After I disclosed in 2021 that Princess Margaret’s grandson Sam Chatto had struck up a romance with artist Eleanor Ekserdjian, she began depicting him in her work.
Now, the couple are the picture of happiness after Sam got down on bended knee.
‘I’m really delighted to say that Ellie and I are engaged,’ says Sam, 29, whose mother Lady Sarah Chatto is a first cousin of King Charles. ‘And we couldn’t be happier.’
While some royal brides might look forward to wearing huge sparklers, Eleanor, the 29-year-old daughter of an arts professor, was presented with something unique.
‘I proposed with a porcelain ring which I made,’ says Eton-educated Sam, a talented ceramicist whose work has been displayed in art galleries in Japan and Norway.
The engagement is no surprise to royal watchers who noted Eleanor was invited to stay at Sandringham last Christmas.
Spending the festive season at Sandringham with the Royal Family is a privilege that was denied to Catherine Middleton.
Just like other brides such as Sophie Rhys-Jones, Catherine had to wait until after her wedding to be invited to the monarch’s Norfolk retreat.
Princess Margaret ‘s grandson Sam Chatto is newly engaged to artist Eleanor Ekserdjian
‘I proposed with a porcelain ring which I made,’ says Eton-educated Sam. Pictured: The handmade ring
Queen Elizabeth ditched her ‘no ring, no bring’ rule for Meghan Markle in December 2017 when the American actress was allowed to stay at Sandringham five months before her wedding.
It was all part of the Queen’s efforts to welcome Meghan into the Royal Family (fat lot of good it did).
Edinburgh University graduate Sam has inherited his parents’ artistic genes.
His father, Daniel Chatto, is an actor-turned-artist, while his mother has had her paintings displayed at the Royal Academy as part of its summer exhibition.
A member of the Royal Family tells me: ‘I couldn’t be happier. Everyone is over the moon.’
The King is said to have been informed about the engagement and is ‘very happy’ for the couple. The wedding is due to be held next spring.
Price of being a football fan
Even billionaire Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone’s son-in-law is complaining about prices at the World Cup in the US.
‘I managed to take my boys to the [England quarter-final] game and so many dads have been robbed of that opportunity because of the ticket pricing,’ says Petra Ecclestone’s husband, Sam Palmer.
‘Everything here is so expensive. It’s, like, £17 a beer, ticket prices going from about £2,000 to £2,500. It’s utter bo*****s.’
The estate agent will have to suffer the indignity of flying cattle-class. ‘We’re just about to book a flight going to Atlanta for the semi-final – £1,000 for one-way tickets [in] economy,’ he wails. ‘It’s really, really bad.’
Yobbishly, he adds football is about ‘drinking beers on the street and chucking white patio chairs’.
King Charles has invited Raymond Blanc to ‘share stories from his career’ at a £250-per-head, five-course dinner and ‘live Q&A session’ on Friday at Dumfries House, his stately home in Ayrshire. Let’s hope the chef, who’s a King’s Foundation Ambassador, is in a good mood on the night. He once had to apologise after saying of The Great British Bake-Off runner-up Ruby Tandoh: ‘Not much skills, female tears and a winner so thin who makes me doubt of her love for great cooking, baking.’ Blanc later said he’d been a ‘grumpy Frenchman’.
Another day in paradise for Phil’s son
Nic Collins is to wed Isabella Cristina Serralles after almost a decade together
Nic Collins as a teen with his father Phil
Phil Collins has received some cheering news after revealing he’s not well enough to perform at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony later this year.
The pop star, 75, whose hits include Another Day In Paradise and Two Hearts, is celebrating the engagement of his son Nic, also a drummer.
The 25-year-old is to wed Isabella Cristina Serralles after almost a decade together. ‘Here’s to forever, my love,’ says Nic, whose half-sister is actress Lily Collins, 37, star of Emily In Paris. Nic’s mother is Phil’s third wife, Orianne Cevey.
Phil’s health problems include having undergone surgery on his neck and spine.
Beverley Knight, who vies with Mica Paris for the title Queen of British Soul, is grateful her 25-year career has been a slow burn, unlike those of some contemporary pop singers. ‘If I had become like Raye or like Adele – a big, big artist at such a young age – who’s to say it wouldn’t have destroyed me?’ says the Wolverhampton-born star, 53. ‘Who’s to say that I could have coped with that?’
It’s a girl! Princess’s first great-granchild
Princess Alexandra is celebrating the birth of her first great-grandchild. Her granddaughter Flora Vesterberg (nee Ogilvy), 31, has called her baby girl Isabel
Art historian Flora married Swedish hockey player-turned-financier Timothy Vesterberg, 32, in 2020
Princess Alexandra, who is Queen Elizabeth’s last surviving bridesmaid after Lady Pamela Hicks’s death, is celebrating the birth of her first great-grandchild.
Her granddaughter Flora Vesterberg (nee Ogilvy), 31, has called her baby girl Isabel. Art historian Flora married Swedish hockey player-turned-financier Timothy Vesterberg, 32, in 2020.
‘Timothy and I are overjoyed and full of love for her,’ Flora says.
Her brother is dashing British Army officer Alexander, 29, who graduated from Sandhurst last year at a ceremony attended by Princess Alexandra, a first cousin of the late Queen. Lady Pamela, a cousin of Prince Philip, died last month, aged 97.
Born to French parents in the Paris suburb of Sevres, British Wimbledon hero Arthur Fery is at pains to clarify he’ll be supporting England should the two countries meet in Saturday’s World Cup final. While he has said he ‘felt more French’ during childhood, when asked about his football allegiance, Fery, 24, says: ‘I’ve lived here my whole life and I feel very English.’
