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’.

By Jessica Green For Mailonline

Updated: 16:50 EDT, 22 August 2023

The Polish tourist sitting opposite me is in ecstasy. He grins and gives a double thumbs-up as our helicopter tilts for an even better view of the largest waterfall in the world. Beside him, his wife looks utterly terrified. I’m just thinking, ‘Wow, this might cost £137 for a 13-minute flight but, boy, it’s worth it.’

Down below, waters that have flowed 745 miles from northern Zambia tumble into a sheer-faced chasm, with a thunderous roar that has been going for 150,000 years.

When viewed at ground-level these raging torrents look like a mammoth sheepskin rug that is more than a mile wide. Capping all this are the most intensely-coloured rainbows I have ever seen – at times in triplicate – that arch across a billowing spray that ensures all spectators get a thorough soaking.

Phew! No wonder World Heritage-listed Victoria Falls is a sight few miss out when touring southern Africa, although itineraries often only give you a night or two here.

‘I wish we could stay longer’ is a common refrain once visitors learn how much there is to see and do, starting with the Victoria Falls Railway Bridge, once the highest in the world. Spanning the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, this colossal steel arch was opened in 1905 having been pre-fabricated in Darlington. Its construction is a riveting tale, brilliantly told in a 90-minute guided tour where we clamber along the original maintenance gangway, wearing safety helmets and protective harnesses.

At one point, we are joined by a troop of nimble baboons and every so often there’s a piercing scream as yet another bungee jumper plunges into the gorge 420 ft below.

Adrenaline activities such as whitewater rafting, ziplining, jetboat rides and a fearsome gorge swing have long been part of the scene here, so much so that the burgers at the Bridge Cafe sport deliberately unsettling names like ‘Big Drop’ and ‘Bye Bye’. Now, Victoria Falls is trying to broaden its appeal with fresh attractions like the family-friendly Bamba tram ride and birdwatching cruises at sunrise to avoid the flotilla of boats that crowd the Zambezi in late afternoon. ‘The ones blaring music are from Zambia,’ I’m told.

In the town centre, where warthogs trot around like fussing matrons, we find an inviting craft brewery with live music and a 150-seat open-air theatre is under construction. This post-pandemic revival has also seen a proliferation of spas, including a tip-top one at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge with serene views over the bush and treatments that include a the ‘African Spirit’ journey – a two-hour treatment consisting of a full body scrub, mask and hot-stone massage to leave you with a healthy glow.

It’s a smart move. Most travellers come here at the end of a tour and all those early starts and bumpy game drives can be exhausting.

Among a flurry of new hotels, Pioneers Victoria Falls stands out for its gracious design and spacious gardens with two pools, while the larger Palm River Hotel has a winning location beside the Zambezi. Here the first 100 ft of riverbank is a protected game corridor. At night hippos and elephants come to feed while guests tuck into a lavish barbecue served on the adjacent lawns.

A smiling chef kindly illuminates their hulking bodies with his head-torch in between flipping crocodile steaks and I quietly give thanks for the low, discreetly-placed electric fence that prevents any incidents.

Framed in national parks, Victoria Falls is still a place where wild animals roam. Driving in from the airport we slow down to let elephants cross the road and the guides tell entertaining stories of hippos stuck in swimming pools and the night a pride of lions came to town.

You can tick off the Big Five – lions, leopards, elephants, buffalos and rhinos – at the Stanley And Livingstone private game reserve, while the Through The Eyes Of An Elephant experience offers a close encounter with a herd of rescued jumbos. This includes feeding them with game pellets (a slobbery business) and is an excellent way to introduce children to conservation issues.

In the evening, many visitors end up at The Boma, a stellar buffet and drumming show that culminates in a mass of bodies thumping and dancing. For us, the highlight is trying grilled eland (think venison), which is delicious, but our best tasting of Zimbabwean cuisine comes at Dusty Road.

This is a deservedly popular neighbourhood restaurant decorated with vintage cars, railway lamps, flour bags and domestic paraphernalia. Here we enjoy Zambezi bream, curiosities like marula nuts and the mopane worm, and a hearty beef stew with sazda – a thick porridge made from cornmeal.

For our final night there is only one place to go for a sundowner – the terrace of the venerable Victoria Falls Hotel, opened in 1904. This is where the railway bridge designers stayed and its splendid lawns shaded by mahogany and zebrawood trees offer an unforgettable view of their achievement and the clouds of spray rising from the Falls. Cocktails start at £7 and sport names like Devil’s Cataract and I, Presume.

When explorer David Livingstone arrived here on November 17, 1855, he was the first European to set eyes on this magnificent natural wonder, journeying overland with a retinue of 114 porters. Now we can jet in from the UK on an overnight flight – but the sense of wonder is just the same.

As the Scot famously wrote: ‘Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.’ As they are today, by gleeful tourists in helicopters.

Victoria’s Secret Angel Taylor Hill marries ‘best friend’ Daniel Fryer on Colorado ranch: ‘It was a magical fairytale and my dream wedding!’

By Cassie Carpenter For Dailymail.com

Published: 03:13 EDT, 14 June 2023 | Updated: 03:16 EDT, 14 June 2023