She is arguably the most eligible woman in Britain — a beguiling blonde with estates in England and Scotland, plus the lioness’s share of her family’s £5 billion fortune.
But Leonie Schroder (below) has endured a lot of trauma, never more so than when her ex-husband, Nicholas Fane, tragically died shortly after their divorce eight years ago.
So I’m delighted to reveal that the heiress — daughter of the late billionaire banker Bruno Schroder — is celebrating her engagement to Guy Blakeney. He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers, the monarch’s bodyguard in Scotland, which turns out for ceremonial occasions.
‘He has made her really happy — for the first time in a long time,’ a friend tells me. Management consultant Blakeney, 48, is an Old Etonian — as was Fane, with whom Leonie had three children — and a crack shot, representing the Etonian Shooting Club.
Leonie Schroder (above) has endured a lot of trauma, never more so than when her ex-husband, Nicholas Fane, tragically died shortly after their divorce eight years ago. So I’m delighted to reveal that the heiress — daughter of the late billionaire banker Bruno Schroder — is celebrating her engagement to Guy Blakeney
Leonie’s own talents were, rather cruelly, called into question when, in 2018, the Daily Mail Diary disclosed that her father was plotting to place her on the board of Schroders, which today has a staggering £732 billion under management.
The prospect appalled City bigwigs, with one asserting that Leonie was ‘completely unqualified’ as she had ‘no experience in financial services’.
Leonie, now 48, had held various directorships since graduating from St Andrews University, but only in small organisations such as her father’s 18,500-acre Dunlossit estate on the Scottish island of Islay, or her own 1,200-acre Hurstbourne Park estate in Hampshire.
But shareholder anger was quelled and she was appointed to the board after Bruno died, aged 86, in 2019.
Several years earlier, Bruno, who was estranged from Leonie’s mother, Piffa, had married his mistress, Baroness Suzanne Maltzahn.
Before that, he had been embroiled in a protracted legal battle with a previous mistress, Elaine Decoulos.
Friends look forward to the wedding. ‘Guy is tall and lanky,’ says one, ‘[but] she’s a shortie. It’ll be fun watching them on the dance floor’.
Shareholder anger was quelled and she was appointed to the board after Bruno died, aged 86, in 2019
The smart set’s talking about… Spencer scion’s acting chops
Aware, no doubt, of complaints that showbusiness is full of expensively educated stars such as Old Etonian Eddie Redmayne and Old Harrovian Benedict Cumberbatch, one new actor, who’s posher than all of them, has dropped his illustrious surname.
I can disclose that Earl Spencer’s son and heir, Viscount Althorp, Louis Frederick John Spencer, has trained as an actor.
Princess Diana’s nephew, 28, who will inherit the 13,000-acre Althorp estate in Northamptonshire, has registered his stage name as Louis John Lyons.
He’s just completed training at ArtsEd drama school in West London and has already been signed by the Tavistock Wood talent agency, whose stars include Dominic West and Lily James. Perhaps Louis could play his father in Netflix hit The Crown?
I can disclose that Earl Spencer’s son and heir, Viscount Althorp, Louis Frederick John Spencer, has trained as an actor
Dog’s dinner of a day for Spacey
Just hours after Kevin Spacey appeared at the Old Bailey to deny sexually assaulting three men, the Oscar winner had a more pleasurable appointment elsewhere in London.
The House Of Cards star, 62, attended the launch party for Cindy Lass’s book, A Colourful Pawtrait, at Chelsea Arts Club. Artist Lass, who’s known for her portraits of dogs, says: ‘He loves puppies. He has a big heart and I really connect with him.’
Dogs have, however, brought the American trouble: in 2004, he tripped over his Jack Russell terrier, Mini, while giving pursuit to a youth who had conned him out of his mobile phone.
Artist Lass (above), who’s known for her portraits of dogs, says: ‘He loves puppies. He has a big heart and I really connect with him
The Duchess of Cambridge’s sister, Pippa Middleton, and her investment banker husband, James Matthews, appear to have quit London for good. Last Saturday, I disclosed that the couple had bought a £15 million country home in Berkshire.
