Her quest for financial independence has taken her on a dizzying journey during which she’s sold everything from fountain pens to food blenders, been an ambassador for Weight Watchers, published numerous books – both for children and, more recently, Mills & Boon romances – and co-hosted a podcast which promised that ‘no topic is off the table’.
Now I can disclose that Sarah, Duchess of York, 65, is embracing a new commercial adventure with enthusiasm and her trademark spirit.
Fergie, who had two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, during her marriage to the Duke of York, suggests that her age is entirely to her advantage as she immerses herself in a whole new world – as a producer of nappies.
Not any old nappy, I should stress. ‘I’ve created an eco-friendly nappy,’ Sarah tells me. ‘I think it’s very exciting, being a grandmother, because the more grandchildren I have, the more urgency there is for compostable diapers.’
The duchess is a grandmother to two girls – Beatrice’s daughters Sienna, three, and Athena, six months – and two boys – Eugenie’s sons, August, four, and Ernest, two.
‘It’s called the Greater Good,’ Fergie says of the project, before explaining that the nappy is not exclusively her creation but one which has emerged from a collaboration with Dr Jason Graham-Nye and his wife Kim – once named among Fortune magazine’s Ten Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs.
‘We have invented the first compostable diaper,’ adds Fergie, explaining that it’s produced in Samoa.
Its capacity to decompose in ‘compostable’ fashion means that unlike most disposable nappies, often laden with microplastics, it needn’t be dumped in landfill.
‘There are 380,000 nappies changed a minute, so it’s a really good solution,’ says the duchess.
Sounds more promising than media investment company Gate Ventures, of which she was a director. It lost an estimated £19million before being forced into administration in 2020.
- When he captured Prince William and Catherine’s wedding, Hugo Burnand secured obedience from page boys by doling out sweets. But the society snapper quells nerves in adults in a very different manner. ‘I ask them to say ‘s***’,’ he reveals on his podcast, Double Exposure, noting that it takes them ‘by surprise’.
Jamil’s warning after being followed on walk
The Duchess of Sussex’s friend Jameela Jamil has issued a stark warning to women to be ‘vigilant’ after a group of men targeted her as she attempted to walk her dog in London this week.
‘Some bloke followed me on his bike up and down the street, then when he realised I had clocked him, he got on the phone and called his mates who then came after me,’ says the actress, pictured left.
‘It was 8pm, in a crowded area, and I was wearing a black tracksuit and no makeup.’ The privately-educated Londoner, 39, who previously lived in Los Angeles with her musician boyfriend James Blake, says she has been left with a growing resentment towards men.
‘Many of my walks have turned into a nightmare. In a split second, a stranger decided it would be okay to destroy my life.’
She warns women and girls ‘not to be on your phone and keep one headphone out. Get number plates and registrations. Mistrust everyone and suspect every man’.
One might think pending fatherhood would cure Levison Wood’s itchy feet, but it appears not. The TV explorer, 43, who is expecting his first child with girlfriend Ana Protasio any day now, has set his sights on his next adventure. ‘I’m hoping to head to South America this autumn,’ he tells the Country Life podcast. Levison wants to explore the continent by motorbike, making it far from a family-friendly trip. Let’s hope Ana understands.
Diana’s niece to wed after 10-year romance
At long last, Princess Diana’s niece Eliza Spencer is engaged to her tech executive boyfriend, Channing Millerd.
After almost a decade of courtship, the model, 33, revealed Millerd, 31, who has a son from a previous relationship, went down on bended knee during a romantic trip to Santorini, Greece.
Earl Spencer’s daughter can be seen wearing the sparkler Miller proposed with in this picture she posted online.
‘Forever and ever,’ she wrote alongside the snap. A destination wedding could be on the cards for the pair, as Eliza previously said: ‘We feel drawn to Italy, especially somewhere by the ocean – that feels so romantic to us.’
Who says that an association with Pippa Middleton, the Princess of Wales’s younger sister, doesn’t come with benefits?
Certainly not members of her local council who, I can disclose, have given Pippa and her husband, hedge-fund manager James Matthews, the green light to establish a nursery at Bucklebury Farm.
The couple snapped up the West Berkshire property for £1.5million in 2020. The nursery – for children aged between nine months and five years – will deliver ‘strong social benefits’, concludes the council, noting that there is a local shortage of ‘early years places’.
The prospect of a smile from Pippa, 41, is likely to perk up fathers doing the school run, so it seems only fair to warn them that she and James, 49, live a few miles away at the Georgian manor house they bought for £15million in 2022.
Strictly pro is fan favourite
She has yet to win the glitterball trophy on Strictly Come Dancing, but Nadiya Bychkova is enjoying success elsewhere.
The Ukrainian dancer, 35, won the Best Female Personality Award at this year’s National Reality TV Awards, which took place at Porchester Hall in London.
She tells me: ‘It was a complete surprise to win the award. There were some big names on the list, so there was a combination of laughter, thankfulness and disbelief when my name was read out.’
Bychkova, pictured, adds: ‘I do feel very humbled that people have voted for me. It’s really special to know that they have taken the time to do that, and it means a lot.
‘Hopefully, I get the chance to add a glitterball to this trophy by the end of the year.’
