Sir Elton John's new baby son Zachary is "living like royalty" in his own £1.3 million (Dh7.4 million) apartment adjoining the singer's exclusive Los Angeles pad.
John, 63, and his partner David Furnish have appointed a top Hollywood interior designer to turn the flat beside their luxury home into a dream nursery. Although the work is not yet finished, several months after it started, eight-day-old Zachary is already installed there, and looked after by round-the-clock nannies.
A New York television star who is a long-time friend of the couple said: "Elton and David have wanted this baby for a long time. They bought their first apartment in 2007 and then the following year they bought the smaller one next door.
"Everyone originally thought they bought the smaller apartment because they wanted extra space, but then I found out they were trying to have a baby. They haven't said whether they have knocked the wall down between the two apartments but I must say at Elton's age, I wouldn't blame him if there is no adjoining door.
"From what I understand the baby and his nannies are living in one apartment and Elton and David are living in another."
The couple have hired "interior designer to the stars" Martyn Lawrence-Bullard to decorate the baby's apartment. Lawrence-Bullard, who also masterminded John's flat, was overheard telling a friend: "I am still decorating it. It is not quite finished yet."
A source at the building, the 32-storey Sierra Towers, said: "Everyone in the building has been talking of nothing else but the baby all week.
"Apparently he is seriously cute with wispy blond hair. He is in his own apartment with a Filipino lady and an African-American nurse, who are with him 24/7."
Lawrence-Bullard, a close friend of the couple, was given an "unlimited budget" to decorate it.
The source said: "Apparently Elton said that money was no object. The baby's flat is decorated in blues and muted greens. Zachary is going to be living like royalty. Martyn started decorating a few months ago and was clearly in on the big secret."
