Mail Online After months of speculation about who would replace Laura Kuenssberg, Chris Mason’s promotion from a host on Radio 4 to BBC political editor seems to have taken many people by surprise – and the public outpouring of praise appears to have touched the born-and-raised Northerner.  Indeed, who could expect anything more from Mason, the straight-talking grammar school-educated ‘proud Yorkshireman’ from a working class background whose Cambridge friends humorously called him ‘basically a 50-year-old man since he was a student’? ‘Cripes, thank you for the lovely messages. The news popped out while I was in a pub in Halifax, with no signal,’…

The GuardianIt may seem impossible to those of us who have watched their evolution from tabloid fodder into a global celebrity dynasty, but this weekend the Beckhams will be marrying up.Today marks the wedding of Brooklyn Beckham, the 23-year-old firstborn of David and Victoria, and American actor Nicola Peltz, the 27-year-old daughter of billionaire financier Nelson Peltz, chairman of the fast food chain Wendy’s.And if you thought Posh and Becks’s 1999 wedding – the castle setting, the gold tiara and the matching purple reception outfits – was the height of extravagance, then the new American in-laws are putting on a…

CBC News When Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, set off for the Caribbean recently, their royal visit was, among other things, billed as an opportunity to celebrate local culture and commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years as monarch.Some also saw the first major overseas trip William and Kate have taken in more than two years as a bid to shore up ties between Britain and the Commonwealth countries on their itinerary: Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.In the end, however, the week-long visit drew more headlines for protests, the republican sentiment fomenting particularly in Jamaica, calls for slavery reparations and uncomfortable,…

The GuardianPrince William faces a struggle to reinvent the monarchy as a progressive force, royal experts have warned, after he made it clear there would be a change of strategy following his controversial trip to the Caribbean.The future king has said he intends to break with tradition in his reign and become a “unifying force”, with a slimmed-down royal household and a more “reactionary and agile” approach to communications that would depart from the “never complain, never explain” policy adopted by his predecessors, according to reports in the Daily Mail.But royal experts said it had been several decades since “never…

Sunday TimesIt was, depending on your point of view, either the celebrity wedding of the century or the nadir of vacuous pop culture. When David Beckham and Victoria Adams got married in 1999, they sat on gold thrones, released a dove after exchanging their vows, cut the many-tiered cake with a sword and wore matching purple outfits for the reception. In a record-breaking £1 million deal, OK! Magazine covered the occasion and a national obsession with Golden Balls and Posh Spice’s relationship was cemented.Now another Beckham wedding extravaganza is imminent. Brooklyn Beckham, who also wore head-to-toe purple as a baby…

Among the many headliners in the mix at the first of the two spring events on US soil was Emma Raducanu. Not for long, but still. Is she worth a billion dollars like former Romanian pro and businessman Ion Tiriac said, piggybacking on a tweet by British PR guru Mark Borkowski claiming she was the billion-dollar girl after her big win in NYC, or just a one-hit wonder?Or does her path lie somewhere in between? Considering current circumstances and her undeniable talent, let’s say she’s in between. A gifted athlete who perhaps experienced too much, too fast. She’s not alone. There are countless young athletes just…

Daily Express The Russian President warned of rocketing costs if economic pressure intensifies on his country as UK experts claimed inflation here could hit 9.5 percent. Boris Johnson last night admitted Putin’s war will inflict further cost of living pain on Britons, adding: “It may be a bumpy period, but we’ll get through it as fast and as well as we possibly can.” The Prime Minister pledged to ease the burden on consumers – and to ditch Russian oil and gas. Responding to a question by Sky’s Beth Rigby over household energy bills soaring to potentially £3,000 a year, he…

The MirrorOti Mabuse is said to have been inundated with offers, led by ITV and Channel 4. The pro dancer announced her departure from Strictly Come Dancing after seven years this weekShe is said to have been inundated with offers, led by ITV and Channel 4.“Oti is taking her time deciding on the right jobs,” said a source close to the star. A TV industry insider told us: “The BBC know they’ve lost a huge asset but can’t compete with commercial channels that will let her take on other deals.”Pro dancer Oti, 31, announced her departure from the BBC’s prime…

The GuardianThe Duke of York’s legal battle with his accuser Virginia Giuffre, which he settled out of court this week, was characterised by a years-long series of damaging and unnecessary PR blunders, experts have said.His disastrous Newsnight interview, his ducking and diving to frustrate the serving of legal papers, and claims from “friends” that the infamous photograph of him with his arm around Giuffre’s waist was faked, all served to inflict further public opprobrium on the Queen’s second son, it was claimed.The aggressive way Andrew fought the case, casting aspersions on Giuffre’s character, also attracted harsh censure from victims’ groups…

The GuardianPrince Charles’s biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby, has claimed it is “extraordinarily unlikely” the prince knew of the alleged “cash for honours” scandal, saying the idea he could have been aware “frankly beggars belief”.Dimbleby defended the heir to the throne as the Metropolitan police launched an investigation into claims the Prince’s Foundation offered to support a Saudi billionaire donor’s application for citizenship and upgrade his CBE to a knighthood.The broadcaster and friend of the prince, who wrote Charles’s authorised biography, criticised claims it was “inconceivable” Charles would not have known of the honours offer. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:…

