Prince Harry has only just made his way back home, but he is already said to be taken aback by the King’s very public clarification that both he and Meghan are still regarded as private citizens, do not speak on behalf of the Royal Family, and are no longer entitled to use the HRH style they held before stepping back from royal duties.
Still, anyone assuming that reminder will curb Harry’s enthusiasm for high-profile charitable work may be mistaken.
I can reveal that the Duke of Sussex is set to be the headline guest at an upcoming charity fundraiser — a billing that stands out even with billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson also expected to attend.
The event, titled United For Freedom and described as “a charity evening in support of Ukraine,” will take place at London’s Imperial War Museum on October 1.
“Prince Harry has consistently spoken out in support of Ukraine, so we’re thrilled to have him involved,” one supporter of the fundraiser tells me, predicting “an incredible evening of fundraising.” The source adds: “His attendance will be a major part of the night — and if Meghan joins him, that would be an added bonus. We’re delighted to be involved in the duke’s next chapter in the UK. His commitment to charity is something we really admire.” Proceeds from the black-tie gathering will go to two funds, with 120 guests each contributing £1,000 to attend.
One of the funds – ‘Superhumans’, supported by Sting and Bear Grylls, as well as Harry – has so far raised $130million (£96million, paying for 2,609 operations on those maimed in the Ukrainian war, plus 2,240 prosthetic limbs).
Prince Harry, seen giving a speech in Kyiv earlier this year, will be the star attraction at a London charity fundraiser in support of Ukraine
The black-tie event’s 120 guests will also include billionaire Sir Richard Branson. All attendees are expected to pay £1,000
It sounds exactly the sort of cause which any ‘working royal’ might embrace. But the organisers also stress that there will be ‘the chance to meet people shaping business, diplomacy and public life’, not only at dinner, when there will be ‘remarks from honoured guests’, but afterwards for ‘networking and new connections’.
The fusion of charitable purpose with personal interests is unthinkable at any official royal engagement.
Not that that will trouble guests hoping for success in the evening’s auction. One prize is a week on Branson’s Moskito Island, which has three villas, sleeping up to 22.
Harry has resisted offering the Tuscan-style mansion – complete with 13 and a half bathrooms – in Montecito that he and Meghan still own. He is, instead, donating a copy of his memoir, Spare.
Kelly: I’m looking for fun, not love
Kelly Osbourne has sworn off love following her split from her fiancé, former Slipknot musician Sid Wilson, earlier this year.
The TV star, 41, tells me at the National Television Awards 2026 in London’s O2 Arena: ‘Love isn’t something I’m looking for right now. That’s for sure.’
Kelly Osbourne, who recently split from her fiance, Sid Wilson, looked stunning in a Vivienne Westwood gown at the National Television Awards
Kelly, who wore a £2,985 Vivienne Westwood tartan off-the-shoulder Chichi gown to the ceremony, adds: ‘I’m looking for fun now. It has taken me a little bit to find myself, and this new version of me.’
She says her appearance at the ceremony was ‘bittersweet’ as the BBC documentary Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, which followed her late rocker father’s final three years, was up for a gong.
It’s nearly a year since Paloma Faith was on Celebrity Traitors, but she admits she’s still dealing with the psychological fallout from the show.
Despite the support provided for contestants, the singer, 45, has warned it’s not for the ‘faint-hearted’.
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Faith was first to be ousted after being ‘murdered’ by her pal Alan Carr. ‘I’m still in therapy,’ she tells me at the National TV Awards where the show won Best Reality Competition.
Celebrity Traitors star Paloma Faith, 45, tells our columnist she is still in therapy after dealing with the lingering psychological fallout from the show
‘I was the shortest-lived person with the longest time in therapy. I thought I was going to the playground for a laugh. They [producers] told me I should have watched the [show before going on it] and now I wish I had.’
Even best-selling author Robert Harris is unnerved by artificial intelligence.
‘As a joke, I put into one of the AI machines, ‘Write me a parody of the opening of a Robert Harris novel’. Within five seconds it came back with an alarmingly accurate parody of what I might have written,’ he tells me at the London launch party of his Roman-era novel, Agrippa.
Comic Gina’s rant at Andi Peters
This Morning host Andi Peters received an outpouring of public sympathy after Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes used a racial slur while questioning his ethnicity on the ITV programme last week.
Yet comedienne Gina Yashere has been left appalled at Peters, 56, for his passive response to Margolyes’s behaviour.
‘That reaction was on brand for Andi Peters,’ Gina said in a video rant online.
‘I don’t think he’s known that he’s black for at least the last 35 years.’ The TV star claims she has an ITV studio encounter to back up her view.
Gina Yashere, right, has not joined public support for Andi Peters after Miriam Margolyes used a racial slur while talking about his ethnicity. She said: ‘I don’t think he’s known that he’s black’
‘I was on a talent show… I was walking down the hallway of the ITV studios with my black friends and family. We saw Andi Peters walking towards us and we are all big fans [of Peters] … I don’t think he could have run away from this group of black people faster… I never forgot that.’
A representative for Peters has been contacted for comment.
The Earl of Devon is cooking up something special ahead of his wedding to Jemima Hannon.
I hear Charles Courtenay, 51, has applied for listed-building consent to install a bespoke family kitchen at his magnificent ancestral seat, the Grade I-listed Powderham Castle in Devon.
The estate, which dates back to the 14th century, is seeking to transform the castle’s existing private dining room into a more ‘functional domestic kitchen’.
The move comes after the earl announced his engagement to Jemima in March following the breakdown of his 18-year marriage to former Baywatch actress AJ Langer, 52.
At the time he said he was ‘delighted to unite their families’. Now, it seems the family union starts at the kitchen table.
Edited by STEPHANIE TAKYI