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Tales of Wintour’s capriciousness are legion. When she hosted the Evening Standard theatre awards in London last
month, she demanded gold chairs, gold cutlery and a 22ft yew hedge be installed inside the venue. She asked for the
temperature to be turned down, that a guest who arrived with her baby be removed and summarily cancelled dessert.
At a New York fashion ball at the Metropolitan Museum she asked to be informed about the size of the knots on the
ties of the waiters.
She put noses out of joint two years ago by giving a speech at a London Fashion Week soiree at No. 10, rather than
leaving it to a British fashion leader. Samantha Cameron was said to be so terrified of her that she acquiesced
immediately.
But in America, the idea of Ambassador Wintour has scarcely raised an eyebrow. Sir Christopher Meyer, former British
envoy to Washington, said last night it would be entirely in keeping with US tradition.
He said: “Americans have always regarded their top ambassadorial positions as political appointments, a reward for
services rendered.” The current US envoy to London, Louis Susman, is a banker from Chicago who was a major
Obama fundraiser in 2008. Obama also appointed Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, as
ambassador to Dublin.
U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes a speech at a dinner held by the U.S embassy in Paris last year
In the past 50 years, nine out of ten US ambassadors to Paris and London have been political appointees rather than
career diplomats. Britishborn Ms. Wintour is an American citizen and Sir Christopher added: ‘There is no systemic
reason why Anna Wintour shouldn’t be an ambassador.’
Meanwhile a State Department insider told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Anna Wintour’s friends have expressed an interest in
making sure that she is nominated to become an ambassador to a major Western European nation. I have had this
confirmed from a friend in the political office at the White House. I am also told there is only a slight chance Wintour
will end up in London.’
Mrs. Obama, instead, is said to be pushing vigorously for her to be sent to France, despite the fact that she is said to
speak little French. The State Department insider told The Mail on Sunday that Ms. Wintour is currently ‘under
consideration’, adding: ‘Paris is her number one choice. I gather Ms. Wintour finds the Paris house and grounds
particularly spectacular.’
It is easy to see why the US ambassador’s official residence should appeal to Ms. Wintour. The grand mansion, once
the home of Baron Maurice de Rothschild, is one of the most imposing houses (after the Elysee Palace) on the Rue
du Fauborg St Honore, which is itself regarded as the most fashionable street in the world.