How teetotal is Britain?

Royal removals

The King has had more success in stripping Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal titles than George IV had in removing the title of his Queen, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel. George, then Prince of Wales, and Caroline married in 1795 having got engaged before they actually met. On their wedding night, both found each other physically disgusting – although they did manage to conceive a daughter. Caroline went on to have a string of affairs, prompting delicate royal investigations, even though George was hardly a picture of fidelity himself. She later left England and set up with an Italian manservant, Bartolomeo Pergami, but returned to England when George ascended to the throne in 1820. His efforts to dethrone her via a Pains and Penalties Bill failed. He then banned her from his coronation. But he was soon relieved of his unwanted Queen as she died the following year.

Diverse Britain

Defra wants to make the countryside ‘less white’. Which English districts have the highest proportion of people identifying themselves as ‘white’?

Allerdale 98.5%

Torridge, Ryedale 98.2%

Eden, North Norfolk 98.1%

Staffordshire Moorlands 98.0%

Hambleton (North Yorkshire) 97.9%

East Lindsey, Mid Devon 97.8%

Source: 2021 Census

Tripping out

Green party leader Zack Polanski said he would legalise all drugs and regulate them, although he has never drunk alcohol or consumed an illegal drug in his life. How common is that?

— According to NHS Digital’s Health Survey for England, 81% of adults have drunk alcohol in the past 12 months.

— According to the Crime Survey for England, 8.7% of 16- to 59-year-olds admitted to taking an illegal drug in the past 12 months. For cannabis it was 6.5% and class A drugs 3.3%.

— Neither survey asked people for their experience over a lifetime.