Prince Harry is no stranger to risks, with his military training in Apache attack helicopters.
When you’re a single prince with a leaning toward danger and girls, there’s no end to the possibilities for drama.
Such is the case for Prince Harry, who is once again back in the news on both fronts.
First, there was a real-life crime drama in which Harry plays a role. It has been revealed through police reports that on Nov. 30 at about 8:30 p.m., the prince was talking to his friend Thomas van Straubenzee over the phone.
All of a sudden, Harry could hear a scuffle going on at the other end of the line. Turns out that a mugger had grabbed van Straubenzee’s BlackBerry phone.
Concerned for his pal’s safety, Harry and one of his protection officers raced to their car and drove around the streets of southwest London looking for van Straubenzee. Failing to find him, they went to the nearest police station and, lo and behold, they found him there, giving a statement on the theft.
“He circled the streets for a while in his Audi before following intuition and finding his friend at a local police station in Battersea Bridge Road,” a royal aide told the Daily Mail. “The Prince wanted to be there to offer some comfort and friendly support.”
Harry offered his own version of events to police, then drove van Straubenzee home. The next day, a man was arrested and given bail pending a January court date.
Not quite 007 stuff, but nice to know Harry had his friend’s back.
Van Straubenzee is a good friend to both Harry and William. They attended the same schools growing up and he was one of the ushers at William’s wedding.
And speaking of romance, there are rumblings that Harry may be back with the model he dated briefly in the summer, Florence Brudenell-Bruce (right).
Spencer Matthews, a British TV actor who says he knows Brudenell-Bruce “quite well,” claimed in a newspaper article that “there’s still something going on” between the prince and the lingerie model.
“She and Harry have enjoyed a few nights in together with a DVD on the sofa -- stuff we all do.”
The couple had apparently called it quits after just a few months as media attention intensified. Shortly after, Harry claimed he was “100 per cent” single.
Given his eye for the ladies, he may be slightly short of a perfect mark.
The public has their opportunity to say "happy Christmas" to the Royal Family on Christmas morning as they walk from St. Mary Magdalene church to Sandringham House. Above, it's William and Harry with father Prince Charles receiving some gifts along the path in 1998. (AP)
If there’s one royal tradition that the Queen guards most, it might be Christmas at Sandringham.
For about four days, it’s all about family, and the kids, and routines that have been going on for years. Kind of like the Christmases many of us enjoy. True, the setting is somewhat grander, but the general ambition remains the same: keep Grandma happy.
It all begins several days before Christmas, when the Queen vacates Buckingham Palace for what will be a six-week stay at Sandringham House, a 2-1/2 hour drive north of London. For a while she hosted the holiday at Windsor Castle (it can accomodate far more people) but now she tries to keep it simple with immediate family only at the Norfolk estate.
This year, that means a large crowd of more than two dozen relatives, including children and spouses of the Queen's four kids, plus those of her late sister Margaret. The notable rookie additions are Kate Middleton and Mike Tindall, whose respective marriages to William and Zara put thrust them to the inner circle. Pippa Middleton will reportedly widen Kate's comfort zone with a Boxing Day appearance.
Despite its country-estate setting, there’s still plenty of royal duties for the Queen to attend to at Sandringham, which acts as the monarchy's base until February. The first week, however, is all about Christmas and family. This is strictly a private affair, though details emerge over the years, some of them in a book by Phil Dampier, "What’s In The Queen’s Handbag (And Other Royal Secrets)." From that and other sources, we can put together a reasonable diary of the goings-on.
Before they start arriving, a Christmas tree will be selected and cut down from the huge estate, and servants begin decorating it in the White Drawing Room.
As you might imagine, there’s a huge store of old ornaments, dating back to Queen Victoria. This year, they might even find room for the new William-Kate bauble, a $135 investment (right). William missed last year's gathering because, still being single at the time, he was on duty with his helicopter search and rescue team in Wales.
The Queen likes to decorate the tree (as much as an 85-year-old woman can), making sure to take care of the star from George V's days and laying on the tinsel. (Two years ago, disaster struck when the 18-foot tree was toppled when a staff member fell into it).
As the guests begin to arrive -- and it should be a pretty large gathering this year -- they are given a room plan and a timetable by the Master of the Household. Not good form to miss an event over the next three days ….
The drawing room at Sandringham, where the royals will gather for the first time.
