Lady Victoria Hervey has been outspoken in her support for Prince Andrew and his old friend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison in the U.S. for enticement of minors and sex trafficking of underage girls.

But as a result, Lady Victoria claims, she had to flee the United States — her home for two decades.

‘It all started getting scary when I got involved with a new documentary about Ghislaine,’ the Marquess of Bristol’s sister tells me. ‘I pretended to be on a whistleblower’s side to get evidence to support Ghislaine.

‘I have been working undercover and it’s dangerous. The powers that be over there know all about me, I even thought I was being followed. I was glad to get back to the UK. I just want this to be over and stop looking over my shoulder and get back to normal.’

The socialite adds: ‘I’ve been writing to Ghislaine in prison and am in touch with Prince Andrew, but I can’t discuss him, although the Palace is fully aware of what’s going on.

‘It is delicate, but I think there is hope for Ghislaine.’

Singer Robbie Williams seems determined to unsettle visitors at his home. I hear he’s bought an artwork emblazoned with: ‘Raising My Awareness, becoming a better person and trying not to punch you in the throat.’ 

The £9,000 work, called Mindfulness, is made by artist Mr. Controversial. ‘I like to create art that speaks to the inner you, the non-PC thoughts that you have but are afraid to say aloud,’ the London-born artist tells me at a private viewing of his latest collection at Old Sessions House in Clerkenwell in the capital.

 Apple stars in Cotswolds

It can sometimes feel a challenge getting through the Cotswolds without stumbling into Kate Moss, the Beckhams, Blur’s Alex James — or becoming entangled with Amanda Holden, Sir Patrick Stewart, or, of course, Jeremy Clarkson.

But now the rich and famous are setting up there in pairs. I hear that Sir Jony Ive, mastermind of so many Apple devices, and his friend Marc Newson, whose Lockheed Lounge chair sold for £2.4 million — a record for a work sold at auction by a living designer –— have snapped up houses in the same honey-stoned village. Ive, 56, who designed Charles’s Coronation emblem, has dipped into his £200 million fortune to pay for a gabled gem dating from 1590.

Newson has bought an even grander Jacobean pile. Sir Jony helped to create the iPhone and iPad. He hired Newson, 59, to work for Apple in 2014. Their company, LoveFrom, is collaborating with Ferrari as it prepares to launch its first electric model. Just the thing for humming over to Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm for a pint of ‘cow juice’.

New Kidd on the block to rival Stella’s range 

Stella McCartney released an organic beauty range last year with a serum costing £110.

But now the designer will have to compete with a new Kidd on the block. I hear model-turned-pub landlady Jodie Kidd is about to launch her own organic range.

‘Ours won’t be like Stella’s,’ Kidd tells me at a private view of Zara Muse’s artworks at the Grove Gallery in London’s Fitzrovia. ‘It will be very affordable. Her products’ design is very plain.’

As September ebbs away and winter beckons, artist Gail Lilley remains serene.

The secret, explains the wife of former Cabinet Minister Lord (Peter) Lilley, is transcendental meditation each morning for 15 minutes in the shower. ‘I started when we bought a house with a walk-in shower,’ says Gail, who adds that the practice yields ‘nice ideas’ as well as inducing a sense of calm — so much so that they have inspired her to create tapestries for an exhibition next year ‘on the theme of transcendental meditation’.

Alas, her husband, she says, becomes less serene.

‘It does,’ she concedes, ‘use a lot of hot water.’

The smart set’s talking about… Lady Violet’s bid to take on ‘woke’ National Trust 

Her younger sister’s one-time boyfriend Otis Ferry inveigled his way into the Commons to protest against a ban on hunting.

However, Lady Violet Manners, 30, eldest of the Duke of Rutland’s three daughters, prefers a more decorous approach to campaigning.

Bidding to help rid the National Trust (NT) of its ‘woke’ agenda, Lady Violet (left) is standing for election to its council, backed by Restore Trust, a group of members sickened by NT’s virtue-signalling. ‘I believe the Trust has become distracted by a political agenda that detracts from its mission,’ she says. Lady Violet adds that it should ‘not view its history through the political lens of today when conserving the past’. Very measured Manners indeed.

