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Queen congratulates Biden, but meeting dashed by coronavirus
As Donald Trump’s tumultuous presidency drifts into history, Buckingham Palace confirmed this week that the queen had called Joe Biden to offer him her congratulations prior to Biden’s inauguration. Its exact contents, as always with HM’s private conversations, are a mystery and shall remain so.
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Attention now will turn to when the Bidens will make a state visit to Britain. And it is very much a case of when, not if. The queen’s reign has seen 13 American presidents, and she has met them all except Lyndon B. Johnson.
However, with the world still battling the coronavirus pandemic, and the queen having hardly seen anyone outside of a small bubble for almost a year now, it seems hugely unlikely a state visit will be organized this year.
Positive signs that relations between the U.K. and the US could flourish in the new era are to be found in the fact that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was the recipient of Joe Biden’s first international phone call to another head of state outside of the Americas on Saturday evening.
Pictures released by Downing Street showed Johnson cheerfully gassing on the phone.
Downing Street said Johnson congratulated Biden on his inauguration and that the two leaders looked forward to “deepening the close alliance” between their nations.
The call is said to have been a source of some relief in Downing Street: Johnson’s Brexit cheerleading went down badly with Biden’s camp, Johnson called Obama “part-Kenyan” in 2016 and Biden once described Johnson as a “physical and emotional clone” of Trump.
The queen puts on a brave face no matter who she has to meet, but one imagines that a visit from the gentlemanly Biden will be more welcome than Trump’s infamously unpopular trip to Britain. Who can forget “Javanka” staring forlornly from the windows of Buckingham Palace, and Princess Anne causing some royal mischief by appearing to snub President Trump.
William and Kate get a new dog after Lupo’s death
William and Kate spoke eloquently to dog owners everywhere when they revealed their devastation, two months ago, at the death of their black cocker spaniel Lupo.
Happier canine news, however, now drifts out from the kennels at the family’s Norfolk home; they have a new puppy, and Lupo was its uncle.
The family are said to be “besotted” with the new pup, now eight months old, which was bred by Kate’s brother James Middleton, who also bred Lupo.
The gift from James arrived at Anmer Hall in Norfolk before Lupo died in November, the Mail on Sunday reports.
A source, who described themselves as a friend of the couple, told the Mail on Sunday: “They were devastated when Lupo passed away, as any dog owner will understand, but got the new puppy before he died. It was hoped that a younger dog would give Lupo some company and give him a little more life and energy.”
Sadly things did not work out that way, but having a new dog that is already part of the family is undoubtedly a major silver lining.
The source added: “The new puppy is adorable and the whole family is besotted.”
William: Air ambulance work hurts
Most royals live pretty sheltered lives, so respect to Prince William for the several years he spent as an air ambulance pilot.
Speaking to the podcast Palace Confidential, Daily Mail royal correspondent Rebecca English said the experience was at times traumatic for the future king.
She said: “Last week, William underwent one of his regular video calls with frontline staff. And he was speaking to them about mental health and the importance of them retaining their mental health in this very difficult period.
“And during the course of that, he really quite candidly and emotionally opened up about his own experiences as an air ambulance pilot and how he dealt with the trauma of seeing the loss of life on a daily or weekly basis.
“And he made it really clear that he found that really quite difficult and sometimes it took him to quite a dark place. It did have an effect on his family life.”
English added that William told the responders: “Well, it was bad for me but for you facing seeing bereavement in an unprecedented way it is really important for you to continue to reach out and be really aware of your mental health.”
He reportedly added: “You’re seeing such high levels of sadness, trauma, death that it impacts your own life and your own family life because it is always there.”
The queen—she’s just like us, kinda
Sophia Bennett has written a novel, The Windsor Knot, imagining the queen as a detective. This summons up the image of Her Maj as the new Jessica Fletcher, which we wholeheartedly support, and someone make this into a TV show, pronto.
Bennett researched her subject for the book, and found the queen—as others have said—to be quite normal (also recalling the pictures of her relatively modest living room, electric-bar fire and all). Bennett told Yahoo!, “My father was in the Gurkhas and then the NHS, and so he has met the queen a dozen times. He has various friends and family members who have worked in the royal households, so I can talk to them. They are very loyal, I don’t ask for gossip, for me getting it authentically right is important—what does the queen call people and what does she do on her days off, what she likes.
“You might see her wandering around Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. If staff see her they might give her a brief nod or curtsy but she does not expect them to drop everything they were doing… [the queen] can play with protocol—she does not break it, but she is not nearly as formalistic as people might imagine.”
This only increases our sincere belief that there would be nothing better than having a cuppa with the queen, Corgis running around us, with egg sandwiches on dainty platters.
Bennett said of the queen: “She has access to luxury but it is circumscribed to her role. We see this with the younger royals, how the press reports if they step out of line. She has enormous privilege but her life is limited. That intrigued me as a writer.”
Dish of the day
Turns out Wills and Harry were unenthusiastic about eating their greens as young boys. Who’d have thought it?
Former royal chef Darren McGrady said this week that their nanny would make them eat one piece of broccoli for each piece of chicken.
McGrady shared the fact on a YouTube tutorial of how he made William and Harry’s childhood crispy chicken and mac and cheese dish.
McGrady said: “William and Harry loved this with shuck corn, but when nanny was in the house she always insisted the boys must eat their greens.”
Eugenie’s baby due any day now
Princess Eugenie is due to give birth to her first child in February. In an interview with US Weekly, her mother Sarah Ferguson said: “Having not had my own mother around, I’ve always been determined to be a very present mother with my children, and I know Eugenie will be the same with hers.”
She added: “She is incredibly empathetic and will be a great mother. Her work for the Anti-Slavery Collective is a commitment she steadfastly campaigns for, to give everyone the chance to have a voice.”
Fergie grew up without her mother after her parents divorced in 1974.
Made up
One of Meghan Markle’s former make-up artists has revealed one of her key styling looks. Lydia Sellers, who worked with Meghan on her Vanity Fair and Elle covers, told Refinery 29 that Meghan favors a natural, laid-back look—and is always adamant that her freckles are still visible under her make-up.
She said: “Every time I’d do her makeup, she’d say, ‘Can we just make sure my freckles are peeking through? I don’t want a ton of foundation.’ It was more about the amount of product that went on her skin and keeping it really fresh and dewy, rather than caking it on.”
This week in royal history
Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547. He is best known for his six wives, of course—which makes the musical, Six, the best contemporary distillation of that standout fact, finally giving the women themselves the (witty and clever) voices that history often denies them.
Unanswered questions
Which way will the High Court judge rule? Will Meghan Markle get a summary judgment in her case against the Mail on Sunday, or will the case—over a letter she wrote her father—go to full trial?
