They’re both happily married women with three young children, who both attended £58,290-a-year Downe House before bonding in early adulthood while training for The Sisterhood – an all-female crew which rowed a dragon boat across the Channel in record time.
But whereas today the Princess of Wales is assured of adoring glances from fellow parents at any school which her children may attend, Emma Sayle inspires rather less adulatory emotions – as the 47-year-old has candidly acknowledged.
Indeed, Emma declares that these days she’s subjected to ‘bullying’ by those who are affronted by the fact that she combines running a company which boasts of ‘leading the sex club scene’ with chairing the parent teacher association at her children’s primary school.
‘I was roped in during lockdown,’ says Emma, adding that it was a ‘drunken decision’.
The Princess of Wales and Emma Sayle in 2007
Kate and Emma training for ‘The Sisterhood Challenge’ on the Thames in 2007
‘I thought, “They’re never going to let me – it’s a Church of England primary school” and “I’ll last a year”.’ In fact, Emma has notched up five years – but not without controversy. Last week she told the podcast On A Mission that ‘only yesterday in the hairdresser’s’ she was berated by a fellow parent.
‘She was saying, “This group of Year Six mums are up in arms about you being the chair of the PTA. You should never [have been] allowed and they can’t believe you’ve been allowed to be for this long, because it’s a Church of England school”.’
Emma categorises this as ‘proper bullying’ – but adds that she has learned to laugh about it.
Perhaps she should invite fellow parents to subscribe to one of her company Killing Kittens’ online workshops – ‘Tantric Massage’, perhaps, or ‘The Art of Spanking?’
The daughter of former tennis ace Andrew Castle, Georgina
She’s starred in hit West End musicals including Mamma Mia!, Dirty Dancing and Mean Girls, but Georgina Castle’s hen do involved even more drama.
The daughter of former tennis ace Andrew Castle could be seen swigging from a bottle on the Greek island of Mykonos before stripping off and jumping in the swimming pool naked with two pals.
‘We’re having a London wedding in September, which is why I wanted my sun fix for my hen do,’ she tells me. Georgina, 32, is due to exchange vows with fellow actor Simon Lipkin, 39, who’s currently starring as Fagin in hit show Oliver! The Musical at London’s Gielgud Theatre.
Georgina parties in Mykonos and skinny dips with pals
Making conversation at a dinner hosted by How To Look Good Naked’s Gok Wan sounds challenging. ‘Throwing a dinner party is up there in my top three [favourite] things in life,’ gushes the presenter, 50. ‘I genuinely adore it. Mine are extravagant. The table-dress has to be perfect. What type of crockery shall I use? How am I going to take [guests] on a food journey? I’ll even have a list of things I want us all to talk about. It’s so controlling!’
Folk rock star Richard Thompson was the guitarist of Fairport Convention. Now his wife, fellow musician Zara Phillips, hopes to strike a chord with MPs over a historic injustice.
She will lead the Forced Adoption Apology Protest in Westminster on July 16 and wants the Government to say sorry to mothers such as hers who had to give up babies between the 1940s and 1980s. ‘Their only crime was that they weren’t married,’ she tells me.
Video of tug-of-war contest between Sting (right) and his wife Trudie Styler (left)
Rock star Sting once boasted about his energetic love life, claiming it involved seven-hour tantric sex sessions.
And, at the age of 73, it seems The Police singer still has pulling power, as he proved in a tug-of-war contest with his wife, Trudie Styler, 71, at a summer fete in Wiltshire.
Sting, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, was on the winning team. ‘Team Sumner 1, Team Styler 0,’ says Trudie, who shared a video of the action online. ‘We were robbed. Until next time.’
