Koo reveals Stark truth in tell-all tale of royal romance
EVER since her romance with Prince Andrew ended after it was revealed that she had appeared in an ‘art-house’ film, Koo Stark has refused to talk about the ‘scandal’.
Now, however, she has finally decided to tell her story — and her memoirs should be a sensational read.
American-born Koo is said to have rejected a then huge £500,000 to write her memoirs in the 1980s. Now, however, she has severe financial problems after losing a legal case brought by ex-boyfriend Warren Walker.
She was a 24-year-old actress when she agreed to go on a blind date with the Queen’s second son, then a dashing naval officer aged 21.
‘We almost instantly became inseparable,’ she says, explaining that he took her to all the royal palaces. ‘Etiquette around the Royal Family is fraught with mishaps — some slapstick, some not so funny.’
He was at her Belgravia flat in 1982 when she took a phone call, informing him that he must report for duty to serve in the Falklands War. He carried out daring missions as a helicopter co-pilot and, when he came back, Koo — born Kathleen — was ‘waiting in his rooms at Buckingham Palace... the returning hero with a red rose between his teeth’.
Their relationship hit a crisis when it was revealed that she had starred in the film Emily, in which she appeared topless. She tells Tatler magazine that she’d been encouraged to accept the part by her ‘mentor’ Graham Greene, the celebrated novelist.
She was supported by Princess Diana during the crisis and was invited to a picnic by the Queen, so they could be photographed by the paparazzi. ‘Her Majesty made a point of snapping open the News of the World (front page headline “Queen bans Koo”),’ she says. ‘Her actions spoke volumes as she poured tea. Her only verbal comment was, “Oh, I do wish they would call you Kathleen and Andrew”.’
However, ‘notoriety took its toll’ and the couple eventually split up. Now 65, she plans to tell the whole story, encouraged by the Dalai Lama, of all people.
‘He suggested that I write a book,’ she says of the Tibetan spiritual leader. ‘I told him I was too scared. He roared with laughter and said, “You should never be frightened of the truth”.’