TALK OF THE TOWN: Bad sports activities! Newcomers upset outdated guard on the Princess of Wales’s tennis membership
The boorish behaviour at the Princess of Wales’s tennis club, which I revealed last week, is being blamed on a ‘cabal’ of recent arrivals sidestepping the Hurlingham’s notoriously exacting application process.
A disgruntled source tells me that a flurry of ‘bullish’ parvenus are upsetting the old order at the club where Prince William and his children George and Charlotte also practise their serves.
With the waiting list having closed in 2018, Hurlingham membership is now almost exclusively attained through inheritance or being born to a current member.
But there is a loophole that allows people to be invited on to the tennis and cricket teams and become a so-called ‘sports member’.
Dissatisfied old-money stalwarts are blaming some of these new arrivals for the ‘slipping decorum’ on the tennis courts, where some players are unleashing a volley of four-letter words, as I reported last week.
And there is wider disquiet about the ‘aggressive culture of nepotism’ – gaining access to the hallowed grounds by knowing the right people.
Sources tell me that some existing sports members have been using their clout to recruit friends.
And once people are sports members, they can then enjoy the full run of the 155-year-old club, including its croquet lawn, gym and swimming pools, along with the beautifully landscaped gardens and views over the Thames.
The Princess of Wales playing tennis with Emma Raducanu in September 2021 following the latter’s US Open victory.
Boorish behaviour at Kate’s club the Hurlingham has been blamed on new arrivals sidestepping its rigorous membership application process (file photo)
‘Given the huge demand for membership and the fact that they’ve closed applications, it’s not surprising that a sort of black market has emerged for membership,’ said one member.
The Hurlingham, which started as a pigeon-shooting club before becoming a general social club in the middle of the last century, was approached for comment, but it did not respond.
Penelope’s got no Cruz control
Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem may have been married for 14 years, but that hasn’t quelled their passion.
I’m told the Hollywood couple had ‘the hots for each other’ on a recent shoot when Penelope, right, was photographing Bond villain Javier for Gentleman’s Journal at their home in Madrid. I hear the couple later ‘disappeared for an hour upstairs’.
They were probably discussing their Christmas plans…
Penelope Cruz a the annual WSJ magazine innovators awards in New York on October 29
That’s neat… fans pay to peek at Tiger’s feet
The daughter of Queen drummer Roger Taylor was flogging her press-on nail kits last week.
But how much does Tigerlily Taylor earn from her new side hustle – selling photos of her feet on adult website OnlyFans?
Going by the name ‘Tiger toes’, the 30-year-old offers access to posts captioned ‘stockings and heels’ or ‘blue toes in brown mesh shoes’ for $10 (£8) a month.
Her move has provoked some reaction, as she notes: ‘Men giving me their opinions on my life decisions… like I asked. It’s only feet! And it’s only an experiment – calm down kids!’
Tigerlily Taylor and Lady Mary Charteris at the alice+olivia by Stacey Bendet x Hot Lips event in London on December 12
A Porchie porkie
It was one of the most outrageous plot lines in The Crown – the hint of a romance between the late Queen and her racing manager Lord Porchester, the 7th Earl of Carnavon.
Now Porchie’s son, the current Lord Carnavon, has for the first time rejected claims of an affair. ‘That’s a long way off the mark,’ says the owner of Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed. Their friendship, he insists, ‘was tied to the love of the countryside’.
He adds: ‘It’s like my great-aunt was meant to be a girlfriend of Howard Carter [who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb] and that’s not true either.’
The hint of a romance between the late Queen and her racing manager Lord Porchester was one of The Crown’s most outrageous plotlines and has now been dismissed by Porchester’s son the current Lord Carnavon
Anais is a loyal listener
You have to admire model Anais Gallagher’s loyalty – the artist she most listened to on Spotify this year was… her father Noel!
‘Tell me something I don’t bloody know,’ the 24-year-old joked about her Spotify Wrapped list – a round-up of subscribers’ favourite songs.
Maybe Anais is just reacquainting herself with the Oasis back catalogue before her dad reunites with his brother Liam for a sellout tour?
The King has been adding to his art collection. After a Royal Drawing School graduate show this month, a painting by young artist Clover Godsal will be added to the Royal Collection, acquired for at least £2,000.
But where to hang it? The royals do not want for wall space but I’m tipping the post-industrial landscape to be hung at Highgrove, the King’s Gloucestershire eco-outpost.
This painting by young artist Clover Godsal will be added to the Royal Collection, having been acquired for at least £2,000
After a night out in London, rap titans Snoop Dogg and Eminem telephoned members’ club Kensington Roof Gardens and asked for a burger. Alas, their A-list credentials got them nowhere as they were told kitchen staff had gone home. Why didn’t JustEat advert star Snoop order a delivery?
David Beckham’s a clean freak at home – and his high standards don’t slip in the workplace, either. I’m told staff at his office can’t use microwaves as he hates the smell of their food.
‘Scented candles must be lit and the whole office has to be spotless,’ an insider tells me. ‘No coats can be on the back of chairs.’
