Queen Elizabeth's best style secret - and why Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton should take note
Every public appearance was marked by flawless presentation thanks to a meticulous approach to fabric selection, as revealed by Angela Kelly - her senior dresser of nearly 30 years - in her book Dressing The Queen.
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Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Elizabeth Hurley opens up about 'traumatic' first trip back to Melbourne since ex-fiancé Shane Warne's shock death
Elizabeth Hurley has opened up for the first time about her emotional reunion with the family of her late ex-fiancé Shane Warne. The actress and model, 60, travelled to Melbourne last November for the first time since Shane's sudden death - reuniting with his parents, brother and children during a 'bittersweet' few days. Elizabeth combined the visit with a day at the races to soften the impact of what became a 'very traumatic' trip. Speaking on Tuesday's episode of Travel Secrets podcast, Elizabeth explained: 'Last November we went to the Melbourne Cup and it was the first time I'd been back to Melbourne since Shane died. 'We knew it was going to be a very traumatic trip, so we linked it into going racing and also an opportunity to get some closure in other ways.' Elizabeth and cricket legend Shane, widely regarded as one of the greatest spin bowlers in history, began dating in 2010 and were engaged the following year. They split in 2013 but remained close until his untimely death from a suspected heart attack in March 2022 while he was on holiday in Thailand. Shane was 52 years old when he died, and left behind three children - Brooke, 28, Jackson, 25, and Summer, 23 - from his marriage to his ex-wife, yoga teacher Simone Callahan. 'All his family are there [in Melbourne],' Elizabeth added. 'So I could see his mum and dad and brother - and it was the first time I've seen them since. I've seen the kids before because they've come to England. 'That [trip] was really full of disturbing… It wasn't good but I'm really glad I've done it.' She continued: 'Going back was very bittersweet. I got very upset, but then I was very glad that I went. 'And I know when I next get back to Australia, it'll be fine.' Elizabeth had been unable to attend Shane's state funeral at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 2022 due to work and travel commitments. The brunette beauty, who is now dating American country singing legend Billy Ray Cyrus, was pictured at Flemington Racecourse last year with her son Damian, now 23, warmly embracing Shane's family, including Shane's parents Bridgette and Keith and his brother Jason. Damian's biological father, American businessman Steve Bing, died by suicide in 2020. Last year, Elizabeth said the grief of both Shane and Steve's deaths made them closer than ever. 'We have suffered loss,' she told The Telegraph. 'It was appalling losing Shane; it was a terrible thing. And it's a sadness, you know, that stays with you a long time. 'I know as we get older we're going to experience more and more loss, but Damian as a young man has experienced probably more than most and I think it does affect you. I think it affects his writing and it does affect him as an artist.' Shane said of his romance with Elizabeth in 2018: 'Who knows what the future holds. There's a difference between in love with someone and loving someone. 'I'll always love Elizabeth but I don't think we'll ever get back together. When we were together we both had a great time. Unfortunately it didn't work out. 'It wasn't something that she or I did wrong, it just fizzled out. We're still great friends, we still stay in touch, we're good for each other and our kids get along great.' He also told the Mirror: 'I was more in love with Elizabeth than I'd realised I could be. I miss the love we had. My years with Elizabeth were the happiest of my life.' Elizabeth has maintained a strong relationship with her former fiancé's children, Brooke, Jackson, and Summer. While Damian also maintains a tight bond with Shane's kids, sharing photos of their childhood holidays together and commenting on their posts.
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Scotsman
2 days ago
- Scotsman
Scottish Ballet's Mary Queen of Scots at EIF – ‘she had to almost become like a man to survive'
How do you say something new and original about Scotland's most famous and storied queen? The Scottish Ballet team tell Kelly Apter it's all about emotion Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In real life, they never met - but so imaginative is Scottish Ballet's new production, that Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I share a brief moment of connection on stage. Not literally, but via the mounds of correspondence these two powerhouse women shared during their long-distance political rivalry. 'We thought it would be really satisfying to bring those two queens together, but as proxies,' explains choreographer, Sophie Laplane. 'So it's actually the letters they wrote to each other that meet, and we have two dancers representing Elizabeth and Mary in an abstract way.' This is not unusual for Laplane, Scottish Ballet's Resident Choreographer, who has made a number of dynamic abstract works for the company. Creating a full-length narrative piece, however, is a whole other proposition. So, joining Laplane as co-creator of Mary, Queen of Scots is director James Bonas, last seen at Scottish Ballet working on their excellent production of The Crucible. Mary Queen of Scots. Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic. | EIF Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With so many existing depictions of the 16th century cousins, both on stage and screen, Laplane and Bonas had their work cut out devising something new and original. Indeed, Scottish Ballet itself already has a production of Mary, Queen of Scots in its archive, created by company founder Peter Darrell in 1976. The lives of Mary and Elizabeth were also not short on drama, so knowing where and when to base the action was the first point of order. 'If you go beat by beat through Mary's life, then you're on for a kind of Netflix miniseries,' says Bonas. 'So we were keen to find a way to focus in on certain elements. And I'd say we were governed more by emotional, rather than socio-political choices.' Bonas and Laplane were also acutely aware that it's all too easy for us to look at royal figures and see them simply as kings and queens, not human beings. In the end, it was the sight of a more recent monarch that led to their decision to view the entire show through the lens of Elizabeth's memories, as her life draws to a close. 