CHRISTMAS EVE
It’s tea time (Earl Grey mostly) at 4 p.m. in the drawing room. Sandwiches, scones and muffins are in abundance.
At 6 p.m., it’s time for the gifts, following in the German tradition of unwrapping the bounty the night before Christmas.
All the gifts are laid out on a white linen-covered table with name tags and everyone dives in. Ceremony is dispensed with.
What do royals get each other for Christmas? Well, not as much as you’d think. Most gifts are either practical, or a practical joke.
A few examples:
- The Queen was reportedly delighted to receive a casserole dish, and even more delighted one year to be given one of those singing Big Mouth Billy Bass fish, which supposedly still sits on the grand piano at Balmoral.
- Harry and William went in together on a Blu-Ray player for Grandma Liz.
- Princess Anne gave her brother Charles a padded toilet seat. One year he gave her a doormat.
- Harry once gave the Queen a plastic shower hat emblazoned with: “Ain’t life a bitch!”
- Princess Diana gave Charles some Mickey Mouse socks.
- Prince Philip has a penchant for novelty items like unusual can openers. He has also received a whoopee cushion, apparently.
After the orgy of cheap gifts, it is off to the saloon (right) for drinks. This will range from Coke to martinis. The Queen is partial to Dubonnet and gin.
Amply refreshed, everyone scatters to get ready for dinner. This involves yet another change in outfits, since it is regarded as a formal affair: ladies in gowns, gents in black tie.
At 8 p.m., the gong sounds for the gathering of the clan. The Queen always arrives fashionably at 8:15.
“You never let the Queen beat you down for dinner, end of story,” said Sarah Ferguson, recalling her Christmas days as wife to Prince Andrew. “To come in any later would be unimaginably disrespectful.”
There’s Christmas crackers, of course, those festive-wrapped tubes that snap (!) open and to reveal a party hat, horoscopes, jokes and a insanely cheap little plastic toy. The Queen is excused from wearing the paper hat.
A typical dinner (by candlelight no less) might start with a shrimp appetizer, followed by the main course of lamb or game killed on the estate. Dessert might be a soufflé or tarte tatin.
Two hours later, dinner is done and on come the post-dinner beverages: coffee, port and brandy.
By midnight, the Queen is in bed.
CHRISTMAS DAY
In this scene from 2000, several generations of royals are seen emerging from the Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene. On the left is Prince Andrew with his daughters Eugenie and Beatrice. The Queen and the Queen Mother, meanwhile, greet some of the local children who offer flowers to the royals. Several hundred people usually line the road near the church to get a close-up view of the royal procession. (AP)
Not sure who does all the filling, but eyes awaken to the sight of stockings at the foot of each family member’s bed, filled with small gifts and fruit.
Bacon, sausage, eggs, toast and tea -– take your pick from the traditional English menu for breakfast. Everyone just has to give themselves plenty of time to make the 11 a.m. Christmas service at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (right). By tradition, most walk, though the Queen and those with young children are driven.
This is where the public generally gets its best view of the royals. Since this is Kate Middleton’s maiden Christmas voyage with the royals, more than a thousand people are expected. Although photographing royals on the estate is generally not allowed, the rule is generally relaxed at Christmas (aside from a nasty incident a few years ago where cameras were mistakenly confiscated).
Finally, turkey time -– courtesy of a bird raised on the estate -- arrives at 1 p.m.
It never has a chance. Gobble, gobble and gone. Don’t want to miss the Queen’s annual Christmas TV broadcast at 3 p.m. (2010 video below), a tradition that dates to 1932 and George V’s radio broadcasts.
Other than that must-see TV, this is the family’s lazy afternoon, with everyone free to play some games, watch TV, take a stroll, have a nap… just like ordinary turkey-filled folk.
And guess what’s for dinner? Yep … leftovers (with a fresh lobster salad to start).
“The family are not keen on mince pies or Christmas pudding so I could be quite bold with, say, a pina colada mousse with a raspberry coulis,” said former royal chef Graham Newbould.
It’s game night after that, where the doors are closed on the digital world and old stand-bys like charades make a comeback.
BOXING DAY
After a big breakfast, the annual pheasant shoot is arranged, with Prince Philip traditionally taking the lead. This is usually a male-dominated event, but both Kate and Pippa have been practicing and can handle a gun pretty well.
As for the Queen, every dog has their day and this is the one for monarch’s many corgis, who will undoubtedly be in her company most of the afternoon — along a beach if the weather permits.