But that’s not all. Violet grew up at Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire. ‘As a child, I worked at Belvoir’s gift shop and café on weekends and holidays,’ she recalls, and adds that listening to the castle’s visitors taught her about ‘the world’s love for the UK’s houses and landscapes’.

For the best part of the last four decades, he has been host, friend and – perhaps above all, given the uninhibited behaviour he’s witnessed in the small hours of the night – custodian of secrets.

Now, though, at the age of 78, the man who can truly be called ‘Mr Chelsea’, the urbane, effortlessly engaging Giorgio Burlo, founder of 151 – the basement nightclub in London’s King’s Road from which Prince Harry once beat a retreat via the fire escape – is calling it a day.

The club’s opening night, in 1985, was attended by the so-called ‘Seducer of the Valleys’, baronet Sir Dai Llewellyn, who became a fixture, as did Princess Diana’s one-time lover, James Hewitt. So, too, did doomed socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson – ‘she lived there,’ reflects Giorgio, explaining that Tara was, for a time, girlfriend of one of his sons, Simon – and Bob Geldof, who held ‘lots of parties’ in 151, ‘including his 50th’.

With so many rich memories, Giorgio is only embracing retirement with reluctance – and after a protracted tussle with Cadogan Estates.

Headed, until his death in June, by the uncompromising 8th Earl Cadogan – who memorably closed a restaurant on his 93 Chelsea acres because it failed to impress him – Cadogan Estates refused to renew 151’s lease after the end of lockdown. ‘I was paying rent, but they sent it back,’ Giorgio tells me. ‘I always did what they asked, but, for some reason, they wanted the club back.’

Its closure caused dismay among devotees, with one of them writing: ‘I feel like a piece of me is missing.’

With no sign of the impasse being resolved, Giorgio underwent what was meant to have been a routine thyroid operation, lasting half an hour. But a mistake – ‘the surgeon forgot to close my vein’ – nearly proved fatal. ‘I went into a coma,’ adds Giorgio, who remained unconscious for a week.

Subsequently, he accepted the inevitable, aware that, with a £5.6billion fortune, the Cadogan family could afford to sit tight, even if it meant the club lying empty.

‘They’ve bought the remaining 15 years of my lease,’ he tells me, adding that Cadogan has also handed over a very modest sum for the right to use the 151 name.

But he still has his memories – including those of the two Princes. ‘Harry came a few times,’ he recalls. ‘He walked around, talked to people. William was serious. He was sitting there, in a corner. He behaved like a prince, like someone who would one day be king.’

Another royal, not normally associated with night-time frolics, popped in. ‘Prince Edward came,’ recalls Giorgio, adding that Edward was accompanied by ‘an entourage’ of friends.

There were much older visitors too, including actor Leslie Phillips, forever known for his fruitily voiced ‘Ding Dong’ catchphrase, who cruised into 151 when in his fifties, and lawyer George Carman, who notoriously contrived to secure the acquittal of former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, when Thorpe was accused of conspiring to murder his former lover, Norman Scott. Carman, remembers Giorgio, ‘danced – and everything.’

Only those who failed to meet Giorgio’s standards of dress and decorum were turned away. George Michael was one of them. ‘He had an earring,’ recalls Giorgio, explaining that men with earrings or tattoos were barred.

More recently, the 151 had become a home from home for the stars of Made In Chelsea, like Binky Felstead. ‘I treat it a bit like a second home,’ Binky said. ‘If I’m not getting enough attention or I’ve had a lot to drink, I just kick off my heels and go to sleep.’

Other club owners might have reacted with fury. Not Giorgio. ‘I thank everyone who visited the club,’ he says.

Of Cadogan Estates, he reflects: ‘It is very well run – ruthlessly well run. Let’s hope that running 151 will get them to £6billion.’

Cadogan Estate confirms that it has purchased the lease for the club as ‘part of an agreement which was reached following the tenant’s desire to retire and close the business’.

