When the future Princess of Wales told her sisters she wished to cancel her wedding to the Prince of Wales, she received no words of comfort, the rather harsh response being: "Bad luck, Duch {the Spencer family's nickname for Diana}, your face is on the tea towels and you're too late to chicken out."

We can only hope that the bandwagon which is now underway surrounding the latest generation of royal girlfriend has a far happier ending, not only for the couple themselves but for the companies which are waiting with baited breath for any announcement that Prince William is to marry.

We're just six days into the New Year but literature has already dropped through the letterbox from Peter Jones China, one of Britain's leading producers of royal commemoratives.

And guess what? Even this most prestigious company is already prepared for the engagement of William and Kate Middleton.

The text reference to the couple (no images are yet available) comes in a catalogue promoting a new range of quality commemoratives marking the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

A footnote on the final page reads as follows: "Rumours of a Royal engagement: Should Prince William announce his engagement we have two beautiful commemorative pieces ready for you to mark this very major Royal occasion."

Back in 1981, producers of royal commemoratives were a little more restrained and slightly slower to react to the media hype, despite the fact the engagement of Charles and Diana was widely predicted.

In April of that year, a small rebellion took place when the Lord Chamberlain rather mightily announced that Buckingham Palace would not welcome the depiction of Prince Charles and Lady Diana on commemorative T-shirts.

Local MP Michael Meacher argued for the rights of textile workers and members of the public in Oldham in the North West of England to be allowed to show their patriotism with the production of such items, but the 'rule' was that faces of members of the Royal Family could only be depicted on headscarves (?!) and tea-towels.

Although business practice means it's unlikely Kate's face is literally on the plethora of china and those ubiquitous tea-towels just yet, can you imagine the horrified reaction of company bosses and book publishers (and, ahem, the authors of articles on royal websites!) if the headline were to suddenly appear: 'Prince William Splits From Kate'.

Your Name:

Your Email Address:

Your Homepage:


Comment:

BOLD

"QUOTE"

UNDERLINE

Name: exploora

Comment: Re Rose's comment A glass ceiling hurts whenever you bang your head on it. Social economic status is really about money, of course. The dream of having an equal chance of getting ahead is what brought people to America and Canada I suppose. And the vehicle to getting ahead is education. The cost of higher education is getting further and further out of reach, for the common human, so signing off Yours Truly anti pretend meritocrat, would be reasonable.

Name: Rose

Comment: I think that Prince William should not marry Kate Middleton because she is a commoner.Not because i am in any way snobby,its just i feel strongly that Prince William as a future King should marry into a Royal Family or british arastocracy as the Royal family should keep there blood line pure. Otherwise they have no right what so ever the right to call them selves royal.Because there are so many commoners in the royal family at the moment.In what manner are they royal family.The whole point of royalty in my opinion is that they are a link through there blood line to past Kings and Queens.If theres no royal blood in them then they are not royal and can not be called royal so in effect it would be better to have a president because it would be a more honest institution. Yours Faithfully Anti-Pretend Royal!

Name: Ompeng

Comment: All these speculations are absolutely ridiculous. They are embarassing William and Kate and Kate's family and the ROF. There is so much deperation from the media to make money because they are tired fo the celebrities and they just don't fetch that much--even Tom Cruise! I hope William and Kate stood their ground and go about their business and simply ignore this obsession from the media. It is obvious that every article is becoming more and more preposterous!

Name: Kathy Gebhardt

Comment: **Prince William and Ms. Middleton have a much better shot. It might help that Ms. Middleton comes from an intact home and that she must have a very good idea, learned from her own parents, of what makes for a successful marriage and working relationship. Diana didn't have the faintest notion of such a concept. Diana knew because she, unlike her husband, was in love with the person she married and wanted to make it work. She had no chance at happiness because she had an unwilling spouse who was focused on his mistress.

Name: Laura	Comment: Karmen, if you don't like all the Kate stories on here, then easy - don't read them! Just read the other stories that are posted about other members of the royal family.

Name: Trudie

Comment: I think both William and Kate have a pretty good idea of what a marriage will bring. I am sure that Kate coming from a good home will help create a necessary help and support network to William and William coming from a protected and unnatural environment will protect Kate from the problems his mother suffered. Three royal women who would be excellent mentors would be Princess Anne who is well grounded, Sophie Wessex who is of similiar background and The Duchess of Kent who is so kind and gentle and was a friend to Williams mother. These three woman are the epitome of Princesses hard working and totally unnoticed.

