Viscount Newport, the 43-year-old eldest son and heir of the Earl of Bradford, and his wife, Latvian-born Eliza Liepina, 33, are unstoppable.
No sooner have I revealed that Eliza has daringly undressed for a portrait – painted in the late stages of her pregnancy – than I can reveal that a week today the couple is embracing the American custom of having a ‘baby shower’ – a party in which friends ‘shower’ gifts to the soon-to-be-born child.
But are the boisterous couple in danger of becoming the aristocracy version of the Kardashians? Family friends are afraid of it.
‘They have drawn up a list of presents they would like to receive. It’s too awful,” says one person, adding that the list largely includes things that “any normal parent would buy for their baby anyway: plastic mats for changing diapers, all kinds of stuffed animals and things to dangle over cribs. Plus a breast pump.’
‘They have also listed a £450 voucher for the Beaverbrook Club in Surrey and another £100 voucher for elsewhere. The family is just shocked.”
The couple’s spokesman declined to comment – perhaps having difficulty locating Alexander and Eliza Newport on the sprawling 30,000-acre family estate, which straddles the Shropshire-Staffordshire border.
Latvian-born Eliza Liepina, 33, takes a selfie at Royal Ascot in 2023
The couple embraces the American custom of having a ‘baby shower’
But are the boisterous couple in danger of becoming the aristocracy version of the Kardashians? Family friends are afraid of it
Will Jasmin’s jokes be about father Prince Albert?
Do you think Netflix’s upcoming dramatization of Prince Andrew’s ‘car crash’ interview with Emily Maitlis is the end of ‘royal’ entertainment? Think again.
Jazmin Grimaldi, 31, eldest of the four descendants of Prince Albert of Monaco, will perform a ‘comedy show’ in Los Angeles tonight.
Jazmin, 31, was born after Albert became entranced by her mother, Tamara Rotolo, then a waitress.
He later fell in love with Nicole Coste, an Air France stewardess, with whom he had a son, Alexandre, 20, before marrying Charlene Wittstock, with whom he has twins Jacques and Gabriella.
Princess Charlene has recently been accused of burning nearly £13 million in the first eight years of her marriage, while Jazmin’s aunt, Princess Stephanie, has been married three times so far, first to her bodyguard, then to an elephant trainer and most recently to a Portuguese acrobat. Should be enough for Jasmin to work with. . .
Donald Trump gets Lady Victoria’s vote
Lady Victoria Hervey fled California for Blighty last year after her support for her boyfriend Prince Andrew and her campaign to prove the innocence of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell left her fearing for her safety.
But this selfie from Florida, showing Lady Victoria, 47, wearing a dinner suit and Donald Trump, suggests she is at least comfortable at the former US president’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where she attended a gala.
“He said I looked like I had come out of central casting,” says the sister of the Marquess of Bristol, explaining: “He said he meant he thought I looked like a movie star.”
“Trump was in a good mood,” the socialite said. “He will win the next election.”
If he does, will he grant a presidential pardon to Maxwell, whom he has met several times? The last time he was in the White House, he granted 143 pardons.
Lady Victoria, 47, wearing a dinner suit, wearing Donald Trump
Homework for children is a headache for Petra
Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone caused a stir in 2021 when I revealed that she and her husband, Essex businessman Sam Palmer, had chosen to educate their children at home – because the curriculum at some schools contained too much ‘woke stupidity’.
Now, however, billionaire Bernie Ecclestone’s daughter admits she has reluctantly made an about-face and enrolled her children in a private school in Los Angeles.
“Sam wanted them to go back to school,” explains Petra, 34, an alumna of the £24,600-a-year Francis Holland School in London.
She moans, “They have a lot of homework, project after project. It just doesn’t stop. I can’t remember how much homework and projects parents have to do.
‘It feels like a full-time job: managing the emails, the messages, the different uniforms, the different things you have to bring to school. There is no end to it.’
Tasty mummies in the arms when the club closes
Tears and tantrums at Maggie & Rose, the club in Kensington that co-founder Rose Astor, wife of Prince William’s friend Hugh van Cutsem, calls ‘Soho House for yummy mummies’.
Yet the wailing comes not from the toddlers in the soft play area, but from the yummy mummies themselves, distraught to find the clubhouse, in a ‘cozy stable in west London’, closed – apparently for good.
