Peter Rhodes on a brilliant performance, a nice little earner and a blow to the sport of kings
You may recall that when the rest of the nation was oohing and aahing and generally gushing about the Queen's comedy sketch with Paddington Bear, some of us were asking whether money changed hands between the Palace and the Paddington brand. According to one estimate, the sketch was worth about £200 million in publicity terms.
One Paddington / Palace publicity event is a nice little earner. And now we have two. The leftover Paddington bears collected from the floral tributes after the Queen's death are being donated to the children's charity Barnardo's. This time it is Camilla posing for the world's media with a pile of Paddingtons. Again, the publicity is worth millions.
It is all very heart-warming. It is also, in the build-up to Christmas, a massive boost for Paddington Bear merchandising. So what's the deal? Or aren't we supposed to ask?
Meanwhile, King Charles is selling 12 of his late mother's 37 race horses. This is hardly surprising. Charles has never had his mother's overwhelming passion for “the sport of kings” and it sits uneasily with his claim to be a frugal monarch. But the issue may go deeper than that.
Racing has a darker side, including a toll of hundreds of horses injured and killed at race meetings. And with thousands of horses routinely flown around the world, it's hardly a green sport. Racing enjoyed a certain protection under the late Queen's patronage. Now that she's gone, questions may be asked and a new view taken. According to one source quoted in the national press: “The Royal stud could be a museum in three years.”
Naturally enough, the plaudits for the late, great Robbie Coltrane focused on his high-profile parts in Cracker and the Harry Potter films. Yet if you want to see him at his comical best, catch his cameo appearance as the Spirit of Christmas in Blackadder's Christmas Carol. Made in 1988, it has never been surpassed for Xmas entertainment and Coltrane is a hoot.
Blackadder's take on the Dickens story also provided a great canvas for what must be the best-ever comedy depiction of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, played by Miriam Margolyes and Jim Broadbent. He's the German, she does the sausage jokes.
