NEVER knowingly undersold, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released their own posed portrait hot on the heels of the widely published official photo of King Charles and Prince William with their wives.
Unlike their cover shot for Time magazine’s “100 most influential people in the world” issue last year (stop laughing at the back) at least Harry doesn’t look like Meghan’s celebrity hairdresser this time.
But be in no doubt that Meghan is still the one pulling focus while her husband affects a more sidekick stance.
Dressed head to toe in pillarbox red, she stares straight down the barrel of the camera lens with an authoritative air while Harry looks slightly sheepish.
They are linking fingers in a show of togetherness, but the overall message of the image is that she is literally and metaphorically wearing the trousers.
Nothing wrong with that in a modern relationship, of course.
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But given the backdrop of recent weeks and what’s to come, it could also be construed as a message to Harry’s family that not only do the Sussexes stand strong as an insular unit, but Meghan’s still the one calling the shots.
And that, given her fractured relationship with her own father and half-siblings, she might persuade Harry that he, too, doesn’t need anyone in his life except her and the kids.
Who knows? The photo was taken at the One Young World summit in Manchester just three days before The Queen’s death which, as we now know, prompted William to offer his brother the olive branch of a joint walkabout with Kate and Meghan.
So perhaps the death of their beloved grandmother has prompted a slight thaw in their hitherto frosty relations.
Since landing back in the States, rumours abound that the Sussexes are hastily trying to soften whatever grenades they were planning to lob across the Atlantic next to fund their lavish lifestyle.
First, Prince Harry is reportedly tweaking his imminent memoir to remove some of its sharper observations about his family, and now it’s been claimed that he and Meghan want to edit their Netflix documentary for the same reason.
Meanwhile, they have ditched their PR firm Sunshine Sachs because, according to sources, Meghan “takes the view that she doesn’t need to pay an outside firm a lot of money to do PR for her and Harry any more”.
Perhaps this is a sign that the supposedly privacy-craving Sussexes are now entering a more low- key phase that won’t capitalise as much on Harry’s royal status.
Let’s hope so. But the fact they’ve authorised the release of this latest photo perhaps suggests otherwise. Watch this space.
ON the subject of the official portrait of the new King, his Queen Consort, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Camilla show an easy togetherness that will no doubt see them through the years of duty ahead.
But while Kate tenderly touches her husband’s back, William stands with his arms clasped in front of him, looking for all the world like a businessman posing with colleagues at the annual conference.
He’s clearly averse to adopting the Sussexes’ overt touchy feelyness, but there’s a middle ground that will show unity and affection towards his wonderful wife.
AFTER a day of “it’s in, it’s out” hokey-cokeying, the PM and her Chancellor scrapped the tone deaf 45 per cent tax cut and prompted “The Lady’s for U-Turning” headlines.
Cue howls of derision and accusations of incompetence from the Left, and much of the same from some inside the Tory party who clearly have a political death wish if they think yet another change is a good idea in these critically uncertain times.
But Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, who admitted the cut was a “mistake”, should perhaps take heart from a survey published in January by the Economic and Social Research Council, which questioned 6,500 people on “What Kind of Democracy Do People Want?”
When asked to “imagine that a future Prime Minister has to choose between acting honestly and delivering the policy that most people want”, 71 per cent chose honesty and only 16 per cent delivery.
When asked about a range of characteristics that politicians should have, “being honest” came top, followed by “owning up when they make mistakes”.
So the “sorry, we got it wrong” stance adopted by the current PM and her money man may not be quite so disastrous as it’s being painted.
After all, the British people aren’t stupid. They know the country has just endured an unprecedented and cripplingly expensive pandemic, that it has to be paid for, and that there’s no magic money tree.
They also know that making wild promises about public spending while fudging how it will be financed (copyright: Sir Keir Starmer) is political pie in the sky, and that something must be done to stimulate the economy.
So, after admitting their reckless mistake, Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng must now hold their nerve and press on with policies that might seem tough in the short term but ultimately will benefit everyone living in UK PLC.
In other words, ignore the noise of the Westminster bubble and the Twitterati and concentrate on improving the lives of the millions who will be heading to a voting booth in 2024.
Unless the Tory in-fighting carries on and they stupidly enable Labour to gain power before we get that far.
ACTRESS Cate Blanchett says she doesn’t understand the concept of “my truth”.
“I mean, the truth is the truth, isn’t it? ‘My perspective’ is one thing, but ‘my truth?’ I don’t know what that is.”
Will someone please make her Education Secretary with immediate effect?
SINGLE over-50s can still be considered a good catch if they tick various boxes, including having a good sense of humour, paying their way, knowing current affairs and being unafraid of getting older.
So says a new survey of older singletons when asked what they look for in a partner.
Hmm. I have single girlfriends “of a certain age” who tick all 25 of the survey’s boxes.
Yet time and again, an attractive 50-plus man they’ve had their eye on will eventually turn up to the next social gathering with a thirtysomething, large-breasted woman with the IQ of a gummy bear.
INSURANCE company Direct Line has suggested that dogs should be banned from poking their heads out of car windows for fear of causing injury to themselves as well as distracting their driver owners.
Whaaaat? And deprive the rest of us of the joyous sight of ecstatically happy pooches gurning out of car windows?
It’s one of life’s rare pleasures, so perhaps a law to ensure that they’re tethered might suffice?
DROPPING in on a friend last week, a wall of heat hit me as I walked in the front door.
The heating had gone on.
I’m still holding out though, trying to reach November before flicking that switch.
I’ve gone from T-shirts, to long-sleeved tops, to one jumper, and now two, with an overcoat as potential back up if it gets too grim.
Let’s see if I make it.
KATE MOSS looked a million dollars when she turned up to simply watch Saint Laurent’s show at Paris Fashion Week.
Dressed in this tight black mini dress and dragging a faux fur behind her, all eyes were on La Moss, whose dramatic entrance pretty much overshadowed everyone in the room.
Perhaps it was her antidote to what happened at Milan Fashion Week a few days earlier?
he 48-year-old was booked to actually model for designer Bottega Veneta and they put her in a checked shirt and jeans.
Isn’t high fashion supposed to be about pushing boundaries, originality and, at the very least, glamour?
Instead, they made the world’s most famous supermodel look like she’s on the school run.
