He parted from his second wife Marina, mother of five of his six children, two years ago in what, as I disclosed at the time, were ‘highly acrimonious circumstances’.

Since then his son Perry has broken up with Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner, ending a romance which looked as though it might lead to marriage.

But don’t be surprised if you see 80-year-old Michael Pearson, 4th Viscount Cowdray, positively skipping around Cowdray Park, his 16,000 acre West Sussex estate.

I can reveal that he’s been perked up by a blossoming friendship with Philippa Devas, a glamorous blonde 17 years his junior, whose professional dexterity enables her to straddle the worlds of interior design and psychotherapy.

‘They were introduced by a mutual friend who thought they’d get on well,’ I’m told.

The prediction proved delightfully correct.

Though neither Philippa nor Michael care to reflect publicly on their good fortune, they have, I’m assured, invited friends to join them next month on Ibiza – a favourite of Michael’s and where, until very recently, he owned what a chum describes as a ‘beautiful house’, insulated from development by what, by the standards of the ‘White Isle’, was a massive expanse of land. 

Though that’s been sold, it’s understandable that Michael, who celebrates his 81st birthday on June 17, should choose to return to the scene of carefree bachelor summers, during which, in the words of a contemporary, he was frequently aboard his yacht, The Hedonist, ‘auditioning future Lady Cowdrays’.

Lord Cowdray parted from his second wife Marina, mother of five of his six children, two years ago. Pictured: Viscount Cowdray and Marina Rose Cordle

But don’t be surprised if you see 80-year-old Michael Pearson, 4th Viscount Cowdray, positively skipping around Cowdray Park, his 16,000 acre West Sussex estate. I can reveal that he’s been perked up by a blossoming friendship with Philippa Devas (pictured), writes Richard Eden

The ‘auditioning’ process didn’t always lead to marriage. 

In 1970, Michael fathered his first son, Sebastian, but decided against marrying Sebastian’s mother, model Barbara Ray. 

Other girlfriends included Nigerian actress Minah Bird and Miranda Quarry, ex-wife of Peter Sellers.

After a seven-year childless marriage to Hannelore Erhardt, he appeared to have found lasting happiness with Marina Cordle. But, after 37 years, Marina, a devotee of silent meditation left and found comfort with her chiropractor.

Let’s hope Philippa, who has three offspring by

her late husband, James Devas, auditions successfully…