1.5.12: Over the river ... | New York Social Diary

Over the river ...

The moon setting across the Hudson. 2:30 AM. Photo: JH.

Thursday, January 5, 2012. Another very cold day in New York (the coldest in a year).

Many who can, escape to the warmer climes at this time of the year. Either that or the slopes in the West or in the Alps. For Sun, the Americans on the East Coast head for the beaches of Florida, and the Caribbean. One of the most popular resorts for the Europeans has long been Morocco.

Looking north from 79th Street and Lexington.

The following is a report from there, special to the NYSD:

Morocco was full for the holidays. The Royal Standard of the King, the red flag with the green star in the center was flying everywhere in the Marrakech streets, indicating that the King Mohammed VI (crowned in 1999) and his wife Princess Lalla Salma and their two children Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and Lalla Khadija, were in the Royal Palace. Lots of people – the government, Palace staff, friends of ministers of Morocco and the King’s personal staff had arrived for New Year’s Eve. Mohammed VI built the new palace soon after he became king, the old palace now being used for the country and its people.


	King Mohammed VI and his wife Princess Lalla Salma.

Marrakech was jam packed with the great hotels and even the smaller ones filled with visitors from England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Casablanca. There were Christmas trees and decorations everywhere even though it is not a Muslim holiday.

Restaurants were full. At the beautiful new Four Seasons and Sofitel Hotels, a new restaurant, Bistro Tai was filled nightly. At La Table du Marche at the Hivernage Hotel there is a French bistro with the best pastry outside Paris. The new Royal Mansur Hotel, one of the most beautiful, luxurious and expensive hotels in the world was full and the dining room packed every night. It is a favorite of the King, and he and his family dine there often.

Marella Agnelli lives in a magnificent villa in the Palmiere, near the King’s mother. Also living in Marrakech, Xavier Hermes, Ande Azoulay, who was the closest advisor to the late King Hassan II and is now a close advisor to Mohammed VI; Michele Schwab formerly from California and Roberto Tempo from Venice (they owned the Restaurant La Rotunda in the Kasbah and also had a restaurant in Delray Beach); Jim Mitchell from New York who has been part of Moroccan life for the past since the early 90s; Noelle Gillet, Silvia Innocenti, Mustapha Agbani, Mohammed Bouskari, the famous guide in Marrakech who has shown the city to several American Presidents including Nixon, Reagan and Clinton as well as some of the most famous people in the world. These are some of the people who make up the dazzling world of Marrakech.

Tangier.

Four Seasons Resort.

There was also Yves St. Laurent and Pierre Berge, who first went to Marrakech in the 1960s – it is said that they were responsible for making Marrakech one of the most famous winter destinations in the world today). Yves and Berge built a beautiful house in the Majorelle Garden which is now a museum with some of Yves’ collections in it. Yves is also buried there.

In Tangier, there is Charles Sevigney, an American who has lived in Tangier for more than 60 years. He and his late friend Yves Vidal owned York Castle, considered one of the most beautiful houses in all of Morocco. The 50 room York Castle was high on top of the Kasbah at a point where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean. Sevigney and Vidal entertained some of the most famous people in the world at York Castle. They gave some of the great dinners and luncheons during the late Malcolm Forbes’ four day birthday party in Tangier where Elizabeth Taylor was his hostess ...

Malcolm cuts the cake with Liz by his side, Tangier, 1989. Photograph by Mary Hilliard.

Also in Marrakech over the holidays: Prince Moulay Rachid, the brother of the king and the king’s sisters, the Princesses Lalla, Meryem, Lally Asma and Lalla Hasna were there for the festivities.

Carla Bruni, wife of the President of France and her baby daughter were staying with the king at the palace. President Sarkozy arrived on the day before New Year’s Eve. (The Sarkozys were there last year also).

Etchika Choureau Rheims, who was a great friend of the late King Hassan arrived for her annual Christmas holiday in Marrakech. Etchika was an actress in France and made a film in the early 50s in Hollywood with Tab Hunter, “Lafayette Escadrille.” There were rumors at the time of a romance between the two but that was a Hollywood movie studio confection (This is all in his book “Tab Hunter, Confidential, the Making of a Movie Star”). Etchika always spends Christmas and the summer holidays in Morocco.

Etchika with Tab; Etchika today, far right, with the director of Pierre Cardin.

The story in Morocco has always been that Etchika was to marry King Hassan II (father of the present King) when he was still Crown Prince. At he time, Hassan had been given permission by his father to marry her if she became a Muslim. Then the king (the father) died suddenly and Hassan, the Crown Prince was crowned King on the same day, as is Moroccan law. It is also law that the King must be married on the day he is crowned king. Therefore the new King Hassan II married a girl who had been chosen for him to marry. The couple had five children including the present king.

Although King Hassan II did not marry Etchika, she remained a part of his life for more than a half century. Wherever there was a royal palace, there was a nearby villa for Etchika. She later married a man called Rheims, with whom she had a daughter and later divorced.

