A Former Murdoch's Hubby Is Arrested

Dramas in the household of the Earl of Dartmouth according to the the Daily Mail as his lordship is arrested on suspicion of assault following a domestic dispute.

 The Earl is the son of Raine Spencer who was the second wife of Earl Spencer, the father of Diana Princess of Wales.

Fiona  & Matt when she was a Handbury

He was arrested after his wife the Countess of Dartmouth telephoned police after he became 'disoriented' when he woke up with a start. M'lady says that nothing dramatic really happened. The Countess was formerly Fiona Handbury and married to Matt Handbury the son of Rupert Murdoch's late sister Helen Handbury. Matt inherited around $100M along with Murdoch Magazines although he has recently lost a considerable fortune through failed investments.

                                                        

The Handbury's lived in one of Sydney's most magnificent harbour-side mansions, Altona, currently on the market for around $54M. Fiona received Altona as apart of a divorce settlement and sold it for $29M before moving to the UK and joining the British aristocracy. Matt and Fiona hosted sensational parties at Altona where Matt would entertain fronting his own rock'n'roll band.

The Earl is an hereditary peer and a Member of the European Parliament for the UK Independence Party which amongst other polices wants to leave the EU, crack down on crime, defend Britain's borders and a host of other motherhood style things that you can read about here in their manifesto.

Raine                              Barbara                                Mohamed                           Diana                                   Teddy

** The Shuttle was once presented with a delightful Harrods Teddy Bear by Raine Spencer : she was a spruiker for Harrods and it's owner Mohamed Fayed, traveling the world and dispensing cuddly bears to needy journalists. Raine's mother was the charming pink enveloped Romance Novelist Dame Barbara Cartland.

What a complicated world we live in !

A Recipe For Wagyu Beef From Ezekiel

That's what award winning chef Peter Gilmore told the guests last night at The Quay restaurant at a dinner to celebrate the San Pellegrino restaurant awards. Apparently the recipe was inspired the Ezekiel passages in the Bible.

Peter Gilmore

He was talking about the main dish of a lavish  banquet at Sydney's top restaurant that sits by the harbour and has spectacular views over the the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and points beyond.



The dinner for about 25 was in the upstairs dining room that was once an outlook station for pilots when The Quay was a part of the Overseas Terminal where ocean liners once berthed on a weekly basis.

Quay has again been named amongst the World's Top 5o Best Restaurants in the San Pellegrino restaurant awards. It clocked in at no 26, up one place from last year at the awards which were announced in April at the Guildhall in London.

If they dined on Wagyu beef in Biblical times like that enjoyed last night, they certainly ate well.

Three other locals came in the top 100-Tetsuyas and Marque in Sydney , and Attica  in Melbourne. The Copenhagen restaurant Norma was voted No One for the second year running (a favourite of Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark) and a Stockholm establishment- Lilla Nygatan was named as the 'one to watch'.
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Altona

For a lazy $60 million the harbour-side mansion Altona in Point Piper can be yours according to adverts that have appeared in a local Eastern Suburb's newspaper.

Publishers  Deke and Eve Miskin have just put the house on the market. They bought it from Fiona Handbury, the ex-wife of Rupert Murdoch's nephew Matt Handbury for $28m in 2002.
Fiona, who has re-married to William Legge, the grandson of the romance novelist Barbara Cartland, is now the Countess of Dartmouth and received the mansion in a divorce settlement.

The Miskins are moving to the northern playground of Byron Bay and for the past 3 years have let the house out to celebrities like  Hugh Jackman. One actor who has inspected the property with a view to buy-Russell Crowe .

discreet aristocratic entrance

      Slipping quietly into her former home town for a visit is the Countess of Dartmouth, the former Fiona Handbury who divorced the owner of media magazine empire, Matt Hanbury in 2001.Hanbury also happens to be Rupert Murdoch's nephew which has earned him the nickname-The Man From Uncle.

     When Sir Keith Murdoch died in 1952 he left one newspaper, the Adelaide Advertiser to his son Rupert who has since parlayed it into the News Corp world-wide media empire.

     Leaving a handful of small moderately successful magazines to daughter Helen, her son Matt turned them into a nation wide publishing success Murdoch Magazines which he sold in 2004 to Perth billionaire Kerry Stokes for $77M.

      Fiona, a former model who has appeared on Vogue covers around the world was once Sydney's party queen, holding court at the Handbury's magnificent Point Piper pile, Altona. The Handbury parties were the most sought after invites with Matt

(pictured right), a frustrated rock'n'roller taking to the stage with his own rock band and electric guitar.

        Altona is one of the most desired harbourside properties. Fiona once confided to tSS at one of their poolside shindigs that the Handbury and Murdoch clans aren't terribly close and only ever meet at the most formal family functions like birthday get-togethers for the Murdoch matriach Dame Elisabeth Murdoch.

       As part of her divorce settlement, Fiona received Altona which she promptly sold for nearly $29M. It currently rents out to visiting celebs like Bono and actor Hugh Jackman. Jackman  has expressed a desire to purchase the house.

      Cashed up, Fiona fled the Sydney scene for rural England.

Enter William Legge, the 10th Earl of Dartmouth.and an MP of the European parliament. Friends were surprised when Legge took Hanbury for his bride, convinced he was destined for confirmed bachelorhood. Now Fiona is a regular at London society parties and across the pond in New York and the Hamptons.

There's a rumour around town that the Countess's visit may involve discussions of a financial kind. Handbury still owns a highly successful publishing company Murdoch Books which goes from strength to strength operating, from a set of magnificent offices on a huge wharf on the harbour.

   

As revealed exclusively by tSS a year ago actor Eric Bana has become the public face of Father Chris Riley's Youth Of The Streets charity which gives homeless kids  a head start with the skills needed to survive after a rough childhood. YOTS as it is called is one of Matt Handbury's favourite causes and he has purchased a country farm for the charity and is it's most feverent financial supporter. Matt currently lives in the National Trust listed Bronte House on a 50 year lease on condition he opens the superb gardens which have magnificent sweeping lawns down to Bronte beach once a year to the public.
                           As for the Countess, she divides her time between a Belgravia house and a New York apartment while the Earl attends to affairs in Brussels.

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Distant cousins ?

Belgian cartoon character Tin Tin

                                                                                            

                                                                                                              Aussie PM Kevin Rudd