Following Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, the centuries-old position of ladies-in-waiting was replaced by that of ‘Queen’s Companions’ – all close friends of Queen Camilla, whom, it was explained, the Companions would support on official duties.
But this weekend Camilla will be offering support to one of her six Companions – Lady Sarah Keswick, whose husband, Sir Chippendale ‘Chips’ Keswick, died on Wednesday aged 84.
No couple have mattered more to Camilla – and King Charles – down the decades than the Keswicks.
Indeed, it was at Sarah’s 50th birthday party, held at the Ritz in 1995, that the then Prince of Wales first appeared in public with Camilla, shortly after her divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles.
Camilla regularly stayed at the Keswicks’ Sutherland estate, sometimes joined by Charles. ‘Sarah makes [the King] laugh,’ a friend observed after she’d been appointed one of the Queen’s Companions.
This weekend Camilla will be offering support to one of her six Companions – Lady Sarah Keswick, whose husband, Sir Chippendale ‘Chips’ Keswick, died on Wednesday aged 84. Pictured: The pair at the National Literary Trust event in 2012
Queen Camilla with her close friend and Queen’s Companion Lady Sarah Keswick
The younger daughter of the 16th Earl of Dalhousie, she and ‘Chips’, an eminent banker and scion of the family which controls Jardine Matheson, the Hong Kong based business empire, also shared Camilla’s passion for racing.
This led to Chips and Camilla jointly owning And Reach For The Moon, one of the horses bred by Queen Elizabeth.
Chips’ other great passion wasn’t one which Camilla shared: a lifelong Arsenal fan, he was the club’s chairman until 2020.
But he did once persuade Camilla to turn up at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium – not for a match but for the ‘Premier League Reading Stars’ project, launched by the National Literacy Trust.
She chose this week to bestow some of her personally crafted jam on special friends, such as Tracy Robbins, a designer, and Delfina Blaquier, an Argentinian former high jumper-turned-model.
But don’t presume the Duchess of Sussex intends to be tied to the kitchen.
Indeed, I can disclose that, not content with seeking a U.S. trademark for her incipient brand, American Riviera Orchard, Meghan has applied for global rights to the name at the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
And while it’s true that she wants the trademark for everything from mustard to mayonnaise — not to mention jellies and jam — her application covers a giddying cornucopia, including incense, gardening trowels, ‘salts not for medical purposes’, beach umbrellas, cocktail napkins, string bags for shopping, meditation blankets and birdseed.
‘Leashes for pets’ is also on the list. Should Harry be worried?
Not content with seeking a US trademark for her brand, American Riviera Orchard, Meghan has applied for global rights to the name at the World Intellectual Property Organisation
Sting to be a grandad again, says his daughter Fuchsia
Sting’s daughter, Fuschia Sumner, celebrated her birthday this week, but her greatest gift is still to come.
The actress revealed that she’s expecting her first child at the age of 42.
‘Thank you for the overwhelming amount of birthday love,’ she tells friends online next to this photograph of her growing baby bump in an Italian restaurant.
‘Feeling full of love, pasta and most importantly, baby.’
Last summer, I reported that Fuschia had got engaged to Maximilian Wright. Her mother is actress Frances Tomelty, married to Sting until 1984.
They separated after The Police singer had an affair with Trudie Styler, 70, — Tomelty’s best friend.
Fuschia Sumner has revealed she is expecting her first child at age 42
Andrew Lloyd Webber, who declared he was willing to be arrested as he tried to keep his theatres open during the pandemic, has persuaded Jamie Oliver to open a new restaurant.
The Naked Chef is now the boss of Jamie Oliver Catherine Street, next door to the composer’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Oliver says Lord Lloyd-Webber pleaded: ‘Please, can you just do it?’ The chef explains: ‘I said, ‘All right, I can’t really afford it, but I will try’.’
He adds: ‘It’s brilliant he’s my landlord — can’t wait for a rent review.’
The Naked Chef is now the boss of Jamie Oliver Catherine Street, next door to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Lottie parties with Kate’s frenemy Fran
This is unlikely to endear her to her sister. I hear that Lottie Moss was among the guests at Fran Cutler’s 61st birthday party this week.
Fran was once the ‘party Rottweiler’ for Kate Moss’s hedonistic Primrose Hill set.
They fell out spectacularly in 2018 when Fran accidentally sent an unflattering message about the supermodel to Moss herself.
Kate was conspicuous by her absence at Fran’s celebrations at Casa Cruz restaurant in West London.
But her half-sister Lottie was more than happy to attend and posed with Fran, their arms around each other.
Lottie, who stripped off for adult website OnlyFans, is said to have horrified Kate by having a tattoo inked on her face.
Kate Moss was conspicuous by her absence at Fran Cutler’s celebrations at Casa Cruz restaurant in West London. But her half-sister Lottie was more than happy to attend and posed with Fran, their arms around each other
Even when her company, Party Pieces, was burdened by debts of £2.6million last year, Carole Middleton battled valiantly to find a buyer.
In the end, Essex entrepreneur James Sinclair stepped in, paying £180,000 for the business.
But has the misfortune that latterly dogged the Princess of Wales’s mother latched on to Sinclair, 48, whose numerous enterprises include Teddy Tastic Bear Company?
I ask because another part of his empire — The Partyman Company — was listed in a winding-up petition in the Insolvency and Companies Court this week.
Happily, Sinclair tells me all is well. ‘We had a big dispute with our landlord at one of our sites,’ he says. ‘We settled eight weeks ago. [The landlord] is removing [the petition].’
(Very) modern manners
Nightmare for high-living Cambridge dons: their new vice-chancellor, Prof Debbie Prentice, from California, has signalled her disapproval of boozy dinners.
Speaking to Cambridge’s alumni magazine, Prentice recalls her ‘worrisome’ experience at Princeton.
She even did academic research into the ‘social problem’ of alcohol.
Cambridge’s senior combination rooms, where for centuries dons have got high as Zeppelins on post-prandial port, may want to watch their step.
Susannah Constantine was never less than forthright on TV makeover show What Not To Wear. Her daughter, Esme Bertelsen, is even more pugnacious.
I hear the 23-year-old is due to fight tonight in a charity boxing ball at Belvoir Castle, the Duke of Rutland’s seat in Leicestershire.
‘Esme called me up and was really keen,’ says the Duke’s son, Charles Granby, 24, who’s organised the event.
‘She did catch me with a good right hand last night on the chin and I thought, ‘Fair play’.’