A spokesman says: ‘Cadogan recognises the value that establishments such as The 151 Club bring to Chelsea and, for this reason, has taken the decision to retain the premises’ name and use, and will shortly be looking to lease it to a new occupier in keeping with the spirit of the original.’

As potty-mouthed media magnate Logan Roy in Succession, Brian Cox had trouble with his warring children. In real life, his four offspring can be almost as challenging. 

Speaking at a BFI event in London to celebrate his 50-year career, the Scotsman, 77, says: ‘I have grown-up children who I love, but they can be occasionally nasty. My daughter is wonderfully crazy, but the boys can be a little tough to handle.’ 

The smart set’s talking about… Flora’s brush with her Churchillian past

Flora Soames is too young to have met her great-grandfather Sir Winston Churchill, but she chose a venue close to his heart for her book launch.

The interior designer, 40, left, held the party at Lavery’s Studio in Kensington, West London, where Churchill was taught how to paint by artist Sir John Lavery.

Her book, The One Day Box, is a ‘memoir of the houses I’ve lived in and that I love’, she tells me. ‘The book is about my insanely out-of-control collecting habit. I have had a one day box for my entire life: a place where I store things that I could not bear to let go of, from fragments of letters, textiles, old paper and china.’

Her husband, the ceramic artist Alexander ‘Blondie’ Macdonald-Buchanan, was one of her inspirations: ‘He’s incredibly supportive. I feel like it’s very much our tale to tell.’

Jemma: I’m having too much fun to marry

The Duke of Wellington’s son and heir, Arthur Wellesley, is due to be married to Canadian Hayley Whitehead, but his former wife, Jemma Kidd, won’t be exchanging vows with her billionaire boyfriend, Arpad ‘Arki’ Busson, any time soon.

‘I’m not engaged,’ the model and make-up artist tells me at a party in West London. ‘I’ve only just got divorced and I’m enjoying life very much and liking where I am right now.’

She has been going out since 2021 with French businessman Arki, 60, pictured with Jemma. He has two sons with Aussie supermodel Elle Macpherson and a daughter with Pulp Fiction star Uma Thurman.

Jemma, 48, the sister of TV personality Jodie, has three children with Arthur. ‘I’m starting a new business, which is at an embryonic stage,’ she says. ‘I just have my head down because a new business is like having a newborn baby. It’s to do with wellness and everything I am passionate about.’

Pregnancy has given Pixie Lott a taste for meat. ‘I’ve been a pescatarian for a long time and now I eat chicken,’ the pop singer tells me. ‘I really enjoy it and I don’t know how this has happened.’ 

Lott, 32, who’s expecting her first child with her husband, the model Oliver Cheshire, adds: ‘I love eating Nando’s and there’s a takeaway near us called The Fat Chicken — that is the one.’ 

Bond girls blast 007 bosses for killing spy

Bond girls are still shaken and stirred from Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007, No Time To Die, when not only did he have a child but the spy was killed off, to boot.

‘The fact Bond died upset me,’ The Spy Who Loved Me star Caroline Munro tells me at the launch of Alistair Guy’s photography exhibition, Incidentals 2, at House of Swaine in Mayfair.

Martine Beswick, who appeared with Sean Connery in From Russia With Love and Thunderball, says of the latest film: ‘I did not like it.’ 

Referring to Lea Seydoux, the French actress who starred opposite Craig, Beswick says: ‘I didn’t like the main Bond girl. [And] I didn’t understand why they had to have a child — it did not work.’

Dust off your topper, Wills!

It could be rather deafening in Norfolk today, thanks to the ‘Turnip Toffs’, who’ll not only be shooting partridge but letting fly volleys of champagne corks — especially at the van Cutsems’ 4,400-acre Hilborough estate, home to the Prince of Wales’s great friend William van Cutsem and his wife, Rosie.

For Rosie’s younger sister, Lucia Ruck Keene, 37, has got engaged to Old Harrovian landowner Jack Wrigley, 32.

Lucia grew up in Oxfordshire, in the manor house once owned by Jerome K. Jerome, author of the Victorian classic Three Men In A Boat.