Name: Kate

Comment: I agree with Kathy regarding the possibility of Kate ever choosing Camilla as a mentor!Camilla showed a lot of slacking off when her priorities were a little mixed between raising her own two and being there for her lover... ( I wonder who was top priority - is there a poll?). I also agree with Exploora and her summation of the difference between the relationships of Charles and Diana, and William and Kate...She is totally right on.. ALthough I would have liked to see William have a few other relationships with other woman, perhaps my thinking is off. I just have to review within my own circle the couples who married young and are still together, through the common bonds of raising their children ( which I think will be the better for this future couple) and helping each other through their appointments and supporting each other in their roles..On the article..

Name: Kathy Gebhardt	Comment: **Suppose Kate likes Camilla and has no problem with her as a mentor, will you then "browbeat" Kate ??** Choosing Camilla as a mentor would be a fatal mistake for anyone to make...all things considered. Hopefully, Kate has brains enough not to do this.

Name: exploora

Comment: I think as a match goes, when comparing Charles and Di, with Wills and Kate, we are comparing an apple with an orange. C and D were from different generations, didn't go to school together, had different levels of acedemic education, and Charles couldn't even say "I love Di tremendously" or something like that when asked if they loved each other during an interview concerning their engagement, which would be broadcast across the globe. All that Charles could come up with is "whatever love means". Well when you feel it, you don't care what it means, it is how it makes you feel that counts. So Wills and Kate appear to be feeling it, they shared a house together without breaking up, went to U together without breaking up, are close to the same age, education level. W and K are very close to the same height, so Kate wouldn't really out class Wills in that department, and there would be no bending when snogging if Kate wore heels. I am sure as a mother, Di would want to see the woman who Wills appears to be happy with, protected as best as possible, from the media frenzy she experienced practically every day of her life, til the moment she died. I am sure Di's biggest concern would not be that attention from her memorial concert would clash with the attention the wedding would receive. I am sure Di would have preferred to have skipped the necessity for this concert, might now realize how necessary even though unpleasant professional protection really is, and if she could take back time, would have avoided the accident now knowing the accident could happen, so she could be at the wedding herself. I can't believe that having faces of members of the RF on T shirts would be considered more degrading than having bird droppings fall on discarded news stories of the royals which would include their faces. My opinion only.

Name: mark brooks

Comment: ** if the marriage between William and Kate becomes fact , it is to be hoped that Sophie rather than Camilla becomes Kate's mentor ** Suppose Kate likes Camilla and has no problem with her as a mentor, will you then "browbeat" Kate ?? As I have posted several times, William was a witness to his father's marriage to Camilla. I do wonder if this site was up and running then, what you would have posted about that.

Name: Lili

Comment: It would be nice if this site were not so myopically focussed on the British royals. They are not, after all, the only royals in the world. However, while it is true that no one should be pressured into marriage, the relationship between Prince William and Ms. Middleton could not possibly be more different from the late Lady Diana and Prince Charles for a variety of reasons. They are, for example, virtually of the same age, which means that they share certain cultural and historical experiences. They attended the same university and earned degrees at the same level. They shared a house at university even before they began dating. Since their graduation, they have clearly been sexually involved. All of this means that they know each other and know each other's tastes, interests, personal and social experiences, and, yes, sexuality in a way that Charles and Diana never did and never could have. I understand that Charles and Diana had exactly 13 "dates" before their engagement, and not one of those occasions would have been described as a genuine "date" by anyone accustomed to normal social intercourse. They didn't know each other, and yet both, rather stupidly, agreed to marry. Prince William and Ms. Middleton have a much better shot. It might help that Ms. Middleton comes from an intact home and that she must have a very good idea, learned from her own parents, of what makes for a successful marriage and working relationship. Diana didn't have the faintest notion of such a concept.

Name: M-M

Comment: After the sad spectacle of Diana trapped in her impossible Royal marriage , wedding a Royal Prince has become something of a poisoned chalice . We no longer believe in the fairytale . Probably the aristocratic families around the RF no longer believe in it either ... after what has happened to the top-drawer Spencers ! Which is no doubt why William has found his GF from the ranks of the middle class . That has worked in the case of Sophie Wessex , and , if the marriage between William and Kate becomes fact , it is to be hoped that Sophie rather than Camilla (or any of her family) becomes Kate's mentor . It seems that there must be a marriage now - once again , repeating history , things seem to have gone much too far for retreat . Instead of the 'Peoples' Princess ' , Kate seems to be the 'Press's Princess'

Name: Karmen Day	Comment: Don't worry about it Joanne, I was just feeling a bit pissy the other day. I understand that the information out there regarding the royals is in no way under your control. But thanks for the apology anyway, although I hope you don't feel you have to apologise to me any more than you said I don't have to apologise for my reactions either. Big hug, Karmen

Name: Karla Bell	Comment: Oh that Okay.... Thank you so much...

Name: Joanne	Comment: PS: I just want to apologise to Karmen for the content on the site today (all this Kate Middleton coverage). Sorry Karmen! Keep your fingers crossed that some of the other royals make an appearance very soon! Joanne