EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Cowes Week throws Ladies’ Day overboard as ‘woke’ yachties rule
EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Cowes Week throws Ladies’ Day overboard as ‘woke’ yachties rule
An anchor of the social Season since 1826, and a favourite of the Royal Family, Cowes Week no longer appeals to ladies.
The world-famous regatta has ditched its Ladies’ Day for fear of being ‘patronising’ to the fairer sex. Instead, today’s event on the Isle of Wight will henceforth be known as Women’s Day.
‘It’s a decision to make it more about the women and their achievements on the water rather than a ‘Ladies’ Day’ with connotations of Ascot and the glamorous spectators there,’ one of the organisers tells me.
The Duchess of Cambridge takes part in the King’s Cup regatta at Cowes on the Isle of Wight
Women sailors will still be honoured, with trophies for the leading female helm and the leading all-female crew to be presented at the daily prize-giving this evening. (Presenter Charlotte Hawkins takes part in racing on Ladies Day)
Queen Victoria often attended Cowes Week, Princess Anne is a regular, and the Duchess of Cambridge took part in the King’s Cup in 2019.
Women sailors will still be honoured, with trophies for the leading female helm and the leading all-female crew to be presented at the daily prize-giving this evening.
The move to dispense with the Ladies’ prize is also down to the day being perceived as ‘patronising’.
Pips Taylor, Rosie Tapner, Jodie Kidd and Lilah Parsons attend Slingsby ladies day at Cowes Week on August 13, 2019
A director of the high-profile ‘Magenta project’, which champions women in sailing, tells me: ‘Cowes is challenging the convention of ‘Ladies’ Day’ with the rather patronising and old-fashioned implications that can be easily interpreted and impugned from setting aside just one day to mark female involvement.’
Could the move be followed by other events of the Season, such as Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood race meetings? ‘It would be terribly sad if ladies were no longer welcome at Royal Ascot,’ a member of the Royal Enclosure tells me.
‘Ladies should not be a term of abuse; it should be something to celebrate. Will ‘gentlemen’ become a banned word, too? There should be no place for this woke nonsense in the social calendar.’
America’s giving Meghan and Harry new headache
Wonder what a Harry and Meghan logo would look like?
Well, the California-based Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been ordered to prove they want to flog goods such as clothes and books using their Archewell brand in the U.S. — or risk losing control of the name.
They’ve applied to have their new media and charitable empire protected by patent and trademark law in America. However, Harry and Meghan must now provide proof that they wish to use the brand commercially and show evidence in the form of photos.
They’ve been told by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office they have six months either to provide details of their Statement of Use or request an extension.
Documents make clear: ‘Failure to file a required document outlined above during the appropriate time period will result in the abandonment of this application.’
Beatrice finds Edo’s ex on the doorstep
Beatrice, who is due to give birth to her first child with Edo this autumn, was in New York to give a speech for her employer Afiniti, a software business
The property developer, 38, was in New York at the weekend with the Queen’s granddaughter, 32 — where he was joined for a nocturnal stroll along The High Line, an elevated park, by Dara Huang, 38
Can any man be as close to his ex-fiancee as Princess Beatrice’s husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi?
The property developer, 38, was in New York at the weekend with the Queen’s granddaughter, 32 — where he was joined for a nocturnal stroll along The High Line, an elevated park, by Dara Huang, 38, the mother of his four-year-old son, Christopher, known as Wolfie.
‘I was in town for 48 hours and spent most of it showing Wolfie the Big Apple for the first time,’ explains U.S.-born architect Dara.
Beatrice, who is due to give birth to her first child with Edo this autumn, was in New York to give a speech for her employer Afiniti, a software business.
He’s our most successful pop composer, but Sir Paul McCartney is struggling to fulfil a longstanding ambition. ‘I’ve often attempted to write a song in Spanish, because I did Spanish at school, and I always liked the language,’ reveals The Beatles star. ‘Writing lyrics in another language is a completely different challenge to anything else I’ve done.’
The Fab Four’s recording of the Latin hit Besame Mucho in the early Sixties may help.
The Young Ones star Ade Edmondson has become so fed up waiting for his longed-for invitation to appear on Desert Island Discs that he’s planning to do his own live version — with himself as the castaway.
The Celebrity MasterChef winner’s old friend, actor Paul Bradley, reveals: ‘I’m still in touch with Ade, but he’s got p****d off because nobody’s asked him to be on Desert Island Discs.
So what he’s going to do is his own live show where he chooses six records or so, but plays them himself.’
Rubbing salt in Edmondson’s wounds, his comedienne wife, Jennifer Saunders, was invited on to the Radio 4 show in 1996.
Birthday boy Blandford pushes the boat out
George Marquess of Blandford spends his 29th Birthday on a Greek cruise with wife Camilla and friends
A wholesome affair, insurance broker George was presented with a chocolate birthday cake by his wife, interior designer Camilla, 34, and their ten-month-old daughter, Lady Olympia, pictured
While the Duke of Marlborough enjoyed letting his hair down in his wild past, his son, George Spencer-Churchill, prefers a markedly quieter life.
That’s not to say the Marquess of Blandford, who is the heir to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire and a £100 million fortune, doesn’t know how to have a good time.
To celebrate his 29th birthday, he threw a party aboard a boat in Mykonos, Greece, where he was joined by friends including the Duke of Rutland’s youngest daughter, Lady Eliza Manners, who describes it as ‘the best holiday’.
A wholesome affair, insurance broker George was presented with a chocolate birthday cake by his wife, interior designer Camilla, 34, and their ten-month-old daughter, Lady Olympia.
Donna’s secret of youth: an old dress!
The Split star turned 42 yesterday while staying at a five-star hotel in Majorca — and donned one of her old green frocks for the occasion
Forget Botox! Actress Donna Air has managed to feel young again simply by rummaging through her wardrobe.
The Split star turned 42 yesterday while staying at a five-star hotel in Majorca — and donned one of her old green frocks for the occasion.
‘I’m wearing my dress from the Nineties, which helps me feel 18 again,’ she chirrups, sharing this selfie.
Donna is going out with vaping millionaire Gunnar Winbergh, and was on holiday with her daughter Freya, 17, whose father is conservationist Damian Aspinall.
