RICHARD EDEN: Health fears for Princess Alexandra after Court Circular slip

Too frail to attend as many public engagements these days, Princess Alexandra was nevertheless determined to make it to a concert celebrating the life of her beloved sister-in-law, Katharine, Duchess of Kent, who died a year ago at 92.

According to the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements, Alexandra ‘attended a performance by students and alumni of Future Talent celebrating the legacy of the charity’s co-founder [Katharine]’ at Sinfonia Smith Square in Westminster on Sunday.

However, I can disclose that the Court Circular was, for once, inaccurate: Alexandra, who is Queen Elizabeth’s last surviving bridesmaid, did not, in fact, attend the concert.

‘The princess unfortunately had to pull out at the last moment,’ a source tells me.

The sudden withdrawal has sparked concerns about the health of Alexandra, who is due to turn 90 on Christmas Day.

Her last public engagement was nearly six months ago when she joined a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the centenary of the birth of her first cousin, Queen Elizabeth.

Members of the Royal Family who did attend the Future Talent concert, hosted by television presenter Alexander Armstrong, included her brothers, the Duke of Kent, 90, and Prince Michael of Kent, 84.

Two of the duke and duchess’s three children were there, Lady Helen Taylor and Lord Nicholas Windsor, as well as their nephew Lord Freddie Windsor and his wife, the actress Sophie Winkleman.

Nicholas Robinson, the charity’s co-founder, tells me: ‘It was an honour to welcome so many members of Katharine’s family to celebrate the wonderful musical legacy she has left in Future Talent.’

Princess Alexandra, 89, is the last surviving bridesmaid of Queen Elizabeth II, and her sudden withdrawal from public appearances has sparked concern over her health

Bidding to be a lady of the garter, Fernanda?

This may not be your average wedding snap, but then the Dugdales are not your average family. During her nuptials at the weekend, baronet’s daughter Fernanda posed for this photograph while perched on a staircase, holding a cigarette in her right hand and showing off her lace garter. 

Fernanda, 32, the daughter of Sir William Dugdale, exchanged vows with photographer Ash Kingston, 31, in London. The image was posted by her sister, the actress Clemmie Dugdale, 35, who went even further at her own wedding in 2024, when she stripped down to her lingerie at the reception.

During her nuptials at the weekend, baronet’s daughter Fernanda posed for this photograph while perched on a staircase, holding a cigarette in her right hand and showing off her garter

Her sister, actress Clemmie Dugdale, 35, went even further at her own wedding in 2024

The violent death of US film-maker Rob Reiner has halted plans to revive Fawlty Towers, reveals John Cleese. Having been working on the scripts at the time of Reiner’s death, Cleese explains: ‘It’s a slightly sad story because it was for Rob Reiner’s company, so everything’s gone a bit quiet. 

'They liked the first draft, they’ve given us notes... but that’s as far as it’s gone at the moment.’ Reiner and his wife, Michele, were stabbed to death last December in their home. Their son Nick has denied murder. Rob had been keen to collaborate with the British star, enthusing: ‘John Cleese is a comedy legend. Just the idea of working with him makes me laugh.'

AI? Exterminate, says Time Lord!

Forget Daleks, the greatest danger faced by actors is artificial intelligence, claims former Doctor Who star Sylvester McCoy. He was shocked by an unofficial fan-made AI version of the television show that attracted more than half a million views online. ‘People are desperate to keep Doctor Who alive, I get that,’ says the actor, 83, who played the seventh Doctor from 1987 to 1989, and the wizard Radagast in The Hobbit films. ‘But I’m desperate to keep acting alive. I’m not really sympathetic to AI. ‘My Doctor was always facing machines like that.'

Trouper Nicole refuses to let injury derail gigs

Nicole Scherzinger left Royal Albert Hall concert goers exasperated last year when she made them wait 50 minutes for her to come on stage while she posed for selfies with admirers who had paid £550 each. 

The Pussycat Dolls star is, however, determined to prove that she’s no diva. 

Nicole, 48, shared a video online of her being pushed in a wheelchair backstage in Paris, where she and her band performed at the weekend. The singer later revealed that she had suffered nasty burns to her leg, which was left blistered by scalding water. 

‘Nothing like boiling water falling on your leg an hour before your set – but the show must go on,’ she posted. A spokesman tells me Nicole was using the wheelchair as a safety precaution. 

Last year, I reported a string of complaints about Nicole’s behaviour while she starred in Sunset Blvd. on Broadway, for which she won a Tony award.

Nicole, 48, shared a video online of her being pushed in a wheelchair backstage in Paris, where she and her band performed. The singer later revealed that she had suffered nasty burns 

The clue is in the book title, Laura!

Laura Kuenssberg hopes to set off political fireworks with the November 5 launch of her first book, Pay Attention, published by Hachette. 

The BBC presenter will explain ‘what on earth is going on in our politics’, warning ‘it’s time for politicians who represent the public to pay more attention to us’. 

But has she paid sufficient attention to the autumn book lists? Rival publisher HarperCollins is set to bring out ‘a sharp look at our well founded anxieties over how the attention economy and AI-driven media are warping our politics’ by bestselling US political podcaster David Pakman. Its title? Pay Attention.

Explorer Simon Reeve was almost impaled while filming the second series of Wilderness for BBC Two. ‘In Papua New Guinea, I had a makeshift bamboo chair in our camp,’ he says. ‘It looked pretty sturdy – right up until the moment it collapsed beneath me and a sharpened length of bamboo speared straight through the side of my T-shirt. It missed me, but it was close.’