IN A face to face encounter, the fourth and the fifth wives of the third Baron Moynihan of Leeds both Filipinas, are battling to ensure their sons inherit his title and wealth.
Another contender is the half brother of the deceased aristocrat, Colin Moynihan, minister for sport under Margaret Thatcher.
At the heart of the case is the certificate of divorce between Lord Moynihan and Eduarda, his fourth wife. If, as claimed by Eduarda, a former employee at a massage parlour, her signature was forged by her husband who wanted to get rid of her, the divorce is invalid.
In this case, the ensuing marriage of Lord Moynihan with Jinna, a belly dancer, would be null and void and their son, Daniel, who has just turned five, would have no rights to the title, nor to the $1.5 million earned from a string of 57 brothels in Manila run by his father.
But the fact remains that Eduarda's son, Andrew, would not be able to inherit the title of Baron, since DNA tests have proved that he is not the son of Lord Moynihan.
Associates of the Duchess of York have hit back at accusations that she is "hopelessly disorganised" and a "no good trollop". Spokesman Harold J. Rubenstein insisted the duchess was an effective and dedicated charity worker whose abilities extended beyond simply raking in cash for good causes.
The duchess was yesterday at the centre of a High Court action in London. In a writ issued with American Express against News Group (UK) Ltd, she is asking the court to ban publication of details of her American Express account.
Princess Caroline of Monaco was awarded 180,000 marks ($120,000) in damages by a court for a fictitious interview published by the German magazine Bunte. The sum is the largest awarded in an invasion of privacy press case in Germany and arose from a 1992 "interview" depicting the sadness, the hate of the world and (Caroline's) search for happiness.
English Falklands veteran Simon Weston yesterday accepted £25,000 from film star Paul Newman's salad dressing fortune towards his charity for disadvantaged teenagers. The film star has donated £40 million to date to children from the profits of his Newman's Own salad dressing and pasta sauces its Newman's charity has set up own Hole in the Wall Gang camps in Ireland the United States and France to help ill, disabled and disadvantaged children to enjoy holidays.