EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: This won’t go down well in Montecito! One of Prince Harry’s oldest friends appears in Clarkson’s Farm with Jeremy Clarkson, who wrote notorious article about Meghan

Anyone doubting the depth of the rift between the Duke of Sussex and some of his oldest and closest friends need look no further than the new series Clarkson’s Farm.

Jeremy Clarkson, you may recall, was condemned by Prince Harry last year after writing an infamous article in The Sun in which he pointed out that he hated the Duchess of Sussex on “a cellular level” and added that he hated Meghan wanted to see parade through the church. naked in the street, while people threw feces at her.

The Grand Tour star later apologized, but Harry’s spokesperson stated: “What remains to be addressed is his long-standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny.”

But who should appear in episode seven of Clarkson’s Farm than one of the Duke’s oldest and previously closest friends. Described simply as ‘Hugh’ in the program, Clarkson is Hugh van Cutsem, who is seen deer stalking with the star of the hit Amazon Prime show.

After Clarkson’s comments about Meghan, Hugh’s appearance next to him would have been unthinkable if they were still friends.

Hugh, 49, whose late father, also Hugh, was one of King Charles’ oldest friends, has known Harry and Prince William all their lives. William was senior usher at Hugh’s wedding when he married Rose Astor in 2005, and is godfather to their daughter Grace.

Grace was a bridesmaid at William and Catherine’s wedding six years later and almost stole the show when she covered her ears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace due to the noise of the cheering crowd as the newlyweds kissed.

Hugh and Rose did their bit to make Meghan feel at home after she moved here, hosting her and Harry for dinner at their west London home. They also attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018.

The first indication that all might not be well between the Van Cutsems and the Sussexes came in 2020 after the dramatic announcement that Harry and Meghan planned to “step back” as senior members of the royal family.

Hugh’s wife, Rose, publicly mocked the dramatic announcement. “I’m taking a step back from being a senior member of my tax preparation,” she joked on social media, “because I’d rather be drinking coffee, seeing my friends, loving my family and doing yoga.”

Rose, 44, explained that these activities were infinitely preferable to keeping receipts and ‘doing'[ing] math that I swear is bad for my health’.

She later declined to elaborate on her comments, explaining, “I’m so sorry, I can’t say anything. I’m sure you understand. I’m about to get into trouble.’

Rose led the membership committee of Soho Farmhouse, the exclusive Oxfordshire club where Meghan held her hen party and where she and Harry regularly escaped during the early months of their marriage.

Harry confirmed his disagreement with the Van Cutsems in his 2023 memoir, Spare, in which he revealed that Hugh’s mother, Emilie, and one of her four sons had contacted him to express their anger after his explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The Duke wrote: ‘Several close friends and much-loved figures in my life, including one of Hugh and Emilie’s sons, Emilie herself, and even Tiggy [Pettifer, his former nanny], had punished me for Oprah. How can you reveal such things? About your family?’

Clearly, that rift has not healed.

When Noel Edmonds presented Deal Or No Deal, contestants could win up to £250,000, but caterers at the presenter’s New Zealand vineyard may be closing in on the 1p Club.

Edmonds’ River Haven location, which includes a pub, cafe and restaurant, has closed, with its 17 staff given only 24 hours’ notice.

“We lost our jobs without any warning,” one worker complains. “I cried,” says another. Edmonds tells me, “The team always knew it would close for the winter. October 1 is the expected opening date for next summer.’

Queen of the jungle on the reality of being a mother

I’m a Celebrity winner Giovanna Fletcher says the rich and famous are dishonest about the realities of parenthood.

‘When people, especially people in the public eye, are present during the day [television] Banks talking about parenthood, they are there to promote something,” she said at an Advertising Week Europe event in London.

Giovanna, 39, who has three children with her husband, McFly singer Tom Fletcher, adds: ‘All you ever get on those couches is, ‘It’s great, it’s great, it’s the best thing ever happened.’

When the Princess of Wales appeared on Giovanna’s parenting podcast, Happy Mum, Happy Baby, in 2020, Catherine admitted that she often suffered from “mum guilt” while juggling family life, which could leave her feeling insecure.

Defense Secretary Grant Shapps says that the morning he heard the Treasury would put a further £75 billion into defense, he saw the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, making a sponsored run.

Shapps messaged him to say that, as a thank you, he was sending him £100 for charity. Hunt responded, “I’m pretty sure you got the better end of this financial deal.”

Baroness’ broadside for ‘evil’ colleague

Just weeks ago, King Charles appointed her to the Order of the Thistle – Scotland’s highest order of knighthood – but Baroness Kennedy is now being treated to a less pleasant period in the spotlight.

Labor peer Helena Kennedy has, I can reveal, been named as ‘the subject of an investigation’ by one of the House of Lords Commissioners for Standards after allegedly failing to register an interest.

Kennedy rushes to her own defense, telling me she was reported by “a politically motivated and completely evil Conservative colleague” after failing to declare that she had become a trustee of the Sigrid Rausing Trust charity foundation.

“I don’t receive any compensation,” Kennedy adds. “It was a complete mistake that has now been corrected.”

Why Poppy Still Needs a Leading Man…

Poppy Delevingne is enjoying a passionate romance with Archie Keswick, scion of the multibillion-pound Jardine Matheson empire, as I revealed on Saturday.

On screen, however, the Chelsea property developer’s daughter, who was pictured in London this week, has yet to find her leading man. Although the model and actress, 38, has been cast in the American film The Gun On Second Street, director Rohit Karn Batra is still looking for an actor to star opposite her.

“She will play the role with an American accent,” Batra tells me at the DDA cocktail party on Carlton Beach at the Cannes Film Festival. “I wanted to cast someone who was chic, but with a touch of West Virginia.”