Prince's William and Harry Remain Quiet On Saddest Day

Prince's William and Harry made no public statement or any apperances on the eleventh anniversary of their mother, Diana's, death.

No comment from any royal source was forthcoming.

Anniversary Of Diana's Death: UK TV Schedules

If you are on cable or satellite television the UK Biography channel are showing next weekend the following programmes to remember the anniversary of Diana's death.

1. Diana (Her Biography)
2. Diana: Story Of A Princess (Parts one and two Saturday, three and four on Sunday)
3. Princesses of the World.

Quite a difference from the first and fifth anniversary's where over 100 hours of television was dedicated to the late Princess!

HM Still Concerned About Kate Middletons Lack Of Employment

HM The Queen is still hugely concerned about Kate Middleton's unemployed status newspapers have reported this weekend. According to the Daily Mail HM has suggested privately that Kate Middleton should take up some charity work, possibly with children or animals, in order to convince the British public that Ms Middleton is doing more then simply shopping and waiting for beau, Prince William to propose.

In the Daily Mail it is quoted that Kate Middleton has been told of the concerns and that it comes from somebody 'at the very top' of the royal system.

Kate Middleton worked briefly, in a part time status, for TopShop as an accessories buyer but ending that after saying she wanted a career in photography.

In my opinion if Kate Middleton suddenly started doing charity work it would look contrived and not in the slightest, genuine. Girls her age, if they are doing charity work, are usually doing it on a paid basis, not on a volunteer one. I think her best option is to get a job, stick it out until William proposes or till the relationship ends.

Also, according to the paper, a royal engagement will soon be in the offing, with a announcement made just before, or after, Christmas and a tentative wedding date in May. Now this story has been written several times before so I wouldn't at all hold my breath for a royal engagement.

However, I do whole heatedly agree with HM the Queen. With Britain's economy being in such a dire state, with youth unemployment high, and less and less youngsters choosing to go onto university, it's very difficult for the public to swallow more and more pictures of William and Kate on yet another Caribbean holiday, or out late till 3am at their favourite nightspots, barely sober. In years gone by Royals were people to look up to, and who led by example (for instance in the last great UK recession in 1992, Williams mother cancelled a ski-ing holiday as it would not look good that a royal goes to posh Switzerland while the poorest of the country were struggling to keep a roof over their head). Sadly William and Kate do not do this.

Previous Royal Brides have works. Diana, William's mother worked in a Kindergarten and was a childminder to a young American boy, Sarah Ferguson worked in a publishing company and continued to do so after her marriage, Sophie Rhys-Jones worked in the world of PR, and although not something that went naturally hand in hand with Royal life, she continued to run her company for several years. So, working and dating a royal can be done, so it's rather hard to imagine why Kate Middleton isn't doing the same.

But then again, maybe charity work wouldn't' be a bad thing for Kate to undertake. If she does marry William that is what her life, as a future Princess of Wales and Queen of England will consist mostly of. Yes, there will be tours abroad and films premieres but mainly both of these things are tied in with charity work. Some of that charity work will be boring, a lot of the routine will be mundane. Kate must learn how to do this, so perhaps, although it would appear a little convenient to her image to suddenly start doing charity work now, it may be a good idea after all.

Charity work though isn't the wonderful solution. As Diana found out, when entering the royal world it's very hard to find charities to undertake that doesn't step on other people's toes. Diana got involved with children's charities early on in her career, but was always mindful not to upset her sister in law Princess Anne who has famously been patron for 'Save The Children' for decades. Sophie Rhys-Jones, in turn, had to be selective when choosing her charities, as she was asked to be patron to a AIDS charity but turned it down as AIDS was a concern for the late Diana, Princess of Wales. So selecting charities is hard work. You have to appear totally interested in the cause, and you have to be careful what you pick. Diana, for instance, loved ballet and in the early days because patron to a couple of ballet companies. Some in the press tried to hint that the new Princess was only taking on charities she had a deep interest in. Though, at the time, she was so popular that the story died a death very quickly.

I think, at the end of the day, Kate will be involved in charity work in the role of Princess of Wales as I'm sure she and William will marry, though I dont think it will be soon. But she does need to do something other then shop, holiday, socialise. If she doesn't' then she will have to work even harder to build up a positive profile after her marriage. Why not do the groundwork now and make life easier. I'm sure then that stories such as these will stop and Kate can be left in peace.

