He’s contended with two unspeakable hammer blows – the murder, in the custody of the Kenyan police, of his elder son, Alexander, and the loss of his younger boy, Rupert, who took his own life while in the grip of cannabis-induced psychosis.
But I can disclose that Lord Monson, who has inoperable cancer, plus an acute cardiac condition and diabetes, now appears to have been comprehensively cut off by none other than his own mother.
The moment chosen for what friends describe as a devastating snub was a family celebration, held last Saturday in north Lincolnshire where the Monsons have ruled the roost for generations.
‘A big invitation went out saying, “Emma, Lady Monson and family invite you to join them to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the newly conserved Monson Monument”,’ I’m told by a chum of Nicholas, the 69-year-old peer.
‘The monument’s an astonishing thing, with alabaster effigies of Nick’s forebears, in the crypt of the family church. The Bishop of Lincoln was leading an Act of Dedication and then everyone was invited for refreshments afterwards.’
But not the whole family. ‘Nick wasn’t invited. He didn’t even know it was happening until someone got in touch with him and said, “Thanks for the invitation”.’
Monson declines to comment, and his mother, 89, could not be reached yesterday.
But I understand that their only communication is via Nicholas Monson’s Brazilian wife, Silvana.
Lord Monson with Kate Green (Left) (mother of Rupert Green) at Woking Coroners Court for the inquest into his sons death
Lord Monson with his younger boy, Rupert, who took his own life while in the grip of cannabis-induced psychosis
Alexander Monson, who died in police custody in Kenya in 2012, pictured with his mother Hilary
‘I don’t know what’s caused the rift,’ the chum adds. ‘Nick’s lived an unusual life and he’s on his third marriage but it seems extraordinary that they couldn’t have worked things out, at least for the weekend.’
It is indeed a sorry state of affairs for a family boasting ability, royal connections and glamour.
Monson’s cousins include investment guru Guy Monson, a former trustee of the Invictus Games, and the beautiful Debbie Bismarck, wife of Count Leopold Bismarck and mother of photographer Nikolai Bismarck, until recently Kate Moss’s longstanding toyboy lover.
‘There’s a big will to consider – Lady Monson’s,’ I’m told. In which, presumably, Nicholas, the eldest of her three sons, will go unmentioned…
Phew… Harriet keeps her cool at Wills’ polo
Harriet Sperling made her debut in a carriage in the Royal Procession at Ascot last month, despite not being engaged to Peter Phillips.
And yesterday the NHS nurse broke further new ground for a royal girlfriend. In Windsor Great Park, where the mercury hit 32C, Harriet, 45, undid not one, not two, but five of the buttons on her sleeveless white dress.
She and Princess Anne’s 47-year-old son were cheering on his cousin Prince William, 43, as he played in the Royal Charity Cup at Guards Polo Club. William’s wife, Catherine, did not attend the match even though their home, Adelaide Cottage, is also at Windsor.
Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling attend The Royal Charity Polo Cup 2025 at Guards Polo Club
Kate’s university ex is a double for Roger Federer
The Princess of Wales is expected to present the trophies at Wimbledon this weekend, but her ex-boyfriend Rupert Finch has already visited the All England Club – and could have been mistaken for former champion Roger Federer.
Among those highlighting lawyer Finch’s similarities to the Swiss legend was his wife, Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs, daughter of the Marquess of Reading.
‘Hanging out with Federer on Centre Court,’ Lady Natasha, 42, joked online next to this photograph of her with Finch, 46, who went out with Catherine at St Andrews University before she met Prince William.
The princess, 43, is a great admirer of Federer, also 43, with whom she bonded in the Royal Box in 2023.
Princess Kate’s ex-boyfriend Rupert Finch with Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs, daughter of the Marquess of Reading
Former Wimbledon legend Roger Federer bonds with Princess Kate in the Royal Box in 2023
The smart set’s talking about… Earl heir’s ‘party girl’ fiancee
It’s surely the engagement announcement of the summer. The Earl of Wemyss and March’s only son and heir, Dick, 40, is to marry Georgie Thomas, a lively alumna of £58,410-a-year St Mary’s Calne – the Wiltshire girls’ school from which Jade Jagger was expelled for being a little too spirited.
An admirer assures me that Georgie is ‘a party girl’. Let’s hope she can keep up with Dick’s family. His sister, Lady Mary Charteris, 38, is a high-octane performer if ever there was one.
