb

It's been a funny few days for the Royal family. Last week, it was declared that this inherently unequal organisation is to be made subject to an "equality act". And today, The Guardian reports that Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, has been given a "secret veto" on 12 separate pieces of legislation.

The legal matters involved are a bit baffling, but in essence, it goes like this: any bill in Parliament that affects the sitting monarch's interests must be given to the Queen for consent. The Duchy of Cornwall, which i… Read More

Pippa Middleton is risking her family's reputation

Carole Middleton must have taken her eyes off the ball. Or maybe she's suffering from Dukan diet fatigue. Whatever the cause, the result may be dire:  "friends" claim daughter Pippa is set to sign a book deal. Get in there, Carole, and put a stop to it, before the Duchess of Cambridge's younger sister makes all you Middletons look like they're milking their royal connections for all they're worth.

The subject of the purported book – how to be the hostess with the mostest – is anodine enough; but it's the thought that… Read More

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arriving in Los Angeles in July (Photo: AP)

Anna Wintour, scary-wary editrix of American Vogue, is determined, by all accounts, to get to the Duchess of Cambridge. The British-born grande dame of fashion reportedly wants Kate Middleton on the cover of her magazine, and has asked Mario Testino, the photographer and friend of Prince William's, to coax her into agreeing.

But the Duchess must resist. It would be the first step towards cheapening her special brand; to play the fashionistas' frivolous game of hemlines (up, down, who cares?) and "in" colours ("green's the ticket this season, girls!") would be to demean her status and… Read More

Prince William: resisted Hari's offer (Photo: PA)

In all the fuss about Johann Hari, everyone has forgotten perhaps his most extraordinary claim of all: that he nearly tore apart the Royal family. This is from his 2002 book God Save the Queen?:

Anyway, let me cut to the chase, because I don't want to reproduce too much copyrighted material… Read More

"Doing a Reggie? How very amusing!"

The Queen has spent £1.8 million pounds on an Archimedes Screw, which will – in theory – provide lashings of environmentally friendly power to Windsor Castle by harnessing the mighty currents of the River Thames. Of course, in reality it will do nothing of the sort, which is why I was originally going to title this story "Elderly Lady Mugged By Climate Cowboys." That's because the amount of energy it is estimated it will produce -  1.7 million kilowatt hours per year – gives an average output of 200,000 watts. This (thanks to m'learned friend Christopher Booker for these calculations)… Read More

In 2001 Lucian Freud completed a painting of the Queen. Knowing what an uncompromising eye the painter had, it is surprising that so many critics and members of the public were shocked by the finished work.

The tabloids hated the portrait. "You're no oil painting, Ma'am," was the Mirror's headline. The Sun called it a "travesty" and their legendary royal photographer Arthur Edwards said: "They should hang it in the khazi." The Telegraph said it was "extremely unflattering" but praised it in other respects. As for the Times, its arts writer Richard Morrison said: "The chin has what can only be described as a six-o'clock shadow, and the neck would not disgrace a… Read More

The media has been buzzing for the past 24 hours about one journalistic scandal. Now there's a second: like Johann Hari's interviewing techniques, Tina Brown's Newsweek cover story about "Diana at 50" – featuring a creepy photo-montage of the late Princess of Wales standing beside Kate Middleton – is a disgrace to journalism.

What inspired the once awesome Tina Brown to become Newsweek's grave-robber? Did she think this would help flog her biography of Diana, or did she wish to show the world that she no longer felt any loyalty to the Royal family back in her homeland? Whatever the motive, the outcome is a stain on her, and Newsweek's, name. … Read More

The Royal Mint's new commemorative gold £5 coin (Photo: PA)

What a shame. This morning in the Indy Johann Hari laments that Prince Philip’s 90th birthday will be used by monarchists to justify this old institution. He asks: “Is there a more consistently hilarious sight in Britain than the endless parade of slavering monarchists trying to convince us the Windsor family is the embodiment of virtue and hard work?”

I don’t know. The site of people railing against the enduring popularity of the Royal family is pretty hilarious, especially as it’s one aspect of the social fabric that… Read More

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh after the Queen's Coronation (Photo: PA)

Any serious analysis of why Britain has been relatively poorly governed since the end of the Second World War must concern itself with the cult of the short-term. There are structural reasons for this modern phenomenon: the ambition of politicians to leave an instant mark; the demands of the electoral cycle; the financial markets and their extraordinary ability to anticipate and then discount the future.

Meanwhile the news media, so expert at generating artificial “crises”, with the accompanying demand for their urgent resolution, has grown stealthily in importance…. Read More

Carlton House ridden by work rider John Nolan (Photo: Getty)

This has been a wonderful year for the Queen, with the unexpected success of her state visit to the Republic of Ireland, and the happiness of the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Just one more achievement is perhaps required to turn 2011 into an annus mirabilis: victory for the Queen’s horse, Carlton House, in Saturday’s Derby on Epsom Downs.

Throughout her 59-year reign, the Queen has had one keen ambition – to emulate the achievement of so many of her ancestors and to win the Derby. On nine occasion… Read More