The Queen could be forgiven for being fed up with the seemingly interminable Tory leadership election.
For I hear she has been forced to delay her cherished summer holidays just so she can greet the new prime minister.
She usually leaves London for her Scottish retreat before tourists arrive at Buckingham Palace for its summer opening.
The Queen could be forgiven for being fed up with the seemingly interminable Tory leadership election. She is pictured visiting a hospital in Cambridge this week
This year, they arrive on Saturday, July 20, but the new PM won’t be announced until the following Tuesday.
‘The Queen will not go to Balmoral before meeting her 14th prime minister,’ a royal source tells me.
‘She does not want to travel 500 miles to the Highlands and back just for the meeting. She will stay at Windsor, so as not to bump into any visitors at the palace, and the new PM will be driven there.’
‘The Queen will not go to Balmoral before meeting her 14th prime minister,’ a royal source tells me. A stock image of the castle is pictured above
Super-rich hedge fund boss Pierre Lagrange has joined the exclusive — and bohemian – club of those who have been married to both women and men.
The tycoon, who owns celebrated Savile Row tailor Huntsman, tied the knot with former White House official Ebs Burnough during what was described as a ‘wild weekend’ on the Spanish party island of Ibiza.
‘Love wins,’ declared one guest after the open-air ceremony. ‘It’s an extraordinary love story, complete with a fairytale ending.’
Lagrange — who paid his wife of 20 years, Catherine Anspach (inset), a record-breaking £160 million divorce settlement in 2010 — wore a Huntsman blazer as he walked down the aisle arm-in-arm with his brother, Bernard.
The tycoon, who owns celebrated Savile Row tailor Huntsman, tied the knot with former White House official Ebs Burnough during what was described as a ‘wild weekend’ on the Spanish party island of Ibiza
Bruno Tonioli declares there should be even more naughtiness
Strictly Come Dancing was accused of turning seedy last year after one of the professionals, Katya Jones, was pictured kissing her celebrity dance partner, the comedian Seann Walsh.
However, Bruno Tonioli declares there should be even more naughtiness.
‘Why is it such a controversy?’ the Italian choreographer demands at the first night of West End play Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
‘Everyone is all so puritanical these days — there should be more kissing.’
Bruno, who has been a judge since the show began in 2004, adds: ‘You’re young; you’re beautiful; just do it and get on with it.
‘I don’t care as long as you’re good on the dancefloor. You can do whatever you want.’
(Very) modern manners
Like most actors, Sherlock star Amanda Abbington works hard to keep in shape, so she’s bemused by the new trend for gym-goers to record themselves for a few minutes before scarpering.
‘This happens so much at my gym,’ reveals Amanda, 45, who has two children with her ex-boyfriend, The Office star Martin Freeman.
‘The other week, a girl set up a camera and videoed herself doing weights and then spent about ten minutes watching it back.
‘I know because I was sweating my t**s off, red-faced, on the bicycle watching it unfold. I mean, come on, really?’
Brexiteer MP votes to leave… her husband
Rising Tory star Anne-Marie Trevelyan is facing upheaval in her personal life. I hear the ardent Brexiteer has separated from her husband, the wealthy Northumberland estate owner John Trevelyan
Rising Tory star Anne-Marie Trevelyan is facing upheaval in her personal life.
I hear the ardent Brexiteer has separated from her husband, the wealthy Northumberland estate owner John Trevelyan. And she has moved out of his ancestral pile, the grade-I listed Netherwitton Hall, near Morpeth.
‘It’s all very amicable,’ Anne-Marie assures me. ‘We are just a couple who, after 20 years of marriage, don’t want to spend the rest of their lives together and are happy to live in two separate homes.’
The passionate MP for Berwick upon Tweed, who has two adult children with John, resigned as a Parliamentary Private Secretary last year over Theresa May’s draft EU withdrawal agreement. She’s expected to be promoted if Boris Johnson becomes PM.
‘Anne-Marie has spent a great deal of time in plots, meetings and huddles over Brexit,’ confides a colleague. ‘John is a countryman, devoted to his farming and shooting. I think he missed her a lot when she was away in London so much.’
He probably misses her less now. ‘My husband has found someone new and I am very happy for him,’ Anne-Marie discloses.
Conveniently, he is said to be courting a local solicitor who specialises in family law.