DOWNTON ABBEY meets Park Avenue
In the long tradition of the strong friendship
between Britain and the U.S., Park Avenue's Martin
and Jean Shafiroff hosted a cocktail party for
The Honorable
Harry Herbert of Highclere Castle on
Monday, November 18, 2013.
For the cognoscenti, almost the whole world knows
that Highclere is better known as DOWNTON ABBEY of
the famed TV series. Harry, second of three
children of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, was on a
flying visit to tell the Yanks about his Highclere
Racing Stud. Oh yes, the reason to mention Harry
being second son means, of course, in England where
primogeniture rules on inheritance, his older
brother is the 8th Earl of Carnarvon.
An avid horseman following in the footsteps of his
late father, Harry has created Europe's most
thriving Stud and Stable. For people who love horses
and racing, he creates consortia wherein the
"average" person buys into a racehorse. Not only
does he have a highly profitable business - but his
horses are winners! His father trained Queen
Elizabeth II's horses, and a strong family
relationship endures to this day. In fact, Harry
was just in Buckingham Palace to hand the Queen the
Cartier Trophy for her horse, The Estimator.
A wonderful blend of British, Commonwealth and
Americans came to chat and sip. And, when Harry
regaled everyone with some Highclere stories about
Butlers, and ancestors who discovered King Tut's
tomb, everyone listened! Jean and Martin gathered a
small, elegant, glittering crowd, including, a
black-tied Geoffrey Bradfield, Alex Donner,
Michele Herbert, Ijaz Malik, Muna Rihani al Nasser,
Amy Hoadley, Chele Chiavacci, Isabelle Arpagian,
Richard Farley, Joseph Fichera, CeCe and Lee Black,
Peter Kairis of Graff, Arnie and Paola Rosenshein,
English photographer Alistair Morrison, and
Catherine Saxton.
Clearly the friendship between Britain and the U.S.
grows stronger every passing year.