EXCLUSIVEEDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Brave double-amputee Tony Hudgell receives his own royal reception with Queen Camilla after he missed Buckingham Palace garden party because of traffic gridlock
He faced unspeakable cruelty at the hands of his mother and father before he was even two months old - necessitating the amputation of both his lower legs - only to complete a 10km walk and raise £1.3 million at the age of five.
But perhaps no moments have tasted sweeter to Tony Hudgell, who's still not ten, than those he enjoyed earlier this week - when, I can disclose, he had tea at Buckingham Palace with Queen Camilla.
The intimate occasion was all the richer given the misfortune Tony suffered last month.
Tony Hudgell was unable to make it to the Buckingham Palace garden party on May 8 after getting stuck in traffic on the M20. But Palace officials promised to conjure up another date
The King and Queen at the Buckingham Palace garden party on May 8 which Tony missed
Tony Hudgell had completed a 10km walk and raised £1.3million by the age of five
'Over the moon' to have been invited to one of King Charles's garden parties, he and his adoptive parents, Mark and Paula Hudgell, set out on the appointed day from their home in Maidstone, Kent, on what should have been a straightforward journey.
But it swiftly turned sour. Ensnared in traffic on the M20 after a lorry caught fire, the family eventually admitted defeat and took to social media to concede that they wouldn't 'be making the King's garden party' after all.
Later that night, they received a consoling word from Palace officials who, in response to the day's misfortune, promised to conjure up another date, assuring Tony: 'Leave it with us.'
Tony displays the invitation he received to attend the garden party at Buckingham Palace
Tony had major surgery after his birth parents inflicted life-changing injuries on him as a baby
Tony also met the Princess of Wales in December last year during her visit to officially open the Evelina London Children's Day Surgery Unit at London's Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital
They were true to their word. On Wednesday afternoon Tony arrived at the Palace — with none of the thousands who throng the King's three annual garden parties, just Lyla O'Donovan, 11, who, though living with a rare brain tumour, is another inspirational fundraiser.
In 2022, Tony, who has previously met the Prince and Princess of Wales, inspired what's known as Tony's Law, which sanctions increased prison sentences for those convicted of child cruelty and neglect.
I trust that he has now fully digested the crustless sandwiches, miniature profiteroles, strawberry tarts and squares of chocolate cake — topped with a crown — which make tea at the Palace such a memorable treat.
Tennis hopeful's a winner at dinner
He's tipped to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon next month, and Jannik Sinner is clearly also a favourite on the London social scene.
The Italian tennis star, 22, attracted actress Poppy Delevingne, 38, to a private dinner in his honour at Mount St. restaurant in Mayfair. Also at the event hosted by Gucci was actor Joe Alwyn, 33, the British ex-boyfriend of pop superstar Taylor Swift.
Alwyn is said to have inspired several songs on the American singer's latest album, The Tortured Poets Department.
Other guests at the dinner included Hollywood star Salma Hayek.
Poppy Delevingne leaving a private dinnerat Mount St. restaurant in Mayfair
Joe Alwyn, 33, the British ex-boyfriend of pop superstar Taylor Swift, at the Mount St. dinner
Jannik Sinner, pictured arriving at Mount St., is clearly a favourite on the London social scene
Tenor loses weight... but loses wife
Russian-born opera superstar Anna Netrebko inspired her husband, the well-fed tenor Yusif Eyvazov, to shed more than 4 st. He previously weighed in at almost 19 st.
'Do you know the biggest benefit of my weight loss?' remarked Azerbaijani Eyvazov, 47. 'We now have more positions in bed.'
Sadly, his physique does not seem to have been enough to satisfy Netrebko, 52, as the couple have now separated.
Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2019
'After ten happy years together, we have made the difficult but friendly decision to separate,' they confirm in a joint statement. 'We remain close friends, united in our shared love for [Anna's son] Tiago.'
Netrebko was fired by the Met Opera in New York and lost most other engagements in the West after she failed to denounce Vladimir Putin quickly enough after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She later denounced the war.
More than 30 years after the death of their charismatic singer, Freddie Mercury, Queen still reign supreme.
I learn that the surviving members of the rock band earned a pay rise last year after notching up £39.5 million in sales at Queen Productions, the company through which they channel their income.
It netted the group a £19.7 million pre-tax profit, according to newly published accounts. Their take-home pay increased by £7million to £19.6million.
The pay-out was shared between the surviving members of the group and Mercury's estate. The accounts are for the year to last September and pre-date the £1 billion sale of their music catalogue.
Freddie Mercury performs at a concert in Sydney in 1985
He was the showman aristocrat who conducted record-breaking auctions and was also a confidant to royalty.
So it was apt that the mourners at Wednesday's memorial service for Lord Hindlip — who died this month aged 83 — at Grosvenor Chapel in London's Mayfair included Queen Camilla.
Known to friends as Charlie Allsopp, Hindlip was amused that he became widely known not as an acclaimed chairman of Christie's but as the father of Location, Location, Location presenter Kirstie.
Christie's chairman Lord Hindlip tracks bidding at an auction in New York on October 27, 1999
The unholy row at Winchester Cathedral appears to be deepening. I hear that both the dean, Catherine Ogle, and the precentor, Andy Trenier, have taken a step aside amid the controversy over the departure of director of music Andrew Lumsden.
Most unusual, but with the bishop launching an inquiry and with congregants reportedly walking out of services when Ogle or Trenier preached, and declining to take communion from them, there was probably no alternative.
A spokesman tells me: 'Dean Catherine is taking some time off and fully expects to return shortly. Precentor Andy Trenier is on light duties.'
Catherine Ogle, the dean of Winchester Cathedral, is pictured in October 2019
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