Born in a palace, she speaks five languages, has been married three times – once to a former prime minister – numbers Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg among her children and invariably has tea with her cousin, King Charles, whenever she’s in England.
But it was her love affair with Richard Burton, five decades ago, which propelled Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia to global attention – an episode about which she has remained silent ever since. Until now, that is.
Speaking from Belgrade, where she has lived since 2002, Princess Elizabeth tells me that she can now look back on that time with some amusement. But the details, which appear in her memoir, newly published in Serbian, offer a harrowing glimpse of a man obliterating his talent and health with alcohol.
The Princess had first set eyes on Burton at the height of his powers, years before they met socially.
‘He was playing Hamlet. He sat on the stage, dressed in black,’ she tells me, remembering how she had been transfixed – by his ‘blue eyes… shining’ and by his voice. ‘It was mesmerising. Absolutely extraordinary.’
That might have been the last she saw of him, had it not been for a dinner given by David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Lord Harlech. Burton and Taylor were among the guests.
‘Richard got very drunk and threw up in the champagne bucket,’ Elizabeth, who was then married to her second husband, British financier Neil Balfour, recalls.
A love affair with Richard Burton, five decades ago, propelled Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia to global attention (pictured together in 1974)
The Princess found Burton mesmerising and just weeks after his divorce from Taylor, they announced their engagement (pictured 1975)
Burton’s drinking was a serious challenge and despite the Princesses’ attempts to sober him up in a Swiss clinic he was unable to finish the film Jackpot due to slurring his lines
This might have served as a warning. But it did not. The Princess found Burton – the son of a Welsh-speaking miner from Glamorgan – as mesmerising as before. Weeks after his divorce from Taylor, they announced their engagement.
But the Princess soon learned that Taylor hadn’t bidden farewell to Burton. ‘She used to call me Elisheva – the Hebrew version of my name,’ recalls Elizabeth.
Burton’s drinking was infinitely more challenging. ‘I had to put him in a clinic in Switzerland. He was so drunk that I thought he was going to die. I called up the ambulance and got them to drug him and drag him off. He was surrounded by a lot of ugly male nurses which didn’t please him at all.’
He recovered sufficiently to fly to Nice to work on a film. At his insistence, a part for his Princess was written into the script. But it was a hopeless gesture. ‘He was drinking all the time. We had to go through fourteen takes for him to get his lines right – which were a matter of five words.’
Elizabeth flew back to London, putting an end to their engagement. The film, Jackpot, was never finished. But it seems that, at 89, Elizabeth may star in a film of her own.
Elizabeth put an end to her engagement with Burton during filming of Jackpot (Burton and Elizabeth pictured with her daughter Catherine Oxenberg)
‘They’ve written a script [based on my memoir],’ explains the Princess, who is now seeking an English publisher – a quest which, I trust, will not be too much of a struggle…
Interview by Marcus Scriven
Minnie’s man has moved to London
Good Will Hunting star Minnie Driver and her US filmmaker boyfriend, Addison O’Dea, are closing the gap in their long-distance relationship.
The couple, who have been dating for six years, are now living together in London. Minnie, 55, tells me: ‘We are pretty much here now. We’re here a lot more than we are in the States, and it’s working for us.’
O’Dea, 46, says: ‘It’s lovely being with all my English mates.’
Good Will Hunting star Minnie Driver and her US filmmaker boyfriend, Addison O’Dea, who have been dating for six years, are now living together in London.
I left Hollywood due to poisonous #MeToo backlash, says Rose
She was influential in changing the landscape of Hollywood by spearheading the #MeToo movement, but it’s only now that Rose McGowan has found peace.
The US actress, 51, was one of the first women to accuse disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape.
‘The way I healed from a lot of very intense things – like people really hating and being programmed to cancel me for whatever reason – was, I just had to leave with love,’ reveals McGowan.
The Charmed star has spent the past six years doing environmental work in Mexico, where she lives. ‘I had to get the poison of resentment out of me,’ she says.
Rose McGowan has found peace after leaving Hollywood int he wake of the MeToo movement which she sparked after accusing disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape
‘I had to be with things that actually mattered like trees, animals, insects, water, ocean, plants – all of it together.’
McGowan was among the panellists speaking onboard the Oosterschelde tall ship in London for the launch of the Jane Goodall Barbie, All Of Me, which is made entirely from recycled ocean plastic.
She adds: ‘I’ve been lucky enough to live in the jungle for the last six years… what I do daily there is go on long, long walks on the shores. I will clean it to the best of my ability because it’s given me so much.’
Karen Millen feels fab after £35k facelift
It’s just over a year since fashion designer Karen Millen underwent a life-changing £35,000 facelift to reverse the signs of ageing, which she says has now been achieved.
She tells me at Backstage Beauty Salon in Chelsea: ‘I don’t feel like I’m coming up to 64. When I look back on some of my old photographs, I can’t believe how bad I looked.’
It’s just over a year since fashion designer Karen Millen underwent a life-changing £35,000 facelift to reverse the signs of ageing, which she says has now been achieved
Karen adds: ‘I just feel in the best place ever.’
