Capital waits for diva Mariah

When Mariah Carey arrived 90 minutes late for an awards ceremony yesterday, there was fevered speculation about what had caused the huge delay.

Had someone been hit by a sudden illness? Or could there have been a road accident?

Well, no. In fact, the 34-year-old pop diva had suffered the unimaginable horror of ... breaking a fingernail.

Despite a host of stylists, makeup artists and hairdressers hired to cater to her every whim during her London visit, Miss Carey was unable to locate a nail specialist.

So she waited until one was duly found and despatched to her private suite at the luxurious Baglioni Hotel in Kensington to effect repairs.

When she finally arrived at the awards ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, the singer was accompanied by an entourage of 11 bodyguards and demanded they watch over her as she ate.

'Mariah swept in looking every inch the star, but it was a little over the top considering everyone else's low-key behaviour,' said an onlooker

'She had kept everyone waiting more than an hour for her grand entrance and her excuse that it was all down to a broken fingernail simply didn't help those fuming over her tardiness.

'She broke the nail while getting ready for the awards and refused to leave her hotel suite until it was fixed. Her managers had to quickly find a nail specialist to come to the hotel.

'When she finally sat down to lunch at the Lancaster, Mariah insisted that two of her bouncers watch over her at all times and make sure that no one approached her.' Four days earlier, the star had ensured she made another grand entrance by demanding that a red carpet and 2ft candles be laid out outside the Baglioni in preparation for her arrival at 2.30am.

Miss Carey did not stay long at yesterday's ceremony - held in aid of the Capital FM charity Help a London Child - leaving as soon as she had picked up her prize for outstanding contribution-to music. This was despite paying £500 to hire a luxury Royal Suite at the hotel to house her team of stylists.

'Obviously I almost didn't get here today because the red carpet didn't arrive,' she joked as she received her award.