Furniture fit for royalty

What is it with royal types and their trappings? A few weeks ago, Princess Diana's brother, the 9th Earl Spencer, was in Boston to unveil the Althorp Collection, a line of pricey furnishings inspired by pieces in the family's ancestral home. Yesterday, Diana's former butler Paul Burrell (below) was in town to hype his collection, called "Royal Manner: The English Country House." Burrell's beds and bureaus are available at Belle Maison in Newton. "For 21 years, I lived in palaces, castles, and the Royal Britannia," says Burrell without a trace of modesty. "These pieces are drawn from living with incredible people and an incredible lifestyle." Although inspired by the abodes of British blue bloods, Burrell admitted the pieces are manufactured in China. "I'm afraid that's the way of the world," he said yesterday. "It would cost twice as much to make them in North Carolina." (As it is, Burrell's wrought-iron Kensington bed retails for $2,000.) Asked when the world will let Princess Di rest in peace, Burrell wasn't hopeful. "Once the inquest that's underway is finished, we should draw a line," he said. "But that won't happen."

You can forget about Matt Damon playing Captain Kirk in director J.J. Abrams' take on "Star Trek." Word from the West Coast is that Damon was deemed too old, and Chris Pine (Smokin' Aces) has instead been cast as Kirk. Meanwhile, Karl Urban will play medic Leonard "Bones" McCoy. Also on board are Zoe Saldana as the young Uhura, Anton Yelchin as the young Chekov, and Zachary Quinto as the young Spock. The movie, which chronicles the early days of the Enterprise crew, is set to begin shooting in November.

Designer Michael De Paulo displayed some of his latest creations during a lunch yesterday with doyenne Marilyn Riseman at Brasserie Jo. Evelyn Subramaniam (standing) was one of the models wearing De Paulo's designs.

Berklee College of Music will be well represented at the upcoming concert celebrating the release of the film "I'm Not There." The lineup for the Nov. 7 show at New York's Beacon Theatre includes Somerville resident and session man extraordinaire Al Kooper and his band of Berklee profs, the Funky Faculty, as well as Cat Power, Amherst's own J Mascis, My Morning Jacket, Yo La Tengo, Joe Henry, Dan Hicks, Lee Ranaldo, and many others. Directed by Todd Haynes, "I'm Not There" stars Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw - all portraying the legendary Bob Dylan.

Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. CEO Peter Palandjian is the newest member of the board of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. A former player on the ATP tour, Palandjian played at Wimbledon and the French Open after graduating from Harvard, where he was captain of the tennis team. He and wife Minou, whom he met while playing at Wimbledon in '89, live in Belmont with their four kids.

West Newbury native John Cena has the dubious distinction of being on the first season of Donald Trump's new show "Celebrity Apprentice." We're told the professional wrestler is joined in the cast by Ultimate Fighter Tito Ortiz, "Apprentice" also-ran Omarosa, boxer Lennox Lewis, rocker Gene Simmons, actor Stephen Baldwin, model Carol Alt, "Sopranos" actor Vincent Pastore, and actress Marilu Henner.

Harry Cooper, who's curator of the department of modern art at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum, is jumping ship to join the National Gallery of Art as the head of the department of modern and contemporary art. A Harvard grad, Cooper is returning from whence he came. Before arriving at the Fogg in 1997, he was a curator at the National Gallery.

Nina Wemyss, longtime wine historian for Mondavi Winery, brought a number of antique decanters to the Martha's Vineyard Annual Harvest, including a 2,000-year-old vessel covered in barnacles. (Talk about aged.) Wemyss (left) and grill guru Chris Schlesinger (right) were among several foodies at the fete, which included Eastern Standard's Garrett Harker, Jody Adams of Rialto, and Tom Berry of Temple Bar.

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.