Proof that Prince Harry is Prince Charles’ son   It’s done the rounds for years. It’s a rumour that has failed to have been quashed and newspaper reporters have even tried to snatch pieces of his hair to test his DNA in their quest to prove it. This week, however, a photograph of Prince Harry convincingly proves that he’s the son of Prince Charles.  

A tribute to Robbie Curtis (1965 – 2012)   The property tycoon Robbie Curtis was a man often confused with Robbie Williams. His black Bentley, which bore the number plate “ROB BIE”, was often seen in The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and also in Mayfair and many thought that it belonged to the popstar.

My surprise at the arrest of Nigel Evans   I have known Nigel Evans MP for many years. I first met him in his Ribble Valley constituency in the 1990s and have always admired and respected him.  

Why do the press continue to refer to the Duchess of Cambridge as ‘Kate Middleton’?   Two years ago yesterday, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton married Prince William. Euphoria reigned throughout the land and 26 million are said to have watched the ceremony in Britain alone.

The overuse of the word “pop-up”   On Radio 4 this morning, a presenter commented: “I refuse to call it a ‘pop-up’. If we have any more of them, I’ll pop”. At a lunch yesterday I debated the description with a number of others and was surprised to find that the majority felt that it hadn’t quite reached the realms of “gastropub”.

The funeral of Margaret Thatcher   As her coffin headed to St Paul’s Cathedral, I stood in Parliament Square to watch Margaret Thatcher leave Westminster for the last time.  

The Right Honourable The Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven LG, OM, PC, FRS; Margaret Thatcher (1925 – 2013)   She cleared our rat-infested streets and she beat the unions. She taught people that “anything was possible” and redefined the role of the state in our lives. Britain’s first female Prime Minister stood firm in the Falklands and she came of age there. “No surrender” was her guiding force both in that war and in Europe and to this groundbreaking pioneer “rights” were inextricably linked with “responsibilities”.  

Kevin Waldrum and his mobile: a pair who should be parted   Our picture of the week comes from today’s Mail Online. Featured in it is a former security guard named Kevin Waldrum, along with a letter from his mobile phone provider Vodafone demanding £91,184 in unpaid call charges for a period of just three months.   Mr Waldrum claims the bills stems from his having been depressed after his girlfriend left him and that he felt a “special bond” with a girl named Hannah. Despite an initial bill of £19,333.63, Mr Waldrum continued to call. He claims he “could not give up”.  

Matthew Steeples bemoans an overused word   They’re everywhere: you’ll find them on magazine covers, on the television and at events. They stalk out the cameras, they behave badly and make utter fools of themselves. In fact, they’ll do just about anything to keep in the “media eye”. Allegedly, Lindsay’s one, Katie’s one and Justin’s one too. They’re forced upon us so much that they don’t even need surnames anymore. The “celebrity” is the force de rigueur and they and the word that describes them has spread like cheap margarine throughout the land.   At a book launch this week, a photographer I spoke with complained that he had become bored of tiresome and pointless individuals who consider themselves famous….

Matthew Steeples offers offers a tribute to the late Robert Troyan   I first met the larger than life Bostonian character Robert Troyan (1950 – 2013) with his partner Anthony Feldman in the early 2000s at their impressive apartment in Mayfair. Though I did not come to know them well, I fondly recall a number of evenings that they hosted there planning an event for a charity we were all involved in named Marine Conservation and several dinner parties.  

The future for red telephone boxes   The red telephone box is something that tourists often cite as being symbolic of Britain. Just like the red London bus and the red pillar box, though, these Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed kiosks are sadly disappearing from our streets.     Killed by the mobile phone revolution, British Telecom successfully lobbied to remove public telephones as usage has declined dramatically. The company state that calls from payphones have fallen by more than 80% in the last five years and that around 60% of the boxes cost more to maintain than they generate in revenue.  

Is it time for “Keep Calm And…” to “Sod Off And Get Lost”?   Since 2001, whatever the situation and whatever the context, three words, “Keep Calm And…”, can and often have been applied. The rediscovery of what was originally a British wartime propaganda poster in a secondhand bookshop in Alnwick, Northumberland set about this trend and it has continued unabated.     The bookshop’s owners, Stuart and Mary Manley, seized upon their customer’s enthusiasm for “Keep Calm And…” and they, then others, printed it onto clothing, doormats, postcards, mugs and other merchandise. Millions of items featuring the distinctive font and “Tudor” crown have been sold worldwide and a trademark dispute about it commenced in 2011 and continues to this…

