BBC tennis commentator Annabel Croft has been moved to fire off a volley of dismay at the Duchess of Sussex.
The former British No. 1, blames Meghan for Prince Harry’s decision to quit royal duties.
‘I don’t really know if I’m a monarchist or not these days, and I’m not sure about Meghan Markle either,’ she tells me.
BBC tennis commentator Annabel Croft (pictured) has been moved to fire off a volley of dismay at the Duchess of Sussex, writes RICHARD EDEN
The former British No. 1, blames Meghan for Prince Harry’s decision to quit royal duties (pictured, the couple together last month)
‘She seems to have taken Harry away from his family and now he’s stripped of his royal titles. I think she’s doing the same in Canada [separating the Prince from his background].’
Annabel adds: ‘I can’t see how they will have a quieter life in Canada and I don’t think they will be any happier living apart from the rest of the Royal Family.’
Why the next round is on £8m-a-year Star Wars hero Daisy
What a transformation for Daisy Ridley. In the space of a few years, she’s gone from pulling pints in a pair of London boozers to becoming one of this country’s highest-paid actresses, writes RICHARD EDEN
What a transformation for Daisy Ridley. In the space of a few years, she’s gone from pulling pints in a pair of London boozers to becoming one of this country’s highest-paid actresses.
I can reveal that the 27-year-old made more than £8 million last year.
The figure is revealed in new accounts for Daisy’s company, Fawks, through which she channels her earnings.
It reports £11.9 million in shareholders’ funds, an £8.1 million increase on 2018.
Daisy, grew up in London’s Maida Vale with her photographer father Christopher Ridley and banker mother, Louise Fawkner-Corbett.
Her big break came in 2015 when she was cast as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
But she still remembers her pub skills fondly, saying: ‘Not to float my own boat, but I’m a really good bartender, because I worked in two different pubs in a rowdy London district.’
Daisy’s big break came in 2015 when she was cast as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, writes RICHARD EDEN
Nick Rust shocked the equestrian world last month by announcing he was stepping down as British Horseracing Authority boss. He explained that he’d struggled to cope with the death of his wife, Margarita, after a long illness. ‘I’ve spent much of the past year reflecting on my situation after my personal bereavement late in 2018,’ he said.
Now, however, Rust has surprised friends by revealing that he has quietly got married again, to TV betting expert Tanya Stevenson. Rust, 52, has worked with his new wife, 49, on a number of racing committees. A friend tells me: ‘Tanya was there for Nick as he overcame his loss.’
The smart set’s talking about… Charles Finch’s party of the year
Film producer and powerhouse brand magnate Charles Finch is hosting his annual pre-Baftas party at Mayfair’s most fashionable private members’ club, 5 Hertford Street, writes RICHARD EDEN. Pictured: Amber Heard with Finch
While Hollywood stars strive to appear at the Bafta awards tomorrow, the most coveted invitation of the weekend is, in fact, tonight.
Film producer and powerhouse brand magnate Charles Finch is hosting his annual pre-Baftas party at Mayfair’s most fashionable private members’ club, 5 Hertford Street.
Guests expected include maverick director Quentin Tarantino, Hollywood heavyweights Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro, as well as actresses Margot Robbie, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan and Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
This is Finch’s 21st bash and each year it’s become harder to win an invitation. So how did he become such a player? Showbusiness is in his blood: his father was Oscar winner Peter Finch, who played crazed anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, and his mother was actress and writer Yolande Turner.
Educated at Prince Charles’s alma mater Gordonstoun, Finch — pictured with starlet Amber Heard — founded the restaurant chain Chucs, inspired by his nickname. A regular on Vanity Fair’s best-dressed list, his bon mot is ‘as here, so elsewhere’.
He’s particularly proud of his latest film, Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love, about singer Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen.
When not working, Finch can be found on his classic sailing boat or rock climbing. For guests tonight, it will be all about social climbing — if they are lucky enough to wangle an invitation.