But during lockdown she took refuge at Hilborough, where her brother-in-law taught her to box.

‘Apparently, my left hook was like a wet lettuce when I first started,’ reflected Lucia.

Luckily, she was also allowed time to work on Troy London, the fashion label she and Rosie founded a decade ago and which counts the Princess of Wales among its ardent fans.

Antiques expert Bunny mourns hero husband

She once discovered what was then the world’s most expensive doll, which sold at auction for £188,000. But Antiques Roadshow favourite Bunny Campione has now lost something infinitely more precious — her husband, Major Iain Grahame, who has died aged 91.

During his time in the King’s African Rifles, Grahame had Idi Amin, later dictator of Uganda, under his command. He subsequently visited Uganda with his second wife, Didy, who, to the horror of those present, told Amin to remove the fake VC from his chest.

Amin complied — one of the reasons, perhaps, that Grahame was sent back to Uganda after Amin ordered the execution of Denis Hills, a British writer who’d described him as a ‘black Nero’ and a ‘village tyrant’. Again, Grahame — and Hills — survived.

His first meeting with Bunny was inauspicious: they drove into each other going round a corner on a country lane. But many years later they met again. Love blossomed and they married in 2002.

Heidi Klum’s girl catches up with distant dad 

German model Heidi Klum split up with Italian billionaire Flavio Briatore while she was pregnant with his child.

By the time she gave birth to her daughter, Leni, she was going out with pop star Seal, who later became Leni’s adoptive father.

When Briatore, now 73, was asked about his relationship with Leni seven years ago, he told an Italian newspaper: ‘It’s hard to miss a baby you never see.’

Now, however, he appears keen to make up for lost time. I can reveal that Leni, 19, who appeared in a lingerie advertising campaign with her mother, has been enjoying a holiday aboard a yacht in Monaco with Briatore, pictured.

(Very) modern manners

If you see a familiar-looking head hanging out of a window first thing in the morning, it could be Julia Bradbury’s.

The television presenter, 53, has a health routine that may surprise the neighbours.

‘One of my most important daily rituals involves sticking my head out of the bathroom window, rain or shine, as soon as I wake up,’ she says. ‘The morning light works directly on the human brain, setting the internal clocks that are critical to every cell in our body. It has been a life-changer.’

Hello and welcome to another edition of our transfer newsletter, brought exclusively to you. 

My name is Simon Jones and, as well as writing regularly for the Daily Mail and MailOnline, I’m aiming to give you insight, news and the latest chat from across the globe on all the deals taking shape in this summer’s transfer window.

It promises to be busy once again in the Premier League as the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea look to splash further millions in a bid to close the gap on champions Manchester City while those teams who were relegated will be in fear of the proverbial vultures preparing to swoop for their best players.

Below, I bring you the latest news from across the globe.

Saudi Pro League to make a further pitch to Wilfried Zaha 

It could be a pivotal week in the life of Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha as the Saudi Pro League try once again to tempt him.

The 30-year-old, who is out of contract this summer, has a number of offers on the table not least the one from Palace which is reputed to be worth £200,000 a week plus a hefty signing on fee.

Paris St Germain, Marseille and Lazio have all made a pitch to the Ivory Coast international while he initially rejected a proposal from Al Nassr.

However, emissaries from the Saudi Pro League will hold further meetings with his agents this week in an effort to convince him to follow Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Neves and Co.

It’s a busy time for Zaha as he plans to marry long-time girlfriend Paige Bannister. He was pictured en route to his stag do at the weekend, resplendent in a ‘Game Over’ T-shirt picturing a bride and groom with ball and chain.

Liverpool fan favourite weighs up a lucrative Al Ahli offer 

Al Ahli supporters may be passing round the songsheet of Liverpool chant ‘Si Senor’ as the Saudi Arabian club courts former Anfield favourite Roberto Firmino.

Liverpool fans serenaded the emotional Brazilian with the song on his farewell from the club and footage brought his mother to tears. 

