By Maria Chiorando and Alex Mason

Published: 05:28 EDT, March 10, 2024 | Updated: 12:58 EDT, March 10, 2024

A group of seven former employees of Elon Musk's SpaceX say the rocket and satellite company discriminated against women, joking about sexual harassment and even firing those who complained, a new civil rights complaint alleges.

According to the complaint, first reported by Bloomberg the employees were fired by the company in 2022 after a letter critical of Musk circulated through SpaceX.

The employees allege that during their time at the company they faced inappropriate behavior and sexual jokes from managers, who often quoted Musk.

“Basically, anything that would make a freshman laugh was fair game in large parts of the company,” said one of the fired employees, Tom Moline.

The group says SpaceX violated California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, which protects workers who are critical of their management and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

The California Civil Rights Department first contacted SpaceX about the allegations in January.

In October, SpaceX was sued by a female former employee who alleged the company pays and promotes women and minorities less than white men.

Engineer Paige Holland-Thielen, one of the plaintiffs in the new civil rights lawsuit, told Bloomberg that from the moment she was hired by SpaceX in 2018, she felt discriminated against because she was considered a “level 1” employee, despite being had more experience than men who were given higher roles.

Even after being promoted, Holland-Thielen claims she was left out of meetings and decisions because of her gender.

When she complained that a male colleague was taking credit for her work, Holland-Thielen said she was subjected to a performance review in which she was told she was “too emotional” and that she needed to be “more humble.”

She claims she once tried to complain to a manager about a co-worker's inappropriate behavior, but the manager made a sexual joke when they saw downward-pointing data on her computer and reportedly said, “How can we take it higher, get higher, get higher? '

The civil rights complaint also states that Musk posted content to Twitter that workers considered inappropriate, and that they could not easily avoid it because he also used the platform to make important company announcements.

The complainants say the situation reached a boiling point for them when Musk was accused of sexually harassing a SpaceX flight attendant in 2022. The lawsuit alleges that the company denies the claims and that an HR director said something like, “I have never been sexually harassed.” [sic]”I must not be warm enough.”

Disappointed with the way the company handled the accusation, the employees decided to write an open letter that they said led to their dismissal. The letter said Musk's behavior was “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.”

Moline claims he was one of several employees who was subsequently called into a meeting and fired.

“They informed me that my employment was being terminated because they determined that I was responsible for conceiving, writing and distributing the open letter,” Molina said in the complaint.

In October, former SpaceX engineer Ashley Foltz filed a proposed class action in the state of California last year, saying the company paid her $92,000 a year, while men with similar duties and qualifications were paid up to $115,000.

California law prohibits employers from paying employees less than co-workers who perform “substantially similar work” based on their gender, race or ethnicity.

Foltz said she discovered the discrepancy when SpaceX posted job openings for engineering positions with a salary range of $95,000 to $115,000.

This year, a pay transparency law went into effect in California, requiring employers to include salary ranges in job postings.

Last November, the ex-employees took the complaints to the National Labor Law Office and the agency ruled that SpaceX had indeed violated federal labor law by firing the workers, who are mostly engineers.

SpaceX subsequently sued the agency, arguing that the ruling would damage its reputation and ability to recruit talent.

JO, 27

Single for a year.

Dating past?

My friends and I had been chasing boys from a young age, so I had a few boyfriends in my teens. Since then I have been in a four year relationship and a one year relationship where we lived together.

Pre-date nerves?

No, I love meeting people, so I wasn't a little nervous. I wore a tight, green dress with long sleeves that showed off my curves and boots that made me feel confident.

First impression?

I was pleasantly surprised, he looked so handsome with a warm smile and beautiful eyes. I slid into the chair across from him and we just started chatting.

Easy to talk to?

Terrell and I seem to have a lot in common: we're both into health and fitness, and neither of us drink. We even both dream of driving a BMW. He is ambitious and I enjoyed hearing about his work (he is also a personal trainer). But he asked me a lot of questions and showed interest in my answers. We laughed a lot, but it wasn't just banter; there were deeper conversations and we both seemed comfortable enough to be open and honest about our lives.

