Just last December, the Duke of Sussex was waxing lyrical about life in the USA.
‘I enjoy living and bringing my kids up here, it’s a part of my life that I never thought I was going to live and it feels as though it’s the life that my mum wanted for me,’ California-based Harry declared of the late Princess Diana on stage at a conference in New York City.
Now, however, I can disclose that he wants to give his son, Prince Archie, and daughter, Princess Lilibet, a taste of his own childhood back home.
‘I can tell you that Harry wants to educate the children here in the UK,’ one of his pals tells me.
The old friend discussed the subject with King Charles’s younger son during his visit to Britain this week – and the reasons for his plans are fascinating.
‘Harry feels his children are missing out on the extensive family network that their niece and nephews are enjoying,’ explains the chum, referring to the Prince and Princess of Wales’s offspring, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, who currrently all attend the same public school, £32,000-per-year Lambrook in Berkshire.
‘Harry wants his children to have the very best education. He has retained his closest friendship group of confidants from his days at school at Ludgrove and Eton. He wants that for his own children.’
Harry may, however, have a challenge selling his plan to his wife, Meghan, who is said to consider sending children to boarding school ‘barbaric’. The friend concedes: ‘There is still some negotiation for Harry to have with Meghan. The King, however, is delighted.’
That comment suggests that the duke has mentioned his British education plan to his father.
Archie is only six years old and Lilibet, who was controversially given Queen Elizabeth’s family pet name, is four, so they are unlikely to be sent to boarding school across the Atlantic any time soon. Their cousin Prince George, for example, won’t start boarding school (probably Eton) until next year.
Harry’s comments do, however, provide an insight into his desire to retain links to his homeland and give his children, who have American accents, something of a British upbringing.
Harry wants to give his son, Prince Archie, and daughter, Princess Lilibet, a taste of his own childhood back home. Meghan, however, is said to consider sending children to boarding school ‘barbaric’
Jo Wood’s plea to granddaughter
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood’s ex-wife Jo is dismayed that their granddaughter isn’t following in her footsteps and becoming a model.
Maggie Macdonald, 16, whose parents are artist Leah Wood (right with her daughter) and Jack Macdonald, was scouted two years ago by Sarah Doukas – who discovered Kate Moss – but has since shown no interest in the business.
‘I want my granddaughter to be a model,’ declares former Strictly Come Dancing star Jo, 70. ‘She looks more like me than she looks like Leah. She’s just beautiful. And she’s going to be really tall – she’s the same height as me now. I keep saying, “Just do a little bit,’ But, she laments, Maggie keeps refusing.
Leah Wood and Maggie MacDonald attend the launch of Jo Wood’s debut novel The Resurrection of Flo in June
Julie Andrews was acclaimed for her performance in Walt Disney’s version of Mary Poppins but actress Caroline Sheen left theatre audiences haunted in a stage production. ‘There was one performance of Mary Poppins when the wires got attached to the wrong sides for the flying,’ reveals Caroline, 49, a cousin of actor Michael Sheen. ‘So I spun around in circles like Linda Blair in The Exorcist.’
TV chef James: The way to a man’s heart? Bacon
Things are hotting up in the kitchen for TV chef James Martin, who’s enjoying domestic bliss with Kim Johnson, a personal trainer and the ex-wife of tech entrepreneur Arun Nayar, who was previously married to Elizabeth Hurley.
‘She’s a brilliant cook and makes me very happy,’ the Yorkshireman, 53, tells me at the National Television Awards. ‘Her bacon sandwiches are incredible.’
Kim, 39, says: ‘I love cooking a roast dinner.’
His popular BBC One show, Saturday Morning with James Martin, may soon see some changes. He reveals: ‘We’re going to change the format a little and tweak a few things.’
Kim Johnson and James Martin attending the NTA’s on Wednesday
Alice Dellal’s boy Buster gets his skates on
Model and photographer Alice Dellal seems to be channelling the reckless streak of her infamous grandfather, ‘Black Jack’ Dellal, the billionaire who once blew £1.7million in a single night at a Monte Carlo casino back in 2006.
Alice, 37, and her boyfriend, professional skateboarder Charlie Birch, 26, have taken a daring approach to raising their one-year-old son, Buster. In a video shared online this week, Charlie was seen skateboarding through a London skate park while holding Buster in his arms.
