Here’s some rare good news for the royal family of Montecito.
I hear the Duke of Sussex has no plans to give interviews to promote the paperback edition of his tasteless memoir, Spare.
His publisher, Penguin Random House, announced Monday that a cheaper edition of the explosive book would be released in October.
“Harry has no plans to give interviews to promote the paperback edition,” a friend of his tells me.
“The paperback was part of the book deal he signed, but he is not contractually obligated to promote this edition. The reason it took longer than usual for the paperback to be published is that the more expensive hardcover was still selling well.”
My news will come as a relief to the royal family, who were hit with a series of revealing interviews with Prince Harry in January last year as he promoted the publication of the hardcover edition.
Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan during their tour of Colombia this month
Pictured: The Prince Harry Memoir Spare for sale at a bookshop in Windsor, Berkshire
Prince William and the Princess of Wales attend a ceremonial welcome for the President and First Lady of the Republic of Korea during Horse Guards Parade on November 21 last year
King Charles attends Sunday church service at Sandringham Church on July 28
In an interview with ITV News, he told Tom Bradby that his family had “been in bed with the devil” by collaborating with the press, and that his father was “not ready” for the responsibilities of parenthood.
The hardcover edition of Spare broke records in bookshops. It was Britain’s best-selling book last year, with more than 700,000 copies sold.
A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex declined to comment.
Poppies bloom in the Venetian sun
Hi, Poppy Delevingne! The model and socialite joined London’s beau monde in swapping Ubers for gondoliers as their mode of transportation at the Venice Film Festival, which kicked off last night.
Poppy, 38, wore an all-white outfit consisting of a floral lace top and high-waisted trousers as she docked at the five-star Excelsior Hotel in the canal town.
The Chelsea developer’s daughter is currently off the market following her passionate romance with Archie Keswick, scion of Jardine Matheson’s billion-dollar empire and ex of Sienna Miller.
Poppy, 38, wore an all-white outfit including a floral lace top and high-waisted trousers at the Venice Film Festival
Sharon Stone’s Hollywood film career took a nosedive when she suffered a stroke and a brain hemorrhage in 2001, but she remains grateful for her long-term battle with her health.
“I really believe that recovery is a big part of who you choose to become,” she tells me. “I’ve learned a lot about being grateful to be here, but I’ve also learned a lot about time and how to make the time you have useful.”
The Olympic spirit may soon be on Sarah, the Duchess of York’s mind, as she has said she dreams of winning “a gold medal in equestrian sport.”
I can reveal that her boyfriend, the philanthropist Milutin Gatsby, is bringing his own version of the Olympic Games to life.
“It’s called 100 C, which stands for 100 Celebrities Championship for Charity. The 100 biggest celebrities in the world compete in different games,” he tells me.
Eton head ‘Trendy Hendy’ takes health break
In 2015, at the age of 39, he became Eton’s youngest headmaster, earning £52,749 a year.
But will the reign of Simon Henderson, derided by critics as ‘Trendy Hendy’ for his ‘woke’ views, come to an end before the new Provost arrives – the equivalent of chairman of the board of governors at other schools – the ever-agile Sir Nicholas Coleridge?
Pictured: Eton College, which charges £52,749 per year per pupil
I ask this because the parents received a letter from Henderson yesterday stating that he was “medically advised to take some time off from work.”
Henderson, who sparked outrage four years ago by sacking popular master Will Knowland, added: ‘It has been agreed that I will go on sabbatical for this half year. [Eton parlance for term].
Phoebe’s company has a ton of money!
It took Phoebe Waller-Bridge almost five years to turn in her first script after landing a £45.4million deal with Amazon. But the long simmering of her creative juices is paying off.
Besides thrilling Amazon CEO Vernon Sanders, who says her vision for a Tomb Raider blockbuster is “great stuff,” the Fleabag creator has also made the cash register ring.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge attends the UK premiere of ‘IF’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on May 7
I can reveal her company, PMWB, generated a turnover of £18.7m and made a pre-tax profit of £12.4m in the last financial year, from which Waller-Bridge, 39, paid herself a dividend of £1.7m.
Just don’t tell the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves…
Alicia’s corset crisis
Oscar winner Alicia Vikander is suffering for her art. The Swedish-born actress, who plays Henry VIII’s sixth wife, Catherine Parr, in the new historical drama Firebrand, suffered from back pain caused by the stiff corsets she wore.
“As well as me and the other ladies who played the ladies-in-waiting, we also had an osteopath who came on set with us, because we all had the same pain,” she tells me at the film’s screening at Picturehouse Central in London.
“You could really get into your character,” Alicia adds.
Oscar winner Alicia Vikander suffered back pain from the stiff corsets she wore in the new historical drama Firebrand
Zandra Rhodes’ ever-changing hair color can be a problem, making her unrecognizable even to clients like Motown legend Diana Ross, who she saw in Beverly Hills.
“I walked up her driveway. Diana said, ‘Come a step closer and I’ll close this garage door for you,'” Dame Zandra, 83, tells me in A Night With Janis Joplin at London’s Peacock Theatre. “When we met in London, I was wearing a white turban … this time I had green hair … not at all like she had seen.”