In summertime, Hassan had a summer palace in Skirrit, the beach city outside Rabat. Next to the palace was a hotel. Whenever the king and his family came to stay, the king also took rooms on the first floor as cabanas for his children. Etchika was also at the hotel. Each day when the children would come to the beach, the first thing they would do on arrival was to go to say hello to Etchika.

The rumor was that when King Hassan II was dying, he told his son Mohammed VI to look after Etchika for the rest of her life. And so he does, inviting her to the palace on New Year’s Eve, and sending planes for her. She is well loved and treated like royalty in Marrakech and all over Morocco.


	Ralph and Ricky Lauren at Round Hill.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, at Round Hill in Montego Bay, the holidays brought another gilded set of luminaries to this long famous quiet resort on the beautiful island of Jamaica. The glamorous and luxurious resort of Round Hill was built on the side of a mountain, originally with five privately owned houses on top.

Ralph and Ricky Lauren have been at Round Hill for many years. The Laurens own two villas there – one on the top of the mountain and another, The Beach House, that was built in the 1950s by Bill and Babe Paley, written about at the time as the most beautiful beach house in the world.

Originally a British colony and long since a favorite resort for British aristocracy and American heirs and heiresses, among the holiday guests this season were the Laurens, their sons Andrew and David who was with his new wife Lauren Bush Lauren, and Ralph’s brother Jerry.

Also, Sarah, the Duchess of York, Sir Paul McCartney and his new wife Nancy; Count and Countess Leopold “Bolle” and Debonnaire “Debbie” von Bismarck Schoenhaus and their sons Nikolai, Tassilo, Caspar and Sascha; the London banker, Timothy Hoare and his wife Deborah; Stella McCartney and her husband Alasdhair Willis and their children; Ewan McGregory and his wife Eve.

While over in Palm Beach on New Year’s Eve there were parties galore. Among the fetes was the hottest ticket, and by invitation only (the most coveted) was The Coconuts annual private party at the Flagler.

The Coconuts’ legend is steeped in tradition having originated as an end of the year private party for the town’s most exclusive men’s club, “The Oasis” whose founding members included Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Jr., William K. Vanderbilt, Coleman DuPont, Otto Kahn, E.F. Hutton, Clarence Geist, Henry Rogers, Mortimer Schiff, Paris Singer, Henry Seligman and Thomas Tipton Reese.

The Oasis was famous for its parties and the original party was a “madcap end-of-the-season costume party” hosted by the bachelors led by Biddle (who’d been married before – to tobacco heiress Mary Duke, divorced and shortly to be married again to mining heiress Margaret Thompson Schulze).

The traditional party died out with the coming of World War II but was revived in the mid-50s. It lost its way again, as did the resort itself in the late 60s and 70s but was revived again with new blood and new energy in the 1990s. This year’s party was especially popular with the younger set, assuring its vitality in the coming decade.

First Row: Piper Quinn, Alex Fanjul, Chris Meigher, Wlibur Ross, Willie Surtees, Rodney Dillard, Girard Brownlow, Harold Paul. Second Row: Percy Steinhart, Blakely Paige, Will Matthews, Blair Meyer, Dick Cowell, Peter Summers, Leonard Lauder, David Ober. Third Row: Jay Maddock, Michael Mccarty, Troy Maschmeyer, Danny Hanley, Jon Ylvisaker, Bob Leidy, John Mashek, David Koch (Missing: Laddie Merck). Photograph by Harry Benson.

Coconuts Jon Ylvisaker, Blakely Paige and Piper Quinn hosted pre-dinner parties around and then everyone congregated at the Flagler for dancing into the New Year.
David Koch led the receiving line, shaking hands and welcoming guests just prior to his 25 minute display of the most astounding fireworks the island has ever witnessed. Guests then boogied into the night and early morning under the stars with an occasional lapse to grab some traditional coco-breakfast of sausage, creamed beef, scrambled eggs and crispy bacon.

The hardiest revelers went on from there to Michael McCarty’s for last call and then to the Dawn Patrol with the younger Fanjul brothers hosting.

But not before Harry Benson caught the “members” for their annual portrait in their now traditional costume of black tie, white jacket and red carnation in the lapel.

Mary and Mark Freitas.

Laura Evans and Kenn Karakul.

The 31st annual Jingle Bell Ball benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County was held just before Christmas at the Breakers. It was an evening of festive elegance with holiday wreaths decorated by well known local designers as centerpieces and the ballroom swathed in holiday lighting and décor.

The Ball was hosted by Mary Freitas, Chairman, Tom Quick, Honorary Chairman and Ross Meltzer. Design Committee Chairmen were Lisa Erdmann, Stephen Mooney and Keith Williams with Susanna Dwinell and Sylvia James as Journal Chairmen. Mark Edwards Partners was the Platinum Benefactor of the evening.

With visions of sugarplums guests danced the night away under hundreds of shimmering snowflakes to the sounds of the Alex Donner Orchestra which had the capacity crowd in fine holiday form.