EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Prince Albert of Monaco’s daughter Jazmin splits from rocker Ian Mellencamp

Her personal life has appeared a model of serenity when compared with her family’s often lurid and sometimes tragic recent history.

That vivid dynastic tapestry includes the three marriages notched up, so far, by Jazmin Grimaldi’s older aunt, Princess Caroline of Monaco. 

And the diverting romances of her younger one, Princess Stephanie, who, in between marriages to a bodyguard and an elephant trainer, squeezed in an affair with her head of security – by whom she had a daughter.

But I can disclose that Jazmin – eldest of Prince Albert of Monaco’s four offspring by three different women, only one of whom he has married – has split from her lover of nine years standing Ian Mellencamp.

He styles himself ‘singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, visual artist and DJ’, though he’s yet to emulate the success of his uncle, rocker John Mellencamp whose string of 1980s hits included Lonely Ol’ Night.

That, I fear, is likely to summarise Jazmin’s current mood – only a year after she and Ian, 42, appeared certain to marry.

Jazmin, 33, sparked the speculation by posting a series of snaps in which she looked ecstatic, and in one of which she was wearing what looked like an engagement ring.

But that, it seems, was a false dawn. ‘They’ve been a pivotal part of each other’s lives, but it was time for them to go their separate ways,’ a pal tells me, explaining that, in the end, the relationship ‘didn’t work out’.

Jazmin, whose zest for performance has led her to embrace twin careers as a singer and actress, is familiar with life’s uneven progress. She was born in Palm Springs, California, after her mother, Tamara Rotolo, a waitress, was bowled over by the restless Prince Albert.

But the prince, 67, whose eye has, over the years, been caught by such beauties as Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg, supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell, and actresses Brooke Shields and Patrizia Pellegrino, was not in the mood to settle down. 

In fact, it was only in 2006, after a DNA test confirmed that he was Jazmin’s father, that he bonded with his daughter.

By then, he had had a son, Alexandre, by Air France flight attendant Nicole Coste, whom he also resisted marrying, before eventually embracing holy matrimony in 2011 with South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock. 

Time now, surely, for Jazmin to distil it all into a rock opera…

Very modern manners…

Actress and model Wallis Day once believed she had struck up a romance with pop star Harry Styles – only to discover it was all an illusion.

‘I dated Harry Styles for a whole week when I was 15, via Facebook,’ says Day, 30. 

‘He was doing X-Factor at the time, and I went to school and told my friends that I was going to the final to support One Direction.

She adds: ‘Then I found out he was a catfish – or maybe the real Harry got cold feet.’

It’s not only Notting Hill Carnival that has been causing a racket for residents in the leafy West London suburb this week. 

I hear one of London’s beau monde is driving neighbours up the wall with her late-night parties. 

‘There’s music constantly blaring out from that house,’ wails my source. 

Why Benedict has a bee in his bonnet

Benedict Cumberbatch turned up to this year’s Cannes Film Festival with his arm in a sling, thanks to a shoulder injury.

The Sherlock star, 49, now out of the sling but not quite back to full strength, stepped out this week with wife Sophie Hunter at the Leicester Square premiere of black comedy The Roses.

He’s revealed that he’s buzzing about an unexpected remedy: bee therapy. Also known as apitherapy, the treatment uses bee stings to help the body heal.

‘You target the stings,’ said the London-born actor. ‘Your body reacts by releasing antihistamines which causes swelling but that swelling brings healing.’ 

No gain without pain, as they say.

Soho House founder Nick Jones yesterday hosted the first Soho Padel Club Cup at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, raising money for Prostate Cancer Research. 

He was joined by comics Michael McIntyre and Jack Whitehall and actor Daniel Kaluuya. 

Nick went public with his prostate diagnosis a few years ago to encourage more men to get checked. 

He says the experience helped him focus on what really matters. 

‘It made me think about the things I really cherish. I’m so much freer,’ he adds.

The smart set’s talking about… The jungle wedding of eco-aristocrat Zoe Tryon

Her Australian mother – nicknamed ‘Kanga’ by King Charles in his carefree bachelor days – was 25 when she married into the British aristocracy, becoming the bride of the 3rd Lord Tryon in 1973.

But it’s only now, at the age of 51, that Zoe Tryon, the eldest of Kanga’s four children, has decided to take the plunge.

That’s not the only difference between conservationist and guide Zoe’s wedding and that of her late, playful mother, who married Anthony Tryon – a Page of Honour at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation – in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace. 

