"Scandalous royal behavior is hardly a new phenomenon; back in the 1500s, Henry VIII stirred up all sorts of trouble—getting married six times, two of those wives getting beheaded by his order—though, of course, there was no Daily Mail Online existent at the time to update the world on a minute-by-minute basis, along with an unflattering photograph of Henry eating a salad. In the past decade, Prince Harry has become something of the poster child for the latest iteration of 'wild' royals—though, in the past few months, he seems to have settled down, taking on an office job and seemingly putting much effort into his relationship with Cressida Bonas. Meanwhile, Prince Andrew—Harry and William’s uncle—has not exactly shed his long-time label as a royal playboy, and was recently seen out multiple times with 33-year-old model Monika Jakisic—better known as 'The Croatian Sensation'—who once dated George Clooney. While Andrew and Harry may be the most known for their indecent behavior these days, there are a host of modern royals with vices and foibles of their own. Let’s take a look . . .Prince Andrew Vices: extravagance (the Daily Mail has dubbed him “Airmiles Andy”); playboy behavior (Andrew famously showed up at Courtney Love’s house in 2006 “looking to party”); married Fergie (who we will get to shortly) in what turned out to be a, well, tumultuous union.Outlook: Well, dating a high-profile model some two decades younger than yourself doesn’t exactly scream “trying to slow things down.”" (VF)
"On July 1, 1961, a beautiful 17-year-old girl appeared on the cover of Paris Match, back then in its heyday: 'C’est une deb,' announced the cover, the once-upon-a-time annual British ritual having passed the Channel to the land of cheese. Her name was Cristina de Caraman, daughter of the Duke de Caraman, and she was so pretty and angelic-looking that even my mother, who was always after me to marry Greek, told me she was the kind of girl I should get hold of rather permanently. I did so that summer on the Riviera, where her mother’s English family had a house high above Monte Carlo.Cristina’s mother’s maiden name was Macklin, and her brother Lance Macklin was already a hero of mine, being a daredevil racing driver back in the days when a crash meant instant fiery death. Lance had been involved in the 1955 Le Mans accident that caused 84 people to die as Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes had flipped and flown into the stands behind the pits, instantly killing tens and injuring 120. Lance’s Austin-Healey was flying past the pits when Mike Hawthorn’s Jaguar pulled out after refueling. Macklin took avoiding action at a very high speed, but Levegh’s Merc hit Lance’s car and flew into the stands. There were no crash barriers then, and cars caught fire at a bump more often than not. Despite the carnage, the 24-hour race went on, with Mike Hawthorn, the culprit, winning it. It might sound very brutal now, but the race officials were right to keep it going. Had the race been canceled, thousands would have blocked the tiny roads leading to the track, impeding the ambulances and fire engines from reaching the trapped and the wounded. In any case, there was no culprit; racing was a very dangerous sport and safety measures did not exist. (Sir Jackie Stewart, the man who forced the greedy organizers to install non-flammable gas tanks and collapsing safety-crash barriers, was ten years away.) This, then, was Cristina’s uncle, and we became fast friends almost immediately." (Taki)
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"I went down to lunch at Michael’s with Faye Wattleton. This was one of those lunches that are the luxury of my work: you get to know New York and how it thinks and what motivates it. You’re learning. Always learning. That was the conversation. Afterwards I made my way up Fifth Avenue because I wanted to get a better look at the Bergdorf Windows which I’d passed quickly in the cab on my way to Michael’s. They are smashing. I also wanted to get a shot of the recently Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ re-gilded General William Tecumseh Sherman statue facing south.There were a lot of people, especially tourists and younger people, hanging out and about in this area in mid-afternoon. At the foot of the statue there was a group of street performers wowing the crowd with their refined “improvised” movements and acrobatics that are both astounding and astonishing. You can see why people congregate here. It’s a major hub of the city what with the Plaza, the Sherry-Netherland, Mr. Morgan’s Metropolitan Club, Bergdorf’s, the Apple Cube and Central Park all within one revolution of the eye. And yet it has the feel of a village also. Community. And at the other end of Central Park South are the black and shiny twin towers of the Time-Warner Center. You’re in New York, bub." (NYSD)
"Ronan Farrow was the center of attention at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association fund-raiser in New York on Thursday. MSNBC host Farrow has remained coy about his sexuality. But it didn’t stop him posing for an all-star media selfie taken by CNN’s Don Lemon with Ashleigh Banfield (who said Farrow was her date for the night), Fox News anchor Jamie Colby and 'GMA' correspondent Amy Robach, who emceed. Lemon tweeted: “#Ellen [DeGeneres] has nothing on our @nlgja selfie.” (P6)
"ABC’s Amy Robach lit up the room last night as host NLGJA’s Healdines & Headliners event. Robach, who has three more chemotherapy treatments in her fight against breast cancer told the crowd that we all have battles to face, but it’s how you fight that will determine the win.'Until it hits you here,' she said to the crowd, pointing to her heart, 'you don’t really know what it’s like to be in battle. And once you get in there and get your hands a little bloodied and you see your comrades next to you, you become so powerful.' Robach told us the support she’s gotten since her diagnosis in November has been nothing short of overwhelming.Robach, accompanied by her husband Andrew Shue, was among 300 attendees, including dozens of TV news anchors, reporters and producers who turned out for at the annual event. 'They gave me the night off,' said CNN’s Richard Quest who has been front and center for the network’s Malaysia Airlines coverage.We chatted with Shepard Smith who was trading Miami stories with his former local news colleague, now Weather Channel meteorologist Bryan Norcross. And there was a cross-network, lead-in pairing as CNN’s Noon anchor Ashleigh Banfield was accompanied by MSNBC’s 1pm anchor Ronan Farrow. Farrow told us he’s getting more comfortable each day hosting his 'Ronan Farrow Daily.' The cable news newbie says he’s getting good advice from TV veterans. Tamron Hall told us she’s still adjusting to her new schedule." (TVNewser)