Embarrassing moments?

No, I'm happy to say.

Did sparks fly?

Yes, we were both openly flirting – there was a lot of eye contact and little touches on the arm. Terrell was open and confident in complimenting me on my appearance, which I liked. He said I looked fit and had a nice smile. We were actively trying to find connections and things in common, which is a good sign. We exchanged Instagram details early on and showed each other our fitness videos. It all felt very natural. We decided to finish our dinner in the nearby park and then walked to the station, where we shared a kiss.

Would you like to meet again?

Yes, I would. We are in touch and I am coming to London so we can see each other. Hopefully next time we can plan something fun like bowling so I can beat him.

What do you think he thought of you?

He was open about the fact that he liked me. He seemed happy with the date and wanted to see me again.

Would your family and friends like it?

Yes absolutely; he is friendly and so easy to get along with.

TERRELL, 28

Single for a year.

Dating past?

I've been in two relationships, one lasted five years and the other was closer. I'm currently dating up a storm but haven't met anyone I've clicked with yet.

Pre-date nerves?

I was looking forward to it, dressed in Dior sneakers, beige chinos and a Dior shirt.

First impression?

I thought she was beautiful and looked great in a green bodycon dress. She has a beautiful body and amazing eyes. I was on my phone so she had sat down before I had time to kiss or hug her hello. Instead we shook hands, but she was so friendly that we hit it off.

Easy to talk to?

There was plenty of banter and we talked about literally everything. We are both personal trainers and talked about our work like this: Jo is hoping to move to London from Glasgow, so she asked me if I wanted to work here. We both have tattoos and discovered the strangest thing: to mark the passing of both of our grandfathers, we have tattoos in the exact same spot on our biceps from their respective dates of birth. She also loves cooking and I love eating, so we are a match made in Heaven. It was so much fun that we stayed there for two and a half hours.

Embarrassing moments?

Not at all, everything was great.

Did sparks fly?

Yes, we were both flirting. We just kept eye contact and she kept saying I was a handsome man. When I said I couldn't show her my chest tattoos at the restaurant, she joked that she wouldn't mind if I was naked.

We talked about seeing each other again pretty quickly and when I mentioned that my birthday was coming up soon and I wanted to go somewhere, she said she would fly with me. So, who knows?

I walked her to her train and we shared a kiss goodbye.

Would you like to meet again?

Yes, soon when she comes back to London. She said she wanted to try out a TopGolf in London so we could do something fun like that.

What do you think she thought of you?

She said she found me attractive and that we got along really well. I would like to get to know her better.

Would your family and friends like her?

Yes, she is funny and entertaining.

JO'S VERDICT: 7/10

LIKED IT? He is ambitious, but up for a joke.

REGRET? We ordered too much food.

COFFEE OR taxi? Coffee.

TERRELL'S VERDICT: 8/10

LIKED IT? A lot of. She is friendly, talkative and beautiful.

REGRET? Not at all.

COFFEE OR taxi? Coffee.

She’s already Zara Tindall’s best friend, but now Dolly Maude is about to become her mother’s right hand too after being appointed maid of honor to the Princess Royal.

The mother-of-four, who is an NHS midwife and who famously helped deliver Zara’s third child Lucas on a bathroom floor when the Royal’s birth plan went awry, is seen as a trusted confidante and has been described as ‘fiercely loyal and discreet ‘.

The 51-year-old also shares Zara’s tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

Last January, Ms Maude appeared at Cheltenham Racecourse with her best friend, wearing a badge with the words ‘Lady in Waiting’.

A royal spokesperson later had to clarify that this was actually a joke.

But now the midwife is given an official role under Princess Anne, The Telegraph revealed.

A friend of Mrs Maude said: ‘For the Princess Royal it is a perfect fit because of their shared love of dogs and horses.

‘Not only does she have a very good bond with Zara, she also gets along very well with the princess. She is very loyal and discreet. It’s a great match.’

