High life
Above the fray
Taki
IGstaad find it outrageous that the very people who looted Greece during the eight-year socialist rule of 1981-89 should now be demanding that ex-king Constantine be deported and his passport confiscated. Although I'm a republican at heart, no country needs a monarchy more than Greece, such are the political divisions. Only an above-the-fray monarch could unite my country, and Constantine does have both the experience as well as the knowledge of the Greek character to do it.
Mind you, he's not about to. The poor man arrives in his birthplace on a private visit and the filthy commies and crooked socialists go ballistic. In the meantime, Constantine has more right to be in Greece than, say, Andreas Papandreou, who fled the country when the Axis armies attacked us, to become a male nurse in a Florida hospital. The Greek royal family behaved impeccably during the 1940-41 campaign, although I feel it should have stayed once Greece fell to the Germans.
But it was during the communist coup that followed the second world war that the Greek royals showed their worth. They inspired the nation and united all demo- cratic forces, and with a little help from Van Fleet we drove the bearded brigands and murderers back where they belonged, in Stalin's paradise. This the Left will never forgive. Constantine was betrayed by Kara- manlis after the collapse of the Colonels, and was again betrayed by a referendum he could not possibly win while in exile and falsely accused by the yellow Greek press 'Sorry, but the law is quite clear on this point — it's £150 an hour.' of being in cahoots with the military. This is typically Greek. Here is a man who led an unsuccessful coup against the junta and lost his throne as a result, and the Greeks accuse him of collaboration.
Speaking of royals, Robert Sangster, as nice and generous a man as one is likely to find, tells me that he is still waiting for a cheque from Princess Michael. It was two years ago this week, at York, that Sangster got the distinct impression the Austrian lady wanted to buy his half of a horse they jointly owned. It was the favourite, but Sangster agreed in order to please her. The horse came in last. Being the gent that he is he has not said anything. The amount is £40,000, but it seems Robert is unlikely to collect.
Otherwise everything is hunlcy-dory. My birthday bash was a success, the weather continues to be fine, and Mr David Mellor and family have arrived at the Palace. Oh yes, and Sir Nigel Dempster is staying chez moi. A large helicopter hovered over the Palace yesterday trying to take pictures of Lady Thatcher in a bikini. The paparazzi were fairly hanging out from it, but then Sir Dennis stepped out with field glasses and the chopper took off. They probably mis- took them for a bazooka.
If it had stayed a bit longer they could have had pictures of an idyllic scene: David Mellor and long-suffering wife playing dou- bles against their two boys, while on the next court Nigel Dempster being given a hiding by a Greek who knew John Latsis when he had no moolah and was without royal connections.
Jeffrey Bernard is in hospital.
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