EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: King's museum plan for Buckingham Palace

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: King’s museum plan for Buckingham Palace

Prince Andrew’s eviction from his Buckingham Palace bedroom along with his beloved teddies is part of King Charles’s plan to convert the Palace from the monarch’s home to offices, function rooms and a museum, whispers a royal source.

 The £369million ten-year rebuilding project has switched emphasis since the death of the Queen to allow a radical rethink of the Palace’s role as Monarchy HQ. Since Charles’s accession he has used Buck House for audiences, a state visit and the annual diplomatic reception. 

‘The King and Queen Consort wish to stay at Clarence House as their private home,’ adds my source. Charles is also considering raising substantial funds by eventually opening the palace to the public all year around. 

With Andrew possibly located in nearby St James’s Palace might he follow his brother’s example and open a teddy bear museum to help his cash flow?

Prince Andrew seen driving on Windsor Castle grounds

Sir Tom Stoppard paid his respects to former Times editor Charlie Wilson at his St Brides memorial service yesterday. Charlie, a Bristol Evening World trainee with Stoppard, also shared a flat with the playwright. First wife Anne Robinson recalled their time together at the Daily Mail when Charlie was her boss. ‘I would cook his breakfast and tidy up when he went to the office,’ she said. ‘He then sacked me over a company rule forbidding married couples working together.’

A propos Charlie’s farewell, he died in August aged 87 and would have been gratified that Rupert Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth read her father’s fulsome tribute at the service. Former Times political editor Philip Webster said that despite his fearsome reputation Wilson had only fired three people in his five-year editorship, adding: ‘And one of those was Boris Johnson.’

Acclaimed British conductor Alice Farnham recalls on BBC Radio 4 being told by a fellow musician: ‘Women can’t conduct because their breasts get in the way.’ Doesn’t seem to cause any impediment for Oscar-nominated Cate Blanchett, pictured, manically wielding the baton in Tar.

Actor and presenter Joanna Lumley at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, on August 22, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland

Joanna Lumley issues a public apology to Sir Mick Jagger on her new podcast – Joanna and the Maestro – after her composer husband Stephen Barlow admits he doesn’t like The Rolling Stones. ‘I don’t want Mick ringing up and saying, ‘Why didn’t Stephen like me?’,’ she says. Has Dame Joanna been sipping the Delusions of Grandeur coffee again?

Legitimately lauded for her Andrew interview, Emily Maitlis was less successful interrogating the Dalai Lama. ‘I asked him what he had learned as a living God,’ she recalls. ‘And he said, ”I am more bold.” I said, ”Oh that is amazing.” He has now realised and tapped the side of his head and said, ”No, bald. No hair, no hair”.’

Emily Maitlis Cheltenham Literature Festival, UK – 05 Oct 2019

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