JAN MOIR: While Spare Harry complains Edward just straightens his tie and gets on with it. The bitter, fuming Duke could learn from his uncle's sturdy dignity

By JAN MOIR, DAILY MAIL COLUMNIST Published: 00:44, 10 July 2026 | Updated: 00:44, 10 July 2026 You might have noticed that a naughty, somewhat pampered mama's boy and fully paid-up prince of the British realm was in the news this week. A prince who once said, 'The British media hate anyone who succeeds', and also that 'America is where the money is'. A prince who was once accused of using his royal privilege to make television programmes about other members of the Royal Family without their permission. A prince who once made a fool of himself in an unwise choice of fancy-dress outfit and was mocked for his troubles. But the prince in question is not – surprisingly – bitter, fuming Harry. It is Prince Edward. Yes, that Prince Edward – the dark horse, the white sheep, the last born, the least likely. And the way both men have played the hand that fate has dealt them while negotiating the highs and lows of royal life couldn't be more different. Being the third son and fourth child of a monarch, Edward is an even bigger spare than Harry, if that is possible. Yet you would never guess this from his cheerful demeanour and fortitudinous manner. The Duke of Edinburgh works hard and has never publicly complained nor moaned about his lot. The Duke of Edinburgh works hard and has never publicly complained nor moaned about his lot The way both Harry and Edward have played the hand that fate has dealt them while negotiating the highs and lows of royal life couldn't be more different (pictured, Harry) Despite the difficulties and humiliations he has faced or brought upon himself – including wearing silk knickerbockers to appear on It's A Royal Knockout, his brutishly curtailed military career, racy photographs of his fiancée Sophie being leaked just before their wedding, his doomed television company Ardent being criticised for filming the young Prince William at university, I could go on – Edward has borne it all with sturdy dignity. Unlike Harry, he hasn't barrelled around the world like a furious banshee, demanding status, respect and amends from his family and enemies but nothing of himself. And I think he is the happier and better person for it. This week Edward had to suffer a fresh and embarrassing public trial, when he featured prominently in the pages of West End star Ruthie Henshall's panting new autobiography The Showgirl And The Prince. Suddenly, the tweedy 62-year-old was plunged back into a past he thought – hoped! – had been forgotten. In lurid prose, Miss Henshall detailed their five-year 'passionate' relationship, which began in 1988 when both were working for Andrew Lloyd Webber's production company in the West End. She was 20 and playing Jemima in Cats, while he was 23 and had controversially resigned from the Royal Marines to embark on a career in the theatre. 'I hope he doesn't bring home any chorus girls,' Queen Elizabeth reportedly said. Too late! For once the ambitious Ruthie heard there was a prince on the premises, she wasted no time. 'I'd make a beeline for him,' she writes, 'partly because he was royal and it was a bit of a coup that he knew who I was… I've always had a potty mouth, and I don't suppose he'd had many chorus girls flirting with him with such filth.' She was the catnip from Cats. She would rock up to see him wearing tiny ra-ra skirts and thigh-high socks. At a party, she told him she wasn't wearing any knickers. She made it clear that, if he ever needed company at Windsor, 'I was his girl'. In lurid prose, Miss Henshall detailed her five-year 'passionate' relationship with Edward, which began in 1988 when both were working for Andrew Lloyd Webber's production company in the West End 'I'd make a beeline for him,' she writes, 'partly because he was royal and it was a bit of a coup that he knew who I was… I've always had a potty mouth, and I don't suppose he'd had many chorus girls flirting with him with such filth' Yes, Edward never wanted their affair to be made public and clearly did not view Ruthie as wife material, but he did introduce her to his family and she did spend time with them at Balmoral and Windsor I think its fair to say Juicy Ruthie threw herself at Edward with all the subtlety of a cannonball ploughing through the castle ramparts, with all the restraint of a firework unleashed on the night sky. The poor sap didn't stand a chance. All too soon, she was in his bed at Buckingham Palace, noting that he had 'HRH Edward' sewn into the labels of his pants. What next, pray tell? 'He undressed me and took me to his bed and we made love for the first time. He was romantic and gentle and definitely NOT GAY! And he definitely had experience.' The romance continued apace. 'I'd often shag him into oblivion, leaving him bleary-eyed when he had to get up early the next day,' she writes, clearly less of an Eliza Doolittle and more of an Eliza Doo-a-Lot. So far, so cringe. Especially for a happily married duke, who now has the saintly Duchess of Edinburgh on his arm and two grown up children to consider. Yet, oddly, Edward and his labelled pants come out of the book rather well. He seems a decent sort, despite it all. Yes, he never wanted their affair to be made public and clearly did not view Ruthie as wife material, but he did introduce her to his family and she did spend time with them at Balmoral and Windsor. The Royals and their staff were always kind to Edward's showgirl, despite her 'potty mouth' and unconventional ways. This is in marked contrast to the frostiness the Duchess of Sussex says she experienced, as an outsider in a royal atmosphere she found hostile and unsupportive. Perhaps the truth is simply that they were very different women encountering the Windsors in very different eras. Perhaps there is no comparison to be made. Or perhaps it is that Ruthie had a better understanding of how The Firm worked – and she certainly had a more equable prince at her side to guide her through the pitfalls. Steady Eddie wrote her love notes, made her toasted cheese, spent time with her family and let her down gently in the end. The two former lovers appear to still be friends – or at least they were until this book came out – which counts for something. Which counts for a lot, actually. It has been a momentous week for both