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As chatelaine of Longleat, her husband’s stately family seat in Wiltshire, Strictly Come Dancing star Emma Weymouth is, understandably, used to taking center stage.
But next month it looks like she will be eclipsed – at least for an hour or two – by a parade of equally glamorous women, albeit a generation or two older.
All, I can reveal, will be former lovers of Emma’s late father-in-law, Alexander, the 7th Marquess of Bath, who died in 2020 aged 87, having enjoyed an estate of so-called “wives” – 75 of them in all – earning him the nickname “Longleat’s kidneys”.
“Her dear friends,” is how one of them, Bridget, an Australian fashion designer, describes the group, before explaining why she coordinated the gathering which she says will be held at Heaven’s Gate , a beauty spot on the 9,000-acre Estate.
Alexander’s ashes were scattered there – not by his son, Ceawlin, nor his daughter, Lenka, but by the undertakers in custody.
Alexander, the 7th Marquess of Bath, died in 2020 aged 87, after enjoying a succession of so-called “wives” – 75 of them in all – earning him the nickname of “the kidneys of Longleat”.
Alexander’s ashes were scattered there – not by his son, Ceawlin, nor his daughter, Lenka, but by the undertakers in confinement.
“We never got a chance to say goodbye,” says Bridget. “But we are still here. We are in mourning. So we decided to do something.
They plan to meet again on April 4, alongside one or two platonic friends of the marquis.
“We feel like we need to be together, to light candles, to talk about our love for Alexander,” Bridget says.
Ceawlin, 49, declined to comment.
But he’s of course been around much longer than any of his dad’s old friends – including Jamaican bombshell and former Bond girl Sylvana Henriques, who, as I revealed last month, is hoping to get the portrait back that Alexander painted of her. and which hung on a staircase next to those of his other wives.
Alice and Reese on the top table
After winning over friends such as Princess Beatrice with her themed sets, Alice Naylor-Leyland also proved popular in Hollywood.
The 37-year-old socialite launched her first pop-up store of her spring “Mrs. Alice” tabletop collection this weekend in California, where she was joined by Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon.
In a photo she shared online of the couple together (above), she wrote: “No better welcome to LA than this ray of sunshine.”
Alice Naylor-Leyland, 37, launched her first pop-up shop of her spring table collection “Mrs Alice” this weekend in California, where she was joined by Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon.
Alice’s husband, Tom Naylor Leyland, is heir to a baronetcy and Fitzwilliam’s land fortune, worth £176 million. Alice has three children with Tom, whom she first met when she was 17.
She says: “I am now a mother who works seven days a week, and he accepts and supports that.
Maybe it was a man saying, “I just want you to make granola with the kids.” » Yet, he doesn’t want that.
Kate: Say sorry to the children
Talk about new age parenting. Presenter-turned-child therapist Kate Silverton is urging parents to apologize to their children after scolding them.
The former BBC presenter and mother-of-two says: “Let’s say you lose your rag and you scream. You can then go to your children and tell them sincerely, “Honey, I’m so sorry. I made a mistake and didn’t speak to you as kindly as I should have. It doesn’t matter what the incident is.
Silverton, 53, who has a daughter, Clemency, 12, and a nine-year-old son, Wilbur, with her former Royal Marine husband, Mike Heron, adds on the Happy Place podcast: “We model the behavior we want to see.’
Kate Silverton urges parents to apologize to their children after scolding them
Hands in the air! Scarlett is in the photo
Has the unnecessary fury sparked by the Princess of Wales’ falsification of the photo of herself and her three children, published on Mother’s Day, finally had some good side?
Well, writer Scarlett Curtis seems to think so: She doesn’t want to photoshop her hands into pictures anymore.
“I have weird hands. Every time I post a photo on Instagram I get comments about my hands,” says Scarlett, 28, daughter of Four Weddings And A Funeral filmmaker Richard Curtis and presenter Emma Freud.
She adds: “I’ve photoshopped my hands into photos before. They look like a skeleton. . . But I finished photoshopping them.
Scarlett Curtis no longer wants to Photoshop her hands into images
Big steps for a dancing duo
Strictly Come Dancing star Nadiya Bychkova was “disappointed” not to be one of last year’s couples on the BBC ballroom show.
Now the dancer, 34, and her boyfriend, Strictly’s Kai Widdrington, 28, are embarking on their dance tour, Behind The Magic.
“When you’re doing something else, you can tell your story and pour out everything you have inside of you,” she told me at the Ballet Icons gala at the London Coliseum.
Nadiya Bychkova, 34, and her boyfriend, Strictly’s Kai Widdrington, 28, embark on their dance tour, Behind The Magic
Pictured: Strictly Come Dancing star Nadiya Bychkova
Chef Gordon Ramsay is known for flying off the handle, but his protégé Anna Haugh prefers a calmer approach.
“If, for example, someone makes a mistake, if someone is late, I give people the benefit of the doubt because that way you can find out the truth. Hospitality is about seeking kindness,” she tells me at The London Murphia List. “Gordon may not put it this way, but the man is a natural host, and a good host gives and then gives back.”
Chef Gordon Ramsay (pictured) is known for flying off the handle, but his protégé Anna Haugh prefers a calmer approach.
The old adage that sex sells has paid off for bestselling author Dame Jilly Cooper, 87, who has sold more than 11 million copies of her books in the UK alone.
Yet historian and author Lady Antonia Fraser, who has written 39 books, refuses to take inspiration from Dame Jilly’s racy books.
“He’s a wonderful institution and person, but I wouldn’t dare write about sex,” she told me at a party in London.
“I solemnly write about historical figures and I don’t know where to start.”