The Epsom Derby is five weeks away but the Earl of Derby already has much to celebrate. I can disclose the Earl and Countess’s elder son and heir, Lord (Edward) Stanley, is to marry an aristocratic TikTok star.
Eton-educated Ed, 28, as he’s known to pals, has become engaged to Victoria Jooris, 26, a Belgian noblewoman who has some 15,000 followers on the video-sharing site, where she poses in stylish outfits and shares insights into her glamorous lifestyle.
‘We could not be more thrilled by Ed and Victoria’s engagement,’ the earl, Edward Stanley, tells me. His son, whose godfather is (unfortunately for him) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, stands to inherit Knowsley Hall, the 17-bedroom family seat near Liverpool. It’s famous for Knowsley Safari Park, which was opened by the earl’s uncle in 1971.
The earl and his family are honoured guests at the Grand National at Aintree, where their car would, until 2014, be accompanied by two police motorcycle outriders for the brief 20-mile round-trip from Knowsley Hall and back.
The Epsom Derby, in Surrey, was established in 1780 by the 12th Earl.
Speaking of his prospective daughter-in-law, the earl tells me: ‘Victoria is fabulous and we have loved getting to know her over the last four years since we first met her at Aintree.’
Eton-educated Ed, 28, as he’s known to pals, has become engaged to Victoria Jooris, 26, a Belgian noblewoman who has some 15,000 followers on TikTok
Victoria often shares outfits with her followers. She’s the daughter of a Belgian baron and used to go out with Prince Alexandre D’Arenberg
Victoria, who lives in west London, is an associate at investment giant Bridgepoint. She’s the daughter of a Belgian baron and used to go out with Prince Alexandre D’Arenberg, an heir to one of the most prominent dynasties in the Low Countries.
Ed, who works in private equity, was a page of honour to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
He and Victoria, who studied at Oxford University at different times, will exchange vows next year at Knowsley Hall.
Liz, 62: I don’t look like my boyfriend’s mum
Liz Earle, who turns 63 this month, insists she’s never mistaken for the mother of her 46-year-old boyfriend.
‘I don’t think he looks as though he’s out with his mum,’ says the beauty entrepreneur, who remains tight-lipped on the identity of her beau.
She adds: ‘When we’re out together it feels completely normal, and I don’t I think we look particularly like an odd couple.’
Liz Earle, who turns 63 this month, insists she’s never mistaken for the mother of her 46-year-old boyfriend
Twice-married Liz, who has five children and one grandchild, says she has undertaken tests to decipher her biological age, with results ranging from 28 to 44.
However, she pins it down to around 40.
She says: ‘I do feel decades younger. I have to catch myself when people ask me how old I am, and I say I’m in my 60s. It feels like a bit of an out-of-body experience, because I don’t really relate to that – partly because I have a much younger boyfriend.’
Why Tom’s co-star left Zawe dazzled
Being in a relationship with Tom Hiddleston can leave Zawe Ashton feeling hot and bothered.
The Fresh Meat star, 41, admits she failed to stay cool when he introduced her to his former co-star Claire Danes, of whom Zawe is a super-fan.
‘Tom worked with Claire on The Essex Serpent, and I got to have dinner with her,’ she explains. ‘On the way there, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’
Eventually, Zawe confessed her fandom mid-supper: ‘It was a ‘never meet your heroes’ moment that went extremely well.’
Zawe Ashton (R), who is in a relationship with Tom Hiddleston (centre), is a super-fan of Claire Danes (L)
Amol Rajan: BBC show is Viagra for TV
Amol Rajan, whose absence from Radio 4’s Today programme to compete in Celebrity Traitors caused mutterings among colleagues left to cover the local elections, has sent a hyperventilating missive via LinkedIn.
‘I write to inform you that series four of Industry [the BBC’s sex-and-drug-fuelled high finance drama] isn’t just worth your precious time; isn’t just pure televisual Viagra; It has entered the pantheon. Television that rises to the level of Literature.’
The busy Rajan has twice accepted invitations to appear as himself in the show. ‘This isn’t me campaigning for a third cameo, truly. I don’t need to,’ he insists.
Lords Speaker vexes MPs… by saying thanks
Forty-four words of defiance have landed the new House of Lords Speaker, Michael Forsyth, in trouble with the Government.
At the start of the prorogation ceremony on the final day of Parliament last week, Lord Forsyth spoke two short sentences of gratitude to the departing hereditary peers and thanked them for their ‘distinguished service’.
I am informed that class warriors in Sir Keir Starmer’s government had told him not to do so. Forsyth was appalled by their manners and ignored them.
The Starmerites also stopped peers taking an hour out of the last week’s business for tributes to the departing hereditaries. Since when was it forbidden to be gracious?
Jack Whitehall’s father Michael gave a speech before the comedian’s wedding to model Roxy Horner, but the biggest laugh he won was unintentional.
‘I’d written some notes and I said, ‘I love you, for some reason’, and everybody roared with laughter,’ says Michael. ‘Then I looked at it again and I said, ‘No, sorry, I love you for so many reasons is what I meant.’
Vanessa Feltz has told of her shock after receiving anti-Semitic abuse after a recent episode on her Channel 5 chat show. ‘It is quite personal,’ the Jewish broadcaster, 64, says in a video posted online. ‘It’s not much fun to talk about and really heartbreaking. The messages were shocking. Somebody wrote, ‘She’s vile, isn’t she? Just like the rest of her kind.’