Buckingham Palace is expected to announce the appointment in the Court Circular on February 1, when Ms Maude will be unveiled as one of four newly appointed ladies-in-waiting to the King’s sister, replacing others who have retired.

A maid of honor is traditionally the wife or daughter of a colleague, but can also be a cousin or close friend.

They act as a companion on royal engagements and assist in their daily duties.

Mrs. Maude is very much a part of the Tindall family. She was present at the birth of all three of the couple’s children and was a bridesmaid when the Princess Royal’s daughter married Mike Tindall in 2011.

The former England rugby international has even described Mrs Maude as ‘more important than me’ given her role in assisting Zara when she went into labor at their Gatcombe Park home with her son Lucas, who is now two.

Speaking about the birth, Mike told his podcast The Good, The Bad & The Rugby how Zara had gone into labor the night before, so they organized childcare for Mia and Lena – but the little boy arrived so quickly they didn’t have time to take it to the hospital.

He recalled: ‘Luckily Zara’s friend is Dolly, she is actually more important than me in making sure she was at all three of my children’s births. She was there and realized we wouldn’t have gotten to the hospital in time, so it was run into the gym, grab a mat, go to the bathroom, towels down, brace brace brace!

‘Luckily the midwife who was supposed to meet us at the hospital wasn’t that far away, so she drove up, got there exactly as we had assumed the position, and then the second midwife arrived just after the head had arrived!’

Mrs Maude was the perfect person to be there at the time, having qualified as an NHS maternity nurse in 2008.

She worked in a hospital in Sierra Leone in 2013, where he taught basic nursing and theater skills and worked for NHS Gloucestershire for almost 16 years.

The two families are close and Mrs Maude is often seen looking after Tindall’s children, Mia, nine, Lena, five, and Lucas, while attending equestrian events.

She has four children with husband Chris: Billy, 26, Nell, 24, Ted, 17 – who was a page boy at the Tindalls and is Zara’s godson – and Mary, 15.

As one accustomed to a busy schedule, Mrs. Maude now finds herself employed by the hardest-working member of the Royal Family, Princess Anne.

According to a recent analysis of public events and official gatherings, Princess Anne carried out 457 royal engagements in 2023 – 32 more than King Charles.

The king finished in second place, with 425 engagements, while his wife, Queen Camilla, came fourth with 233.

The Duke of Edinburgh came third with 297 engagements.

These engagements include events such as the coronation on May 6 and the King’s state visit to France in September.

The Princess Royal and the King saw their workload increase in 2023, as they took on many of the tasks and assignments previously carried out by Elizabeth II.

Prince William and Princess Kate carried out 172 and 128 engagements respectively, with the majority of day-to-day public duties carried out by members of the royal family well into or near retirement.

The lady’s role in waiting for the Princess Royal is also one that could potentially span many decades.

It was previously revealed that of her eleven ladies-in-waiting, two had been in her service for more than 50 years, three for more than 40 years and five for more than 30 years.

Almost eight years earlier Paula Abdul accused Nigel Lythgoe of sexual assault, he made a questionable joke about their relationship.

After Abdul, now 61, joined the So you think you can dance panel in 2015, she and Lythgoe, now 74, spoke with We weekly and other reporters about working together on the show.

“What chemistry? But actually, we’ve known each other for so long,” Lythgoe joked Us in January 2015. “I was always an admirer of Paula in the UK before I came here, and to be able to work with her [as an executive producer] on Idol all these years and see how she was abused by Simon [Cowell].”

Lythgoe worked behind the scenes American Idol during the early seasons, when Abdul served as a judge alongside Cowell Randy Jackson. Abdul, who eventually left the singing show in 2009, jokingly said she was “abused” by Cowell.

Lythgoe, in turn, corrected himself during the press conference. “Abused and mistreated,” he added. “I wanted to be the next person to abuse her even more.”

