today in astor-ia

Anthony Marshall Plays a Face Card in Will Dispute

Anthony Marshall

Anthony Marshall, son of Brooke Astor.Photo: Patrick McMullan

In further proof that the Brooke Astor will debacle is the ultimate high-low glamour contest of the year, news surfaces today of a charming little related anecdote from overseas. The Post tells us the story of Lia Opris, Brooke’s former maid, who is one of the only witnesses to the signing of two late codicils to her will (ones that favor her son, Anthony Marshall, heavily). Since the legitimacy of these codicils is contested, her testimony is very important. So important that a year ago, while she was recuperating from a car accident in her hometown in Romania, lawyers working for Marshall arranged to have someone visit her house to get her on the phone. That someone was Romanian prince Paul Philip. The ploy didn’t work, but he tried again, this time bringing his wife, Princess Lia. The tab described it as “something akin to a work-a-day crime-scene witness opening her door somewhere in the United States and finding President and Laura Bush standing there, begging a small tactical favor,” but let’s be honest: It would be more like if Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie showed up. It’s kind of a romantic story, actually. So romantic, in fact, that the Post waxed all fairy tale on our asses:

There was no word if the prince was wearing his crown at the time — or on a subsequent occasion, when he returned to her door, his wife, Princess Lia, at his side. Told that Opris was at her sister’s house, the royal pair hence proceeded thither. Again, the maid demurred.


Thither”? “Hence”? We wonder what kind of words the Post would use if they wrote a story about us? Probably something along the lines of “fagatron” and “twatermelon.”

Battle ‘Royal’ [NYP]

Anthony Marshall Plays a Face Card in Will Dispute