Described by British television critics variously as ‘an exercise in narcissism’ and ‘toe-curlingly unlovable TV’, the Duchess of Sussex‘s series With Love, Meghan provoked much mockery among Netflix viewers.
As the American streaming giant prepares to broadcast a second series of the lifestyle and cookery show, one of the Duke of Sussex‘s old friends has spoken out about why the British failed to take the series to their hearts.
We are, he claims, not sufficiently classy and ‘too cynical’ to enjoy the glossy series filmed in Montecito, the wealthy California enclave where Prince Harry and Meghan live in a £19.5million mansion with wine cellar, cinema, gym, spa, pool, tennis court, wood-fired stove, barbecue – and 13 (and a half) bathrooms.
‘I’d argue it’s made for the American market maybe a little bit more than for us,’ explains Alex Rayner, who went to the North Pole with Harry on a charity trek in 2012.
‘We’re a little bit more cynical. For us, we’re about old Mrs Miggins over the Aga doing her marmalade. Whereas, in America, they’re a little bit more classy about it. They want a bit more.’
The Duchess of Sussex’s series With Love, Meghan provoked much mockery among British Netflix viewers
‘I’d argue it’s made for the American market maybe a little bit more than for us,’ explains Alex Rayner (pictured with Kate Nicholls)
Rayner, 46, who was educated at schools including Harry’s alma mater Eton College, insists that the duchess’s range of goods to accompany the series, sold under her As Ever label, should be celebrated. ‘I think she gets a really tough rap about it. What she tries to do with her food at As Ever is absolutely fantastic.’
He adds: ‘Both Harry and his father are passionate about sustainable, field-to-fork methods. And that’s very much what Meghan’s all about as well, but people pillory her.
‘There’s an enormous level of support and an appetite to see what Harry and Meghan get up to, as with any member of the Royal Family.’
Rayner raised eyebrows earlier this year when he went into battle for the duke in the row over his charity Sentebale, suggesting that its chairman, Sophie Chandauka, had failed to support Meghan over criticism as she ‘had her nose put out of joint because she was not the most important woman of colour on stage’ at a polo event.
He became a national treasure and was commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday portrait, but died disgraced and, according to his will, penniless.
However, as so often with Rolf Harris, matters were not quite what they seemed.
Indeed, I can disclose that Harris – a master of the wobble board, piano accordion, Stylophone and didgeridoo – had £400,000 squirrelled away in two firms, Myfanwy Investments and RHE Investments.
They received a £128,000 tax refund after his death at 93 in May 2023. Later that year, £662,000 was paid to shareholders, followed by £135,000 last January. Now the firms have been wound up, yielding a final payment of £392,000.
The shareholders are not known, but the original ones were Harris’s wife, Alwen, who left £4million on her death last year, and the Alwen Harris 2012 Family Trust, whose key beneficiary is likely to be their only child Bindi, who changed her name after Harris was jailed for assaulting girls as young as eight.
The smart set’s talking about… how Lord Ashcroft plays a long game
Michael Ashfort is determined to show that he won’t be putting his feet up any time soon.
The billionaire businessman and former Conservative Party deputy chairman has already sent invitations to his 80th birthday party in March next year, with the theme ‘All To Play For’.
Lord Ashcroft quotes playwright George Bernard Shaw: ‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.’
Guests are looking forward to discovering who will provide the entertainment at the Grosvenor House hotel in Mayfair.
Singers Katherine Jenkins and Michael Bublé were among those who performed at his 70th. The guest list was particularly eclectic, with Boris Johnson seated next to the reigning Miss World.
At his 60th, Sir Cliff Richard performed Congratulations before TV star Denise van Outen emerged from an enormous cake to sing Happy Birthday.
Dua Lipa is booking her next holiday – by consulting the stars.
The singer, 29, is fascinated by astrocartography, which links the position of the planets on your birth date to global locations where you are supposedly likely to thrive. She says: ‘As someone who loves talking about astrology, it makes sense.
The idea that our personalities might be drawn to certain places more than others? I’m into it.’
Madonna’s boy Banda in da house!
Madonna’s adopted son David Banda played football for Benfica’s youth academy in Portugal – and is now tackling the London club scene.
The record producer, 19, hosted a club night with his best pal Bertie Adam, the son of Piers Adam, who was best man for film director Guy Richie in 2000 when he wed the Queen of Pop (who is pictured with David at one of her concerts).
