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Charlie Watts, who died aged 80 last month, was much praised for his impeccable style.  Now it has emerged that the Rolling Stones drummer possessed a secret treasure trove of Royal clothes. According to friends, Watts had a collection of Edward VIII's suits known only to those closest to him. Charlie Watts, who died aged 80 last month, possessed a secret treasure trove of Edward VIII's suits. He is pictured in 1996 sporting the same check suit worn in 1969 by Edward 'Charlie bought the suits from a Sotheby's Paris sale,' says a source close to the smartly dressed late rocker.  'One of his friends tried the jackets on with him, but they didn't fit, so Charlie bought them.' As these pictures show, Watts seems to have been inspired by the Queen's uncle's style on a number of occasions. Above, he is pictured in 1996 sporting the same check suit worn in 1969 by Edward (known as the Duke of Windsor following his abdication in 1936).  And Watts wore a

One of the world's top epidemiologists admits he first heard about the pandemic outbreak in Wuhan more than two weeks before it was disclosed to global health bodies. The revelation by Ian Lipkin, a professor at Columbia University honoured by China for work on the first Sars epidemic earlier this century, undermines the official Beijing narrative on the origins. Prof Lipkin told a documentary by the director Spike Lee that he learned of 'the new outbreak' on December 15, even repeating the date for clarification. Yet China claims there were only five known patients before that time in Wuhan – a city of 11 million people – with the earliest confirmed case of a patient with the novel coronavirus supposedly cropping up just one week earlier. The World Health Organisation was not tipped off for another 16 days after Taiwan raised the alarm.  Ian Lipkin , a professor at Columbia University, admits he first heard about the Covid outbreak in Wuhan more than two weeks before it wa

Chancellor  Rishi Sunak was last night 'playing hardball' over Boris Johnson's proposed care tax as tense negotiations over new money for the NHS went down to the wire. Downing Street had been hoping to secure agreement with the Treasury over the new NHS and Social Care Levy by early yesterday and to announce the details on Tuesday. But amid mounting tensions between No 10 and No 11, by early evening Mr Sunak was still demanding assurances from the Prime Minister that, once introduced, the £10 billion-a-year levy would cover the cost of dealing with the NHS's Covid backlog – and that he would not be forced to keep finding top-up funds from depleted Treasury coffers. The row has come amid growing Westminster rumours that Mr Johnson could reshuffle his Cabinet as early as Thursday, as part of a plan to 'relaunch' his Government for the autumn. The rumours started after some advisers were told to 'block out their diaries' for the end of the week, with Forei

Six  years ago University Challenge quizmaster Jeremy Paxman asked why so few women made it on to the long-running BBC2 show. Now, with the latest series under way, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the disparity in numbers between male and female competitors has still not improved. The former Newsnight presenter told finalists in 2015 to expect tough questions, then added: 'Few tougher, perhaps, than why on earth are there no women left in this stage of the competition?' Just two years after the comments by Paxman, there was another all-male final between Wolfson College, Cambridge and Balliol College, Oxford. Since July, only 17 out of 64 contestants on University Challenge have been women. Six years ago, Jeremy Paxman asked why so few women made it on to the BBC2 show And so far in the current series, which started in July, only 17 out of 64 contestants who have taken part were women – just 26 per cent. Illustrating the gender imbalance, last week's contestants Exeter

Standing in the grand entrance hall of Dumfries House, Prince Charles warmly clasped the hand of veteran fundraiser Michael Wynne-Parker.  Smiling a few feet away and smartly dressed in a pin-striped suit was William Bortrick, the publisher of the aristocratic bible Burke’s Peerage. The three men were gathered to celebrate and mark the generosity of another figure in the room, Dr Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz. Society fixer Mr Wynne-Parker was an advisor to the Saudi businessman, who had agreed to donate a significant sum to Dumfries House, the 18th Century Palladian mansion in Ayrshire. The Prince’s Foundation established by the future King has worked for years to painstakingly – and expensively – restore the property, with Charles overseeing every detail. The event in October 2014 to open landscaped gardens and a fountain named after Dr Bin Mahfouz celebrated the first of a string of generous donations that he made to the Prince’s projects. Standing in the grand entrance hall of