The derogatory comment subsequently resurfaced Us confirmed on Saturday, December 30, that Abdul had filed a lawsuit against Lythgoe, accusing him of sexual assault/abuse, sexual harassment, gender violence and negligence. She alleged that he sexually assaulted her twice, once when they were working together American Idol and a second time during their shared SYTYCD employment around 2015.

Lythgoe vehemently denied Abdul’s allegations, calling them “highly offensive” and “untrue.”

“To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. For more than twenty years, Paula and I have worked together as dear – and completely platonic – friends and colleagues,” Lythgoe shared. Us in a statement. “Yesterday, however, I learned of these claims in the press out of the blue and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and everything I stand for.”

He added: “While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I cannot pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is not true. But I can promise that I will fight this terrible slander with everything I have.”

The lawsuit against Abdul was filed under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which gave victims a year to file sexual abuse lawsuits that would otherwise fall outside the statute of limitations. The deadline ends on Sunday, December 31.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

It’s a moment of wide-eyed, almost childlike excitement in the making of history.

King Charles, just before leaving Buckingham Palace for his coronation in May, waves his velvet and ermine state robes and laughs: “I can fly!”

The candid moment is captured in a groundbreaking new 90-minute documentary narrated by Helena Bonham Carter, offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at his first year as monarch.

Charles III: The Coronation Year, which airs on Boxing Day, is a highlight of the BBC’s Christmas programme.

It is the first time a crew has been given fly-on-the-wall access to the Royal Family ahead of such a momentous national event.

It was written and co-produced for Oxford Films by The Mail’s royal expert Robert Hardman, who provides more wonderful details in today’s Weekend Magazine.

The program includes interviews with family members, especially Princess Anne, and staff responsible for making the King’s big day a success.

On Saturday morning, May 6, King Charles and Queen Camilla are involved in the last-minute preparations at Buckingham Palace.

Down the hall Her Majesty walks out in her Bruce Oldfield embroidered ivory dress, accompanied by her pages – whom she affectionately calls ‘the boys’.

“Very slowly, together,” she says. Lady Lansdowne, one of Camilla’s two official ladies present that day, says of the moment: ‘It wasn’t until we were all ready that we actually all came together to see each other for the first time.

‘She hadn’t seen our dresses and we hadn’t seen her dress. That was a very special moment. It looked a bit like a wedding. It was the bridesmaids who went to visit the bride.’

The images show the queen walking gingerly towards the exit, accompanied by her three grandsons and great-nephew.

“Don’t step on my dress or there will be a problem,” Camilla reminds them fondly.

She adds, smiling to the cameraman, “Here we are, with all the boys.”

The King then appears in conversation with his equerry Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson, smiling and helping to ease everyone’s nervousness by waving the mantle of state that his grandfather, King George VI, wore at his coronation in 1937, during his own ‘I Can Fly Titanic moment. .

Camilla also jokes, “Someone’s always getting pulled over,” referring to the weight of their finery.

As the couple depart for Westminster Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, Lady Lansdowne, lifelong friend of the Queen, comments: ‘It was a very exciting moment to get them into that carriage for the first time and then we set off.’

In an exceptionally moving clip, Camilla’s other lady present, her sister Annabel Elliot, waves her goodbye and dabs her face with a handkerchief, apparently moved to tears.

She remembers: ‘I thought back to when I was two years old and watching Queen’s [Elizabeth] Coronation on a small black and white television – and there goes this golden carriage with my sister in it.

‘It’s so surreal and this can’t be happening. Yes, it was quite a moment.’ Lady Lansdowne added: ‘We were ready to go out and literally face the world.’

Other charming images show a rehearsal in the abbey. Charles and Prince William practice with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

The Archbishop later says on camera that his memory is worse than that of his family dog ​​and that his words are mixed up, much to the king’s amusement.

He says: ‘I have a memory that is probably about as good as our spaniel’s – in other words, zero.’

He rattles off what should be a familiar blessing: “And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and abide with you now and… no, that cannot be true?”

The Archbishop of York ‘and always’ helpfully intervenes, jokingly adding: ‘I’m sure you’ve said this before?’ Everyone – including the king – is helpless with laughter.