Firmino left Liverpool as a free agent and has been assessing options amid interest from some of Europe’s top clubs, including Real Madrid, but the ambitious Saudis are pushing for him to sign up to their project this week and are offering a three year contract with option for a fourth year. 

Al Ahli were promoted from the second division at the end of last season and expect to sign Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy following a medical on Monday for around £17m. To add 31-year-old Firmino though would really hit the right note.

Relegation clauses leave Leeds exposed to an exodus 

Leeds United have some clause for concern.

The club’s relegation has triggered clauses in a number of contracts which allows some players to even leave on loan. USA international midfielder Brenden Aaronson is one of those. He cost £24.7million from Red Bull Salzburg but can leave on a temporary basis, following the drop to the Championship, with Fulham making an initial approach. 

Full-back Rasmus Kristensen is discussing a loan to Roma along with club mate Diego Llorente while Willy Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville are attracting interest from Everton.

Midfielder Tyler Adams and goalkeeper Illan Meslier are also understood to have drop clauses. As Confidential readers will know, USA international Adams is a target for Brighton, Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest but West Ham also appreciate the 24-year-old.

Leeds are still ambitious to invest in new players and get out of the division but the clauses expose them to becoming severely depleted.

German international defender Robin Koch, meanwhile, is wanted by Eintracht Frankfurt while striker Georginio Rutter is wanted back at Hoffenheim. Rodrigo has interest from Sevilla while Jack Harrison will also have offers to consider.

Aston Villa hope to secure a cut price £35m deal for Pau Torres

Aston Villa are looking to drive a bargain with Villarreal for their ‘Rolls-Royce’ defender Pau Torres.

The stylish left-footed centre-back is well known to manager Unai Emery of course but the issue has been the 26-year-old’s buyout clause of 65million euro – or £55.5m by today’s exchange rate.

That’s considered too rich by Villa so they are trying to see if a deal can be done around £35m.

Fernando Roig Negueroles, son of Villarreal’s owner and de facto ‘big boss’ of the club, has confirmed to Spanish media that the club are at their limit on wages and need to lessen the load. To break even without Champions League football they have to sell.

Naturally, they don’t want to undersell a player that has been admired by Tottenham, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, but, pushed on 26-year-old Torres, Negueroles said: ‘Pau is a special case. He is a very loved boy at the club so to leave it has to be something that improves him, something that is good for everyone.’

Arsenal to double Timber’s wages as Ajax defender nears move

Arsenal are closing on agreement with Ajax for defender Jurrien Timber after making a second proposal worth around £41million.

The 22-year-old is expected to double his salary to around £6.8m a year. Timber, whose twin brother Quinten is a midfielder with Feyenoord, has three older brothers too, including 23-year-old Dylan, a centre-back with Jong Utrecht who has been capped by Curacao. 

Arsenal are expected to improve their offer for West Ham’s Declan Rice this week while Kai Havertz will complete his medical and join from Chelsea after his detour to Marbella for the wedding of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Newcastle consider Walker-Peters to boost full back options 

Newcastle United are maintaining an interest in Southampton full-back Kyle Walker-Peters.

Much will depend on what they have left of their budget. Following Sandro Tonali’s move from AC Milan, Newcastle still intend to see if they can prise James Maddison away from Leicester City and out of Tottenham’s clutches. They also want a centre-back, such as Joachim Andersen from Crystal Palace.

Tonali’s deal is expected to cost around £52m plus bonuses and a sell-on percentage. Milan had been looking for much more after previously discussing a potential deal with Chelsea for the Italy U21 international which would have involved players in return.

Newcastle want options at full-back and, while they are keen on Kieran Tierney of Arsenal, Walker-Peters’ ability to play well on both flanks may tick more boxes. The 26-year-old won’t come cheap but prices may drop as the window progresses.

For their part, Southampton will hold a recruitment meeting on Monday afternoon.

Manager Russell Martin is keen to bring in Swansea City’s £12million-rated striker Joel Piroe. However, acrimony between the clubs over Martin’s compensation following his switch from Swansea could well hinder negotiations. Piroe also has an offer from abroad.