HMRC publish a list of tax evaders but neglect to mention any large corporations   The hotelier and real estate heiress Leona Helmsley stated: “Taxes are only for the little people” before being convicted of income tax evasion in 1989.     Yesterday, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs published a list of names and addresses of nine individuals and companies who they describe as tax defaulters. Amongst the names on the list are a grocer, a hairdresser and a coach operator and the amounts owed range from £29,111 to £447,904.   In response, Richard Murphy of Tax Research called the list of names: “Plain, straightforward hypocrisy”. He went on to state:   “The people named are easy targets. There are…

A review of Channel 4’s Millionaire Playboy Races by Matthew Steeples   I watched last night’s Millionaire Playboy Racers expecting to find myself in agreement with Knightsbridge residents complaining about the noise generated by Arabs and their supercars. In many instances I would have previously agreed that they are bloody pests but surprisingly, by the end of the 45-minute Channel 4 documentary, I was left with feelings quite to the contrary.   My followers on Facebook often comment on the snaps I take of the supercars that come to London from Dubai, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Some are impressive and amazing. Others are vulgarity personified. A few are shown below.     Millionaire Playboy Racers was commissioned, like most television…

Our view on the Christmas episode of Downton Abbey   Christmas Day is meant to be a time for celebration and joy. After feasting likes kings, many of us sat down to a cheery cartoon or drama. With that in mind, watching Downton Abbey seemed like a good option.     8.1 million Brits viewed the ITV1 show this time last year and though the audience was down to 6.8 million, there was utterly no need for the ending created by Julian Fellowes.   During the two-hour programme, we found the majority of it tolerable despite the countless social inaccuracies but the way in which the main character, Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens, was killed off was tasteless in…

Matthew Steeples shares his views on the untimely death of a hospital receptionist   Suicide is sadly something that is at the forefront of my mind this week. My friend Andrew Embiricos sadly died exactly a year ago but when I read that a hotel receptionist who had been the victim of a prank had committed suicide, I was truly saddened.   A hoax call by two foolish Australian radio presenters to the private hospital which treated the Duchess of Cambridge is said to have been the trigger for the suicide and frankly the two morons who caused this should hold their heads in shame. 2Day FM is already serving two five-year probations for breaching the code’s radio stations have…

Matthew Steeples highlights the peril of “reaching out”    “Reaching out” is a phrase that can be compared to Starbucks and their taxes.   This toxic platitude has sadly become common in both Britain and America and is generally used by people who don’t know you when they want something. Like Starbucks on the high street, it is everywhere and akin to the coffee company and their tax contributions, it contributes very little.   “I’m reaching out to you today…” began a recent email from Cindy McCain, the wife of a former American Presidential candidate, asking for a donation to a campaign her husband was running. Mrs McCain’s insincere email continued in the same tone and I did not feel…

Matthew Steeples responds to the recommendations of Leveson   “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” was one of Edmund Burke’s most famous observations.   Today, David Cameron’s former spin doctor Andy Coulson and ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks were in court to face charges of having conspired to pay Ministry of Defence employee Bettina Jordan-Barber around £100,000 for information. How terribly convenient for our Prime Minister that this court appearance coincided with Lord Justice Leveson issuing his report into press standards.   In the inevitable media firestorm in the run up to today’s report being issued, one question has been missed and that question is: “Did we really need a…

Matthew Steeples takes a look at the farcical results of the PCC elections   A former ambassador to the US undiplomatically Tweeted the following an hour or two ago: “Prezza beaten. Humberside policing saved.” His dovetailed stooge, one Mowbray Jackson, added: “Tiresome tub thumper ‘Lord’ Prescott rejected in PCC election. There is a god.”     The first of this pair of social elevators loves a good old Ralph Lauren sofa and the second is often to be found lizard-like with a carafe swilling partner at the bars of London’s Hollywood Road. One stood accused by Prescott of doing “nothing” over phone-hacking whilst chair of the PCC, which probably explains his bitterness, but the other has little connections to the…

Philip Schofield and the protection of powerful paedophiles   Yesterday, when Phillip Schofield showed the Prime Minister a note containing the names of alleged politician paeodophiles who have been named on Twitter, little did he realise what he’d set in motion.     Amongst the names was that of Lord McAlpine who also appears on the website of the former BBC sports presenter David Icke along with a former MP who is now a television presenter and a number of others. The same site contains references to an MP who died in a house fire in Hampshire in 2000 and all manner of other suggestions.   Steve Messham, the victim who appeared on Newsnight to state that he’d been sexually…