Prince Charles’ ‘pathetic’ outburst up for auction

A private letter, in which Prince Charles describes former royal butler Paul Burrell as “pathetic”, is being sold at auction. In the handwritten note sent to Marjorie Dawson, who served as personal dresser and maid to the Queen’s cousin Princess Alexandra, the Prince of Wales decries “people like Paul Burrell” for airing their “pathetic jealousies and vendettas in public”. The letter is being sold by a collector and is expected to sell for £2,000 with London-based Chiswick Auctions, The Telegraph reported.

Van Gogh self-portrait discovered

A previously unknown self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh has been discovered on the back of another painting, The Guardian reported. It was “absolutely thrilling”, said Lesley Stevenson, senior paintings conservator at the National Galleries of Scotland, describing when a standard conservation X-ray of another Van Gogh painting revealed the self-portrait on the back of the canvas. It had been concealed for more than 100 years beneath layers of glue and cardboard. Van Gogh’s left ear, which he famously cut off in 1888, is visible in the drawing.

Cat caught after airport chaos

A cat has finally been caught after it spent three weeks on the run inside a US airport, Sky News reported. The four-year-old pet, named Rowdy, has eluded airport staff, airline employees and animal experts at Boston’s Logan International Airport since he fled his cage in pursuit of some birds. The delighted owner said she was “kind of in disbelief” that her cat was being returned. “I thought,what are the odds we’re actually going to get her back?” said Patty Sahli.