the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of Sussex, who were both the subject of vivid newspaper headlines and who both responded in characteristic ways. After losing his privacy case against this newspaper group, Prince Harry fired off a hothead statement in which be blamed everyone but himself. After Prince Edward was exposed as a former playboy who enjoyed stroking his Cat, he kept his head down and fired off nothing. While Spare Harry complains, launches doomed crusades and fights the eternal uprising in his own brain. Spare Edward straightens his tie, puts one polished brogue in front of the other and just gets on with it. Both men are navigating a royal twilight, in which the puzzle of royal existence is brought into increasing focus by the morbid criticism from Montecito. While Harry continues to noisily battle his own demons and single-handedly diminish his own public standing, one suspects it is the quiet poise of his uncle – this dull and dutiful duke – that will prevail in the end. Tennis is coming home, it's coming home. Congratulations to wild card British player Arthur Fery, who has sailed into the semi-finals at Wimbledon. Of course, the online grots have been out in force to criticise Arthur. Why? Because his father happens to be a multi-millionaire, making him a rich kid son who has had it easy, supped from the silver spoon, doesn't deserve this moment and so on. Congratulations to wild card British player Arthur Fery, who has sailed into the semi-finals at Wimbledon Look. Whatever his background, Arthur has worked hard at his sport. Not everyone has the talent, drive and desire to make it to the top for themselves. And no amount of money and coaching will help them if they don't. There are a million rich kids out there who waste their lives on addictions or laziness or arrogance. And a million more who don't make anything of themselves. It takes a really petty kind of person to hold Arthur's wealthy background against him. Let's celebrate him and this wonderful moment instead. When tragedy visits a family, it has a way of spreading, like a contagion. Neville and Doreen Lawrence had a happy marriage – until their son Stephen was murdered by racist thugs at a south London bus stop in 1993. In the years that followed, their union crumbled under the pressure of this catastrophe. Many marriages simply cannot survive the trauma of such a violent death and the heartbreak and void it leaves behind. It is regrettable but also understandable that in the emotional upheaval and conflict that follow, many couples get further apart, rather than closer together. Neville and Doreen Lawrence had a happy marriage – until their son Stephen was murdered by racist thugs at a south London bus stop in 1993 I've always thought it nothing short of a miracle that Kate and Gerry McCann's marriage survived the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine – and what a credit to them that it did. Yet one wonders what happened to Doreen Lawrence in the years that followed her son's death? This newspaper has always been mystified and saddened that she turned against us, after the Daily Mail campaigned for 20 years to put Stephen's killers behind bars. No doubt she has her reasons, although they seem more – not less – impossible to fathom as time goes by. And I was shocked to be reminded this week that she had Stephen's body exhumed from his grave in Jamaica – a grave which Neville visited regularly – and returned to London without even telling her ex-husband what she had done. What kind of woman and ex-wife – even if she is a bereaved and heartbroken mother – would do such a terrible thing? Again, she must have her reasons, although God knows what they could be. Paris haute couture week always brings its own storm. Model Gigi Hadid turned up in a Balenciaga feathered headpiece, while Zendaya opted for an Eiffel Tower-inspired mask.  Zendaya looked chic in an Eiffel Tower-inspired mask at Paris haute couture week This was fashion in its purest form from two stylish ladies but – uh oh – Jennifer Lopez appeared in the kind of plunge front frocks that even Lauren Sanchez might think are a bit much. At 56, J-Lo is still defying the laws of gravity and good taste and you couldn't stop her, even if you wanted to.  The rhinestones were never the whole story, says Dolly Parton. The 80-year-old country legend has just announced that the musical story of her life will open on Broadway in December. Dolly: A True Original Musical has been running in Nashville and tells the unvarnished tale of the most richly varnished women in country music history. It won't actually feature Dolly herself but will include characters such as Little Dolly, Young Dolly and perhaps Still Raking It In Dolly, too. Our girl isn't giving up! As she once sang herself, all you have to do is 'get your dreams in line, then shine, design, refine'. The grandchildren of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, have succeeded in getting her a posthumous pardon. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the move reflected 'evidence of domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour that may have been understood differently today'. Maybe so, but Miss Ellis still shot and killed a man in cold blood, standing over his body as she pumped bullets into his back, one of them from point blank range. Should suffering from domestic abuse and mental trauma excuse you from a murder charge? She might not have been in sound mind at the time of the killing, but what murderer is? 'Under modern law, it is possible that Ruth Ellis could have argued the partial defences of loss of control or diminished responsibility or being a victim of coercive control,' said the MoJ. The grandchildren of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, have succeeded in getting her a posthumous pardon If that is the case, then so could Myra Hindley and Rose West. Their crimes and capacity for evil are of course far more heinous than those of Ruth Ellis, who killed her lover with five bullets outside a Hampstead pub in 1955. She was a woman to be pitied rather than reviled, but shouldn't the MoJ be concerning itself with the kind of miscarriages of justice that find innocent people still languishing in British jails, rather than this exercise into the past? It is little more than a piece of fashionable 'fem think' virtue-signalling nonsense.