The iPrince Andrew’s daughters are unlikely to be banished from Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer because they have managed to successfully distance themselves from their father, according to royal experts.The Duke of York’s decision to come to an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre in her civil sex claim against him is believed to have been motivated by efforts to protect the Queen’s Jubilee festivities, marking her 70 years on the throne.PR agent Mark Borkowski said: “Clearly, the first priority of this act of settlement is to give the Jubilee a clean pair of heels away from him. This is to…

Washington PostPrince Andrew is toast, in terms of returning to his previous day job as a senior working royal, patron of charities and military figurehead. Those days are gone, likely forever.That’s the consensus opinion of royal commentators, public relations experts, lawyers, biographers of the monarchy, victims rights groups and social media users in Britain — the day after the news broke that the son of Queen Elizabeth II had settled a sexual abuse lawsuit brought by a woman who says she was trafficked to him by his former friend, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The amount and details of the settlement with…

The GuardianFame is a sweet poison you drink of first in eager gulps. Then you come to loathe it.” Richard Burton’s aphorism, and the context of his turbulent stardom, is still a near perfect summary of the nature of fame; but as our polarised society and media-industrial complex continue to engorge and mutate, new strains of this toxin hit the market almost daily.Two years on, the collective guilt felt by many of us over the death of Caroline Flack, which has never truly subsided, was again brought to the fore by her mother’s forceful accusation yesterday that the police treated…

The Express  The Duke of York is facing a civil sexual assault trial in the US in the autumn which threatens to overshadow the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with each development potentially producing negative headlines. He denies the allegations. Last month, Andrew lost his honorary military titles, royal patronages and agreed to stop using his HRH style in an apparent bid to distance the monarchy from him. PR expert Mark Borkowski said the royals “played a very smart PR card by severing him off from them”. Mr Borkowski told Express.co.uk: “If they didn’t do that then it would be a totally…

Daily MailAdele fans today demanded the singer covers the cost of their Las Vegas flights and hotels after her ‘astounding’ decision to axe all her shows at the 11th hour when many were flying in or had already arrived in the entertainment capital of the world.MailOnline has been inundated with emails from people who had already jetted into Sin City from across the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK and Europe to see the star, who is making a record-breaking $685,000 (£500,000) per gig before merchandising.Adele announced the decision in a tearful Instagram video, apologising and telling fans: ‘I’m so upset…

Evening Standard The Duke of York’s sexual assault trial, given the go-ahead by a US judge, threatens to set off a “constitutional crisis” which will engulf the royal family, a legal expert said. Andrew now faces the prospect of his accuser Virginia Giuffre giving a detailed account in court of the allegation she was trafficked to have sex with the Queen’s second son when she was 17 and a minor under US law. Judge Lewis A Kaplan dismissed a motion by the duke’s lawyers to have the civil case thrown out after they argued Ms Giuffre had waived her right…

GraziaEarlier this month, Chrissy Teigen posted a series of photos of herself on Instagram wearing a Halloween costume nobody would describe as low-key: a flamboyant Carmen Miranda-inspired ensemble comprising a skirt with bananas dangling from it, and a basket of fruit perched perilously on her head. In one picture, she posed with an apparently homemade meatloaf, informing her 35.8 million followers that her cookbook ‘is 5 dollars cheaper on Amazon today!!!’Looking at them, you’d never guess that as recently as five months ago, the model, entrepreneur and social media maestro had been cancelled. Back in May, her career appeared to…

CampaignTwo very different types of campaigns from BrewDog and John Lewis have drawn consumer complaints recently.BrewDog, the self-styled punk brewer, displayed some softer edges this week after finding itself on the wrong side of an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling.The offending work was a promotion that offered consumers the chance to win a “solid gold, 24-carat” can via two tweets and a Facebook post. The cans turned out to be gold plated not solid gold, provoking the ire of those who won them. The ASA upheld 25 complaints and a chastened BrewDog ate humble pie, blaming a “miscommunication between its…

Evening StandardEmma Raducanu is rumoured to be in talks with jewellery brand Tiffany & Co to become the high-end brand’s new ambassador.Rumours of a potential deal began over the weekend after the 18-year-old from Bromley was seen wearing various pieces of the brand’s jewellery during her victorious US Open final.The tennis champion stunned the world by winning the US Open on Saturday, beating Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 19, in straight sets.She wore a set of £4,500 pearl and diamond earrings during the match, a white gold £3,275 ring and a £2,750 cross pendant. Ms Raducanu also wore a £17,100 diamond hinged…

New York PostEmma Raducanu’s future looks very bright.The 18-year-old tennis sensation is on cloud nine after her historic US Open victory on Saturday night, when she beat fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez, 6-4, 6-3, to bring home Britain’s first women’s Grand Slam singles championship in 44 years.Raducanu, who earned $2.5 million in prize money, never dropped a set throughout her 2021 US Open run — 10 matches, including three qualifying matches — and stole the hearts of fans everywhere. After her grand slam win, publicist to the stars Mark Borkowski tweeted, “And so the journey begins for the billion dollar girl.”In…