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The Pizza Prince
Prince Andrew was photographed riding in Windsor Great Park this weekend, as fresh doubts emerged over his much-mocked alibi for the night he is alleged to have had sex with Jeffrey Epstein’s teenage trafficking victim, Virginia Roberts (now Roberts Giuffre).
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The Daily Mail reported that his daughter Princess Beatrice has “absolutely no recollection” of the Pizza Express birthday party her father claimed to have attended on March 10, 2001, in a new investigation into the Andrew scandal, citing an unnamed “impeccable source” for this insight into her thinking. The paper also claims that a family diary shows Andrew had a home manicure booked for the afternoon when he said he was with Beatrice at the pizza place in Woking.
He has always denied any form of sexual contact or relationship with Giuffre and has even suggested that a picture taken of him with his arm around Giuffre at Ghislaine Maxwell’s London flat is fake.
Andrew made the claims about visiting Pizza Express in a disastrous interview he gave to the BBC, saying: “I was with the children and I’d taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at, I suppose, sort of 4pm or 5pm in the afternoon.”
When asked why he would remember a meal at Pizza Express 18 years later, he said: “Because going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do, a very unusual thing for me to do ... I’ve only been to Woking a couple of times and I remember it weirdly distinctly.”
The Mail says that Beatrice has “absolutely no recall whatsoever” of the party but adds that she went to “any number” of Pizza Express parties as a child so it would not be surprising for her to forget it.
It has also emerged that Sarah Ferguson was in the United States promoting chinaware to pay off her huge personal debts when Andrew is alleged to have had sex with Giuffre.
A spokesman for the Duke told the Mail: “It would not be appropriate to comment on these matters.”
Written Record
More news on the mysterious letter written by Princess Diana to bosses at the BBC which apparently heaps praise on Martin Bashir. Having previously been reported missing, it has now reportedly turned up again— after being taken from BBC HQ by “a member of staff who kept it hidden as a memento for 25 years,” the Telegraph claims.
The note allegedly heaps praise on Bashir, lauding his conduct before and during the interview.
The letter was written on Kensington Palace stationery and arrived by courier in an official envelope. It went missing after a member of the Panorama team, said not to be Bashir, took it home as a keepsake. It was apparently returned last month as the story blew up again.
The television interview became one of the scoops of the century after Diana said there were ‘three people’ in her marriage.
Bashir is on long-term sick leave after suffering from COVID-19 and undergoing a quadruple heart bypass.
A lot of energy has been expended suggesting Diana was somehow tricked into making her bombshell revelation that her husband was having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, and didn’t know what she was doing. The letter may finally knock that narrative on the head.
Staying Put
It’s strange, the desire to blame a country’s leader for not being able to follow through with holiday plans, instead of accepting that it is the presence of a deadly virus that means you shouldn’t be following your usual vacationing desires this year.
This is what the Daily Mail is doing on behalf of Prince Charles and Camilla, as the couple contemplates not being able to spend Hogmanay, aka the New Year, at Balmoral in Scotland this year. Oh, the hardship! Instead, with an added dose of sexism, the Mail makes the country’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon the “scowling” party pooper.
The official pandemic advice for all of us is to travel as little as possible, of course. This isn’t on Nicola Sturgeon, it’s about Charles and Camilla doing the responsible thing and not traveling.
“It’s very sad, but their Royal Highnesses do not want to cause trouble,” one of their friends told the Mail. “They understand the difficulties of traveling during the crisis and look forward to returning to Scotland as soon as possible.” (Which sounds like Charles and Camilla are perhaps not as outraged as the Daily Mail are on their behalf.)
As The Daily Beast reported, Sturgeon had reminded the palace of Scottish travel restrictions this week, as Prince William and Kate Middleton made a morale-boosting trip north. After both contracting coronavirus, you would think that Charles and William would appreciate Sturgeon’s caution, and her intention to set an example when it comes to keeping Scotland as safe as possible.
Zara Tindall Pregnant With Third Child
Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, is pregnant with her third child. The happy news was announced by Zara’s rugby player husband Mike Tindall, on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast, to his overjoyed rugger friends. They already have two daughters, Mia Grace, 6, and Lena Elizabeth, 2.
“It’s been a good week for me, had a little scan last week—third Tindall on its way,” Mike said. He added that Zara was doing very well but is “always careful due to things that have happened in the past” (she has miscarried twice before). A spokesperson for the palace told People the queen and Prince Philip were “delighted.”
“We’re not sure what to do. I’d like a boy this time,” said Mike. “I’ve got two girls. I would like a boy, but I will love it whatever, whether it’s a boy or a girl but please be a boy!” Likely names given the time we are in, he joked, were “Covey or Covina.”
Buckle Up
The British village of Bucklebury, Berkshire, best known for celebrity inhabitants Carole Middleton and her husband, Michael, is “awash with speculation” that Pippa Middleton and her hedge-fund billionaire husband James Matthews have their eye on a 72-acre estate there, the Daily Mail reports.
The couple, who currently live in a £17 million six-bedroom home in London, are said to be close to buying Bucklebury Farm Park, which operates as a safari park and petting zoo, and is close to her parents’ £5 million mansion. The Mail said that a spokesman for James, 45, and Pippa, 37, described the potential purchase as a “business opportunity” for Matthews, and denied the couple had any plans to move there.
William and Kate Head to the Panto
Oh no, they didn’t. Oh yes, they really did. (If this reference means nothing to American readers, bone up on the history of the glorious British pantomime.) Adorable picture of the week award is won by William, Kate, and their three kids (George, Charlotte, and Louis) as they headed into London town to watch a performance of Pantoland, staged for an audience of mainly frontline workers at the Palladium in London.
The entire Cambridge family were out for the show, making their first in-person appearance together as a family since the coronavirus struck.
According to our favorite royal fashion website What Kate Wore, Kate wore a dress from by Alessandra Rich and William wore a blazer and jacket. George, 7, and Louis, 2, wore sweaters (George’s was by Ralph Lauren, according to Town & Country) while Princess Charlotte, five, wore a tartan dress.
The show went ahead with reconfigured seating in the theater ensuring that “audience bubbles” of six people from a single household were seated at least 3 feet (1m) apart.
This Week in Royal History
Happy birthday to James, Viscount Severn, son of Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex, who turns 13 on Thursday.
Unanswered Questions
What will Prince Andrew next, apart from (most likely) stay silent? Will the cool reception afforded to William and Kate on their tours of Scotland and Wales earlier this week make royal PR chiefs rethink sending them out on the road, especially during the remaining days of the pandemic?
