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Friends of the Duke of Sussex said he had been left ‘devastated’ by perceived snubs while he was here at the time of the Queen’s funeral.

We may not have to wait long before we hear his own version of events.

For best-selling author Jeffrey Archer, who was a pal of Princess Diana, says Prince Harry is writing a new chapter for his much-anticipated memoirs that will be all about his grandmother’s death, and the events leading up to her funeral.

Lord Archer says he is deeply concerned that the book will make already strained relations between the Royal Family and Harry and his wife, Meghan, even worse.

‘I’m very sad,’ the peer laments. ‘I fear for the book. I know they’re writing the chapter on the funeral, so I suppose that’s what the book will end on.’

Harry and Meghan stand behind King Charles and Camilla at the Queen's funeral last month

Harry and Meghan stand behind King Charles and Camilla at the Queen’s funeral last month

Lord Archer (second from left) is photographed with Lavine Hudson and Princess Diana

Lord Archer (second from left) is photographed with Lavine Hudson and Princess Diana

The royal autobiography was due to be published this autumn, but The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that Harry had launched an eleventh-hour bid to alter it amid fears that it would be seen as insensitive after the Queen’s death.

He was said to be ‘desperate’ to make significant changes after witnessing the public outpouring of support for the Royal Family.

However, Archer says the Duke’s publisher, Penguin Random House, will be determined to get its money’s worth, with the book generating plenty of controversy. ‘They paid him a lot of money — something like £20 million. You want to calm it down if you’re paid £20 million?’

A Penguin Random House spokesman declines to comment, while Harry refuses to communicate with the popular Press.

Of Harry and Meghan’s new life in Montecito, Lord Archer says: ‘I always say, rather cruelly, I could survive in California for about a week. It’s not a state that I’d want to stay in — it’s one temperature and they’re all wanting to be celebrities. And [Meghan] is now a big celebrity.

Harry and Meghan arrive at Windsor Castle to meet crowds gathered to leave tributes

Harry and Meghan arrive at Windsor Castle to meet crowds gathered to leave tributes

‘How it will end? I have no idea. She’s a very, very clever woman.’

Buckingham Palace does not expect to see a draft of Harry’s book before publication, but Archer, 82, has sent the Windsors copies of his own new novel, Next In Line, about a fictional kidnapping of Princess Diana.

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‘I sent it to three members of the Royal Family, and all three of them loved it,’ he says in an interview with an Australian newspaper.

While not divulging their identities, he does say: ‘The Duchess of York has written a profuse critique for the American papers.’ And of the Queen Consort, Camilla, he says: ‘She’s already read it.’

The timing of his own book’s publication, coming straight after the Queen’s funeral, doesn’t worry him. ‘You can’t miss my affection for Diana or my respect for the Royal Family,’ he says.

Will there be similar respect shown by Harry’s book?

Jailbird Boris’ ex: ‘It’s been tough’

Boris Becker is six months into his two-and-a-half-year sentence for fraud at HMP Huntercombe in Oxfordshire, and the effect on his family has been devastating.

Lilly Becker, the mother of the former Wimbledon champion’s 12-year-old son Amadeus, tells me: ‘It’s been tough, but he’s doing good because he’s got me as a mum.’ Speaking at a party in London, the Dutch former model says: ‘I haven’t allowed him to be consumed by this, so he’s going to be OK.’

Lilly, 46, who separated from 54-year-old Boris in 2018, is upbeat about how he has adjusted to life behind bars, saying: ‘I’m sure he’s fine.’ Becker could be released early next year.

Boris Becker, Lilly and son Amadeus pose at a birthday part on Bond Street in 2014

Boris Becker, Lilly and son Amadeus pose at a birthday part on Bond Street in 2014

Lady Victoria Hervey has left Los Angeles

Lady Victoria Hervey has left Los Angeles

Lady V falls out of love with LA

Life in La-La Land has lost its allure for Lady Victoria Hervey, 46, who’s moved back to London after almost two decades.

‘All my friends in LA have left because it’s a s***hole,’ the Marquess of Bristol’s sister tells me at the opening of the Frameless digital art gallery in Marble Arch. ‘It’s really nice if you don’t leave the house, but, as soon as you leave, you see the homeless, crackheads and half-naked women with no teeth throwing things at you.

‘It’s not safe and not what it used to be.’

Abela stuns in the hit, racy BBC series

Abela stuns in the hit, racy BBC series

Steamy star Marisa steps out with beau

In the racy BBC One drama Industry about graduate trainees at a City investment bank, Marisa Abela plays an heiress with a taste for drug-fuelled romps.

