London's famed Colony Room Club has shut its doors in Soho just three years after its resurrected basement venue was opened, triggering fury from its creator after he was given eight days to clear out the legendary drinking spot.
Artist and author Darren Coffield, 56, who recreated the historic club as a pop-up installation in 2021, packed up a treasury of historic memorabilia into three suitcases after learning the site's owners wanted the property back. Coffield, a member of the original club since 1988 and author of Tales From The Colony Room: Soho's Lost Bohemia, was described by a friend as being livid over the short notice, which left him unable to notify regulars in time.
While Coffield rescued most of the artwork and curios, an AK-47 assault rifle mounted in a display case remained behind. A spokesman for the premises' owners, restaurateurs Tom Onions and Prue Freeman, assured that several months of discussion preceded the closure, noting that the venue was initially intended as a three-month pop-up before being extended for three years. The spokesman added that the assault rifle is being held safely for its owner, Dan Macmillan, the grandson of former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and a former partner of model Kate Moss, who once worked behind the bar.
The resurrected basement club, located near the original Soho premises and favoured by musician Bob Geldof, was painted in the same bilious green hue that made its predecessor famous. The original Colony Room Club became an iconic fixture of London bohemian nightlife after being established by Muriel Belcher, a combative lesbian who famously greeted artists Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud with "Hello, c***y!" Belcher was succeeded by Ian Board, a heavy drinker whose bulbous nose was described as pulsating like a rancid tomato. Equipped with a single toilet shared by men and women alike and a proprietor who wore a T-shirt declaring "Rehab is for quitters," the venue attracted high-profile figures including Princess Margaret, broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, Dame Tracey Emin, and actor Daniel Craig, who worked as a barman in his youth.
Poppy Delevingne Celebrates Archie Keswick's Birthday
Model Poppy Delevingne has shared a rare public photograph with her partner Archie Keswick to mark his 45th birthday during a holiday in Tuscany, Italy. Delevingne, 40, posted a picture of the couple in a tender embrace on social media alongside the message: "Happy birthday to my favourite human."
Keswick, a member of the billionaire Jardine Matheson business dynasty that controls the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group with an estimated £6 billion fortune, was once described as the most eligible bachelor you have never heard of. Friends previously noted that Keswick harboured a strong aversion to being photographed when his relationship with Delevingne was first revealed two years ago, but he appeared happy to pose during their Italian getaway. The couple share a one-year-old daughter, Kaia Moon.
King Charles Faces Faith Controversy as Royal Trust Hires Art Researcher
King Charles III is selling prints of one of his original watercolour paintings for £10,000, even as the Royal Collection Trust advertises a £35,000-a-year position for a catalogue researcher. The researcher, based at Windsor Castle, will catalogue nearly 600 drawings by Italian Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci ahead of a major publication scheduled for release in 2030 or 2031.
Meanwhile, the King is facing sharp criticism from Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, who claims the monarch has violated his Coronation oath. Ashenden expressed horror after Buckingham Palace altered the King's formal designation in this year's Sovereign Grant Annual Report from "Defender of the Faith" to "Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation."
Ashenden, who resigned his royal post after nine years following his public criticism of a Christian church service featuring a Koran reading by a Muslim student, asserted that King Charles has deserted Christian allegiance and turned his back on his oath. He warned that some commentators are now questioning whether the monarch's actions are sufficiently subversive to raise doubts about his capacity to fulfil the office of King.
Alexa Chung and Pixie Geldof Wear Foil Hats for Sicilian Eclipse
Members of London's social elite gathered in Sicily to watch the sun being blocked out by the moon during a solar eclipse, with model Alexa Chung and socialite Pixie Geldof sporting handmade tin foil hats for the occasion. Geldof, the 35-year-old daughter of Sir Bob Geldof, wore an elaborate foil creation featuring cutout shapes of the sun and moon.
Chung, 42, opted for a simpler tin foil hat design and published photographs from the trip online with the caption: "The watch party, when the moon mogged the sun." The pair were joined at the Italian watch party by Geldof's husband, 38-year-old musician George Barnett, with whom she has a five-year-old daughter.
Eurythmics Tease Comeback as Richard Osman Navigates Libel Law
Musician Dave Stewart has hinted at a potential reunion with Annie Lennox, his bandmate in the classic 1980s New Wave pop duo Eurythmics. Stewart stated that it would be sad not to reunite, revealing that the pair recorded unreleased tracks in 2000 that sound like classic Eurythmics material.
Elsewhere in author news, television presenter and crime writer Richard Osman revealed that he had to alter the setting for his upcoming novel We Chase Shadows to prevent potential libel litigation. Osman, 55, used the New Forest luxury hotel The Pig in his 2024 best-seller We Solve Murders because he knew its layout, but realized he could not feature a scene depicting a hotel manager accepting a bribe at the real location. Rather than risk legal action, Osman opted to move the scene to a fictional hotel establishment.