“You knew that was coming,” the monarch chuckles.

Welby continues, “Be with you and stay with you always.” Still smiling and shaking his head, Charles adds, “Amen. Beautiful.’

Princess Anne emphasizes her brother’s sense of duty.

‘Monarchy is a 365 day a year business. And it doesn’t stop because you change monarchs for whatever reason,” she says.

Charles III: The Coronation Year airs on Boxing Day at 6.50pm on BBC One.

Luke Gage joked about his quickie wedding – right afterward Chris Appleton filed for divorce.

Gage, 28, attended a dinner for watchmaker Longines last month, where he compared the brand’s staying power to the length of his relationship.

“This company [has] has been around for 190 years and supports tradition, class, timekeeping and style,” said the white Lotus alum joked during the party, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Personally, I find that very interesting, because some people don’t even last 190 days in a relationship.”

Gage added: “I’m just kidding.”

Gage and Appleton, 40, were barely married for more than 190 days. Their six-month marriage lasts 205 days.

The pair first sparked dating speculation in February, sharing joint holiday photos via Instagram and exchanging flirty comments. Appleton confirmed their relationship a month later.

“I’m very happy [and] very much in love,” the celebrity hairstylist said during an appearance in March The Drew Barrymore Show. “I am very grateful to be able to share my time with someone very special. Love is something very special and I think meeting someone you connect with is very special.

We weekly broke the news in April that Gage and Appleton had gotten engaged, weeks before tying the knot. The pair eloped in Las Vegas with Appleton’s longtime styling client Kim Kardashian taking care of the intimate wedding.

“I’m so honored that you both trust me to do this. You both have such big hearts, and the advice I can give you is to always support each other,” Kardashian, 43, told the then-newlyweds on a November episode of The Kardashians.

She later added in a confessional, “I married my first couple! We put so much love into the world [and] I’m so happy for them.”

Although the Skims mogul was ecstatic for the couple, she urged them to sign a prenuptial agreement. (Kardashian is an aspiring lawyer who has been married three times himself.)

Us confirmed a day after the episode aired that Appleton had filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The documents revealed that Appleton and Gage signed a prenuptial agreement, apparently heeding Kardashian’s warning.

A source said this later Us that the breakup was not amicable. “This is not where they wanted this to end,” the insider said, while a second added that there wasn’t “one thing that led to [the] decision, but different factors.”

A third source had previously claimed that Appleton ended his marriage after learning that Gage had been unfaithful, which several other insiders denied.

Queen Camilla has given Anne Robinson her royal seal of approval for her dating her ex-husband – and has even ‘joked about going on a double date’ with King Charles. 

The former Weakest Link presenter, 79, has been in a secret relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles for more than a year. 

Anne, who has the TV nickname ‘The Queen of Mean’, is said to have found love with the twice-married retired Army brigadier, 83, after being introduced by a mutual friend. 

According to insiders, one of their first dates was a dinner party attended by ex Prime Minister David Cameron, with Andrew able to ‘poke fun’ at the presenter, who is known for her sharp tongue.

Although the couple’s romance is said to have been an ‘open secret’ in upper circles, Camilla has only known about it for a few weeks, according to The Sun. 

Camilla married Charles ten years after divorcing Andrew in 1995 but she has remained fond of the father of their two grown-up children – Masterchef food critic Tom Parker Bowles and art curator Laura Lopes. 

A source told The Sun Camilla and Charles have found the media coverage of Anne and Andrew’s coupling ‘hilarious’. 

‘Camilla is very supportive about the whole thing and found out a few weeks ago. They’ve been joking about going on a double date,’ the source told The Sun. 

‘After all, Anne is a strong, lively, opinionated woman. If anyone can crack royal circles, it’s her.’

When asked about their romance, Anne, who has also been married twice, hit back: ‘It’s none of your business’. 

Yesterday an insider ironically pointed out Anne went to ‘boarding school, her father got a double first and she holidayed for part of the summer at The Carlton in Cannes’ – when she wasn’t working behind her mother’s stall.

