Their respective new years could scarcely have begun in more starkly contrasting manner.

Here, the Princess of Wales has been welcomed at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital, both by patients and by those staff who successfully treated Catherine for cancer.

Over in California, on the other hand, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been bruisingly derided as ‘disaster tourists’ after handing out food to Los Angeles fire victims.

Now, I can disclose, the ever-expanding gulf between the two couples has been unsparingly highlighted by the fortunes of their respective foundations. 

The Earthshot Prize – established by Prince William in 2019 to devise solutions to ‘some of the world’s greatest environmental problems’ – has just released its annual report showing that it is going gangbusters.

The uninitiated could be forgiven for missing this, given that Earthshot’s total income for the year was up only a relatively modest four per cent, at £23.5million.

But that overlooks the fact that no less than £8.6 million of the £22.5million raised the previous year was a one-off donation from The Royal Foundation, set up by William and Harry in 2009 to further their various charitable ambitions.

There was no such donation for this year for the Earthshot, which in 2022 was hived off from The Royal Foundation to be administered as an entirely separate charity. So its underlying income from donations increased by a whopping 68 per cent.

The Princess of Wales has been welcomed at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital, both by patients and by those staff who successfully treated Catherine for cancer. Pictured: Talking with Katherine Field

Over in California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been bruisingly derided as ‘disaster tourists’ after handing out food to Los Angeles fire victims. Pictured: Helping fire victims

Earthshot’s total income for the year was up four per cent, at £23.5million

The founding partners gave £14.4million. But perhaps even more intriguing is the contribution made by The American Friends of The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales.

It more than doubled to £6.1 million, from £2.7million the previous year.

To put that in perspective, Meghan and Harry raised a total of £4.67million from all sources for their Archewell Foundation.

The duchess is here to serve

The Duchess of Edinburgh does not turn 60 until Monday, but she couldn’t wait to get the party started.

Sophie was served an orange birthday cake at The Company Shop in Lambeth, south London, during an engagement yesterday. 

The community hub offers discounted food to residents and free meals to children in the school holidays. She rolled up her sleeves and served food to locals in the centre’s canteen.

Before her husband, Prince Edward, turned 60 last March, Sophie gave a rare, deeply personal speech in Leeds when she called him ‘The best of fathers and the most loving of husbands’.

The Duchess of Edinburgh was served an orange birthday cake at The Company Shop in Lambeth, south London, yesterday

Queen of Mean is back aged 80

Anne Robinson quit as host of The Weakest Link in 2011, but the Queen of Mean is making a comeback, for one night only.

She’s to host a live edition of the BBC quiz show this Saturday at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

‘It’s in aid of getting my village school, Hatherop Primary, out of leaking prefab classrooms and into a proper building,’ she tells me. ‘It’s a sell-out.’

Among the contestants are Queen Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles, former jockey Willie Carson and news presenter Kay Burley.

Robinson, 80, jokingly adds of her return: ‘I’ve doubled my Pilates classes and am training to stand upright.’

Anne Robinson is to host a live version of The Weakest Link this Saturday to raise money for her village’s school

Robbie attacks Oasis

Robbie Williams, who is played by a CGI monkey in the new biopic Better Man, has reignited his feud with the Gallaghers. 

‘When it comes to Oasis, they are the poster childs [sic] of bullies,’ the former Take That singer declares. ‘Whether Noel and Liam know it or not, whether they like to understand it or care, they gave every schoolground bully permission to group and still be bullies by the way they acted and behaved.

‘Liam has very much evolved and softened. But Noel, still in this aspect of his life, remains unevolved, when it comes to just being unnecessarily cold, malicious and unkind.’

A spokesman for the Gallaghers declines to comment.

Robbie Williams is played by a CGI monkey in his biopic, Better Man

Michael Sheen misses out

Actor Michael Sheen revealed on Radio 4’s Front Row: ‘I managed to buy [Laurence] Olivier’s nose that he wore as Richard III in the [1955] film . . . There was a photo in the Olivier Theatre auditorium that I would have loved . . . but some anonymous person clearly had their eyes on it.’

Michael Sheen was stopped from adding to his Laurence Olivier collection

Tennant receives telling off

Labour luvvie David Tennant has been told off by theatreland impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh for voicing his ignorant opinions on West End ticket prices. 

‘You get a lot of rather naive famous actors mouthing off about this and that,’ says the producer. ‘. . . He should know better.’

David Tennant was criticised for his outspoken views on West End ticket prices