Zoe opted for the less formal surroundings of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador when marrying Richard Bostock, who ditched the corporate existence he pursued at accounting giant PwC to become an instructor of the Wim Hof Method, where practitioners subject themselves to lengthy immersion in icy water.

Happily, Richard, who styles himself ‘The Breath Guy’, didn’t subject Zoe to anything as testing on their wedding day, which was a warm weather affair – albeit not on dry land. 

‘When choosing our footwear for our wedding we had to ask… can I climb in and out of canoe, scramble up a muddy bank, trek through the forest to a sacred tree, and will it prevent snake and bullet ant bites?’ says Zoe.

In a sign of devotion, Richard has shed his surname and taken Zoe’s. So the Tryon tribe just got a little stronger.

Melinda Messenger once had men vying for her attention during her days as a glamour model, but now, at 54, she prefers life away from the male gaze. 

‘I’m single and definitely not looking,’ she tells me. ‘I enjoy being on my own, listening to the birds and enjoying a quiet cup of tea.’

Earl’s girls push the boat out in Venice…

Gasps rippled through the crowd at last night’s After The Hunt premiere at the Venice Film Festival, as two near-mirror images graced the red carpet.

Princess Diana’s Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, 33, were dressed in similar gowns but in contrasting shades.

Eliza wore peach, while Amelia opted for mint green. Eliza, who announced her engagement to businessman Channing Millerd this month, says she shares an intuitive understanding with her sister. 

‘We definitely have the same taste, so it’s usually pretty easy to decide on our looks.’

The twins’ mother Victoria Aitken, 60, was previously married to their father Earl Spencer, 61, but they divorced in 1997.

Dame Helen Mirren is on a mission to boost her strength now that she’s 80.

The Oscar-winner reveals, ‘I’ve always been into yoga and a bit of cardio, but now I’m thinking about adding some weightlifting – which is apparently really good as you get older.’

Over the past 40 years, Dame Helen’s fitness routine has included a 12-minute Canadian military workout every day with toe touches, knee raises, arm circles and sit-ups.

I think I need a lie-down.

Cleese reveals his faulty powers

Just like the indomitable Black Knight he portrayed in Monty Python And The Holy Grail, who shrugged off severed limbs as ‘just a flesh wound’, John Cleese is proving remarkably resilient in real life.

‘I’m 85 years old. I’ve got two replacement hips, a replacement knee, I’m deaf in one ear, I’ve got a pacemaker – and I’ve had three hair transplants,’ says Cleese, who was this week honoured with the Legacy Medal for his lifetime contribution to comedy at the Slapstick Festival in Bristol.

Despite his ailments, Cleese is set to tour America this September. ‘I’m hoping not to die while I’m on tour,’ he adds.

‘It’s exhausting, it’s ridiculous – and frankly, it might kill me.’

Julian Fellowes says the late Dame Maggie Smith is a tough act to follow for the rest of the Downton Abbey cast.

The Oscar-winning creator of the period drama tells me:’I miss Maggie. She was such a joy to write for – she could have you howling with laughter in one scene, and five minutes later, bring you to tears. Not everyone can do that.’

Dame Maggie’s character, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, Violet Crawley, died in the 2022 film A New Era. Dame Maggie herself passed away last September at the age of 89. 

Lord Fellowes adds: ‘She never objected to her storyline, never asked for changes – which, for a writer, was absolute bliss.’

Next month marks the release of the final Downton Abbey film.

And poignantly, Lord Fellowes, 76, who has been diagnosed with an incurable tremor, reflects: ‘I’m also in my last chapter.’

Ain’t life grand! Keir’s £1,000 Euros freebie

Just when Sir Keir Starmer appeared content to let his wife Victoria do all the scoring on the freebie front – she snaffled £650 worth of tickets and hospitality at Ascot’s King George Racing Weekend, as I disclosed earlier this month – the Prime Minister has struck back, bagging free food, booze and entertainment worth over £1,000.

I can reveal that ‘Free Gear Keir’ – his nickname since it emerged that he’d accepted £32,000 from Labour peer Lord Alli to spend on clothes – got in on the act at the Women’s Euros final, for which he and an unnamed guest accepted tickets and refreshments worth £1,060.44.

Aside from his £172,153 salary, Starmer now enjoys rental income on the £2 million, mortgage-free north London house where he and Victoria lived before moving into 10 Downing Street.

Back of the net!