The Duchess of Sussex was proud to be the first member of the royal family to serve as guest editor of Vogue in 2019 – but her late mother-in-law was invited to do the job more than 20 years earlier.
Former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman has revealed that Princess Diana turned down the chance to take the helm.
“I wish she would have agreed to guest edit Vogue,” Shulman says, showing me a picture of the rejection letter, which was dated a year before Diana’s death.
“Together we would have produced something very entertaining. But she might have been wiser not to. She knew her strengths and limitations and was smart enough to see the problems that might lie ahead.’
Prince Diana turned down an opportunity to guest edit an issue of Vogue in 1996, more than 20 years before daughter-in-law Meghan Markle attempted it
Former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman has revealed that Princess Diana turned down the chance to take the helm and shared the rejection letter on Instagram
Prince Andrew claims new revelations will ‘restore his reputation’
Regularly voted the most disliked member of the royal family, Prince Andrew has been stripped of all his public duties, but his confidence remains undiminished.
I can reveal that King Charles’ brother has assured friends that something is about to happen that will restore his reputation – if not quite to the heroic status he enjoyed as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot in the Falklands War, at least to that , which he was before He was photographed in New York’s Central Park chatting with Jeffrey Epstein shortly after the latter was released from prison in 2009 after serving an enigmatically short sentence for sex crimes.
Prince Andrew is regularly voted the most disliked member of the royal family
When shooting, the Duke of York speaks most freely. “He says details will be released that will change people’s perception of him,” I’m told. “He says it will happen next month.”
Andrew doesn’t elaborate, but the Mail on Sunday reported over the weekend that he’s hoping to overturn the multi-million dollar settlement with Virginia Roberts, who accused him of sexual assault. He is said to have consulted lawyers to get them to withdraw their allegations and apologize – after Ms Roberts dropped her lawsuit against another man she had accused of sexual assault as she ‘may have made a mistake’ . However, Ms Roberts has always maintained her case against the Duke was valid.
The most devastating blow, I am told, was the abrupt cessation of Andrew’s role as Colonel in the Grenadier Guards, as the Chron reported before Christmas.
Andrew had already retired from his duties with the Grenadiers, but had done so with the belief that in time he would return to them. ‘He says, Your Majesty [Queen Elizabeth] gave him her word that the resignation was only a temporary measure. He says he wasn’t told beforehand that he would be kicked out, nor, of course, that Camilla would replace him.
“He says he just heard it ‘in the media’.”
Maybe it’s time Andrew threw himself into a media surprise?
Desperate over the spate of cops convicted of sex crimes, pop star Ellie Goulding has urged women to enroll in self-defense classes. “I hate that we’re practically being forced into this because we can’t even trust the police, but as people continue to be total weirdos/crazy and keep harassing, please invest in boxing classes/self-defense etc,” the singer tells fans on-line. ‘Money well spent.’
Alice really knows how to fool around
Alice Eve, 40, was at the Why Not Institute in London to learn about clowning
Alice Eve is that rare creature in show business: an actress who doesn’t take herself “too” seriously.
The 40-year-old daughter of Waking The Dead star Trevor Eve and actress Sharon Maughan was in London to learn the art of clowning at the Why Not Institute. “I’ve had the most wonderful two weeks,” she says, before jumping into the love song.
“It was a deeply transformative experience and more emotional than I expected. The innocent basis of the art form allows a sense of joy to enter the room and with it the cynicism disappears. When that happens, you realize what a cloud of it we live under.’ Ahh, a clown’s fears.
King Charles’ private Scottish estate is seeking a ranger with ‘good knowledge’ of wildlife but admits ‘unfortunately too much time is spent picking up rubbish’. ‘Do you want an office like this?’ Balmoral says in the online advertisement alongside a photo of some of its beautiful landscapes. Aside from the garbage issue, the ad states, “A large portion of the rangers’ time is spent on routine maintenance such as maintaining footpaths, fences, and bridges.”
Hollywood star Alan Cumming has to make younger friends because his party lifestyle can’t keep up with his contemporaries. “They feel out of habit, they don’t feel like they belong,” claims the 57-year-old Scot. you need to go out more Just because you’re not having the fun you used to have doesn’t mean other people aren’t having it.”
Ainsley’s hot potato
“Good food doesn’t have to be expensive,” says TV chef Ainsley Harriot (pictured)
Britain has become a nation of lazy couch potatoes ordering take-out, suggests TV chef Ainsley Harriott.
“Good food doesn’t have to be expensive,” he told me at a red carpet event in London’s Marylebone. “That’s the thing: We’ve all gotten a little lazy – there’s more of us ordering from Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats and things like that. Many more of us cannot be disturbed [to cook]. We are all to blame for that sometimes. . . Everyone loves a little convenience.”
The former Strictly star says planning is key: “Buy foods you know you’re going to eat. You don’t want to look in the fridge at the end of the week and think the broccoli has turned yellow, the spinach is gone, and the tomatoes are calcifying.”