Now, it appears that they’re not keeping their £17 million Chelsea home.
Removal men spent three days loading furniture this week. ‘I just saw the departure of Pippa and family, who live on my street,’ reports opera singer Melinda Hughes. ‘To see them wave goodbye to their London home was quite touching.’
Former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow — found to be a ‘serial bully’ by the parliamentary watchdog — increased his company’s fortune by nearly £75,000 while it claimed furlough cash subsidised by the taxpayer.
Bercow’s firm, which employed an average of two staff during the 12 months to March 2021, claimed furlough of between £1 and £10,000. He’s insisted the total furlough claimed in the pandemic was ‘well under £10,000’.
But new accounts for his business, Fedhead Ltd, show its reserves went up from £328,330 to £403,051. Bercow used the scheme to pay his wife, Sally, for administrative support. The firm’s name is believed to be inspired by Roger Federer, Bercow’s favourite tennis player.
Nicole only has eyes for rugby hunk Thom
She enjoyed an eight-year, on-off relationship with Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and a shorter romance with tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, but pop singer Nicole Scherzinger appears to have found true love with another sportsman, former Scotland rugby star Thom Evans.
I hear the Pussycat Dolls singer, 44, and Evans, 37, may be about to announce their engagement.
‘They are getting married,’ claims a pal. The couple have just returned from a holiday in Mykonos, Greece, where Evans is thought to have proposed. His former girlfriends include model and actress Kelly Brook.
He has said he knew Nicole was ‘The One’ since he was a contestant, and she a judge, on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019.
‘Within the first couple of days with Nicole it was just awesome, and it has been awesome ever since,’ he gushed.
I hear the Pussycat Dolls singer, 44, and Evans, 37, may be about to announce their engagement
Sharapova’s ace delivery
Prince Harry’s kids have a new playmate: royal pal Alexander Gilkes and his fiancee, former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, are celebrating the birth of their first child.
The Russian tennis star, 35, shared this photo of her with their son, Theodore, who was born earlier this month. ‘The most beautiful, challenging and rewarding gift our little family could ask for,’ she says.
Old Etonian Gilkes, 43, is a pal of Harry and Prince William, and was previously wed to Meghan Markle’s friend, designer Misha Nonoo.
The Russian tennis star, 35, shared this photo of her with their son, Theodore, who was born earlier this month
Miss UK’s boy is in fighting form
The 18-year-old has just completed his training to join the Swiss Army’s Special Forces unit
As the son of Kirsty Bertarelli, the beauty queen whose divorce from Swiss tycoon Ernesto made her wealthier than the Queen, one might expect Falco Bertarelli to be a pampered playboy spending some of his mum’s £400 million divorce settlement.
In fact, the 18-year-old has just completed his training to join the Swiss Army’s Special Forces unit.
‘So proud of you,’ says his mother, 51, who was born Kirsty Roper in Staffordshire.
‘Off your own back you joined the Special Forces and passed, no easy feat. Gruelling and courageous.’
Has Georgia Mann, presenter of Radio 3’s Essential Classics, got the memo about BBC presenters being down with the kids? ‘Group of teens arrived by Teddington riverside just now,’ she complained on social media from her spot by the Thames in South-West London.
‘All seem very nice — but they are playing music at ear-splitting volume and I just cannot get my brain around how annoying and antisocial it is. Realise I’m being a grumpy old lady but SERIOUSLY.’
Why not hit back with some atonal Schoenberg, Georgia?
(Very) modern manners
Prince George, aged eight, managed to keep his suit and tie on in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, in temperatures approaching 30c.
Yet things are more complex at the RAC, the gentlemen’s club half a mile from Buckingham Palace.
It has distressed one stalwart, who laments that the ‘dress code has been relaxed too far’, as polo shirts can be worn during the summer.
But before George asks his father to stump up the annual subscription, he should beware the fate of others his age. Another member, accompanied by his grandsons, was aghast when porters barred their admission, explaining that the lads were ‘inappropriately dressed’ — in polo shirts and ‘tailored shorts’.
Originally posted 2022-07-16 01:07:06.