Once Britain’s richest woman, Littlewoods heir Betty Grantchester left more than £12 million in her will.
The estate of Lady Grantchester, who died a year ago aged 93, will be divided among her six children, probate documents reveal.
She helped her father, Sir John Moores, build up the Littlewoods mail-order empire and sold Everton football club in 1994.
These days, Britain’s richest woman is Tetra-pak heiress Kirsten Rausing, whose current fortune is estimated at nearly £12 billion.
Fun without fanfare for Mrs M’s 65th
As the grandmother of our future king, Carole Middleton might expect trumpets on her 65th birthday, with liveried footmen serving champagne on silver platters, writes RICHARD EDEN
As the grandmother of our future king, Carole Middleton might expect trumpets on her 65th birthday, with liveried footmen serving champagne on silver platters.
Instead, the Duchess of Cambridge’s mother celebrated the milestone in typically understated fashion yesterday, with pink balloons and party food such as sausage rolls, fruit platters, quiche and mini pizza slices.
The crowning glory was a birthday cake decorated with an image of Carole at her work Christmas party last year.
Photos were shared online by staff at her mail-order business, Party Pieces.
One explained: ‘We’ve set up for a very special 65th birthday.’
Next year, surely the hard-working Mrs Middleton deserves at least a 41-gun salute in Hyde Park?
Instead, the Duchess of Cambridge’s mother celebrated the milestone in typically understated fashion yesterday, with pink balloons and party food such as sausage rolls, fruit platters, quiche and mini pizza slices, writes RICHARD EDEN
The crowning glory was a birthday cake decorated with an image of Carole at her work Christmas party last year, writes RICHARD EDEN
Television doctor Hilary Jones is worried about the next generation of medics.
‘I think a lot of young doctors are trained a bit like clones,’ he tells me at a London function.
‘They are scared to give an opinion, but I like the old-fashioned way where a doctor says it like it is.’
Dr Jones, 66, who appears on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, adds: ‘I feel old enough to do it now.’
Filming his fascinating Channel 5 series How the Victorians Built Britain proved a humbling experience for veteran broadcaster Michael Buerk.
‘I was being driven around by this really glamorous intern — she was 23, a Cambridge graduate, all this kind of stuff,’ the former BBC newsreader tells me at the Costa Book Awards.
‘So I was thinking, ‘How cool am I?’ She turned to me, obviously seeking to ingratiate herself with this old codger, and she said: ‘My grandmother used to fancy you.’
‘It took me a week to work out which bit of that sentence was the most hurtful. I eventually decided it was the ‘used to’.’
Fox’s finances take a hit over record
Leftie-baiting Laurence Fox has had to bail out his struggling music career with more than £70,000 of his own money, writes RICHARD EDEN
Leftie-baiting Laurence Fox has had to bail out his struggling music career with more than £70,000 of his own money.
The actor, who provoked a storm with his appearance on the BBC’s Question Time, has seen his business, Fox Cub Records, plunge almost £90,000 into the red.
Documents show that the only reason it can continue in business is because the son of actor James Fox is pouring his own cash in.
Best known for his role in detective drama Lewis and as the ex-husband of Billie Piper, Fox has been trying to establish himself as a singer songwriter. He recently released the jolly-sounding A Grief Observed on the Fox Cub record label.
A friend tells me he put his own money in after the company he was using, PledgeMusic, closed down.
He adds: ‘Laurence was committed to the record and he’s used his own money to pay for studios, musicians and physical albums.’
Pop star Adele has transformed not just her own image by shedding 3st — she’s also having a dramatic effect on her friends.
Chubby chat show host Alan Carr, who is so close to the singer that she officiated at his wedding, tells me her healthy new shape has spurred him into action.
‘She has inspired me to lose weight because she is looking great and hasn’t become skinny,’ Carr says at the National Television Awards at the O2 London.
Recently separated Adele, 31, achieved her new figure with a combination of Reformer Pilates with friend Ayda Field, working out to Joe Wicks videos and a diet featuring kale and buckwheat.