Queen’s former equerry Major Simon Robinson finds new love

Suave Major Simon Robinson was one of the Queen’s most trusted aides as Crown Equerry. 

But he quit his coveted ‘job for life’ in 2011 after splitting up with his wife amid allegations of an affair, which he vigorously denied.

Now he has found love again, with a glamorous French woman connected to the Royal Family.

Major Robinson, 50, confirms he is courting Laurence-Odile Garde Due, who worked for the Queen’s nephew, the 2nd Earl of Snowdon.

Major Simon Robinson quit his job as one of The Queen’s most trusted aides in 2011 after the breakdown of his marriage, but he has found love again with Frenchwoman Laurence-Odile Garde Due, pictured with Major Robinson, who used to work for the Queen’s nephew

She was ‘New Business Introducer’ at Linley, the London furniture business established by Lord Snowdon when he was known as Viscount Linley. 

‘We are together,’ the galloping major tells me. Happily, Laurence-Odile speaks fluent English as Major Robinson admits his French is ‘not very good’.

He declines to discuss further his romance with Laurence-Odile, who is in her 40s, but one of his friends tells me the relationship is very serious, adding: ‘We expect wedding bells.’ 

Last autumn, the major’s appointment as secretary of the Carlton Club, the 184-year-old home to the Conservative Party establishment, caused a major row.

Some members complained he was not the right man to run the club and an anonymous cabal wrote to the chairman, Tory grandee Lord Strathclyde, in official protest.

Major Robinson’s wife Amelisa, 47, walked out on him with their two children and started divorce proceedings in 2011.

Major Robinson pictured with ex-wife Amelisa

Major Robinson, pictured with The Queen, was Crown Equerry, responsible for vehicle transport for the monarch

Major Robinson, left with ex-wife Amelisa and right with The Queen, was previously in charge of the monarch’s 34 treasured horses as well as the carriages, coaches and Rolls-Royces

He resigned as Crown Equerry and, in a move that prompted claims of a cover-up, was handed a new role in the office which was drawing up plans for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Major Robinson was in charge of the Queen’s 34 treasured horses as well as the carriages, coaches and Rolls-Royces used at state ceremonies.

He delighted in inviting her and Prince Philip for tea at his three-storey house in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. 

He was one of only a handful of staff who were able to phone her directly.

It’s not known if he has introduced his new love to Her Majesty.

Genial gardener Alan Titchmarsh has found a new way to ingratiate himself with the royals.

He’s signed up as a patron of the campaign to build a Commonwealth Conservatory at Kew Gardens to mark the Queen’s 100th birthday in 2026. 

Alan Titchmarsh, pictured, has signed up as patron of the campaign to build a Commonwealth Conservatory at Kew Gardens

Alan Titchmarsh, pictured, has signed up as patron of the campaign to build a Commonwealth Conservatory at Kew Gardens

Does Titch, 68, who conducted the saccharine interview with Prince Philip for his 90th and then a documentary about Buckingham Palace’s gardens, hope his MBE will be upgraded? 

He claims that when Her Majesty presented him with the honour in 2000, she said: ‘You give a lot of ladies a lot of pleasure.’

Which Lily is a step ahead? 

What’s in a name? Quite a lot if you want to get ahead in showbusiness.

Yesterday, three Lilys were on parade. Willowy lingerie model Lily Donaldson, 30, stepped out in New York as she made her way to an audition for the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.

Hiding her £50 Levi denim shorts behind an £8,000 black Hermes Birkin bag, the 5ft 10in Londoner, left, flashed a peace sign.

Model Lily Donaldson is pictured stepping out in New York on the way to audition for a Victoria's Secret fashion show

Model Lily Donaldson is pictured stepping out in New York on the way to audition for a Victoria’s Secret fashion show

Lily-Rose Depp

Lily Collins

Lily-Rose Depp, left, and Lily Collins, right, are also proving their first name is one of the most popular in showbusiness at the moment

On the other side of America, Phil Collins’s actress daughter Lily, 28, right, was less exposed in cropped jeans and a white butterfly T-shirt.

Near by in Beverly Hills, Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose, 18, wore ripped jeans and a floral strap top (far left).

And the winner is Lily Donaldson — by a stride.

William Cash was described as the Basil Fawlty of the country house set after he banned a women’s group from visiting his Tudor manor. 

Nevertheless, working for him does have its perks. His friend Elizabeth Hurley has slept several times in a four-poster at Upton Cressett Hall in Shropshire. 

He reveals: ‘I will never forget the look on my gardener-turned-occasional butler’s face after he went up to the bedroom to deliver some tea and found a half-naked Elizabeth lying like a graceful swan in white silk pyjamas.’

The Lady loves a thrashing 

Lady Louisa Compton’s father, the six-times-married ‘mystic’ Marquess of Northampton, is fascinated by Freemasonry. But Louisa finds her inspiration at a London banya (sauna).

‘A strapping Polish man beats you with delicious-smelling oak or birch leaves in a steaming hot room, following which you are plunged into ice water, then cradled in a warm pool as if being reborn into the womb,’ says Louisa, 31, left, and at the banya, right. 

Lady Louisa Compton

She finds her inner peace at a London banya, pictured, a special sauna where guests end up plunged into ice cold water and then cradled in a warm pool

Lady Louisa Compton, left, finds her inner peace at a London banya, right, a special sauna where guests end up plunged into ice cold water and then cradled in a warm pool

‘So good for circulation.’

She might bump into Peter Mandelson and Nat Rothschild. 

They went on what banking heir Nat described as a ‘delightful’ trip in 2005 to a Siberian sauna, where they were beaten with birch twigs by a 25-year-old man.

New Dragons’ Den investor Jenny Campbell doesn’t always make prudent financial choices. 

She lost all £250,000 of her savings when her then employer RBS collapsed in 2007. 

‘You were very much encouraged to put your money into the shares and they became virtually worthless,’ says Campbell, 55, who has since built up a £50 million fortune through ATM provider YourCash. 

‘I’d been proud to be a banker all my life and suddenly that changed. It was just horrible.’

Ramsay feeds off closure of Lloyds 

High Street bank closures have provided a tasty chance for Gordon Ramsay. The potty-mouth chef has snapped up what was the only branch of Lloyds in Fowey, Cornwall, for £600,000.

Gordon Ramsay, pictured, has snapped up the only branch of Lloyds in Fowey, Cornwall, for £600,000

Gordon Ramsay, pictured, has snapped up the only branch of Lloyds in Fowey, Cornwall, for £600,000

A friend of Ramsay, who has a fortune of around £125 million, says he won’t open a restaurant in the three-storey building, but has bought it ‘for investment purposes’. 

Ramsay, 50, spent £4million earlier this year on a ‘stopgap’ home in the village of Rock while his nearby holiday retreat was being rebuilt.

The chef, who has four children with wife Tana, had caused outrage among residents with his plans to bulldoze a 1920s house. 

At least Rick Stein, who has four restaurants in Cornwall, will be pleased Ramsay’s not opening a rival joint.

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