Covid chaos is still causing red tape misery for millions of Britons with months-long delays in the processing of essential documents such as passports and driving licences. Yet an overwhelming majority of civil servants are continuing to work from home – 80 per cent in some departments – despite the Government encouraging workers to return to offices. Last night, MPs and campaigners urged them to return immediately. There has been a series of strikes after staff complained about returning to the office following concerns about the lack of social distancing Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘They’ve got to get back into the offices and look at ways of clearing the backlog.’ John O’Connell of the TaxPayers’ Alliance added: ‘With taxes at the highest level for 70 years, it would be deeply unfair for taxpayers to see the standard of services decline due to the Whitehall work-from-home revolution.’ Rolling strike action and social-distancing rules have left the Driver and Vehi

A remarkable cast of wealthy individuals from around the world have donated funds to the Prince’s Foundation. As Prince Charles faces intense scrutiny over how he has raised money, The Mail on Sunday highlights some of the colourful characters who have provided financial support to the future king. The ex Saudi spy chief: Turki bin Faisal al saud A former director general of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency and later its ambassador to Britain, Turki Bin Faisal al Saud has been photographed arm-in-arm with Charles and between September 2004 and October 2005 served as a director of the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, an arm of the Prince’s Foundation. But Turki, 76, has a chequered past.  Ex-Saudi spy chief Turki Bin Faisal al Saud has been photographed arm-in-arm with Charles and between September 2004 and October 2005 served as a director of the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts In 2002, two years before he was appointed director at the school, he was named in a multi-billion

The Governor of the Bank of England has put himself at odds with Chancellor Rishi Sunak by ditching a requirement for his staff to work in the office for at least one day a week. Despite calls by Mr Sunak for people to return to traditional working patterns, Governor Andrew Bailey has told workers they will not be compelled to abandon their working from home habits. The move has angered many City workers – including some frustrated staff at the Bank of England – who argue that they are losing dealmaking and networking opportunities, with younger workers missing out on mentoring by their more experienced colleagues. Mr Bailey, who took up his post last year, had originally said that staff at the Bank would be expected to adopt a ‘hybrid’ working model Even the Bank of England itself has warned about the long-term effects of home working Mr Bailey, who took up his post last year, had originally said that staff at the Bank would be expected to adopt a ‘hybrid’ working model, coming into i

Competitors pushed themselves to the limits during a gruelling ten-mile Tough Mudder run in Cheshire, which saw them face electric shocks, a five-foot drop into freezing water, monkey bars and a web of tightropes.  Competitors pushed themselves to the limits during a gruelling ten-mile Tough Mudder run in Cheshire, which saw them face electric shocks, a five-foot drop into freezing water, monkey bars and a web of tightropes.  Brave contenders flocked to Cholmondeley Castle Gardens in Malpas, Cheshire, on Saturday to take on a demanding run which is 'renowned for being the muddiest', according to the Tough Mudder UK's website. The classic Tough Mudder course sees those brave enough face a ten-mile run packed with 25 difficult obstacles, or athletes could take part in a shorter three-mile challenge made up of just 13 obstacles. There was also an option for children to get involved in a one-mile-long muddy adventure. Billed as the ultimate test of strength, stamina, determinat

First Lady Jill Biden has said she will return to the Northern Virginia Community College campus next week to resume in-person teaching  of writing composition. Biden will commute via motorcade to the Alexandria campus every Tuesday and Thursday, and will even hold office hours. Secret service agents will be accompanying the first lady, who will wear a mask at all times when on campus, even though she is fully vaccinated, in accordance with the college's rules.  She said she welcomed the return to in-person teaching, adding that 'It's hard to learn on Zoom,' as opposed to communicating with her students face-to-face.  'I hope you’re as excited as I am for those clean whiteboards, the freshly waxed floors, and, best of all, the bright faces of our students — in person,' Biden said over the summer.'  The first lady has pushed to return to class despite soaring COVID cases across the US, with the Delta variant blamed for the latest surge. Debates on whether to