EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: King Charles is saved some awkwardness thanks to a low key memorial service for the late Queen's private secretary Robert Fellowes

The low key memorial service for the late Queen’s private secretary Robert Fellowes saved the King some awkwardness.

Fellowes was Princess Diana’s brother-in-law and guided the Queen through her death and its aftermath. He earned the ire of the King when he led opposition to Camilla coming out of the shadows and being accepted as the King’s wife-in-waiting.

Had his funeral and memorial services been public, events protocol dictated that the King and Queen – who were absent and not represented – would have had to send an emissary to formally represent them.

And Prince Harry’s appearance also thwarted Lord Fellowes’ plan for a no-fuss send-off.

The service, in a Norfolk church close to Sandringham, might have passed unnoticed if nephew Harry hadn’t flown in to say his farewells.

His majesty King Charles III was saved awkwardness at the funeral of the late Queen’s private secretary Robert Fellowes (Pictured)

Fellowes was Princess Diana ’s brother-in-law and guided the Queen through her death and its aftermath (St Mary’s Church in Snettisham, Norfolk)

Harry stayed at Anmer Hall during Meghan’s first Sandringham Christmas

Post memorial Harry clearly wasn’t invited to stay overnight at brother William’s Anmer Hall less than ten miles from the church.

Instead, he opted for the 90-mile journey to stay with his uncle Charles at Althorp. A far cry from Meghan’s first Sandringham Christmas in 2017.

As we revealed exclusively at the time, H&M stayed at Anmer Hall rather than Sandringham so that Meghan wouldn’t be overwhelmed by formality.

It seems like a lifetime ago.

Prince Harry (Pictured at the Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service) opted to stay 90 miles away from the church following the ceremony with his Uncle Charles in Althorp

Oldman confirms Slow Horses regular set to be cut

Gary Oldman, pictured, confirming that one of the regular Slow Horses cast will be bumped off in the new series, tells Radio Times that when he joined the cast of Harry Potter there were rumours that JK Rowling was about to kill off a major character.

‘I thought, “Well, they’re not going to kill Harry Potter’s godfather. It’ll be Hagrid or someone”. But then it was me!’

Gary Goldman (Pictured at the Golden Globe Awards in 2024) famed for his role as Harry Potter’s godfather – Sirius Black – has confirmed a regular on Slow Horses is being booted off the new series

Queen Elizabeth II took no chances

After French president Giscard d’Estaing warned the late Queen that Romanian president Ceausescu and his wife had stolen, from their Paris suite, ‘lamps, vases, ashtrays and bathroom fitting’, HM took no chances when they stayed at Buckingham Palace’s Belgian Suite in 1978.

‘She told the staff to remove any valuable loose items,’ writes Craig Brown in A Voyage Around The Queen.

‘They were advised to move the silver brushes from the dressing table or the Romanians would pinch the lot.’

When the French President told the late Queen (Pictured during an official tour of Germany in 1978) that the the Romanian president Ceausescu and his wife had stolen, from their Paris suite, she took no chances when they came to visit Buckingham Palace

Sci-Fi make-up stopped Sue Johnston using phone

The Royle Family’s Sue Johnston was unable to use her mobile to contact family and friends after spending daily hours in the make-up chair for the apocalyptic Channel 4 Zombie series Generation Z.

Explains co-star Robert Lindsay: ‘The lovely Sue had face recognition on her phone, so she couldn’t make phone calls every morning.’

Tom Jones once bought Humperdinck a carpet

Feuding octogenarian warblers Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck weren’t always on no speakies according to Record Collector which reveals that when Tom hit the big time with Green Green Grass Of Home he bought Humpy and his wife Patricia a carpet for their flat.