Lady Amelia Windsor wins Boodles crown over Earl Spencer's daughters

On the face of it, this week's Chelsea Flower Show has been a vintage one, with King Charles and Queen Camilla heading a cavalcade of visiting royals, including the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Beatrice, plus assorted grandees, such as the Prince and Princess of Wales's Norfolk neighbours, the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley – and David Beckham, of course.

But there has been no sign of Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, Earl Spencer's glamorous 32-year-old twin daughters.

This will have disappointed eligible bachelors, particularly those who chanced across Amelia and Eliza at last year's show, and who, aware that Amelia married her long-term boyfriend Greg Mallett in 2023, still hold out hope of catching Eliza's eye, though she seems very happy with tech executive Channing Millerd, the man in her life for the past nine years.

But might Amelia and Eliza themselves be nursing a degree of disappointment, even grief, caused by the ending of a relationship? 

Not, obviously, a romantic one: I refer, instead, to their role as ambassadors for jewellers Boodles, sponsors of the Raindance Garden at this year's show.

'The Spencer sisters' two-year contract has now come to an end,' confirms Boodles' managing director, James Amos.

Amelia and Eliza, who, remarkably, discovered only this year that they are identical twins, thanks to DNA testing, were overjoyed when appointed to the highly lucrative roles in 2023.

'I love everything that Boodles stands for,' said Amelia. 'It's a family business with heritage and creativity at heart.' Eliza said that she 'really connect[ed]' with Boodles' values. 'Family is all about unconditional love,' she reflected.

Cynics might be dismissive. But those who know the girls would demur. Their parents' marriage ended in a grim divorce when the twins were only five in 1997 – the same year in which the most dazzling of their aunts, Princess Diana, died in appalling and avoidable circumstances.

James Amos stresses that the twins remain 'great friends of the brand', adding: 'We thoroughly enjoyed having them as our ambassadors.'

Intriguingly, another 'friend of the brand' was unmissable in Boodles' Raindance Garden.

Representing the jeweller was another Lady Amelia – Lady Amelia Windsor, granddaughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, once described as the 'most beautiful royal' by Tatler magazine.

Lewis keeps his cool with 'ranting' autograph hunters

Denzel Washington became embroiled in a heated exchange with a photographer at Cannes, but Homeland star Damian Lewis appears better at keeping his cool.

When he arrived at Nice Airport, on his return from Cannes Film Festival, Lewis and his girlfriend, the rock star Alison Mosshart, were, I hear, accosted by a group of autograph hunters.

'One woman simply wouldn't take 'no' for an answer,' a witness tells me. 'She quickly became extremely vexed, ranting about how they had 'made' him and how he was ungrateful.

'She was shouting and finger-jabbing and had people rushing to restrain her.'

Eton-educated Lewis 'could not have been cooler', the source says.

'He was calm, even polite, and simply let her vent while quietly clarifying that he couldn't agree with anything she was saying.'

How very British.

Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding dreamed of owning a Californian mansion. But it turned out to be a disaster. 'I always thought if I was a writer I could have a swimming pool,' she tells the Travel Secrets podcast. 

'When the Bridget thing happened, at that time, for the price of a flat in Notting Hill, you could buy a house with a pool [in LA] – except the one I bought was like a film set. It was, as they say in Yorkshire, all fur coat and no knickers, so as soon as it rained the roof fell in and everything broke.' 

Jade pulls plug on Bath show 

Top model Jade Parfitt has been forced to cancel her hotly anticipated Bath Fashion Festival with just weeks to go.

She had assembled a starry line-up for the event she founded, including a talk by fellow 1990s catwalk queen Jodie Kidd.

But now Jade, 46, reveals that the festival has been postponed after a major backer pulled out – rather dramatically – at the 11th hour. 'Last week, we lost a major sponsor at short notice,' she explains. 'It was a real blow. Nobody ever said running your own business was going to be easy.

'Despite pulling out all the stops, we haven't been able to bridge the gap in time.'

Jade, who has modelled for Versace, Chanel and Alexander McQueen, adds: 'We're determined to come back stronger, with the same creativity, value and community spirit that's made this festival so exciting.'

Beneath her elegant, floor-length gown, Dame Helen Mirren was hiding a secret on the red carpet at Cannes last night.

The Oscar winner was wearing a pair of special shoes for problem feet.

I can disclose that Dame Helen, 79, wore black suede and glitter 'Royalty' platforms by Sole Bliss, the brand favoured by Queen Camilla for their extra cushioning.

'Enormous platforms have always been my hidden weapon on red carpets,' she tells me. 'They give you six inches of height and they're quite stable, too.'

Jobless since stepping down from royal duties in 2020 after his disastrous Newsnight interview, Prince Andrew has a chance to make himself useful. 

The Royal Household needs a helicopter pilot. King Charles's brother flew helicopters in the Falklands conflict. 

'The King's Helicopter Flight consists of a small team of pilots and ground support staff,' explains the advert on the royal website. 'As an experienced multi-engine helicopter commander, you will act as either Pilot in Command or Co-Pilot.' 

Should be no sweat for the Duke of York.