Not-so-royal couple head to Canada after peace talks with Queen Elizabeth
What you need to know:
A recent announcement by the 34-year-old prince that he and his American actress wife, Meghan, intended to step back from their royal duties shocked Britons, be they supporters or critics of the monarchy.
Whatever its faults, the royal family is traditionally seen as a bedrock of stability amid the uncertainty of national politics and Britain’s position in the world order.
There is an adage here, “Part in peace and not in pieces,” and Queen Elizabeth and her grandson Prince Harry seem to have done just that.
DISCARD ROLE
A recent announcement by the 34-year-old prince that he and his American actress wife, Meghan, intended to step back from their royal duties shocked Britons, be they supporters or critics of the monarchy.
Whatever its faults, the royal family is traditionally seen as a bedrock of stability amid the uncertainty of national politics and Britain’s position in the world order. However, Harry has not disguised his misgivings about his role, while Meghan, who has an ethnic background, became the target of vitriolic coverage by some tabloid newspapers.
A meeting between the two sides produced a settlement under which Harry and Meghan surrender their royal income and drop their HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles; Harry will remain sixth in line to the throne but will discard all his official military roles; he will also repay the £2 million of public money spent on refurbishing Frogmore Cottage, the home given to the couple by the Queen at their marriage.
HEAR TRUTH
The agreement clears the way for Harry and Meghan to pursue money-earning commercial deals of their own and a new life based partly in their favourite spot abroad, Vancouver Island, Canada. The couple said they wanted to work to become financially independent and split their time between Britain and North America.
In his first public speech on the matter, Harry said he wanted people “to hear the truth from me… not as a prince or a duke, but as Harry.” He said, “The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change.”
He then flew to Vancouver, joining Meghan and their eight-month-old son, Archie. Commentators described the people of Canada as relaxed and welcoming, happy and proud that the not-quite-royal couple had chosen Vancouver as their new abode.
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They call it courier fraud and last year it cost 2,000 mostly elderly people £7 million.
Carol Norton described how it happened: “I had a phone call from someone who said they were the chief fraud officer at my local police station. They said someone had tried to use my card details to spend £600 in Birmingham and were worried someone at my local bank was passing on customers’ details and would I be willing to help in an investigation.”
Carol agreed to help trap the supposed conman and removed £4,000 from her bank account and handed it over to a person who gave her an agreed password.
“He took the money and I saw him get into a taxi. It was then I thought something was wrong because an undercover policeman would not be using a taxi. I ran next door to my neighbour and straight away she said, ‘You’ve been scammed.’”
Police are now launching a nationwide awareness campaign about this type of fraud. A spokesman said, “It is an extremely unpleasant kind of crime, carried out by people who are very clever at what they do. It is simplistic in its methods, but equally it is really sophisticated and difficult for the police to catch the culprits.
“The exploitation of the vulnerable, from a generation which trusts the police, culminates in criminals making significant amounts of money.”
In Carol’s case, a neighbour’s CCTV footage meant police had a picture of the fraudster and were able to trace and arrest him. But her bank declined to refund the £4,000.
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Britain may not have much to boast about when it comes to high cuisine but the so-called Full English Breakfast, has generally been a matter of modest pride.
Consisting of bacon, eggs, sausages, black pudding, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms and toast, it has filled the bellies of many working men. But soon it may be a thing of the past.
Almost one in five young people have never eaten the FEB. According to a poll of 2,000 people aged under 30, they consider such fry-ups to be greasy and unhealthy and they associate them with heart attacks and obesity.
More than a quarter said black pudding, made from pigs’ blood, was the worst part of the meal.
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Talking food, a little boy asked his dad during dinner, “Are bugs bad to eat?” “That’s disgusting,” his father said. “I want no talk of bugs at the dinner table.” “It’s OK anyway,” said the boy. “There was a bug in your soup but it’s gone now.”
A well-dressed man knocked at the door of a church minister known for his charitable impulses and pleaded tearfully on behalf of a poor family. “They are penniless and haven’t eaten for days and they are about to be turned out of their house unless someone pays their rent of four hundred dollars.”
“Oh, dear,” said the minister, “that’s terrible. And who are you?”
“I’m their landlord,” the man said.
