During her uninhibited youth Princess Margaret considered it her second home.
Although Prince Philip earned more attention from a single night there, one which he danced away not with his wife, then Princess Elizabeth, but actress Pat Kirkwood, whose legs one admirer described as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’.
Since then, Les Ambassadeurs, the most opulent of clubs in London’s Mayfair, has never faded from the spotlight, whether as the scene of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh’s final party before their divorce.
Or where Sir Philip Green and fellow retail tycoon Mike Ashley played the tables in the 1990s.
But the latest chapter in the history of Les A, as it’s invariably known, is rather uglier. Indeed, I can disclose that it’s destined for the High Court.
The case involves Sheikh Hassan Enany, who, according to his company’s website, continues ‘to make important contributions to the national development of Saudi Arabia’, including financing and building the Mosque of Hassan Enany in the city of Jeddah.
But when over here, Sheikh Hassan, 82, likes to let off steam. He initially sampled the capital’s pleasures when sent to work in the Saudi embassy in 1968 – six years after Les A featured in the first Bond film, Dr No.
Princess Margaret, pictured in 1969 with her then-husband Lord Snowdon and actor Peter Sellers (left), at Les Ambassadeurs, which she considered her second home
Sheikh Hassan Enany was a member of Les A and was given £3million credit in its casino – a limit later upped to £4million
By 1994 he was a member of Les A and, in 2018, was given £3million credit in its casino – a limit later upped to £4million.
Given that his possessions include a palace in Saudi Arabia, a 200ft, £15million yacht, Il Vagabondo, and, it’s said, a Marbella mansion with six swimming pools, this didn’t appear excessive.
But when required to pay off huge losses, Sheikh Hassan used a cheque which was ‘dishonoured’, court documents state, leaving an ‘outstanding sum of £4million’. Les A retrieved £200,000 – but no more, prompting it to resort to the courts in 2020 and secure a judgement against Hassan in 2021.
Since then, I’m told, the Sheikh has ‘disappeared from view’. But Les A is in no mood to forget him: the case returns to the High Court two weeks today. ‘If he sold Il Vagabondo he could pay the debt and still have over £11million change,’ reflects an observer.
Requests for comment submitted to the Sheikh’s company go unanswered. Perhaps he’s building another mosque?
F1 presenter opens up on neck surgery
Natalie Pinkham underwent an anterior discectomy — a delicate procedure performed through the front of the neck to relieve pressure on the spinal cord
Natalie Pinkham with fellow Sky presenter Sarah-Jane Mee, right, and Laura Haddock
Sky Sports presenter Natalie Pinkham may be used to the dangers of Formula 1, but nothing could have prepared her for a terrifying health scare that’s forced her off air.
The TV star, 48, left, who captivated Prince Harry in his carefree bachelor days, has undergone an anterior discectomy — a delicate procedure performed through the front of the neck to relieve pressure on the spinal cord.
‘They have to take your voice box out, which is disgusting,’ she says. ‘Since the operation, it has been hard to talk, as there’s a lot of scar tissue.’
She adds: ‘I have been very teary. I’m learning to love the scar.’
Declared bankrupt in 2019, Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone’s ex-husband James Stunt might have hoped his luck had turned when he was cleared of all charges this year over a £266million money-laundering scheme.
But yesterday, I can disclose, his company, Stunt Acquisitions, was wound up by a judge over an unpaid debt of £173,000 in business rates to Westminster City Council. It rejected his offer of Rolex watches as security.
Crime writer’s respect for Louvre heist crooks
Queen Camilla’s favourite crime author Peter James has a quiet admiration for the crooks who stole France’s crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris.
‘There are certain villains I have respect for, and actually [who] the police do [too],’ he tells me at the launch party for his latest Roy Grace novel, The Hawk Is Dead, at the Palm Court Restaurant on Brighton Palace Pier. ‘
As a crime writer, you have to have a grudging respect for that.’
Esther: Death helped me
Esther Freud’s bohemian childhood formed the basis of her acclaimed novel Hideous Kinky, which was turned into a 1998 film starring Kate Winslet
Author Esther Freud says she was able to write her new autobiographical novel, My Sister And Other Lovers, only because of the death of her father, the artist Lucian Freud.
‘At first I thought: “Why would I write anything? Because who will I present my success to if I didn’t have my parents?”’ she says at the Wimbledon BookFest in London.
Her bohemian childhood formed the basis of her acclaimed novel Hideous Kinky, which was turned into a 1998 film starring Kate Winslet. ‘I don’t think I could have written my last two books with the same freedom,’ says Esther. ‘I just would have written different books.’
Elton lacked acting chops
He co-wrote comedy classics Blackadder and The Young Ones, but Ben Elton acknowledges his brief film acting career proved a failure.
Recalling landing his one movie role in pal Sir Kenneth Branagh’s star-studded 1993 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing – cast as comic character Verges – Elton admits director Branagh criticised him for over acting at the time.
‘He said: “Stop acting!” I’m afraid I was mugging away, I didn’t even know,’ Ben explains.
‘And frankly, I didn’t get the chance again. I haven’t been offered another acting role in the 30 years after that.’
With John McFall having announced he will stand down as Speaker of the House of Lords, I hear that crossbench peer Deborah Bull is ‘on manoeuvres’.
Given she was once a ballet dancer, those manoeuvres will no doubt be most dainty. Former Tory cabinet minister Michael Forsyth, 71, is also said to covet the largely ceremonial position.
The one problem for Lady Bull may be her age. At just 62, she is regarded pretty much as an adolescent in the Upper House.
‘If you give it to someone too young there’s a danger you might never get rid of them,’ grunts one ancient.