This week’s event was held at The Rex Rooms, in King’s Road, Chelsea, which used to house 151, once frequented by Madonna.
‘It was raucous,’ a guest tells me. ‘David was up on the decks with Bertie and everyone was drinking Apres Provence rose until 3am.’
Issy’s getaway with her love-struck Romeo, Sam
Issy, daughter of Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler, with The Wayfinders co-star Sam Buchanan
Issy Knopfler was thrilled when she was cast in the new fantasy television drama The Wayfinders, in which she and her co-star Sam Buchanan play high-school friends mistakenly transported to a dark medieval world.
But the 27-year-old daughter of Dire Straits rock legend Mark Knopfler and novelist Kitty Aldridge did not expect was to find love on set.
But she and Sam, 28, who played Amy Winehouse’s manager in the 2024 biopic Back To Black, are enjoying a passionate romance, I hear, and have shared snaps from a holiday in Portugal. Issy, who made her TV debut in Silent Witness three years ago, was previously squired by another co-star, Charlie Field, who played Prince Harry in the 2019 TV film Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal. They met on the set of the 2021 film Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell My Daughter About Men, starring Lesley Manville.
James reveals his big TV break
James Norton and Emily Beecham together at premiere
James Norton really has been has been in the wars.
The Happy Valley star broke his collarbone while performing a stunt in the BBC’s forthcoming historical drama King And Conqueror, which is based on the Battle of Hastings.
Norton, 40, who stars as King Harold, tells me at the global premiere at the BFI Southbank in London: ‘It happened during rehearsals. I fell off the horse and I landed on my shoulders. It was quite painful throughout the latter half of the shoot, and in some of those battle scenes, I’m yelping very loudly, and the yelps were pretty authentic.’
Also starring in the eight-part drama is his pal Emily Beecham, 41, as Harold’s wife, Edith Swanneck. She tells me: ‘Creating a fictional relationship with him was exciting because it was volatile.’
She reveals their roleplay did get out of hand, adding: ‘There was a scene where she had to repeatedly thump him and slap him very hard. He was like, ‘Do it, give it to me!’ and it did make him quite red.’
Diane von Furstenberg
(Very) modern manners
Diane von Furstenberg may have made fashion history by creating the wrap dress, but I’m not sure her latest look will catch on.
The Belgian designer, 78, looked unrecognisable in a picture she posted online of herself in a black balaclava, which she wears in her pool to protect her skin from sun damage.
‘This is what you look like when you won’t give up swimming for hours and still listen to your dermatologist to keep your face out of the sun,’ she wrote alongside the snap.
Alderman Gregory Jones, chairman of the City’s Hampstead Heath committee, says: ‘We are focused on securing the best operators to serve the local community and support the aims of our open-spaces charities.’
Branching out, Wood’s now a dad
Levison Wood and Brazilian girlfriend Ana Protasio
Television explorer Levison Wood, who circumnavigated the Arabian Peninsula and walked the length of the Nile and the Himalayas, where he flew off a cliff when the brakes on a car failed, is embarking on his biggest adventure – fatherhood.
The former Parachute Regiment officer’s Brazilian girlfriend, Ana Protasio, has given birth to their first child, a daughter.
‘Her name is Maya,’ Levison tells me, adding that being a dad suits him.
He says: ‘I’m really enjoying it – she’s very cute.’
Model and yoga instructor Ana, pictured with Wood, gave birth at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. For now, 43-year-old Wood has based himself in Devon, where he’s hosting a one-day workshop, The Art Of Exploration, later this month.
He describes the West Country as a ‘nice and calm, relaxing place for the baby’ where the family can ‘settle into country life for a little bit’.
Benedict Cumberbatch has a three-pipe problem: How to save his favourite local cafes.
The Sherlock star has become involved in a campaign to save two independent eateries on Hampstead Heath, near his north London home. ‘In such economically dire times, it is vital that we stand up for people who run businesses that serve the community,’ declares the actor, 49.
‘They understand their customers and know them by name. This is about people and not profit.’
The City of London Corporation, which runs the heath, is looking for new operators for the family-run cafes.
Alderman Gregory Jones, chairman of the City’s Hampstead Heath committee, says: ‘We are focused on securing the best operators to serve the local community and support the aims of our open-spaces charities.’