The festivities winding down, it's back to regular royal duties on the 27th, most of the royals scattering to their United Kingdom corners, from London to Wales. There are reports that Will and Kate will be joining Charles and Camilla for the New Year at Birkhall in Scotland.
The Queen, meanwhile, hunkers down with Philip at Sandringham for the long January month.
Someone has to clean up the mess the kids left behind, right?
Roll call ... anyone who heard of Pippa Middleton before 2011, please raise your hand.
Uh-uh ... that's what we figured.
Then came THE DRESS, and the videos, and the ass-appreciation societies, the broken romance, the rumoured romances, the papparazzi, the lookalikes, the book deal ... is it any wonder she ended up on so many year-end lists?
In the annual lists of top Google searches, Pippa is right up there, That accounts for her ranking in the category "fastest rising" in Google year-end lists of top searches. In Canada, she was No. 2; in Ireland, No. 1; around the world, No. 3.
She even made Barbara Walter's most fascinating people list. (Granted ... we worry about any list that also includes the Kardashians -- see Pippa segment below).
As Ms Walters points out, it may be Pippa's ample physical assets that started the ball rolling, but it's her mystery that continues to propel the interest. She smiles a lot, but never speaks. She doesn't run from the camera, but nor does she embrace it. She is an enigma, a fantasy sister, a dream girlfriend.
Becoming iconic, of course, has its price. There has been battles with Britain's Press Council, some embarrassing party photos and even more embarrassing attempts by others to cash in on her name. And, of course, some noble efforts to re-create her magic rear profile.
Remember the 15,000 crumpets used in a vast mosiac homage to Her Royal Hotness?
More recently, we have a car insursance website, Confused.com,sponsoring an effort by artist Scott Wade to point out the importance of cleaning your windshield.What's that got to do with Pippa?
Well, nothing, unless you want to creatively dirty up your glass with a mixture of limestone, gravel and clay. And then model the mess into a re-creation of Pippa's moment in the royal wedding day (right).
How all this plays within the Royal Family is just a guessing game. Big sister Kate is clearly protective, but there has been an arm's length relationship. How many times have you seen Pippa photographed with her sister since the wedding? Pippa is not part of the inner circle, she has no royal protection, no public funds coming her way. Yet she has become identified as part of royal identity.
All of which makes this Christmas significant. Her invitation to Sandringham by the Queen for Boxing Day is a clear acknowledgement of her place in projecting the royal image. That message won't be lost on her as she mingles with the bluebloods and munches on leftover turkey.
She has become a lot more than Kate's sister and she'll need all the help she can get in 2012.
Prince Charles and Camilla will be the senior royals assigned for a tour of Canada in 2012.
Okay, so Canada won't be seeing William and Kate next year. Or Harry for that matter.
But the next King of England isn't a bad choice.
Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will be touring Canada as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations marking her 60 years on the British throne.
They will also be hitting Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea for their part in the grand royal touring show for 2012.
Kate and William -- who were spoiled with their summer tour of Canada -- have an daunting schedule, slated to make stops in Malaysia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. Prince Harry, making his first solo tour, keeps to sunny side of the Commonwealth, visiting Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
The dates and specific stops are still being finalized, but Charles and Camilla will be here in May, making stops in New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan. (Canada's Jubilee year logo is at right.)
As for the Queen herself, she and Prince Philip won't be straying from the United Kingdom. Who can blame them? The Queen turns 86 in April and the Duke of Edinburgh 91 in June.
Charles has made 15 visits to Canada, the last being in 2009 when he brought Camilla for her maiden voyage to the colonies with stops in B.C., Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Quebec. His first was in 1970 as a 21-year-old.
William and Kate should have an interesting time. The tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu has not had a royal visit since 1982. At that time, the Queen and Prince Philip sat in canoes as they were carried on the shoulders of islanders into the capital Funafuti.
The royals will hit all 15 countries, besides the UK, which recognize the Queen as head of state. Prince Andrew will travel to India and Princess Anne will be in Mozambique and Zambia.
Prince Edward and Sophie -- the Earl and Countess of Wessex -- will tour the Caribbean islands as well as Gibraltar.
The Duke of Gloucester -- Prince Richard, the Queen's cousin -- will be in the British Virgin Islands and Malta, while another cousin, the Duke of Kent, has stops in the Falkland Islands and Uganda.
