The Duchess of Sussex may have announced this week she has written her first children’s book called The Bench, but there is, of course, another Duchess who beat her to it. Step forward the Duchess of York, 61, the leading writer of children’s fiction in royal circles, who made her name with her Budgie The … Read more
He once advertised for a younger wife to provide him with two sons. Having seemingly failed in his quest to sire an heir, the flamboyant bachelor baronet Sir Benjamin Slade has now put his West Country pile, Maunsel House, on the market — for an eye-watering £30 million. The 13th-century manor house, which has 17 … Read more
He once advertised for a younger wife to provide him with two sons. Having seemingly failed in his quest to sire an heir, the flamboyant bachelor baronet Sir Benjamin Slade has now put his West Country pile, Maunsel House, on the market — for an eye-watering £30 million. The 13th-century manor house, which has 17 … Read more
A celebrated star of screen and stage, Vanessa Redgrave has accused the Victoria and Albert Museum of a ‘fearful lack of knowledge’ over cuts planned by its director, the former Labour minister Tristram Hunt. The actress is furious that Hunt plans to axe its theatre and performance department, which is home to her father Sir … Read more
Lord Browne, the former BP boss, lived with his mother Paula for the last 20 years of her life — now he has paid her the ultimate filial tribute by making a £2 million donation to a Cambridge college in her honour. The generous gift, made by the John Browne Charitable Trust, is to Murray … Read more
Keeping up the 189-room Dunrobin Castle is a daunting challenge — especially if you’ve been left out of your mother’s £18 million will, as happened to the Earl of Sutherland last year. But, far from feeling sorry for himself, the 74-year-old Earl is taking what he describes as a ‘pragmatic approach’ to the Castle’s upkeep. … Read more
Keeping up the 189-room Dunrobin Castle is a daunting challenge — especially if you’ve been left out of your mother’s £18 million will, as happened to the Earl of Sutherland last year. But, far from feeling sorry for himself, the 74-year-old Earl is taking what he describes as a ‘pragmatic approach’ to the Castle’s upkeep. … Read more
He has variously been a pop icon, broadcaster, vicar — and most recently a bereft widower following the death, 15 months ago, of his beloved civil partner and fellow clergyman David, after the latter’s protracted battle with alcohol. But I can disclose that the Rev Richard Coles, one-time multi-instrumentalist in 1980s duo The Communards, is now … Read more
He’s amassed a £16 billion fortune, owns more land than the Queen and has properties in London, Singapore and France. But today the ever inventive Sir James Dyson, Britain’s richest man, has a particular reason to celebrate. Despite fierce local opposition, he has, I can disclose, just received the go-ahead to create a new art … Read more
No high octane adventure could have prepared Starsky & Hutch star David Soul for his latest assignment. His documentary, Cuban Soul, records the discovery of Ernest Hemingway’s long lost 1955 convertible Chrysler New Yorker, found in a garage in Cuba eight years ago, and its subsequent restoration. Yet what sounds a gentle project has exacted … Read more