Both Anne and Andrew have been married twice.

Anne married journalist Charles Wilson in 1968. In 1970 the couple had a daughter, Emma Wilson, who became a British radio disc jockey. Their marriage broke down in 1973.

The presenter went on to marry journalist John Penrose in 1980, but they split in 2007 and announced they were planning to divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’.

Andrew, meanwhile, divorced Camilla in 1995 after 22 years of marriage, but remain close friends – despite a complicated history which included infidelity on both parts.

Camilla was famously Charles’s mistress during her marriage to Andrew, while the latter is described by friends as having been ‘very naughty with women’ throughout.

Andrew first met Camilla in the late 1960s and they dated on and off for several years before marrying in 1973.

According to Andrew’s cousin John Bowes Lyon, the couple were pressured into making the commitment when both their fathers published an engagement notice for them in The Times.

Andrew and Camilla divorced in 1995, saying in a statement that ‘throughout our marriage we have always tended to follow rather different interests, but in recent years we have led completely separate lives.’

The following year, he married Rosemary Pitman. They were together until Rosemary passed away in 2010 of cancer, aged 69.

At the time of her death it was reported that Camilla was ‘deeply saddened’ by the news.

Andrew was a guest at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in April 2005, attending their service of blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Anne previously revealed back in 2017 how she had quit dating app Tinder an hour after getting it.

The former Weakest Link presenter complained potential matches on the app offered ‘slim pickings’ and added she didn’t want to date a ‘bald man with a moustache’.

Camilla has maintained a strong and close friendship with Andrew – and he even had a special invitation on the guest list to the Coronation in May. 

Camilla was famously Charles’s mistress during her marriage to Andrew, while the latter is described by friends as having been ‘very naughty with women’ throughout. 

But it seems any differences have been put aside as the pair are ‘joined at the hip’, as one insider has previously put it – claiming they are constantly in touch and make a great team. 

The author Tina Brown has claimed it was Andrew, rather than Charles, who was the love of Camilla’s life. Whatever the truth, the man Brown describes as ‘a walking pink gin’ is said to remain one of her chief confidantes.

‘They are joined at the hip,’ according to a friend. ‘He arranges so much for her. They have lunch together the whole time. He’s right in there. He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.’

Known as ‘The Brigadier’ in reference to his former career as an army officer who served with the Blues and Royals and was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in Zimbabwe, Andrew has moved in royal circles for decades.

As a 13-year-old, he served as a page to Lord Simonds, then the Lord High Chancellor, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

‘My mother was a good friend of the Duke of Norfolk,’ he recalled. ‘The Lord Chancellor had no children so Bernard Norfolk suggested me to Lord Simonds. I have to say that he was the nicest man alive and gave me a very nice set of cufflinks.’

He described a sword fight during the dress rehearsal, saying: ‘All the pages had these little swords. If a group of bored small boys all have swords, you know what’s going to happen.’

Prior to marrying Camilla, he had a brief fling with Princess Anne, but his Catholicism is said to have dampened the prospects of marriage. They remain great friends, however, and she later named him godfather to her daughter Zara.

He also played polo on the same team as Charles when both men were young and rode in the Grand National in 1969, coming 11th.

He first met Camilla in the late 1960s and they dated on and off for several years before marrying in 1973.

According to Andrew’s cousin John Bowes Lyon, the couple were pressured into making the commitment when both their fathers published an engagement notice for them in The Times.

‘His hand publicly forced, Andrew proposed to his girlfriend of nearly seven years,’ wrote the author Sarah Bedell Smith.

‘Camilla was very much in love with [Andrew],’ Bowes Lyon told Smith. ‘Her parents were very keen that Andrew should marry her.’

The Queen Mother, Princess Anne and Princess Margaret all attended their wedding, and the reception took place in St James’s Palace.

As a commanding officer of the Household Cavalry, Andrew accompanied the newly married Charles and Diana on horseback following their wedding in 1981.