Britain officially marks the Diamond Jubilee in London during the week June 2-5. Canada has pledged $7.5 million to to help Canadians celebrate, including events for a Diamond Jubilee Week, Feb. 6-12. The Queen officially ascended to the throne on Feb. 6, 1952.
Prince Charles smiles for the royal fans in the Northwest Territories during his inaugural visit to Canada in 1970. That's Queen Elizabeth in the background, far left. (Toronto Star)
Prince Charles and Camilla arrive in a horse-drawn carriage for the opening ceremony of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto during their last tour of Canada in November 2009. (CP)
Duchess of Alba Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart has takes a shine to Tom Cruise while attending the premiere of " Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol" this week in Madrid, Spain. (Getty Images)
Now, no one is suggesting they wouldn't make a nice couple, but somehow the idea of Tom Cruise and the always colourful Duchess of Alba hitting it off romantically seems a longshot, even if they are old friends.
The two met a few years ago when he was filming "Knight and Day" in Seville with Cameron Diaz and she attended the Spanish premiere in 2010 (right).
Judging by the photos from this most recent movie unveiling, Cruise and Cayetana have a cozy relationship, even though they are both happily attached to younger people.
To recap, plenty has happend to the 85-year-old Spanish Duchess, who has a few dozen royal titles and about $5 billion to her name, since she last met Cruise.
For one thing, there was a nasty soap opera, where she had to promise to hand over most of that fortune (after her death) to her six kids before they gave their less-than-enthusiastic blessing to her marriage to civil servant Alfonso Diez on Oct. 2.
He's 24 years younger and a whole lot poorer -- plus a commoner to boot -- but so far the pair have managed to fashion an outwardly happy existence. Of course, Diez hasn't had to compete with the likes of Tom Cruise, a mere boy at age 49.
The Duchess is back to her nightlife, red-carpet ways after recovering from a broken hip. That happened at her palace, shortly after returning from her honeymoon in France.
There doesn't appear to be any lasting effects of that injury, though the same can't be said for the many plastic surgeries the countess has gone through. Cruise, married to 32-year-old Katie Holmes, is rumoured to have had a few procedures of his own done, but no one is talking -- at least not the Duchess.
Prince William and his wife Kate push a plunger to officially start the Calgary Stampede on July 8. It cost more than $2 million for their Canadian tour, but numbers show their nine-day visit was also a huge boon to tourism. (AFP/Getty Images)
Keeping Kate and William safe during their nine-day Canadian tour last summer cost just over $1 million, according to RCMP documents.
The bill was about $73,000 more than what it cost to protect the Queen during her 2010 Canadian tour, according to numbers obtained by Postmedia, but that tour was only seven days.
The good news is that Kate and William didn’t seem to require as much maintenance when it came to room and board. Canadian Heritage said it spent about $1.2 million on the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to take care of travel and accommodation. The Queen cost $2.8 million the year before.
At least some of Will and Kate’s lower expenditures can be accounted for by the relatively small number of staff (seven) that accompanied the newlywed royals.
The royals covered plenty of ground in their first official tour as a married couple, taking in Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories.
Though anti-monarchists have traditionally bemoaned spending anything to fund a royal tour, there is evidence that the payback in tourism is enormous.
A report from Tourism Calgary declared that the couple two-day tour stop to the Alberta city helped inject $2.3 million to the local economy.
WANT TO GET DOWN AND DIRTY AT PALACE?
Cutting the Queen’s grass is getting more lucrative by the month.
Just two months after offering a modest $25,000 a year for a new “senior gardener” for Buckingham Palace, she has come back with a slightly less modest $27,000 for the year-long contract.
Given the fresh constraints on the Royal Household budget, this is tantamount to winning the lottery.
Though it still falls under the lousy-pay banner, the job does come with accommodation and other benefits. There are three or four gardeners to supervise as they prune, sod, repair and re-cycle throughout the 17-hectare lawn and gardens.
The emphasis is definitely on being “green.” There is one 800-metre area around the edge of the lake that is only cut every four years. Dead trees are left to rot away naturally. (There is currently a family of woodpeckers in one dead tree in the rose garden.)
You’ll also have to deal with the horse droppings from the Royal Mews, which gets turned into garden food, as are all the grass clippings and fallen branches around the property.
Kate and the in-laws enjoyed a double date when they attended a charity concert last week.
