EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Prince Andrew 'ready' to bequeath the lease on 'money pit' Royal Lodge to his daughters - but does he have an ulterior motive?

Prince Andrew is said to be ready to bequeath the lease on Royal Lodge to his daughters. 

The 30-room mansion is a money pit. When the lease runs out in 2079 the property reverts to the Crown Estate. 

While Beatrice and Eugenie would be wiser to put their money elsewhere their dad may have an ulterior motive. 

Andrew would prefer to leave it to ex-wife Sarah, who occupies half of the lodge, but the lease specifies it can only be passed to his children or his widow – and the Crown Estate won't recognise a divorced wife as a widow. 

Despite Fergie's reservations, is it time to recycle the old confetti and re-wed Andy?

Have William and Kate considered reviving the royal tradition of teaching their children how to vote?

In an effort to show how 'ordinary people' live George V set up a mock polling station in Buckingham Palace on the eve of the 1922 election. 

And the late Queen got the ballot box out again and persuaded PM Harold Wilson to provide speakers to give the young Charles and Anne a flavour of the hustings. 

What are the odds on mischievous Prince Louis spoiling his vote?

Under-fire ex-Post Office chief Paula Vennells is remembered by a contemporary at Bradford University in the unlikely role of a feverish disco dancer. 

The ex-colleague, who studied modern languages with Vennells, both graduating in 1981, recalls: 'I can remember her from discos – she was small with blonde hair, a loud mouth and huge teeth. Nothing like you see now – no posh voice.' 

The big hit she bopped to was Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive – something that Disco Paula must still chant as a mantra.

Lucian Freud's studio assistant David Dawson, who forensically photographed the artist at work – including when he was painting the late Queen – has snaps of Kate Moss when she visited his deathbed with flowers. 

Pulling back the covers, Freud declared as she clambered into bed beside him: 'I've been keeping it warm for you.' Will the touching vignette feature in the forthcoming film Moss & Freud?

Ex-Python Eric Idle doesn't mention the victory over Serbia, tweeting: 'Watching the British boo their opponent's national anthem and then stand fervently asking God to save just one person in a population of 67million, you realise how absurd the whole thing is. Maybe Europe realises You're Going Home!'

Prue Leith nominates fellow cook Jamie Oliver as her hero: 'He always calls me Babe. If you are 84 and someone calls you Babe then that is wonderful.' 

But cynical Prue has doubts, adding: 'Perhaps he calls everyone Babe. Perhaps he calls me Babe because he can't remember my name?'