As the chatelaine of Longleat, her husband’s majestic family seat in Wiltshire, Strictly Come Dancing star Emma Weymouth is, understandably, used to being center stage.
But next month it looks like she will be overshadowed – at least for an hour or two – by a parade of equally glamorous women, albeit a generation or two older than her.
I can tell you that they will all be ex-lovers of Emma’s late father-in-law, Alexander, 7th Marquess of Bath, who died in 2020 aged 87, after enjoying a succession of so-called ‘wifelets’ – 75 of them in all – earning him the nickname ‘the loins of Longleat’.
“His dear friends,” is how one of them, Bridget, an Australian fashion designer, describes the group, before explaining why she has coordinated the meeting, which, she says, will be held at Heaven’s Gate, a beautiful spot on the Estate of 9,000 hectares.
Alexander’s ashes were scattered there – not by his son Ceawlin, or by his daughter Lenka, but by the funeral directors who were in lockdown.
“We never had a chance to say goodbye,” Bridget says. ‘But we’re still here. We mourn. That’s why we decided to do something about it.’
They plan to meet on April 4, along with one or two platonic friends of the Marquis.
“We feel like we should be together, light candles and read our love for Alexander,” says Bridget.
Ceawlin, 49, refrained from commenting.
But of course he’s been there much longer than any of his father’s old friends – including Jamaican-born bombshell and former Bond girl Sylvana Henriques, who, as I revealed last month, is hoping to recover the portrait Alexander painted of her. and which used to hang on a staircase next to those of his other wives.
As the chatelaine of Longleat, her husband’s majestic family seat in Wiltshire, Strictly Come Dancing star Emma Weymouth is, understandably, used to being center stage. Pictured: Lord Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath
But next month it looks like she will be overshadowed – at least for an hour or two – by a parade of equally glamorous women, albeit a generation or two older than her. Pictured: Lord Bath of Longleat with his wife Anna Gael
Alice and Reese on the top table
Alice Naylor-Leyland has convinced friends such as Princess Beatrice with her themed dinner set and is also proving popular in Hollywood.
The socialite, 37, launched her first pop-up store of her ‘Mrs Alice’ tablescapes spring collection over a weekend in California, where she was joined by Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon.
In a photo she shared online of the pair together (above), she wrote: “No better welcome to Los Angeles than this ray of sunshine.”
Alice’s husband, Tom Naylor Leyland, is heir to a baronetcy and Fitzwilliam’s landowning fortune worth £176 million. Alice has three children with Tom, whom she first met when she was 17.
She says: ‘I am now a working mother seven days a week, and he accepts and supports that.
He could be a guy who says, “I just want you to make granola with the kids.” Yet he doesn’t want that.’
Alice Naylor-Leyland, 37, launched her first pop-up shop this weekend in California with her ‘Mrs Alice’ tablescapes spring collection, where she was joined by Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon
Kate: Say sorry to kids
Talk about new-age parenting. Broadcaster and child therapist Kate Silverton is urging parents to apologize to their children after telling them off.
The former BBC newsreader and mother-of-two says: ‘Suppose you’ve lost your rag and you start shouting. You can actually go to your kids afterwards and honestly say, “Honey, I’m so sorry. I misunderstood that and did not speak to you as kindly as I should have.” It doesn’t matter what the incident was.’
Silverton, 53, who has a daughter, Clemency, 12, and a nine-year-old son, Wilbur, with her former Royal Marine husband Mike Heron, added on the Happy Place podcast: “We model the behavior we want to see.”
Kate Silverton urges parents to apologize to their children after telling them off
Hands up! Scarlett is in the photo
Has anything good finally come from the unnecessary fuss over the Princess of Wales tampering with the photo of herself and her three children published on Mother’s Day?
Well, writer Scarlett Curtis seems to think so: she no longer wants to Photoshop her hands into photos.
‘I have strange 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 taken pictures with my hands before. They look like a skeleton. . . But I’m done with it.’
Scarlett Curtis no longer wants to Photoshop her hands into photos
Big steps for dance duo
Strictly Come Dancing star Nadiya Bychkova was ‘disappointed’ she wasn’t in one of the couples on the BBC ballroom show last year.
Now the dancer, 34, and her boyfriend, Strictly’s Kai Widdrington, 28, are heading out on their dance tour, Behind The Magic.
“Doing other things allows you to tell your story and pour out everything you have inside you,” she tells me at the Ballet Icons Gala at the London Coliseum.
Nadiya Bychkova, 34, and her boyfriend, Strictly’s Kai Widdrington, 28, head out on their dance tour, Behind The Magic
Pictured: Strictly Come Dancing star Nadiya Bychkova
Potty chef Gordon Ramsay is known for throwing his punches, but his protégé Anna Haugh prefers a calmer approach.
‘For example, if someone makes a mistake, if someone is late, I give people the benefit of the doubt, because that’s how you find out the truth. The hospitality industry is all about looking for the good,” she tells me on The London Murphya List. “Gordon may not put it that way, but the man is a natural host, and a good host gives and gets back.”
Potty chef Gordon Ramsay (pictured) is known for being off-guard, but his protégé Anna Haugh prefers a calmer approach
The old adage that sex sells has paid off for bonkbuster author Dame Jilly Cooper, 87, who has sold more than 11 million copies of her books in Britain alone.
Yet historian and writer Lady Antonia Fraser, who has written 39 books, refuses to do anything about Dame Jilly’s racy books.
“She’s an institution and a wonderful person, but I wouldn’t dare write about sex,” she tells me at a party in London.
‘I write solemnly about historical figures and wouldn’t know where to start.’