Maybe it's the Christmas spirit, or maybe, just maybe, these royals are actually getting along with each other.
Even if they're in-laws.
Word comes today via a "royal insider" with London's Daily Star that Prince William's bride, Kate, has been invited to stay with Prince Charles and Camilla while the second in line for the throne takes off in February for a six-week tour of duty in the Falklands.
That's mighty nice of them and Kate is said to be "thrilled" with the offer. Yes, it appears she actually does get along with in-laws. Camilla and Kate, despite being about 35 years apart, have all the appearances of being kindred spirits.
Camilla has taken to offering beauty and hair-styling advice to Kate, while in turn Kate has also earned some brownie points by stepping in for Charles when he couldn't attend a reception last month.
Working your way into the inner circle of royal life can't be easy, and from all reports Camilla, herself an outsider, has been a friendly guide for the Duchess of Cambridge.
"At the best of times, the royal men just don’t have much sensitivity when it comes to helping ease new members into the royal life. They’re not unkind — they just don’t think," the Daily Mail quoted one royal source.
Moving in with Charles and Camilla at Clarence House makes more sense than staying near the RAF base in Anglesey, Wales, where William is based. Of course, Kate can always retreat to their cottage on the Kensington Palace grounds in London, but she hasn't appeared unwilling to be in her in-laws' company, either.
She gets along with C&C “like a house on fire,” said one friend.
“There is little doubt she will spend time with Charles and Camilla during that time. They are genuinely fond of her and want to help her as much as they can.”
And speaking of outsiders, what of Mike Tindall, who didn't earn any brownie points for his drunken behaviour during the World Cup of Rugby a few months ago. His new wife, Zara Phillips, has seemed in a forgiving mood, but mother-in-law Princess Anne was said to be furious.
That has apparently abated, with Tindall and Zara now slated to be part of the Royal Family get-together for Christmas at the Queen's retreat in Sandringham. They will be there for the Christmas Eve gift exchange and stay over for Christmas Day before Tindall heads back to his ruby-playing with Gloucester on Boxing Day.
"He won't be drinking any alcohol," one friend told the Daily Mail.
Keeping the hats in order is likely one of the duties at Royal Lodge, which may be a chore in the the case of Eugenie, left. Princess Beatrice, centre, has her own place, but Prince Andrew, right, has plenty of uniforms to iron. (Getty Images)
If you ever wanted to get an view from the inside of a royal household, here’s your chance.
Just make sure you’re carrying a feather duster around.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, is looking for a housekeeping assistant to keep the 30-room Royal Lodge tidy. The successful applicant must have “a hard-working, flexible and positive attitude” as he/she toils during a 40-hour week that will earn them about $25,000 a year.
Among the duties:
- the care of antiques and specialist cleaning - maiding/valetting duties for guests - assisting at receptions, dinners and other events
Among those you are liable to bump into are the Princess Eugenie, who lives there between university terms, the Duke himself, and even his former wife, Sarah Ferguson. She has used the home as her London base since 2008, after her nearby home was damaged by fire.
The house (right) used to be a country residence for the Queen Mother until 2002. Andrew moved in from Sunninghill Park in 2004.
The new housekeeper will be part of a three-peron staff. They will have plenty to keep busy, making up beds, dusting (“under advice from the Royal Collection” for those older items), even a little hand sewing. The valet duties include “packing and unpacking, pressing and preparing clothes, arranging dry cleaning, care of jewellery, running baths, assisting with dressing if required and arranging the service of tea and breakfast trays.
The pay isn’t great -- there’s a wage freeze in royal circles -- and you’ll have to work one weekend in three (what’s a lodge without a party or two?). But you do get a free lunch and there’s a pension plan. Plus, of course, the privilege of getting some up-close glimpses of royalty.
Although the application is listed on the British monarchy website, a Palace spokesperson says this is not a tax-funded job. The pay is coming out of the Duke’s own pocket.
Applications close Dec. 30. Just in time for the new year's party.
Ben Fogle had conquered it all. Until he met a jelly bean.
The British adventurer (right) has survived huge ocean waves in the Atlantic Rowing Race, frostbite and hypothermia while racing to the South Pole, a 4,800-kilometre mountain bike trek through the Rockies, running through the Sahara Desert, a year on a remote island, and a flesh-eating tropical disease.
