Alexander Larman

The news that the high street arm of the newsagent WH Smith is in ‘secret talks’ to be sold – talks so secretive that they have been splashed across every newspaper and broadcasting outlet in the country – should be greeted with a sigh accepting its all-but-inevitable fate. There can be little doubt that Smith’s, as it is colloquially known, has a remarkable history. Its first shop opened in London in 1792, and remained family-owned for over two centuries. It was a ubiquitous, hugely popular feature of public life. At one point, you could buy your newspaper from a WH Smith stand at the railway and then borrow your books from a WH Smith library, which were often published by the company themselves.

It may only be halfway through January, but the two opposed branches of the younger royal family have both made their first significant public statements of the year. Meghan and Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex came forward with a typically tone-deaf and self-aggrandising attack on Meta, which ended with a plug for the Archewell Foundation and reminded us all, after a relatively quiet 2024, how irritating their presence in public life continues to be. And then the Princess of Wales, who quietly and stoically spent much of the past year undergoing cancer treatment, visited a hospital and, matter-of-factly, announced that her illness is in remission.

At the beginning of King Charles’s Christmas speech this year, viewers may have been surprised when he did not immediately talk about his, or his family’s, struggles with illness this year, but instead about the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It was, in fact, several minutes until the speech made reference to how ‘all of us go through some form of suffering at some stage in our life, be it mental or physical.

Later today, the King will address the nation, as he has annually since he acceded the throne in September 2022. This year’s is expected not only to be the most eagerly anticipated and arguably momentous speech that Charles has delivered, but also probably since his mother attempted to make some sense of the chaotic, grief-stricken events of 1997. The King will undoubtedly address his own health struggles, and almost certainly refer to those of his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, as well. And then there are the issues of global conflict, a new prime minister and government, and, for light relief, his continued estrangement from his troublesome younger son.

At the end of what has undoubtedly been a true annus horribilis for the monarchy, King Charles, at least, seems to have recovered something of his joie de vivre. Over the past few weeks alone, he has been seen bravely pretending to enjoy himself at a particularly strenuous Royal variety show and bestowing much-deserved honours on Sir Christopher Nolan and Dame Emma Thomas. He has also been hosting the Emir of Qatar on a state visit, an occasion that may have had more to do with money than genuine affection. After the grimness of the first part of the year, 2024 might appear to be ending on a high note for him. The King is a 76-year old man, who has been through considerable trauma over the last few years This is, unfortunately, a mirage.

Sixty years ago, in the aftermath of one of the twentieth century’s most salacious scandals, the former MP John Profumo took on a role as a volunteer at the East End charity Toynbee Hall. The unpaid and distinctly unglamorous job, which saw Profumo serving meals to the homeless and cleaning toilets, became a kind of penance for the former secretary of state for war. In many people’s eyes, the gruelling charitable work eventually redeemed him for his tawdry affair with Christine Keeler. The penal reformer Lord Longford subsequently said that he felt more admiration for Profumo than anyone else he had known in his lifetime. Andrew has shown little awareness of the embarrassment he has caused, let alone contrition Should Prince Andrew – heaven forbid!