Prince Andrew wasn’t allowed to represent the Queen at courtier’s memorial service

Not only did Prince Andrew fail to join the rest of the Royal Family at yesterday’s Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, having stepped back from royal duties, but he suffered a very public humiliation at Windsor Castle.

I can reveal that the Queen’s second son attended the memorial service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, for Sir Malcolm Ross, the former Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office. However, Andrew was not allowed to represent the Queen.

Instead, his mother sent an obscure courtier to represent her formally at the service.

To add insult to injury, the Duke of York’s attendance will not be acknowledged in the official record of royal events, the Court Circular. It will report that the Queen was represented by Sir Andrew Ford, a retired Army officer.

‘Prince Andrew looked a bit sheepish,’ a member of the congregation tells me. ‘Many were surprised he was there.’

The service was attended by around 800 friends and family of Sir Malcolm, who died last October aged 76.

It was the first big public event that Andrew has attended since he announced he was stepping back from royal duties last November.

That followed the controversy caused by his disastrous Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, in which he was quizzed about his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew was not allowed to represent the Queen at the memorial service for Sir Malcolm Ross at St George’s Chapel, Windsor

Instead, his mother sent an obscure courtier to represent her formally at the service. Pictured is Sir Malcolm Ross

Andrew attended a Chinese New Year party hosted by the Chinese Ambassador to London, but that was a private event. It caused controversy, however, as Andrew took with him a message to the Ambassador from the Queen.

Sir Malcolm organised the funerals of Princess Diana, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother — causing astonishment among staff at the latter event when he ordered the cobblestones outside Westminster Abbey to be gone over with a vacuum cleaner.

The service was attended by around 800 friends and family of Sir Malcolm, who died last October aged 76.

Mamma Mia 2 star Lily James, who recently split from her long-term boyfriend, The Crown’s Matt Smith, buoyed her spirits at the weekend with a saucy sojourn in Paris.

The 30-year-old was accompanied by her friend, Ines, and both playfully posed in their La Perla lingerie, with Lily sporting a £435 silk satin Maison Slip.

Keen to immerse themselves in French culture, the pair also drank champagne and tucked into baguettes. ‘Bon weekend!’ Lily captioned the snap online.

That’s one way to get over a broken heart.

Mamma Mia 2 star Lily James, who recently split from her long-term boyfriend, The Crown’s Matt Smith, buoyed her spirits at the weekend with a saucy sojourn in Paris with her friend Ines

Royal scandals, clearly, can be good for The Firm.

The Queen’s Balmoral estate is to open an outdoor cinema this summer, kicking off the big launch with Victoria & Abdul, starring Dame Judi Dench, about the scandalised relationship between Queen Victoria and her Indian servant Abdul Karim. 

‘Come and join us for an outdoor cinema experience,’ it says in the ad. 

‘With a Pimm’s bar, BBQ or bring your own picnic.’

How long before they roll out one of Meghan’s movies, such as Get Him To The Greek or Horrible Bosses?

TV presenter Ben Fogle showed support for his childhood friend Princess Haya, who, a High Court judge ruled last week, has been subjected to a campaign of ‘fear and intimidation’ orchestrated by her estranged husband, Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, billionaire ruler of Dubai

Don’t call Sir Michael Palin a nice man. 

‘I slightly object to the ‘nice’ tag,’ he says. 

‘Nice is such a wet word, really. Maggie Smith once described me as ‘a saint — the sort of good person who, if he went and strangled a baby in the street, people would say the baby attacked him first’.’ 

Sir Mick Jagger, who plays a disreputable art dealer in the film The Burnt Orange Heresy, has won the admiration of his co-star Elizabeth Debicki. 

‘There’s a childlike playfulness to him,’ says the Australian actress. 

‘He has more energy than you or I combined on our very best day, most caffeinated. He was open to any kind of rhythmic shift.’ Steady on. 

Hollywood star Emily Blunt pulled out all the stops for the New York premiere of her husband’s latest film, A Quiet Place II, this week.

The 37-year-old Londoner, who is married to U.S. actor John Krasinski — the father of her two daughters — turned heads when she arrived in a £4,890 red leather Alexander McQueen dress complete with a plunging sweetheart neckline and fishtail hem.

The thriller is the sequel to Krasinski’s hit 2018 film, both of which star Blunt. ‘A lot of people were like: ‘You’re going to be divorced by the end of it,’ but we were so much closer,’ she said.

Hollywood star Emily Blunt pulled out all the stops for the New York premiere of her husband’s latest film, A Quiet Place II, this week

He’s climbed Everest and rowed the Atlantic, but TV presenter Ben Fogle knows that others have confronted equally arduous challenges.

Such as his childhood friend Princess Haya, who, a High Court judge ruled last week, has been subjected to a campaign of ‘fear and intimidation’ orchestrated by her estranged husband, Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, billionaire ruler of Dubai.

‘International Women’s Day seems to be an appropriate time to support Haya and vouch for her kindness, care and compassion,’ Fogle, 46, writes on social media, alongside this photograph.

‘I’m so proud of her resolve and her grace in the face of fear and adversity,’ adds Fogle, who was at Bryanston School in Dorset with Haya, 45, daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan.