Ashelen Lund

SHE wore a dazzling white ballgown and glittering tiara as one of 15 debutantes chosen to attend this year’s Queen Charlotte’s Ball. But 20-year-old Ashelen Lund, left, is not just a society belle – back home in Las Vegas, she’s a professional figure-skater. Last year she found herself on extremely thin ice after an accident saw her develop such a serious infection on her ankle, there were fears her foot would need to be amputated.

But in a happy twist, she tells me her date for the ball was her dad, who is also a plastic surgeon – he performed an emergency operation that saved her foot and career.

‘I am so grateful to have been able to experience this with him,’ says Lund, adding: ‘Debutantes are role models for the younger generations.’