EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Prince Harry’s Invictus Games Foundation appoints TV presenter JJ Chalmers – the Prince’s ex-Marine boyfriend who was maimed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan – its new trustee
TV presenter JJ Chalmersseriously injured in a bomb attack Afghanistancredited the Duke of Sussex with providing ‘one of the most important catalysts’ in his recovery. Now Prince Harry’s charity has appointed him to its board.
Chalmers, 36, has been named a trustee of the Invictus Games Foundation, which organizes a sporting event for injured and sick personnel.
Ex-Royal Marine Chalmers is an Invictus Games gold medalist whose minister father, John, was one of Queen Elizabeth’s chaplains.
Chalmers befriended the prince after meeting him at a rehabilitation triathlon in 2014, and was even invited to his Royal wedding four years later.
Chalmers befriended the prince after meeting him during a rehabilitation triathlon in 2014, and was even invited to his royal wedding four years later
He has said he will be ‘forever grateful’ to Harry for encouraging him to compete in the Invictus Games. He reached the quarterfinals of Strictly Come Dancing in 2020 with dance partner Amy Dowden.
Former Olympic triple jump champion Jonathan Edwards has also been named a trustee of the foundation, having been involved since presenting the inaugural Invictus Games for the BBC in 2014.
Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood admits his own footwork wouldn’t get a top score these days. The star, who goes on tour as child-hating orphanage boss Miss Hannigan in the musical Annie, says he dances a bit in the show but wouldn’t win any awards.
“I wouldn’t give my dancing an A,” he says. “Miss Hannigan is drunk all the time, so it’s pretty wild dancing. She’s all over the shop.”
Naomi conjures up Vogue shadowism
Naomi Campbell detests prejudice against dark-skinned women so much that she agreed to appear on the cover of Vogue India this month only if her skin tone was artificially darkened in the photos.
The supermodel, 52, had previously turned down an offer from the magazine because she felt it was guilty of ‘colorism’
The supermodel, 52, had previously turned down an offer from the magazine because she felt it was guilty of “colorism.”
She tells me, “I saw that they had dark-skinned women from that country and continent, and the women they used were only light-skinned women, so I didn’t do the cover at the time.”
Speaking at the Visionary Arts Awards at the Ham Yard hotel in London’s Soho, where she won the Legacy Honour, Campbell says, “When I got on the cover, I actually wanted to be blacked out and I’m glad I did.”
Alan Carr, who was invited to take part in DNA Journey, sought advice from his mother, Christine, who said it would be foolish to turn down an appearance on ITV’s genealogy show as he might have a regal connection to discover.
“I said to my mother, ‘Should I do it?’ revealed the talk show host at the Teenage Cancer Trust comedy night at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
“She said, ‘Do it, do it—you might be related to royalty.’
Carr added: “Knowing my luck, it would be Prince Andrew.”