He has never yet sought attention, thanks to his unfailing stoicism and restraint – displayed every year at Wimbledon – which has made him known to millions, while his loyalty and discretion have endeared to the Prince and Princess of Wales and, in particular, to Catherine’s parents. , Carole and Michael Middleton.
All now mourn Tony Henman, who, I can reveal, died last Friday aged 84, and whose “beautiful, impenetrable calm” while watching his youngest son, Tim, on Center Court, became , in the words of the distinguished tennis fine from the Mail. correspondent, Mike Dickson, “one of the great British performances of the [Wimbledon] fifteen days’.
The uninitiated believed that Henman Sr., an Oxford lawyer, was incapable of expressing his emotions. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Tony suffers[ed] tension more than anyone”, being fiercely competitive when playing tennis, squash or cricket for Oxfordshire – but perhaps especially on the hockey pitch.
Yet his friends knew him as a relaxed and sociable companion. “He was a lovely guy,” one of them told me. “He had absolutely no side.”
Thanks to his unfailing stoicism and restraint – displayed every year at Wimbledon – Tim Henman became known to millions.
Stoic: Tony Henman and his wife Jane sit alongside the Middletons
The combination of affability and discretion was shared by his wife, Jane, ensuring that the couple’s advice on how to deal with unsolicited publicity was hugely valued by the Middleton family – neighbors in Berkshire of Jane’s brother , horse trainer Tim Billington, who died in 2020.
The friendship between the two families blossoms. Jane became Carole Middleton’s doubles partner, and she and Tony were guests at Catherine and Prince William’s wedding.
Residents of the Henmans’ home village of Weston-on-the-Green will also mourn him. Affectionately nicknamed “the brigadier”, he led a battle against developers who in 2008 revealed plans to abandon a so-called “eco-village” of 15,000 homes on virgin land. The plans were rejected.
Game, set and match at Henman.
Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell has earned more than £2 million as a professional poker player, but she is urging people to avoid gambling in any form.
“I had a sponsorship deal with a major online poker company and wore their logo on my shirt. They then launched an online casino and I stopped because, for me, there is a very important distinction with poker, which is a game of skill. I would advise people with every fiber of my being: “Don’t play roulette, dice or fruit machines.” These are huge odds stacked against you.
The Duke and his bride ready for the big day
Hugh Grosvenor, 33, pictured alongside his fiancée, Olivia Henson, 31
The Duke of Westminster’s wedding next month is the most anticipated social event of the year.
And the Duke, Hugh Grosvenor, 33, and his fiancée, Olivia Henson, 31, carried out a series of very royal engagements this week in Chester, where they are due to exchange vows.
The couple spoke to attendees at a workshop for young leaders and later visited Chester Cathedral, where their wedding will take place. Hugh joked: “Next time we come here it’ll be a bit more nerve-wracking.”
Hugh is a godson of King Charles and senior members of the royal family are expected to attend the wedding. Prince Harry reportedly decided it would be “too awkward” to attend.
That’s no way to treat a queen! Imelda Staunton, who played Queen Elizabeth in Netflix hit The Crown, has revealed the one actor who really got her goat.
“I wouldn’t work with Steven Seagal again,” she says of the actor with whom she appeared in Shadow Man and who attended Vladimir Putin’s inauguration as Russian president this week. “I played the American ambassador and I did four scenes. Before I left England, the producer said to me, “I just want to tell you that Steven doesn’t do reverse scenes.” Which means he doesn’t make a scene unless the camera is on him. They asked a poor Romanian student to read his lines. His replacement was orange like Steven and slightly cross-eyed.
“It took all my strength not to stand up and say, ‘That’s not what I’m doing.’
Davina ditches Botox so she can ’emote’ on heartbreaking show
Davina McCall ditches Botox so she can emit appropriate emotions in her “serious” shows such as Long Lost Family.
The presenter, 56, who admitted to receiving the jabs after her marriage broke up in 2017, says any cosmetic improvements will have to wait until she is no longer hosting heartbreaking shows.
‘I really can’t do too much 1715203447 because of the kind of shows I do,” she says. “I have a frown line that I’ve gotten rid of several times, but if I can’t frown, I can’t make a frown. emotion and it’s important that I can do that, especially on Long Lost Family.”
She adds: “I’ve had Botox in the past, and I don’t judge anyone for what they do, and I’d like to not be judged in return. I will and I will [have cosmetic surgery] when the time comes. I just don’t see what the problem is.
Davina McCall gives up Botox so she can emit appropriate emotions in her ‘serious’ routines
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is delighted to learn that King Charles has agreed to become its new patron, following in the footsteps of his mother, who held the position for 38 years.
“It’s a joyous step forward,” the company’s chairman, Anthony Connolly, told me at the opening of its annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries, near Buckingham Palace. “I have just received a prosaic letter from the king’s staff, which makes no mention of Charles’s love of painting, but I look forward to meeting him and discussing how he can help us help.”