Fulham and West Ham are among several clubs waiting on Southampton to fix a price on midfielder James Ward-Prowse. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all have varying levels of interest in £50m-rated Romeo Lavia.

Frimpong visits Manchester but is not United’s top choice  

Tongues were wagging in Manchester at the weekend when Bayer Leverkusen full-back Jeremie Frimpong was spotted in popular Italian eaterie San Carlo.

A well-known celebrity haunt, it is a favourite with the football fraternity and Frimpong was spotted alongside friends and agents Dirk Hebel and Jeffrey Lemmert.

The 22-year-old is no stranger to Manchester after spending his formative years there with Manchester City. He has been linked with a move to United, and indeed his representatives held talks with the club in April, but club sources say he is not top of their list. 

United have other priorities to deal with though they still have interest from Premier League clubs in Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Fulham all enquired about the 25-year-old earlier this year but are looking at cheaper options.

Man United track Utrecht star as Ten Hag seeks midfield depth 

Erik ten Hag is a known admirer of FC Utrecht midfielder Taylor Booth. The Manchester United boss maintains strong links to his former club and watches their progress so has been impressed by the impact of USA international Booth. 

United’s focus is still on Chelsea’s Mason Mount after leaving their £55m offer on the table and, though they are exploring other possible midfielders, they have yet to make an approach for skilful 22-year-old Booth. However, Celta Vigo, Stuttgart and Lyon are extremely interested with offers thought to be pending. 

Celta want a couple of midfielders particularly as they expect bids to come in for Gabri Veiga. 

Liverpool were linked with a bid at the weekend but though they like the 21-year-old with a £30m clause, and they do like a clause, the Anfield club have not made a move yet. Chelsea remain keen on Veiga who is now represented by Pini Zahavi.

As Confidential readers know from previous columns, Liverpool have made reports on the merits of £50m-rated Romeo Lavia with Nice’s Khephren Thuram also still on the agenda.

Championship clubs chase Everton forward Simms

Everton striker Ellis Simms is attracting enquiries from Championship clubs Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Swansea City.

The 22-year-old was recalled from a loan at Sunderland last season to add his considerable presence to Everton’s relegation fight. He scored a crucial equaliser away at Chelsea in March but, like all Everton’s forwards, struggled to make much impact after that. 

Everton have an interest in Coventry’s popular striker Viktor Gyokeres, which may open doors to a possible exchange plus cash, but the Sweden international has strong interest from Sporting Lisbon and the likes of Brentford, Wolves and West Ham. Sporting have made the most effort so far but have been falling short of Coventry’s valuation.

Everton have still been talking around Almeria’s speedy striker El Bilal Toure but with an offer not forthcoming, Atalanta have stepped in.

The Italian side are aware they could lose 32-year-old Duvan Zapata or Manchester United target Rasmus Hojlund so are looking for ready-made replacements.

Everton have interest building in defenders Jarrad Branthwaite and Mason Holgate while Demarai Gray is considering his future amid enquiries from Al Hilal and Fulham. Midfielder Amadou Onana, who missed out on a £50m move to Chelsea in January, is also on the back-up lists of a number of top clubs.

Everton have already seen Tom Davies depart, who has interest from Monza, and free agent Yerry Mina who has offers from Besiktas and Lens.

Turkish Messi attracts interest of European giants 

Arda Guler, aka the Turkish Messi and Fenerbahce’s boy wonder, has a clause that allows him to leave for under £15m after he clocked up 1500 first team minutes.

The 18-year-old, who scored a brilliant individual goal for Turkey against Wales earlier this month, would have been allowed to leave for a steal at just £4.3m if he had failed to hit the mark.

He was on 1,457 minutes prior to the Turkish Cup final against Basaksehir on June 11 but turned in a man of the match performance as Fenerbahce won 2-0 and lasted into injury time before being substituted, subsequently boosting his price in the process.

All the top sides in Europe have been studying Guler, notably Ajax and Real Madrid, while Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester City are well aware of his talent. However, Fenerbahce believe he may stay for another season following their Champions League qualification.