SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Why did Lord Snowdon snub confidante in his £3.2m will?

Close: Lord Snowdon with his confidante Victoria Charlton 

Close: Lord Snowdon with his confidante Victoria Charlton 

For a wealthy ladies' man, it's a thorny dilemma: do you leave the subjects of your affections anything in your will? And, if so, how much?

I can reveal that the Earl of Snowdon, who died in January at the age of 86, struggled to answer these questions. Princess Margaret's ex-husband initially wrote in his will that his confidante Victoria Charlton should be bequeathed £15,000 free from inheritance tax.

However, for unknown reasons he changed his will in 2011, revoking his legacy to the writer and arts promoter, who is now 75.

Vicki had been close friends with the celebrated photographer for more than 30 years.

'It's a great mystery why he changed his will,' one of his friends tells me.

Lord Snowdon was pictured in a tender embrace with the glamorous blonde in 2004, in front of curious passers-by outside a fashionable South Kensington restaurant.

Immaculately groomed, Vicki was separated from her impresario husband, Peter Brightman, at the time.

Two years previously, she and Snowdon had toured Russia together working on a photographic book, which she edited.

Princess Margaret's ex-husband (pictured together) initially wrote in his will that his confidante Victoria Charlton should be bequeathed £15,000 free from inheritance tax

Princess Margaret's ex-husband (pictured together) initially wrote in his will that his confidante Victoria Charlton should be bequeathed £15,000 free from inheritance tax

Lord Snowdon, pictured in 1971, left nothing to his earlier love child, Polly Fry

Lord Snowdon, pictured in 1971, left nothing to his earlier love child, Polly Fry

A former journalist, Vicki is the daughter of adventurer Warwick Charlton, who built a replica of the Mayflower and sailed her across the Atlantic. She is a director of Opera Support & Funding.

To add insult to injury, Snowdon left £25,000 to ex-lover Emily Hirst, a Chelsea divorcee 20 years his junior.

The bulk of his £3.2 million estate was shared between his children, Viscount Linley, who is now the 2nd Earl of Snowdon, Lady Sarah Chatto, Lady Frances von Hofmannsthal, and his love child, Jasper Cable-Alexander.

He left nothing to his earlier love child, Polly Fry.

Vicki could not be reached for comment yesterday.

 

Dame Joan's wild boar woes

More bad luck for former Dynasty diva Dame Joan Collins.

Following flood damage at her London flat this March and then having to evacuate her St Tropez pad in July because of the Mediterranean forest fires, her garden in France has now been damaged and trampled by wild boars.

Sharing a video of the damage on social media, yesterday the 84-year-old writes: 'Devastation in my garden in France.'

Showing she hasn't lost her sense of humour, Joan adds: 'What a wild boar!'

 

Topless royal cousins brave Scottish waves

The Queen's former page of honour Arthur Chatto set hearts aflutter when he posted a topless selfie on social media, showing off his muscular torso and biceps.

Two months later, and the 18-year-old grandson of Princess Margaret has now roped in his older brother Sam, 21, to bare the flesh.

The Queen's former page of honour Arthur Chatto set hearts aflutter when he posted a topless selfie on social media, showing off his muscular torso and biceps, with brother Sam 

The Queen's former page of honour Arthur Chatto set hearts aflutter when he posted a topless selfie on social media, showing off his muscular torso and biceps, with brother Sam 

The cousins of Princes William and Harry sported similar swimming trunks but very different physiques as they emerged from the North Sea at Seacliff beach in Scotland.

'Finish freshers [week] with a brisk Scottish swim,' explains Arthur, who has just joined Sam as a student at Edinburgh University. Capturing the picture, shared online by Arthur, was Sam's vegan blogger girlfriend Sophie Pipe, who took the brothers for a post-swim gelato nearby.

Sam and Arthur are sons of Lady Sarah Chatto, the Queen's niece, and actor-turned-artist Daniel Chatto.

