Cold Comfort at Castle in Scotland

Maybe Newport Beach developer Donald Koll and his wife, Kathi, will have some home improvement tips to offer Prince Charles when they dine with him this weekend at his “drafty” castle in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The couple will be among the guests at a fete celebrating the work of the Prince of Wales Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based outfit that bestows grants on nonprofit organizations in the U.S., Britain and other countries.

In June, the Kolls were among the guests when the prince and Camilla Parker Bowles hosted a dinner for about 120 foundation patrons at Buckingham Palace during Royal Ascot week.

“The prince is very warm and friendly,” said Kathi Koll. “It was so much fun to go to a party inside the palace after standing outside at the gates, watching the changing of the guards, all of these years.” The prince may be warm, but the castle isn’t. The invitation cautions that the “historic castle can be somewhat drafty,” and that ladies should bring a wrap.

Kathi Koll said she plans to wear an Escada gown under her wrap. Her husband is packing a kilt for another soiree for the foundation. Koll couldn’t tell us the price of admission to such royal company. “I really don’t know how much Don gave,” she said. “People sort of give what they want.”

Weekend guests will be introduced to the “centuries-old traditions and pleasures of flying hawks,” says the invitation. That would be falcons, not warmongers.

Trademark Terror

The Smoking Gun sleuths recently discovered that in the wake of the terrorist attacks, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has received a number of related applications. Hours after the attacks, Michael Heiden of New Jersey sought to trademark the term “World Trade Center” for a future movie or TV production. Heiden told William Bastone, editor of the Smoking Gun Web site, https://www.thesmokinggun.com, that he wasn’t trying to capitalize on the attack but added that “if they ever do a movie, I’d like to get involved.”

This week, however, Heiden sent an e-mail to Bastone telling him he had changed his mind and had withdrawn his application. “My intentions were all good,” he wrote. “I wanted to make sure that any proceeds from the making of a film would go to charity.” Heiden did not return our call for comment.

One man submitted an application for an “Osama Pinata,” while another wanted to produce T-shirts declaring “Osama, Yo’ MAMA!’

Political Cuisinart

First Barbra Streisand toned down her criticism of President George W. Bush in the interest of national unity. Now two other members of Hollywood’s loyal opposition--Warren Beatty and John Cusack--have joined the zipped-lip club.

Beatty, who was in New York last week to pick up a humanitarian award, told the New York Daily News’ Mitchell Fink in his usual circuitous fashion, “The opposition party can support our commander in chief without putting its beliefs ... aside.” And Cusack told Fink at the New York “Serendipity” premiere, “The country is united, the left side and the right. I’m sure there will soon come a time when the political debate starts up again. But I don’t feel it’s appropriate now. Maybe some people want to criticize [Bush] right now, but I’m not going to be that guy.”

What Are the Odds?

Everybody loves Raymond, but New Jersey financial consultant Keith Vance really, really loves Ray Romano. The TV star found Vance wandering in Central Park after the World Trade Center attacks and offered to share his hotel room.

“When I tell people I was down there when the World Trade Center collapsed and I got covered with ash, everybody believes me,” Vance tells “Inside Edition,” which is to broadcast the segment tonight. “But nobody will believe that I met Ray Romano late that day and that he took me in. What’s so amazing about this story is that everybody can comprehend that the WTC collapsed,” he adds, “but they can’t comprehend ... the odds of me meeting a TV star.”

Stevie Wonders

Stevie Wonder, whose real name is Steveland Morris, usually prefers to keep his private life private. But he recently broke his silence, through a mouthpiece, to respond to a $30-million palimony suit filed in L.A. Superior Court by a woman who claims he gave her a sexually transmitted disease last year.

Wonder’s lawyer, Laura A. Wasser, said that he’s perfectly healthy so “one can’t help but wonder where she contracted the disease.” Wonder also denied offering to share his life and wealth with Angela McAfee. And, last but not least, Wasser said McAfee never redesigned Wonder’s home with Braille inscriptions, as she claims.

Wonder, who participated in the Sept. 21 “America: A Tribute to Heroes” telethon, and wife Karen Willard-Morris are at home cooing over their baby boy, born Sept. 2, his publicist said.

*

Times staff writers Louise Roug, Gina Piccalo and Ann Conway contributed to this column.