Throw in his authoring of books on adventure and hosting TV reality shows in the UK, and he was a natural choice to join the small band of explorers and adventurers for a night of royal recognition with the Queen and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace.
Then the jelly bean struck. And stuck.
“It got in there after a last drunken throw of a jelly bean last night after a party," he told the Mirror before meeting the monarch on Thursday night. "Stupid. I don’t even like the things. It should have gone down by itself by now."
Frantic about the possibilities of choking on bits of confection in front of Her Majesty, he took action, tweeting along the way:
I can survive jungles, deserts and oceans but not.......jelly beans. 3 hours in Casualty A&E with one stuck in my throat.
"Anyone have a suggestions of how to remove this jelly bean from my throat before I meet the Queen tonight?
"6 cups of tea. 5 pints of water. Four slices of bread. A banana and a trip to A&E and it's still lodged.
"And worst of all.....it's an ORANGE flavour.
"The jelly bean and I are off to Buckingham Palace together for a gathering of explorers. It's like having a confectionery parasite.
"Why do sweets disappear so quickly when you want them and linger when you don't. It's like Willy Wonka's ever lasting gobstopper."
And finally, this morning:
Tweeps. Loyal followers. Ladies and Gentleman. The jelly bean has left the building. Yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. ... I gargled champagne at Buckingham Palace."
Yes, Mr. Fogle earned the right to say "bean there, done that."
Queen Elizabeth meets Sir David Attenborough during a reception to celebrate exploration and adventure at Buckingham Palace on Dec. 8 at Buckingham Palace. (Getty Images)
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CHARLES, CAMILLA AND ELIZA
The royal wedding was perhaps the most photographed events of the year. Little wonder that a few of those images would show up on Christmas cards from the Royal Family.
Prince Charles and Camilla picked this image, captured by Press Association's John Stillwell, shows the pair on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Eliza Lopes, the 3-year-old child of Camilla’s daughter Laura, from her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles. Eliza was one of the bridesmaids for Kate and William's April 29 wedding.
The outside of card features part of the Prince of Wales' crest and his wife's cypher.
On the inside, there's a red border around the photograph opposite the words "Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year."
You've got to be quick if you want to turn your closet into a Kate Middleton shrine.
Just hours after the Duchess of Cambridge appeared at a charity concert Tuesday night in a Zara 'Lace Tulip Dress,' the company's website had been picked clean of its hottest property.
The $119 dress was a departure for Kate, who has generally kept her High Street hemlines on the low side. But whatever she wears, it sells out. And, being the democratic sort, Kate has spread her store influence around, from Reiss to Topshop to Peter Jones.
Just as quickly as the dresses disappear from stores, they show up on eBay. The Zara mini is now being hocked on the auction site for well above retail.
The last time we saw Kate in a dress from the Spanish Zara chain was the day after the royal wedding (right), when she wore an cornflower blue $80 dress that, like everything else, immediately became an extinct creation.
Public appearances by the Duchess seems to always fuel more pregnancy talk, of course, mainly from the American tabloids. The British press has chosen to keep a lid on that talk until there is some actual news to report.
This time, it was all about how Kate held her clutch purse in front of her stomach. Clearly she'll be eating pickles and ice cream next.
One thing for sure ... expect a run on maternity wear when she finally does get in the family way. Or maybe -- given the copy-Kate effect -- we should be prepared for a population explosion.
The horse, the actress and the Queen
Nobody can say the Queen has lost her memory. In fact, she just bought one. With a Canadian history. For $800,000. From Elizabeth Hurley, no less.
Lets back up. The purchase was actually for a horse called Memory, which is part owned by the actress through a syndicate.
The 3-year-old filly, winner of the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot last year, was sold last week to the Queen through her racing manager John Warren. It will be used for breeding at the stud farm at Sandringham.
Memory was originally slated to go into the Tattersall mares sale, but just hours before it was to begin, it was announced that the horse had been sold privately.
Several horses were sold for more than $1.5 million, but the 20-member Highclere Thoroughbred Racing was reportedly quite happy with the Queen's cheque. They had bought the Irish horse for about $100,000.
The Canadian connection comes from the horse's pedigree. Her great-great grandfather is none other than Northern Dancer, whose bloodlines stretch around the globe to some the greatest horses of all time.
The lives of royalty are a constant source of fascination, whether putting on a lavish wedding, fending off scandal or simply doing their jobs. Follow us as we follow the royal news trail.
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