Pink Princess and wannabe fashion designer Maria Chiara rocks DIY dress in Cannes

She has one of the most extravagant titles in Europe — Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon Two Sicilies. 

Now, the Italian 'It-girl' wants the outfits to match.

The princess, 19, who partied with Prince Michael of Kent on the French Riviera last summer, plans to be a fashion designer. 

And she wore one of her own creations to the Better World Gala dinner at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes.

'I made it myself,' she tells me of the pink dress. 

Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon Two Sicilies has one of Europe's most extravagant titles - now she wants the outfits to match

The princess, 19, pictured with her family, plans to be a fashion designer and wore one of her own creations to the Better World Gala dinner at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes

'I always love designing, and I think one day I would like to start my own brand. 

'But this one I made with a friend, so I'm very happy to be wearing it for the first time tonight.'

 

How will Theresa May be remembered? For leading the Tories to their lowest ever share of the vote — 9 per cent in the 2019 European elections? 

Or the commitment to net zero by 2050, indifferent to the views of those, including innovator Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who points out an electric car 'doesn't do what you want a car to do'? 

Too bad for Tory MPs. They've been asked this week by the 1922 Committee to stump up £20 to buy May, who's announced she's stepping down, a farewell present. 

'Quite a few will quibble,' I'm told. Only quibble?

There may be quibbles ahead: Tory MPs have been asked to stump up £20 for a parting gift for  Theresa May, who has announced she's stepping down from the 1922 Committee 

 

Cherie lays down law to her sons

Cherie Blair pursued a career in politics in the 1980s until she gave it up in favour of the law while Tony went on to become prime minister. 

Now, she has told her two elder sons they should be prepared to make ­sacrifices for their wives' careers.

'I said to them, 'Will there come a time when you would step back in your career so that she can shine, or are you always going to expect her to do that for you?' '

At a Cherie Blair Foundation for Women event in London, she says of Hillary Clinton, whom she was due to meet yesterday: 'She's an amazing woman.' 

To laughter, she adds of Bill Clinton's long-suffering spouse, 'a very understanding wife'.

Motherly advice: Cherie Blair has told her two elder sons they should be prepared to make ­sacrifices for their wives' careers

 

Bespectacled documentary maker Louis Theroux, 53, became an unlikely sensation on video-sharing app TikTok in 2022 when a cringe-making clip of him performing a rap known as Jiggle Jiggle 'went viral', attracting a billion views. 

And it seems to have given his bank balance a boost. 

Figures for Blobfish Ltd, one of three firms into which he puts earnings, disclose he made £1 million profit last year. 

Bespectacled documentary maker Louis Theroux, 53, made a £1 million profit last year

 

Chaplin deserves a sequel, says his granddaughter?

Could we soon be seeing Charlie Chaplin donning his bowler hat and twirling his cane again, half a century after his death? 

I ask because his granddaughter Kiera Chaplin would like to see the movie star brought back to life using artificial intelligence.

'It's kind of cool if you can bring him back to life with like some sort of virtual reality or hologram,' she tells me in Cannes. 

But, the model and actress, 41, concedes other members of her family may not welcome the idea.

'Maybe my dad and his brothers and sisters don't like it so much,' she says of her father, Eugene Chaplin, Charlie's son.

Kiera Chaplin, granddaughter of Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin, would like to see the movie star brought back to life using artificial intelligence

 

Named author of the year at the British Book Awards this week, children's ­novelist Katherine Rundell is in danger of biting the hand that feeds her.

'Kids can be real twats,' declares the Impossible Creatures writer. 

Rundell, 37, who doesn't have children, was careful to add: 'But I also think they have such capacity that we don't always salute . . . They have such huge profundity of a sense of justice — and I'm not remotely romantic about children.'

That's clear.

Choice words: Children's ­novelist Katherine Rundell is in danger of biting the hand that feeds her

 

John Cleese avoided having his photo taken with fans at the first night of Fawlty Towers: The Play in the West End.

'I don't like selfies,' says the comedian, 84. 'People of my generation, having a selfie with somebody ­suggests you are having a relationship with them.'

The Monty Python star was not joined by Connie Booth, with whom he wrote Fawlty Towers in the 1970s.

'I want to thank dear ­Connie Booth, one of my ex wives . . . the first one,' he says. 

'The dear woman is so shy and modest she is not here tonight, but I want you to give her a round of applause.'

Perhaps she just couldn't face Cleese?

Fawlty logic: Actor John Cleese, with the cast of Fawlty Towers: The Play, was not joined by his ex-wife and sitcom co-writer Connie Booth