What s all the fuss about Cecil Beaton s diaries

A.� The unexpurgated diaries of Sir Cecil Beaton, the royal photographer, are to be published, revealing what he really thought about the stars he knew.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� Such as

A.� Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, to name but two.

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Q.� But what did he say

A.� He said Hepburn was like 'a hockey mistress', and Taylor was 'common'. What's more ,he said Marlene Dietrich's face had been spoiled by a plastic surgeon.

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Q.� A bit bitchy, was he

A.� Yes. In the secret code of the obituarists, he never married. He was, however, a confidant to the highest society and a tremendously talented man.

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Q. Let's have the potted bio, then.

A.� Born 1904, knighted 1972, died 1980. Royal photographer, designer, painter and writer. He designed the film sets for Gigi and My Fair Lady, for which he won Oscars.

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Q.� A highly placed gent

A.� Indeed. He took the official photographs of the coronation of the Queen in Westminster Abbey in 1953 and the first pictures of Prince Charles in his pram.� Beaton was born in London, son of a rich timber merchant. He was educated at Harrow, where he showed signs of early photographic talent and then went on to Cambridge University.

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Q.� And later hit the gossip columns

A.� Rather! In his heyday, Beaton's name frequently appeared in the papers. He hit the headlines when news leaked of his secret two-year romance with Greta Garbo, the reclusive Swedish-born actress famous for saying: 'I want to be alone.'

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Q.� But I thought you said he remained a bachelor.

A.� Yes. But Garbo seemed to be his true love. She recalled: 'He was the only man I ever allowed to touch my vertebrae.'

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Q.� Oo-er. Passion.

A.� Yes, but the affair ended in 1948, after a magazine obtained private photographs Beaton had taken of her.

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Q.� What about the other stars

A.� Other photographic subjects included Marilyn Monroe, artist Pablo Picasso, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and rock star Mick Jagger. Beaton once said of Monroe: 'With Marilyn it was love at first sight. She was quite different from any other sitter. She had a magical quality beyond anything I could explain.'

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Q.� So why all the fuss now

A.� Beaton first published six volumes of diaries through the 1950s to the 1970s, but he edited out his more biting comments for fear of libel. However, his last surviving sister, Nancy, has just died and Beaton's literary executor Hugo Vickers feels the uncensored versions can be published.

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Q.� Whom did he insult

A.� His diaries record falling out with Katharine Hepburn, with My Fair Lady director George Cukor and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner. Beaton was also rude about Rex Harrison and Lucille Ball.

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Q.� What next

A.� Vickers is now editing Beaton's diaries, in 150 books, for publication. 'He was not taken in by glamour,' Vickers said. 'He was extremely perceptive, as his diaries will reveal.'

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By Steve Cunningham

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