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In real life, Abela, 25, who was educated at the £44,235-per-year Roedean boarding school in East Sussex, is happily ensconsed with fellow actor Jamie Bogyo, 29, star of West End musical Moulin Rouge. The couple were spotted holding hands while out for a stroll in Central London.

Showbusiness runs in Marisa’s veins: her mother, Caroline Gruber, is a distinguished stage actress whose TV roles include Miss Washington in Grange Hill; her father Angelo Abela was in comedy act the Vicious Boys and is now a successful television director.

Abela, 25 (left), stepped out with boyfriend Jamie Bogyo, 29, for a stroll in central London

Abela, 25 (left), stepped out with boyfriend Jamie Bogyo, 29, for a stroll in central London

It can be difficult keeping up with the Blairs’ feverish money-making schemes, not least their property empire, which includes the Buckinghamshire mansion they bought for £5.75 million and the London townhouse which cost them £3.65 million.

Tony Blair once again faces financial scrutiny

Tony Blair once again faces financial scrutiny

But those are trifling figures compared with the $81.3 million [£73 million] which flooded last year into the Tony Blair Institute, the not-for-profit organisation he set up in 2016 ‘to help make globalisation work for the many, not the few’.

This staggering income — almost twice that of 2020 — came from predictable sources, including foundations established by American billionaires Larry Ellison and Bill and Melinda Gates. More came from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, set up by Sir Len Blavatnik, who made billions following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But the Institute reports that it has ended its funding relationship with Russian billionaire Moshe Kantor — sanctioned by the British Government following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Where are the older contestants competing for this year’s glitterball trophy, asks former Strictly judge Dame Arlene Phillips. The most senior still in the running is former footballer Tony Adams — and he’s only 55. ‘There’s a lot of talent this season, but hardly any older contestants,’ Dame Arlene, 79, tells me at the premiere of House Of Flamenka at the Peacock Theatre in London. ‘People should be dancing, even when they’re 80, so they need to fix that. It is time we had an older Strictly champion. Maybe I should go back on the show and compete.’ Now, there’s an idea…

Secret of the Vicar’s knickers

Seductive lingerie is not on the menu to tempt Dawn French’s husband, Mark Bignell.

The comedienne, 64, declares that she favours sensible, roomy, bargain smalls. ‘I go to Par Market, in Cornwall, where you can buy big pants, five for the price of three,’ says The Vicar Of Dibley star. ‘They’re lovely and and comfy. I like a Winceyette nightie, too.’

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Agent Provocateur, eat your heart out!

(Very) modern manners

Air travel was once chic, but flying with a budget carrier can be stressful. That must be the explanation for Bob Geldof’s behaviour after his easyJet flight from Gatwick landed in Toulon, France, on Wednesday, his 71st birthday.

The rock star began shouting, ‘Open the f***ing door’ at bemused staff, as he stood outside the main terminal building, banging on the locked door and waving his arms in frustration. However, he soon realised that he wasn’t outside the door for passport control. ‘He had led us in the wrong direction,’ a fellow passenger tells me. ‘When the penny dropped, he rather sheepishly then took us to the right door.’

There was no hiding his identity, as he was sporting a Boomtown Rats T-shirt and carrying a bag emblazoned with ‘BOB’. Geldof’s spokesman does not deny the incident, telling me: ‘I can’t imagine him being sheepish.’

TV chef Gizzi in a spat with Spotify

Though delighted when fans copy her recipes, Cook Yourself Thin author Gizzi Erskine has been brought to boiling point by what she alleges is ‘daylight robbery’ by Spotify.

The glamorous TV cook devised Sex, Lies and DM Slides with model and writer Sydney Lima

The glamorous TV cook devised Sex, Lies and DM Slides with model and writer Sydney Lima

The audio giant, which signed a reputed $25 million deal with the Duchess of Sussex, has previously streamed Sex, Lies & DM Slides, a podcast series about modern love and dating which aristocratic TV cook Gizzi (right) hosted and devised with her friend, model and writer Sydney Lima, 29.

But no longer: Gizzi, 43, declares herself ‘shocked and horrified’ after learning that the podcast will continue — but hosted by social media stars Saffron Barker, 22, and Anastasia Kingsnorth, 21 (pictured below).

‘Do not steal our format and name,’ wails Gizzi. ‘We created it (the format and name) in my kitchen over a series of months.’

A Spotify spokesman tells me it takes ‘intellectual property extremely seriously’, ‘Sex, Lies & DM Slides is a wholly owned Spotify Original podcast, inclusive of name and format,’ he adds.

Gizzi's podcast idea will continue with new presenters - to her outrage

Gizzi’s podcast idea will continue with new presenters – to her outrage

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