Diamonds and divas

They are not as young as they used to be, but the stars at Sir Elton John's annual party were in their element as they dressed for the Eighties.

The White Tie and Tiara Ball had an Imperial Russia theme, complete with a giant marquee covered in real gold leaf in the style of a traditional Russian Orthodox church, while areas of the singer's 38-acre Old Windsor estate were transformed into ice rinks with waiters on skates serving cocktails. But many of the guests - with the notable exception of Liz Hurley - left their tiaras at home, along with their brocade and their Fabergé jewellery. Nostalgia was for the 1980s, not the 1880s.

They paid £1,000 each to attend the ball in aid of the singer's charity, the Elton John Aids Foundation. Now in its fifth year, it has established itself as a highlight of the showbusiness calendar.

Among the guests were the Duchess of York, Dame Judi Dench, Kylie Minogue and Lulu, Sir Michael Caine and his wife Shakira, jewellery designer Jade Jagger, Queen guitarist Brian May, former Formula 1 racing driver Damon Hill, supermodels Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell and Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell and model Catalina, of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. Hurley turned up with ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant in a silver Mercedes. David Beckham was back from his Far East promotional tour with wife Victoria.

Entertainment included Sir Elton belting out a song with the help of Gloria Gaynor and Barry Manilow.

This year's party was sponsored by Swiss jewellers Chopard and Sir Elton, accompanied by his partner David Furnish, was hoping to raise as much as £1.5million for his charity to fund Aids care and treatment around the world.