Tina Brown claimed that Camilla only resumed her affair with Charles because she was angry at her husband’s infidelities.

Once seen as a dashing figure and something of a ladies man, Parker Bowles is said to have provided at least some of the inspiration for Rupert Campbell-Black, a character in Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster Riders.

Andrew and Camilla divorced in 1995, saying in a statement that ‘throughout our marriage we have always tended to follow rather different interests, but in recent years we have led completely separate lives.’

The following year, he married his long-term mistress Rosemary Pitman. They were together until Rosemary passed away in 2010 of cancer, aged 69.

At the time of her death it was reported that Camilla was ‘deeply saddened’ by the news.

Andrew was a guest at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in April 2005, attending their service of blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

The Marchioness of Lansdowne, one of Camilla’s Queen’s Companions, has said: ‘Everybody loves Andrew. He’s a real charmer but he’s always terribly misbehaving.

‘Andrew will ring her up and tell her when she’s got something wrong and she’ll ring him up and say when he’s misbehaving.

‘Through adversity they’ve kept a really good family ethic. It helps with their children and grandchildren.’

Nigel Harman joked that he had St John’s Ambulance ‘on standby’ and would be surprised if it was ‘still standing’, less than a day before he was forced to quit Strictly Come Dancing.

The Casualty actor, 50, was preparing to perform a Charleston to Step in Time from Mary Poppins with his professional partner Katya Jones for the quarter-finals.

However, he subsequently had to withdraw from the BBC dancing competition for medical reasons during which he suffered an injury, which would leave him ‘very disappointed’‘.

Just hours earlier, Nigel had opened up about his love of musicals during an appearance on It Takes Two on Friday and seemed in good spirits about the extravagant routine.

He told presenter Fleur East: ‘I just love musicals, I love the singing and dancing and the heightened emotions of it. We have this stunner this week, it’s full of showbiz.

He added: ‘There are jumps, there are porters and we fly around and I end up needing oxygen every time I do it. It’s full but exciting.’

‘I’m not going to lie, the Rumba was just kind of chopping around and moving my hips in a general direction with some arms was lovely, maybe a sweat drop.

‘The Sint-Jans ambulance is on standby this week.’

Had Nigel stayed on the show and progressed to the next round, he would have made it to the semi-finals and hinted that he would have struggled to learn two routines in one week.

He said, ‘Two dances in a week, I hear it’s possible, but I’m just going to walk with it blind and pretend everything is fine!’

During an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch, Nigel also said he would be ‘impressed’ if he was still standing after the difficult routine.

“Every time we complete this routine, I’m literally on an oxygen mask for about five minutes. If I’m still there on Saturday night, I’ll be impressed,” he said.

During the chat show, Katya had also joked about how she trained Nigel to ‘dirty’ his dancing, while presenter Steph praised his exceptional dance moves.

She said: ‘He has the poise and grace in his movements. He always makes, even the rumba, which can be quite tricky for male celebrities; it looks so effortless and natural, so you either have it or you don’t, and he definitely has it.

“But we tried to deconstruct him this week and I say ‘NO’.”

Nigel intervened and said: ‘Actually I’ve been told I’m not dirty enough. I’m not dirty enough for this dance, so I’m trying to make it dirty.”

However, less than a day after those comments, Nigel – who was this week revealed as the bookies’ favorite to leave – quit the show altogether after suffering an injury.

The BBC confirmed to MailOnline: ‘Unfortunately Nigel has suffered an injury which means he will not be able to perform on tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.’

Nigel isn’t the only star to have left the 2023 series of Strictly after Amanda Abbington – who worked with Giovanni Pernice – quit due to medical reasons in October.

Nigel reportedly missed training on Saturday morning during his departure after working ‘really hard’ during rehearsals to try and secure a place in the final.

A source said The sun: ‘Nigel was not in training this morning, other dancers were informed later in the day. He and Katya were very disappointed as they hoped to stay in the competition.

‘They were not in the bottom two and therefore had a real chance of reaching the final.

“Nigel has been training very hard and very hard during rehearsals.”