Milk Money

An old friend Ingrid Seward – longtime editor of the U.K’s. Majesty Magazine and prolific royal author/TV commentator – sends me her latest book My Mother and I: The Inside Story of the King and Our Late Queen, which has reached Number 4 in the British bestseller list.

Ingrid who has written innumerable bestsellers on the Royals, recounts the time Charles was a pupil at Gordonstoun in Scotland, which his father Prince Philip also attended.

On a camping expedition with his personal detective Donald Green and fellow pupils, one of the boys was given the task of asking a local farmer if they could buy some milk.

The youngster knocked on the door of a distant farmhouse a mile away, only to be told there was no milk for sale.

Then he returned admitting failure, but Charles, without saying a word, walked over to the farmhouse himself.

“I knocked on the door,” explained the future Prince of Wales. “The farmer came to the door and started telling me off for bothering him again and said he had no milk for sale. Suddenly he recognized who I was and stopped mid-sentence.

“He turned red and muttered an apology, returning with two pints of milk which I tried to pay for after thanking him profusely. He looked completely flabbergasted and even his wife came to the door to see me off.

“My money was refused. You see, there can be some advantages to having your photograph in the papers. People recognize you; most useful when you need milk!”

As they say in the American Express commercials, membership has its privileges.

Twitter/X Being Used to Feud

It would seem to be a case of swizzlesticks at dawn between Montecito actor Billy Baldwin and his former Sliver co-star Sharon Stone.

Stone, 66, has finally revealed the name of the Hollywood producer who pressured her to have sex with her co-star for the first time, as well as the actor she was pushed to get intimate with in order to improve their on-screen chemistry.

Stone previously described the situation in her 2021 memoir without disclosing identities but has now divulged the producer was the late Robert Evans and the actor Billy, brother of Alec Baldwin, in the 1993 film.

The movie was Stone’s first film after having huge success and mega stardom in the previous year’s blockbuster hit Basic Instinct.

Speaking on Louis Theroux’s podcast she said: “They expected me to bring home another giant smash hit and they gave me casting approval, but when it came time to do it they told me it was a vanity deal and I couldn’t have my approvals.

“They then tried to blame me for their mistakes, and they made terrible mistakes when they hired directors and the cast.”

Stone says Evans, former head of Paramount Pictures, summoned her from the set to make a request for her to sleep with leading man Billy.

“He’s running around his office in sunglasses explaining to me that he slept with Ava Gardner and I should sleep with Billy Baldwin because if I slept with Billy Baldwin his performance would get better.

“And we need Billy to get better in the movie because that was the problem. And if I slept with Billy then we’d have chemistry on screen…and that would save the movie.”

Sliver went on to take in a substantial $280 million at the box office despite Stone declining Evans’ blandishments.

However, Billy, 61, has now hit back at Stone’s claims on X, formerly Twitter, fuming: “Not sure why Sharon Stone keeps talking about me all these years later. Does she still have a crush on me or does she still hurt after all these years because I shunned her advances? Did she say to her gal pal Janice Dickinson the day after I screen tested and ran into them on our MGM Grand flight back to New York… ‘I’m going to make him fall so hard for me it’s gonna make his head spin???’

“I have so much dirt on her it would make her head spin, but I’ve kept quiet.”

Let the battle commence…

Cooking in the Orchard

Meghan Markle has launched a new luxury lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard with a glittering Instagram video. The Riven Rock-based Duchess of Sussex is seen cooking in a stunning rustic kitchen, while a woman’s hands can be seen carrying pink and white flowers.

The new project is said to have been in the works for more than a year and is said to feature “all things close to her heart.”

The debut of the new company is set to coincide with the launch of the new cooking show for Netflix – where she will be making and selling her own products.

It will lead on to a book launch and blog to go alongside cookery shows.

The royal crest and calligraphy is being used to promote the new brand.

I’m sure Martha Stewart is quaking in her Louboutins!

Toast at Home

Author and celebrity interior decorator Jeremiah Brent has received Oprah Winfrey’s seal of approval.

The former TV talk show host toasted Brent – the newest member of the Netflix show Queer Eye – at a party hosted by Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins and his wife Tracy at their Montecito home for his new book The Space That Keeps You: When Home Becomes a Love Story.

Oprah is featured in the book talking about her East Valley Road estate with Brent, who has also worked with celebrities like rocker Billy Joel, TV kingpin Ryan Murphy, and stylist Rachel Zee.

“Oprah likes neutral,’ says the lavishly illustrated tome. “She doesn’t like more than three colors in a room. She doesn’t like a lot of bright things bringing attention to themselves. She wants to feel soothed and she wants her guests to feel the same way.”

Brent, who is married to fellow interior decorator and former TV show host Nate Berkus, has a program Home Made Simple on Oprah’s OWN network.

Also at the bash were Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi, and actress Jordana Brewster and her husband ValueAct Capital CEO Mason Morfit.

Local Mom Mindfully Stares 

Gwyneth Paltrow has declared her love for yet another bizarre health-related activity.

The Montecito wellness guru, who has previously peddled other health fads, has let friends and other health influencers know about the launch of her new app, Moments of Space.

During the event, which took place via Zoom, the Oscar winner announced her flirtation with a new wellness habit: eye open meditation.

Refraining from shutting your eyes helps keep you alert and improves orientation as well as clarity of thought, according to meditation app Calm.

Buddhists have been practicing types of eyes-open meditation, called Zazen, for more than 2,000 years.

As well as declaring her love for the practice, the Goop founder invited others attending the event to join her in a session.

Eye-opening, indeed.

Sightings

Prince Harry skiing in Aspen, Colorado… Gwyneth Paltrow at a bash thrown by fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg in Los Angeles… Rob Lowe at the Streaming with the Stars gala in Beverly Hills.

Pip! Pip!