“It’s pretty clear they won’t reopen,” writes one of those who, after paying membership fees from £2,500, are now blowing off steam on social media. “We’re taking it to court,” says another, claiming she owes “over £1,300”.
A third claimed the company ‘didn’t pay their staff’, adding: ‘The whole chain is closed.’
So it appears that my calls and emails are going unanswered by the company, whose latest accounts are months overdue and which, when it last submitted an account, had debts of £1.5 million.
Fate befalls Rose, whose daughter Grace (left, with her mother) was the maid of honor to the Princess of Wales.
Its co-founder, Maggie Bolger, was sold a few years ago. Van Cutsem tells me: ‘Maggie and I are very sad to hear that it is closing.’
Fate befalls Rose, whose daughter Grace (left, with her mother) was the maid of honor to the Princess of Wales.
Claudia Schiffer’s cat, Chip, stole the show as the supermodel paraded the pet at the London premiere of Argylle, the spy film directed by her husband, Matthew Vaughn.
However, Vaughn admits that Chip’s appearance in a custom Versace carrier required some negotiation with the family.
“Technically it’s my daughter’s cat, but you get better headlines saying it’s my wife’s cat,” the director admits.
“I went into my daughter’s bedroom and said, ‘I’m going to borrow Chip for the next three months.’
Critics said Chip, who plays Alfie, a spy writer’s feline in the film, was a rare highlight in the far-flung antics.
How will Jack Dee maintain his irritable comedic personality when he receives such cheerful news?
I hear the comedian, 62, has raked in a whopping £25million in revenue over the past two years through his company, Open Mike Productions.
This week saw the publication of accounts for the company, which produces both his projects and the BBC’s Live At The Apollo stand-up series.
He co-founded the company with his agent Addison Cresswell, who died in 2013 at the age of 53.
Dee shared a dividend totaling £2.9 million with Cresswell’s widow, Shelley, during the same period.
Jack Dee has raked in a whopping £25 million in revenue over the past two years through his company, Open Mike Productions
Sir Ringo Starr has followed Sir Paul McCartney’s example by showing his own candid photos of The Beatles at the height of their fame.
“We always had a professional photographer take pictures of us, but I just enjoyed taking pictures and I still do,” says the drummer. Ringo is known for refusing to sign autographs because he fears the items will be sold for a profit.
But he has personally entered the limited edition prints from his photo collection, which sell for £1,900 each. Money (That’s What I Want), as the Fab Four once sang…
Davinia and a passport to leave Becks’ best friend behind
When actress Davinia Taylor married Dave Gardner, his good friend David Beckham served as best man.
However, their marriage broke down in 2010 and she admits she despises Gardner, with whom she has a teenage son.
‘I really hated my ex-husband but I still had my old surname because I couldn’t be bothered to go to the passport office,’ says Davinia, 46, known as the ‘toilet roll heiress’ because her father, Alan Murphy, managed the AM Paper factory.
When asked if she really disgusted Gardner, a sports agent, she replies, “Yes, but I hated the passport office more. I thought, ‘I can’t deal with the queue, going wrong and all the paperwork.’
Actress Davinia Taylor admits she despises her ex-husband David Gardner
Is America tired of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex?
I only ask because Hollywood screenwriter Bob Gale, who co-wrote the 1980s classic Back To The Future, wishes there was an escape from the California-based couple.
“I don’t want to talk about Meghan,” he declares. “I think we’re all tired of talking about Meghan. Isn’t that you? Even in the United States we are tired of it.”
Gale tells me, “God bless. May she live her life; may she find what she is looking for. That’s what I wish for everyone.’
When asked if he thinks Meghan has any chance of matching the popularity of Princess Diana, who attended the premiere of Back To The Future Part III, Gale said: “No. Diana broke the mold.
“She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.”
(Very) modern manners
Everyone is part of a special interest group these days, but who stands up for middle-aged men who are losing their hair? Step forward, BBC DJ Sara Cox.
“I am a proud WOAB (wife of a bald man) and know the daily struggles a bald man faces,” she says. ‘These range from purchasing stylish hats in the winter to the weekly maintenance of head shaving.’ Cox, 49, who is married to musician Jon Carter, 53, added: ‘There’s also the constant swearing.
‘Not from strangers on the street or colleagues, but from our teenage children.’