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Here is some rare and welcome news for the Royal Family from Montecito.
I hear the Duke of Sussex has no intention of giving any interviews to publicise the paperback edition of his sordid memoirs, Spare.
Its publisher, Penguin Random House, announced Monday that a cheaper edition of the explosive book will be released in October.
“Harry doesn’t plan to give any interviews to promote the paperback edition,” a friend of his tells me.
‘The paperback edition was part of the contract he signed, but he is not contractually obligated to promote this edition. The reason the paperback edition took longer than usual to be published is that the more expensive hardcover edition was still selling well.’
My news will come as a relief to the Royal Family, who were the subject of a series of revealing interviews with Prince Harry when promoting the publication of the hardback edition in January last year.
Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan during their tour of Colombia this month.
Pictured: Prince Harry’s spare memoir for sale in a bookshop in Windsor, Berkshire
Prince William and Princess of Wales attend a welcome ceremony for the President and First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade on November 21, 2017.
King Charles attends Sunday service at Sandringham Church on July 28
He told Tom Bradby, for example, in an interview with ITV News, that his family had “slept with the devil” by collaborating with the press and suggested his father was “not ready” for the responsibilities of fatherhood.
Spare’s hardback edition broke records in bookshops. It was the best-selling book in Britain last year, with more than 700,000 copies sold.
A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex declined to comment.
The poppy blooms under the Venetian sun
Ciao, Poppy Delevingne! The model and socialite joined London’s jet set and swapped Ubers for gondoliers as her mode of transport at the Venice Film Festival, which kicked off last night.
Poppy, 38, wore an all-white ensemble, including a floral lace top and high-waisted trousers, as she docked at the five-star Excelsior Hotel in the canal city.
The daughter of a Chelsea property developer is currently off the market as she enjoys a passionate romance with Archie Keswick, heir to the multi-million pound Jardine Matheson empire and Sienna Miller’s ex.
Poppy, 38, rocked an all-white ensemble, 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 cerebral hemorrhage in 2001, but she remains grateful for her long health battle.
“I think recovery has a lot to do with who you decide to become,” she tells me. “I learned a lot about being grateful for being here, but also about time and how to make the most of it.”
The Olympic spirit could soon be with Sarah, Duchess of York, who has spoken of her dream of winning “a gold medal in equestrianism”.
I can reveal that his friend, the philanthropist Milutin Gatsby, is bringing his own version of the Olympic Games to life.
“It’s called 100 C, which stands for 100 Celebrity Charity Championships and will feature 100 of the world’s biggest celebrities competing in different games,” he tells me.
Eton headmaster ‘Trendy Hendy’ takes time off for health reasons
In 2015, at just 39, he became the youngest headmaster in the history of Eton, a school with an annual budget of £52,749.
But is the reign of Simon Henderson, derided by critics as “Trendy Hendy” for his “woke” views, coming to an end even before the arrival of the new rector – the equivalent of chairman of governors at other schools – the ever-dexterous Sir Nicholas Coleridge?
Pictured: Eton College, which charges £52,749 per student per year
I ask this because yesterday Henderson’s parents received a letter saying that he had been “medically advised to take a period off work.”
Henderson, who sparked anger by sacking popular teacher Will Knowland four years ago, added: “It has been agreed that I will be on sabbatical this half year.”
Phoebe’s company has a lot of money!
It took Phoebe Waller-Bridge almost five years to deliver her first script after striking a £45.4m deal with Amazon. But the long process of crafting her ingenuity is paying off.
As well as delighting Amazon bigwig Vernon Sanders, who says her vision of a Tomb Raider blockbuster is “terrific material”, the Fleabag creator has been setting the cash registers ringing.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge attends the UK premiere of ‘IF’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on May 7
I can reveal that her company, PMWB, generated £18.7m in turnover in the last financial year and made a pre-tax profit of £12.4m, of which Waller-Bridge, 39, paid herself a dividend of £1.7m.
Better not tell the new chancellor Rachel Reeves…
Alice’s corset crisis
Oscar winner Alicia Vikander is suffering for her art. The Swedish actress, who plays Henry VIII’s sixth wife Catherine Parr in the new historical drama Firebrand, was suffering from back pain due to the rigid corsets she wore.
“Between me and the other ladies who were playing our companions, we had an osteopath who came to accompany us on set because we all had the same pain,” she tells me at a screening of the film at Picturehouse Central in London.
“It definitely puts you in character,” Alicia adds.
Oscar winner Alicia Vikander suffered back pain from the rigid corsets she wore in the new historical drama Firebrand
Zandra Rhodes’ ever-changing hair color can be a problem, making her unidentifiable even to clients like Motown legend Diana Ross, whom she spotted in Beverly Hills.
“I walked up to the front of her house. Diana said, ‘Come one step closer and I’ll close the garage door for you,'” Dame Zandra, 83, tells me at 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… nothing like what she had seen.”