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Party Prince Harry dodges New Year brawls

By Richard Kay for the Daily Mail
Updated: 08:17 EST, 2 January 2012

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Party Prince: While Harry and pals partied on New Year's Eve, pictured, two fights broke out in the nightclub, luckily the royal avoided both

Party Prince: While Harry and pals partied on New Year's Eve, pictured earlier on his Swiss holiday, two fights broke out in the nightclub, luckily the royal avoided both

While Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge were sedately seeing in 2012 under canvas in a teepee, Prince Harry was living up to his reputation as a hard-partying royal — and narrowly avoided being involved in a New Year's Eve brawl.

For while Harry was celebrating with friends including soldier-turned-singer James Blunt and Guy Pelly at the latter's new club, Public, in the chi-chi Swiss ski resort of Verbier, two fights broke out elsewhere in the club.

Fortunately, Harry, 27, and his party were in a private area, but he could not have been unaware of the incident, which is the talk of the alpine town.

Harry's cousins Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were also in the club, though it wasn't immediately clear if they were there at the time of the brawls.

'Everyone was rather over-excited and two fights broke out while Prince Harry was there,' I am told. 'He was enjoying himself with a group of ten chums, including James and Guy, but they were in a VIP room and the fights took place elsewhere. They were totally unrelated to his being there.'

The club, which can accommodate up to 350 people and is open seven nights a week, was launched this season and is the latest addition to Verbier's humming nightlife.

Celebrations: Prince Harry saw in the new year with James Blunt and his cousins Beatrice and Eugenie at a party in Verbier

It is the sister venture of Pelly's successful Public nightclub in Chelsea, where Harry is an occasional visitor and which has fallen foul of local residents because of late-night disturbances. The VIP area where Harry partied with his group is called the Sweet Room and has been designed to look like an old-fashioned sweetshop.

Beatrice, 23, and Eugenie, 21, have been staying in Verbier with their mother at the luxurious chalet of the Duchess of York's old friend — and former lover — Paddy McNally. Fergie has known McNally since she was a teenager and worked as a chalet girl.

The royal party head home at the end of the evening, luckily they were in a private room when the fight broke out

'Paddy had the most fantastic firework display to welcome in the New Year,' says Ladette To Lady TV presenter Liz Brewer, who is in Verbier with friends.

'But until now the skiing has been a wipe-out — there have been absolutely enormous falls of snow, but with high winds and severe avalanche warnings.'

Award crowns Sir Ben's big day

His insistence on being referred to by his honorific has earned Sir Ben Kingsley a, shall we say, slightly regal reputation among fellow acting folk.

But the Oscar-winning actor allowed himself to let his hair down — figuratively speaking, of course — at the Capri International Film Festival over the New Year weekend.

Celebrating: Sir Ben Kingsley and his forth wife Daniela Lavender at the 16th Annual Capri Hollywood International Film Festival where the actor picked up a lifetime achievement award

Sir Ben attended a ceremony on Saturday on the Italian island with his fourth (and much younger) wife, Brazilian firecracker Daniela Lavender, to receive a prestigious lifetime achievement award.

The event also coincided with the actor’s 67th birthday.

To celebrate the occasion, the father of four blew out the candles on a Christmas tree-shaped birthday cake, which he was presented with by the organisers.

Proving he does have a sense of humour, the Gandhi star sportingly wore a party hat that read ‘Happy Birthday’ that Lady Kingsley, 37, had brought along especially.

Will Sienna don Dusty beehive?

You don't have to say you love me: Sienna Miller could play Dusty Springfield in a biopic of the singer's life

Actress Sienna Miller may soon be donning a blonde beehive and panda make-up for the part of Dusty Springfield in a British biopic about the tragic gay star.

Ray Connolly, screenwriter of two music films — That’ll Be The Day and Stardust for producer David Puttnam — has delivered a first draft about the life of the Sixties singer whose hits included The Son Of A Preacher Man and You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me.

And Factory Girl star Sienna is being lined up for the role. Dusty, real name Mary O’Brien, died of cancer at her home in Henley-on-Thames 12 years ago, but her music continues to sell.

Ray tells me: ‘I interviewed Dusty for a newspaper column I did in the Sixties and to my surprise she came out to me. She told me she was a lesbian.

‘But you didn’t talk about that sort of thing then. I was so surprised I buried it in the middle of the article and nobody noticed. Later the News of the World picked it up and outed her.’

Royal luggage crash talk of the town

Imaginations went into overdrive in the Scottish town of Ballater when locals learned that a car bringing the Duchess of Cornwall’s luggage to Balmoral had skidded off the road and plunged into the River Dee.

Lost luggage: The driver was on his way to Balmoral with Duchess of Cornwall¿s luggage when he skidded off the road and plunged into the River Dee

‘The image going round here is that Camilla’s undergarments were spotted bobbing down the river,’ says one resident of the town, which is close to the royal estate. However, I am told that though a Land Rover driven by a member of the royal household was carrying HRH’s luggage and did skid on black ice and go careering off the road, fortunately it did not end up in the icy water.

It was winched back to the road by a local garage. Luckily, the driver was uninjured.

Royal apparel was delivered safe and dry to Birkhall, where Prince Charles and Camilla are enjoying a quiet few days of walks and wood fires.

Does David Cameron really decide who gets honours?

David Cameron is accused of giving honours to Tory donors, but does another New Year knighthood, for former Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis, prove that the PM plays no role in who gets a gong?

For self-made millionaire Ellis, 88 tomorrow, was the great rival at Aston Villa of Cameron’s 89-year-old uncle, Sir William Dugdale.

Dugdale replaced Ellis in 1975 before Ellis then succeeded Dugdale in 1982 in uncomfortable circumstances.

Of course there would be little point in Cameron giving his Uncle Bill a knighthood: he is a baronet who inherited his title in 1965.

Ps....

ps David Beckham may be having second thoughts about going to play for Paris St Germain, but that hasn’t stopped chippy French comments about his demands.

Demands: French comments are surfacing about David Beckham's alleged demands to Paris St Germain, including a shop for wife Victoria

It is said that in addition to a vast family apartment on the Left Bank, he wants a flat near PSG’s ground, a shop for his wife on the Faubourg St Honore and places in the snooty Ecole Alsacienne.

In fact, Beckham has made no such demands. ‘David’s never had a separate flat, and Victoria has never sought her own shop,’ says a pal. ‘As for the children, they’ll probably want an international school. You may well find that in the end he stays in LA.’

Ronnie Corbett's CBE relief

Ronnie Corbett received his New Year’s Honours CBE with a sense of relief after going against his wife Anne’s advice by appearing in Ricky Gervais’s Extras.

Ronnie, 81, was fearful that portraying a drug-addled version of himself might have damaged his squeaky-clean image.

Says Ronnie, who received an OBE with his comedy partner Ronnie Barker in 1987: ‘Never again. Anne didn’t want me to do it. She said it was not good for my image. I only agreed when I heard Moira Stuart was to play my drug dealer!’