King Charles, paying tribute to Alex Salmond, might wonder if Scotland’s First Minister could have ended up living at Balmoral if he’d accepted an offer from HM.
In 2008 it was reported that Charles had a dinner with Salmond, who said that Charles offered Balmoral to the people of Scotland while keeping nearby Birkhall.
He also suggested it could be the official residence of the first minister.
Salmond refused to take the bait as the deeds would have remained in royal hands, with Charles retaining a right of residence on demand.
As the plan might have installed Salmond’s successor Nicola Sturgeon as his neighbour for nine years, is Charles secretly relieved?
In 2008 it was reported that Charles had a dinner with Salmond. (King Charles pictured with Alex Salmond in 2011)
King Charles , paying tribute to Alex Salmond , might wonder if Scotland’s First Minister could have ended up living at Balmoral (pictured)
Salmond refused to take the bait as the deeds would have remained in royal hands, with Charles retaining a right of residence on demand
Fellow Scot Andrew Neil recalls breaking bread with Alex Salmond in London just three weeks ago.
‘It was an epic lunch, it didn’t finish until 7pm,’ he says. ‘He was in fine form. Full of plans and plots. He was a bit of a trencherman. He even paid!’
Paul Mescal told Total Film: ‘There’s a physical robustness to Gaelic football.’ (Mescal attends Women’s Finals Day of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 2024)
Gladiator II star Paul Mescal says his skill as a football player in Ireland equipped him for fighting in the Colosseum.
‘There’s a physical robustness to Gaelic football,’ he tells Total Film.
‘It made me used to hitting the ground and bouncing back up again. I loved kind of throwing myself around.’
Didn’t he do some of that with Daisy Edgar-Jones in Normal People? But he had no football kit on.
Zara Tindall’s husband Mike must have thrown his eyes upwards to the Windsor Castle ceiling after he arranged a meeting between fellow rugby veteran James Haskell and William and Kate.
With his mother-in-law Princess Anne also at the fireside chat, Haskell wasn’t happy with the catering. ‘I expected big trays loaded with scones and exotic fruit tarts,’ recalls Haskell.
‘Instead, I got a couple of broken rich teas and what appeared to be a half-eaten malted milk.’
Worse, Haskell produced his own M&S sandwich. ‘But when I started eating it’, he adds, ‘someone appeared and shooed me into a corridor.’
With Charles still fretting that he may be ambushed over Britain’s colonial past, Starmer’s solving of a festering colonial headache couldn’t have come at a better time
Starmer’s contentious handing over of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has at least greatly helped King Charles in his upcoming Commonwealth summit in Samoa.
Under British control since 1810, the Chagos islands have been a bone of contention since 1965 when Mauritius gained independence.
Their future was scheduled to be hotly discussed in Samoa.
With Charles still fretting that he may be ambushed over Britain’s colonial past, Starmer’s solving of a festering colonial headache couldn’t have come at a better time.
The King’s visit to Australia later this month may bring back bittersweet memories.
The late Queen formed an unlikely bond with Alex Salmond when, as Scotland’s First Minister, he stayed at Balmoral. Prince Philip wasn’t so keen, urging staff after his annual departure to ‘count the spoons.’