Model turned DJ Lady Mary’s now a member of the band The Big Pink, having married its frontman Robbie Furze in 2012, at Stanway, her family’s mesmerizingly beautiful Jacobean manor house in Gloucestershire whose fountain rises to over 300ft – the tallest in Britain.
Dick’s father and stepmother are devotees of trepanning – the practice of drilling into the skull. Dick, a lawyer, has so far resisted emulating them. A treat for the stag night perhaps?
Porn baron’s £100m heir lashes ‘worst’ mayor Sadiq Khan
His father, Paul Raymond, introduced the public to such supple performers as Bonnie Bell the Ding Dong Girl – a star of his legendary strip club, the Revuebar in Soho. But is Howard Raymond about to call time on London’s West End?
I ask because the affable Howard, 65, who inherited 20 per cent of his father’s property empire, has agreed with co-directors at Raymond Estates to put the company into voluntary liquidation, even though it boasts assets of nearly £100 million.
‘I’m making my life more fluid,’ Howard tells me, explaining that he takes a grim view of the country’s immediate future – especially London’s.
Its Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is, he reflects sardonically, ‘very good at having his Instagram pictures taken – but that’s as far as it goes. Probably the worst mayor we’ve ever had.’
And Howard, uncle of Fawn and India Rose Raymond – his late sister Debbie’s daughters – says that, though the last government was bad, ‘it’s ten times worse now’.
So he’s looking abroad at ‘about five places, to see if I want to live [in one of them] at some stage’.
Emily Clarkson: My ADHD hell
Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter Emily has revealed she’s been diagnosed with ADHD and says her symptoms nearly wrecked her marriage.
The podcaster, 30, who has two children with husband Alex Andrew, right, says: ‘I’ve got ADHD. It was the third opinion, and it’s conclusive. Someone said, “Is it nice of you to have that peace?” I had this chat with my parents, and I was like, well, no.’
Recalling a holiday, when her symptoms were particularly bad, she adds: ‘We nearly got divorced. I was a f***ing lunatic. I felt like a mad person.’
Emily Clarkson pictured with her husband Alex Andrew
Owzat! Stuart Broad breaks new boundary
Test legend Stuart Broad is turning in a remarkable innings in the pub trade, where he has struck up a winning partnership with fellow ex-cricketer Harry Gurney, with whom he owns two hostelries.
‘Turnover’s up by more than 10 per cent and we’ve got a third pub due to open,’ Gurney tells me. But he and Broad, who recently celebrated the birth of a second daughter, Liliana, with his fiancée, Radio 1 DJ Mollie King, aren’t complacent.
‘The Budget put huge pressure on pubs,’ Harry adds. ‘We’re lucky – we cater to the premium end of the market, so we’ve been able to pass on some of the costs.’
Stuart Broad recently celebrated the birth of a second daughter, Liliana, with his fiancée, Radio 1 DJ Mollie King
Jesus of Nazareth star Robert Powell is in an unholy row over the electric hire bikes left piled up on his doorstep.
‘You’ve got two octogenarians here who are in danger of being killed,’ says the actor, 81, who lives in Highgate, north London, with his wife, Babs.
She says: ‘I’m terrified of them exploding. They’re often leaned against our house and all it takes is a spark… one of us is going to have a heart attack out there moving the bikes.’
In the absence of divine intervention, Camden Council says: ‘We’re using our powers to relocate this bay.’
On screen smoothie Nigel Havers takes a disapproving view of his fellow actors across the pond.
‘American actors are very different to English actors,’ claims the Chariots Of Fire star, 73. ‘They’re not very friendly. If you come to a film set in England, we’ll have a good time joking around and chatting, but it’s very competitive in America.
‘They think you might get a job they want, but I don’t give a toss what I do or don’t get.’
Nigel Havers takes a disapproving view of his fellow actors across the pond
As part of 1980s pop duo Bros, Matt Goss sang to hordes of screaming girls. Next week, he will perform in front of Princess Anne at Horse Guards Parade, London.
Goss, 56, will sing in A Military Musical Spectacular – Heroes, a show organised by the Household Division charity.
‘Real gratitude means supporting [veterans] here, not just in conflict,’ Matt, whose grandfather was a gunner in World War II, tells me. ‘It digs a knife into my ribs, the thought of anyone who’s worn a uniform and served our country facing challenges when they come home.’
