The Spectator’s Notes
Meghan Markle ticks almost every modern box. Let’s not pretend she’s a tough sell
We are congratulating ourselves and the royal family on overcoming prejudice by welcoming Meghan Markle’s engagement to Prince Harry. But…
The Queen and Prince Philip’s 70th anniversary party sounds glorious
Windsor Castle on Monday night sounds like a children’s party magnified. The rooms were filled with golden-leaved trees. A giant…
Let’s hear more of Parliament and less of pundits
Although we all see rather too much of the present Mr Speaker, it was a good innovation that he and…
If the Duchy of Lancaster has been so bad, why didn’t Labour notice before?
Let us assume — which we shouldn’t — that it is automatically wrong for the Queen to benefit financially from…
Women used to forgive men their defects, but the quality of mercy is under strain
Poor Gordon Brown. He embodies the problem traditionally associated with being male, which is that our sex finds it difficult…
The Spectator’s notes
Theresa May’s style of negotiating with the European Union is coming spookily to resemble David Cameron’s. She is in the…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘Persecuted and Forgotten?’ is the name of the latest report by Aid to the Church in Need. Unfortunately, there is…
The Spectator’s notes
The Catalan nationalists surely chose this October deliberately for their attempt, now faltering, at UDI. It is the centenary of…
The media is paying too much homage to Catalonia
However much we try — and lots of us don’t — we fall for the power of the photo-image. So…
The Spectator’s Notes
However much we try — and lots of us don’t — we fall for the power of the photo-image. So…
The Spectator’s Notes
You can see why Theresa May said in Florence that the British wished the European Union well in its plans…
The Spectator’s notes
Sir David Norgrove, the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), is an honourable man. When he publicly rebuked Boris…
The Spectator’s notes
Apologies for my absence from this column. My editors kindly let me get on with the final volume of my…
The Spectator’s Notes
The pre-commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales is already in full swing. She…
The Spectator’s notes
We went to the first night of the Proms last week. Thinking it was all over, we left the auditorium…
The Spectator’s Notes
For some time now, banks have wielded hamfistedly the concept of the ‘politically exposed person’. They have withdrawn bank accounts…
The Spectator’s notes
Having worked flat-out to defend judges over the Article 50 case in the Supreme Court, the BBC has gone the…
The Spectator’s Notes
At Guildhall on Tuesday, the Centre for Policy Studies held its Margaret Thatcher Conference on Security. Its title is an…
The Spectator’s Notes
How much longer can it go on? Deaths caused by terrorism are always followed now by candlelit vigils, a minute’s…
The Spectator’s Notes
Before knowing the result of the election, I composed my Chairman’s message in the newsletter of the Rectory Society. In…
The Spectator’s Notes
By the time you read this, the campaign will have drawn fractiously to its close, so here is a strong…
The Spectator’s Notes
At Mass on Sunday, we were issued with a letter from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, entitled ‘The General Election 2017’.…
The Spectator’s Notes
At Mass on Sunday, we were issued with a letter from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, entitled ‘The General Election 2017’.…
The Spectator’s notes
In most parts of the world, we have now supped so full of terrorist horrors that the death of 22…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘Exclusive invitation: I want to hear from you, Charles’, it said in my inbox. Theresa May wanted me to take…