‘I’ll work on my filming,’ commented Alice, who is also the younger sister of shoe designer Charlotte Olympia Dellal.
Experts strongly advise against skateboarding with young children due to the high risk of injury.
Charlie Burch with Buster
In Sexy Beast, he gave a mesmerising performance as criminal ‘Gal’ Dove who, opting for a sun-kissed, ‘early retirement’, moves to the Cost del Sol. But Ray Winstone, 68, who favours Sicily, where he and his wife Elaine now spend much of their time, explains that he still wants ‘to contribute to this country’. The problem is punitive tax rates, adds Winstone, who this week was sculpted by Frances Segelman in front of a fascinated audience, in aid of BLESMA, the charity for limbless ex-servicemen. ‘You’re punished for going to work. You go: “Well, why am I even bothering?”’
Transformation of the week
Known for her striking long brunette hair, Bee Beardsworth once earned a spot on Tatler’s English Roses list — a celebration of 26 of the most ‘exciting, interesting and beautiful’ young women in Britain.
But today, the Burberry model and actress, 29, who grew up in the Cotswolds, is barely recognisable with a dramatic new style. ‘There’s no better conversation starter than a buzzcut and a provocative scent,’ she tells me at the opening of CÉ LA VI London, an Asian rooftop restaurant and bar.
Beardsworth, who was previously in a relationship with fellow model Daisy Maybe, enjoys experimentation, once telling me: ‘I’m not really a lesbian, but I do like to try different things.’
The Burberry model and actress, 29, who grew up in the Cotswolds, is barely recognisable with a dramatic new style
Phoebe Waller-Bridge has not created a single minute of programming for Amazon since she signed a golden handcuffs deal with the streaming giant in 2019, yet the money keeps rolling in.
Newly filed accounts for the Fleabag star’s film and TV company, PMWB, reveal that it banked £18million in sales last year. The firm made a £15million annual profit and retained a staggering £45.3million in the year to last November.
In all, PMWB has reported £94million in turnover and £8million in dividends paid to Phoebe, 40, since she set it up 2017.
Earlier this month, Amazon’s Prime Video announced that production would start in January on Phoebe’s new TV series, Tomb Raider.
Curse of Angela Rayner descends on shoe shop
Shoe brand Irregular Choice received a kicking from Labour’s future deputy leader Angela Rayner in 2015. Now, it’s been given the boot by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
I can disclose that the company is shutting its Brighton store for good after 26 years, citing Labour’s decision to increase employers’ National Insurance contributions at the same time as the minimum wage.
‘The impact of the pandemic, the changing retail landscape, rising costs and economic uncertainty… have created a perfect storm of difficulties,’ explains Dan Sullivan, owner of the eccentric footwear firm.
Rayner sent the firm a high-handed letter using House of Commons headed paper, moaning that she’d been unable to secure a pair of their
Star Wars-themed printed shoes and warning that their ‘poor customer service’ would ‘cost’ the outlet.
When Dame Maureen Lipman and David Turner exchanged vows at the businessman’s London home last weekend, their traditional Jewish wedding ceremony was interrupted by the scheduled national emergency test alert test as they smashed the glass. And the Coronation Street star and the LA Fitness gym chain co-founder, both 79, were in for another surprise on their big day. ‘The best man forgot to bring his suit,’ says Lipman, who declines to name the hapless individual, but adds that this mishap prompted ‘a whip-around for a shirt and jacket’.
This will never catch on…
King Charles had his Aston Martin DB6 Volante converted to run on wine and whey back in 2008. But can he have known of, let alone approved, an impending conversion at Kensington Palace?
Admittedly, there’ll be no fiddling around with a carburetor this time as the conversion is to a number of magnificent gas lamps. These, I can disclose, will soon be powered by electricity, after the Palace secured permission from Kensington & Chelsea council.
Neighbouring Kensington Palace Gardens – London home to the Sultan of Brunei and Tamara Ecclestone – will continue to bask in the mellow glow of gas, as it has for the past two centuries.
Describing the Palace’s decision as ‘unfortunate’, the London Gasketeers, whose champions include Griff Rhys Jones and Simon Callow, point out that biogas and hydrogen are ‘both compatible with existing gas lamp technology, so the greenest thing to do would be to leave the old gas lamps alone’.
