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In 2001 Lucian Freud completed a painting of the Queen. Knowing what an uncompromising eye the painter had, it is surprising that so many critics and members of the public were shocked by the finished work.
The tabloids hated the portrait. “You’re no oil painting, Ma’am,” was the Mirror’s headline. The Sun called it a “travesty” and their legendary royal photographer Arthur Edwards said: “They should hang it in the khazi.” The Telegraph said it was “extremely unflattering” but praised it in other respects. As for the Times, its arts writer Richard Morrison said: “The chin has what can only be described as a six-o’clock shadow, and the neck would not disgrace a… Read More
The media has been buzzing for the past 24 hours about one journalistic scandal. Now there’s a second: like Johann Hari’s interviewing techniques, Tina Brown’s Newsweek cover story about “Diana at 50″ – featuring a creepy photo-montage of the late Princess of Wales standing beside Kate Middleton – is a disgrace to journalism.
What inspired the once awesome Tina Brown to become Newsweek’s grave-robber? Did she think this would help flog her biography of Diana, or did she wish to show the world that she no longer felt any loyalty to the Royal family back in her homeland? Whatever the motive, the outcome is a stain on her, and Newsweek’s, name. … Read More
The Royal Mint's new commemorative gold £5 coin (Photo: PA)
What a shame. This morning in the Indy Johann Hari laments that Prince Philip’s 90th birthday will be used by monarchists to justify this old institution. He asks: “Is there a more consistently hilarious sight in Britain than the endless parade of slavering monarchists trying to convince us the Windsor family is the embodiment of virtue and hard work?”
I don’t know. The site of people railing against the enduring popularity of the Royal family is pretty hilarious, especially as it’s one aspect of the social fabric that… Read More
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh after the Queen's Coronation (Photo: PA)
Any serious analysis of why Britain has been relatively poorly governed since the end of the Second World War must concern itself with the cult of the short-term. There are structural reasons for this modern phenomenon: the ambition of politicians to leave an instant mark; the demands of the electoral cycle; the financial markets and their extraordinary ability to anticipate and then discount the future.
Meanwhile the news media, so expert at generating artificial “crises”, with the accompanying demand for their urgent resolution, has grown stealthily in importance…. Read More
Carlton House ridden by work rider John Nolan (Photo: Getty)
This has been a wonderful year for the Queen, with the unexpected success of her state visit to the Republic of Ireland, and the happiness of the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Just one more achievement is perhaps required to turn 2011 into an annus mirabilis: victory for the Queen’s horse, Carlton House, in Saturday’s Derby on Epsom Downs.
Throughout her 59-year reign, the Queen has had one keen ambition – to emulate the achievement of so many of her ancestors and to win the Derby. On nine occasion… Read More
The 'beast' manoeuvres its way along Downing Street (Photo: Getty)
Once again the Duke of Edinburgh shows himself to be a master of the one-liner. People on Twitter are saying that he extemporized one of his famous quips as the Obamas disembarked from their eight-ton, bomb-proof Cadillac limousine. This is the “Beast” you may have read about: it has eight-inch-thick doors, oxygen tanks, hidden submachine guns, tear-gas cannons, Kevlar-reinforced run-flat tyres and glass that can withstand armour-piercing bullets. It must seem like something out of Star Trek to Prince Philip, so no wonder (it’s said) he waved in the… Read More
A quick response to Barack Obama on the Andrew Marr show. Forget for a moment what the interview tells us about the president’s foreign policy: I was delighted by the gracious tribute to Her Majesty the Queen, whom Obama held up as a symbol of decency and wisdom not just for Britain, not just for the Commonwealth, but for the world. “We’re very proud of her,” he said. That’s right: we.
It’s hard not to warm to Obama after hearing those words. So what if it’s a calculated gesture intended to limit the damage caused by his anti-British track record and current friction with Cameron? Calculating words i… Read More
Camilla, speaking out for common sense
She has been hounded by the press and pilloried by pundits. She has had her taste in clothes mocked, her smoking exposed, and her “other woman” status trashed by national columnists. So Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has every reason to hate the hacks. Yet yesterday she issued a surprising and heartfelt defence of freedom of the press. Journalists, she said, should be able to expose every flaw and every instance of mis-behaviour without fear of being muzzled by judges or the political correctness police.
The Duchess’s words came in the wake of the European Court of Human… Read More
For a brilliant snapshot of the metropolitan elite’s fear and loathing of the masses, look no further than this piece on the royal wedding by uber-cynic and professional sourpuss Will Self.
Where most of us saw thousands of people having a nice time yesterday – picnicking, partying, getting plastered – Self saw merely “public hysteria” and a “great cloud of unknowing”. The “British crowd” has been “driven mad”, he says. The entire event was a cynically concocted shebang designed to “distract us from our gerrymandered electoral dictatorship”. All those little people waving their flags and getting excited about That Dress and That Kiss could do with a stint in the loony bin,… Read More
If further evidence were needed of the decline of American network television – aka the “mainstream media” or MSM - look no further than ABC The View’s dumbed down and crass coverage of the royal wedding. The Emmy-award winning show is watched by a large audience on weekday mornings, and its hosts on Friday included Oscar-winning actress Goldie Hawn.
One of the The View’s co-hosts yesterday, Joy Behar, a controversial liberal “comedian” with her own show on CNN Headline News, thought it would be immensely funny to mock the 85-year old Queen as “a bumble bee with a drinking problem” simply because she was wearing a yellow dress to… Read More
