THE dust has just about settled from the Jubilee and what has become clear is that the Royal Family as we knew it will never be the same again.
We celebrated the Queen’s 70 years of duty to her country and during the four-day celebrations it was obvious she was handing over the reins of public duty to the younger members of her family.
This will be a modern, scaled down, freshened up and much more down-to-earth ensemble.
Just like Princess Diana, the People’s Princess, with her warm, friendly approach to all those she met, the goal is for The Firm to become the People’s Royal Family.
And the one person who has given the green light to this amazing change is our 96-year-old monarch.
Despite her age, she knows that for the Royal Family to continue to be a success — and a money-making tourism attraction — they have to move with the times, the stuffiness, hands-off approach must go.
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ROYAL PAIRING
Prince Louis given SHOCK comparison to the Queen after Jubilee appearance
And this week that transformation has moved at a roller-coaster pace.
On Wednesday we had Prince William selling the Big Issue.
He went, unannounced and as incognito as he could to stand on Rochester Row, not far from Buckingham Palace, to sell the magazine for homeless people.
William wore a Big Issue cap, official red tabard and photo ID as he outsold veteran vendor Dave Martin.
The second in line to the throne was a youngster when his mum took him to meet rough sleepers at “cardboard city” in the capital’s Waterloo.
The experience has clearly stayed with him and is a subject he has spoken about to his children, George, eight, Charlotte, seven, and Louis, four.
His children stole the heart of the nation at the Jubilee and since then they too have managed to get involved in the royal PR machine.
Mike Tindall, Zara’s husband, took to his podcast The Good, The Bad & The Rugby this week and spoke about how the family try to deal with the youngsters at such gigantic occasions.
BAG OF HARIBO
He said: “Louis was just wanting to have fun, and my two are always mischievous, so it was about trying to keep a lid on. There were a lot of sweets out back there, so they had complete sugar highs.
“It’s tough for them, they’re all young, sitting there from two to five or whatever, it’s a long time, as any parent knows.”
I know I’m not the only parent who has resorted to bribes and sweets over the years to try to keep my kids in line.
But hearing that Kate, our future Queen, may have cajoled her kids with a bag of Haribo is refreshing for us all to hear.
Even Prince Charles and Camilla are getting involved to promote this new image.
They have been in talks with the BBC about hosting a live episode of Strictly from Buckingham Palace.
The Queen, by all accounts a fan of the dancing show, has given her blessing to this piece of PR genius too. I
t will show her son in a fun, lighthearted situation.
One minor blip in an otherwise successful week was that Charles privately criticised the Government’s policy of deporting migrants to Rwanda, calling the practice “appalling”.
This is one area where the Queen would never have put a foot wrong.
During the past year the family have weathered the storm from Harry and Meghan’s chit-chat with Oprah to the stripping of disgraced Prince Andrew’s titles.
But it is clear they have grown stronger — and have a plan.
And with the positive glow of the Jubilee still surrounding them, Charles and Camilla, William and Kate — together with cousins including Zara and Beatrice and their offspring — know there is no time to waste.
The Queen must take a back seat. She even had to pull out of going to her beloved Derby — although according to Zara she watched the event at home in her “comfy clothes”.
And now, although we may not see her, I am sure The Queen is pulling the strings for the rest of The Firm, in comfy clothes and on a comfy sofa, to ensure one day she leaves behind a Royal Family that will live on for years to come.
Pariah Russia
JUST when you think Russia can’t shock us any more, two British men captured by pro-Russian rebel forces in Ukraine have been sentenced to death and are set to face a firing squad after a three-day sham trial.
Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner were convicted last week of being “mercenaries” for fighting with Ukrainian troops, weeks after they were captured by Russian forces during the siege of Mariupol.
I didn’t know Russia had the death penalty. I thought they stopped it in 1996 – or has it been hastily reinstated, which makes this even more disgusting?
This is absolutely unacceptable and there must be condemnation from every possible source.
Russia’s reputation is in the gutter.
Their people will find themselves subject to more and more sanctions and increasingly alienated from the world.
PS: I was on the list of 154 people who have been sanctioned by Russia. I cannot travel to Russia without “serious consequences”, which is no sweat, as I never planned to go there!
Big day a Brit wild
WE all love a wedding.
Usually, the most fun thing that happens is the best man’s speech and the worst is a few people having one too many drinks.
But last week Britney Spears set a new bar for outrageous events at a wedding when she married third husband Sam Asghari (he wouldn’t be my first choice either!)
The day got off to a rocky start when Britney’s first husband, Jason Alexander, was tackled to the ground while attempting to gatecrash the ceremony at Britney’s LA home.
Then, like most brides, Britney changed out of her wedding dress, but she chose another one so short you could see her bottom.
She was surrounded by friends but without her kids, her mother, father or sister.
But at least she had Madonna, who proceeded to snog her in an attempt to recreate the moment they kissed at the 2003 VMAs while performing.
Back then that may have been shocking, now not so much.
Despite all the antics, it did look like Britney had fun and she seemed very happy.
After 13 years under a conservatorship that meant she couldn’t control her life, she deserves her happiness and I hope she gets it.
Focus, Tories
IT doesn’t take a political genius to conclude that the Conservative Party needs someone to place a firm hand on the tiller.
Over the past few months we’ve had No11 reportedly briefing the Press about the wine in No10’s garden, No10 reportedly briefing about Rishi’s wife’s tax status, MPs pushing for a vote of no confidence in the PM.
In other words, all the party’s many problems are being escalated by themselves.
And if there was ever a case of them living in the Westminster bubble, this is it, with this self- destructive nonsense.
Britain needs a strong Government creating jobs and opportunities, a health service fit for purpose, a good education system and affordable housing.
This can all be delivered if our MPs focus on the day job and don’t get sidelined by the stuff that really doesn’t matter to the public but only to them.
A mum steer
IT feels a tad archaic, doesn’t it, that Joshua Ma, the head of TikTok’s e-commerce division across Europe, told staff that as a “capitalist”, he “didn’t believe” firms should offer maternity leave?
I’m sorry, but only a man – who has never grown another human inside his body – could claim maternity leave is not required.
I wonder if he expects a woman to give birth then drive straight to the office?
TikTok says it is investigating his remarks amid reports he is stepping back from his role, which is probably for the best.
How exactly does he expect the next generation to be born?
Rebel power
I LOVE that Rebel Wilson has come out as gay at the age of 42, at the same time as formally introducing the world to her new girlfriend, fashion designer Ramona Agruma with a lovely picture of both women grinning from ear to ear.
More power to her.
In her caption, Rebel shared her joy over the new relationship, joking that she had spent years “searching for a Disney Prince” only to discover that what she “really needed was a Disney Princess”.
It’s so great that we live in an age where Rebel is happy to be so open.
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It does make me wonder, though, whether there will come a point in the future when people will come out as straight.
Or just not feel the need to “come out” at all.
