Caring and sharing Prince William is a credit to his doting mother Princess Diana
Sun columnist defends royal after stinging criticism from Diana's former bodyguard who branded him 'difficult'
PRINCE WILLIAM took a bit of a bashing in a recent book by his mum’s former police protection officer.
Ken Wharfe, bodyguard to Princess Diana for 16 years, labelled the youngster “sly” and “difficult” — and claimed Harry would have been the better future king.
He added that William’s nanny would say: “William, I love you but I don’t like you.”
By all accounts, William is a sensitive soul and I’m sure he would have been hurt.
I know Ken worked extremely closely with Diana and her boys but his description bears no resemblance to my experience of William.
I’ve watched him talk to some overawed young homeless people as part of his work with the Centrepoint charity.
He has clearly inherited his mother’s ability to relate to people and put them at ease.
When you see William mixing with the public, he looks as though he is really enjoying himself, particularly when talking to children.
Becoming a father himself has given William, right, a greater understanding of how to talk to little ones.
Like his brother Harry, William has a strong commitment to charities that were close to the heart of his mother.
Just this week he was visiting a hospice with wife Kate and talking to a 14-year-old whose mother had died.
An emotional Ben Hines told the prince that he missed his mum so much, and William responded by saying: “I know how you feel. I still miss my mother every day and it’s 20 years after she died.”
William rarely talks about his mum but knew it would help Ben and his family.
The couple also went to a helpline for parents worried about their children’s mental health. William confessed that listening to the calls coming in would leave him “in floods of tears”.
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He also revealed that his job as an air ambulance pilot has taken its toll on him emotionally.
Sharing this sort of personal information is what his mum used to do. It made us identify with her and see her as a real person.
William and Kate have been called “dull”. They are far more cocoa and slippers than champagne and dancing shoes, but I think we all prefer our royals to be a bit boring.
The Queen puts leftovers in Tupperware boxes and is as happy as a clam having a rough and ready barbecue at her beloved Balmoral — and we adore her for it.
William seems utterly content living the quiet life of a typical upper middle-class couple.
Maybe he was, as Ken Wharfe says, “prone to being a bit wet” as a child, but he has blossomed into a caring, considerate man.
Diana would be proud.
One Mel of a way to shine
MELISSA McCARTHY is a breath of fresh air. She is big, beautiful and brilliant.
This week she cemented her place among Hollywood’s top movers and shakers by being named La La Land’s second-highest paid actress – beaten only by Jennifer Lawrence of Hunger Games fame.
Melissa, above, earned a cool £25million, more than “A-listers” Scarlett Johansson and Julia Roberts.
She’s not the accepted shape of top Hollywood actresses and cruel critics have labelled her “tractor sized” and “a hippo”.
She is actually a very happy and healthy size 14.
But Tinseltown’s “accepted shape” is still worryingly thin.
And if you think these women look teeny tiny in the movies then you ought to see them in real life.
Far too many of them are little more than skin and bone, and most have sad, hungry eyes.
It’s crazy to think old screen goddesses such as the voluptuous Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe would nowadays be told to lose weight from their boobs and butt to get a decent movie part.
Melissa has had the last laugh on all those buffoons who slated her.
So far her career has been comedy roles in movies including the new Ghostbusters. But we’ll know she has truly broken the mould when she’s the sexy romantic lead in a blockbuster opposite a hot leading man.
Then Hollywood really will have come of age.
THE London Paralympics were wonderful and captured the true Olympic spirit.
So I sincerely hope that next month’s Games in Rio will not be the let-down everyone is predicting.
Ticket sales have been bad and there seems little enthusiasm for the event.
Some poorer nations are struggling to send athletes as the funding they had expected was cut.
We simply cannot allow that to happen to such an important sporting event.
There needs to be a huge effort to sell more tickets and to ensure that every single athlete is able to take part in this splendid competition.
Id's got to be Elba
PHOTOS of the god-like Idris Elba coming out of Cuba must surely end speculation about who will be the next James Bond.
The man has it all.
Great acting talent, good looks, charisma and an unbelievable physique thanks to intensive training to become a kickboxer for his new documentary.
Rival Tom Hiddleston has turned out to be a lovesick puppy, following Taylor Swift around the globe and clinging to her like a limpet.
And Aidan Turner will be preoccupied with playing Captain Poldark for the foreseeable future.
So let’s settle it once and for all and anoint Idris the best 007 since the legendary Sean Connery.
THE whole Traingate saga – with gaffe-prone Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn making a big deal about having to sit on the floor when there were actually plenty of seats available – would be funny if it wasn’t so pitiful.
Because, as frustrated rail commuters know all too well, there are massive problems with far too many of our railway routes.
And, as leader of the Opposition, Corbyn should be addressing those concerns instead of taking part in a silly gimmick that has backfired horribly.
To the glee of fatcat rail bosses his stupid stunt made everyone forget about the very real problems of overcharging, delays, staff shortages and overcrowding.
It’s farcical and we all deserve better.
Lou's lips sink drips
YOU can always rely on Louis Walsh for some blunt honesty, firing bullets and not caring who gets caught in the crossfire.
Louis, often blurts out what people are thinking but are too polite to say out loud.
Ahead of bouncing back on The X Factor tonight, he has been sounding off about One Direction – the most successful act to have come out of the competition, despite not actually winning back in 2010.
Louis reckons they believed their own hype and developed a sense of entitlement.
And to the dismay of their legions of fans, he is convinced that the band have split for good.
I can’t wait for him to be back on the judging panel alongside his equally pithy and acid-tongued partner in crime, Mrs Sharon Osbourne.
Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy but very entertaining ride.
