Give them a break

This has been the season of goodwill. Which, of course, it hasn’t. I am sorry for stating the obvious but there is always less goodwill around at Christmas than any other time of the year.

The newspapers seem more vicious, more scandal-ridden and more aggressive than in spring, summer or autumn. This is principally because there aren’t many real stories around as the politicians push off for their holidays. Nevertheless, one is often repelled by the hypocrisy of heartwarming yuletide tales juxtaposed with no-holds-barred attacks on those who cannot answer back.

I have been particularly disgusted by the persecution of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and their children. First, the media decided to try to boot the Kents out of their grace and favour apartment in Kensington Palace. The argument was that, as they performed no royal duties, why should the couple be a burden to the taxpayer?

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As far as I am concerned, I have never sprung out of bed with indignation at the half a pence or less a year that I may pay to allow the Kents to keep their home. And the reason that they perform no ‘official duties’ is that the couple are not on the civil list – it is because of this that they are strapped for cash.

The Kents are in a Morton’s Fork situation. If they took on high-profile jobs they would be accused of cashing in on their royal names. As they decline to do so, they are called spongers. It is a little-known fact, actually, because the papers refuse to print it, that Prince Michael spends 68 per cent of his time doing charitable work. He also speaks fluent Russian, which is no mean feat, and is head of the Anglo-Russian chamber of commerce, aiding trade with this country.