Six years after I revealed that the Duke of Beaufort had exchanged vows with journalist Georgia Powell in front of a handful of guests at St Michael and All Angels, he will return to the church on his 52,000-acre Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire for an infinitely sadder ceremony.
The duke’s younger brother, Lord Edward Somerset, has died aged 66.
A service of thanksgiving will be held at St Michael and All Angels before Christmas.
Yesterday, a family spokesman described Lord Edward as ‘beloved’ and said he had died ‘peacefully at home’ earlier this month. But the rock musician duke (‘Bunter’ to his friends), 72, declines to comment.
His reticence is, perhaps, understandable. Lord Edward, known as Eddie, who had problems with drink and drugs, was handed a two-year jail sentence in 2014 for punching, kicking and scratching his wife Caroline over a 22-year period at their home on the Badminton Estate.
It was a shameful decline for Eddie, who had become friends with Sir Mick Jagger while running an art gallery in New York.
He and Caroline attended the Rolling Stones singer’s lavish 50th birthday party in London. The couple, who had two children, separated – but Lord Edward’s long-term girlfriend, Chloe Banks, stuck by him during his prison term. She even posted a Facebook message urging friends to commemorate his birthday.
However, barely six months after his release, having served just seven months of his sentence, he ruthlessly dumped her.
Lord Edward, who was educated at £57,000-per-year boarding school Millfield, was said to have split from the blonde divorcee after deciding that he needed to concentrate on mending fences with his own family. Chloe was reportedly devastated.
Lord Edward Somerset with his wife Lady Caroline Somerset
Duke of Beaufort and wife Georgia Powel at the 100th Gold Cup Race day at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival
Pictured: The Grade I listed Badminton House which was the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the 17th century
Strictly’s Emma is nuts about Carlos’s ballet
Emma Weymouth found fame performing waltzes and tangos on Strictly Come Dancing, but her heart lies with ballet.
And this week the Marchioness of Bath – to give Emma, 38, her proper title – could be found cosying up to former Royal Ballet star Carlos Acosta, 51, at the gala performance of Nutcracker In Havana, his touring production, at London’s Southbank Centre. ‘I’m a really good friend of Carlos and his family, and really excited about his new show,’ she tells me. ‘I love dance and watching incredibly talented people.’
Emma, who lives at Longleat House in Wiltshire with husband Ceawlin, the Marquess of Bath, 50, and their children, likes to take lessons from people at the top of their game. This year, she persuaded tennis star Serena Williams to be her instructor during a workout.
Emma Weymouth (left) found fame performing waltzes and tangos on Strictly Come Dancing
Denim rules in royal wardrobe
Fashion designer Donna Ida, whose jeans have been worn by the Princess of Wales, has given an insight into Catherine’s devotion to denim.
‘She’s a young mum and she’s going to be wanting to play with the kids; she’s not going to want to be in a dress every day,’ the Australian tells me at the Restaurant Association’s gala awards dinner in London. ‘She’s just like us. She dresses so beautifully at all the events she goes to, but at home she’ll want to be in jeans and a nice jumper.
‘Her little guy, Louis, is cheeky, so he’s not going to be sitting there saying: “Mummy, can I help you?” She’s going to be running after him, so jeans are a good choice for her.’
Fashion designer Donna Ida, whose jeans have been worn by the Princess of Wales , has given an insight into Catherine’s devotion to denim
‘I was fired’: Brian Cox on fantasy film fail
Best known as gruff Logan Roy, firing off expletives in hit television drama Succession, Brian Cox was once cast as the voice of regal lion Aslan in a film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. ‘I was fired,’ he admits. ‘I’m not vain about it, but I think I do know how to speak.’
The part eventually went to Liam Neeson instead.
Cox, 78, explains: ‘The problem was that the director wanted it quiet and the sound engineer wanted it much more dynamic and bigger. I could see what was going on and, of course, from the actor’s point of view, I do the delivery – how you distort it is your business. So it was tough. But they paid me, and that was the main thing.’
Brian Cox is best known for firing off expletives in hit television drama Succession
Namesake lawyer finds he’s Next in the firing line
Tory peer Lord (David) Wolfson, a barrister, discloses that he is sometimes mistaken for the other Lord (Simon) Wolfson, who is chief executive of the fashion chain Next.
Matters are compounded with parliamentary emails because on standard computer keyboards the letters S and D are next to each other.
‘He [Next’s Wolfson] often receives emails asking for advice on points of law,’ says Wolfson KC, ‘and I get emails complaining that trousers do not fit.’
Lord Simon Wolfson (pictured) is chief executive of the fashion chain Next
‘Torrent’ letters in parent’s bid to secure Eton College place
Spare a thought for Sir Nicholas Coleridge who became Eton College’s Provost – equivalent of chairman of governors at other schools – earlier this year.
‘I find myself receiving a torrent of letters and emails from friends of friends, hinting that they hope I can help them secure a place for their sons or grandsons,’ says Sir Nicholas, former king of the glossy magazine world.
‘There is a rigorous admissions system here, run with integrity, and it is awkward when the prospective boy hasn’t caught the selector’s eye.’
Sir Nicholas Coleridge became Eton College’s Provost – equivalent of chairman of governors at other schools – earlier this year
‘Of course I talk to trees,’ says Bridgerton actress
King Charles memorably once remarked: ‘I happily talk to the plants and trees and listen to them. I think it’s absolutely crucial.’
And his example is followed by screen queen Adjoa Andoh.
Adjoa Andoh, 61, stars as Lady Danbury in Bridgerton
‘Of course I talk to trees,’ says the actress, 61, who plays Lady Danbury in Bridgerton.
‘There is something so ancient about them and intimate.
‘They have seen it all.’
Speaking at a party to celebrate the Big Give 2024 Christmas Challenge, which raised a record £44.7 million in one week, she tells me: ‘Sitting under a tree with dappled sunlight is my favourite place to be.’