 

Duke's girl puts on a rather racy show

Spurned from one of the hottest parties at London Fashion Week last year, the Duke of Kent's granddaughter, Lady Amelia Windsor, was this time spared her blushes.

On Monday the 22-year-old glided into the LOVE magazine party at Loulou's in Mayfair, from which she was refused entry last year as the venue was at capacity, wearing a racy black lace bralet, white blouse and £1,100 Dolce & Gabbana flared trousers.

Biker chic: Mick Jagger’s Georgia (left) and  Lady Amelia Windsor (right)

Party girls: Poppy Delevingne and Alice Dellal

Party girls: Poppy Delevingne and Alice Dellal

She joined models Poppy Delevingne, 31, and Alice Dellal (pictured), 30, who a few days ago was walking topless down the catwalk

She joined models Poppy Delevingne, 31, and Alice Dellal (pictured), 30, who a few days ago was walking topless down the catwalk

She joined models Poppy Delevingne, 31, and Alice Dellal, 30, who a few days ago was walking topless down the catwalk.

Ubiquitous Cara Delevingne, 25, caught up with clotheshorse Alexa Chung, 33, while Sir Mick Jagger's daughter Georgia, 25, arrived without boyfriend Josh Ludlow in a nude dress and leather jacket.

 

Graham Norton: I'm bald!

Chat show host Graham Norton, 54, has been lamenting his balding pate but says he will never succumb to the plastic surgeon's knife.

'The thing about plastic surgery is that there are no guarantees and nobody wants to look like THAT when it all goes wrong.

'In recent years, I've thought, no, I should have done the hair transplant a while ago and it's too late now, I'm quite bald.

'But they're hard work and painful. Ageing is a fight you can't win, so you either lose with dignity or you end up looking like a circus freak.'

 

Battling Beckers together again...

Boris Becker and wife Lilly put on a united front at Oktoberfest in Germany.

It is the first time they have been pictured together since Lilly admitted to marital problems last week, saying she didn't want their seven-year-old son Amadeus to grow up in a broken home.

Boris Becker and wife Lilly put on a united front at Oktoberfest in Germany (pictured)

Boris Becker and wife Lilly put on a united front at Oktoberfest in Germany (pictured)

The 41-year-old Dutch model, who was wearing a silver dirndl-style dress with a buttoned bodice, said it had been a challenging period since the Wimbledon champion was declared bankrupt in the summer but she would be standing by her man.

'We must fight for each other, for our family,' she said.

Boris, 49, who was wearing a blue velvet waistcoat and checked shirt, was grasping a stein while Lilly opted for wine.

You could forgive her for wanting a stronger tipple.

 

Forget too much sex on TV. Cold Feet star Fay Ripley claims we're overly obsessed with serial killers.

'I'm not noticing the nudity as much as the fact that there are too many dead bodies for my liking,' Fay, 51, tells me.

'It's all dark and gloomy. The thing I like about the show I'm in is that we don't do autopsies. I celebrate that.

'We need [that kind of show] now more than ever, not more shows about serial killers.'

Fay, who has a no-nudity clause in her contract with the ITV series, adds: 'The nation doesn't need to see me naked.' 

 

Brian Moore, England rugby star-turned-BBC commentator, certainly justifies his nickname ‘Pitbull’.

When asked if he would have preferred a rugby career or a professional cricket career, he replies: ‘Would have to be rugby — where else could I have legally stamped on the French?’

 

Is the V&A’s director Tristram Hunt straining a little hard to impress ‘the kids’? Introducing the museum’s new opera exhibition, the former Labour MP said the form has been ‘a breeding ground for the young, rebellious and avant-garde, who explore and challenge their social surroundings through music.

There’s a line to be drawn from Mozart to Stormzy, Wagner to Sampha.’ Will the V&A follow its current Pink Floyd show with a ‘grime’ retrospective?

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