Diana Inquest: The Cost Is Mounting

To date the inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed has amounted to: £1,308,291.26 with a extra £187,464.oo all paid for by the British taxpayer.

As much as I adore Diana, I feel that this cost is absurd, and if it runs till next Easter the cost will be over the £2 million mark. The Paget report cost enough, surely isn't that enough? We could of had the report and a smaller inquest which would of saved a lot of money.

I do hope that Mr Al Fayed and all of those American die-hard Diana fans (as seen and encountered by us on the Royalist) will all contribute to the cost, as these are the people who have endlessly gone on and on about a inquest. Alas, they wont and again the British Taxpayer loses out.

If this offended I am truly sorry. However, when I see pensioners struggling to cope on a meagre state pension being sent to prison because they can't afford their council tax, or in fact, sitting in a freezing house as they can't afford their heating bills its a bit rich seeing nearly £2 million being spent on a inquest for a woman who died ten years ago. We know the outcome will be accidental death, the Paget report said so and so will this inquest. Please, lets not waste any more money. Let the taxes go to the people who deserve and need it. What good is all this expense? How will it help Diana exactly?

HM The Queen: A Woman Of Dignity, Duty And Shyness?

Prince Andrew, speaking in a documentary about his mother says that she often leaves the room to watch her annual Christmas speech alone. According to the Duke of York the Christmas lunch is well timed to finish at 2.45pm ready for the family to gather at 3.00pm to watch the speech on television.

However, one writer in the Daily Mail has claimed the reason Her Majesty retires to a separate room is that she is genuinely shy and feels embarrassed to watch herself on television when the rest of the family are gathered.

I find this very sweet indeed. That one of the most famous - and respected - women in the world, who has served her country for well over sixty years, has made some groundbreaking speeches is too shy to watch herself on television when her family are with her.

I have a new found respect for HM. Having watched all the episodes of 'Monarchy: A Royal Family At Work, you get to see the very human side to the Queen. She smiles, laughs, is serious and, according to the programme, enjoys going through the artwork that children do for her when she comes to visit. She is a human being and a dignified one at that.

It will be a very sad day when we loose our Queen, because I, for one, have fallen in love with her since seeing her so closely on the television. And, unlike the 'grey men' who work in the palace, she is kind, generous, giving and loyal. It's really hard not to like her.

Beatrice Showing Signs Of Being A Diva?

Apparantly being a Princess is not enough for nineteen year old Princess Beatrice. Now she is, accroding to reports, turning into a bigger diva then Mariah Carey.

While spending a night in London's hottest club, Mahiki (a favourite of Prince's William and Harry and their partners) Beatrice was said to have stomped over to a young girl who was sitting at her favourite table and told her to 'move'. The lady, and her friends, were so shell shocked they just upped and left. The Princess, who is turning into quite the social butterfly, is putting 'noises out of joint' all over London as she is becoming more famous and recognisable.

Looks like that famous, down to earth parenting that both Andrew, and in particular, Fergie like to boost about has not been as successful as first thought.

A Princess she may be, but she seems to lack even basic manners, despite the money ploughed into her education and upbringing.

I think this is only going to get worse.........

Edward and Sophie Announce Name Of Their Son

Today, Edward and Sophie have released the name of their son, who up till now has been known as Viscount Severn.

The baby, born on Monday will be called James Alexander Phillip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, but his surname will be known as simple 'Windsor'.

Both HM The Queen, Prince Phillip and Christopher Rhys-Jones were consulted in the naming of the child and all of the grandparents are said to be 'content' with the decision.

Sophie, it has been reported, though not confirmed, will be spending Christmas with the Queen at Sandringham since she is in such robust health.

Well,I wish the best of health to Edward, Sophie, Louise and baby James. I hope they all have a marvelous Christmas and a happy 2008.

The Wessex Family: Healthy, Happy and Full of Christmas Joy

In the past few months all the news seems to be about is Britney Spears's latest breakdown, Amy Winehouse's drug use and Kate Moss's acne problem.

So when Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex were pictured leaving hospital with their newborn son, known only as Viscount Severn at the moment, it was thrilling to see a happily married couple (which in the media nowadays is very rare) full of pride with the new addition to the their family (Sophie's troubles having children were discussed in another post earlier this week).

Sophie was smiling broadly. She looked healthy, her colour was good (who can remember how pale she looked when she left hospital after Louise's traumatic birth) and she looked as though she was the happiest woman in the world, and at the moment, I'm sure that is how she feels. Edward, obviously relieved that both his wife and child came out of the labour healthily, was pictured holding his son as though his life depended on it.

