Once seen, never to be forgotten, it has proved to be one of the most compelling snaps of 2026. 

But the image of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on his 66th birthday in February – his face incredulous, affronted, bleached by flashlight while being driven away from Aylsham police station after 11 hours in custody – may soon be superseded by one of near contentment.

For I can disclose that the grandees of north Norfolk have concluded that the former Duke of York should not be shunned for ever like some leper in the pre-Christian world.

'The view is that things have gone too far,' observes a society figure. 

He notes that, just three months after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, Andrew was forced to flee a would-be assailant who'd pulled on a balaclava and parked up close to Marsh Farm, his residence on the King's Sandringham estate.

'The feeling is that Andrew needs to be welcomed back, at least to some extent.'

Leading the way among the so-called 'Turnip toffs', I'm told, are the Earl and Countess of Leicester, whose Norfolk estate, Holkham, at 25,000 acres, is larger than the King's, while the Palladian splendour of Holkham Hall entirely eclipses pseudo-Jacobean Sandringham. 

'Tom and Polly [the Earl and Countess] have had Andrew to dinner,' my informant assures me.

The couple are close friends of the Royal Family and Queen Elizabeth was a regular guest at Holkham, with her corgis a familiar sight on the nearby beach.

The earl, a former Scots Guards officer, declines to comment, but he's long shown a willingness to lead from the front.

'Tom and Polly won't be fawning over anyone,' a chum assures me. 'It's likely to have been very much a kitchen supper.'

But, he adds, other grandees – 'the Buxtons, the Barclays and the Buscalls, all the north coast lot' – will very probably follow suit.

Trinny Woodall had no qualms telling women how to dress when she co-hosted the 1990s series What Not To Wear. 

Now the make-up mogul has advice for women forging mid-life careers: use AI. 

While some may think that's cheating, Woodall, 62, says: 'Look at your job application and ask Claude and ChatGPT, "Tell me the things that are really crucial to bring out in me, that will give me the opportunity to sit in front of those people." You want to beat the system, and the system is using AI.'

Lila's Throne another posh party...

Is it Lila Moss or Lila Lannister? Kate Moss’s lookalike daughter attended a Game Of Thrones-themed party last week and transformed into a character from the House of Lannister, one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the fictional world of Westeros.

The model was joined by influencer Olivia Neill and models Stevie Sims and Stella Jones, daughter of Clash guitarist Mick, at the dinner in swanky members’ club, House of Koko in Camden.

The guests arrived in a bright pink limo, donning gold crowns and jewelled dresses and spent the evening fighting over the Iron Throne.

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton is looking forward to sharing a pint with his godson Prince George… when he comes of age, of course.

The former SAS man, who was private secretary to Princes William and Harry between 2005 and 2013, reveals: 'I really enjoy being godfather to people but I like it when you can have fun with them, which is about 18 or 19 as far as I’m concerned.'

So Jamie will have to be patient as George only turned 13 in July. 'The time will come when I’ll have a lot of fun, I think,' Jamie says.

Guitarist's new pick!

This newspaper revealed that Friends star Courteney Cox had split from musician Johnny McDaid in June – and now the Snow Patrol guitarist has moved on with glamorous finance executive Rosanna Konarzewski.

While collecting the BMI President’s Award last week, he doted on his new girlfriend: 'Rosie, thank you for all your support and I love you.'

Meanwhile, Cox sparked dating rumours by dining with US actor Geoff Stults.

David Walliams was dropped by his publisher HarperCollins amid harassment allegations against him last year – which he denies – but that hasn’t stopped the comedian raking in a hefty profit. 

Accounts filed for his TV production company, King Bert Productions, reveal that the star, 55, made £500,000 last year. 

The firm, which specialises in comedy, children’s and family programming, has produced shows including Gangsta Granny Strikes Again! and Malory Towers. 

Last month, Walliams’ entire children’s book catalogue was dropped by HarperCollins and the physical copies are being phased out of bookstores.

Full Fat fire

A-listers were aghast when their beloved Chiltern Firehouse went up in flames last year.

Now another haunt almost suffered a similar fate: the restaurant at The Fat Badger in Notting Hill, where the King has dined, was evacuated last month when it 'filled with smoke' from a chimney fire. Abandon cocktails!