EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Brother of Kate's pal Rose weds into royalty

His father's best friend is the Duke of Beaufort, while one of his sisters is a countess and the other a marchioness – not to mention a Norfolk neighbour and great chum of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

But the most junior member of the remarkable Hanburys will soon boast a familiarity with the palaces of Europe which will eclipse the combined knowledge of them all.

I can disclose that in the frenzied run-up to Christmas, David Hanbury, 39, youngest of Tim and Emma Hanbury's three offspring, married at the Grosvenor Chapel in London's Mayfair – setting for the opening of Richard Curtis's 2003 romcom Love Actually.

But, star-studded though Curtis's flick was, it lacked one ingredient – royalty. There was no such deficiency at David's wedding to Anouska d'Abo, a boss at SXSW music and film festival. 

Among the guests and radiating a glamour few could match – other, perhaps, than David's sisters, Marina, wife of the Earl of Durham, and Rose, married to the Marquess of Cholmondeley – was Princess Madeleine of Sweden.

The younger daughter of King Carl Gustav, Madeleine, 43, is 34-year-old Anouska's aunt. Their connection is by marriage, Princess Madeleine having married Anouska's uncle, financier Christopher O'Neill, in 2013.

Five years later, the royal couple made Anouska godmother to their second daughter, Adrienne. The christening was held in the chapel at Drottningholm Palace, whose grandeur matches Buckingham Palace.

Not that it will daunt David, an Old Etonian like his father. 

After notching up a First in engineering science at Oxford, he bagged another in data science at London University, and is now founder and chief executive of Deep Medical, which aims to 'eliminate the NHS backlog [by] using AI to predict missed appointments'.

Perhaps, in his spare time, he can unleash it on assessing the comings and goings of princes – whether in California or closer to home.

How Winslet tamed a very grumpy dame

Dame Helen Mirren agreed to star in her friend Kate Winslet's directorial debut Goodbye June, but the Oscar-winner could apparently prove challenging when arriving for filming.

'The way that she kind of managed herself, really, was that she didn't actually want to talk about anything until we got there on the day,' Winslet explains.

'So she would get there… but then she would just say to me, 'I don't like it today. I don't like the gown and the wig and the thing. I don't want to get in the bed'.

'I would say, 'Get in the bed. Lie down, don't move your head. Okay, action'.

'I just had to be very practical with her.

'What more do you offer someone like Helen Mirren who is going to instinctively respond to whatever's in front of her in brilliant ways?'

TV presenter Gaby Roslin has a helpful tip for feeling better in the new year.

'In the morning, open your curtains, and before you say, 'Oh, no, it's grey again', how about looking straight up at the sky and saying, 'Look, I can see some light, and this day is going to have some sunny moments, even without the sun actually being out'.'

To lift the winter gloom, she adds: 'Wear brighter colours. Even if it's just adding a bright scarf when you put your coat on.'

That should do the trick…

A very Happy New Year to all my readers!

Sadiq not much cop for Lady Sitwell

There's clearly no Christmas break for petty criminals in Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan's increasingly lawless London.

Model Martha Sitwell tells me that her car was broken into while she was caring for her dying pet. She returned from the vet's surgery in South Kensington on Monday to find the driver's seat window of her Volkswagen broken.

'I was in the vet for half an hour with my beloved dog Ethel, who's in end-of-life care, when some toe-rag smashed my window,' Lady Sitwell says. 

'There was nothing in the car apart from a half-smoked packet of cigarettes, which they took.' She adds, wearily: 'I spoke to the police, who declined to visit the scene but told me they would check the CCTV. Who knows if they will bother?'

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EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Bond bigwig Broccoli joins flight from Sir Keir's socialist utopia

The eulogies for Brigitte Bardot have stuck in the throat of actress Zawe Ashton, who claims the French star did lasting damage with her 'heinous' comments in later years.

'In her off-screen life, her inflammatory, bigoted statements are unfortunately also part of her legacy,' says the Fresh Meat star, 41, who's engaged to The Night Manager's Tom Hiddleston.

'This duality is real and not unique to Bardot. It raises important questions about how we celebrate artists who, despite their contributions, hold views that perpetuate harm.

'If we acknowledge Bardot's contributions to cinema, we also must recognise the impact of her heinous ideologies.'

Sir Ringo Starr refuses to let his 'peace and love' outlook be shattered by online trolls. 

'There's always one bastard out there and I never let them get to me,' says the Beatles drummer, 85. 

'I know people say, 'Oh, it says this...' [I think] 'So what?' Someone I don't know who or don't even know where from? They could be a neighbour or they could live in another country. I don't let that get to me.' 

Her Michelin-starred restaurant in west London, the River Cafe, is where Jamie Oliver's potential for television stardom was first spotted, but Ruth Rogers admits that she failed her own screen test. 

The widow of architect Lord (Richard) Rogers reveals that she wanted to be a judge on The Great British Bake Off. 

'I auditioned and I didn't get the part,' she says on her podcast, Ruthie's Table 4. Dame Prue Leith succeeded Mary Berry in the role. Lady Rogers, 76, adds: 'I think I wasn't critical enough.'