Although the Windsor children grow up to be attractive adults, they don't make for pretty babies but Viscount Severn, with his cute upturned nose looks as though he breaks that trend! It seems that he takes after his mother more, while Louise could be the twin of the Queen when she was that age.

HM The Queen is extraordinarily close to Sophie. The two woman bonded from the start of Edward and Sophie's relationship, and that immediately caused Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah Ferguson to take a instant dislike to Sophie. They teased her, snubbed her and were openly rude to her at royal events. They spoke down about her, as though she wasn't high enough in the class system to marry into the ultimate British family. But despite this, or maybe because of this, the Queen took a instant fancy to Sophie and after Louise's traumatic birth, the two women became, if it was possible, even closer. Sophie, who was recovering after the birth spend days and days with HM who, at that time, was herself recovering from a knee injury. The two now have a unbreakable bond, and HM was said to be delighted with her latest grandchild and cannot wait to meet him. Touching evidence of their bond came when, after nearly dying after losing almost all her blood after having Louise, HM dropped everything to visit her daughter-in-law. Some say the Queen was scared stiff she may lose her friend, the woman whom she refers to as 'my daughter'.

Both of Sophie's parents, Christopher and Mary Rhys-Jones were welcomed into the Windsor clan, something that Johnny Spencer was not, nor Ronald Ferguson. Christopher, a car tyre salesman long since retired was not of the nobility, like Johnny Spencer, who in fact, worked for HM The Queen as a Equerry in the 1950's. Ronald Ferguson, Prince Charles's polo manager, was seen as a lowly servant and also was not invited. Yet, when Christopher lost his wife to cancer a year or so ago, HM and Prince Phillip took the unusual step of inviting him to Sandringham for the Christmas holidays so he would not be lonely. This act alone shows how close Sophie is to her famous mother-in-law.

Almost by design, Louise, Sophie and Edwards four year old daughter resembles HM so much that when a picture was taken of her a year ago, one reporter claimed that Louise, if born the same time as HM could easily be her twin. Both Diana's boys resemble the Spencer's and Sarah Ferguson's daughter's resemble their parents.

The Wessex's have been married now for eight years, nine next June. There hasn't been a single story of marital ruckus. They seem to be protected, and I'm sure that Sophie's closeness to the Queen is partly responsible for this. It's brilliant if you think that eight years into the Wales marriage, Charles and Diana had stopped sleeping together, barely tolerated each other and were revving up for the War of the Wales's. Andrew and Sarah were already separated and heading for the divorce courts after.

So, I've never been happier for a royal couple then I am for Edward and Sophie. Their family, one can now assume is complete. I wish them well and I hope that 2008 is a happy and fulfilling year for the nice couple of the Royal Family.

Rosa Monckton and Lucia Flecha De Lima: Diana's Loyal Warriors

Was Diana pregnant when she died? Did she have contraceptive pills in her luggage? Was she planning to marry Dodi Fayed? Was it a summer fling or real love?

These are some of the questions that are being pondered on during the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

In the midst of this very public event, two women stand tall. In life, these women were the real 'rocks' in Diana's life. They supported her, gave her a shoulder to cry on, told her off when she was unreasonable, gave her sanctuary when the press were hounding her. Spent time with her on holidays, and gave her the real family life she has missed. In documentaries they defended her, and were her champion, speaking out and telling the truth as they saw it.

I take my hat off to Rosa Monckton and Lucia Flecha De Lima. For I believe these two women speak the truth, and I'm very appreciative of the fact that they are willing to stand up and tell the truth when Mohammed Al Fayed continues to spout vicious lies about Diana and her place in his life. When both of them say that there was no way Diana could of been pregnant, I will believe them over Fayed every time. When they say she would not of married Dodi and was just having a steamy summer fling, I believe them.

These were two women who were not afraid to stand up against Diana and all her charactericial flaws. They told her things she did not want to hear, but, their loyal, honest and dedicated friendship meant that these two women were not booted out of her circle like Sarah Ferguson and Penny Thornton before her, for Diana surely knew that her world would be terribly lonely without the two women who were like mother figures to her.

Now I see Rosa and Lucia as Diana's warriors, bravely fighting against the Fayed publicity machine to get across to the public the truth about Diana's final months on earth.

I'm sure wherever Diana is and whatever tasks she has been given, she must surely look down on Rosa and Lucia with pride, thankfulness and love. For these two women will fight and fight hard to get the truth out.

And I, for one, can only thank them.

