EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Cate Blanchett to star as the US divorcee Wallis Simpson who lured Edward VIII away from the Royal Family and caused the 1936 abdication crisis
Cate Blanchett is to be approached about playing the Duchess of Windsor
With Meghan having moved back to Los Angeles, Hollywood is preparing to dramatise the story of another U.S. divorcee who lured her husband away from the Royal Family.
Author Anna Pasternak has sold the film rights to her biography of Wallis Simpson, The American Duchess, to Tinseltown production company The Gotham Group.
Cate Blanchett is to be approached about playing the Duchess of Windsor.
‘It’s rather thrilling as they made me a really generous offer,’ says Anna, the great-niece of Doctor Zhivago author Boris Pasternak.
‘Personally, I think Damian Lewis would be wonderful as Wallis’s husband.’
The Duke of Windsor caused the 1936 abdication crisis when he gave up the throne to marry Wallis.
‘Now Meghan has moved back to Hollywood, never has it been timelier to consider the fate of the original American duchess,’ Pasternak says.
‘As both could attest, life has always been difficult for women marrying into the Royal Family.’
The Duke of Windsor caused the 1936 abdication crisis when he gave up the throne to marry Wallis
The smart set’s talking about…
Royal snapper’s Covid-19 strategy
He’s the trusted photographer whose royal commissions included taking the official wedding snaps for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
But what does Hugo Burnand do when he’s unable to take pictures of the great and good? Go back to basics, that’s what.
He and his team (pictured) have been using lockdown to improve their technique by taking striking still-life shots of oranges, grapes and tomatoes.
‘We’ve started the ‘Coronavirus School of Photography’ to share pictures online,’ he tells me.
He and his team (pictured) have been using lockdown to improve their technique by taking striking still-life shots of oranges, grapes and tomatoes
At William and Kate’s wedding, he used sweets to encourage bridesmaids and page boys to pose.
Now, he’s having to use his social skills to control two new puppies, a fox terrier and a lurcher.
He says: ‘They’re called Stan, for Stand Well Back, and Cat, for Catherine Wheel. It causes havoc in the park when I shout: ‘Cat! Cat!’ ‘
Prince Charles’s video address to the nation this week thrilled eagle-eyed crime writer Felix Francis, who spotted Shattered, a novel by his father, Dick, on the bookshelf in the backgound.
The video was recorded at the heir to the throne’s Scottish retreat Birkhall, which he inherited from the Queen Mother, a big fan of jockey turned thriller-writer Dick Francis.
‘I send the Prince a copy of my books every year and he kindly writes and tells me how much he and his wife enjoy them,’ Felix reveals.
‘They always get my stuff first. I take four copies round to the side door of Buckingham Palace, one each for the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Princess Royal.’
The video was recorded at the heir to the throne’s Scottish retreat Birkhall, which he inherited from the Queen Mother, a big fan of jockey turned thriller-writer Dick Francis