SUZY These are soul-satisfying times for Baroness Thatcher, Britain'..

SUZY

These are soul-satisfying times for Baroness Thatcher, Britain’s former prime minister and a prophet not without honor in her own country and certainly in ours. She is seeing Thatcherism, the blanket economic policies she avowed when she led England, coming to fruition, thank God. And then there’s the little matter of her 70th birthday this year. Everybody wants to help her celebrate, and she has been the guest of honor at parties big and small — with more to come.
Lady Thatcher’s latest celebration was in London on Monday night at Claridge’s, and they all came — especially Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Prince Philip. You should know also that one of the most, well, interesting guests was John Profumo, Britain’s one-time minister of war, who was brought down in one of his country’s greatest sex scandals decades ago. With Profumo was his wife, the actress Valerie Hobson, who has stuck with him through thin and thin. To err is human, to forgive divine. So — Profumo was seated at the Queen’s right. Since he fell from grace, he has spent his waking moments doing good deeds for numerous charities, and, bygones being bygones, he got the best seat in the house.
Dressing up the party were such as Baron (Evelyn) Rothschild, David Frost, the tycoon Jimmy Goldsmith, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, Michael Caine (at Prime Minister John Major’s table), Shakira Caine, seated between Jeffrey Archer and John Redwood, considered by some a likely candidate for a future prime ministry, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Frost, Jonathan Aitken, Lord (James) Hanson, the international industrialist, and last but not least, Mrs. Henry (Kate) Ford II, who owns a beautiful country house in England. Lady Thatcher made a charming speech, thanking everyone for coming, and the Queen and Philip mingled, one of the things they do best.
Lady Thatcher will be the guest of honor at Union Station in Washington Monday night when ever so many swells will be there clamoring to wish her a happy birthday, and then in Chicago the following night where she and Newt Gingrich will speak at the Hollinger Dinner given by press lord Conrad Black, Hollinger’s chairman, and F. David Radler, chairman of the Chicago Sun-Times.

National Review, the powerful voice of conservatism (I mean, they put people in the White House and things like that) celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding by William F. Buckley Jr. aboard the good ship, World Yacht’s Princess, with James Manzi, erstwhile Lotus Development genius and erstwhile big man at IBM, Sen. Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming and George Will, columnist extraordinary, acting as hosts. Will, as special master of ceremonies, kept the ball rolling with wisdom and witticisms, Henry Kissinger laid on more wisdom and witticisms, Pat Sajak, the TV game show host, declared “one of the three conservatives in Hollywood,” said his say, and WFB Jr., John O’Sullivan, the editor of National Review, and D. Keith Mano brought down the house. When there weren’t speeches, there was marvelous music starring the one and only Bobby Enriquez, jazz pianist non-pareil. Naturally, Ronald Reagan’s name was evoked. He is their hero and why not? In the crowd: Pat Buckley, Christopher Buckley, Drue Heinz, Barbara Amiel Black and Conrad Black, Mrs. James Manzi, Johnny Galliher, Shirley and Abe Rosenthal, the staff of National Review and others too conservative to mention, if there are such things.

The Love Boat? — NOT!!! Julia Roberts is trying to clean up rumors of an alleged romance. She’s livid over claims by a Venetian gondolier that they had a fling while she was in Venice filming the new Woody Allen movie. “He must be crazy!” storms the beautiful Julia, who was seen over the weekend at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires, presumably cooling off. All the spa-goers pronounced her friendly and adorable and much involved in a step aerobics class, which should come in handy in the Woody flick.

Italian Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy has gone to court and succeeded in having copies of Princess Ira Furstenberg’s book, “Rebel Princess,” withdrawn from sale. Maria Gabriella took umbrage at Ira’s tale in the book of MG’s sentimental liaison with a crown head who subsequently lost his throne. (That would be the Shah of Iran). This supposedly taking place when MG was still wed to Robert de Balkany. Isn’t the timing seriously off here? Whatever, the publishers had to recall 12,000 copies and do a reprint deleting the offending paragraph or so.

Christopher Durang has written a new play, and a reading was given last week at Lincoln Center with none other than Sigourney Weaver doing the reading. Lincoln Center has commissioned the work, and one hears that Weaver is committed to the project when the curtain goes up. And the week before that, Wendy Wasserstein’s new play was also given a reading at Lincoln Center with Meryl Streep participating. Not that she’ll be doing the play, you understand, but as a favor to Wendy Wasserstein. That’s what show folk are for. Hello? Hello?

Renee Wood of New York and Palm Beach put on her robin’s egg blue Mary McFadden and gave a dinner in a private room of “21” for the cream of Portugal’s royalty and assorted big shots. On hand were Her Royal Highness Princess Teresa de Orleans y Braganza, looking blue-blooded and acting red-blooded; the charming Duke de Braganza and his younger brother, the Duke de Biseu, the Portuguese Ambassador to the U.S. and Mrs. Fernando Anderson Guimaraes; Renee’s lovely blonde daughter Nora Williams; Joyce and Robert Sterling, Darcy and Ronald Leeds, Cecile and Ezra Zilkha, Francis Kellogg, Angel and Frank Wyman, Kenneth Jay Lane, Boaz Mazor and, of course, the guest of honor, Anre Jordan, the huge industrialist and entrepreneur who is Portugal’s Man of the Year. Lots and lots of cruzeiros.