Myriah Daniels: The Trickiest Witness At The Diana Inquest

Myriah Daniels, member of Dodi Fayed's staff has proven to be the most difficult of witnesses at the Diana inquest. The woman, employed to heal Dodi, worked on Diana during her stay on the Jonikal, and performed healing on her when Diana was menstruating and suffering from painful period cramps.

Having read her transcript from her evidence, she also admitted the Princess was suffering from constipation on board the Jonikal. Ms Daniels insisted that it was unnecessary to talk about such private and intimate details of the late Princess's life. I disagree with her. As long as Mohammed Al Fayed continues to claim that Diana was pregnant with his grandchild, then yes, these details will have to be made public, no matter how unsavoury they are.

What tickles me, though, is that Ms Daniels, an American, referred to Britain's media saying 'all of your newspapers look like tabloids'. What a snooty attitude to take. It may be wise to remember that most of the most vocal Diana fans, who have insisted she was murdered and have insisted that this inquest take place are American's. Ironically, many of these Americans, who I'm sure take the same tack as Ms Daniels, also rely heavily on the online editions of The Daily Mail, Telegraph, Observer, Mirror et al to gain their royal knowledge, and knowledge of British life and society. I don't feel she has any right at all to criticise our media. Nor, does she have any right to throw her weight around at the inquest. It's not up to her to decide what is tasteful or not. Or what is tacky or not. Her role in this was to go and answer the questions put to her and answer them truthfully. Her opinions on the British media, for instance, are not wanted.

But there is one question I'd really like to put to Ms Daniels. For as much as she plays the Ms High and Mighty role, stating that she really wanted to keep Diana's personal details, such as her menstrual cycle private, why on earth did she go on TV in the summer and talk openly about it in a documentary/drama that was shown across the world.

It seems that answering questions on Diana's menstrual cycle is tacky and disrespectful, unless of course, your offered some money and the chance to be on TV..............................

The Diana Inquest Carries On

Today is day 43 of the long, drawn out inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and her companion, Dodi Fayed.

So far we have learnt that Diana could not be pregant as she had had her period ten days before the accident, we have learnt that Diana needed a second marriage like a rash on her face, that Henri Paul was driving manicly and she was trying to make former lover Hasnat Khan jealous.

The Inquest makes me laugh. This will not make those who believe Diana was killed change their minds. I can't help thinking that after ten years, this inquest is several years too late. As much as I adore Diana, the sheer cost of this investigation is mind numbing. It has already cost nearly £20 million and the cost is ever rising.

But who is this inquest for? Is it for the British people in general, or for the Diana fanatics worldwide who cry out for a inquest no matter how much it will cost to Britain?

Yes, Diana, Dodi, Henri Paul and Trevor Rees-Jones deserve justice, but it does make me cross when so much money is being poured into it when the verdict is almost certainly likely to come back as accidental.

I'm hoping that after this inquest, Diana will be able to rest in peace. But I dont think that will happen. No matter how many inquests are held, to some, it will never bring them the results they want, therefore really is it all a huge waste of taxpayers money?

Congratulations to Edward and Sophie

It was annouced yesterday that Queen Elizabeth's youngest son, Edward, Earl of Wessex and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex had become proud parents to their second child, a baby son.

I wish the Wessex's well and I hope that Sophie is resting well after her ceasearean section. Sophie, 42, has not had a easy time with her pregnancies. Her first pregnancy ended traumaticly after she suffered a painful and life threatening ectopic pregnancy. After a painful course of IVF the Countess then experiences agnoising pain in the eight month of her second pregnancy and had to be rushed into hospital where she gave birth to their daughter, Lady Louise, prematurely. The Countess lost so much blood she was on the cusp of losing her life.

After several painful and intrusive courses of IVF, Sophie failed to fall pregant again. As often is the case, after the accepted that they may never become parents again, Sophie fell pregnant naturally, and her pregnancy and birth went smoothly.

So often it's easy to see Royal wives sail through their pregnancies easily. To see Sophie's struggle over so many years, rewarded with two healthy children brings a lump to my throat. And, what other christmas present would bring the Royal and Rhys-Jones families so much happines?

I cannot wait to see what they name their son. With a mother like Sophie it's bound to be something tasteful, classy and regal!

I wish Edward, Sophie, Louise and new son and brother well. I also send out my congratulations to the Royal family and the Rhys-Jones family, too. I hope both families get the chance to enjoy and spoil the new baby. Whether Royal or not, each baby is a miracle. And I'm sure, after the long and rocky road in child rearing, Edward and Sophie will see their son as such.