"With his wealth, her title and a castle to call home, they should have lived for ever in marital bliss. But six years after James Bond creator Ian Fleming's multimillionaire banker relative Rory Fleming married Danish aristocrat Baroness Caroline Luel-Brockdorff, I can reveal that the couple have parted acrimoniously.
Beautiful blonde Caroline, 32, has
moved out of the family's swish
house in South Kensington and
into a rented apartment in Chelsea,
taking with her the couple's two
children — four-year-old Alexander
and Josephine, one. Their parting has been all the more embarrassing because this summer the couple became reality TV stars in Caroline's homeland. They were filmed at her family's pile — the beautiful Valdemars Castle on the island of Taasinge — which the couple, who also have a home in Switzerland, ran as a successful museum. Former model Caroline is the
daughter of Baron Niels Luel-
Brockdorff, who passed the castle
to her a few years ago, and the TV
series detailed her attempts
to renovate the building with
Fleming's family money.
Millfield-educated Rory, 39, is
the second son of family patriarch
Robin Fleming, a director of the
investment group Fleming
Family and Partners. He
had a reputation as one of
Europe's most dashing playboys
before he met Caroline.
The six-part series made the
couple a talking point in Denmark
and Caroline — plus a
rather reluctant Rory — became
prime-time stars. She became
known as the TV baroness and I
am told she split the nation.
"Some people loved her for
providing a glimpse into her privileged lifestyle, but others detested her because they found her brash and spoiled," says one critic.
But what the viewing public did
not realise was that their marriage
was falling apart, and two weeks
ago her father reportedly called
staff at the castle together to
announce the couple's divorce.
He gave an assurance, however,
that the Fleming family — the 25th
richest in Britain — would continue
to finance the renovations
and that their jobs would be safe.
Australian-born Crown Princess
Mary of Denmark, who is a friend
of Caroline's, even flew to London
to console her when news of the
break-up reached the royal
palace in Copenhagen. I am told Caroline and Fleming have been discontent with each other for some time and the last straw apparently came when he decided he wanted to send Alexander to boarding school at
the age of six.