In this week’s issue of HELLO! magazine, we have a beautiful, exclusive shoot with new parents Sam and Alice Vanderpump, who introduce us to their adorable new baby son, Duke. The Made in Chelsea stars welcomed Marmaduke Marcus Vanderpump – known as Duke for short – on February 9 and HELLO! VIP subscribers are lucky enough to be the only ones who have been given an exclusive glimpse inside his elegant and serene nursery.
These images, which do not even feature in the next issue of the magazine, show that Duke’s first bedroom has been decorated to a peaceful animal theme, with hints of cream and beige and a cute giraffe rug. The nursery is also decked out with racks of adorable baby clothes for the new baby, many of which have been gifted to the couple by friends, family and their Made in Chelsea co-stars.
Moving away from the original plans
“The nursery is so peaceful and calming,” model Alice told HELLO! exclusively. But, she says, the style of the room wasn’t one she originally set her heart on. “If you look at my Pinterest board it’s the opposite to what we ended up doing.
“We always knew we were going to do beige and neutral colours but had never planned to have a specific theme. However, things like the wall art came together and some of the toys we got were based around animals, so it just ended up being like that.”
The room was also the first place the new family of three visited when they returned to their home – a three-bedroom flat in Chelsea – following Duke’s birth.
“We opened the front door and walked into his nursery and I was thinking ‘Oh my god, this is what we have spent nine months planning’.” Alice says. “The room was created in preparation for Duke and I was now sitting there and he was there with me. It was surreal.”
“I’m absolutely obsessed with him; being a father is amazing, there’s nothing like it”
Sam, 28, who coos and chats away to his son throughout our interview, can barely take his eyes off him for a second. “I’m absolutely obsessed with him; being a father is amazing, there’s nothing like it,” he says. “Everyone talks about this golden moment when you hold your son for the first time and there was this wave of emotion which came over us which was incredible.”
The couple named Marmaduke in memory of Sam’s late father, Mark, who was the brother of the television star Lisa Vanderpump and who died by suicide at the age of 59 in 2018. Mark had wanted the name Marmaduke for Sam’s older brother, Jack.
The baby’s middle name, Marcus, is also a nod to his late grandfather. “It means quite a lot to me to constantly have another little reminder that my dad was here; it’s about trying to remember your loved ones as much as you can in as many ways as possible,” the new father says.
A new outlook on life
Sam, who runs a currency business, was diagnosed with congenital hepatic fibrosis when he was four but was able to live life normally. However, he was hospitalised at the end of 2024 after contracting flu brought on liver and kidney failure and sepsis. Last year, he was diagnosed with irreversible end-stage liver disease, with his life expectancy limited to four to five years without a transplant, for which he is now on a waiting list.
He admits he struggled to come to terms with his diagnosis, turning the corner only as he and Alice married in a last-minute intimate ceremony in December which was exclusively covered by HELLO!.
“The end of last year was really difficult for me and I couldn’t deal with my emotions,” he says. “I really struggled to be honest, and I was in therapy a hell of a lot but from the wedding onwards, it felt like I was turning over a new leaf and now I can process everything we’re going through. I have tried to stay positive and am in the process of raising as much awareness around organ donation as possible, which takes some good out of such a horrific situation.”
Read this week’s full magazine, plus every issue of HELLO!, HELLO! Fashion and our special editions in your HELLO! VIP member area.
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