Fascinating Exhibition At Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace, former home of Diana, Princess of Wales and Princess Margaret has on display a fascinating exhibition called 'The Last Debutantes'. It's all about the final debutante season in 1958, and in the exhibition you'll see evening dresses made in Paris, gloves, shoes, handbags and even corsets and suspenders! Also on display there are day dresses that the deb's used to wear when meeting HM The Queen, and their invites to the races and Buckingham Palace garden Parties.

Included in your ticket price is the opportunity to see several dresses once worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, including the famous gown she wore to the White House during the Wales 1985 tour to America in which she famously danced with Saturday Night Fever star, John Travolta. Also, you will get a tour of the State Apartments and free use of an electronic guide so you can learn all about each individual room.

You can also visit the wonderful gift shop and the Orangery, where you are served delicious refreshments such as cream cakes, sandwiches, salads and of course British tea!

The Last Debutantes exhibition runs to 14 June 2009. The Palace, gift shop and Orangery is open 10am to 6pm from March 1st to October 31st and November 1st to February 28th 10am to 7pm. The Palace is closed December 24th to December 26th (inclusive).

Entrance to the gift shop and Orangery is free so if you don't want to pay to get into the exhibition you can still visit the shop and Orangery.

Entry Prices are:

Adult £12.30
Children Under 16 £6.15
Concessions £10.75
Family Ticket £34.00

Strange Photograph Of Diana

There are probably millions and millions of photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales in storage, yet, when new books are published they use the same old tired photographs of her. Even nearly 11 years after her death, we have only seen very few new pictures come to light. However, I stumbled on this one. I'm positive that it was taken before she was even engaged as I don't recall Diana's pageboy hairstyle being this short before. Nor, do I recall her make-up being applied quite so heavily.

I fine this photograph strange and everyone I've shown it too has disliked it. Do you like it?

Queen 'Baffled' As To Why Kate Middleton Doesn't Work

Although she does not speak publicly about her feelings and opinions it was reported earlier this week that HM The Queen has privately admitted that she is 'baffled' as to why Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton does not work.

After a short spell working for Topshop (her parents friendship with those high up in Topshop circles is rumoured to be down to her working there) Kate has now announced she wants to be a photographer and is training to become one. However, the Queen is said to be 'baffled' because Kate, who is now in her mid twenties has yet to have a 'proper job'.

Indeed Ms Middleton has come under attack because of her lack of employment history. Many feel that if she does marry Prince William, and along with that will bring the title Princess Of Wales and later on Queen of England, she will be expected to take on a hefty share of Royal engagements and many doubt she will be committed to doing that.

If Ms Middleton was still in her early twenties I think it would be passable that she is trying to find her feet and find out what she wants to do with her life. However she is now approaching her mid twenties, and her lack of any real job is rather worrying.

The previous owner of the title Princess of Wales, Diana, worked in several jobs before at the age of nineteen she became engaged to the Prince of Wales. And in her royal life took on hundreds of engagements a year.

It's very rare that HM The Queen makes comments such as this. It means their is some concern about Kate and her abilities to work hard. And I feel if she doesn't get a job shortly she'll loose some of that popularity she has.

Why Do Non-Royals Get Blamed When Bad P.R Comes Around

The row over the wrongs and rights of the Phillips selling their wedding to Hello! magazine continues. But one interesting factor out of all the negative press is that Autumn's name, and Autumns alone is mentioned in connection with 'blame.'

As soon as the wedding had happened, and the discovery that selling out was not the best option Buckingham Palace Press Officers were already on the defensive implying that it was Autumn who was to blame. But surely Peter must of also agreed the sale, he appeared in the pictures too, so surely he should take the blame, or at least, his share of it.

Going back to 1990, when the Duke and Duchess of York invited Hello! into their new home at Sunninghill ( it was done to fund the completion of the house which went way over budget) it was the Duchess who was blamed for being 'vulgar, vulgar, vulgar' and cheapening the Royal family by selling off intimate moments to a run of the mill society magazine. But Prince Andrew had agreed to it also and himself appeared in many of the pictures.

