EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Billionaire aristocrat Earl Cadogan in High Court battle with trendy cycle gym chain used by Michelle Obama and David Beckham
Most of the grandest aristocrats have been excluded from King Charles’s coronation. But don’t write off the old order just yet, and certainly not when it’s up against casually dressed characters building up a sweat on bicycles – even when the bikes are stationary and those pedalling away include the likes of David Beckham.
I can reveal that Cadogan Estates, which accounts for 93 prime acres in Kensington and Chelsea – all of them privately owned by Earl Cadogan and his family – has initiated a High Court action against SoulCycle, the achingly fashionable cycling gyms which boast Michelle Obama among fans in the USA and Beckham over here.
Cadogan, whose life president and chairman are respectively Earl Cadogan, 86, and his elder son, Viscount Chelsea, 55, has asked the court to liquidate the London part of SoulCycle’s operations, which include gyms in Soho and Notting Hill.
It is, though, the fate of a third site, in the King’s Road, Chelsea, on which the case centres. This was due to have opened more than three years ago, only to fall foul of the horrors of lockdown.
Celebrity cyclist: Model Josie Lane exercising at SoulCycle, the achingly fashionable cycling gyms which boast Michelle Obama among fans in the USA and Beckham over here
Earl: Charles Cadogan, whose life president and chairman are respectively Earl Cadogan, 86, and his elder son, Viscount Chelsea, 55, has asked the court to liquidate the London part of SoulCycle’s operations, which include gyms in Soho and Notting Hill
With the High Court hearing scheduled for next Wednesday, SoulCycle’s New York headquarters tells me: ‘Whilst we are disappointed by the landlord’s decision to file this petition, we understand this is a matter of procedure. Despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, we remain committed to serving our riders in the UK and we will continue to try to resolve this issue through negotiation with the landlord.’
At this stage, Cadogan restricts itself to describing the confrontation as ‘a contractual matter’, adding diplomatically: ‘We hope to reach a satisfactory settlement between both parties’.
Earl Cadogan, one of the peerage’s most substantial figures – he’s 6ft 6in, with a build to match, not to mention a £5.5billion fortune – will, I’m sure, be monitoring matters closely. He once memorably declared himself displeased with a restaurant in a prized spot in Sloane Square, in the heart of his estate – ‘I didn’t like the food and the prices are far too high,’ he explained – and announced that he wouldn’t be renewing its lease. He proved true to his word.
Looks like ‘Harry’ has arrived early for the Coronation
Is Prince Harry already in Britain for his father’s crowning? No, this is Luther Ford, playing King Charles’s younger son in the forthcoming sixth and final series of Netflix hit The Crown.
Ford, who is making his screen debut, is seen during filming this week at York Minster, which is doubling as St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in scenes depicting Charles and Camilla’s marital blessing in 2005.
Imelda Staunton, who plays Queen Elizabeth, was seen leaving the Yorkshire cathedral wearing a copy of the white outfit worn by the monarch to the ‘service of prayer and dedication’.
Her Majesty did not attend the couple’s wedding ceremony, which took place earlier in the day at the register office at Windsor Guildhall.
Double: Luther Ford (pictured) is playing King Charles’s younger son in the forthcoming sixth and final series of Netflix hit The Crown
Queen: Imelda Staunton, who plays Queen Elizabeth, was seen leaving the Yorkshire cathedral wearing a copy of the white outfit worn by the monarch to the ‘service of prayer and dedication’
Jamie snaps over family photos
Filming lockdown cookery show Keep Calm And Carry On with an iPhone came at a huge personal cost for Jamie Oliver, who managed to lose his treasured family snaps, including those of the births of his children.
‘I lost all my pictures and videos of the past 17 years of my life,’ wails the TV chef, 47, before explaining that files were somehow deleted while transferring digital footage to programme editors.
‘There was a price to pay, and that was probably losing the births of all my children. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. I have mates who work at Apple and I have spoken to engineers and there is no safety net.’
He adds: ‘I guess the moral of the story is, stop filming your children and live in the moment.’
Missing pictures: Filming lockdown cookery show Keep Calm And Carry On with an iPhone came at a huge personal cost for Jamie Oliver, who managed to lose his treasured family snaps, including those of the births of his children
For former PM Truss, talk is cheap
Boris Johnson rakes in more than £250,000 for making speeches to awed Americans, while even Theresa May has pulled in fees in the £70,000 to £110,000 bracket from those hungry for her, er, oratory.
Liz Truss, by contrast, is willing to accept more modest remuneration — roughly commensurate with the brevity of her premiership.
In the most recent Register of Members’ Interests, Truss records a fee of £6,443 for addressing an audience at Tokyo University, though she did also notch up £65,751 for a speaking engagement in India.
Cheap: Truss records a fee of £6,443 for addressing an audience at Tokyo University, though she did also notch up £65,751 for a speaking engagement in India
England cricketer Ben Stokes has been stumped by ivy ruining dozens of trees at his £1.8 million County Durham mansion. The all-rounder was previously given the go-ahead to axe two heavily leaning cherry trees amid fears it would damage a gate and wall if they fell.
Now, he wants to chop down beech, poplar, sycamore and ash trees at his 2.2-acre home after being bowled over by the woody climber. However, Stokes, 31, needs consent for the tree works as some of them are protected by a Tree Preservation Order in a designated conservation area. Planners at Durham County Council are expected to make a decision next month.
One man who refuses to watch Netflix’s racy new series, Obsession, is its star, Richard Armitage. ‘I’ve never seen my naked butt on camera — and I don’t want to see it,’ insists The Hobbit star, 51, who won’t watch scenes in which he appears naked. ‘I’m in denial. I just listen to what everyone else has to say.’ Judging by the mixed reviews for Obsession, he might have had a lucky escape.
Len Goodman’s days as Strictly Come Dancing’s head judge are long gone, but he’s still waltzing his way to a fortune. Newly released figures for Pleasurable Pastimes, the private company into which the former ballroom dancer, 78, channels his earnings, reveal that it has accumulated £5.28 million in profits. The firm, which he set up in 2009, held £2.2 million worth of investment property and £3.5 million in cash as of August last year.
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