Anyone who doubts the depth of the divide between the Duke of Sussex and some of his oldest and closest friends need look no further than the new series of Clarkson’s Farm.
Jeremy Clarkson, you may recall, was condemned by Prince Harry last year after writing a notorious article in The Sun, pointing out that he hated the Duchess of Sussex “on a cellular level” and adding that he wanted to see Meghan parade through the streets, naked, while people threw feces at her.
The Grand Tour star later apologized, but Harry’s spokesperson said: “What remains to be addressed is his long-standing pattern of writing articles that spread hateful rhetoric, theories of dangerous plots and misogyny.”
Yet who is expected to appear in episode seven of Clarkson’s Farm as one of the Duke’s oldest and closest friends.
Described in the show by Clarkson as simply “Hugh”, he is Hugh van Cutsem, seen stalking deer with the star of the hit Amazon Prime show.
Jeremy Clarkson, you may recall, was condemned by Prince Harry last year after writing a notorious article in The Sun.
Who should appear in episode seven of Clarkson’s Farm if not one of the Duke’s oldest and closest friends?
After Clarkson’s comments about Meghan, Hugh’s appearance alongside her would have been unthinkable if they were still friends.
Hugh, 49, whose late father, also Hugh, was one of King Charles’ oldest friends, knew Harry and Prince William all his life. William was head usher at Hugh’s wedding, when he married Rose Astor in 2005, and is godfather to their daughter Grace.
Grace was a bridesmaid at William and Catherine’s wedding six years later and almost stole the show when she covered her ears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace from the noise of the enthusiastic crowd as the young bride and groom kissed.
Hugh and Rose did their part to make Meghan feel at home after moving here, inviting her and Harry to dinner at their west London home. They also attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018.
The first indication that all may not be well between the Van Cutsems and the Sussexes came in 2020 after the dramatic announcement that Harry and Meghan intended to “step back” as senior members of the Royal family.
Hugh’s wife, Rose, publicly mocked the dramatic announcement. “I’m indented as a senior on my tax return,” she joked on social media, “because I’d rather drink coffee, see my friends, love my family, and do yoga.”
Rose, 44, said these activities were infinitely preferable to keeping receipts and “doing calculations that I swear are bad for my health.”
Hugh, 49, whose late father, also Hugh, was one of King Charles’ oldest friends, knew Harry and Prince William all his life.
She later declined to discuss her comments, explaining: “I’m really sorry, I can’t say anything. I’m sure you understand. I’m going to be in so much trouble.
Rose headed the membership committee at Soho Farmhouse, the exclusive Oxfordshire club where Meghan held her hen party and where she and Harry periodically escaped during the first months of their marriage.
Harry confirmed his split with the Van Cutsems in his 2023 memoir, Spare, revealing that Hugh’s mother, Emilie, and one of his four sons contacted him to express their fury after his explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Duke wrote: “Several close friends and beloved figures in my life, including one of Hugh and Emilie’s sons, Emilie herself, and even Tiggy (Pettifer, her former nanny), had chastised me for Oprah. How could you reveal such things? About your family?’
Clearly, this divide has not been bridged.
Why Poppy still needs a leading man…
Poppy Delevingne is enjoying a passionate romance with Archie Keswick, scion of the multi-billion pound Jardine Matheson empire, I revealed on Saturday.
However, on screen the Chelsea property developer’s daughter, pictured in London this week, is yet to find her leading man. Although the 38-year-old model and actress has been cast in the American film The Gun On Second Street, its director Rohit Karn Batra is still looking for an actor to star alongside her.
“She will play the role with an American accent,” Batra tells me at the DDA cocktail party at Carlton Beach at the Cannes Film Festival. “I wanted to choose someone who was classy but with a West Virginia accent.”
Poppy Delevingne, 38 (photo), has been cast in the American film The Gun On Second Street
When Noel Edmonds hosted Deal Or No Deal, contestants could win up to £250,000, but caterers at the presenter’s New Zealand winery could come close to the 1p Club.
The Edmonds location, River Haven, which includes a pub, cafe and restaurant, has closed, with its 17 staff given just 24 hours’ notice.
“We lost our jobs without warning,” complains one worker. “I cried,” said another. Edmonds tells me, “The team always knew it would close for the winter. October 1 is the planned opening date for next summer.
Queen of the Jungle on the reality of being a mom
I’m A Celebrity winner Giovanna Fletcher says the rich and famous are dishonest about the reality of being a parent.
“When people, especially people in the public eye, are on these couches (on television) talking about parenting, they are there to promote something,” she said at an event of the Advertising Week Europe in London.
Giovanna, 39, who has three children with her husband, McFly singer Tom Fletcher, adds: “All we hear on these sofas is: ‘This is amazing, this is great, this’ is the best thing ever.”
When the Princess of Wales appeared on Giovanna’s parenting podcast, Happy Mum, Happy Baby, in 2020, Catherine admitted that she often suffered from “mum guilt” as she juggled family life, which which could leave her full of insecurity.
Giovanna, 39 (pictured) has three children with her husband, McFly singer Tom Fletcher
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps says that on the morning he learned the Treasury was to spend an extra £75 billion on defence, he noticed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was carrying out a sponsored campaign.
Shapps messaged her to say that as a thank you he was sending her £100 for the charitable effort. Hunt replied: “I’m pretty sure you got the better side of this financial deal.”
Baroness’ brothel for “malicious” peer
Only a few weeks ago, King Charles appointed her to the Order of the Thistle – Scotland’s highest order of chivalry – but Baroness Kennedy is now being treated to a less pleasant time in the spotlight.
Labor peer Helena Kennedy has, I can reveal, been named as a “subject of an investigation” by one of the House of Lords standards commissioners after allegedly failing to register an interest.
Kennedy fumes in her own defense, telling me that she was denounced by “a politically motivated and completely malicious conservative peer” after failing to declare that she would become a trustee of the Sigrid Rausing Trust charity.
“I don’t receive any compensation,” adds Kennedy. “This was a complete oversight which has now been rectified.”
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