The notion of laying the blame of the 'non royal' of the couple is unfair particularly when the decision is a joint one which benefits both members of the couple.

Since her death, I've noticed a change in the tide of public opinion opinion of Diana. In the immediate years after her death she was elevated to nearly saintly status, but nowadays authors and scholars are happy to lay the blame of the failed marriage, not wholly at Diana's doorstep, but more so then they would of fifteen years ago.

It almost appears that to Royal advisers and press officers, royalty can do no wrong. They cannot make a bad decision, they cannot take blame for any decisions that were made and went wrong. They are totally and utterly blameless.

So how must that feel for the woman being blamed? Autumn must be shattered by all of the negative press and I'm sure it's marred her honeymoon. But it must cut all the deeper when she reads that people who advise her husbands family are putting responsibility for the entire furore squarely on her shoulders. If Peter is the man he seems to be he should publicly step up and take half the blame and insist it was not all his new wife's fault. It was a dreadful decision which I'm sure will hang over Autumns AND Peter's head for many years to come. It has taken what was a private event and ruined it. And as reported yesterday has put some of Peter's close relationship with his Wales cousins under considerable strain.

If Peter and Autumn could of looked into the future and saw the fuss made over the Hello! deal I'm sure they would of settled for a less lavish wedding. Or maybe, to avoid this kind of thing it may persuade HM to open up her purse and pay, or at least contribute, to the weddings of her immediate grandchildren.

In 1987, while touring Canada Sarah and Andrew, the then Duke and Duchess of York celebrated their first wedding anniversary at a banquet. The Duke, who highly rates his own sense of humour (while seemingly lacking one!) made several heavy handed jokes about his fairly new wife during a speech. Of course this was laughed off as a comedic moment. When it was his wives turn she too joked with a member of the audience, saying she'd 'see him later' after he wolf whistled her. This was considered to be vulgar and out of place.

It does seem to be one rule for the royal and one rule for the commoner.

It will be interesting to see if Peter does defend his wife publicly. He should to because when I brought my copy of Hello! it wasn't solely the bride I saw in the photographs.

Paul Burrell: What a let down.

It seems that for Mr Burrell admitting that he committed perjury during the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and her companion, Dodi Fayed wasn't enough. Now it has been revealed that the Princess's butler removed a blood splattered ring from her finger while she was laying in the morgue and handed it to a neighbour of his in Cheshire.

The Daily Mail today reported that Burrell planned to take the ring, other items of jewelry and documentation and dump it over board on a cruise, so sensitive was the ring (which Burrell claimed he believed to be a engagement ring) and the other items.

Now, he has also admitted that the Princess's neck was 'grotesquely twisted' when he visited Diana's body after her death in Paris.

What happened to this man that has turned him from tight lipped 'rock' to someone who proved himself on video tape to be a liar? To add insult to injury he seems to take glee in the fact that he has deliberately mislead the jury who are sitting in on the inquest and taunted them with 'red herrings' knowing that those red herrings would take away the spotlight from him.

Mr Burrell's character has always been, for me anyway, in doubt. During a homosexual relationship he was conducting in 1981 he wrote letters to his lover in May describing Lady Diana's wedding dress in great detail (even though the designers, David and Elizabeth Emanuel were spending a small fortune in security to keep the design secret). Rumour has it that even while he was still in Diana's employ he was leaking information about her life, particularly in the days after the Wales separation. In the late 1990's he made a fortune speaking about Royal life on cruises, he wrote 'A Royal Duty' in the early 2000's, and then followed it up with the second book 'The Way We Were' in 2006. He has also penned books about entertaining in style, creating flower arrangements and has appeared in series on TV such as American Princess and Australian Princess, with all the things he does he names Diana, although he calls her 'The Princess'.

I feel this man is a shame to Britain and now he has been caught admitting to lying in court I believe he should be made to return to Britain and answer questions. I also feel that no matter what he writes (and yes, I believe a third book could be in the pipeline) people will not believe a word he says.

I hope that Mr Burrell will one day find happiness in his life and that he can quit his obsession with Diana. If he wants to drag his name into the mud then he is free to do so. However, I hope he stops doing the same to Diana who cannot answer back.