THE Queen is helping one of her relatives to move his family to Britain from
his home in Zimbabwe after he was driven out by the continuing violence
against the white community.
Simon Rhodes's mother is Margaret Rhodes, 74, first cousin of the Queen
and a Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. He had hoped
to stay in Harare with his wife and two daughters despite having been beaten
up by police in April. But the former tourism consultant, who moved to
Zimbabwe in 1977, is now seeking work in Britain following the collapse of
the tourist trade and the imminent seizure by the Mugabe regime of farmland
belonging to his wife's family.
At the request of the Queen, John Parsons, Deputy Keeper of the Privy
Purse, is helping to arrange schooling for his daughters - Emma, 14, and
Camilla, 10 - who are still in Zimbabwe with their mother. Mr Rhodes, 42,
has been staying at his mother's home in Windsor Great Park and with his
sister, Annabel Cope, in Bideford, Devon. He now hopes his children and his
wife Susan, 40, will join him before the end of the year.
He said his family, like many others, was being forced out of Zimbabwe by
the crippling effect of President Robert Mugabe's policies. He said: "The
situation is getting worse even though the news story seems to be off the
airwave. The farm invasions and occupations by squatters continue. The
government is now taking over more than 3,000 private commercial farms -
about 75 per cent of the total number."
The attack by four police officers in the back of a Land Rover, in which he
was repeatedly punched, happened after he joined a peaceful opposition
march. It prompted his mother to complain to the Queen about the
breakdown of law.
Mr Rhodes, whose wife's family's farmland has been listed for occupation,
said: "Until April, it would never have crossed my mind that I might have to
leave."He said he feared the psychological impact of upheaval on his family
and other dispossessed Zimbabweans. "My children have known no other life
other than being in Zimbabwe. We are getting this bombshell effect of people
moving all over the world. Families and friendships are being ruptured and
broken."
Mr Rhodes said he was fortunate to have the opportunity to return to Britain
and the support of the Royal Family. "Obviously the Queen is concerned
about our situation. We are returning here to start again and will be arriving
with nothing. We will not be able to remove any assets from Zimbabwe. The
Queen has asked one of her aides to provide assistance to find suitable
schools for the children. It is nothing other than a family pulling together to
support other family members who need help - as any family would."
Mr Rhodes, who will visit the Royal Family's Balmoral residence this week,
said he planned to settle in Edinburgh.
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Duchess's former aide remanded
By John Steele, Crime Correspondent
A FORMER aide to the Duchess of York was remanded in custody
yesterday after appearing before magistrates charged with the murder of her
boyfriend, who was found stabbed to death last week.
Jane Andrews, 33, of Fulham, south-west London, who worked for the
Duchess for nearly eight years, is accused of murdering Thomas Cressman,
her boyfriend of two years. Andrews appeared at west London magistrates'
court wearing dark trousers and a brown leather jacket. She was remanded in
custody until Oct 2.
Her parents, June and David, watched the brief hearing, during which she
spoke only to confirm her name, age and address. Andrews, originally from
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, has been working as a jewellery sales assistant at the
society jeweller Theo Fennell.
She acted as an aide, dresser and personal assistant to the Duchess until
1997. Mr Cressman, a classic car enthusiast, built up a business in vehicle
furnishing and cleaning services.