PETRA ECCLESTONE AND JAMES STUNT TO DIVORCE

PETRA ECCLESTONE AND JAMES STUNT TO DIVORCE



They married in an Italian castle and were serenaded by an array of pop stars.

But almost six years after their £12million fairy-tale nuptials, Bernie Ecclestone’s daughter Petra is divorcing her husband James Stunt in what could be the biggest settlement in celebrity history.

The youngest daughter of the billionaire Formula One tycoon is embroiled in a bitter battle with her estranged husband over their £5.5billion fortune.

The pair have hired some of the country’s most high profile divorce lawyers to represent them in High Court hearings, which are expected to start next month.

Their £158million mansion in Los Angeles and a Grade II-listed pile in the fashionable London district of Chelsea – worth up to £100million – are expected to just some of the assets fought over.

Extraordinary details of their bitter marriage were laid bare during a highly-charged court hearing yesterday.



Mr Stunt, once rumoured to be worth an estimated £3.3billion, was abusive, violent and took overdoses during his marriage to the glamorous heiress, the court heard.

The couple are believed to have first met on a blind date in 2006. They have three children together - daughter Lavinia, four, and twin sons James Jr and Andrew, who are two.

The businessman, who runs an international gold bullion firm, was yesterday accused of behaving in a ‘disgraceful’ and ‘unedifying’ way prior to the hearing.



The Central Family Court heard that Mr Stunt had signed a prenuptial agreement worth £16million. His assets were also said to include a wine collection worth up to £15million and two Chelsea properties worth up to £4million each.

The bad-tempered hearing boiled over when Mr Stunt, 35, slammed his hand onto a table and appeared to make a ‘gun gesture’ with his hand.

He then pointed at Mr Ecclestone before calling him a ‘c***’ under his breath. Stunt then tapped him on the shoulder and stormed out of the court room.



Mr Ecclestone stood up as if to confront him and started to follow him before the judge intervened.

cludes Baroness Fiona Shackleton, who represented Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce battle with Heather Mills.

The 28-year-old heiress later walked out of the courtroom in tears. She was not wearing a wedding ring.

Her estranged husband, who was sporting a wedding band, smirked as he raised his middle finger towards photographers outside the court building.

During the hour-long hearing, Mr Stunt repeatedly laughed, scoffed, panted, sighed and raised his hands in the air as lawyers gave their submissions.

At one point the judge asked him to stop gesticulating because it was ‘very distracting’.

Mrs Stunt’s lawyers instigated yesterday’s hearing to force her estranged husband to move out of their 14-bedroom home in Chelsea so she and their three children can live there.

Her barrister David Williams QC drew the judge’s attention to Mr Stunt’s ‘disgraceful’ behaviour of late.



‘He admits most of the abusive conduct and says it’s regrettable,’ he said. ‘The admissions he has made [are] in terms of overdoses and violence.’

The judge accused Mr Williams of ‘provoking’ Mr Stunt, who was scoffing and laughing.

Mr Williams said: ‘We would hope that Mr Stunt should see that his children’s needs are more important than his needs.

‘He does not seem to be willing to subjugate his needs over the needs of his children. There may be an ulterior motive which is financial. My client is hoping the father would do the decent thing and move out.’



Mr Stunt’s lawyer Patrick Chamberlayne QC said his client would be willing to move out of the house if he was allowed to live in an £80million mansion nearby which the couple once lived in.

The seven-storey house, which is currently on the market, is held in a trust run by Mr Ecclestone.

Richard Harrison QC, who represents the interests of the trust, said: ‘What the husband is seeking to do is to get a foot under the door where in current circumstances he has none.

‘The husband has very substantial resources at his disposal. There are ample resources for him to do as he pleases.’



The judge found in favour of Mrs Stunt and order Mr Stunt to leave the property by Friday. He also refused to allow him the right to live in the mansion held by the Ecclestone trust.



Mr Anelay said: ‘It is clear to me that the mother should be restored to the former matrimonial home forthwith. That is somethin

The judge added: ‘It’s quite apparent to me that he has more than sufficient money to rent a property over the next few months.’

The couple first met on a blind date, set up by a friend in 2006. Five years later Miss Ecclestone walked down the aisle in a £80,000 designer dress at Odescalchi Castle in Rome, where Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes, in front of 350 guests.

Guests were served vintage Louis Roederer Crista