EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Princess Beatrice's pal Alice Naylor-Leyland surprises ... trends now
Princess Beatrice's pal Alice Naylor-Leyland has surprised friends by announcing that she and her husband have had a child using a surrogate mother.
She already has three children with Tom Naylor-Leyland, who is heir to a baronetcy and the £176million Fitzwilliam landowning fortune.
'I'm aware it was greedy to have this burning desire to complete our family,' she says.
'But due to too many complications, setbacks, miscarriages and then being told I was no longer able to carry, we decided to venture down the world of surrogacy.'
Sharing a photograph online of the newborn baby's foot with a pink tag, she thanks the unnamed surrogate mother.
'Without the kindness and courage of our dear surrogate and the brilliance of modern science using our own embryo, we would not be here.'
While commercial surrogacy is commonplace in the USA, it is only legal in Britain if the mother is not paid, barring 'reasonable' expenses.
Alice, 38, adds: 'It's been a bonkers journey but now we've arrived, I can't wait to enjoy every minute.'
Alice Naylor-Leyland (right) already has three children with Tom Naylor-Leyland (left), who is heir to a baronetcy and the £176million Fitzwilliam land-owning fortune
Earlier this month, the Vatican declared that surrogacy was a 'grave threat' to human dignity.
The decree put it on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that violate God's plan for human life.
Naylor-Leyland runs a business selling themed dining sets. Last month, Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon was among the guests at the launch of her first pop-up shop of her 'Mrs Alice' tablescapes spring collection in California.
Last year, Martha Stewart, the American cookery queen and business magnate, attended the launch party for Alice's Alpine Tablescape range at Casa Cruz restaurant in New York.
'It was a huge honour to have the iconic Martha Stewart attend,' she told me at the time. 'She was so charming and friendly and it was a pleasure talking all things tables.
'It was so exciting to launch our Christmas Collection with Nina Garcia in New York and her new table edit is just beautiful. She's been so kind to champion the Mrs. Alice brand.'
Lord Byron is to be moved from his traffic island in Park Lane,