'It's all set on the day of Elizabeth's death, so she's very fragile,' explains Bonas. 'And in a way we were inspired by our own Queen Elizabeth. Sophie and I watched her on television when she met Liz Truss, who had just became Prime Minister, and the Queen had marks on her hand from the cannulas. She died two days later, but she'd had to get out of bed to show face, and Elizabeth I also had to carry on. There are rumours her make-up was an inch thick on her last day because she had to keep looking like the queen she was. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'So we begin with a very vulnerable woman who's feeling lost, disoriented and alone - and over the course of the show, we construct her until you see the full Elizabethan image we're used to, but she's nearly dead inside it all. And with Mary, it's the reverse. We start with her as a sophisticated and wealthy Renaissance queen in France, but by the end she's just dressed in underwear and about to have her head cut off.' Mary Queen of Scots. Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic. | EIF Portraying strength and fragility in a single character isn't easy, but it made for some interesting casting. To capture the essence that Elizabeth I was a woman operating in a male environment and had to, as Bolan says, 'almost become like a man to survive', they have cast a male dancer to play Elizabeth's younger self. While the older version will be portrayed by Swedish guest dancer, Charlotta Övferholm. A long-time friend of Scottish Ballet's artistic director, Christopher Hampson (who refers to her as 'a force of nature' and 'fearless'), Övferholm is passionate about older dancers being represented on stage. When I mention that so often in ballet, they're relegated to holding a glass of sherry at the back of the stage, she laughs. 'I know that I'm double the age of everyone in this company, but I don't feel it,' says Övferholm. 'All the work I create is very physical, so I think I would have a difficult time walking around with a glass of sherry. I would not take that job - I would rather serve the sherry in the intermission at the bar!' Both Övferholm and Roseanna Leney, who is portraying the titular Mary, found having a director and choreographer at the helm helpful. 'Working with James and Sophie has been amazing,' says Leney, 'because they've made sure that how we react to a certain situation feels genuine. Mary was a mother, a widow, and had horrendous struggles, but she was also a formidable woman in a man's world. So I'm trying to embody all of that, but then during moments when I'm alone on stage, I'm also allowing her vulnerability to show.' Övferholm has worked with some of the world's finest physical theatre companies, so knows a good thing when she sees it. 'James doesn't want anything fake or overdramatic,' she says. 'He wants it to feel real. And Sophie is creating incredible movement, so the two of them have a good craft together.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad From casting and storyline to costuming and music, this bold production may be a far cry from Darrell's 1976 version, but it fits right in with the Scottish Ballet ethos. 'I like to think that we're known for our brave new productions, and for telling stories in relevant ways,' says Hampson. 'And I know that's what Peter Darrow was about, too. There will be some people who remember his production of Mary, Queen of Scots fondly, and I hope this new show just adds to that canon. Scottish Ballet was only seven years old when he made it, and now we're 56. We're all different as we get older and an organisation is no different. So I like to think of this new production as an evolution of Darrell's work rather than something that's in competition with it.' Mary, Queen of Scots, Festival Theatre, Friday 15-Sunday 17 August.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Billy Joel's ex-wife Elizabeth Weber reveals how they get along amid his brain disorder battle
Billy Joel 's ex-wife Elizabeth Weber says she can still contact the Piano Man whenever she wants, but appears to be keeping a respectful distance as he deals with a brain disorder called normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). 'If I wanna talk to him or if I have something to say, I am able to contact him whenever I want to,' Weber said of Joel, 76, in an interview with Us Weekly Friday. Weber referenced Joel's marriage to equestrian Alexis Roderick, 43, and their two children, Della Rose Joel, nine, and Remy Anne Joel, seven. 'But he has a wife and he has children,' Weber said, 'and right now, he's struggling with something that's … that's a big thing.' Joel this past May called off a series of concerts that had been scheduled amid a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain-related ailment. Weber initially crossed paths with the famed singer and pianist in the 1960s, amid a timeframe when she was wed to Joel's Attila bandmate Jon Small. After Joel and Weber had an affair, their band fell apart and Joel dealt with severe depression around the same time. Weber told the magazine her relationship with The Downeaster 'Alexa' artist 'is as close as it needs to be for two people who decided to divorce 40 years ago.' Weber said that her son Sean Weber-Small (from her prior marriage) and grandkids have past spent quality time with Joel. 'I have my grandchildren that he knows and they know him,' Weber said. 'My granddaughter Ella taught Bill what TikTok was and showed him what was happening. 'And his relationship with Sean is important to both of them,' adding that her son and Joel 'were very close.' Weber said that her communications are somewhat constrained by the cross-country distance of their residences. 'We're not distant but we're, you know, and he lives in Florida and I live in California,' Weber said. 'But it's all good.' The It's Still Rock and Roll to Me artist and Weber tied the knot in 1973, and parted ways in 1982. The Just The Way You Are singer had been seeing Australia-born supermodel Elle Macpherson prior to his high-profile romance with model Christie Brinkley, 71. The five-time Grammy winner and his Uptown Girl muse were wed from 1985 to 1994 in a union that produced daughter Alexa Ray Joel, 39. The We Didn't Start the Fire vocalist subsequently exchanged vows with culinary expert Katie Lee, 43, in 2004 and the couple parted ways in 2009. Joel has been wed to Roderick since 2015. The Bronx-born musical artist is the focal point of new two-part documentary titled Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which can be seen on HBO.
