EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Elton John’s profits rocket after farewell tour boosts his coffers by £6million 

Sir Elton John got a £6m boost to his fortune after he was able to resume his Covid-interrupted farewell tour.

His business, J Bondi, saw a jump in value from £24.3m to £30.2m in 12 months after he played a series of canceled concerts in the US.

Recently released accounts show he was even able to repay a £4.5m bank loan in full when the tour money came through again.

The figures cover the 12 months through the end of March of last year and include all 26 dates in the United States. Elton had to postpone his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in March 2020 when the world went into lockdown.

Unlike his friend Victoria Beckham, who laid off staff at her fashion business, Elton has balked at the idea of ​​accepting taxpayer help.

The accounts from two years ago said the company “chose not to take advantage of coronavirus business support schemes.”

He had hoped to resume in 2021 but injured his hand and had to delay his return to January last year. The tour has now grossed £530 million since it began in September 2018.

Tributes to Queen’s naughtiest friend, Micky

During her record-breaking 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II was the most famous woman in the world. However, she still managed to go undercover from time to time.

The woman who helped her do it, Lady Rupert Nevill, died last week at the age of 97.

Born Camilla Wallop, daughter of the 9th Earl of Portsmouth, she was known to her friends, including the Queen, as ‘Micky’.

She had known Her Majesty since childhood and they were both part of a troop of Guides who met in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. In 1944 she married Lord Rupert Nevill and her marital home, Horsted Place, in Uckfield, East Sussex, became a haven for Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend during their tempestuous romance.

Lord Rupert served as treasurer to Prince Philip, as well as private secretary. The Queen and Philip often stayed at Horsted Place, when they were driven the 17 miles to the theater in Brighton.

“The queen enjoys seeing if outside the royal context she can go unnoticed,” reported an article in the 1970s. She once queued up at the ticket office unnoticed.

“On another night, as the slow-moving crowd filled the lobby, the manager recognized Micky Nevill and suddenly realized that, elbow-deep in the crush and enjoying it, was the Queen.”

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes says Lady Rupert had a profound influence on him.

“I will miss her so much,” he tells me. We had been friends for over half a century. In fact, she was one of the main influences in my life. Knowing her, judging her, liking her, were all extraordinary, and I consider knowing her one of my greatest blessings.’

Royals are likely to be in attendance at Lady Rupert’s funeral next week. Prince Philip and Charles were among the mourners at her husband’s funeral in 1982.

Haydn Gwyne, who stars in Channel 4’s over-the-top comedy about the royal family, The Windsors, is concerned that her portrayal of Camilla as a scheming villain bent on becoming queen has influenced the Duke of Sussex’s negative portrayal of her stepmother in his memories, spared.

“I’m starting to worry if Prince Harry has been watching too much of The Windsors,” says the 65-year-old actress. “I thought my ‘Camilla’ had nothing to do with the real Camilla.”

Rose and Charlotte go crazy for their godchildren

‘Erotic, exotic and eccentric’ parties at the Marquess of Cholmondeley’s childhood home, Wembury House in Devon, are featured in socialite Violet Naylor-Leyland’s new book, Rare Birds True Style.

But these days, the Marchioness, former model Rose Hanbury, is the picture of respectability.

Over the weekend, she became godmother to one of fashion stylist Sophia Hesketh’s sons with ‘Turnip Toff’ Oliver Birkbeck.

Also pictured is godmother, beauty guru Charlotte Tilbury, during the joint baptism service for the couple’s son Frankie and his brother Alby, born less than a year later, at the Brompton Roman Catholic Oratory in London.

Rose, 38, set up the daughter of former Tory treasurer Lord Hesketh, 38, with Norfolk neighbour, Birkbeck, 49, on a blind date.

Aspinall girl is crazy about color

As the daughter of casino and nature park heir Damian Aspinall, she’s used to all sorts of colorful characters.

And Freya Aspinall proved she’s happy to stand out when she stepped out in London in a £517 multi-coloured cashmere jumper designed by The Elder Statesman.

The 19-year-old, whose mother is actress and model Donna Air, also wore a Chanel pendant necklace and a pair of Off-White brand sneakers that can fetch around £1,000. On her arm was a Fendi bag.

Growing up in her father’s wildlife parks in Kent, where she befriended giraffes and cheetahs, Freya became the youngest model at Storm, the agency that discovered Kate Moss, at the age of 15.

Dame Joanna Lumley’s husband, conductor Stephen Barlow, often rages over having to listen to music on TV shows.

“People who are actually doing things with music in the background, Stephen gets mad because he thinks all the attention should be given to the music,” says Dame Joanna.

Her husband confirms: ‘TV today has too much music behind shows, like Countryfile. I find myself thinking, “Oh, gosh, there’s going to be more music. . .”

“I’m an emotional wreck after a little bit of that.”

Lumley quips, “See, I live with Captain Rage, Captain Angry.”

Kirstie Allsopp He’s a friendly guy, but she was caught off guard by an onlooker when he approached her in a shop in London’s Sloane Square.

“If I had a pound for every person I’d say, ‘Oh, you look so much thinner in person,'” says the 51-year-old host of Location, Location, Location. “One time, she was on Peter Jones and this woman said to me, ‘Oh my God, you should sue Channel 4, TV really isn’t flattering.’

My mother was standing next to me, growling like a little terrier. She thought that was the rudest thing she had ever heard.

Donald Trelford, the former editor of The Observer, could have taken a very different career path.

Trelford, who died last week at age 85, told author Dominic Shelmerdine for his book My Original Ambition: “My childhood ambitions didn’t crystallize until my teens, when I seriously (but briefly) thought about joining the Church.