Her surgery with Dr Tunc Tiryaki – co-founder of the London Regenerative Institute at luxury hotel the Corinthia – involved three months of healing time.
Speaking of her results, Karen says: ‘I have a healthy glow and my whole jawline is just smooth, and I receive lots of compliments.’
Equestrian Tatiana rides to new role
She was once a keen equestrian, but Lady Tatiana Mountbatten is, I hear, stepping away from the saddle.
The daughter of the Marquess of Milford Haven reveals she has trained to be a psychotherapist.
She was once a keen equestrian, but Lady Tatiana Mountbatten is stepping away from the saddle to train as a psychotherapist
Lady Tatiana, 35, says her stepbrother James Wentworth-Stanley’s suicide in 2006 influenced her decision.
‘The lady I had therapy with [after his death] changed everything for me,’ she says. ‘I remember thinking, one day I want to help people the way she helped me.’
Nearly 23 years after being accused – and cleared – of stealing £4.5million of Princess Diana’s possessions, Paul Burrell is unveiling his third memoir on September 11.
Nearly 23 years after being accused – and cleared – of stealing £4.5million of Princess Diana’s possessions, Paul Burrell is unveiling his third memoir – 22 years after his first effort (pictured)
It might almost be enough to unite William and Harry, who greeted the publication of Burrell’s first effort, in 2003, with the statement: ‘We cannot believe that Paul, entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal.’
The smart set’s talking about Ghislaine’s nephew taking a shot at career in politics
His aunt may be serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking but that hasn’t deterred Ted Maxwell from entering the political fray in east London.
Ted is the nephew of Ghislaine Maxwell, one-time lover and associate of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. One of Kevin Maxwell’s seven children by his ex-wife, Pandora Warnford-Davis, Ted’s website proclaims: ‘Ted for Bethnal Green West… standing for our community, not a political party.’
His aunt may be serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking but that hasn’t deterred Ted Maxwell from entering the political fray in east London
Ted’s website proclaims: ‘Ted for Bethnal Green West… standing for our community, not a political party’
His paternal grandfather, Robert Maxwell, was Labour MP for Buckingham before acquiring Mirror newspapers and plundering £440million from the firm’s pension fund.
Ted’s other grandad, John Warnford-Davis, once put up a sign by the family swimming pool. ‘We don’t swim in your toilet,’ it read. ‘Please don’t pee in our pool.’
Broadcaster Emma Barnett, who hosts the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, is waging an equal rights campaign – for fellow tea drinkers
Broadcaster Emma Barnett, who hosts the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, is waging an equal rights campaign – for fellow tea drinkers. She says: ‘I don’t drink coffee and never have, but I do know how particular coffee drinkers are allowed to be and I am sounding the bell for tea drinkers to have the same rights.’
‘I have become meticulous about how I have my tea,’ adds Emma, 40, who specifies: ‘Four-minute brew time followed by a dash of full-fat milk.’
Very fair.
(Very) modern manners
Millennials have just been named the UK’s most fitness-focused generation, and it appears they aren’t content with any old workout.
I hear a new wellness movement called ‘fittainment’ is inspiring some of the country’s beau monde to ditch nightclubs and seek out events including 2am spin classes with a live orchestra.
The study, which was conducted by YouGov on behalf of lifestyle hospitality brand The Social Hub, found 19 per cent of millennials work from home so they can fit in a workout.
In response, the hub has launched a wellness initiative across its hotels, with a sunrise rooftop Pilates session set to take place in Glasgow.
Chief membership officer Tasha Young says: ‘We see how people’s needs are changing: fitness is now non-negotiable and it happens every hour of the day.’
The Social Hub has launched a wellness initiative across its hotels, with a sunrise rooftop Pilates session set to take place in Glasgow
Model Elle Macpherson no longer wants to be defined by her looks.
‘Being in my 60s has been a transition from being The Body to embodying something far more meaningful – greater purpose,’ she says.
‘I’m learning how to be of service to a wider world… writing, living with new freedom.’
Model Elle Macpherson no longer wants to be defined by her looks and says she’s now focusing on ‘learning how to be of service to a wider world’
After nearly 40 years of marriage, it’s safe to say Simon Le Bon and his wife Yasmin have one of the longest-lasting unions in showbusiness.
Yet I hear it isn’t all smooth sailing for the pair on the domestic front. Yasmin tells me the Duran Duran singer ‘always has audiobooks on and it’s so annoying, as he has it on loud in the house’.
Luckily the model, who lives with Le Bon in a £5 million London mansion, has ‘become really good at blanking it out.’
After nearly 40 years of marriage, it’s safe to say Simon Le Bon and his wife Yasmin have one of the longest-lasting unions in showbusiness – but it hasn’t all been smooth-sailing
Keep it to yourself, but…
A non-monogamous celebrity couple, who’ve enjoyed an open marriage, have finally called it quits and are planning to announce their divorce in a matter of weeks.
I hear other parties are involved.
Is Boy George starting to feel remorseful about his ongoing feud with Harry Potter author JK Rowling over trans rights?
I ask only as the Culture Club singer, 64, has voiced his regrets about the row.
He tells me: ‘The whole thing is very immature. I will be honest, some of the things I said were beneath me, and I don’t want to be that person.’
